Easter

My weekend was full of wonder and I thought I’d share a few snapshots and ideas with you.

A first….On Friday I went to the zoo and rode on a merry-go-round.   

Easter 2014 - Good Friday - Zoo - My first merry go round ride with Caden

No, it wasn’t my first time at the zoo or my first time on the merry-go-round.  What made this a first was that I rode on the amusement ride with my grandson.  I am often surprised by the moments of grandmotherhood – is that a word?  If it’s not – it should be.  I was happy to be able to take him but little did I know that I had a few things I needed to learn.  You see it’s very important to pay attention on what is being said before your ticket is taken.  I learned that not all animals go up and down and my grandson likes to go up and down.  I lifted him up on the cheetah we had chosen only to realize that I wasn’t very proficient at buckling him.  The attendant took pity on me and came to help – I had him in a little tight.  We waited patiently and soon the motor started to sing and we started to go round and round – up and down.  With each turn his delight grew and so did mine.  He became brave and lifted one arm from the pole to wave to his mommy and daddy.  We both enjoyed our ride very much.

I then explored a french bakery.  I had a lovely lunch of crab/shrimp in a puff pastry and then tried my first macaroon – Caramel.  There was a light sprinkling of rain (we get excited here in Arizona about rain) and sitting outside was so pleasant.  The food was amazing;  and I learned a french macaroon is gluten free.  Since my husband has wheat sensitivities the caramel, mint chocolate and expresso macaroons I brought home were happily received.  If you live in the Phoenix Area here is the bakery I visited Essence Bakery 

Easter 2014 - GF - Essence Bakery - First Macaroon

 Our Easter was celebrated by a Saturday evening church service and a Sunday brunch.

Here is how I decorated our table. 

Easter 2014 - Table

I used a free printable from the Clumsy Crafter and placed it in an existing picture frame.  The flower arrangement was enhanced with some Easter Egg Sticks.

Easter 2014 - Egg Napkin Rings 

I have had these Easter Egg napkin rings for many years.  Imagine my delight when I pulled them out and they matched the printable perfectly.  Tablecloths aren’t working well with a little one and I didn’t have placemats that would work so I raided my card stock.  The piece of blue paper allowed the white plate to pop and could be thrown away after the meal.

Easter 2014 - Caden plate 

This was my grandson’s placesetting.  I really like this gummi mat from Kidkusion which fits nicely under his Chicco Seat for the table.  

Here is what we had for brunch: 

Easter 2014 - Mini Muffins
Banana Mini Muffin Recipe

 
Waffles - Baked and Whole
Waffle Recipe

 
Orange Juice

Fresh Orange Juice – We picked and peeled 40 oranges from our tree

I hope you all had a sweet Easter.

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Bunny Pillow

As I decorated the house for Easter, I saw these pillows that I had picked up from a thrift store in the fall to sit on an outside bench.  They worked well while leaves turned and cooler breezes flew into Arizona but they were out of place as birds chirped spring’s song.  I sat at Starbucks and quickly looked through Pinterest.  I found an idea that I thought would work up quickly and give these pillows a fresh look. 

Bunny Pillow - Old

I headed off to Joann’s and purchased ecru duck cloth that was on sale for $5.99/yard, a fat quarter of blue cloth, wonder under and jute. I already had thread and buttons.

Bunny Pillow - Sewing
Fabric cut, bunnies adhered to the front and stitched right sides together so they could be turned. Leaving the back open allows the old pillow to be used as a pillow form that can be inserted into the bunny pillow case.  I like this idea because it is my hope that the cover can be taken off and washed for other springtimes to come. 

Bunny Pillow - stand alone
First pillow done – I decided to use buttons for the nose and cotton tail instead of pom poms since these pillows were going to be used outside.

Bunny Pillows - bench
Soon both pillows were done and sitting on the bench.

Bunny Pillows - by finished
All finished

Many years ago my aunt who is accomplished in needlework upgraded her sewing machine and offered me her Viking. This machine has been good to me. It has sewn children’s pjs at Christmas time, little girl’s dresses, a vest for a little boy to wear to his great grandmother’s 80th birthday, crafts and home deco items. It sews straight and is trustworthy when I call it to service.  I hope the same can be said of me (at least on most days 🙂

I enjoy taking something and finding a new purpose for it – I think these pillows brighten an already sunny backyard.

The original idea for the bunny pillow can be found HERE  

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Bunny Napkin Rings

A little photocopying, cutting, glue, colored pencils and in no time, you’ll have your own set of these cute bunny napkin rings to use this Easter.  I made these last year and look forward to using them again. 

Bunny Napkin Rings

Thanking Diane at In My Own Style.   Click below for pattern and instructions
http://inmyownstyle.com/2012/04/6-last-minute-easter-table-setting-ideas.html

 Note – I left the bows plain so I could use over and over again 🙂

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