Personalizing and Filling Easter Baskets

April 13, 2017Leave a comment

Today we have some ideas to help ease the stress of getting Easter Baskets ready for THIS Sunday!

EASTER BASKET NAME TAGS

Avoid the confusion of who’s basket is who’s by creating cute, simple name tags to attach to each basket.

To make these, you will need:

plain gift tags or use the template to print some on cardstock: gifttags
cute twine or ribbon
decorative washi tape
your favorite pen or marker

We love any excuse to use our prettiest handwriting!

Trim and attach your twine and your tags are ready for their baskets!

FUN IDEAS TO FILL YOUR BASKETS

Raise your hand if you think it’s tricky to find basket fillers that are the right size for your basket! If they’re too large they will knock the entire thing over, if they’re too small they will get lost in the Easter grass! Here are a few ideas we came up with that are just the right size.

Books are always a great gift! For the big kids we look for books from a series we know they love. For the little ones we pick a pretty book (with good content, of course!) we know we can handle looking at over and over again! Small toys for little hands are always a must. Jewelry and beauty products are fun for our older girls. Sugar-free gum is appreciated for our brace-faced kids, especially after all of the sugar-filled treats! And check out this Snapsy chocolate bunny! Easy to break apart will mean less mess (and no chipped teeth)! Yay!

Balance is key to a good basket! We try to do a little candy, a responsible gift, and a surprise gift that is sure to dazzle!

BEWARE OF CANDY OVERLOAD!

In our homes, candy is almost completely impossible to avoid around the holidays. It’s given out at schools, between friends, at parties, activities, and sometimes you just gotta grab that big bag of Mini Eggs at the checkout line (am I right?!)! One way we discovered you can limit the candy intake is to buy small, individually wrapped pieces instead of dumping large bags of candy into your baskets. This will also help mom and dad stay on track with their diets by not scavenging the hordes of leftovers! 😉

We hope these ideas are helpful and that you have a wonderful Easter!

xo.

Pete & Repeat

Blimey, It’s Leprechaun Cupcakes!

March 16, 20171 Comment

Cupcake making is always great because it’s pretty easy and yields plenty of treats to go around. This little project can be done as a fun group activity with children–adults doing some of the more tedious parts.

To get started you need:

cupcakes
orange buttercream
marshmallow fondant (recipe here)
circle fondant cutter
fondant rolling pin
black & green food coloring gel
piping bag, coupler, & Wilton tip #18
gold luster dust, vodka, & food-safe paint brush (optional)

To get started:

Tint your fondant. You’ll need more green than black & white. If you don’t have gold luster dust, tint the white fondant yellow. Wrap black & white fondant in plastic wrap until ready to use.

2. Grab a chunk of green fondant and roll it into a cylinder. I decided on the thickness of my cylinder based on the size circle cutter I had. You want your cylinder’s circumference to be a bit smaller than the circle cutter. Wow, this is starting to sound like geometry!

3. Next, cut your cylinder to the desired height of your hat, making a crisp top and bottom. Set side finished pieces on a surface dusted with powdered sugar to prevent sticking.

4. Cut out fondant circles.

5. Attach cylinders to circles. Set finished pieces aside.

6. Next roll out black fondant (pretty thin) and cut it into strips with a sharp, non-serrated knife.

7. Wrap black fondant strips around the bottom of each cylinder. Cut off any excess. Note: I didn’t use water as glue to attach my fondant pieces for this project. My fondant was doing a good job sticking on its own.

8. For the hat buckle, I used my knife and cut tiny rectangles and then even tinier rectangles inside that (Congratulations! You made it to the tedious part!).

9. I know not everyone has this stuff in their pantry, so don’t fret! I think yellow fondant buckles are just as cute. If you do have some gold luster dust on hand it’s a fun addition to this project!

Using a food-safe paint brush mix your luster dust with a bit of vodka (it evaporates quickly and won’t gum up your fondant) and paint it on dry-ish buckles. Attach buckles to hats and HOORAY, they are complete!

10. Now it’s time to ice your cupcakes! Fill your piping bag with orange buttercream and pipe little rosettes around the entire cupcake. Don’t they look like little curls?

11. Top it off with your fondant hats. You now have cute leprechaun cupcakes!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

xo.

Pete

A Bit of Green in a “Pinch”

March 13, 2017February 25, 2017Leave a comment

Why is it that on St. Patrick’s Day no one in my family can find a single article of green clothing to wear? Let me tell you, the fear of being pinched is REAL! Years ago I came up with a remedy for our lack of green. It was a day I was under intense pressure to have a solution in very little time. With that being said, this project takes no time at all and has a very adorable end result!

You will need:

green felt
small white buttons
needle & thread
scissors
hot glue gun
hair clips or bobby pins
mini safety pins
small straight pin
clovers template (click here: clovers)

method:

Print clovers template.
Cut out desired sizes of clovers (I used the smaller sizes).
Use a straight pin to attach clover to felt.

4. Cut around clover pattern.

5. Stitch small white button onto clover.

6. For hair clips or bobby pins, use hot glue to affix clover.

7. For a lapel pin, use the small safety pin to attach to both the clothing and the clover.

My work here is done. You now have pinch insurance. You’re welcome!

xo.

Pete

Shop Kid’s Easter Clothes Online

March 1, 2017March 3, 2017Leave a comment

Hey Guys! Easter this year is April 16th. I have to say that more than once in my years of parenthood, I have been shopping for Easter clothes in some of my favorite stores and just can’t find what I’m looking for. A lot of times stores skip ahead to summer themes and so many shops just don’t carry boys’ ties and dress clothes. I just recently checked some hot spots online and found multiple sales for PERFECT Easter clothes. I jumped on it so that I’ll have plenty of time for shipping. Here are some great options that I found.

P.S. Such a bonus to shop and support some local art moms like Hum and Freshly Picked!

newe2

newe1

Mini Boden, Hum Stitchery, June and January, & Apparel, J. Crew, Target, Freshly Picked, Called to Surf, Saltwater Sandals

Feeling Lucky Banner

February 24, 2017February 23, 2017Leave a comment

Are ya feelin’ lucky? This cute banner will put you in a lucky mood…or at the very least get you to finally take down those Valentine’s Day decorations! Ahem, Terese. Anywho, here’s what you’ll need to get started on this project:

glitter letters or gold glitter cardstock
green glitter cardstock
cute twine
scissors and/or Exacto knife
hot glue gun
printed clover & letters template (click here: feelinglucky)

First of all, let me apologize now if you never purchased these adorable glitter letters from the Dollar Spot at Target last year. They make this project a snap! If you didn’t, I got you covered! Using the letter template I provided above will work just as well–it will just take a bit more time. If it makes you feel any better, I had to supplement a few missing letters myself!

To begin:

Print out feelinglucky template.
Either cut out items on template and trace around them onto the glitter paper or use transfer paper to transfer them onto the glitter paper. Note: Trace/transfer two clovers facing opposite directions. Also, be mindful that you need to have the letters backwards on the back of the glitter paper so they face the right direction on the glitter side!

3. Cut out images on the glitter paper. Small scissors work well, but you may need an Exacto knife for tight areas.

4. Lay all of your cut pieces out along your twine to help you determine spacing and how long your banner will be. I like to wait to cut the twine from the spool until I’ve done this and make sure to give myself a few extra inches.

5. Place a dab of hot glue on the top of each clover and letter and place it on its designated area of the twine. Make sure you are protecting your work surface with something that hot glue can be removed from easily (i.e. a plate or plastic cutting board). As each piece is cooling, gently lift from the work surface to ensure that it isn’t completely stuck to it.

6. Once the glue has cooled you’re ready to hang your banner!

May the luck of the Irish be with you!

xo.