Coloring Easter Eggs

 Children and adults love to decorate Easter eggs for the big

hunt or to use for decorations around the home. My children
and I have experimented with a few ideas and wanted to pass
them along to you. As always use precautions when working on
any kind of project.

You will need to have your eggs boiled for these projects.

Color Your Eggs with Food Coloring

Have a small bowl for each food coloring color you want to
use and any mixed colors you want to make. Add 1 cup of hot
water along with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to each bowl
and then measure ¼ teaspoon of food coloring into each bowl
and mix. Then add your eggs to the mixture and allow them to
soak until you get the desired color you want about 5
minutes or longer.

Refer to this chart as a guideline to make other colors with
basic food coloring. For deeper colors add more until you
get the color you prefer.

Purple – About 5 drops of red coloring and 15 drops of blue
Teal – 5 drops of blue coloring and 15 drops of green
Raspberry – 14 drops of red coloring and 6 drops of blue

Making Designs on The Eggs

To make various designs on the eggs you can use some of the
ideas below.

Marbleized Look

Simply place several eggs in a strainer type bowl and pour
vinegar over them, after this is done drip, a few drops of
your food coloring choice and roll them around in the
strainer and then proceed to add your other color choices
until you get the effect you are looking for. Let each color
set on the eggs about 30 seconds before adding the next
color. Then rinse them and let dry.

Rubber Band Technique

For this you will need a large rubber band to wrap around
the egg several times but still leaving some of the egg
shell exposed. Then you put the egg in the food color of
your choice and allow it to sit until you get the desired
effect you want. Rinse with cool water and then let dry.

White Crayon Messages

Use a white crayon to draw designs or write things on the
eggshell. The next step is to put the egg in the food color
of your choice and allow it to sit until you get the desired
effect you want. Rinse with cool water and then let dry.

I hope you find these ideas and tips helpful and fun as an
Easter activity for the family. Just remember that candy
eggs are fun to eat, and plastic eggs are fun to find with
treats inside but coloring your own Easter eggs is an
activity in which you can make some fun memories.

The Hat by Jan Brett Activities

 The Hat by Jan Brett Activities

This is an easy activity to put together for the kids. You can put up a line with clothes pins inside the house and let the kids hang up clothes on the line and then get out all their stuffed animals and let them each get a hat off the line. You can also put the clothes in a basket if you have no way of putting a makeshift clothesline in the house.

You can also put a sock on a stuffed animals head and hide it and have the children look for it and even let them hide it from each other.

These are simple activities, but fun doesn't have to be complicated

Rock Ladybugs and Frogs

 

I found this great blog called Unplug your Kids and each week she gives something for the kids to work with and this week the project is Stone, so we painted rocks. We just went outside and gathered some stones and then washed them and let them dry and my daughter painted lady bugs and frogs.

Snowflake Tortillas

Flour Tortillas
Scissors
Powdered Sugar

Gently fold the tortillas into quarters, be careful not to break them. Cut pieces out to make a snowflake design. (Like the paper snowflakes)

Then you (the adult) fry tortilla until it is crispy. Then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Tips for Easier Christmas Season

 1.Use gift bags instead of wrapping gifts. So much easier and you can still use cute little package tie-ons for the bag handles such as candy canes, ornaments or anything you can think of.

2.If you are stressed about what to give someone for Christmas simply give them a gift card in a mini stocking. Most people get too stressed over gifts for co-workers and friends that it takes the fun out of the holiday. I get gifts for those that are not closest to me first so I can concentrate on getting gifts for my children and husband. (Which are more fun to shop for because I know what they want or would like.)

3.Wrap gifts or put in bags as you get them, so you don't have a huge pile to wrap on Christmas eve.

4.Indulge in something for yourself. I love to splurge and drink the whole quart of eggnog (It is just an added bonus that no one else in my family likes it and a good thing it is only around for the holiday season.)

5.If you have to contribute to the family dinner, get what you're supposed to bring ahead of time on your next grocery trip. Then you have it on hand and ready. If you cook the meal, ask your guests to bring their favorite dish Saving you lots of time and stress.

Countdown to Christmas Craft

 This is a simple craft activity for the whole family.

It lets them keep Christ in Christmas!

You simply get some green poster board or wrapping paper and cut out a Christmas Tree shape.

 

Tape this to the wall.

Then you cut out Christmas Ornaments (balls) from construction paper or wrapping paper.

 

Then you number the balls 1-25 and on the other side you write a Bible verse about the Christmas story, etc.

Tape these to the tree.

 

Then on the first day you turn over the ornament with #25 written on it and someone reads the Bible verse and you tape it back up with the verse side up.

Do this each day and end on Christmas Morning.

 

The remaining balls tell the family how many days are left until Christmas.

 

Great for kids wanting to know how many days left until Christmas-all they have to do is look at the tree.

Snowman Biscuit Snack

 Snowman Snack

You will need three refrigerated biscuits per person and
place them vertically on a piece of foil to resemble a
snowman. You can use pretzel sticks and raisins for the
snowman's arms, eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons. Place the
foil on a baking sheet and bake as directed on the biscuit
package.

Old Fashion Molasses Popcorn Ball Recipe

•  4 Quarts Popped Corn (with hard kernels removed)
• 3/4 Cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Cups Molasses
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

 

Boil the molasses, sugar, butter, and salt, stirring occasionally until mixture forms hard ball in cold water. I boiled mine to about 250 degrees on a candy thrmometer. Remove from heat, add baking soda and mix well.

Pour over popped corn, stirring so that each kernel is coated. Very quickly form into a ball with well-buttered hands. I put plastic baggies on my hands and then sprayed them with cooking spray oil. Place the formed balls on wax paper to set. I then wrapped mine in plastic wrap.

Easy Easter Activities

 Here are some easy ways to celebrate Easter with the kids.

 

1.Make paper plate bunnies. Simply take one white paper plate and cut 2 ear shapes from it and staple or glue them to the top of another white paper plate and draw a face on it. Glue cotton balls around the edge of the plate.

 

 

2.Cut out construction paper Easter eggs and color and paint them to hang around the house.

 

3.Use rabbit, chick, cross and egg shaped cookie cutters for toast, sandwiches, brownies, rice krispie treats and more.

 

4.Color your own eggs by making your own egg dye. Try beet juice, kool aid and anything that has color.

 

5.Make Easter egg holders, cut empty paper towel tubes about 2 inches each and wrap in colorful paper. You can then sit your eggs on them.

 

6.Cut out construction paper egg shapes and write a Bible verse on each one about what Easter is really about.

 

7.Make small Easter baskets and deliver to nursing homes to those residents that never get visitors and to your elderly neighbors.

 

8.Read the Easter story in the Bible and some Easter books.

 

9.Have an Easter egg hunt and invite children of the community.

 

10.Decorate an outside tree with plastic Easter eggs.

 

11. Have a special breakfast, lunch or dinner on Easter Sunday!

How to Make a Heart Shaped Cake

 No need to have a heart shaped cake pan to make this easy cake!

You Will Need:

1 Square Cake Pan
1 Round Cake Pan
1 Box of your favorite cake mix
1 Can of your favorite icing (or make your own)
Decorative sprinkles, candy red hots, candy conversation
hearts, etc.


How To Make a Heart Shaped Cake:
Grease and flour cake pan bottoms.
Mix cake mix as directions require and pour into square and
round pan.
Bake as cake mix directions require.
Let cakes cool. When they are cool place the square cake on
your serving dish so it looks like a diamond shape and then
cut the round cake in half. Put one half of the round cake
on each side of the square cake so that it looks like a
heart.
Ice cake and decorate with assorted candies.

Fall Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Take the kids outside and have a fall scavenger hunt. You can make a

checklist with the items they are to find. If the children are too
young to read you can draw pictures of the items or better yet go
along and help them. Get a bag to put your items in.

Some ideas to put on your scavenger list:

Acorns
Leaves - such as a red, green, yellow or brown
Rocks
Pinecones
Twigs
Seed Pods

I am sure you can think of some more items to add to the list and if
you do please leave a comment for me.

When you get home with the items you can place them on a table or put
them in a clear bowl for a fall harvest display.

Granola Balls

 These are easy and healthy snacks. I like them and so does my son. They are very filling and better for you than chips or candy

Granola Balls

1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and shape into small balls and store in fridge.

Tip - I think these would also be good to replace the chocolate chips with pecans or some other type of nuts.

3 changes I Made in Cooking

 A few years ago I made three changes in the products I use to prepare my meals. I try to cook most things from scratch but I don't always do that, and my family has certain things they like from a box, but I switched the following in my cooking:

Iodized Table Salt for Real Salt

I no longer use regular salt for my cooking instead I use real salt. You can see the minerals and everything still in the salt it has not been removed. I buy it in bulk at my local health food store, but you can also get it online.

I use a pint jar for my shaker. I simply cut the top off an old table salt container and added it under a can ring instead of the can flat and it is easy to use. The salt does cake some and you have to give it a good shake before you use it but that is because it doesn't have any caking ingredients in it. Sometimes you might get a little grit from a mineral but other than that it is great and healthier.

Margarine for Real Butter

Real butter costs a little more but taste so much better and is so much better for you. You can buy organic but I usually just get the store brand at Save A Lot but I believe the Aldi brand is cheaper.

Vegetable Oil for Olive Oil

I can tell a big difference in my families health when they eat something cooked in another oil they get a belly ache very fast. I have heard coconut oil is good but haven't tried it yet. I use the store brand in the light or mild taste. I use it in all my cooking even my cakes and brownies and they turn out just fine.

These are three of the main things I try to use in all of my cooking. I would love to replace sugar with something else soon. Do you have any switches you have made?

Creamsicle Punch

This recipe tastes like a Creamsicle.

2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
2 cups orange sherbet
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
4 cups 7 up (I used the store brand for this)

Mix ice cream, sherbet and orange juice together and then add 7 up and mix and serve

Peanut Butter Cookies

 We made peanut butter cookies today. My daughter made the cookies and I cleaned the mess.

Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening ( we used cooking oil)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine first 5 ingredients until mixed well then add the egg and beat until blended in. Add in flour and mix well. Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork. Bake for about 8 minutes.

Amish Saying About Home

 A house is made of walls and beams; a home is made of love and dreams. ~ Amish Saying ~

French Toast Pound Cake

 This is a very sweet French toast dish.

Pound Cake, sliced
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

Whisk eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and milk together. Dip sliced pound cake and fry them in a pan with the butter until brown on each side.

Strawberry Julius Drink Recipe

 This is a very good drink and easy to make.

Strawberry Julius

1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup ice cold water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put all into a blender and blend smooth and serve. You can add ice to the mixture in the blender if you want it.

Grape Salad Recipe

 I love this recipe for grape salad. When we have dinners at church one of the ladies always brings it and she gave me the recipe and I wanted to share it with you. My daughter and I are the only ones that like it at our house but that is just fine with us.

Grape Salad Recipe

3 lbs. seedless grapes (I didn't use that many)
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cool whip

Mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped topping. Then add the grapes and stir in until well mixed.

Topping for Grape Salad

2 cups oats
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (I didn't hardly have a half cup and I tried to crush them to make more smaller pieces)
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter, melted

Mix and sprinkle on top of mixture and then refrigerate.

*Idea - I thought it might be good if you toasted the topping in the oven before adding it on top of the mix. It would make it crunchy. I may try that the next time

Celebrating Bird month in February

 February is National Bird Feeding Month. 

• My daughter and I have been making bird feeders and just throwing the bird seed out for the birds to eat. She has also been counting birds for The Great Backyard Bird Count.

• We printed these cute birds and cut them out and punched holes and will be making a banner with them or just hanging them from the ceiling to "fly" around the room.

• In the first picture we used cookie cutters and cut out the stale ends of bread and then spread with peanut butter and put the bird seeds on top. I used a drinking straw to poke a hole at the tip and tied ribbon through it to hang from trees outside.


• The last picture is a toilet paper roll smeared with peanut butter and rolled in birdseed. Then to hang it for the birds just stick it on a limb of the tree - no ribbon needed.

More Ideas:

• Listen to bird sounds on your computer through this website.
• Print out this free Backyard Birds Lapbook.
• Watch videos on how to draw birds and then draw some.
• Great activity to learn how birds use their beaks.
• View nest cams on youtube.
• We also will be getting some colorful yarn and cutting into smaller pieces and putting around so the birds can get it and use in their nests.

Robin Craft Fork weaving

 We made robins today by fork weaving. I had never heard of it, but it was fun, and the birds turned out cute. We made a nest for them and my daughter got a twig from the yard and glued the nest to it. You can find how to make them at Almost Unschoolers as well as the book that would go along with this craft.

The Almost Unschoolers blog is full of great ideas.

Easy Easter Egg Garland

This is an easy Easter egg garland to make using string and plastic eggs. I just used a length of yarn that fit to my curtain rod size and then opened the plastic eggs and closed them on the yarn. You could use any type of string you have on hand. Even a long strip of cloth would work as long as the eggs would snap shut over it. 

Easy Easter Centerpiece

This is a very easy and inexpensive center piece to make. I just took some plastic eggs and put in a clear glass bowl I had and put it on the table. You could also add the basket grass to the bowl and then put the eggs in.

Jars, vases and baskets would also be a great idea to put the eggs in and decorate around other areas of your home.

Confetti Easter Egg Craft

We finally made confetti eggs this year. You need empty eggshells, glue, tissue paper scraps and confetti. You can make your own confetti by hole punching colored construction paper, but I found a big bag for 1.00 at the dollar store. We used glue sticks, but you could also use bottled glue.

To empty the eggs, I just took a butter knife and gently hit the small end of the egg straight down into it and then pulled the shell away until I got a small opening and then poured the egg into a bowl (I made scrambled eggs with these) wash out the eggshell and let it dry inside completely. Glue on tissue paper add the confetti in the egg and put a larger piece of paper over the hole and we nestled ours into a coffee filter nest. On Easter they can throw them and let the confetti fly.

Easy to Make Bunny Bread

Use frozen bread dough to make bunny rabbits. We did this and tried several different bunny shapes. Play with it like play dough and form the bunnies.

We used almond slices for the bunny teeth. You could also use your own bread dough that you make in place of the frozen dough. Raisins, chocolate chips or anything small can be used as eyes.

Yarn Easter Eggs

 My daughter made these yarn eggs by taking a plastic egg and wrapping it with yarn. She glued the pastel-colored yarn on and taped the red yarn on.

Drink Tab Picture Hangers

 I needed something to hang these cute little trays that my aunt gave me and since my family drinks lots of soft drinks I used the can tabs and hot glued them on. if you do this please make sure the picture you are hanging is light weight.