Spring is in the Air

I am busy getting my warm weather clothes out and putting away those sweaters! Along with that, I am also getting a few of my little displays for outside the house up from the cellar. The changing of seasons is always something I look forward to. Fall might be my favorite with Spring coming in a close second. In actuality, I don’t mind any season, even Winter. They all have their own special sights, sounds and smells and the added bonus is that I love to decorate!

Recipes

Oatmeal Biscuits (smalltownwoman.com)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter (well chilled)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons honey

GLAZE

• 2 tablespoons butter melted
• 2 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves.  Cut in butter using a pastry knife until crumbly.  Stir in oats, milk, and honey; just until moistened.  Move to a well-floured work space and pat out to about 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  Cut with a 2 1/2-inch floured biscuit cutter. Rework the dough and cut more biscuits.  Place on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Stir together melted butter and honey. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of the biscuits with honey butter.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

These were super yummy and very soft. They were perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Jello/Marshmallow Candy (cakewhiz.com)

These are great for any ae but the kids especially would enjoy making and eating them.

• 3 oz Jell-O Whatever flavor you like: Orange, Cherry, Raspberry, Lemon, Lime gelatin e.t.c
• 1/2 cup Water Warm
• 1 1/2 cups Marshmallows Mini
• 1/2 cup Sugar Granulated or Sanding

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, add JELL-O gelatin and water and whisk everything together. 
• Microwave for 1-2 minutes until gelatin is fully dissolved. Be sure to stop halfway to whisk everything together. 
• Add marshmallows and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until they are slightly melted and “poofy.”
• Whisk mixture together until smooth with no lumps. 
• Pour mixture in a lightly oiled square pan (Dimensions: 9×9). 
• Chill in the fridge for about 50 minutes. 
• If you are adding a second layer of JELL-O mixture, follow steps 1-4 again and add the same amount of ingredients again and pour that mixture on top of this set layer. Chill for another 50 minutes. 
• Once this marshmallow mixture has set, run a sharp knife around the edges. 
• Then, flip it onto a cookie tray, lined with foil paper that’s been sprayed with oil. 
• Use a sharp knife to cut cubes. It helps to spray some oil on the knife blade to prevent it from sticking to the cubes and making a mess. 
• Roll them in a bowl of sugar or sprinkles until fully coated and arrange them on a serving dish. 
• If you are making rolls, cut 1 inch strips instead of cubes and roll them from one end to the other end and push a lollipop stick to hold the shape.  Sprinkle some sugar and enjoy!

Rainbow Poke Cake (bakemesomesugar.com)

• Box Cake Mix + Ingredients On Box
• Jello 3 ounce boxes – I used 4 flavors
• Water
• 1 Whipped Cream 8 ounce tub

• The first thing you want to do is preheat the oven and mix up the boxed white cake mix as directed on the box. I used a 9×13 pan and baked according to the box.
• Once the cake is done, remove and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then use a wooden skewer and poke holes all over the cake. It will tear up the top of the cake slightly but that is okay.
• Now you will take 1 cup boiling water per Jello box. Mix the 3-ounce packet of Jello with the hot water. Stir till the granules are melted. Then pour in 1/8 cup cold water.
• Repeat till you do all 4 colors of Jello. You can do as many colors as you want. There will be a leftover Jello mixture.
• Carefully pour the Jello liquid onto portions of the cake. This will create a rainbow poke cake look.
• Cover and refrigerate the cake 3-4 hours.
• Once cooled top with a tub of whipped cream. Top with sprinkles if you want.
• Slice and serve up this colorful poke cake.

Easter Graham Cracker Dippers (thesimpleparent.com)

• Graham Crackers
• White chocolate chips or candy melts
• Easter or pastel colored sprinkles

• Break the graham crackers into quarters.
• Microwave white chocolate chips on 50% power for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
• Once the chocolate is melted dip the graham cracker rectangles halfway into the melted chocolate and set on parchment paper.
• Decorate with sprinkles while the chocolate is still soft.
• Set in the fridge for 15 minutes to let the chocolate harden and enjoy!

I used almond bark to dip the crackers in and used sprinkles.

Hacks

• Wrinkly shirt/top? Throw it in the dryer with a few ice cubes or a wet washcloth. Run for 5 minutes. Wrinkles gone!
• Ordering online, even if you pay a delivery cost, will save you money in the end since you would be lured by impulse buys. Always search Google for promo codes or coupons at the site you’re ordering from. Cha-Ching!
• Have your weekends on Wednesdays and Thursday. Most inns, resorts, hotels, restaurants, have better deals during the week than Saturday and Sunday prices.
• For energy stovetop cooking match the size of your pan to the burner size. You can save about $36 a year with an electric stove and $18 with a gas stove.
• Things go wrong with your toaster when crumbs accumulate at the bottom of the toaster. Open that door on the bottom and get those crumbs out. Don’t shake the toaster upside down. Crumbs can lodge in crevices and cause damage.
• Don’t settle for just ok asparagus. A lot of recipes call for roasting asparagus at 400 degrees. They have a great sear and are crisp andf tender if you blast them in a 500 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
• You can make your own “homemade” Goo Gone. Just mix 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to 2 teaspoons of baking soda (of course you can double or triple the amounts if you need more). Dip a paper towel or cloth in it and rub away that sticky residue.
• Getting a bunch of business cards at a conference? Stop cramming them all into your purse or wallet. Just take pictures of them instead.

Crafts

To make this adorable carrot is so easy! I just bought carrot treat bags at Dollar Tree which come 2 in a pack. I cut thr drawstring top off and stuffed the bag with fiber fill. Before tying it shut with jute, I stuck some fern, also from DT, in to look like the carrot top. I fashioned a little bow tied on with the jute I used to close the bag up and then hot glued a little button the center of the bow. You could make a loop for hanging or just put it on a table top as I did.

I had a 50th anniversary party to attend and was looking for something kind of sentimental to do as a gift. A friend had recently done a birthday card for a 12 year old with a penny for each year of her life. I adapted that idea for an anniversary. I had a collection of clear, glass, firgural banks and it took a little searching but I found one for each year. I cleaned them up with lemon juice and salt. On my computer I created the design I wanted and printed it out on card stock. I drew lines lightly with a ruler so that my rows would be straight and hot glued each penny in place. Finally, I framed it. I think it came out really nice.

Carrot Wreath

At my favorite store, DT, I found an orange metal carrot form. I cut out some burlap for it as a background and hot glued it on. Of course, we have to have a bow! Then to kind of put a little extra dash of cute, I added the little wooden carrot that I painte.

I love mason jars. There isn’t much you can’t do with them. This pin cushion/storage jar is so simple to make. I cut some fabric out a little larger than the insert in the lid. I put a ball of fiber fill on the lid insert, wrapped the fabric over the insert and secured the edges to the bottom with hot glue. Then I trimmed off excess fabric. Viola!

Bunny

I painted a wooden bunny cutout with white paint. Then I used Mod Podge to affix the top ply of an Easter napkin to this little guy. The final touch was a a cottontail! I used to as a hanger that I had glued to the back of the bunny (or really, in this case the front of the bunny, lol) and then glued a wooden popsicle stick over the jute to secure it.

This is a 10 inch metal wreath form to which I used white, yellow, pink, blue and lilac yarn to wrap it. The yarn was purposefully not wound around in any pattern or design but random. When I was done I hot glued a few sprigs of white artificial flowers on and 3 butterflies. I do like it and it is currently on my door. However, if I had been able to get the chenile yarn from DT I think it would have kicked it up a notch!

A friend of mine wanted a shirt to honor Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills football team. His number is 3 and he is known for making a heart symbol with his hands. When he awoke after collapsing with cardiac arrest during a game, his first words were, “Did we win?”. I used 3 colors of iron-on vinyl and I had to pay 99 cents for the hand symbol from Cricut. While I made hers, I thought, why not have one for me? Mine is pictured above.

Have a wonderful month!! See you in May!