DIY: Easter Napkin Wrap Round-Up

Since Easter is just around the corner, I decided to create a one-stop post featuring all my previous year’s related napkin wraps!  Also, I’ll be adding links to the new ones I plan to post here later this week.  To access the post with printable template simply click on the napkin wrap images below:

All templates above use Monterey BT font which is free to download from SoFontes.  New to Napkin Wraps?  No worries, visit this post for step-by-step instructions on how to use my napkin wrap templates!

DIY: Easter Egg Cupcake Toppers for $1

Today I have a super quick, super inexpensive, yet fun way to add a bit of Easter sparkle to cakes, cupcakes, sandwiches, or any yummy treat!

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Supplies Needed:
Easter Egg Food Toppers

  • Easter Egg Stickers – 2 for each topper to be made,  I picked up mine from the local dollar store. You can use other types of stickers just make sure they are symmetrical so they line up correctly when you reverse the one for the back.
  • Toothpicks

Instructions:

  1. Remove one sticker from the sheet and carefully adhere your toothpick to the stick back.  Make sure the toothpick is centered.Easter Egg Food Toppers
  2. Remove a second, same sized sticker and carefully line up the edges with the back of the first sticker.Easter Egg Food Toppers
  3. Press down around the edges to seal everything firmly.  Don’t worry if your edges don’t line up exactly, you can always trim with a pair of scissors if necessary.Easter Egg Food Toppers
  4. Repeat and Enjoy decorating your yummy treats!

Easter Egg Food Toppers

Cost Estimate: $1 & up

Stickers – $1.00 from local dollar store, but you could use stickers you already own just make sure they are symmetrical
Toothpicks – Free – On Hand

I love the little touch of shimmer these egg toppers add to even my breakfast doughnut, and for one measly dollar you can’t beat the price!  How will you dress up your yummy Easter treats?

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Review: Dutch Monkey Doughnuts

Buttermilk Cake Doughnut from Dutch Monkey

Buttermilk Cake Doughnut

Those of you who follow me on twitter have already heard of my love of these doughnuts, so today I’m sharing that love with the blogosphere.  Dutch Monkey Doughnuts is a small, local doughnut shop in the northern suburbs of Atlanta that believes in making things from scratch and as locally obtained as possible.  I had to smile when they posted the following tweet last week:

“So, a salesman from a doughnut shop supply company just dropped by, looking to add us as customers. The look on his face when I told him that we make all of our fillings, doughs and batters from scratch was priceless! “You make your blackberry jelly from real blackberries?” “Yup.””

These aren’t your standard glazed variety doughnut, with flavors like red velvet cake, carrot cake, jalapeno-cheddar w/bacon,  pineapple coconut lime fritters, and the infamous dutch monkey they take it to the next level.   I’m not a breakfast person but I love their cake doughnuts, they are like having permission to eat dessert for breakfast! 🙂  The standards are available daily (closed on Monday) but the real treat is the daily specials!

Standard Menu Includes: Raised Glazed, Chocolate Iced, Strawberry Iced, Cinnamon Sugar Rings, Buttermilk Cake, Creamsticks, Maple Bars, Apple Fritters, Cinnamon Twists, Buttered Maple Bacon, Lemon Meringue, Boston Creams, Cinnamon Rolls and The Dutch Monkey

Did I mention they also have the cutest little shop ever complete with porthole windows and step stools to allow the curious a glance at them hard at work in the kitchen?  If you are up GA 400 north direction take a detour off Exit 13 and pick up a yummy doughnut…I’m 100% certain you’ll thank me!

Dutch Monkey Doughnuts
3075 Ronald Reagan Blvd
Cumming, GA  30041

Tuesday through Friday – 5:30am – 4pm
Drive-thru open 5:30am – 9:30am  (weekdays only)

Saturday and Sunday – 7am – 1pm

Closed Monday

 

DIY: Valentines Day Round-Up

I hope each of you is having a wonderful Valentines Day!  Things have been very busy in our household this year, so I really haven’t crafted as much as normal.  However, that means I took a look back through the archives at the crafts from years past…and thought you might enjoy reviving some of these oldies but goodies as well!  Just click the link below the image to visit that tutorial.

DIY Large Matchbox Style Valentines (with template)

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Click to View Tutorial

DIY Valentine Napkin Wraps (with template)

Click to View Tutorial

Flower Power Decorated Dog Collar

Click to View Tutorial

Turn Dollar Store Candy into Cute Valentines

Click to View Tutorial

Semi-DIY: Valentines in a Snap for under $1

It’s been way too long since I posted a fun crafty treat and I’ve really missed it (and you guys)! Today’s Semi-DIY project is a quick and cheap way to dress up a simple box of candy.  It would be great for adults and the kiddos alike.  See…cute right?
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Supplies Needed:

  • Boxes of Conversation Hearts Candy – I picked mine up at the local Dollar Tree
  • Double Sided Tape
  • Scrapbook paper
  • Stickers or other decorative items

Instructions:

  1. Cut your scrapbook paper to the height and circumference of your candy boxes.  For the boxes I used the dimensions of the paper should be 3.5 inches wide by 7.5 inches long.
  2. Add a piece of double-sided tape to one end of the paper, and attach it to the back of your box.
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  3. Next, you will wrap the paper around the box and attach to the box with an additional piece of double-sided tape.  Do this underneath the overlaid section of the paper.
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  4. Decorate with stickers and other assorted goodies.DPP-2011ValSwap30
  5. Give to someone special!

Costs:

One of the great things about this project is that in additon to be simple, it’s also quite thrifty.  If you have a stash of scrapbook paper & stickers like I do then it’s virtually free since you just need to buy the candy.  My boxes of candy were purchased from the Dollar Tree in a package of 4 for $1 and you could also pick up fun Valentines stickers there as well.

$1.07 for 4, so 26 cents each!  Can’t beat that!

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DIY: Large Peppermint Candy Decor – Part II

Earlier I posted some photos from my inspiration candy pieces…they were white, glittery, and peppermint-y.  The plant saucers I have are clear…so that meant I needed to try to make them work as well as buying new white ones.  These took a bit longer than those in the first post since they needed some drying time, but we used them to decorate our mailbox just a bit.

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Supplies Needed:

Supply List

  • Transparent Cellophane  ($1 from dollar store)
  • Plant Saucers (mine were $1 from local dollar store and are 6 inches in diameter)
  • White Paint (I used some white spray paint from my stash)
  • Paints for peppermint colors
  • Ribbon ($1 from Big Lots)
  • School Glue ($1 from dollar store)
  • Glitter ($1 from Michael’s dollar bins)

Instructions:

  1. If starting with clear saucers start by painting them white.  You could use acrylic paint and a brush, or spray paint works great for this project.  I used a can leftover from another project and gave the saucers a quick light spray, and then let them dry thoroughly.
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  2. Once dry, it’s time to decorate your candy pieces.  I start by lighting outlining the shapes of the areas to be painted on the top of each piece with a pencil.
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  3. For painted pieces use your acrylic paint & brush to fill in each of the candy sections.  Sit aside to let dry (I leave mine overnight).
  4. For Glittery pieces fill in each of the candy sections with your school glue.  Use the paintbrush to fill in the spaces if necessary.  Then over a piece of paper apply your glitter.  Use the paper to reuse extra glitter until all glue is covered.  Sit aside and allow to dry (I leave mine overnight)
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  5. Cut your cellophane into pieces larger than your saucers.  I doubled the diameter of my saucer, so 12 inches square for each 6 inch saucer.  Don’t worry if you have too much on the sides you can trim that later.
  6. Lay your first saucer in the middle of one of your pre-cut cellophane pieces, open side up.
  7. Pull the bottom half of the cellophane up and over the top of the open saucer.  Secure it with tape.DPP-lgcandy-7
  8. Pull the top half of the cellophane down and hold closed with a tiny piece of tape.
  9. Now carefully gather one of the ends and tie with a piece of ribbon.   Don’t worry if your ends are a bit long, you can always trim them when they are finished. DPP-lgcandy-10
  10. Repeat the gathering and tying process on the remaining side.
  11. Now,  you are all ready to display your candy! DPP-lgcandy-12

Want to add your candy pieces to garland?

Easy, just slip pieces of floral wire behind your ribbon ties on each side and use to secure to your garland!

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Like these candy decorations?

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Then stick around…hopefully I’ll have a fun reuse candy bunting project to post later this week!

How do you decorate your mailbox?  Have any fun mailbox inspiration links to share?

Inspiration: Large Candy Decorations

I mentioned in my first post about the Large Candy decorations that was inspired by decorations I saw outside my local Pike Nursery last year.  It took me forever but I finally found those photos….see aren’t these huge candies fun?

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You can  see that they used large white saucers to make 24 inch pieces of candy to decorate the front of their store…who says businesses can’t be creative & crafty!  I’ll have the second large candy post up later tonight or first thing tomorrow and photos of how we used some of them.

How has a local businesses decorations inspired your own holiday creativity?

DIY Link: Yo-Yo Christmas Trees & Product Review

I’ve mentioned my love of Swap-Bot before, and today I’ll show off one of my latest projects that was shipped off several weeks ago to one of my swap partners.  The Yo-Yo Christmas Tree:

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Isn’t it cute?  I love to make yo-yo’s, making them is quite soothing to me for some reason.   Typically I have a pile of them laying around with no clue how to use them and after seeing a yo-yo pumpkin this fall thought I should attempt to make a tree.  Then I saw this fun tutorial from Kiwi at Heart and she had made exactly what I was dreaming up in my head.  She does a great job explaining the process…I only did one thing differently.

Where she uses templates to cut her circles, I decided to try out this fun little gadget I picked up 50% off at Joann’s a while back.

Olfa Circle CutterThe verdict?  I LOVE it!

PROS:
I was able to just adjust the setting to match her dimensions and cut the circles out with no templates.  It works much like using a string & pencil to draw a circle…only this bad boy has a sharp pin to hold it in place and a super shape rotary blade.  Such a time saver…especially when you love to make yo-yo’s as much as I do! I have a quilt I want to make this year that involves circles and I am thinking this little guy might be a life saver when I get to that point.  So if you cut out circles-o-plenty of like I do…it might be the best $15 you spend.

CONS:
It uses a really sharp rotary blade, so you absolutely must use a cutting mat underneath it.  It can also be a bit odd to hold and turn at first, but once you get the hang of it that isn’t really a problem.

Any other recommendations out there for yo-yo construction or quilting gadgets I might also find indispensable?  Please, share!!

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Make sure you check out the yo-yo tree tutorial:  Yo-Yo Christmas Tree Tutorial from Kiwi at Heart

You might also check out Mummy Crafts to see her take on the same tutorial, which also includes a template for cutting the circles.

Fine Print:  I have not been compensated in any way by either Joann’s or Olfa for my review of this product.  It is simply my opinion based on usage of the product I purchased.

DIY: Large Candy Decorations – Part 1

Can you believe it’s December already?  Wasn’t it just June?  I remember thinking the saying “time flies” was just one of those things older adults said. Much like walking to school in the snow, up hill both ways.  Sadly now I completely understand what they meant…this year has flown by!

Last year on a last minute, right before Christmas trip to Pike Nursery I noticed  their fun outdoor decorations.  They had these large peppermint patties.  It took me a minute but then it hit me…they made them.  So I snapped a photo thinking I should give it a try this year.

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Supplies Needed:

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  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Red (or any color)  cellophane wrap
  • Ribbon or twine
  • Clear Plastic Flower Pot Saucers (mine are 6 inch)

Instructions:

    1. Cut your cellophane into pieces larger than your saucers.  I doubled the diameter of my saucer, so 12 inches square for each 6 inch saucer.  Don’t worry if you have too much on the sides you can trim that later.
    2. Lay your first saucer in the middle of one of your pre-cut cellophane pieces, open side up.DPP-lgcandy7
    3. Pull the bottom half of the cellophane up and over the top of the open saucer.  Secure it with tape.DPP-lgcandy8

  1. Pull the top half of the cellophane down and hold closed with a tiny piece of tape.DPP-lgcandy9
  2. Now carefully gather one of the ends and tie with a small piece of twine.  You could also just use your decorative ribbon but since they will be outside I wanted to tie them with something a bit stronger.  Don’t worry if your ends are a bit long, you can always trim them when they are finished.
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  3. Repeat the gathering and tying process on the remaining side.
  4. Now, cut pieces of your decorative ribbon, and tie over the twine to decorate your candy.DPP-lgcandy14

Want to make your candy into an extra large bunting to hang along your front porch?

Easy, just add your bunting twine or robe in behind your ribbon ties, hang, and enjoy!

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Total Cost:

All of the supplies listed above were found at my local dollar store!  I spent a total of $3.00 which would make over 6 of these large candy pieces which supplies left over for a couple other projects you’ll see very soon
$1 and up

Like these candy decorations?
Then stick around…I’ll have additional ones later this week & next!

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Life: Thankful for Fall Y’all

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope each of you is filled to the brim with yummy vittles or will be very soon. Tonight the boy and I grilled up a couple steaks and whipped up some mashed potatoes. Sounds a bit “different” right? That’s ok though, because my mom had to work today so we’ll be cooking up the full feast worthy meal tomorrow. So while you folks are out shopping until you drop, I’ll be gobbling until I wobble. 😉

A few weeks ago we wandered up into North Georgia to check out the foliage and pick up some yummy jams & produce from Jaemor Farms. If that name sounds a bit familiar that’s because we gave away small jars of jam from there as our wedding favors.  They have all sorts of yummy things there, but one of our favorites are the fried pies.  They are ALMOST as yummy as the ones my grandmother was famous for.

DPP-fall10-8Pickled Asparagus anyone? or perhaps some Jalapeno Honey Mustard?DPP-fall10-10Or how about a colorful squash or two?DPP-fall10-9or some greens?

DPP-fall10-7This is Pecan Biscuit…isn’t he fun?DPP-fall10-4
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Needless to say we filled up a basket with tomatoes, fresh apples, dried apples, a couple jars of jam, 4 fried pies, a loaf of apple bread, and a cone of fresh peach ice cream.   Do you guys trek to a local orchard or farmers market for fresh veggies this time of year?

Fall Foto Contest