Just Add Stickers

Branches from the Dollar Store (much easier than walking through  the snow to gather branches) Easter is just around the corner (along with Spring?) When I was at my parent's house last weekend my mom took out the decorations for the Easter egg tree. My grandmother started the Easter egg tree tradition when she saw a picture in a magazine and she had my mom decorating eggs while on Easter break from nursing school. The tradition stuck and I have many good memories decorating  eggs with my cousins at her dining room table. The box of Easter decorations  Taking out the Easter decorations is like taking out the Christmas decorations. There are the favourites, the ones we made when we were little and ones that are clearly from the 80s. Brooms and hats    Every year at my mom's house we make new eggs and other decorations, some last and some (many) break but making the eggs is a tradition in itself. And this year, for the first time I am going to ma...

Knights and dragons and princesses oh my! We made these felt crowns when the paper one my little one was using became more tape than paper. Time: 30 minutes plus drying time Cost: Under $10.00 Material: Felt sheets Fabric paint Needle and thread Scissors Directions: Fold the felt sheets in half. Cut zigzags along the folded side of the felt. Lay the strips of felt on the table. Decorate with the fabric paint. Let dry Once the paint is dry sew the ends together. That's all have fun!

Spring officially starts in 2 days but I'm not sure if Mother Nature is ready to start with the Spring weather anytime soon (not here anyways!) So in the spirit of starting with or without Mother Nature we made these wilt-free wooden flowers that bring the spring indoors. Cost: $6.00 Time: 30 minutes plus drying time Material: Wooden flower sticks (by Elmer come in packs of 10 for $2.00) Flower pots (plastic or terracotta depending on what you have and if you want to paint them) Paint Stickers Dry floral foam Paper shreds Directions: Cover your work space with newspaper, lay out the wooden flowers, paint, water, brushes, paper towels etc. Paint the flowers. Set aside to dry. Paint the flower pots or decorate with stickers. We did both (I did all the painting of the flower pots, afraid of breaking) Cut the foam into smaller pieces to fit inside the flower pots. Arrange the flowers in the pots. Cover the foam with pape...

St-Patrick's day is almost here! A day to celebrate Irish heritage which we do mostly by wearing green, going to the parade, drinking Guinness and/or Bailey's and eating corned beef and cabbage (my dad's favourite!)  In preparation for St-Patrick's day we had an Irish inspired painting session. We painted mostly shamrocks and rainbows, then turned our little paintings into decorations. Aside from the traditional green orange and white you can also print or write a favourite Irish saying or blessing and place it in a frame. Our Irish inspired paintings And a little treat for the parents: homemade Irish Cream!   The makings of Irish Cream  1/2 ounce of whiskey 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao 1 ounce of cream (half & half) Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with 2 ice cubes. Shake well and pour into a glass. Sláinte!

Stamps are the new stickers! This is a great and creative way to help your children practice the alphabet while getting to paint. Time: 20 minutes Cost: $5.00 Material: Alphabet Stamps Paint Paper Pencil Directions: Write the alphabet, words and names on the paper Set out the paints and stamps on the table Have your children stamp the letter on top of the letters you wrote That's all, it's fun and simple enjoy!

  Orange cake with chocolate icing When I was 3 or 4 years old my dad brought me to a school fair and I won a cookbook.  I was very  disappointed that it wasn't a toy but 30 some odd years later I still have the cookbook.  My first cookbook  My absolute favourite recipe in this cookbook is for orange cake. It is the first cake I made by myself and it became my staple cake I made it for every birthday mother's day and father's day. It's still my favourite cake to make because it's so simple. Ingredients: 1/2 cup of butter 1 cup of sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup orange juice Preheat oven to 350 grease a round cake pan Mix all ingredients together Bake for 25 minutes