Chocolate Coconut Nests Recipe for Easter

I was experimenting in the kitchen a few days ago with some chocolate, and suddenly had the urge to try and make some cute little spring nests out of chocolate and coconut.  I could have gone with the more realistic chocolate brown color to make these nests, but decided that I wanted them to be lighter, a pretty blue pastel color perfect for spring!  

These little nests were a breeze to make, take almost no time at all to make, and are perfect for kids to help with.  You can use them as Easter or spring treats, or even as place settings for an Easter brunch.  They are just so irresistibly cute… 

Ingredients:

• Chocolate Melts (I used Wilton's)- in any color you like
• Shredded Coconut

To create the nests, you can either shape them yourself, or use some kind of mold.  I used an egg holder that I just bought from World Market, and it worked perfectly.  I also tried to make a nest with the smaller half of a plastic egg, and that also worked.  You could even use an egg carton as a mold to make these nests…. be creative!  

Directions:

1.  Spray whatever mold you are using with a cooking spray so that you can easily remove the nests.  Don't go skimpy on the cooking spray, or your nests can break when you are trying to remove them!

2.  Melt the chocolate melts according to the directions on the package.  I have a small Wilton chocolate  melting pot that I use and it works well to keep the chocolate warm so that I don't have to keep reheating the chocolate in the microwave.  Either way works!  

3.  Place some coconut in a small bowl, and add some melted chocolate to it.  Mix thoroughly, then drop by spoonfuls into the molds that you are using.  I wanted to be sure that the chocolate didn't harden too quickly while I was working with it, so I did this in small batches to make about three nests each time.  After dropping a spoonful or two of the mixture in my mold, I would use a spoon to push the mixture up the sides of my mold and hollow out a space in the middle so it looked like a real nest.  

4.  Let cool, and then use a butter knife to trace around the chocolate nests before carefully popping then out of the mold.  If you used enough cooking spray and enough chocolate, they should come out fairly easily.  Fill with robin egg candy, jelly beans, or any other egg-shaped candy that you'd like!  

But be careful.  If you leave the eggs in their nests for a few minutes, you just might come back to a nest full of hungry chicks.  ;)

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Painted Easter Bunny Jars

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you probably already know that I'm a huge fan of baby food jars.  What's not to love about them?  They're cute and petite, durable, and free if you have a baby, or a friend with a baby!  I thought I'd put the rest of my baby food jars to good use to create a cute Easter craft- painted Easter bunny jars!

These jars can be used as decor items, to fill with treats and give away to friends and family, or even as little favors or treats for everyone on the Easter table.  However you decide to use them, these cute little bunnies are very easy to make, and look great!

I put my big box of paint to use again that Krylon sent me (see yesterday's $2 candy dish post for another great use for their spray paint), but this time I used their Dual Paint + Primer in Modern White Gloss, which was perfect for the job because it is a paint and primer in one can that gives a great thick coverage, which means less coats for you to paint!

Supplies:

• Baby food jars (I used varying sizes of jars)
• White spray paint
• Pink and black multi-surface paint
• Small paintbrush
• Small piece of white felt
• Scissors (fabric scissors work best to cut the felt)
• Glue gun

Spray the outside each of the jars that you're using with white spray paint.  Make sure to spray multiple layers of thin, even coats for the best coverage and to avoid drips.  I sprayed these right side up on some newspaper with the lids left on, since I didn't want any paint going inside the jars (paint + food = big no no).  Let dry between coats, and then let the jars dry thoroughly before the next step.

Using a small paintbrush and some black multi-surface black craft paint, paint two tiny eyes, a little triangle nose, and a small line going straight down for the nose.  To add a little more color and character, once the black paint was dry I painted on two small pink circles for rosy cheeks.

While the cheeks are drying, cut out two ears for each bunny jar from the white felt.  I had planned on cutting two pink pieces to go inside the white ears, but realized two late that all of my pink felt had been used.  Use a glue gun to carefully glue a thick line of glue on the top center of the jar, and stick the ears right down in the glue and let cool.  This worked perfectly to create those cute little bunny ears!

And there you have it, adorable little bunny jars to decorate with or give away, that you made out of something that probably would have been thrown away!  Give yourself a pat on the back ;)

For more baby food jar fun, check out these popular projects that I've also made with baby food jars!

Rainbow Cakes in a Jar, perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or any time of the year.  You can even make these in custom colors for a birthday party or holiday!

Monsters University Mini Cakes, baked inside baby food jars.

Baby Food Jar Planter- You can make this great decor piece from a scrap piece of wood and baby food jars and use it as planters, vases, or candleholders!

Baby Food Jar Party Favors, customizable for any party.

xo, Laura

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

Have you ever used freezer paper as a stencil?  If not, it is a VERY easy way to create a unique, one of a kind shirt, bag, or whatever else you would like to make!

The process is easy: create, cut, and paint.  I'll walk you through each step, and you'll be on your way to your own custom shirts in no time!  This method I am going to show you how I made the elephant t-shirt for my son's Jungle Safari Birthday Party, the shirt for my daughter's Under the Sea Party (coming soon to the blog!), and many more fun shirts.  

Freezer paper stencils shirts are a great way to have a custom look for birthday shirts, holidays, or just for fun!  Freezer paper looks almost like wax paper, but it is not the same thing.  You can't do this with wax paper!  You can find freezer paper at Walmart, and maybe Target?  It comes in a big roll in a blue box, like wax paper, but the box is a bit bigger.

Supplies:

• Freezer Paper 
• Craft knife
• T-shirt (or other fabric to paint on)
• Iron
• Piece of cardboard (from box, cereal box, etc.)
• All surface craft paint or fabric paint
• Paintbrush (I used a stencil brush)

Directions:

1.  Create the design that you would like on the shirt.  You can do this on the computer, or by drawing. I like to find free clip art online, and then add words to it on my computer.  Make sure the design is the size that you would like the final product to be, and then print directly onto the freezer paper.  You can do this by cutting a piece of freezer paper to 8 1/2 x 11", and inserting into your ink jet printer shiny side  up (you will be printing on the paper side).  Print as usual.

2.  Using a craft knife on a safe surface (I use a self healing mat), carefully cut out the design.  The printed part that you are cutting out is the part that will be painted.  If you have letters or any part of the design that isn't just a silhouette, save those pieces!  You will need them soon.

3.  Place the stencil where you would like it on your t-shirt shiny side DOWN, and iron on the highest setting on your iron with no steam.  Leave the iron on each area for about 10-15 seconds, moving slowly.  Make sure to iron on any small pieces that were left out from cutting- for example, the middle circle in the lower case "a," etc.  If you don't iron on the little pieces, the whole thing will be painted (like the whole inside of an "a."  Make sense?

4.  Once the design is all ironed on, make sure that all of the pieces are secured to the shirt.  Place the piece of cardboard inside the shirt, so that the paint doesn't bleed through to the other side.  Paint the shirt any colors that you like, and let dry.  

5.  Now for the fun part!  Once the paint is completely dry, peel up the freezer paper by lifting carefully on a corner.  Slowly peel up all of the freezer paper, and be amazed at your beautiful shirt!

Freezer paper stenciling is SO easy, and is a great way to get a custom look without the custom price!  Once you buy a roll of freezer paper, it will last you forever.  The roll is huge!

Have fun with this technique- the possibilities are endless!  You can see my son wearing this shirt and all the details of his Jungle Safari Birthday Party here and here.  

For a great way to make your mornings much smoother, you can check out these free printable daily outfit closet organizers.  They've helped me out a TON!

Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Whipperberry, Tidy Mom

Enjoying Easter

How was your Easter?  We had a great day filled with two delicious dinners, two Easter egg hunts, two sets of grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles- oh, and about 12 tons of candy!!

This little guy couldn't care less about all of the eggs filled with toys and candy... but he did find every single ball in the yard, and tried to put them all in his basket.  Literally, he found at least 12 of the neighbor kids' balls!  Total and complete boy.

I hope your day was great!!  I took the weekend off from anything blogging related (which NEVER happens) so that I could spend some quality time with my family, but I'll be back tomorrow with another easy and fun DIY idea!  

xo, Laura

DIY Marbled Easter Egg Candles

Remember those pretty marbled Easter eggs I showed you yesterday?  And remember what half of them looked like when my little toddler dropped them on the floor and they broke?  A sad shattered mess. Well, I just couldn't bring myself to throw all that hard work and those beautiful swirls away!

So I turned them into marbled Easter egg candles!  Which was actually really easy, and all I had to buy were the wicks!  These candles would make a great decoration for your home for spring and Easter, and would be fun to light at the table for your Easter dinner.

Of course you don't have to marble these eggs for the candles, you could always leave them white, or just dye as usual using whatever colors you would like!

Supplies:

• Plain, dyed, or marbled eggs blown out eggs-  Here's my easy tutorial for how to make the marbled eggs (and how to blow out the insides of the eggs)
• Old candle, or candle wax (can buy at Michaels or Joanns)
• Candle wicks (can buy at Michaels or Joanns)- mine were 3 1/2", but 3" would be fine, too.
• Small amount of clay, play dough (or anything to plug up the hole in the bottom of the egg)
• A pot (don't worry, it won't even touch the wax!)
• Funnel

Directions:

1.  Blow out and die your eggs (if you plan on dying them) following my tutorial found here.  Cut the shell how you would like it with a small pair of scissors.  Place a small piece of clay, play dough, or whatever you'd like on the inside and outside bottom of the egg, so that it covers up the hole.  That way the wax won't go seeping out the hole in the bottom!  Place broken eggs in an egg carton to keep them straight and hold them up.  Add a wick to the middle of each egg.

2.  If you will be using old candles like I did for the wax, then place the candles in a large pot if they are in a glass container, and add some water to the pot so that it is about 3/4 of the way up the glass.  If you are using old wax pieces, then put them in another container, like a can, and add some water so that it is about 3/4 the way up the can.  If you want your wax to be colored, you can add a piece of crayon to it to give it a little color.  

3.  Boil the water until the wax is melted.  CAREFULLY remove the melted wax.  I used a grilling glove to hold the jar, and some tongs to pull the jar out.  Be careful, it's hot!!   Pour the hot wax into a funnel that leads to the inside of an egg shell.  I filled mine close to the top, but with a little space at the top.  Let wax cool, then trim the wick down to 1/4."

And there is the beautiful finished project... so pretty!!  I love that each candle has a unique marbled design, its' own blend of colors, and is cracked in its' own interesting way.  They are almost too pretty to burn.  Almost ;)

So are you ready for Easter?  It's so early this year!

xo, Laura

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Linking Up Here: 36th Avenue

Easy Marbled Easter Eggs Tutorial

When I saw Martha Stewart's marbled eggs in her magazine years ago, it was instant love.  I made a ton of my own marbled eggs within days of reading the article, and I have proudly displayed my little marbled Easter eggs this time of year ever since.

I love that each egg has its' own unique marbled pattern and mixture of colors.  I'll show you the fate of my beautiful eggs at the end of the post, but for now, I'd love to show you how easy it is to create your own set of pretty marbled Easter eggs that you can keep and reuse from year to year!

Although it looks like these little beauties took forever and a day to make, they're actually really quite simple to make- just one easy quick step beyond the usual way of dying Easter eggs.

Supplies:

• Eggs (whole or blown out- I prefer blown out, so they can be kept and reused from year to year)
• Food coloring or egg die tablets from egg dying kits
• White vinegar
• Oil (I used olive oil, but I'm sure vegetable oil works too)

Directions:

*** Note:  If you choose to use whole eggs, then skip to step #1. If you choose to blow out your eggs, here's what you need to do: Use something thin and sharp to poke a hole in the top and bottom of each egg.  Make sure that the hole in the bottom of the egg is a little bit bigger, so that the yolk will be able to be blown through it.  I used a scrap booking tool that I had to do this, but a small knife or scissors would also work.  I wiggled the long skinny tool inside to break up the yolk, but you can use anything skinny and long, like a paperclip that is pulled straight.  I used a baby aspirator to push out the yolks and whites out the bottom of each egg.  Be sure not to squeeze too hard, or the pressure can crack the whole egg... don't ask me how I know this ;)  And don't cut the egg like in the last photo- I made this collage for my tutorial for how to grow a geode in an eggshell- just follow the first two photos!

1.  First you need to dye your eggs just like you normally do.  You can use any colors that you like, but the lighter pastel colors look best for your base coat.  To make the dye, just add 3 Tbsp. of white vinegar to 1 cup of water, and then add about 20 drops of food coloring (or one egg dye tablet), and stir.  I dyed my eggs inside of mugs, one mug for each color.  Because my eggs were hollow, they wanted to float, so I just used a spoon to hold them down in the dye for the short time it took to color them.  Remove eggs when they are your desired color, and let dry.

2.  Now you'll need to make up another dye bath, but this one needs to be in a larger, shallow pan.  My 8" x 8" baking dish worked perfectly.  You'll need to add to the baking dish 3 cups of warm water, 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar, and 20 drops of food coloring.  Stir. Then add 1 Tbsp. of oil to the mixture, and mix it around with a fork, so that the oil is broken up and separated into long stripes and dots on the surface.

3.  Place your colored egg into the mixture, quickly roll it all around using a fork, and then take it out when you like the marble design.  Some of the eggs wouldn't turn very well with the fork, so I used my fingers, which worked well, but left me with dyed fingernails that are not pretty. Consider yourself warned :)  Gloves would be great to wear for this part.  Carefully dry with a paper towel, and let dry thoroughly.

If you'd like your eggs to have a high gloss shine and a little more durability, you can spray them with Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze.  I did this with my first set of eggs, but ran out of time to do it with my second set.  All I did was stick a wooden skewer stick in the hole in the bottom of the eggs, and then spray the eggs to give them a nice shine.

So I told you at the beginning of the post that I'd show you what happened to my little set of eggs that I've kept for years...

FYI, beautiful breakable eggs and a very active 19 month old definitely do NOT mix... grrrrrrrrr.....

I hope you give these marbled eggs a try!  They are so beautiful, and look much much harder than they really are to make.

And for another really cool idea, be sure to check out my tutorial for how to grow a geode in an egg.

Happy marbling!

xo, Laura

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Linking Up Here:  Lil' Luna, Someday Crafts, 36th Avenue

How To Grow A Geode In an Egg

Want to make some amazing looking geodes grow out of an egg, and teach your kids some science at the same time?  It's actually pretty easy, and the whole process takes under two days, most of that which is just watching and waiting. My daughter used this idea for her science project, too!

This idea comes from Martha Stewart, whose guest on her show, Dr. Figgy, taught how to make geodes out of eggs.  His directions to make these use a decent of alum, and only make 1 egg, or two egg halves.  Which is fine if you're Martha and have unlimited resources.  But for the average person, who wants to buy pounds and pounds of this stuff to grow a handful of eggs?  Not me!

So I've streamlined the process, and came up with a way to make 6 geode egg halves instead of just 2, and without buying more ingredients!  And I'll show you the ingredients to use in order to successfully grow your own geodes.  Interested?  Here's what I did...

Supplies:

• Alum (see note below for more details on what to buy)
• 3 eggs
• White glue (Elmer's works great, or any other white glue is fine)
• Paintbrush
• 6 small glass jars (I used small mason jelly jars)
• Food coloring
• Newspaper

** Note:  It is important to buy the right kind of alum for this project!  You must buy alum that is "potassium aluminum sulfate." If it is not potassium aluminum sulfate, the crystals will NOT grow. Some alum from grocery stores includes fillers, and the crystals will not grow.  

I used McCormick alum from the grocery store (it took 4 of the small jars), and it worked great!  You can also buy alum from Amazon if you can't find it locally, just make sure that it is potassium aluminum sulfate, not just aluminum sulfate.

Directions:

1.  There are two ways to open up your eggs.  You can crack them like you usually do to make scrambled eggs (easy).  Or you can do what I did, which is still easy, but takes a few extra minutes.  I poked a hole in the top and bottom of each egg.  I used a scrap booking tool that I had to do this, but a small knife or scissors would also work.  I wiggled the long skinny tool inside to break up the yolk, but you can use anything skinny and long, like a paperclip that is pulled straight.  I used a baby aspirator to push out the insides of the eggs out the bottom of each egg, and then used some small scrapbook scissors to cut the eggs vertically.  Your choice as to which method you use!  Next time I would probably just do it the easy and quick way :)

2.  Rinse out your eggs with some warm water, and use your fingers to remove the inside membrane from the shell, and let dry.  Use a paintbrush to paint white glue all over the inside and top of the eggs.  Generously sprinkle alum all over the glue, and let the egg shells sit out overnight to dry.  I used one small jar of McCormick's alum for this step. Make sure you wait til the next day to do the next step.

3.  This is where my directions differ from Martha's.  You'll need two cups of VERY hot water (almost boiling).  My tap water gets really hot, so I just used that, but you may need to heat yours up depending on the temperature your water is set to.  Add 3/4 cup of alum to the hot water, and continue stirring until the alum is completely dissolved.  For me, 3/4 cup of alum was exactly three small jars of McCormick's alum- perfect!  It is important that the crystals are completely dissolved!  If they do not dissolve after stirring, then place in the microwave for a minute at a time, to dissolve the alum.

4.  Once the crystals are completely dissolved, pour the mixture evenly into six small jars (see my photo).  The small mason jelly jars I used were the perfect size!  Add about 20-30 drops of food coloring to each jar, and stir the color in with a plastic spoon.  Feel free to mix colors!

5.  Let the mixture cool in the jars for about 15 minutes, and then carefully add one egg half to each jar, making sure that the egg half is completely covered by the colored alum mixture.  Let the eggs sit untouched for 12-24 hours.  You can carefully check an egg after 12 hours, and if you want larger crystals, then place the egg back in the solution for longer.  When your crystals are your preferred size, then carefully pull the egg halves out of the jars, and let them dry.

Now you have your own beautiful geode eggs!  I love that this project is pretty easy to do, but you can get such amazing results!!  If you would like to read the scientific explanation of what is happening, then you can read more about it here, at the bottom of the post.

My kids were very impressed with our geodes, and are already wanting to make another set of them.  And I just so happened to have bought an extra set of alum, so next week we're going to make these again, but with different colors.  These eggs would look really cool with the neon food coloring they have now too!  Hmmmm..... might need to try that now, too.

If you make these, let me know how they go!  It's pretty exciting to watch a broken eggshell transform into something so beautiful!

Speaking of beautiful eggs, you can easily make beautiful marbled Easter eggs that can be kept from year to year.

I still have some from a set I made more than 10 years ago!  Here's the tutorial with step by step photos to follow.  My kids love to help me make these!

If you happen to break some of your lovely marbled eggs (like my son did), then you can also make these pretty marbled Easter egg candles!

Another fun Easter craft to do with the kids are these fun Peeps pops, which come with free printable tags and are perfect for passing out to friends!

xo, Laura

For more great projects and ideas, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram. 

Linking Up Here: The 36th Avenue, House of Hepworths, Whipperberry, Tatertots & Jello, Lil' Luna, Someday Crafts