Adding a Little Spring

I have a love of pretty placemats...but the funny thing is there actually aren't any placemats on the tables in my house. Instead we have placemats on our couch, and now we have placemats on our porch and in our yard!

I saw these really pretty placemats a Target a few weeks ago and knew that they were just the pop of spring color that I was missing in my front yard. I picked up three of them at $2.99 each, and for less than $10 I created a new garden flag and covered two outdoor pillows.  Let me start by saying that these were a little more heavy duty than the placemats I have bought previously, so I have a feeling they were made for outdoor use...and so far so good. 

 To make the garden flag, all I did was fold over one of the short ends of the placemat and sew in place making a loop to hang the flag. I didn't add any embellishment to the flag because I love the pattern of the placemat, but you could easily sew or glue on an initial or monogram.

 I also covered my outdoor pillows that sadly still had the black and orange covers on them from fall!

 To cover the pillows, I simply used my seam ripper to take out the seam from on of the short sides of the placemat. Then I slipped the placemat over the pillow and folded down the extra fabric.

I think these were just the thing my front yard needed to get ready for spring!

Dirt Cups

Last week, one of Grant's teacher asked if I would mind bringing Dirt Cups for the kids in his class. I said sure....no problem. The only problem was that I really hadn't ever made Dirt Cups before and I didn't have a recipe! Luckily my lovely blog/twitter friend Angie came to the rescue after I sent out a distress tweet asking for a recipe! She sweetly emailed me a copy of a recipe out of a church cookbook from her childhood! I used her recipe as a base, changed up a few things, and made it times 1 1/2 so that I would have plenty for the almost 30 kiddos in Grant's class!

:Dirt Cups:

2 packages of Oreos

3 8oz. packages of cream cheese

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 large box of instant chocolate pudding

3 cups of milk

12 oz of Cool Whip

gummie worms

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I started by putting one package of Oreos at a time in my food processor and letting them whirl!

 You want the cookie crumbs to be the texture of real dirt, and that only takes a few seconds in a food processor!

 In my lovely {but oh so old} KitchenAid mixer I added the 3 blocks of cream cheese and the 3 cups of powdered sugar. I slowly incorporated the two so that powdered sugar didn't fly all over my kitchen, then I set it on medium speed and let it go until it was well blended and a little fluffy.

 While that mixture was working, I added my pudding mix and 3 cups of milk into a bowl and whisked them together well to get out any lumps.

 Then I added in my Cool Whip and slowly whisked it in until the mixture was smooth.

 Next I added my pudding/Cool Whip mixture slowly into the cream cheese/powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low until all ingredients are well mixed making sure to scrap the sides of the bowl....the cream cheese mixture likes to hang out on the side of the bowl and not mix in so work it a little!

 The last thing I added to the mixture was about a third of the cookie crumbs from earlier. I didn't really measure, just dumped in enough to give the mixture a little fun texture!

The next part is one of the most important: quality control. Before you serve up this yummy mixture, you really should lick the beater to make sure that it taste just right....or at least that they way we roll at our house:)

 Scoop up the mixture into small clear cups and top the cups with the remaining cookie crumbs and a gummie worm!

 I think the kiddos in Grant's class are learning about insects this week, but this would also be a great snack for Earth Day next week too! It was seriously so yummy that we may be making it again next Friday:)



$50 Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed. CONGRATS to Michelle!
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I am SUPER excited about the giveaway that I have for you today!

Seriously, when I saw the email with Lisa's name on it in my inbox I was SO giddy about gettting to giveaway something...anything from her shop!

Have you seen her shop, Lisa Leonard Designs? If you haven't you should totally stop whatever you are doing right now and go over and check it out {just be prepared to drool over everything}!

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Lisa is best know for her gorgeous jewerly which she describes as meaningful, unique, handmade jewelry.
I love her newest piece, the
Molded Heart Necklace...

...and I have been in love with the Family Tree Necklace forever. Maybe if I leave the computer opened to her shop my hubby will catch on and get me something for Mother's Day:)
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Lisa not only makes beautiful jewelry, but she also makes home decor like this amazing Keepsake Bowl.

Seriously, who would not want one {or ten} of Lisa's beautiful pieces around their neck or in their homes!

One lucky person is going to win a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs.

 To enter:

Head over to Lisa's shop, look around, then come back and tell me your favorite item.



Follow Random Thougths of a SUPERMOM! and leave a comment telling me that you do. Sign up for Lisa's newsletter and leave a comment telling me you did.
Follow me {@SUPERMOM_Kelli} on twitter and leave a comment telling me that you do.  Follow Lisa {@lisaleonard} on twitter and leave a comment telling that you do.
Tweet about this giveaway and include a link to this giveaway in the tweet.

SUPER giveaway from @lisaleonard & @SUPERMOM_Kelli! Check it out at Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM! !http://tinyurl.com/5rqjqkn

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Make sure to leave a comment for each thing that you do. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end next Friday, April 22nd at midnight CST. I will use random.org to pick a winner! Good Luck and thanks for entering!