Dirt Cups Again

My boys are on spring break this week. That means lots of playing outside, little trips to make the week fun, and a few yummy treats to make things sweet. I thought these yummy dirt cups would be perfect for our week of outside spring break fun. So I'm re-posting this recipe from last year just in case any of you are looking for the perfect spring break treat this week too!

: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 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 scrape 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!

This is the perfect treat for my dirt loving boys to enjoy during spring break, and his would also be a great snack for Earth Day coming up in a few weeks too!

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Homemade Marshmallow Easter Eggs

I have been wanting to try my hand at making homemade marshmallows for quite a while now. I have seen a ton of recipes and blog posts taking about easy they are and how much better they taste than regular store bought marshmallows....plus you can make any shape you want when you make them yourself! But I was a little worried that homemade marshmallows were going to be SUPER time consuming and SUPER sticky, so I kept putting off making them. But since Easter weekend is here and I have been a major slacker about doing stuff with the boys lately, I figured homemade marshmallows would be a fun way to make up for it:) So yesterday while it was raining outside, we were making Hand-painted Homemade Marshmallow Easter Eggs...and they turned out really cute!

 I started by using Martha Stewart's recipe for homemade marshmallows. Basically you mix sugar, corn syrup, and water in a pot and then boil until it's at the soft ball stage. Next you pour the hot syrup into your mixer bowl that already has gelatin powder and water in it. Then you whip the mixture on high for around 12 minutes. BTW, I think Kitchenaid should sell earplugs with their mixers...that thing is LOUD when it runs on high for a long time! {Click over to MS to check out the whole recipe.}

 This is what your mixture will look like after you finish whipping it.

You pour the mixture into a parchment lined pan that has been oiled well. The recipe called for a 9 X 13 pan but I wanted my marshmallows to be a little thinner, so I used a cookie sheet. 

 Let the marshmallows sit uncovered for about three hours....and let someone lick the beater so all that yummy marshmallow creme doesn't go to waste:)

After the marshmallows have set for 3 hours, dump the pan out onto a surface that you sprinkle with plenty of powered sugar. You can use any cookie cutter you want, but since we were making Easter eggs, I used my egg shaped cutter. Dip your cookie cutter into a little bit of oil before cutting the marshmallow to keep the cutter from sticking.

 Use plenty of powdered sugar on the bottom, but be careful not to get too much on the top surface because that is the surface you are going to paint on and the powdered sugar will keep the color from sticking. Also be careful not to get too much oil on the top surface because it will keep the color from sticking too.

 After you have all your marshmallow eggs cut out, mix up some "paint". I used a little bit of gel food coloring stirred together with a little water. You could also use liquid food coloring diluted with just a little bit of water. Test out the colors on a scrap of marshmallow to make sure they aren't too watery before painting on your eggs.

 Then grab a few {just for food} paintbrushes and get creative.

The boys had a ton of fun "decorating" their eggs...but I think I may have had a little more fun than them! The best part about these Easter eggs is that they are SUPER sweet, just don't try hiding them!

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A Little Easter Happy

I'm pretty sure I've confessed my love for the Dollar Spot section at Target at least a hundred times here. I seriously can't go into Target without getting at least one SUPER cute item from the Dollar Spot. It is a great place to pick up treats for the kiddos, party favors, and holiday decor. But my favorite things to find in the Dollar Spot are "happies". You know the stuff I'm taking about...the cute stuff like notepads, picture frames, & pens. I also LOVE all the different containers!

The Dollar Spot is my go to place for teacher happies all year long! A few weeks ago I came across these cute metal buckets {with super adorable gingham ribbon handles} and I knew they would be perfect for some fun spring/Easter happies for the boys' teachers! 

 I picked up a few beauty supplies to place in the Dollar Spot buckets. I figured nail polish would be a great Easter gift so that their teachers could have pretty toes to go with new Easter dresses and shoes:)

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nail polish {$2 in the beauty section}

nail file {$1 on end cap in the beauty section}

nail polish remover pads {$2 for a pack of ten in the beauty section. Each teacher got two & they are inside the eggs}

Burts Bees Chap-stick {2 pack for $5. Each teacher got one}

 a pretty floral note pad {$1 in the Dollar Spot}

& a cute chalkboard sign {$1 in the Dollar Spot}

****

All that was left was to assemble!

I started by stuffing an empty Target bag into the bucket and then topping it with some white shredded paper....green Easter grass would be really cute too, but the only Easter grass I had was in the boys' baskets and I didn't want to steal theirs:) I wrote a cute Happy Easter note on the chalkboard sign and stuck in in the back, then added all the other happies to the bucket...including the filled Easter egg  to make it look extra Easter-y!

**So if you are looking for some happies to make someone's day a little more special, head to Target & the Dollar Spot!**

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March Recap Via Instagram

We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Somebody ate lots of peanuts.

 Jason and I took Henry and Grant to a concert. Building 429 was our fav and we are still rocking to their CD in the car everyday!

 I got new shoes in preparation for our big trip....

 ...then Eli wanted to show his shoes off too!

 I baked a yummy pound cake for our neighbor who had a death in their family.

 We worked on the Airstream...well Jason work. I helped a little and took pictures:)

 We cleaned the icky gross {but now clean after three gallons of bleach} water tank.

 Eli and I did a little thrift store shopping.

 Eli wrote his name for the first time. I was pretty impressed because we haven't really worked on it!

 Henry and Grant got free Krispy Kreme donuts for all their A's on their report card!

 Eli and I went shopping at Target.

 We had some really scary weather!

 I made Pecan Butter cookies for my sister...and sample a few of the broken ones.

 Four generations on a Friday night....Jason didn't know how to use the camera on my iPhone:)

 I accidentally put the milk and bread a little too close together in the car!

 We had pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner! Breakfast for dinner is always fun!

 Eli and I did some more Target shopping.

 Eli picked me some "flowers".

 Somebody thought it would be fun to put a bunch of dinosaur stickers on the stairs....and they are still there!

Never Underestimate the Power of a Hot Glue Gun

A couple of weeks ago, I came across this tutorial for Fabric Covered Roller Shades on Pinterest. I immediately pinned it to my Project Airstream board because I knew it was the perfect solution to replace the hideous 1970's wall to wall curtains that we took out of our Airstream. I kept the idea for those cute fabric covered roller shades in the back of my mind, and on one of the many days that we were shopping at Lowes last month I decided to grab a few of the cheap vinyl roller shades and experiment. 

Now if you can't tell from the title of this post, I did NOT start out using my hot glue gun first. Honestly I thought  for sure that the hot glue would melt the vinyl and make a huge mess. So I kept my trusty hot glue gun in the drawer and tried a few other things.

My first attempt was with spray adhesive {yes I know it's number 2 in the picture, but it was the one I tried first}. It was a major FAIL! The spray adhesive was way too sticky and it was nearly impossible to get the fabric attached to the shade without a ton a wrinkles. I sprayed the fabric and carefully placed it onto a scrap piece of roller shade, but it was really crooked and wrinkled. So I tried to reposistion it....and it just went downhill from there. Needless to say, spray adhesive is not the way to go when making fabric covered roller shades!
After the spray adhesive failed, I did a little more research and found a couple of people who said they used fabric glue. So I picked up a big bottle {for $12} at the fabric store, and came home all excited to make this project work the second time around. I was so sure that the fabric glue was going to work that I started with the actual shade and not a scrap. The only problem was that I think I was a little too excited because I used way too much fabric glue, which then soak through my fabric and left a gross dried glue film all the way up both sides of my roller shade...not a pretty look. I attempted to salvage the roller shade by covering the edges with some white ribbon, and it turned out okay. But I was not going to take the time to line all the edges of the {7 other} roller shades with ribbon...so it was on to plan C!
Plan C included my trusty hot glue gun {who I should probably apologize to for doubting}! I pulled out a scrap piece of roller shade, plugged in my hot glue gun, and decided that even if it instantly melted a huge hole right through the darn roller shade that I was at least going to give it a try! And surprise, surprise it worked! No melted hole, no soaking through the fabric, no weird dried glue film....just a perfectly attached piece of fabric! 
As of now I don't have a single shade finished and hanging to share with you, but I do at least know HOW I'm going to go about doing it now! And hopefully this post will help anybody who is thinking about making a cute {but not nearly as simple as it seems} Fabric Covered Roller Shade. When I do get all my roller shades covered and hanging in the Airstream, I will be sure to share a few pictures. And just in case you missed it, the moral of the story today is "Never Underestimate the Power of a Hot Glue Gun"!
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