Spring Flower Balls

 

April showers bring May flowers!  We have certainly been getting plenty of rain (and snow) around here, but between my 4 year old daughter picking and the deer munching, I don't have as many flowers as I should!  I saw this darling idea at a bridal shower and couldn't wait to get started! The best news of all? All supplies were bought at Dollar Tree. I sure love that place....even though it becomes the Forty-Dollar-Tree each time I visit. 

Here's what you'll need:

Flowers (obviously)

Wiffle balls

Hot glue

Scissors

Ribbon (if hanging)

Start by taking the flowers apart, leaving some length of the stem like this. If they are small flowers, they might have two or three blossoms all connected with one stem. It's fine...

Put some hot glue around the holes and tuck the stem inside, pressing the flower onto the glue.

If you want to attach a ribbon, do it when you have just a couple of holes left to fill.  The first ball I made, I put the string in first and it just got in my way the whole time. But maybe you're more coordinated than I am!   Put the ribbon through two holes and tie at the top.

Tips:

Make sure your ribbon is long enough, mine were a little too short at first.

Use big flowers--it made the whole ball look bigger and fluffier. 

If the flowers are small, you can put a couple of stems in each hole.

You'll need 2-3 bunches per ball, depending on how big the flowers are and how tight you glue them on.

I wondered if these would be great smelling if I put some essential oil on a cotton ball and put it in the middle before I glued flowers on....but I haven't tried it yet.  Maybe they could help my car smell great!

And there you have it.  They sure add a splash of color!!

I got a little carried away with the picture taking....I wasn't sure what would look good! Here are all sorts of options.

*Contest Closed*

I want to give some of these away! Here's how to enter to win a set of Three Flower balls:

*Become a Follower of Happy Little Party, and leave me a comment telling me you did so

*Sign up for email updates to Happy Little Party and leave me a comment about it

*(If you already do these things, just leave a comment about it!)

Thanks and Good Luck!

Contest ends Tuesday, May 24 around noon

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Cinco de Mayo Sombrero Cookies

 I had to take dinner to a friend last year, and it happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo! I wanted to have a fun little treat for the kids, and remembered this cute idea I had seen in Family Fun.

This was before I blogged, so sorry there are no step-by-step photos, only this one!! It's really easy though...
Olé!

Ingredients:
round cookies (I just bought some cheap ones at Walmart--I wanted cookies that looked brownish)
White frosting
colorful, round sprinkles
Kraft Caramels

Unwrap a few caramels and heat in microwave for 12 seconds.  Shape half or whole caramel (depending how big you want it) like the top of the hat.  Spread frosting around edges of caramel and cookie, sprinkle on the colors or roll the edges in some sprinkles.

Also, check out this Queso Dip for your other Cinco de Mayo needs.

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Kid Food Craft--edible Spring Bird nests

Spring has come to some parts of the country, I assume!! In between the snow storms here in Utah I can hear a few birds outside, singing their lovely songs.  It was my turn to teach a preschool group this week and I decided this would be a fun and easy way to entertain 3 year olds while talking about spring!!

 Only a few ingredients are needed for this food craft, along with a LOT of wipes or towels for messy fingers!

Ingredients: 10 oz Chow Mein noodles (about 6 cups)

1 C. Chocolate Chips

1 C. Butterscotch Chips

"Bird eggs"  any kind of candy shaped like an egg

Wax paper

Place chips in microwave safe bowl.  Heat on high about 30 seconds, then stir. Heat in 20 second increments one or two more times if necessary, stirring in between.  Pour in noodles and mix thoroughly.  Using hands, create little nests on wax paper.  Place eggs on top and put in the refrigerator to harden.

Made about 8-10 good sized nests

*I used different measuring cups/bowls so all my *helpers* could have a turn to pour in something.  They all got a chance to stir and form their own nests.  It was a fun activity!*

Sweet Chex Mix

Do you have any candy left from the Easter Bunny?  Wondering what to do with all those M&M's? You could just eat them of course, OR, you could add more sugar and butter and yumminess to them to make them even better!!  This was always my family's Sunday night treat growing up, when we would all gather together to watch America's Funniest Home Videos.  You know, family bonding whilst laughing at people falling down.  Classic.

This Chex mix is always a hit, be it with your own family or at a party.  I've never seen any left over!!

Chex Mix:
about 9 C. cereal (I use Chex and Golden Grahams)
1 C.  Coconut
1 C.  Slivered Almonds
M&M's  (to taste)
1 C.  Karo Syrup
1 C.  Sugar
2/3 C. Butter

In a large bowl, combine cereal, coconut, almonds, and M&M's. 
In a saucepan, bring Karo syrup, sugar, and butter to a boil for 2 minutes.  Pour over cereal mixture and stir well.  Spread out on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and allow to cool.  Eat.  Then eat some more because you can't stop!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

*food in this picture provided by my friend Tina.  Thanks for the deliciousness!!*

Spring Candy Jars

For many people, Easter = Candy.  Right? I just loved this idea for candy jars and immediately scoured the refrigerator for jars to use. 

I used a pickle jar and a Tostitos salsa jar for the tops and a candle holder and a votive flipped upside down for the bottom.  (These were purchased at Dollar Tree).  Wash out jars and remove the labels. (Wash them better than you think you need to.....my friend told me my candy still smelled like pickles!) Using spray or craft paint, paint the lids and candle holders.  I then used a strong glue to hook it all together and, Voila!  So cute!! I just may have to make some in different colors for every holiday.  Combined with my Egg picture and my Spring Blocks I am pretty excited about my new decorations! 

Happy Easter!

 And, if you wonder if the kids ever notice the crafts you make or decorations you put up....they do if candy is involved!! I swear they have some kind of radar!

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Quick and easy Easter Decor

Pink. Yellow. Purple. Pastel colors in abundance.  It might get to be too much for some people. 

 Enter sleek, cool, sophisticated gray combined with said pastel colors and we have, well, this amazing idea. 

I'm a little late getting into the Easter swing of things--it is NEXT week!! But perusing around blogland I found some super cute decorations that come together very quickly.  Always a good thing, right?

I found this awesomely ugly frame at a thrift store for $1.00.  Not a great color, but I LOVE the corner design.  A quick coat of spray paint does the trick every time.

I ran to Dollar Tree to pick up these adorable glitter eggs.  Seriously, I saw this idea late at night, and I could hardly wait until Dollar Tree opened the next morning so I could get started.  Like, I almost couldn't sleep.  I know, I'm weird.

t

Just pull out the little strings and hot glue them onto some cardstock sized to fit into the frame.  That was easy!

Since I had a few eggs left over, I grabbed some of the curly twigs floating around my house (my husband loves these) and made this happy little tree :)
                       Happy Decorating!!

Stay tuned next week for more decorating ideas, food and Easter treats!!

Thanks for stopping by!

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(because I know y'all can't wait for the next post!!)

SPRING blocks

It may be winter-ish outside, but you can brighten up your house with fun spring decor!! There are lots of ways to make these holiday blocks, here is my version.  I just bought a 2x6 at Home Depot and cut it into blocks.  I painted the blocks white, found scrapbook paper I loved and mod-podged them on. (apparently, this is quite the delicate art. On the first blocks I made, the paper became really bumpy and looked horrible after I used the mod-podge!!) I guess you just do a little at a time.

I cut out some letters and 'podged them on too. Note: I do not have a Cricut or any of those fancy tools.  This is just my cardstock paper, pencil and handy ol' scissors. Talk about skills, right!? I just found a font I liked and did my best to freehand.  Don't look too close...

Embelish with ribbon, buttons, flowers, etc.  A little distressing ink around the edges would look great too!


(Oh, and by the way, I used the other side of the blocks for a different season! How's that for thrifty?)

                                       What are your favorite spring projects?

 

                                These are simple and easy to make.

I'm thinking they would make a fun hostess gift or spruce up
                             your own Easter table!

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