Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I wish I could say these eggs were ones I made, but alas, they are Martha's. She never ceases to amaze me with all of her talent. Though I may not be able to decorate them as cute as Martha, I do have a fool proof method for hard boiling eggs, for the perfect yoke and easy peeling. Before this I used to guess how long to boil the eggs, then some times I would end up with that yucky gray ring around the yolks. The other tricky thing was trying to figure out the perfect way to peel them without breaking the whites. You especially want them to be pretty if you are making deviled eggs, at least I do. I found this "recipe" in my favorite family recipe book (next to my Mom's of course), you may remember that is where I got my pizza dough recipe from. This method is the best, I have had lots of perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs since trying it. Also, a trick, before you peel your eggs, roll them on the counter, I have found this helps a lot with the peeling as well.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Cover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil, cook 2 to 3 minutes, then turn heat off and let sit for about 20 minutes. Put in cold water, then store in the fridge.

-I have also found if you roll them around in your saucepan a few times before the water reaches a boil, it will put the yokes in a good place.

On another note, I am 95% done with all my birthday party projects. I have to make a couple things today, then the rest will be done when I get back from the Easter holiday. Here is one of the projects that got finished up this week......
My dot garland. I love it. I found this cute idea over at the Purl Bee. This garland was perfect for me for a couple reasons. First, EASY project for a non sewer like myself, you sew a line down the middle of the dots with invisible thread. So even if you can't sew in a straight line, which I can't, no one will know, because the thread is invisible. woo woo! Second, it is great because it is super cheap! My budget for this extravaganza is super small, so using some felt I already had, and invisible thread, dirt cheap. I even ended up buying 2 sheets of felt, it cost me a whopping $.50.

Have I told you my theme for my son's birthday? I can't remember if I have or if I am keeping it a secret. Any guesses with the color scheme from the garland?

Quick Easter Basket Makeover

I found this old basket in our storage closet the other day. My baby doesn't have an Easter basket and I thought with a little love this could do the job.
A little brown spray paint and some ribbon and this is what I got....

It will work for this year, I am not 100% in love with it. What I really want is to make a basket liner, but I just don't have time this year. I have way to much to do for the birthdays, and I will be out of town for a week, maybe next year. Have you seen any cute DIY Easter basket projects? I need some inspiration.

One Dollar Wednesday...fabric covered Easter eggs

Yay! it's April, and that means it's time to decorate for Easter. I love Spring, and I love to decorate my home in the beautiful bright colors of Springtime.

Sooo, I picked up some large plastic eggs at the dollar store the other day. I have nothing against decorating with the plastic eggs, but thought I'd fancy these ones up just a bit.




I cut some fabric strips...



tied a little knot in one end, and glued it to the bottom of my plastic egg. ( I was a little hesitant to use a glue gun, fearing that it wouldn't hold properly, but it worked FABULOUSLY)


Following my tutorial here, I proceded to roll a rose right around my egg.



When I got to the end of a strip of fabric, I just tucked the end of the next strip under, and continued.




This is what I ended up with. Three down, five to go.


It will be fun finding spots around my home to display these eggs. Do you decorate with plastic eggs?

My Easter Tree

Are you proud of me, I actually got a project done! It is the one that I "wanted" to do vs. the one I "need" to do, but hey it's done! Last year I scoured high and low for an Easter tree I liked. I could not find one. Honestly, it was slim pickin out there, I couldn't even find one that I liked, but was out of my price range, which is usually what happens. I have been casually on the look out again this year, but nothing struck my fancy, so I decided to make my own.

A few weeks ago, after a wind storm, I found this branch outside, perfect for my tree.
I broke the branches apart and arranged them how I wanted. Then I secured them with some florist tape I had leftover from Hershey Kiss Roses.
My Mother-in-law gave me a block of florist foam, which I glued to the inside of my pot. While the glue was drying, I took the tree outside and spray painted it white.
A little Easter grass and a few river rocks and my tree was complete!
I added my ornaments and placed it in it's home, I really LOVE how it turned out. These pictures don't do it justice, but that is just my poor photography skills. This lovely tree cost me a whopping $2.50, all I purchased was the pot, everything else I had on hand. It is WAY better than anything out there I could find and at a better price.
Love it!