Flower Cupcakes for Mother's Day

Now that Easter is over, it is time to think about Mother's Day.

 This year it will be interesting celebrating Mother's Day, because not only do I live in a different state than my mom, I now also live in a different state than my kids who are college age.

We will probably spend the day with my boyfriend's mom that day.  She is like a bonus mom to me, so I might be making some of these flower cupcakes.   I made them a few years back for one of my best friend's birthday which is right before Mother's Day, and she loved them. 

After you bake and frost your cupcakes (I used a box mix), it is time to make the candy flowers.  You will need a bag of candy fruit slices, which you can find reasonably priced in most candy aisles.   Sprinkle some granulated sugar on a flat surface, and lay the candy piece on it.  

 The sugar is needed to keep the candy from sticking when being rolled out.  Make sure both sides are covered with the sugar as you flatten it.  It should about 1/8 th of an inch thick. 
 

Cut the flattened candy in half lengthwise.  You will need to have about 3 strips per flower, so if you make a dozen cupcakes, plan on making at least 24 strips. (12 pieces of flattened candy) 

 Once you have all of your candy pieces flattened, it is time to assemble the flowers.  Start by rolling the pieces, and pinching the bottom as you roll to make it stick together.  Use about 3 pieces for each flower, or until you get the size flower that you like.  It's okay if it looks little blobby at this point, because it looks much better when it's placed on a cupcake. 

Once you have made the flowers, it is time to make the leaves.   To make a leaf, you will use green chewy candy. To be honest, I can not remember what kind I used on my cupcakes, but light green color was a pretty addition.  Place the chewy candy in the microwave for a few seconds and until it is soft enough to shape in the a leaf. 

I added the leaves to the cupcakes, and also some red sprinkles to a few plain cupcakes.   My friend was definitely surprised and loved her cupcakes.  

Another gift idea for mom to give her in addition to the cupcakes is to give her coupons.  I have several versions like this one, and some other Mother's Day printables in my Etsy Shop if you are interested in checking them out. 

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Countdown to Christmas - Homemade Advent Calendar

 When my kids were younger, we decided to make an advent calendar.   We brainstormed a bit, and looked at our craft supplies.  We had been collecting cardboard tubes for crafting and thought they would be perfect for holding treats.

We painted the tubes in white, red and green, and numbered them with coordinating number stickers.  We stapled the bottom to make a little pouch.  If you do not have 24 tubes, you can use 12 and make them double sided.  After you add the numbers they are easy to embellish more.  We added stickers on each of ours. 

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We had an inner office door that had glass panes. We hung them on that door and then placed candy treats in each of the pouches.    Other options could be to add some ribbon and hang on the Christmas tree or garland.    An idea I had for this year it to make some that are Elf themed and have our Christmas elves Buddy and Joy bring one day. 

I am currently making Advent and Elf activity cards for my shop, which will be added this week.  The cards would fit inside the tubes with a different Christmas themed activity you could do that day.  I will be posting the link here as soon as it is up.  

If you would prefer to buy an Advent Calendar than to make one, I found some really cute ones online.  

If you love Marvel, this Marvel Pop! has a different characters in  each day of the month.  At the end of the month you would have a entire mini Marvel army to play with. 

 If you are a Disney fan, they have a  Funko Disney Character Advent Calendar

So many kids (and adults)  love fidget toys, they even have a Daily Fidget Toy Calendar, where each day you would get a new fidget toy.    They all look like fun except for the mini skateboards.  LOL I frequently had to temporarily take them away in class when my 6th graders got disruptive during the lesson.   If you make an homemade version of an advent calendar and want to add your own fidget toys, definitely check out the toy aisle at the Dollar Tree, they have lot of fidget toys. 

I wish they had this 5th generation Echo Dot for Kids when my kids were younger.  There are so many things you can do with this.  It will play songs, games and even help with their homework.  You will give a 1 year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus, and it has parental controls.  The kids can decide if they prefer this owl with owl voice, or turn it into a dragon with a dragon voice.  Definitely go check it out online, there is a lot cool features and a 2 year worry free guarantee. 

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Countdown to Thanksgiving - Easy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

                 

Today I am going to share my favorite way to make homemade mashed potatoes.  They are easy to make, and a perfect addition to your holiday meal. 

Sorry the photos are so dark, I took these pictures years ago when I started making mashed potatoes this way.  I think I may need to take some new photos this Thanksgiving. :)) 

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 When I made this batch, I used 6-7 small potatoes to make 4-6 servings.  I peeled the potatoes, cut them into smallish pieces, and then put them in my slow cooker.  Instead of cooking them in water, I cooked them in broth.  I set the slow cooker on high, and cooked them for 4 hours.  

At the end of the cooking time, the potatoes were super soft, tender and easy to mash. While mashing them I added in a little milk, butter, garlic and salt and pepper.

The kids LOVED them made this way, and requested I make them this way all the time.  It is so easy, and its the only way I make them now.  

If you in the market for a slow cooker, I found this one on Amazon that has dividers for cooking two things at once.  That would be really nice for when you cooking smaller portions.  It is highly rated, and a reasonable price.  

Here is another highly rated best seller from Amazon.  It is 7 qts, Crock Pot brand, and currently $20 off.  It looks like a great deal.  You can see the deal here.

Today's shopping tip is another amazing deal, that would also make a great Christmas gift.   For a limited time you can get a FREE 11x14  Canvas People  canvas print of your favorite photo. I have several Canvas People  canvases like this one of my kids at Christmas when they were younger.  Definitely go check out them out. 

Only one more day of our Thanksgiving countdown. See you tomorrow! 

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Great Last Minute Gift Ideas

 There is a store that we like to visit when we are in the Cincinnati area called Jungle Jims International Market.  The store is HUGE.  It is over 200,000 square feet and has over 180,000 products.  You can find almost every single food product you think of in this store. They also have a lot of fun interactive displays to keep you entertained.  When we went a few weeks back, I saw several fun items that I had planned to share here on the blog because they would make great gift ideas.  As you know the school year has been very busy, and I have not always been able to do things when I plan too.  Better late than never though, here are some of the awesome gifts that I came across. I personally would love to receive any of them.  :)  

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They had a few aisles of Pop figures. I love the minions and 70s Bob cracked me up. If you know someone who also loves the minions or the 70s, I found him on Amazon here.

I am so excited to find this! I LOVE QUEEN!  While looking up the Freddy Mercury puzzle posted below I found a Freddy Mercury Pop Figure. This is on my wish list for sure!  They have several different versions of him but the Live Aid concert version is definitely my favorite. (I saw Bohemian Rhapsody 3 times, and played the CD on loop for 5 months straight!) 

While I could not find this magnificent 500 pc puzzle of Freddy,  I did find a 1000 pc Queen puzzle. 

For the younger gamers in your life, how cute is this Pokemon Cookbook.

Being an Office fan, and a person who loves to plan parties, this Official Office Party Planning Guide looks amazing! 

I am also a huge Marvel fan, and I know many others are as well.  Check out this Marvel Eat Universe Cookbook.

Friends is another favorite of mine.  I found this Friends Cookbook Gift Set which comes with a turkey apron.

I don't know much about this game, but how can you go wrong with the Golden Girls game and mini figurines.

We plan on heading back to Jungle Jims again very soon, so watch for more fun gift ideas and photos from my visit.  

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Craft Ease Diamond Dot Review

A few months ago I was asked by Craft-Ease if I would like to try one of their diamond paintings.  I knew a little bit about them, because my boyfriend's mother had made a few in the past year. We also bought a small kit for his daughter last Christmas as a gift, since she liked to craft.  I knew how much they liked their kits, so I said I would love to try it too. While I was asked by Craft-Ease to try a kit, this review is 100% my own opinion. 

On the website they have a large selections of kits to choose from.  I was drawn to one in particular, and if you have followed me for awhile you will know why.  My kit arrived in the mail in a nice sturdy box. 

I pulled out the kit from the box. The painting was rolled up and protected by a plastic bag. Also inside the bag was the supplies that I would need to make the diamond painting. 

I chose the Rainbow Unicorn Kit, because you have followed me for awhile you know I LOVE unicorn.  This kit is so colorful, and I know it will be beautiful when it is finished. 

The kit came with all the supplies I needed.  It included 2 applicators and the applicator gum, a tray to hold the diamonds while applying them, a pair of tweezers, applicator grips, and all the diamonds I need to complete the painting.  

When I received the kit, I did not know yet how busy I was going to become over the summer until now.   Between my boyfriends health scare, working full time and a couple of side jobs, I do not have a lot of time to get as much done on my kit as I would have liked  at this point.  I do feel though that I have enough information that I can share my review now, instead of waiting until I finish.

I sit down in front of the TV in the evening, and work on a few rows at a time .  It is very relaxing to do, but it is also a little bit time consuming for someone super busy like me.  I have a hard time sitting still for very long because of my ADD, and I also have a hard time seeing the pattern once the sun goes down. I have "older eyes" and not the best light in my apartment, so the codes can be hard to see on some colors.  Even with the lack of time and lighting, I really enjoy working on my kit. 

As you can see in this picture each color diamond has a small letter or shape code.  This is the upper left hand corner of my painting that I flipped upside down.  My boyfriend's mother gave me some good tips like start working at the top and then flipping it around, because you do not lean on any of the diamonds and the glue on the painting can easily stay covered with it's protective plastic.  When working on it, I pull just a little bit of the plastic off one small section at a time, and then recover it when  finished. 

I do have a few helpful tips of my own that have worked for me while working on my kit.  I found the perfect storage box for me at the Dollar Tree.  It is the Teaching Tree Rectangle Storage box. It is 10 inches by 8 inches and has a clasping lid.  They are  available online if you can't find them currently in the store.   It is just the right size to hold all of my supplies and diamonds. 

                         

I put the diamonds in their own individual plastic bags and labeled them with their code so they are easy

for me  to find and use. Craft Ease has similar storage box on their  site that has 28 clear containers to keep the diamonds organized with inventory labels. 

Another tip of something I found very helpful, since I do not have a location where I can keep my painting sitting out is to keep it inside a project display board.  My painting fits safely inside when I need to store it, and it also is a sturdy work space when I am unable to sit at the table.

Would you be interested in trying your own kit?  Craft Ease has offered my readers a discount.   If you use the code PAMSPARTY-20 you will get 20% off.  A diamond dot kit would make a great gift! 

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Easter Basket Ideas Dollar Tree Style

I don't know about you, but I used to struggle coming up with ideas on what to put in my kids' Easter baskets. This year, that is not the case.  While my kids are mostly grown, I still love to give them gifts.  My youngest has very eclectic tastes, but this year I found so many things I knew she would enjoy getting as a gift.  Since she is older, I decided to use one of their baskets that come in pastel colors instead of a traditional Easter basket.  She will be able to use this basket all year, for many different reasons. 

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My daughter does not read my blog, so I am able to share what I am giving her without ruining the surprise. She loves animals, and there are so many things that are animal themed.  

• You Are Pawsome tote bag (the perfect size for pet supplies) 
• animal socks w/ ears (she loves fun socks, the sillier the better) 
• cat with glitter glasses pom pom pen 
• 3D wooden cat with light
• paw print pet bowl mat
• silly frog figurines        

I could not fit everything in one picture, so here is the rest. (sorry it is at a weird angle) She is also getting..

• a hanging shelf to put her goodies on 
• a multi color phone holder 
• 2 different hair masks 
• 2 different colors of LA Colors blush/glow sticks 
• 2 different colors of LA Colors Nail Diva nail tips
• a neon green mini squish pillow 
• chocolate bunnies and candy (not pictured) 

Today we went to visit a Dollar Tree in a neighboring town, and she picked out a few things that are not going to be in her basket, but definitely could be included. 

• unicorn make up brush 
• set of 3 different earrings 
• a glass bead bracelet 
• a 2021 date book 
• a spaced themed cosmetic (or pencil) bag 
• exfoliating glove 
• tri color baseball cap 

If you would like even more ideas here are so more items that we loved  

movie themed playing cards 

pack of 600 Lisa Frank stickers 

movie themed glitter pens 

There were more to choose from, but I picked Descendants, WW84, and Trolls World Tour for the colors of the pens

unicorn and rainbow LED lights 

One of my favorite finds 

1 lb bags of Sour Bears and Worms 

Trolli All Star Mix and Evil Twins 

If you need more ideas, be sure to check out Dollar Tree online. Did you know you can order from the website and get free shipping to your local store?  

A few weeks ago, I was searching everywhere for these adorable 13 inch Easter Bunnies.  I found out that were available online, and your could order in batches of four.  A few days after I ordered I received a notification that they had arrived, and all I had to bring was the confirmation email they sent me.  It was super simple, no mark up or shipping cost, and I had my bunnies for only $4.24    Last week I did find some bunnies in only one of my local stores, but I think that was only because I was there on the day they had arrived. (they sold out in stores FAST!)    Buying items online are great when you need a bigger quantity, or something that is hard to find. (think birthday parties, class parties, and those ever popular gnomes)   Sometimes you need to buy a case, but there are many items you can buy in small batches as well.  I had such a good experience doing an online order, I will definitely go it again.  

I hope I was able to give you some ideas and inspiration.  What is your favorite Easter Dollar Tree find? 

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