Hope everyone had a great Easter! We hosted our annual Easter brunch and had a great time celebrating with our friends. My parents were definitely missed this year. Really, what’s Easter without Grandma Bunny? They are still traveling the world and having the time of their lives… one more month left of their adventure before they get back home. We are in the midst of Spring Break this week and are both SO happy to enjoy a few days off.

Guess who decided to be part of our annual egg hunt? I’m pretty sure she also had the most fun. Regardless of the number of kids we have over on Easter, we still hide hundreds and hundreds of eggs. My girlfriend, Deb’s husband asked me if we really HAD to hide ALL of the eggs. Seriously, I thought he knew me better than that. The Easter egg hunt apparently has not officially ended, as the pup is still obsessed with finding eggs and bringing me a  few each day.

I was able to find a little time to squeeze in some Easter cookies. I decided to keep it simple and made bunnies  with carrots and chickadees with mini Easter eggs. Now that Easter is over, we are onto planning the next party. I can’t believe my boy will be eleven in a few weeks. He has decided to go big again this year. His original guest list had over fifty people on it (and I wonder where he gets that).  I can’t complain; I’m just happy after all of these years that I finally have a child who likes to party! I knew the party gene was dominant!

]]> http://grinandbakeit.com/easter-wrap-up/feed 9 http://grinandbakeit.com/decorating-easter-eggs-beyond-the-dye http://grinandbakeit.com/decorating-easter-eggs-beyond-the-dye#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:25:06 +0000 Kate http://grinandbakeit.com/?p=16795 Spring Break has completely snuck up on me this year. I can’t believe Easter is only a week away. Our Spring Break doesn’t officially start until after Easter, but the boy and I have decided to start early. We picked my girlfriend, Deb and her girls up from the airport this weekend and are excited to have them back in Southern California (where they belong) for the next ten days.

I’m excited to have Deb’s three crafty girls here to dye eggs with this week.  Every year we always end up making two kinds of Easter eggs. I have to buy the PAAS kit. It’s purely nostalgic and reminds me of decorating eggs every year with my sis. The boy and I also try to come up with a more creative way to decorate each year.

Here are a few creative decorating ideas from around the blogosphere…

I love how the simple touch of grass from Better Homes and Gardens makes these Easter egg pop… and the butterfly just adds to the cuteness factor.

Is it wrong to decorate eggs so that they coordinate with your decor? These lace eggs from Martha Stewart would color-coordinate perfectly in my kitchen!

A few years ago, we made these chalkboard eggs shown on style.com and set chalk out in little pails for the kids to decorate at our Easter gathering.  You just spray them a few times with chalkboard paint and cover completely. Once they dry, they’re ready to go.

These ladybug eggs are another fun idea from Martha Stewart. I don’t think the boy will be all that excited for these, but the reality is he is going to be totally outnumbered by girls. These would be even more adorable dyed in pink!

Don’t you love how the blue egg above was made just for me? It’s featured on ReadersDigest.com . I’m a huge fan of monograms, and these monogrammed eggs would make great place settings on the Easter table.

I also love these speckled eggs from Southern Living this year. They look perfect in these decorative nests.

Tissue paper is another great medium for making eggs fancier. Martha shows the steps on how to make these tissue-paper adorned eggs.

This technique above is one that my mom and I tried a few years ago. My mom saw this on the Martha Stewart show, and we then proceeded to raid my dad’s ties and attempt these. Kelly shares a photo tutorial on how to make these on her blog Mommy Knows . This does involve boiling water, so it’s not as kid-friendly in terms of the process, but the kids can hang around the kitchen and be amazed when you unveil these eggs.

I was able to find time to make a bunch of Easter cookies last week. I’m hoping to snap photos and post them this week before they disappear!

Made by me!

Some food for thought today… I received an email this week telling me that one of my photos was posted on another site without any link back or credit. Basically, the person took an entire 60 seconds max to cut, paste, post it on her site, and then took full credit for my creation. I emailed the person nicely letting her know it was my original photo and that it’s only blogging etiquette to link back, or at least say where it came from. And no, I did not call her a thief (at least in the email). I never did hear back from her and the photo is still up. Interesting, isn’t it?

This is a highly sensitive issue for food bloggers, and I completely understand it. Putting up a post on your blog is the culmination of several hours of baking, photographing, and writing. I currently have been blessed cursed with way more wacky issues at this point in my life, so as far as this incident… I’m annoyed. I think it’s pretty tacky. Am I angry? Do I have blogger’s rage (similar to road rage)? No, not at all.

I do love to post and share other people’s recipe, photos, and ideas on my blog. (Some bloggers even disagree with this.) When I see an amazing idea, I get excited to share it. I always give credit, link back to the source, and explain why it’s so fabulous. I also search the person’s blog and try to find his or her name so I give credit to the person, not just the blog (not always as simple as you think). If I see another recipe or idea on a blog and am inspired to try it or tweak it a little, I do my best to credit the person for his or her original idea. By giving credit and link backs, it informs and encourages readers about other creative blogs… Spread the love, if you know what I mean.

There was one time that I was accused of stealing someone’s idea (not photo) without giving her credit. I had posted mini cupcakes or cheesecakes and had put a few chocolate eggs on top. Okay, google “Easter Cupcakes” and you will find a plethora of photos with chocolate eggs sitting on cupcakes. That is what we call a very unoriginal idea. So yes, there is a bit of a gray area, but let’s not be ridiculous folks.

As much as I enjoy Pinterest, one huge downside to it is that people are pinning photos that don’t link back to the person who took the photo. When I click to see the source, it often takes me to google images, another search engine, or some other site. That’s really a bummer.

Made by me!

Here is how I look at it, if I share your idea or photo and give you credit, I increase the chance that you will gain more readers, get more hits, rise in your popularity, etc. If someone did not want me sharing their ideas or photos, I would totally respect that.

But without further ado, here are a few of my favorite St. Patrick’s ideas from some very creative bloggers.

I saw this treat idea on Tip Junkie, created by the girls at eighteen25 . I’m kind of addicted to Lucky Charms. On occasion, I will even eat Lucky Charms with a glass of wine, and call it dinner (wish I was kidding, it’s very true). What an easy and festive treat this is to make for friends. You can print out the “Lucky” topper at Tip Junkie.

Rainbow Cake Pops found on Etsy… I have an entire shelf dedicated to sprinkles in my kitchen. I admit it, I hoard sprinkles and cupcake liners. I had to come clean when my girlfriend Deb was helping me organize my kitchen cabinets and pantry (is that an awesome friend, or what!). Deb banned me from buying sprinkles or cupcake liners (no matter how cute they are), until I use a whole bunch of what I have.  Rainbow cake pops may just do the trick!

Rainbow waffles, is this not the best…Kelli shares how to make these on her blog Random Thoughts of a Supermom. Now this is what I call an original idea!! Oh how I LOVE those puffy, whipped cream clouds.

And if you’re more of a pancake lover, these Rainbow Pancakes made by I am Baker are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day morning. Kids would love to help in making these.

This Leprechaun Trap Cake is pretty fabulous, isn’t it. But you can’t possibly know how fabulous it is until you click over to see what’s inside. Megan whose blog is called Not Martha is the creative cake genius behind this.

I’ve seen bakers make cake in little jars, but this one takes it a step further with sprinkles and a darling little rainbow tag on top. Sprinkles make EVERYTHING better. The  Rainbow Cake in a Jar was made by Lisa at Sugar Celebrations.

Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day this weekend! Hope the leprechaun leaves you a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

I know Valentine’s Day often inspires us to make amazingly decadent desserts for those we love, and if you’re planning something elaborate for your valentine, by all means go for it. I don’t claim to be a relationship expert, but here is my advice… Do not stress if you are short on time.  Skip the complicated dessert recipe, make a batch of these, and then spend the rest of your time planning for dessert after your dessert (if you know what I mean). The reality is, regardless of what edible dessert your whip up, your valentine is much more likely to remember the second course dessert.

Cake Batter Rice Krispies (Recipe from How Sweet Eats)

3 tablespoons butter

1 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows

1/4 cup white cake mix (original recipe uses yellow cake mix)

6 cups rice krispies cereal

1 1.75-ounce container of sprinkles

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes. Use a cookie cutter to cut out rice krispie shapes.

Valentine Round-up: All of these were created by some very talented bloggers, and they are all available for us to use from their sites for little to no cost. Don’t you love not reinventing the wheel?

Seriously, where is my Mr. Darcy? My sister will appreciate this 8×10 print since she is in agreement that Pride and Prejudice is the best novel ever written. I think I am going to frame this and put it in my room until my Mr. Darcy. shows up. This print, from Etsy, does cost money, but totally worth it!

These are SO cute. Gumballs with the printable label designed by Love the Day. Kate from CupKate’sEventDesign sells these clear packaging tubes in 8″, 10″, and 12″ on her site, as well as other fun packaging products.

Love this card… For some of us this means we love the person A LOT!

These milk cartons are made from a free printable at The Sweetest Occasion. They’re the perfect little treat filled with some homemade cookies.

This card maker is kind of clever. You go to the site, type in your message, and it puts your message in a heart template. I think little ones would have fun making these for their grandparents and other special people.

Goldfish valentines …so simple and so cute! The pillow boxes can be ordered online at Papermart. I’ve really liked all of the products I’ve gotten from Papermart. They have a huge selection.

Don’t you always see millions of these at Michaels in the check-out line for practically nothing? Really, don’t you wonder how many billion of these glow sticks exist. This freebie is on The Teacher Wife Blog.

I haven’t seen this ball valentine idea before, but I do know kids love all of the little crap. Sorry, I don’t know what else to call it (and crap is not considered a bad word in my house).  Post birthday party, in our house, we dump out the favor bag, look at all of the fun crap we’ve gotten, never ever play with the crap, but refuse to part with it, and then it somehow magically disappears once the boy has forgotten about it.

This one is simple and can be personal to your valentine. It’s a fill in the blank treat bag. I love you more than ______________ loves _____________.

These soda sayings are other fun ones I hadn’t seen before.

I also like the “Keep Calm” print because lord knows I need to be reminded to keep calm on a regular basis. This Saturday is the biggest event of the year that I coordinate. We are testing over 1200 kids, double what our big day normally is. I’m praying I can keep calm and trust that things will go smoothly. By the way, rain is predicted Saturday… 2400+ wet children and parents. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! I hope you’ve set aside at least a little time to do something for yourself!