Tin Foil Easter Eggs

Easter is just one week away! Are you decorating your house for this spring holiday? It would probably be a joyous and uplifting thing to do.

We’ve had a few warm, sunny days recently and it sure does feel more and more like spring every day. In our yard, my pansies are waking up, and I noticed some hostas poking their fingers up out of the ground. Sadly, there are no tulips in our yard anymore, as the deer that roam our neighborhood eat the young shoots as soon as they appear; I had to give up on them finally.

But it is feeling more and more like spring outdoors, so let’s make it feel spring-like inside. I found this super, easy craft on Pinterest recently, and I want to share it with you now. We are going to make tin foil Easter eggs. This craft is based on the folk-art form known as Mexican tin art. It comes from a site called I Heart Crafty Things. Here is the link to their website if you’d like to check it out:

https://iheartcraftythings.com/tin-foil-easter-egg-art.html

This would be a great craft to do with your children or grand-kids, whomever you are social distancing with. Just four supplies needed, ones I hope you have on hand: cardboard, tin foil, scissors, and permanent markers.

For the cardboard, I didn’t want to cut up an actual cardboard box, so I went to my recycle bin and found an empty Triscuit box. I frequently use box board, such as this, for crafting, making patterns, etc.

Use whatever permanent markers you have on hand, such as Sharpies or the Crayola brand that I used. Permanent markers will work better than washable markers which may smear and wipe off too easily.

Let’s get started!

1. Cut out an egg shape from your cardboard.

2. Tear off a piece of tin foil from your roll. Lay your egg on top of it and then fold the tin foil all over the edges of the egg, so the front of the egg is completely covered in the foil. Press it as flat as you can on the back, making it easier to draw on the front. It doesn’t really matter whether you use the shiny or dull side of the tin foil. Both will work just fine. I used the dull side only because I thought it would photograph better.

3. Leaving the lid on the marker, use it to draw lines and designs all over the tin foil egg. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does add some extra texture to the egg.

4. When you are finished drawing designs, use all of your markers to trace over the designs and add any more details that you’d like.

5. If you decide to skip step 3, just go ahead and make designs and color your egg any way you’d like. Press firmly with the markers to get some of that texture in the foil. It’s a balancing act, don’t press too hard or the foil can rip. (I speak from experience!)

My Finished Egg

That was easy, wasn’t it? And fun, I hope. Depending on how much foil and cardboard you have to play around with, why stop at one? Get busy and make a whole cartoon full of eggs.

I had fun crafting with you today. Thanks for visiting. Stay home and stay safe!

Mac and Cheese from Scratch!

From time to time, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite recipes. I’m going to give you time-tested, tried and true, family favorites. And, my goal is to choose recipes with a minimum of ingredients, staples you hopefully have on hand in your fridge or cupboards.

Are you a box macaroni and cheese family? Or, have you ever made it from scratch? Growing up, my Mom always made it from scratch. Probably because box mac and cheese hadn’t been invented yet. But anyway, it’s what I grew up with and so it’s what I always made for my family. (Well, almost always. At some point my daughters' eyes were opened to the box stuff at friends’ homes, and they wanted me to make it, too. We ate both for a while.)

My children are adults now, and so once again I choose to make it only from scratch. It’s really cheesy good and what I’d call a true comfort food.

My recipe came from the back of the Mueller’s elbows macaroni box. Over the years I’ve noticed they’ve tweaked their recipe from time to time. Sometimes I would try the new recipe, but I always went back to their circa early 1980s version. (I just checked the back of a current box, and their new version is called Baked Macaroni with Double Cheese. It uses cheddar and Swiss cheese. I might just give that one a try one of these days.)

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy making it for your loved ones. I hope they like it as much as mine do.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 T. butter ¼ cup flour 1 t. salt ½ t. dry mustard ¼ t. pepper 2 ½ cups milk 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese 8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked 6 minutes and drained ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

In 2-quart saucepan melt margarine over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, mustard, and pepper until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk until smooth.

Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat about 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in the cheddar cheese until melted.

Turn macaroni into a greased 2-quart casserole pan. Pore cheese mixture over macaroni; mix well. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole.

Bake in 375° oven for 25 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

That’s it. It’s both easy and delicious. Full disclosure, in the picture below on the left, we sprinkled bread crumbs on top because we were out of Parmesan cheese. It was still yummy, but more cheese is always better, right? And honestly, I never measure out 1/4 Parmesan to sprinkle on top. I'm very generous and just sprinkle it on till I think it looks good. Because as I just said, more cheese is always better!

Thanks for checking out my blog today. Bon appetit! Stay home and stay safe!

Got Yarn?

If you’re a crafter like me, you probably have a stash of supplies leftover from past projects. I have yarn, fabric, felt, floss, scrapbook supplies, etc. taking up space in numerous cabinets and closets. We crafters hate to throw materials out because you just never know when you’ll be able to use them. So, if you have stored yarn you’d like to use up, I can help you out by teaching you how to crochet a lovely, yet simple dish cloth.

For this project I use Lily Sugar n’ Cream yarn. It’s a cotton yarn that is perfect for dish cloths because it will absorb water. If you don’t happen to have any cotton yarn, and you have to go to Meijers for groceries, check out their craft aisle to see if they have it in stock. They sell the 2 oz. skein, and I always buy two of the same color; you’ll get three dish cloths out of two skeins. (This yarn is also available online from JoAnn Fabrics or Michaels if you prefer shopping online.)

I’m going to be honest with you, I am far from an expert crocheter, and I won’t have all the answers. My grandma first taught me how to crochet as a teenager. Back then I made a few simple zig-zag afghans and even started a beautiful afghan that was supposed to be a wedding present for my best friend and her husband. Sad to say, they are about to celebrate their 40th anniversary, and that afghan never got finished.

About ten years ago I decided I wanted to crochet again. I purchased a crochet magazine and retaught myself how to do it. I had visions of crocheting up a storm and making gifts for everyone. I started with a dish cloth and by the time I was done with it, I discovered a truth about myself: I do not like to read crochet patterns. They use their own little shorthand code, which I find both hard to read and confusing.

And so, to this day, I crochet only that first simple dish cloth, over and over. I have the pattern memorized now and thus never have to read another pattern. And when I teach you how-to crochet this dish cloth, I will give the directions in plain English; no crochet shorthand required.

I cannot really explain to you how to make the actual stitches used, so for that I’m going to refer you to the Happily Ever Crafter website using this link. Check out their crochet cheat sheet and then come back here for the directions. (If the link doesn't work, please copy and paste it into your browser.)

https://myhappilyevercrafted.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/crochet-cheat-sheet/

OK, I guessing you’re back now. For supplies, you’ll need yarn, a crochet hook (size H), a yarn needle, and scissors.

Now, let’s get started. First, leaving a yarn tale of about 12 inches, tie the yarn to the hook. It should look something like the photo below. Then chain 31 stitches.

Next, yarn over the needle, count three stitches over, and insert the needle; then complete a double stitch.

Count two stitches over, insert the needle and complete a single crochet stitch. Then in the same stitch, complete a double crochet stitch.

You will continue down the chain in the same manner. In other words, in every other stitch to the end of the chain, crochet first a single crochet stitch, then a double crochet stitch. At the very end of the chain, complete only a single crochet stitch in the last chain. Then, chain two.

Then, turn your completed first row around, and prepare to crochet the second row. This next row, and every other row after it, will be crocheted the same way.

Yarn over the hook, skip the two chain stitches, and then insert the hook in the first actual stitch of the row and complete a double stitch.

To complete the row, you will be crocheting in every other stitch; it will always be the small stitch between two bigger ones. (The small stitches are never as obvious in this row, but they will be in future rows.)

In the small stitch, insert your needle and then complete first a single crochet stitch, then a double crochet stitch. Continue down the row in this fashion to the end. At the very end of the row, complete just a single crochet stitch in the last stitch. Then chain two.

Turn your work around, and prepare to crochet the third row. From this point on, as you crochet 20 rows all together, every row will be crocheted in the exact same fashion as row two. You’ll soon detect a pattern in what you’re crocheting, seeing lines that go horizontally across your cloth. And between every line is two rows, making it very easy to count your rows.

At the end of the 20th row, do a single crochet stitch in the last stitch, then do only one chain stitch, and then one more single crochet stitch, all in the same last stitch.

I added something to this crochet process that the original pattern did not call for: I single crochet around all four sides of the dish cloth. I feel this makes the dish cloth stronger and gives it a more finished look.

So, go ahead and single crochet around all four sides. When you get to the end of each side, in each corner stitch you will do a single crochet stitch, chain one, and then one more single crochet stitch.

After you’ve single crocheted around two sides, you’ll come to the corner with the original 12-inch tail. You want to incorporate this tail into the first corner single stitch, locking the tail in. To do this, hold onto both the tail and the yarn you are crocheting with, and crochet a single stitch. Then drop the tail and finish the corner with one chain stitch and one more single crochet stitch.

OK, after you have crocheted completely around all four sides, in the last stitch of the last row, you will do one slip stitch—this is a new stitch, please look it up on the cheat sheet—leaving it as a largish loop. Cut the yarn, leaving another 12-inch tail. Pull the tail through the largish loop and pull tight, knotting the yarn in.

What to do about the two 12-inch tails you now have? This is where you’ll use your yarn needle. Thread one tail through the needle. Insert the needle into a corner stitch, make a loop, insert the needle into the loop and then pull tight. I will then repeat this knot process 4 or 5 times more as I like to make sure the dish cloth won’t come unraveled down the road. Then, weave the remaining tail into the side of the cloth and cut the excess yarn. Repeat this process for both tails.

You just crocheted a dish cloth! If you decided to make more, each one will get a little easier. Your stitches will become more uniform, and they’ll look better and better.

And maybe you'll get addicted to crocheting dish clothes as I have. Since I've been home rehabbing, I’ve made over 60. I’m not really sure exactly how many I’ve made though, as I was giving a lot away before we all started staying home. They do make great gifts!

I want to give a shout out to a yarn program our library offers. It’s called Got Yarn? and it’s your chance to gather twice a month with fellow crocheters and knitters. When the library reopens, drop in, bring your supplies, and have some fun with fellow yarn enthusiasts. It meets on the 2nd and 4th week of each month. New folks are always warmly welcomed.

That’s it for today. Have fun crocheting. Stay home and stay safe.