Yup, that’s right Cupcakes! I haven’t had one of these for quite awhile. It’s almost Easter and guess what’s on that very same day? None other than the birthday of yours very truly. Oh yes. This is the second time I can recall that they have celebrated Easter on my birthday. How could they not? It’s a very special day. I mean, I was born! Ahem….

What I have here for two very lucky people is a Spring Egg Kit, or my version of a panoramic easter egg kit. I love a good holiday craft and this is one of the best, especially to do with kids. I made up these kits last year, inspired by one of my favorite childhood memories. Two lucky ducks are going to enjoy making these sweet eggs for Easter!

The Spring Egg Kit includes:

Instructions for how to make and assemble your Spring Egg
1 reusable plastic egg mold
a small round of fondant
1 jar paste food coloring
2 plastic piping bags
a collection of miniature figurines for the inside of your egg

Here’s how to enter:
Please leave a comment on this post telling me about a favorite holiday (any holiday) craft you enjoyed making as a kid!

And that’s it! I’ll be back Monday to announce the winners, to be picked at random, and will quickly mail off the prizes to two lucky winners who will (hopefully) have these sweetie-pies just in time for Easter!

Enter away!

PS ~ I’ve added 3 more kits to my Etsy shop. These, plus the ones I’m giving away are the last ones I have this year, so if you are interested jump over and check them out! Sold Out!

This movie is an “instant” movie on Netflix and so I watched North and South via Netflix via Mr. S’s Playstation3. They’ve just come out with the disc that will let you watch movies right to your TV. You can stream Netflix instantly to your Playstation3 or an XBox, if you have one. If you don’t have these, you can watch it instantly on the web. (PS, I can’t believe I’m actually mentioning these gaming systems on my blog. I never touch them, unless I want to watch movies of course. he he he) If you don’t have Netflix, I suggest you get yourself a membership right away. This movie is totally worth it. And you can sign up for a trial membership to see if you really like watching movies this way.

You could just buy this movie too! Its a very worthy investment, especially if you are a “Pride and Prejudice” fan. You’ll love it. Promise.

(North and South film stills)

To make your viewing of this incredibly fantastic love story even more enjoyable I’ve given you a little craft to make along with it. Remember the corsage from my green silk play dress? It’s way easy and perfect for making as you are swooning over Mr. Thornton or the incredible costumes worn by Margaret. The Pocket Full of Posies Corsage, the perfect addition to your girls night in.

My particular corsage was made with a few scraps of magenta dupioni silk and some baby pink silk charmeuse. I’m sure it will work with several different types of fabrics. Pick some that are your favorite and have fun. Its all about fun, you know. And being romantic. And being creative. And of course, being a silly girl who loves flowery things. Right? Can’t wait? Click here to view and print the instructions.

I must admit there was one time when very naughtily I decided that perhaps, just maybe, I would be able to get out of arithmetic assignments forever and ever. I figured all I had to do was write in very tiny words down at the bottom right hand side of the page “I hate math. I really hate math.” I wrote it on every single assignment and since I was the favorite, I knew in my heart Mrs. Challis wouldn’t make me do one more. Oh me, oh my! I couldn’t have been more wrong. She was very upset with me and had to sit me down outside of class and discuss with me why math was so important and why I must work just a little harder to try to understand. “You are such a creative little girl, math can only aid you in your studies as you get older,” she said. She was right! Yay! Hip, hip hooray! Math is a fundamental principal throughout music, and even comes in very handy in pattern drafting. Admittedly, I’m still not very good, but thanks to sweet Mrs. Challis I can at least add and subtract and on occasion multiply and divide.

Oh goodness! Where has the time gone? What I meant to type about today was this little craft that Mrs. Challis had all of her students do every year around Easter time. These sweet little panoramic eggs. My sister and brother both had Mrs. Challis for a teacher, and the Mum Dear (my mother) insisted that she make one too with all of her sprouting children. So, Mum Dear has a total of 6 of these sweet little Springish delights. She has kept them all these years later and though they have a few bumps and bruises and the sugar has started yellowing a bit they are still such beautiful little reminders of past happy memories. Mrs. Challis would make all of the sugar egg halves for her class and then she would give them to us little cupcakers to decorate the inside. We were allowed to choose from all sorts of treasures (and treasures they were) to go inside and decorate our own panoramic scene. Little bunnies and birds and bird houses and ducks and mirrors for little ponds and such. She would then take them and have them professionally decorated with ribbons and decadent frosted roses and the like. Sweet sweetness!

I’ve made some kits up and they are finally for sale in ye olde emporium. These are a little simpler in design than the Mum Dear’s vintage ones. (After baking a few, Mr. Sours insisted on having one for dessert. What a tease he is to me! He even held it up to his mouth and was about to bite down. So terribly naughty!) The outsides can be professionally decorated, but I’ve included some instructions on how to achieve a few piping techniques without the use of tips. Next year, I might be including tips as using just the bags limit you to certain designs only. These are such fun for kids. Really, really! These can make a great Spring tradition for any crafty family!

Lovely Day to you readers! I decided to post a tutorial on how to make my Conversation Heart Garland. If you don’t have the items listed, you are welcome to buy them from me where they are all pre-cut and ready to be hand sewn. I have some kits posted in my shop. Also, if you have everything else and do not have wool felt, or don’t have a machine that will embroider the hearts, I would be glad to sell those separately for $7 (free shipping). Drop me an email to let me know! OK here goes, my first tutorial:

The Conversation Heart Garland

This is a pleasant little project that requires a little machine sewing and alot of hand sewing. I recommend setting up station while watching a favorite movie! Make a night of it and have fun!

You will need:

Enough felt for 6 pairs of conversation hearts (3 different 12 by 18 inch pieces will do the trick)
1 yard coordinating Jumbo ric rac
A few fabric scraps, enough for 3 large and 3 small yo-yo’s
An assortment of Valentine buttons
A little stuffing to stuff the conversation hearts
A few assorted vintage Valentine Cards (many are available on Etsy, I bought some here She’s super fabulous to work with!)
Some strands of embroidery thread
Thread

1. Take your strand of Jumbo ric-rac and burn the edges to prevent fray. You can do this with a lighter or a match. Next, fold over one edge and zig-zag stitch the end to the body of the ric-rac. Use your buttonhole setting on your machine to create a button-hole from which to hang your garland. Lay the ric-rac flat and untwisted on a flat surface.

2. Create your own heart templates to cut the hearts out of the felt. Fold a piece of paper in half and draw one side of a heart.

Cut out and voila! a perfect heart.

I used three different sizes and shapes of hearts, you can do as many as you like. Take your heart pattern and cut out your hearts from the felt. Two hearts from each color for a total of six hearts.

3. For the conversation hearts, you will need a front and a back. The front will have a conversation embroidered on and the back will be blank.

You can machine embroider little sayings or hand embroider them if you wish. I did it with my machine! Here are some Valentine expressions:

Be Mine
Funny Valentine
Kiss Me
Let’s Just Kiss
XOXOXO
You’re so sweet
What’s your number?
Fly Me to the Moon
We’re in Love
He loves me, He loves me not
My heart has wings
You had me at Hello
The love of my life
The Apple of my Eye
Roses are Red

Come up with more of your own or buy a box of conversation hearts to eat for inspiration. After you’ve embroidered a little Valentine expression to each conversation heart front, you will hand-stitch the front to the back using some funky and fun different embroidery techniques and embroidery thread.

I used a running stitch on some, a blanket stitch on others and a hem stitch. Use whatever you wish to close the front to the back. Before stitching closed, leave an opening to stuff the heart with a little stuffing. Next stitch the heart closed. You’ll repeat for the next 5 hearts.

4. Create a template for the yo-yo’s. Take a sheet of paper and a small dish plate and cup. Trace around each to create a large and small yo-yo. Cut out.

Take your coordinating scraps of fabric and cut out the yo-yo’s. 3 Large and 3 small. I used two different coordinating fabrics. You are welcome to use as many as you like.

5. To make yo-yo’s, fold over a small edge of a fabric circle.

With needle and thread in hand stitch an X-Large gathering stitch all the way around the circle. Pull tight at the end and flatten right side out.

6. Place conversation hearts and yo-yo’s on ric-rac in a manner pleasing to your eye. Next, stitch your hearts and yo-yo’s in place.

The conversation hearts will need to be stitched from the top-most part of the heart in order to hang correctly. Hearts will not hang correctly if stitched from the middle or bottom. Be sure to stitch at the top. (Note: This is for a vertical garland. For a horizontal garland, you will need to attach a string or piece of ribbon to the the part where the heart will hang from, then tie that onto the garland for correct hanging.)

7. Sew your buttons onto the garland. I sewed some onto the yo-yo’s and hearts as well!

8. To attach the vintage Valentine cards, punch a hole into the top of the card with a hole-punch
er and feed a piece of embroidery thread through.

Tie a knot in the end and feed a small safety pin through and attach wherever you like to your garland.

Mount on your wall to create festive Valentine Cheer! Enjoy now and for future years to come!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!