Stay Calm and Carry On

How to Make an Easter Tree Centerpiece - Easy Craft Project

2016-02-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

How to Make your Easter Tree

It's time to decorate for Easter!

Make this beautiful Easter Egg Tree Centerpiece to decorate your table for this year's Easter dinner.

Here's what you'll need to make one...

Supplies:

A small tree branch
White spray paint
Thread or unwaxed dental floss
Scissors
A small flower pot
Modeling clay or a bit of florist's foam
Easter grass
Ornaments (mini-eggs or other assorted woodies)

Start by choosing a tree branch that's about 12-18 inches high when held up with the thickest part towards the bottom. Check your yard for fallen branches and twigs. You'll likely find a suitable dead branch already on the ground, so you won't have to consider cutting of off a live tree to make your Easter egg tree centerpiece. (Be kind to your environment!)

Next, you'll spray-paint the branch with your white paint. Be sure to do this in a well-ventilated area! Read the instructions on your spray-paint can to find out how long it needs to dry. Remember, you don't have to do the last couple inches at the bottom, because it won't show anyway. That means that you can use that bit to hold onto, without getting paint on your fingers.

Once the paint on your branch has dried, stick your lump of clay on the bottom of the flowerpot. Then press the thickest part of the branch, (the unpainted end), into the modeling clay, so that the branch stands up, forming your Easter egg tree.

Now you'll make the ornaments for your Easter Egg Tree Centerpiece. You can buy a box of pre-made Easter egg tree ornaments, or you can get crafty and make your own from mini-eggs or woodies or even those little foil-wrapped chocolate eggs.

No matter which kind of ornaments you choose, you'll need to attach strings to them so that they will dangle from the branches of your Easter Egg Tree Centerpiece.

Cut as many lengths of dental floss at you have ornaments. Depending on how big your original branch was, your strings will probably be between three and six inches long. Don't worry if they aren't all exactly the same length, a little variety will just make your Easter egg tree more interesting to look at.

Put a drop of glue on the top of each ornament, and then lay one end of a piece of dental floss on each one. Give those a chance to dry, and then tie a loop at the other end of each piece of floss. Use the loops to hang the ornaments on the limbs of your Easter egg tree.

Finish by adding Easter grass** to the bottom of the flowerpot, covering the base of your branch. Your Easter Egg Tree Centerpiece is finished! Put it on your dinner table, to brighten up your Easter meal.

Happy Easter!!

(**Did you know -- Easting plastic Easter grass is super-dangerous for animals! If you have pets that might eat the Easter grass, skip the plastic store-bought kind, and just shred or crumple some green construction paper instead. Be safe!)

Funny Friday Photo ~ May 10th

2013-05-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to lolzbook.com for this week's Funny!

You spend so much time worrying over it, but...

2013-05-09T21:56:00.002-07:00

You

Can’t

Change

Yesterday.

Think about it....

Six Word Saturday - Jan. 19, 2013

2013-01-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

Having plenty makes me feel safe.

Funny Friday Photo ~ May 4th

2012-05-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger.com for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo ~ April 27th

2012-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger.com for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo ~ April 20th

2012-04-20T21:58:00.001-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to Provo a strapparti un sorriso for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - April 13th

2012-04-13T10:22:00.002-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhazcheesburger.com for this week's Funny!

G is for Guarantee

2012-04-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

Guaranteed to confuse...

I was shopping the other day when a sales associate came up to me. Looking to encourage me to purchase, he informed me cheerfully that the item I was looking at came with a 'guarantee'.

"Really?", I asked, "What kind of guarantee?"

"A Lifetime Guarantee", he informed me proudly.

"Whose lifetime?", I asked immediately.

"Huh??"

"Whose lifetime?", I repeated slowly. He just looked at me, puzzled.

"Whose lifetime is it guaranteed to last through? Yours...? Mine...?"

"Uhh... I don't know. No one's ever asked me that." (There's a long pause here, while I stare at him patiently, waiting for the obvious to occur to him.) "I could go ask my manager.", he finally said.

"You could do that", I replied, "I'll be right here."

Shortly, he returns to inform me that it is "guaranteed for the lifetime of the product".

"So the guarantee runs out when the product "dies" by not working anymore?", I asked.

"Right!" He's all smiles now, probably feeling very smart and successful for having found the answer to my question. I hated to disillusion him, but...

"You just told me that the guarantee is only good until the product stops working. That doesn't sound like much of an advantage. I wouldn't need a guarantee while it was still working, would I?"

This time, while he was off asking his manager, I just slipped out quietly...

*************
This post is part of the 2012 A-to-Z Blogging Challenge!!
*************

F is for Funny Friday Photo ~ April 6th

2012-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to George Takei (via Facebook post) for this week's Funny!

*************

This post is part of the 2012 A-to-Z Blogging Challenge!!

*************

Funny Friday Photo - March 29th

2012-03-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - March 22nd

2012-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - March 16th

2012-03-16T08:00:00.007-07:00

Funny Friday Photo

:)

"Irish I had a Beard."

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - March 8th

2012-03-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - March 1st

2012-03-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - February 24th

2012-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to failblog.org for this week's Funny!

Funny Friday Photo - February 17th

2012-02-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

Funny Friday Photo

Thanks to icanhascheezburger for this week's Funny!

Baby Resume - 13 Weeks

2011-07-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

Baby Resume - 13 Weeks
The Job Search Starts Early

Ever wondered what people are expecting you to put in the "occupation" blank when you fill out forms about children? After filling out so many forms during the early days of my daughter's life, I realized that I'm probably embarrassing her by writing "unemployed" every time. As if she's just some little freeloader at my house! Three months old is old enough to contribute, right? I figured that if my daughter is expected to list an occupation, then she'll need a good resume. And so...

The 13-week-old's Resume
======================

CAREER OBJECTIVE: Currently seeking a low-stress position in a warm snuggly environment.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:

* Weigh less than 9 pounds; very portable!

* Have good deposition; very calm.

* Can recognize familiar faces within 12-15 inches of me.

* Skill set includes eating, drooling, and pooping.

* All vaccinations are current.

RELEVANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

* Can sleep up to 5 hours in a row.

* Six weeks experience smiling.

* Learned to giggle last week!

PREVIOUS WORK HISTORY:

My last job included a lot of swimming. It was a short-term job, that should have lasted 40 weeks, but an administrative decision was made to let me go after only 35 weeks. I don't understand all the details, I was just pushed out rather suddenly.

Hand

2011-07-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

This week's GBE2 Challenge is to write a 100-word story, (including the title)...

Hand

Once upon a time, there was a hand. A beautiful hand, with a wandering heart.

One day the hand decided to seek its fortune beyond the sleeve. Well-provisioned with lotion, it slid across the desk, leaving the keyboard behind as it slipped off the edge, and found the carpeted floor.

Gliding over the soft fibres, the hand found its way behind the desk. There it encountered a bunny! The hand prepared to flee, but the bunny spoke comfortingly, "Come and meet my family. There are many of us."

And so, the hand rested awhile among them; (sneezing quietly).

Tweet Me!

Z is for Zodiac Signs

2011-05-02T20:36:00.001-07:00

Do you know your sign? Do you read your horoscope every day? I know people that check their horoscope and plan their days around them. It always strikes me as a little absurd, but never more so than when I got a job offer to write horoscopes.

Yes, it's true. Somewhere on the Web, on a well-known and well-respected freelance-writing job board, there are two posts this year (so far!) asking for writers to come up with horoscope “predictions”. No qualification required, other than the usual “must be your own unique work” that freelancers expect to see on any assignment.

No need to be an astrologist, a seer, or a medium. Just write interesting bits of advice that will keep people coming back to their website. Reading that took all the mystery out of for me. I think I wanted (just a little) to believe...

What about you? Do you believe that your life is being controlled by your zodiac sign? Do you make plans based on your horoscope?

F is for Flag Quiz

2011-04-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

A bit of shameless self-promotion today. At long last I have finished my first big quiz lens on Squidoo!

Ever since Squidoo introduced the Monster Trophies and point system, I've been working on this quiz lens. It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought, and a *lot* more time consuming. It's finally finished and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I hope you'll check it out. It's at 50 Quiz Questions on USA State Flags, and you don't have to be a Squidoo member to take the quizzes. (Although, if you *are* a Squidoo-er, make sure you log in first, because quizzes are worth 10 points each!)

I'm hoping this will be the first in a series of homeschool resources, so I'm open to feedback. :)

E is for Easter Poems

2011-04-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Egg Hunt

Eggs in the attic
Eggs under the couch
Eggs have been hidden
All over the house

Eggs in the cupboards
Eggs behind books
Easter eggs resting in
Every last nook

The children who searched
Thought that they were all found
But some of those eggs
Were still lying around

Eggs going rotten
And do you know why?
Those eggs are still hidden
And now it's July!

Read more Easter Poetry at List My 5!

D is for Dandelions

2011-04-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Dandelions are my favorite flower.

Yes, I know. Dandelions are a "weed". But they way I see it, the only difference between weeds and prize-winning roses is the amount of effort involved in raising them.

Dandelions are pretty. They're yellow and cheerful, and they're *really* easy to grow! When I was young, I ran an ongoing war with my father as I blew dandelion spores all over the yard he was striving to keep clear of everything but grass. When I finally got my own house, I encouraged the dandelions to take over.

I still have grass when it's not dandelion season. When they do bloom, they make a sea of yellow, followed by a season of spore-snow as I "plant" the next generation's crop.

C is for Cookies

2011-04-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite memories of when my son was small are of making cookies. It started innocently enough one Easter, when I picked up an egg-shaped cookie cutter from Wal-mart. I thought it was something fun we could do together.

There's no "wrong" way to decorate an Easter egg, so I tinted white frosting with food dye, loaded into homemade piping bags, and we started getting creative.

My son was about 20 months old at the time, so I took the precaution of striping him down to his diaper before I let him loose with the frosting bags.

The result, of course, was the kind of "beautiful" that only Mommies and Daddies understand. A smiling child covered in frosting, a kitchen covered in sticky pastel sugar, and far too many cookies gobbled up.

I decided we would do it again next month...for Mother's Day.

B is for Blogger

2011-04-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today I am a blogger.

The part of blogging that I have always feared the most; the part that kept me from really getting started, was the idea of staring at a blank screen every day, trying to figure what my potential readers would want to hear about from me.

My favorite part of the A to Z Challenge is being given a starting point each day. Instead of having every topic in the world to choose from, I only have 1/26th of all the topics in the world to choose from each day. :)

This might be the push I needed to finally understand the successful blogging careers that I've heard about; or, to at least meet some new friends and read some interesting posts!