Easter Eggs in Miniature, for the DOLLHOUSE!

 

A life-long hobby that is still going strong is working with dollhouses and  miniatures.

So naturally, with Easter coming faster than a speeding train, it is time for some dollhouse Easter baskets, filled with brightly colored eggs.

Luckily, I found four very small baskets in a bag at a Goodwill thrift store for $1.29.

I layered some foam, gluing pieces of it into the bottom half of each basket.

Then came making the tiniest of Easter eggs from Sculpey clay.

That's the kind of clay where you make something and then bake it for a little while in a very low 200 degree oven to make the clay hard.

While watching old episodes of Touched by an Angel, those little eggs got Elmer glued into the baskets.  Perfect!

They really came out cute and colorful.

Now the Easter baskets are inside the dollhouse, waiting for Easter.

Do you like them?

HOW ABOUT YOU? ARE YOU EAGERLY PREPARING FOR EASTER, TOO?

Palm Sunday, the Beginning of Holy Week

Today is Palm Sunday.

For Christians, it recalls Jesus's  entry into Jerusalem.

He rode a donkey, indicating great humility and peace.

People who lined both sides of the street, on that day, honored him by waving palms. 

It was an atmosphere of joy and high spirits.

While it was a triumphant day, it also was to signify the beginning of Holy Week.

Christians know the horror and sorrow of Christ's passion that was to follow, His brutal death on a cross, and then, in glory and supreme happiness, His rising from the dead after three days.

This is a very significant week for Christians.  

It moves them from tears and heartbreak to hearts filled with joy, relief, and deep contentment.

Palms are distributed in churches throughout the world. 

Many people fashion them into little crosses which can be brought home.

Jesus, the King of Kings, is an example of kindness, humility, peace, perseverance, and immense, never ending love.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH PALM SUNDAY?

Little Signs of Easter Around the House

Signs of Easter can be spotted in the apartment.

While the full scale holiday decorating of past years is now gone, because there's no room, there is still opportunity to add a little merriment to table and dresser tops.

The little bunny at the top of this post is not just for Easter.

She's on a shelf in the medicine cabinet year-round so every time the door is opened, she makes me smile.

Easter is a time of rebirth and joy.

Spreading little bits of both through decorating is a fun thing to do.

Good Fruit Combo

When it comes to different kinds of fruit, the choices of those to eat are up to individual preference.

Luckily, melons of all kinds are appealing to me as well as most berries.

Kiwi, however, is new to my tastebuds.

Reading about that fruit, though, and all the good it does for the body, it landed in my supermarket shopping cart.  

Added in thin, cut-in-half slices, to melon and strawberries, it is very tasty.

I prepared a breakfast this week for a very dear cousin and me and the tri-fruit plate was part of the menu.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FRUIT AND HOW DO YOU SERVE IT?

Shine "Em Up

For as long as remembered, costume jewelry has been a huge draw.

There is no way I'd count the number of earrings stored in cleaned up egg cartons that have been placed in large, dresser drawers.

However, when inexpensive "silver" toned earrings turn dark, it's not appealing. 

My tried and true way to get rid of the darkness and restore the jewelry to beauty, is simple and cheap.

Baking soda is sprinkled into a bowl.  Then earrings, or whatever piece of jewelry that is tarnished,  are placed on top of the powder.  Last, but not least, white vinegar gets poured onto the whole shabang.

I grab an old, clean toothbrush and scrub away. 

Rinse well, and the earrings or whatever will look SO MUCH BETTER. 

Be sure to pour out  the soda and vinegar and rinse the bowl well.  

Let dry on a paper towel.  

Voila! "newly looking"  jewelry!

IF YOU HAVE ANY, HOW DO YOU CLEAN AND POLISH YOUR COSTUME JEWELRY?

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Lunch Box Treats

It'd be interesting to know how many chocolate chip cookies I have made over the course of a lifetime.

One thing is for sure, it's a LOT.

These days, there would be no reason to make those treats. 

They don't even have much attention-grabbing powers for me anymore.

The grandchildren, however, are another story.  

They still love chocolate chip cookies.

I like to give them plastic baggies of cookies so they can be placed in lunch boxes.

That way, the kids have a special treat at school. 

Maybe they'll even think of Grammie for making the sweet treats.

WHAT IS YOUR VERY FAVORITE KIND OF COOKIE?

Continuing to Downsize...

One of the hardest things in the world to do (for me, anyway) is to downsize.

Many of us spend years of our lives accumumlating "stuff", things we perhaps once loved or even still do.

However, our housing situation may have changed and we now are in a much smaller space.

It's virtunally impossible to hang on to all the household decor that we love.

There simply isn't room anymore.

For instance, once upon a time, my cobalt blue collection was very extensive, since I'd taken possession of all the pieces a sister gave away.

Throughout the past five years, little by little, (because it's so difficult), the downsizing bug has bitten hard.

The cobalt blue collection is now down to a very few, random pieces, kept on the sills of the bedroom window.

The last, lingering pieces are shown in today's post. 

 My fave is the little sapphire-colored angel with the golden wings. She is so sweet.

Gone is the lovely, large, Colonial, front entry home I loved for years. 

Now, home is a small, lovely but cramped two and one quarter room apartment. 

How long the cobalt pieces will remain is unknown. 

Since deep pink cranberry glass is my favorite colored glass, it might not be too long to let go of the blue pieces.

But not the angel!  

She's a keeper.

She's the color of my September birth month, blue.

So scrap downsizing when it comes to angel girl 'cuz she's staying!

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DOWNSIZE?

A Make Your Own Sunshine Day

On sunny days, the glass cross shown in this post makes hundreds of rainbows all over the ceiling and walls of my bedroom.

That's a heck of a great way to start a new day of life.

There is something magical about being surrounded by mini-rainbows and lots of them. 

On dark, overcast days, however, of which Massachusetts has many, there is no sun and, therefore, no colored prisms. 

Those are the days people must make their own sunshine.

Today is one of those.

There is still a plan for the day and that makes the gloom easier to swallow.

The sunshine must be in our hearts and minds.

When it is, the day will still be beautiful and filled with promise.

May you, on this day, wherever you are, carry sunshine in your heart. 

WHAT WILL MAKE YOUR HEART CARRY SUNSHINE TODAY?

Caribbean Island Art

 

Ethnic art has always fascinated me.

It's a delight to see the designs and styles of artists from all corners of the earth.

The clay dish seen in this post came from a Caribbean Island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.

A first glance of the dish in a thrift store showed that it was definitely Latino styled art. 

Then, I saw the words "Isla de Mujeres" lightly painted on the bottom of the piece.

That's how it was found where it was from.

The colors,  details, and story it could tell about the people on the painted dish, all fascinate.

The painter's name is on the back.

It's a nice little dish that makes a bold statement, now adorning  the wall of a small apartment in western Massachusetts!

    DO YOU LIKE ETHNIC ART?

Fancy "Rolled Flowers" for the Bathroom

While scrolling through the Internet the other day, a short video on how to turn toilet paper rolls into flowers, caught my attention.

It's always very helpful to have a roll of toilet paper nearby when the one on the holder is running low.

|In the video, the making of these "flowers"  was definitely easy as pie. 

First of all, tear four small squares from the roll and set them aside.

Then take a pretty napkin (the larger, the better), in the design of your choice, and starting with a pointed corner, roll and tuck it into the hole of the toilet paper.

When it's completely covered and tucked, take the four small sheets of toilet paper and push them down into the tube.  

The "flowers" shown in this post are now on a tray set on the back of the toilet, along with a fragranced diffuser and bathroom spray as well.

Voila!  You will have paper ready to use when you need it and geesh, the resulting "flowers"  are so darned cute!

They'd be especially nice for guest bathrooms. 

Many thanks for this idea to whoever thought it up and shared it on the Internet.

Truly Colorful Tulips

 

While pushing a shopping cart down the aisles of Michael's (craft store) recently, we stopped to look at some of the adorable Easter items.

Many had 50% off tags in front of them.

Then a painting of tulips halted the shopping cart.

Bright, cheerful, and positively smile-producing, the painting's price was in the 50% off items.

Nope.  

I made the originally intended purchases and left the store.

The tulips painting kept coming into my mind-----relentlessly.

The following morning, I decided to go back to Michaels.

If, by some miracle, the tulip painting was still there, I'd buy it as an Easter treat for myself. 

If it was gone, then it wasn't meant for me to have.

It was there!  

It's now in the spring gallery on the bathroom wall and I love it!

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT YOURSELF A TREAT?

Wooden Polish Easter Eggs

 

A long time ago, many decades as a matter of fact, I first became introduced to wooden Easter eggs from Poland.

There was a store in the city where we lived at that time.  

Whenever the gorgeously designed eggs came into sight, I wanted them, but they were expensive for our budget.

So, one by one, they came home. It took a long time to collect a bunch of them.

Well, here we are, years later, and those eggs are still with me. 

They could probably use a new coat of clear varnish but to me, they are still lovely. 

Like so many things in life, they are remembrances of a different, more gentle time.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

 

We are just about half-way through the Lenten season.

It's supposed to be a time of preparation for Easter.

For 40 days, it's suggested to fast, pray, and sacrifice.

Today marks the 4th Sunday of lent.

I think doing good things for others is one way to acknowledge lent.  

If you can do it and not acknowledge that you did it, that makes it even more sacrificial. 

Hope your Sunday is blessed, whether you keep lent or not.

Happy Saturday to All...

Here's a wish for a sweet and gentle Saturday!

The little lambie pie, shown in this post, came here yesterday from a super Walmart.

We went on an excursion to another town and that is where we found him.

He baaaaaa's and even walks!

He is so freaking adorable.

Right now, he's overlooking a glass plate filled with beautiful wooden Polish Easter eggs.  

A littler lambie pie is hanging out on the other side of the dish. 

These bring smiles and we all need more of those each new day!

Happy Saturday!

A Big Pink Bunny

It's often noted that the "little child" we once were, still lives inside of us.

Honestly, I believe that.  

When first seeing the big, pink bunny shown in today's post, my heart beat a little faster. 

She was soft. She was cuddly. She was totally adorable.

She didn't cost an arm and a leg so I bought her.

Even though I really wanted to keep her for myself, I gave her to one of my grandchildren.

But if he ever wants to put her in the charity pile, I hope he calls me first and I'll take her back home with me.

The little kid in me wanted that pink bunny badly.  

The rational adult knew she was meant to live with a kid.

HOW DO YOU NURTURE YOUR INNER CHILD?