NOW, it's spring!

After that last blast of winter at the beginning of April, we are now experiencing summer-like temperatures. It's been very pleasant and nice to get outside finally.

I love the spring plants that crop up all over the yard. Its amazing considering how much wear and tear the yard gets and especially the amount of shade. I guess these plants bloom early so they can avoid those detractors. I call these ones bluebells but I don't think that's really their name as I don't live in Texas.

Protected by the tree from the thunder of many pawprints, these Woodland violets manage to survive from year to year....

I have been making a lot of cards and participated in a Card Swap but I haven't gotten around to taking pics of them all yet. I scraplifted this style of card from the Internet and thought it would make a nice Mother's day card.  I have a thing for butterflies lately.

Spring?

After having such a mild, relatively snowless winter, we have been hit with a couple storms. Imagine, having a possible snow day in April. Yesterday, we had quite a dump and tomorrow the forecasters are calling for another 15 cm..

These two don't seem to mind a bit but I don't know how they manage to find the mud under all that snow.

It was quite deep on the shrubs but the sidewalks were clear by this afternoon so we were able to walk and that's all the dogs care about.

I was kind of late starting my yearly afghan project so I'm glad its still cool enough to have a large warm project on your lap..

Better set the alarm. Could be a slow drive into work tomorrow.

Easter Bunny Bait

My good friend sent me a great new popcorn mix recipe. I was skeptical but she convinced me that once you took a handful, it would become a dangerous new addiction and she was right! It could be changed up for all occasions by using different colours of candy and sprinkles.
I also packaged up some of my other white chocolate candy mix, the Easter bunny was busy with deliveries this past weekend.

Bunny Bait
1/2 cup popcorn, unpopped
1 lb of white chocolate melting wafers ( I guestimated)
1 1/3 cup pretzels, broken (original recipe said use squares, I think it could have used a bit more)
1 cup or so M and M's ( I used the lovely pastel spring ones)
Sprinkles, as needed
I also added peanuts as I like the salty/sweet combo

Pop corn.
Melt chocolate in microwave or on stovetop.
Drizzle half over dry mixture and toss gently to coat.
Drizzle rest of chocolate over and toss. You can throw in some sprinkles here
and mix it in a big roasting pan.
Then pour it in a single layer onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
Let harden and break into pieces.
Store in an airtight container.

They were adorable packaged in these see through cones. Everyone really seemed to enjoy this mix.

Easter Weekend

We lucked out by getting a snow/ice day making this a 5 day weekend. Unfortunately many people in the area lost power and the poor trees lost so many limbs. It was much worse as you went north of Waterloo Region, so we got lucky a second time. Today, the sun is shining and its t-shirt weather. The ice stayed on the trees for 2 days...
Here's what it looked like on Friday morning...

This is the path through the park that I take almost everyday. I guess that's why they call them "widowmakers"....

We were still able to have our egg hunt outside even though there was some slipping and sliding, the kids didn't mind...

Happy Easter everyone!

Chocolate cake

We are getting ready to celebrate our family Easter and I can't wait. My cousin is a fabulous cook and always surprises us with delicious menu items. I'm usually down for desserts so I decided to go a different route this year. This doctored chocolate cake is rich and dense and comes together quickly with a cake mix and prepared frosting if you're in a rush. I bake it in a Bundt pan but you could make 2 layer cakes and ice them together.It's very yummy!

Chocolate Cake
4 eggs
1 instant chocolate pudding mix
1 pkg chocolate chips ( I used about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1 chocolate cake mix

Mix and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes.

Coffee Loving Cardmaker

Yep, that describes me although I try to keep the consumption at a reasonable level.
I've been wanting to play along with their Blog hops for the last couple seasons but I never seem to have found the time to participate. Well today's the day.....

My card might look a little sombre in kraft but hey, there was snow on the ground here this morning so spring isn't quite here yet.

I was able to finally use my coffee dies from My Favourite Things. The teeny, tiny options are just adorable. I went with the word coffee and the heart. I thought this would make a great gift card holder. I know that I always love getting gift cards. I plan on passing this one on to make someone else's day.

The lights a little dim today as well but you get the idea... and the inside...

Freshly Made Sketches 228

I love the simplicity of the sketches from Freshly Made Sketches. My style does not include a lot of frou-frou so they work for me. I've used this die set before and I just love it, plus you can never have too many birthday cards. I just wish I could get away from the matchy-matchy. I'm not good with contrasting colours, I guess. Anyway, I love how the card turned out....

And here is the sketch that I based my card on...

I used MFT Blueprints 26...