What To Do With All Those Tomatoes

If you're like me and decided that it was an excellent idea to plant five tomato plants for two people, you're probably 

1) sick of eating tomatoes, and 
2) stuck with a bumper crop of 'Mortgage Lifters' that weigh around a pound a piece. 

Here's a great way to put those to good use and pack them away for the winter. 

We like to call this "Love Sauce" (a very simple and tasty marinara). 

I've always found that the simple stuff tastes a whole lot better than anything with a thousand fancy ingredients. Just take a few quality simple ingredients and let them shine. 

This recipe will make one pint (16 oz). Multiply at your discretion. 

Marinara "Love Sauce"

You Need: 

1/2 peck* Tomatoes

1 tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped, to taste

1-2 Garlic cloves, minced or crushed, to taste

1 tsp. Salt, or more to taste

First you will need to peel, seed and juice the tomatoes. It's messy, but I assure you, this sounds like a bigger pain than it is:

Boil a pot of water. Plunge your tomatoes in, two at a time, for exactly 10 seconds. Take a paring knife and core the tomato. The skin should slip off easily. Slice the tomato in half cross-wise through the tomatoquator (not through the stem) and very gently squeeze out the seeds and juice. 

The Sauce: 

Roughly chop the tomato pulp and put it in a large pot. Cover and simmer on medium-low until the tomatoes begin to soften and render more juice. Uncover and mash with a potato masher to break up the pulp. Add about 1 tsp of salt. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce reduces by about half or more, to your liking (this will take some time--go and watch Law & Order or something), mashing and stirring occasionally. 

I like chunky sauce, so I don't do this, but you can run it through a food mill at this point if you want smoother sauce. An immersion blender works well, too. 

This recipe requires a lot of tasting. Add more salt to taste. Add basil and garlic to taste. Slowly simmer about 5 minutes more.

Store by packing into hot jars and processing** in a boiling water canner*** for 35 minutes, freezing, or refrigerating. Done!

Tip: If you're interested in trying this out but lack the aforementioned "tomatolanche", I recommend purchasing the tomatoes at a farmer's market or even a roadside fruit stand. You can buy "seconds" (fruits that are blemished, bruised, cracked, or otherwise imperfect) that are not only just as delicious in sauce form as their more aesthetically-gifted counterparts, but have the added bonus of being significantly cheaper as well. 

 *What the heck is a peck? A peck is an outdated unit of dry volume used by the old-schoolers to annoy "kids these days". If you haven't bought them in peck form, then 1/2 peck is basically a 1 gallon bucket full, or about 6 pounds. 

**What is this "processing" you speak of? Ok, so this means "canning your stuff". If you're interested in home canning, go to Ball's Fresh Preserving to learn more. This is the online-version of the ubiquitous holy text known as the Ball Blue Book, with all the modern conveniences of things such as a pectin calculator and links to buy supplies. 

***Canning tomato products using the boiling water method requires a bit of added acid. Add 1/4 tsp of citric acid (look for it in the "canning supplies" section) or 1 tsp bottled lemon juice to each 16 oz jar before pouring in your sauce. I think this might be a new thing because I hadn't heard of it until recently, but it's possible I haven't been doing it because I was absent that day in pioneering class. 

and
DIY Projects Junkin' Joe Shared with:
~ Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection, Be Inspired, Brag About It, Create ~ Link ~ Inspire, Fat Tuesday, Good Tips Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Hearth & Soul Hop, One Project at a Time, The Scoop, Share It Link Party, Show and Share, Take-A-Look Tuesday, Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Totally Talented Tuesday, Treasure Box Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Tuesdays With a Twist, Turn It Up Tuesday, Tutorial Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday.
~ Awesome Things Tuesday, Centerpiece Wednesday, Down Home Blog Hop, Fluster's Creative Muster, Fresh Foods Wednesday, From Dream to Reality, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Hit Me With Your Best Shot Wednesday, Homemaking Link Up, Homemaking Party, Inspiration Board, Inspiration Exchange, Mommy Club, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Penny Pinching Party, Project Parade, Real Food Wednesday, The Yuck Stops Here, Wake Up Wednesday, Wednesday Roundup, Wednesday Whatsits, Wellness Wednesday, What Are You Doing Wednesday, What We Accomplished Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, What's It Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Wine'd Down Wednesday, Wonderful Wednesday, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday. 
~ Creative Ways Link Party, Full Plate Thursday, Home & Garden Thursday, HomeAcre Hop, It's A Party, Pennywise Platter, Share Your Cup Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Thrifty Thursday.
~ Anything Goes, BFF Open House Link Party, City of Links, Farmgirl Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, Flaunt It Friday, Foodie Friday, Freedom Friday, Friday Favorites, Fridays Unfolded, Frugal Friday, Gluten-Free Friday, Handmade Hangout, Home Sweet Home, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, Junkin' Joe, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, LHITS DIY Linky, Old Fashioned Friday, Pin Junkie Pin Party, Pinworthy Projects, Real Food Fridays, Show and Tell Fridays, Weekend Re-Treat, Weekend Social. 
~  Creative Collection, Dare to Share, Link Party Palooza, No Rules Weekend, Saturday Sharefest, Say G'Day Saturday, Serenity Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Simple Saturdays, Simply Natural Saturdays, Weekend Potluck, Weekend Wind Down, Weekends Are Fun Linky Party.
~ Creative Style, DIY Inspired, DIY Showcase, Happiness is Homemade, Share Your Creativity, Silver Pennies Sunday, Sunday Brunch, Think Pink Sunday.
~ A Round Tuit, Amaze Me Monday, Busy Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Craftastic Monday, Frugal Crafty Home, Homemade Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Inspiration Monday, Mad Skills Monday, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Meandering Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Mod Mix Monday, Mommy Monday, Motivation Monday, Much Ado About Monday, Real Food Recipe Roundup, Thank Goodness It's Monday.                              
                                                         

Review & Giveaway: Green Cycler Compost Bin Shredder

My husband and I live in an older residential neighborhood just a few blocks south of the Washington, DC border - one of those in-between suburban-like areas very near an urban community.  A few decades ago, people here took good care to plant a lot of trees so that today our yard resembles more a forest floor than a lawn - grass only grows in patches, and it is difficult for us to get anything that likes much sun to grow.

We've made a few ventures into gardening, but the challenges of our yard have proven more challenging than our skills so far.  Even so, a couple years ago, we acquired a good compost bin for outside that has a drawer in the base where we can extract rich compost when we need it.  Yard and table scraps go in the top and when we think about it, we try to make sure to layer it properly so it will break down.

We don't do a whole lot with it to speed up the process, and since we make more compost than we currently use, we're mostly ok with that, but still, it can be frustrating to see how very long it takes most scraps to break down, and I worry sometimes about the scraps attracting critters we don't want to feed.

The only way to really prevent that is to chop up items for the compost into small bits - but I can't think of much that makes me feel more tired and put upon than having to chop up my scraps after I've already chopped everything up for dinner.  Chop up a banana peel? Uh, no.  Not happening.

Sometimes this means things are going into our composter that we know good and well are going to sit there for months.  And worse, it sometimes means we just toss it into the trash where it will sit entombed in a landfill forever.

Since we are composting mainly to reduce our landfill waste rather than to garden, that seemed really counterintuitive, but I didn't have any answer to it until I read about the Ecotonix Green Cycler.

Basically, the Green Cycler is a manual garbage disposal for items you can put in your compost pile, and it is brilliant. Instead of grinding up produce scraps in your sink and sending them into your water supply, they're cut into small bits and put with your compost. The smaller size breaks them down much, much faster then leaving them as big chunks.

MUCH faster breakdown

When our Green Cycler arrived, it was very carefully packaged, with just a couple of simple things to do to put it together  - adding the end of the handle was about it, along with inserting the filter pad (which I'll explain in a moment.

The construction of  the Green Cycler is quite impressive to me - the blades are housed in a unit that is quickly and easily removed to tuck into the dishwasher for cleaning, and so is the drawer that holds the chopped bits until they can be taken outside to the compost pile.

The handle scared us at first - the very first night, after looking at their chart about what can be composted, we tried to put an avocado seed through it - on feeling some major resistance, we were afraid it might snap the handle, so we stopped.  It would have been terrible to break it on it's first run!

But since then, we've successfully chopped up several challenging items without any trouble - the key is to push the handle forward, then backward, and keep rocking it like that until the tough items break up.

I'm no longer worried that the handle will break - this thing is tough!

The Zeopack filter is a bit of brilliance all its own - packed with Zeolite, a toxin-absorber, this pad fits into place behind the choppers and, unlike filters in other appliances that have to be replaced often, this can be recharged by hanging it in sunlight for awhile. How cool is that??  If you decide it's gotten worn out, you can buy replacements for a mere $7.99 - but it's reusable for YEARS, so likely if you buy one, it'll be to put it to work in other places, like your stinky gym shoes or cat box.   Whenever it does go belly up, you can just cut off the metal hanger, and the rest of it can be tossed into the composter!

      
To use the Green Cycler, you simply put the scraps from your produce and meal preparation into the top of the appliance.  The window on the lid lets you see what's going on.  The handle can be turned either forward or backward, and it works best to rock it back and forth until the scraps fall into the tray below.

As a left hander, I'd love to have the ability to have the handle on the left side, but I didn't find this to be a huge concern - this is a large motor issue and I haven't had any trouble dealing with it on the right side.

A slightly larger issue was the suction cup feet - our counters are old, cheap formica, and it didn't hold very well. But this again wasn't a huge problem - I never had much luck with suction cups, and holding the Green Cycler still was a simple matter of putting my left arm on the top of  the machine, while cranking with my right.

After chopping, scraps come out about the size of a nicely chopped salad.  The tray at the bottom holds a large amount (enough to deal with a bunch of kale that got away from me), and pulls out very easily to take outside.

Both the tray and the chopper are quickly removeable to tuck into a dishwasher for quick and easy washing, and I recommend doing so as often as possible.

Being able to easily keep the parts clean, along withe the filter, has meant almost no unpleasant smells or issues with fruit flies, which I honestly can't say was the same with our last composter pail.

In addition, it's so simple to stuff scraps into it as a part of meal prep that it doesn't feel like any extra work at all.

We've used our Green Cycler every day since we got it, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say it's my favorite countertop appliance.

With all the fantastic information Green Cycler puts on their website about composting, worm farming, gardening, and why you want to keep your compostible items out of landfills, using Green Cycler has really inspired me to try to be more proactive about our compost pile.  I am thinking that we may be ready to add some worms come next spring, and really start preparing the soil in our yard to handle some actual planned gardening.

Even if you're living in an apartment and can't do any gardening beyond potted plants, the Green Cycler can help you out - because it turns scraps into compost so much more quickly than a traditional compost pile, you could turn your chopped up scraps into a plastic bin, and quickly have enough rich compost to feed your plants, without taking up too much space.

I seriously cannot recommend this tool enough - it is one of those rare inventions that is a total game changer. If you don't know why you'd want to compost your scraps, think about this:

Green Cycler is available in a few different models that cost between $99.00 and $139.  The one I have is the Green Cycle Garden Cycler V300, and after using it regularly, I find it to be very sturdy, easy to clean and an absolutely essential tool for our kitchen.

I am really excited  to announce that Green Cycler is letting us offer the Garden Green Cycler (the same model I received) as a  Giveaway for one of our readers!  This Giveaway is open to Continental US residents only, and will end just before midnight on September 25, 2014.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This lets us contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

Good luck, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Green Cycler Website
Green Cycler on Facebook

Shared with:

~ Anything Goes, Blog Giveaway Round Up, Linky For All Giveaways, Fabulous Finds & Linky Party, Friday Giveaway Linky, Giveaway Linky Party, Freedom Fridays, Friday Giveaway Link Up, Fridays Unfolded, Fun Friday, Handmade Hangout, Let's Get Real Friday, Party Bunch, Round 'Em Up Friday, Shabbilicous Friday, Weekend Re-Treat.

~ I Want to Win Saturday, Giveaway GAB, No-Rules Weekend, Say G'Day Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Super Saturday Giveaway Linky, Sweeping Saturday.

~ Around the Blogosphere, Creative Style, DIY Showcase, Living Montessori Giveaway Linky, Sunday Stroll, This Week's Giveaways Galore.

~ BBW Weekly Giveaway Linky, Contesting Monday, Link Your Giveaways, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Mommy Monday, Monday Giveaway Link Up, Monday Madness, Monday Madness Giveaway Linky, Monday Morning Link Up, Mostly Homemade Mondays, Winning Rocks!. 

~ Apron Full of Giveaways, Brag About It Giveaway, Giveaway Linky By Country, Got Giveaways?, Handmade Tuesday, Frugal & Fabulous, Terrific Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Treasure Hunt Tuesday, Tuesday Giveaway Link Up, Tuesday Giveaway Linky, Why Buy It.

~ Giveaways in Blogland, Happy WINSday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Moms Win on Wednesdays, Southern Krazed Win It Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Wealth, Wednesday Whatsits, What's It Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Win It Wednesday, Winning Wednesday, Winning WOW! Wednesday.

~ Giveaway Directory, Great Thursday Giveaway Linky, Home & Garden Thursday, It's A Party, Lilac's Linky, Linky Love, Share Your Cup Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Giveaway Linky, Thursday Tell All, Thursday Treasures, Thursday's Giveaway Linky.

~ Aquariann's Giveaway Linky of Treasure, Bacon Time Giveaway Linkies, Blog Giveaways Directory, Chic Monkey Giveaway Linky, Cuckoo Deals Giveaway List, FabFit40s Giveaway Linky, Low-Entry Giveaway Linky, Ongoing Blog Giveaway Linky, Ongoing Giveaway Linky, Rafflecopter Giveaway Linky List, Rafflecopter Only Giveaway Linky, Raindrops & Sunshine Giveaway Linky, Steady Hand Giveaway Linky,WAHM Resource Site Giveaway List. 

~ Daily Giveaway Linky, Giveaways at Katherine's Corner.      

                                           

Review/Giveaway: Golden Hands Designs - Warm Weather Whimsys

Several months ago, I was able to review one of my favorite handicrafters - Golden Hands Design.  All of her items have a wonderful Bohemian Chic air about them, perfect for crunchie hippies, young and old alike. (Her motto is "Hippy fashion from an Old Hippie!")  The purple 'gnome' hat I reviewed last winter became a signature piece for me, and will be again once the weather turns cold.

This time, I took a look at couple of Cathy's warm weather designs.  As much as I love Golden Hands Design winter hats and shawls, I think it is her crocheted halter tops and barefoot sandals that really show off her free-spirited design personality.

In fact, one of her rainbow halter tops has been used in a major production of Hair at the Hollywood Bowl!

Going right along with the halters, Golden Hands Design makes delightful little barefoot sandals - these are basically foot decorations, as there is no actual sole.  Made of delicate weight yarn in many styles and colors, the sandals wrap around the ankles and hook onto a toe.

The set of barefoot sandals I received were black trimmed with a bright multi-colored triangular patch that decorates the top of the foot, adding a colorful splash of interest to any summer look where shoes aren't necessary.

I find them to be ridiculously cute, but not for me, so I asked my friend Aurora to do the honors of modeling the pair of barefoot sandals I received.  Aurora is, among many other things, a belly dancer, with a whimsical fashion sense that I think plays quite well with Golden Hands Design.

Our getting together to take photos turned out to be a comedy of errors - we normally get together a couple times a month to hang out with friends around a good fire, but first she couldn't make it and then I couldn't make it, and then when we'd given up trying to have me take photos (her boyfriend agreed to do it instead, she went on a camping trip that apparently included all the mosquitoes in the known universe, and they all agreed her feet tasted delicious!

But finally, she was able to model them - and I think it was well worth the wait, because they look just fantastic, don't they?

In terms of worksmanship, while I don't crochet, I found them to be very well made - delicate without being unduly fragile.

Obviously, they're not intended for hiking or rough use (because, hello, barefoot!), but the only portion that might wind up with some real wear and tear is  the bit under the toe - nothing else touches the ground.

I think they'd look amazing with any sort of summer dress, shorts, or even jeans, and I'm rather jealous that my balance issues make going barefoot difficult for me.  Depending on the exact design, Golden Hands Design barefoot sandals run between $10 and $20 for a pair.

The other item I received for review was a Purple Crocheted Wine Sling, and I plan to make heavy use of it at a few upcoming events, including our local Renn Faire.

I absolutely love  the idea of these - a wine glass fits into the sling which can then be worn around the neck for handsfree portability. These little goodies come in several colors and cost only $15.00 with a wine glass included.

If you want to walk handsfree with these, I'd suggest keeping the liquid below the half way point to avoid sloshing (common sense, that).  I find that the best use of these, other than making you look adorable, is to wear them as a way to hang onto a glass easily between drinks.

A few times a year, when I gather with friends, we have a tendency to share a communal cup together. While I love this as a practice, pragmatically, my lowered immune system creates risk - I am going to bring my Golden Hands Design Wine Sling with me the next time, as a way of sharing a toast without sharing anything unintentional.

One thing I think these wine slings would be perfect for would be a bachelorette party or 'girls night out' event - at such a low cost, these would make wonderful favors and souvenirs of the event.  Someone crafty could even mark the wine glass with something meaningful to commemorate the experience.

Before I move on, the biggest question I had when the package arrived was how easily the glass could be removed for washing - have no fear there!  It easily lowers down the stem and slides off from the bottom without stretching.  As long as any other glass has a base that isn't much wider than the one that comes with it, it shouldn't be a problem switching it out for your personal favorite bit of stemware. (I also find myself wondering how this might do with a small drinking horn!

Please do go to Golden Hands Design and check out all her whimsies - in addition to winter hats and scarves, there are fingerless gloves, and her warm weather items include these lovelies, but also crocheted dreamcatchers and some fabulous repurposed china garden art.

Each Golden Hands Designs garden art piece is completely one-of-a-kind, because she uses repurposed thriftshop and yardsale finds to create them.  Some may have very minor chips or scratches as a result - as Cathy says, it's unlikely the birds will mind.

To set these up in your yard, all you need is a 3-4ft pole (not included), about 1/2" thick (such as rebar), planted into the ground or pot where you plan to put this.  The piece includes a bottle that can slide over  the pole.

Cathy's agreed to let us offer this gorgeous repurposed  maroon and white china plate garden flower to one of our readers.  Due to the expense of shipping such a heavy item, this giveaway can only be open to US residents.

As we move into fall, our garden blooms may be going away - wouldn't it be great to have this splash of color to remind us of the lush days of summer?

The value of this China Garden Art piece is $25, and the Giveaway will run until just before midnight on September 13.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This lets us contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

Good luck, everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Golden Hands Website
Golden Hands on Facebook
Golden Hands on Instagram

Shared with:

~ No-Rules Weekend, Say G'Day Saturday, Serenity Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Super Saturday Giveaway Link Up, Sweeping Saturday, Sweepstakes Saturday.

~ Around the Blogosphere, Creative Style "Anything Goes" Link Up, DIY Showcase, Living Montesorri Now Giveaway Linky, Sunday Linky Edition, Sunday Stroll.

~ Best Giveaways Around, BBW Weekly Giveaway Linky, Contesting Monday, Link Your Giveaways, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Mommy Monday, Monday Giveaway Linky, Monday Funday, Monday Madness Giveaways, Monday Morning Link Up, Winning Rocks!.

~ Apron Full of Giveaways, Bless Their Little Giveaways, Giveaway Linky By Country, Got Giveaways?, Handmade Tuesdays, Link Up Your Giveaways, September Garden Party, Terrific Tuesday, Treasure Hunt Tuesday, Tuesday Giveaway Linky, Why Buy It?.

~ Giveaways in Blogland, Happy WINSday, Moms Win on Wednesdays, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Southern Krazed Win It Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Wealth, What's It Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Win It Wednesday, Winning Wednesday, Winning Wednesdays, Winning WOW Wednesday.

~ Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Giveaway Directory, Great Thursdays Giveaways, Home & Garden Thursday, It's a Party, Linky Love, Lilac's Linky, Thrifty Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Giveaway Linky, Thursday Treasures, Thursday's Giveaways. 

~ Aquariann's Giveaway Linky of Treasure, Bacon Time Giveaway Linky, Blog Giveaway Linky, Chic Monkey Giveaway Linky, ChicNSavvy, Cuckoo For Coupons, Ongoing Giveaway Linky, Rafflecopter Giveaway Linky, Rafflecopter Giveaway Linky List, Raindrops & Sunshine, Sweeps Factory Giveaway Linky.

~ Katherine's Corner Monthly Giveaway List, Sweeps4Bloggers Giveaway Linky.  

14 Ways to Celebrate Spring Equinox 2014

AT LAST!  According to the Farmer's Almanac,Spring arrived with the Vernal Equinox at 12:57 EDT today, and while there may still be snow on the ground in several parts of the country, and perhaps more to come, the Universe has spoken - it is SPRING.

Can you tell I'm excited to see the end of this never-ending Winter?  I know I'm not the only one, although it sometimes feels like it - many of my friends are total snowbunnies, cheering every new weather report of impending snowstorms, and several of our writers here at Reviews, Chews & How-Tos live in the Mohave Desert and haven't really experienced any winter at all.

But for me - I am a happy woman!  I love to acknowledge this day - not only for it's promise of milder weather and the ability to throw open my windows soon, nor for the sudden burst of crocuses blossoming like crazy in my yard.  The Spring Equinox is one of two times a year (the other is at the Autumn Equinox in September), when our day and night hours are the same length apart and the same in the Northern Hemisphere as they are in the Southern Hemisphere.

So this is a time for us to restore balance in our lives, and it makes a great time to do a reset of things that have gone a bit awry.  One of many reasons why Spring Cleaning is so popular.

Ostara (1884) by Johannes Gehrts.

In ancient times - and among pagans today - many of the symbols that have been adopted by Easter are actually Equinox symbols.  Rabbits (hares) are ancient fertility symbols, as are eggs.  The association of blooming flowers with spring is a no brainer, as are seedlings.  The word Easter is, itself, associated with Ostara (in German) or Eostre (in Anglo-Saxon England), a goddess associated with Spring rather than the Judeo-Christian Passover.  The languages of people who did not ever worship Ostara all use a word still rooted in Passover or Pasche.

With all that in mind, I like when  there is a bit of distance between the first day of Spring and Easter, as there is this year - we can start celebrating with the bunnies and eggs and flowers now, and for those inclined to treat Easter or Passover more religiously, it can be celebrated apart from the Eostre customs.

I've seen so many lovely ideas for bringing in the Spring around the Internet, that I decided to share just a few of them in a 1st Day of Spring round up.  Try one, or all of them, and enjoy the turning of the year!

1.  Make a 3-Dimensional Spring Sign - The Idea Room
Isn't this adorable?  Follow the link to get a clear tutorial using items easily found at the craft store.  I think it would make a perfect focal point for any other Spring decorations, and I just love the greenery.

2. Make a Simple Spring Wreath - Confessions of a Serial DIYer

I really like the natural appeal and crisp light colors of this wreath - the tutorial is easy to follow and there are lots of ways to reinterpret this to make it your own (as much as I love the look of those little green apples, I think I might like finding some robins egg blue accents).

3. Make a Floral Bunny Wreath - The Chirping Moms.
This one has a whole different feel than the previous one - but I like it just as much!  Especially here in DC, where we are having a delayed Cherry Blossom season, I love seeing this decked out in delicate pink blossoms.

4. Paint some Wooden Speckled Robins Eggs - Just a Little Creativity.
Speaking of robins eggs!  These are painted, and then spatter painted, and the directions include a bit of advice about how to avoid making a mess while doing it.  These are definitely on my list of must-dos!

5. Make some Egg Shell Candles - About a Mom.
I can't even describe how cheerful I find that sunny yellow candle peeping out from these egg shells.  A few of these would make a delightful centerpiece.

6. Plant some seeds in Egg Shell Starters - Frugal Little Bungalow
This is just the right time to plant a few seeds, and egg shells make a delightful (and biodegradable) container for them.  The minerals in egg shells are even good for the soil!

7. Make a Flower Crown - Mommy Like Whoa.
I made several of these last year and am just about ready to make a few more - nothing gets you into the spirit of the season like a flowered crown and a dance around your backyard (or kitchen).

8. Dream big!  Make a Backyard Sun Dial! - Mom Foodie
I love this idea so much!  It would be such a great project to do together with children, but also just a gorgeous way to set off a backyard garden.  And it's not even difficult to do!

9. Enjoy a delicious bowl of Caramelized Carrot Soup - Our Family World.
Carrots and ginger and a bit of curry goodness - sounds marvelous to me!  Appearing on our dinner table soon, guaranteed.

10. Make some Stenciled Garden Markers - Earning & Saving with Sarah Fuller
It may still be too cold to bring plants outdoors, but while we're waiting for the weather to catch up, we can plan our gardens and make a few markers in preparation.

11. Make some Baby Chick Deviled Eggs - CincyShopper.com
These are almost too cute to eat!  Almost, I say because I'll be eating many. I think I might make deviled eggs this way from now on because they are SO CUTE!

12. Make a Hanging Flower Chandelier - The Sweetest Occasion
For those fortunate enough to have some blooms ready to bring in, here's a stunning and unique way to display them!  For those of us still making do with early crocuses, here's something to save for a little later in the season.

13. Wear a Ribbon Wrapped Carrot Hairclip - Huckleberry Love.
I love this tutorial, not only for the ridiculously cute carrot themed hair accessories, but because it gives very good clear instructions on one of life's biggest mysteries - how to get that wonderful curly effect in ribbons. (Ok, it was a mystery to me - but now I'm in the know with everyone else!)

14. Make some Bunny Butt Cookies! - Hungry Happenings
Last, but not least, some more adorable food!  These are actually called Chocolate Bunny Silhouettes, but come on. Bunny Butts!  These are actually throwing me into a state of crisis, because I'd already planned out a potluck offering for a Spring gathering I'm attending this weekend, and now I'm strongly considering making Bunny Butts instead!


Consider that a cliffhanger....  and HAPPY SPRING!!

You can find these and other springtime ideas on our Pinterest page on our Stuff We Love @RCH: Spring

Featured!

 

Shared with:
~ All Things Thursday, It's A Party!, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Share Your Cup Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Time Travel Thursday. 
~ Anything Goes, Be Inspired, Fabulously Creative Friday, Farmgirl Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, Flaunt It Friday, Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites, From the Farm Blog Hop, Kitchen Fun & Crafty Friday, Party Bunch, Pinworthy Projects, Shabbilicious Friday, Show & Tell Friday, Thrifty Things Friday, Weekend Re-Treat.
~ G'Day Saturday, No Rules Weekend, Serenity Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Showstopper Saturday, Weekend Wrap Up.
~ DIY Sunday Showcase, Happiness is Homemade, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Silver Pennies Sunday, Sunday FUNday, Sunday Linky, Think Pink Sunday.
~ A Round Tuit, Block Party, Busy Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Craft O Maniac Monday, Craftastic Monday, Frugal Crafty Blog Hop, Inspiration Monday, Mad Skills Monday, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Marvelous Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mix it Up Monday, Mod Mix Monday, Mommy Monday Blog Hop, Much Ado About Monday.