Painted Plastic Figure Jar Lids

April 1, 2013 by mymateriallife

Until I discovered this beautiful blog post from Torie Jayne that led me to this image, I thought the best thing you could hope to make with a glass jar and a plastic figure would be a snow globe.  Now I’m not so sure.  This was a last minute Easter project for me, but you could make these lids/jars for just about any occasion or storage purpose throughout the year.  I tried making three lids, but this is the only […]

Categories: Easter, Kid Stuff, Miniatures • Tags: candy jars, easter, glass jar lids, glass jars, plastic animals

What We Ate On Easter Sunday

April 1, 2013 by mymateriallife

Clockwise from upper left: Marion Cunningham’s Featherbed Eggs for brunch with chicken apple sausage and strawberries.  This time I made the dish with a heartier country type bread.  I love that you put this together the night before, so in the morning all you have to do is put it in the oven.  Then make yourself a mimosa and relax.  Good the next morning too! Used these eggs to make an after nap (mine) snack of deviled eggs.  Nothing fancy […]

Categories: Celebrations, Easter, Savories • Tags: buttermilk biscuits, dinner, featherbed eggs, food, honey roasted chicken, jean-georges salad, marion cunningham

Nice Things for Easter

March 28, 2013 by mymateriallife

For other Easter ideas (crafts and recipes mostly), please click here.

Categories: Easter • Tags: arts, design, easter, illustration

In Search Of The Hot Cross Bun

March 24, 2013 by mymateriallife

It’s amazing how much flavor, comfort, nostalgia, and tradition I find in these little buns.  They are one of my favorite foods; it’s probably a good thing they are only available for purchase during Lent or I would eat way too many of them.  I’m always excited when I realize that Lent has begun and hot cross bun season is underway.  This year that happy thought occurred on one of those first Saturday mornings in March when I went to […]

Categories: Easter, Sweets • Tags: easter recipes, evelyn birge vitz, food, good friday, hot cross buns

A Bunny Tail for Mr. Bones

April 12, 2012 by mymateriallife

This is a large pom-pom I made to complete the Spring attire for a grade school classroom skeleton model named Mr. Bones.  Just my kind of project – no pay involved, more important things I could have been doing, etc., but someone I like and admire wanted one and I knew I could make it happen.  Plus, I’ve been wanting to make a pom-pom free style (without the use of my Clover plastic pom-pom maker) for some time now.  In […]

Categories: Easter, Other Textiles • Tags: large pom-pom, make your own pom-poms, wool pom-pom

Easter Favorites 2012

April 10, 2012 by mymateriallife

       In photo order (top to bottom): Large tissue paper flowers (instructions here courtesy of Martha Stewart) with home-glittered letters from a party store “make your own banner” kit. My friend Camille’s Meyer Lemon Pound Cake (recipe here courtesy of Amber Simpkins) – flawless in taste, texture and appearance. Camille’s tip:  skip the boiled lemon slices and their brew called for in the recipe.  She made a test run of the recipe and found that they didn’t work for her. […]

Categories: Beverages, Easter, Paper, Savories, Sweets • Tags: featherbed eggs, jelly bean cocktail, marion cunningham, meyer lemon pound cake, tissue paper flowers

Easter Craft Experimentation: Decoupage Egg in Crochet Nest

April 8, 2012 by mymateriallife

I’m kind of surprised by how these two things complement each other because I didn’t originally have them in mind as partners.  The egg is one of those brown paper mache ones from the Phillipines that I found in a package of six at Michael’s. By the way, I’m switching my previous position on the spelling of the paper part – or maybe I’ll just go back and forth between paper and papier depending on my mood!  The decoration was […]

Categories: Crochet, Easter, Paper • Tags: crochet nest, decoupage egg, hemp cord, paper mache

Sedgemoor Biscuits (Plus New IKEA Textiles!)

April 4, 2012 by mymateriallife

I found this recipe in the New York Times a few years ago and finally got around to it today.  Have you heard of these?  They come from England; I’ve also seen them referred to as Easter biscuits or Garibaldi biscuits.  They are really nice. Wonderful with coffee.  Apparently the tradition was to give them as gifts on Easter Sunday, tied with ribbon in bundles of three.  You can find the recipe I used here.  The two changes I made […]

Categories: Easter, Sewing, Sweets • Tags: easter biscuits, home sewn napkins, ikea textiles, sedgemoor biscuits

Papier-Mache Waste Can

March 13, 2012 by mymateriallife

    Look what I found at the Container Store yesterday.  I only went in to use the restroom, but then this fantastic can caught my eye and I just had to bring it home with me.  Isn’t it beautiful – that red interior! Whenever I use my sewing machine I eventually remember that I need a place for trash (thread clippings, seam clippings, etc.) and I usually end up using a paper bag.  This will be so much better. […]

Categories: Easter, Kid Stuff, Paper, Sewing • Tags: container store, papier-mache, papier-mache waste can