Peanut Butter Cracker Balls

I just love peanut butter candy! Last year around Easter I shared a recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups.  And this Easter I've got another peanut butter treat!
This is one that I just threw together as an experiment one night.  It's based on this traditional peanut butter cookie/candy recipe that I shared back in January. And I think you'll find it's the perfect sweet and salty combo candy!
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Fun Easter Wreaths

Easter is just around the corner! (Yeah! I really feel like it's sneaking up on us this year!)

So I got to browsing around yesterday for some Easter wreaths to share with you guys.

I found all of these on the great and wonderful source that is Pinterest! (Follow Me!) 



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Rice Krispie Treat Nests with Easter Peeps

Today I've got an amazingly simple and fun treat! It's a great take on a classic favorite, The Rice Krispie Treat, with some fun Easter ingredients added in to create a festive and fun edible party favor that everyone will enjoy!
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My Easter Vignettes

I've been meaning to share my Easter Decor for weeks, but I guess the week before the holiday is better late than never, right?  I had the hardest time deciding how to decorate!  For one thing, some of my cutest pieces are packed up in storage, and I decided against getting them out, and then I also have some really cute glass eggs in my "treasure cabinet" that I've collected in the past few years, and oddly enough, I didn't use those either!

So at first I was working with just a few different things that didn't seem to go to together in one display, but I managed to throw some more things into the mix to make it work and actually made 3 displays. 

This is on top of the fridge.  I used a pink runner, and then in the center, there is a flower adorned wishing well with a glittery Easter sign.

My mom gave me this glass Easter basket either last year or the year before.  It was probably a Hallmark or Cracker Barrel find, as those are two of her favorite places!  And it is just super cute in person!

And I just threw this bird house up there because it's springy and went with the color scheme.

Growing up, we always had a bunch of "country rabbits" like these.  I've been thinking of getting rid of them because I don't have a place for them, but I figured I could at least use them for Easter! 

And that's a Beatrix Potter tin in the center! My mom and dad collected tins when I was kid, and this one's from their collection. It's dated 1992.

And if you checked about my Easter Egg Banner last week, you probably noticed all the stuff on top of my treasure cabinet.

I actually keep this "runner" (it's not actually a runner) on top of the cabinet all year round, except at Christmas.  It was on the end of my bed when it was a kid, and I've always loved it.

Actually come to think of it, I've had most of this stuff since I was little, except for all the egg pictures.  But I think they all came together quite nicely! What do you think?

I'm linking up here.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

I'm really excited to bring you this week's recipe!  It is a homemade version of one of my all time favorite candies---the peanut butter cup!

I first saw this recipe in Taste of Home magazine a few years ago, and I marked the page but never got around to trying the recipe. (This tends to happen a lot with me.)  But a few days ago, I was wanting to make some kind of new spring/Easter treat, so I started looking through my old magazines, and found these again.  I had all the ingredients I needed, and they were pretty easy to make, so I decided to give it a whirl!

I have to warn, these things are very tasty!  They remind me of the gourmet peanut butter cups that you order, except they're much cheaper, and the peanut butter is more sweet, almost like a Reese Cup!  And since these are so easy to make, I'd say if you make them once, you'll probably be tempted to make them again and again.  So don't say I didn't warn you!  Hope you enjoy!

Recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups:

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided

4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), coarsely chopped

Colored sprinkles, optional

Directions:  In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth; set aside.

In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips, candy bars and remaining peanut butter; stir until smooth.

Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. (I didn't have any miniatures, so I used the regular sized cups and started with about a tablespoon of chocolate in each cup, but I recommend making miniatures, because these things are rich!)

Top each with about a teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture. (For the regular sized cups, I actually used a cookie scoop to measure, so it was just under a tablespoon of peanut butter.  Then I rolled it into a ball See pic below.)

Then top with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. (tablespoon for regular size cups)

For fun and extra added cuteness, decorate with sprinkles! Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container.

This makes 3 dozen minature cups, and anywhere from 12 to 18 regular sized cups, depending on how you distribute the ingredients and how big you make the cups.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

I'm linking up at these weekly linky parties.


If you'd like to sponsor some posts on Simply Sweet Home, please email me for details.

Easy Easter Egg Banner

I was decorating for Easter a few weeks ago, and I had all these foam eggs.  At first I was going to hang them in various places in the kitchen, but then I got this fun idea to turn the eggs into a banner.

This is a very easy and inexpensive project, and I was really pleased with how it turned out.  And it just happened to go great with this "Happy Easter" banner I already had. 

What you need:

Foam Egg Sheets

Ribbon

You should be able to find the foam egg sheets at Wal-Mart, a craft store, or possibly a dollar store.  The holes were already punched in these, but you can always use a punch that works with foam if you can't find any sheets like these.

Cut your ribbon in to 6-8 inch pieces.  You could actually go shorter with the ribbon, but I like the look of the longer ribbon.  Loop the ribbon  through the holes of two foam sheets. Tie the ribbon into a knot.  Keep adding eggs in the same way until you have the desired length.  On each end of the banner, take a piece of ribbon and loop it through a hole; tie a knot.  (These ribbons on the end will be used for hanging.)   To give the ends a more cute and "finished" look, take a second ribbon and loop it through the hole, but this time tie the ribbon in to a bow. 

Another thing to consider is adding additional ribbons.  I thought about tying additional ribbons through the bottom wholes or tying ribbons through the middle of the eggs, but in the end I just decided to keep it simple.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

I'm linking up at the Decor to Adore Spring Craft Party and these weekly parties.

If you'd like to sponsor some posts on my blog, email me for details.

The Sweetest Easter Tablescapes

I think I've got Easter Fever!  I had so much fun sharing all the great Easter wreaths last week, that I couldn't wait to share some Easter tables that I found!  These photos are so cheery!  And everything is so cute!  It really makes me wish I was going to an Easter party!

See what I mean?  Don't you want to go to this party? I Do!  Evertything is so cute---even the carrot centerpeice! Just adorable!  This is fromWants and Wishes.

Loved this!  It's so whimsical and pretty! I love the soft pastels, and I love both of these egg trees.  You can see the tutorial at Torie Jayne.

Okay! Believe it or not, this isn't a real tablescape! Surpise!  It's actually dollhouse size!  But it was so cute I had to include it, and I think it would be great inspiration for a life size table. Check it out at Hummingbird Miniatures.

So many beautiful things here!  It's Always a Party at the Parkers is a site that I found long time ago and forgot about.  I don't know how I forgot because they sell some totally unforgettable party supplies!  And after you check out the party table, you can pick some free printables.

This one's actually an Easter Brunch Table.  Isn't that a cute concept?  Check out The Party Dress to see what is being served up.

I love the simplicity of this, and the tree with the birds is gorgeous.  I'm not sure of the original source, but this and other tablescapes are being featured at 79 Ideas.

For more cute Easter ideas, check out my Easter board.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

Sunflower Peep Cake

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

As I was looking through my collection of recipe photos for something to post this week, nothing really inspired me, and since I'm running a little late on the post anyway, I decided I'd just look for something cute from an outside source.  I immediately thought of my husband's birthday, which is next week!  For those of you who are new and do not know, I have to always make a yellow cake with chocolate icing for his birthday.  It's his favorite.  It's what he likes.  End of story! 

Don't get me wrong! It's actually one of my favorites too!  But I just can't blog about the same cake over and over! So for today's post I thought it would be fun to share an alternative to the plain yellow cake with chocolate icing.  I remember seeing this Sunflower Peep Cake along time ago on Taste of Home.  I can't believe I never shared it before because it is so cute!

I don't think I'll be making one of these next week, as I'm certain that hubby's birthday is a Peep-Free Zone, but it's fun to think about just the same!  Hope you enjoy!

Recipe for Sunflower Peep Cake:

Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
2 cans (16 ounces each) chocolate frosting
19 yellow chick Peeps candies
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using two greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely; carefully remove waxed paper.

Level tops of cakes. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

Without separating Peeps and curving slightly to fit, arrange chicks around edge of cake for sunflower petals. For sunflower seeds, arrange chocolate chips in center of cake.

Linking up at these parties.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

If you'd like to sponsor some posts on Simply Sweet Home, please check out my PR page.

I Love Easter Wreaths

Photo Credit: UpTown Originals

Here lately I've been all about wreaths!  Last month I created an etsy treasury of St. Patty's Day Wreaths as well as a Celebrate St. Patty's Day treasury, and so this month I followed these up with a treasuy of Easter Wreaths and another called Celebrate Easter.

Also, this month (actually last week) I joined Pinterest. It's a new bookmarking and social network site.   I've pinned some lovely things for Easter on there as well.  So today I'll be sharing some wreaths from my Etsy Treasury and my Pinterest Page. (By the way, if you're already a Pinterest member or you're going to sign up, please visit my page and follow me, and I will follow you back!)

I hope you enjoy these finds!

Springtime Easter Egg Wreath from A Work of Heart

Easter Wreath from CraftyArtist

Bright and Colorful Easter Egg Wreath from Always Present

Feather Easter Egg Wreath from Every Crafty Endeavor

Spring/Easter Wreath from Loving Every Second

Easter Egg Wreath from Crocheted Creations

Easter Wreath Topiary from Cozy Home Scenes

For more Easter Wreaths, please check out my treasury.

Thrifty Basket Decor

Here's something cute and simple.  I got these baskets at the thrift store.  They were a whopping 50 cents each!  Oddly enough I found these on two separate occasions, and both are in good condition and both appear to be hand painted. 

And I just happened to have some plastic eggs here at home to put inside them.  I'm currently displaying these in the kitchen for Easter.

In the future, I may decoupage these eggs for fun, but till then, they are fine for me as is. 

So if you'd like to decorate for Easter, but you don't want to spend a lot of money and/or you're not that crafy, just get you some plastic eggs at the dollar store and stuff them in a basket.  It works!

-Jerri

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