Easter Craft - Edible Decorations

Do you need a new Easter project for the kids, or perhaps one to put in Easter baskets? How about one to use as a dining decoration? Try this edible treat for an easy, sweet craft that can be served several ways.

Start by making Rice Krispie Treats, modified with using chow mein noodles instead of cereal. The recipe can then be used to make little bird nests, a perennial spring time favorite and especially appropriate for Easter.

Use the standard marshmallow recipe, but substitute the cereal with chow mein noodles, and create a unique, sweet treat that looks like a small bird nest. Add a few jellybeans or chocolate eggs, and even the birds might go for it!

This idea came from Kendra, who has an insane amount of cool crafting ideas at this website.

From The Old Stand-By Rice Krispies Treat Recipe:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2 inch squares.

To make the bird nests, substitute chow mein noodles for the cereal, and carefully mash the sticky ingredients into large muffin tins. Use a greased piece of waxed paper for forming nests, and make a depression into the chow mein noodle mixture while in the muffin cup so the eggs can be placed there.

While the mixture is still malleable, you can form it into the desired shape. Don't worry about breaking up the noodles; remember that birds must tweak their long twigs into workable pieces to finish up their habitats.

Here is a picture of the finished product before complete drying time elapsed.

The marshmallows in the mixture looked a bit too white at this point, so you could use some Wilton's Color Mist Spray in brown and spray all over the entire confectionery nests. (The white does get darker as time elapses, and the nests looked more realistic later in the day.)

Lauren Whitney, local morning television anchor at Grand Junction's KKCO TV (see her blog page here), will talk about this project on air April 9, 2009 during the 6 AM News.

Have fun making these edible treats!

Easter Craft eBook Source

While blog hopping this morning, a thoroughly referenced eBook (FREE!) crossed my computer screen. It was too good not to share, and was found at this website hosted by Jamie.

This is a great resource for Easter Craft Ideas, including:

* 130 Pages of Craft Ideas for Easter
* 12 Easter Egg Decorating Projects
* 20 Easter Table Ideas: Centerpieces, Napkin Rings & More
* 10 Easter Chick Craft Projects
* 20 Easter Bunny Craft Projects
* 10 Easter Recipes

These Easter Craft Ideas can be found at Easter Craft eBook.

Another craft will follow for a spring dining table centerpiece next week. (But first, I have to get busy and work on a few.)

Beading Knitting Markers and Copper Wire

While taking a break from closet reorganization, I started another lace shawl (The Beginner's Triangle from the book A Gathering of Lace.) The shawl is made from a brownish golden DK weight wool. It was the dickens to start, but thanks to knitting friends with savvy, it is off and running.

The only minor glitch in knitting the project is that it requires many, many marker rings for clear delineation of repeat designs.

And I had only a few (maybe 15) rings on hand that I had made last year. The photo below shows those rings already in place in another project.

If you are interested in making some of these markers, hop back to the post a year ago (using jump rings and directions for making them explained there) .

So now it was time for more markers and a new technique. The finished markers were made with beads and 20 gauge copper wire, shown below.

Supplies: a small roll of 20 gauge copper wire from any craft store, beads, crimper beads, wire cutters, a round nose pair of jewelry pliers

Directions: I doubled up on the wire, making the strands stronger, then twisted the wires together, added beads, and closed up the ends with crimper beads. This is an easy, quick project (several pink ribbon markers are going to knitting friends). Be sure to crimp the wire together closely so that the ends will not nick into the yarn fiber while knitting.

If you make some of these beading markers with wire, please show me your designs (or just email me) and give hints on improving them.