Grown Up Ants on a Log

I don't know about you, but we are having some picnic weather here today in Portland! A great, easy snack for packing up to take to the park is ants on a log. Traditionally made with celery, peanut butter and raisins- O decided on a more grown up version for myself. :)

To make these ants on a log you will need:

A couple stalks of celery, washed and cut into 3-4" pieces

Chevre (a tangy goat cheese for those of you unfamiliar with it--yum!)

Dried cranberries (mine are organic and were purchased at Trader Joe's)

Just wash and cut up your celery, and then use a butter knife to spread your chevre onto each piece. Dot the top with your cranberry "ants" and you are ready to serve! When taking these on a picnic I will usually spread the cheese onto each celery stalk, and then loosely sandwich two pieces together to put in a sandwich bag. I then pull them apart at the park and put on the cranberries right before I am ready to serve.

Yum! One of my favorite summer snacks (absolutely no cooking/baking required!). What are some of your favorite picnic snacks?

Last Minute DIY Ideas for Mom

Hey all! With Mother's Day fast approaching, I know some of you may be at a loss of what to get or make for mom (or maybe you need some ideas of what the kids can make for mom/grandma, etc). Here is a list of some super easy last minute gifts to bring a smile to any mom's face. Happy Mother's Day!

Make mom a long lasting bouquet of paper flowers. There are so many varieties to choose from, and you can use any colored or patterned paper you like! Tailor make some polka dotted daisies or striped roses in mom's favorite colors :)

Make a cute geometric heart card or framed wall art with this tutorial from Ludorn (In German and English).

Make some gem shaped shrink plastic earrings (or charm bracelet, or necklace) with this awesome tutorial from Minted Strawberry.

Whether mom has a green thumb or not, these succulents in painted ball jars will be a great fit! The gals at Lolly Jane even have printable gift tags for you to use!

Have a lot of mom's in your life? You can whip up a huge batch of these bath salts and put them in cute containers to gift to everyone! Bonus points if you scrub the bathroom for mom before gifting these to her!

Happy Mother's Day!

DIY Beeswax Tart Candles

I've been working on some craft ideas that would make cute little gifts lately (you know, wedding season is fast approaching). These cute little candles fit the bill! I used mini tart pans from the kitchen goods store in my neighborhood (about 50-60 cents a piece) as the containers for my candles. The wicks, wax and honey almond scent are from Bulk Apothecary, they aren't paying me for saying that- I just really like ordering my candle making/lotion making supplies from them, they have all kinds of awesome stuff.

To make these candles at home you will need:

Beeswax (If you can find it in the tiny pellets, I recommend it. Grating whole blocks of wax is tedious)
candle wicks
containers (I used mini tart shells)
Fragrance oil (optional) Beeswax does have a subtle scent on its own, and you certainly don't need to scent your candles if you prefer them to be more plain
Glass bowl* (to create a double boiler)
stirring utensil* (I use a plastic spoon)

*I always recommend that you use a bowl and spoon for making candles/beauty products that you do not eat with. I got a pack of plastic spoons as well as a glass bowl at the dollar store. I always hand wash these items and keep them separate from the dishes we eat with.

To start, I measure out my wax pellets. I wanted my tart shells to be pretty much full, so I filled each tarts hell I was using so it was heaping with pellets and dumped them into my glass bowl. I then added a couple extra Tablespoons of pellets just in case any got spilled when filling my candles.

I had ordered a large quantity of 3" long wicks, so I trimmed them a bit before placing them in the tart pans (to about 1.5"). Once the candles are done, you can trim the wicks further if needed.

Place your glass bowl of wax over a pot of simmering water. This will slowly melt the wax. You will want to stir the wax until it is all melted and then add any fragrance if you wish to do so. I added about 12 drops of fragrance for my 3 small tart candles, but if you like a stronger fragrance you can add more.

Once the wax is melted and the fragrance has been stirred in, you can start to fill your candles. I always place the objects I am filling on top of some freezer paper and/or an old towel in case I spill any wax while pouring. Cleaning wax off a table or counter top is a huge hassle. If your candle mold is small, like mine, you may want to use a spoon to spoon the hot wax into your mold (I also found some measuring cups that have a little spout on one side that work well for pouring the wax--again, I do not use these for any other cooking). I always fill my molds up to the top, as the wax settles just a tiny bit when cooling.

Once the wax has cooled and hardened, I trim my wicks so they are about 1/4" long. You are ready to wrap these up as a gift or use them around the house! These would be a great wedding or baby shower favor, and the materials can be bought in bulk online.

What are your favorite little gifts to make yourself?