St. Patrick's Day & Easter Decorator Projects 2024

This year March brings us two holidays, St. Patrick's Day and Easter. So I thought I would combine them both. I love decorating for holidays. Usually on the first day of the month that a holiday is in I change up a few things in the house to make it a little more festive. Our winters are long up here, so it's nice to add a few smiles around the house.

This year I made pillow covers. These covers are really easy to make. I don't know about you, but I have so many pillows in my home, I didn't want to go out and purchase more. So that's why I decided pillow covers would be a great idea. You just slip them over your existing pillows and when the holiday is over, you just remove them and your home goes back to normal. It's practical and fun to make.

A few years ago I was at Hobby Lobby and all their Easter decorations were like 90% off.  picked up a really cute pastel table runner for like $1. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but at that price I had to buy it.  When I decided to make these pillow covers, that pastel runner came in handy. It was the right width of my pillows. So I decided that the $1 runner would be part of my pillow covers design. 

Dollar Tree always has really cute towels for most holidays. So I purchased a few of their St. Patrick's Day towels and their Easter towels. You can't beat the price. So for about $5 I was able to cover 7 pillows. I love the way they turned out. 

I wanted to have a few pillows with a picture sewn on the pillow cover. 

These are very easy to make. I found some cute clipart on the internet. Then downloaded it and used my Print Shop program to put the designs on inkjet fabric sheets. You can purchase inkject fabric sheets at any craft store or on the internet.

Once the designs were printed, I pressed them with an iron to set the ink and then hand stitched them on to the front of the pillow cover.

I really think they turned out cute. I'm always looking for ideas to make things. Pinterest always has great ideas for holiday crafts and holiday recipes. Now that I'm retired I have lots of time to make things. I'm one of those people that have to keep their fingers working. Sometimes  think I go to extremes...LOL! But I love having the time to do all the things I love to do.

I especially love this design. The bunny is so cute!

Let's Make Some Holiday Pillow Covers...

First off you need to measure your existing pillow (length and width). Below is a chart that shows the size of fabric you need to cut. Most pillow covers will wrap around the pillow. So there will only be one seam. You can also make them with different backs, like I did for the one below. Just remember to add about a 1/2" on both side for the seams.

Once you have cut them out, you will first stitch them together on the top. Then you need to finish off the side seams. I just ironed a 1/4" fold on either side and then folded them over again and stitched them. Once the sides are done, you can finish the seams at the bottom and top. Or if using only one piece of fabric for both sides you will only stitch one seam at the bottom.

After the pillow cover is stitched together and the side seams are complete, you need to add either some ribbons on each side or a piece of the fabric that you are using for the pillow to make ties. 

At first I added thin colorful ribbons, but I didn't like the way it looked, so I made ties out of the fabric for some and used wider ribbon for the rest. I thought they looked much better with the wider ties.

I think the thicker ties made a big difference. Make sure you cut the ties long enough to make a bow.

I love they way they turned out. Plus no more buying extra pillows! Just slip them off and you have your original pillows.

So that's it. A simple project for the holidays. 

The pillows add a little spring to a long winter! 

Below are projects from last year. You can view the directions on how to make the candle holders in my post called "Cute & Easy Easter Crafts"

One Final Thought...

Well, that's it for today. I love to create and make items that are simple and cute, especially for holidays. If you are interested in making the items above, don't for get to check my post from last year called "Cute & Easy Easter Crafts". Also, I have a couple of posts on making Hershey Nugget Candy Wrappers for St. Patrick's Day and Easter. It's a free download.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

Always remember..."Life's short...eat dessert first!"...words to live by! 

www.handmadebyhoffy.com

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

This post is all about chicken, chicken, chicken...Making new recipes is always fun for me. I especially like chicken recipes. You can make so many different dinners or lunches with that little bird. I use a lot of rotisserie chicken because it eliminates the cooking process and is definitely cost effective. Plus I can get at least 2-3 meals out of one rotisserie chicken. When using a rotisserie chicken, don't forget to keep the bones. I make chicken broth out of the remaining chicken parts and use it for gravy or a starter for chicken soup.

This recipe however needs to be made from scratch. You'll never go wrong with chicken breasts and cheddar cheese. I like to shred my own cheddar and other cheeses. For some reason when you purchase it already shredded, it doesn't melt the same way. If you don't have the time, store bought shredded will work fine, but once again it doesn't melt quite the same way as fresh shredded.

Here are a few chicken recipes that I also love to make...

Chicken Alfredo Fiesta Lasagna

I tinkered with this recipe. By adding Fiesta ranch dressing mix to the alfredo added a whole new element to this lasagna. I also added some heat with some peppers. Everyone loved it. So here's another great recipe where you can use either rotisserie chicken. A quick put together dinner that can be made the night before.

Chicken and Dumplings

This is one of my favorite chicken and dumpling recipes. When you're looking for some great comfort food, this recipe will fill the bill. Using a rotisserie chicken makes this a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Another really delicious chicken recipe is Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs. I always try to make quick and easy recipes for dinner. This one, along with the chicken and dumpling recipe are those recipes. I love using chicken thighs because they are inexpensive and very juicy and tender. Add bacon and you have a gourmet dinner with no fuss or muss.

Now for the Main Event...Crispy Cheddar Chicken...

I've talked so much about rotisserie chicken, I almost forgot to talk about Crispy Cheddar Chicken. My bad... 

This recipe is delicious. I use that word a lot, but it's oh so true. Again, easy and cost effective. However, you will have to use whole raw chicken breasts for this one. Add some mashed potatoes and gravy and a small salad and you have a really great dinner.  When I'm in a hurry, I use gravy mix. It's just my husband and myself now, so I try to take any shortcuts I can. I also use instant mashed potatoes with a little onion powder and garlic powder added.  For us, the easier the better!

Below is the recipe for Crispy Cheddar Chicken. I do hope you try it. You won't be disappointed. They are crunchy and crispy. The family will love them.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken Recipe...

Ingredients:

Chicken:

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 2 sleeves Ritz crackers (I have also used cheese puffs for the coating. It enhances the real cheddar cheese).
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 c. milk
• 3 c. cheddar cheese, grated (I grate my own cheese, but store bought is also good. The store bought shredded just melts a little different.
• 1 tsp. dried parsley

Sauce:

• 1 10 oz. can cream of chicken soup
• 2 T. sour cream
• 2 T. butter

Instructions:

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the Ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans.  Toss the 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Some of it will fall off when  you add it to the cracker crumbs, don't worry about it. Press the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. By the time you are done coating the last piece of chicken, the dish you are using for the crumbs will be full of cheese.  Don't let it get you down.  Once the cheese melts in the oven it will adhere nicely to the crumbs and the crackers.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

That's it! Yummy Crispy Cheddar Chicken...Oh so good!!!!!

As if I haven't added enough chicken recipes, below are a few more from my posts. Enjoy!

  

Just One More Thought...

I do hope you get a chance to try the Crispy Cheddar Chicken. A quick, easy and delicious main course for dinner!

Homemade Goo Gone...

For a quick method of cleaning those sticky tags off purchased items, you can purchase Goo Gone, or you can use this recipe to make your own.  It works very well!

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsps. baking soda

Directions:

1. Combine the vegetable oil and the baking soda in a small bowl.
2. Dip the edge of a piece of paper toweling in the mixture and then rub over the sticky stuff you are trying to remove.

Thanks Jen Lietz 

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Spotless Floor Cleaner:

A great floor cleaning recipe. I use it all the time. It leaves everything streak free and smelling amazing!

• 1 cup distilled vinegar
• 1 T. liquid dish soap (I use Dawn, It's the best!)
• 1 cup baking soda
• 2 gallons warm water

Always remember, "Life's short...eat dessert first"! Words to live by...

www.handmadebyhoffy.com