Happy Mother's Day

Cranberry walnut chicken salad recipe

I don't like to claim that I am famous for any particular dish but I must say that every time I make my "almost famous" chick salad people always ask for the recipe.

This chicken salad is a pretty simple recipe to make and doesn’t have a lot of ingredients. I use chicken tenders since they cook up so quickly but I have substituted canned chicken in a pinch.

This chicken salad has a nice nutty crunch from the walnuts and that little bit of sweetness from the cranberries. Chicken salad sandwiches are perfect for eating outside on cool spring evenings.  And if you like to entertain try it on mini croissants as a great appetizer course.

Click on the free printable recipe card from Bowdabrablog and Make it easy crafts and print it at 5 x 7 or 4 x 6 size.

Till next week…have very Happy Mother’s day and a great Dinner easy.

Bride and Groom etched wine glasses tutorial

It won’t be long before there will be lots of weddings.  Why not make a personalized set of etched wine glasses for that special bride and groom?  It’s easier than you may think to etch.  And wine glasses are readily available at most stores. I found these glasses at the dollar store!!  Follow this step-by-step tutorial and you will have a wonderful wedding keepsake.  Decorate the stems of your wine glasses with bows that coordinate with the wedding colors or tie on some silk flowers and tulle.  The sky is the limit.

You will need:

Wine glasses

Etching cream (sold at most craft stores)

Small paintbrush

Computer and printer

Piece of glass from an old frame

Clear contact paper

Tweezers

X-acto craft knife or wood-burning tool

Alcohol

Paper towels

You will need to be near a water source to neutralize the etching cream

1.     Work on a piece of glass to cut your stencil. Print the words for your wine glasses on in the font and size of your choice.  I made mine 48 pts.  Place your printed word guide under the glass and tape down so it stays stationary. 

2.     Cut a rectangle of contact paper to cover the size of your words (Work on one word at a time) Attach to the top of the glass over the words.  Use an X-acto knife or a wood-burning tool to cut out the words.  Remove the cut out sections, saving the center parts.

3.     Prepare your glasses by wiping with alcohol to remove any dirt and oils.  Attach the prepared stencil on the glasses making sure you press out all the air bubbles.  Use the tweezers to attach center sections in the O’s and D, B and e.

4.     Using a small paintbrush, add the etching cream to the stencil and leave on for five minutes. 

5.     After you have left the cream on for 5 minutes wash it off  to neutralize it.  You will have permanently etched words. 

6.     Decorate your wine glasses with bows, florals and more.

For complete instructions to make the white bride bow and black tie groom bow for the stem visit Bowdabra blog!

Moist delicious meat loaf recipe - Dinner easy

Moist delicious meat  loaf is a comfort food staple.  I’ve been making this recipe for years and although leftover meatloaf makes a yummy sandwich, I’ve rarely been lucky enough to have any leftovers!

When you have a bad day at work what is better for making you leave all your stress at the door than an old-fashioned meat loaf dinner? Pair it with some creamy mashed potatoes or some mac and cheese and you have comfort food at it’s finest.

Bowdabra and Make it easy crafts is happy to share this home-style recipe card free to print on your printer.  Load some cardstock, click on the photo and then set your printer to print 5 x 7 or 4 x 6.

Enjoy and have a great “Dinner easy!”

Easy Mother’s Day birthstone bracelet

What do you get the mom or grandmother who has pretty much everything?  A hand made gift is a keepsake that she will wear for years to come. And if you make her a bracelet that has the birthstone colors of all her children or grandchildren it is even more special.  You can make it with any kind of beads although I prefer glass faceted ones.  This is a wonderful kid’s project as well.

You will need:

·      14-gauge silver-plated wire (available at all craft stores)

·      Needle nosed pliers

·      Wire cutters

·      Beads in the colors using the birthstone color chart for your birthstones

·      Small spacers beads in silver

Colors for Birthstones

January – Garnet (deep red)

February – Amethyst  (dark purple)

March – Aquamarine (Lt. blue)

April – Diamond (Clear glass)

May – Emerald (Green)

June – Pearl (pearl)

July – Ruby (Red)

August – Peridot (Olive green)

September – Sapphire (dark blue)

October – Opal/Pink tourmaline (pearlescent or pink)

November – Topaz (yellow)

December – Tanzanite (violet blue)

1.     Using wire cutters cut a piece of wire so that it fits around your wrist twice.  If your wire comes in a ring (Which many do) it is already the perfect shape for a bracelet.  If not, bend it to a circle shape using a can or any tubular shaped item as a mold to create the round shape.

2.     Using the needle nosed pliers curl one end of the wire.  Start to add the beads on the uncurled end of wire. Thread two small spacer beads on the wire.  The curled end will keep the beads from falling off as you work. 

3.     Next thread on your birthstone bead.  Follow with two spacer beads and continue with as many birthstone colors as you desire with two spacer beads in between each one.

4.     Curl the second end of the wire in the opposite direction as the first one.