Candy Cane Marshmallow Pops

Marshmallow Pops are my new favorite treat.  They are so easy to make...way easier than cake pops.  I have not tried to make cake pops but I've read online about how they can be very tricky.  

I call these Candy Cane Marshmallow Pops.  They don't taste like candy canes...I just call them that because of the colors of the sprinkles.  You could easily make them taste like candy canes by flavoring the chocolate with peppermint extract.

Ingredients:
Marshmallows

Sprinkles

Chocolate chips

Lollipop sticks

Directions:

Place a lollipop stick into the bottom of each marshmallow

Melt the chocolate chips according to the directions on the bag. Flavor with extract if you like.

Dip and twirl the marshmallow in the melted chocolate

Spoon sprinkles over the chocolate.

Place upright in a cup until the chocolate hardens.

These are so easy and quick to make.  You can customize them to any celebration by changing the sprinkle colors.  They would be perfect for little hands to make at a holiday playdate and then give as teacher gifts. My 5-year old got quite good at the dipping and twirling. She was VERY impressed with herself.


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Ladybird Lane
Happy Hour Projects
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Sun Scholars
While He Was Napping

Tip Junkie

Creative Blog

Clean and Scentsible

Someday Crafts

Gingersnaps Crafts

Sugar and Dots

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Blue Cricket Design

Simply Sensational Truffles

I made these a few weeks ago and they were DELISH!!!  Wanted to share the recipe with my wonderful readers:

source

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pkg. (20 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet chocolate

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

Chopped nuts

multi-colored sprinkles

Directions:

Melt 8 chocolate squares in a microwave safe bowl.  

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy.  Blend in melted chocolate.  

Refrigerate until firm

Shape into 36 balls.  Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet (Your hands get quite messy during this stage.  I'm not sure if there is anything that you can put on your hands to keep the chocolate from sticking..maybe flour.  I just kept rinsing my hands every now and then)

Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate then refrigerate 1 hour.

This is what they look like right after you dip them.  I found that it was easier to hold the ball on a spoon and use another spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the ball.  Then, just slide it off onto the waxed paper.  Mine don't look as "professional" as the picture, of course.  Probably because I'm not a professional :)

Make sure to eat some for yourself before the vultures get to them!  This always seems to happen in my house.  I spend all this time making yummy things and barely get to eat any of them.

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Ladybird Lane
Happy Hour Projects
Fingerprints on the Fridge
While He Was Napping

Fabulous Friday Features

Thank you to everyone who participated in Fabulous Friday!!! 

I enjoyed looking through each one and seeing everyone's crafty goodness.  I was meaning to get this post up on Thursday while my turkey was digesting but I got sucked into all the online Black Friday deals and time just got away from me.

Have you put your tree up yet?  We put ours up today.  It was the earliest that we have ever put it up but I couldn't resist because I am so excited about Christmas! Maybe it is because I discovered Pinterest this year and have found so many awesome ideas for this season. To get everyone into the holiday spirit, I am featuring the Fabulous Friday link-ups related to holiday decorating.

Glitter Ornaments

{Mom 4 Real}

Pottery Barn Inspired Wreath

{Sadie Priss}

Snowflake Wreath

{House of Noise}

Thank you again to everyone who participated.  Please grab a button if you were featured.


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My next installment of Fabulous Friday will be next week so get your ideas ready and tell your friends to join in the fun!

Turkey Ribbon Shirt

With the holidays quickly approaching, I dream of dressing my kids in matching outfits.  Only problem...I've got a girl and a boy.  This year, I was inspired by one of the links at my Fabulous Friday link party and decided to make my own turkey shirts.  I can customize them and they look cute on BOTH boys and girls.

MATERIALS

Short/long sleeve white shirt

Ribbon

Buttons

Orange felt

Brown material

Steam-A-Seam

Fabric glue

Iron

Scissors

DIRECTIONS

Following the directions on the Steam-A-Seam, sketch the body of the turkey onto the paper.  Adhere the paper onto your brown fabric and cut out.

Cut your ribbon into 8 inch length segments, fold in half and press.

Cut a beak and legs from the orange felt.

Lay out your feather design on the shirt.

Glue the legs in place using the fabric glue.

Adhere the body of the turkey to the shirt following the directions on the Steam-A-Seam.

Machine stitch around the turkey body to make sure that the feathers are secured.  

Glue the bottom layer of each piece of ribbon to the shirt.  This is so the ribbon does not flop forward when you put the shirt on. Place a piece of cardboard between the layers of the shirt so the glue does not bleed through and stick the shirt together.

Sew the buttons on as eyes. 

Glue the beak on.

(nothing is actually glued or sewn in this pic.  This one was taken while I was laying out the design.  But you get the idea)

Find a cute model to show off your newest creation.

Now...off to make one for my son.  I can't wait to show them off at Thanksgiving Dinner!  Thanks so much to Jessica at A Couple of Craft Addicts for sharing this great project at Fabulous Friday!

Candy Cane Wreath Card Display

How do you display your holiday cards?  Do you stick 'em on the fridge?  Display them on the mantel?  Here is how I am going to display mine this year...

MATERIALS:

Clothespins

Beads

Spray paint

Wire hanger

Wire cutters

Zip tie

Ribbon

Glue gun

DIRECTIONS:

Spray paint the clothespins red.  A diaper box works well for holding the clothespins so you can spray both sides at once.

Cut the top part off the wire hanger with the wire cutters and form the hanger into a circle

When the clothespins are dry, thread the clothespins onto the hanger and place 2 white beads in between each clothespin. Zip tie the two end of the hanger together.

Tie a ribbon around the hanger and then make a bow out of a separate piece of ribbon and hot glue it on.

Ta Da!  Your very own holiday card display.

(And no, that is not a Christmas Card.  Just wanted to show you how it will look with cards on it)

Now go put your feet up and have some eggnog!

Sharing at:
Ladybird Lane
Happy Hour Projects
Fingerprints on the Fridge
While He Was Napping

Tip Junkie

Creative Blog

Clean and Scentsible

Someday Crafts

Gingersnaps Crafts

Sugar and Dots

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Blue Cricket Design

"J" is for Jellyfish

My daughter has been asking to go to the beach for a while now.  This past summer, we were usually there at least once a week but we haven't been since late September.  A few days ago, it was so beautiful out that I decided to take the kids.  There was no swimming, of course because the water was too cold.  The kids were having fun playing in the sand (until another group of kids came and sat next to us and their parents allowed them to go swimming...brrr!).  Sooooo... to distract my kids from THAT situation, we went on a walk down the beach looking for seashells.  During our walk, we stumbled upon a few jellyfish that had washed ashore.  Madison is fascinated by them and began asking all sorts of questions...."will these ones sting me?"  "What is that red stuff in the middle of them?"  I had NO idea the answer to that question.  My knowledge of jellyfish is limited to...."if they are alive, they sting...really bad". Not that I would know from personal experience or anything.  Not like I jumped off a dock in the middle of the night after a few cocktails into jellyfish infested waters.  But I digress.

When we got home, I decided that we would make a jellyfish craft.  This is so easy that my 2-year old tornado son joined in.  At the beginning of the school year, I made the effort to designate one letter per week with Madison and do crafts based on that letter. That plan slowly disintegrated around week "D".  I think we are technically on week "J" but it could be "K"... I have no idea.  Anywhooo.. I thought this was a perfect "J" craft, even if it is summer themed and it is currently the middle of November.

MATERIALS:

Paper plate

Crayons/markers

Googly eyes

Tissue paper or crepe paper streamers

Scissors
Glue

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the paper plate in half

Have your child decorate the paper plate

Glue on googly eyes

Glue strips of tissue paper or streamers to the back

After we finished the craft, my kids took their jellyfish and swirled them around the room like they were in the ocean.  I'm quite impressed that my son sat still enough to do this craft.  I replaced the markers with crayons for him because even though the box says they are washable, I have had one too many experiences with "washable" art supplies that really are not even close to washable.

Fabulous Friday Link Party

Welcome to my First Link Party! 

Fabulous Friday is a place for you to be inspired. It is a place to share what you have been creating and see what others have been working on. It is my goal to have some features when the party closes but since this is my first attempt, please bear with me.

 Some basic "rules:

 1. Please link to your specific post and not your entire blog. Link up as many projects as you like.

 2. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways, or businesses.

 3. Share the love. Mingle. Check out other posts and comment on them. I guarantee you that your comments will make someone's day a little brighter.

 4. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button code.

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I'm SO EXCITED to see what you have been working on!

Coming Soon: Fabulous Friday!!

There are exciting new things happening at Here Comes the Sun.  This Friday, November 18, I will host my first Link Party!   One of my favorite things about blogging is sharing my ideas and seeing other ideas/projects that inspire me.  I love all the link parties that I participate in and have made some friends in the blog world through these link parties.  I'm excited to host my first party and hope you will stop by and link up.  Tell your friends...its going to be a great party...the best party of the year!  The fun starts bright and early Friday morning at 7 am!

Princess Birthday

I have the best daughter on Earth, although I may be a bit biased. When I asked her what theme she wanted for her birthday, she told me that she wanted a Princess Party.  I was so excited. One of my favorite things to do is to decorate and coordinate parties.  I wish I could do it full time.  Maybe someday.  Here is how we celebrated my daughter's special day.

I found the decorations on Etsy from BabyStar Design.  I loved the pink and green color combination and was excited when my daughter said she loved it too.  I'm a big fan of the "print at home" party decor.

Each girl came in either a dress or a dress-up dress.  Some had crowns and some had wands. I set up a craft table where the girls could make their own necklaces using pink and white beads.

Charlotte, Charlotte, and Maddie


The centerpiece of the party was the dessert table.

I covered the dining room table with one of my daughter's pink bedsheets.  I purchased some green tulle on mega-sale and draped it around the table with a simple tie in the front.  

I made the pink tissue paper "pom poms" using THIS tutorial and hung them from the light fixture above the table.  I also hung green and pink paper lanterns in the dining room and living room.

I made cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting and pink sprinkles.

I also had pink strawberry "princess" cookies and marshmallow pops.  I had never made marshmallow pops before and they were surprisingly easy.  I used the tutorial HERE.

To drink, I served pink lemonade. The girls had fun blowing bubbles in their drinks with their straws.

Maddie, Jordan, Ava, and Charlotte

After cupcakes and presents, some of the girls engaged in a "wand fight" with my husband.  Sadly I don't have pictures from that episode.

 Reading her card from Ava

 The girls take a look at the loot.

Each girl got a bag with a princess mask to decorate, some rings, a wand, and a bag of chocolates. 

It was a very special day for my very special 5-year-old.

Sharing at:

Come Together Kids

Thanksgiving Bunting Banner

The leaves have FINALLY begun to change colors here and it truly feels like Fall now.  I'm so excited for this holiday season.  I love holiday decorations and crafts.  Last year, I made a Thanksgiving/Christmas bunting banner but I finished it a bit too late for Thanksgiving.  You can see the Christmas side displayed in my post from last year here.  I was very excited to dig it out this year and display the Thanksgiving side.  So here it is:

I should have put a blank flag between the two words but who can remember everything, right?  The basic tutorial is posted here as well.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season.  I know I have many things to be thankful for this year.

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Sunday Showcase

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

This is a post from last year that I wanted to share with you again.  Have fun with your little ones doing this simple Thanksgiving Craft.  Enjoy!

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Tonight we had Family Art Night at Madison's school. We made Thanksgiving napkin rings. This is such a cute craft and I really wanted to share with all of you. We used what looked liked toilet paper rolls but they were more heavy duty. They were already painted yellow when we started the craft. Sorry but the only pics I have are of the finished product. The kids spread glue all over the rolls and then rolled them in corn/birdseed. There was a little hole punched into the rolls that we threaded a ribbon through. These will be used as napkin rings at Thanksgiving dinner and then we will hang them from a tree to use as a bird feeder. This was such a fun, simple craft that took less than a half hour to do. We actually made 4 in a half hour.

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Sunday Showcase

The Finish Line

This past Sunday, I ran and finished the Battleship Half Marathon in Wilmington, North Carolina.  The word "finished" is the key.  I finished 13.1 miles in 2 hours 17 minutes and 7 seconds and I ran most of it with a gashed knee that later would require 6 stitches.

The race course took us over 3 bridges, two of which had metal grates on a portion of them. Even though I had driven over the bridges several times,  I was unaware of these grates.  As I approached the crest of the second bridge, I came up to the grate and thought to myself "I better be careful because this looks slightly dangerous".  And then I was falling and the grate was coming up at me.  I hit it and rolled and thankfully nobody tripped over me.  Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain.  I got up and took one look at my knee and was seeing things that I knew I should not be seeing.  A nice woman stopped and helped me and offered to take me back to the police officer that we had just passed.  I remember almost crying to her that I wasn't going to be able to finish.  I was so upset that I had trained for so long and it seemed like I was done at 2 miles into it. I told her to go on and not worry about me.  I started to run again and then turned around and went back to the police officer, hoping to get some medical help.  Unfortunately there was nothing he could do. I ran another mile to where my husband and kids were stationed to watch me.  I kept thinking "how is this possible that this does not hurt?"

Me at mile 2.9

I stopped when I got to my husband and kids, showed them my injury and my husband gave me some baby wipes to clean off.

Pointing out my knee.

I didn't know quite what to do... whether I should just call it a day or if I should keep going.  I kept going and promised myself that if I started to feel really bad I would stop. But I didn't feel really bad and I kept going...one mile at a time.  After I got through one mile, I would focus on the next mile and then the next.  I assumed I was at the back of the pack and I didn't care. It was actually nice and peaceful. There weren't any crowds of people to make your way through and I never got "stuck" behind anyone that I could not pass.  At about the 12 mile mark, I came up to the last bridge and the metal grate once again.  This time, I walked across it instead of running.  I didn't care about losing any time by walking. I just wanted to finish.  And 1.1 miles later, I did finish with a time of 2:17:07.

 I can see the finish from here

I still don't know how I was able to cross that finish line. I believe there is a will to succeed in all of us.  I believe that the human body can do things that you don't even know are possible if you let it.

I run because there is a finish line to cross and that day was no different.

Me and my birthday girl.  She turned 5 that day.