Cucumber-Dill Appetizers

Here's a super easy appetizer recipe that my kids absolutely love!  I first began making this when I was selling Pampered Chef about 10 years ago.  I use their Scalloped Bread Tube to bake my bread in but you could use any hors d'oeuvre-sized bread for yours.

Cucumber-Dill Appetizers
1 can refrigerated french bread dough OR small bread slices
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2-3 Tb. dry dill weed
2 cloves garlic
1 cucumber, sliced

(optional)Bake french bread in a metal bread tube according to package directions until lightly browned.  Cool and slice bread.

Mix cream cheese, dill, and garlic in a bowl until well blended.  Peel (if desired) and slice cucumber (I used Pampered Chef zester/scorer to make lines down the sides).  Spread cream cheese mix onto bread and top with cucumber slice.  I also sprinkle dill on top.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Thanks to Peggy at Good Recipes Online for featuring these in her recipe round up!

Here are a couple more St. Patrick's Day recipes I've featured this month:

These Irish Buckeyes are a super yummy treat!

You'll get lots of compliments with this easy Chocolate Vanilla-Mint fudge!

Linking with:

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
Tips & Tricks

So Much At Home
Let's Talk Vintage
Show & Tell
Tuesday Afternoon

Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios

(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife

The Scoop @Stone Gable
Roses of Inspiration @ The Enchanting Rose

Penny Jar with FolkArt® Enamels

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the trip I'm planning to take to England this fall.  I'm going on a Jane Austen/costuming tour and I'm so excited!  I'm trying to save all the pennies I can, so when I received a box of FolkArt Enamels supplies to try out, I knew exactly what I wanted to make with them.

I thought it would be fun to decorate a penny jar and set it out somewhere handy so our family can start tossing our loose change into it.  Spare change adds up quick, and I'm sure I can save up at least enough pennies to buy my dad that Sherlock Holmes hat he's wanting!

Plaid® sent me an alphabet stencil set so I just had to decide what phrase I wanted to paint on the jar.  With so many people in our home, there's always a coin or two dropped---and found---so the "finders keepers" rule really comes into play a lot around here.  I figured if they're going to drop their coins somewhere, they might as well drop them in my England jar!  So, I decided on the phrase, "Drop Your Penny Here!"

Supplies Needed:

1 glass jar with metal lid

Dremel® tool or other metal-cutting tool

Folk Art® Enamel Acrylic Paint (I used Purple Lilac, Turquoise, Lemon Custard and Lime Green)

Stencil Decor® Dauber Set

Folk Art® Peel and Stick Painting Stencil (I used Fun Alphabet)

How You Do It

Step 1:  Prepare the painting surface on the jar by wiping it down with alcohol.  

Step 2:  Position Peel and Stick Stencils on glass as desired.

Step 3:  Use daubers to apply paint in a daubing or circular motion.

Step 4:  Peel off stencils while paint is wet.  Wash them and return them to the plastic stencil sheet.

Step 5:  Air dry 1 hour, then bake at 350 for 30 min.  Let the jar cool in the oven.

Step 6:  Using a metal-cutting tool, cut a slit in the top of the jar lid big enough to drop money through.

What I Liked

I really liked using these peel-and-stick stencils because I could reposition them, until I got exactly the look I wanted, before ever applying paint.  I had originally spelled out "drop" in a straight line.  Then I decided I wanted to make the letters "drop" down.  I also liked that I could apply paint around the curve of the jar because the stencils are flexible and sticky.  

I liked that I could easily wipe up my mistakes with a wet napkin while the paint was still wet.

I like the smooth and shiny surface of the paint after it's been baked and cooled.

What I Didn't Like

I didn't like that there was so much space between the edge of the letter and the edge of the stencil.  This made it hard to position letters close together when spelling out a word.  If I wanted to put them on one at a time, it would smear the paint.  I ended up having my letters positioned further apart than I would have liked.

I'm excited to see how full I can get this before September hits!  Hopefully, having it out and visible will encourage us to save that pop and coffee money for British souvenirs instead!

This project was created for a campaign with Plaid® and Blueprint Social.  I was given complimentary supplies in exchange for posting a project idea.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

#FAEnamels

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BlueTeaful Tea Cup and Saucer Find

Anyone who knows me knows I very much prefer a cold and drizzly day over bright sunshine.  For the most part, I'm not looking forward to spring or summer.  One of the few redeeming things about the warm weather, though, is the abundance of yard sales and estate sales that take place!

I've hit our Salvation Army twice this week and yesterday I stopped in at an antique store that was going out of business.  I'll show off my Salvation Army finds over the next few weeks as they're mostly some really cute Easter decorations (I've been inspired lately by Debbie at Debbie-Dabble and her amazing holiday decorating).  Today I want to show you what I found at the antique shop.

This pretty blue cup and saucer was made by Norcrest and features neat opalescent paint and this unique 3-D beaded design on the flowers.  I just had to grab it as I'd not seen anything like it and really fell in love.

I've been sick all weekend and have not felt like baking, so I went the easy route and grabbed these mini scones from Albertsons.  I love these and they always make me think of Princess Catherine since I munched on them through the night while I was watching the Royal Wedding a couple years ago.

I couldn't find much info about the Norcrest brand or age of this set but I did find some interesting info on the guy who owned Norcrest.  Bill Naito was born in Portland, Oregon to Japanese immigrants.  His family owned an import business, incorporated as Norcrest China Company in 1958.  Naito did a lot of good for the community of Portland.  You can read more about him in this Wikipedia article.

What I thought was especially neat about him, though, was that he founded the Made In Oregon company.  For years, one of the identifying landmarks of downtown Portland was the Made In Oregon sign.

In 2010, ownership of the sign transferred to the city of Portland and now it looks like this:

I snapped that picture while we were driving through Portland last weekend on our way to Michael's piano recital in Corvallis.  At the time, I knew nothing of this history.  Neat, huh?

Happy Monday!

Hope In Every Season is on Facebook!  If you like what you've read here, please follow me and keep up with the latest posts.

Linking with:

Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage 
Mondays with Countrified Hicks
Blue Monday@Smiling Sally
Manic Monday @ Cupcake-n-Bake
Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage
Tea Cup Tuesday @ Artful Affirmations  
Friends Sharing Tea @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
Tuesday Cuppa Tea @ Antiques & Teacups 
Teacup Tuesday @ Martha's Favorites
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage 
Tending the Home Tuesday
The Bliss Project Linkup @ Grace-Full Intentions
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
Encourage One Another @ Deep Roots at Home
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Home @ Rose Chintz Cottage  
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Sheltering Linkup @ A Sheltering Tree
Shoe Lace Linkup @ Living In the Shoe
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace and Crafts
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home 
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Thoughtful Thursday @ Found the Marbles
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Friday Free For All @ Young & Crafty
Family Fun Friday @ Moms and Munchkins 
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Farm Girl Friday @ Let This Mind Be In You
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Or So She Says...
Show and Tell Saturday @ Sassy Little Lady 
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Finding the Pretty & Delicious @ Your Homebased Mom
30 Min. Linkup @ 30 Days
Sharing Creative Ideas @ Made By Joey