No Waste Cut-Out Sandwiches

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

For my kids’ lunches today I really wanted to make heart cut-out sandwiches.  I’ve never made cut-out sammies before because of the waste factor.  I didn’t want to just toss the extra bread and didn’t know what to do with it. But this morning I got a rocket scientist idea! I used the left overs to make Eggs in a Basket!

Well, ok, it may not be rocket science after all, but I was so thrilled I thought of a way to use the whole piece of bread on the same day, for two meals, and get double bang for my buck. Here’s what I did…

Cut out the bread with a cookie cutter:

Of course you can use any shape you like depending on the occasion.

Now what you have is cute little pieces of bread for a sandwich:

But you also have all this left-over:

So I made the sandwiches first.  I put whipped cream cheese on one side (it spreads easier on fresh bread than regular) and strawberry jam on the other:

And easy as that I had my Valentine’s Day Sandwiches:

Next I used the left-overs to make breakfast: “Eggs in a Basket'”!

Have you ever made these?  So simple! Just put some butter in a pan, lay down your bread with a hole cut in it, crack and egg inside and flip. Voila!

Cute, huh?!

Then I made a few scrambled eggs for my scrambled lovers with this cool new little gadget (thanks Aunt Jayne):

And Valentine’s Day Breakfast is served! (Keep in mind you can use any shape cookie cutter and make these any day of the year!)

Holiday themed breakfast and lunch in under 15 minutes! Smile!

Hugs, Celeste

Melted Crayon Valentine Hearts

Hi Friends!

It’s hard to believe we are already into February. All of my kids are talking about Valentine’s Day at school so I surprised them the other day with a fun Valentine’s Day craft at home…a sneaky way for me to get more fun Valentine’s décor up in my house! This idea is far from new or original…in fact I got it from none other than Martha Stewart herself. None-the-less it’s a fun one!

Melted Crayon Valentine Hearts

They are super easy, not too messy, and come out looking so cool! Even my doubtful 7 year old son asked to make another and another, surprising even himself!

We started with a box of older crayons

Peeled back the paper

 

And started shredding over a piece of wax paper

 

We used several tools to shred the crayons: a pencil sharpener, the blade from the pencil sharpener when it broke off, cheese graters, and a butter knife.  The pencil sharpener worked the best while it lasted…but it broke so early I didn’t even snap a picture of it. It was a 50 cent plastic one, so no wonder!

At any rate, after a bit we had collected quite a lot of crayon shreds on the wax paper

 

Then fold the wax paper over to lay across the top of the crayon shreds

Place on top of a folded towel (or ironing board) and then a brown grocery bag

Also place the brown grocery bag on top and then iron

The first time I ironed I set the iron to 6 (out of 7) out of habit. It didn’t take long to realize that’s waaaay too high! You only need to have it set on low to melt the crayons, and it doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds.

We used cookie cutters to trace the shapes and cut them out.

Attached them to fishing line and hung!

The pictures don’t really capture all their beauty when the sun shines in, but every time I stand at my kitchen sink, I can’t help but smile. I know who made each and every heart and my heart is warmed remembering how much fun we had creating these.

So now with my impromptu Valentine’s Day Mantel

My Valentine’s Day Banner up

and of course, my favorite wreath

We are ready for Valentine’s Day!  Smile!!

Hugs, Celeste