Cascarones! Viva Fiesta!

For those of you who do not know what cascarones are, you are in for a real treat!

Here is the official Wikipedia definition:

Cascarones or confetti eggs are festive, hollow chicken egg shells, filled with confetti, meant to be thrown or broken over someone's head(usually as a surprise from behind), scattering confetti all over the person. Breaking the eggs over someone's head can be painful if done hard enough, but since the eggshells are so brittle no one normally gets hurt. This tradition is most often carried out among friends and family. Cascarones derived from Mexico and have recently regained popularity in the southwestern United States. They are used for many different occasions but, especially Easter. Having one broken over your head is said to bring good luck.

We live in South Texas- San Antonio to be exact- and this is a favorite with my boys. Fiesta, Easter, Birthday Parties- talk about a ton of fun! The mess afterwards...not so much my favorite. But it is all in good fun and no matter how many dozen cascarones we make, it just is never enough!

Here is basically how to make them:

What you need:

Eggs

Easter Egg dye

Tissue Paper cut into 2x2 inch squares

Glue

Confetti - any "hole punch" kind or tiny shredded kind will do fine

Styrofoam Block

Long Nails

Foam Brush

What to do:

1. Make your "Egg Dryer"

This step is best if you do it ahead of time. Take a styrofoam block and press the long nails into the styrofoam. Make sure (with your plain white egg-maybe a couple) that each nail is far enough apart from the next nail, so that the eggs will not touch each other. All eggs are just a little different in size, and you want to utilize your space wisely.

2. Empty eggs of contents.

This you can do a couple of different ways. I use a butter knife and tap the "pointy" end so that it has a small hole or crack. Then I carefully peel away a dime size hole in the tip of the egg. Shake out all of the egg contents and wash carefully...eggs are fragile! I just lay them on a paper towel on the counter- they dry in about a day.

Note: I usually plan way in advance- so when I make breakfast through out the year, I prep the eggs for cascarones. I store the eggs in the carton the arrived home in- once they are dry. Then I just store them in the garage until it is time to dye them.

4. Dye the Eggs

Now it is time to dye the eggs. I use the Easter egg dye kits you can find at almost any store: Local Grocery Store (H.E.B for us here is SA), Wal-Mart, Target, Local Drug Store. I like to go after the Easter holiday and buy a couple of extra boxes (on sale)- the dye is a little hard to find when you want to do them for a birthday party later in the year.

Work in batches of one color. As you color each egg, place the egg on a nail pushed into a block of styrofoam.

Note: You can also use regular food coloring dye as well- I just find that the easter dye works better. It gives a stronger color.

5. Dry Colored Eggs

Once you have dyed the eggs in batches, they need to be dryed. This is where the Egg Drying Contraption comes in- made in step 1. If you are afraid to get dye on your hands, wear gloves and use tongs during this part. Drain each egg very well, and turn it upside down onto a nail. The more liquid you remove from the egg- the faster it will dry, and the less messy too. It might be best to place this outside to dry- it can be a bit messy.

6. Fill Egg with Confetti

Once the eggs have dryed completely-it will take several hours. Fill each egg with confetti. There are a couple of ways to fill the eggs. You can hold the egg over a confetti filled bowl and put the confetti in the egg by hand or with a small spoon. Or- you can use a small funnel-put the funnel in the egg and pour the confetti in the top.
How much confetti? That is really up to you. You really don't want to fill the egg up too much, so usually filling 1/3 to 1/2 of the egg is about it.

Note: We added glitter to the confetti one year...not really recommended. Glitter, while pretty, doesn't feel pretty in the eyes. Plus it is difficult to remove from your scalp and other places it gets into. I think I still have some in my ears...

7. Cover Egg with Tissue Paper

Once you have filled an egg with confetti, take the 2x2 inch squares and place them on the open end of the egg. Dip your foam brush into the glue and brush the tisuse paper onto the egg. Make sure to press down the parts of the tissue paper that may stick up. This doesn't have to be perfect- you just want to make sure the tissue paper sticks to the egg completely.

Note: I also like to use a crafter 2 in Circle Punch instead of the 2x2 inch squares.

8. Options

After the tissue paper dries, you can always add a little sparkle. While glitter mixed with the confetti is not the best idea- glitter glue is acceptable for the outside of the egg. Once the tissue is dry- I like to use glitter glue around the egg as decoration or on the tissue paper.

Check back after Easter- I'm sure I will have fun photos of the Cascarone in action!

I Love All Things Crafty!

If I haven't mentioned it...I love to craft! As a matter of fact, I love pretty much all kinds of craft venues. Everything from sewing, cooking, card making, paper crafts and of course crocheting!

I love to Sew:

My Mom, Dad and Grandmother taught me how to sew. My MeMe taught my Dad- who in turn taught my Mom...and so on. I am actually working on a sewing project right now...I am making the cutest little apron. I love aprons, there is just something very comforting about them. They remind me of the love you feel when cooking homemade meals and getting flour on your hands (not to mention your face sometimes), it is all just very heart warming.

I love to Cook:

I love cooking, especially baking and decorating cookies and cupcakes. A lot of people think that is how I got the nickname Cooking Cinderella. The truth of the matter is- I got it from EBay. No, I didn't buy it- but when setting up my EBay account several years ago, the user name I wanted wasn't available. They sent me to a user name help page which asked what my favorite hobby was. That was hard...I have so many favorites, but decided on cooking. Then it asked me what my favorite princess was- Cinderella of course. That day Cooking Cinderella was born.

I love to make Cards:

Card making is so much fun! I started rubber stamping cards about 12 years ago. That's right, back when all stamps were wood mounted and everything was embossed! I loved it! After Ian was born I didn't think I would ever be able to find the time to stamp. So, to make a long story short...I gave ALL my stamping supplies away- yes, ALL of it- to a teacher.

My sister moved to the big SA, and since she stamps, she invited me to a stamping class. I was so excited- and it all came back to me! Now the stamps are clear and the world of stamping is bigger than ever! There are so many crafty things to do with stamps.

I love to do Paper Crafts:

Paper crafts pretty much go hand in hand with stamping. Thanks to my crafty sister, I have found a whole new world of crafting! The list of bags, boxes, notebooks, and well, you name it can be crafted on. I love love love crafting!

I love Crocheting:

Crocheting is another craft skill I learned from my Mom. She is self-taught and taught me the craft of yarn. I have taught myself the different techniques and stitches. I enjoy looking at the project books and making things that actually end up looking like the picture in the book. Right now I am working on a project for my sister for Mother's Day...more on that in a future blog.

Cody's 1st Soccer Practice

Well, we signed Cody- our 5 year old- up for soccer this year. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to play. But, I had already paid- so the deal was sealed!

If you know my kiddos...then you know how picky they are about their clothes, shoes and how things fit in general. They are very sensitive when it comes to tags, lables and seams on their clothes. I thought Cody was going to have a mini meltdown with the soccer socks. They have the shin guard in them- and needless to say, it was an issue from the start. We tried them on at the store, and he about had a cow. "They are too long"," I don't like the hard thing on my leg"...blah, blah, blah. For the most part I just smiled and tried to ignore his mini fit. At least he wasn't crying. Let's face it- it could have been much worse! I mean he could have actually dropped down on the ground and caused a big scene. The kind that makes you want to look around and say..."OMG where are his parents? Has anyone seen where this kids parents went?"

We got all of our soccer stuff, and went home without making a big deal out of it. Plus the fact that I let him pick a treat at the register, which counter acted the drama. Yes, I know- it is sort of like rewarding bad behavior...but he did like the soccer ball!

The good news is the on the day of his first soccer practice, he was really excited. It may have helped that I had been pumping him up since the day at the store! By the time we were on the road to practice he was wearing all of his gear and very excited.

We signed him up with the team my neice was on- that way he would at least have a friend to hang out with. Lets just say, every picture I took...well, he has a huge smile on his face! He had so much fun- and even scored a goal!

So, despite the drama at the store, things have worked out...so far. Saturday is his first game, and he is really looking forward to it!

The New Addition

Well, we have a new addition to our fur family!
Her name is Brandy

She is a Husky/Lab mixed puppy.

She is the sweetest thing!

Our dog Bella is not sure what to think about her,

but the guinea pigs love her.

We take the piggies outside every couple of days.

They love the outdoors!

Brandy loves to be in the cage with them and they have really taken to her.

It is quite possible, that they think she is just a giant guinea pig.

Einstein and Rex coo whenever she comes around.

She loves to play with them, and cries if we don't let her in the cage with them.

It will be interesting to see how they grow up together.

"Love, having no geography,

knows no boundaries."

Truman Capote

My Little Artist

My 9 year old, Ian loves to draw, paint, color- lets just say he loves art! For school they had an art contest and of course he wanted to enter! We always encourage the boys to be active in school activities, so entering was a given. The assignment was to draw an animal. After a little bit of thought, he was inspired to draw a guinea pig. We have two of our own: Rex-a smooth haired piggy & Einstein-a crested piggy. The boys love to play with the guinea pigs...and the pigs love to hang out with them while they are playing video games.

Ian decided to draw a guinea pig that looked like Einstein. I let him use my pastel chalks...which was is a big deal for me. I am usually pretty protective of my art and stamping supplies. Once they see the inks, brads- oh especially the brads and embelishment- and the stamps, they start begging to make a card. I of course let them. But the aftermath of little boy card making is a sight to be seen!

I showed Ian a couple of shading techniques, and he went to town creating a great picture of his little buddy. He was very proud of his creation- we were too! When the contest is over, I have promised to get a frame for it and put it in the playroom so the piggys can see how handsome they are.