Mother's Day is right around the corner already!  I love going to Etsy and purchasing beautiful handmade art pieces from small business there.  Just peruse the Etsy site for a little while and you will come across unique gifts that are sure to please.  (I may have purchased myself a unique gift this morning.)  

Here are a few of my favorite things that I've discovered this morning! 

     Let me explain everything in the order that it happened. 

     I received a citrus juicer as a wedding gift almost 44 years ago.  It was great to use whenever I was gifted an over abundance of citrus.  Last year, the motor of this beloved gift finally gave out.  

     My dear friend Anita, who happens to be my sons mother-in-law has a lemon tree and she gave my son's family a bunch of lemons from her tree.  My son and daughter-in-law passed a large bag of these huge lemons on to me. 

     There I was with no citrus juicer. 

     I was not going to juice all of these lemons by hand, so I got on Amazon and ordered myself a new juicer.  Not just a citrus juicer, but a centrifugal juicer that will juice all fruit and separate out the pulp, which you can use for other recipes as well.  Here it is: 

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     I began juicing the lemons with my new juicer and started to fill ice cube trays to freeze for whenever I needed lemon juice.  Unfortunately, I do not own enough ice cube trays to hold all of the juice that these lemons were giving me. So, I broke out my Hot Cocoa Bomb molds and also smaller candy molds such as my owls and my mustaches (similar here).  I had to find space for all of this lemon juice to freeze between my freezers.  There was a lot. 

     Here are some of the shapes I ended up with:

     So, I got to thinking about how we only make and drink Hot Cocoa Bombs in the winter months.  Wouldn't it be great to have some kind of a summer drink like that?  This lemon juice can be the answer, and a little more fun than mere ice cubes.   I know that my grandkids will get a big kick out of them.  Not only that, the bomb shapes will go much farther than one bomb per person.  I can make a gallon of lemonade with just a couple of bombs and some sugar!  
     If you only need one glass of lemonade, here is the fun part that the kids will love! 
     In a 12 oz glass of water, put in 2-3 of the little owls or mustaches plus 2 Tbs. of sugar.  Add cold water and stir to dissolve the sugar and lemon juice.  Add ice and whatever other ingredients you would like.  You can add cherries or strawberries if you like!  Every kids could make their own flavor of lemonade!  Cool, fun and refreshing!  

     Since this worked out so great with lemons, I can't wait to try other fruits and vegetables in my juicer! I'm getting lots of strawberries, I could add that to lemonade and it would probably be the best Strawberry Lemonade ever! And lets not forget my beets! 
     I haven't even started to try what I can do with the fruit and vegetable pulp.  I'm thinking of dehydrating it into flour? Breads and cakes?  I can't wait to experiment.  If you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments! I always like to try new ideas.
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      Every year, on or near Easter, our Church holds a semi-annual general conference.  
      I look forward to this conference every time, it is always so uplifting and motivating.  I take notes and try to incorporate the messages into my life.  The first week of April was general conference, and it did not disappoint! 

      We were so busy around Easter this year that I didn't get a chance to put up an Easter message.  So, since I am using this craft to display one of my favorite quotes from both October's conference and from this April Conference, you can consider this my Easter message to you. 
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     I hope that you all had a beautiful Easter.  I want to share a message that I have taken to heart and decided to post in my home as a constant reminder of my love of my Savior, Jesus Christ and how I want to always Remember Him! 

     I am referencing a talk by President Russell M. Nelson entitled "The Answer is Always Jesus Christ."  He expressed what I know to be true, and that is that no matter what problems or trials we may be facing in life, the answer to those problems is always Jesus Christ. 
      Another talk that I have remembered since last conference given by Ryan K. Olsen, entitled "The Answer is Jesus."  He used the example of asking little children gospel questions and they often simply answer "Jesus."  They are correct.  He reminded us that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life..."  

    Because it feels like our family has gone through some really difficult things over the past few years, I have learned that this message holds the truth to help us overcome those trials and to live our lives in the best way possible.  I decided that I wanted a daily reminder to turn my life over to Him and to remember that all things are in His hands and that I should watch for the miracles and tender mercies that only He can give. So, I made this bookstack with this simple but powerful message to put on my shelf where I would see it everyday.  
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Bookstack w/Inspirational Message:

      I've seen these bookstacks all over Pinterest.  Some are made from wood and some from actual books.  I couldn't bring myself to ruin a book and never be able to read it again, so I used wood. 
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***Materials

• 2 x 4 wood, 3 of them, cut into  6 inch lengths
• sandpaper
• E6000 glue or wood glue
• ​White acrylic paint
• foam brush
• painter's tape
• ​ink pad
• Letter Stamps (I used 1/2 inch letters)
• Ribbon and decorations of your choice

***Instructions

• ​After cutting your wood, sand it to get rid of rough spots and splinters.  I should have sanded mine more, but I am impatient.  It is smooth enough with no splinters. I like the "rustic" look.  But, you do you.
• Use a strong glue like E6000 or wood glue to glue the wood into a stack.  Allow to dry overnight. 
• Use a little water to thin the paint to make it more like a whitewash.  (Or, do whatever color you would like!)  Use the foam brush to apply the paint.  I didn't paint the bottom.  After this step, you may want to use some stain to antique the bookstack if you would like.  But, that isn't necessary. 
• Decide what you want to stamp onto your bookstack.  Practice on paper to get the hang of stamping as evenly as possible. 
• ​Use the painter's tape to make straight lines above and below the area that you want to stamp the letters.  Use these as a guide to get your letters fairly straight.  If the letters are a little out of whack, don't sweat it, it adds to the charm I think.   Be sure to only lightly tap the stamp on the ink pad so that you don't get a square mark from the stamp around the letters on your project.  If you do, you can try to paint over it, but it will be much easier if you just avoid getting that as much as possible.  
• When finished stamping, peel off the tape. 
• Use the ribbon and tie it around the stack.  You could also use jute or twine if you wanted.  I cut out a scrapbook paper flower with a button center to embellish rather that just using a bow.  You could use a silk flower or some other embellishment if you wanted.  
• ​Voila! Your bookstack is ready to display on your favorite shelf! 

      I hope you enjoy this project!  It is super simple to make and has a great impact on the shelf.  If you check Pinterest, you can come up with a lot of inspiration.  Christmas and Easter messages abound!  Alicia had a great idea for a stack to go next to your Harry Potter Collection:  "Not Me, Not Hemione, YOU!"  Ha Ha, I thought that was great!  The possibilities, the words, the colors and the decorations are endless.  I warned my girls that these may be gifts for next Christmas! They are large enough to use as bookends! My wheels are spinning and I will be making more, but in the meantime I am happy with this first project that will continue to remind me of where I place my hope and trust! 

Other Inspirational Quote Projects:

• Hand Lettered Movie Quote
• Add Dimension to Hand Lettered Art
• Little Houses Free Printable

     Well, after being spoiled this year with prolonged cool temperatures, rain and also wind, today in Phoenix, we are well into the 90s!  97 is supposed to be the high I believe!  You know what it means when the thermometer goes over 100 degrees,  baking at our house will come to an end for a few months.  So, I am going to share one last fantastic recipe with you created out of necessity that is perfect for all of you prolific beet grower! It is a Quick Sweet Beet Bread Recipe!