"Dad's White Shirt"

   Here is the poem I wrote for my dad for Father's Day. I put it in a little 4"x6" photo album and added pictures of me and my sisters' weddings, baby blessings, and baptisms. My dad is very involved in our church, and he's always willing to do whatever is asked of him. I'm very fortunate to have such an awesome Dad! Happy Father's Day, Dad!

“Dad’s White Shirt”

My father has a special shirt
It’s white as white can be.
He wears it for those special times
Like when he blesses me.

He wears it on each Sunday,
As we take the sacrament.
He wore it when he baptized me,
And for his own Endowment.

He wears it to home teach
The many families in his care.
He wore it on his mission,
So the gospel he could share.

He wears it as he serves the Lord
Whatever task he’s given.
He wears it whether doing work
For the dead or for the living.

He wore it to the temple
On the day he wed my mother.
And on that day he promised her
That there would be no other.

This shirt is very special
To my family and I.
It is a symbol that my dad
Is one terrific guy!

∼ by Kim Bennett ∼

   This would be so cute with the Origami white shirt and tie!

Edible Bird's Nest

   So I was looking for a cute Easter gift for the girls I teach at church. I found this adorable little bird's nest!

   Here are the instructions for making the nest.

Bird's Nest
Ingredients:
   2 cups miniature marshmallows
   ¼ cup butter
   1 (6-ounce) package chow mein noodles
   36 Mini Cadbury Eggs (or any egg shaped candy)

Place the chow mein noodles in a large, plastic mixing bowl and set aside.

Butter each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan.

Place the butter in the Pampered Chef large micro-cooker (or you can use any medium sized microwaveable bowl), and microwave until melted (about 60 seconds). Add the marshmallows to the melted butter and microwave for about 45 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir marshmallows and butter together until smooth and mixed well. (Use a plastic scraper or spoon to do the stirring, so the marshmallow doesn't stick as much.)

Pour the marshmallow mixture over the noodles, and fold gently until all the noodles are coated evenly.

Butter your fingers, and press mixture on bottom and up sides of each buttered cup leaving a well for eggs. Place 3 Mini Cadbury Eggs in each nest. (It looks better if you use three different colored eggs.)

Refrigerate at least two hours or until firm. Remove from refrigerator. Let nests sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes; remove nests from cups.

   I placed my nests in a cellophane bag with a twist tie. I wanted to have a cute poem or saying attached, but could not find the right one... so... I wrote my own.

Spring is the time life starts anew,
A time to think more about things that we do.
Do the things that you think and do each day,
Lead others to Christ to learn of His ways?
∼ by Kim Bennett ∼
   I think the poem was the perfect touch to make this gift special!! You can print out the tags I made with the poem here.

   These are so cute! I can't wait to give them to my girls!

Notes:
If you want to make the nests using the stove top, combine marshmallows and butter in 2-quart saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted (6 to 8 minutes). Stir in noodles until very well coated. Proceed as above.

Cookie Gift

   This an easy but yummy gift idea! Who doesn't like homemade cookies? What makes this gift so special is the cute poem attached!
   I helped make these for all the father's at church for Father's Day last year. We made Chocolate Chip Cookies using the Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons). We baked them at 375 degrees on parchment covered baking stones for about 15 minutes.
   After cooling completely, each was wrapped individually in pastic wrap. We then attached our cute cookie label with the poem I wrote. The tags were printed on ivory cardstock and cut out using the FISKARS Shapecutting blade and the Vacation-1 (#4863) template (Lens/Sun - 1⅞ inches circle) shown below. (You will need a cutting mat with this as well.)
I think a 2 inch punch or circle cutter would also work since the cookie labels are 1¾ inch in diameter.

   Here is the cute poem! Please include "by Kim Bennett" if you use it!
A special cookie just for you,
To thank you for the things you do.
It's made with love and tender care,
Both of which you often share.
A little gift which helps us say,
We hope you have a special day!
∼ by Kim Bennett ∼
   Here is another poem that would be cute to use if you make peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses in them. I found this one online... not sure who wrote it.
On this special Father's Day,
We want to share this treat.
A cookie and a kiss for you
Because we think you're neat.
∼ Author Unknown ∼
   I hope you enjoy these gifts ideas!

"Father's White Shirt"

   So I loved the little Origami shirts and ties so much, and so did the girls in my class at church. They wanted to learn to make them, so we decided to make them as gifts for Father's Day for all the fathers at church. We knew we needed a cute poem to go with them. Here is the poem we decided to use. One of the women at our church wrote it for us, so please give the credit to her if you use the poem, too! We placed the poem inside the shirt along with a Twix candy bar!

"Father’s White Shirt"

A Father’s white shirt is not always white.
It can be blue, grey or green, or dark as the night.
Soldier or sailor, banker or fireman,
Fathers work hard to meet life’s demands.
A Father’s job is to teach us the right,
To keep away monsters in the dead of the night,
To provide all that’s needed for our family.
(Plus give me great hugs when I sit on his knee.)
Shirts of all colors at home, work or play-
He’s still my White Knight at the end of the day.
∼ by Sonya Robinson ∼

   Here is a PDf file of the poem perfectly sized to fit in a shirt made from an 8½" x 11" piece of paper.