Friday, June 10, 2011

Travel jars


These are simply jars with little bits from different places we have been. Close or far from home. My jars are from Michael's, 3 of the 4 sides are plain.





This one is from Fernandina Beach, FL.

Bald Mountain State Park, MI.




Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island GA.





They currently live on the shelves in our dining room. They have changed a bit since we first moved, so I snapped a quick picture. Here they are right now. Yes someday I will put a picture in that frame.



I do still have a few bags of goodies from the past year that are in need of jars.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

refrigerator pickles



Ingredients
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 cups white sugar
3 cups sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup sliced onions





Scrub cucumbers and slice 1/8" thick. Slice onion. Mix onion and cucumber together in a large bowl.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil. Boil until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes




Pour mixture over cucumbers and onions. Transfer to mason jars and store in refrigerator.




Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Wool dryer balls

These wool dryer balls are easy to make and a great alternative to fabric softener. They take just a little wet felting to make and last quite a while. You just need 100% wool yarn, panty hose, a washer and a dryer. Start by wrapping the yarn as tight as you can till your yarn ball is the size of a plum. Once you have done this for as many dryer balls as you want, ( I use about 6 in a load at a time) slide them into the panty hose and tie them tightly between each ball. Wash and dry them in HOT water. When they are dry remove them from the panty hose and wrap another layer of yarn on them. This time till they are the size of a tennis ball. Remember that when you felt it it is going to shrink a bit. Then re wrap them in the hose and wash and dry them again.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter eggs


This year I decided to forgo traditional egg dying for something that would last a little longer. I have started to grow my collections of holiday decor now that we have a little one to decorate for. Since Brooklyn is so small she wouldn't miss out on dying eggs anyways.


I blew out the eggs and went to town with colored sharpies. I also decided to make a few into ornaments. I just took a piece of thin twine and strung it threw the egg with a button on the top and bottom to hide the holes.



Thursday, April 21, 2011

How to make fabric garland


Supplies:

1/8 yard fabric

2 1/2 yards twill tape

pins

thread

sewing machine

pinking shears



First choose your fabric.




Cut 3" by 4" rectangles with pinking shears.


Space your rectangles on a your piece of twill tape 3"-4" apart. Mine are spaced every 3". Pin them in place.



Take your garland over to the sewing machine and top stitch your rectangles to the twill tape. Just sew the entire length of the twill tape, there is no need to stop and start sewing on each piece of fabric. I also sewed loops at each end of my garland so I could just loop it over the ends of my curtain rod to hang it.






Hang garland and enjoy.


This is a fun and easy way to decorate for a holiday or everyday. You can also add letters to create message banners as well.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Decorating for Easter

Little bits for Easter around our house.....




My Grandma's vintage milk glass makes a perfect little candy dish.



Chicks.



The garland was a quick DIY project that I tackled last week, stop by tomorrow for a tutorial on it.


Here are the bunny finger puppets that I made last year. Go here for instructions.


Last but not least is a carrot dish that I picked up at Salvation Army a couple of years ago. I used it for remotes and a catch all on the coffee table, it would be a great candy dish too. However I don't need that much candy around the house right now. It can all stay hidden in the cabinet....

Tuesday, March 22, 2011