file folders

I needed some file folders to keep my business papers organized.  You know me a plain old vanilla folder just isn't going to work.  Gather together some floders, scrap book papers and glue.

Glue the paper on to the folders.  Add a strip on the top of the folder where the tab is.  Trim off excess, let dry.  Decorate as you like.
I'll use paper clips or brads to hold a small strip on the tab for what is in the folder instead of writing directly on them.



use words, colors and patterns that inspire you.



Handles

Last week I showed pics of my newly painted kitchen cabinets with the glass knobs I had found for the lower cabinets.  I had looked high a low at all the big box stores to find something that would coordinate with the knobs for the upper cabinets.  Walking by a display, in of all places, Target, I found the perfect handles.  They are brushed silver with crystal inserts.  They look great with the oval knobs without being too matchy-matchy.  You know I have to love them, I  paid full price.  Totally shocking.
Just another example of keeping your eyes and your mind open every where you are to find what you need.

SURPRISE

In a conversation  several months ago I had told AH that I would probably faint if he was able to pull off a  surprise party.  Organization and planning are not his strong points and he really hates doing that kind of thing.  Imagine how surprised I was when I walked into a restaurant Saturday night and had a big surprise birthday party waiting for me.  All the kids and grand kids were there along with my mother-in-law,2 sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws, niece and nephew and great nephew.  I was totally in shock mode.  What a way to celebrate.
I don't mind the birthday part, who doesn't love cake and presents?   But I think I'll just not count how many years any more.
I've had a great week of celebrating.  Last week I went to see the play "Chicago" and went out to dinner.  I only worked 11/2 days then took off for the big city for some serious Grandma time.  I got to junk, go to a huge home and garden show and shop.  And most importantly hang out with the grand kids. The party was the cherry on top. The cake was zebra print and 100% chocolate, my favorite.  A good time was had by all.
I am truly blessed to have such a warm and loving family and that we are close enough to see each other often.  We may occasionally drive each other crazy, but the love gets us through anything as long as we have each other.



Yummy chocolate cake and presents, who could ask for anything more




Grand kids except the blond,  that's my nephew Ryan




family photo.  Aren't we cute?



Valentines day

AH and I don't get carried away with fancy gifts for things like Valentines day.  We're at the stage in our life where experiences are more important than things.  A nice dinner and quiet time together are fine with both of us.  Now AH is not the best gift selector in the world, he'll be the the first to admit that.  What he does really well is ask me what I'd like and follow through.  For last week he gave me the cutest red mini roses and them an additional surprise of pink roses.  After 40+ years the guy does know me well.  I gave him the biggest bag of Kisses I could find.  He ate them all in just a couple of days.  I think he's a bigger chocoholic than I am.The point of things like Valentines day besides selling merchandise is to remind you about the people you love and take for granted the most.  Remind them you love them everyday.



I can plant these outside this spring.




Pink roses my absolute favorite



kitchen cabinets part2

A while back I showed a couple of pictures of samples of paint for my kitchen cabinets.  Well after much prep, work and discussion(loud discussion) they are finished.  Originally I wanted to paint the cabinets black.  I'm a very messy cook and AH is kind of a slob, so the white cabinets, as much as I liked them, just were too much work.  I then tried a sample of a black crackle under coat with cream top coat.  I liked it but hubs didn't.  He so rarely complains about the projects I do that I know it really bugs him if he speaks up.  So in the interest of peace in our house I settled for solid cream paint.  What I would really like to do is resurface the fronts with cherry and add new hardware, but that's just not in the budget.  I did find antique crystal knobs at Habitat for Humanity but only enough for the bottoms doors and drawers.  I'm sure I can find something for the top doors that will work with what we have.
I you happen to have a stash of at least 6 of these oval knobs let me know, I'll take them off your hands.

display stands

 I needed some way to display our products for an upcoming business expo KC and I are participating in.  I started digging through my stash of glass wear and stuff and stacking things together to make interesting stands.  These would look great for cakes and cookies at your next party or a place to display jewelry.  Use E6000 glue to put everything together and if you've used paint put food on a paper doily or napkin.

Wine glass and a stove burner cover from the $ store.  A coat of spray paint ties everything together



Just start stacking what you have until it looks good to you.



Old glasses, burner covers and a coat of paint.



The finial on top a block and two beads



"silver" trays form the $store, glasses, a votive cup and beads.  Only the beads got painted on this one.

Don't use you good glassware or trays for this.  You can pick up all these kinds of things at rummage sales or thrift stores for less than $1.00.

Chicken stock

Home made chicken stock is a little time consuming but not hard to make.  It tastes better than anything you can buy in a can and you can control the salt content.

Roast a chicken, or buy one at the store.  Pull off any meat that's left after you eat what you want.  Dump the carcass and all the dripping into a big stock pot and add 2-3 carrots, 1 onion, 2-3 stalks of celery, 1 lemon cut in half and 4-6 cloves of garlic.  Fill the pot the rest of the way with water and simmer for about 2 hours.  Strain off all the solids and let the broth cool.  If you let the stock sit in the frig over night you can skim all the solid fat off and make a lower fat version.  Pour into zip bags or plastic freezer containers and freeze.  I usually put 2 cups in each bag.

tortilla soup

This is another great soup when it's cold and nasty outside.
2-3C cooked chicken chopped
1 green pepper, 1 onion chopped
1 can green chillies chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn 1 can black beans
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
3-4C chicken stock
Salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
Dump everything in a pot and simmer until vegetables are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Serve with crushed corn chips, sour cream, grated cheddar or jack cheese and fresh cilantro. 


Make your own chips, they beat the stuff in a bag any day.



Baked chips
spray corn tortillas with Pam and then cut in wedges.  Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 5-7 minutes.  Watch them they burn fast.

easy journal cover

Call it a cover for your journal, sketch book or idea folder.  Whatever you call it it's great to have a place to jot down ideas, projects and sketches.  You know when you're out shopping and see something fabulous and think "I could make that".  Then you get home and promptly can't remember what you wanted to do.  Believe me the older you get the more it happens.  I devised an easy quick cover for a composition book you can but at the dollar store.  Fill up that one and the cover can be removed and put on a new book.  You can use any sturdy fabric for this as long as it's not too thick.  I used washed painters cloth and a mid weight fabric for the two shown here..
Cut a piece of fabric 13" longer than your book when it's open and 1" taller than the height.
Press and hem the 2 short ends.  match up the edges, folding over the short sides so when you sew it you will have a pocket on each side and it will fit the book.  You will have a short piece on the top and bottom that is not stitched.  Fold the raw edges in and hand stitch or use iron on fusing tape.(one of the greatest inventions ever).  If you are going to use sewn on decorations you will need to sew them on before putting the cover together, otherwise decorate afteryou're done sewing.  Add whatever you like to make it distinctive yours.
Now there's no more excuse for not remembering what that great idea, web site or recipe is.  Unless I forgot something.



You can buy these compositions books everywhere.




My sketch book.  Layers of lace.




Nifty pocket to put those clippings in.




I made this one for a friend who was complaining about not remembering a great idea after she got home.  See, I'm not the only one.  Carry a mini version in your purse, you'll be amazed at how much you use it.



Valentines day

Happy valentines day.  Even if you believe the day is just a way to sell flowers, cards and candy, enjoy.  It never hurts to have a little reminder to tell those you love that you're thinking of them.  Everyone needs to know they are loved.  It only takes seconds to say I Love You so go do it, over and over again.
AH and I won't be doing anything fancy.  The night shift puts a halt on doing anything during the week.  A simple supper, rib eye steaks, tossed salad and garlic bread.  Something chocolate for desert.
The pic is an amaryllis that I forced, the perfect color and just in time for Valentines day.  Use stick from your yard to keep it propped up or it will fall over.

lightbulb bug

I made several of these adorable bugs last summer and thought the winter doldrums was a good time to think about summer things.
Here's what you need:
1 bulb I used a Christmas bulb because of the color and I bought a bunch of them on clearance for 5 cents each.
2 beads in proportion to the size of your bulb
thin wire if it is not coated it will rust
magnet or stiff wire
Glue (I used E6000) beads onto the base of the bulb to look like eyes
Twist wire around the middle and form into wings and wrap back around middle.  There's no correct way to do this just do what you like.  Secure with a drop of glue.
If you want to use as a magnet glue on a heavy duty magnet.  For a plant stake continue the wire from wings down and wrapped around a heavier wire.  I've also used them on signs as a 3D embellishment

ribbons

Sometimes if I'm making a project I don't have the right little touch to make it look great.  That happened when I didn't have the right printed ribbon for a project.  So I made my own.  Tear strips of muslin in the width you want.  I varied mine for more selection.  Rinse and them dye with fabric dye, watered paint or food coloring, this won't be water safe but will work great for anything you won't wash or get wet.  I even used strong coffee to dye a few.  I mixed up the dye in quart zip bags and added my strips.  Wring the ribbons out and let dry.  Stamp with words that have meaning to you and start crafting.  Use Stazon ink for the best results.

work room clean up

I don't know about you but my work room/studio becomes a total disaster zone after the holidays.  Everything get piled in there during the holidays until I  have to dig it out before I can work on anything else.  My room is tiny 11X11 with 11 foot ceilings.  It holds all my crafting, sewing supplies, business things, ironing board, iron, a wall to wall bank of cabinets and shelves.and cricut.  Did I mention I am a serious contender for she who dies with the most fabric wins? I cringe to show these pics since I'm the pretty organized type.  But I wanted you to know there was hope out there with a few hours work(OK 9 hours).
Step 1 PURGE  Take everything out of there that doesn't belong.  Toss the trash and make a pile of donate and one move to another room.  give yourself 1 hour to do this.  Focus, focus, focus.
Step 2 Start at one corner and work your way around the room, clean off shelves and other flat surfaces and straighten as you go.
Step 3 Organize in groups.  All the sewing things together, fabric together etc.
Clean windows, wood work, or equipment, anything that gets grimy.
Step 4 Vacuum
Step 5  Take a break.  I suggest cookies and tea or a big glass of wine.
Step 6  Try to keep things this way.  Put away as you go and when you're finished with a project pick up your mess.




Most of this pile was from Christmas so it needs to go in the attic.




Piles and piles from projects during the holidays.  For those of you that have asked that white thing in the middle is my cricut.  It's lightweight and easy to move.





Sewing area cleaned up.

Enjoy your newly cleaned up room

total addiction

 If you've never had Nutella you can not even imagine how wonderful it is.  A gooey mix of hazel nuts and chocolate.  You can find it in the grocery store usually by the peanut butter.

I melted mine slightly, it's the consistency of really thick peanut butter and I didn't want it to tear the cake.

Spread on store bought or home made pound cake.  This one was fudge marble.  Throw on some sliced strawberries, peaches or bananas if you want or just gobble it up the way it is.  Delicious, simple and totally addictive desert or snack.

fresh focatia bread

One of things I like about eating Italian food at a restaurant is the bread.  This one is very simple and delicious fresh out of the oven or heated up later.

You can use refrigerated pizza dough or hot roll mix.  That's what I had on hand so that's what I used.  I live 20 miles from a good size grocery store so I often have to use what I have.

Make dough as using the recipe for pizza dough or just unroll the tube kind.  Place on a baking sheet that has been liberally brushed with olive oil.  Brush the top with olive oil and add your favorite ingredients.  I used caramelized onions, black olives, a sprinkle of Italian seasoning, coarse salt and pepper, and fresh grated parmesan chees.  Bake for the time your package says.  Add more grated cheese if you want, you know I do.  Enjoy!  This freezes well, just wrap in foil and heat in the oven until warm and toasty.

tote bag

This is the bag I was telling you about yesterday.  Tea dye 1 or 2 flour sack towels depending on what size you want your tote to be, let dry and press.  Cut 4 rectangles 1" larger than you want your bag to be.  I cut mine 9X10  Layer your pieces with thin batting in between, pin and sew around the pieces in a very random pattern.  Use contrasting thread to make the stitches show up.  Lay out pieces of lace and trim until you like the way they look, pin and stitch down.  there is no right or wrong way to do this.  Pin  two pieces together and stitch the sides and end.  This is the front and back of your bag.  Cut 2 pieces from your lining fabric the same width but 2" taller than your bag.  Add pockets or stitch in zip top freezer bags across the bottom for extra storage if you want.  Leave a 11/4" opening on each side 11/2 inches from the top.  Put the lining inside the outer bag, fold the top over to the outside and turn that edge under 1/4".  Top stitch around the bag along this edge.  You should have a band of your lining fabric showing on the top 1" of your bag.  Now look back inside where I had you leave the openings in the seams.  Cut 2 pieces of a broken 1" tape measure the width of your bag and slide them into this pocket on the inside, make sure the rounded side faces out.  add a few hand stitches to close up the seams.  This makes a great snap closure.  Of course you could just use Velcro or a button.  Once you're done with the sewing add other embellishments with fabric or Tacky glue.  Like buttons, flowers, stamping what ever looks good to you.  HAPPY CRAFTING!!

I did it

Sometimes the weirdest things hold you back from what you need or want to do.  I've always pondered about having one of my projects published in a magazine.  Mind you I never did a thing to make this happen until now.  With a few pushes and encouragement from the people in my life I've submitted a project to Somerset Life for consideration.  I felt like I was packing up one of my kids or pets to mail off to California.
Will it get picked? Who knows, they must get thousands of submissions each year.  Why did I wait so long? Probably fear of rejection, lack of confidence and self doubt?
What is holding you back from starting toward your dreams?  What can you do today to start?  Life is just too darn short to live with regrets and what ifs.

This is the project I submitted to the magazine.  It's a little tote bag for craft supplies, makeup etc.  The chalenge was to make something useable out of flour sack towels.  I'll give details how to make it soon.