scarf attack

After seeing really cute scarves at a recent craft show I was inspired to make a few.  Relatives and friends may or may not be receiving these in their stockings, depending on how good they've been this year.  This simple ruffle scarf is made from tee shirts I had bagged up to give away.  You could always get them at thrift stores or Goodwill.
1 extra large or two on any size smaller tee shirts  They don't have to be the same color.
Cut as many 8-10" circles out of the body of the shirt.  You will need at least 8 circles, 10 is even better.
Cut each circle in a spiral about 1 1/2-2" wide.  You don't have to be too precise for this.  Give each piece a strong pull to form the ruffle. Also cut 1 piece 1"X4" and set that one aside
Lay out all your pieces and grasp in the middle, tie off with the small piece you cut.
To wear you can knot it around your neck or use one of the pieces wrapped around the rest.  Add a fun flower or pin if you want.

I was home alone so I grabbed a can as a model

Next week more scarves.

peanut crispies

The Pinterest version of these cookies is named "holycrapthesearegreatcookies"  I didn't think that was quite appropriate for the 4 and 7 year olds I was making them for so we named them peanut crispies.  Call them what you like they are wonderful.

1C white corn syrup
1C sugar
18oz peanut butter creamy or chunky that's up to you I used low sugar
6C Total or any other unsweatened flake cereal
1C semi sweet chocolate chips, you could use white or milk chocolate
1T shortening

Bring the sugar and syrup to a full boil and cook 2-3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved
Pour over flakes in a large bowl and mix until all the flakes are covered
Mound about 1T balls on parchment or wax paper and let cool
Melt chocolate and shortening and spread over cookies
Let cool hide them from the kids or they will be gone in minutes
Not the healthiest snack you could have but it does have all those vitamins and fiber in the Total so they are kinda healthy.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

horrible picture great cookies

brigadeiro

I found this recipe in our local paper in an article about food from Brazil.  It looked so yummy I had to try it.  It's another one of those "give most of it away so you won't eat it all" kind of treats.  I think it would freeze well, but we didn't get that far.

6T unsweetened cocoa
2T butter
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 jar chocolate sprinkles
In a heavy pan over medium heat mix everything except sprinkles and simmer until thickened about 10 minutes.  Stir constantly or it will burn.  Remove from heat and cool until you can handle.  Form into small balls and roll in sprinkles.  I'm thinking you could roll them in cocoa, powdered sugar or finely chopped nuts.
They are fabulous!!

tee shirt redo

I am hard on my clothes.  They get ink and marker form school and I'm always playing in the dirt or making a mess in the kitchen.  I try to buy most of my everyday clothes off the clearance rack.  Sometimes the size and color are right but something is a little off.  On this tee shirt it was the color of the flowers I didn't like.  Out came my permanent markers and I just colored on the flowers and leaves.  They went from bright orange and gold to pink/peach and green.  Not bad for a $3.00 find.  You don't have to wear something just exactly the way it comes from the store.  Take it in, hem it up, add a detail or change a color to make it more you.  Sorry, I forgot to take a before picture, trust me the colors were not good.

VCB

I followed the local craft show circuit in the late 70's-80's-90's including plenty of outdoor fairs.  I knew I hated them, this just reminded me how much.  I am much older, wiser and crankier than I was back then.
The fall weather here has been gorgeous, until last weekend when Kathy and I had scheduled our first and possibly last outdoor show.  The day before it had poured rain for hours which left everything a muddy mess.It was 35 when we got there, shot up to a balmy 48 and stayed there with gale force winds most of the day.  We spent plenty of time trying to repair the wind damage to our booth.  We would just get things set back up and the wind would knock things over again.  We went home wind burned, stiff and sore from the cold.  I don't think arthritic bodies are meant to be abused in this way.  On the up side we did make money and received invitations to 3-4 more shows.  Our agreement is no more outdoor shows unless we have a three sided tent with electricity for a heater or fans.  Some times you just need reminders for why you don't do things anymore.  Sometimes you just need to be grateful for the better things in your life.

new old night light

I bought this lamp base at a rummage sale in a big pile for $10.  At first I was going to make into a glass sculpture or serving/display piece.  I changed my mind and turned it into a night light.  I took the lamp apart, cleaned it well, painted the base and added a LED night light.  then I glued the base to the hand painted globe.  There is a hole in the base where I can pull the socket out to change the bulb.  You can't really tell from the picture but it gives off a beautiful soft glow.

Bacon wrapped chicken

This was not my favorite way to make chicken, it was moist and the bacon gave the chicken a great flavor.  The bacon was done but soft a chewy.  Now anybody who has ever eaten bacon with me knows the only way I can stand to eat it is extra-extra-this side of burnt crispy.  AH and my MIL loved it, so if you don't mind soft bacon give it a try,

1boneless skinless chicken breast cut in 2-3 strips for each person
1 piece of bacon for each strip
Wrap the bacon in a spiral around strips and hold with toothpicks
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic you could roll the chicken strips in brown sugar at this point
Bake at 350 until the chicken is done. 15-20 minutes

initial frame

I saw something similar to this on Pinterest so I decided to make my own version.
Find an interesting frame, mine came from a garage sale for $1.00.  Clean it up and pounce on your paint.  I used whte, off white and tan. You want to leave some of the background color showing, let dry.
Make a pattern for you insert and cut out of foam core.  You could also use cardboard or luan.
Cut burlap 2" larger all around the size of insert.  I used spray glue to hold the burlap down but you could use any kind.  Be sure your insert fits the frame before covering.
Print a pattern for your letter off the computer and cut from foam core, cardboard or luan.
You could paint your letter but I decided to spray paint news paper black and paper mached it to the letter.  Let dry and then attach to the insert with hot glue.  Add a hanger and your done.  I ran a ribbon through the hanger on the back to hang mine on the door, but that is not necessary.

Here it is hanging on the kitchen door.  The hardest part of this project was waiting for the paint to dry.

balsamic tomatoes

It's almost the end of tomato season here, I hate to see them go.  A friend gave me a big bag of the last of her tomatoes.  They were small, less than 2" but perfectly red and ripe.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes in wedges.  I used 7-8 small tomatoes, but use what you have and increase the oil and vinegar if you need to.  Add salt, pepper, 2T olive oil, 2T balsamic vinegar.  Allow to sit at room temperature at least an hour.  Top with fresh snipped basil if you want.

soft pumpkins

Can you tell what I'm going to make from this pile?

How about now?

That's right they are sweater pumpkins.  Easy and very little sewing.

There are two basic ways I did these pumpkins.  For the first one cut the sleeves off of a sweater and cut each sleeve into two pieces across the width.  Turn the pieces inside out and tie about 1" from the end with string or yarn.  Turn right side out and stuff.  Gather the top tight and tie off.  Now comes the fun part.  I wrapped the top into a stem with yarn and added flowers. yarn, string, buttons etc with a glue gun.  Done.

The second pumpkins are made with the body of the sweater.  Use a plate and cut a circle whatever size fits on your pieces.  Gather the top with a running stitch, pull up thread, stuff, tighten thread and know.These are the pumpkins in the above pic that look like they have a hole in them.  Find a short stick, hot glue that into the hole and decorate as above.  You can make a whole field full of pumpkins with just a few cast off sweaters.  Or as they are known around here to the kitties "lots of new toys to bat around".

VCB

Come join us at Ninny's Country Cupboard harvest celebration this Satruday October 6, from 9-4.  Located in Edgar county on Il RT 133.  All hand made craft items, gifts, food, music.  A wonderful day in the country and a start to your holiday shopping.  What more could you ask for?

secret stash box

If I don't hide candy when I bring it home from the store, AH will snarf it down within 48 hours.  To make the treats last I come up with some pretty clever ways to hide the stash.  This candy box use to be one of those places, but he's on to me now.
Apple gourds can be found in most places that grow pumpkins and gourds as well as on line.  If it isn't dried you'll have to dry it until next year.  Scrub up the gourd and remove all the dead skin.  let dry.  Mark a line about 2-3" down from the top and cut off the lid.  AH used the table saw to cut this one but you could use a band saw, coping saw or hand saw.  Empty the contents and wipe out the dust.  Save the seeds if you want to plant your own gourds next year.  Pour in paint and brush around to cover.  Give the outside 2-3 coats of paint and spray with clear sealer. You could also add a name or phrase before sealing   Line up the top and bottom of your apple and make a mark with pencil where you want your hinge to be.  Cut a small about 11/2"X1" piece of leather, vinyl or heavy fabric and glue one side to the top and one to the bottom on the inside of the gourd..  I did this one side at a time and let it dry before attaching the strip to the other side.  I used E6000 and held the vinyl in place with duct tape until dry.  Fill with goodies and enjoy.  I've given several of these to teacher friends of mine and they love them on their desks for treats, prizes, pencils or general storage.

perfect roast chicken

We eat a lot of chicken around here and roasting it is one of our favorites.  Yes I could just go buy precooked chicken at the store but this is easy and delicious.  I always do at least two chickens at a time and freeze the leftovers for casseroles, soup or salads.  Buy the best quality roasting chicken you can find, Tyson has a great product and Sams carries packages of all natural roasting hens that taste wonderful.
3-5# roasting hen
1 lemon, 1 onion,  quartered 3-4 cloves of garlic crushed
fresh thyme, parsley and sage use dried if you don't have fresh
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Rinse the chicken and salt the inside.  Stuff the cavity with the onion, lemon, garlic and herbs.
Rub the outside with olive oil and salt and pepper generously
Have you oven preheated to 425  Roast the chicken for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 325 and bake for 15 minutes per pound.  Cover with foil if the bird is getting too brown.
Delicious