wreath making

Making a  wreath of almost any material follows the same basic procedures.
Here's what you need:
Wreath frame, stiff wire  or a hanger pulled into a circle.  You can but a wreath frame at any place that sells craft supplies.  I use these if I'm making a heavy evergreen or pine cone wreath otherwise go for the free hangers.I
Tie wire 18ga
Wire cutters
Materials to make the wreath with.  Flowers, branches, herbs, evergreens all work well.  I like
to work with fresh materials and let them dry.  You just have to pack them a little tighter to allow for shrinkage.You can also buy dried grasses in bunches at the craft store.


Form the hanger into a circle or bend straight wire into a circle form and secure ends together.  Leave a tail of tie wire about 4" long





Start adding bundles of material, wrapping the tie wire tightly.  So tight it makes your hands hurt to do it.




continue adding bundles of materials overlapping the ends and continue until you go completely around the circle.  Hide the ends of the last few bundles under the first few you put on.  Here I'm using sage, but you could use a mix of herbs for cooking.  Make sure you cover the hook of the hanger or cut it off and wrap the ends of the wires together



Here's the finished wreath.  This one is artemesia.  I'll lay it flat to dry for a few days before hanging it on my front door.  I may add a bow or some berries for added color.

OK I confess.  I made the artemesia wreath without even thinking about taking pics for the blog.  I took the how to pics  with herbs after the wreath was on the door.  BAD blogger!!

Gardening end of the season

 When frost threatens it's time to gather up the last of the garden goodies and preserve them for the winter.


Parsley, chop and freeze in ice cube trays.  Pop into a plastic bag when frozen and use in soups, stews and casseroles.  Basil is also best preserved this way.




Fennel, gather the seed heads in a paper bag, let them dry and them rub the seeds away from the stems and store in a cool dry place.




Sage, just wrap the ends with a rubber band and hang to dry




Globe amaranth, just pick them and use in crafts




Cox combs, wrap the ends with a rubber band and hang to dry.  These are beautiful in Christmas wreaths



Just pick your late tomatoes and let them ripen on the counter



Pine apple sage, it really loose a lot of it's fragrance when dried so I prefer freezing.  Use in drinks and fruit sauces



Roasted herb potatoes

 Roasted potatoes are a great side dish with plenty of different main entrees like meat loaf, roast or chicken.  It's easy and quick to prepare and then just throw it in the oven.

2-3" white potatoes, peel and cut in chunks, don't use the red ones they just don't come out well this way.

Take a small handful of herbs you like and whirl them up in a food processor, or hand chop fine.  I used parsley, garlic, rosemary and thyme.  Add up to 1/2C olive oil.  Pour over potatoes and toss to coat.  Spread in a single layer in a baking pan and bake at 375 45-60 minutes until golden and tender.



leave them in good size chunks so they don't cook down into mush



Chop the herbs fine but don't turn them into liquid.



I did these not to long ago in the morning to take to a friend for dinner and they held up nicely.  All she had to do was dump in a pan and bake along with the meatloaf I took.

Mexican chicken soup

 Just like regular chicken soup but with a little kick.

Here's what you need:

1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2# cooked chicken or turkey shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
2-3C chicken stock
2T butter
1tsp red pepper flakes and cumin
Chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the pepper, onion and garlic in butter until translucent, add the remaining ingredients except garnishes and simmer 30 minutes.  Ladle into bowl and add your choice of garnishes.


Yep that's turkey, I had some cooked in the freezer.

 This freezes great too.



It's great with no garnish, just better with all the goodies piled on.



What's that crazy lady doing now?

 A while back I dropped a hint the I was starting a new business venture.  We aren't quite ready yet, I have a partner that I'll introduce later. I thought I'd drop a few hints. 




Some of it comes in fun shapes.



Hundreds and hundreds of samples



Every business has lots of paperwork.  It might as well be pretty and colorful.




Business colors of black, cream and purple.



Starting a new business is a ton of work, planning, preparation, sweat and long hours.  You have to be in it for the long haul and ready to put the work in without getting many rewards  back for a while.





kitchen stool redo

 I had just made the statement to AH that I was on a quest for new bar stools for the kitchen.  In one of their daily rampages through the house the kitties had knocked over the wooden stools and broken them.  The very first rummage sale I pull up to, the very first thing I see is this set of 3 stools.  Yes, the seats needed replacing and the frames were in need of a coat of paint but the price of .50 each was perfect.  I shouted I'll take them before I looked at another thing.  I drug them home, removed the seats, cleaned and painted them, had AH cut down the legs and I recovered the seats.  Yea! new destructive kitty proof stools.


Before




They needed new seats.  An easy job just turn them over unscrew the seats and rip off the yucky stuff.  Note the 50 cent sticker.




Striped down



Painters tarp, washed and laid out in the yard.



I mixed up some leftover tie dye colors and dripped the mix from a paint brush in a random patters.




Funky and weird, just like me.





Recovered seats.  You just staple onto the back of the wooden round and trim off the excess fabric.

I did add new foam from an unused mattress pad because what was there was dirty and broken down.  Most of the time you won't even have to do that before recovering a seat cushion. 

The stools were a little tall for our counter so AH cut them down with a hacksaw.  Remember measure twice cut once.  We also added rubber feet covers so they wouldn't scratch the wood floor.
Total cost less than $5.00 for chairs, rubber feet covers and paint.  I already had everything else.

With a little work you can make something that isn't quite right into something that is perfect for your needs.

Fall redo continued again

 I promise this is the last redo post for the fall.  None of this took much time, I'd just do little things here and there that only took a few minutes.  I worked on it over two weeks, but the total time wasn't more than 4-5 hours.


Mr scarecrow.  Could anything say fall better than pumpkins and scarecrows?  This one was painted by a friend several years ago and wears AH"s old clothes.  Just like him this guy has to have a tight belt to keep up his pants, cause he doesn't have a butt.



Back door basket full of sunflowers, asters, berries and raffia





Between the windows part 2.  I just keep tweeking until I'm satisfied.




Artemesia wreath I think it needs a little something.  Bow, berries, flowers?  I'll find something.





Birdcage, candle lamp and gourds.  One has been painted the other just cleaned.




Window treatment fabric for kitchen and living room.  It's the color of Hershey bars maybe that's why I like it so well.

 Changing up you accessories, window treatments and out door look gives your home a fresh feel for the new season.