Stitchin' Fool

I've recently decided I needed to relearn how to crochet. It's a skill my mother learned from her mother & grandmother. I'm thinking it's something that I should work on and learn more about so I can pass the skill on to my daughter when she's older. Some things should just not be forgotten, whether it's a life lesson or something as simple as crochet. Plus, there's something to be said about yarn therapy. Anything that can help you get your mind off of stressful stuff is a good thing!

I've started and stopped various projects several times throughout the years when it comes to crochet. I've made a few different things, but would also start on an afghan and give up. I really tried to make a baby blanket for Ally before she was born, but gave up on it after she was born. There just hasn't seemed to be enough time to work on anything since.

 I've also tried to relearn how to knit, but I get to a certain point and just can't get it to go any further without huge errors. My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Clark, made us learn how to knit as a class. My project was a duster mitt and I learned quite a bit about knitting. However, those days are long past and I can't remember hardly a thing about it now. It was, unfortunately, a skill I didn't keep practicing. I'm pretty sure I gave it all up as soon as the project was done for class.

I came to the decision to start crochet again with a little help from some friends. We have a little group gathering every Saturday morning to stitch and bitch. It's so much fun and they are way more adept at crocheting! It really helps to have them there to let me know how I can change something or to explain a stitch to me. I love it! And since I've started going to the group, I've actually finished a scarf for myself. I'm pretty proud of it too! :) Here it is:

Don't you just love the colors?! Purple and green are such a striking combination! And it was a very simple pattern...all single crochet stitches. What a great way to practice stitches!

Almost as soon as I finished the scarf, I started getting what my friends refer to as "yarn fever". I found myself in WalMart, of all places, looking at all the yarn they had on sale. Along with my groceries, I ended up walking out with about 5 skeins of yarn. Yikes! The obsession has begun! And a new project will begin shortly....

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

 Are you tired of spending so much money on laundry detergent? Isn't it frustrating how the "cheap" detergent costs so much as well? I've read various posts about making your own laundry detergent....powder and liquid. It sounded like a great idea and a wonderful way to save a little money. I wanted to try the powder detergent first as I thought it would be easier to keep on hand than the liquid form It was very easy to make and I promise....it works!

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

1 Bar Shaved Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 cup of Downy Unstopables (any scent you choose)

Directions:
Stir the ingredients together (after shaving the soap) and use 2 TBS per load of laundry. It's low-suds recipe and is great if you have any skin sensitivities too!

Not sure if you're saving anything by making your own detergent? Well, according to Walmart prices 40 loads of Tide are around $9.24. The cost of ingredients for the homemade detergent ended up being around $2.80 at Walmart. So yes, you are saving money. And as it only takes about 5 minutes to make and is easily stored, you just can't beat it!

Cleaning tips

I found this wonderful chart through Pinterest showing various cleaning tips. Some I already knew about and others I'm going to try out. I thought this was such a great chart that I simply had to share it with everyone. I tried to find out who posted it first to give them kudos, but the blogger has evidently ended their site. So, to whoever you may be.....great job!!! :)
 

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Happy Halloween!!!

DIY: Halloween spider and witches curtains

I came up with this idea many years ago when I was a preschool teacher. I needed something to decorate my classroom for Halloween, but didn't have a budget to do so. In one of the many teacher supply catalogs, I found a black plastic spider that could be hung from the ceiling. The more I looked at it, the more I decided I could easily make one of those things on my own.

I have to say that it turned out great back then and the kids loved it! They were so surprised to see that huge spider hanging on the ceiling! We also hung one up on the front porch at the house and the reaction of the trick or treaters was great!

Now that we have the large front porch again, I thought this would be a great time to bring the spider out of retirement. So, with Ally's help, we made another spider (named Fred by Ally) and also made some witches curtains to go with him.

Everything turned out great and the front porch now looks amazing and ready for Halloween! It was so easy and took just an afternoon to make and hang up everything. Here's what you'll need to make your own "Fred" and witches curtains:

A box of black outdoor garbage bags

White poster board or construction paper

Staple gun & outdoor staples

Black duct tape

Newspapers

Black marker

Black yarn

Directions for spider:

• Stuff one garbage bag full with crumpled newspapers. Secure the top with some black yarn. Use 2 pieces of black duct tape to tape down the bottom corners of the bag. This will round out the spider's body.

• Take 4 garbage bags and cut them down the middle. Make sure to also cut down the seams to open the bags up. These will make the legs of the spider. You'll end up with 8 legs.
• Tie the legs to the top of the spider body with black yarn.
• Cut eyes and fangs out of the poster board. Pupils can be drawn onto the eyes with the marker.
• Eyes and fangs can be either taped or glued to the body of the spider. Both ways have worked just fine.

• To hang, we staple the top knot of the spider and legs to the ceiling of the porch. Legs are then draped and stapled in the middle to make a joint.

Directions for witches curtains:

•  One black bag will make one curtain. To make shorter curtains, leave the bags as is and cut strips about an inch wide starting from the bottom and working to the open end. Leave about 2-3 inches uncut at the bottom of the bag. This will be the end that is secured to the top of your window to hang the curtain.
• To make a longer curtain, cut down the side seams of one black bag. Leaving 2-3 inches uncut at the top, cut 1 inch wide strips.
• Any stretching or tearing is ok. The more ragged, the better.
• Curtains can be hung by using either duct tape or staples.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dishes?? We don't need no stinking dishes! Other uses for Blue Dawn!

I love the original blue Dawn dish soap. It always works great and never dries out my hands. That's very important to me as I always seem to have my hands in the sink washing dishes. It's the necessary evil to my enjoyment of baking and cooking.

Dawn really is a wonderful product, but it does so much more than just clean your dishes! It's so versatile and I think you'll be very surprised at what else it can do! Here are just some of the various cleaning ideas I've found online for Dawn...

BUBBLES

 

Dawn makes the most awesome homemade bubbles. I know this personally as we use it all the time during the summer for my daughter's bubble machine. Here's the recipe we use...I found this recipe years ago online and it always works great!

 

1/2 cup Ultra Dawn

1/2 gallon warm water

1 tablespoon glycerin (available at any drug store) OR White Karo syrup

Stir gently. Skim the foam off of the top of the solution. If you have too much foam, it will break down the bubbles. Dip bubble wand or pour into bubble machine and get ready for some good, clean fun!

HAIR PRODUCT BUILDUP

By using original Dawn as a shampoo once a month, you will remove excess oil and strip away any styling products build-up. It's so gentle that it will do all of this without any damage to your hair or scalp. You'll not only help your hair and scalp, but you'll save by not having to buy expensive salon products that do the exact same thing. Great, right??

REPEL HOUSEPLANT INSECTS

Did you know that just a drop of Dawn in a spray bottle with water will repel insects from your houseplants? That includes those pesky aphids, spider mites and mealy bugs. Just mix one drop of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in a spray bottle, fill the rest of the bottle with water, shake well, and mist your household plants with the soapy water.

 

 

CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS

Merry Maids uses Dawn to make windows squeaky clean. They mix 3 drops Dawn in 1 gallon water and fill a spray bottle with the solution. Spritz and wipe as you would with any window cleaner.

PETS AND PESTS

Dawn also works great to kills fleas on contact and it is so much cheaper than buying those expensive dog shampoos to do the same thing! Get the neck area first (make a ring of suds completely around the animals neck), the fleas will move as soon as you start washing your pet, since the soap interferes with the fleas ability to breathe. Here's another tip that works to get rid of fleas. Get a spray bottle and put about an inch or so of Dawn liquid and fill the rest with water. Then spray on the bed or dog house. This will keep the fleas out of their area. 

 

ICE PACK

This is a tip I received from my husband. Dawn can make a great ice pack should you need one and don't have a commercially bought pack on hand. Fill a strong zip-type sandwich bag with Dawn, close and freeze. The liquid soap stays cold much longer and can be frozen and reused many times.

 

 

UNCLOGGING TOILETS

 

 

Just pour a cup of Dawn into a clogged toilet and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then pour a bucket of hot water into the toilet from waist height. This will clear that clog out of your toilet.

 

EYEGLASS DEFOGGER

Simply rub a small drop of Dawn on eyeglass lenses, and wipe clean. It will leave a very thin film that will prevent them from fogging up.

SIDEWALK DE-ICER

 

For icy steps and sidewalks, mix 1 tsp of Dawn, 1 Tbsp of rubbing alcohol and 1/2 gallon of hot/warm water. Pour the mixture over the steps and sidewalks. They won't refreeze and you won't have anymore salt eating at the concrete in your sidewalks.

 

 

There are so many more uses for original blue Dawn that I haven't covered. Do a search online and you'll be amazed with how many things Dawn can help you with. I certainly was and plan to try out pretty much everything I've found so far. Good luck!

Save it....Freeze it!

Ever wish your grocery store would carry smaller containers of buttermilk? I have several recipes that use only a couple of tablespoons and then I'm left with this big container that will eventually go to waste. I mean, really, does anyone use a whole half gallon of buttermilk before it expires anyway?

Well, here's a good tip for you...freeze it! I freeze my leftover buttermilk in 2 Tbsp portions using my ice cube trays. Once frozen, you can store the cubes in a freezer bag. Plus, since you've already measured them, you can just pull out whatever you need when a recipe calls for buttermilk.

The cubes can be melted at the low power setting in your microwave or you can let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Freezing buttermilk, or any dairy, will cause the solids and the whey to separate. To reincorporate the solids and they whey, you'll want to be sure to whisk or run the buttermilk in the blender before using it.

I've also used this method for half and half as well as whole milk. It really saves you money in the long run and you'll always be sure to have it on hand when it's needed.

Orange Vinegar - "green" cleaning

I've used vinegar before to clean up various things throughout my house. It will clean up anything in a snap, however, you're whole house smells like a pickle when you get done. Granted, I really like pickles. But I sure don't want the house smelling like them unless I'm actually making them.

I came across this great blog, The Fountain Avenue Kitchen, and they had a post about using vinegar to clean also. However, they have directions on how to steep the vinegar in orange peels! How great is that?! You get an awesome cleaner (without the pickle smell) that will not leave that toxic residue the manufactured cleaners leave behind. And who doesn't love that fresh smell oranges leave behind anyway? I don't think you could ask for anything more!

Orange Vinegar:

 

1 16-ounce canning jar

2 oranges, peels only

vinegar to cover

Curl the peels around the inside of the jar. If your oranges are small and you could fit another peel, feel free to add one more. Pour vinegar into the jar to cover the peels and close tightly. Store in the cupboard for two weeks, then transfer the vinegar to a spray bottle and use for all your cleaning purposes!

You could also easily use lemons, limes, clementines....anything citrus with a peel. Even a combination would work as well to achieve that sweet smell.

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A Redneck Diva: Never forget...: Where were you on this day 11 years ago? Remember, honor & never forget! And most importantly, don't ever let those extremists win. We ar...

Taste Kitchen Results: Pumpkin Spice Creamer

SUCCESS!! I tried a few lighter options with my previous post about the Pumpkin Spice Creamer and I have to report a big success! The lighter version tastes just as good as the original and is still so easy to make. Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

 

Lite Pumpkin Spice Creamer

 

1 cup skim milk

1 cup half & half

3 Tbs pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin spice

4 Tbs sugar free maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Whisk all ingredients except vanilla over medium heat until steamy. Remove from heat and add vanilla, whisking to combine. Strain creamer and transfer to jar or container. You'll definitely want to strain it, otherwise you'll have a heavy mixture of pumpkin & spices sitting at the bottom of your cup...unless you like it that way. Let the mixture cool and refrigerate for a day. The flavor increases as it sits.

Pumpkin Spice Creamer continues...

I was asked by a friend to come up with a lighter version of this creamer. As I am a diabetic myself, a lower sugar and lower calorie version that tastes just as good would be a wonderful thing. I could actually have more than one cup of coffee with it!

So, I picked up some ingredients at the local grocery store and will be working on this tonight. As the flavor increases as it sits, I'm hoping to be able to give a good report on it tomorrow. Off to the test kitchen I go!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

It's getting to that time of year when the cravings for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte' start rumbling. Unfortunately, getting to Starbucks isn't as easy as it once was....closest location is about 30 miles away! I decided I needed to start searching for a recipe to get me thru my cravings. I've found several and have experienced numerous failures, however, I do believe I've found one that will work just nicely.

 

 

I originally found the recipe on Next To Heaven, who found it on an organic cooking blog called Deliciously Organic. Several different creamer recipes were listed, but I zoned in on the pumpkin spice. Someday I very well may try the others.

 

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

1cup of organic whole milk

1cup of organic heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons of organic pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

4 table Maple Syrup

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Whisk milk, cream, pumpkin, syrup, and pumpkin spice together over medium heat. When it gets steamy remove from heat and add in the vanilla.

 

Use a strainer to transfer the cream into a jar or pitcher. Let it cool down and chill it the refrigerator. The flavor will be stronger the next day.

 

Some other flavors on the site include... cinnamon strudel, chocolate almond, french vanilla and peppermint mocha. They all sound so good and are only supposed to take approximately 5-10 minutes to make. What an easy and inexpensive way to get those yummy flavors we so crave! 

Winter Sore Throat Tea

I picked up this idea from my friend Marta, who in turn picked it up from her special niece Scarlett in Texas. I'm always looking for new ideas on keeping us healthy & feeling good without going to the doctor. So this is definitely a must try for us!

Combine lemon slices, organic honey, and sliced ginger in a jar. Close the jar and put in your fridge until it forms into a jelly. To serve, spoon some of the jelly into a mug and add boiling water. This mixture will keep in the fridge for two to three months.

Homemade "Febreeze"

Love getting those bottles of Febreeze or other fabric freshener, but hate paying the cost? Boy, do I have one heck of a money saver for you then! You'll get the same great smell, but at a fraction of the price. Plus, I've found, the fragrance lasts much longer than the store bought.

One thing to keep in mind, however, do not spray it on wood or linoleum floors as it will get very slippery. Found that out the hard way, but we won't go into details about that!

All you need is a spray bottle, water and your favorite kind of liquid fabric softener. I choose Gain because I absolutely LOVE the smell of it! Add 1 Tbsp of fabric softener to your spray bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle up with water and give it a good shake. You now have your fabric freshener. Yes, it really is that easy! And because you only use 1 Tbsp of the softener, your supply will last an extremely long time.

Give it a try! I guarantee you'll be amazed at how well this works.

Smelly Trick

I love walking into the candle stores & taking in a deep breath. It smells so good! All those wonderful scents blending together into one. I would love to walk into my house & have it smell the exact same way. However, that would require a very large amount of candles. And while I do have quite a lot, just ask my husband, I don't have the space to put all that out in the house.

I have found a little trick, though, that is a simple and inexpensive way to make the home smell yummy good. All you need is some vanilla extract, a coffee liner and your stove. Put two caps full of vanilla extract in a coffee liner, then place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. Within twenty minutes the whole house smells like heaven. It's actually a common realtor trick and works amazingly well!

Cookbook rack

There are so many clever ways to reuse an item for a completely different purpose. You just have to figure out how to make it work. I've come across a lot of great ideas that I never would have thought of on my own. My brain doesn't quite think that way....yet.

Have you ever been cooking with your faithful cookbook laid out and the pages won't stay still? You can prop the book up, but the pages will still fall. You can lay something on top of the book, but then you have to keep moving it to see what is on the page. Or.......you could reuse an item and do this!!!

What a great idea!! No adjustments need to be made....just clip & start cooking! Now, I do have some books that just wouldn't make this possible. However, I do believe I'll be doing this with some of my smaller books! Happy Cooking!!

The Goddess Is Emerging...

Since I've become a stay at home mom, I've found that every once in a while you really need to be creative about things. Find different ways to stretch that dollar....make the penny squeal, so to speak. But along with being a coupon queen, there are other things that you can do to make life just a little easier. And we all can benefit from that!

So, this blog is dedicated to making things just a little easier on all of us. Creative ways to get things done, new ideas in using old stuff, even DIY ideas to save that dollar. I hope you get inspired by some of what I've found & share some tricks of your own!