Repurposed Cards

After I lost my Grandma a few years ago, one of the strangest finds in her boxes was an envelope with all of my Valentine's cards from my class at school from probably first or second grade.  I must have taken them to her house to show her, and they somehow stayed there.  :)

It was fun to go through the cards and see the "signatures" of my former classmates, but admittedly I don't hold onto things unless they have a special meaning to me.  I decided to reuse the few that I really liked and were still in good shape.  Using some holiday patterned paper I already had on hand, along with my stash of cardstock, this is the outcome.

Fun, retro cards!!  I also think this could be a cute idea for using any leftover cards your kids have from their classroom parties.

Sauerkraut Success!

My first batch of kraut took seven days to complete.  Considering how hot it got outside all of a sudden, which means the temp in my house got warmer, I kept watching it like a hawk to see if it would finish sooner.  Nope...on Day 7, the brine dropped as the recipe said it would.  

I have to say I love the taste...I'm not sure if it's because the cabbage was cut into larger chunks than what you buy in the store or what else it may be, but I like it.  I'm not too ashamed to admit that while I was cooking dinner tonight (and really wanted a little snack) that I enjoyed nibbling on sauerkraut to get my tangy, salty fix.

I prepped my second batch tonight after dinner.  :)

Fermentation?

For several weeks, I've been toying with the idea of trying my hand at making sauerkraut.  Fermented foods are supposed to be excellent for the old GI tract...and well, my gut needs all the help it can get to feel better.

I had a head of cabbage from my produce co-op pick-up that I needed to use, and after some more searching, I found a couple of recipes for making a small batch.  Between this site and this recipe from the More With Less Cookbook, I gave it a go.

From the different things I've read regarding making a small batch, the fermentation process will take 3-10 days.  This is Day One:

Pinterest-Inspired Upcycling Project

(Apparently I haven't been very chatty lately, since my last post was three months ago!  Ooops!)

After going through some closets at the beginning of the season change, I decided that I wanted to convert some old t-shirts into reusable shopping bags.  I used t-shirts that had logos/events on them or were stained beyond repair.  (Personally, if a shirt can be passed along to someone else to use, I'd rather share the love that way, but once something is stained, that option is out.)

Since I grocery shop for a month at a time at places like Aldi, I need my cloth bags.  However, for multiple reasons, I have been switching over to regular canvas totes or other washable bags instead of the bags that are available from the grocers.  (Who wants to cross-contaminate by putting their produce in a bag that once held meat?  Or who wants to have to get additional plastic bags when purchasing meat?  Or who wants lead or other dangerous by-products to come in contact with the food their family eats??  (I am a huge anti-lead advocate.))

I had made bags in the past, but I learned a couple of things when doing so.

• Size matters.  The smaller the size t-shirt, the better the bag.  After I had lost 35 pounds, I made some bags out of my old XL and XXL shirts.  However, those are too big and awkward for grocery bags.  Larger youth sizes and smaller adult sizes are best.
• Finished edges make me happy.  I did not like cutting the handles and leaving the edges as is.

Because of the desire for finished edges, I started searching for ideas on Pinterest and came up with a few to try.  (NOTE:  I am NOT a seamstress!!  These were bags that were done quickly and are no where close to perfect!!)

The first could have been a no-sew bag had I not decided to finish the neckline.  Instructions here.  (I grabbed some embroidery floss to match the logo to finish the edges.)

The next ones are similar to what I had made in the past, but I added a gusset to the bottom corners and zig-zag stitching to the handles.  Instructions here.  (This website gives several variation ideas and is extremely helpful!)

My favorite St. Louis Cardinals shirt, converted after I stained it.

This was a shirt important to me that a local school organization sold to help with our emergency feeding program in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.  This was a great way for me to hold onto that memory.

The last version is a cute idea I found for making produce bags for those times when you don't want to use a lot of plastic bags or you're headed to the farmer's market.  My version, however, needs some work!!  You get the idea, though.  This pic shows the pre-washed version.  Next time, I will make the bags a little shorter and change up how I cut the slits.  A rotary cutter would be much easier than using scissors!  Instructions here.

I used two of my bags for the first time at Whole Foods today, and I'm definitely happy with their sturdiness and with the ability to throw them in the wash as needed.  Even better...this is a project that has been sitting on my desk for a month or so, and I finished it!!  :)

Until next time...

Spring is in the Air

I've been in a bit of a mood to decorate more for the seasons and holidays.  However, since I have very few decorations, besides my Christmas decor, I'm basically starting over.  Since that is not always conducive to saving money, I'm striving to use things I have and be creative.

Thanks to this idea I found on Pinterest to use foam tubing as a wreath base, I decided to to make a wreath for Easter/Spring.

My purchases included foam tubing ($1.77 for 6 feet, which will make 2 wreaths this size), some rattan flowers and a bunny pick (both from Hobby Lobby at 30% off).  I had the yarn, duct tape, and ribbon in my supplies already.

 Following the instructions from the aforementioned blog, I created the shape of the wreath and used duct tape to hold it together.  In hindsight, I either should have used less tape to hold it together, or I should have shaped it differently before taping it.  See how it's flatter on the side where the tape is?  It wasn't able to be corrected once I started decorating.

Wrapping the wreath base with yarn was a bit more tedious than I expected, but there it is.  :)  This does take some patience.  I had to tie it to start and then wrap away.  However, the yarn needs to continuously be scrunched together to keep the look consistent.  I think I spent about 4 nights (in short time increments) working on this part because I disliked the process so much.

And the finished project...

After experimenting with wrapping different yarns around, I was happy to find just enough ribbon to make it around this wreath.  I preferred this look much better.  Then I used hot glue to attach the flowers and bunny and added a loop on the back with ribbon for hanging.  I'll admit that the end result isn't my favorite, but it works for now.  :)

Using Up Before Buying New

I like to use up yarn by making blankets based on the "pattern" by Warm-Up America.  By doing this, I can use whatever colors I have on hand and end up with a warm blanket to give away...eventually.  However, I have a tendency to want to learn something new from time to time.

Currently I have a couple of skeins of cotton yarn that I want to use.  That's when I found this pattern for a round coaster:  Since I cannot read a pattern for anything, I was thrilled that there are tutorials online to make it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlrr2EG-TzM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PALSsljrEo

I didn't have multiple colors of yarn, so I decided to just use the variegated yarn and not do two different colors.  This is the first one:

It's definitely not perfect, but I'm excited to be able to finally crochet a circle!!  :)

On a different subject, I finished my other daughters infinity scarf...also my first: 

Happy Crocheting!

Be Still My Heart...

Based on this idea, I created a little heart wreath to add to my meager Valentine decoration collection:  http://fiberflux.blogspot.com/2012/01/tinyone-round-hearts-by-jennifer.html

 I believe the original instructions were to use old cardboard (like a cereal box) as the backing.  I decided to rethink that for mine, and as I was looking around for options, I found a round plastic canvas in some of the craft supplies I was getting rid of.  At first, I thought I'd cover the whole thing with hearts, but then I decided to cut out the center so it would be a wreath.

I decided to use some of the buttons out of my sewing box and added them with the hearts to the circle.  However, I had not covered the whole circle in yarn and little bits of the plastic were peaking through.  That's when I stopped at two hearts and added the pink yarn to the whole of the base.

I finished adding hearts with buttons and then added the ribbon.

This project cost me nothing!  That's what I loved the most about it.

Yarn, Yarn, Everywhere...

 

For the past few weeks, I have busily worked on a few crochet projects that I thought I'd share.

This first one is my first baby blanket, which was made for our new nephew who should be joining us soon!

This is a basic scarf I made at my daughter's request.  The variation in it from what I normally would make is that I crocheted the length of the scarf instead of the width and made my rows from there.

These two pictures are miscellaneous scarves I made.  The top two are wider, shorter scarves, and the bottom two are made like the one I made for my daughter.














My current endeavor is an infinity scarf.  Both of my daughters want one, so I'm trying my hand at them.  I did also learn how to crochet tiny hearts with leftover yarn.  I'm so proud!  :)  I cannot read a pattern and have limited crochet ability at this time, so YouTube is my friend!

Grocery Shopping

If you're like me, grocery shopping can be burdensome.  It's even more difficult if you can't manage to make it to the store alone!

A few years ago, our pay schedule changed to monthly instead of bi-weekly.  At that time, I made a planning and shopping shift and decided to menu plan and grocery shop for a month at a time.  (Mind you, I still get produce during the month through our co-op, and I have to stop for milk.)  It was hard at first, but now it is my normal routine.

One of the tools I found online while I was doing this was a master shopping list (http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/).  I have tweaked my version to add the things I buy regularly (and need to remember to pick up), using her format, but it has saved me a ton of time.

Menu Challenge

What a week!  I feel far more normal today, which is partially due to getting back into a routine now that school has started...although I could do without the super early mornings!!

Dinner tonight was minus my baby, since he was invited to go see the Cards game tonight.  With just the kids and me, I decided to just throw a bag of chicken tenders in the oven that I didn't realize was in the freezer.  (Gotta love surprises!)  Along with that, I fixed broccoli and noodles to use up a partial box of pasta and the bunch of broccoli that came in the produce basket this week.  That is one of my favorite things to eat.

A friend shared this link through Facebook a few weeks ago for single ingredient banana "ice cream," and I've really been wanting to try it: http://userealbutter.com/2010/08/12/single-ingredient-ice-cream-recipe/.  In the last co-op pick-up, I ended up with two bunches of bananas that went from green to overly ripe very quickly (I'm sure due to the heatwave we've had and the hot temps inside the house).  I went ahead and sliced them and flash froze them for a later date.  Today was the later date.

I made a very small batch of just plain banana, a bit larger batch with peanut butter, and the rest with cocoa and peanut butter.  All of my kids loved it (chocolate/peanut butter got the most votes), and my daughter said, "This is the bomb diggity!  Can I have more?"  One of my daughters doesn't like peanut butter or chocolate, but the banana was just too plain for her.  I think next time I might see what the consistency turns out like with strawberries or another fruit added.  Great solution for too many bananas!  (I get tired of freezing bananas for muffins at a later date.)  And a great solution for the three of us who are lactose-intolerant and want something frozen and creamy!

Veggies, Veggies, Veggies

This month is an odd meal month for us, mostly because of my hurried planning at the end of July.  I have another week's worth of menus in my plan for August, but obviously that won't cover us unless I either do more shopping or get creative.  As of right now, I'm choosing creativity.

For a few years now, I have participated in Community Helpings Co-op for our fruits and veggies (and a few other fun extras from time to time).  Monday was pick-up day, so I have a box worth of produce to implement into the menu.

Tonight I decided to make some pepperoni roll-ups for dinner, but I knew that with five of us at the table I needed more.  I had two jumbo (and I mean jumbo) carrots that I cut into sticks for my less creative (and more picky) eaters, and for the rest of us, I created this:

I had a partial box of whole wheat couscous in the cabinet, so I cooked that as instructed.  (This particular recipe used one cup of uncooked couscous, which yields about two cups when cooked.)  In a small skillet, I heated olive oil and added one peeled and diced sweet potatoes and a few slices of onion (which I also diced).  After the potatoes were tender, I added two leaves of collard greens that had been chopped and cooked for just a minute or so.  I also sprinkled the veggies with Emeril's Essence (a staple in my spice cabinet).  When done, I stirred this into the couscous, and I served some crumbled feta cheese on the side for any takers.  

Even my non-sweet-potato-liking husband liked this recipe, and my daughters asked me to make another batch so they could pack it in their school lunches for tomorrow.  For someone who had never cooked with greens in the past, I have found that I can throw them into a lot of different dishes.

Next up for some night this week: tackling the quinoa in the cabinet.  :)