Sunday, October 30, 2011

A Quick Pedestal Tray

While I was visiting Mountain Breaths a few weeks ago, I spied a clever trick she had displayed on her dining table. She took a MacKenzie Childs enamel cup and plate and turned it into a pedestal tray.
I have the large pedestal tray. but sometimes it's just too big for what I want to serve.
A little bit of poster putty holds the plate onto the cup:
And you have a smaller tray:
Thanks for the clever idea Debbie!
Sharing with Met Monday

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Mediterranean Grilling Rub

Here's the third grilling rub mix I made for the neighbor's gift baskets:
Recipe:
2t rosemary
2t thyme
2t minced onion
1t minced garlic
1t salt
3/4t dried red bell pepper
Sharing with

Friday, October 28, 2011

What do you do with....

an old Pottery Barn vase that has tarnished and you are too lazy to polish it?
Make a quick arrangement of fall leaves, pinecones and feathers!
Sharing with Saturday Spotlight at Craft Envy

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Double Pepper BBQ Rub

You probably know by now that I am preparing homemade items to go into food baskets for the neighbors as Christmas presents.

I also made Southwest Rub and these are the ingredients for
Double Pepper BBQ Rub:
As before, I packaged the mix in small baggies:
and I printed the recipes onto little paper bags:
and tied them closed with twine:
Recipe:
1/2c paprika
1T cumin
1T brown sugar
1t chili powder
1T black pepper
1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground cloves
Mix together and store in baggies
Sharing with

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Chicken Soup

For the past few months, every time I prepare fresh vegetables, I have put the stems, ends, leaves, or leftovers into a baggie in the freezer. The bag was full of asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash ends, celery tips and leaves, bits of onion and garlic, leftover corn, spinach and carrot ends.

I put them into a pan with two cups of water, some seasonings and boiled them for an hour or so. I strained the vegetables and had the BEST vegetable stock leftover.

I added fresh carrots, chicken, onion, celery and asparagus to the stock to make a delicious soup:
From now on, this is what I will do with all my leftover veggies!
MMMMMGood!

Monday, October 24, 2011

There's SNOW in the forecast!

In Syracuse we have often seen snow around Halloween time.
This morning I heard that we might have snow flurries on Thursday!
My two rose bushes are still blooming and
I didn't want them to freeze and wilt! So, I picked 2 bouquets!
I will miss fresh flowers in the house all winter, so until spring, this will be it!
Can you tell which milk glass vase is a Fenton?

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Home made vanilla...

You should know by now that I am making gift baskets for the neighbors. Along with dried herbs from my garden, an assortment of spice rubs for grilling, candy and cookies, I decided to make vanilla.
I began with vanilla beans:
and vodka:
I cut the vanilla beans in half, sliced them down the middle, to open them and placed them into jars with vodka:
I copied this label from WhipperBerry and printed on fabric and glued it onto a paper bag:
They have to set for a month or two, shaken now and then - simple as that!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Homemade Southwest Rub for Grilling

I am planning ahead for Christmas gifts and made a great Southwest flavored rub for chicken, beef or fish. These will be added to baskets of goodies for the neighbors.
The recipe is at the bottom of this post.
I mixed all the spices and herbs in a plastic bowl:
I ran some small white bags through the printer:
and I packaged 2 T of the mix in small clear baggies:
The baggies just fit into the paper bags:
and then I punched holes in the top and tied it closed with a twine bow:
This recipe made 16 little gift packets:
Southwest Rub
1/3 c course salt
1/4 c lt brown sugar
2 T paprika
2 T black pepper
2 T oregano
2 T thyme
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T cumin
1T coriander
1 T chili powder
Mix all together well and enjoy on chicken, fish or beef!

Sharing with:
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Swiffer refills and a winner

Are you tired of buying refills for your Swiffer?
I was....so I took and old microfiber dish towel ($1 at the Christmas Tree Shops) and cut 2 pieces the same size as a Swiffer cloth:
Now I can just throw them into the washing machine and reuse:
The winner of the Uprinting Post cards was:
78a05a42-f5fe-11e0-ab52-000f20980440
Sarandipity

Sunday, October 16, 2011

One Christmas Gift - DONE!

Many, many years ago I made woven ribbon pillows for friends as Christmas gifts. This year our Bunco group will be exchanging gifts and I decided to resurrect this idea.

I begin with a 12" square of scrap fabric.

I cut the ribbons into 12" lengths, weave them and pin them into place on the scrap fabric:


I chose an assortment of ribbons, not necessarily Christmas, but a bit glitzy for the holiday season:


The ribbons are pinned onto a scrap of fabric so that I can stitch around the outside edge, holding them in place:


I chose a back that had similar colors as the ribbons:


I stitched the front to the back, leaving an opening in the center of the bottom, stuff it and then I hand stitched a ribbon fringe around the edges:


A special gift for one of my Bunco friends! One present completed, many more to go!


Sharing this with Met Monday and Tutorial Tuesday



Friday, October 14, 2011

The "Skeleton" Tree

While I was Party Hopping in Blogland yesterday, I came across a unique tree that caught my eye at Shabby French Cottage. I left a comment and Mikey emailed me, saying he found the tree, on sale, at Kohl's. I scurried there right away and copied his idea of hanging old keys on the branches.
GET IT? A "SKELETON (key) " TREE!
I can imagine keeping this tree out all year and decorating it each season!
Just the perfect piece to compliment the handmade tree on the wall:
My favorite thing about blogging, and meeting new people, is that everyone is so willing to share their ideas! Stop by and see the other wonderful decorations at Shabby French Cottage and tell him I sent you!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for

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