Little Girl's Mirror Makeover

I got this mirror from a friend... it was headed to the thrift store, but it needed rescuing! Besides, I knew a little girl that needed a mirror, and this was small enough that it would work for her.
 

I removed the ribbon - it was tired.

Then I hit up the dollar store. They sell these awesome giant flowers for a buck. So I bought 5. After I took them apart, they easily made 10 beautiful flowers. With the help of my friend the hot-glue-gun, the flowers were permanently attached to the frame.

But it needed a little *bLiNg* - so I bought some giant gems for the centers. At first, I was disappointed that the store didn't have round gems, but now I'm glad. The square middles offset all the roundness of the mirror and give it a spunkier look.

And tada! And my inexpensive little decoration got hung in her room.

 It was a fun little idea. Simple really. And I think it was a winner. :-)

~Jannie

Iced Pine Cones

I wanted a new Christmas decoration...but money is tight!. Here is an idea that I found in an old Country Living magazine. Paint pine cones.

The magazine said to spray paint the cones, but I tried that. What a flop. The paint was SUCKED into the wood and never seen again!

So, I decided I needed to clean out some old paint anyway AND I had one that reminded me of toothpaste. Since I was Not going to use it in my house, the toothpaste paint became the new icy blue color choice for my winter decoration. It looks icy fresh and winter-y!

So ....here's the scoop.

Tie a string to the top of the pine cone. Wind the string around a clothes line, or something hung up OUTSIDE over a tarp or cardboard. Dip the pine cone in the paint and let it drip dry.




When dry, tie a skinny ribbon around the first row of cone-stick-y-outie-parts. Then gather all the ribbons together at the top (tie a bow, knot, something!) and hang it.


Ta-dah! I love the way this "wreath" turned out.





--TARA

Give Leather new Life!

I have a pair of leather boots that were beginning to look.....used! I really wanted them to look a little nicer. The one in front has not been treated. See how dusty and abused it looks. But the one in back has a deep, rich look!
I looked on line and there is an easy --at home-- way to condition the leather (they said this works on a sofa too).

Vaseline! Just rub it on with a soft cloth until it feels dry. Work in small areas and that is it!

These boots are ready for walkin'.


--Tara--

Orange-Pineapple Crepes

Orange-Pineapple Crepes
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
1/3 c. orange juice
2 tsp. cooking oil
1/2 of a fresh pineapple peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. orange juice
2 medium oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla or rum extract
1/4 c. chopped pecans or toasted slivered almonds
1/4 c. toasted coconut
fresh strawberries (optional)

In a small mixing bowl combine flour, milk, egg, orange peel, 1/3 cup orange juice and oil. Beat with a rotary beater until well mixed. Heat a lightly greased small skillet over medium heat then spoon 2 tablespoons batter into skillet. Lift and tilt skillet to spread batter then return to heat and brown on one side only. Invert pan over paper towels and remove crepe. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet occasionally. Fold each crepe in half browned side out then fold in half again forming triangle. Place a single layer on a baking sheet then keep warm in 300 degree oven while making sauce.
For sauce, cut pineapple slices into fourths then set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter then stir in brown sugar and cornstarch. Add 1/2 cup orange juice then cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more then add pineapple, orange sections and vanilla or rum extract. Cook over low heat stirring gently until heated through. Arrange folded crepes on dessert plates and spoon sauce over crepes. Sprinkle with nuts and coconut then garnish with fresh strawberries and serve.

This is an example of what I had to do with 20 pounds of fresh oranges. I needed ideas and came across this great recipe. It is very rich. If I could go back and add anything, it would be whipped topping to cut the sweet. My kids ask for these crepes often. Yum!

Play dough - The best!

The best play dough recipe comes from Summer. My daughter had the idea to make a model of a tyrannosaurus for a school project, that just happened to be due the next day! (Next time I hope she'll tell me before the night before.) In a panic I called Summer since she often made play dough for her kids. Here is her recipe:

PLAY DOUGH
2 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
4 tbsp. cream of tartar
2 c. warm water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4-6 drops food coloring

Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a 2 quart sauce pan. Stir in water, oil and food coloring. Stir over medium heat until dough pulls away from the sides. It will look dry and seem like it's burning. Remove onto wax paper or a cutting board to cool. Cool for about 5-10 minutes or until you can touch it. Knead until smooth.

I actually found it easier to add coloring while kneading. The orange color of the dinosaur in the picture was about 14 drops red, 10 drops yellow and 4 drops green. I had to be careful to make a well in the dough for the coloring, then fold the dough over the top so my hands wouldn't stain.

Another great thing about this dough is that it didn't dry out overnight. I thought that I would try to bake it to dry out the dino model, but after 2 hours in a 200 degree oven, it still wasn't dry. This was a good thing since just before school, someone sat on the t-rex and we were able to reform it quickly.

Pillows: from plain to pretty

I wanted some new pillows for my couch. I was having a hard time finding the color I wanted in a pattern I liked, so I bought some plain pillows in the color I wanted and added my own embellishments.

Taking my old fashioned needle and thread and 4 to 5 yards of skinny brown ribbon (which generally goes for less than a dollar a yard), I took my pillows from plain to pretty by stitching the ribbon to the front of the pillow in a fun design.

Now don't these pillows look nice on my new couch?

Food storage- SALT

Question:
How do you store a year supply of salt. Lets see.... that is 21 little containers (like you see here).

Answer:
You get a 6 and a half gallon bucket with a screw on lid. (I think they are called gamma lids) Then you stack the salt three high. See how nicely they will fit in the bucket!

Viola! You have now successfully stored your salt. This is a really easy organization idea......
And easy to access the salt.
(You can still keep each small salt in it's own carton!)
--Tara