Sick Of Dropping Pins While Your Sewing Then Standing On Them Later

Sometimes The Simplest Ideas Are The Best Ones

Pins-n-Needles while sewing? If you like to sew or do crafts and have problems with loose needles, here's a simple tip. Simply glue a couple magnets to the bottom of a plate, toss the pins on top and they'll remain in place.

Making your Own Ocean Stone Bath Mat- Easy Peesy

I was inspired to start this project when I saw  how easy they were to make

It took me a few trips to get the right amount, but I couldn’t be happier with the final product!

Supplies:

Outdoor rubber mat – with holes or spaces for water to drain

Smooth ocean or river stones – make sure they are porous, not slick and polished. The amount will vary on the size of the mat and can be found near rivers, oceans, or your local craft store! ; )

Waterproof silicone sealer in clear – you want something that can hold up with water and that has a little bit of flex to it.

Plastic drop cloth or old shower curtain

The mat I picked had a textured pattern on the front so I flipped it over to work on the smooth side.

Work on a plastic drop cloth or old shower curtain.. the last thing you want to do is glue your fun new bath mat down to your carpet! Now arrange your stones on the mat so you can make sure you have enough and map out how they will all fit. It’s kind of like putting a puzzle together, so have patience! I also placed the largest rocks I had over the holes in the mat. Water will still be able to drain out, but I didn’t want the gap to be visible.

Once you have them arranged, start on one corner and pick up a stone, squeeze out a dab of the silicone sealer on the back of the stone and place it back down on the mat.

Hold for a few seconds and repeat with remaining stones.

The sealer says it will set up in 3 hours, but I would wait at least 24 hours before moving and using the mat.

This is a great way to incorporate nature into your bathroom and remember your favorite beach trips!

What A Great Idea - Stop Pests Getting Into Your Summer Drinks

          Use a hole punch to make the holes in your cupcake liners and add a straw simple

Sick Of Soap Scum On Your Shower Door, Try This Recipe

If you're looking for an Amazingly Effortless Scum removing cleaner recipe, look no further. This super simple, dirt cheap cleaner removes the scuzziest of grime without ANY elbow power- and what's better than that? It's Environmentally Friendly to boot!
You'll need:

1/2 c. of Basic Good Quality Dish soap  
1/2 c. White Vinegar
1 spray bottle

Heat the vinegar until it's HOT, I simply put mine in a glass pyrex measuring cup and stuck it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Pour it into a clean spray bottle, add the dawn dishsoap, put the cap on and shake very gently to mix. (Or you can mix it right in the pyrex measuring cup and pour it into the bottle, like I did.

Spray liberally on the surface you wish to clean, leave it alone to do the work for 20 minutes or so. Or better yet, spray it before you go to work, and wipe it up when you come home. Once it's had a chance to work it's magic, wipe it off with a clean rag or sponge and some warm water. The surface will shine like the top of the chrysler building, just like ol' Miss Hannigan prefers it!

Below is a photo taken from the inside of my shower (yeah I know soapscum is nasty!) I only washed one door on the right so you could see the before & after. 

You could technically mix up more than 1 c. at a time, but you want the vinegar to be hot when you mix them and use it, so it's best to only mix up what you need.

When you spray it on, it applies like a gel, so it sticks well to most surfaces. 

Happy Cleaning!

Freezer Waffles Great For A Breakfast Treat

Want a delicious hot breakfast in the middle of the week, but have limited time? Make your own frozen waffles with this delicious tried and true freezer recipe. Make these easy waffles ahead of time, freeze them and pop them into the toaster when you want hot fresh waffles in a hurry.

You'll Need:
4 eggs
4 cups of flour (white or whole wheat, whichever you prefer)
3 1/2 cups of Milk
1 c. vegetable oil
2 Tbs White Sugar
1 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 TBS + 2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat egg yolks, milk, brown sugar and oil together until smooth, add flour, baking powder and salt, mixing well.

In a separate (medium size bowl) Beat room temperature egg whites until peaks start form, add white sugar, and continue beating until Stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites back into the batter but do not overmix.

Pour about 1/3- 1/2 cup batter into a hot, lightly oiled waffle iron. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Repeat procedure until all batter is used.

Cool completely, flash freeze prior to vacuum sealing, or wrap in glad wrap and freeze.

For a quick breakfast, pop 2 in the toaster and serve with butter and maple syrup.

Optional Add in:
1 tsp of Cinnamon

Makes 12 servings

Make Your 0wn Upside Down Tomato Planter

Have you seen those cute little tomato planters that hang upside down- the ones with the hefty price tag of $15-40!? Well, I loved the idea, hated the price so we decided to make our own.








You'll Need:
1 Large Planter
Drill with 1 1/2- 2" bit
1 Tomato Seedling (per planter)
Herb Seeds (for the top)
Planting/ Potting Mix
Coffee filters or weed free fabric (small square with an x- cut into it)

First, you'll need a large hanging planter. The one picture here on the left is from Lowes and was $2. Depending on the size of your seedling, choose your drill bit size. Here we used a 1 1/2" bit.

Line the hole with several coffee filters or a small piece of "weed free" fabric. This prevents the soil from dropping through when watering.

Carefully insert the seedling into the bottom of the hole, this is considerably easier if you have a helper. I didn't - which is why you don't have a photo of it!

Add potting soil.

A novel idea also is to plant herb seeds on the top-

I planted Basil, rosemary and parsley. After a few days the seedling will start to turn to grow Upwards towards the light. Hang it in a very well lit area of your home. If you're making hangers to leave outdoors, drill several small drainage holes into the bottom of the planting bowl.

You can also use 3 or 5 gallon pails as planters.

Gaining Access To Free Onions All Year Round

Sometimes in our weekly grocery menu folks will ask why they almost never see onions in our "purchased" groceries for the week.

Well, I'll tell you why, because if you buy onions just once, you can have free onions for the rest of your life, with very little effort. Here's how we do it . . .



The next time your purchase onions, Gently cut the root end off each onion (it doesn't really matter what kind, purple, red, yellow, white, etc) as you use them. Place the root end that you just cut off and plant it in dirt, making sure that it is well watered. It will take root and resprout a new onion.

You can leave these in a window sill in your home for easy access year round. They do prefer lots of sun!

As you need an onion, simply cut one off right at the ground, leaving the intact root and another will sprout in its place. This technique also works great with Leeks as well.

For scallions or spring onions you can place a few marbles or stones in the bottom of a mason jar and place the roots on top with just enough water covering the roots. They will take hold and re-sprout in just a few days time.

Copy Cat KFC Coleslaw - Yummo

Recreate the flavour of KFC's famous coleslaw in your own kitchen with this authentic recipe that is so close, your family will swear you stopped by KFC on your way home!

You'll Need:
8 cups Cabbage -- chop very fine
1/4 c. Carrots -- shred fine (about 1 large)
1 Tbs finely Minced Onion

1/2 c. Mayo
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 1/2 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tbs Vinegar (white)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

The key to giving this amazing coleslaw recipe authentic KFC flavor and texture is by finely chopping the cabbage and carrot into the correct size pieces! You want them to be very small, about double the size of a grain of rice, to be exact.

In a large bowl combine the finely chopped carrot, cabbage and minced onion, mixing it well. In a medium bowl combine the remaining ingredients and beat with a hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Pour the dressing over the top of the shredded cabbage/carrot mixture and stir well to combine.




Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight for best flavor prior to serving. (This really should be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before serving!!)

Shredded Cabbage Tip:

If you don't feel like chopping the cabbage by hand you can quarter it (or cut it into 8th's depending on the size!) and put it in the blender a quarter of the time, add water halfway and pulse on and off until finely chopped, drain the water and you have instant finely chopped cabbage with very little effort. 

Carrot Marmalade Delight

Carrot Marmalade is an unusually delicious treat that utilizes fresh carrots from the garden, sweetened naturally with pineapple, lightly spiced with nutmeg and allspice, all the while balanced with zesty fresh lemon. It's wonderful on toasted english muffins, buttered muffin halves or as a glaze for grilled pork or chicken.


                           
You'll Need:
2 Lemons
4 c. shredded fresh carrots
4 c. sugar
2 c. crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 pouch Liquid Pectin

To begin, wash the lemons thoroughly, then peel them, keeping most of the pith intact. The pith, if you're not familiar, is the white coating on the underside of the lemon peel. Thinly slice the peeling into strips, then set them aside until needed.

Squeeze the lemons, reserving the juice. You'll need 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice in all.


In a large stockpot, combine the thinly sliced lemon peel, lemon juice (1/3 c.), shredded carrots, sugar, well drained pineapple, allspice and nutmeg over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar fully dissolves.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the pot to a boil . Stir in the liquid pectin, return to a rolling boil and boil it hard for One full minute, stirring constantly. Immediately remove it from the heat, skim off any foam that has accumulated on the top, (if any!). Stir the marmalade for 2 minutes.


Immediately ladle into hot prepared sterile jars, leaving a headspace of 1/4 inch. Adjust the two-piece caps on top and process the marmalade for 10 minutes in aBoiling water canner.


If you'd like to slightly alter the recipe and make Carrot Cake Jam instead:

Omit the allspice completely, increase the nutmeg to 1/2 tsp instead of 1/4 tsp and add also the following:

2/3 c. chopped Pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves