REMINDER!

I ALMOST HAVE 50 FOLLOWERS!! ONLY 8 MORE FOLLOWERS TO GO UNTIL I DO MY GIVEAWAY OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COMBO!  This is a handcrafted (by me) ballerina tutu with lavender satin ribbon ties and matching headband with flower clip.  Perfect for little ones of all ages since it ties!  Perfect for dress up, birthday parties and photo shoots!  If you like this but aren't the lucky winner I have one like it in my Etsy shop HERE!  If you would like a custom made tutu please send me the specifications and I would be happy to make it for you!

I Heart the 80's

I saw this post and couldn't help myself from smiling! :o)  This is a "cassette tape" iPod cover made from Felt.  ADORABLE!  I want to do this!  The PDF file directions are posted here to make your own.  I found this idea this morning on one of my favorite blogs ever Dollar Store Crafts.  If you make this please email me with pictures!  I'd love to see!

Homemade Strawberry & Blueberry Jam RECIPE :)

I doubled the recipe given and at the last minute of smushing the strawberries decided I needed to add fresh blueberries too :) YUM!

I used the Freezer Jam recipe inside the box of SureJell Fruit Pectin.  This is the one from the website here:

2 cups crushed strawberries (approx 2 pt. fully ripe strawberries)

4 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl

1 pouch SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

1/4 cup fresh lemon Juice

**I DOUBLED THIS RECIPE! :)**

1 RINSE 5 (1-cup) plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

2 MIX water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is almost dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

3 FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

TIPS:

CERTO STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

Omit water and boiling step. Mix 1 pouch CERTO Fruit Pectin and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice in bowl. Stir into fruit mixture in large bowl. Continue as directed. Makes about 4 (1-cup) containers.

HOW TO MEASURE SUGAR PRECISELY

To get exact level cup measure of sugar, spoon sugar into dry metal or plastic measuring cup, then level by scraping excess sugar from top of cup with a straight-edged knife
.

Smush strawberries

Smush Check!

Squeeze Lemons (enlist a helper!)

stir the strawberry/blueberry/lemon juice goo into the sugar

This is what it looks like mixed.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before you ad in the pectin.  I think we waited 15 because the sugar wasn't dissolved yet.  

This batch filled up 7 jelly jars! (I reused one of the old jelly jars)

Certo Pectin at Walmart $2.87

Sugar $2.18

Strawberries $3.94

Lemon $.20

Total $9.19 or $1.31 per jar! woo hoo!

AMAZING!!  Also tastes fantastic on top of ice cream! 

Valentines Meal

This is a very short post tonight and yes I realize I am about 3 days late...but stuff happens right?

I made crockpot turkey chili.

Used a candy mold squeeze bottle with Sour Cream to make the heart :)

How was your Valentines?

Grand Opening of my Etsy Shop!

I have finally gotten my Etsy page up and running.  I will be adding things to it on a regular basis but here is what I have added so far!

This is my "strawberry cupcake" hat and you can find it for sale in my shop HERE for $10 + $3 for shipping.

I hand crafted this cute little hat with 100% acrylic yarn.  It is sized toddler/kids but I can make it for little heads and large heads alike ;)

This I nicknamed my "funfetti hat" because..well funfetti cake is my absolute FAVORITE and this kind of reminds me of the colors =)  This is the only one I can make since I used up the small ball of this particular yarn.  One of a kind!  This is only available in toddler/kids size for $10 + $3 shipping at my shop HERE

This is an infant sized knit beanie with crochet flowers.  What a gorgeous little hat!  Available now for $10 + $3 for shipping at my shop HERE

This hand crafted strawberry beanie is infant size but can be made for bigger heads too!  Only $7 + $3 shipping!  You can find it HERE at my Etsy shop! 

I am so excited to get this page up and going!  Thank you so much everyone for your support of my crafting!  And thank you to my beautiful Grandma "Lort" for coming out to visit and helping with my monkey while I learn how to make some of these hats and get my crafts organized!  She has been amazing!  Seriously!  :-)

Homemade Strawberry & Blueberry Jam

Made homemade jam yesterday with help from my Grandma who is visiting from Sacramento :)  LOVE how it turned out!  Recipe and tutorial coming soon!

Valentine's Cake Truffles

Don't these just look fantastic!?  Check out Sarah's blog Sweet and Savory by Sarah to see how she made them!  They kind of remind me of my Oreo truffles I made for Christmas.  I might just "have" to do some of my own now that I have my grandma here to help me watch the monkey :-)

Valentines Wreath

I wish I would have taken a picture of where these came from!  It was a red 3XL shirt from Dollar Tree and a white tea towel from my grandma's stash.  The wreath is also from Dollar Tree and I hot glued them in place.  

I cut the fabric into long strips and then twisted around my finger into little rosettes and hot glued as I went so they wouldn't just unravel.  Here is a youtube video on how to make a fabric rosette in case you don't know how already :)

Glue in place however you like :)  I tied a piece of tulle (also from the wedding section of Dollar Tree) into a bow on top.

Here it is on my door

Close up 

Happy Valentines Day!!

25 Year Old Dresser Re-do for $21

This dresser has survived 3 girls and 25 years!  It was my dresser in my nursery and then it was passed down to my 2 other sisters.  This was back when furniture was built to last the stand of time I guess because this thing is still in relatively good shape!  This is a picture that I snapped before I began the rehab.  The sun was coming up behind it so there is a weird glare on the lens I couldn't seem to lose.

Love the mess in the garage?  Keep in mind we just moved here in December and then spent 3 weeks in Northern California for Christmas!

I used a stripper I bought at Walmart...now that's a strange statement!  Anyway it stripped the varnish off to make the job a little easier for my hubby to sand it.  This is what it looked like after my amazing hubby sanded it down.  

**Funny side story-I met the neighbor while outside painting and he was asking if it was my husband out there sanding the day before and I said yeah.  He said oh he was out there dancing to his iPod the whole time and the neighbor starting laughing.  I laughed like yep thats my hubby alright.  Gotta love this guy :)  I sure do!

I unscrewed the diaper changer part on top just to paint and then realized I liked it better that way anyhow.  I bought Kilz spray primer with a white tint and then used Painters Touch Satin Heirloom White.  I got so lucky at Home Depot!  They had it in the "oops" paint section for some reason so I got it half off :)  So the paint and primer cost somewhere around $9.

And the finished product:

The handles I got at Walmart for around $6 for 2 so total was $12ish

Total project cost $21!  OK-so I got lucky because the dresser was given to me but I've seen some pretty cool ones that could be redone for free or really cheap on Craigslist.  This was my first EVER furniture re-do but I have been reading a ton online about it and thought I would give it a try.  I LOVE how it turned out! :)