Sterling Silver Baby Love Heart Pendant

This is another one of my recent orders.  It seems to be a favorite!  I hand stamped baby's name, added a jump ring and hung it from a rolo chain.  All components are .925 Sterling Silver.

Cheese and Cracker Potato Casserole

I tried a new casserole by taking a couple different recipes and making it my own.  This is similar to the cheesy potato casserole that uses corn flakes as a crust but I used crushed ritz crackers.  Very tasty.  I do recommend.

Click Read More for the recipe...

Super Hero Sunday - Installment No.3 - A Throne for Our Captain

A Throne fit for our Captain Primrose?  I think so!  To show our appreciation to our Captain and protector, we gave him a throne that he could call his own.  

I assisted in adding the special personal touches to our Captain's throne...

I cut out his initials and name in vinyl using my Silhouette.  

I adhered them to his throne using transfer tape.

I even put an extra set of initials on the inside of the lid in the event that our Captain forgot and 'Left the seat up'.

My fellow Captain supporters made sure the throne was placed in our Captain's yard for all to see his magical throne.

They even thought of every last detail and used a crowbar so that special paper could be placed conveniently for our Captain.

Seb cannot wait to see our Captain's surprise at our great gift for appreciation.  

Installment No. 2
Installment No. 1

Avery's Mommy's Necklace - Updated

Maybe one day I will get better at taking pictures of jewelry.  It's so hard.  I don't want the flash to interfere but without it, the jewelry looks so drab. 

I made this for my friend that is a brand new mom. 

All components are .925 Sterling Silver.  Hand Stamped with baby's name. 

Update:  
Avery's mommy sent me pics...

Make Your Own Laundry Soap - Dry Version

I prefer this to the liquid version.  It is much easier to make and lasts much longer.  And you don't have to worry about the temperature of the water and the gelling of the soap, etc.  I made several batches of the liquid and each turned out a bit different in consistency, it was quite puzzling.

I have a front loading washer that has a drawer to pull out to fill with detergent and I thought that I could only add liquid soap.  I was wrong.  A friend told me that she used dry in front loader's soap drawer and the game was on!  I absolutely love this soap and it's so cheap.  I haven't bothered to figure out the savings but I have yet to buy more of any of the ingredients and I've been making my own soap for 4 months.  All of the ingredients totaled less than $10 and I have made 3 batches of liquid and 1 batch of the dry.  That's good enough for me!

See liquid version post here.



Ingredients
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap
1 1/2 cup Borax
1 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1 1/2 cup OxiClean
(All ingredients were purchased at Walmart in the detergent aisle and conveniently located next to each other.)

 

How I Did It

1.  I chopped the bar of fels naptha into small-ish pieces with a butter knife.  It chopped easily.  I placed the pieces, along with 1/2 cup of borax into my Magic Bullet and chopped it up.  The borax kept the soap from sticking to the blade.  (I, actually, separated this into three small batches since the whole batch wouldn't fix in my magic bullet.)  

                                   

                                   

2.  I added my chopped soap into an empty (and washed) ice cream tub and added the remaining ingredients.

3.  I secured the lid on the ice cream tub and shook it until I was satisfied that my ingredients were good and mixed.

4.  I add 2 Tbsp. to each load.

I prefer this to the liquid version.  It is much easier to make and lasts much longer.

I have a front loading washer that has a drawer to pull out to fill with detergent and I thought that I could only add liquid soap.  I was wrong.  A friend told me that she used dry in front loader's soap drawer and the game was on!

See liquid version post here.

Steel's Football Shirt using Silhouette

We are picking up Steel's football equipment this Saturday!  Our little boy is starting tackle football.  He will be playing for the Rebels where they need to be 7 years old by November 30th instead of August, like our city.  So...Steel will essentially get to start a year earlier. Since he will be weighing in at 75 pounds, it will not be a problem.  He's ready for tackle and cannot wait.  The boy loves football.  A boy after his father's heart.    We are so excited.  The real excitement starts Monday with two hour practices everyday.  I had to make a special shirt for our little football player.  

Click Read More for How I Did It...

Pyramid Gift Boxes using Silhouette

I wanted something to wrap my jewelry orders in.  I searched the Silhouette Online Store for a solution.  I found these great little pyramids!

I cut them out on the Silhouette and folded on the perforated lines...

...then laced the tops up through the holes and tied a bow to close.

I made them the perfect size to put my necklaces in (put in a small jewelry bag first).

Sterling Silver Pet Love Pendant

I got two orders for necklaces!!!!  Thanks to my gal pal, Sarah, wearing a couple necklaces that I made for her and telling people about them!  Thanks Sarah!!!  

This one was made for a Puppy Mama that wanted to show her love for her pups.  I hand stamped a .925 sterling silver disc, punched a hole in the top, slipped a jump ring through it and hung it from a 18" rolo chain.  I hope she enjoys!

Grilled Pizza Pockets

So super simple yet so good and tasty!  Grilled Pizza Sandwiches made in the sandwich maker!  Think of the possibilities...  Why didn't I think of this sooner???

Ingredients
Bread
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
Pizza Sauce
Pam and Sandwich maker or margarine and frying pan

To Prepare
1.  Turn on sandwich maker and let it heat up.

2.  Put on slices of bread and layer on cut slices of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

3.  Top with slices of bread.

4.  Close the sandwich maker and let it do it's magic...

5.  Serve with pizza sauce for dipping...

Steel's Baseball Banquet 2012

Yeah Steel!

Super Hero Sunday - Installment No.2 - O Captain! My Captain! Where Art Thou?

Now that Captain Primrose has taken it upon himself to protect his neighbors from evil in our little city of MOL...

We found it imperative that our fellow citizens know how to find our great protector when in need.  What better way than to have a sign, baring his great name, erected in the front of his humble abode?!  Well, that is exactly what his closest supporters did!

There you have it!  There should be no confusion as to where to find our Captain when the need may arise.  For all you Damsels in Distress...

Have No Fear, You Can Find Your Captain Here!

Our modest Captain Primrose didn't want all this special treatment but he was reassured if the sign was moved in anyway, it could (and WOULD) be re-erected in cement.  He reluctantly agreed that the sign could stay.  

Stay tuned next week for another installment of Super Hero Sunday!  It's a good one!

See Super Hero Sunday Installment No. 1 here. 

Steel's an All Star!

Of course, this mom knew that her little guy was an All Star all along but today he got to play in the baseball All Star game for all to see.  He also received a very nice medal to commemorate the special day!  He played awesome as well!  

Click Read More for more pictures...

Project Garden Update #3

Houston, we had a problem.  I planted my veggies too close together with thoughts that not all plants would survive.  I know now that this was a bit crazy.  To the right of the picture below (cannot be seen due to the crazy over-growing cucumber mania) lays two cantaloupe and two watermelon plants.  

I had to do something.  I searched and searched for some hope of some magical transplanting technique so that I could move them and have them survive.  I had no such luck.  I decided to give it a whirl and move them anyways into a newly built garden box that the hub so graciously put together for me.  As you can see below, I had 25% success.  One of the cantaloupes survived!  This was better than leaving them in their previous location as they would not have survived anyway.

Note:  I did plant a few new watermelon plants, had no luck finding any  cantaloupe.

I constructed another trellis type grid with garden stakes and twine as I did for the cucumbers.  

We have cucumbers!  I must say they are delicious if I do say so myself.

 The peppers are doing wonderfully.

No such luck with the tomatoes.  They are small and looking sickly.  Our high heat may be contributing to this as well as how I planted them.  I planted them a bit too close together and in the upper level of our garden.  I had the hub build it with a piece of wood at the same level as the first so that we wouldn't need so much dirt for the second level.  (See previous project garden updates below for a closer look.)  I may think that this was a bad move.  The tomatoes may not have enough dirt for the roots in addition to fighting each other.  They look dry yet the bottom leaves are yellowing like they have too much water.  I am going to try and remedy the situation by adding yet more dirt as I have done several times this season already.  Arrrgghh...tomatoes to be continued...can we fix it???

And the pumpkins...

We counted 20 pumpkins at last count.  Cannot wait to decorate for the fall with our own pumpkins!!! I must say that the pumpkins are way bigger than this picture that I took last week.  I will have to post another update soon.

See Project Garden Update #1

See Project Garden Update #2

Baked Corn on the Cob

'Tis the season for grilled corn on the cob!  I absolutely love grilled corn on the corn and our grocer has had a fabulous, sweet selection so far this season.  The grill was a bit busy (and full) so I popped these babies in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes with husks still intact, just as you would on the grill.  They turned out just like grilled.

Cedar Point 2012

We all enjoyed our trip to Cedar Point this past weekend.  Steel grew 4 inches since last summer and was able to ride new roller coasters!  He has about 3 more inches to grow until he can ride them all!  He tackled the Corkscrew, Magnum, Blue Streak, Mine Ride and, of course, his fav from last year...Iron Dragon.  He had a ball!  

Click Read More for more pics...