Canning Carrots

Carrots are not Diamonds!

So why, might I ask, are they sooooo

stinking expensive to buy in the can?

My son absolutely loves cooked carrots, and

I love the convenience. But, they are expensive

and they rarely go on sale. They are almost always

excluded from the grocery store canned veggie sales.

So when I got a bag of carrots in my Bountiful Basket

the thought hit me; I wonder how much it would be to

can my own carrots and would it be worth it?  

You need a pressure cooker to can carrots. For this project I

used my Mother in laws……. Spoil Alert!!! ( I am now

shopping for my own pressure cooker)

 

After peeling, slicing and rinsing carrots we placed them

in freshly cleaned jars. Next, we added hot water to

carrots and 1/4 tsp. of salt to each jar. After

placing the new lids and tightening the rings, we

placed the jars in the pressure cooker.

*please follow pressure cooker instruction if trying this at home

They only took about 25 minutes to cook!

Okay drum roll please……

The best part, we figured at best you can get

already canned carrots for 50 cents a can.

our cost for our cans, if you buy your carrots at

Costco or Sam’s …. 20 Cents a jar which equals huge

savings! I will be canning carrots from now on!

ONE TIP! Carrots do stain your hands and it takes

a few days to wash completely off. So if you plan on

canning more than 4 jars worth, wear gloves while chopping

.. unless of course you do not mind the jaundice palm look!

-Thanks Jane for your help on this one!

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First Vinyl Project

A Final –Vinyl Thank You!

My son was celebrating his last Day of Preschool

and I wanted to give his teacher something special.

She has been amazing and has taught him so much in

just five months! Anyway, I have been cleaning my

classroom for the big final move and ran across this

very nice glass jar and my crafty wheels started turning.

I have been dying to try something with vinyl for awhile

but I needed to start with something small first.

This was the perfect opportunity to try it.

 

I purchased black since vinyl was, to my surprise,

very expensive, and it would be the most versatile.

I used my sisters Cricket Machine to

cut the lettering and the design for the top.

Now, don’t laugh but yes those

are store bought Oreo cookies; a new flavor for

the summer called Berry-“something”…

Sorry I forgot to write it down.

I picked them for the color and for the convenience

as I only had one night to get this project done!

Anyway, here is an aerial view (haha) of the top

design I placed on the lid. I loved the end result!

I see vinyl in my future!

I hot glued the ribbon and flower embellishment.

Now, I want one! (said with a slight whine)

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Crafty Teachers Party!

The School, the school is on fire!

So my friend Karen went to the Women’s Expo

a couple of weekends ago and was admiring some

flower accessories that several people were sporting 

and/ or selling.  Someone tipped her off that I have

been making my own and long story short it turned

into a make shift craft day! So many cute ideas with

such a simple project. Check it out!

 

Take a look at what we did in just 2 hours!

 

 

 

 

Thanks Karen for such a fun Suggestion!

I would love to do it again sometime!

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Domestic Diva Aprons

So, back at Christmas time I was itching to work on a project. I was also very into the show Mad Men

and had been admiring all the cute clothes women wore in the 50’s. I noticed that the

“Domestic Diva”

kits were on a huge sale at my local fabric store and I thought to my self, “that sounds fun, easy

and would make a great gift for the girls in my life!” Of course the kits were sold out, but I was

determined now to make my aprons. I turned to the pattern section and found a couple of cute

retro-patterns that I knew would give me the look I was going for and would be

versatile enough for me to get 6 unique aprons.

Here are the patterns I used:  Simplicity 2592, and 3752

   

(BTW… I never pay full price for a pattern, they go on sale often enough that if you are patient,

you can save your self over 75%, I also try to get patterns with more than one option on them so that

I can get more use out of it. For these I paid .99 each) 

I tried to match my fabric and pattern to each of the girl’s personalities and color pallets while

still keeping to the theme of “Diva.”

You will notice that each apron is also related to each other through the color brown.

This way when we get together next year for Holiday baking we will all match!

So tell me what you think…. How did I do?

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Fire Flower Embellishments!

From Plain Dress to Fashion Success!

 

So a few months back I was in search of two things. A project and a way

to update my wardrobe. I found both on my friend Jamielyn’s blog:

 I Heart Naptime

I stumbled upon a fantastic tutorial on her site for what she calls

Fire Flowers! These beauties are simple to make and so very versatile!

I have also been admiring the fashions at the store Down East Basics

but sadly they do not carry my size. So Jamielyn’s blog gave me a

way to satisfy both needs at once! (lil’ Fun and Fashion.)

Take a look at what I was able to do with two basic and very

inexpensive dresses and some scrap material!

Before :

 

I picked up the dresses for $15.00 each.

They were quite boring as they were!

After:

I then added the flowers and a few accessories!

I shopped Ross and TJ Max for the cardigans

For about 10.00 each!

I got two Down East Basic Nock-offs for as little as $75.00

(including accessories!)

 

 

QUICK TIP!

When looking for a specific piece for an outfit don’t close

your mind to alteration possibilities. I found this very ugly top

and nearly passed it up… for good reason…

 

 

Yuck! Right?

Then I realized that all I had to do is cut or seam rip

the ugly insert out of the sweater and I would have the cardigan I was seeking!

Had I passed it up, I would have spent $20.00 more for a

very similar cardigan unnecessarily!

 

 

So, How did I do? Make a comment or two!

(CP ladies please comment below not on FB Thanks!)

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Domestic Diva Aprons

So, back at Christmas time I was itching to work on a project. I was also very into the show Mad Men

andhad been admiring all the cute clothes women wore in the 50’s. I noticed that the

“Domestic Diva”

kits were on a huge sale at my local fabric store and I thought to my self, “that sounds fun, easy

and would make a great gift for the girls in my life!” Of course the kits were sold out, but I was

determined now to make my aprons. I turned to the pattern section and found a couple of cute

retro-patterns that I knew would give me the look I was going for and would be

versatile enough for me to get 6 unique aprons.

Here are the patterns I used:  Simplicity 2592, and 3752

   

(BTW… I never pay full price for a pattern, they go on sale often enough that if you are patient,

you can save your self over 75%, I also try to get patterns with more than one option on them so that

I can get more use out of it. For these I paid .99 each) 

I tried to match my fabric and pattern to each of the girl’s personalities and color pallets while

still keeping to the theme of “Diva.”

You will notice that each apron is also related to each other through the color brown.

This way when we get together next year for Holiday baking we will all match!

So tell me what you think…. How did I do?

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Halloween Cape!

Our Own Twilight Coven!

Halloween 2010, Trunk or Treat

 

I used Simplicity Pattern number 2571.

                                                                                        

 

You can see that I embellished a little from the original pattern

and lined the inside of the cape with Red for a much more classic and

striking look!  

 

For my self and my husband we bought pre-made capes due to time.

We look pretty convincing don’t you think? Cullen family beware!

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Shabby Chic Centerpieces

Mom’s 70th Birthday Party Décor

My Mom has always been a fan of all things with ribbons, lace,

flowers and pearls! She also likes to read and drinks a lot of tea and

coffee So for her 70th Birthday party my self and

my two sisters came up with these retro-shabby chic pieces that brought

just the right amount of elegance and femininity to her special day.

 

We spent a couple of weekends shopping at second hand stores for the

floral tea cups and saucers. I also bought every strand of pearls we could

find for a reasonable cost.

 

… I am nothing if not resourceful. I was able to borrow several well

aged books from my in-laws collection that went beautifully with our

theme and color scheme. In this pic you can see that I embellished a

standard tea bag with a simple satin ribbon and rosette.

 

 

We used decorative place card holders to mark it as the 70th year.

We embellished each of these cards with diamond accents to give

it some festive sparkle. Teaspoons and old lacy or floral hanker-

chiefs completed the look!

 

                Take a look at our gift table to match!

   

                              Open Box for cards, Floral pens for sign in book, and a

                               Victorian shoe for the money tree!

                                                          

My Aunt makes professional cakes so I sent her a picture of my

prototype of the centerpieces and added that my mom is also known

for her quilting. These are the amazing cakes she came up with. they

were displayed in the center of the room as the focal point and all I can

say is…. WOW! and Thank you to Cakes by Unique Design!

 

                         

                                                                               

                                                             

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Ottoman Recover

A Goodwill Interception!

 

So while planning for my mothers birthday party my father in law

was taking me to a few Goodwill Stores in the area, he started to

load a worn and outdated ottoman into the truck as a donation.

I proceeded to remove said ottoman and place this little diamond

in the rough into my project pile. Take a look at the very dated,

“Before” Picture.

I removed all the old fabric with intentions of using it for a pattern.

I then added some remnant batting from prior quilting projects to

reestablish some comfort and shape. I bought about a yard of

upholstery fabric on sale for 50% off at a local fabric store but as

I was playing with my fabric I realized that I liked the way the fabric

draped around the corners andhow my new padding created

an elegant and rounded edge! I immediately threw out the idea of

sewing a traditional cover  and simply began going at it

freestyle with my staple gun!

Check out the “ After Photo!”

 

I chose to leave the legs exposed and added decorative

roping to finish it off. So for $22 dollars and about 2-3 hours time

I have a stylish updated ottoman for my family room… Now I need

to find a jewel of a chair to go with it!

-Trulie

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Funny First Fondant

Clearly Amateur Fondant Job!

So our young women wanted to make cakes and decorate them with fondant

for Mothers’ Day. Well, it was a new experience for all of us involved,

including my very talented friend Jamielyn at I Heart Nap Time who has graciously

let me pick her brain and helped me start TrulieUniqueLife!

(check out her blog, she is A-mazing!)

Anyway, got the recipe for Marshmallow Fondant from my Aunt at

Cakes by Unique Design and made two batches for about 9 mini cakes

Here is a pic of my first fondant cake…

I know right … Yikes I need some serious practice! ..

 

 

Oh and the fingerprint is my son’s “decorative touch!”

 

Happy Mother’s Day!

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