This Must be the Quickest Craft Ever, Mrs. Erica

I was watching yoo toob videos this morning and clicked on to what has become one of my favorite channels - Mrs. Erica You Tube.  I've traded in Nikki's channel for Mrs. Erica.  The former channel is not only getting commercialized, the style used is becoming rather sterile.  But, Mrs. Erica's style and the style I'm most comfortable with are very close.  There's nothing like a bit of wood to offer the feeling of warmth to a home.

I'm attaching Mrs. Erica's video posted this morning so you can see the simple project she did that even I can accomplish with minimal know how.  I had the items needed at home and went directly to the office to do the project.  Retrieving the items, cleaning up, and doing the project took 10 minutes.

All I did was attach a black ribbon
on each end of the tray.

I checked using the tray for a cheese
snack.  I love it!

The vlogger used a round tray embellished with black and white ribbon that she took to work to display snacks for a meeting.  Mine will be used in the guest room for snacks as I am getting guests at the end of the month.

I encourage you to check out Mrs. Erica's video if you are interested in making simple craft items, see her activities, meet her family, and check out the grocery hauls. 

The Week in Review

I'm not sure if my USA readers know this, so I'll jot it down in case there's someone who doesn't know.  WalMart  price matches all flyer prices of local grocery stores.  It's safe to bring the flyer with you to get the lower price, but if you forget and are challenged by the cashier, their customer service has the weekly flyers.  The only items WalMart does not price match are store brand items or buy one get one free when there is no price in the ad.

There's a Kroger where I live and this week they have some prices that can't be ignored.  Kraft block cheese is 1.49 and Honey Nut Cheerios are 1.29.   I know most kiddos like apple juice and this week's price on Motts brand is -get this - .99 cents for the 64 ounce bottle.   Bumble Bee tuna is .50 a can, well worth a trip across the street for some price matching activity.

At Kroger you have to purchase five items to get that price.  At WalMart, you don't need to.

Here's the Kroger ad for this week.  Keep in mind the prices may vary due to location.  I have a friend in the Midwest who has better prices than we do in my area.

https://www.kroger.com/weeklyAd

I took the short journey to the farmer's market yesterday for tomatoes.  I pad 3.00 for nine tomatoes and received 3 large ones for free.

Since I was on a roll crossing off items on my list, I went to Walgreens to buy rubbing alcohol.  I got 6 bottles and with them came two free first aid pouches.  After I load them with the appropriate items one will go in the vehicle and one in the house.

Next on the list was returning an item to Target and checking out the dollar spot.
I had some luck at the dollar spot because all the new fall items were in.  They had grill fire starters, tissue, and goodie bags for Halloween.   Three dollars later and I am more prepared for the fall season of running noses, trick or treaters, and grill meals.

Sunday my daughter and her family came for a meatloaf dinner.  The weather was perfect because a cold front came in the night before and brought a feeling of fall air.  I had bought five pounds of organic carrots for 2.99 that were huge, so I only needed two to feed the five of us.  A nice sauce of brown sugar and butter and they were so good.  The meal was topped off with a salad and a big pot of rice (the mix recipe I posted in a previous post) and banana bread for dessert.

I prepared two meatloaves because I thought if we could all get on the same schedule we could enjoy each others company.  But, daughter number three's family schedule didn't match up, so her family will come another time.  The second meatloaf is patiently waiting in the freezer.

On Sundays there is a cooking show on QVC.  I turn it on as background noise and like to see what's new in the kitchen.  I seldom purchase anything, but today I bought a cookbook.

My readers know that I covet my grandmother's sauce and meatball recipes.  Even though my cousin and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen with grandma D, neither of us paid attention to most of her recipes.  This cookbook is put together by Frankie Avalon, who is also 100% Italian.  The recipes are his grandmother's - straight from Italy.  I know the food is different in the regions in Italy, but I'm hoping there will be some of my grandmothers recipes in the book.  One can only hope.




I brought down the fall garland I bought last year and enhanced it with paint that matches the wall color.  I like things muted so I was happy with the outcome.

The garland is drying.  I'm not sure it looks so good in this
picture, but it looks very nice to me as a finished product.  When
the sun is up, I'll take a picture of it on the fireplace to show-
vase how nice it looks.
 

Also this week I dried more mushroom stems and celery.  The celery needs to be blanched before it's dried,  After it's dried it is so small, but it rehydrates to look the same as before it was dried. I now have enough veggies to make a quick soup in the winter when I'm in a lazy mood.  The soup will be packed with vitamins from peppers. celery, carrots, mushrooms, bay leaf, and parsley.

The celery before it went into the dehydrator.  When it came out
it was the size of a tiny stone.  After it's cooked, it will look
like this again.

I hope your week went well.  Let us know what you accomplished this week in the comment section.

Stay safe.

A Low Key Week

The week - so far - has been quiet and slow.  I've been doing piddilly little projects to keep me out of trouble.  Monday I went to my daughter's house to help my son in law with a project.  Nothing he couldn't do by himself, but four hands made the work lighter.  The project took three hours with the two of us working on it, so I imagine it would have taken at least four hours if he were by himself.

I made new bottles of room spray and bug spray since both bottles were close to empty.  I use lavender essential oil for the room spray then for the bug spray I mix the lavender with peppermint essential oil.   Since I was already making a mess in the kitchen I made more hand soap using empty pump bottles I saved.

A short trip to the dollar store netted a pack of chalk board (like) stickers that had greetings on them.  The type of greetings that could be used if someone wanted to make their own thank you notes and such.  Pulling out my small tin of craft items I grabbed a couple of pieces of card stock, folded them, then simply placed a sticker on them.  Plain and simple, just like their creator.  I think by this time  my readers realize I'm not the frilly type.  The cards reflect that fact.  Not super creative, but along the level I'm at right now with my creative streak.



One of the cards is a thank you note card that I can write a
sentiment in that would be appropriate for the occasion. 
The other is an encouragement card that can also have
a hand written note inside.  I know a little girl who will be
receiving this one. 

I also went to a garage sale and found the perfect table for my back hall area.  On top of that I found a great lamp with lots of character.  Another trip to the store,  TJ Maxx this time, and I'm so happy with the results.  The table was the perfect color and size and I parted with 20.00 to buy it.  The lamp was 10.00.  The accessories I bought at TJM were 7.00 and 14.99. The cost of the total project was about 52.00.



The table is a slim parson's table.  I'm not sure how to describe
 the lamp other than to say it's 'cool'.  The mirror was there which
was a gift from my daughter for a birthday.  To say she got
a great deal on it would be crass.  (But, she did!)

Meals this week have been good and made from the pantry.  I made white clam sauce pairing it with bird nest noodles that covered two meals.  I also finished off the French bread I made for breakfasts-once toasted with peanut butter and once toast then sliced in thin strips to dig into soft boiled eggs.  It's difficult to remember what else I had for meals, but those two things remained in memory.

What was your week like?  Was it as 'exciting' as mine?

Easter Crafting

I watched a video this morning on yoo toob that Noreen, of Noreen's Kitchen, put up.  She has started a new channel that's called Noreen's Crafty Corner.  This woman is very gifted in many ways.  The recipes I have tried from her cooking channel have never let me down.  This morning I tried a simple craft that turns a piece of card stock into a bowl. 

I only have small card stock because I'm working on a small project, but since she said this would work with any size card stock, I thought I'd give it a go.  I came up with something that didn't look a thing like the bowl she made, but I'm thrilled with what I did create.

A small box that will hold jelly beans for the grands that I can hang on the
Easter tree.  This one is a prototype so I will make 4 more for
the grands that will be with me on Easter.  The small
cards hanging here are going to be designed by the kids and signed by
them as well.  This activity will be another way to exhibit progress
as they grow.

You can watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=serdYK9kOhM

Next time I'm at the craft store I will pick up a couple of sheets of large card stock to make the bowl Noreen demonstrates in her video.

Stay safe.

PS:  I just found a way to improve my images on my camera.  Just in time since the first snarky comment I have gotten showed up on my FB page yesterday.

A Trip to Michael's Craft Store

My daughter and I went to Michael's so I could pick up a couple things to enhance my creative streak. (The one I just discovered.)  A friend of mine is a teacher who taught religion (Catholic) and history.  Even though my formative years were spent with the nuns from another world, I never heard the Guardian Angel prayer.  I was so enthralled with it that I decided I was going to make something small with the prayer on it for my grandchildren.

After some consideration I decided on a small sturdy envelope in which I could fold card stock paper in with the short prayer on it.  With this technique even the oldest (15) could carry the prayer with them in their wallet.

This envelope is small enough to slip in a wallet or pocket.
The name of each grandchild will go on the white sticker at the bottom
of the envelope.

THE PRAYER:
Angel of God, my guardian dear
To whom His love commits me here,
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard,
To rule and guide.
Amen


Also on the buying agenda was a small tube of gold paint.  I had a sponge brush at home, as well as a dollar store tin that was just the right size to fit a roll of tissue paper for the powder room.  I wish I could say I came up with the idea, but I think it will be a while until that much creativity spews forth.  I saw it on a yoo toob video.

After I washed and dried it, I sanded the tin so the paint would adhere to it.  A paper plate was brought out as a hack for a paint palette.  Brush in hand the project began.  The strokes were light and long.  Where ever did I learn to paint?  The story:

My husband was painting the wainscoting in the living room when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Thirty two days later he passed.  After a week or so I decided I needed to finish what he started.  What a mess I was making.  Nothing seemed to work for me and that paint brush.  Very gently - in the depths of my soul - I heard 'Use a light touch, Angie.  Long and light'.  I knew it was him and I sat and cried for a while.  Then I picked up the brush and the brush and I became fast friends. 

The tin with 2 layers of paint.

The only equipment I used was the small bottle
of paint, a paper plate, and a sponge brush.

The tin after 10 fast drying layers of gold paint.


The finished project.

Enjoy the day and stay safe.

 

Happy Valentine Day

In the later years of my marriage Valentine Day was the one time my husband presented me with a bouquet of tulips.  They're my favorite flower.  When they settle in, they take on a free form rather than a formal look.  Even after he has passed, someone in my family makes sure I get tulips for Valentine Day.  This year it was me.  I found a bouquet for $4.99 when I was at Trader Joe's.  The bouquet had 4 more stems in it than the ones in the grocery stores for $5.00 less.

I love how the stems take on a life of their own when tulips get comfortable in their surroundings.

Valentine Day is for lovers.  I don't buy anything for the grandchildren because their parents take care of them.  Once in a while I will purchase something for family members who live close to me.  My prime store?  The Dollar Tree.

I bought the bags 2/1.00
Note pads, 1.00 each
Towel, 2.00 each with Kohl's cash
Small perfume spray, free with a coupon at VS
Large room spray, I can't remember where I got it, but I paid 2.00 for each
Candy, .75 each bag.  This came from TJ's, but I couldn't put it in my blog post because it was to be part of these gift bags.
Magnet, 1.00 each
TOTAL, 7.25 each bag

I had the ribbon from an earlier DT haul this month.  The cupcake holders were on sale for .25 and the bags have been in my cupboard for three years.  Funny how I can remember what I pay for something, but not where I got it.

 

Instead of having the decorations scattered, I put them all in the kitchen area.  The 'welcome' sign came from - you guessed it - the Dollar Tree.  I moved the swag off of the fireplace and swaged it on the pantry door.  Small heart stickers in the center of each doily heart are from the DT, as well.

I wish my readers true love on Valentine Day as well as throughout the year.

Stay safe.