treasure in the trash!

today, while zipping through the side streets in town, my eyes spotted this banged up old trellis, in some ones garbage! putting the car in reverse, i backed up and asked the owner if it was trash? yes! and you can have it! trying not to let him see me hyper-ventilate... i shoved it in the back of my trailblazer. i need to paint the top board white... other then that... it is a fine piece of shabby chic garden art!

so..... have you ever in your life stopped off and pulled something out of some one garbage? if so... let me know in my comments! (i've also pulled two old bushel baskets from some one's garbage.... great for my garden!)

starting seedlings with paper towel tubes and plastic containers!

last week, i started a few of my seedlings indoors! all winter long, my mom saves and my aunts save and i save plastic containers and paper towel tubes. then, on a cold, blistery night.... while watching t.v., we cut up the tubes, cutting and bending the bottoms up to make an expandable bottom for the root to grow through. obviously, the plastics acts as a greenhouse. when i'm ready to plant... i just stick the whole tube in the ground and it decomposes.

my dill, basil, peas and beans are going crazy! they're ready to be outside. and so am i! smile, wink, nod!

letter i..... ICE WREATHS!!!!

it's tradition here at my house... to celebrate winter by making ice wreaths!

usually i make nature themed ice wreaths... with pinecones, needles and what not. but this year, i decided to make "life saver colors!" you know... jazz things up a bit... i just added food coloring to the water before freezing it, in the freezer.


i even found a use for "used orange peels," by adding them to the water before freezing ... i think they add a little pizazz to a grey winter day!

it seems like every garage sale i stop at... has bundt type molds.
that's when i pick them up, for squeaky cheap!
i use heavy colored rope to tie them from an old branch i propped on the patio.



each time i look at these outside my window... i smile and think of jumbo life-savers!
i hope you like them, too!

letter g

hello girlfriends!

my oh my....have i been busy being green, today!

and, happily frugal, too!

see how my dishes sparkle and glow? i made homemade dish-washer detergent!

gosh-oh-golly....what's the secret, you're wondering?

here's my frugilly-earth friendly recipe:

1 part arm and hammer washing soda and 1 part borax. then fill the little rinse cup with white vinegar. that's it... i'm serious.... the dishes came out squeaky clean~ after i realized how fantastic the dishes came out.... i made a big batch to keep under the sink!

next up... i successfully made two breathtaking batches of powedered laundry detergent. why am i using breathtaking as an adjective, here? because... the recipe called for castile soap- which i found on sale in the organic isle at kroger's... and it's almond-scented! it smells luscious.



my brad, figured out that the batches probably cost me about .50 cents each, to make. i'm not sure how many loads i'll get... but i have 1/3 of the bucket above filled~ i doubled the batch.

here's the recipe, below:

this weekend...

i finished the outstanding, new york times bestseller, the red tent. my opinion? although this was historical fiction and does not accurately follow the Bible... i think the author did a stellar job... pulling one line out of the book of genesis and creating a captivating, 300 plus page book about a lady the Bible only mentions once. talk about someone having a brilliant imagination... the author deserves a nod. and lots of them~

smile, wink, nod.

easy and cheap christmas gift....

i just finished making this organizer. it's actually a gift for my cousin, for christmas. she is so quirky and fun... i know she'll adore this. she can use it as a storage bin for magazines or in her closet... or as an organizer in the back of her car!

i picked up some vintage record albums at goodwill. .25 cents each. i knew what i'd be doing with them, so i looked for "theme" albums. i bought five of them. four sides and a bottom. then tonight after dinner, while brad was watching fox news (is there any other?) i marked off one inch dots and brad paper punched them for me.

this is a snap, looking down inside.

i used heavy orange rope type twine, to reinforce the sides and bottom.... i went over it twice. just to be sure it was good and strong.

the project took me about an hour and a half... and happy me, i have one fun box to fill for my cousin for christmas! i am sort of itching to get back to goodwill and look for more that i can whip up! smile, wink, nod.

30-second seed bottle!

i love quick crafts.

i love thrifty-recycled crafts.

and, i love stupid humor. that said, i recycled this vinegar bottle into a dried flower seed container. i'll sprinkle the variety of seeds in my wildflower bed in the spring. i crudely cut up a vintage cowboy magazine, dotted the black and white picture with pastel chalk and slapped some modge podge on it. i honestly think the whole project took 30 seconds. the seed bottle now sits on my basement shelf, in my pantry...eagerly waiting for spring. smile, wink, nod!

recycled junk!

my neighbor, my good neighbor was cleaning and revamping his old horse barn. his hired men have been throwing junk in a big burn pile in the field between us. being the thrifty, dumpster diver i am.... my big blue eyes spotted these ventilated window frames! i knew they'd be shabby-chic perfect as trellis' in my garden. perfect for the late crop of snow peas and purple beans that are tendrilling. vocabulary homeschool word of the day: tendril. the windows were used in the barn that housed race horses! just think... race horses used to look out these windows.

i'm not horse savvy... but i do know the horses use to race in kentucky somewhere. i should find out the breed... it would just be nice to know. the window frames should winterize pretty easy, too. we'll slide them right into our barn!

and the windows, live on! smile, wink, nod!

caught red handed!

do you ever wonder... what really happens to the other sock?

sorry for the blurred picture. i had to be quick! i don't usually hang clothes out to dry.. but on nice sunny, hot days, i do flip brad and tommie's jeans out on the patio... over the railing. i also was drying a pair of socks. this little rascal snuck up and grabbed one of brad's socks... and took off with it! sneaky! we were entertained with the thought of brad's sock being tucked up in our maple tree... in a squirrels nest...keeping the critter warm this winter! the sock however, didn't make it to the nest...tommie found it out in the driveway! we were all glad it was just a sock and not someone's underpants! smile, wink, nod!

shabby chic refrigerator magnets!

i had a blast all by myself today... making homemade shabby chic refrigerator magnets. recycled at that!

find a piece of newspaper. i chose a page from brad's farm journal newspaper, all because i didn't want to use anything depressing from the regular everyday newspaper. nor did i want edward kennedy or michael jackson, or hurricane danny on my fridge....


next... saturate the newspaper with your favorite acrylic paints (i watered mine down a bit)... and then sprinkled gold glitter all over the paint... then waited for the paint to dry.

i cut out randomly shaped flowers of different sizes, then wadded them up and unfolded them... next i took needle and embroidery floss (hot pink) and sewed a vintage button to the center of each! i attached a magnet (from the craft store) to the back of each flower.....

then the best part... hanging them on the refrigerator! i loved doing this little project. i think the flowers would be an adorable "bow" on a plain brown paper gift bag! smile, wink, nod!

p.s. this morning i was dehydrating more zucchini chips... i plugged in the dehydrator... left it on the back porch, so i didn't have to deal with the fan running on it all day. i went back and the motor was burning up.... leaving the entire back porch filled with smoke and a dreadful toxic smell. i quickly unplugged it and threw it out the back door! i'm thankful i listened to my inner voice last night... i almost plugged it in while we were sleeping and my gut instinct said..."nah, you better not." thank's be to God.

vintage serving pieces and a turkey egg!

during the summer, i've collected a variety of antique serving utensils, from estate sales and shabby chic sales. my out of pocket cost for these was $4.00. They needed a little cleaning up... so, i boiled them in a baking soda paste with water and steamed them! then, i sat tommie down to polish. except for a couple of the reallllllly old spoons, all came out shiny and a bit too nice looking! i loved not using harsh chemicals to bring back the beauty. i also wonder where they all came from and who owned them?

note: the turkey egg in the picture. i just put it in there for fun!

today look's like i'll:

-enjoy the rainy day

-burn a peach scented candle

-make more applesauce and can it

-can more pizza sauce

-work on homeschool lesson plans

-take tommie to the military shop... his $5. is burning a hole in his pocket!

-dehydrate and make zucchini chips sprinkled with chili powder

-work on my hand-hooked purse

-start a new novel... which one? i'm just not sure.

-by the way... i'm really trying respond to your comments... so if you've left any... click on my comment button and read the follow-up's.

-will post jamie's blueberry bread recipe soon!

i'd love to here something creative and fun that you have planned for today! comments welcome. smile, wink, nod!

letter T: Let's talk trash!

Let's talk trash! I admit, I don't recycle like I should. We don't live in a community where there is a permanent recycling center. Where I live... you load your junk in your trunk and take it to a public place once a month. convenient, ugh? Add to the fact, that my husband likes things spic and span...and would honestly, rather toss in the garbage and forget about it...then have his garage or basement packed full of garbage.


for the past couple of months...i've cringed each time i throw a bottle of laundry detergent out. or a stack of newspapers. and, all the glossy junk mail. i sincerely look at it and wonder how long it will live in a landfill. then i cringe again. and wince.

my other trashy dilemma has been...where and what to store them in? i didn't want to invest in rubbermaid boxes. to pricey for trash.

at the fourth garage sale i stopped at this morning... these were waiting for me! they were in great shape, and i could see in my mind... a home in my garage for them. so, i made an ice cold lemonade...dug out my yellow paint and brush and sat under the tree and painted/labeled them. the best part is...they were $1. each. i'm hoping this will make our world a little more green.

while listening to the news about michael jackson and farrah fawcett, an incredible rain storm hit our house... look close and you can see the 1 inch hail. i love summer rain storms.

Yellow on Wednesday!

WEDNESDAY:

THINGS AT MY HOUSE THAT ARE YELLOW!

We've spent the better part of the last few days primping, plotting and planting the gardens. We planted the usual things that every greenhouse in Michigan has. And, darn happy to report... we did find a few new things to try: sweet potatoes, mustard greens, orange thyme, cinnamon basil and tarragon. What's with the bottles above you're wondering? That's the BEST homemade spray we've found to keep the bunnies, deer, wood chucks, etc. away!

The recipe:

1 egg, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. hot sauce, 1 tsp. veg. oil, 1 tsp. liquid dish soap, 1 quart of water. Blend in a blender and put in a spray bottle...store in the refrigerator. Spray after each rain and after planting.

In early Spring, I found this bag of 12 bright yellow glad's at Dollar General for $2.50. What would August in Michigan be, without glads?


Brad tilled up a plot for potatoes...we keep them far away from our real garden...the Colorado Potato Beetle..is such a pest to our other vegetables... anyone out there know how we can get rid of the swarm? Without using harsh chemicals? If so, leave me a comment and help me.


This time of year, our fields are packed full of these sweet little buttercups! My flowers are like long lost friends...who have been gone for a year!

Where has this been all of my life? Yeah, that's right...Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda. I haven't been using bleach for the past couple of years... too toxic for this girl! Some of our whites (okay most of them) needed perked up...especially Tommie socks! I remembered I had a box of this in the pantry... I use it when I make the homemade laundry soap... read the back, gave it a shot and WOW! I had amazing results....without the bleach! Arm and Hammer Soda is my new friend! smile, wink, nod.

p.s. Here's a couple of YELLOW songs to leave you with...hum along with me:

THEY CALL ME MELLOW YELLOW.... OH YEAH! THEY CALL ME MELLOW YELLOW.... does anyone know the rest?

and

WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE, YELLOW SUBMARINE, YELLOW SUBMARINE....

now... go about your day and try to get the irritating lyrics out of your head!

recycled gardening post!

all winter long, i've been saving paper towel and toilet paper tubes! i read a good gardening magazines, where it explained how to recycle them into seedling-starter planters! all you do is cut the tubes into 2 or 3 inch pieces, cut one end about 1/2 inch intervals and fold them up- to create a bottom that looks like the one above!

next you plant your seeds.... i planted peas. i still need to plant poppies, dill and carrots! i also read where you can recycle plastic fruit and vegetable containers like the one below... with the attached lid... this works as a mini greenhouse!


have you seen this movie? tea with mussolini. i found it last week at the .25 cent store. i haven't watched it yet...but it sounds like something our entire family will enjoy.

other stuff? i made chicken enchilada's for the first time, for dinner. they were excellent. everyone liked them! we spotted one sandhill crane in the backyard. taxes are done. 2 miles on the treadmill. baked two loaves of chocolate chip banana bread. had a good hair day...but man oh man, do i need to get some rub on tan on this lily-white face and body. smile-wink-nod.

SUNDAY.

How cheap can I be? Yesterday, found me whistling the Fiddler on the Roof (see my Twisted Education blog entry) and making super extra cheap household-good for-the-environment cleaners! I'm not sure the exact cost of the homemade cleaners...but I do know I forked out $2.37 for a big jug of Meijers brand white vinegar. The rest of the ingredients I already had. I had most of the containers, too....leftover jars and clean pop bottle! The spray bottles came from the dollar store. And, the floral and butterfly stickers came from the Dollar Tree, too. They're actually wall decals and adhere to the plastic and glass containers, like no body's business.

The recipes came from: HERE. I made: scouring paste, glass cleaner (which works wonderful!), furniture polish, all-purpose cleaner, 2 washing machine rinses, microwave cleaner and scouring powder. And, I still had a lot of ingredients left over. I didn't even open the second vinegar.

My coupon came for my free bottle of SUAVE SHAMPOO. I went to Wallyworld yesterday and picked the Tangerine scent.

On Valentine's night, I made pork chops, baked apples, squash and twice baked potatoes. Afterwards, I served a really horrible dessert that went straight into the garbage...it was Cranberry Upside Down Cake, taken from Cranberry Valentine picture book. We settled in and watched the video, I found at the .25 store: Second Hand Lions. IT IS EXCELLENT! Very excellent. A wonderful family movie...but it does have mild language. RENT IT. BORROW IT OR GET IT FROM YOUR LIBRARY and make a big bowl of buttery popcorn!

Just playing around!

This is sort of a little test, here. I couldn't take not having my regular digital camera around. I mean, can you even imagine going through the Christmas season without a camera?!

I bought one this afternoon at Meijers..it's a mini-digital that fits right on your keychain! It was $14.95. Minus the 10% off coupon I had. smile-wink-nod.

The pictures are a little bit blurry. But, I love the rest of the features! And, the fact that I will always have a camera on my keychain!

This is one of the ornaments I made out of a recycled Rice Krispie Box! I used garbage ties for curly hair!

Happy Saturday Night! I'm off to take a hot shower, pull on my wool socks and thermals and flop on the couch with my juicy novel..."The Virgin Blue." Doesn't the title sound raunchy? Not to worry...it's isn't.

The best CHRISTMAS CRAFT ever!

Okay...are you ready for the cutest, cheapest, best, creative-energy buster, and most fun ever... Christmas craft in the whole wide world? The thing with me and crafts is...I need something I can complete in one sitting or I never get around to finishing it!

I found this blog.. which shows and tells about different little characters you can make...drumroll...using empty food boxes!

Yesterday, after taking Tommie to the Christmas Parade...I came home... turned on a predictable Hallmark Christmas movie and honkered down on the living room floor, spread out my supplies of old buttons, scissors, colorful brads, and sharpie marker...and went wild making ornaments! I WISH MY CAMERA WORKED...because I made a few pretty sweet people!!! I used: a SWISS MISS HOT CHOCOLATE BOX, a POP-TART BOX and a CHEF-BOY-ARDEE PIZZA box.

I can't begin to tell you how much fun these were to make... they really came alive and have their own quirky, lovable personalities!!

I didn't include Tommie in this organized craft...he's always snubs his nose at crafts, unless they include a hammer and nails! However, this craft sparked his curiosity... I soon heard him asking for the scissors! He made a giraffe and a turtle and is looking around for pre-package food boxes!

I did have to make a quick trip to Joann Fabrics for some TRENDY, colorful brads... I found them in the scrapbooking department... I was able to print off a stack (yes, a stack) of these

40% coupons to use against it...making the package of brads around a dollar and a half per 50 or 100. If you plan to make these ... I suggest buying different sizes of brads...I didn't and now I have to go back to JF today! CUZ' I'M MAKING MORE OF THESE SWEET THINGS! smile-wink-nod!

Just one more sample for today.....

Okay, can you stand one more freebie? I didn't intend for this to be a freebie blog...but I can't resist sharing these great deals! I just signed up for this free tube of Lipstock Chapstock sample! Click here and fill out the easy, effortless form: click here. It's made from watermelon seed oil and the other ingredients are organic.

I hope you take advantage of this offer...it's fun getting things in the mail! I think this would make an awesome stocking stuffer, too!

smile, wink, nod.

FReE sOy CAndLes!

Just popping in here today, to tell you of a nice free soy candle sample you can sign up for.... the sign up is quick and simple... with no annoying surveys! Just click here and go to the purple box and fill out the form. Do not click on free candle...after you fill out the purple box form, click on free sample!

Just today, I received my two Kashi Cookie samples in the mail...and they were delish! smile, wink nod.

FREEZE!

Instead of listening to the news media tell me how 4,000 Americans were laid off yesterday and how the CEO's of the Big 3 flew into D.C. for the big bailout meeting on their $20,000. a flight, hoity-toity jet and, yes they have superb catered food on those flights! I decided to make the best of my afternoon by baking and freezing chocolate-chip zucchini bread. During the summer, I had shredded and froze, so many bags of the overbearing zucchini....it was now time to start using it!

I wrapped it in Glad Saran Wrap (because Glad brand is safe) and then foil and marked it. Now, when I don't feel like baking (which isn't too often), I'll just pull out this family favorite! I love sharing it with my handi-capped neighbor, too! If the economy is affecting you and your family... we need to share positive things that add sparkle to our day. Please tell me about all the good things in your life! Leave a happy comment! smile-wink-nod!