A Word of Warning - Beware of AI Generated Patterns

I ran across this video talking about the problem with AI produced crochet patterns. I thought it would be good to share the information so that you all can beware of wasting time and money on things that won't work or that are actually impossible. This very likely applies to other patterns that may be showing up online - knitting, embroidery, sewing, etc. Be cautious and check things out carefully before you buy or use time and resources on these things. If you are unsure about a specific pattern, ask for advice from someone who is knowledgeable about the thing you are wanting to do.

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Planning NOT to Buy Too Much

1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 

This is an interesting video that explains what is called "the Diderot Effect." This is the odd tendency that people have that leads to chain purchase. By that I mean, you buy something and then need something else to go with it, and something else to go with that, and so forth till you've made a whole string of purchases based on that first purchase. The first purchase may actually be needed, but often the following purchases are not. At the end, Becker suggests that instead of trying to impress people with things, you should try to impress them with how you live. I understand why he says that, but in the biblical worldview that isn't what Christians should be trying to do either. We should be living to glorify God. Keeping the excessive and unnecessary consumption and purchase of things under control is one way that we can glorify God. Learning to be content with what God has given us is one way to achieve that.

It seemed especially appropriate to post this now as so many people are focusing on buying at this time of year. Please consider your purchases prayerfully. Truthfully, folks, using Jesus' birth as an excuse to fill your homes (or "stockings") with junk is at the very least tacky. At worst it is dishonoring to the name that you claim to honor. Don't let yourself be caught up in the covetousness and hyper-consumerism of the season.  [For further reading: Spend Less, Don't Buy Stuff, Plan Ahead]

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Worth Repeating - How to Make Ends Meet

This post was first published here in August 2011. I thought it might be helpful to someone again. :-) I added some vintage photos just for interest.
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Here is a good blog post on How to Make Ends Meet.  

Please read the comments too. At the time that I linked to this there were a few that really added to the article itself.

By the way, this is something that all of us need to think about and there are things that all can put into practice, even those who don’t have such a limited budget at the moment. If you don’t see the need for that you must not know what is going on in the world or are willfully ignorant of it. As it says in Proverbs 23:5, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

1 Timothy 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Saving bacon grease for future use.

My mother used to do this. In fact, she still has a bacon grease tin as far as I know. :-)

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Source of photos unknown.

Sew Happy Friday – An Easy Pin Cushion Tutorial

 

Here is a tutorial for an easy little pin cushion.  If you don’t want to make it patchwork, just make it with squares of fabric.  There are various things you could add to make it more pretty as well.  These would make nice little gifts, an addition to a gift basket, or even favors for a party.  [Tutorial by Melanie Ham.]

 

Cheap, Pretty and Good – Paper Flowers and Garland

 

It’s time for another Cheap, Pretty and Good post.  Really this is long overdue, but it’s not a high priority here so…enjoy while you can. :-)  All of these crafts are easy enough for kids to do, so they would make nice craft or art projects.

[Disclaimer on all sources, as usual.]

Here is a tutorial over at “Cake.” for a cute garland made with paper doilies.  It would be fairly easing to add letters and make a “Happy Birthday” banner, I think.  Either way, it will dress up a party without costing too much.  (It seems to me that you could use real doilies to make this as well if you have a pile that you don’t know what to do with.  You might want to sew them in place with a few stitches and use some pretty ribbon instead of yarn.)

DIY Doily Garland by stephlovesben

With the leftover paper doilies you might like to make these paper roses over at “paper, plate, and plane”:

No Fuss Paper Roses by Jeromina Juan

I think they also look like peony tulips.

(Note: Keep an eye open for paper doilies in February, especially the red ones.)

At “Oh Happy Day” is a tutorial for some simple paper calla lilies. 

Paper Calla Lilies DIY by Jordan Ferney

If you’re a paper crafter this could be a nice way to use up scraps.  They could be done with inexpensive colored paper of any sort.

Hope you enjoy this little post.

Sew Happy Saturday – A New Pillow Cover

 

Years ago my mom covered a foam cushion for me with crocheted granny squares.  I’ve loved that pillow ever since she gave it to me.  It was the only pillow I could stand to lay my head on when I had sever migraines in my teens and early twenties.  It has even traveled with me.  I use it still for my afternoon naps in the living room because it is still a comfortable cushion for sleeping on.  I really wish that we could get foam pillows of that type today!  It’s the best I’ve ever had.

But, as with all things, age has caused some wear and tear.  Though the foam itself is still comfortable, the fabric covering on the foam is starting to disintegrate.  I was afraid of damaging the the crochet cover by taking it apart to re-cover the foam itself, so I have been using a pillowcase over it.  Recently, though, I decided to make a new cover for it – something that would go in our living room.

I got this pretty white poinsettia fabric on sale at Fabric.com.  For some reason this fabric is nostalgic to me.  My mom and Gramma Hoover both loved poinsettias, so maybe that’s part of the reason. :-)  Anyway, I made a simple fold-over type cover.  It isn’t tricky at all, and I didn’t even add a closure on the back, though I may later.

First, I measured and cut the fabric to the width I thought I needed – in this case about a half yard.  I folded under one selvedge edge and sewed it.  Then I measured again to see how much I needed to have it overlap and added some extra for hemming.  I cut off the excess, then folded under the raw edge twice and sewed that.  Lastly, I folded the whole thing right sides together with the desired overlap (making sure the double-folded edge was on the actual outside), lined up the sides and sewed the side seams.  Then I just turned it right-side-out and ironed it one last time.  Easy-peasy.

Here is what the back looks like.  It is a little loose because I got it a bit too wide.  This could be easily improved by turning it inside-out and sewing one end in a bit farther so that it fits more snugly.  Also, I could add a Velcro® closure here.

Over all I’m quite happy with it, though, and this cover will be easy to remove for washing.  I have another half yard of the fabric and I may make a second cover so that I can simply swap them once in awhile for washing purposes.

Side note: The lace covered pillow beneath is a bed pillow in a pillow sham from a lovely crocheted bed set a friend gave me.  (Yeah, I used “pillow” three times in one sentence.  Keep reading.  I outdid myself.  hehe)  The bed coverlet itself was stained and I couldn’t get it clean, so I am using the pillow shams in the living room.  I put a solid colored pillowcase on the pillow first then put the crocheted sham on over it.  Since I have two, I swap them out once in awhile for washing and ironing.  The pillow is part of my napping arrangements, and it looks much dressier and appropriate for the living room in it’s pretty sham.  It’s a nice way to “upcycle” or repurpose a pillow sham, and at the same time have a bed pillow in the living room that looks like it belongs here. :-)  (It’s also handy for shorter people sitting on our couch to have this pillow to put behind their backs.)

Here’s a video tutorial to help you make your own, using a slightly different method.  This is a very easy project.  You could give your living room a whole new look in one afternoon with some fabric from your stash. :-)

Smart Living

 

My mom and I some years back organizing her “smart living” pantry.

My friend, Jo, at “Stop – Have At Chat” made this excellent list of suggestion for what she prefers to call smart living.  Please go over and take a look if you want some useful hints on how to live “smart”. :-)

She writes, “I don't like the word "frugal" living as it doesn't sound like a lot of fun.  It sounds like drudgery to me.

I much prefer to use  "smart living" instead, now that sounds like much more fun.

Smart living isn't just about making your money stretch further, but:

• not wasting what you have
• using what you already have
• valuing what you have
• thinking careful before adding to what you have.”

Continue Reading.

Cheap, Pretty and Good – Just A Start

 

The Mexicans have an expressions – “cheap, pretty and good”.  Only, of course, they say it in Spanish, which I don’t remember.  Anyway, in the spirit of simplifying, saving money and still having things attractive, I thought I’d share some links occasionally with some ideas along those lines.  They will probably cover a variety of topics – décor, clothing, food, etc.

Today’s ideas will be along the lines of storage and décor.

Create Desk Accessories from Cans – This is a nice idea.  You can use wallpaper, paper with your own or kids’ drawings, fabric, burlap, etc.  For the fabrics you may wish to use some kind of glue rather than tape.  Also, for a girlish look, try adding some ribbon or an artificial flower with some hot glue.  If you use fabric you can add a scrap of folded bias tape around the top to give it a more finished look.

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You may not need to go buy a bunch of storage containers to organize your house.  There may be a lot of useful option right in your own garage, attic or storage shed.  Turn Clutter Into Storage and Décor Solutions.  One word of caution here, though: remember that you will still have to dust some of these things, so consider what you really want to keep.  Is it worth cleaning regularly to you?  If not, discard it.  Also, sometimes the best “storage solution” is to reduce the pile! :-)

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Here are some ideas that might cost you nothing if you already have these items stored among your stuff.  No-Money Home Makeover Ideas. Also remember that you might find some of these things in a family member’s attic.  You can only ask.  If they say “no”, at least you tried to get the stuff out where it could be appreciated. :-)

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An old picture frame, some screws, some wire and some clothes pins will give you a nice place to display photos or keep track of favorite recipes and other essential paper bits.

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Tea cup candles.  If you make your own candles this is something you might want to do – either for your own décor or for gifts.  Strange to say there are people in this world who have tea cup and saucer sets that they don’t want.  I had a set myself once that I was not overly fond of and also was afraid to use as it came from a country of which I wasn’t sure about the lead content.  I could have made them into candles to give away, though!

Uses for egg cups.  I realize that most Americans don’t have unused egg cups laying around idle, but (ahem!) I do.  :-)  This comes from having had family that lived around British at various times.  Well…if they aren’t being used for their intended purpose, why not something else?  I could use the bud vase idea without much extra work, and I’m quite fond of fresh flowers in the house.  I also checked and discovered that a small tea light size candle will fit into the top of some of my egg cups. :-)

Tips for Saving Money

 

Photo by Joyous! via Wikimedia Commons

My Australian sister-in-law, Clara V., wrote this sometime back and gave me permission to publish it as well.  There is some very useful advice here, and it is very timely these days!

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Growing up, my family was never over-indulged with a flow of cash.  With four daughters and a sick wife, my father was the sole provider and I remember my parents struggling to make ends meet.  Years later things looked up for them - they had no conviction about single young ladies being homemakers, and each of us got a job and paid board and finally my parents started coming out on top of their finances.  As a single young lady, I was not poor, however I made poor choices and before long I ended up with negative bank accounts and debts.  The time when I was doing well had been brief, and here I was back to the familiarity of struggling to make ends meet.  And it has been that way ever since! 

Considering my long history of balancing budgets, I thought I might share some of the tricks I've learned over the years.  This list may include some tips from [my husband’s] side of the family - his parents were missionaries in Africa and once they returned to America, his dad pastored for many years while doing piano tuning on the side, and they too often struggled to make ends meet...

Even if you don't have this struggle with financial hardship, there is a lot to be said for frugal living.  God's Word shows us that God is our provider, it is only through Him that we have what we have.  And, we see  two specific stories that Jesus told that show us that God expects us to be good stewards of what He has given us, rather than squandering or being unfaithful with what He gives us. Read Matthew 25:14-30, and Luke 16:1-8.  As the Lord Himself said, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10)
 
BUDGET TIPS:
 
~ Go shopping the least amount of times possible each month.  We try to do our main shopping once each month - other than that we just drop in to pick up milk and other perishables such as extra fruit & vegetables.  The more times you meander through the store, the more times you are tempted to buy a little extra here or there!  Monthly shopping takes a lot of planning, and some people actually sit down and write a list of menus for a month so they will buy for the exact things they are going to cook.  I tend to just bulk buy the varying ingredients I commonly use and if I have an interest in some unusual recipes, buy the extra ingredients for those too.  The other thing to do is to base your monthly menu on what you are able to find that is marked down rather than sitting down and planning what you will eat before going shopping.
 
~ Buy in bulk.  You will usually find that bulk buys work out to be less expensive in the long run.  Sometimes this might require you spending a larger amount up front, but the product will last you longer!
I buy meat in bulk packages, then take it home and divide it into the size portions I want, and put them in sealed bags in the freezer - this way we only buy meat once every 3 to 4 months!
 
~ Take a calculator with you when you do your grocery shopping (a lot of cell phones have inbuilt calculators, which makes it easier)!  Sometimes you will see "specials" or "supersavers" in the store... *beware*  Sometimes these products don't actually save you money!  Sometimes you will notice there are two sizes of a product on the shelf, and one will be marked down and the other won't...  use your calculator (or your head if you are mathematically wired!) to figure out which is actually less expensive dollar per weight.  For example, pasta in a pound package might be marked down to $1.65 and the pasta in a 3 pound package is not marked down but costs $4.50.  Some would say well, of course I buy the marked down product, it has to be less expensive!  Do the math...  you will find that the full-price bulk product still works out to cost less.
Take care to always do the math, because sometimes you will find that the markdown DOES make the product cost less, and then if the smaller size product works out less, you can buy more of them to make up to the same quantity as the bulk product or whatever quantity you need to bulk buy.
 
~ Don't automatically go for premade goods.  For starters they are often extremely unhealthy, being loaded with msg [monosodium glutamate] to enhance the flavour, or full of other additives and preservatives.  Be adventurous, check through your recipe books or online and make as much as you can from scratch.  If you buy the ingredients in bulk and hand make the foods, you will often find you save money in the long-run.
 
~ Forget your pride and forget brand names!  Often generic brands or "cheap" brands will produce food that tastes exactly the same as the expensive brands, and at a much lower price!!
 
~ Don't buy fresh fruit and vegetables in bulk unless you are sure you will use it before it perishes.  If you want to buy vegies in bulk, try the frozen vegetable alternative.  You might be surprised to know that frozen vegetables can be more healthy than buying fresh - companies who make frozen vegetable packages are required to use the freshest possible products to freeze, whereas the fresh fruit and vegies in the store might have sat there for several days before you pick it up!  Of course if you can grow your own fruit and vegies, you are even better off!!  :)
 
~ Set a budget before you go shopping, and try to never go over that set amount!
 
~ When shopping for clothing or furniture and other such products, you can often find what you want at a secondhand store for a much, much lower price than brand new.  Sometimes you may need to clean things up before they look as nice as you want, but there's nothing like a bit of hard work to make you feel even more pleased with your purchase!  The more work you put into something, the more value it holds!  [Editor’s note: Some second hand stores in the U.S. lately have been raising their prices.  Check around and know your basic prices from the cheaper retail stores.  Why buy something used when you can get a similar item new for the same price?]
 
~ Avoid eating out at all costs!  Expensive restaurants are just that - expensive and not worth breaking the budget over.  And cheap restaurants or cafes or take-aways often produce food that really isn't as healthy or as tasty as homemade meals!  If you enjoy the experience of eating out because it is different than your own dining table, be adventurous and make your meal and take it out somewhere to a nice park or something!  Picnics are always fun (unless the weather is inclement, of course!)... on days when the weather is wrong for picnicking, why not do something different within your own home?  For example, make yourselves comfortable on the loungeroom [living room] floor with cushions and eat sitting on the floor before the fire.  Either it will make you appreciate your dining table a whole lot more at the next meal, or you will find it fun and different!  You might be able to come up with even more creative ways to make eating a meal different and fun :)
 
~ Always make the best use of leftovers that you can!  If a lot is leftover, use it for dinner the following day rather than snacks, or freeze your leftover meals and eat them another time when you're short on time to cook!
 
~ If you're going out for a day adventure, take packed food rather than spending money at convenience eat-outs.  You really will save a lot if you are prepared beforehand.
 
~ Turn off lights when they don't need to be on, and open windows whenever possible if the weather is better outside than how your house feels - save on your power, cooling and heating bill!  Check for cool breezes outside regularly and open the window rather than leaving your air-conditioner on. 
 
~ Wash full loads of washing rather than a small load of clothes or linens, and hang your clothes outside to dry whenever possible rather than using the clothes dryer!  God created a sun that will often dry your clothes very well :)
 
~ If the dishwasher is not full, don't use it!  God gave us arms and washing dishes yourself can save a lot of water!
 
~ Make your own birthday/greeting cards - store bought ones are often sold at premium prices - whoever you are giving a card to will probably appreciate the time and effort you went to in order to create a personalised card!  Alternatively, recycle cards you have received by cutting out the picture on the front and gluing it on a homemade card!
 
~ Recycle wrapping paper for gifts!  Sometimes if you carefully remove the wrapping paper on a gift it doesn't look terribly used, or the damage can sometimes be cut off and the paper used on a smaller gift!  This can really cut down on the cost of a gift!
 
~ Walk rather than drive.  Sometimes I cannot believe how lazy some people are!  I can't believe the way some people drive to their letterbox or just around the corner to run an errand when they could very well have gotten some fresh air and exercise by walking!
 
~ Never discard old clothes - if they are worn through such that no-one else could ever wear them, they can be handy as rags, or sometimes they can be cut down for other uses - eg. less worn parts could be used to make doll's clothes, quilts, or a range of other creative uses!
 
~ Don't buy your kids every toy there is, but rather make use of your creativity and imagination and make homemade gifts or buy simple gifts that can be used for a long period of time rather than toys that wear out fast!  Kids do a lot better with a small quantity of toys that require imagination.  If they have a huge range of toys they will often value them less and get bored of them quicker because they don't exercise their imagination!  I rotate my kids' toys - we have two boxes for them and we rotate them rather than them having everything at once.  The more special toys are stored away and brought out for rare occasions so they become more valuable and enjoyable, too.

Shop Your Own Stuff – Bringing the Outside In

If you’ve read the previous posts in this series, you know that I am making an effort to inspire myself and others to “shop your own stuff” instead of always thinking that buying is the solution.  It is a challenge to improvise and think outside the box a bit.  In this post I’m really talking about thinking outside – as in going outdoors to “shop” for things. :-)

Of course, fresh garden flowers, fruit and vegetables are obvious ways to “decorate” by bringing the outside in.

My sister-in-law made an interesting bookend out of a piece of limestone she found. She intends to find another one so she can have two “matching” limestone bookends. :-) (We have lots of limestone on our property here in central Texas!)  To do this it’s recommended to clean off excess dirt, bake the stone to kill any critters and, if you’re placing it directly on a wood surface, you may want to place a piece of felt or thick cloth under it or attach self-sticking felt pieces on the bottom.  As you can see in the photo, my sister-in-law tacked a throw to the wall behind the books and rock, folded it down to protect the top of the bookshelf, then ran it behind the shelves to protect the wall as well.

Rocks also make great door stops.  An addition of felt may again be needed to protect you floor.  If you want something colorful, paint it with an interesting design.  Use your God-given creativity.

More ideas for shopping the outdoors –

Use larger shallow seashells for soap or candy dishes.

A piece of drift wood becomes a coat and hat rack when attached to the wall and with hooks added. My dad went to a sawmill once and got a number of the outside cuts of wood – the pieces with the bark still on them. I don’t recall what they charged him, but it was scrap, so it wasn’t much.  He selected trees that didn’t have extremely rough bark. He used these to cover the open area by a stairway to make it safe for small children. He screwed the pieces on with the bark side out toward the lower hall and the cut side in towards the stairs. Then he screwed hooks into each piece on the bark side to make a long row of coat hooks (something very useful in northern climates, especially if you have large groups in your home regularly). I wish I had a picture of it; it was a very unique and interesting solution to two needs.

You can make all kinds of art out of driftwood as well.

If you need bookshelves and you have a pile of old bricks or cinder blocks (see number 2 on this page), you may be able to work them into something useful with some leftover shelves or wood planks.  It’s important in this project to use wood that is sturdy enough to bear the weight of books, and also that it not be cut in long pieces, unless you add extra supports in the middle.  Paint, contact paper, leftover wall paper, and even fabric “skirts” can dress these shelves (and bricks) up and make them more presentable if you don’t like the “rustic” look. :-)

For décor, don’t forget the flowers.  There are a number of flowers that can be dried to make attractive floral displays, making your flower garden do double duty for you. They can make a nice alternative to buying artificial flowers.  There are several ways to dry them, including pressing them for various flat art.  I’ve even spray painted the centers of Echinacea (purple cone flowers).  I used them once in the rich brown they were to start with (petals removed), and then later when they got kind of dusty, I cleaned them off (use a soft, dry paint brush), spray painted them gold and used them again. :-)  I had a friend who collected and dried pepper grass from near their house, painted it with red, white and blue spray paints, and made some really pretty little arrangements for her country style kitchen.  Hydrangeas make an interesting and somewhat impressive dried flowers.  Strawflowers (pictured above) are, in my opinion, one of the easiest flowers to grow for dried flowers, and they are so colorful both in the garden and dried.

Of course, autumn foliage can make lovely decorations too in areas that have the vibrant color changes.  Two comments regarding this link: 1. Be sure to put water in the vase when using cut fall foliage otherwise it will wilt or shrivel. 2. Dream catchers are an instrument of American Indian spiritism and we do not recommend using them in any shape or form.

There are many ways to use pressed leaves, pinecones, seed pods and acorns.  For using acorns or other nuts for décor, I recommend baking them at a low temperature (150F) for 45 minutes to kill critters inside.  Just don’t let them burn.  If you don’t do this those critters may eventually decide to come out and your décor may be ruined or marred.

I had a friend whose family had lived in the same area where she lived for many years.  She found the old spot where they had dumped their trash and garbage years and years ago.  She rescued some brightly colored old glass bottles and possibly some other artifacts to use in her décor.  It added some nostalgia along with it in that case. :-)

What other ideas can you come up with?  Challenge yourself to think of ways to “shop” outside.  You might be surprised at what you find.  (Note: Do make sure you’re allowed to carry things away from the area where you’re “shopping” if it’s not your own property.  For example: National Parks and historic areas may not allow you to carry things away – even rocks.)

Shop Your Own Stuff – Another Perspective On Repurposing, Recycling and Saving Money

[Please see more links for this series below the article.]

This series is a off-shoot of the Laying Aside Weights series that I’m running this year.  The last post in that series was a little heavy, so I wanted to do something lighter this week. :-)

In an effort to rethink and reorganize some things, I “stumbled” across this idea and it inspired me.  I hope you like it as well.

My husband and I have a garage full of stuff.  Some of it belongs to us. Some of it belongs to my brother and sister-in-law who live next door.  Much of it belongs to my parents who downsized a few years ago and also live next door to us.  Some of it belonged to my grandparents who are now with the Lord.  And, amazingly enough, even my brother in Australia has stuff stored in our garage.  Yeah, I know.  What?  [That last one is a long story, which partly involved his marrying an Aussie and leaving the U.S. on relatively short notice, presumably to be followed later by his stuff.  But, life plays funny tricks on us all sometimes and the stuff is still here, though he’s long since settled over there. :-) And, yes, I do have a plan in mind for working on this, at least to some degree.]

Anyway, you get the picture.  We have a lot of stuff out there.  Some of it is obviously not up for grabs, but between our stuff and my parents’ “leftovers” and my grandparents’ “left-behinds” there is quite a lot of potential.  My local sister-in-law has observed that digging through stuff out there is like opening gifts, and I think she has mentioned that it’s like going shopping.  It’s true too.

Awhile back I saw a blog post somewhere in cyber space, in which the author suggested the concept of “shopping our own stuff”.  She wanted a better furniture arrangement for their bedroom, and in looking around her own home realized she had a perfect solution in a dresser that her son was leaving behind when he left for college.  With a little TLC it suited her purpose exactly and cost her little to nothing, whereas a new or even used dresser would have meant spending money.

As you may know, I like to repurpose and recycle things (in the old sense of recycle, not the modern “save the earth” fad).  I also like “cheap” solutions – sometimes to my husband’s pleasure and sometimes to his chagrin.  Ahem.  Consequently, this lady’s experience and the memory of my sister-in-law’s comments have inspired me to not only continue something I was already doing, but to challenge myself to see what we already have that I could “make do” in place of buying something – to “shop our own stuff”. :-)  I admit, I have room to improve; however, I have found it not only to be a money saver, but also entertaining and challenging to my thinking. 

And, somehow I also feel that it’s in keeping with 1 Corinthians 7:31,  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.  Sometimes I think we Christians abuse our abilities in this world by running after things in the same fashion that this world tends to do, rather than working within the means God has given us in the things we already have at hand.

I’ve been working on a corner of our living room in particular and have made a little progress that I’m happy about.  I intend to share that with you at some point (when it’s more finished), but for today I want to pass on some other ideas which may help you get interested in this too. 

First off, this is something that I hope to do in our dining room.  We have an eclectic mix of blue and white dinnerware, and since I have some quite pretty blue and white collector plates, I was thinking that, whenever I can lay my hands on them again (yeah, they’re lost in the garage, I mean “store”), I’d like to use them like this - Plates as wall art.  I also have two or three plates that would look quite pretty in the bedroom.  Yes, why not think a little outside the box while we’re at it? :-)  I found plate hangers at Amazon.com and they weren’t too expensive, but if I can find what I want at a better price locally I’ll probably go that route.

Do you have a fireplace that you don’t use?  This is a simple way to make it look more attractive, and if you’re a candle person, you probably have what you need already.  Kids a safety issue?  Scrounge up an old fire screen to put in front of it if you don’t already have one.  Give it a coat of paint if it looks bad.  It doesn’t need to be heat proof for this, so painting it is OK.  (Btw – Double your light effect by putting an unused mirror behind the candles.)

My dad made my mom a large sewing table once by attaching a large closet door to the back of a long dresser.  It was great for cutting out patterns and spreading sewing projects out!  Here is a desk made from a closet door.

I like this idea as well: Turning CD cases into picture frames for wall art.  I will have to see if I can free up some our nicer jewel cases as this would also make nice flat wall art for those areas that are just a bit crowded – like our tiny second bathroom.  You could also use this to display your kids’ art, and it would be easy to swap it out from time to time. Use magnet strips on the back to make it into fridge art. :-) This also would be an interesting way to display pressed flowers and leaves glued to plain parchment or paper.  And, you could switch out your art based on the seasons.  (If you’re into seasonal décor, that is.  I have a dresser  – posing as a buffet  – where I put seasonal displays.)

Here is a dresser impersonating a buffet in our dining room.
This was a “leftover” from my parents. :-)

I’m sure you have possibilities among your own stuff that you could repurpose or reuse in some way.  If nothing else, when the urge to change your décor comes up, think about rearranging what you already have rather than going out and buying new things.  It’s amazing how something that is “tired” in one spot will look better when swapped out with something in another part of the house.

More in this series:

Shop Your Own Stuff – Storage and Organizing Potential

Shop Your Own Stuff – Bringing the Outside In

Shop Your Own Stuff – Shop Your Own Photos

Shop Your Own Stuff – The Corner of the Living Room

Home Keeping Links - Simple Home Improvements

Apple Dumplings, by George Leslie Dunlop

It’s been awhile since I did a link post, so here is one for you today.  These relate to making your house a more pleasant place, but don’t deal exclusively with the kitchen.  As always, I put a disclaimer on my links.

New Uses for Mismatched Dishes – What to do with some of the odd cooking and dining items that don’t match or don’t work in your kitchen?

Old Ladder = Kitchen Shelving Solution – If you have room for more shelving, but don’t want to spend the money on new cabinets, here’s a solution that might just tide you over till you can find something else.  Maybe you’ll like it so well you’ll just go with it.  Now to find an old wooden ladder…

14 Living and Dining Room Makeovers – Makeovers interest me, though sometimes I honestly think that the “before” picture is better than the “after” when the designer happens to have wild tastes. (Seriously, who would  paint a bedroom vivid, excitable orange? People are supposed to rest there.)  These particular re-dos I found to be pretty much improvements and there are some good pointers about painting colors on the walls and/or furniture to make a room look more spacious or friendly. Paint can be an easy fix, especially if you have friends that enjoy painting and are willing to help.  (Trade help if you need to.)

From OK to Great with A Little Paint (and other changes) Before and After – Here is a kitchen makeover that shows pretty drastically what some paint and a few changes can do for a kitchen without re-doing the whole thing!  I’m all for simple changes that make a big improvement.  As the Mexicans say, “Cheap, pretty and good”.  That’s the way to go.  :-)   This is quite inspiring to me as I have a very brown kitchen, thanks to the cupboards and paneling. 

By the way, you may be able to dress up your dishwasher without ordering an expensive new front for it.  You might consider getting a large decorative magnet to cover the front. (Test the front of your dishwasher with a magnet first to make sure it will hold one.)  This catalog store carries an assortment of magnetic dishwasher covers at reasonable prices (compared to others I found).  I have ordered two from them – one for myself and one for my sister-in-law.  We were both pleased with the results.  Do be sure to measure you dishwasher first, though, so you order the right size.  My husband did have to trim about a 1/4” off of the one I got so that it would fit my dishwasher without being “scraped” off whenever I opened it.  If your dishwasher is slightly too small, try ordering one that does not have an edge border so that it can be trimmed without distorting the picture.

Before:

After:

Another aspect of these home decorating ideas that I find challenging to think about is to use things that I already have to make our house more  pleasant.  In the decluttering process that I’ve been working on, I not only want to get rid of useless and excess things, I’d also like to find things that are not being put to good use and use them to improve our rooms.  I have already worked on this some.  This would be a good focus for a future post perhaps. :-)

Freezing Food for Easy Use --- and to Save Money

Since I usually am only cooking for two people these days, but sometimes for 4 or 6 or more, it is good to have a flexible method for freezing some food.  It occurred to me that it would be handy to freeze things like they do for commercial frozen food where you can reach in the bag and grab just what you want, or measure out the exact amount you need.  It also means you don’t have to take the time to thaw a large quantity when you are only going to need a couple of servings.  So, I started working on it and found some things that freeze well this way and work for my cooking habits.

The first step is to lay the food your planning to freeze out on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper.  You may skip the paper, but it will be harder to get them off.

[At right is a tray of kielbasa type sausages which we buy in quantity at Costco (a membership warehouse).  These can go straight from the freezer to the frying pan or into water to boil.  Cook over medium heat till heated through.  Raw sausages will take longer to cook than pre-cooked.]

Step Two – Place the trays in your freezer (in such a way that they won’t fall out when you open the door), and leave them there till the food is frozen solid enough to be moved to bags without fusing together again. 

Step Three – Move the food to plastic zip freezer bags marked with the content and date and store in the freezer.

Since the food is loose and not all stuck together you can take out as much as you need at a time.  This really works well for certain foods and makes a healthy “fast food” “repertoire” for you to choose from.

Here are baby carrots that I froze this way.  They may freeze from raw OK, but to speed up cooking I put as many as I want to freeze into a 2 qt. pot and almost cover them with water.  Then I bring them to a boil and turn off the burner allowing the carrots to sit in the water till they cool enough to handle.  This will partially cook them, but they will still be pretty firm.  I spread them on the lined cookie sheet, freeze them and later break them apart and put them into the freezer bag.  (I also save the broth from cooking them to drink as it contains added nutrients over plain water.  You could also use it for soup base.) 

To use these I usually add them to a dish of food that I’m cooking towards the end of the cooking time.  By the time they are thawed and the dish is done the carrots are done too.  For firmer carrots, add them closer to the end.  For softer, add them earlier.

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You can freeze serving-size strips of raw meat (pre-cut, or cut by you) also by laying them close together, but not touching, on the sheets.  Once they are frozen and bagged they can be used without pre-thawing them as they will cook quite fast.  You can remove just the number you need for the meal without thawing a whole steak or roast.

Individual pieces of raw chicken can also be frozen this way for quicker thawing or immediate use in stews and such.  (Do not try to bake it without thawing it first.)

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  Lastly, you can freeze broth for future use by pouring it in muffin tins and freezing it (don’t use the waxed paper for this).  It is important to freeze till they are solid!  Once they are frozen solid remove by popping them out of the cups one at a time.  Only run them under water (on the bottom of the pan) if necessary, being careful to only do one cup at a time and having your hand there to catch the frozen “cubes”.  Place them in the bag and return to the freezer as quickly as possible to avoid them melting and sticking together. 

You can either do an approximate measure or you can use an actual measuring cup to measure the broth the same way every time so you have an exact idea of how much broth is in each “cube”.  You can thaw and add this to recipes or add it directly to soups, stews, etc. when you need more liquid.  It is very handy, and it means you can buy broth in larger quantities and not have to worry about using it up before it spoils.  Or you can use up your homemade broth without it spoiling.  (Homemade broths can be used to make gravy as well, though I don’t recommend this with the store bought broths since they usually lack flavor in my opinion.)

New Uses for Everyday Items

A teapot I used as a vase.

New Uses for Serving Pieces – Appropriate those little used serving pieces for other jobs.

101 Uses for Everyday Things – A number of these items are technically “kitchen” items.  Some of the uses I question, but some are really useful.

50 All-Time Favorite New Uses for Old Items – Some non-kitchen things again, but a lot of interesting ideas.  (Note: I don’t think the stores would appreciate people collecting paint chips [or cards] for the purpose of making place cards.  I’m just saying…)

New Uses for Things In the Dining Room – There’s a little repetition here, but some good ideas too.  As regarding using a quilt as a table cloth, I suggest covering it with a piece of clear heavy vinyl cut the size of a table cloth.  You should be able to find this by the yard at a fabric store or Wal-mart.

A Modest Proposal – Rethinking Gift Giving for the New Year

 

Do you have a lot of stuff?  I don’t mean the things you use on a regular basis, or that are there to make your home look pretty.  I mean the stuff that is lurking in the garage, under the bed, in closets, perhaps in the attic or basement – the things that fall out on your head, keep you from finding the back of the closet, and make it impossible to park the car out of the weather.  I mean the things that you don’t use any more, that are not family heirlooms, and maybe you don’t even remember that you own!  That’s the stuff I mean…

A Modest Proposal

Go to my web page to read the rest of this article.  It got too long and I wanted to develop it too much to make it work well for the blog, so I moved it over there. :-)  I hope that it will interest you.  It should help us with our organizing efforts at the same time!  It’s always great to kill two birds with one stone.

Get Organized!

Here are some links to help us get organized.  There is some good advice here and some plain talking.  These ladies aren’t trying to sell us a product that will “help us organize”, they are just giving some good common sense.  If you’re like me, you probably don’t need more space, you just need to eliminate or store the non-essential and clutter items that are going nowhere and doing nothing to improve your life or home.  (And, by the way, if you have a reasonable size house to start with, you don’t need a storage unit to put this extra stuff in.  Get rid of it or give it to someone who will use it!  Why pay to store things you don’t truly need?  And, if you really, really can’t part with something, buy a small portable shed – used, if possible – and store it yourself.  It will save money in the long run.)

Stand Up and Move – Toss and Store – This isn’t the actual title of this article, but it’s the part I like best; maybe because it applies to me! :-)

Get Organized Part 1 – Who knew that getting organized could improve our quality of living so much?

Get Organized Part 2 – Where the rubber meets the road.  Telling us what we need to hear.  (The author has CFS, by the way, so she is not unsympathetic toward those who have genuine disabilities and encourages us to work in small increments.)

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After reading some of these I got inspired to clean out under my bathroom sink and discard or give away anything that I wasn’t going to use or didn’t need, and to move at least one thing to a more logical location for storage. :-)  That area had been bugging me because it was too full and cluttered.  Since I want to move to more natural cleaning products it was a good time to eliminate things that I wasn’t likely to finish up.  Too bad I didn’t take some “before” and “after” pictures. ;-)  Later I may show some other projects I’ve been working on (the sewing room) or that I want to work on (the back bedroom).

And, lest ye think that my mess can’t be as bad as yours, here are a couple pictures for proof.  (Don’t look at these in the evening.  They might give you nightmares.) :-)

The back bedroom – dumping ground for various and sundry and sorting area for boxes not yet unloaded since we moved here.  Though the pile has somewhat improved, it is still difficult the move around in there…

The sewing room (before the desk and machine were set up in there).  This mess actually got somewhat organized and some of the things were put away or tended to; but, believe it or not, the mess in there is actually worse now than it was in this picture!  Ack!  (More later on that.)

A Great Way to Save Money

Here’s a timely reminder for all of us who live in materialistic societies. :-)

Don’t Buy Stuff – a blog entry from Heavenly Homemakers

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

I think that it is very interesting that the eyes are mentioned in the same context as the laying up of treasures.  How often our eyes get us into trouble when it comes to coveting things! 

(This alone is a good reason not to watch television or subscribe to magazines that are full of advertisements, by the way.)

The Western world is full of the idea that if you want it then you should have it, yea, you even deserve it.  Those who desire to serve God must fight this temptation and urging of society because we cannot serve God and the lust of things at the same time.  They are incompatible - as darkness and light.

1Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

In this spirit of this I also suggest you read this post at my dad’s blog: What Are You Holding Onto?

1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Notice that “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  That is a powerful statement and something we ought to take much to heart.  After all, this world is so temporary.  It “passeth away” (present tense – it is in the process of doing so continuously, in case you hadn’t noticed).  And, it is all going to burn according to 2Peter 3:11-12, Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

I wonder how often we remember that the will of God for us is to “love not the world”?  We get so caught up with the things of this life sometimes that I’m afraid we tend to forget that. 

Hmmm…I am wondering how to implement this. Maybe writing “Love not the world” across my wallet in permanent ink would be a good reminder. :-)  Putting a sticky note on the credit/debit card with this on it might help too. 

What are your ideas?