binder clips cable organizers

this is one of those 'why didn't i think of that' ideas. via boingboing, i now have a cheap + easy way to organize my array of ever-expanding collection of usb cables. genius!

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homemade chocolate syrup

homemade chocolate syrup... there is nothing better!

it is inexpensive, free of artifical colors, preservatives + best of all, you control the sugar content. here's how to make it...

ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 cup cold water 

1 tablespoon vanilla

combine cocoa + sugar, blend until all lumps are gone. add water + salt, mix well. cook over medium heat, bringing mixture to a boil. keep boiling until thick, stirring as needed to keep from overflowing {usually 3 minutes}.  remove from heat and let cool, add vanilla. 

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create the perfect silhouettes

now add the family for the perfect silhouette...





check it out at http://www.widdlytinks.com/myfamily/silhouettes/

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growing sweet potatoes {part 1}

this year we have a new addition to our garden, sweet potatoes.

unlike white potaoes, sweet potatoes are not grown from seeded potatoes but rather from slips. so follow along as my 'sp' take root. part 1 is creating the slips.

to start your slips, you need several healthy, clean sweet potatoes {store bought is fine}. each sweet potato can produce up to 50 slip sprouts. to create sprouts, carefully wash your potatoes and cut them either in half or in large sections. place each section in a jar or glass of water with half of the potato below the water and half above. use toothpicks to hold the potato in place. the slips need warmth, so put them on a window ledge. in a few weeks your potatoes will be covered with leafy sprouts on top and roots on the bottom.

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fruit easter basket

candy easter basket are great for kids but what about adults? moms? husbands?

my ideas for the 'big' people in my life is yummy baskets. it looks like a beautiful bouquet of flowers in yellows, reds and oranges but it is actually a unique fruit basket with skewers of pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon and grapes fashioned into flowers. so break out your cookie cutters and pairing knives be creative... it is really easy {i promise}!

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diy marshmallow peeps

did you know that 'peeps' were introduced in 1958 by Pravin Pant Sr., a nepali immigrant? they are a staple in every little girl + boy's easter basket.

this year i created my own barnyard of  'peeps' with a bag of marshmallows, water {to act as a glue}, colored sugar, jelly beans + an edible marker. what will you make?

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eco dyed easter eggs

the incredible, edible egg... why mess it up with synthetic colorants! this year i went eco + dyed our eggs naturally. mother nature gave us such beautiful colors to choose from. with the help of this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SinJ8t4YoUk here's how i did it:

- hard boiled white free range eggs 

- white vinegar {2 tablespoons for every quart of water}

- egg cartons for drying

- added paper embellishments with tiny dots of glue

- natural egg dyes 

red - beets or cranberry juice produce a dark reddish hue

pink - frozen cherries produce a very light pink

yellow - 3 tablespoons of tumeric produce yellow

green - spinach leaves produce an earthy green

blue - a head of red cabbage creates blue

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diy hummingbird nectar

now that my wine bottle hummingbird feeders are made, it's time to fill them with some diy nectar. here's how...

1. mix 1/4 c. sugar and 1 c. water together.
2. stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. place in pan over medium heat + boil for five minutes.
4. allow to cool to room temperature.
5. pour into hummingbird feeder.
6. cover any unused nectar and refrigerate for up to five days.

note: you can add red food coloring if desired.

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create a wine bottle hummingbird feeder

there are a few pleasures that can be enjoyed for free and one of my favorites is watching hummingbirds feed. with the arrival of spring right around the corner, my weekend project is diy wine bottle feeders. here is how to do it...

supplies:
wine bottle {red is best as the color attracts the hummingbirds}
copper wire
hummingbird feeder tube

directions:
1. wrap six or eight gauge copper wire around the neck of the bottle several times. continue wrapping until you reach the base. thus creating a spiral wire cage around the bottle.
2. wind the last three feet of wire into a hanger.
3. insert feeding tube.
4. hang near your flower garden + enjoy!

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it's american chocolate week

sunday marked the official start of 'American Chocolate Week'. seriously, this is a real holiday {link}. so in honor of the bestselling chocolate bar, snickers, i am heading to the kitchen to try my hand at the homemade kind {but without the blindfold}.

Cloning a Snickers Bar video

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homemade irish cream

top o' the mornin' to ya!
yes, i have been sipping some homemade irish cream... how about you?

ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups irish whiskey, brandy, dark rum, and/or kentucky bourbon
2 tablespoons chocolate flavored syrup
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

directions:
combine all ingredients, mixing well, and store in refrigerator. use within seven days.

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homemade febreze

frebreze: an expensive fabric refreshener and odor remover
homemade frebreze: an inexpensive fabric refreshener and odor remover alternative

here's how to do it...
1 cup fabric softener
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water

place ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. test a small unnoticeable area first. use as needed, being sure to shake well before use.

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celebrating pi day

yesterday was pi day. i made mini lattice topped apple pies... how did you celebrate?

from piday.org : Pi, is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…

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hello sunshine

hello sunshine.

hello daffodils.

hello springtime!

surely you have someone {or thing} to say hello to this weekend. click here for my free 'hello' notecards download.

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container gardening :: potatoes

each year we plant a huge organic vegetable yard {nearly 1/2 an acre}. it is so much work + so rewarding! while the big planting weekend does not happen until after the derby, i got off to a bit of a head start today with some potatoes.

everyone knows that growing patio tomatoes is easy. but did you know that growing patio potatoes is just as simple? instead of planting them in the ground, planting them in buckets will save you lots of time and energy. no need to plow the ground, weed the garden or dig the potatoes up once matured {just turn the bucket over dump out your crop of fresh potatoes}.

here's how:

1. acquire seed potatoes!

some say that you can use store bought potatoes that have the shoots on them, but i do not recommend this because store bought potatoes are chemically treated.

2. drill holes in your bucket about two inches from the bottom + some on the bottom as well. potatoes love good drainage.

3. add four tp six of potting medium into a five gallon bucket.

4. put the potatoes eye-side up in the bucket + cover lightly with soil.

5. water well.

6. keep adding soil as your plants grow. continue until your bucket is full. in a few months your plant's leaves will turn brown, this is how you will know it is time for harvesting.

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with a pinch of love

need a hostess gift on the cheap but from the heart? click here for my free recipe cards download.

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redecorating with upholstery

my repurposed + oh so girly office chair.

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homemade hostess cupcakes

my kness go week when the word 'chocolate' is spoken! with raspberry + cake, there is nothing better. today i whipped a batch of homemade hostess -like cupcakes.

for the cake, i used good 'ole packaged devils food cake {with an extra 1/4 cup of cocoa powder}. then i looked to foodandwine for the filling + frosting. the only change i made was to eliminate the marshmallow fluff and replace it with 1/4 cup of strained homemade raspberry jam. so delicious!

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you've been framed

i absolutely ♥ this idea!

it is on my to do list for the weekend. recycled frames + pretty bags... how can i go wrong. what will you frame this weekend?

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luck o' the irish

and i made st patrick's day cookies too!

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spring cookie bouquet

memba' my post last week about the diy cookie cutters? well, i am still on a cookie baking kick + ready to see the spring flowers pop their little heads from the ground. until then, its spring cookie bouquets for all!

sugar cookie recipe is here.

royal icing recipe is here.

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honey popcorn, honey

sweet.
crunchy.
salty.
healthy{ier}.
addictive.

my leftover popcorn metamorphosized {or was repurposed if you will}. i am lovin' it!

easy easy easy how to:
in a saucepan add approximately 1/2 cup organic local honey with 1/2 cup butter or margarine.
warm just until the butter is melted.
pour desired amount onto bowl of popcorn and stir to coat.
place mixture onto a cookie sheet + bake in a 350 degree, stirring often.
when mixture turns light brown {about eight to ten minutes} remove it from the oven and continue to stir.
as mixture cools, it will get crispy.

note: too much honey + you will have a gooey mess. start conservatively + add more as desired.

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plain brown popper

i love my popcorn the old fashioned way, cooked in a pan on the stove. but today i was really lazy and resorted to the plain brown popper. the ingredients in microwave popcorn include artificial flavors + other things i can't pronounce... gasp! read on + learn how to pop healthy corn for just pennies.

all you need to do is take 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, put them in a brown paper lunch bag, fold the top over a few times + pop until the kernels stop {which is usually two to three minutes}. you can also add oil to the bag at the start but this will produce a slightly greasy bag to clean up.

garnish as you like + enjoy!

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