Emebellished Vases on the Cheap

Sunset mag.'s blog "Home by Sunset" has a cute tute on embellishing vases with reed placemats. Easy peasy sooooooo I luv it.

Golfer's Delight (aka: Trail Mix Bars)

I call these bars "Golfer's Delight" because my husband, who is a golfer, is delighted when he eats one at the turn. Without a mid-game snack his energy fades but he didn't like the idea of eating all those preservative filled "power bars". So, I began making some at home. The sugars give a quick boost to one's energy, the oats kick-in pretty close after while the almond protein digests nice & slow so you doesn't have an energy crash 60 min. later. I bake a bunch of them, cut them into single serving sizes, wrap them in plastic wrap & store them in freezer in a big zip lock bag. Defrosting only takes an hour or two so you can just grab one, pop it into a lunch bag & by-the-time someone is ready to eat it it is, well, ready to be eaten. The recipe (which has been adapted from an online recipe from "I Can't Remember Where" blog ages ago) is as follows...

Ingredients
4 ½ cups rolled oat
1 cup flour (white, whole wheat or a mix is a-ok)
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butter (soft)
½ cup honey
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup craisons (dried blueberries or cherries also work nicely)
½ cup (heaping) whole almonds
½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees & grease a 9x15 inch pan.

2) Combine the first four ingredients in your largest bowl. Add honey, brown sugar, butter & vanilla. The batter will be quite sticky & heavy so scrub up and use your hands to mix.

3) Add rest of ingredients & mix until combined.

4) Press the "dough" evenly into the greased pan. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. If undercooked they will crumble. They are nearly impossible to burn so better to over bake them then under bake them I say. Allow pan to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut into "bars" BUT leave them in the pan until they have cooled completely.

5) Enjoy!

Homemade Natural Air Freshner

I like to make my own air fresheners. Inexpensive, all natural, enviro. friendly (the reusable packaging) & just plain ol' lovely! The "recipe" is as follows...

Ingredients
15 drops of your fav. essential oil
1/2 tsp vodka (helps "keep" the scent from evaporating)
1 cup water

Instructions
1) Add oil drops & vodka to spray bottle. Shake to mix.
2) Add water & shake again.
3) Mist away!

Popular oil mixes in our house includes (equal parts) ...

• sandalwood, pine & juniper for an earthy, forest-y scent
• lavender & a citrus like grapefruit for a light, refreshing scent
  
• juniper, eucalyptus or tea tree with lavender for antiseptic-antimicrobial action (good to spray when family members are sick! Double the oil amounts for this one.)
• clary sage (good for that cranky time of month)
  

Note: Don't spray people, pets, wood or fabric.

Table for Two Please

Great idea for a "double desk" from do it yourself magazine. Free, instructional PDF available.

Plain Jane Apron

My mum (again) requested a business only apron. No frills, no pleats, no nothing. Boring I know but she gave me life so I figured I should accommodate her request. I used the "Cafe Apron" pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. The pocket was free styled.

Shoulder Bag

I made a shoulder bag for my mum. The strap is nice and long so she can also cross it over her chest if she wants.


Here is a close up of the cotton lining. I was worried the 2 fabrics would look silly & mismatched but I think they worked out ok. Thanks for the great tute "Tiny Happy"!

Ugly Empty Christmas Cookie Tins?

If you're like me you've got at least half a dozen. God, I hope I didn't eat allllllllll those cookies myself! Here is a sweet tute from Design Sponge on how to cover those tacky lookin' snowflakes & santas & start reusing those tins for bigger & better things.

TP Cosy Tutorial

Fab-u-lous idea if you have cats &/or kids who just luv to play with the toilette paper roll. Nice work "Just Tutes". Keep 'em coming!

Stick It to the Man - DIY Pincusion!

I made this pincushion. Denim bottom, cute cotton top (black with little retro irons), sunshine yellow embroidery thread and a silver button. I tugged the embroidery thread too hard afew times & it broke soooooo be careful. Thanks Whipup for the great tutorial!

Cute Magazine Blog

The "Monica Makes It" portion of Sunset mag's blog is delightful. I esp. luv her "Sunburst Mirror"!

Bike Helmet Ear Warmers

These are abit silly but I couldn't not make them for my good friend Ruth who commutes to/from work each day on her bike. They are earmuff-y type things for a bike helmet! You knit 4 triangles & then stitch two together along the sides leaving the ends open. You then insert the helmet's strap into one of the triangles and voila ear warmers for when you ride. I got the pattern from Men Knit Mag - Fall/05.

Lace is Sugar Sweet.

Even if you don't follow the "Iron on Ruffle Shirt" tutorial the lace ribbon template/pdf is worth the visit alone!

Craftster.org - Best of 2007

Whew. I'm haven't even finished looking through Crafter's best projects of 2007 post and I already have sooooooo many bookmarked!