Quick & Cheap update to outlets

SUPER cheap & quick update to electrical outlets and/or light switches.  Both of these cans of spray paint were under $10 and I could probably paint every outlet in our house!  That's a big savings if you have ever looked at updating your house with pretty covers. 

Here's the paint that I used.  I wanted the covers to be textured to look like stone and the screws to blend.

 I poked holes in an egg carton to hold the screws while painting and drying.

 And crumpled foil under the covers to hold them off of the bottom of the box.  Then in a well ventilated area, spray away!

 Here's an idea of what it looks like when it is finished.

 I did have to spray multiple times to make sure everything was covered without being drippy.  The picture at the bottom looks a bit strange with shadows, not a lot of natural light in the house today.

Duct Tape Bag

Here is the easy peasy version of a duct tape bag.  This one is definitely kid friendly!  There are so many different ways to make bags and I will show you some others later.  For this one though you basically just cover an old party or shopping bag with duct tape.  Like I said, so easy anyone can do it!  These happen to be bags for Halloween but the possibilities are endless!! 

Here are the steps I used to cover the bags.  It isn't even necessary to cut the bag if you don't want, but I have found it makes the whole project go much faster and easier!

 Supplies: Old bag & various tape (the white is glow in the dark!)

 I cut the bag down the side and across the bottom so it will lay flat.

 Then cover the bag either horizontal or vertical, makes no difference.

 I used glow in the dark on the bottom because I was running out of candy corn.

 I use little strips to hold everything in place.

 Then tape the sides together.

 I forgot a picture of making the edge at the top for a clean look.   Then make 2 handles the same length and fold in half.

 Then tape the handles to the inside.

 Finished product. 

 Here's bag #2 with tape in different direction.  Honestly it would probably be cheaper to buy a bag at the store, but if I get the chance to play with tape, I'm going to do it!!  =o)

Cabbage Patch Box Stroller Costume

I've got a few tips on making a stroller costume for your little one.  I made this one for last year so there aren't step-by-step instructions, but it would be different for each stroller anyways so here is the basic idea.

I can't get over how tiny she was!!  <sniff, sniff> Anyways, here is the completed project so that you can see the basic size.  This stroller is one of the travel system strollers so there is a tray across the front.

Supplies: Box, blanket, scissors, tape, wrapping paper, zip ties, & printer.  Oh, and I used an actual birth certificate from one of the dolls that the girls have.

We had this green blanket that I pinned to the stroller to keep in from sliding and I also cut some off to cover the tray.  Remember to cut holes for the safety straps!!  The picture above I had just popped her in for a quick picture (in the kitchen actually) but on Halloween night she was properly secured.

 Basically I held the box up to the stroller and made pencil marks where I thought I wanted it trimmed.  I trimmed small amounts at a time to make adjustments rather than trying to add back to the box.

 Here is the bottom, I wanted her feet to have room, but still appear to have a bottom.

 Behind the semi-circle/logo area, I taped on a support piece that held on to the tray of the stroller so that all of the weight was not on the zip ties (see below)  Then came the painstaking process of wrapping this bad boy in paper.  It is patched and pieced together using LOTS of packing & colored duct tape.  It is far from perfect but every single person knew exactly what it was supposed to be ;o)

Here's the best picture I could get of the zip ties.  I poked a hole through the top and also on the back to thread one through, then chained together more to make it the correct length for the stroller.  One final zip tie to the handle of the stroller completed the process.

I am a HUGE believer in use what you've got.  Look around and see what can be re-purposed!!  Halloween should be FUN and not bank account draining!  And if you need any help or suggestions just comment below!

 Cabbage patch, stroller costume, doll box, baby doll costume

Stew in a Pumpkin

IT IS FALL!!!!!!  TIME FOR PUMPKIN!!!

 I was going to name this Pumpkin Stew which is what we call it, but there isn't actually any pumpkin in the stew per say.  Once the stew is cooked in the pumpkin you can scoop out the cooked pumpkin along with your stew if you please.  This method can be used with any stew recipe of your choice but I am showing it with beef.  Basically pick out a pumpkin about the size of your cooking pot or slightly larger.  Shorter more stable pumpkins seem to work best, taller ones may need some aluminum foil in the pan to keep them from tipping over.  This also works great with small individual pumpkins and the extra work is generally worth it when your guests ooh and aah their bowls!  

Start your stew stove top until the stage where you would simmer and walk away.  At that point you would ladle your stew into your cleaned out pumpkin placed in a casserole dish for stability, lightly oil the skin, and place foil over the stem.   Bake your stew between 300-350 depending on if you want it to be ready in 1 hour or 3.

Here's my recipe that I used today.  Stew is one of those meals that is never the same way twice for me.  I use whatever I have in the fridge or needs to be used up before it goes bad.  I don't usually buy ingredients specifically for a stew.  I will use red or russet potatoes, regular carrots or baby, onions or shallots...... as well as broth, or stock, or bouillion.  Stew is how I clear the pantry ;) 

 If using meat I will add about 2 TB of flour and season liberally with salt, pepper, & paprika then let it sit and come to room temperature before browning.  See picture below the flour can't even be seen.

 Brown the meat evenly in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.  I add the vegetables and let them cook for a few minutes before de-glazing the pan.  Once again stew varies today I took the time to peel the potatoes but I don't always. 

 After de-glazing add broth or water and bring the pot to a boil.  This is when I add the stew to the pumpkin.  I placed the pumpkin in the casserole dish ahead of time and oiled the skin. **Make sure that your dish is extremely durable because this will be HEAVY!

 I am a little short today.  I would actually rather have too much stew for the pumpkin, but I could not resist the shape of this one and the stem was so pretty! 

 Put the lid on and cover the stem with foil and into the oven at 300 degrees for 1-3 hours.  It isn't exact science, whenever the meat is tender it is ready. 

 Give it a stir every so often and you can see here that this pumpkin has shrunk some and the stew has started to cook through.

 ALL DONE!  Look at how pretty this is!!! 

And below is one from a previous year when I got a little fancy with the opening

Gluten & Dairy Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Hey there everyone!  I'm not gone, just been catching up on projects around the house.  We will announce some news soon and for you other Military Families you probably know what's happening when fixing up the house.............

So anyhow, here is a super simple recipe for making Peanut Butter cookies that happen to be gluten and dairy free!  There's no alternative flours or milks just a good ole cookie most of us can make just with pantry items.  You will need only 4 ingredients: Peanut Butter (smooth or crunchy), Sugar, Egg, & Vanilla.  This will make 24 small cookies.  I like making little cookies so I can have more ;o)

  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees & most likely you can have these on the pan before it preheats!

Now here's one of my favorite items, measuring cup with a plunger! Of course I took the picture of the wrong side for solid measuring but you get the idea.  Makes measuring things such as peanut butter, shortening, mayo, ketchup, etc. so much easier!!


 In a bowl mix 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg, & 1 TB vanilla.

 I use a scooper to keep the cookie sizes relatively close.  These need a little space but they do not spread too much.

 Then smoosh (yes, another technical term) them down with a fork to get the usual cross hatches on the cookies.  I am also loving this new silicone mat!  Parchment paper also works great for cookies.

 Here they are ready to go into the oven for 10 minutes.  Well, technically I have figured out that with our oven they need 10:45.  Too early and they fall apart but at 11 minutes the bottoms are too brown.

 They will look a bit fluffy when they first come out of the oven.  Don't worry they will flatten as they cool.  Let them cool 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

 Here's a double batch cooling for a bake sale.  However, don't count them...... there MAY be a few that didn't make the picture. HAHA