Our Burlap Forest

Normally at Christmas time there are snow people everywhere in our home.  This year I decided on something a little different...just for a change.  Oh and by the way.....we still have a few snowmen here and there.

We both love old and rustic stuff, so that was my theme this year.  On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby I gathered up a few supplies to make some burlap trees for the mantel.

I made 4 different trees.  The first one was the tallest and it was already a cardboard form.  I simply wrapped it with burlap ribbon.

Nothing hard are too much to tell, just grab the glue gun set on the lowest setting and glue the beginning of the ribbon to the form.  Continue wrapping and gluing all the way to the end.

The smaller trees were Styrofoam forms, not so easy to just wrap and glue.  I had to cover them with Kraft cards stock paper first.

Do a test run by just wrapping the paper on the form until you get it the way you need it to cover the form completely.

Again, using the glue gun on the lowest setting, glue the paper to the form.  Make sure you get all the edges glued for a smooth base.

Finally, trim the paper down to the size of your form.  Save the leftover paper as filler for your larger forms.  The 8 1/2 x 11 paper doesn't quite fit the larger forms.

Now that they are all three wrapped, I can get to gluing the ribbon on.  NOTE: I know I keep repeating myself about the glue gun and using the lowest setting, but burlap has holes in it and it WILL get on your fingers.  The lower setting is safer but still be very careful!  Ok, I'm done harping! LOL!

For the smallest tree I used a thin woven ribbon with fringe on both edges.  This does not have to be perfect, just wrap and glue as you go.  Tuck in and glue as you need to.  No two trees will look the same.

For the largest of the smaller trees, I used a wider ribbon with fringe on both sides.  This is the same ribbon I used for the really tall tree.  I cut little sections about 2 1/2" long and started gluing them on slightly overlapping them as I went along.

Ok, here's the first two all done.  Looking so cute!  I decided to use some more of my burlap feed sack to make the medium tree.

I just cut up some strips, no certain size, just cut strips, long and short.  I started at the bottom and moved my way up to the top overlapping and layering as I went.

Here are the 3 smaller trees.  I think they turned out really cute!  I was having so much fun that I was kind of sad when I was done with the last one.

Here they all are up on the mantel hanging out with our ruler star we just picked up at an antique mall recently.  So cute! I love them!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

Cornbread Salad

This recipe is a family favorite and I just know you'll love it as much as we do!  This is another easy to put together recipe.  I got this recipe from a nurse friend a really long time ago.  She brought this dish to our work place Christmas celebration and I loved it and asked her for the recipe.  She told me it was a family recipe that she'd been making for years.

When asked what they want me to make for the holidays, this is what my family always picks.  It's not the best recipe for you if you're watching your caloric intake, but it sure is yummy!

Cornbread Salad
2 packages of cornbread mix - bake, cool and crumble
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups salad dressing (Miracle Whip)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp course black pepper

After you bake your cornbread, let it cool completely before you try to crumble it, if not it will be sticky and clump together.

A rough crumble will be adequate, it will break up into smaller pieces as you work in the rest of your ingredients.  After I crumble my bread, I add all the other ingredients and then "stir" by hand.  It's a bit messy, but you get everything incorporated better.

Of course it going to be better if you let it sit in the fridge over night, but it is still good right after you put it all together.  I hope you try it.  Enjoy!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

2 Easy Buntings for Your Fall Decorating

We don't have a lot of decorations for Thanksgiving, but we do have a few. I also made a few new ones, I made two different buntings from items I already had around the house.  They are both very easy to put together. Easy is good, right?

This is what our mantel looks like right now. Very minimal huh? I like it!  I even kept the little 2x4 pumpkin out that I showed you how to make HERE.

First is the Folded Bookpage Bunting.  So easy a kid can do it!  Remember when you were a little girl and you folded notebook paper into a fan? Same technique here, just use old book pages. 

I folded each book page in half  long ways and then folded them in half again at a slight angle, punched a hole in the bend and then strung them on a long piece of jute twine.  There are 12 single pages in the center of the bunting and then the two "fans" on the end are four pages together.  I made a loop in the jute on each end for hanging.

Now for the Natural Pinecone Bunting.  Even easier, well if you have a sweet honey to help you like I do!  Thank you Baby!

You'll need something to hang your pinecones on the twine.  We used some heavy wire and my honey bent them by hand (with pliers) into little hooks for me.  I tried, but I'm too weak! LOL!

Next, drop a dollop of hot glue on the bottom of the pinecone and add your hook.
Now its ready for hanging on a long length of jute twine.

I hung the big pinecones on the outside and little ones on the inside, but that's how I roll! :)

If you follow me on Instagram you may have already seen this picture.  My little photo bomber Sarah!

And speaking of photo bombers...meet Zel!  He's the sweetest boy EVER!  I really love the simple decor our little fire place is sporting right now. You know.....its almost time to break out the Christmas goodies!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life

BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

Spicy Pinto Beans for the Crockpot

My honey loves pinto beans! I do too! In the cooler months we may be known to have pinto beans almost every weekend in some form or fashion. It's normally a weekend thing because I always let them simmer on the stove top all day long.  I've found a really yummy crockpot recipe and I'd like to share it with you.

You know what I'm going to say next. Right? YES! I found the recipe on Pinterest. (Thanks Apron Gal!)  Love me some Pinterest!  This recipe is so easy that you wont even realize you're cooking, especially since you're using your crockpot. The recipe has eight ingredients and that includes the water. Simple huh?

Spicy Pinto Beans

2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed (no need to soak)
1/2 yellow onion chopped coarsely
2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced finely
1 tblsp minced garlic
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
5 cups water

Add rinsed pinto beans and all other ingredients to the crockpot.  Pour in water and stir to mix ingredients.

Turn crock pot to low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. If you are able, stir a few times throughout the cooking time.  At the end of the cooking time, the beans should  be soft and most of the water will have soaked into the beans.

We like to add a little smoked sausage to our beans and have buttered cornbread too! Comfort food for sure!  Texans and their beans! Love, love love 'em!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
Get Your Crap Together
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

Texas Jalapeno Jelly

Even though the other plants in our raised bed gardens are done, our pepper plants are still producing lots of peppers.  We were beginning to have an over abundance of peppers, so I decided to make some jalapeno jelly.  I found a recipe on Pinterest HERE.

Although I've made jellies before, this was my first try at jalapeno jelly.  We love jalapeno jelly on our toast or peanut butter sandwiches, but it's really good as a party idea when you pour a jar of the jelly over a softened stick of cream cheese and serve with buttery crackers. Yummy!

The original recipe is HERE, but I will list the recipe I used for my jelly.  It's basically the same, just a little different.

Texas Jalapeno Jelly

6 small jalapenos seeded and sliced into strips (I used gloves for this step)
5 small green peppers sliced into strips
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pouches of Sure-Jell
6 drops of green food coloring (I opted not to use the coloring)
Canning jars with fresh seals and lids

• In a blender add half of your peppers and 1/2 cup vinegar.  Pulse to chop finely.  Transfer to large pot for cooking.

• Repeat with remaining peppers and another 1/2 cup vinegar.  Add the sugar, cayenne and remaining vinegar to the pan.  Bring to a rolling boil stirring constantly.  Quickly stir in Sure-Jell.  Return to a rolling boil for one minute stirring constantly.

• Remove from heat and skim off foam.  Add food coloring now if desired.  Carefully ladel hot mixture into half pint jars leaving a 1/4" head space.  Remove air bubbles by gently tapping jars on the towel covered counter top.  Wipe off rims and add the seals and rings.

• Process for 10 minutes in boiling water making sure the jars are covered in water at least an inch over the tops.  I got 8 jars of jelly out of my recipe.

Removing the foam from the hot mixture is tricky.  Be very careful not to burn yourself.  I skimmed the foam out onto a paper towel and then just threw it in the trash.

Just look at the different colors the sunlight creates on each jar.  TIP: Have your seals sitting in hot water and ready to pop onto your freshly filled jars, this softens the rubber on the seals for a perfect fit.  My honey used tongs to pick the seals out of the hot water and place them on the jars.  Lastly, add the rings and tighten down.

I used my big stew pot to process the jars.  All eight of the jars fit into the pan and I made sure the water covered them all while they boiled for 10 full minutes.  When the timer went off my honey used the jar tongs to remove the hot little beauties from their water bath.  He lined them back up on a towel to cool.  You should hear the seals popping to let you know they are sealed.  There will be no movement of the seal when its completely sealed.

It's so yummy and I think I may make more to give as gifts for Christmas.  Who doesn't love a little jar of homemade jelly as a gift?

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
Get Your Crap Together
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

Yard Sale Tips

So recently we had our second yard sale since living here in our Clover House.  It was a very profitable and BUSY day.  We did good yall!  We did have a few things stolen (sad huh?) but all in all, it was a great day.  We even met some of our new neighbors!  In this post I'm going to share some tips that I found very helpful from this yard sale.

Before the Sale

• Start gathering up your items early.  We started 2 weeks before the sale.

• Place an ad in your local paper or advertise in some way. Use the ad to highlight your most awesome items to draw customers. Also, you may want to add the phrase "No Early Bird Shoppers".  It works!

• Purchase or make your price tags. Write clearly and large enough for people to read them.

• Make your signs or purchase them. They should be brightly colored and easy to read.  Have plenty of signs with directional arrows pointing to your sale.

• Wipe off the dust or wash items and make them look nice. Throw away really stained or broken items.  If you wouldn't buy it at a yard sale, no one else will want to either.

• Price your items. I know its a pain, but it will be so much easier on you and your shoppers. The only things I didn't price was the clothes and I made signs around the clothing area listing the prices.

• Gather grocery sacks and newspaper to hold your shoppers treasures.

• Have plenty of change on hand. We had a roll of quarters, 50 ones, 8 fives and 5 tens. I wore my honey's home depot nail apron to keep my change in, worked great!

The Day of the Sale

• Hang tarps or sheets over areas of you garage you don't want to be included in your sale.

• Have an electrical outlet available for "testing" of electronics.

• Arrange your tables with plenty of walking room for your shoppers.Be careful with things sitting on the floor so that they don't become a trip hazard.

• Hang things that can be hung and fold things that need folding. Make your tables look nice.

• Arrange like items together.  Holiday items, kitchen items...etc.

• Make yourself a "sitting area" to take money and sack up the goods.

• Have someone to help you, this is not a one woman show! Thank you honey and Jake!

• Put out your signs when you are ready for shoppers.

• If someone wants you to "hold" something  for them, politely ask them to pay first then gladly hold it for them,  This way you wont just be stuck with the item or miss out on a sale if they don't return.

When sorting and gathering, we tried to stack like items together to make it easier when setting up the day of the sale.

Bigger items like small appliances got hang tags, others got little sticker tags. Be sure to write clearly if you use the hang tags.

Use boxes with the prices written on them for like items.  We had two boxes of books, so instead of tagging each one, this was an easier way.

Grouping your like items at the sale makes it more eye pleasing and your customer can mix and match easier. Since it was close to Halloween, these items went fast!

Here's our homemade signs.  We used bright red poster board and I cut out letters and arrows using my Cricut Expressions machine.  After we had it just like we wanted it, we placed it all on a piece of ply-board and used packing tape to make them rain proof.  Make your signs all alike and large enough to read from a distance.  Use arrows pointing the way.  Always list your address so shoppers know who's signs they are following and where they are going.

Hang your clothing if possible, if not, fold them neatly and in alike stacks.  I made a sign listing the clothing prices.  Can you see it there taped to a hanger and hanging at the end of the "clothes rack"?  That clothes rack was my honey's idea.  He used a heavy rope and a piece of conduit pipe and hung it from the rafters of our car port.

Give yourself a "sit down and take money" area.  You can see mine there to the right.  We just used our patio chair and table.  I kept my little stickers and hang tags in that basket under the table for just in case I needed to reprice something.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou,  Home Coming, 

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster  Confessions of a Plate Addict

Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206.  Herrban Momma,  Family Home & Life  ,Oh My! Creative

Thursday
Bloom,    The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love,  Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
 From My Front Porch To Yours

Friday 
Lil’ Luna,,  Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles,    I Heart Nap Time,    Crafts a la mode

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

DIY Taco Seasoning

I always love to find a recipe that saves money and is better for my family.  Of course I found this idea on Pinterest HERE.  Thanks Kim!  With this recipe you know exactly what's in your taco seasoning, unlike the prepackaged varieties you buy at the grocery store that could have who knows what all in it.

I've been using this recipe for several months now and I love it!  Normally I just add all my ingredients in my jar and shake to mix, but for today I placed each ingredient in a bowl for you to see.  It's kind of pretty huh?  The recipe below is doubled, so just cut the measurements in half to create a lesser amount.  This makes a full jar.

Taco Seasoning

4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp paprika
6 tsp cumin
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.  I store my jar of mix in my spice cabinet on my giant lazy susan for easy access when cooking.

NOTE: One store bought packet contains 2 tablespoons of mix, so 2 tablespoons of homemade mix will season 1 to 2 pounds of meat.

This is the mixture all blended together.  Looks just like taco seasoning but better.  Its not so powdery like the ones you buy in the stores.  It just looks healthier to me!

This is my storage jar.  Can you guess what originally came in the jar?  Yep, you guessed it! Marie's dressing.  I love the coleslaw dressing, that's what this one had in it.  YUM!

Now guess what the lid was from, because obviously it wasn't on the dressing bottle!  It's a shaker top from Parmesan cheese!  This way you can either spoon it out or just shake a little on your dish.  Another Pinterest idea of course! Haha!  Have I ever mentioned I may have a Pinterest problem?

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou,  Home Coming, 

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster  Confessions of a Plate Addict

Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206.  Herrban Momma,  Family Home & Life  ,Oh My! Creative

Thursday
Bloom,    The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love,  Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
 From My Front Porch To Yours

Friday 
Lil’ Luna,,  Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles,    I Heart Nap Time,    Crafts a la mode

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,   Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest