Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Tip-sy Tuesday: opening clamshell packaging

This tip is from postfun.com: That hard clamshell packaging is almost frustrating enough to make not buying something worth it. Almost. Next time, skip almost cutting yourself with scissors or scratching cup your fingers and use a can opener to open the package.

I tried this idea and sure enough, it does work - but not easily. It totally mangled and chewed up the edges so if I wanted to return whatever was in the clamshell packaging it wasn't going to be pretty haha. But it works and was an interesting experiment! 

By the way - if you have a can opener that is difficult to use (like turns really hard) my favorite is by Swing-A-Way, I've had good luck with them and they're easy to crank. Just fyi. 


8.15.22: baked walleye





Posted by at No comments:

Monday, August 14, 2023

How to Sew a Pillowcase

When cleaning out my mom's house we found an old sheet that she had saved of our brothers - Jenny had the idea to make pillowcases out of it and I loved that idea. I've never made a pillowcase so of course spent way too much time watching youtube videos before remembering it's just a rectangle and get making one already hahaha. 

The sheet is 64"wide x 95"long and the pattern runs across the width. I wanted the pattern to be horizontal on the pillowcase so I had 64" max to work with - standard pillowcases are approx 20x30 with about a 4" hem on the open end but I didn't have that much fabric so my hem is only about 2". There are lots of videos showing how to do special hems or cuffs but short of sewing on additional fabric I couldn't do anything special. 

For each pillowcase I cut a rectangle 64" x 21 1/2" figuring on a roughly 1/2 inch seam for the sides. Fold in half with right sides together and sew the long ends together. I made a second seam using a zigzag stitch along the raw edge to help it not ravel. Fold the open end back 2" and iron. Unfold and fold the raw edge under about 1/4" and iron, folding the edge under and then folding again will help keep the raw edge from unraveling. Sew the hem close to the folded edge, Then again about 1/4" from the first seam. 

Turn right side out, poke the corners from the inside to get them fully turned. Iron so it's nice and sharp and you're done. Easy!

If you have more material to work with you can make a deeper hem/cuff or endlessly watch videos to see how to do some different cuffs!


1/2" seam where the pin is above

and a zigzag seam along the raw edge (the pin is pointing at it in the above pic)


2 seams to hem the open end (where you'll insert the pillow)




it also works as a cover for the back of my office chair. the pattern is going
the 'wrong' way but it's still cute and I enjoy seeing it every day while working!

8.14.22: 🔥 week 33

8/14.21: buffalo dip




8.14.17: make a personalized shopping bag

8.14.16: quebec chicken



Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, August 13, 2023

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 33)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

8/6: 🔥 week 32

8/7: baby play ring

8/8: TT herb flowers

8/9: bacon and boursin stuffed peppers

8/10: shortcut chicken pot pie

8/11: MSTI coffee chiller update

8/12: words

Super short recap this week, we are up north camping and I'm waiting for friends to come over for lunch (burgers, bean and corn salad, potato salad) and I'm out of time to share anything else today. See you next week for more recipes, crafts, projects, whatever I can think of to make (or get other people to make for me!) at camp. Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SIS! 



Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, August 12, 2023

8/12 ~ Words





8.12.22: candied almonds

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, August 11, 2023

My Sister Tried It: Coffee Chiller Update

If you have been reading any of my past posts you might remember I discovered the most amazing life changing thing and posted about it. It was a fantastic coffee chiller. Here is the gist: you put water in the plastic outer chamber, screw it into a metal inner changer and freeze it. You then can brew keurig coffee right into it,, leave it sit for 30 Seconds and pour your chilled coffee right into a glass. Voila! Cold coffee at home in seconds! 

I loved this so much and enjoyed happily for the last couple months.. and then.. something terrible happened. 

The outer plastic cracked. Brooke thought perhaps I filled the water too full so it co I’lld take it when it expanded? Good theory and it’s possible?  I then went and re read more Amazon reviews. Turns out I am not the only one this happened to!! Turns out I should have read more thoroughly before I purchased. That brings us to today and this post. I did some research and have found this same type of chiller but metal!! Tried it today and worked just the same but no plastic!! Anyway- just wanted to post an update in case anyone else likes cold coffee like I do! Give it a try! 



8.11.20: TT - brownie liners
8.11.18: boozy bears (gummy bears soaked in vodka!)
8.11.16: citrus pesto


Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie by Jenny

I had a recipe I made once in awhile a few years ago for homemade chicken pot pie. It’s delicious but takes a little too much time. That led me to deciding to try a cheater version. (Aka a Jenny version vs. my sisters version). Haha. 


Here is what I did- and it was delish. 
  • Rotisserie chicken
  • Bag of stir fry veggies 
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can broccoli and cheese soup
  • Can of reduced fat crescent roll dough
Remove chicken from bones, cut into pieces. Microwave veggies until just slightly cooked. Add all together and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly.  While that cooks break crescent roll into bite size pieces. When chicken/soup/veggie mix is bubbly Place dough pieces on the top and cook for 10 minutes more until crescent roll is browned. 
Super delicious and super easy. Definitely fits my criteria for cooking. 😉

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Bacon and Boursin Stuffed Peppers

LeDonna gave me the idea for these stuffed peppers and it's my new favorite breakfast. We are growing mini sweet peppers* and she cut them in half, stuffed them with boursin cheese and topped with a piece of precooked bacon (click here for another bacon and boursin recipe they came up with) and put them on the grill until the peppers were soft and the bacon crispy. I took the same idea but put mine in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and they are terrific!



*side story - the little tag thing in the plants from the nursery said I was planting mini red sweet peppers but what is growing are green and the size is in between mini and full sized peppers - so weird! I'm not a fan of green peppers but topped with bacon and boursin they are my new favorite hahahah. 

8.9.22: TT mangoes

8.9.21: texas caviar

8.9.20: ðŸ”¥ week 32

8.9.19: paper straw easels

8.9.18: hemp dog necklace

8.9.17:  zucchini muffins

8.9.16: mason jar lunchables

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Tip-sy Tuesday: Herb Flowers

My herb pallet garden is growing like crazy and if I don't keep up with trimming the plants then many of them will start to flower (right now my oregano is covered with flowers). Usually I cut the flowers off so the plant will stay full and bushy, and I've always thrown the cut flowers out - I just looked it up tho and most herb flowers are edible and safe to eat, and generally taste like the herb leaves. 

I found this additional info at gardeningknowhow.com: 

You can use edible herb blooms in syrups, cold beverages, as a tea, salads, baked goods, desserts, and many more applications. There are also other edible flowers like nasturtiums, violas, hollyhock, marigold, English daisy, and Dianthus. Flowers of some vegetables are also delicious like squash and artichoke.



Posted by at No comments:

Monday, August 7, 2023

Baby Play Ring

My niece is having her baby in the next day or so, I'm posting this idea for a baby play ring that I will definitely be making for my new grand nephew or niece once I can figure out how to get it to her in N.C. hahaha. I love it - they've wrapped a hula hoop with fabric, ribbons, toys; I see what looks like a duster thing, some pompoms, bells, maybe a loofah? I don't know what all is on this inspiration picture but it's a cute idea, I'll post my own picture after I make one (unless she reads this post and tells me she doesn't want it LOL)!


8.7.22: ðŸ”¥ week 32
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, August 6, 2023

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 32)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap of what happened at camp last week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~

7/30: 🔥 week 31

7/31: watch band beaded loops

8/1: TT beading tip

8/2: bacon-wrapped steak bites

8/3: chocolate mug cake

8/4: MSTI overnight oats

8/5: words

What's Cooking ~

  • grilled tuna, coconut rice, creamy cucumber salad (with tomatoes), roasted garbanzo beans
  • pork chops, sweet potatoes, broccoli
  • cheese and broccoli stuffed chicken breast, rice packet, roasted green beans
  • burnt ends, potato salad, caesar salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

  • read "Bluff" by Jane Stanton Hitchcock and really enjoyed it. It's a good murder mystery plot line, it's not predictable and full of twists and turns, good characters, and some poker thrown in. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • "Book Lovers" by Emily Henry is a cute rom-com, romance is not my favorite genre but this was a quick fun read and I'll look for other books by this author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • "The Hotel Nantucket" by Elin Hilderbrand about a remodeled luxury hotel that has a harmless ghost, another good beach read (I've read a string of them lately and it's been fun) that I enjoyed. Good plot line, characters, behind the scene staff issues - all in all I'll go with a ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

That's it for this week, come back to see more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we think to make at camp next week! Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 



Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)