try it or buy it

Peanut Butter Cups… Kind of

2013-05-15T22:34:00.000-04:00

Did I just make buckeyes? I think I did. I set out fully intending to make peanut butter cups, but in my effort to avoid the little paper cups, I ended up with a different candy! The recipe is from One Good Thing by Jillee, who got it from RadMegan. The only ingredient I changed is the chocolate. Instead of using a bag of chocolate chips I bought bulk bar chocolate.

You will need

2 Tbsp organic butter ($3.79 per 32 Tbsp, $3.79/32Tbsp = $.12 x 2Tbsp = $.24)

14 Tbsp homemade peanut butter ($1.53 per cup, $1.53/16Tbsp = $.09 x 14Tbsp = $1.34)

¾ cup powdered sugar ($1.56 per 2lb, $1.56/7.5cups = $.21 x .75cup = $.16)

About 1 lb quality chocolate ($4.99 per lb, $4.99 x .9lb = $4.49)

Delicious peanut butter filling

I know you want to eat one.

Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Stir in the peanut butter, then the sugar. Refrigerate. Once it’s firmed up a little, scoop up teaspoonfuls (I happen to have a scoop for this, but you can also roll spoonfuls into balls) onto a plate and put it in the freezer. While it’s freezing, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate with a fork, scraping excess chocolate on the side of the bowl. Lay the dipped ball on parchment paper, silicone mat, or flattened plastic bag. Freeze until firm and peel off the mat.

Note about working with chocolate- even though you are melting the chocolate over water, DO NOT LET IT GET WET! The chocolate will seize and you'll have to toss it.

Combination dip/spoon on the chocolate, then scrape the excess off on the bowl edge.

Where is my silicone mat? This worked surprisingly well in its absence.

Try It

$6.23 for 1.03lb, or $6.05 per lb

Buy It

Martin’s has bulk mini Reese’s for $4.49 per lb

Verdict

They are crazy good. I have a lot of chocolate left over, so I might re-dip them for a little extra chocolate kick. Unfortunately they are a little pricey compared to the pre-made ones, so even though they were pretty easy, especially since I made them little at a time throughout the day, I think I will just Buy It. It was worth a shot, anyway!

Cream Cheese and Brownie Double Fail

2013-05-08T21:40:00.000-04:00

Just want to say - 2013 has not been my year so far. Though it's had its moments, it's mostly been a year of sick kids, a severed pinky tip for Elizabeth, an unusually wild Spencer, bad weather, and general blah-ness. Thanks for hanging in there with me, people! Maybe when the warm weather finally gets here for good it’ll clear out the cobwebs a little and I can get some great projects going!

I was actually pretty excited to try out a homemade cream cheese recipe. There’s a reason that I haven’t tried to make bagels yet. I have the good fortune to live near the best bagel shop I’ve ever been to: Bodo’sBagels. They’re soft inside, chewy outside, a little crunchy on the bottom… They’re better than real New York bagels. I’m serious. We got a bunch over the weekend as we do periodically and shoved them in the freezer after tearing into a few. So I thought cream cheese would be perfect, and the recipe didn’t look too difficult…

I’m not even going to break it down for you, it was such a fail. The sad part was I know what I did wrong, and if I had time to go back to the store and get all the curdled nastiness off everything in time to write this, I would have. I just forgot that you can’t use ultra pasteurized milk to make cheese. Eesh.

FAIL

At least Spencer had fun!

So I thought I’d make a brownie in a mug, a great replacement for those simultaneously genius and ridiculous (and wasteful!) WarmDelight things, and a perfect little treat for a rainy Wednesday. I’ve made it before, but last time it came out pretty dry, so this time I went on Pinterest to look at the wide array of recipes. I went for this one because it was touted as not being dry and spongy. I must have missed something, because instead it came out rock hard and inedible! Eesh again. Since I still have the first recipe, I’ll break than one down instead. It’s pretty good. I originally found it though my friend Em’s family blog.

FAIL

You will need

¼ cup organic flour ($4.99 per 5 lb, $4.99/80 oz = $.06 x 1.375oz = $.08)

¼ cup sugar ($2.99 per 5 lb, $2.99/80oz = $.04 x 1.875oz = $.08)

2 Tbsp cocoa ($3.00 for 8 oz, $3.00 x 2.8125 cups = $1.07/16Tbsp = $.07 x 2Tbsp = $.13)

1/8 tsp salt ($.47 per 26oz, $.47/30.69tsp = $.02 x .125tsp = less than $.01)

1/8 tsp baking soda ($.31 per lb, $.31/31.5Tbsp = $.01/3tsp = $.003 x 1/8 tsp = less than $.01)

1 organic egg ($3.99 per 12, $3.99/12eggs = $.33)

3 Tbsp organic milk ($5.99 per gallon, $5.99/128fl.oz = $.05 x 1.5fl.oz = $.07)

3 Tbsp vegetable oil ($2.79 per 32fl.oz, $2.79/32fl.oz = $.09 x 1.5fl.oz = $.13)

These are easier to make in a small bowl than an actual mug.

In a small bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Stir in egg, followed by the milk and oil. Place bowl in microwave for about 2 minutes. Cook for additional time if needed, but it’s better underdone than overdone!

Try It

$.82 for a single serving. They say it serves two, but who are we kidding- you’re going to eat the whole thing.

Buy It

Oddly my local grocery store didn’t have them, but Warm Delights are $15.92 for 8 on Amazon, or $1.99

each for the 3.35oz size.

Verdict

For a quick chocolate fix, this does hit the spot. Try it. Not the rock version, but this one. And don’t go to the grocery store after supper in the rain, you’ll get distracted and forget important things like ultra pasteurization!

Sweet Potato Chips

2013-04-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had sweet potato chips? They’re pretty much the best thing ever. When I was pregnant with Spencer I ate a ton of them made by Route 11. Crazy good! Fast forward to this morning, when I found myself giving a dry-looking sweet potato sitting on my counter the stink eye. “What am I going to do with you?” I saw on Pinterest that you can make potato chips in the microwave, but even though that sounds novel, it also sounded a little gross. I used a Martha Stewart recipe to point me in the right direction for making them in the oven, and took it from there.

You will need

1 sweet potato ($.87)

2 Tbsp olive oil ($2.99 per lb, .06lb x $2.99 = $.18)

Salt to taste, ½ tsp (est) ($.47 per 26oz, $.47/30.69tsp = $.02 x .5 tsp = $.01)

I've definitely seen fresher sweet potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the sweet potato in ¼” rounds (you can peel it first if you want, I left the skin on). It’s more important that the slices are even than that they are ¼”. Toss the slices with 1 Tbsp of the oil. Spread the other Tbsp of oil evenly onto a baking sheet. Spread the slices onto the sheet in a single layer and bake for about 30 minutes, flipping them half way though, and watching them CLOSELY towards the end! Remove them from the pan when they come out of the oven to stop the cooking process, and sprinkle them with salt.

A little dark, but still great.

Right towards the end of the baking time Spencer’s preschool carpool pulled up and the chips got a little overcooked, but they were still delicious!

Try It

$1.06 per… I ate them all before I could weigh them.

Buy It

$1.50 per 1.5oz bag

Verdict

Well, it’s hard to compare since not only did I eat them ALL before I thought to weigh them, but they’re also just really different. I like that mine don’t involve a plastic bag, and they’re pretty tasty, so I’ll say Try It. I think I prego burned out on the Route 11 version, anyway. You could also go a cinnamon and brown sugar route seasoning them, I do that to wedges sometimes (in which case you would add the seasonings to the olive oil before tossing).

Brown Sugar Oatmeal "Packets"

2013-04-16T13:39:00.001-04:00

Spencer loves oatmeal, the sticky glue type that comes in packets that my mom keeps. I won’t buy them, I think they’re gross. Thankfully, there seem to be a number of recipes floating around to mimic these. I first saw the idea on The Simple Dollar, but that wasn’t so much a recipe as a guideline. I found this one on Allrecipes. I liked it because it was simple and used old fashioned oats which have a much better texture than instant. I only made half a batch of the original in case I didn’t like it, and made a few slight changes.

You will need

2 cups organic old-fashioned oats ($1.49 per lb, $1.49/16oz = $.09 x 8oz = $.75)

½ cup wheat germ ($2.79 per 16oz, $2.79/3.5 cups = $.79 x .5cup = $.39)

6 Tbsp packed brown sugar ($1.79 per 32oz, $1.79/4.73cups = $.38 x .375 cup = $.14)

½ tsp cinnamon ($1.97 per 2.37oz, $1.97/2.37oz = $.83 x .03oz = $.02)

This is what I decided powdery looks like, but if it's too coarse you could blend everything again after tasting it.

Put the oats in a food processor, and blend until kind of powdery. Add the remaining ingredients, and pulse until combined. Store in an airtight container.

Ready!

To prepare oatmeal, pour ¼ cup of mixture into a bowl. Add ¼ cup milk, stir to combine, and microwave

for 30 seconds.

It looks terrible, but it was delicious!

Try It

$1.30 for 10 37.5g servings, or $.13/serving ($.35 per 100g)

Buy It

$3.59 for 10 43g packets of Quaker’s Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, or $.36/packet ($.83 per 100g)

Verdict

Holy moly that stuff is good! I was expecting to feel better about Spencer eating it since it’s not pasty and sticky sweet, but since I’m not a big oatmeal person, I didn’t expect to like it myself. It has texture and flavor. Definitely Try It!

Biscuit Baking Mix

2013-04-09T13:59:00.000-04:00

I make biscuits from scratch. They’re too easy to cheat. My friend made a crustless quiche that was really fantastic, so I asked for the recipe, and it included biscuit mix. Since I had no intention of using a whole box, I looked up a recipe. Easy peasy. I only made .83 of the original recipe, because who needs 11 cups of biscuit mix? Crazy!

You will need

¾ cup, 1 Tbsp, and 1 tsp organic flour ($4.99 per 5 lb, $4.99/80 oz = $.06 x 4.58oz = $.29)

2 tsp baking powder ($1.79 per 10oz, $1.79/59.06tsp = $.03 x 2tsp = $.06)

½ tsp sugar ($2.99 per 5 lb, $2.99/80oz = $.04 x .08oz = less than $.01)

1/8 tsp salt ($.47 per 26oz, $.47/30.69tsp = .02 x .125tsp = less than $.01)

1 Tbsp and 2 tsp vegetable oil ($2.79 per 32fl.oz, $2.79/32fl.oz = $.09 x .83fl.oz = $.07)

Mix all the powdered ingredients together in a bowl. Add vegetable oil and mix it in with your fingers till it feels crumbly.

The line up-

Vegetable oil feels so soft and lovely when you're mixing it into the flour.

The quiche turned out wonderfully. I can’t speak for making actual biscuits from this stuff, I imagine they are passable, but why not make real ones?

Try It

$.43 for about .78cup, or $.55/cup

Buy It

$3.79 for a 40oz (8.75 cups) box of Jiffy Biscuit Baking mix, or $.43/cup

Verdict

Even though it’s more expensive to do so, I will continue to Try It because it’s really fast and easy and I use it so infrequently.

Downsizing a shower caddy and other stories

2013-04-02T10:01:00.000-04:00

Lettuce vs Spring Greens

I used to buy spring greens. I know, they’re expensive. But they seemed so convenient, they were just ready to go when you opened the container, and they were tasty! Not so convenient, though, was dealing with the disgusting remains in the container when it inevitably went bad before I could eat it all. What a waste, not to mention the container itself! Then when I went on my crazy Caesar salad kick I remembered hearing somewhere that if you keep lettuce in the salad spinner it’ll keep for a long time. Boy does it keep! It’s awesome! If you have the fridge real estate to devote to the spinner, give it a try.

Swiffer Replacement Pads

I bought a Swiffer years ago to take care of the minimal mopping I do. In my quest to reduce waste, I stopped buying the Swiffer wet pads, but I didn’t have a plan for what I would replace them with. Looking at the Swiffer pad, you can see that any cloth would fit into those little spots on the top, so I shoved a micro fiber cloth in there, and tried spraying the floor directly with my vinegar mixture. And guess what- it works just as well, costs much less, and leaves no faky clean smell! Success! They also work pretty well as a sweeper pad replacement when you use it dry (Spencer does this for me sometimes and calls out “Swabbing the deck!”).

Any cloth will do!

Downsizing in the Shower

Change has come to my shower, but I’m not done yet! I started to write all this out, but I thought it might be easier as a table:

Products I used 2 years ago	Products I currently use	Products I’d rather be using
Sisal bath mitt	Homemade sisal scrubber	Homemade sisal scrubber
Skintimate shaving gel	Reject conditioner	Bulk soap
Venus razor	Venus razor	Safety razor
Oil of Olay soap	Bulk soap	Bulk soap
Liquid face wash	Aveeno face soap bar	Bulk face soap
Suave shampoo	Suave shampoo	Baking soda rinse
Suave conditioner	Suave conditioner	Cider Vinegar rinse
Method baby shampoo	California Baby shampoo	Bulk soap, solid shampoo
Method kid shampoo	Reject shampoo, bulk soap	Bulk soap, solid shampoo

So you can see what I’ve switched out in my attempts to simplify. Some change comes slowly, since it takes a while to perfect a routine, and I first need to use up all the crappy conditioner and whatnot I have in my cabinets. My method for using it up is to use bad conditioner as shaving lotion, and use bad shampoo on the kids (well, just Spencer, Elizabeth will be using her California Baby shampoo till it’s gone, which might be another year at this rate!). I’m really interested in trying out the no ‘poo method of washing my hair, but I’m waiting till summer when I don’t have to look as presentable since I hear there is a transition period where you look terrible.

So there are three of the ways I’m trying to reduce my waste and simplify my life these days. What about you? What change have you made that makes your life easier?

Diaper Cream

2013-03-26T13:50:00.000-04:00

I have been using the same 2.5fl oz jar of cloth diaper safe rash cream since June 2009. You heard me. I don’t know what it means, but it sure was thrifty. It came with my starter package from The Stork Diaper Service (which is a great way to get into cloth without spending a ton, by the way). Instead of researching what to buy next or tracking down the local maker of my Melissa’s Majik Baby Balm, I just took to the web for a recipe. This was more complicated than I expected, because most recipes included an assortment of pricey essential oils, or zinc- an ingredient that is not cloth diaper safe. I eventually found this one from Ecocrazy Mom, which appealed to me because it was simple, and I had all the ingredients. I modified it very slightly to make it a little softer and cheaper.

You will need

1 Tbsp olive oil ($2.99 per lb, .03lb x $2.99 = $.08)

2 ½ Tbsp coconut oil ($9.99 per 14fl.oz, $9.99/ 14fl.oz = $.71 x 1.25fl.oz = $.89)

¼ oz beeswax ($7.19 per 5oz, $7.19/5oz = $1.44 x .25oz = $.36)

1 drop tea tree oil ($12.49 per 2 fl.oz, $12.49/720 drops = $.02)

Small heat proof jar (free, reused my old diaper cream jar)

Just like the lotion, that wax took forever to melt.

I didn't have a dropper, so I dipped our thermometer in the bottle to get a drop out.

Place your jar in a small saucepan and fill the pan with water until it is almost as deep as your jar is tall. Heat the pan over medium high heat. Add the first three ingredients to your jar one at a time, starting with beeswax, then coconut oil, then olive oil (this is only important if you are using a very small jar like me where it might overflow if you’re not careful). Heat until all the wax and coconut oil is melted, stirring periodically. Remove the jar from the water. Add tea tree oil, stir to combine, and allow to cool completely.

Next morning, balm is ready to go!

Try It

$1.35 for about 2fl.oz, or $.68/fl.oz

Buy It

I don’t remember what I paid for my jar; it was discounted as part of a package deal, but Melissa’s Majik

Baby Balm currently retails for $8.50 for a 2.5 fl.oz jar, or $3.40/fl.oz. (and if you aren’t up for making it, this stuff is pretty awesome!)

Verdict

The homemade version is 20% of the cost of store bought. It did the job very well, but is was still a little hard for my taste. Next batch I might add a little more olive oil and a little less beeswax. Having that much wax makes me a little nervous, anyway, because I’m not sure if it will wash out. Try It, it's great, and the tea tree smell is very faint.

Croutons

2013-03-05T09:42:00.002-05:00

You know those people who get stuck on things? You know, that roommate who plays the same Hank Williams CD for a month straight, the person who might as well live in a uniform because they wear the same clothes till they fall apart, and are happy to eat the same thing for days on end till their husband cries “enough with the quiche already!”. Yeah, I’m one of those. Right now I’ve been in a serious Caesar salad kick brought on by a giant wedge of Parm that I bought on sale. I went through two bags of croutons before I decided that I better try making them if I was going to continue to burn though croutons at this rate. I looked at a number of recipes, and while they all seemed to think they had some secret, they were all basically the same. I ended up using a very simple one from Allrecipes.

You will need

6 cups of bread, cubed- about ½ a large loaf of French bread ($3.99 per loaf, $3.99 x .5 loaf = $1.99)

1 stick organic butter ($4.79 per lb, $4.79/4sticks = $1.19)

2 cloves organic garlic, finely minced ($.50 per bulb, $.50/15cloves (estimate) = $.03 x 2cloves = $.07)

Bread cubes, ready to toss!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook for about a minute. Add in bread and toss until evenly coated. Turn bread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until dry.

Post tossing- you can see how uneven the butter is.

That’s what I did, but it’s difficult to get the butter evenly distributed by tossing in a pan, since the bread just absorbs the butter immediately. Next time I would put them in a large bowl with a lid and drizzle the butter over and then shake to coat before turning them onto the baking sheet.

Did you think that was a family sized salad? Nope, that's my lunch.

Try It

$3.25 for 6 cups croutons, or $.54/cup

Buy It

$2.49 for 5 cups of Fresh Gourmet Classic Caesar Croutons, or $.49/cup

Verdict

Croutons are not hard to make, and they’re pretty good. They didn’t stay as crisp as I had expected, I think because the butter soaked into some more than others and left the soaked ones with an odd texture. The store bought croutons are actually cheaper and more delicious, so I need to either suck it up and Buy It, or just cool it on the Caesar salads!

NEXT WEEK: Diaper rash cream

Deodorant

2013-02-26T11:01:00.002-05:00

I know I’ve mentioned before that I’ve switched to baking soda in lieu of deodorant. The problem is, if I haven’t showered before applying the soda, it doesn’t go on nicely. Two of the blogs I follow- Crozette and Smashed Peas and Carrots- have covered this topic in the last couple of years, so that was the first place I went for inspiration. The recipe Allie used had a lot of ingredients, so I nixed that one for now. Maggie’s recipe only had three ingredients, all of which I had on hand. Perfect!

You will need

2 to 3 Tbsp Coconut oil ($9.99 per 14 fl.oz, $9.99/14fl.oz = $.71 x 1.5fl.oz = $1.07)

2 Tbsp baking soda ($.31 per lb, $.31/31.5Tbsp = $.01 x 2Tbsp = $.02)

2 Tbsp cornstarch ($1.17 per 16 oz, rough estimate = $.04)

Mix the soda and starch together in a bowl. Knead in the coconut oil until fully incorporated, starting with 2 Tbsp, and adding until you reach a good consistency. I used about 2 ½ Tbsp. Roll into a ball and store in a air tight container.

Squish it around with your fingers

Next time I'll mix it in a bigger bowl.

Ball-o-deodorant

Maggie said she stores hers in the fridge so it’s a hard “stone”, but if I don’t put deodorant on before I go downstairs it doesn’t happen, so I need to keep mine upstairs in the bathroom for everyone’s sake! After a few days I figured out how to apply it without making a mess, just take a pinch and rub it on with your fingers.If you like the smell of coconut, you'll love this stuff!

Try It

$1.13 for 3 oz, or $.38/oz.

Buy It

$5.39 for 2.25 oz of Tom’s of Maine, or $2.39/oz.

Verdict

I was skeptical, but it’s actually pretty fantastic! Thanks again, Maggie (two posts in a row, yikes!)! Definitely Try It, it’s 16% of the cost of storebought, and works just as well as any other deodorant. (Note- It is not an antiperspirant, which contains aluminum. Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s among other things! Not good!) If my Tom's container doesn't break before it's used up like the last one did, I'll refill it with homemade stuff when it's gone as Allie did, but using it as I do is just fine for now.

Next Week: Croutons

Sewing projects

2013-02-12T11:19:00.003-05:00

Between Pinterest and various blogs that I follow, I’ve been making a few things lately from other people's tutorials. They aren’t really the type of thing I usually cover here, but I think they came out pretty well, so I thought I’d share.

Casserole Dish and Carry Cases

At Christmas my sister, Sara, and I made some etched casserole dishes with insulated carry cases. My sister is a real-deal artist/architect/designer and has skills! It was really fun to make these together, I miss collaborating with my sisters. We made two sets plus a smaller dish from three different tutorials: We used the one from 2 Little Hooligans for the carry case, modified by this post on Homemade by Jill. Then we used this tutorial for the etching from Make It and Love It.


Beautiful Kenyan batiks. I have a mei tai in the left hand fabric my friend Em made me.

Sara copied the wheat design from the batik for this one.

This dish we etched along the sides. It's an aspen leaf.

Cost break down:

Dishes ($14.19 for one dish, plus $17.29 for a set)

Etching Cream ($17.98 per 10oz bottle) note- If I had it to do over again, I'd just buy the 3oz bottle

Contact Paper and painter's tape (free, left from home renovations 6 years ago)

Cloth (free, gifted)

Webbing ($15)

Velcro (can't find receipt, I think it was about $7)

Insulation ($11.98)

Total: $83.44 for 5 items, more or less $16.69 per item.

I know it sounds expensive, but this covered 3 families on my gift list, it was fun to make, and it was split between me and my sister. (Plus I now have a freaking lifetime supply of etching cream.)

Reversible Pinafore

I also made this sweet little reversible pinafore for Elizabeth from a tutorial on Smashed Peas and Carrots. I’ve been staring at this page for months waiting for Elizabeth to be big enough to wear one, but it still came out too big for her. She’ll be ready before summer, I hope! I’m a little obsessed with pinafores. Somewhere between an apron and a dress, I think they are so cute and versatile and useful! I just might start wearing them myself...if I can improve my sewing. I made one small change to the pattern. Inspired by this other tutorial from dee*construction, instead of cutting all the pieces separately then sewing them together, I taped my pattern pieces together and cut them as one continual piece. It's not as cloth-conservative, but I really like the simplicity of it. Next time I might be brave enough to draft my own pattern!

Cost break down:

Cloth ($13.98)

Buttons ($2.39 for 5, $2.39/5 = $.48 x 4 = $1.91)

Thread ($1.23)

Total: $17.12 (A local boutique sells them for $40)

It's cute, but next time I'll get bigger buttons and try to make it fit better. Since it came over Elizabeth's knees, she got so mad trying to crawl that she attempted to rip the pinafore off!

Hand and Body Lotion

2013-02-05T21:36:00.000-05:00

I’m almost out of lotion. With a winter like the one we’ve been having, this is a big problem! Since I knew I wanted to try making lotion when my stock got low, I’ve been looking all over the web for weeks looking for a recipe that didn’t contain lotion as an ingredient (seriously?), contain ingredients I wasn’t comfortable with, and ideally one that I could make plastic free. And I found it! This recipe is from muffindiaries.com, but the author says it came originally from a book called Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World (Which I now must find because the preview on Amazon made it look like a great resource!).

You will need

¾ cup olive oil ($2.99/lb, .36lb x $2.99 = $1.08)

¼ cup coconut oil ($9.99 per 14 fl oz, $9.99/14oz = $.71 x 2oz = $1.43)

1 oz beeswax ($7.19 per 5oz, $7.19/5oz = $1.44)

1 cup water at room temp (free)

Simple ingredients. Bulk olive oil is nice and cheap!

Before putting it over heat.

Bring a few inches of water to a simmer. Put the olive oil, coconut oil, and beeswax in a pyrex measuring cup (or wide mouth mason jar if you don’t have one), and place the measuring cup in the pot of water. Leave the cup there until all the coconut oil and beeswax have melted.

Wax half melted. If I make this again I'll chop the wax, it took forever!

While your oil is melting, fill a blender halfway with hot water so the blender will be warm. When everything has melted, pour the water out of the blender, dump in the hot oil, put the top on, and blend on the lowest setting to start. In a slow constant stream, add the room temperature water to the oil, scraping the sides of blender as needed. Add as much or as little water as you like to reach a consistency that works for you, but keep in mind that your mixture is warm, and will become less runny as it cools. Store in a wide mouth jar.

If you would like to add an essential oil, you can add 10 drops after taking the oil off the stove, before you put it in the blender. I skipped this because in case you haven’t heard me say it 1,000 times yet, I am very smell sensitive and prefer unscented lotion (plus I’m cheap like that). Without any essential oil the lotion has a really pleasant and mild honey scent that I very much enjoy!

Big crazy mess of a blender!

Finished!

Try It

$3.95 for 16fl.oz, or $.25/fl.oz

Buy It

I currently use Aveeno and Kiss My Face lotions, Aveeno is $6.99 for 12fl.oz, or $.58/fl.oz.

Verdict

I like it okay, and I know my reasons for Trying were mostly about packaging, not a displeasure with my current lotion, so it makes it hard to switch. I’ve given it a solid 4 days. I like the light honey scent, and I like that it’s chemical free, but it’s just really greasy! (I know, I combined wax and oil, what did I expect?) I'm really on the fence. I’ll use it up, but until I find a recipe I like better, I’ll have to Buy It, but I don’t feel good about it. Also- the most difficult part of this project was cleaning the blender. I think if I do try this again I’ll do it in the food processor which comes apart more for cleaning. It is really difficult to get the wax out from under the blender blades!

Classroom Valentine's Day Cards

2013-01-29T13:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it's not even February. The thing is, if your plans involve a kid helping, you have to snatch that help when they are willing to give it, so plan early! Spencer loves art and craft activities for about five minutes at a time, and you never know what time that will be.

I had two things I was trying to include in our Valentines this year: Spencer’s drawings, and bubbles. My sister got married this past August, and my mom still has about 30 of those little send off bubbles to get rid of. I looked around in my craft cabinet, and made a plan.

You will need

Bubbles (gifted from my mom and sister, free)

Paper board (came in boxes we moved with, free)

Construction paper (about 4 years old, free)

Markers (about 4 years old, free)

Hole punch (from high school, free)

Yarn (left from my first knitting project ever, free)

Scissors (ancient, free)

Glue (came with a plane kit Spencer got, free)


Please ignore the poor kid's hair, it was my first time trying to cut it and I didn't realize he has a cowlick in front!

Draw a heart on a piece of scrap paper. If it looks lopsided, fold it in half, and cut out the good side. Trace the heart onto the construction paper and cut it out- we made 13, one more than we needed. Let your kid draw on the hearts. Lay one of the hearts on the paper board and trace around it, making it large enough to leave a nice boarder around the construction paper. Trace this larger heart onto the paper board and cut it out along the inside of the mark, leaving all the marker off your heart.


It looks rough now, but you can clean it up as you cut it out.

Matching up which picture is for which friend. He was very specific about this!

Write your message on one side of the paper board. I like to keep it very simple. I thought for a second about some cheesy “you blow me away” but I remember as a kid thinking those lines were so ridiculous, so I go with a sincere “Happy Valentine’s Day (name)!”

Glue the hearts together. Once the glue is dry, punch a hole in the heart, thread the yarn through the heart and the bubbles, and tie a bow that a preschooler can untie.

Look at that focus! Spencer picked out the yarn color.

Finished!

Try It

Using all things I found around the house, this project was free)

Buy It

I happened to see Goodwill has class sets for $.25!

Verdict

I saved $.25. Not an impressive savings. It was fun to get Spencer involved this year, he really liked drawing and deciding who each one was for, and he got into threading the yarn into the holes in the hearts and bubbles. I say Try It- I still believe what I said last year- it’s a fun project to get me into the spirit of the holiday. I also just like the idea of using what I’ve already got!

Biscuits

2013-01-23T09:52:00.000-05:00

In my last year of college I made a friend over biscuits. Sloan made fresh biscuits every morning, and shared them with his dorm and passersby. Sloan was the first person I knew that made EVERYTHING from scratch (and made it well!)- he homebrewed, made his own pickles, cheese, pizza dough, pasta, tomato sauce, and anything else you can imagine! He never used a real recipe for his biscuits, and while the ones I made from his instructions were decent, I never could reproduce the magic Sloan put in those things.

That was TEN years ago! These days I use the recipe from How to Cook Everything (with a little extra butter!), and they’re delicious. Scratch biscuits are at least 5 times more satisfying than canned biscuits, and I always have these simple ingredients on hand.

You will need

2 cups organic flour, plus extra for dusting ($4.99 per 5 lb, $4.99/80 oz = $.06 x 11oz = $.69)

1 tsp salt (($.47 per 26oz, $.47/30.69tsp = $.02)

4 teaspoons baking powder ($1.79 per 10oz, $1.79/59.06tsp = $.03 x 4tsp = $.12)

1 teaspoon baking soda ($.31 per lb, $.31/94.5tsp = less than $.01)

4 Tbsp cold organic butter, cut into pieces, plus 1 Tbsp extra for brushing ($4.79 per lb, $4.79/32Tbsp =

$.15 x 5 Tbsp = $.75)

7/8 cup organic milk ($5.99 per 128fl.oz, $5.99/128fl.oz = $.05 x 7fl.oz = $.33)

I've been using fewer tools lately. This is just as easy as a blender!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the butter, and cut in with a pastry blender or just mix it with your hands, squishing the butter into the flour mixture. Blend the butter most of the way in, but keep some chunks and lumps. Add the milk and mix AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE, just until the dough becomes cohesive.

The dough looks a bit rough, but it's better to look rough than to taste tough!

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Cut the rectangle into pieces (I like square biscuits because the dough left from cutting circles gets tough when it's rerolled). I like big thick biscuits, so I get about 8 biscuits, total. Brush a baking sheet with butter, and arrange biscuits. Brush biscuit tops with additional butter, and bake for 7-9 minutes.

Finished! (and check out my robot potholder that Spencer made me!)

Okay, this might be a bit much on the butter...

Serve with homemade apple butter or honey-sweetened strawberry jam. Delicious!

Tea and jammy biscuits all to myself! What a treat!

Try It

$1.91 for 8 biscuits.

Buy It

$2.29 for a can of 8 Pillsbury Grands .

Verdict

Try It. You won’t be disappointed! They’re tender and buttery and take very little time.

(Note- since I didn't weigh the dough or biscuits, this isn't a perfect price comparison, but I'd Try It even if they were more expensive!)

Sweet Tea

2013-01-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

I guess I thought everyone knew how to make sweet tea, but a friend of mine has asked a few times for my recipe. It's pretty simple! My friend Morgan and I used to drink a gallon of tea about every three days in college, but I made it much sweeter back then. So here's how I do it, which is only a slight variation on my mom's method (who is from NY, though you wouldn't guess it except for her disdain for the southern use of Ma'am). Once I run out of tea bags I'll be switching to loose leaf tea, but until then, I use Red Rose tea- the tea bags aren't individually wrapped, it has a great flavor, and it comes with a random little statue in each box.

You will need

3 tea bags ($3.95 per 100 tea bags, $3.95/100bags = $.04 x 3bags = $.12)

1/3 cup sugar ($2.99 per 5 lb, $2.99/80oz = $.04 x 2.5oz (1/3cup) = $.09)

water (free)

1/2 gallon pitcher

This is a 2 qt saucepan, but it doesn't really matter the size.

Bring the pot of water to a boil. Tie the tea bag strings together, and pull off the paper tags. Once the water is boiling, remove from heat, and add the sugar and tea bags. Give it a stir, and let it sit until it's cool. Remove tea bags and pour into pitcher. Fill the pitcher the rest of the way with cold water and ice. Stir and refrigerate.

Refreshing!

My mom poured the boiling water into a plastic pitcher and mixed everything in there, but I prefer a glass container which doesn't do so well with rapid temperature changes (plus I just finished reading Plastic-Free, and I'll never put hot things in plastic again!).

Try It

It's a whopping $.21 for a half gallon of tea, or $.42/gallon!

Buy It

Harris Teeter sells sweet tea for $2/gallon.

Verdict

If sweet tea is your thing, definitely Try It!

recycled pants

2013-01-08T10:16:00.005-05:00

Anyone with small children will tell you that preschoolers go through pants at lightning speed. I was lamenting to my mom a few weeks ago that Spencer was down to three pairs of pants without holes in the knees when he came around the corner with a whopper in one of his last remaining pairs! While we are extremely fortunate to be part of a wonderful cycle of hand-me-downs, there comes a point where all you get is shirts, everyone has already worn their pants through! So I have finally developed a strategy to get a little more use out of what we’ve got: Sort the damaged pants by color, and patch the knees!

The boy goes though pants faster than he does tissues!

You will need

2 pairs of rough looking pants (free, hand-me-downs)

Matching thread (free, left over from previous projects)

Cut the bottoms of one pair off. Snip the back of the bottom off and iron flat. Iron all the sides over so it looks neat around the edges. You now have two pieces that will roughly follow the legs of the other pair of pants. Pin them into place on the other pair and sew down your patches. Now you have a pair of pants and a pair of cut offs!

Chop one pair and use the back side, the fabric isn't as worn on the back.

Make sure you iron them so the outside of the pant faces out when sewn so the color matches.

I just eyeballed the placement.

From this distance you can barely tell they're patched!

Try It

Free.

Buy It

New pants cost around $12 at Target or Kohl’s

Verdict

Try It! I was hoping to hem up the second pair into shorts, but the holes were above the cargo pockets. They’re not perfect, but the whole project took my half an hour, cost me nothing, and brings our grand total of pants without holes in the knees to 4 (I bought a pair last week in desperation).

Cream Soda

2013-01-02T09:33:00.001-05:00

I really like soda. If I didn’t know how bad it is for me, and I wasn’t so cheap, I’d probably drink it all the time. Most of the time I can quench my soda craving with seltzer and juice, but sometimes that does not do the trick. On those days I do one of two things: Buy a Dr. Pepper from the nearest store, or mix up a quick cream soda. By that I don’t mean a fancy Italian soda that has cream mixed in, I mean an A&W style Cream Soda. It's a great treat! The amounts I use are for a very sweet soda like the store bought stuff, but I usually use about half this amount.

You will need

8 fl.oz Seltzer or club soda ($.79 per 33.8fl.oz, $.79/33.8fl.oz = $.02 x 8fl.oz = $.16)

2 Tbsp homemade vanilla syrup ($.03 per fl.oz)

1 Tbsp Caramel Syrup ($7.99 per 25.4fl.oz, $7.99/25.4fl.oz = $.31 x.5fl.oz = $.16)

Mix these three ingredients together, add some ice, and drink.

It doesn't look like much, but it's delicious!

Try It

$.35 for a 9.5fl.oz glass, or $.04/fl.oz

Buy It

$1.99 for a 2 liter bottle, or $.03/oz.

Verdict

If you don't want to invest in the caramel syrup it's still quite tasty without it, and it would be a lot cheaper. If you're an occasional soda drinker like me, Try It, it'll hit the spot and the cost is close enough. I was thinking over New Year's Eve that it would also make a festive non- alcoholic toast.

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-24T16:52:00.000-05:00

Hello all! It's Christmas Eve, so I've got a full day of family time planned, but I just wanted to let you know that I added some pictures to my Cinnamon Roll post! I'm so excited to sink my teeth into these sugary delights, they are one of my favorite traditions.

Pinwheel Hairbows

2012-12-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

I am not a very girly girl, never have been, but when I found out I was having a girl, I have to admit that I was excited about the things I could make for her. Pinafores, simple dresses, and yes, even hair bows. I went through a period last spring where I just worked on how to get these things right, and now I think I’ve gotten a couple styles down. My favorite so far is the pinwheel. It’s pretty simple, and you only need a couple things to make it. I don’t remember which tutorial I actually used, there are a lot out there.

I guess I should also note that I now sell these, which makes them cheaper to make since I only make them in a limited color range and I buy the supplies in bulk. But the prices I note are the prices you'd find at Joann. In case you're interested in making a bunch, I get my supplies at Hip Girl Boutique.

Supplies ready to go!

You will need

Thread (leftover, free)

Scissors (gifted, free)

Lighter (ancient, free)

Hair clip ($3.49 per 2 clips, $3.49/2 clips = $1.75)

18 inches of 7/8” wide ribbon ($3.49 per 18ft, $3.49/216in = $.02 x 18in = $.29)

4 inches of 3/8” wide ribbon ($1.99 per 18ft, $1.99/216in = $.01 x 4in = $.04)

Hot glue gun ($4.29)

First wrap...

...then pinch accordion style...

...and adjust it while it's loosely tied.

Wrap the main color around your hand so you have three layers on top and two on bottom. Accordion fold all the layers together as they lay in the middle of your bundle and pinch it together. Make sure that the ends of the accordion fold are both facing to the back. Wrap around this pinched spot with your thread a couple times, but don’t knot it yet. At this point you can adjust your bow so that all the loops are even and it looks the way you want it to.

Cut the ribbon edges and heat seal them.

Now it's ready to attach to the clip.

Once you are satisfied, pull your thread very tightly and knot it. Clip the ends of the thread off. Now take the tails of ribbon, fold them in half length-wise, and cut at a diagonal to get a double tailed effect (or just cut a straight diagonal across if you’d rather). Take your lighter and quickly pass it over the new ribbon tails to prevent fraying. Be careful! You don’t want to overheat the ribbon or it’ll go all wonky!

My loose knot for the center of the bow.

Now take your accent color ribbon and tie a loose knot in the middle. Put a small dab of glue in the center of your pinwheel and affix the knot in top. But a small dab of glue on the back of the pinwheel and affix an OPEN hair clip. Quickly pull one of the accent color tails across the inside of the hairclip and allow the clip to close. Cut and heat seal the Piece you just glued down. Put a small dab of glue on the accent ribbon inside the clip and pull the other side of the ribbon across it. Clip and heat seal that side. Since Elizabeth doesn’t have much in the hair department, I clip this thing to a headband for now. Why tiger stripes? Well, my kids attend a lot of sporting events, so this is an easy way to show our Tiger pride. Go Tigers! Don’t have a little girl? You could also attach a pin back.

Elizabeth with her headband.

Same bow on my grownup head for size reference.

Try It

The supplies for the bow itself cost $2.08. I had to buy a glue gun for this project. If you think you'll make more than a couple bows than I definitely suggest taking to the web to buy clips. Before shipping it takes the cost of clips down to $.10 a piece.

Buy It

Pinwheel hairbows range in cost, but usually go for around $4 - $6.

Verdict

Try It if you've got the patience for hot glue. I guess there's the possibility of spending a lot on ribbon that you only use once, but you could also make them for gifts.

Dish Soap

2012-12-11T10:26:00.001-05:00

My Seventh Generation dish soap is about to run out, so it’s the perfect time to try making some. It’s not a very exciting project, but just like the laundry soap (which we’re still using!) it’s one of those basic products that I need every day. That makes it worth the try.

I looked through my Green Clean book but the recipe was extremely vague. It just said to combine vinegar and castile soap, without even giving amounts! I don’t do well with vague. Next I did a big internet search and I happened upon an interesting resource called FrugallySustainable. It has a bunch of housecleaning recipes, including a detailed dish soap recipe.

Soap!

You will need

1 ½ cups hot water (free)

1 Tbsp shredded castile bar soap ($3.29 per 1.125 cups shredded, $3.29/18Tbsp = $.18)

1 Tbsp white vinegar ($2.89 per 128fl.oz, $2.89/128fl.oz = $.02 x .5fl.oz = $.01)

1 Tbsp washing soda ($3.49 per 55oz, $3.49/55oz = $.06 x .652oz = $.04)

1/8 tsp tea tree oil ($12.49 per 2 fl.oz, $12.49/2fl.oz = $6.25 x .02fl.oz = $.13)

Other than water this is all you need!

Since I knew all my castile soap would be used in a shredded form, I decided to forgo the box grater and jump straight to the food processor to chop the soap the same way I do for laundry soap. This yielded 1 1/8 cups of soap nubs.

Combine everything except the water in a heatproof bowl. Pour water into the bowl and stir until all the soap and soda has melted. Allow it to cool on the counter for 8 hours or overnight.

I used the hottest water my tap could make, but I don’t think that was hot enough; I couldn’t get the nubs to melt totally. I stuck the whole thing in the microwave for a minute and stirred it for longer than I thought was needed until it all melted. Next time I’ll boil the water.

After 10 hours it had a thick layer of jell on the top. I had to break though that and whisk it all up so I could call it liquid. It seems to work pretty well. It made decent suds and left glass squeaky.

Chunky soap jell

Final consistency

Try It

$.36 for 14fl.oz, or $.03/fl.oz

Buy It

$3.79 for 25fl.oz, or $.15/fl.oz

Verdict

What?! Eco friendly dish soap for 20% of the cost of 7th Gen.? Yes please! Try It, definitely worth the small trouble and the initial investment in the tea tree oil.

More Homemade Ornaments

2012-12-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

Last year my sisters and I switched our annual gift from a night out to dinner together to an ornament exchange. The night out was really hard to give up, but since we’re now scattered in Michigan; New York; Santiago, Chile; and Virginia, it’s just no longer feasible (if you are my sister reading this, this is a hint for you to move closer!!). On the bright side, all of us enjoy crafting, and we all have pretty different styles, so it was exciting to see what each person came up with!


My favorites were Sara’s. She wrapped toy animals in cotton yarn so just the head and legs were sticking out.

Night out Christmas '08! Good times, bad picture.

Mine is the felt heart (remember my Valentine’s post with the left over felt? This is what it’s leftover from). My sisters and I play a lot of cards- A LOT of cards. So I made each of us a suit.

I think they came out pretty nicely, but I need to work on my embroidery skills.

Since I made them so long ago and didn’t take pictures, I can’t do a visual step by step, but I can break down the process.

You will need

1 sheet red felt ($.29)

I sheet black felt ($.29)

Red and black embroidery floss ($.99 each, $.99 x 2 = $1.98)

A small amount of stuffing (snagged from my mother's stash, free)

Tacky Glue (leftover from who knows what, free)

Search Google Images for a clip art of the shape of your ornament. Print out and size it properly for both the main body and the overlaying color. Cut out the shape and trace around it on your felt so you have two of the larger size and one of the smaller size. Center the smaller shape onto one of the larger shapes and glue it on, leaving a little space around the edges. Stitch around the smaller shape using a blanket stitch with two embroidery threads at a time. (at this point, you can also embroider anything on the other large shape if you wish. I wrote "2011".)

Now put the two big shapes together, right sides out. Machine sew together leaving a gap big enough to stuff. Stuff the shape to desired fullness. Sew the remaining gap shut. Blanket stitch around the larger shape. Add a loop of embroidery floss to hang it by.

I got my inspiration from a $2 Target ornament. I went by this year and saw a lot of homemade-looking ornaments that I know I could make better. It’s a good starting point if you feel overwhelmed.

I’m pretty stoked about my ornaments this year, but I guess you’ll have to wait till next Christmas to see them! I’ll remember to document them this time…

Try It
$2.56 for 4 ornaments, or $.64 each.

Buy It
Inspiration ornament from Target was $2.

Verdict
Try It if it's your style. Homemade ornaments in my opinion make the tree. My husband tells me I have an unusual taste for what belongs on a tree, but I'd rather look at a tree of memories and love from friends and family than one that looks thought out any day.

Crayons

2012-11-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

Okay- I’m not making crayons from scratch. But here’s the deal: More often than not when my family goes out to eat, we are given three or four crayons to keep my kid quiet (it doesn’t work). I am 97% sure if I didn’t take them, they’d go in the trash. Since there are only but so many yellow, blue, red, and green crayons one boy needs in his craft box, I’m making them gift-worthy.

Pile of restaurant crayons

Last Valentine’s Day Spencer got a card from his buddy at school which included a molded crayon, and I’ve been stuck on the idea ever since!

You will need

An ice cube mold or mini muffin tin ($2)

Crayons (free)

The smaller you chop them the more swirly they'll look.

This is about 10 minutes in. They took a long time, probably because they are mostly cheap crayons.

Giving the crayon men a little swirl.

Unwrap and chop crayons. Place crayon bits in mold. Bake at 170 degrees until crayons have full melted- for me this took a solid half hour. If you want, use a chop stick to gently swirl the colors together. Cool completely and remove from molds.

And that’s it! I think they are pretty cool.

My men! The muscly one lost a hand, but I can just put the pieces back in the mold in the oven.

Try It

$2 for as many crayons as you have the patience to unwrap.

Buy It

I saw a set at Target for $4.99.

Verdict

If you have a kid in your life, Try It! It's an easy project, and you could make them single color, or group colors together (red/pink, blue/green, etc).

Baby Food

2012-11-15T20:59:00.001-05:00

Well believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve tried my hand at making baby food. I know, I know, how is that possible!? I have legit-ish reasons… With kid #1, I bought Gerber Organics baby food for the most part, and saved all the containers intending on making my own and freezing it. I still have all those mirco-tupperwares, but I never used them for that purpose, and Spencer would have no part in purees after 7 months.

With kid #2 I bought Earth’s Best organic baby food. That’s right- I wanted those containers again! These are tiny glass jars that happen to make wonderful spice containers. I bring them to the store to buy cheap bulk spices. I figured I could spend $1 a piece on real spice jars, or I could spend $.69 a piece on a baby food jar and feed my kid in the process. Now I have 10 or so, so it’s time Try It.

First off, if you like my Facebook page than you know that I made Elizabeth some applesauce the other day. She loves that stuff! Just blend it very smoothly, you’re set. Today I made some sweet potato for her. Also a big hit!

You will need

1 organic sweet potato ($1.49 per lb, $1.49/16oz = $.09 x 12oz = $1.12)

Water

Some small containers or an ice cube tray

Oozy.

Preheat the oven to 375. Poke a sweet potato all over and place it on the oven rack. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until very tender. Allow to cool completely. Peel the skin off the sweet potato, and cut into chunks. Put the chunks in the food processor or blender until smooth, adding water until it reaches the desired consistency.


A single potato was a little difficult in this processor, it wanted a larger batch.

Sleepy baby with a sweet potato beard.

If it'll be a while before you use it, stick the jars in the freezer (just don't fill them to the brim), or fill an ice cube tray and just take them out a cube at a time.

Try It

$1.12 for 2 ½ jars of puree, or $.45/jar.

Buy It

$.69 for 2.5oz jar.

Verdict

Try It. This took very little effort, and even if the savings seem small, they really add up! That’s a 35% savings per jar.

Two notes: 1- I am fully aware that babies don't NEED baby food, but my kids lap it up, so I use it in the beginning. 2- While I was writing this I remembered a post my friend Em wrote a while back, so I went back and re-read it. It's a helpful post, go check it out (and then go check out her sewing because it's amazing!).

Shopping Bag

2012-11-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

In case you don’t have enough shopping bags (I have a bazillion), I saw this pin on pinterest on how to make them out of T-shirts. Genius! This is a great way to use and display all those ill fitting but sentimentally important shirts cluttering your closet (I’m not the only one, right?)

The first ever sister trip in Dublin, OH! Good times.

You will need

1 T-shirt (gifted- free)

Thread (left over- free)

Scissors (found- free)

Elizabeth helped.

You don't even need to use a straight edge, just go for it.

Lay your shirt out nice and flat. Cut off the arms. Cut the neck lower than the original neckline. The lower you cut, the larger the opening to the bag is.

Flip your shirt inside out, and sew along the bottom hem. Flip right side out. Fill with merchandise (or gifts).

I'm always showing off my not quite stellar sewing skills!

That took all of 5 minutes!

Try It

Free.

Buy It

My everyday set of shopping bags are a mix of free canvas bags and these tough guys from Reisenthel (a gift from my sister Margaret back in 2006), which sell for between $5 and $6.99 each.

Verdict

A great idea, and it would make for some interesting gift wrapping, but I’m a little too attached to my Reisenthels. I say Try It if you’re low on bags, looking to use your favorite/terrible shirts, or are trying to be a hipster.

Camping Stove

2012-10-29T17:01:00.006-04:00

Oh, have you heard? There’s a massive storm heading our way! We haven’t done a ton of preparation, but in case the power goes out and we need to cook things, I’ve always got my trusty camping stove. I have a real one- a whisperlight international, but I haven’t used it since 2003. That’s the year my friend Matthew invited me to hike the northern quarter of the Appalachian Trail with him. For the trip he made me a stove out of a few household items.

Matt and me with Mt Katahdin in the distance.

I don’t camp much these days what with our busy schedules and small children, but I hope to get back out there soon, and I’ll bring this homemade stove with me when I do!

Last time I went (car) camping at the KOA in Natural Bridge, VA. The stove came, too.

You will need

1 tuna can ($1.19)

2 soda cans ($3 per 6 8oz cans, $3/6 cans = $.50 x 2cans = $1)

1 screw (I used a 5/32” machine screw) (Found it in the basement)

½ inch wire grid ($11.37 per 24” x 10’, but use whatever you have around the house!)

Tinsnips or wirecutters (found them in the basement)

Epoxy (found it in the basement)

Heavy foil (found it in the kitchen)

Drill (basement find)

Drill bits- one the same size as your screw, one that is very small- I used a 1/16”. (basement find)

1) Cut the ½” wire grid with the tinsnips into a 2 ½” x 12 ½” rectangle and curl it into a circle bigger than the tuna can, but smaller than your pot.

2) Cut the bottoms off the soda cans about .25 inches from the bottom of the flat part with scissors. Fit the two cans together carefully. The bottom one can rip if you are too forceful (I ripped three!).

3) Using your larger drill bit, drill a hole in the center of the can bottom that is on the inside (the raw edge of the bottom can should be close to the top). Make sure your screw fits in the hole.

Not very centered, is it?

4) Use a Sharpie to mark 8 dots along the rim of the can. Using the smaller drill it, carefully drill eight holes along the rim on your marks.

5) Mix your epoxy according to package directions and apply around the raw edge of the bottom can. Allow it to cure according to package directions.

6) Cut a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil large enough to fit around your pot with a little wiggle room, and fold length-wise. This will act as your wind screen. Now you have a stove!

Now here’s how to use your new stove. This stove is meant for OUTDOOR use. Find a level spot on the ground to set up away from anything flammable!

1) Take the screw out of your stove and pour some denatured alcohol into the screw hole. You’ll get the feel for how much you need. Replace the screw.

2) Pour a small amount of denatured alcohol into the tuna can- about enough to cover the bottom.

3) Light the fuel in the tuna can and place the stove in the tuna can. Once the fuel in the stove warms up, it will come through the holes in the stove. The flames from the tuna can will then light the fuel coming though the holes.

4) Place the wire grid pot stand around the tuna can and place your pot of water on top.

5) Wrap the foil wind screen loosely around your pot to block the wind but still allow oxygen to reach the flames.

The pot is sitting nicely on the stand, now wrap the foil around.

And that’s how you boil water using household items. Good luck with hurricane Sandy everyone! I hope you all stay safe and dry and warm out there! Here's how to store your stove in the pot:

Try It

About $2.19, I bet you can find all these things for free.

Buy It

I saw a store bought version of this on brms.com for $34.99

Verdict

If you love to camp, or just find yourself in a power outage, this is a quick stove to make that is easy to use. Try It.

Disclaimer: Some people told me I shouldn’t write this post for liability’s sake. So for the record, I take no responsibility if you have any mishaps in the making or use of this stove.

Christmas is Coming!

2012-10-23T22:00:00.001-04:00

Not to freak you out, but Christmas is right around the corner, especially if you are a Christmas crafter. So now is the time to make your list, gather supplies, and get to gettin’! Often I put a bag together for each of my relatives that I still exchange gifts with that includes various things I have made that year. This year will be similar, but a little more tailored to the individual recipients. (Get excited, sisters/in-laws/parents!)

Here are a few ideas using posts from the last year and a half:

Spa: Body Scrub and a Sisal Bath Scrubber. If you make the scrub with a finer grit sugar and salt, it would also make a great hand scrub.

Hot Cocoa: Fresh Marshmallows and Hot Cocoa Mix. If you put the cocoa through the food processor as Em suggests in the post’s comments, it looks great!

S'mores: Fresh Marshmallows and Graham Crackers accompanied by some good chocolate.

Coffee Lover:Vanilla Syrup and a pound of great coffee!

Sweet Tooth: Magic Shell, Butterfinger Candies, Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, and Vanilla Extract for future dessert fun.

New Mom: A Nursing Strap and Baby Wipes for baby, and a good snack or treat for mom like Raspberry Granola Bars or Butterfingers.

New Home: Throw pillows with Pillow Covers to match their decor. They might also appreciate some Laundry Soap with the recipe included if they are of the frugal persuasion.

T-Shirt: A personalized shirt that will either mark the occasion, show off an inside joke, or just fit the recipient's interests (like a superhero shirt for a favorite nephew).

I find that as nice as it is to give canned goods, you have to make sure that what you’re giving fits the recipient, and it helps to give serving suggestions with the canned good. Example: Jalapeno Pepper Jelly: Delicious as an appetizer- Spoon over cream cheese and serve with Trisciuts.

There are always Ornaments, too! My sisters and I went from full-on gift giving to going out just the 4 of us for a big supper. Last year when our lives got too complicated to all make it home for Christmas, we switched to an ornament exchange and they were awesome! Pictures to come on those...

I’ve got some new ideas coming soon, and I’m pretty excited! To me gift brainstorming is one of the best parts about Christmas. It’s up there with Cinnamon Rolls and watching my son recite T’was the Night Before Christmas from memory the way my sisters and I did as kids (and still do!).