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Tag: tutorial

  • Home Canned Grape Juice

    Home Canned Grape Juice

     Fall is here, and it’s my favorite time of the year to start putting up produce. Canning fruits are one of the easiest ways to save produce to eat throughout the year. This home canned grape juice is fabulous with a little club soda. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click on and purchase through them.
    Add a little club soda to this home canned grape juice to celebrate all the holidays this season.

    Home Canned Grape Juice

     
    I had a lot of fun doing this, though it was quite surprising at just how little juice came from all those grapes.  I have a new appreciation for the cost of store-bought juice. Let’s jump right into this tutorial. If you have any questions just leave them in the comment section!
      
    Step 1:  Wash and de-vine your grapes.
     
    Step 2:  I suggest using a Steam Juicer. If you don’t have one, go out and buy one, or borrow one. They are a time saver!!! Follow the directions for your juicer.  If you do not or cannot get a juicer, or you feel like being adventurous, there is a step by step guide HERE for straining the juice from your grapes. I added a little under 1 cup sugar per 3quarts grapes. So I dumped one of my bowls of grapes in, poured on some sugar, then the rest of the grapes, followed by more sugar.
    Step 3: While the grapes are juicing, sterilize your jars. Some people do this in a dishwasher, I did my pear jars in a sink of hot water. BUT I found a new way! You can sterilize the jars and rings in your oven. Do not sterilize the lids with the rubber seal this way. Turn the oven on to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Place jars and rings on cookie sheets. I used two separate sheets and put the lids and rings on the bottom shelf, and the jars above so there was more room.
     
     
    Step 4: Carefully remove hot jars from the oven and fill with hot juice.
     
     
    Step 5: Process Jars. My mom is so sweet! She was supposed to bring me her water bath canner, and when she showed up she had bought me my very own steam canner instead. So I steam canned my grape juice! There are some differing opinions on how safe steam canning is compared to water-bath canning. Here is my 2 cents – If it were unsafe, you wouldn’t be able to buy steam canners. The fact that the jars sealed tells me no bacteria should be able to get inside. Plus, from my own experience, I think my jars of grape juice came out just as hot or hotter and stayed hotter longer than my jars of pears did in the water bath. 
     
    So have at it! Make some grape juice!  Out of my 6-7 quarts of grapes, I was able to get 4 1/2 quarts of grape juice.  The 1/2 quart I put in the fridge and drank with my breakfast this morning! It was oh so good!  A little on the strong side, so when we do open the other jars, I will either dilute with some water, or club soda depending on who will be enjoying it.  The club soda is a favorite during the holidays.
     
    *Post originally share October 2011. 


  • One Room Challenge: Frame Your Own Canvas DIY

    One Room Challenge: Frame Your Own Canvas DIY

    In this easy tutorial you’ll learn how to stretch your own canvas print over a frame so you can hang a bit of yourself on the wall. 

     
    DIY Frame your own canvas painting
     
    When I started imagining what to hang over our couch, I knew it needed to be something besides a family picture. I wanted something new and fresh, that we hadn’t hung up before. I figured we’d probably check out the thrift stores and see what we could find. 
     
    But then I did something else – I started browsing my old college art folder. I’ve got a number of really cool pieces I had forgotten about, like the hanging skeleton, and Alexander Graham Bell – but it was my abstract black and white that caught my eye. Rolled up in the bottom I knew it was the piece I was looking for. 
     
    I even got a pretty good grade on it! I mean 19/20 for someone who had never gone beyond middle school art class must mean the art gene didn’t completely skip me over right?
     
     
    The big question I had to ask myself at this point though, was why didn’t we frame it in class? I had no idea what I was doing here, so reached out to a couple art friends – all who also had never actually stretched canvas before. Feeling a bit better about that I headed to Pinterest where I learned of these nifty things called Stretcher Bars.  
     
     
    I made a couple phone calls and found Hobby Lobby sold them in all different sizes, but you can also get them on Amazon. If it hadn’t been for pinterest, I would have attempted to build my own wooden frame, and also would have gone about it completely wrong!
     
    See for canvas, apparently you don’t want the canvas to lay directly on the frame. These premade stretcher bars are slightly raised right on the ends to keep the rest of your painting off the boards. Plus, no need to figure out those corner angles because it’s all done for you. 
     
    First things first here now! You need a painted canvas! If you don’t have one laying around from an old college class….please tell me if you do!….then go buy some canvas and paint it! It will be a lot of fun! 
     
    Next, measure your painting. Buy your stretcher bars in the right sizes. My painting is 4 feet by 23 inches. So I picked up 2 48″ stretcher bars and 2 23″ bars. Insert the stretcher bars together at the corners, and VOILA! You’ve just build your frame!
     
     
    To stretch your canvas now, you’ll lay your painting upside down. Place your frame on top of the painting, lining it up as best you can to the edges of the actual picture. Hopefully you’ve got a good 3-4 inches to overlap over your frame. 
     
    After the painting, this next part is my favorite! It’s time to pull out the Staple Gun! Following the numbers below staple each side in succession. So 1 staple in side 1. Then side 2, 3, and 4. Then go back to side 1. It will take awhile, but that’s how you get a nice smooth and straight stretched canvas. Depending on how large your canvas is, 2 sets of hands can be very helpful here. 
     
     
    Wasn’t that exciting? Slowly but surely this Everything Room is getting put together! With a nice piece of personal art – that finally grew on Mark – we have a bit of a color pallete to help guide the rest of the room. 
     
     
    Join me again next week to see which piano we decide to keep, and how it will affect the room arrangement!
     
    Linking up with Calling it Home for the One Room Challenge! 
  • DIY Gingerbread Planes Hangar

    DIY Gingerbread Planes Hangar

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PlanesToTheRescue #CollectiveBias
     
    DIY Gingerbread Planes Hangar #PlanesToTheRescue #ad #cbias
     
    Have you made a gingerbread house yet? Why not mix it up and build a Planes Hangar instead! Are your kids home for the Christmas break? Are they driving you nuts? Yeah mine too. Don’t get me wrong, we’re having lots of fun, but without the regular routine, I’ve heard probably a million times in the last 2 days – 
     
    • I’m bored! 
    • We have nothing to do. 
    • You won’t let us do anything!
    Well, we had to remedy that asap! Really though children, you have a room full of toys and dress ups, I’m sure you can find something to do – am I right?! Earlier last week, I was walking the aisles of Walmart since it’s too cold to go outside, and I found the Planes Fire and Rescue toys on Rollback! Woot Woot! I know the kids are going to get new toys on Christmas, but that’s not until Thursday and we needed something to break up the monotony of days spent indoors. 
     
     
    My lightbulb dinged, so I grabbed a couple of the Planes:Fire and Rescue Character Assortment die cast set ($4.97 each!). I thought how fun would it be to make our own hangar – it’s like a doll house but for planes!I get home and I’m pulling out the cardboard to make this cool vision in my head, when in walks Mark and says something like “Why don’t you make it out of gingerbread?”.
     
     
    I knew I married this guy for a reason. So I put my cardboard away and started making the gingerbread – which soon became apparent I was terrible at! Seriously, ya’ll my ideas were failing left and right, and my beautiful vision was dimming. That’s when Mark stepped in and I stepped back with the camera, and the vision in my head became a reality plus some!
    We didn’t want the kids to know what we were doing, so we sent them to the other room and turned on the Disney Planes Movie. 
     

     

     
    First you’ll want to make some gingerbread. We doubled this recipe from Food Network. Follow the recipe up until rolling it out. Before you roll the dough, split it into three portions. Roll out on the back of 3 cookie sheets, or if you have a cookie sheet without a lip use it like normal. Bake according to directions. When it comes out of the oven, you’ll want to start cutting your shapes while it’s still hot! Otherwise it will harden and be impossible to cut. 
     
     
    Sheet 1 you will cut it in half width ways. Then round the tops. Measure the sides to make sure they are an even length all around. On one side cut out the doorway for your planes. Cut the cut out in half to attach as doors to the opening.
     

    Sheet 2 you will just cut in half, and trim the edges to be the same height as your front and back pieces. These will be your side walls.
     
     
    Sheet 3 is your roof tiles. Trim the edges, then cut in strips width ways. Let all the pieces dry sufficiently, about an hour or 2. Save all the trimmings, and crush finely for ground covering to complete the scene. 
     
     
    While Mark was busy with the gingerbread making and assembly I cut out the Planes: Fire and Rescue logo from the packaging. It made quite the nice little touch to our finished hangar. 
     
     

    Once the pieces are sufficiently cooled, it’s time to start assembling. We’re big chocolate lovers, so we decided to go with some good old chocolate frosting for glue. Any type of frosting will work, though royal icing will stick the best, we just used a creamy frosting. Watch this quick slide show of the assembly process.

     

    The final touch before presenting this to the kids was the gumdrop propeller. Mark saved one edge from the sheets of gingerbread and carved it into a propeller. We added some frosting, sprinkles, and a gumdrop nose.

     
    Finally it was done. My vision of awesome was complete! So although I am most definitely NOT an engineer, Mark saved the day and made the kids some of the happiest ones around. 
     
     

    Presenting the kids with their Gingerbread Plane Hangar with the new Disney Planes toys was a blast, and the exact kind of break we needed. They had fun flying Dusty over the chocolate pretzel forest, landing him on the roof, and attempting to eat the roof.

     

     
     
    Need a last minute Christmas gift? Also on Rollback at Walmart are: 
     
    • Disney Planes Flight to the Finish Speedway
    • Disney Planes Fire & Rescue Die-Cast Vehicles, 3-Pack
    • Disney Planes Fire & Rescue Deluxe Talking Vehicle Assortment
    • Disney Planes Character Assortment die-cast set
    By the end of the day our Plane Hangar didn’t look too much like a hangar anymore. The gumdrop propeller had been replaced with a half eaten Santa, and the roof “caught fire” and collapsed on the poor characters. It’s all good though, because the Disney Planes are all pretty tough!
     

     

     

     

    If you’re looking for some last minute fun before Christmas, and haven’t made gingerbread houses yet, I suggest you mix it up and try the Gingerbread Hangar instead.

    What will you be doing to entertain kids this week? Share with me your holiday plans!
     
     
  • Piano Bench Makeover

    Piano Bench Makeover

    After I reupholstered our patio chairs, I got antsy to keep going. Who knew upholstery could be so easy, and fun. I admit, there may have been a slight feeling of ecstasy every time I used the staple gun, but I think the joy mostly came from creating something beautiful for my home.

    Sorry I couldn’t help myself. Normally I like the suspense – show you the ugly before first, and then BAM awesome cool After – but I just love how this turned out.  Alright, let’s take a look at the piano bench when we first bought it (used by the way).




    As you can see this fabric is not faded – no it is more towards the blackened side, gross! Plus all the corners and edges were fraying pretty bad. I’m sure it was a pretty fabric at one point, but it was time to move on.

    The following fabric we found at IKEA (and trust me, moving from 2 hours away to 10 minutes away, just may become a financial problem!) Originally I was going to make it into curtains for Mark’s band room. That project was continually put off, and now that he no longer teaches band, I had all this cool fabric, and nothing to do with it….or did I?

    Awesome right?  Now if you’d like to reupholster your piano bench, here’s a quick step by step guide for you.

    1. Remove top of seat from the bench legs
    2. Remove all current fabric and cushioning.
    3. Measure and cut new fabric and quilt batting
    4. Iron the new fabric. No one wants creases in their pretty bench. 
    5. Lay batting on top of bench seat. Add the fabric and adjust to desired area. Make sure you have enough on all sides to wrap around the bottom of the seat. 
    6. Carefully without moving the fabric and batting around, flip your seat over. 
    7. Fold fabric once under itself to create a nice clean edge. 
    8. Grab your staple gun and attach the fabric. 
    Got it?  Now you’re all ready to go tackle your own piano bench right?  I actually debated not recovering the bench when I saw how nice the wood seat was, but then I would have had to add some wood putty and stain, and have you ever sat on an uncushioned piano bench? So I stuck with the plan and got this covered.
    Are you ready for it?  The new and improved – and much loved – Piano Bench Makeover!!
    You can find me joining these Fun Parties!
    *This is NOT a sponsored post. I have no affiliation with IKEA besides my love of shopping there. No compensation was given for this post or the mention of any product used.*
  • Reupholstered Patio Chairs #Tutorial

    Reupholstered Patio Chairs #Tutorial

    Last month I showed you the first reupholstering job I’ve ever done. I was thrilled with how 2 of my 4 Patio chairs turned out. I ran out of that fabric though, and was stuck on what to finish the next 2 chairs in. Since I wasn’t sure I could get the exact same yellow, many of you suggested a print fabric with a little yellow in it.

    I promise I was totally going to take your advice until I actually ended up at the fabric store with Mark in tow.  Since these are patio chairs, we wanted to make sure the fabric would hold up in rough weather. All of the fabric we found with a little yellow had designs that we just were not fond of.  So we went a different direction. I took more pictures this go around as well, so you can see just how easy this project was.

    When I first got the chairs they were covered in this swirly red plastic fabric that was becoming washed out in numerous places. When reupholstering something, you can either just cover what was there, or you can take it completely apart and start from the bones. I decided to start with the bones, but it became obvious the last owners, chose to just cover up the original fabric. A fun, though still outdated orange flower fabric. I believe the cover up was solely because of tears in the original cushions.  I had 2 layers of staples to pry out of this chair!

    Once you have the old fabric removed, you can assess the bare bones. Do you need new padding, new wood?  Although I definitely could have replaced the wood and padding on these chairs, they weren’t that bad. So I left them be. My next step was measuring, and cutting the fabric.

    I added a 1/2 inch to each measurement for a seam allowance. On top of the seam allowance though, you must add extra for around the edges. So the side of the seat cushion received an extra 2 inches in width so I have enough to staple it back to the bottom of the seat. The back cushion I added another 1 1/2 inches to the length for easy stapling to the bottom of the board.

    Onto the sewing!  At this point the kids must have been getting wild, or I must have gotten too into finishing it, because I have no more pictures until the finished product.Sorry I meant to have more. But I’m sure you can figure my directions out from here.

    I used a straight stitch, and 100% Rayon Upholstery thread. The hardest part with the sewing was attaching the edge to the seat cushion. There’s 72 inches of long stiff fabric that needs to go around a square piece of fabric. The corners needed to be just right, so they looked good on the outside as well. I’m still figuring out the best way to do this.  

    Key note here – because the corners of my cushions were rounded, I found (after the yellow chairs were finished) that when sewing around the corners instead of creating a right angle, try curving around them to match the cushion. It will look nicer, and fit better.

    Now that the deconstruction is done, and your new pieces are all sewed together, it’s time to reattach it. Grab your handy staple-gun (oh my goodness friends, the staple gun is my new favorite toy!), and get to work.

    Make sure your fabric is on straight with the cushion and then start with the four corners. Once the corners are done, staple down the edges while pulling the fabric tight. If you have an extra set of hands to  help you grab them!  Then voila!  Enjoy your new chairs.

    Now I can sit in comfort and style, enjoy some lemonade and a good book all while the kids ride bikes,and blow bubbles in the fresh summer air.

  • Add a Little Color to Your Porch

    Add a Little Color to Your Porch

    This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.
     
     
    I love spring time! All the flowers begin blooming, and the world becomes a more colorful place. Every spring, though, I look at my front porch and feel blah. There’s not much color besides the door (a dull green), and it doesn’t feel all that inviting. This year, I decided to remedy that.  After planting my vegetable garden, the porch has become my top priority! I need a little cheerful color greeting me as I leave and come back to the house each day.
    The great part is that it’s really easy to add some color, and it doesn’t have to be expensive either. I used what I had on hand, along with some flowers I received for Mothers Day to put together this bright little piece for my porch.
     
    First gather your supplies. You’ll need the following:
    A colorful bucket
    flowers, or flower seeds
    Moisture Control Potting Mix
    a little backyard dirt

    Add color to your porch with Miracle Gro

     

    Next fill your bucket halfway with the Potting Mix. If you are repotting flowers make a small well and transfer the flowers to your bucket. Top off with a little more potting mix, and some backyard dirt. Water the flowers, then sit back and enjoy your little splash of color.

    Don't forget to water your porch flowers
    Don’t worry if the flowers are looking a little wilted when first planted. With Miracle Gro’s potting soil, a little sun wand water, and the flowers will perk right back up.

    Add a pop of color to your spring porch

    For more fun garden projects, visit Miracle Gro’s Pinterest page. Then get out and grow something!


    Visit Sponsor's Site

  • Upcycled Card Table

    Upcycled Card Table

    Due to my design impasse yesterday, I found another outlet for creativity.  My card table.  It was ugly, but I wanted to be able to use it wthout having to throw on a table cloth.  The mind sparked, and I grabbed the rolls of contact paper my sister in law gave me last summer (I knew they’d come in handy someday!)
    

    Before
    As you can tell, we’ve used our card table for some painting. 
    After

    I am just loving this new table top!  It was so easy too! I originally thought what I had was wall paper, but it wasn’t, it was contact paper.  You need to clean and dry the surface first, or it won’t stick. Measure and cut your paper to the desired length.  I had to use two sheets to cover the whole table, but they blended nicely.  I cut mine about 2inches longer than the table’s top so I could wrap it around the edges.  Peel off the backing and stick! The directions suggest using a straight edge to push any bubbles out and to get it all to stick.  I just used my hand and it worked nicely.  And Voila! this is my new craft and puzzle table!

  • Love Blocks

    Love Blocks

    These love blocks add a nice touch to the home for Valentines. Simple to make, and a great reminder for the family to do all things with Love!

    This was going to be part of my Valentines Decorations, but circumstances didn’t allow me to get to it until after. My mom’s ward was making these the week before Valentines.  I was supposed to be visiting their house that week, but the weather was bad, and we were down to one car.  So I finally picked up the blocks this week and made them on my own.  It was a lot of fun, and they look great!  I think they’ll be out for some time still.

    DIY Love Blocks
     

    What you’ll need for your Love Blocks

    Purchasing through the below links helps me keep this blog going!

    The blocks were already painted for me, but this would be really easy to do.  Cut a 2×4 down to the size you want your letters, then sand and paint.
     
    DIY Love Blocks
     
    Mod Podge some colorful paper on the blocks.  The letters are vinyl cutouts, with a sticky back.  There are a lot of places that make vinyl letters like this.  In the future, I’ll just use my cricut to cut the letters out of paper.  Then mod podge them on.  After sticking the letters I added another layer of mod podge to seal it all.
     
    DIY Love Blocks
     
    Once the mod podge has sealed add different embellishments – paper flowers, ribbons, gems – with hot glue. Then display for everyone to enjoy!
     
    Where would you display these Love Blocks?