Misc. Projects.....

Hello! I've been busy working on several different projects lately.  Not all of them were the crafty kind, so I'm branching out a bit.  :)

Project 1: Bookmarks
The first one is crafty, papercrafting to be exact.  I saw this fun tutorial on making page corner bookmarks.  The tutorial was easy to follow, and they worked up quickly.

I made some monster ones for my book-loving little goddaughter, Sarah, who will be celebrating her 6th birthday this weekend. 

I also made a couple of adult ones for the book-loving ME.  :)

Project 2: Fire and Ice Pickles

A few months ago, my husband and I were given a jar of "Fire and Ice Pickles" to try.  And wow, were they good! They're a little bit sweet, and a little bit (or a lot) hot, depending on your preference.  We finished that jar pretty quickly and wanted more.



Fire and Ice Pickles

But you can't buy these in a store, you have to make them yourself.  So I did what I always do, and googled it to find a recipe.  Our first attempt, we followed the recipe exactly, but although you could taste the sweetness, the hot didn't really come thru.  So we experimented and kept gradually adding more of the hot stuff until we got it how we liked it.  Here's the recipe with our adjustments:

Fire and Ice Pickles

2 (32 oz) jars of DILL pickles

4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (we used Louisiana Hot Sauce)

1 - 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, peeled

A few slices of Jalapeno pepper (we used peppers that came in a jar, and also poured in a tablespoon or so of the juice)

First pour pickles into a strainer in the sink and let them drain.

Then cut pickles into chunks and put in a big bowl

Add the sugar to the pickles, and stir a bit. Then add all the remaining ingredients and stir until everything is mixed together.



Cover the bowl and let sit on the counter for an hour or so, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Once the sugar is dissolved, spoon mixture back into the jars they came in, or divide them into smaller canning jars.  Refrigerate for 3-7 days before serving (although we've eaten them earlier than that).  Store in the refrigerator.  Warning!  these are very addictive!  :)

Project 3: Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have seen on a few blogs lately that some people are making their own laundry detergent.  It seemed easy enough, and it was very cheap to make, so I was intrigued enough to give it a try.  I made mine following a recipe I found on this blog. 

You only need 3 ingredients: Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda), and Fels-Naptha soap.  I was able to find the Borax and Super Washing Soda in the laundry aisle at Wal-mart and found the bars of Fels-Naptha soap for $1.29/ea. at my local Ace Hardware.

First you have to grate the bar(s) of Fels-Naptha Soap

Then mix grated soap with the borax and super washing soda following this recipe:

2 parts grated soap

1 part Borax         

1 part Super Washing Soda

Two bars of grated soap = about 3 cups, so I added 1 1/2 cups of each the borax and the super washing soda, mixed together and stored in a container with a lid. I use 2 tablespoons of detergent for a regular load of wash.  I've been using this for the past few weeks and so far it seems to be working just fine, and I love the price.  :)  Maybe with all the money I'm saving, I can buy more yarn.  :)

Random After Christmas Stuff....

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  We attended several celebrations and had some great family time. 

Grace and Gus got a new kitty tower. It's been difficult to get a picture with both of them on it, because for some reason Gus seems to think it's his and his alone.  Every time Grace jumps up on it, he plays King of the Jungle and runs her off.  I'm not sure why he's being so possessive about it.  My husband, who has a man-cave garage, says Gus must think it's his man-tower.  I suggested that maybe he should haul the man-tower out to the man-cave and he and Gus and can hang out there together and bond. Men! lol
And Gus is still carrying around his pet string.  If you look closely at the first picture, you can see it laying beside him on the left.  And heaven help Grace if she tries to play with that string, cause he doesn't like to share that either.  :)

"It's MY tower, and MY string!"

 Gus was also a big "help" with gift wrapping this year.  :)  While I was wrapping, my tissue paper fell to the floor and within about 15 seconds, I heard rustling sounds and looked down to find this:

"Um, can you pass the tape?"

I also thought I'd share one of my favorite (and easy) recipes.  I have to admit that cooking/baking is not one of my favorite activities, so when a friend shared this recipe with me a few years back, I put it high on my list to make, because it's quick and easy, and yet so good.  I usually make it for any holiday gathering, and it's always a hit.  In fact, my brother, who never eats dessert, loves this cake and always wants some to take home. 

Rum Cake

Mix together:

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup rum

1/2 cup water

Spray a Bundt pan with Pam, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped nuts over the bottom.  Pour in cake batter and bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes. (mine is usually done at 40 min)

Rum Glaze:

Combine in a saucepan and bring to boil:

1 stick margarine

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

When it begins to boil, remove from heat and add 1/8 cup Rum.  Pour over cake.