Trash to Splash...Milk Jug to Cute Caddy

I cut out an idea from a  magazine awhile back showing how to cut a plastic milk jug so that is can be a cute caddy.  I had in mind to make one of these (or ten of these) to help house my son's million Lego pieces.  But when I tried to get him to let me cut 1-2 little Lego pics out of a catalog to use for it, he refused!  So I made this one for me....using sweet old calendars, I found some pics I could use.

Cute, cute, cute.

Of course I forgot to take a pic of how to cut the milk jug but you'll be able to see it in the upcoming photos.  I used dear  ol' Mod Podge to adhere the pics to the jug.

I put the other two pics on the other side of the jug front, so it looks like....

This!  And added a couple little cut-outs at the top to hide little indentions in the jug.

A piece of raffia for a tie on the handle and three overlapped buttons for embellishment.  I glued the raffia to the handle after tying it on.

So, Legos would go in these caddies per-fect-ly!  But since I made one for me, hmmm.  Apples?

A craft project that you wanted to have on-the-go-ready?

How about craft supplies?

Or even baking supplies in your pantry.  So, there you have it, a trash to splash idea.  I LOVE organizing containers, and they are rather pricey to purchase.  So if I can use a milk jug instead, then bravo!  Thank you for visiting, and know that I love your comments and ideas.

Blessings!

Donna 
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5 Minute Homemade Salsa

Once upon a summer, I discovered a wonderful little recipe for homemade salsa in a little cookbook called Desperation Dinners.  It called for a can of diced tomatoes and a few pantry and fridge items.  I tried it.  It spoiled me rotten.  Now I cannot eat store bought salsa...this stuff tastes like really great restaurant style salsa and I make it everytime we eat salsa now.  Here's how:

Empty a can of diced or stewed tomatoes into a blender or a vessel suitable for using a hand blender.  If using diced tomatoes, add a pinch of sugar to it.  I also like to add about 1/3 cup of roughly chopped onion and about 2 knife tips of garlic.  (This is more of a method...not a recipe with exact measurements.  It is very forgiving and flexible so just add more or less of whatever you like!)

A few glugs of lime juice or the juice of half a lime.  Salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp?),

Then we like adding a few jarred jalapenos...to add a bit of heat.  Adding about 5 slices makes it taste 'medium' in heat.

Then I am ready to use my immersion blender.  Love this little gal...quite the kitchen helper.  I pulse it enough times to get the texture I like...just a wee bit chunky still.

My husband and I LOVE cilantro...but if you don't, skip adding it.  I am growing it in my herb garden so was able to use fresh this time.  In the winter I use dried.

Rinse, pat dry, and I put them in whole...stems and all.  Use the immersion blender again til the cilantro is chopped the way I want it.

And there she be!  So delicious.  So easy.  So fresh.

So, dig in!!  Hope you'll give this a try if you don't already have a favorite salsa recipe.  For less than $1 and about 5 minutes of time, you don't have to settle for store bought anymore!  Ole!

Blessings!

Donna 


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Memorial Day Sale in my Etsy shop today and tomorrow!

Yesterday we celebrated Memorial Day at the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous in Vincennes, IN.  Over 500 re-enactors brought the Revolutionary War time period to life for us.  It was fantastic! 

We are so thankful for those patriots who fought for our initial freedom as a nation.

And we are very thankful for the brave men and women who have given their lives for our country all the years since then.

In honor of this Memorial Day holiday, my etsy shop, Perfect Darlings, is offering a 10% off coupon code for Sunday and Monday.  I appreciate you visiting my shop and perhaps finding a unique gift for yourself or a special person or child in your life. The coupon code for your discount is PROUD2BAMERICAN.

Blessings!

Donna

Tea Towel Pillow

I've had this new, sweet-but-simple tea towel which I purchased on clearance at Home Goods, for 1.5 years.  I also had a pillow form with an outdated cover over it.  So it made good sense to put the two together.  It's really nice to work with tea towels as fabric...the edges are all finished and it is a quality fabric.

One suggestion I have is that you play around with your tea towel or whatever fabric you plan to use to cover a pillow, and just pin it together around the pillow til you decide how you want to do it.  My tea towel was a bit too wide, and I didn't want to cut off any of the wonderful green stripes.  So by playing with it I came up with a way to make a fold-detail that would make it the right width without cutting any off.

I ironed a crease down the middle of the towel with wrong sides together.

Then opened the towel up, and folded about a 1.5 inch portion of the fabric toward that center crease, pinning it.  Did it on the other side as well...hopefully the picture illustrates that well.

You can see the idea in more detail there.  Kind of a pleat in the middle of the towel, vertically.

Then put the shorter ends of the towel together, right sides together, and sew.  I did a very small seam of about 1/8 of an inch b/c I needed that to make it fit the pillow.

Open the new seam and press

I repinned my pleat in several places, then sewed one of the open ends closed.  I used a larger stitch so that if I ever need to wash this pillow cover, and I fairly easily remove enough of the stitching to slip the pillow out and wash the cover.

Time for the final seam!  I still have the pleat pinned in place so that I could get the pillow form into the pillow without opening the pleat too far.  I didn't remove those pins til after I sewed up that final open side.

A green gross grain ribbon tied around it, to dress it up a bit....and....finis!!  I can add-to and change the embellishment if I figure out something I like better, as the ribbon is just tied on, not sewn on.

And that's it!  I've wanted to do this for weeks...how nice to cross it off my list, and have an extra cushy pillow on the Den futon for when I read in there or watch tv.  Me likes.  :)  Thank you so much for stopping by!  God bless you richly today.  And our love and prayers go out to the dear ones in Joplin who have lost so much.  One last little photo to remind us that God is still good all the time, and gives us sweet gifts in the midst of painful times.  These are the first little cut flowers from my gardens this summer.  

  Blessings! 

Donna
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Vintage Goodies To Be

We went to a set of neighborhood garage sales today.  Beyond fun!!  I was thrilled to find some vintage pillow cases for .25 each!!!  I know you can make pillowcase dresses for little girls from them and aprons...would love more ideas, ladies!

Gorgeous!!  What a beautiful little border for a dress!

What should I make of this one?

A bag of vintage beads from a lady in her 60s...can you imagine the crafts and such I can do with these? Any ideas? $1.50!

Another treasure...the 60-something lady's mother's table cloth...for $1.  Some stains, but I can make some sweet things with the rest of it....ideas please!  The lady thinks this is from the 40's.

This set for $1.

1965 Book of Knowledge.  For $1.  The illustrations are delicious...I'm a complete sucker for sweet, old drawings of children.  I'm envisioning making some wall art and a bunting with these pics!  Other ideas?

This picture sealed the deal for me...the book had to come home with me.

Would love your ideas...I know there are waaaay more creative people out there than me, and I so appreciate borrowing their ideas.  :)  Thanks for stopping by...Blessings!

Donna
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