Prairie Scraps

My 14yo son is doing a three year 4-H project where they raise funds and study the United States government and end with a three week trip to Washington DC.  One of the fundraisers that the group does each year is Spaghetti dinner.  It was a huge event where we served dinner for 500 people. At the end of the night, there was a ginormous amount of spaghetti sauce and spaghetti left over.  (There were sausages, salad and bread too, but those were pretty easy to take care of.). Of course, I couldn’t turn down an industrial size pot of spaghetti sauce as well as several gallon bags of cooked spaghetti for free. I made up dinners for my college kids and kids at home out of them.    I have two recipes that freeze very well with cooked spaghetti.  The first one is Spaghetti pie.  There are dozens of recipes on Pinterest for it, but this is what I did (I didn’t use any measurements, because I was using several different size containers): Spaghetti Pie...

We love to share with our neighbors and friends at Christmas time by giving them a gift.  Even better, is to make it homemade!  This year, I wanted to make an Eggnog Quick Bread, but soon realized that this would require a lot of Eggnog for the ingredients.   I decided to try this  Cinnamon Bread Recipe  and loved the taste and texture of it!  It turned out wonderfully (as long as you don’t overbake it!) and made a nice large batch.   I love my mini loaf pans!  They are a must have for making quick breads.  My quick never get fully cooked in regular size pans, but the mini pans really work great!  You can get some on  Amazon HERE. This summer, I found a Pampered Chef Stoneware loaf pan at a rummage sale for $3.   Was a little worried about getting them out of the stone for sticky breads, especially in this case.  They came out wonderfully, so now I’m pretty excited about this stone pan! I highly recomme...

We are converting our carport into another living room/piano studio, bathroom and much needed laundry room.  It’s all very exciting, but a lot of work.  Funny, we were talking to some friends who made it seem that they were doing some remodeling of their own in their own new home, and the look on their face when they realized that we were actually doing our own labor was priceless.  I guess when I say we’re remodeling, I actually mean we are doing the work.  When other’s say it, they mean they are paying someone else to do the work! Needless to say, one of the reasons that we are doing the work ourselves, is that it saves us money.  So, I’ve been frequenting the clearance aisle of Home Depot, just planning what is yet to come!  One time I was there, I found these tiles for the new bathroom!  I was worried a little about making the purchase too far in advance, so I took pictures and sent the to Mr. Right.  He actually was in Home Depot a few...

I just had to share with you that there's some sneak preview's and exclusive buys before one of my favorite company's release of their new catalog in February.  Check it out!  You can join my Facebook group to stay up to date on all of the new and upcoming products! Get It! Get It1 So Cute Now!  Stay posted on all the new stuff on my Private Facebook Page! So Cute Now!

  I've been making my own Campfire Starter for at least the last 15 years.  Somewhere along the way, someone shared this idea with me, and I've done it ever since.  Not only is it made out of recycled materials, but it works really well to start a campfire!  Dryer lint   All year long, I collect all of my dryer lint and dryer sheets in a ziplock bag I keep by my dryer.  Then before we go camping, I get that bag out to make the fire starters. I always have all kinds of egg cartons around.  Most people know we have laying hens, so they save their egg cartons for us.  I fill a bunch of them with all that lint and sheets.   There's no science to this, just stuff it in there.  Shut the cartons and voila!  You've got your fire starter ready. I pack a few of these egg into a Rubbermaid along with a bunch of extra lint. just in case.  Once I get to the campground and we are trying to s...

I can't say a whole lot about the deals going on, but I can say, you won't want to miss out on them!  You can go directly to my website to check it all out HERE.   The sale items are only while supplies last from January 25-31, so go there right away!  Please contact me if you have questions or need help placing an order. If you are not already in my VIP group, please find me on Facebook HERE and you will be notified ahead of time of deals, new products, fun giveaways and more!

Who doesn't love an awesome sale?  Here's the link: OUTLET SALE.   Be sure to go on right away, as sale items are while supplies last!  Thank you so much for supporting my Direct Sales business!

This idea actually came to me several years ago, when my relatives started giving our Christmas gifts away to charity in our name (although they get the tax write-off).  Don't get me wrong, that sounds super warm and fuzzy and honorable to do, if we had everything in the world, and have not needs or wants.  But that's not the case for our family.  Each year when we got the card from the charity organization, I would comment that it would be nice if they gave to the Charity of Us.  (Painfully, we have 5 kids on one income, and one of those Christmases, my husband had been out of work for 6 months.  We were starving and had no gifts for our kids, but some 3rd world family got our Christmas gift of food that year!  Sorry for my lack of excitement!) It occurred to me then that I actually can do the same, but give my own family back that gift.  I started to purchase their gifts from my own direct sales business through out the year...

Today is Small Business Saturday!  Consider supporting someone who owns a small business today!  Why not help individuals instead of the big box stores this weekend?  It's easier, no lines, shop from your seat, not your feet!  Of course I'd vote for you to shop with me today!  I'm running a 12 Days of Christmas Sale on my VIP Facegroup page Here.   Join my group for detail.  Here's a direct link to my website , too, if you'd like to shop with me!  The order will go in on December 8th and will be delivered on time for Christmas. I hope you and yours enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend!

Who wants a FREE apron? Did you know we have these ADORABLE aprons in our holiday line that just came out? Well, to celebrate, I’m giving one away! All you have to do is tell me what YOU would put on an apron.  You can do up to 3 lines with up to 16 characters on each line.  You can enter three different times:  On my  Personal Page ,  on my VIP Group , and on my Business page on Facebook page .  We’re going to vote on my VIP page for the best “saying” and the winner gets their saying on their FREE apron! So…ready…set…who’s the most creative…LOL! Winner will be voted on in my VIP group on Sunday!! I'll announce the winner on Monday!

I love nothing better than being able to use leftovers in a new way or even make breakfast from the fruit of our labors.  In this case, I provided a Taco Soup and Corn muffins for the Youth Group at church this week, so had way too many corn muffins left over to eat.  My family doesn't eat "old" breads, since I bake fresh so much, so I knew these corn muffins would go to waste if I couldn't figure out how to use them.  My grandmother used to make bread pudding when she had leftover or old bread.  I've even found a recipe for making bread pudding from leftover donuts that tastes pretty close to my grandmother's bread pudding.  I was thinking about what I could do with my corn muffins and decided to make it into a bread pudding for breakfast!  The best part was, that not only did I have leftover muffins, but a neighbor gave us free milk from her cow, I used huckleberries we picked in the forest, and I was able to use eggs from our own hens!  That ...

I have a great big goal for tomorrow!  To have a $1000 day!  Wow! I've never done that on my own, so I need your help!  If you can help, please contact me thru my "Shop with Me!" on the right column and then Click "What I love!"  For every $25 purchase on My $1000 Day Party, you will be put into a drawing!  When I hit $500 someone will get their order for HALF PRICE!  When I hit $1000, someone will get their order for FREE!!! I can't wait to hear from you all and thanks in advance! 

My firstborn is about to graduate this Sunday! Because we homeschool, this is creating a few weeks with a ton of work and getting ready for the graduation ceremony and the party!  But I have to say doing the crafting is my favorite part!   There are four boys in our area that are graduating together, so we are having their graduation in one of the family's barn (not animal barn, but really, an extra space for people gathering barn!)  It's a beautiful location and a beautiful barn, so we feel extremely blessed to be a part of this ceremony and party!   We decided to make the most of the country feel and have burlap and country accents.  I offered to make burlap pennants for each of the boys, spelling their names, for the card tables, and then also a big GRADUATION banner for the gate out of burlap.  I happened to have four extra pennants, so decided to make one with 2015 on it for another accent.    Their color is navy blue, so I...

Fresh Rhubarb!  There's just something exciting about having rhubarb freshly cut and bagged up in the freezer.  I freeze it in 2 cup measures because that's what my rhubarb coffee cake calls for.  All winter long, my family gets fresh rhubarb coffee cake for breakfast.  I also noticed that as soon as I can get some fresh strawberries this spring, the strawberry rhubarb jam recipe calls for 2 cups of rhubarb, too.  Rhubarb is my favorite spring harvest from the garden.  What is yours? Oh, I wanted to share my Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe .  It is from my favorite farm Old Oak Family Farm in Wisconsin.  You can look up recipes from any of the fruits and veggies that the grow there on their farm!  I love them all!

 We decided to use a health theme for this week's MOPS topic.  I've been wanting to make First Aid Kits in MOPS for awhile, but never found the right topic or could figure out how to keep it under budget.  We did it! I read a lot of posts about how to make First Aid kits on Pinterest.  I even considered using Ziplock bags to keep the costs down, but I wanted to do something more permanent.  I found pencil cases in the Clearance Aisle for $.75 each and decided to commit to it.  I got 12, which cost me about $10. I asked a couple of the ladies in my MOPS group to help me out (we were doing a fundraiser the same week) by asking some of our local businesses to donate First Aid Kit supplies.  I was so pleasantly surprised by their generosity!  Here's what we got: Asker's Harvest Foods (a local grocery store) - 12 rolls gauze bandages, 12 full-size Anti-bacterial Ointments, 40 Gauze pads, and 12 - 4" Elastic Bandages Primeland (Farm Co-op)...

Getting ready for the craft show has kept me pretty busy, but I still wanted to make my Christmas cards.  I think that it's a nice touch to make my cards each year.  I know, most people are going to e-cards, or not even doing them.  I have revamped who received cards though.  Those that send a physical card receive them.  Simple. I used to send them out to everyone I knew, but decided it wasn't worth the cost.   Here's one of the cards that I made.  They vary, because I used double sided paper and the pack had several different patterns. I did the cards in steps, so here's the piles of partial pieces waiting to be assembled in my living room.  I even got Mr. Right involved in the process!  I had the pieces that I sliced off the papers to make the back ground fit.  I made a mistake on one of the cards, and to cover up the smeared stamp, I used one of these strips to cover it up and try again.  Then I realized that I like...

Now that you have gotten your budget in order, or at least made a plan of what little to so with your money that you do have (See my first post on this HERE.) , it's time to get down to the knitty gritty of making do while things are tight. Groceries are always my first concern.  I don't know why, but this is my biggest worry, that I won't have enough food to feed everyone in the house.  This is a perfect time to eat leftovers!  I know, most people really don't care for leftovers, but you can stretch your family budget some more by having a designated leftover meal day.  A look at my stack of leftovers today! Some ways to make your leftovers more exciting and taste better: Fry It - Ok, not the healthiest thing, but some things are great fried up in some butter, such as leftover baked or mashed potatoes, oatmeal, meats, etc. Bake It - unlike microwaving the food, this gives things a nice crispy edge and sometimes may take a little of the "staleness"...

Do you have more week left than you have paycheck? I know we often do.  I know, I know it is so important to make a plan and to budget your money, but believe me, on one income that greatly varies according to the work load, I know about coming up short.  Sometimes the best of plans don't work out, and in a time when many people may be on furlough because of the government shutdown, for the next few weeks, I thought I would share some tips on what we have done (and are doing) to make things last and survive a long week or two. My first tip is to have your money in order.  I'm no expert, and I can honestly say this is something we struggle with, but the best place for this in my opinion is to go to a Financial Peace University  (FPU) class in your area.  They have a Home Study version, but I will say that doing the class with other people, helps you to stay accountable to each other and to yourself.  I still will go to those peop...

 I wanted to let you know that the wonderful book I had the pleasure of reviewing and being on the launch team for, "No More Perfect Moms" is on sale for Kindle right now for only $1.99!  If you click on the picture link above, it should take you directly to the Kindle version to purchase.  Be sure before you check out that the price is only $1.99.  I don't know about you, but I definitely don't like to pay more the a couple of bucks for books, even my favorites. To check out my  review HERE , if you haven't read it yet.  I have to say this was one of my favorite books this last year!  I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't read it all, because I wanted to apply every bit of advice to my life, too!

I hadn't realized that it had been November of 2009 that I had redone my couch pillows, but when I went back to my old blog to check, sure enough, it's been four years!  You can check out my  Goodwill Redo HERE  if you would like to see how I turned a tablecloth into new pillows.  Well, these pillows were really starting to look bad (and I was getting embarrassed having our CARE group over every Wednesday to sit on them!), so I decided to recover them. Of course, the only material I happen to have on hand in my  Scrap Stash  that would cover four big pillows, was some ticking that I got at Walmart for $1 a yard (they were clearancing all their bolts of material).  I bought the whole bolt, in fact. For this project, I actually debated just doing two or three of the pillows and changed my mind about the material several times.  I finally decided to just do it, and I could change them in a few months if I didn't like them.  If I h...