Prairie Scraps

I have a freezer recipe that calls for allspice and, I keep forgetting to pick up allspice when I go to town for my shopping.  Well, in a pinch, I decided to do a search for how to make my own allspice and found not the greatest information, but found a pretty simple version that has worked for me.   The ingredients in allspice are: Ground Cinnamon Ground Nutmeg Ground Cloves Here's the recipe...Wait for it!  It's equal parts of those three ingredients mixed up.  So in this case, I used 1 teaspoon of each to make it, but you could use 1 tablespoon to make it up to store.  My recipe conveniently calls for 3 teaspoons, so using a teaspoon of each really works for me. I know this isn't the most stellar tutorial or recipe, but after spending a half hour trying to figure this out, I just thought I would put it out there for you!  Hope this helps and saves money in the future.  You can buy the ingredients separately cheap...

I finally got my oldest baby off to Japan!  It seems impossible that he is old enough or rather, that I am old enough to have a child that is travelling the world! Whew!  It sure was chaotic getting him off.  We made all kinds of gifts to send with him, including these  Bottle Cap Magnets .  I haven't heard yet if his hosts have enjoyed them, but really I'm just thankful he's there safe and sound and having a great time! While he was still here, I was sending off cards to him in the mail, so they would arrive the first week.  I didn't want him to miss his Mommy, you know! lol.  (I know, it was really for my benefit, not his, but hey, I'm just doing my best here!)  To sneak off his card, I made cards for his host families to thank them for opening their homes to my son.  Here's a picture of the two cards for the families.  My son's was similar, but I was afraid he would see the picture before he left.  (He was on to me anyway...

Some of the  Makers  that I used All lined up and ready to add the Dimensional Magic! I'm sorry that I have been absent here so much lately.  I really had the intention of getting more up here, but I have been spending so much time getting my son ready for an exchange trip to Japan.  Now that he's off, I can share some of the projects that we made before he left. He had to bring 40 small trinkets or such for an International Bazaar at a camp he was attending.  The kids pay up to $1 for items and the money goes to charity.  Apparently, the American items are popular, so we had to send 40.  We made bottle cap magnets and pins, using the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.  Also needed for this project were: Mod Podge Dimensional Magic Bottle Caps (can get them at the craft store or online) Scraps, buttons and beads for inside the bottle caps Magnets or pin backs Various Makers E 6000 or equivalent glue I cut...

Do you enjoy free food when you find it?  When friends offer free food do you take it?  How about going out an looking, hunting or fishing for free food in the "wild"?  Well, we've always taken whatever has been given for us for food, but I have to say that this week's gift of found food has to top the list for us!  We were given fresh morel mushrooms!    What a gift and blessing, for sure! Setting aside Mr. Right's want to just fry them in butter and eating them, I decided to look for a new recipe to spread out the enjoyment a little more.  My son let me know that he had some onion scapes read to harvest, too, so I was excited to find a recipe that called for chives, so I substituted the onion scapes instead, making another free bounty for our meal. Here's what the scapes look like, garlic scapes taste even better than these, but they don't even have as strong of a taste as chives do.  Cutting the flower off the onion before it blooms encou...

To see inside the book click  HERE. I was so excited to snag a copy of Cindy Woodsmall's new book "The Harvest of Grace" because I just love Christian Fiction books that are based on the Amish and of course I love every one of the Cindy Woodsmall books that I have read in the past.  "The Harvest of Grace" did not disappoint me in any way! True to the usual style of Woodsmall, "The Harvest of Grace", she takes you through the struggles of Amish characters between the call of their traditions and the call of their Christian walk.  In this story, Sylvia Fisher is a woman that after trouble with an old beau, is forced to move far from her family and the life that she has always known.  Unlike most Amish women, Sylvia has no desire to follow the usual path of an Amish woman of housekeeping and children, Sylvia's heart's desire is to run a dairy farm. As Sylvia fights to find her place and respect while trying revive a debt-laden farm from di...

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. - New American Standard Version (1995) I haven't really quoted scripture in my blog posts, because frankly, I'm not usually attracted to posts that are preaching.  But I wanted to include this scripture in my pursuit of healthy living.  This scripture has really been convicting me lately.  Here's another version this verse:  Everything is allowable to me, but not everything is profitable. Everything is allowable to me, but to nothing will I become a slave. - Weymouth Bible Why do I bring scripture to this post?  Well, I find myself exercising, drinking water, becoming more active, eating less of what I usually eat, and yet I still haven't lost a pound.  In the back of my mind, I keep feeling the Lord leading me to the thought that I need to make some sacrifices in my food.  That possibly, some things are just n...

You might have noticed the table runner that I made for our Ladies Tea back  HERE.   It was a very simple and inexpensive project to make, especially since I had the burlap sack on hand. Here's another view of how the runner looked with the table settings.  I just used simple whites to go with the burlap to keep things simple and clean looking.  I'm going to try to tell you how I made this runner.  You will need: Burlap sack White material - I used 100% cotton sheets, but you could use muslin or any material you'd like.  Just be sure the weight is light. Thread - matching and contrasting Scissors Sewing Machine Here's the sack I began with.  I found it at a rummage sale for $3!  I only bought four of them, but wished I had more in my budget for them all!  I've already sold one of my table runners and recouped my costs, plus made a little extra. The first thing that I did was cut off the side seams of the sack.  I lef...