Tutorial: Going Glam on the Cheap

Okay, my first tutorial. I did not intend to do this, but I got about 5 minutes into this project and decided that it was turning out better than I expected and other people might like to do this, too. It really started yesterday, when I was checking my email. In my inbox was a flyer suggesting that I might like this. Well, as a matter of fact, I do like that. I like it very much. But it costs $79.00. Really? Yes, really. I could bore you with a long list of better ways to spend $79 (like, almost 100 lbs. of organic rolled oats), but I won't. Suffice it to say I wasn't going to buy that wreath, no matter how much I love. Love. Love it.

So, I did what I always do when I find something I love that carries an outrageous price tag. I started trying to figure out how to make my own. I figured it out and put it together this morning - for about $10. Really? Yes, really. Here's what I did.

First, you will need a wreath. I got my supplies at Wal-Mart. Even though I hate Wal-Mart, I shop there. Don't worry, I flagellate myself with a wet noodle after every shopping trip. There are many to choose from. I chose the 20" Deluxe wreath that was $4.

You will also need some shatterproof ornaments. I bought a 24-pack of red and a 24-pack of silver. You can use whatever color you want. All of mine were the same size, but you can mix up sizes, too. I may go back and add some smaller ornaments later. Or I may not (you never know with me). Each pack was $5, and I used half of each package. So I used $5-worth of ornaments. I also used most of one 30-count package of 18" 20-guage florist wire, which was $0.77.

Because the florist wire was so long, I folded each wire in half.

Then thread the wire through the hole in the top of the ornament.

Spread the branches apart to make a little nest for the ornament.

Place the ornament in the "nest" with the top pressed firmly

against the frame of the wreath and the florist wire wrapped

around to the back. Tightly twist the wire at the back of the

wreath to hold the ornament in place.

I went around the wreath once, making the first "layer" of ornaments. Then, I went around a second time to fill in any sparse areas.

Voila! It looks a lot more sparkly in real life, but it's a gloomy kind of day here, so the photo's not great. I'm thrilled with it. It took $10 and an episode of Go Diego, Go! (The one where the roadrunner Roadie is in a big roadrunner race and there's a sandstorm and...oh, sorry) and I now have a gorgeous wreath on my front door! Woo hoo!

Sooner Chili

Yesterday I said I would post my chili recipe and a scarf pattern - so here we go!

Sooner Chili - I'm an Okie (but not from Muskogee) and an OU Sooner fan. Traditionally, I make my first batch of chili of the "season" for the OU vs. Texas football game. That's typically in October, and the weather has usually cooled off enough to make chili sound delicious again. Before I launch into the recipe, I have a couple of procedural explanations. I make my chili powder from dried chilies. I usually get them at the grocery store, but this year I have been lucky enough to score fresh poblanos from our friend Tim. I then dried them before using them in this recipe. I like to use 4-5 ancho chilies (dried poblanos), depending on their size and an equal amount of another type of chili pepper. Right now, I'm using California Chili Pods that I got from the grocery store. I have used New Mexico chilies before with good results. I don't think you can really go wrong - just pay attention to the heat rating.

Anyway, I take these 8-10 dried chili pods and put them on a cookie sheet along with two tablespoons whole cumin seeds. Put the pan in a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes. After three minutes, watch carefully because they will take on a strong flavor if they burn. I watch for them to puff up and they become very aromatic. I let them cool for a few minutes before handling them. Wear gloves if your peppers are packing heat. Pull off the stems and shake the seeds out into the trash. Pop the chilis into the blender with the cumin seeds and two teaspoons Mexican oregano. I have used oregano that wasn't labeled "Mexican" before with equally good results. Mexican oregano is usually a lot cheaper, though. Whirl this in the blender until is is a coarse powder. This is what I refer to as "chili seasoning powder." Now, on with the recipe.

• 1/2 cup chili seasoning powder
• 2 pounds ground meat
• Large onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 3 cans petite diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 3 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 can each pinto, kidney, and black beans, drained and rinsed

1. Add water to chili seasoning powder to make a thick paste and set aside.
2. In a large stock pot, brown ground meat (my fave is 1/2 pork, 1/2 beef - also great with turkey) with onions and garlic. Drain if needed.
3. Add chili paste to meat and stir well to coat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add jalapenos, tomatoes, bouillon cubes and three cups of water to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
5. Add beans. Return chili to simmer. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Now for the scarf pattern. I wish I had taken a picture so I could show how my adaptation differs from the original pattern I found, but I didn't. So, you'll just have to take my word for it that it is cute. The original is, too. Here's mine:

Gathered Scarf – My adaptation of the “Mother-in-Law Scarf”

Use size 10.5 needles and DK weight yarn.
· Using cable cast-on, cast-on 15 stitches.
· Knit through the front and back loop of each cast-on stitch to immediately double stitches to 30.
· Start 14-row pattern repeat:
Rows 1-6 stockinette stitch. Odd rows are right-side, even rows are wrong-side.
Row 7 knit two together all the way across to decrease to 15 stitches.
Rows 8-13 knit every row.
Row 14 knit through the front and back loop of each stitch all the way across to increase back to 30 stitches.
· Repeat rows 1-14 to desired scarf length. End with row 7 to leave 15 stitches.
· Bind off 15 stitches. Weave in ends.
Notes:
· Fun and quick knit!
· For a neat edge, slip the first stitch of each row knit-wise and knit the last stitch of each row (even the wrong-side rows). Do this for each row of pattern EXCEPT rows 7 and 14 for increase and decrease rows.
· KnitPicks Swish DK is soft and stretchy, knits up beautifully and is superwash wool – easy care for the wearer, especially if the scarf is a gift. Have knit this scarf in a different yarn, but prefer the Swish DK. Just over 2 skeins – not quite 2 ½ - yields a long fashion-type scarf. Just lovely!

I used the color "Beach Glass" for my sister-in-law's scarf and it is a gorgeous color. Hope you enjoy!

~B

Happy Independence Days Peter Piper

I believe I have officially pickled, jellied, and dried more pecks of peppers than Peter Piper ever shook a stick at. Seriously. It is the middle of November and my pepper plants are still producing like crazy. It is completely. Out. Of. Control. I'm not complaining, though. My mother-in-law gave me her old food dehydrator that was gathering dust in her attic. I have used it to dry our cayennes and our friend Tim's jalapenos and poblanos and apples and pears from the co-op. Tim has given us a lot of poblanos, which I love love love because I like to make my own chili powder and anchos (dried poblanos) are just great for that. I am getting such a kick out of all of these peppers that I am definitely going to grow more varieties next year - including our own poblanos. So, I don't have all my Independence Days stuff separated into categories, but I have been doing things nonetheless. Harvesting peppers, peppers, and more peppers. And some basil and chard. I have preserved peppers by drying and making jelly, basil by making pesto, and apples and pears by drying.

As far as eating the food, we have been eating a batch of chili a week for several weeks now. I'll post the recipe below. Peppers will not go to waste around here. I have not been as diligent about composting because all of my receptacles are full! Once hubby builds me another raised bed, I will have space to resume composting. We have been doing our usual recycling. I have been shopping regularly at a great little resale shop for most of our clothing. I made most of the kids' Halloween costumes. Actually, one of them - a cheerleader's costume/uniform - came from the resale shop and then I altered it to fit my 10-year old. My other girls were Tinkerbell and a mermaid with homemade costumes. My 8-year old boy was Optimus Prime and I must confess that his costume came from Target. Oh - and I made my sister-in-law a scarf for her birthday. It's a fun pattern and I'll post it below. It's an adaptation of this scarf.

I have been making a ridiculous amount of soap because I plan to give soapy love to teachers - and we have a lot of teachers this year :) - and for hostess gifts during the holidays. I plan to give a trio of soaps: Cranberry-Kaolin for shaving, Pumpkin Spice for general use, and Peppermint-Pumice foot scrubby soap. The first two are curing and I will be making the Peppermint-Pumice soap in the next day or two. Unlike cookies, soap can (and should) be made weeks in advance, so I am excited that our gifts will be ready early. I think it will take the pressure off during those last two crazy weeks before Christmas.

And speaking of Christmas, I have decided to reclaim my love of Christmas and the holiday season this year. I've been a little humbuggy the last few (like, 7 or 8) years because the frenetic pace of the hustle and bustle is a bit much for me. And, although it sounds cliche, the commercialization of Christmas really gets to me, too. I would love to get and give only handmade Christmas presents, but many of the givers in my life feel compelled to buy buy buy. They mean well, I mean, they mean the very very best...it's just too much, you know? Last year I asked my brother and his girlfriend to give us a small homemade gift and they said that they just don't have the skills. I remembered some of the gorgeous pics they had emailed me from their outings in Oregon and Colorado and asked for them to have a couple of them blown up to 8x10 and give those. My brother felt that that wasn't enough because it only cost, like, nine bucks to do. But to me, I ended up with four gorgeous pieces of original art for my home. Not only is it special to me because my brother and his lady took them, but it would have cost me a lot to purchase four 8x10 landscape photos at a gallery. And you know what? Once they saw the pics blown up, they decided that they liked them so much that they were going to use them in their own home! So, the moral of the story is that everyone has a skill that can be used for homemade gifts.

In an effort to reclaim Christmas and to share my love of handmade gifts, I am going to throw a kids' Christmas party and I am so so so excited. Kids just naturally understand the special nature of giving something they made with their own hands. So, here's what I am going to do:
1. I am going to take a picture of each kid when they arrive. Then, they will each decorate a ready-to-paint wooden frame (which I bought at Michael's yesterday for $1 each).
2. We're going to decorate cookies. Just because it's fun - no agenda here.
3. The kids are going to watch The Polar Express. I love that movie. Plus, it will give me time to print out the kids' photos and put them in the frames. After the movie, we will wrap up the framed photos and each kid will have a handmade gift for their parents to open on Christmas morning. Fun!
4. To help everyone remember that Christmas is a time of giving, I am asking everyone to bring a canned food item. They will use their food item as a ballot to cast a vote. I'm thinking we'll vote on our favorite Christmas treat, cookies vs. candy. But I also kind of like the idea of favorite holiday movie villain, Ebenezer Scrooge vs. The Grinch. I don't know.

Okay, this post has gotten way out-of-control-long, so I'm going to put my chili recipe and the scarf pattern in a separate post later today. Okay, so it may be tomorrow. I'll do my best!
Love,
B