Gabriel's Garden Journal

Here's a quick tutorial on how to put together your own garden journal. I did this one for our nephew, Gabriel. The printable worksheets were copied from Homesteadgarden.com.

Hope you're having a wonderful time gardening this season!:)

Chalkboard canister labels

This organizing project was in my mind for quite a while, so I was glad to finally get it done a few days ago. I've seen jars with chalkboard labels at craft stores, but they cost more than I'd like to spend. I knew I could put some together affordably, as well as make them removable (in case I want to change my canisters or put the labels elsewhere!;). 

I found this chalkboard sticker sheet at the dollar store. It actually has a big sticker on the back, too, so there's lots of room to write things on if you want to use it the way it is. This was my starting point on the project. I also gathered a pencil, scissors, ruler, glue stick, photo corners, sticker dots and chalk to make it all come together.

I used my ruler to make strips along both stickers. Removing the white decoration, I was able to make the labels 2-3/4" by 1-1/4 inches.

I left the backing on the labels so that they wouldn't permanently adhere to my canisters. You can remove these type of stickers from walls, but not from plastic canisters. I glued on some pretty gold photo corners to each corner. 

Using white chalk, I wrote a dry good item on each label. I placed a few sticker dots to the back of each before placing them on my containers. 

I'm happy with the end result. Best of all, it hardly cost me a thing, since I had most of the items on hand. Besides being able to erase the labels as needed, they can easily be removed by peeling off the sticker dots. If it leaves a sticky residue, you can wipe it off with some Goo Gone to make your canister as good as new!

Hope you can use this tip for better organization anywhere in your house. What's your latest organizational project? I'd love to hear about it!

Canon's Spiderman t-shirt

A while back, I saw a post on Dollar Store Crafts that caught my eye. Heather explained how to paint a t-shirt using acrylic paints. This last fall, I started planning what I would make my nephews and nieces for Christmas. I came up with something for three of the families (will post about this next!). Since each of those families have three or four kids, I made them something they could play with together. But with Canon as an only child, I kept brainstorming until I saw this backpack at Wal-mart: 

It was in the clearance bin for $1. Next to it was a pile of t-shirts for $1. Then, it hit me--why not make him a t-shirt to match the back pack? I also ended up making a Spidey wallet, too, as you all know. 

I set out to work, using Heather's post as a guide. The first thing I did was photocopy the picture on the back pack. 

Then, I cut out the photocopy and traced it onto the t-shirt using tailor's chalk. Looking at the picture on the backpack, I drew on the main details, mostly to identify the separation of colors.

Spiderman's main colors are red and blue, so this step was easy to do. I used acrylic paint to color him in. It's very important that if you try this that you don't use washable acrylic paint.

This next step was challenging, but I was pleased with the end result. I added depth to this character by adding shading to his body. I added a touch of black paint to each of the colors, then painted lines to show his knee bends and muscles. Then, I added his white eyes and outlined them in black.

The final touch to his body was adding the black web lines. Q took me to Hobby Lobby when it was snowing heavily just to get the right tool to do this! I bought a fine tip fabric marker and finished him up. I also added some light blue shading around his eyes. Using both light blue and dark blue paint, I gave him the web he's holding onto.

After the paint dries for 24 hours, it's important to heat set it. There are a few ways to do this. You can either take a solution of vinegar and water (half and half), dip the shirt into it, then dry it in your dryer. Or you could just throw it into the dryer for a few minutes or iron the painting from the inside of the shirt (be sure to use a cloth to protect the other side of the shirt). I ended up doing the last two ways mentioned. I'd like to try the vinegar method, but the other ways seemed to work okay, too.

Canon loves his new shirt. You can see him wearing it here. Hope this gives you a fun craft idea you can do for special people in your life.

Happy crafting!

How to make a baby crinkle square

A few months back, I saw a tutorial on how to make a baby crinkle square toy. The idea comes from this blog. I did a couple things differently, but I think it still turned out well. With the cute motifs included on the fabric panel with the cloth baby book, I thought this would be the perfect way to use a couple of them! Kelly's little guy will love playing with (and drooling all over) this simple fabric toy. 

Here's how you can make your very own baby crinkle square. First, gather up these materials:

two pieces of fabric, 6x6 inches square (I used lightweight denim, but flannel is also a great option!)

ribbon of various widths and colors, cut into 3-inch pieces (I cut out 12 pieces, but you can do less if you want.)

two appliques to iron on or stitch on 

piece of crinkly plastic

sewing machine

Now, here's how to put it all together:

1. Stitch on (or iron on) your appliques, putting one on each piece of fabric.

2. On one piece of fabric, loop and sew on your ribbon all around the edge. Have the loops face the inside of the square.

3. Cut out a piece of crinkly plastic the same size as your fabric squares.

4. Sew on the plastic piece to the back side of the other fabric piece. Stitch as close to the edge as possible, like a 1/4-inch margin.

5. Sew both fabric squares together, right sides facing each other. Leave a couple inches open for turning.

6. After turning the square to the right side, top stitch all around the edge using a zig-zag stitch (or any other embroidery stitch you like). This will close the opening and give it a nice decorative touch.

Ta-da! You're done! 

This is the other side of the crinkle square I made. The duck and turtle motifs are adorable! Have fun making a bunch of these for your baby or for baby shower gifts. The crinkly sound will be fun for them, and it also gives them something to chew on as they're teething.;) 

Christmas Card Village

I could not wait to do this project for Christmas this year. I read about it last year in a book called, Simply Green Giving by Danny Seo. I saved my favorite Christmas cards to make this very green and frugal craft. Older children can help put this one together, too.

Take a look at my Christmas card village:

To make your own wintery card village, here's what you'll need:

three greeting cards (for each house you want to make)

scotch tape

scissors

fiberfill

card stock or paper scraps from trimming your cards

tissue paper (optional)

enclosed tea light candle or rechargeable light

1. From your stash of cards, find three that are identical in size. If you have to trim a couple to make them all the same, be sure to save the scraps, as you can use those to make your window panes.

2. On one card, cut out a small window on each side. On the other card, cut out a window and a door. Cut down one side and top of a long rectangle for the door, being sure you can fold it to the side to make it look like it's half way open.

3. Using card stock or your extra card scraps, make window panes on your window openings. Tape the pieces on the inside of the cards. You can tape sheets of tissue paper if you'd like as well.

4. Tape the two cards together from the inside to create a box shape. 

5. Cut the third card in half along the existing crease and tape each half to the sides of the box. Attach the two pieces together to create the finished roof.

6. To make my houses look cute and whimsical, I put tape on the top corners of each roof. 

7. To create a snowy effect, place fiberfill around your card houses.

8. I also tried lighting up my houses by putting in an enclosed tea light candle. To make things safer, I think I would put in a battery-operated tea light candle instead. It looks so pretty at night!

I really enjoyed dressing up my coffee table with this simple decoration. These paper houses can be made for other seasons by using other types of cards--Easter, Thanksgiving--you name it! And what can you do with them when the season is over? Give them to the little people in your life and they will have fun playing with them. 

Have an enjoyable time decorating your home this Christmas season.

"Give thanks" turkey magnets

These turkey magnets were a hit with the kids on Wednesday night. They enjoyed helping me put these together for them. Here's a quick tutorial on how to make your own for your family or friends:

It all started with a simple drawing of what I wanted my turkey to look like. Here's my pencil drawing. Disregard the colors, as I ended up changing a couple of them later on.

These are the materials you'll need:

sparkly colored pipe cleaners

craft foam

googly eyes

small magnet

scissors

pencil

fine tip black marker

strong craft glue or glue sticks and glue gun

How to: Using my pictures as your guide, use a pencil to draw out your turkey pieces on craft foam. To give you an idea on measurements, the round body piece is 2 inches in diameter. Cut out two feet and beak from orange foam, his head from dark brown foam, his body from light brown foam and his gobbler from red foam. Then, cut out your pipe cleaner pieces as follows: two pieces of red that are 6 inches long, two pieces of yellow that are 6 inches long and one of each yellow and red that are 4 inches long.

Put your turkey together by gluing on each piece. If using regular glue, let it dry for a while. Hot glue dries fast, but be careful with the kids around. They can still help by passing you each piece and watching you glue it on. To put on the pipe cleaners, fold them over so that the ends touch, then glue them to the back of the turkey body. The kids enjoyed doing this and they even came up with the idea to twist the ends so that it would be easier to glue. 

Once you have your pipe cleaners on, glue on your magnet and let dry. When he's all done, turn him around and write, "Give Thanks" on his body. 

Ideas for using this fun turkey magnet:

Cut out a bunch of turkey pieces and use them in a kids' club like I did for some crafty fun!

Make these with your own kids, nephews, nieces on Thanksgiving. Assign an older sibling or adult to work with them while you get your dinner together.

Give them to some folks at your local nursing home. Include a card and they will be so encouraged!

Use it in your own home to hold your child's drawings and school papers during this season.

Better yet, use it to hold Scripture passages written on 3x5 cards that talk about giving thanks and praising God. You and your family could even write things your thankful for and take turns letting your turkey hold it. You will all be reminded to give thanks each day.

Here's Mieka holding her turkey. She loved it!

Have fun making these cute turkey magnets with the kids in your life!

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus 

concerning you." I Thessalonians 5:18

How to make flour tortillas!

I've been wanting to make my own flour tortillas for a long time now, but didn't think I had enough time (plus I was a bit intimidated by the whole thing, really!). I thought it would take me a half day to make these, but they didn't. It took me about an hour from start to finish to make a dozen large tortillas. This recipe comes from our friend, Gloria, who did a lesson on making these at a ladies fellowship a couple years ago! I can't believe that I've had this recipe that long without trying these myself. So, finally...here goes...

Flour Tortillas 

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup coconut oil or butter flavored shortening

2 cups hot water (as hot as you can stand to touch)

Step 1: Mix together, BY HAND, all dry ingredients.

Step 2: Add water and mix by hand.

Step 3: Knead dough until it is nice and smooth.

Step 4: Form the tistales (small fat disk-shaped dough pieces approximately 3/4" thick and 3 inches in diameter).

Step 5: Roll the tistales into 8-inch circles. (I'm not sure how big mine were, as I experimented with different amounts of dough to roll out.) You'll want to make sure that you roll it out as thin as possible!

Step 6: Place on a hot cast iron griddle (comal). You will not need to grease the pan. (I learned this the hard way when I put my first one on there and it came out so greasy.--yikes!!) Turn tortilla until done (about 30-45 seconds on each side).

Step 7: Enjoy your warm homemade tortillas! I used ground turkey to make our soft tacos. Another lady in my church gave me a recipe for making your own taco seasoning mix. Q and I both enjoyed this new seasoning. Try it out for yourself!

Taco Seasoning Mix (makes 2 cups)

Mix together with a fork the following ingredients:

3/4 cup dried, minced onion

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons salt

1/4 cup chile powder

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon marjoram (optional)

2 tablespoons dried red pepper (optional)

2 teaspoons dried, minced garlic

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons paprika

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons mix and 1/2 cup water to 1 lb ground beef or turkey. Simmer until thickened.

How to enjoy berries all summer long....

As I walked into King Sooper's (a Kroger grocery store) yesterday, I saw the 10 for $10 sign where the strawberries and raspberries were--yahoo! I was delighted, for we at the Johnson household love berries. I really like strawberries, but Q likes any kind, especially raspberries. I don't like paying 3-4 dollars per package, so this $1 deal was great! I picked up 3 pounds of strawberries and five 6-oz. containers of raspberries.

Of course we can't eat that many all at once, so I decided to freeze them. I remembered that I saw Erin's post on her blog www.5dollardinners.com, about how to freeze berries, so I knew I could do this too. What I did was very similar to what she did, so I'll go ahead and show you how you can enjoy berries all summer long...and through the year if you get lots of them on sale!

The first thing you want to do is take out all the dead leaves and mushy berries as you rinse them. I placed mine in a colander and used the spray nozzle to get them really clean. Lay them on a towel to dry. 

After I washed my strawberries, I pulled the leaves off and proceeded to take out the hulls. I read somewhere that an easy way to do this is to use a straw. Poke the straw through the bottom and out through the top. It's pretty easy to do, but with large strawberries, you may have to go through a second time to make sure that the hull is completely gone.

I placed wax paper on a cookie sheet and put my berries on top. You'll want to make sure that this is done in a single layer so that each berry can freeze individually, instead of in clumps. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few hours (or overnight).

I remembered that I had a Ziplock vaccuum sealer and bag starter kit that I received free in the mail a while back. Any type of freezer bag or container would work, but I thought that using this kit would be great for keeping the berries really fresh. Measure out your berries and seal them in well. Write the date and how much you have in there for future reference.

Last night, while the berries were still freezing on the baking sheet, I heard the sound of someone munching on something. I walked into the kitchen and saw Q standing there with a bowl of granola and raspberries. I couldn't believe it! I told him that those were for freezing and not for eating. His response? "I just took a few to eat now." So, what did I do? I went back to King Sooper's today to get a few more packages of berries to freeze and one package specifically for him to enjoy now. I showed it to him tonight and told him he could eat as many of these as he wanted on his granola tomorrow.:)

And just for kicks, I decided to freeze chunks of bananas. Lizzy at Uplifted Eyes experimented with this, so I thought I would try it, too. They are in the freezer right now as I write this. They are awaiting the next step to be put into those freezer bags. I hope it works!

Now, can't you just taste the banana-berry smoothies or berry pies and muffins that will come out of this frozen crop? Can't wait!

Growing sprouts

I was recently inspired from a calendar I have on how to grow sprouts. It's one that is put out by the ministry called, No Greater Joy. They gave some information on their March page on how to do this easily. They also shared a link that you could go to for more information. Go here to check it out. Between those two sources, as well as the information on the seed packet itself, I felt like I was ready to venture out into doing this. 

There are several kinds of sprouting seeds to choose from: garbanzos, mung, lentils, peas, alfalfa, barley, broccoli, sunflower, cabbage, clover, flax, and pumpkin. My regular grocery store didn't carry any of these, so I went to a health food store instead (Vitamin Cottage). I bought alfalfa seeds there. Alfalfa sprouts are great--but you'll come across in your research on that they sometimes carry bacteria. You can soak alfalfa seeds in a 2% bleach solution (1 tsp. bleach to 1 cup hot water,then rinse well). I didn't do this, as I don't use bleach anymore, so I just soaked the seeds for a while in water and rinsed them well. 

The first thing to do is to wash the seeds and pour them into a jar. It's recommended to use a wide-mouth glass jar, quart-size or larger. Put 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of seed for a quart-size jar. I used less seed because my jar was a little smaller. Use cheesecloth (I used flour sack cloth and it worked just fine) to cover the opening and secure it with a rubber band. Each day, you need to rinse the seeds 2-3 times. Just add some water through the cloth, swirl it around, then empty it. Keep the jar laying on its side in a dark place (like a cupboard). After a couple days, they'll look like the picture above. The sprouts are just starting to come out!

Continue rinsing the seeds at least 2 times a day. My cloth started turning yellow, but there are no worries about that! I can put on a new piece of cloth each time I want to sprout some seeds.

After 4-6 days, the sprouts should be between one and two inches. It's time to get them in the sun for "greening" (to get chlorophyll into them). About a day before harvesting, place the jar on a windowsill to get some sunshine. It's amazing to see them transform from white to green in a matter of hours. The jar can be kept there for a few hours or even a whole day. After this step, rinse the sprouts and drain well. Place them in an air tight container, like a zip lock plastic bag. Leave some room for air circulation and refrigerate.

Don't they look just lovely sitting in this bowl? This new batch of sprouts can be kept for up to a week in the refrigerator. They can be rinsed every day or so to keep fresh. They shouldn't stay too wet-- just moist. Yesterday, we enjoyed turkey sandwiches with some friends. We all added some sprouts inside and it was great! Sprouts are so healthy for you, so try to think of ways you can incorporate them into your diet. They are wonderful in salads, soups, sandwiches and other dishes. Enjoy!

How to make your own set of Resurrection Eggs

Earlier this week, I finished putting together my own set of "Resurrection Eggs." We'll be doing an egg hunt with our jr. church kids on Sunday. When I taught K5, my co-worker who taught K-4, helped the students make their own set each year. She taught them the Easter story and then they learned how to share it with their family and friends using the eggs.

I found a way to make these from Ellie Kay's book, How to save money every day. There is an entire chapter that focuses on how to make holidays meaningful and inexpensive. I know Easter is just a few days away, but this project is so fast and simple, that you can easily incorporate it into your Sunday celebration.

I will explain how to make your own set so you can share the true meaning of Easter with your children, Sunday School classroom--or even the kids in your neighborhood!

I first found this basket at a thrift store for a dollar. Then, 12 plastic easter eggs were purchased for just a dollar, too. (pretty inexpensive so far, eh?--but you may already have these things.) I numbered each egg with a black permanent marker.  I lined the bottom of the basket with some plastic so that the grass wouldn't fall out. I used dried moss instead of the green Easter grass. You can use whichever you prefer. I just happened to have the moss already on hand.

Then, I gathered these every-day materials to put inside each egg. I've also given the explanations that Ellie Kay shares in her book. 

#1:  Contains a cracker, a remembrance of the Last Supper.

#2:  Holds a dime, representing the silver coins Judas received for betraying Jesus.

#3:  Contains a piece of rope like the soldiers used to bind Jesus' hand when they arrested him.

#4:  This egg is filled with purple cloth, symbolic of royalty and the taunting Jesus faced when He called himself King.

#5:  Carries a thorn for the prickly crown pressed onto Jesus' head. (I cut off a little branch off my rose bush with a few thorns on it.)

#6:  Opens to a cross representing the one Jesus died on so we could be forgiven. (To make it simple, I made a tiny cross from brown felt, then glued a red heart on it.)

#7:  Holds a nail, as Christ was nailed to the cross.

#8:  Has a piece of sponge, reminding us of the vinegar given to Jesus when He asked for water.

#9:  Carries a tooth pick with a foil tip, symbolic of the spear hurled into Jesus' side. (I had to cut down my tooth pick just a bit to make sure it fit inside the egg.)

#10:  Contains a piece of gauze, symbolizing Jesus' burial wrapping.

#11:  Cradles a rock, symbolic of the tombstone rolled away by an angel.

#12:  Is empty!  The tomb was empty because Jesus is no longer dead, but alive!

In her book, Ellie says that she made this set ten years ago, before it was available on the market.  Family Life Today sells these resurrection eggs on their website. The items inside the eggs differ some, but the story is still the same. Jesus died for our sins, rose again, ascended up to Heaven--and invites us to receive Him as our Savior so that we can have eternal life through Him!

How to make surrillitos (Puerto Rican corn fritters)

Mom made us another Puerto Rican appetizer called surrillitos (soo-rri-yi-tos). It's basically a cheese-filled corn fritter.  I remember helping my mom make these when I was a kid.  They are a crunchy and yummy treat!  I will describe the way she made them this time, but I wanted to let you know of an alternate method.  You can omit the cheese in the cornmeal mixture, and instead, add a small cube of cheese by placing it inside the unfried fritter. Here's the recipe and the method with the grated cheese mixed in:

Surrillitos   

1 cup water

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons butter or margarine

dash salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup cornmeal

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

vegetable oil

Yield: 1 dozen corn fritters

Step 1:  Pour the water, milk, butter, salt, sugar and cornmeal into a small saucepan.  Mix well on medium-low heat.  Add the shredded cheese and mix again.

Step 2:  Keep stirring the batter until it thickens.

Step 3:  Spread the thick batter onto a plate and let it cool for a few minutes.

Step 4:  Pour oil into your pan and set the stove temperature to medium heat.  Form the cornmeal batter into 3-4 inch long fritters.  They'll look like mini hot dogs!  Carefully place them into the pan and watch them sizzle.

Step 5:  Cook them for a few minutes until they turn a golden brown.  You'll have to turn them over once or twice to get them crispy all the way around.

Eat them warm as a snack or as a part of a meal.  Believe me--they will disappear fast off the table!  Enjoy!

How to make fried plantain chips (amarillos)

For part of our dinner today, Mom made an easy appetizer called amarillos (meaning "yellows"). They are basically fried plantain chips that are a treat in Puerto Rico.  My dad is a native Puerto Rican. My mother was born in the states, but when she was a young teen, moved to the island with her mom and siblings.  She met my dad and began dating him during high school. They moved to California where they came to know the Lord. They were married soon after being saved and have lived there ever since.

So many people think my mom is Puerto Rican and I can see why.  She speaks Spanish fluently, knows the culture and can cook the food without a recipe!  She thought it was a neat idea for me to post this tutorial on how to make plantain chips.  They are very good--sweet and salty at the same time.  Wouldn't this be a fun thing to make when you have friends over?  I think my teen gals would love learning how to make some thing like this.

Okay, so here goes...enjoy!

Fried Plantain Chips

2 plantains

canola or vegetable oil

salt 

Step 1:  Peel the plantains and slice them diagonally about a 1/2 inch thick.

Step 2:  Pour oil into a frying pan until it's about an inch deep.  Get it nice and hot for a few minutes on medium heat.  You may even want to start this while you finish up your slicing.

Step 3:  Place each slice one at a time into the pan to avoid splashing the hot oil.  Cook the plantain until it turns golden brown.  Turn over the slices to cook the other side. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook it in a couple batches.

Step 4:  Place golden brown plantain chips on a plate covered with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt.  You'll want to let it cool just a bit because they taste awesome warm!