DIY Hand Stamped Muslin Baby Blanket

 

I'm in love with the look and feel of muslin fabric and I think it is the perfect material to wrap those babies in, especially during these warm summer months.

 

I've seen them all over etsy and pinterest and looking into to buying some, I realized that I can make my own at much lower cost.

 

This project is SO SIMPLE! You can whip a few of these out in no time! I made two to start with and I plan to make more. I love fun and easy projects that give quick results.

 

Here is what you need:

 

• Flat surface (I used my kitchen table)
• Poster Board (x2)  or something to put under the fabric because the ink from the stamp will bleed through.
• Scissors
• Stamp
• Fabric Paint
• Paint Brush
• Paper Plate (not pictured)
• Muslin Fabric ( I bought mine for 50% off at Joann's)

I thought the fabric was kind of stiff so I did pre wash it. It will soften up each time you wash it, especially if you use fabric softener. I don't use fabric softener, I use white vinegar in my rinse cycle instead. That will help soften it too. You could maybe even soak the fabric in a white vinegar water bath for a bit to soften it quicker if you'd like. I get too impatient for that stuff though. Once I have the fabric for a project I'm doing, I can barley get it prewashed before I'm ready to dive in. And sometimes I don't even do that.

 





 

I bought two yards of fabric so I jut cut it in half.

 

Here's a tip if you aren't used to buying fabric. Don't get it cut in the store if you have to use a coupon. You'll notice on the coupon it will say something like "50% off one cut of fabric" So if you are getting more than one yard and you want to get the discount on all of it, just plan to cut it yourself.

 

I placed my posterboard on the table and just laid the fabric right over it.

 

Then I tested my stamp by brushing some paint over it and stamping my paper plate. Don't dip the stamp in the paint. Brush it on.

 

Then just start stamping! I just kind of filled the blanket in as I went.

 

 

I really like the peacock feather, even though the stamp didn't show up as clear as I would have liked. I think it just adds more character. But I also wanted to do one with a tree and couldn't find a stamp that I liked and was willing to pay for (stamps can get expensive!) so I made my own using a sweet potato and some crafting skills that I learned in Girl Scouts.

 

 

Once the paint was dry I just simply folded the edge over about 1/2in and ironed around it and then sewed it down with a zigzag stitch. I di not take photos of this, but I think you can figure that step out *wink.

 

Some things to note about this project:

 

It is ridiculously easy and so hard to mess up

 

The fabric is awesome in that you don't have to iron it.

 

1 yard of fabric makes blanket that is plenty big enough to wrap up your nundle of joy. I'm a big fan of extra large recieving blankets and this one fits the bill for that.

The paint faded just a little after I washed it in the end, but again, I think it makes it look better.

Next time I might get some fabric dye and fun with that!

Good luck! If you make your own, please share your picture with me!



 



Canned Strawberry Jam [without a canner]

My love for canning began a few years ago and started with stewed tomatoes. I get a little braver each year (is "braver" a word?) -  and have expanded my canning repertoire to include the most basic vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, corn, beans (all kinds of beans), potatoes, as well some meat and of course jam. I will be honest here and tell you that the first batch of jam I ever canned turned out HORRIBLE! I still have the jars sitting on my pantry shelves in the basement. I can't bring myself to throw the darn things away, but I will never use them. Don't ask me why I keep them. I also like to leave my freshly canned goods sitting on the counter for a few days when I'm done. I like to see them when I walk into the kitchen and admire them, I guess. That's kind of vain, isn't it?

 

Anyway, it took some experimenting for me to get my jam to turn out just right. I even tried freezer jam, but for some reason that was way too sweet for me. I know, right? Is there such a thing as too sweet? Well apparently, for me, there is.

 

Do you want to know the secret that I discovered to this whole jam canning mystery? Don't put the jam in a water bath. You should know that this method is not approved by the USDA or any government regulated agency that is associated in any way, shape, or form with food preperation. You should also know that I have discovered that this has been the method for many moons and just recently has been changed by the government. I will go no further on this subject because I want to keep this post positive ;-)

 

I should, however, add that waterbaths really are important when canning food. Just not jam. This is because the purpose of a water bath in canning is to process the food inside the jars and seal them to preserve them. Jams don't need this time in the water bath to be processed. You process it enough when you cook it and you just need to be sure that you preserve it by making sure your jars are sealed. You can overcook your jam by putting it in a waterbath. I'm telling you not to water bath your jams. I'm just saying that I don't.

 

Soooooo even though I am not actually going to give these guys a water bath, this is still a great way to get familier with canning because it introduces you to some of the process.

 

Let's get started.

 

According to the directions on the box of  Sure-Jell pectin, you will need:

 

5 cups of prepared fruit (about 2 qts of fully ripe strawberries)

1 box of sure-jell fruit pectin

1/2 tsp of butter or margarine (I don't use it)

7 cups of sugar (seriously. seven. God's perfect number, by the way)

 

You can buy your fruit in the local grocery store when it goes on sale or you can go strawberry pickin' with your kiddos, or you can go to a local farmer market and buy them freshly picked for you. I'm about 8 mo's pregnant, so that's what I did this year. I did start my own strawberry patch, but I'm not yeilding enough yet. YET! Next year I hope to use all my own berries.

 

Decide how many pints of jam you want when this is all said and done. The recipe above will yeild you about 4pts. I like to do about 20 (these make great gifts). Be sure that you don't double the recipe though. You can prepare enough fruit for 4-5 batchs, but when it comes to mixing everything - DO ONE BATCH AT A TIME! I promise it doesn't take that much extra time and the end results are worth it. Trust me on this one. I always do one batch at a time, but I usualy like to just do 2-3 batchs a day. If I'm going to make the mess, I might as well get all done.

 

Any successful canning operation begins with prepration. Once you have figured out how many jars you plan to fill, get your jars, rings, and lids out. Wash the jars and rings in hot soapy water or the dishwasher. And then once they are clean, you can place them in boiling hot water (or leave them in the dishwasher so that they are still steaming hot when you are ready to fill them). Put your lids in a bowl of boiled water and let them sit there while you prep your jam.

 

Now it's time to prepare your fruit. Wash and hull enough strawberries to accomidate your plans. Remember, you need about 2qts of strawberries for each batch. Hull means to take the stem off the tops of the berries. I like to leave a little berry on my stem and feed them to my chickens. They LOVE me for this.

 



 

Now it is time to crush your strawberries. Remeber that we are making jam - not jelly. You want to crush them. DO NOT PUREE THEM. That is a differant recipe. You can do this by using a potato masher or a food processor. But if you use a food processor, use the "chop" setting. I've made this mistake and it prevents your jam from setting right in the end. I don't like my jam to be really chunky, but I tend forget sometimes that the berries will cook down during the whole process, so leave them a little chunkier than you think you are going to want them in the end.

 

  

Get out a large saucepan (6-8qt size).

 

Measure out 7 cups of sugar into a large bowl and set it aside.

 

Now measure 5 cups of your crushed berries and pour into the pan. About 2 qts of strawberries should yield you about 5 cups once they are crushed.

 

Then add the pectin to the pan and stir it all together letting it cook over high heat until it comes to a rolling boil (a rolling boil means that it doesn't stop boiling/bubbling when you stir it).

 

 

Once it comes to a rolling boil, pour in the sugar and QUICKLY (but don't freak out about it) stir in your sugar. Then bring it back to a rolling boil and let it stay at a rolling boil for exactly 1 minute.

(I'm not sure I ever do exactly one minute. That's a lot of pressure. But get as close to it as possible)

 



 

You'll notice a nice layer of foam developing at the top of this concoction...

 

 

After the minute has passed, take your pan off the heat immediatly and skim off the foam.

 

Remove your jars from the pan with hot water (or the dishwasher) and immediatly begin filling your jars with jam. Sure-Jell says you should fill them 1/4in from the top. I eyeball that.

 

notice that I'm not grabing the HOT jars with my hands

also, notice that there is still a little foam left that I didn't skim off. Nobody is perfect.

 Take a wet washcloth and wipe off the top of your jars when you are done filling them. The purpose of this to be sure that when you put the lids on, they get a good seal on the jar.

 

 



Now place your HOT lids on the jars and, using a towel to grip the jars (because the jars and jam is very HOT), screw the rings on as tight as you can. Are you grasping the fact that everything still needs to be hot? If it's not, this won't work.

Now flip those babies upside down!

And leave them that way overnight. In the morning you can flip them back over and check to make sure they are sealed. You will know the jar is sealed if you press down on the lid and it doesn't pop. They pop on their own....and it is a lovely sound.

 



 

And there you have it, my friends. Homemade strawberry jam. Without a water bath.

 



 

Health Benefits of Dandelions

I think my favorite season will always be autumn, but every year I appreciate the springtime more and more. And as my interest in gardening and using herbs grows, I'm always finding new reasons to love the spring.

Last year I discovered that dandelions are not weed! Seriously. I'm 29 years old and I'm just learning this? I always did think that if they were a weed, then they were one of the prettiest weeds I'd seen. But it turns out that they actually are an herb. And every part of a dandelion is beneficial, from the root to the flower and everything in between.

The scientific name for the dandelion is "Taraxacum officinale". I'm not really one that cares for learning the scientific names of species, but this means "The official remedy for disorders", and I thought that was pretty interesting.

I've done a lot of reading on the many benefits of dandelions and I have learned that the root and leaves have been used since the bible times to help with every thing from regulating blood sugar levels, cleansing the liver, digestive health, healing acne, and I even read of a case where they helped cure cancer!

You can open the stem of the dandelion and use the milk inside to help bug bites as well.

You can purchase dandelion leaves and roots in bulk to be used for teas and other recipes. I purchase all of my herbs for such uses from The Bulk Herb Store. They do not pay me to endorse them. I discovered this site a couple of years ago and I love it.

You can also spend some time pursuing the web to learn more about this awesome herb and the many different ways you can incorporate it into your diet or daily routine.

Today I am going to show you a very simple recipe that you can do to create a salve. A salve, in case you don't know, is a "medical ointment used to sooth the surface of the body" (thank you wikipedia).

You can make or purchase salves that do many different things, but this salve will be useful not only for helping to heal those cracked and dried hands, but to help ease muscle pain and help achy joints.

I am a skeptic. So when I first discovered this and made my own, I did so as more of an experiment than anything else. I fell in love.  I have since used this recipe for gifts and every person I have ever gifted this to has asked me for more. It works. Here a a couple examples:

• My mother-in-law gets very sore hands. She is a quilter and she loves to garden too. I made her some of this salve for Mother's Day last year and she said that she could tell the difference in the way her muscles felt in her hands when she used it. I think she was surprised. She's a skeptic too.

• A friend of mine was complaining of chapped and broken skin so I made her some as a gift. She loved it so much she made a special order for some more and purchased it for gifts. She said it worked wonders on her cold sore as well.

• My son has EXTREMELY dry skin and I use this salve to help moisten it up

These are real examples , and I could share more, but i think you will find that you'll be able to testify for yourself once you've tried this. 

My recipe originates from The Nerdy Farmwife's blog. She has many recipes for dandelions, but you can find recipes like this all over and they are all very similar. The only change I made to it was that I added about 20 drops of lavender oil to mine. Dandelions don't smell horrible, but lavender smells much better and don't even get me going on the healing benefits of that! Lavender is awesome and if I were stranded on an island and had only one essential oil to take with me, I'd pick lavender.

Anyway - here we go...

I am a picture person. I like to see how things come together as you will notice. I took a picture of things you'll need to get started. Here's my list:

• Dandelions heads
• Lavender Oil (or whatever other scent you love)
• A Carrier oil. I've used sunflower, olive, safflower..... whatever you do, use organic. This is going on your skin and your skin is an organ, and every thing you put on your skin will be absorbed into your bloodstream. That's a fact.
• Beeswax Pellets
• A couple of canning jars (size will depend on how much your making)
• Little jars to put the salve in. I usually use baby food jars that I saved, but sometimes I buy cute little containers from the local health store if I'm making a gift. 

In order to make the salve you must first make an infused oil with the dandelions.

1. Gather your dandelion heads and lay them out on a cookie sheet to dry out for a day or two. If it's not too breezy and the sun is shining, you can sit them in the sun to help them dry faster.

2. Once you are confident that they are dry, fill a jar about 1/2 to 3/4 full of the dandelion heads and then pour your carrier oil over them and fill the jar to the top and seal it.

3. You can heat the jar in boiling water for a few hours to jump start the process, or let it is steep in a cool, dark place for a few weeks. If you heat the jar in water, I still recommend letting the jar steep for a few days to a week. You want the oil to have a high concentration of that dandelion goodness. I promise it will be worth the wait. If you skimp out on this part of the process, all your efforts will be in vain because your salve won't be very potent.

4. Strain your oil with a cheese cloth or something similar and discard the dandelions. Pour your newly infused oil back into the jar and seal it! Store in a cool and dry place for safe keeping.

Okay, so you've tried your patience and your dandelion oil is FINALLY ready.... lets make some salve, shall we?!

You'll need about 0.5oz of beeswax pellets and 3.5oz of your dandelion oil to yield one serving size...depending on how big of a jar you are using (this will fill a few 1oz baby food jars). I recommend starting out with this ratio until your are comfortable with the process and then you can play around with the recipe to make as much or as little at a time as you'd like. For the purposes of this tutorial, that is the ratio I am using. Also, keep in mind that a little salve goes long way. 

1. Measure out your beeswax and put it into a jar (for this ratio, a 1/2 pint jar will suffice) and measure out your oil.

2. Combine the two ingredients by pouring your infused oil into the canning jar.

3. Fill a small sauce pan about 1/2 full of water and put it on the stove with medium heat.

4. Place your jar in the pan and let it heat up with the water.

5. Continue to heat your jar of oil until all the beeswax has melted. It won't take too long and sometimes I have to stick a butter knife in to stir up the wax a little. This is also the point that I'll add about 15-20 drops of lavender oil, which makes the house smell lovely as it heats up.

6. Once its melted. Turn off the heat and using something other than your bare hand, remove the HOT JAR from the boiling water and pour your concoction into whatever container you are using. Let it sit on the counter for a bit to cool and harden. And you're done! 

Now you can enjoy your new salve and fall in love with it as much as I did and make fun gifts for all your friends that they will love and enjoy too!

Now go grab a basket (and maybe some kids) and pick some dandelions! And don't pick them from other peoples yard because you may not know if they spray stuff on their lawn. You want organic dandelions for the same reason that you want to use organic oil that I mentioned above.

Good Luck! Please let know if you do this and how it goes, or if you have any questions!