Salt & Pepper Stove Basket

Just a quickie project today! The age old question of where to put the salt and pepper near the stove?

I'm sure you've all done this and tried balancing the salt and pepper on the back of the stove. Either you accidentally add too much salt to your pan, or have it fall off the back and you're resigned to have lost something else behind the oven. Nope! I'm not fishing it out for you!

So, I went to my local home decor store and found a wall mounted basket. Pretty much any home store will have something like it. Screw it into the wall just above your stove with enough clearance below to clean the ledge and above so you can get your items in and out of the basket.

Tada! You can now hold all your salt and pepper containers right next to the stove. I have regular salt and pepper. Salt and Pepper grinders and a cellar of Himalayan Pink Salt. There's room for an oven thermometer. No more messes and they stay put.

I don't have a card or label to put on the front of the basket yet. Let me know if you have something fun to add to the basket.

Light the World Wreath

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints launches their #LightTheWorld campaign every Christmas. The focus is to act kindly and do acts of service for anyone around you to brighten their holiday season. I wanted to create a wreath that showcased lights and stars with the Light the World phrase right in the middle.

This beautiful wreath was made using products from a variety of manufacturers, none of which are associated with The Church of Jesus Christ. Other opinions and ideas are all my own.

I already had some of the tools and supplies needed for this, including a high quality Wood Burning Set from Plaid  that has a temperature control, sturdy tips, and comes with a nice storage case. I was anxious to try it out for the first time on some wood cutouts that I had.

The flat tip attachment can be used to transfer laser printed images onto wood. In my design program I created a star shape the same size as my wood piece and centered the text I wanted to use in the middle of it. It helps to use a font with no color fill so you can see the outside edges to trace when you start the wood burning. Don't forget to use the mirror image setting so the text is the right direction when it transfers to the wood.

Cut out the paper and tape it face down to the wood and turn the heat setting for the wood burning tool to the line separating the orange and red sections. After it heats up use it by applying even pressure and move in circular motions to transfer the toner to the wood. You can peek under the paper to confirm it is working and you didn't miss any spots. I reused the paper on a second star and it worked, just a bit lighter.

I used two different star cutouts planning to use the one I liked better when I was done. Wait for the tool to cool down before changing to the universal tip. Turn the heat setting for the wood burning tool to the red section and wait for it to heat back up. Then practice on paper or scrap wood!  Find a technique that works for you, but remember, you can always go back over a section to make it darker, but you can't make it lighter. Go slow and gently touch the tool to the wood until you get the hang of it.  When you feel comfortable you can go for it, I recommend lightly tracing the edges of the letters, and then filling in the gaps.

Not bad, for my first time wood burning! I liked the thicker star better. The words on that star were smoother than on the thinner star.

Now get your wreath supplies. I went to my Smiths Marketplace and got some discounted Christmas decorations and I had a coupon. Christmas sales are the best!

I got a small wreath, gold star ornaments, branch picks, gold berry picks, and gold wired ribbon. I also had a small string of led wire lights left over from another craft project.

Using floral wire, start wire-wrapping the branch picks to the wreath.

It might be a good idea to have a rough design planned out. Remember, floral arrangements look better using an odd number of groups. So you can divide your decorations into 3 different sized groups and choose areas to put them.  I wanted to have my main group on the right side just below the center with the other two areas on the left side to balance it out.

Next start adding the stars and the gold berries. The stars worked better wiring the points of the star to the tips of the wreath branches, making them visible and stable.

Then add a star and a group of three berries a third of the way around the wreath from the main group.

That left me with three berry picks in my last group, which I put in the empty area, leaving space for the bow on the top.

It's starting to look pretty good. At this point, make sure your decorations are firmly attached and won't fall off if knocked around a little.

Attach your wood burned star ornament to a gold ribbon and hang from the middle of the wreath. Then make a big bow with long tails and wire that to the top of the wreath over the knot where you tied the star. Then I made a ribbon loop and tied that to the top behind the bow so you can hang it up on a wreath hook. Wrap the wire led lights all the way around. Hiding or hanging the battery pack behind the knot of the big bow.

Doesn't it look great? I like how the ribbon weaves through the branches on the wreath and through the ornaments. The Light the World star is right in the middle where you can see it.

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Gilded Gold Foil Glass Ball Ornaments

This post has been sponsored by Plaid. I have received product from Plaid, but all opinions are my own. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy, #ad#plaidcrafts

It's been 20 plus years since the last time I've made these ornaments, and Plaid Mod Podge has been around since then. The classic look of gilded gold balls may withstand another 20 years and still look great on your Christmas tree.

I've used some of my own supplies that I had laying around, but they are still available in a new form. You can take breaks in between drying times and come back later to move on to the next step.

Supplies you'll need (where to buy links included):

Glass Ball Ornaments

Gold Tissue Paper (not plastic gold tissue)

Gold Transfer Foil (Deco Foil)

Gold Ribbon

Mod Podge

Foiling Glue (Aleene's doesn't make it anymore)

Foam brushes

You can use Deco Foil sheets and Deco Foil Liquid adhesive for this project. The ornaments should be glass because you'll need to take the caps off the balls and some plastic ones are not removable. I used my own supplies that were still good after all these years and the lifetime supply of gold tissue paper that I saved from the trash at my work place in the 1990's.

Remove all the caps from your glass ball ornaments. I got my ornaments from At Home, and they were cheaper than the ones at the craft stores. I like these ones because the glass under the cap is rolled and melted at the edge instead of cut. (great for safety purposes)

Prepare your gold tissue paper by cutting or tearing it into approximately 1 inch pieces. Torn edges smooth down better when applying. I cut mine into strips and then tore them.

Start by painting a patch of Mod Podge and lay some pieces of paper on it.

Then paint some more Mod Podge on top of the paper smoothing down the edges of the paper while painting. A few wrinkles in the paper are fine, and the foil will highlight them.

Keep adding pieces of paper all the way around the ball and smoothing the edges down as you go. Your fingers will get a little messy while holding on to the ball at the neck. Don't bother applying paper all the way up the neck of the ball. The cap and ribbon will cover most of it. Check for blank spots.

Invert the ball on a chopstick or skewer and stand it up inside a tall glass or push into a foam block. Don't let them touch as they dry. Allow 10-15 minutes to let the Mod Podge dry. By the time you get to your last ball, the first few will already be dry.

Using a separate foam brush and tray, squirt out a small puddle of foiling glue. The purpose of this glue is to remain tacky after it dries. Very lightly add a very thin layer of the foiling glue to the ball. You do not have to cover the entire ball with glue, some missed spots are perfectly fine. You don't want to completely cover the tissue paper layer underneath.

When the foiling glue is dry and no longer white, you're ready to foil. The thin layer of glue will dry faster than what it says on the bottle. Dry time is about 10-15 minutes. It will remain tacky to the touch. Try not to handle the ball too much and take off some of the tackiness with the oils in your hands.

Cut a section of transfer foil off and rub it down, shiny side up, on the surface of your ball. You can use your fingers or the back of a spoon to really burnish the foil on to the surface. Keep using the same piece of foil on the entire surface of the ball to your satisfaction or until all of the foil is used up on your cut piece. It will look like a clear piece of plastic when used up.

Now you have gold on gold texture on your ornament! Time to add the ribbon. Use a ribbon that is approximately the same width as the neck of your ornament ball to cover up the cap and gaps in the tissue paper layer. I cut my ribbon to 8 inches long, tied in a double knot and trimmed the ends. Feel free to use a longer piece to tie a bow.

Thread some gold twine or an ornament hook through the end and hang on your tree. Pink and gold are a very fancy color combination.

I'm making more of these for my neighbors for Christmas! My husband is helping me with the rest of them.

This project is all my own and associated text included. This post is sponsored by #plaidcrafts. Links to other sites are for your convenience. I am not compensated if you click through to them.

About Plaid

Plaid offers so many amazing products and includes lines from lots of well known names including:

• Apple Barrel
• Delta
• Folk Art
• Martha Stewart
• Mod Podge
• Waverly

...and many more. Check out Plaid's collection of DIY craft projects for more inspiration!

More Homemade Christmas Ideas

1. Marble Christmas Ornaments
2. Clothespin Reindeer Ornament
3. Snowman Mason Jar Gift
4. Holiday Cricut Projects
5. DIY Ribbon Ornaments

Cub Scout Webelos New 2017 Tracking Sheet

I'm a newly called Cub Scout Webelos Den Leader for my LDS ward and somehow still trying to figure out how to get these 10 year old boys passed off for both their Webelos Badge and their Arrow of Light in one year. I was given a big binder of paperwork and manuals that tracked the current boys' progress and told to get chartered right away and get trained. Somehow in that rushed time no one mentioned that the cub scout requirements were changed at the end of 2016 from what's in their books. My other den leaders and I were working off old tracking sheets, that someone else made and there weren't new ones created that LDS wards could use.

The new addendum for Webelos is here Webelos_AOL_Addendum You can print this off and add it to the Webelos handbook for now. There won't be a new handbook printed for a little while.

For a new tracking sheet that we liked to use, I'm of the mindset that if it doesn't exist, make it yourself. The one we were using was on one page, had the Webelos badge requirements, Arrow of Light requirements, the scout related LDS Faith in God requirements, all the Elective requirements and a place to mark when they completed them and received them. So several hours later messing with the margins a lot, I got it to fit on one sheet for convenience.

Webelos 2017 LDS Tracking Sheet

Print off as many as you need. The design of the form is all mine.

A Wedding Quilt

 My brother-in-law recently married and he is the last of my husband's siblings to do so. I had a brilliant idea, maybe crazy too, to create a big quilt for my brother and his fiancee for their wedding day. I started designing the quilt in January, before they announced their engagement in February, and collected different fabrics that reflected their likes and hobbies. Music is a big part of their lives and so there is music note fabric in a few of the squares. This was a longer undertaking that involved 4 months of work and my sewing machine parked on my kitchen table the whole time.

There are 12 inch half square triangle blocks on the whole thing and a 6 inch border around it. There's 7 blocks across and 8 blocks down. I made it for a queen bed with a nice drop on the sides. Only four color palates, but they look great in the diagonal. And there is black flannel on the back. She gets cold toes all the time.

Piecing the top was ok, but getting those half square triangles straight can be challenging when they're so big. This time I wanted to try spray basting, instead of locating 600 safety pins and hoping I don't put wrinkles in the fabric. I really like the 505 spray basting! You spray it on the batting, just in case it could do something odd to your fabric. But you have time to lift and reposition  your fabric to get it smooth. It really does stay put while quilting. I put safety pins along the border of the top as an extra precaution and to keep the fabric nicer on the edges. The spray basting doesn't gum up or slow down your needle and will release the tack when washed, but will not completely wash out..hence sprayed on the batting.

I have a regular sized sewing machine that has some quilting accessories like the detachable quilting table and some useful sewing feet, but shoving a queen to king sized quilt through the arm of a regular machine is no small feat! Good thing I only do straight line quilting on that machine. Every time I had to sew a new line, my hubby would unfold it and refold it along the seam or drawn quilt line so that it sits balanced in my lap and the one side will fit under the machine. Then, he would sit on the other side of the table and pull the fabric through smoothly so I don't get muscle cramps in my arm and shoulders. That took a couple weeks of just quilting the lines.

I did want to put an applique in the corner to emphasize their love of music, and did a satin stitch all the way around the notes. Then I tried my hand at free motion quilting around those notes. It's not my favorite, or I just need more practice. Don't look too closely at it.

I hope they like it and use it well.

P&G Bounty Advanced Paper Towels and Magic Erasers Review

It's time for a product review! Cleaning may not be everyone's favorite pastime, but it's one of those necessary evils. I was asked to review Proctor & Gamble products that are available at Costco from Smiley360. The P&G bag was the freebie, but I had to buy my own product to review.

We did buy the Bounty Advanced paper towels and the Magic Erasers. I did not purchase the Tide Pods or the Downy Unstoppables, as we are very sensitive to perfumes and fragrances as a family. (And I secretly want to slap anyone that uses too much perfume in the first place.)

Last year we bought a house and still have a lot of things that are one the 'clean and repair it' list. Our blinds in the master bathroom  were kinda moldy and showing rust. I've been after my husband for months to clean those.

So we put our new cleaning products to the test. After trying out a towel or two and a cut up magic eraser, my hubby found the right combo on how to get the blinds clean. First he used a Clorox wipe on the slats. You have to have something with a cleaning solution in it to cut through the grime. A wet towel won't help much, no matter who manufactured it.

Then he used the magic eraser to follow up on the harder to scrub off dirt and stains. Here is a before picture with brown spots on the edges.

Then he used light pressure to take them off with the magic eraser. Don't scrub too hard or the finish will come off the metal slats.

Then he had a routine with the paper towels. He said after the Clorox wipe and magic eraser. He wiped down the slat with a damp towel to pick up any floating dirt, and then dried it with a dry paper towel.

After two hours of cleaning each filthy slat..they were visibly clean!

There was still some deep embedded grime on the blinds, but we didn't want the paint on the slats to scratch off like the ones in the kitchen that someone cleaned too hard. (We didn't do it!)

I use magic erasers all the time to clean deep seated dirt in just about everything. They also clean crayon off Grandma's kitchen table when a nephew felt a little artistic. The paper towels are thicker than their normal brand, and we didn't go through that many on this cleaning project. Which is a good thing!