Homemade Air Fresheners

Here are a couple crafts that you can make for yourself, or make a few for Holiday gifts this year for family and friends. More crafts for the holidays to come.

Homemade Aromatic 

Simple home air fresheners

Make any room in the house smell fresh for the holidays or any time of year. Take a small, clean glass jar and put a few cotton balls inside. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil, such as eucalyptus, peppermint, cinnamon, orange or clove oil, and punch holes in the top of the jar and place jar under a bed, in a closet, near a cat litter box or any other place that needs a fragrant addition. You can decorate the jars by painting the lids with craft paints or nail polish, add some glitter, etc. This is a nice project for young children who can then give them as gifts to grandparents or teachers.

Favorite Recipe Sites

Today I thought I'd share my favorite recipe sites. I do have a recipe page here on my blog with links to not only recipes, but to sites as well. However, I thought for those who never have clicked on the 'Recipe' tab up top, that a post with a list of favs would be a good idea. That, plus, the page is still unfinished. ;-)

FAVORITE RECIPE SITES

Baking Bites...Sooooo yummy! There is a plethora of foods here. The pumpkin cupcakes are to die for!

Baking 911 ...For the cake maker like me! Tips & tricks on fondant, decorations, fillings, icings.

Wrens Cottage ...Cakes, candies, cookies, etc. LOTS of goodies.

The Bark ...Even the pooches need some pampering. Recipes that are for the dogs!. ;-)

Hungry Girl ...Hungry girl has some awesome alternative recipes for those who want to eat healthier or lose some weight.

Recipe Link ...Another site with copycat recipes from restaurants. They also have other recipes as well..

Cake Mix Doctor ...The Cake Mix Doctor. Get better tasting cakes from a cake mix. Have the book too.

CD Kitchen ...Over 100,000 recipes in their online database.

Recipe Girl ...Lots of recipes. Yum, yum, yum. Wish I had time to try them all!

Conversions ...Volume to weight conversion. Every cook & baker needs this!

All Recipes ...One the THE best online recipe site around!

Betty Crocker ...Who doesn't know Betty Crocker?!

Meals.com ...Meals.com is actually Nestle.

Pillsbury...Pillsbury. Need I say more?

Pillsbury Baking ...Pillsbury baking. Not sure why there are two different websites.

Recipe Zaar ...RecipeZaar. One of my favorites.

Taste of Home ...I have never had a disappointing recipe from these guys. I've subscribed to their mags for over 15 years. Love 'em!

Color Coded Bread

Color coded bread...did you know?

When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" it? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie (even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors).

They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow.

21 Ways to Remove Crayon from Walls

Kids. Crayons. Kids WITH crayons. Who hasn't had their young child (usually in the toddler age) color on the wall? If you haven't, then...then....well, you just haven't lived! The stress, the anger, the, "Oh, no, what do I do?!" Whew. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Well, no fear, here are 21 different ways to remove that beautiful artwork your 2 yr old just drew on your living room walls! WAIT! Don't forget to take a picture of the artistry first!


REMOVING CRAYON MARKS FROM WALLS

Coke is for more than drinking.....

Who knew?

OK, so you prolly did that experiment in school where you put a nail in a bottle of Coca-Cola, only to come back the next day & see the rust removed. Then to come back in a week and see the entire nail dissolved. Pretty freaky huh. And we guzzle this stuff by the gallon!

Holiday Mail for Heroes 2011

It's that time of year again. A time when I ask my fellow bloggers, readers, and facebookers to open your heart. I'm not asking alot. The only monetary contribution needed from you is postage. It's the Holiday Mail for Heroes program through the American Red Cross. All I ask, is that each one of you send two cards following this program, for our soldiers over-seas. Two. 

These soldiers are spending the holiday (for many, it's not their first one) away from their friends and family. These Dads, Moms, Daughters, and Husbands will not at home for the holidays. War doesn't take Christmas off. A simple card can help ease the heartache for these young men & women who are serving their country for YOUR freedom. Two cards. It's not alot I'm asking for.

If you have children in school, it would be a wonderful project for the entire class! Contact their teacher. I did last year, and one school sent almost 200 cards. The other even more! (Here's my post from last year) Thank you very much everyone!

The following is from the American Red Cross website, and details the program.

Holiday Mail for Heroes Program

The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s time again to start thinking about being part of the 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes. For a fifth year, American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are partnering to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to send a touch of home this holiday season to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season.

Starting this fall and throughout the holiday season, the Red Cross is working with Pitney Bowes, a mail stream technology company, to collect and distribute holiday cards to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world.

The process is very simple and takes no time at all - All you need is a pen and piece of paper to share your appreciation for the sacrifices members of the U.S. Armed Forces make to protect our freedoms The Holiday Mail for Heroes mail box is open and ready to receive for your cards.

Please send all mail to:

Holiday Mail For Heroes

P.O. Box 5456

Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Sending a “touch of home” to American men and women who serve our country is the perfect way to express your appreciation and support during the holiday season.

Card Guidelines:
Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.
Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

• All cards being sent in for 2011 Holiday Mail For Heroes program should be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.
• Ensure that all cards are signed.
• Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Only cards are being accepted. Do not send letters.
• Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
• Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• Participants should limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a large quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.
• Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient's recovery.

The Military Families Ministry (MFM) also has their Stocking for Soldiers project. Blog post is here for those in Colorado & Pennsylvania.

House-Wise

"Make yourself at home"

Holiday Mail for Heroes 2011

Sorry this post was royally messed up. 

Click here to read the post. 

Thank you for your interest!!!!