A peek into my Pot technique #1

Lately it seems that every time I log onto Pinterest I see a ton of Instant Pot recipes. After a little research I learned that the Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker. AND I soon found out I could cook quick meals using frozen food!! Remembering to thaw something for dinner is my biggest problem, well, that and being very busy!
 It didn't take long for me to ask hubby for one for Christmas. Due to a "Snow storm" dumping nearly 2 feet of snow followed by a Blizzard dumping 10" more our mail has been delayed quite a bit and my Instant Pot arrived on December 27. I did the water test and then Made the easiest to peel boiled eggs ever.

 The eggs slid right out of their shells!

Perfect boiled eggs!

I used what is called the 5-5-5 method, Manual pressure 5 minutes, once cooked let the pot sit for 5 minutes before releasing the stem and then putting the eggs in an ice bath for 5 minutes.
Thanks for stopping by!

Until later~

Wood and Wire Veggie Hod

Early this spring I jumped in and planted my garden- I have 6 raised 4'x4' beds. And then we had a big freeze and I thought my tomatoes had died. So I waited and replanted my plants, and was quite surprised when most of my tomato plants came back. And then the neighbor's cat and 3 big hail storms took a toll on my garden! This has been the worst year ever for growing fresh veggies for our family! I barely raised enough vegetables for one person, let alone enough for our family of 6!  But,  I have already taken steps to improve my harvest next year!
One of my homestead projects this year was to make a veggie hod to use when I harvested dirty things like potatoes, carrots and radishes. The openness allows you to give things a quick rinse with the garden hose before taking them in the house.

I had found the link to the DIY on Pinterest (HERE) and really wanted to make one. I ended up needing a lot of help from my sweet hubby to get it constructed, not because the design was difficult but because I lack power tool confidence! The hod is plenty big enough to hold lots of goodies and  is very sturdy. I could take my basket along to the farmer's market instead of using my fabric bag that leads to squished bread. LOL
So, bring on the garden fresh veggies next year, I am ready!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Ohio State Buckeye door hangers

We may live in North Dakota but our roots run deep in Ohio, especially for my husband! He was born and raised as a Buckeye, graduated from The Ohio State University and was on staff there for 15 years!! To say he gets excited watching Buckeye football would be a HUGE understatement!! And yes, I believe he bleeds scarlet and gray, and will until the day he dies!!
Living so far way from Ohio the only way to get Buckeye gear is to order online or make it myself, and that is just what I did for our new door hangers. I bought my wood blanks from my new favorite shop on eBay and got down to business. First up was the football.

 I was going to take a before picture, but jumped the gun and started painting and then remembered the picture! :-) By the time hubby got home from work I had the entire football painted reddish brown and had drawn circles all over it. After all the kiddos were tucked into bed I painted all of my circles gray- that is when hubby took one look, rolled his eyes and said, "You must have a plan." Yes, yes I did have a plan.... I wanted polka dots, and some vinyl lettering, a bow and a ribbon hanger- if it is going on the door it is going to be "cute!"

And now my "plan" is hanging on our front door, which left the back door naked!  And seriously, the Buckeyes' helmets have got to be one of the easiest helmets to paint, so that was my next project.

 Ooops, I didn't learn from my past mistake and didn't get a clean before picture!
I had hubby mark my the face guard and strips for me. I was surprised how quickly this one was to finish. The sooner it is finished, the sooner it is hanging one the door, the sooner I can move on to another project! Win, win, win!

After the paint was all dried I added the buckeye helmet stickers. No bow for this one, but a little chevron ribbon hanger finished it off nicely. Are you ready for some football?? Go Bucks!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Gone fishin' wood door hanger

Just when I think I will be posting here on a more regular schedule life throws a curve ball! Since my last post my husband's mother passed away and he went back to Ohio for a week, my vehicle blew up and I had to buy a new one, my computer crashed, we managed to get away for our first family camping trip, kids went back to school and all  those other busy life happenings.
I have found a few minutes to jump on this new kick of making aDOORaments for our home. So far they have all been super easy and very quick and inexpensive to make and a ton of fun!! Funny thing is I hung this one and we have not had  any time for fishing! haha Maybe soon! :-)

I order this wood blank from eBay-> Fishing Bobber. Because it is on my door and not out in the elements I just painted my bobber with cheap acrylic paints and then added some vinyl lettering cut with my Cameo. I added a wire hanger and a burlap and ribbon bow before hanging it on our door.
 I smile every time I pull into the driveway and see this cutie, I just can't help it!! I am anxious to paint the next one!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Precious memories of Granny

Some of my fondest memories while growing up were the summers spent with my grandparents in the hills of West Virginia. I ended up spending more time at my Granny Wilson's and that was quite alright with me! Granny was a hard working, people loving, woman of God. She was a homesteader before homesteading was cool! She was a much needed positive role model and I am thankful for every minute spent with her!
 Granny taught me many things, not so much with words but by the things she did. One being how to care for others. I knew I would be working along side her while she went about her daily chores. Harvesting from the garden was one of my favorites! She would grab her big enamel bowl and off we'd go picking beans, digging potatoes, picking lettuce and anything else that was ready to be eaten.
I sure do miss the time spent with my grandma!
 Over the years I have grown up and moved on but those memories still bring me great joy! It was too long ago that the vintage shop in town posted pictures of some of the "new" items for sale. My heart skipped a beat when I spied a colorful enamel bowl just like granny's!! It was a couple of weeks before I was able to stop by Vintage City and have a look around. It took a little while but I found it! The bowl is half the size of granny's but now I have my own Granny bowl!!

My Granny bowl

 Since buying my bowl we have made a couple of trips to the garden. I can't help but think that granny is right there with me! This was my most recent happy harvest!
 I hope one day that my kids will remember the stories I've shared and harvest their own gardens using the Granny bowl!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Pallet American flag

If you have been on Pinterest much at all chances are good you have seen reused pallets used in creative ways. I asked hubby to bring home a few pallets for me, I used 3 to make a compost bin for my garden and had 3 left to play with. I love all things Americana, and and July seems to be all about red, white and blue and Old Glory so my plan was to make another piece for my deck to coordinate with my tulle flag wreath on our door. ( You can see my wreath HERE.) I had really hoped to have had this project finished and displayed last month, but that didn't happen.
After seeing several pallet flags online and around town I decided I wanted one, a rectangular flag.  My pallets are all square so I invested in an inexpensive jig saw which made short order of cutting through the wood on the back and sides of the pallet I also knew I wanted to begin and end with red stripes, just like on my wreath, I thought 5 boards would work best.
Sanding and painting was next up, and this is where I got very discouraged and walked away for a few weeks!! I used a small hand sander to get rid of most of the splinters, there is no way this low grade wood would ever sand out smooth! I used Antique White Rustoleum spray paint, and the wood soaked it all up, I don't even remember how many coats I used!! After several weeks I decided to try an exterior paint  applied it with a small foam roller, I was shocked that it worked!!
After I covered the entire thing with white paint, I used painters tape to mark my blue section and used my Silhouette to cut vinyl stars. I used the roller for the red stripes and then rolled over the stars with the bluein my taped off section. Once dry I peeled off the tape and vinyl and was very pleased with my new flag!! 
 I am happy with how quickly this all came together once I worked out the problem with the paint!
Now to figure out what to do with those 2 leftover pallets.......
Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Patriotic tulle wreath

While cruising around Pinterest I found the inspiration for my Memorial Day/4th of July wreath. It came together very fast and is super cute!!

I used a styrofoam wreath (mine was green haha), rolls of tulle (I bought 3  25 yds spools of each color and had a little of the blue  leftover) and some white glitter stars. I cut the tulle into 22" strips and then double knotted them onto my wreath. I started with the blue and used it on about 1/4 of the wreath. I then started on the strips using red first and alternated 3 strips of red and 3 strips of white until I had filled in the entire wreath. I ended with red- the top and bottom strips on an American flag are red- and then filled in the tiny space that was open with more of the blue. Tacky glue on the back of the stars hold them in place. I like the ratty edges so I left my strips untrimmed, and as you can see it pretty much covers my back door. You could trim the ends if you like.
My flag wreath has been on my door since May and the heat through the glass storm door causes the tulle to look a little messy at times, but I finger comb the tulle back into place and it looks good as new again.
 I love Americana decor and lean more toward navy, cream and burgundy but the traditional red, white and blue looks very stunning on our house. I will be sad to put it away in a couple of weeks!!
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

4H projects

 I don't have much time to actually craft since we added 2 little ones to our family and provide respite for other Foster families. Being a mom to 4 (and up to 6) has taken some adjustment~ but I would not trade it for anything in this world!!
The "big kids"- Hunter and Hailey recently took part in their 4H Achievement Days. They took a van load of projects last year, and this year I let them manage their time and projects. Hailey took one- a plate of Chocolate Chip cookies and earned a Blue ribbon. 

Hunter and his Blue ribbon Wine bottle bird feeder.

 Hunter earned a Blue Ribbon with the leather knife holder he made for his dad.

He got a Red ribbon for his recycled soda can grill.The can was cut in half, Ubolts used for the legs and a coat hanger for the cook surface. It is perfect to grill one hot dog or brat. 

Not only did the kids learn from their projects, but they learned a lot about managing time wisely. Hailey has already started her projects for next year. Hunter has a few good ideas and has been creating Wonderloom stuff. 

 Hopefully between the 2 of them and me, we will post more often. :-) We have all been scouring Pinterest in search of projects and have made a few trips to the craft stores and home improvement stores!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until later~

 

Summer in North Dakota is just getting started

 

Summers on the prairie in North Dakota a simply gorgeous! I snapped this canola field while out and about with the hubby last weekend. We had a block of time to spend with each other, a rarity these days! We spent a good part of the day road tripping and out running  scattered popup storms in the area. A small  storm was rolling in and the contrast between the dark sky and the brilliant yellow blooms of the canola took my breath away. I really wish I had grabbed my camera before heading out the door!! It has been too long since my last trip out with my camera, way too long!! Hopefully soon I can get reacquainted with my camera... and with this area that I have grown to love!! The next month or so the crops will be blooming and I want to capture as many as I can!

Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~