Fall Felt Leaf Garland

I saw the idea for this craft here. I made my own leaf template which you can download. Cut out the leaves and pin to two layers of felt. Cut out leaves and line up on floor in what order you want them and then stack them in that order. Take one at a time and put it through the sewing machine with a light brown thread and do one continuous stitch lining the end of one leaf up against the edge of the next leaf. 17 leaves made about 5 feet of garland. You don't need very much felt, 1/8 yard of each color would be plenty so even without coupons it can be really cheap. Some stores don't have many color options for felt so you might have to hit up multiple stores. I had so much extra felt I made a few extra for a friend and my mom. This only took me about 30 minutes.

Joey's Mama's Coleslaw

A friend in college who was from the south gave me his mom's recipe for coleslaw. It's the best and so easy to make. Many people have asked me for this recipe when I bring it to a potluck. I like to chop the cabbage and carrots in my food processor rather than shred them. I think the chopped texture is better. It looks and tastes similar to the coleslaw at Chick-fil-A. Perfect for complementing your 4th of July barbecue. Makes about 4 servings.

---

1/2 head of cabbage
1medium carrot (or equivalent in baby carrots)
1/2 cup mayo
2-4 T sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/2 T of sweet relish
1/2 T of dried parsely flakes

---

Cut cabbage into large chunks and peel carrot. Put in food processor and chop to small pieces. Mix dressing and add a little bit at a time and stir. Depending on how big your head of cabbage is, and how dry or wet you like your coleslaw, you may need more or less dressing so adjust accordingly. Store in fridge and eat within a day or two.

Chicken Pot Pockets

I invented this recipe a few weeks ago and my husband came up with the name for it. It's basically a cross between a chicken pot pie and a hot pocket. It's really good!

---

shredded or cubed chicken (I used the canned shredded chicken from Sam's Club)

boxed stuffing, prepared as directions state

frozen vegetables

pie crust

chicken gravy (I made it from the packet mix)

---

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare stuffing, then pepare the pie crust. I made a double crust batch and made 3 large pockets out of it (could make 4 if you made them smaller). Divide dough with knife into however many pockets you want to make. Roll out each piece into an oval on parchment paper. Fill with chicken/stuffing/frozen veggies. Fold over and flute edge. Transfer pockets to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon baking mat. Brush with beaten egg. Bake 375 for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve with chicken gravy poured on top.

Alternate Version: Put stuffing, chicken, and vegetables into individual baking dishes, top with some gravy (1/4-1/3 cup). Top with a layer of pie crust dough. Poke holes with a fork to allow steam to vent. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 425 for approximately 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

Tissue Pack Covers

I saw this awesome and cute idea to make tissue pack covers on Thrifty Crafty Girl (I really like her blog because she makes easy and practical types of crafts that I like to make). When I saw them I just had to make them that very week. I LOVE those little packs of tissue and I'm always buying them at Dollar Tree because you can get a 10 pack. This craft is super easy and she has a great tutorial. These are the ones I made: one for me, one for my husband to match his backpack (he was pretty excited about it (not)) and one for my son's diaper bag. They are perfect for getting a tissue out when you need to keep quiet (like in church or a meeting) and not have everyone hear noise from the plastic wrapper.

Pin Cushion Jar and Matching Wrist Cushion

I saw this idea on A Girl and a Glue Gun and just had to make it. It was harder than it looked but with the help of my engineer husband I figured it out. The trick is to cut the cardboard small enough so that the glass jar fits when you screw it all together. The one I cut too big I glued some ribbon around the edge and glued a piece of elastic so that I can wear it on my wrist.

Fabric Covered Organizing Trays

I made these organizing boxes for my mom for Christmas.
I saw the idea on craigslist and figured out how
to make them. I just used good strong cardboard from paper
boxes we had saved. The size and fabric possibilities are endless.
They are reversible and can also lay flat for easy storage if you untie
the ribbons. Depending on how much you pay for the
fabric they can be really cheap.
In the end mine cost about $2.50 a piece.

All the supplies you need - cardboard, pins, 2 kinds of coordinating
fabric, I think a solid and print work well (at least 1/2 yard each),
ribbon,glue stick, exacto knife

Cut coardboard pieces to size that you want it to be in the end
(my sides were 3 inches deep and the base is 10 in by 13.5 in)
If you do this size then you will need at least 1/2 yard of fabric
as long as you don't mess up, so cut 19 inches to be safe.
Whatever size you make it, just have at least an inch of fabric
around all sides. The one I made is good for papers/magazines

lay second piece on top (iron first, I didn't but should have)

use a glue stick to keep the fabric in place for when you
sew later, just on the main big piece

flip it over and glue the other piece on so that all the edge of
the two pieces of fabric stay lined up, to do this just
fold back one corner at a time

draw lines so that you keep sewing straight once you get
off the cardboard, I used my side pieces as a ruler to
draw my corners, sorry you can't see my lines very well

pin the two pieces of fabric together next to the cardboard edge

sew the two pieces together right next to the cardboard.
I kept half the foot on the cardboard sot hat I would
stay close to the edge, you want to be close so that you have
enough fabric available to insert the side pieces and
still have that extra inch or so

so it will look like this on all 4 corners when you are done,
doesn't have to be too perfect, because when it's all
folded up you can't even tell

insert your side pieces

fold your print side over the solid side twice to hide the
raw edge, make sure it is pulled tight so that the fabric doesn't
bunch over the cardboard (like my first ones did,
see the green and pink one below)

I just sewed it right onto the cardboard

then I sewed two pieces of 6 inch long gross grain ribbon,
melted the ends with a match so they wouldn't fray

Perfect Pizza or Calzone Dough

Found and Adapted from Your Home Based Mom

1 cup warm water
1 T yeast
1 T sugar

Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.

about 2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 T wheat gluten (optional, I have forgotten to use it and it turns out just as good)
1 T olive oil
1 t salt

Mix together in kitchen aid and add liquid yeast mixture. Add extra flour, 1 T at a time if needed until dough clears side of bowl and just barely doesn't stick to your fingers when you touch it. This is critical and will be determined with practice.

Knead for 5 minutes.

Fill sink with warm water and put bowl of dough in it. Weigh the bowl down by covering with a cutting board. Let rise for 30 min to 1 hour. Add toppings and *sauce. Brush crust with melted butter, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Bake 450 for 10-15 minutes. Makes one large pizza or 4 calzones.

*I make sauce by adding about 1t of Italian seasoning, 2t of oregano, and some garlic salt (about 1/4t) to an 8oz can of tomato sauce. I don't really measure, but that's basically how I make it.

Let Your Dough Rise in the Kitchen Sink

Living in Northern Indiana I've always had a problem finding a warm place in my house for dough to rise. I've tried using my oven but it's usually too hot and then you can't preheat the oven while the dough is rising. My mother-in-law shared a trick with me that works perfectly every time - the kitchen sink!

Fill your sink with the hot water from your faucet. Place your bowl of dough in the water and cover with a cutting board to weigh it down. If rising a pan of rolls just set the pan over the sink and let the sides rest on the counter and cover the tray with a towel.

Introducing . . .

I've noticed that my personal family blog has recipes and money saving ideas that are constantly creeping into its posts. I decided to start this blog to have a place where I could post recipes, easy crafts, and other good ideas I've come across since becoming a wife and mother. I hope you find something useful!

How to Live On a Shoe String Budget

Once I got married I quickly realized that our sources of income came solely from the two of us and that we were accountable for how we spent or saved all our money. My husband comes form frugal genes and has been a good example and motivator. Since buying a house and having a baby I have become even more money conscious and obsessed with saving money - sometimes so much so that I spend too much money on deals at yardsales, Dollar Tree, etc., but that's a whole post in itself ; ) I really believe that you shouldn't spend more money on some things that can easily be found or made for a fraction of the cost so that you can save your money for things that really do cost a lot of money.

Recipes

I've always liked to cook and when I was in Jr. High I really thought that someday I would go to culinary arts school. My mom told me I should get a real degree as a backup and then go to culinary arts school. Well, I guess I went the realistic route, but that doesn't mean I'll never go or that I can't be a chef in my own house. Since going to college and living with roommates I have grown a love for home cooked food and recently I have been trying to make more and more things homemade that I once thought could only be purchased at a store or restaurant. I love looking for recipes online and sometimes tweeking or perfecting them. I'll only share the really good ones and I'll only show pictures of the actual product I made. It bugs me when people post fake pictures they find on the internet and you make the recipe and it looks nothing like the picture.

Easy Crafts
I'm not very crafty but I like to do simple crafts for my house and as gifts. This topic will probably have the fewest number of posts.