Natural Homemade Living

It's that time again to change the mantel for the season. I had so much fun making my coffee filter wreath, I decided to make a larger wreath for the wall above the mantel. I followed the instructions from our previous post  Simply DIY Shabby Summer Wreath, except I used an 18 inch straw wreath and colored some of the coffee filters to give it a more shabby look. I dipped the edges of the flowers into 4 cups of water and 2 drops of red food coloring for the light pink color. They soak up the water quickly and take about an hour to dry. I put them in a flat box and set them outside so they would dry quickly. Make sure it's not windy or your flowers will fly away! Happy crafting! Love and peace, ~ Simply Tammi

My sister and I both love finding items to re-purpose. At least a couple of times a week we text and send pictures of our new projects to each other. Recently, I discovered a medium sized cardboard hat box in my craft closet. I was so excited and knew right away the project for the box, I wanted to use it for the headphones and remote control in my vehicle. The kiddos love to watch movies when we're traveling but the space we usually store the headphones in is not convenient when we're actually on the road. So I covered the box with fabric and now we store it between the back seats. It was super simple and quick to do, my favorite kind of project! Your helpers can even help with this project! Supplies : Mod Podge Sponge brush or any paint brush Fabric Cardboard box Scissors Directions : I started with the lid, laid it upside down on wrong side of the fabric. Cut the fabric 2 inches larger than the lid. Using a sponge paint ...

 My favorite recipes for Monday nights are something quick. And after a drizzly, rainy day I made ravioli. I tried something new and used organic ravioli (it helps with the quick part) and it was delicious! I bought the Pasta Prima brand, there are several varieties, we like the organic spinach and cheese, found in the refrigerator section at our local grocery store. Of course, you can make it homemade if you have time and a good recipe! Ingredients: 1-8 oz package ravioli 1 pound ground beef 1/2 shallot, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups diced tomatoes, fresh or 1-14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese Directions : Prepare ravioli according to package. Cook ground beef, shallot and garlic over medium heat until browned. Add salt and seasoning. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and simmer 15-20 minutes. Place ravioli on a la...

Simply one of my favorite DIY projects under $5.00 is my adorable shabby wreath. I made 2 of them, one for our front door and one is above the fireplace mantel. This wreath is made from coffee filters!  Supplies and Directions straw craft wreath, I used a 12 inch wreath for this wreath (leave the plastic on the wreath) 1 package of small basket style coffee filters (1-4 cup size, about 200 coffee filters) hot glue  stapler scissor craft wire or floral wire Begin by measuring a piece of wire (about 16 inches) to wrap around the top of the wreath and shape a circle at the top for the hanger. Twist the wire so you have a small circle at the top and keep twisting the wire so your hanger will be secure. You will need 6 coffee filters for each flower, so plan on sitting for awhile, unless you have helpers. My granddaughters had a blast helping me with the flowers! To start making your flowers, take 3 coffee filters (leave them together so they look like 1 fi...

Simply Homemade Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce I was so hungry for blueberry pancakes on Mother's Day, I decided to make my own Mother's Day brunch! My favorite blueberry pancake recipe is simple and delicious! For the finishing touch I like to use fresh blueberries to make my own blueberry syrup, our favorite recipe is here Simply Homemade Blueberry Syrup or Sauce . Don't forget a special treat at the end and top off your pancakes with a dollop of real whipped cream! Dry Ingredients : 2 cups all purpose flour 3 T organic cane sugar (or white sugar) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda Whisk these ingredients together in a medium bowl (I use a Pampered Chef batter bowl). Make a "well" in the middle of the ingredients so you can pour your liquid ingredients there. It's easier to mix that way. Liquid ingredients : 2 eggs 1 c milk 1 c plain, Greek yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 c melted butter 1 cup fresh, washed bl...

    Happy Mother's Day!  Here's a quick card idea for kids if you need one. I did this one with my daycare babies and toddlers yesterday. I just traced the infant's hands and cut and pasted. For the 2 year old, I traced his hand and he did the gluing, and put some bug stickers on his flower pot. I hope you have time to relax and enjoy your family this weekend! ~Simply Angie  

I found this old recipe stuck in one of my recipe books. It was from our husbands Grandma Clara (on a side note, my sister Tammi and I married brothers, so we share the same in-laws...and yes, it's legal..we always get asked that). Grandma Clara had made these and had written at the bottom of the recipe "Alias, Darn Good Cookies" as it turned out, it's true, so I am keeping the name. It's one of those recipes that always sounded like a lot of work, but it really wasn't once I started, it only took a few minutes to whip them up and roll them out.   Here's what you need: 1 c. brown sugar 1 c. white sugar 1 c. butter, (Grandma used Crisco shortening, but they turned out just fine with butter) 2 eggs 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cream of tartar (if you don't have this, you can substitute the same amounts of  BAKING POWDER instead of the baking soda and cream of tartar) 1/2 tsp salt, I used salted butter instead of adding salt 3 1/2 c f...

We thought it might be helpful to post our favorite spring cleaning homemade products. Even though spring is officially here in the Midwest, our temperatures are still in the 30s and 40s. Warm weather is on the way and you know what that means, time to clean! Have a great week and happy cleaning! ~Tammi and Angie Homemade Soft Scrub Spicy Sink Scrub Disinfectant Spray Sink Spray Cleaner

I'm so excited - the girls and I are getting ready for a road trip! My niece's annual dance recital is this weekend so my daughter and 3 of my grand-daughters are headed north! One of our family traditions is to bring snacks so we don't have to buy them along the way. I decided to make some popcorn treats for the trip, of course we'll bring the fruit too, but sometimes you just have to eat some gooey, sweet treats! This is a simple and quick recipe, perfect for all of us that are just too busy!! Ingredients: 12-14 cups air popped popcorn 1/2 bag miniature marshmallows, melted 1/4 c butter, melted 2 T coconut oil 1 c honey roasted peanuts Pop your popcorn and place in a large container, add peanuts (I used a large cookie storage container). In a large saucepan, melt marshmallows, butter and oil over medium low heat on stove. When melted pour over the top of the popcorn and peanuts and mix together. Pour into a 13x9 buttered pan and press down. Let it sit uncove...