DIY Easter Wreath

A fun project that you can do in about an hour is to make your own Easter wreath! This is an inexpensive project, total cost for mine was about $6.00. They also make great gifts! I made 2 wreaths and gave one as a gift.
What you need:
1 straw wreath (leave the plastic wrap on) or Styrofoam circle - mine was 12 inches but you can use any size
24-30 plastic eggs (I used about 30 standard size eggs and 6 small eggs)
Ribbon for bow or pre-made bow
Small stuffed animal  (Dollar store $1.00)
Hot glue gun and glue
Artificial flowers or other decorations
Floral moss (I used the natural straw color)
Craft wire
Directions:

• I started with my wreath hanger. Cut a piece of craft wire about 12 inches long. Wrap it around the top of the wreath and twist it several times on the back of the wreath, form a small circle and twist at the bottom of the circle. This will be your wreath hanger.
• Turn the wreath over keeping the hanger on the top while you're working. You will want to leave a space at the bottom for your bow and stuffed animal. Heat your hot glue and start by placing a generous amount of hot glue on an egg, hold the egg onto the wreath for a few seconds until it sticks. I started placing my eggs on the top and worked my way down the sides.
• Place the eggs as close to each other as you can. There will be space between them, it's ok, you can fill them in later with your decorations, flowers or moss.
• Once your eggs are in place you should have a space at the bottom about 5 inches wide. This is where you will place your bow. Use the directions to make your bow here Simply Make Your Own Bows. (I made one change on the bow I used a piece of ribbon 12 inches long instead of a pipe cleaner).
• Glue your bow to the bottom of the wreath in the empty space. Just above the bow, apply a large amount of hot glue to the wreath, apply some hot glue to the bottom of the stuffed animal, and hold the stuffed animal on the wreath for a minute or so until it sticks. 
• Now for the finishing touches, I used hot glue on some silk flowers and placed them where my spaces are between the eggs. I also used pieces of floral moss and tucked it in the spaces between the eggs. It works great if you use the end of your scissors to tuck the moss into the spaces.
• Make sure all of your eggs are secure. If they aren't apply small amounts of hot glue to them and stick them to each other. I only had to do this to 3 or 4 eggs. 
• I hung my wreath on the inside of my front door using a magnetic wreath hanger. Your project is done and so beautiful! Happy crafting!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Homemade Soft Play Dough

If you are looking for quick project to do with the kids to keep them entertained, homemade play dough is always a favorite at my house. They can help make it by mixing and kneading and picking what color they want to make it and then when it's done they can of course play with it.  For our batch we made red and yellow, then we could mix a little from both and also have... orange! (this was very exciting to a 2 year old!) This recipe makes quite a bit so if you only have one child you could half it. It will last quite awhile in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge.

Here's what you need:

• 1cup flour 
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 Tbsp oil
• food coloring

This can be cooked on the stove or in the microwave. Mix all ingredients in a pan or microwave safe bowl, if you are cooking on the stove, stir and cook until the ingredients leave the sides of the pan then remove it and let it cool.
For cooking in the microwave, mix in a microwave safe bowl. Cook 45 seconds then stir, cook another 45 seconds and stir. It should be done after that, if not then try another 25 seconds. Don't overcook, you want to stop when you can mix it and it stays together.
There are a couple ways to add the color, if you are just doing one color, you can add it to the oil and water before you mix with the dry ingredients. This is a little less messy, but I like doing more than one color so once it is cool enough to handle, I split the dough into sections and  knead the food coloring in. Sometimes I use gloves and mix on a cookie sheet or cutting board, I haven't had the color stain anything...yet, but depending on the type of coloring you use, you might want to take precautions just in case. Have fun creating!


~Simply Angie

The Best Stuffed Peppers

It was my lucky day at the grocery store, green peppers were on sale! Sometimes it's the little things that make your day! My garden peppers are already gone which means I better plant more than 2 plants next year. 😀
Ingredients:
1 pepper per person, washed and cored, use green, orange, yellow or red peppers
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 cup dry rice (use the rice of your choice, I use basmati or brown rice)
1 pound ground beef, cooked
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Optional: 6-7 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c shredded cheese (colby, cheddar, mozarella or your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:

• Cook your rice according to the directions depending on the rice you use. 
• Over medium heat on the stove, cook ground beef in another pan.
• In a large bowl, mix all of the seasonings, veggies and tomato ingredients together.
• Add the cooked rice and ground beef to the ingredients in the bowl.
• Stuff your peppers.
• Place peppers in a shallow dish with a small amount of water in the bottom of the dish. I use a deep pie dish. Cover the tops of the peppers with aluminum foil. It doesn't have to fit tightly.
• Bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top (optional) and bake another 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Soap

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to start my mission to find a homemade liquid dishwasher soap. I really do prefer liquid soap over powdered soaps. Since I love the Simply Liquid Laundry Detergent (also on our Most Popular Posts) so much I knew there had to be a liquid dishwasher soap that we could make and that works. I found a recipe on http://choosingsimplicity.blogspot.com.and tried it. I read the reviews and as it happens with everything, some people had issues and some people loved it. It seems that part of the problem with homemade dishwasher soap is water type...do you have soft water, hard water, well-water....you know what I mean? And then there is the whole what to put in the rinse aid container? Lemon juice, vinegar, inexpensive rinse aid, expensive rinse aid...? SO what I'm trying to say is that there doesn't seem to be a perfect dishwasher soap. But I wanted to save money and I wanted a liquid soap, so I tried it anyway. I figured it would be worth a try because even the dishwasher soap I buy at the store leaves my dishes with streaks sometimes. I know that part of my problem is that I don't wash my dishes everyday so I think they are sitting in the dishwasher too long. So if you're ready to make a change from the expensive brands, here is an option for you. I have been using this for 2 weeks and I am happy with the results. Make sure you use your sanitize cycle for the best results. This recipe made 4 quarts.
Ingredients:
16 cups water (total)
1 cup borax
1 1/2 cups washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 c Dr Bronner's liquid castile soap (I used Dr. Bronner's tea tree castile soap)

• Pour 8 cups water in a large pan on medium heat on the stove, heat until it boils. 
• Remove from heat and add borax, washing soda and liquid soap. Stir until dissolved.
• Add the other 8 cups of water and stir. (I did not heat this water, it was room temperature).
• Let the mixture cool, uncovered, so it can gel.
• It took mine about 24 hours to reach "gel-status" then pour into containers. (I used quart glass jars). 
• I shake it in the jar a couple of times before I use it. 
• The amount that works best for my dishwasher is about 1/8 cup, I use a coffee scoop to measure it. But once again, you will need to experiment the amount you use based on your water type, you may need a little more or less.

I still had some store bought rinse aid in my dishwasher so I used that. Once that is gone, I will try white vinegar in the rinse aide and let you know how that works. Good luck!
Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi