Monday is a good day to clean...

Wednesday, March 31, 2010


With Pantyhose

Around the house...

Wrapping up wrapping paper
Keep your used rolls of wrapping paper from tearing and unraveling by storing them in tubes made by cutting the leg sections off old pairs of pantyhose (leave the foot section intact). Or, if you have a bunch of used rolls, you can put one in each leg of a pair of pantyhose and hang them over a hanger in your closet.

Organize your suitcase
Your can squeeze more of your belongings into any piece of luggage by rolling up your clothes. To keep you bulkier rolls from unwrapping, cover them in flexible nylon tubes. Simply cut the legs off a pair of old pantyhose, snip off the foot sections, and stretch the stocking over your rolled-up garments.

Bundle blankets for storage
Keep blankets and quilts securely bundled before they go into temporary storage. Wrap them up in large "rubber bands" made from the waistbands from your used pantyhose. You can reuse the bands year after year if needed.

In the kitchen...

Keep a rolling pin from sticking
Getting pie dough to the perfect consistency is an art form in itself. Avoid the hassle of scraping clean your rolling pin of sticky dough by covering it with a piece of pantyhose. It will hold enough flour to keep even the wettest pie dough from sticking to the pin.

Apply stain to wood crevices
Getting wood stain or varnish into the tight corners and crevices of that unfinished bookcase or table that your just bought can be a maddening task. Just cut a strip from an old pair of pantyhose, fold it over a few times, and use a rubber band to affix it to the tip of a wooden Popsicle stick. Dip your homemade applicator into the stain, and you'll have no trouble getting it into those hard-to-reach spots.

In the garden...

Clean up after gardening
Save up your leftover slivers of soap, and place them in the foot section of an old nylon stocking. Knot it off, and hang it next to your outdoor faucet. Use the soap-filled stocking to quickly wash off your hands after gardening and other outdoor work without worrying about getting dirt on door handles or bathroom fixtures inside your house.

Monday is a good day to clean...

Monday, March 22, 2010


With Tea

Clean wood furniture and floors
Freshly brewed tea is great for cleaning wood furniture and floors. Just boil a couple of tea bags in a quart of water and let it cool. Dip a soft cloth in the tea, wring out the excess, and use it to wipe away dirt and grime. Buff dry with a clean, soft cloth.

Shine your mirrors
Brew a pot of strong tea, let it cool, and then use it to clean your mirrors. Dampen a soft cloth in the tea and wipe it all over the surface of the mirrors. Then buff with a soft, dry cloth for a sparkly, streak-free shine.

And for health and beauty...

Reduce razor burn
To sooth razor burn and relieve painful nicks and cuts, apply a wet tea bag to the affected area.

Make soothing mouthwash
To ease a toothache or other mouth pain, rinse your mouth with a cup of hot peppermint tea mixed with a pinch or two of salt. Peppermint is an antiseptic and contains menthol, which alleviates pain on contact with skin surfaces. To make peppermint tea, boil 1 tablespoon of fresh peppermint leaves in 1 cup of water and steep for several minutes.

And in the garden...

Give roses a boost
Sprinkle new or used tea leaves (loose or in tea bags) around your rosebushes and cover with mulch to give them a midsummer boost. When you water the plants, the nutrients from the tea will be released into the soil, spurring growth. Roses love the tannic acid that occurs naturally in tea.

Prepare planter for potting
For healthier potted plants, place a few used tea bags on top of the drainage layer at the bottom of the planter before potting. The tea bags will retain water and leach nutrients to the soil.

Simon C Page

Thursday, March 18, 2010



I LOVE these prints by Simon C. Page. Check out more here.

Here comes Santa Claus... number 2

Wednesday, March 17, 2010




My little Santa saga continues... in February, I had posted a blog regarding my Santas that I make on the side (To sell or not to sell). Here is a sample of another version that I had made for my sister-in-law a few years back. I call him my "Backwoods Santa" - complete with snow shoes and sleigh and some little bird friends, too.

If you'd like more info on my santas, or would like to order one, please place a comment below. I'm interested in any comments or suggestions you might have.

my new favourite interior design site

Tuesday, March 9, 2010






Beautiful....

Monday is a good day to clean...

Friday, March 5, 2010
With WD-40

Who knew it wasn't just for stubborn hinges....

Separate stuck glassware
Two glasses that are stuck inside one another will separate with ease if you squirt some WD-40 on them. Wait a few seconds for it to work its way between the glasses, and then gently pull the glasses apart. Remember to wash the glasses thoroughly before you use them.

Keep puppies from chewing
To keep puppies from chewing on telephone and television cable lines, spray WD-40 on the lines. The pups hate the smell.

Remove chewing gum from hair
Simply spray the gummed-up hair with WD-40, and the gum will comb out with ease. Make sure you're in a well-ventilated area when you spray and take care to avoid contact with eyes.

Pretreat blood and other stains
Pretreat bloodstains with WD-40. Spray directly on the stains, wait a couple of minutes and then launder as usual. The WD-40 will help lift the stain so that it will come out easily in the wash. Try to get to the stain while it is still fresh, because once it sets, it will be harder to get rid of. Use WD-40 to pretreat other stubborn stains on clothing, such as lipstick, dirt, grease, and ink stains.

Keep shovel or chute snow-free
To stop snow from sticking to your shovel, spray a thin layer of WD-40 on the shovel blade, and the snow will slide right off. If you have a snow thrower, spray WD-40 on the inside of the chute so snow won't stick and clog the chute.

Monday is a good day to clean...

Tuesday, March 2, 2010


With hair spray

Preserve a christmas wreath
Keep your wreath lush and green and make it last longer by spritzing it with hair spray all over as soon as you get it home. the hair spray traps the moisture in the needles.

Keep recipe cards splatter free
A good coating of hair spray will prevent splatters from ruining your recipe cards. With the protection, they wipe off easily.

Remove lipstick from fabric
Apply hair spray to the lipstick stain and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe off the hair spray and the stain should come off with it. Then wash your shirt as usual. Works with pen marks as well.

Exterminate house flies
Make a house fly bite the dust with a squirt of hair spray. Make sure the hair spray is water-soluble so that if any spray hits the walls, you'll be able to wipe it clean. Works on wasps and bees too.


Monday is a good day to clean...



Your pet hair

Here are a couple of easy ways to get fluffy's hair off of your stuff.

Solution 1
Put on a rubber glove and wet it. When you rub it against fabric, the cat hair will stick to the glove. If you're worried about getting the upholstery slightly damp, test it in an inconspicuous area first.

Solution 2
Take a used fabric softener sheet and swipe against upholstery. Toss the fuzzy wipe into the trash when done.

A miniature cake test - fail and pass!

Monday, March 1, 2010


This week, my daughter and I decided to test drive a recipe I had found for a mini cake that you can do in the microwave oven. Seemed perfect for us as we always have to take our own cupcakes to birthday parties because of both my daughters' allergies. We had to modify the recipe to make if gluten free. All was going well as we mixed our mini batch of cake mix and loaded it into the mug for microwaving. Who could believe we'd have a delicious cake in 1 minute! With excitement brewing, we opened up the door and found...

Okay, so not quite what we were counting on. I'm not sure if it was the gluten free flour that threw it off or maybe the power of our microwave.


So we decided on Plan B. I had also recently bought the cutest little mini bundt pan with the hopes of coming up with a new way to whip up our little portable treats. I had an aha! moment and decided to make the recipe again (doubling it this time) and baking it in my new supercute pan in the oven this time. After 15 minutes, we had a perfect little cake.

A little decorating and voila – a delicious little dream cake.

I purchased my little pan locally at Thornblooms but I have seen them at Cucina Moderna as well. Just $4.99.

Mini Cake Recipe

4 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
4 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp oil

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Scrape batter into a small ramekin of mini cake pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cool and decorate.