Easter Bread

I am also using this recipe for favorite ingredient Friday at Overwhelmed with Joy. For more favorite ingredients check Favorite Ingredient Friday!

Today is works for me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer and I want to share an Easter Recipe that I like to make.

I have made this bread for church breakfasts, the kids when they were little and for the big kids here and it is good and eaten up fast. Have extra eggs (hard boiled!) on hand. The eggs used in the recipe are raw, they cook with the bread.

Braided Easter Egg Bread

3 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tbsp. butter
2/3 c. milk
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
6 colored eggs (do not hardcook)

Five hours before serving, mix sugar, salt, yeast and 1 cup flour. Heat butter and milk until 125 degrees. With mixer, mix liquid into dry ingredients. Beat in 3 eggs and 3/4 cup flour. Stir in lemon peel and 1 1/4 cups flour. On floured surface, knead dough 5 minutes. (Add about 1/2 cup flour.)

Place in greased bowl; let rise 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, dye 6 eggs, but do not hard cook! When dough has risen, punch down; divide into 3 parts. Braid dough and make a circle and place on large greased cookie sheet. Let rise 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When dough has risen, decorate with raw colored eggs. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

For more Works for Me ideas go to Rocks in My Dryer. Or Favorite Ingredient Friday at Overwhelmed With Joy!

Penny saved is a penny earned

I am really grateful to Rocks in My Dryer for having Works for Me Wednesday. I really love backwards week when we can ask things that are not working for us, thanks for all who helped me last week.

In our house money is tight. My husband and I are struggling the same as others and sometimes we just want to get away or do something or treat ourselves to something we normally would not buy.

I have been a bit frustrated lately about some of this. We do take money each week from an extra job we have and each get an "allowance". We can spend it no questions asked. It is not much, but adds up if you are like me and do not spend it. For my husband it does not hold up so well!


As I was thinking about this and how we want to get away this year sometime I remembered back to what I used to do but have been not doing very well the last few years. Every time I would go out and shop, get gas etc, I would put the change in a spot in my purse not to be used. When I came home I would put it in a container. Not just any container, but old milk cans.

I have two old milk cans. The kind that hold about a quart or so and when families needed milk they would fetch it in these cans. One of my cans came from my grandfather. When he was 10 he would take that can and go to the store for his mom. He would come home with the milk for the family. The other one is not as old as my grandfathers (his is 100 yrs old!) but it works as well. I put the pennies in the "newer" one and the rest of the change in the older one.

When I was faithful about doing this, I would save up vacation money. It adds up fast when you keep putting it in there and not taking it out. When the can gets full I roll them and put the rolls in a safe place and keep adding to the can.

I have started it again. It worked for me before and I am sure it will work again.

For more ideas for Works for me Wednesday go to Rocks in my Dryer.

Keeping Family Close

Today is Works for Me backwards day at Rocks in My Dryer. This means instead of me sharing something with you, you share with me.

I find it strange that I can forever think of things I need help with until it is time to write a backwards works for me and then my mind draws a blank. This is where I find myself right now.

My mom has been here for 11 days, we drove to MO for a wedding over the weekend, came home Sunday and had the kids over today to say good bye to my mom. I am tired and tomorrow we bring her to the airport so she can head back east.

This is all said to bring me to my question. Four of my kids and 11 grandkids are in Maine, one daughter, a grand daughter and another grandchild due in September are in NC. My mom and most of my siblings are in the NJ/PA area and a brother is in MO, where we went to the wedding. I live in Texas and have 3 step children here as well as 4 grandkids. For those of you whose family is as scattered as mine, how do you keep go about keeping close ties?

When I went to the wedding this past weekend I realized I hardly know my brother and his family any more, we have lived apart since college. I miss my own kids and they all have busy lives as we do. I would like to do something to help us all keep up and close, but wondered what others do in this situation.

Thanks for your ideas!

For more backwards works for me go to Rocks in my Dryer.

Bread making problems

I should probably save this for next week when it is backwards WFMW, but I need help now, so I will not wait.

I make my bread using my kitchenaid mixer. It does great and even though I have carpel tunnel I can still make homemade bread.

My problem is my husband. He had a bread maker and thinks it is so much easier, but for me it is a pain. I put the thing away and never used it after I read the directions the first time. It has set away for 3 years now with him telling me "how much easier it is with the bread maker". Two weeks ago I dug it out and used a mix to surprise him with the bread. It did not rise much, was heavy and gooey even though I followed the directions. Several days later I tried again only using the recipe in the book with the bread maker. (It was harder than making it with my kitcheraid!) It rose over the top, down into the element and made quite the mess. Of course I did not know since you can't open the thing till it is done! When it started smoking black smoke I knew something was wrong and shut the thing off, but it was too late. I had burnt bread all over the inside.

It is now a week later and I can't get the smell or some of the burnt out of the thing. I set it out side, I have set the bread pan out, but still the smell. The element. or rather behind it, is burnt yet and I can't get it off.

Does anyone have any ideas to help me, or is it ruined?

For some real things that work for others, go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Clear Plastic boxes to the rescue!

How was your weekend? Mine was so busy I am still hurting. If you are into all kinds of crafts like I have been you will know what I am talking about; Crafts take up space! Unorganized craft supplies take up even more space! Add to that your husband's craft supplies and you have a real mess.

My mom is coming out this Saturday and I need to make room for her. My back bedroom has been home to many things. Books, scrapbook supplies, photos in boxes and being sorted, ceramics in boxes as well as baby stuff like my granddaughters pack n play, as well as the swing and johnny jump up that she no longer uses all fill that room. Now I need to get my mom in there too!

Saturday I spent cleaning off the shelves in the computer room, throwing stuff away and organizing. You see, all that craft stuff belongs on these shelves, but... The BIG BUT... they were filled with all kinds of other things. Husband's old computers that he wants parts off of, papers that had to be kept, stuff I had to move quickly and did not know where to put etc were all piled on the shelves.

After I cleaned them all off, I went and got some clear plastic storage boxes. I already had my sewing stuff in some, so just got more and organized. Now, I have clear boxes on the shelves, can see what is in them. I may label them later for hubby, but I know where to find things now anyway.

My mom has a bed to sleep in too! I have to move out the baby things, but I found a bed under all the scrapbook stuff! I knew I had one somewhere in that room!

I would like to give all of you some advice. If you live in small quarters like we do, with no storage area, take care of things immediatly. Organize in the boxes right away, it is a lot easier and does not hurt the back as much as what I did on Saturday. When I get craft stuff, I am going to get a new clear container and put it together right away. These containers can fit on a shelf, under a bed or where ever you can put them. Put your bed on blocks of wood or bed risers and there is lots of storage there too.

Just a hint from experience.

I would have pictures, but I still do not have a computer and am on a borrowed one. Hopefully tomorrow night I will be writing from my own.. yipee!

This works for me! For more works for me ideas, go to Rocks in my dryer!

Softer Feet

Two weeks ago on Works for Me Wednesday Beauty From Chaos wrote about a simple way to have soft feet. Unfortunately for me my feet needed more help.

Like Jessica, I get cracked heels, and I mean cracks! My whole heel and the side of my foot gets dry and hard. I have tried so many things, but it seems like nothing gets through that hard, dry dead skin. I have filed it over and over and worked on them forever, but they are still ugly and when they crack and bleed it is painful to walk.

This week as I was using the foot file I was thinking I need something more to get through this. What I am going to say next will probably make you think I am crazy, but I got out sand paper! I sanded my heels and the the side of my foot. The side I did not press so hard on as it is not as bad, but the heels I sanded like I was doing a piece of rough wood. I could not believe the difference! Now the vasoline gets through and is doing it's job.

If your feet are like mine, give it a try. It works for me!

Giveaway suggestions

Everyone is caught up in the bloggy giveaway this week and I almost forgot about Works for Me Wednesday!

With all the hoopla over the giveaway, and I have been into it as much as anyone, I would like to make a few suggestions for those participating, both in the offering and in the trying to win.

If you are commenting to try to win:

• follow the directions! If it says go to such and such a site and pick out something, do it! I look over comments, not only on mine but on others and so often people do not do what they are supposed to. One said send an email to her, but people commented asking to be counted in.
  
• Make sure there is a way to contact you. Last giveaway I had someone picked and there was no way to get to them. I tried and finally gave up and picked someone else.
  

If you are offering a giveaway:

• Make your directions clear. I have hunted through some blogs where I was not sure when the drawing was or even if a comment was all that was needed. It was not clear.
• relax your spam filter. I hate wanting to try for a prize, go through all the one site to another, pick something or comment on something and then have the filter tell me something I wrote seemed like spam. Most I have no problem with, but one in particular was very difficult and I was disappointed.
• Make sure you have the right link on Mr. Linky. Several of them were errors and I could not get to the post. One had the name in twice on the same line and after trying all kinds of things I made it to the blog, others I could not get there.

These giveaways are fun, as are the carnivals and other blog interactions, but they could be less frustrating for all with just a little more carefulness.

You may be wondering where my giveaway is on this blog, well, I hope to have it up in a day or so, Check back. In the meantime, you can go to Meet Me In The Garden to try for my giveaway there.

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW posts.

Breakfast Pizza

Some time ago I had a shower to go to and was asked if I could bring something in the way of a brunch finger food.

I love to cook and bake, but had no idea for a brunch finger food! My husband had some ideas and we bounced it around for a bit until I thought about how pizza places have breakfast pizzas. I had never had one, but thought maybe it would be worth a try.

Now, some of you that have been reading my blog or that know me personally know I do not follow recipes that are on paper. I may look at them (yes, I have a full bookshelf of recipe books! I just like to collect them and read titles for ideas) but I usually end up making my own as I go by changing what is written down.

For this shower I went to Cooks.com and searched for a breakfast pizza. I found a recipe and looked at it and then went and made it my way. It was a big hit, everyone asked me for my recipe and I had to tell them exactly what I am going to tell you. My way, play with it and make it yours.

You need:

• 1 roll of crescent rolls (Pillsbury or store brand or whatever, the ones in the refrigerator section.
• grated cheese ( I think I used about 2 cups per pan)
• about 6 eggs
• 1/3 C. milk
• salt and pepper and nutmeg if you like
• bulk sausage or bacon

set oven to about 400 and let preheat while mixing the rest.

brown sausage or bacon. If using bacon crumble it up after browning.

unroll the crescent rolls and press into a 9 X 13 pan. press the seams together so they make a flat crust on the bottom of the pan. Place the sausage or bacon on top, spreading evenly. put the cheese on top of the meat, spread evenly.

Mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper (nutmeg if desired) in a separate bowl or measuring cup.

Pour on top of meat and cheese.

Bake till egg is set and solid (about 15 - 20 minutes)

I made two of them, one bacon and one sausage. They were eaten up in no time flat, so if you are taking them somewhere, make plenty! Works for Me!!

Greeting Card Organization

Today's Works for me is something I used to do and have gotten away from. However, with family as it is and the birthdays sneak up, I am trying to get back to doing it this year.

If you have a large family and are like me, it seems that it is always somebodies birthday and you are always sending that last minute card. Drives me crazy, as I know when the dates are most of the time, yet seem to get the card and forget to mail it or just forget the day all together until it is right there on me.

Some years ago, I had the problem licked and was doing quite well. My system was that I would buy cards ahead, sometimes picking out several months worth at a time. I would write in them, sign them, address them and then put the date they need to be mailed under where the stamp would go. If they were cards that would get a money gift in I would not seal them up until I put that in there.

I have known of some people who do this with their bills at the beginning of the month and then send them on the day. I messed up the checkbook when I tried that, but the cards worked every time.

Hopefully that means my cards will all be on time this year, since that always worked for me in the past!

For more Works for me Wednesday ideas hop on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

How Do You Make A 3D Picture?

Since it is backwards works for me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer I am going to play along and ask for some help.

I saw a picture some time ago that I have been trying to figure out how to make and am asking help to see if anyone knows what it is and how to make it.

Here is the description as best as I can write it.

It was a large photo behind glass, framed as you normally would frame a picture. However there was several more layers on the glass. The flooring was cut out of other pictures and a layer put down flat on the glass, then another layer was added where there were pieces of the flooring on top of the flat layer. There were the same with the shoes etc, making everything with a 3 D look. The flared skirt had several layers and was actually flared off the glass.

The whole picture was 3D and looked so nice. I can't figure out what they used as it did not feel like regular decoupage.

Does anyone know what it is called and how to do it or where I can find out how to make it?

Thank you!

For more questions and answers hope on over to Rocks In My Dryer.

ThriftyFun for Everyone.

Isn't it great to be back on schedule? I love having a break to spend with family, but it is nice to be on a schedule too.

I want to share a website that has a variety of newsletters also. Actually I am sharing three, one here and two on my other blog.

Thrifty Fun is a website that shares many ideas, as well as a tip of the day. I find recipes, crafts, money saving ideas and "how to's" . Here are the newsletters available. You can go to their site and find many ideas as well as post your own to share with others.

• Tip of The Day (daily)
• Daily Thrifty Tips (weekdays)
• ThriftyFun Recipes (weekdays)
• ThriftyFun Crafts (weekly)
• Saving Money On... Newsletter (weekly)

Here is a sample of their Daily Tips.




Many of the ideas work for me and I wanted to share them with you.

The Pink Elephant and other ideas

I just realized I messed up on todays topic. Please forgive me, this is not a quick fix for supper.

Christmas is almost here and some that are really on the ball have presents wrapped already. For those that don't I would like to make a few suggestions for wrapping and having some fun with the presents.

When my five kids were growing up we never had much money for Christmas. It was always a difficult time for us yet God always worked things out.

The kids, like most kids, would be all excited and want to know what they were getting, since we had little money we did not want to give hints.

Another thing I hate is spending money on wrapping paper and such, that just goes in the garbage immediately upon opening the present.

Here was some of the things we did to save and have fun with presents.

• Wrap things in an unusual way, using parts of the present. My one daughter wanted a sewing machine. We could not afford new, but did find a nice, overhauled one, in a table, at a used store. We brought it home and had no idea how to wrap it. For weeks before Christmas, when she would ask or beg, we told her she was getting a pink elephant. So, I decided to give her pink fabric and I made the sewing machine look like a big pink elephant.
• We saved our Sunday funny section and used those to wrap gifts in, saved a lot of money.
  
• There is the usual towel, blanket etc for a set, used as the wrap, grab a pretty ribbon and it works looks great.
• Trash bags will work with some gifts. White ones the kids can decorate with markers for grandparents, siblings etc.
  
• One year my husband worked out a treasure hunt for one of their gifts, usually the one they wanted most.
  

This worked for me, but I am also interested in other ways you wrap gifts.

Baby's real toys

Today I will tell you what does not work for me before I tell you what does work! As you can see my wfmw logo is too small. I uploaded it and it came out like that, even though I had my settings for it to be bigger. No actually first was I am running late with my post and tried to upload the old one, could not find it on my computer so then had to go to the Rocks in My Dryer site and get the new one. While trying to upload it my computer decided to not work and made me gain even more patience all the while it was telling me that computers are the boss of me, not the other way around!

That is what is not working for me, so far, I have only been up for 10 minutes! Coffee is brewing, so maybe I will think better soon.

As I have said in previous posts, I babysit my granddaughter. I have had her since six weeks old and she is always investigating, checking out what she should not have, pulling things out of cabinets etc and all the while her toys are in a basket just setting there. She will grab the doggie toys and play with the dog, but only on occasion will she play with hers.

I am amazed, especially at this time of year, what new parents (and some older ones) feel they need to get their child. What works for me are some simple toys, car, dolly etc and then the box that the humidifier came in, the plastic box that used to have my fabric in, (the fabric that was in there makes a great toy too), the empty water jug (Please note I said empty, the full one works well for a toy, but yesterday I found it no longer works, she figured out the cap!). If I am cooking, the pots, plastic containers etc make great toys. Two chairs with a sheet make a tent. I give her things that not only cost me nothing, but also she likes better than the toys and she gets something new almost every day! It works for me!

Black Forest Crisp

I am one to try my new recipes when people are coming over. I have no idea why I do it then, but I do. Not only do I try a new recipe, I adapt the recipe to my liking with never having tasted the original! I have yet to have a failure after 37 years of cooking like this.

Sorry if I sound like I am bragging. I do not mean to, it is just the way I do things and what works for me.

So, now I am going to give you a recipe and let you try the same thing for Thanksgiving!

Black Forest Crisp

Ingredients

• 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
• 1 can (8-1/4 oz.) crushed pineapple undrained
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 package (18-1/4 oz.) Devil's Food cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut up
• Ice Cream or whipped topping

Directions

Layer cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple, slivered almonds, chocolate morsels and flaked coconut in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix over layers and dot evenly with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Serves/makes 10

Yummy!

Adapt as you see fit!! Works for me!

Helpful Links

It is Wednesday again. Hard to believe as this week is going by so fast.

So many times I wish I could fix something, find something that would work for a certain job etc. We have an Internet full of great ideas yet so often it is hard to find what we are looking for.

When sites come my way I like to check them out and then bookmark them for future use. This week it seems that I have had a number of them that have been worth the bookmarking and I decided to share some with you.

• The Fix It Club. Ever know you should be able to fix something but you just do not know how? Well this site tells you how. Ones I looked at came complete with videos. I guess I can do that!
• The Babycentre has all kinds of tips for babies. It is a UK site, but anyone can use the tips. Christmas on a budget is one of the pages and another on doing things with babies.
• Dollar Stretcher.com has all kinds of hints for saving money.
• Thrifty Fun. This site has newsletters with all great ideas, recipes, crafts etc. Worth poking around in!

There are a few sites that work for me. For more Work for me Ideas go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Marriage: Please comment

This is backwards Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer, I guess we could call it works for you?

I am needing some suggestions for my other blog Meet Me In The Garden. Some of you have read the post From My Heart and as a result of what is on my heart I started another blog.


In order to give me ideas to work with, I would like to know :

• How did you and your husband meet and how long did you date?
  
• What do you do to keep the spark in your marriage?
• What works for you when you disagree on things?

I know this is not a usual Works for me, but I am needing the thoughts of others and hope the wonderful people who read this will give me an idea of what works for them. Thanks!

For some normal works for me questions see Rocks in My Dryer!

You Can Do WHAT with Kool Aid??

First let me say I have not tried these so I can't say they work for me. It came across my email this week and I thought it was interesting. If anyone has tired them and they work, let me know.

1. Make Easy, Flavorful Kool-Aid Frosting
I discovered this unusual use for Kool-Aid powder when I had a can of
vanilla frosting one day and a cherry chip cake to frost. I stirred in
a package of cherry flavored Kool-Aid and the result was a delicious,
creamy topping that everyone loved!

If you need to make a tasty frosting for a gelatin cake, all you need
to do is fold in a pack of Kool-Aid into a container of thawed Cool
Whip®. If the frosting tastes a little tart, add in sugar, a little at
a time until it tastes good to you.

2. Make Kool-Aid Brand Lip Gloss
This is an unusual use the girls will love! All they need to do, to
make a fruity lip gloss, is to place a small amount of petroleum jelly
into a microwave-safe bowl. Stir some Kool-Aid soft drink powder into
the jelly- enough to make it the color they desire. Stir in a little
sugar, then, place the bowl in a microwave oven for about five or six
seconds- just enough to soften the mixture up a bit.

3. Make sand Art With Kool-Aid Brand Soft Drink Mix
Kool-Aid is perfect for the kids to make safe Sand Art with! All you
need to do is provide them with plenty of paper and pencils. After
they draw pictures on the paper, give them several different colors of
dry Kool-Aid and Elmer's® Glue. Then, instruct them to spread a thin
layer of glue over one item in their picture. It's better to start at
the top of the pictures so they don't get their arms in the wet
mixture. They can then sprinkle Kool-Aid on that area and press it
down gently. After the kids shake the excess soft drink powder off,
they can continue onto the next section.

Once their pictures are done, let them set until the Elmer's Glue
dries completely.

4. Temporarily Dye Your Hair With Kool-Aid
If you're going to a party, or, you just want a new look for a short
period of time, use Kool-Aid!
Choose the color you want to use and pour it into a glass container.
Add a teaspoon of corn starch and just enough water to turn the
ingredients into a paste. Apply the paste to your clean, dry hair and
let it set for five minutes. Then, rinse the paste out. Your "new do"
will last until you shampoo your hair once or twice.

5. Make Eerie Party Decorations
Another unusual use for Kool-Aid Brand Soft Drink Powder is to make an
eerie Halloween decoration with it. Just place some dry ice- don't
touch it with your hands!- into a glass, and pour a packet of any
flavor Kool-Aid into it. Kids will watch with fascination as the dry
ice and Kool-Aid bubbles and mists. Make up several of these glasses
and set them around for an eerie effect at your next party!

6. Make Kool-Aid Clay for the Kids
You may already know how to make homemade clay for your kids to play
with. But, did you know you can make clay using Kool-Aid brand soft
drink powder as well? Mix together a cup of white flour, a fourth cup
of salt, 2 tablespoons cream of tartar and a package of Kool-Aid in a
pan. Stir in a cup of water and a tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat
the pan over medium heat on your stove top. After several minutes, the
mixture should clump together in the pan. When it does, remove the pan
from the stove and let it cool slightly until you can touch it. Knead
the Kool-Aid clay with your hands until it's not lumpy anymore. Place
it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator until use.

7. Remove Chlorine From Your Hair
If you swim alot in a chlorinated pool, you may notice that, after
awhile, your hair color will change. It's especially noticeable on
people who have blond or light brown hair. To remedy this problem,
there are two things you can do. First, anytime you swim in a
chlorinated pool, wet your hair with non-chlorinated water first
before you get into the pool. This will help keep your hair from
absorbing the chlorinated water. Second, to help change your hair back
to its original color, use a pack of lemonade-flavored Kool-Aid. Pour
a little Kool-Aid in your hand if you have short hair; use more if
your hair is long, or if it's really changed color. Then, add a dab of
shampoo and lather your hair up. Let the Kool-Aid set on your hair for
fifteen minutes before you rinse it and the shampoo out well.

Note: Try not to get the Kool-Aid brand soft drink powder in your eyes
or it will sting.

8. Kool-Aid Brand Water Colors
Are the kids bored? Why not mix them up some Kool-Aid brand water
colors? It's fun for them and safe to use as well. Even if the little
ones stick their paint brushes in their mouths, this homemade paint
won't hurt them!

Pour several packets of different colored soft drink powders into
individual glass bowls. (Don't use plastic or the Kool-Aid can stain
them.) Stir a tablespoon of water into each bowl; stir until the
powders are completely dissolved.

Then, provide the kids with plenty of paper and some thick artist's
paintbrushes, and they're ready to have some fun!

Seal up any leftover Kool-Aid tightly and keep the containers in the
refrigerator to use again.

9. Tie Dye an Old Tee Shirt
Because Kool-Aid brand soft drink powder contains artificial colors,
it makes a great tie dye for an old tee shirt, or even a pair of
cotton socks. Actually, your kids can dye most anything by using
Kool-Aid. Curtains, bed sheets, towels, doll clothes and more can
quickly change colors if you have some Kool-Aid and these instructions:

First, make sure the tee shirt you want to tie dye is clean and dry.
Next, open up several packages of Kool-Aid. Pour each package into an
individual glass bowl. Stir an ounce of white vinegar into each bowl;
make sure the powders dissolve completely.

Take the tee shirt and twist the fabric up however you want. Hold it
into place with several rubber bands. Before you begin to tie dye your
item, you'd better put a pair of rubber gloves on so your hands don't
get tie dyed too!

Now, grab the shirt at one side and dip into a bowl of Kool-Aid. Then,
grab it at another place and choose another color to dip it into. Keep
doing this until your creation is finished. Leave the rubber bands in
place and set the tee shirt outside in the sun.

Once your tie dye tee shirt seems to be dry, remove the rubber bands.
Then, spread it outside in the sun so it can completely dry. Then, pop
it in the clothes dryer by itself and dry it on "high heat" for
fifteen to twenty minutes. This will help set the colors in. Now, your
new tie dye tee shirt is ready to wear!

Note: The colors can still run, so it's best if you hand wash your
creation and hang it up to dry.

10. Use Kool-Aid to Check for Toilet Tank Leaks
Do you hear water running inside your toilet tank in between flushes?
There's probably a leak in there that needs to be repaired. An easy
way to detect a leak is to use Kool-Aid. The darker colored soft drink
powder works the best because you can see it better.

Carefully lift the lid off the toilet tank and set it aside. Open up a
pack of Kool-Aid and pour it into the tank. The test can take as
little as ten minutes or as long as thirty minutes, depending on the
size of the leak. Don't flush the toilet! Just watch the toilet bowl.
If you see the colored powder float through from the tank, then
there's a leak present. It's quite possibly the flapper piece. But,
you'll have to investigate further to determine the exact cause.

Note: For all of these ideas, use unsweetened Kool-Aid only.
F0r more works for me hope on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

CASA

Children beaten, left hungry, born on drugs because their mom was a user while she was pregnant or just unwanted. This is our world. The foster system is filled with kids that are left to the system. Some dumped by their parents, others taken away because the parents are not fit to care for the child.

You think it is not happening in this day and age, but it is a growing problem, yes, even in your town.

To complicate the matters more, our social services do not care for the children as they should. They do not find out what is really going on at the foster home, school etc of the child and they certainly spend little time with the child to find out what is going on inside them.

The system. Children caught in it for years, some sent home too soon and they end up back in it again. Others would be adoptable, but the system is letting them down.

I want to make a difference in these children's lives. As a result, my husband and I became Court Appointed Special Advocates. The judge appoints volunteers to work with the child, spend time with them, see that the courts and the social services are doing what is best for the child.

My husband and I have a 13 year old boy that we oversee. He has been in the system off and on for some time, and has been given up for adoption last year. He has social issues, trust issues etc because of all that has gone in this boys life.

I urge you to check out the CASA website and see if there is one where you can get involved. You can make a difference in a child's life.

This works for me!

Taming the Craft Supplies

I am a craft lover. I try about anything that does not cost a lot to try out. I also sew clothing and other things. As a result I have all kinds of items for all kinds of crafts.

There is all the skeins of embroidery thread for my counted cross stitching, threads of all colors for the sewing, bobbins galore, ribbon, flowers, glue sticks and fake hair. Doilies, binding, appliqués and paint. Stenciling brushes, paint brushes, embroidery hoops and buttons. zippers, seam rippers, fabric scissors, thread scissors and paper scissors. I have wonder under, interfacing, fiberfill and batting. Then there is fabric, baby fabric, heavy fabric, cotton calico and stretch T-shirt type. Scraps of fur, felt, brocade and denim.

It is all there, in "The Room". I began to get some clear, stackable, plastic boxes with lids, like Rubbermaid or one of the other brands (usually whatever I could find for a good price) If they are clear you can see from the outside what is in them and grab the right one. In one I put the things I use for sewing. Machine needles, pins, a tape measure, my sewing machine parts, seam ripper etc. In another I put all the flowers. I have ones for putting on clothing as well as the small ones for decorating.

Another one got the hair and another the zippers.

I put all the ribbon together in one, standing the rolls up on end and lining them up. This allows you to see the color and size without digging through them all.

I did this with as much of the craft supplies as I could. I have a large, under the bed type one for all my cross stitching supplies. The rolls of cloth did not fit in any of the smaller, so this way they can all stay together and be readily available.

I used to keep all the thread in a box, when I needed a color I had to dig till I found it, by then it was all unwinding and I was tied in the thread and the spools were all stuck together. I found two of the three drawer storage that can set on a desk. The drawers are thread height and I could put the thread in the drawers and not have to dig. My cones lay down in the drawers. I put my elastic in another drawer and the bindings in yet another.

These plastic boxes then sit on a shelf neatly and is easily grabbed for your project.

My fabric is another story! I have drawers full, boxes of scraps etc. Patterns are in another cardboard box. I still need to get this back room cleaned out and organized so it will be usable, but for a number of years now I have had the clear boxes and it sure makes a difference for me, even with the room a cluttered mess!

For more ideas see Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer.

Help with my walls needed

We all like our homes to be what we want them to be, but sometimes they can be a real frustration. When I married Rick in Jan. 05 he owned his home. I moved in and have been trying to make it look good and a bit more up to date.

Every room in the house is dark 70's paneling, no drywall behind it, and all the cabinets are the same coloring. It is very depressing when you are in it all day. I have been trying to figure out what to do with it and thought I might just paint the paneling. Two problems, my husband does not understand why I do not like all this dark paneling and said I can paint one wall and see how it looks. The other problem is the fireplace is also drab. I have a picture here and know there are ways to paint paneling and the fireplace, but I need to have suggestions and some know how from others. I want to paint this wall, the cabinets, fireplace and bricks in front of the fireplace. I did not get a good picture as stuff is all around from the baby, but I think you can see it well enough.


I bought "oops" paint from home depot and have blue, cream (off white) and then a burnt red for accent. Anybody have decorating ideas and something that worked for them when painting a fireplace or paneling?