Sunday, December 5, 2010

I Almost Forgot!

Just a quick note.....

When I'm not here, often I can be found at the Prairie Maid.

And if you look HERE you'll find the recipe for

Puppy Chow!

Whenever I post a recipe on The Prairie Maid or talk about a craft, I will try to remember to post a note here to let you know.

Hugs,
Cheryl

Quick and "Easy Peasy" Air Fresheners

This is a quick and easy craft......

YOU 
can make several in one evening!




You will need ground corn cob from the pet supplies department.

I purchased mine at Wal-Mart and it was $2.79.  I think it had gone up some, the last time I checked,  but we make several Air Fresheners and I average buying one bag a year.


Pour some out in a bowl....depending how many you want to make.

Add fragrance.  I use my candle fragrances, but you can use essential oils or fragrant scents from the craft department of any store.
(It doesn't take a lot!)
Blend fragrance through the ground corncob.  Then cover and let stand for a couple of hours.




Then bag corncob into organdy bags.  
The bags in the picture came from the Dollar Store and were 2 for $1.00.  Dollar Tree has some a bit smaller and they are 4 for a $1.00.

Tada!!!!  You're finished!

Total cost per bag is less than $1.00, if you are making several.

For a number of years, we set up at the Annual Health and Wellness Conference held in Edmond, OK.  We sold our candle line.  The two youngest boys (9 and 10 at the time) along with the two oldest grands (who were 7 and 8 y/o) decided they wanted to make something to sell.

We sold the small version for $3.00 each and we sold completely out before noon.

I had one in our older van (I use for hauling hay and feed in) and it kept that old van smelling wonderful for nearly two years.  We just pitched the air freshener under the front seat.  It was coconut-lime verbena...LOVE IT!

One of my friends pins her's behind her living room drapes.
(She likes Winter Candy Apple)

Have fun and be blessed!
Cheryl

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Giveaway News!!!

 Today (December 3rd) is the day my candles, tarts and fragrance bags are the GIVEAWAY!  Be sure and go by Frenchy's for a chance to win!!!

*To those of you who do not follow The Prairie Maid, I posted the Puppy Chow recipe on today's post also!*
Blessings,
Cheryl

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Your Free CHRISTmas Cookie Cookbook!

Sweet Linda @ Prairie Flower Farm and her daughters have put together this lovely cookbook!  It is a free download!  You can print it off if you like.  Linda did an excellent job of organizing and adding the artwork!

Just click on the top button on the right!

Be sure and say hi to Linda and her daughters!  It was so nice of them to take the time to put this little cookbook together!  And it will make a great gift for teachers, Sunday School Teachers, neighbors, your sister-in-law....etc!

Oh yeah....I'm included in the book!;)

Blessings,
Cheryl

Monday, November 29, 2010

Candle Giveaway for December 3rd

We are getting ready for a Candle Giveaway!  You will have to check back for more details.

For now, I needed to post these, in order to pass the pictures along to Frenchy! 
My email is not wanting to co-operate!
(Couldn't possibly be me? huh?!)





This is 20 oz (I think it is actually closer to 24 oz) Cinnamon Candle.  The candle shade is not included.  If you prefer to have this poured in RED, I will be glad to do so.



The winner of the candle giveaway will also receive a dozen assorted tarts.



Also, you will receive two Air Freshener bags.  These are made of ground up corn cobs and fragrance.  The two included in the giveaway are Sun Washed Linen.   

(We like to keep one under the front seat of the van!)


The next two pictures are simply photos of some of the additional candles you will receive.  The Christmas Glass with Holly contains  a Mulled Cider candle.







Frenchy, I hope this works.  It should be easy for you to "lift" the pictures from here....I think.;)

Everyone else, I promise to get back with more details!
Blessings,
Cheryl

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Foot Butter and More

Foot Butter

(or balm ~ this is your creation, call it whatever you like!)

I ran across this recipe years ago and it is very simple and works surprisingly well. Plus, you can make enough for at least 5 eight ounces jars for pennies, compared to the prices you would pay at your local B & B store.


(please don't look at my messy workspace ~ we were creating!)

1 large bottle Baby Lotion or other lotion of your choice
1 large bottle (or jar of cream) Vitamin E or Aloe Lotion  (I think the cream works better)
1 large container Petroleum Jelly
1 jar of Cocoa Butter (or Shea Butter)

Cost of ingredients (listed above) was $5.73. 

The ingredients listed all came from Family Dollar, but you can also find them at Dollar General for about the same price.



Then we added essential oils.  We decided to use peppermint and lavender.  The lavender is very relaxing and the peppermint makes your feet feel wonderful, like they just had a massage.

20 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
  5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

You can add more or less, although I wouldn't add too much more of the peppermint.  An additional few drops should be okay.  If you have never worked with essential oils, it is better to take it easy.  Too much of a good thing, may not be so good, especially if you have sensitive skin.



Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with hand mixer until everything is completely blended. 


We stored what we were going to use for gifts in some sweet little Rubber Maid containers that have a red twist on lid.  They hold between 6 and 8 ounces.

We were able to fill the three Rubber Maid containers and then filled the empty Petroleum Jelly jar and Cocoa Butter Jar for our own use.

We paid $2.40 for our containers.  Total cost for the three gifts, plus two for our own use was $8.13.

We buy our essential oils at the local health food store or there are a number of places you can purchase them online.  Essential oils are a little pricey, but we use them continually and they last forever!  

On average you will pay between $5 to $7 each for the two oils we used.
 However, we will use these again and again, while making our gifts.  In addition the lavender oil provides a pleasant relief for headaches, simply by massaging a drop or two on your temples.
 (A bottle of essential oil will last our family a year or more and we use them continually!)

On a personal NOTE:  Gabby called after their Thanksgiving dinner with her father's side of the family.  She said, "Mamaw, we have to make a lot more of the foot butter!  And Aunt Janice is giving us lots of cute little jars she has saved."
I haven't told her, we may tweak the recipe just a little.  One of the grown daughters has decided she prefers a regular lotion in place of the baby lotion.  So we will be experimenting along those lines!

Have fun with your creating!



A few years ago, our oldest daughter came up with this saying.  Since then, we kind of use it as a guide when deciding what to give someone special….when we don’t have a clue!

“Something you want,
 Something you need.
 Something to eat,
 Something to read.”

~ unknown

More later!  

Blessings,
Cheryl

Monday, November 22, 2010

Just Ideas!


I found these cute little "Nesting Dolls" this evening with
great instructions.  It wouldn't take long to make several! 

Click HERE for the o'so simple directions!

Today, I was suppose to be cleaning house, getting ready for Thursday...but, I decided to work on a little Christmas, too.  I hate cleaning house most days!  I made Blackberry Jelly for my Buckets of LOVE project (only in some cases, it will be Boxes of LOVE, depending on the size of the family who will be receiving the LOVE!)
Today's yield was 7 eight oz. jelly jars!
And ~
I now have 20 gallon size cans the gals in our rural school lunchroom rescued from the dumpster for me.  The sweet ladies were kind enough to run them through the dishwasher!

Next week (we are suppose to get lots of sunshine), I plan to start spray painting the buckets and dh has promised to drill holes and make some stainless steel wire handles.

Soon I'll start a list of all I want to tuck into the buckets!  These can be used over and over again, saving on the expense of gift bags or wrapping paper.  How green is that?!

Other sources for gallon cans might be a nursing home, cafe, etc.

 Gabby, 10 y/o

Last week, the oldest granddaughter and I made foot butter.  It was super inexpensive and came out wonderful.  I've been using it on my elbows!  Gabby shared some with her other granny and great-aunt and they want some!!!  She called and was very excited!

Tomorrow evening ~ more ideas and the Foot Butter Recipe!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Welcome to A Homemade Country Christmas!







Welcome!


As you can see, this site is still in the "baby" stages of development!  Hopefully, I'll have the time to start sharing and posting ideas during the next week!

I have a number of ideas, stories, and crafts to share that I think will provide you with the foundation for planning your own Country Christmas along with many, many recipes.  Some quick and easy, others a little more difficult, but with a little encouragement, even beginning cooks will be able to serve delicious dishes, just like the pros! 

So check about in about a week!  And be ready to "hit the ground running", as they say!  We are going to be busy!  And if you have a project you would like to share or a question, just leave a comment.  We'll incorporate your project into a post and I will attempt to answer any and all questions!

By the way, thanks for being the first follower, Julie.  I'm not sure how you found A Homemade Country Christmas, but I'm thrilled you are here!

Be blessed my friends!
Cheryl


You can also find me at The Prairie Maid