Red and Black Fabric Flower Wreath

I was in need of a last minute activity idea for my Laurel class in Young Women. Our original activity had fallen through, and I had a day to throw something together. I got on Pinterest to look for ideas, but everything needed some sort of preparation that I didn't have time for. Finally, I came up with an idea of my own. I had a ton of craft supplies lying around my house. I could bring a big variety of supplies and we could have a Craft War. I figured the girls were familiar with Pinterest and could come up with some pretty cute ideas. I wouldn't say the activity was quite a success, but it was still fun. It would have been a great idea to do with my sisters or some of my adult friends who are big into crafting. I will probably plan something like that this summer when I go to visit.

 

As I sat watching the girls create, I decided I wanted to make something too. I really like crafting and using my hands. Just sitting there was making my fingers twitch and I could see ideas dancing in my head, so I settled of making a wreath for my living room.

I started by cutting a bunch of squares out of my fabric. They don't need to be perfect.

 

 Then I put a big glob of hot glue in the center of the squares. (never mind the messing glue gun)

 

 Grab the underside in the middle; Pinch and twist.

 Once you have a bunch of the pinched fabric pieces, cut a circle out of some felt. Notice it is not perfect, it doesn't matter. Add a glob of glue and start placing the the twisted points of the fabric on the felt. It will take a lot of twisted peices of fabric to make it full.

 

 This is what it will look like when you are finished.

Once your flowers are done, you can start glueing your flowers to your wreath.

 

Add a bow and you are done. I love how it turned out.

Total Cost: $1

Wreath from the dollar store

Left over fabric scraps and ribbon.

PB & J Granola

I told you once that I love breakfast. It is so true. I also told you that we next to never eat cold cereal from a box. One of our favorite things to eat for breakfast is homemade granola. We have many delicious recipes for granola.

This is one I came up with, when I was looking for a new recipe and experimenting with a few new things. I wanted to see if you could use applesauce for part of the oil to make it lower fat. The result was delicious and it quickly became one of my children’s favorite granola recipes so far, only to be beaten by my chocolate granola and a granola recipe I grew up with.  I will share those recipes later.

I call this recipe PB&J Granola, because it reminds me of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I should tell you I prefer a softer granola, because that is what I was raised with. I don’t really care much for the crunchy granolas, they are just too tough and chewy and I think there is more flavor in the soft stuff. That’s just my opinion. I understand that many people like it crunchy, so I have included directions to make it so. I hope you like it as much as we do, however you choose to make it.

 

 

 

 

 

Julie’s PB & J Granola

1 cup Agave Syrup (I like the brand Xagave best, but you could use another brand or even honey)

1 cup Peanut Butter

¼ cup Coconut Oil

2 individual cups of berry applesauce

8 cups Oatmeal

1 ½ cups Coconut Flakes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Put the first four ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat; mix till smooth. Add oatmeal and coconut flakes and stir well until thoroughly mixed.

Spread on a couple of cookie sheets or in cake pans. (If you want a crunchier texture, spread out in a thin layer on a 2-3 cookie sheets.  For a softer granola, spread out granola in two cake pans in a thick layer.) Cook for 10 minutes; stir granola around in the pans with a spatula. Cook for 10 minutes more. Let cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve in a bowl with milk or as a snack. Store in an airtight container for up  two weeks on the shelf or up to six months in the freezer. ENJOY!

1 cup =1 serving

Note: This makes a pretty good size batch of granola. This is what I make for my large family. You may choose to half or quarter the recipe.

Strawberries and Cream Farina

I love Breakfast! It is probably my favorite meal of the day. We love granola, hot cereals, eggs, pancakes with homemade syrup, etc. I like to have variety in all my meals .

Over a year and a half ago, we pretty much stopped eating cold cereal. I just came to a point in my life where I wanted to eat more whole foods and less processed foods. I believe everyone is on a food journey and mine was taking me in a direction away from processed foods. I try really hard to make most of our foods by scratch. There is just something special about knowing exactly what you are eating and being able to pronounce all the ingredients names. Before this time, some may say, we were addicted to cold cereal. We were in a breakfast rut. But as I said, it was a time of change for us.

Up until that point I did not really care for hot cereal. But we have learned what we like and how we like to eat hot cereal. I can honestly say now that I LOVE HOT CEREAL!  We eat hot cereal about 3-4 times a week. We eat a variety of hot cereals. It’s not just oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar every day. That would be boring.

In Utah, there is this historic granary called Lehi Roller Mills. Maybe you have heard of it. Parts of the original movie Footloose were filmed there. Ring a bell?  Any way, they have this amazing hot cereal called Strawberries and Cream Germade. It is delicious. My family loves it, but it can be quite expensive for a bigger family like mine. At one point they used to sell it in a 25 pound bag and that is how I liked to buy it. Then they stopped and now you can only buy it in a four pound bag (I believe that’s what size it is). A four pound doesn’t go very far for a large family like mine.

Well one day, as I was lamenting over not being able to get this delightful cereal in bulk any more, it hit me that I could try and recreate it. It just so happened that I had strawberries in my fridge. I had powdered coffee creamer in my pantry. And I had farina in my cupboard. I had an idea. I made it and we loved it.  We love it even better than the stuff you can buy. It tastes so much better with real strawberries. It is like dessert for breakfast.

 

Let’s just get this out of the way. Some of you may say: What is farina? What is germade? Have you heard of Cream of Wheat? They are the same thing, only way cheaper. I buy mine in bulk. If you buy a huge bag at Lehi Roller Mills, it will be called germade. Yes, they still have the plain germade available in 25 pound bags. If you live in the West and are lucky enough to have a WinCo near you, it is called farina. I can also get farina pretty cheap near me at an Amish bulk food store. Or you can stick with the expensive Cream of Wheat. You often find it at Natural food stores. You can even find it at Walmart. It doesn’t matter where you buy it, it is all the same.

 

Strawberries and Cream Farina (aka. Germade or Cream of Wheat)

Serves 4

4 cups water

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup farina

¼ cup powdered creamer

1/3–½ cup sugar* (adjust to your taste)

¾ cup finely chopped** strawberries*** (about a 3^rd of a pound)

 

Bring water and salt to a boil in a saucepan on the stove. Slowly add in the farina and the creamer, using a whisk to mix it well, so no lumps can form.  Lower heat to a medium-low.  Stir continuously for 6-8 minutes till it is to the thickness you like. I usually add the sugar and strawberries and cook for an extra minute.  Serve with milk (optional) and

ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* You can adjust the sugar to the sweetness you prefer. The kids and I like it semi-sweet, but not all out candied. My husband prefers very lightly sweetened. Play with it and see what you like. Start with less and then add more as desired.

**I use a small food processor to chop up my strawberries to a somewhat course texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*** We have tried many other fruits: blueberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, etc. We have liked them all, but strawberries have remained out favorite. Use whatever fruit you prefer or have on hand. For fruits that may not be as tart, you may choose to add a little lemon juice (l used some when I made it with nectarines).

My Painted Book Wreath

I’m not much of a decorator. There I said it.

 Let’s be honest, I haven’t really tried much. Money has been tight most of my marriage and so buying decorations haven’t really been my top priority.  When it comes to the choice of buying a piece of decoration for a room or buying a much needed article of clothing, the clothing seems to win out every single time.  Often times, buying decorations has seemed so frivilous to me, even a waste of money. Now I know there are a lot you out there that love to decorate and buy pretty things for your home. I think that is wonderful. I am just saying, when there isn’t much money to go around, buying decorations is at the bottom of my list.

Now crafting and sewing, on the other hand, rank much higher on my list, especially if I can do it cheap. Making stuff with my hands makes me happy. When I discovered Pinterest a year and a half ago, I found all these beautiful things I could make (and for cheap!)and I realized maybe I do like decorating.  I REALLY like making stuff. Really, really like it. Making pretty things helps me relax, gives me pride in my creations, and gives me bragging rights to my sisters. My sisters like to craft and sew as much as I do. We are all crafting and sewing junkies. It’s in our blood.  

I have recently discovered Book Wreaths and I am in love. I decided it was time to try my hands on making one.  I had a certain look I was going for. I liked this wreath a lot (http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/03/book-wreath.html). I liked the ruffle look and the burned edges. My original idea was to ink the edged red with a stamp pad, and then to hang it in my hall. But, as I started to make it, I realized it was going to be much bigger than I originally thought  and I realized it wasn’t going to work in the planned spot. But that’s okay, I needed some sort of art to hang above my bed and this became it.  So in the end, I lightly sprayed the edges with a Robin Egg Blue spray paint. I like it better. It gives it more depth.  Unfortunately, the pictures of wreath  give it don’t do it justice. It is quite a stunning wreath and is much deeper and richer in color than shown.

I wish I had made a tutorial for this, but as I didn’t, you will have to use your imagination with my descriptions.

First, the supplies you will need:

Any size wreath (styrofoam, wicker, straw, grapevine, etc.*)

1 -2 old books (or books from the dollar store**)

A hot glue gun

Lots and lots of glue sticks for your glue gun

A can of spray paint

Some Ribbon to hang it

*I bought my wreath from the dollar store. I bought the largest size they had. Since it was wicker, I just wrapped it in white paper so I could have a surface that I could glue the rolled paper to. You could do the same with a grapevine or straw wreath. Just don’t use a flat cardboard wreath, I like the dimension that the rounder wreaths give.

**I bought two books from the dollar store with white, white pages (most are a somewhat cream color). They had a lot of black and white pictures in them. They were the only ones I could find with white, white pages. At first, I wasn’t too excited about it. But now I think it gives it a lot more interest.

 

I started out by cutting strips the length of the book by 2 ½ inches wide. I was able to cut two strips per page. I just ripped the paged out carefully and then cut through several pages at a time to cut my widths. They didn’t look perfect and they didn’t need to.

I glued my ribbon around the wreath before I began, but you can glue it to the back in the end if you like.

Next, I rolled each strip in a variety of ways. Some I rolled just from one end. Some I rolled the ends toward each other. Some I rolled the ends the opposite directions. Some I rolled half the way and then  I just ruffed the rest (rolled the paper front then back then front then back). Just play with it. It doesn’t need to be an exact science.

I always secured the bottom edges (insides) with hot glue so they wouldn’t unroll, and then pinched the bottom.

Then, I put a generous amount of hot glue on the bottom edge and would secure it to the wreath. You will need to hold it in place while it dries, so it will stand in the direction you want it to. I would often put a dot of glue on the side to secure it to a piece next to it. As it gets fuller, you will have to hold the rolled pieces for less time while the glue cools, since it will have other pieces to hold it up.

Finish, by lightly spray painting the wreath. Spray till you get the richness of color you are looking for.  The color doesn’t need to be even all over. I think it looks more interesting if it isn’t even.

FYI, the finished wreath is quite sturdy and is not likely to be easily damage thanks to all of the hot glue I used. I feared that it would easily crush, but I have sat up many of times in my bed hitting it accidentally and not a single dent.

My finished wreath measures 23 inches across.

 

How much did my masterpiece wreath cost?

$1 for the wreath (I bought at the dollar store)

$2 for 2 books (I bought these at the dollar store)

$1 for Hot glue sticks (You can also buy these at the dollar store, I already had a ton lying around)

$3.64 for a can of spray paint   

The grand total for this project was roughly $8 with tax. But, I had lots of spray paint left over and some glues sticks that I can use for another day and another project. Yours could be a little cheaper if you choose a smaller wreath (you may only need one book) or if you choose not to make it as full as mine or if you buy the $0.97 spray paint at Walmart.

 

How long did it take to make?

I don’t really want to answer this. It took a long time. I would say about 10 hours, but I did it while I watched television at night as I wound down after the kids went to bed. It took me about 3 weeks to finish. You may be able to finish it a lot faster if you have more free time than me and if you make a smaller wreath.

Good Luck!