Guest Post - Recycle Your Lipton Tea Bag Covers

My mom is so crafty and she tried her hand at being Green and Crafty at the same time! I love the result. Read on for a Guest Post from my awesome mom, Annette!!

Here is a great idea on how to recycle your Lipton Tea Bag Covers!

Make a scratch pad.

The Lipton Tea Bag Covers are paper and are is blank on the one side.

Cut off the sides before you open the bag all the way.
Then open bag and cut off "Legs."








This is what you have all lined up facing the same direction.

Staple these together, be sure the staple closes completely or take needle nose pliers to bend the ends under.

Add a "Cover" on top of the blank sides with 2nd staple. Very simple.

A quilted folder, or folder with pockets made with hot glue gun, pockets for the pads and crayons or colored pencils would make a nice Christmas gift for nieces and nephews.







THE FINAL PRODUCT:


My mom made the one shown for my 5 year old! This is absolutely perfect for church AND I can refill it for free!!!









The best part...My son LOVES it!!

Card Making - Guest Post

I have another great guest post from my mother Annette! She is fabulous at making cards for any occassion! She made my birthday card this year and it said Happy Birthday to the Coupon Queen and was decorated with coupons and such - It is my favorite card ever!! In fact I love it so much it's hanging in my kitchen! Most of the time after enjoyig a card for few days, they get thrown away. My husband and I don't even trade cards anymore becasue we were spending $1-3 on a nice card only to throw it away some time later. So making cards makes perfect sense!! 1. Collect old writing paper, cards and the envelopes from yard sales, and goodwill. Even if you don’t like the picture there is usually something on the card you can use-a border, saying, simple happy birthday, butterfly, etc. Wrapping paper is another good resource!

2. BUY Card stock paper – it’s definitely worth it and get a good glue stick. The children's glue sticks do not work as well.

4.Get a paper cutter if you can, or have a good ruler 12" and scissors you like.

5. Go through cards, old cards, magazines you buy at yard sales (I have found magazine paper not good to use except small things)-even a small catalogue of cross stitch patterns is good can be used for pictures.

6. Cut your picture to fit on smallish piece of card stock – don’t be afraid to trim down and get picture effect you want.

7. Glue picture onto card stock piece.

8. Sew straight stitch with color thread around it, starting at bottom. Move it gently or zig zag it – cut thread strings off after you go 1 ½ inches so won’t tangle on next pass. I have to turn card picture at corners with needle in. Do 4 arounds. If you don't have a sewing machine you can do by hand being sure not to bend paper - embroidery would be wonderful ! Painting a border or fake stitches is pretty too.

9. Pick envelope bigger than picture. Measure card stock double width of envelope minus ¼ inch. Measure height of card minus ¼ inch of envelope. You will figure out quickly how to do this by eye. Fold card in half.

10. Make SURE you know how card is to open before you place your picture. Glue it on well. I use a matt knife to add glue under parts of rim when I have to – if you glue well the first time on back of picture you won’t need to do this.

11. Finish your card with a happy birthday you cut out or use your computer and colors to print out message. OR use message from another card. This wishing well is from a get well card and I wanted it for a niece’s birthday.I had the sticker.

12. SAVE SAVE SAVE leftover card stock and keep it flat or stacked so won’t wrinkle. I had one piece leftover for card pictures and one good piece for another card. THIS CARD TOOK ONLY 15 MINUTES.

Guest Post - Making Your Own Dog Food from Turkey/Chicken Carcasses

Because we have three wonderful dogs and two cats to feed, my even more wonderful mother began researching how to make dog food. We had stopped buying canned dog food on a regular basis and weaned our dogs on to a mostly dry food diet due to the price of canned dog food. Then my mother suggested making canned dog food and here is what she researched and came up with. I can't believe it and neither can my dogs- they can't get enough of it!!

Guest Post from my mother Annette:

Getting the Most of your Leftover Chicken and Turkey Carcasses

If you cook a carcass in a slow cooker for a long time - 1-2 days, you can "melt" even the bones - great meat and scraps and gravy for dog/cat food.

This picture shows big turkey legs in my slow cooker. I did not cook it long enough to melt the big bones but all the small ones smashed between two fingers.

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This picture is all the meat I got from these legs. My cooker works too hot even on low. So I had trouble doing the turkey - all of it - but it depends on your cooker how this works out for you. A chicken carcass is the easiest - day and one half at most and good bone melt and lots of food. Be sure to smash all the small bones completely that have melted and to remove all larger pieces of bone that you cannot smash between your fingers so your dog will not choke on them.

This picture is the frozen turkey carcass that would not fit in the cooker. I used a stock pot and put foil over it, tucked inside the pot so no drips on stove. I added about 1-1/2 qt. of water and melted it down a little. Putting the large carcass into the cooker with stockpot liquid, I had to use a plastic cutting board to force it down - otherwise I would bend my large spoons or splatter juice everywhere.

This picture is all the meat and juices I got from the carcass and believe it or not, this carcass had been previously picked!! I cooked this turkey carcass - a very large one - about 29 hours. I did add water twice - you may not have to with your crock pot. I did not melt all the bones because my cooker is just too hot. I did add some little seasonings-poultry seasoning in small amount to each batch - dogs like flavor too!

Total outcome was 24 ounces of just meat, 2 small 8 ounce containers of mostly meat and some juice, 1 approx 24 ounces container of juice with meat pieces and stuffing pieces(left in turkey carcass) great for putting over dry food, and 1 tub of meat. The actual work involved in picking the carcasses and smushing some bones about 10-15 minutes twice. Cleanup can go fast. Have a bowl of hot soapy water available, and a go-in-the-washer rag while you pick.

I'm telling you...try this...my dogs go nuts when I pull these containers out of the freezer or fridge!! Thanks Mom!!

Guest Post: Flower Arrangements on a Dime

This is a guest post from my mother, Annette. She's extremely talented in art and one of my favorite things she does is paint pet portraits. They always turn out fantastic and she really captures the personality of your pet. If you're interested in a pet portrait, let me know and I'll get you in touch with her. Aside from pet portraits, she loves beading, quilting, sewing, and her latest - making floral arrangements for my little sister's upcoming wedding.

In order to make the arrangement:

First: Select your bases, greenery and flowers.

I selected 2 plastic saucers (purchased from a yard sale), 2 tuna cans, 2 unused candles in glass (highly recommend candles in glass for near silk flowers, these were also purchased from a yard sale), foam, florist tape, and glue gun.

Second: Hot glue the tuna cans to center of the saucers, cut pieces of foam and glue to plates, use the florist tape from cans to underside plates going over tops of foam pieces, then place candles in the tuna cans centered. All should be sturdy, not sparing on the hot glue.

Third: Place longest pieces greenery in flair out to sides (depending on ultimate shape you need.) Fill in with greenery and flowers where you visualize them. Then turn all over and fill in areas that could show. Lastly, I put veiling in to fluff and because this is for a wedding.

If you have an idea or have made something on a dime, contact me to be featured as a Guest Post writer on my blog!