Inexpensive Deer Repellant...that really works!

I live on the edge of the wilderness in Montana.

We have a plethora of wildlife that pass through our yard all year long.

Bears, mountain lions, skunks, squirrels...

and most annoyingly...

DEER!!

They eat EVERYTHING they can find!

The first Spring in my house, 6 years ago, my husband and I planted tulips.

We put them in the front of our house, as well as the side.

That first year, they grew so tall and were beautiful!

We were so excited to have tulips every year.

The next year, our tulips started coming up and a few weeks later...

the deer had come and eaten everything that was sprouting.

Nothing else grew that year.

We decided to put up an electric fence the third year.

It turned out that our grounding rod didn't work properly, so again, those dang deer ate everything!

We became so discouraged!

Year after year our beautiful tulips were being a consumed by deer.

We couldn't put up a 7' fence around our house to protect them,

our electric fence wasn't working, and we were out of options!

We talked about digging them up and planting a different flower that deer don't like to eat.

I have recently started a new job.

In my conversation with one customer, we started talking about flowers

and how the deer around here eat everything.

This wonderful woman, told me that for 30+ years she was able to keep the deer away from her flowers with one simple trick...

Irish Spring Original Soap!

WHAT?!?!

She would put whole bars around her flowers and garden and the deer wouldn't touch it!

She emphasized the Original Soap, not the other varieties.

I decided to purchase some that day and try it out.

I took one bar, cut it into chunks, and placed them between flowers.

 Our tulips haven't been touched yet!

 I am so excited to finally have tulips growing!

Once a week, I flip the soap over so that a fresh smelling side is up.

Now the only problem I have, a neighbor animal (I think a dog) has found our soap and has been taking it. Hopefully that animal isn't getting too sick from eating it.

I will keep you updated on how long this trick works.

But so far, it is working fantastically!

Homemade Brown Sugar, The Right Way!

Learn from my mistakes!

Read this post to learn how to make Brown Sugar from Scratch the right way.

I needed to make some cookies for a church activity tonight.

I went into my pantry and found this...

My brown sugar container was empty!!

I didn't have time to run to the store and going only for brown sugar was not worth it.

I decided that I would make my own.

I remember reading a recipe for brown sugar on my molasses container.

I always thought that it would be fun to try.

So I pulled the jar out and read it:

"Mix 1 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup molasses."

Do NOT use this recipe, read on to find out why.

Hmm, that is simple enough.

I decided that I wanted to make a good sized batch.

I poured 4 cups of sugar into my container.

As per the recipe, I proceeded to pour 2 cups of molasses on the sugar.

That looks like A LOT of molasses!

I assumed that it would blend nicely and I would have perfect brown sugar.

I pulled out my hand mixer and started mixing away.

 I kept mixing and mixing, making sure that I had all of the granulated sugar mixed with the molasses.

When I was sure that it was mixed thoroughly, I was extremely disappointed!

 This didn't look ANYTHING like brown sugar!

It was a sludge consistency and was dripping off my beaters.

This can't be right?

Did I do the math correctly?

I pulled out my calculator to double check and sure enough, I had done the math right.

I jumped on the computer to see if anyone had a different recipe.

I found three websites/blogs that had a recipe.

They called for 1 - 2 TBSP of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar.

To put into perspective the amount that I used when following the Grandma's Molasses recipe:

I put in 8 TBSP of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar.

 There was no way that I was going to use this in a recipe.

I couldn't afford to throw out what I used.

I transferred my sludge into a bigger container and started adding more granulated sugar.

I ended up with 10 cups of granulated sugar and 2 cups of molasses.

As you can tell by my picture, my homemade brown sugar is darker than my store bought brown sugar.

The measuring cup has residual store bought brown sugar.

 I got to a point where I could no longer add any more sugar since I was running out of room in my bowls and my poor hand beater was starting to feel warm and I didn't want to burn out the motor.

 I could have added an additional 6 cups of sugar to make the brown sugar properly.

I didn't have storage, so I ended up leaving it as is.

My final ratio was 3.2 TBSP molasses to 1 cup sugar.

I made a batch of my chocolate chip cookies with it and to my surprise, it tastes the same!

There is a hint of molasses when you taste the cookies.

Thankfully, it isn't so much that you don't like it.

The moral of this story?

Make brown sugar from scratch, but use the correct recipe.

Homemade Brown Sugar

1-2 TBSP molasses (depending on how strong you want the flavor to be)

1 cup of granulated sugar

Mix with beaters or a fork until combined well

Store in an airtight container

If it gets too hard, put a slice of bread in the container

I hope that you learn from my mistake and spread the word to

NOT use the recipe on the Grandma's Molasses bottle!

The Best Sugar Cookie & Frosting Recipe

At least once a year, or more, I make sugar cookies.

I LOVE sugar cookies, my husband isn't as big a fan.

I love soft and chewy sugar cookies with frosting that tastes like ice cream!

An added benefit is that you can decorate them in any color

and you can go crazy on the time spent "coloring" the cookie with frosting.

These are very low quality photo's, but your options are endless!

I had my nieces and nephew over to decorate cookies.

I had every color of the rainbow of frosting and let them have at it.

They were very creative!

One year at Christmas, I had a friend over for cookie decorating.

So many options with sugar cookies!

With all that being said, I have the perfect Sugar Cookie recipe

and a butter cream frosting to go along with it.

BYU Sugar Cookies

(I got this recipe from my Uncle who used to work at BYU)

-1 cup Sugar
-1/2 cup Butter (1 cube) softened, but not melted
-1 egg
-1 tsp. Vanilla or Lemon Extract
  (I use Vanilla, you could even use Almond extract if you wanted)
-2 tsp. Baking Powder
-1 tsp. Baking Soda
-1/2 tsp. Salt
-3 1/2 cups Flour
-1/2 cup Milk
-Bowl of sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat Sugar, Butter, and Egg together until well mixed.
3. Add Vanilla, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt and mix again.
4. Add Flour alternately with Milk (I fill a 1/2 cup measuring cup with milk, then turn the mixer on and add 1/2 cup of flour, then approx. 1 TBSP of milk, then 1/2 cup of flour, 1 TBSP milk, etc until I have used up all the flour and all the milk).
5. Take half of dough and roll out on a floured surface about 1/4" thick (I like my cookies to be thick. You can roll the dough out thinner if you want to get more cookies out of the recipe.  This will also make them a little bit more crunchy. They will still taste yummy!)
6. Fill a bowl with sugar, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup.  I dip the cookie cutter into the sugar, then I use it on the dough. This is optional and isn't necessary.
7. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet (or a silicone covered cookie sheet if you have one, they are the BEST!)
8. Bake in oven 8-10 min.  The cookies will not be brown around the edges and the underside will be light brown.  The cookies are done at this time, but if you like them a little bit crunchier, add 1-3 min, depending on your tastes. I like my cookies thick and soft.
9. Immediately after they come out of the oven, I take pinches of sugar from the sugar bowl and sprinkle the cookies with it.
10. Let cookies cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt.

Holli's Buttercream Frosting 

(This frosting is great for cookies or cinnamon rolls)

-1/2 cube of butter, softened but not melted
-1 tsp. Vanilla extract
-3-4 cups Powdered Sugar (amount is approximate, depending on how much frosting you want)
-2-3 TBSP Milk, plus additional milk to reach desired consistency

1. Place butter in mixing bowl, add Vanilla, milk, and 2 cups Powdered Sugar.
2. Mix together, I use a hand mixer for this recipe (Most likely the texture will be small pea sized balls of butter coated with powdered sugar).
3. If frosting is the consistency and amount that you want, then you're done.
     If it is not the proper amount, then add 1 cup of Powdered Sugar and mix again.
4. Add 1 TBSP of Milk if frosting is too thick.  If frosting still appears too thick, fill 1 TBSP measuring spoon with Milk and add a few drops at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency.  1 TBSP could be too much and make it too thin, then you would have to add more Powdered Sugar. (NEVER exceed adding more than 1 TBSP of Milk at a time.)
5. At this point, you can either separate frosting into bowls of equal portions and add food coloring, or you can add food coloring to entire batch, if you only want one color.  I like to have all colors of the rainbow when decorating cookies.
    *If you are using liquid food coloring, that can cause your frosting to be runny. After you have added the liquid coloring, mix again and see if you need to add more powdered sugar to thicken up.
     *If you are using gel food coloring, then you don't have to worry about it.
6. Once frosting is colored, add small portion (or all of one color) to one corner of a sandwich bag.  Push all the frosting down to one corner and twist bag tight around frosting.  Cut a small corner off and you have a frosting bag so kids can decorate cookies however they want.
7. Frosting will keep in sealed container in fridge for 2-3 weeks.  If you do put it in the fridge, let it sit on the counter for 1 hour to soften up, mix, and you're ready to use it again.

So easy and very delicious!

Daniel Tiger Goody Bag

My daughter turned three a few months ago.

Her favorite tv show is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

I decided to decorate with all Daniel Tiger characters.

First, I found these rounds here at the pbs kids website.

I didn't want to make the pinwheel since it takes up so much paper!

So I printed off the characters and put a coordinating color on the back.

Then I hung streamers below the rounds.

Second, I wanted an information sheet for my daughter.

I found one online for $20+ and decided to save money and make it myself.

 Third, our refreshments were very simple!

I found a $1 plastic polkdot table cloth at Walmart.

We bought Fruit & Veggie juice, a veggie tray, and mini quiches at Costco.

 Then a bag of chips and wrapped lil smokies in biscuit dough.

I made cupcakes and frosted them with orange frosting,

and put chocolate strips on top of them.

Now that I see what we had, we had a lot of food!

But, it was simple and delicious!

Lastly, I wanted a cute goody bag for the kids to take home.

I looked everywhere and didn't find anything that I liked.

So I decided to make one myself.

When I showed it to my daughter she said, "I love it!!"

I got her stamp of approval.

Here is the image of what it looks like before you fold it.

You can download the file here.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU PRINT OFF ON 11X17 CARDSTOCK!

That is the size that I made the file for.

If you would prefer to have a blank goody bag,

you can download the .png file right here.

Just click the image, right click, save as..., and save to your computer.

Again, make sure you print it off on 11x17 cardstock.

I had a very difficult time finding good quality .png files of the characters.

So I am uploading the files I created in the hopes that someone will be

able to use them in the future.

"You Are Loved" Valentine, Free Printable

I made some Valentine's for a few girlfriends this year.

I created this Valentine and attached a large sugar cookie

decorated in pink buttercream frosting and heart sprinkles.

If you want to print it, click the picture,
right click, click save as..., and save to your computer.

Thank You Card

I am due in three weeks with my second daughter.

Some sweet ladies from church are throwing me a baby shower tomorrow night.

I decided to get a head start and create some Thank You cards.

I think that they turned out really cute.

Although I created them for a girl baby shower,

they could be used for anything that you want.

I thought I would put them online for all to use, if you want.

Click on the image to make it full-size.

Right click on it and click "save image as..."

Save to your computer.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Magnetic Family Home Evening Board

Our ward had a Super Saturday activity last month.

I was asked to teach the ladies how to make a Family Home Evening (FHE) board.

I have been needing one for a little while now.

I started doing some research on what I wanted.

I knew that I wanted a magnetic board,

but I did not want to deal with sheet metal.

I couldn't find anything that I really wanted to do that was inexpensive and easy.

I also don't have a cricut or silhouette machine to cut vinyl.

I headed to Photoshop and came up with the following layout,

as well as the different colors and fonts to chose from.

 The ladies only had to pick the color and font and I got the rest of the supplies.

It ended up costing only $5 for the entire craft!

That includes one small bottle of ModPodge divided 5 ways.

If you don't already own ModPodge, it will cost more. 

Supplies Needed:

- 11x17 color copy (on cardstock) of the FHE paper

I got them printed at the UPS Store for $.98 a piece

- 9x13 cookie sheet

I found them for $.92 each at WalMart

You will need to drill two holes at the top, see below

- 1 bottle of Matte ModPodge

- 1 Foam Brush

- Wooden spoons spray painted lightly with white

I found these at my local dollar store, 100 for $1

- Magnets, 2 per spoon

- Ribbon to match color of FHE layout sheet

Instructions:

1. Take your FHE paper and cut it out, make sure that you round the corners.

2. Lay it on the back of the cookie sheet to see if it fits.

You do not want any part of the paper curving up the side of the cookie sheet.

The paper needs to be completely flush (lay flat) on the cookie sheet.

 3. Once that is done, drill two holes on the top of your cookie sheet.

I did not take a picture of this, my husband did it for me.

I put a mark at the 2" and 7" point with a sharpie.

My husband drilled an initial 1/8" pilot hole.

From there, he did a 1/4" hole.

If you go any bigger than that, the hole will not be a clean cut and will destroy your ribbon.

4. Put a nice even layer of ModPodge on the back of the cookie sheet.

You don't want blobs of ModPodge, just enough to glue the paper to the cookie sheet.

 I decided to put the FHE paper on the back of the cookie sheet for one main reason.

You can store you unused spoons inside the cookie sheet and

it will still hang nice and flat against your wall.

Does that make sense?

 5. Take your hand and smooth the paper against the cookie sheet.

 5a. Make sure that the edges are glued nicely to the cookie sheet.

I took my finger and rubbed it around the edges to make sure it was secure.

It only has to dry long enough for the paper to not slide around anymore,

only about 1-2 minutes.

6. Put a nice amount of ModPodge on top of the paper.

Spread it evenly with your foam sponge.

Make sure that you brush in long strokes that move in the same direction.

 6a. I took my finger and spread the ModPodge around the edges

(to make extra sure that it was secured to the cookie sheet),

then used my brush to even out the ModPodge, so the strokes matched.

7. Let it dry for at least 30 minutes.

You can do a second coat if you would like, but it is not necessary.

I did a second coat because my brush strokes weren't as even as I liked.

8. Write your names on the spoons with a fine point Sharpie.

9. Hot glue the magnets to the back of each spoon.

One magnet would have been sufficient, but I could not put

one magnet in the center, or it would have been visible.

That is why I used two magnets for each spoon, one on each side.

10. Feed your ribbon through the holes and tie a bow.

Be careful with pulling the ribbon through the holes.

The hole is not going to be smooth and

could shred your ribbon if you pull it too much.

If you are interested in one of these custom made FHE papers,

leave me a comment with your email address and I will see what I can do.