Hey!

Wow I can't believe it's been over two months since I've posted, sorry about that, it's been a busy summer.  Between babysitting, motorcycle riding, job hunting (nothing yet), yard work and the list goes on...lol!  I just never seem to have enough hours in the day for anything constructive.
  I don't have any pictures to share today but I would like to share some Sandwich Maker information with you.

Your sandwich maker isn't just for sandwiches anymore! :)

My friend Sandy was talking about some creations she had been creating in her sandwich maker so I thought what the heck it sounds easy enough, but alas I didn't have a sandwich maker, so I asked around and discovered my daughter had one she had only used once.  I have since confiscated it...lol!    Have you ever wanted to make muffins on a hot summer day, but didn't want to heat up the house?  That seems to be the only time I want baked goods is on really hot summer days, lol!  Well if you are like me you can still have those muffins, not heat up your home and you can cook a dozen in less time than the usual 15 to 20 minutes you have to do it in the oven.  All you have to do is make your batter, place it in the sandwich maker and close the lid for approximately 3 or 4 minutes.

My idea was to make Homemade Pizza Pockets.  All I did was use some canned spaghetti sauce and a knife to spread it on two pieces of bread, add some meat (my first meat one was with bologna because that was what was in the fridge) then I added some cheese.  I placed the second piece of bread on top and put it into the sandwich maker.  Yet again close it for about 3 or 4 minutes and voila you have a quick and easy homemade pizza pocket, this way you can be pretty sure how healthy you and your children are eating.

I hope you will try the above tips and let me know what you think.

As always I wish you health, wealth and happiness!

An Excellent Homemade Cleaner

I've read about making your own window cleaner with water and vinegar, but recently I heard about adding dish soap to vinegar and water for cleaning.  I decided to give it a try as many of the cleaners with bleach in them drive my nose crazy.

I have definitely become a convert.  I used the mixture to clean my tub and after spraying it on I left it for a few minutes then when I was ready to clean it I sprayed it again and grabbed one of my sponges with the scratchy side and started cleaning.  The dirt and grime came off so easy I didn't really even have to use much muscle to clean it and it left no streaks on my shower doors.

After cleaning the bathroom, I made another mixture in a pail and washed all the outside windows with it as well, surprisingly enough no streaks there either and it works on vinyl siding as well.  Best of all almost everyone has these 3 items in their home already.

Let me know if your a convert too and what you've tried it on!

More Projects

Even though the weather has been relatively nice, I have still been doing some work out in the garage.  I've also been spending a good deal of time riding my motorcycle and visiting friends and of course being a Mom's taxi.  Every day there is something else for me to do besides keeping up with housework, yard work, etc.

I know the above is no excuse for my lack of blogging, but those are my excuses.  So today I will show you some more of my current finished items etc.  I hope you find something you like and helps get your creative juices flowing.

Thanks for reading!


First these are little finger bowls and an old pickle jar that I etched using my rotary tool with a diamond bit!

 Next up are small clay pots that I painted and hung from wire to create wind chimes.  This is probably one of the heavies wind chimes around...lol!

Next is a cute little wood burned plaque to tell those people who drive too close to me when I'm on my bike what to do.  I always worry that something is going to happen and I am going to get run over by the idiots who drive too close.

Next is my completely free pallet table with my finished pallet sign.  Even the nails I used were reclaimed. :-)

Until next time have fun and start getting creative.

Sharing

Ooops, I've been a bad blogger again.  I've been busy out in the garage working on various projects in the evenings, in the day time I am out cruising on my motorcycle or spending time with my hubby.  I'm not going to apologize but I do hope you will excuse my absents.

Since it is a rather rainy looking day I thought I should take some time to share with you what I've been up to since my last post.

Clay Pot Wind Chimes.

These are heavy little fellows so I used 20 guage wire to string them and hung them on my heavy duty shepherd's hook plant hanger.  I got the pots and the wire from Dollarama and the U nails I used for the tinkle sound I already had as well as the paint, so the total cost of this project was $3.00 and I still have lots of wire left for other projects so it's technically cheaper than that.

I've also been doing some recycling of an old chair and turning it into an indoor bench for our entry way.  It isn't totally finished yet, but it is a work in progress.  You ever notice that no one ever mentions that upholstery nails are extremely sharp even when they are older than you are.  After stripping this chair of its' upholstery my hand were scratched and bloody, I'm not too anxious to do another one at this time, perhaps in the future if I find a really cool piece to work with, but not in the near future for sure.

Before

So far.

I'm using reclaimed pallet wood for the slats and any other pieces I add to it.  I get the pallets for free so this project has a zero dollar amount...gotta love free :) 

I've also been spending a lot of time trying to get the pesky weeds out of my garden.  

I hope everyone is enjoying some time outside like I am!

Have a great day!

Pallet wood planter

After seeing some really cool reclaimed pallet or pallet art creations I decided to start working on this type of thing myself.

Years ago I had to take a semester of wood shop, that was in grade 8.  I absolutely loved it.  As a matter of fact I loved it so much I even tried begging my teacher, Mr. Luvchuck to let me continue taking the course for the rest of the year, but the principal and school board wouldn't allow it.  Instead I had to take the sewing/cooking class which I absolutely hated.  To this day I would much rather be out in the garage or in the garden than in the house doing anything like sewing.  (sewing = blech)...lol!

So any way on my birthday my daughter Cassie bought me a jig saw and an electric sander, I told her I was afraid of her dad's circular saw and sanding by hand was killing my arms.  She said the sales person who assisted her gave her a funny look when she told him she wanted them as a birthday gift for her mom!

My first finished project is this planter below.  I didn't sand this as I really like the weathered look of the pallet I made it from, but I did do a little woodburning on it.

I think it turned out pretty good for someone who hasn't really did any wood working since grade school. Now I have a million idea floating through my mind, but can't seem to decide on which one I want to work on first.

So prepare yourselves to see more pallet art coming to CJ's Lil Bits soon!

Spring along Lake Erie

Just a couple of pictures of some of  the flowers sprouting in my garden over the past two weeks when the weather was unseasonable warm.  I hope you like them!

I can hardly wait for the tulips :-)

Bathroom Redo

We had a couple of coolish rainy days so I couldn't really go out on my motorcycle so I finally got around to redoing our half bath upstairs.  Really it is more like a closet as you really can't fit anything more than the toilet and a sink, but my husband finds it useful in the middle of the night as it is just outside our bedroom door.

There was a water leak in this bathroom when we moved in and the plaster walls were so wet it took them a goods 5 years to dry.  The wall really needs some professional help, but due to financial issues we can't really afford that so I am doing the best I can to shore things up until I can afford to have it repaired properly.

Here are the before and after pictures:

I can't even express how totally shocked I was at how very dark yellow the toilet and sink are.  When the bathroom was the yellow beige colour I thought the toilet and sink were the same colour.

All in all I love this little bathroom now and it doesn't make me feel nearly as claustrophobic anymore.  When I use to go in there I would have to leave the door open and pray we didn't get any company or they would have seen more than I feel comfortable showing as our entrance way is just down the steps from this bathroom.

I hope you like the changes as much as I do and it inspires you to paint a room in honour of spring!