Homemade grape jelly

Ok so I tried my first attempt at making jelly tonight. I haven't tasted it yet & as you can see below, they are still setting up so hopefully it turns out!:)

This being my first try, the process goes so quickly & you have to move quickly that I wasn't able to take step-by-step pictures. But, I plan on making strawberry jam next (my absolute fav!) so I'll make sure I take pictures of everything I used. On this go around I used 'Sure Jelly' brand pectin for jams & jellies, Welch's 100% grape juice & good ol' sugar. As my confidence booster & educational tool I used www.heart-hands-home.blogspot.com. This blog is a plethora of information!! This blog explains the basics of canning & how to get started simply. Just make sure you have 2 BIG pots...one for making the jelly & the other for using to boil the jars if you don't have a canner. I personally do not have a canner so I just put a towel in the bottom of a big pot & made sure that there was 1-2 inches of water over the jars when they were ready to be sealed. That's important. Thankfully my wonderful husband is home today & took the kids outside to play while I did this because it requires uninterrupted attention for about an hour & 'uninterrupted' doesn't happen very often around here:) I'm actually super excited about making my own jelly! I think it would be a great idea as a gift to put together a basket of 'homemades': bisquick (pancake mix), brownie mix, jelly, homemade bread (which I'm going to attempt tomorrow maybe)! If you do this please let me know! I'd love to see & hear what you put together:)

New Mommy Survival Kit

New Mommy Survival Kit. I saw this idea on Pinterest & have so many friends expecting so had to make a couple to keep on hand! Great gift to grab & take to the hospital! All Mommies, even of multiples, need to remember these:) I  bought almost all the supplies at the Dollar Store, used a gift bag, got coordinating scrapbook paper, typed this up & glued it to the front. Any Mommy would appreciate you putting this together for her.:)

KISSES: For both Mommy & baby
MIRROR: To remind you that you're important too
MARBLES: To replace the ones you lose
HAIR TIES: To remind you to stay flexible
LIFESAVERS: To save you from 'one of those days'
TISSUES: To wipe your tears & baby's tears too
ERASER: To remind you that everyone makes mistakes
STARBURST: To give you an extra 'burst' of energy
SOUR PATCH KIDS: To remind you that every baby is different
TYLENOL: For when all else fails
COZY SOCKS: To remind you to take time & relax:)
Congratulations!!

Homemade Brownie Mix

Yes, it exists!:) Brownie mix probably shouldn't be a necessity in a home but it is definitely in our home!! I cut this recipe in half since I was low on ingredients but it ended up working out beautifully because it fit in the biggest bowl I had nicely without making a mess. I got this recipe from www.heart-hands-home.blogspot.com. This gal has a plethora of awesome stuff on her blog so you should check it out!! It says this mix costs less than $.50 per batch so totally worth it! You can keep it on hand for those last minute potlucks, cookouts or late night cravings!:)
Beneath the mix recipe I posted her Texas Sheetcake recipe because it looks to-die-for:)

(I like to make a couple bags to make brownies so I can just grab one & make them up quickly then put the rest in a big bag in case I wanna make Texas Sheet Cake)


Brownie Mix

8 cups of sugar
6 cups of unbleached flour (I used bleached cuz that's all the Dollar Store had:)
2 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt

Mix together and store in air tight container. **Note: when you go to her website you'll see she keeps her mixes in these very stylish glass jars that are fabulous. I found those big jars at Hobby Lobby for $11.99. They were 50% off last week & I was tempted to get one to store mine in because they do look absolutely fabulous but I have a tiny kitchen & unfortunately no space to store all those big jars. I also read on the comments that the jars can be found at Walmart for about $4! Oh golly! Now I might just have to get some! You could use them for gifts too for that price!

To make:
2 1/4 cup brownie mix
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil (or melted butter or margarine)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 inch square pan. Combine ingredients and mix until smooth. Bake for 30-35 minutes until center is set. Cool, cut, serve.

Texas Sheet Cake

4 cup brownie mix
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 10" x 15" jelly roll or sheet cake pan. Put brownie mix in bowl. In small saucepan bring oil, water, and sour cream to a boil. Add to the brownie mix. Stir in eggs, vanilla, & baking soda. Pour into pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Prepare frosting and frost while cake is still hot.

Sheet Cake Frosting

1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Homemade Makeup Remover

Mother's Day is just a few days away so I'll tell you what I did for gifts..I made the homemade laundry detergent for my mom & mother-in-law....I already gave it to them so no worries of them finding out. But it would be a great idea to put together like a 'homemade basket' of things you've made as a gift: laundry detergent (nothing better than a years supply!), makeup remover, wipes, bread, jam. I'm going to try my hand at jam next & I found a recipe for homemade candles but I don't have all the supplies for that yet:) I have searched for makeup remover that isn't greasy but effective. This is it! And the beauty of it all, it's the exact same ingredients as the baby wipes!:) I got this recipe from www.kristanlynn.com

Supplies:
1 C water
1 1/2 Tbsp. baby shampoo (tear free)
1/8 tsp. baby oil

Combine all ingredients & try!:) I got the colored bottles on the left at Walmart for like almost $2 in the travel section, then I went to Hobby Lobby & in their 'sand art' section for kids they had the clear bottles on the right for $.77! The colored bottles do have a flip open lid though so that is one benefit but for that price difference I don't care to take the lid off each use. I also had the Cucumber Melon baby unopened from my baby shower with Ava!:) It smells great! With this recipe, I filled up the two colored bottles & half of a clear one.

Homemade Febreeze

I think I have a serious obsession with Febreeze.... I'm serious. I love for my house to smell good! I'm constantly fighting the diaper champ stench & the wet bag with the cloth diapers in it! Ugh!! Also, what is the mysterious smell coming from the bathroom occasionally?! I also have an obsession with apple smelling candles but that's another post (I WILL figure out how to make my own apple scented candles so I quit spending so much money on candles!:) But I digress.

I use bottle after bottle of this stuff! It smells sooooo good!! I found this recipe at www.fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com

Supplies:
1/8 cup of your favorite fabric softner
2 Tbls. baking soda
Hot tap water to fill bottle to top
32oz. empty Febreeze bottle or spray bottle

Mix baking soda & fabric softner in bottle, then fill to the top with hot tap water. Shake & you're ready!! When I'm at the dollar store, I just grab 2-3 spray bottles so keep on hand in case I find a recipe for something else:) So you could use one of those instead of an old Febreeze bottle. Also note: the Snuggle bottle you see in the picture contains homemade fabric softner:)
****You'll want to test on a small area of the fabric or item that you're going to spray where it's not visible before you spray the entire thing.
****Shake before each use:)

Homemade baby wipes

When my daughter was born, I only used Huggies diapers & Huggies wipes. Even at that time I tore every single wipe in half to help save (she had a small little tush & really you don't need that huge wipe!) I thought she had to have name brand everything! Then I got pregnant with our son & quickly realized there are great alternatives that are exactly like name brand stuff! We started using store brand diapers (there are certain ones I cannot stand but I'll go over that in another post:)  but still used Huggies wipes. Then, in December, I started staying home with the kids & looked for ways to save even more money & found this recipe! I think they work perfectly...especially when you really think about what you're wiping with them & then just throwing away! haha It's like you're wiping poo with money & throwing it in the trash! So why not make your own?

Ingredients
Viva papertowels
2 cups of boiled water at room temp.
2 Tbls. baby wash
1 Tbls. baby oil


Boil the water then let it sit til it gets to room temperature. While that's cooling cut the papertowel roll in half, then take the cardboard roll out of the middle. You could us a really sharp serrated knife but mine wasn't really sharp so I used a hack saw! ha! Mix the water, baby wash & oil in a tupperware container with a tight lid. Place the half roll of papertowel with the cardboard roll taken out in the liquid mixture & let it absorb. Once it's all soaked up, put the lid on the container & turn it over & let sit for about 10 minutes until all the liquid has gone through the roll. Finished!! Pull the center out & you have a continuous baby wipe container:) Make sure to get Viva brand... they are softer & more like regular wipes. If you want to use reusable wipes, use the same ingredients & just cut up a material of your choice... jersey, fleece, etc.

Homemade fabric softner

Ok, today is Monday....in every way! Why are Mondays so jammed packed full of just stuff?! My other question... how does laundry multiply?!! I promise I was caught up & then I turn around & there's 2 laundry baskets full to fold! How did that happen?! Oh well, I'll fold & eat my cheese popcorn while the kids are napping:) Anywho, here's the recipe for the fabric softner. I will once again refer you to the wonderful ladies of The Savvy Savers. They also gave me this recipe. www.thesavvysavers.net

This recipe takes 3 ingredients!! Woo-hoo!! So I'm normally a Snuggle user...it's so hard to get away from it because it smells soooooo good but this does too!! I'll admit it's not as fragrant as Snuggle but when I tell you how much it costs it won't matter! You'll be like Snuggle who?

Supplies:
6 cups water
3 cups of vinegar (white distilled)
2 cups of hair conditioner

Mix into a 1 gallon container & stir but don't shake it. You'll use an entire bottle of the Suave container.  Use it like you would your regular fabric softner! That's it! What I did was kept my old Snuggle containers & just pour it into those so I can just measure with the lid from that. You'll want to get a plastic pitcher to stir it in (I've seen these so cheap right now at Dollar Stores) & not all of it will fit in the container so just store it in that until you have room in the bottle. How much does this cost you might ask?? I got the conditioner for $.94 at Kroger & I always keep a HUGE jug of vinegar on hand because you can use it for anything & that was $2 at the Dollar Store! And that right there is exactly why I make my own instead of buying Snuggle:)