I found this ornate 5x7 frame at the thrift store for 50 cents...
Popped out the glass....
Sprayed it with my fave Krylon "Watermelon" gloss that matches all the other stuff in my daughter's room...
Let it dry, printed a pic off the computer, and tah dah!! A cute new pink frame (with a cute little girl in it!)
While on a mission to make something summery & fresh to eat a few weeks ago, I decided to fly by the seat of my pants & make some fresh salsa. Man, was it good! (shameless brag) I have since made it again!
Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes
1 bundle of cilantro
1 lime
1 small container of chopped green onions (or chop 1 small bundle, if you're not as lazy as I am)
Salt to taste
I used my electric Black & Decker Handy Chopper (love it!) to chop the green onion up a little more...(sorry for the blurry pic.)
Then, after cutting off the stems, I chopped the whole bunch of cilantro. I LOVE cilantro!
Next, I chopped all 3 tomatoes into a chunky puree...
I rolled the lime to release the juice inside, then cut 1 end off & squeezed all the juice into the mixture. I added salt & mixed it all up.
Then, we ate it with tortilla chips...
...and put it on our carne asada soft tacos!
The first time I made this salsa, we had it with chips & on top of grilled chicken breasts. YUM! Enjoy.
Over the last 3 weeks, I've made 3 trips to 2 different local thrift stores. I'll admit that I simply cannot stop buying cute clothes for my baby girl! She outgrows them so fast that she is usually in constant need of new outfits anyway. I try to find clothes for my son, but it's a lot harder to find quality used boys clothes (especially in his size) for some reason.
Here are the clothes I found: (each was $3 or less)
I also found a floral bucket ($1.50) & a tissue box cover ($1~will post the redo of this soon)
I was amazed to find these Southern Living at Home decor items!
The tray & the King Street Trio glass vase set were each $5. (My mom bought those from me)
The small Rosedale planter with the 4 Jamestown votive holders was just $1. (I used to be a consultant!)
A pair of shorts, brand new flip-flops & a few children's books for my son ($5 total)...
A glass cutting board that matches my kitchen ($1) and 2 frames ($2 for both)
A straw wreath & 3 zippers for craft projects (total 40 cents!)
This concludes the tour of great thrift store bargains! (Until next time!)
So we've all seen those wonderfully beautiful arrangements of fresh fruit in a great container that you can pay an arm & a leg for to give as a gift, right? Well, a few years ago, I decided that I'd just make my own! I needed an original, healthy Father's Day gift and I thought this would be a big surprise. (Dad loved it btw) Luckily, I took pictures of the process to share~but I'm just now remembering to share them!
Supplies needed:
Lots of fresh fruit
(I used strawberries, grapes, pineapple, honeydew melon, & cantaloupe. I even cheated & bought the pre-cut tray of fruits at the grocery store! This doesn't have to be time-consuming!)
Note: Try to steer clear of mushy fruits that won't want to stay up on the skewers or fruit like bananas and apples that will immediately turn brown.
Fruit Dip (optional)
I snagged a pack of Marzetti's chocolate dip in the produce section)
Bamboo skewers
A container of your choice
Weights to hold container
I used those glass decorative things--just poured them in & it added enough to hold the container up against the weight of the fruit.
A piece of styrofoam (you can cut it to fit your container)
Cookie cutters, sharp knife, cutting board
Directions:
1. Start by weighting your container. Then add styrofoam on top. I filled in around the sides of the styrofoam with the weights as well.
2. Alternate fruit pieces on the skewers, leaving enough room at the bottom to stick it into the styrofoam.
3. Cut some fruit into shapes using the cookie cutters (or freehand it with your knife, if you're feeling it.)
4. I covered the styrofoam with something so that the fruit didn't touch it, but honestly, I cannot remember what! Sorry...like I said, I made this a few years ago.
That's it. Present it with pride, knowing that you paid half the price and you made it yourself!
