Homemade Ornaments

Christmas is approaching which only means it's time to whip out those boxes of decorations. One of the frustrations on doing so is finding out you don't have enough ornaments. Whether you bought a bigger tree or some of them went MIA, you are going to need some ornaments. Before you run out to buy some, consider making the ornaments and  save yourself some money. These will be good Christmas activities for the kids to get involved.
                    
   Bird Feeder Ornaments

        ½ cup water

        3 tbsp. Corn syrup
        1 envelope of Knox  
            unflavored Gelatin

        ¾ cup flour

        3 cups of birdseed

        cookie cutters

             yarn or twine

         On low heat, dissolve gelatin and corn syrup
          in water, until dissolved, do not boil. Remove
          from the  heat and whisk in flour until it 
          forms a thick mixture without lumps. Add
          in Birdseed and mix until fully covered by
          the flour mixture. If you wish, you can 
          substitute ½ cup of bird seed for a ½ cup of 
          dried berries. Place cookie cutters on a cookie
         sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Fill 
         each cookie cutter halfway with the bird seed 
         mixture, packing tightly as you go with the 
         back of a spoon or butter knife. Take a piece
         of yarn or twine, tie the ends and place it in
         the cookie cutter, in the area you think will 
         look good as a hanger. Fill the cookie cutters 
         the rest of the way, again packing the 
         birdseed as you go. Wait for 4 hours before 
         removing the ornaments from the cookie 
         cutters. Wait for a total 24 hours before
         hanging. After Christmas hang the ornaments
         outside to give winter birds a little treat

                           

                     Apple Cinnamon Ornaments
       
                          1 cup ground cinnamon
                          1 cup thick apple sauce
                               1/4 tsp. cloves
                              1/4 tsp. nutmeg
   

      

        preheat oven to 200*. Combine the dry 
        ingredients. Using your hands, mix in 
        applesauce until the dough resembles a stiff 
        cookie dough. Working with 1/3 of the 
        dough at a time, roll the dough out to a 
        thickness of about 1/3 inch. Use a 3 to 4 inch
        cookie cutter to cut out your shapes. With a 
        small drinking straw, make a hole to which to 
        hang the ornaments when dried. Gently 
        transfer the ornaments to a nonstick cookie 
        sheet and bake for 3 hours. Once cooled add a
        ribbon or hook and you're ready to go. These
        ornaments not only look pretty on the tree 
        but also make the whole house smell 
        wonderful. 


You can find these two crafts and others in my eBook "Having a Very Merry Christmas on a Budget" available on Kindle and Kindle apps. You can find the link to the book in the advertisement on the right of this blog. ~ Thanks 

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

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Pumpkin....Canned and Puree

Halloween is over with pumpkins sitting on the porch, cheapskate as I am, something needs to be done. For over 12 years I haven't used canned pumpkin, first it was because I was cheap and then over time I noticed that my pumpkin dishes simply tasted better. They say that canned pumpkin is made from premium pumpkins, but for some reason it tastes different from homemade puree. Maybe the can leaves a certain taste? Maybe the pumpkins I use gives it a different taste? Maybe knowing it's fresh pumpkins makes me think it taste better? Well it really doesn't matter what the reason is, I'm not going to stop doing it. So I figured share my technique.  

It all starts by having the right pumpkin. It's best to cook with the pumpkin type "pie pumpkin" or "sweet pumpkin". Yes I know at the pumpkin farms, the pumpkins are not wearing name tags. So you basically look for a pumpkin smaller  then a jack o' lantern size pumpkin. They run somewhere around  4 to 5 pounds. Each will give you roughly 2 pies or about 3 breads. So unless you're planning to do a lot of baking at once, it's best to think about how to save the cooked pumpkin.

One method is cooking down the pumpkin to a puree and freezing it in pre-measured  portions. Another method is home canning it. Pumpkin puree is to thick to be home canned in mason jars, the jars wont seal. So you would jar the pumpkin in cubes with liquid. When you go to open the jar then you go about making into a puree for your recipe. I'll cover both in this post, so hang tight and here we go.

First Step:  this is the first step you take before you decide on which method you are going to use your pumpkin in.
                        
                      Prepare your work station before anything. Have a large pot of boiling water going. On the side have a large bowl filled with ice and water. Cut the pumpkin you are using into quarters, crapping the seeds and stringy innards out. Two at a time place the pumpkin quarters into the boiling water, After about 3 minutes remove the pumpkin and place them directly into the ice water to cool off. When they're cool enough to handle, with a paring knife remove the skin and cut the pumpkin into 1" cubes.


Home canning method  

                             After the first step, wash and sterilize pint size mason jars and lids. Cook the pumpkin cubes until fork tender yet still firm enough to hold it's shape, about 3 to 5 minutes, you don't want them mushy. Fill each jar with the pumpkin cubes leaving an 1 inch head space. To each jar add 1 tbsp. maple syrup , 1/4 tsp of salt and enough hot water to cover yet  leaving you an 1/4 inch head space. Wipe down rims with a lint free rag dipped in vinegar, close with two piece lids. Process in your pressure canner according to the manufacture instructions for 50 minutes. Depending on the size of the pumpkin depends on how many jars you will need, figure either 4 or 5 jars. When you are ready to use the pumpkin as a puree, you drain the liquid from the jar, saving about 1/4 cup from every jar you're using. Place pumpkin cubes and reserved liquid in a sauce pot with a sliver of butter and follow the cooking instructions in the "To Make Puree" method


To Make Puree

                 After the first step add pumpkin, 3/4 cup of water, 2 tbsp. maple syrup and 2 tsp. of butter to a large pot. Bring the water up to a small boil, turn down the heat to very low and cover. Simmer on low for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow pumpkin to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer the pumpkin and what is left of the water to a blender and process on high until the pumpkin resembles what looks like baby food. Transfer back to the pot and on a very low simmer, cook until thickened, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.  To save you can simply freeze in  measured portions.       



Hopefully you will find all your pumpkin dishes just as tasty with the homemade puree. 

In my eBook "Having a Vary Merry Christmas on a Budget" you can find a great recipe for pumpkin pie. The book is available on Kindle and Kindle apps

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

 Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest

Christmas Countdown Star

During Christmas time it is very easy to forget and overlook the real reason why we celebrate the holiday. We need to bring this into our children lives with the understanding that Jesus is the reason for Christmas. We all need to remember that Christmas is not all about Santa and gifts. I did this craft as a child and brought this into my own home, now it is time to bring into yours.

You're going to need:
             Yellow, green and red     
             construction paper
              Glue or tape

Make an 8 inch star from yellow construction paper. With the green  and red construction make paper chain of  24 links. You attach the chain to the star. Write the following prayer on the star;

                               
                                 "Thank you, dear Jesus,
                       for coming down from heaven to save us.
                              Thank you for Christmas time.
                   Help us to get ready for your coming this year.

                                                Amen"


                                                  OR 

                              " Let us all with gladsome voice
                                     praise the God of heaven,
                                  Who, to bid our hearts rejoice, 
                                      His own son Hath given.
                                                   Amen"

Each Night have you're child take off a link and say the prayer. With the last link it  will be Christmas eve. This is perfect way to get your children to say their prayers while having fun counting down the days to Christmas 


You can find these two crafts and others in my eBook "Having a Very Merry Christmas on a Budget" available on Kindle and Kindle apps. You can find the link to the book in the advertisement on the right of this blog. ~ Thanks

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

 Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest


 

Tabletop Christmas tree

Christmas time is approaching fast, so I started a list on things I needed to decorate with, when I realized I needed a centerpiece. As a cheapskate, I needed to come up with an idea on how to decorate my table for Christmas dinner for very little. Since Evergreens are a big part of Christmas decorating I took this idea and ran with it 

When it comes to real evergreens, it's best to shop in Autumn during planting season for trees. So I went out and bought a 2 qt. potted dwarf Alberta spruce for $8 at my local gardening center (Lowes) in October. I  kept it in it's original pot and decorated it for the centerpiece. What you do is put a small, snug plastic container underneath the potted evergreen, for drainage. Take some fabric, if you don't have fabric you can use wrapping paper, large enough to wrap around the pot to look like a tree skirt. You just go about decorating the tree with small ornaments and ribbon or star on top. If you want to take it a step further, add a string of battery operated lights. During early spring you can plant the evergreen to decorate outside for future holidays. You can even wait till it's full grown to cut down as your main Christmas tree for the living room. If you're willing to spend a few dollars more, you can buy a little larger potted tree and place it on it's own table and use it as your main tree in the living room.

There you go fast and cheap.


 I have this project and other Christmas ideas on a budget in my ebook " Having a Very Merry Christmas on a Budget" available on Kindle and Kindle apps.

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

 Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest