Tuesday Tutorial --- Fall

Fall crafting is in full swing.   I thought I would share some fall tutorials with you today.   You still have time to make them for the season.

These fabric pumpkins would be great on your Thanksgiving table.   Tutorial on The Cottage Home.

Your children would love to carry this trick or treat back for Halloween by Cluck Cluck Sew.

How about making this wreath for your front door to welcome your guests.   The tutorial is on Small Fry and Co.

Thanks for visiting today.
Bette
www.byyourhands.com

Getting Organized - Getting Laundry Under Control

Is your laundry out of control? Is it keeping you from crafting? It doesn't take long for that to happen so today I am offering some tips to help curb the piles that are taking over your laundry room.

1. Try to do at least one load a day. I am good at starting the laundry and letting it sit in the washer or leaving it in the dryer when it's done. Make it a habit to do at least one load from start to finish everyday. If the dryer is empty it'll be easier to start fresh the next day.

2. Get a sorting system together. You can buy laundry sorters or just use baskets. I remember when I was a kid, we had a space in our bathroom that was under the stairs. The space wasn't good for much else, so my mom set up 4 baskets to keep our laundry sorted. One for whites, colors, jeans and my dad's work clothes. This made it really easy to tell what load needed done. Don't forget to empty pockets!

3. Keep your supplies organized and in the same place, preferably next to the washer and dryer. Try to treat stains when the occur with a stain stick or pre-treater, before you throw them in the dirty clothes basket.

4. I mentioned it before, but remove the clothes from the dryer promptly. This will reduce wrinkling and will make it so much easier when you want to start the next load.

5. Hate putting things away? I did until I had my kids dressers and closets organized. Get rid of things that don't fit or are out of season on a regular basis. This will make things easier to put away.

A little bit of organizing can go a long way and getting the laundry out of the way is one of the things we can do daily to help our homes more organized.

Thanks for joining us!
Deena Davis
www.byyourhands.blogspot.com

Blog Party Sunday, Show Us What You Made

Welcome to our Blog Party Sunday.   The fall/winter crafting season is in full swing.   We would love to have you show us what you have been making.

You are allowed to add 3 links to your shops and you don't have to be a selling crafter to show off your art.    Even if you only craft for your own pleasure we want to see it,  so don't hesitate to join in.

The rules are simple:

1. Follow our blog

2. Handmade items only.

3. You may list up to 3 items.

4. Family friendly items only.

The success of this link party depends on the participants so spread the word to your friends, visit the shops, post about it on your blog, in a forum or on your favorite social networking site, grab the button and put it on your blog or website.

Just click on the Add Your Link button below and add your items.

And if you would like to add a link to the party you can grab this button below.

Time Saver Recipes ---- Golden Split Pea Soup

Here is another time savor recipe that my family loves.    It is super easy to make,  too.   Golden Split Pea Soup made in the crock pot.   Toss the ingredients in the crock pot, set it and forget it until dinner time. 

Golden Split Pea Soup

1 1/2 cups of dried yellow split peas,  cleaned
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups of unsalted chicken broth or water   (I use 2 c. of chicken broth and 4 c. of water)
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

Toss everything in the crock pot and set it on high.   It takes about 5 or 6 hours to cook.

Use an immersion blender right in the crockpot and puree it.  

I freeze leftovers in small containers for lunches.  

Bette
www.byyourhands.com

Trash to Treasure --- Makeovers

Trash to treasure can be as simple as repainting or refurbishing a chair, lamp, table,  etc.    But today I want to share some unique makeovers.  

Would you recognize these from what they started out as?

I think this first one could have started life as a bed headboard.

And here is the transformation.   Directions found at Faith's Place.

Here is a doll cradle that can be found at Junk Blossoms.

Transformed into a shelf.

This was a gun cabinet in it's former life.

But look at this beautiful pantry transformation by Pepper Towne.

And finally these two doors at the hands of Brendan Carpenter

became this beautiful trunk.

I hope today's post sparked some creativity in you.   If you have a makeover you would like to share with our readers,  please email me at byyourhandsblog@gmail.com