Our neighbor’s roses have been beautiful these past few weeks now that those nasty green beetles have retreated for the season.
We are having a garage sale this weekend so I will not be back here until next week. Hope we sell something. Come on by if you know where we live. And have a happy, happy weekend!
I know what you’re thinking, “But they’re only $1.99 a bag at the store.” Yes, true, but these are so good and easy and actually pretty fun to make. I used the potatoes we dug at the farm a couple weekends ago. And I kind of made up my own recipe so there is plenty of room for play and improvement. These are oven baked so there is no vat of hot oil on your stove and thus, no greasy mess to clean up. But the basic idea is this:
First you slice the potatoes really thin. A mandoline works perfectly for this.
Put your sharp cutting tool away and let the kids get involved. Let them give your cookie sheets a thin coating of olive oil, not too much though, just enough to coat the side of the chip that is against it. A pastry brush works really well for this. Then give the “up” side a quick brush too and a sprinkle of seasoning. I used seasoned salt, just a kid-sized pinch will do.
Place the sheet in a 400 degree oven. And watch them. There can be a lot of variables here such as the type of pan (aluminum, dark nonstick which I used), how thinly the potatoes are sliced, how hot your oven actually gets, etc. So just keep an eye on these.
It doesn’t take that long but you don’t want them to get too dark.
Cool them on a plate lined with paper towel and eat. I’ve never had any left over, but if you do, I imagine they could probably be stored in an airtight container for a day or two. So good!
Enjoy! And let me know if you try this.
Just some photos taken over a few days to show the goldenrod beginning it’s autumn show in our garden. Taken two weeks ago,
Last week,
and yesterday. That huge mass of green in the background on the fence is a porcelain berry vine. I noticed yesterday also that the berries are beginning to turn blue. The sedum is the most vibrant I’ve seen it in a couple years. So very pretty.
Close up of my very old and mossy, curb-side found birdbath, taken before the golden rod splashed yellow all over. It is rather crumbly and no longer holds water.
But my iron frog prince statue seems content.
Lots of work to be done outside these days. Need to move some things, remove others. More photos of the garden next week.
Found these recently at the thrift store, two Dresden Plate quilt pieces that are finished on the back. Each measure 32 inches across, but what shall I do with them?
I thought I’d applique one of them onto a tablecloth. Any suggestions?
Loving all the color-it-yourself crafty stuff for kids these days. We bought these canvas pencil cases at Micheals but we’ve also seen backpacks, book covers, lunchboxes and a mom on the playground wearing a graphic black and white t-shirt who hoped her kids wouldn’t think to color it in.
To color these we used Sharpee markers. First, though, we put the plastic wrapper the pencil case came in, inside to keep the marker from bleeding through and staining the other side. These will be the perfect gift along with some fabric markers and a journal for all those girly birthday parties we have coming up.
Have a lovely weekend!
Okay, it was really made by my mother-in-law. But she made it with me in mind. There was also a cherry pie for my husband. I have actually never made a pie with a real homemade crust. That is somewhat intimidating to me. But I will gladly eat one, blueberry being my favorite, of course.
Add a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream (now that, I will make) and I am a very happy girl.
It was, uh, cute before, this little thrifted treasure.
But you know me. Spray paint is my best friend. So. . .
A couple hours later I had something I like much better. Added detail with vintage book pages and sheet music cut to look like stems and leaves.
Much better. What is your latest project?
This is the result of a quick walk through my mother-in-law’s garden a couple weeks ago, 45 quarts of canned tomatoes, yellows and red. In addtition, there is salsa, relish, strawberry sauce, and cider. That’s a lot of jars.
Several years ago,she gave me a jam making lesson. The strawberry jam we made was delicious and the company was fun, but my memory of the day was the heat. It was very hot. Isn’t it always like that when you have huge pots of water boiling on the stove and have to spend the next six hours in the kitchen? Needless to say I’ve not undertaken any canning since. I’ll leave that to the expert.
Oh, but we will be so happy come December to taste this summer garden!
A couple weeks ago, after a visit to a friends home (Hi Karen), and seeing her darling felted pumpkins and witch, I was inspired to get out my felting supplies and make some myself.
In the end, I made five pumpkins and 20 little acorns with real acorn hats. This is what I kept. The rest have been given to family and friends. This is seriously fun and easy, though I would not let our seven year old try it. Little fingers and sharp felting needles, not so good. So I gave her complete artistic direction and ended up with some very colorful acorns, magenta, chartreuse, turquoise, gold, which were gifted to very specific family members.
Perhaps there is something you’d like to give a try. Go ahead. You may discover a new hobby. And we all know what is just around the corner. . . .
Have a crafty weekend!
This armoire is in the corner of our dining room. For a long time these vintage suitcases lived there, hiding seasonal decor when not in use. Great repurposing, huh? Great, until one day when I just got tired of seeing them there, tall dark and a little foreboding in the corner.
So I changed things out to this in the spring. A little airier I thought at the time. Didn’t stay this was for long. One thing I need to learn is not to use everything and fill every space. Simplified and breathing room are good.
Then it became this over the summer. A little better.
And now we are here.
I love creating these little vignettes around our home with my thrifted and found treasures. And it is expecially fun when I see something in a certain home decor catalogue and can recreate that feel at home with what I already have. Or maybe I’ve already done something and then the catalogue arrives and I can see I’ve “done it right”.
Next week I hope to show you the brass lamp I refinished and how Autumn has arrived at our home. So please some back!
PK Handmade/Vintage 