Turkey Guest Blogger

Be sure to stop over at Sun Flowers at Home today! Ginny is running a series called 10 Days of Turkey and I am the guest blogger today! I posted the instructions over there to make this super cute turkey with your kids.
Thanks Ginny!!!

Bounce Dryer Bar & Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber

It's been a long time since I did a product review, so I thought it was time. Today I am reviewing 2 different items, Bounce Dryer Bar and Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber.

First up is the Bounce Dryer Bar.

The Bounce Dryer bar is meant to add tons of convenience to your every day laundry. Instead of putting a new dryer sheet in your dryer each time you do laundry, you just stick this bar into the dryer and it last for 2 months or 4 months. Let me just say,this wonderful!! You get your choice of 2 or 4 month bar and your choice between 2 different scents. Since I didn't know if it would work, I bought the 2 month starter kit in outdoor fresh scent. The starter kits comes with 1 dryer bar and the holder. The holder simply sicks on the inside of your dryer and has little release tabs that allows you to insert a new bar when it's time. The nice thing about this bar is that you do not even have to keep track of when it's time to change the bar, the bar has a built in indicator that lets you know it's time. You simply remove the old bar and insert a new one.

I do a lot of laundry having 2 small kids, at least 2 loads a day, and my dryer bar is keeping up really well. I thought it would go a lot faster than 2 months, but I am 1 month in and it is not showing any signs of needing to be replaced.

My laundry comes out of the dryer smelling fresher than it ever has!! This is something that is definitely worth the money!!

5 out of 5 stars!!

Next up is the Scotch Brite Disaposible Toilet Scrubber

The Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber allows you to clean your toilet and then throw away the gross scrubber head. The starter kit comes with 1 handle and 4 disaposible scrubber heads. The scrubber head is a stiff sponge like pumice stone the fits onto the tip of the handle. You simple slide the scrubber onto the handle and scrub your toilet as usual. When you are finished, you slide the button down on the handle and the scrubber pops off into the garbage. This elminates the need to store a gross toliet brush that is full of germs, hoping your kids are not playng with while they are using the bathroom.

I bought the starter kit and have bought several sets of refills of the scrubber, but I do have pros and cons with the product. I really do lke the fact of not having to store a toilet brush, just a handle. Another plus is that I have never had my toilet cleaner! This scrubber does a great job of really scrubbing the toilet and really gets under the rim.

On the negative side, you have to buy a refil for each time you clean your toilet, which adds up. You have to make sure you have a scrubber in the cabinet before you go to clean your toilet or you're out of luck. My only other con is that the handle is so short. I feel as though I am "elbow deep" evertime I clean. When you are scrubbing the bottom, you're almsot down to your shoulder in the toilet, putting your face a little too close fo comfort.

3.5 stars out of 5

(Photos from Amazon.com)

Meet the Flintstones

As you guessed, we went as the Flintstones for Halloween this year! It was so much fun! We got our pictures taken by a lot of people and tons of wonderful comments on our outfits!!

All of our outfits were homemade by me, saving a ton of money. Wilma's and Fred's outfits are made out of sheets. I just traced tank one of Ryan's tank tops and one of mine to get the outline of the top of the toga and dress. At the bottom of both, I cut triangles out to give them a jagged look. My necklace is made out of small styrofoam balls and the blue tie is just fabric. I cut a stencil of a triangle out of cardboard and used black craft paint to make the triangles on Fred's toga.

Little Miss Pebbles, aka Arya, outfit was the easiest! I just bought a plain green over sized Tshirt and just triangles out of the bottom and arms. I used black paint and painted triangles on the shirt. She wore black pants and a ponytail on the top of her head.

Dino's, aka Jaiden, costume gave me the biggest challenge. I just made a jumpsuit out of purple fleece. I made a simple velcro closure in the back and used black paint for the spots. Her hood was a separate piece made out of fleece with black felt loops of the hair.

My sister, BIL, and nephew also got into the fun by dressing up as Betty, Barney, and Bam Bam!!

(You can click on the pics to make them larger)

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

I love chicken and I think fried chicken is one of my favorite foods!! This chicken is so easy to make and tastes so yummy!! I think fried chicken tastes better in a cast iron skillet, but any deep pan will work fine. It also tastes better fried in shortening rather than oil.

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

Chicken breasts or strips
1-2 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk (reg milk okay)
1 egg
shortening
assorted seasonings: salt pepper, seasoning salt, garlic salt, thyme, sage, rosemary, poultry seasoning

1. Heat shortening in pan until hot. Make sure there is enough to cover the chicken.
2. In a bowl, mix egg and milk.
3. In another bowl, mix flour and seasonings.
4. Dip chicken in milk then flour, then milk, then flour, then milk, then flour. This builds the breading up to be extra crispy.
5. Place chicken in hot shortening and fry until done. This will depend on how thick your chicken is, You want your oil to be hot, but not too hot because it will burn the chicken quickly.

My favorite things to eat with fried chicken are: fresh green beans, cole slaw, and biscuits!

Kentucky Lemonade

This is an awesome drink that I just discovered recently. It's perfect for your outdoor summer parties!! Be sure to serve in a Mason jar.

Kentucky Lemonade

1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
1 cup fresh lemon juice, about 5-6 lemons
3-4 cups cold water
ice
6 shots of Kentucky bourbon

1. Dissolve sugar in hot water.
2. Add lemon juice.
3. Fill pitcher with ice and add cold water.
4. Stir.
5. Pour a shot of bourbon in each glass.
6. Add ice and pour lemonade in glass.
7. Enjoy!!
Makes 6 servings

Balloon Fest 2010

This past weekend, Ryan and I went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival here in Ohio. It was really neat, I have never been that close to a hot air balloon before. The balloons were not able to take off because the wind was blowing a little over 10 mph, but it was still neat to see them. This is the actual Remax balloon used in the commercials. Night Sky Diving!!! Way neat!!


Sky Diving w/ American Flag

I'm Alive!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I am alive and well! Our family has had a very busy last month. First my uncle Carl died, then my mom fell and sliced her wrist open on a screw, causing her to need 7 stitches, and this past week, my sister was involved in another car accident. She was stopped at a light and a truck pulled out of a parking lot and hit her from behind going over 35 mph. She was driving my mom's car at the time and it is totaled. The back seat of the car is now in the front and the guy's license plate number is imprinted on the back of the car. Luckily, she was not majorly hurt, just still very, very sore. I have also had farmer's market since the beginning of June. I am doing 3 markets this year unlike just the one from last year. I cannot keep up with business. I am at the point where I am getting too big to keep working out of my home, but not quite big enough to buy a building. It's a good problem to have!! So, my days have been spent making pickles and jelly and going to markets.

I am sorry that my blog has been neglected! I am just so focused on my business right now. I am hoping for some free time next week to be able to post a recipe or two. Until then, thanks for sticking with me! And, I'll be back to regular posting soon!!

Now on Facebook

If you are a member of Facebook, be sure to become a member of Mama Hampton's Homemade Goods! Mama Hampton's is the name of my farmers market business. You can get to the page by clicking HERE.

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to check out the web page I created for Mama Hamptons!

Jaiden's Graduation

Jaiden had her preschool graduation last Saturday. It was very nice, but is was so hot! Her school doesn't have air conditioning and when you pack 50 people in a small room, it gets hot! I have been trying to post the video of her graduation but, it is taking forever to upload. I tried putting it on you tube, but it exceeds the 10 minute time limit. I am still trying to figure something out.

I made Jaiden's dress and had to pat myself on the back. I am so happy about how well it turned out! I am working on creating a PDF to share the pattern I made.

Mama's Doughnuts

This is a super simple recipe for doughnuts that my grandmother used to make. I remember as a little girl going over to her house and we always had to make doughnuts. An easy, cheater way to make these is to used refrigerated biscuits instead of making biscuit dough. There are several different possibilities to use as topping for the doughnuts. You can use powdered sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon/sugar mixture, icing, and/or sprinkles.

To make these doughnuts, heat oil in a deep fryer to 375*. Place 2 cups of desired sugar in a paper bag (ie. powdered sugar, granulated sugar, etc..). Separate biscuits and make a hole in center if desired. Drop 3 biscuits at a time into hot oil. Fry biscuits until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Place on paper towel to drain and immediately place in choice of sugar. Shake to coat.

In the picture, I used granulated sugar for the doughnuts on the left and a cinnamon sugar mixture for the ones on the right.

Fredia the Fundrasier

I feel like "Fredia the Fundraiser" right now. I baked 36 Sesame Street cupcakes for a bake sale at Jaiden's church for a Haiti Fundraiser, I ("and Jaiden") raised $190 for a trike-a-thon for Jaiden's school that supported St. Jude, and I have baked 60 cinnamon rolls for a business expo Jaiden is participating in at my mother's school. I am just in fundraising mode right now!

My Cookie Monster cupcakes need a lot more practice, but I thought I'd share them any way. I cheated and used store bought icing and used coloring to tint the icing. For the fur, I used tip #233 and for the eyes, I used tips #12 and #18. Cookie Monster's mouth is an Oreo cookie cut in half. I also made Elmo, Oscar, and Big Bird cupcakes, but I didn't get a picture of them.

The kids had a lot of fun riding their bikes at school! The teachers had a drink and snack station set up for the kids and a toy gas pump. Here's a little video of the trike-a-thon. Jaiden is in the hot pink helmet.

FBCT - Frozen Buttercream Cake Transfer

This is Arya's cake that I made for her birthday party! I was so happy with the results and got a lot of nice comments about it! The transfer for the cake is made using the frozen buttercream cake transfer method, FBCT.

It is really easy to make, I practiced twice before I made my official transfer for the cake. I had never used the piping bags to decorate anything other than cookies. I really needed to practice the technique of tracing. After I felt comfortable, the rest was a breeze! (Click on any pic to make it bigger)

Supplies:

Wilton Black Decorating Icing (comes in a tube)

Pipping bags and attachments- coupler, coupler ring, decorating tips. (I used small round, medium round and star tips.)

wax paper

coloring book page

masking tape

small icing spatula

icing/frosting (I cheated and used store bought in a can)

coloring/tint to color your icing

portable surface, IE. cutting board, cookie sheet, etc...

1. Clear out a space in the freezer to accommodate your portable surface.

2. Cut or print out the coloring book page (CBP) and tape it down to your surface.

3. Cover the CBP with wax paper and tape it down.

4. Using the Wilton Black and a round tip, trace your CBP. I used both small and medium. You'll want to think of this as in layers, if needed. For example Jerry's whiskers would be the first layer I traced and his face the second. This is so that when he is turned over and put on the cake, his whiskers will be on top of his face and not under it. Also, any thin lines that go off the image, as in his one set of whiskers, do not trace these, add them later. The didn't transfer very well. (The pic is of my first attempt)

5. Use your coloring to tint the icing to the desired color of each part. I used light pink of his ear and tongue, light brown for his body, and white for his eyes.

6. Fill your piping bags with the colored icing and attach tip. I used the small round for the smaller areas and the star tip for the large areas. When the image is fully covered, use the icing spatula to evenly spread the icing and to fill in any areas that might have been missed.
7. Put your image in the freezer to harden, I left mine in overnight.

8. Have your baked and iced cake ready to go. Take the transfer out of the freezer, carefully remove your transfer from the portable surface, and place it on the cake. (Icing side down, wax paper on top)

9. Rub lightly over the transfer to "set" it on the cake. Very carefully, take one corner of the wax paper and begin removing it from the transfer.

10. Go back with your Wilton Black and fix any necessary areas or to add thin lines like the whiskers (mentioned above in step 4)

Remember, your image is going to be backwards, so print any words in a mirror image so it will appear correctly on your cake.

Happy, Happy Birthday, to You!!

Today is Arya's 3rd birthday! Time is just flying by! After 3 short hours of labor and a bunch of pain, Arya was born after 5 in the afternoon.

Ryan and I were having a hard time trying to find a name for her. We both wanted something unusual, but couldn't decide. I was in love with the name Araya (A-ray-ah)and was trying different ways of spelling it when I came up with Arya. It is a combination of both Ryan's and my name. I fought with Ryan to put a "H" on the end of her name, but he was really against it. I wish I would have listened to myself and put it there anyway, then maybe people wouldn't have such a hard time trying to pronounce her name. (Oh, well, I guess it goes with choosing an unusual name!) Arya's name is pronounced A-RYE-AH, not "area".

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little girl!!!

Dollar Store Homemade Deodorant

I have been searching the internet for recipes to make deodorant and I have found there are just as many different recipes as there are brands of deodorant in a store. I took bits and pieces from the different recipes and made my own deodorant. Let me just say, it works! I have put in to the test for three days now. I put some on in the morning and that evening, I mowed grass, the deodorant held up! Ryan wore some to work yesterday to test it himself. It was a hot day and was out in the elements all day delivering several appliances. In other words, he had a hot and busy day. He even came home and worked in the yard without applying more deodorant, he really put the deodorant to the test. It's amazing how it kept odor away all day! This is a keeper! He usually has to reapply deodorant when he gets home from work, but didn't yesterday!

I bought all the ingredients at Dollar General to make this and spent $3.50 for supplies that will make a ton of deodorant. A big price break from store bought, plus this stuff isn't giving Ryan a rash like the store bought does. This deodorant will not keep you dry, but it defiantly keeps the smell away!

I just used a plastic spoon for measuring and stored it a mini Glad container.

Homemade Deodorant

3 tsp. Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Cream
1 tsp. Vitamin E skin oil
2 tsp. baking soda

Stir all together to make a cream deodorant. It may be necessary to add more coca butter for a smoother consistency.

Prepackaged Fabric Terms

I knew there was a cut of fabric out there called a fat quarter, but I never knew there were other cuts of fabric being sold. These packaged cuts of fabric are made to aid in the quilt making process, they eliminate most of the time spent cutting out pieces. There are entire books dedicated to making quilts entirely out of these different prepackaged, cuts of fabric. One of these books is, Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts by Pam Lintott. You can find it on Amazon for $16.50.

Here are the different terms:
Fat quarter: 18x22
Fat Eight: 11x18
Jelly Roll: 40- 2.5x42 strips
Charm Pack: 40- 5x5 squares
Dessert Roll: 40- 5x42 strips
Layer Cakes: 40- 10x10 squares
Honey Buns: 40- 1.5x42 strips
Turnovers: 80- triangles that when sewn together form 40-5x5 squares

(picture taken from Amazon.com)

AccuQuilt Go

I found this machine last night while looking for something completely different. Just look at how neat it is:



For the "low" price of $350, this can be yours! I think it is so neat and probably worth the money. I can see myself saving up for something like this! Boy, we've come along way from grandma using scissors to cut out quilts! Click Here to go to the AccuQuilt site to learn more about the machine.

For the First Time

For the first time in my life, I took a shower in my own home last night!! I think it was the best shower of my whole life!

There are still a few things we have to do to complete the bathroom but, we are moving on to start the old bathroom/new laundry room today. We need to get the old bathtub out and remove the old subfloor. My sister and BIL have a bet with Ryan and myself that we alone cannot remove the old bathtub ourselves. The bathtub is an old cast iron, clawfoot tub, weighing approx. 300 lbs (136 kg). If Ryan and I can move it out by ourselves, they buy us dinner, if we cannot not, we have to buy them dinner. Great motivation!

Here is the before with the kitchen sink

Here is the same view, now with a shower there!!

Here's our tile

Here's our faucet

Here's the shower in action!

Remodel 3

We are moving along! I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! On Friday, we got the bathtub in place and finished the plumbing. Saturday, I finished the drywall and painted above where we decided the shower would end. All day Sunday, Ryan started installing tile around the bathtub and we hope to have it installed the rest of the way tonight. I have some more drywall finishing to do around the side of the tub and paint before the rest of the tile goes up. We hope to be grouting Wednesday and taking showers by Friday!!!

I am not allowing anyone to see the bathroom right now, I want it to be a big shock when everyone see the end results! I had to make my sister get back in the car so she couldn't sneak a peek.

We had to go buy a new pedestal top to the sink this week. We had it sitting in the corner, ready to install, and one of our kitties decided to jump up on it. The sink went crashing to the floor and of course, shattered into a hundred pieces.

Here's what left on our list for the bathroom:

1. Finish drywall on sides of tub and paint

2. Finish installing tile and grout

3. Install sink

4. Hang medicine cabinet, and light

5. Have my BIL finish the custom cabinet

6. Install new floor

Here's a sneak preview of our tile

This is the wall above the shower

This is the wall above the shower before paint

Remodel Part 2

We are well under way in our remodeling adventure. As I type, Ryan is in the cellar running the plumbing for our new bathtub. We tore out all of the old dry wall in our soon to be bathroom, removed a build in cabinet my dad made that we used to store kitchen items in, and have run electric for the medicine cabinet lights. I have also painted half of the room and done any necessary drywall repairs. We are hoping to have the bathtub installed completely by this weekend. And, are hoping to begin tiling the shower no later than Saturday. It is a slow process! Everyday after Ryan gets home from work, we chisel away at the bathroom, keeping the end result in our minds. We did take last night off to pay some attention to the girls. It will be so nice once it's all completed!!

This is a sneak preview of the wall color in the bathroom and a custom towel cabinet my BIL Ryne made.

This is the hole in the floor for the bathtub drain
This is another look at where the kitchen sink was and where the new bathtub will be
This is what my kitchen currently looks like. You could play I spy with this picture... I spy a bathtub, a sink pedestal, a laundry hamper....
This is where the custom cabinet was. Now the cabinet my BIL made and the sink will be here.

Hopefully this weekend, I will have some more completed bathroom pics to share!

Remodel Time!! Part 1

I am sure you noticed that I haven't been around here for a while. Well, we have started our house remodel. The wall we want to take down (to make the kitchen and the family room one big room)contains the old coal stove pipe chimney. The chimney runs from the cellar to the roof. A few weeks ago, Ryan began taking down the chimney in the attic, brick by brick. We then progressed into my bedroom, brick by brick. We then had to throw each brick out the window and then load them into our truck for removal. We now have a big, gaping hole in our bedroom wall for the time being. With Jaiden's room being on the other side of the wall, we are going to make that space a closet for her room (old house, no closets).

We got our income tax back and now have the money to move forward! This past weekend, we started on the kitchen/bathroom/laundry room remodel. As I have said before, our house was build without plumbing. When the owners decided to install plumbing in the house, they sure didn't use common sense in the placing of the items. Our bathroom sits under the stairs that lead to our bedrooms. As you can imagine, there is not a lot of room there. We have never had a shower because there is no room to stand up straight when you are in certain areas. So, in order to have a shower, the bathroom has to be moved.

Next order of business is the kitchen sink. It is in its own separate room that separates the kitchen from the bathroom. My dad build some custom cabinets and besides the sink, that is all that is in the room. In thinking outside the box, I wanted my kitchen sink in the kitchen. Maybe I'll be starting a new trend(note the sarcasm here)!! This weekend, Ryan ran all of the plumbing a moved the sink into the kitchen. I tore down the walls in the old sinkroom to make way for tile for our new shower.

Once we get the bathroom moved to its new location (the old sinkroom), the old bathroom will be a laundry room. This will enable us to get the washer and dryer out of my kitchen.

As for part 2, we are waiting for our bathtub to come in, it had to be special ordered due to the smaller size. After that comes, we can really start seeing some major progress. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

This is the chimney up in the attic

Chimney is attic gone!

Looking down into the old pipes inside the chimney

Our bedroom wall. The circle is where the old pipe came out of the wall to heat the room

Almost gone!

The huge mess we had in our bedroom




This is the sink before.

This is the kitchen before


My sink is now where the table was in the picture above. It won't look as odd once we get rid of the old counter top, fill the rest of the space with cabinets, and get a new counter top that runs the span of the cabinets.

These are all of the old sinkroom where I tore the walls out.