Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I wanted to jazz up the mantle a little with something patriotic for Memorial Day.  If I can, I prefer to use what I already have rather than buy more things.  I was on Instagram and saw jars that were painted through Michael's.  I'm loaded with jars and I have a lot of acrylic paint so I made a mental note to do this sweet little project.  It took about an hour and half to get the three jars painted.  Add some flowers and it is a nice decoration that brightens up that area.   I will seal the jars before I put them away because the paint will scrape off easily since I used acrylics.  Hopefully if I pack them away carefully I will get many more uses out of them.  Then again, distressed is still a popular look.

I read about dryer balls a while ago and had some yarn to make them.  Dryer balls are said to cut drying time by 20% and they soften your clothes in the dryer so you don't need to add a dryer sheet.  I had read that you can put some lavender oil drops on the balls to scent them for the laundry but I didn't do that because not everyone in our house likes that scent. I had 3 skeins of each color and ended up with a dozen balls.  In order for the balls to felt, you need to use 100% wool .  I had some other yarn I was going to use that said it was wool but upon reading the label, it was 80% wool, not good enough.  It has to be 100% wool. After I wound the balls, I used a needle to thread the ends into the balls. Then I put the balls in the legs of some hose and tied between the balls with linen thread to help the balls hold their shape.  One place I read said not to use the wool yarn to tie between the balls because it would melt to the hose and be a has...

I've had this to share for a couple of months and didn't remember until today.  My husband made us this berry treat on a Sunday night a couple of months ago.  I think it would be a nice addition to a brunch, afternoon tea or a baby shower.  It was light, refreshing, and not overly sweet.  The pastry itself could have used a little more time in the oven to brown up, but what he did works too.  :) Berry Tarts 1 pkg. refrigerated pie pastry 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 1/4C confectioners' sugar 1/4t almond extract 2C blueberries 2C raspberries 1/4C slice almonds toasted (*he omitted this for the kids) Preheat oven to 400.  On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry sheets.  Roll each to 1/8" thickness.  Cut with a 3" cookie cutter to make 8 circles or shapes.  Transfer to ungreased baking sheets; prick holes in pastries with a fork.  Bake 8-10 min. or until golden brown.  Remove from pans to wire ra...