How to’s – Gracious Rain

March 11, 2013March 11, 2013

Bubble Wrap Window Insulation

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Because we live in a house with single paned windows– unless we want to crank the heat up to ridiculous– it can get a bit nippy in some of the basement rooms, especially at night…especially in the Bald Kid’s room. Since he’s still hanging out on the other side of the earth, I figured this would be as good a time as any to toast the room up a bit. I do wish that I’d found this idea last November, instead of now…when it’s getting warmer. But you can’t know what you don’t know until you know it. Right?

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I saw a guy on YouTube insulate his windows with Bubble Wrap and so I thought I’d try it. Seemed to make sense and if it didn’t work, I could still play with all that bubble wrap in the end. :} Staples had much smaller packages than this but it was either $12 for 50 ft. or $17 for the mother load 175 ft.

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I guess you can see what I did. A bus load of Bubble wrap for EVERYONE!!

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First measure your windows from the top to bottom and cut out the bubble wrap to fit.

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I got really good at this part and started cutting several out at one time.

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Next, either spray your windows down with a squirter bottle or just get them all soppy with a wash cloth.

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Now, taking the wrap, place it bubble side to the window and just gently press it up there. I swear it’s like magic and just sticks.

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Repeat with enough wrap to cover the whole window.

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I just went straight over the middle latch section…

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and it worked just fine.

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More…and more. The room was getting warmer as I worked.

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Lastly, I just tucked the end of the piece right into the side of the window frame.

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The guy on YouTube said that this will usually stay in place for about 3 weeks and all you have to do to replace it is spray the windows again and stick it back up.

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Two windows took exactly 22 minutes to insulate from start to finish and cost about $1 per window. When the really warmer weather comes, just peel it off and save it till fall. Oh, and of course, there’s no sticky tape leftovers to deal with either.
Feeling pretty darn clever right this minute.

And warmer too. :}

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

Salad In a Jar

This week–just for the heck of it, we made salads in a jar. I thought it was one of the most clever things I’d found on Pinterest. Makes it a fabulous, healthy thing to grab and go–which of course is always good.

We began with clean wide-mouth quart mason jars.

Next we cut up Romaine lettuce and baby spinach…

then added shredded carrots…

and chopped celery.

Then we simply started packing it in the jars…

and topped them with a handful of sweet little grape tomatoes.

Next we just put on the lids and bands and TA-DAAAA!

Beautiful, crunchy salad in a jar, just waiting for you to add dressing and shake it up. Or you could be civilized and pour it into a bowl and then add the dressing.

Either way. These little pretties will keep for about 5 days–and save you from the hassle of making a new salad each day.

Imagine how clever you’re going to feel.

You can thank me later.

May 28, 2012October 30, 2022

Table Top S’mores

Oh, we had sooo much fun at Jillian’s bridal shower with this sweet idea–we found on Pinterest. Cooking yummy little s’mores over individual Terra Cotta hot pots. Aren’t they just adorable?

Originally, we set three Hot Pots on each table around the yard for the guests to enjoy. But towards the end of the party, we gathered them up and set them all in one spot, and realized that they were still hot enough to go for round two–so that’s what we did!

These are so simple to make–we kinda just threw them together with 6 inch Terra Cotta flower pots that we bought from Michael’s.

First, I balled up a piece of foil and put it in the bottom–so they weren’t so deep. Then, I lined them using heavy duty foil with the shiny side up, and just scrunched it so that it just barely rolled over the outside edge.

I didn’t worry too much about them looking perfectly beautiful either. Once the foil was in, I stacked them to kind of smooth out the insides.

We lit a busload of charcoal briquettes in the barbecue, then once they were nice and glowing, we used tongs to transfer the hot coals to the pots.

Luckily, April had some stoneware bowls to set them in, because they got really hot and started melting the plastic table cloths. So be ready with plates or trivets and it won’t be a problem. I loved that even the little people could cook their own marshmallows–with adults close by, of course. But there were no flames to worry about–which made it much easier to relax even with a few kids around. Our friends just sat and talked and laughed the evening away, leisurely toasting marshmallows and candy bars and chocolate cookies…and…

is that a Starburst?

Heh, heh.

July 20, 2011July 20, 2011

Hula Hoop Tutorial

No, no. I’m not going to show you how to use a Hula Hoop. That would be incredibly humiliating for me and extremely unpleasant for you. No, no–I’m going to show you how to make your very own Hula Hoop. And not one of those silly things that bend the first time someone blinks at it–but a very sturdy, lasts-nearly-forever one. Beat that.

All you need are three simple things:

Polypipe

Connectors

Duct Tape

I went to Home Depot and asked for 10 feet of Polypipe and the man said, “Sorry ma’am. It only comes in 100 ft. rolls.”

Wow. Luckily, it was only $13.00 for the whole 100 foot roll. That’s enough to make 10 Hula Hoops! What a great activity for a little kids birthday party, huh?

Ask the nice HD man to give you 1 connector for each hoop you want to make. They cost about 65 cents each.

Directions:

Measure out about 10 feet of pipe and cut it. If you have pipe cutters, that works best. I didn’t have any handy so I used a bread knife. Be really careful to cut only the pipe!

Dip one end of the pipe in boiling water to soften it up a bit…

then press the connector in and push it to the middle line.

Now do the same thing with the other side–warm it then push it on to the other side of the connector until you almost can’t see the connector at all anymore.

Now tear strips of duct tape and wind it around your hoop. This will add a bit of extra weight and will make your Hula Hoop dang cute.

Keep winding until you have covered the whole hoop and don’t worry about wrinkles in the tape–you’ll never notice them.

Now I’d love to show you our adorable Hula Hoops in action, but alas, Chompy is only 2 and wasn’t quite sure what we wanted her to do so you’ll have to use your imagination.

But be aware…

they do make nice Fairy Rings for the Wood Sprites.

:} 583

June 21, 2011May 22, 2012

Music Stick Tutorial

We’ve always loved hands-on toys around here. You know, the kind that you have to interact with to get it to work. So, I knew when I saw a picture of this pretty little “music stick” that we’d need to give it a try.

The idea is so simple, a two-year-old can use it. It works like this…

Your child slides the washers up to the top of the threaded metal rod then lets them go.

As the washers spin and twirl down to the bottom, they make a lovely, tinkling sound–almost like a rain stick–only softer. Quite pleasant, really.

Now the really nice part. It went together in less than 5 minutes. No kidding. Seriously, the hardest part for me was walking in to Home Depot and trying to act like I knew what I was doing. I finally just handed the list to one of the workers and they gathered up all the stuff for me. :}

You’ll need: