Hey Gillian - Here's Your Vegetable Soup Recipe

So let's talk about vegetable soup and all the ways it can be made.  I had a request from my friend Gillian yesterday asking if I had a recipe for vegetable soup that I would be willing to share.  Why yes, Gillian.  I am more than happy to discuss the beauty of vegetable soup and tell you how I make it.  There are so many ways to make it actually and they are all good.  For me, it just depends on what I have available.
You can make vegetable soup vegetarian style with no meat, or you can use beef, chicken, Italian sausage, hamburger, turkey or kielbasa.  I have used all of the above.

The most important feature of vegetable soup is the stock you start with.  You can make it from scratch (which is a lot of work) by using beef bones, chicken bones, a ham bone, turkey bones - whatever you have available and then you simmer it in water with onions and spices to get a nice, rich broth.  Or, you can use "stock in a box" which is so much easier and available in so many flavors at really reasonable prices.  Trader Joe's has lot of different flavors and so does Whole Foods.  I get mine at Aldis.  Theirs is MSG and gluten free  and low sodium which is very important to me - especially no MSG!   I either use my 12 quart stock pot or my dutch oven, depending on how much soup I am making.  This vegetable soup I made in my stock pot.   I made it almost full to the top so I could share it with some "sickly" family.  That left enough for us to have here at home also.

Here is a sidetrack, which may happen several times during this post.  If you are making soup, make a lot!  You can put some in zip lock bags and freeze it for later without having to go to the trouble to make it all over again.  It keeps very well and is just as good when thawed and reheated as when you first made it.  Or, share it with a friend or family - even co workers.  Soup is a really budget friendly meal and everyone loves soup!

Okay, back to where I was.  If I am making chicken vegetable soup (like in the picture above) I put in two boxes of chicken stock and an equal amount of water.  So that is about 8-10 cups of stock and 8-10 cups of water.  I add 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts and cook them for about 30 minutes until done through.  Remove the chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces and add back to the soup at the end of cooking to heat through.

While the chicken is cooking, I peel and cut up potatoes (about 4-5), carrots (about 4-5 whole carrots), 2 medium sized onions, and 2 ribs of celery.  This is the "vegetable" base for my soup.  I also add a 32 oz can of whole tomatoes with juice and an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce.  (Right now, I am using the quart bags of frozen tomatoes I put up this summer.  Yum.)  I also like to add a couple of diced turnips or some cabbage that I have cut into bite sized wedges.  The turnips and/or cabbage give the soup a really delicious, delicate flavor that we love.   Cook all these vegetables first, since they take longer than the frozen vegetables and beans that you may add.

After you have removed the chicken breasts from the pot, add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, celery, potatoes, carrots, and turnips or cabbage.  Let them cook until the potatoes and carrots are beginning to get soft.

Now, you can add any vegetables that you want or have on hand.  Be imaginative.  Use things you like. I added  frozen green peas, frozen corn, frozen green beans, a can of kidney beans, and some kale which I had chopped into bite sized pieces.  You can use cannellini beans (which are white kidney beans), great northern beans, black beans, butter beans, black eyed peas, or everybody's favorite - lime beans.  (not)  I also added some zucchini which we love.  At this point, it's your vegetable choice in any amounts you choose.  You may need to add a little more water as some of it evaporates during cooking.

Sometimes I add spinach toward the end because it cooks very quickly.  You can also use some turnip greens or collard greens cut into small pieces.  How about some asparagus cut in bite sized pieces?  There are so many vegetables to choose from.  Be inventive!

Now, here is my secret for really flavorful soup.  Add the end piece or "rind" from a parmesan cheese wedge.  Don't EVER throw those lovely pieces away.  Save them in a baggie in your fridge for special events like soup making!!  I learned this trick from my son in love Todd and it is well worth passing on.  The parmesan adds a lovely saltiness  and flavor without making the soup too salty and you won't really taste the parmesan!  The stock in a box is salty (I use low sodium) already so I rarely have to add much additional salt.   Salt to your preference.  Vegetables can soak up a lot of salt, but be careful and don't over salt.  If you do, add a whole potato for a bit and then remove.  It will soak up the extra salt.  Also, use lots of fresh cracked black pepper.

Now, my other secret.  I like to add macaroni or rice to the soup.  Usually, I use elbow macaroni. I throw in several hands full and let it cook until done.   If you like alphabet soup, use the cute little alphabet pasta you can buy in a box.  Your kids will love it!  The pasta takes on the wonderful tomato/vegetable flavors and is soooooo good.  It may be my favorite part of the soup.  If you eat gluten free, just use gluten free pasta.  If you want to use rice, add about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup depending on how much soup you are making.

Now, it's time to add your meat back into the soup.  I cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch bite sized pieces and put it back into the pot just to warm it up.  Ta dah! You are done.  Ladle into a serving bowl and eat. Oh my goodness good!

If you are using left over beef - say from a roast - now is the time to add it back in.  If you are using beef bones or beef ribs, use beef stock in place of chicken stock, add the bones or ribs to the stock and cook them until done like the chicken breasts.  Remove them from the soup when they are done, dice up the meat and add it back in at the end.  If using sausage like kielbasa, it is already cooked, so add it in about halfway through so it flavors the soup.  Italian sausage is uncooked.  Remove the casing and cut into 1 inch pieces, add it at the beginning with your "core" vegetables and let it cook all the way through.  Italian sausage makes a really tasty soup.

 This is what I have been trying to say through this whole post.   Vegetable soup is an individual thing.   Ours is a little different every time I make it, depending on what I have to throw in.  The base is always the same  - otherwise, who knows?  You can add vegetables in any quantity you want - make as little or as much as you want.  You always want enough for the second day. because soups always taste better the second day!

If it is as cold where  you are as it is here, it's a perfect day for vegetable soup!  Allow yourself a couple of hours for the whole process, but it is more than worth it.  The chopping and cooking is sort of Zen.  It's relaxing and who doesn't love the final outcome?  Delicious, nutritious, cost effective vegetable soup.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  You may want to add some hot, crusty bread, or a grilled cheese sandwich and you are good to go!  For me, the soup is all I need!

So Gillian, I don't know if this helps or answers your question, but I hope so.  If you make some soup, let me know how it goes and how much you like it!  Everyone else,  you let me know too.  Now, I am dreaming of soup.  Oh look, it's lunch time.  Yay!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Soup is soul satisfying in so many ways.  Make some and share it!  donna

Applesauce Muffins - Delicious

Remember in Little Red Riding Hood, when she was going to visit her sick grandmother?  Well, yesterday Grandma had to go visit her sick family.  It's that time of year when the flu bug begins to pass around.  One of our grandsons got sick Friday afternoon after we had enjoyed lunch with our daughters and their sons.  Our second daughter took her son home to nap and we spent some time with our oldest daughter and two of her sons driving around and showing her how to get to some places here in Nashville.  They just moved here from Dallas the week before Christmas and she is still trying to figure things out.  After we left her house and returned home, she called to inform us that Z had gotten sick after picking her oldest son up from school.  Uh oh.  The germ fest had begun.  Of course they had been drinking out of the same sippee cups and playing with all the same toys.  Here we go.  

Our second daughter, who is 36 weeks pregnant said she did not feel very good on Saturday and Sunday.  Her son who is 22 months old got sick on Sunday.  Things were not looking good at this point.  She took him to his pediatrician on Tuesday because he was not doing very well.  By Tuesday evening, her husband was in bed sick and she was up most of the night.   Yesterday, her nanny fell prey to the current bug and had to go home.

We had just come over with chicken and noodles, jello and muffins when K was leaving to go home.  We stayed to help.  Having raised 4 children, I know what it's like to be down for the count and no one to help care for the kids.  It is NOT a fun situation.   By evening, Annie and Todd were feeling somewhat better and they ate some chicken and noodles and a muffin.  Grandson G on the other hand fell in love with these muffins or "fuffins" as he calls them.

This is a really quick and easy recipe made with applesauce and has a nice cinnamon flavor.  The dough is very dense when you mix it, so don't be alarmed and think you forgot something.  That's just the way it is.  Here is what you need:

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins optional

Directions:

Combine flour, cinnamon and baking soda in a bowl.  Set aside.  In another bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg, applesauce and vanilla.   Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Add raisins if you are using them.  ( I didn't)  Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups three fourths full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until muffins test done.  Yield - 1 dozen.

This recipe is easily doubled.  They are so good they won't last long.  You can see by the picture, we had already eaten some when I remember to take a picture.

Everyone is on the mend today, feeling a little better.  Grandma is making more soup and some blueberry muffins to take over for dinner tonight.  We are doing what we can to help out and are so very thankful that we are living close enough to do this for our family.

Be sure and give this muffin a try.  It's really nice for a breakfast or brunch and super good with a mild soup when tummies don't feel so good.  Grandson G sure loved them and Pawpaw loves 'em too.  He won't even eat applesauce.  hehe  Hope you keep the germs far away and us too!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“Well, I can't eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would parobably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them.”  The Importance of being Ernest, 1895

A Recipe For Good Vision Health - Get An Eye Exam!

Today was my annual trip to the ophthalmologist to have my eye pressures tested and my optic nerves examined.  I have been doing this for 28 years because I have glaucoma in both eyes.  Next week I will have my visual field test and some nice computer pictures taken of my optic nerves.  ( Don't expect to see them on my Christmas card next year, however.)  The report today was excellent and my new ophthalmologist, Dr. Christ, was super nice.  While talking to me and showing me some results from today's tests she was looking at my records and said "Holy Cow, you do NOT look anywhere near your age.  Wow!"  Guess that made the whole trip worthwhile.  : )

I was fortunate.  While having a routine eye exam for new glasses when I was 35, the optometrist who was doing my exam asked if she could check my eye pressure after spending a very long time looking in my eyes.  I said sure, why not?  She took the pressures and then asked if she could test them again.  My answer - sure, why not?  After she finished my examination, she talked with me and said she had some concerns about my intra ocular eye pressure and asked if I could return the next morning for another pressure check. Since the office was in the mall where I worked, I told her it was no problem since I arrived at 8 am every morning.  Once again, she tested my eye pressures and said she would like to refer me to a specialist, an ophthalmologist.  She said my pressures were high and my optic nerves showed some signs of damage.  Of course I agreed, because who wants to lose their vision  - especially at age 35.

I made my trip to the ophthalmologist the next day.  He did a very thorough examination and some additional tests.  When he was finished he talked with me and told me that I had glaucoma in both of my eyes.  Glaucoma causes increased intra ocular pressures which then damages your optic nerves.  Fortunately, there are many medications that can help control these pressures and keep them in check.  He wrote a prescription for a medication called Timoptic and told me how to use it, one drop in each eye every morning and every evening.  I had to return several times the next month to test my pressures to see if the medication was doing it's job.  Fortunately, it was working very well.

For many years, that controlled my eye pressures and kept them in the teens which is considered very good.  After about 15 years, my pressures began to increase again and another medication was added.  After 28 years, I am now on optimum medications which is a total of 4 different kinds of drops.  The "up" side is, my optic nerve damage has not advanced nor have I lost any of my peripheral vision due to my strict regimen of using my medications and not taking other medications or doing things that can increase eye pressures.  Things like riding roller coasters and amusement park rides.  Who knew?

Glaucoma is a silent condition that really has no symptoms.  It is caused by a build up of intra ocular fluid that cannot drain from the natural pathways in the eyeball.  The increased fluid presses on the optic nerves and damages them.  The damage is irreversible.  There is not always an explanation of why.   Many times, people lose their vision without knowing they have glaucoma.  It takes several years of increased pressure to damage the optic nerve, but because there are no symptoms they do not know they even have glaucoma until the damage is done.  The damage is permanent and there is no reversal procedure.  This does not have to happen.

It is important to see your eye care professional annually for an examination after the age of 50.  By this time, many are wearing glasses to help see small print when reading.  I have been wearing glasses since I was 20 because of nearsightedness or myopia.  That meant that I regularly saw an eye care professional when I needed new glasses.  Had I not needed glasses, I probably would not have seen a professional and would have suffered irreparable damage.  This is one time to be thankful for wearing glasses.

Glaucoma in patients under 40 is very rare.  My doctor at the time said he had no explanation for it.  Absolutely no one in my family has had glaucoma, but it does tend to run in families.  If you know of relatives who have glaucoma, it is very important that you get frequent examinations, especially as you age.  If you do the math, you will know that I am 63 now and very grateful to a very observant optometrist 28 years ago.

The one symptom that someone with glaucoma may have is seeing halos around headlights of cars and streetlights.  Otherwise, there are none.  That is why a good eye examination is very important.

Of course, there are many other eye disorders and diseases that exist.  Glaucoma just happens to be a very silent one.  African Americans have a greater tendency for this eye disorder as well as people who have it in their families.  Also, diabetics are more prone to glaucoma.

There is a surgery available when eye pressures can no longer be controlled with medication, but it is considered a last response because of possible complications resulting in vision loss.

I don't know about you, but I value my eyesight and do not want to lose it.  Please, take the time to make an appointment for an eye examination if it has been a while or you have never had one.  It could be as important as saving your vision.  Don't wait.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“No one ever injured his eyesight by looking on the bright side of things”  unknown

Shepherd's Pie - Quick, Easy, Delicious

Well, it's a new year and I am having a hard time getting back in the routine of things.  Sunday evening we came home after a busy day and I wanted comfort food.  You know, something with mashed potatoes - real mashed potatoes.  I never, ever make instant mashed potatoes at home.  Ever.  Why?  Because there is nothing like real mashed potatoes, I don't care how you doctor them up.  They are easy to make and there is a distinct difference between instant and mashed potatoes made from scratch.  As a potato connoisseur, I can tell the difference.  A friend argued with me once that I could not tell the difference, but I can.  It is just worth the extra effort to make mashed potatoes.  In my book, there is nothing quite as good.  

My first thought was to make a meat loaf, but I knew it would take way too long.  We were hungry and didn't want to wait several more hours to eat.  My next thought?  Shepherd's Pie.  Yummm.  One of our favorites and it's relatively quick and easy.   The beauty of Sheperd's Pie is that it combines your protein, starch and vegetable into one easy dish and has so much flavor.  It is also easy to reheat for leftovers.

I did a little research on Shepherd's Pie to find out why it has that name - mostly out of curiosity.  (I do that a lot)  I found that Shepherd's Pie was originally made from leftover meat (lamb) thus the name Shepherd's Pie since shepherds herd sheep.  When beef was used, it was called Cottage Pie.  The term Cottage Pie was first recorded in 1791 and Shepherd's Pie in 1877.  Now, we just call it all Shepherd's Pie. Whatever it's called, it's delicious.

Here is what you will need.  (This makes a 9 x 13 casserole full, but you can easily halve this for a smaller portion.)    Preheat oven to 350.


Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (lamb, or turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup frozen green peas

4 cups mashed potatoes (use instant if you want to)  I make my mashed potatoes first, so they are ready to put on the casserole when the meat is finished cooking.

8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (grate my own because I like the way it melts and it's cheaper)

Directions

Brown ground beef in large pan.  Just as beef is almost done, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Drain any fat.   Add rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste.  Add green peas and mix thoroughly.  Place in 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Cover with mashed potatoes. Spread with back of spoon to evenly cover all of ground beef,

Next, cover with grated cheddar cheese and place in 350 degree oven until the cheese has melted.

Let the casserole sit for a few minutes and serve in bowls or on dinner plates.  This can also be made in individual serving ramekins if you prefer.  There is a restaurant in our neighborhood that has "Pie and a Pint" night and they make theirs in pie plates.  Do whatever suits your fancy.

This dish is so good with the sweetness of the green peas, and the creaminess of the mashed potatoes covered with melted cheese mixed with all the deliciously flavored meat.  Yum, yum, yum.  If you have picky eaters in your house (like our grandsons can be), give this dish a try.  It is filling and there are no scary ingredients in it that can make a dish "suspect" to little boys.  You know, things like MUSHROOMS.  This is comfort food at it's finest.  You can also make it ahead, keep it in the refrigerator and reheat when ready to serve.  Just wait and place the cheese on the potatoes when you place it in the oven to reheat.  We enjoyed ours with a spinach salad and hot crescent rolls.  Let me say, it truly hit the spot.  Comfort food desire fulfilled.

Give this casserole a try.  My three favorite words describe it - quick, easy, delicious. I think it will become a "go to" dish for you just like in our house.  Enjoy.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.    Irish Toast

The Best Fudge Recipe I've Ever Made!

Christmas Day has come and gone and we survived our first celebration here in the little yellow cottage. We had 4 out of 5 grandsons present, two daughters, one son and two sons in love celebrating together!  What fun we had.  It was a bit crowded, but so what?  We were together and that is the most important thing.  Our older son, daughter in love and grandson live in New York City, and John had a show on Christmas Day so they were unable to join us this year.  But, we did spend time Skyping and got to watch our grandson open his gifts.  THAT is the amazingly fabulous thing about technology!  Being able to see each other face to face, talking like we were in the very same room.  Thank you to whomever invented Skype!

The holiday seasons for us are all about fun, fellowship and good food.  Our oldest daughter and her family moved to Nashville the week before Christmas and it was a wee bit hectic, trying to help them get enough things unpacked to be able to live for a few days AND get their Christmas shopping done all at the same time.  We watched our grandsons a couple of days to help her out and I didn't get my usual amount of baking done this year  - which is okay because there is usually waaaaay too much.   But, I did try some new recipes and made enough gluten free things that our son in love could also enjoy treats with the rest of us.  All in all, it was a very successful holiday.  

This fudge is fantastic - best recipe I have ever tried.  Candy is so cantankerous to make that I have sort of given up the last few years except for a couple of really reliable, easy things that I can count on.  You have to use a candy thermometer, the humidity affects the outcome, it's too hard, or too soft and on and on.  It is really frustrating.  Well, this year I found this recipe on Pinterest and it said it was a winner at the state fair.  Okay, I'll give it one more shot.  My husband LOVES chocolate and he LOVES fudge, but you know how fudge can be.  Sometimes it's grainy and sandy and I don't like that.  Or it's too hard or too soft.  Boo on that too.  I hate wasting time and ingredients on something that really isn't good.  But, this recipe is the best fudge recipe I have ever made bar none!  It is creamy, chocolaty, made a huge pan full and was worth the effort.  Think I will stick with this recipe from now on.

Here is what you need:

2 sticks of butter (use real butter)

6 cups of sugar

1 can evaporated milk

1 jar marshmallow cream

1.5 (18 oz) packages chocolate chips (1 -12 oz bag and 1 -6 oz bag)

2 tsp vanilla

a jelly roll pan (approximately 11 x 15), butter bottom and sides of pan

a large dutch oven

1 wooden spoon

In a large dutch oven, melt the butter, sugar and evaporated milk on medium heat until boiling.  Once it boils, set timer to 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes, remove pan from heat and add marshmallow cream and chocolate chips.

Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon until all marshmallow cream and chocolate chips are melted and the contents are a nice even chocolate color.  Add vanilla and  continue to stir until fudge thickens and no longer runs quickly off the spoon.  It will be very glossy and  the fudge will kind of collapse off the spoon in big clumps.  That's how you know it's done.  The whole process took about 30/35 minutes.  Don't get in a hurry.

Pour the fudge onto the buttered jelly roll pan and spread evenly over pan.  Looks like this. (Are you drooling?)

Let the fudge sit about 30 minutes and it's ready to slice.  I cut it in about 1 inch squares and it makes TONS!  It is rich, sweet, chocolaty and just the right texture for my liking.  Dan has declared it the best!  He is a connoisseur of all things chocolate, so consider that confirmation of it's goodness.  : )

If you have more holiday parties to attend or are having a New Year's Eve Party, this is a wonderful treat for your guests.  It would also make lovely little treat bags for everyone to take home.  

Hope you will give this recipe a try, because the best part is you get to lick the spoon when the fudge is done and poured in the pan.  MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM.

Takes you back to childhood doesn't it?  Everyone likes to lick the spoon.  Yummm.  Enjoy this fabulous recipe.  Just one little square of this delicious fudge is so good with a cup of coffee.  Best dessert ever.  

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

Go ahead, lick the spoon.  It's the best part!  

Chalkboard/Memo Board You Can Make

It is December 22 and I still have projects to finish that are being given as Christmas gifts. YIKES!  The picture above is one of the gifts I made this year using a cookie sheet (from Dollar Tree) and made into a chalkboard/magnetic memo board.   They are super useful, decorative and fun to make.  

Chalkboard paint is all the rage these days and you see everything painted with it.  It is available at most any hardware store. ( I got mine at Lowes.)  You can even customize your own color using paint and some unsanded grout. Martha Stewart's website has a recipe.   The possibilities are endless.  I even saw a tablecloth someone had painted with chalkboard paint and covered a table so you could write on it while you sat at the table.  How much fun is that?  Anyway, I wanted a versatile piece that was magnetic and could be written on.  My choice?    A cookie sheet because it has flat surface you can write on and is metal so it will be magnetic.  First stop - Dollar Tree.  I bought a half dozen cookie sheets for $1 each and started from there.  Here is what you will need.

Cookie sheet

primer paint

black spray paint or color you want (for back and edges of cookie sheet - $.97 at Home Depot)

paint brush

chalkboard paint

acrylic paints in assorted colors

glass flat backed marbles ($1 for a bag at dollar tree)

magnets (available at craft stores)

hot glue gun

ribbon

chalk

small note pad

Start by drilling two holes at top of the flat surface of the cookie sheet right below the border.  Make them about 3 inches apart and equal distance on either side of center.  Next, paint the entire sheet with primer.  This step is important because it is difficult to get paint to stick to metal, especially since you are going to be writing on it.  Next, spray the back of the cookie sheet with inexpensive spray paint.  I used black paint that was $.97 a can at Home Depot.  After that dries, turn the cookie sheet over and paint the front with chalkboard paint.  Let it dry and paint with two additional coats.  

Decide on how you want the cookie sheet decorated.  I printed out initials on my inkjet printer, then used a piece of transfer paper to trace the initial in the upper left corner of the cookie sheet.  I painted it with acrylic paint.  I chose colors that would coordinate with each recipient's kitchen and used a very simple method to decorate.  Dots.  I love dots and they are SO easy to do.  I used a flat pencil eraser and the end of a wooden skewer to make the dots by simply dipping in the paint and applying it to the edge of the cookie sheet in random patterns.  If you are not sure what pattern you would like to use, work it out on a piece of paper first before beginning on your finished piece.

To make the magnets, I simply painted the flat backs of the glass marbles with acrylic paint and let them dry, then applied a magnet with hot glue.  The initials were put on with a sharpie.  Simple.  

The hanger and holder for the chalk were made with some adorable ribbon I found at the craft store.  For the chalk holder, simply wrap a piece of ribbon around a piece of chalk so it won't be too tight to get the chalk out of,  but not so loose that the chalk won't stay in the "holder."  Cut the ribbon, hot glue it together forming a loop and then glue the back of the loop on the flat surface of the cookie sheet near the bottom of the board leaving enough room so a whole piece of chalk will fit.  (see picture)

The ribbon hanger was done by threading a piece of ribbon through the right hole leaving a loop long enough to hang your board and pulling the ribbon back through the left hole.  Make a tail long enough to tie a pretty bow and hot glue it to the board.  The hanger is then all one piece.   Keep the ribbon attached to the whole roll so you can adjust lengths until you are ready to cut it.  That keeps from wasting ribbon.

Add a magnet to the back of a small note pad with hot glue and place it in the bottom right hand corner.  Got my cute little note pads at WalMart.  Ta Dah!  Finished.  Now, you have an adorable memo board that is magnetic and you can write notes on.  Be sure and rub the edges of your chalk on a piece of paper to round out the edges.  Chalk has very sharp edges and may cut through your chalkboard paint.  The paint also needs to "age" for a few days before you use it and then seasoned.  Read the can label for directions.

These are a few of the boards I made and have already given as gifts.  They were so much fun to make.   They can be personalized in so many ways, and are both decorative and useful!

Notice, this is before I lettered the magnets and added the hangers, etc.  Don't you think they are adorable?  What a handy, heartfelt, handmade gift from you to the recipient.  These would be great for children's rooms too!  Just take this idea and run wild!  Let me know what idea you come up with.  You are going to have so much fun making these.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Christmas time is coming, lights are on the trees
Hang up your stocking for Santa Claus to see,
If you haven't got a stocking, a little sock will do
If you haven't got a little sock, God Bless you!

Easy, Inexpensive Gift You Can Make

If you are looking at this picture and wondering if this is a piece of wall art, the answer is no.  These are coasters that I made for Christmas gifts and they are so quick, easy and inexpensive.  They are made from ceramic tiles, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, acrylic sealer, and a square of felt.  Aren't they pretty?

I don't know if you have tried to buy coasters lately, but they are hard to find and when you do they are expensive!!  They are something every household can use.  We have always used coasters to keep water marks off our wood furniture.  These coaster were made as companions for another gift I am giving this season.  (Will post on that next.  It is a really cute gift also!)

The tiles were bought at Home Depot.  They come in lots of colors and are really affordable. The white and tan tiles were only $.13 each.  The most expensive tiles were the black ones and they were $.38 each.  You can find scrapbook paper at any craft store and the sheets I used were on sale 5 for $1.00.  One sheet of paper will make 4 coasters.  Mod Podge and acrylic spray sealer are also available at any craft store.  Oh, and you will need a couple sponge brushes also available anywhere paint is sold.  I used a 1 inch size.  A square of felt from Michael's was less than $1.00 and I made all the little squares used on the back of the tiles from on square.  You will need a hot glue gun to glue the felt squares to the back of the tiles.  I used scissors that cut different shapes to make the fancy little scallop on the edge of the paper, but that is not necessary.  Otherwise -  easy peasy.

First, I found a box that was slightly smaller than the square tiles and used it as a template to draw the shape for the paper.  I drew 4 squares on each paper and cut them out with scissors.  Next, I lined my tiles up and started by brushing a thin layer of Mod Podge on one tile at a time.  Place a piece of the paper in the center of the tile, leaving an even border showing around the tile.  Smooth the paper with your fingers to remove any air bubble.  Continue the process with each tile.  Set aside and let the Mod Podge dry (it dries clear).  I let them dry overnight.

Next, put  another thin layer of Mod Podge all over each tile (over the paper too) and let it dry for several hours.  Just for safety, one more coat of Mod Podge.  After all the tiles were good and dry, I took them outside and sprayed them with a thin layer of acrylic sealer following directions on the can.  Acrylic sealer is very pungent and I would NOT recommend using it inside.  Two more thin layers of sealer were applied after each layer dried.  It dries very quickly and makes your coasters waterproof.

Take a square of felt and cut it into half inch squares.  You will need enough for 4 squares per tile.  Using a hot glue gun, glue a small square of the felt to each corner of each tile on the back side.  It will look like this:

I applied the glue to the felt square and then pressed it on the tile.  That way you are sure to cover the surface of the felt so that it sticks!  Because the tiles are rough and scratchy on the back, you don't want to skip this step.  No one wants scratched furniture protecting it from water stains.

Let these dry overnight again, so that they are all good and dry.  Next, I stacked 4 tiles together and tied them with twine.  They are a lovely and useful gift.  The really nice thing is they can be personalized for each recipient and they are a thoughtful, heartfelt, handmade gift.   Don't forget to make a set for yourself!

If you need a gift that is quick, easy and inexpensive this is one that everyone can use!  Hope you have fun with this.  We are in countdown mode and I still have a long way to go.  Back to the crafting table - I really am going to make it.  I know I can, I know I can.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Heartfelt and handmade gifts are the most precious.