2023’s Final Freebie Winner!

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024 ~ Midwest Storyteller

Greetings in this Bright New Year and all my hopes and prayers that yours is one to remember for all the right reasons.

I’ve been overwhelmed lately, as I’m sure many of you have been over the holidays. Add to that some (well, lots) of attention that needed to be given to the publishing of my upcoming novel series and some other exciting things that have to do with the future of my book series and I feel I can safely say that I’m what they officially call frazzled. There’s been no time for chatting with you here recently and that has made me sad. We can, at least, find out who won December’s “surprise” First Friday Freebie.

Let’s meet –

DIY Holiday Gift Bags www.midweststoryteller.com

Francine from Boonville, Missouri!

Congratulations, Francine! I hope you enjoy and made good use of my hand-made projects. The reason this had to remain a surprise is because I wasn’t finished with them when the First Friday Freebie offer was posted. I told you I was frazzled.

Francine received her First Friday Freebie in plenty of time to put it to good use for its intended purpose. I’m always itching to up-cycle something and when I have time, I pull out the craft supplies and my stash of “saved up stuff” and start making things. This year, Lil’ Snookie and I made lots of homemade Christmas cards, using the pretty fronts I’d saved from cards over the years and adding his creative Nativity artwork (or as he called it, “a barn with statues”) inside along with a Christmas blessing. Having plenty of cards left over, I decided to decorate gift bags! Many of the cards had flocking, lots of glitter or sparkle or metallic enhancements even before I added my own touches.

Each bag has its individual Christmas card on the front which I embellished with crystals and metallic ink. I inserted coordinating tissue and added one of my handmade tags which I also embellished the crystals and metallic ink. After being pleased with my own bags, I decided that a set of five would make a great gift for one of my readers.

I do send freebies anywhere in the continental U. S., so don’t let your location keep you from entering to win. It seems that though I have many subscribers and followers, a relatively small percentage enter to win. That makes your odds fantastic!

Francine had her name drawn after she commented on the freebie post as directed in the post. I do have to make it just a little tricky each month in order to prevent spam and make sure you’re on your toes and paying attention.

You can comment as directed on my post on the first Friday of the month also. That is all any subscriber needs to do to enter to win. If you’d like to see other past winners and their gifts check it out here on my Freebies! page.

You can see the original First Friday Freebie offer for the one Francine won here.

If you’re reading this and haven’t become an email subscriber yet, please do that today. Hopefully, my freebies, not to mention the stories, recipes and other great content, have enticed you to do that.

NOTE: Subscribe with an email you intend to keep and check the week after the drawings. This is my only means of notifying winners. If it isn’t up to date, you may not get your gift!

Computers, tablets, smartphones – they each give this blog a different appearance, but you can easily find the subscription area in the menu under “CONTACT”. Confirm your subscription when the email arrives. If you’ve don’t receive a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com – it seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.

Subscribers get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.

Freebies help me reach more people. I need you to help me share all the fun with your friends and family. When you share on MeWe, Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free.

Coming up on January 5^th, you’ll see the new Freebie. Enter to win that day. A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight. Then, check your email in the days following.

Smartphone reminders help.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

Subscribers, be ready to enter to win on Friday, January 5^th, 2024.

I hope you are beginning this year with bright hopes and high expectations. After all, is there any benefit in going about it any other way?

A Fireplace Makeover: It Warms My Heart

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 3 Comments

I realize I haven’t shared many creative endeavors here on the blog in a while. That is, any that are mine and mine alone. Yes, our house is still torn up in several places and most of the efforts are going into what has become the longest kitchen renovation in the history of the world. C’mon, folks! Try and top it! Leave your comments, be honest, and let me know how long your kitchen makeover took. It’s coming along, but we do get weary at times. However, there is only one of Smuffy and everything is hand-crafted in this project, so on we march toward the finish line in our tortoise-like fashion.

In the middle of it all, I decided that if I had to look at our fireplace one more minute I might just scream. I’d passed the grumbling and sneering phase long ago. Built in 1950, our home, for which we are grateful in many ways, was given a fake fireplace from the start. Sturdy and solid brick with a nice oak mantle, it stands tall and proud and just a shade wonky which is better than many other things in our house which are wonky in the extreme. After living here and working on the house for decades, we’ve come to the conclusion (with no offense intended) that our house had to have been built by someone who, being a certified nitwit on his best days, practiced up for his future career as a builder by whamming away on his first project (our house) with a dull axe during bouts of extreme drunkenness.

Many are the projects we have undertaken and pushed through to the end with heavy sighs, but the fireplace has stood just as its maker intended, since 1950.

Then, as happens to so many of us, I saw a photo on Pinterest at acottagegirl.com. I love Cindy’s ideas on her blog. I’d never really known what I wanted to do to the fireplace till I saw her fireplace photo. It filled me with that feeling that can only be described as “Oh, yeah!”

Then came the research. I had to know how to get the look without making some mistake I’d be sorry for. Here’s what I did and a little bit about how I did it. I hope you enjoy the results. I’m very happy with the outcome. The before photo is in Spring 2020 when I hadn’t much desire or inspiration to decorate and the after is, as you can see, decorated for fall. I’m not quite finished tweaking it for Christmas just yet.

I had a long talk with an experienced paint man at Home Depot who recommended a good masonry primer. After applying this, I applied a Behr paint in a Magnolia color called “Lit Candles”. Then, I got pretty jittery about how to apply the darker color and get it to look right. I ended up choosing a Behr paint, “Armadillo” , in a satin finish and mixed it, one part paint to four parts faux glaze. I only had to buy a sample jar of the paint and I had the glaze on hand. I applied this with a sea sponge in a horizontal swiping/dabbing motion and then, with a wet rag, removed as much paint/glaze as I could from the mortar between the bricks. It was a bit like being way too close to your Monet while painting, but each time I stood back and took in the effect, I grew a little more confident that I wasn’t creating a total disaster.

The dark accent wall behind the fireplace, along with the rest of the room, has now been painted in Valspar’s “Milk Toast” from Lowe’s and I’m liking it better and better every day. It went on like a dream in one coat over a special primer called “PPG Gripper” from Home Depot, recommended to me by their helpful paint guy as something I could put straight over my old faux-finished glazed walls without having to sand them. God bless this man!

I’m pressing the pause button on all home updates other than the kitchen until after the holidays. I’ll take progress on that room any time I can get it!

So, dear readers, show me your fireplaces and any other fun updates you’ve been doing lately. I value your ideas because I need to make changes in several rooms.

You can check out some of my other creative projects, including writing, wood burning, decorating, sewing, re-purposing and restoration by exploring my Create! page.

Exciting News! I’m Hot Off the Press!

June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 2 Comments

Just a quick note today to announce that once again, one of my stories has been accepted for publication in the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild’s annual collection of poetry and prose! “Well Versed 2020” makes it’s debut this Saturday, June 13th! My story, “The Eyes of Love” is among the entries chosen for this year’s book.

I was honored to be chosen for publication in this anthology last year (Well Versed 2019) with a story called, “The Brown Wedding Dress” a true-life depiction giving but a snippet of the great love story of my Aunt Martha and Uncle George who were married over eighty years and shared a life and love that I was privileged to witness and record.

I share more of their story this year with “The Eyes of Love” which tells of a horrifying incident that occurred shortly after they married and which, though it brought them shock, pain and responsibilities that any of us would shrink from, drew them into a greater knowledge of love’s sacrifices and brought healing to Martha’s soul.

My apologies for being so late with this announcement. It seems there’s something about keeping a five-month-old while in the midst of this kitchen remodel that keeps me from getting things done quite the way I’d like.

Further apologies for having to announce that if you’d like a copy, you will have to email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com no later than Friday, June 12. (I told you I was behind on things!) They are $11 and if you need me to ship it to you, they will be $14 if you’d like to get one directly from me. You may also respond to my Facebook announcement in the comments. They will be available on Amazon at a later date.

Mine is one of the many contributions to this anthology and I offer my congratulations to all the other contributors!

If you’d like to have get to know Martha and her family members, glimpses into their lives are found along with other family stories can be found right here on my “Laugh” page.

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 4 of ?): “My Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen”

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 4 Comments

We still have no kitchen as we live in this cluttered world of hitches and compromises. So, you may ask, how does a Trim Healthy Mama who is dedicated to eating healthy managing to keep on track during all this? Let me introduce you to my Not-A-Kitchen!

These photos are really embarrassing, but hopefully will make the end reveal all the more glorious. And, please forgive the spastic decorating. I find that as things change, I keep poking things onto empty nails “for now” and the house is starting to look like I’ve lost my marbles. The chairs will go also – just gotta give Smuffy the time to get my new old ones re-done. Poor fella.

I’m hoping the reveal of this mess may help someone else who is going through something similar and knows that you can’t eat out all the time – not if you want to be trim, healthy and pay for a renovation! The last thing we need around here is for me or Smuffy to get sick in the middle of the remodel. That happened to us years ago and I still have PTKSS (Post Traumatic Kitchen Stall Syndrome) from that experience that put us three weeks behind and left us with a two-year-old and nothing – nothing – but a microwave in the otherwise empty kitchen for the whole time.

I followed my original plan for daily function by shoving my dining room table as far over as possible to make room for incoming cabinets and then filling it with everything we’d be needing on a daily basis. I covered it with a felt-backed vinyl tablecloth first so that it would survive the ordeal.

Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen MidwestStoryteller.com

Tall items at the back included a rack of plates and bowls, a spice rack and the mixer. In front of that, I lined up glassware and often used items such as salt and pepper, olive oil and salad vinegar, nuts, jars of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and other things we grab to snack on and, of course, my big, fat jar of Dutch cocoa powder because, though I may not have a kitchen, I’ve gotta live!

I left an empty strip along the front for food prep and placed a cutting mat there. This area also serves to hold the hot plate, crock-pot or whatever else may be in use at times when Smuffy is pounding away and I can’t get into the kitchen at all.

Smuffy had built huge new drawers for the new kitchen, but prior to them being installed, I stacked them on one another and filled the top one with flatware and utensils so they’d be in easy reach. Needless to say, we fill our plates and head into the living room to eat.

My “buffet” (I think this is, in reality, a gentleman’s dresser that has seen changes over time) now serves as Appliance Row with the food processor, blender and toaster oven perched atop a towel and ready to go when I need them. One of my old wall cabinets got its doors removed and is shoved against a wall and filled with plasticware and other food prep items we might want to grab.

Over in the “new” kitchen, once Smuffy got the base cabinets in, I was relieved to find that the holes in the tops were the perfect size to catch the rims of my cookie sheets! We take our small blessings where we can find them and give thanks for them. I filled in an area and plopped in some cutting boards. Then, as if in direct answer to prayer, Smuffy discovered that one of our old cabinet doors dropped in perfectly to another cabinet top! We celebrated that discovery by placing the hot plate there and felt like we were really getting somewhere! Sort of.

The problem remained that we had no water. Family came to the rescue, sending us jugs of drinking water, but as for rinsing things for the dishwasher and washing up anything extra, we were running back and forth to the bathtub.

That is, until that glorious day! Smuffy, that man of many talents, installed a true farmhouse sink!

I’m feeling mighty stylish over here! This is where we stand until countertops are finalized. I love the way he placed the decorative part to the front so I would remember not to insert the grandchild.

Take heart if you are in the midst of a makeover. We’ll get through. When? I have no idea. In the meantime, I’m fixing healthy, balanced meals or pulling out frozen versions of the same that I prepared in advance and stashed in the freezer. In case you didn’t notice the bottle warmer and formula in the photos, I’ll point out that I am caring for my four-month-old grandbaby most days in the midst of it all. I have to admit there are days when I’m just a tad pooped.

If you have a friend in the middle of a renovation and finding themselves disheartened, share this post. It helps to know you’re not alone.

That’s the tour of my Not-A-Kitchen. Stay tuned for what I hope will be next – my pantry and remaining cabinetry and their insides. Then, countertops! I’m expecting to be downright giddy when that happens.

Now I’m leaving you hanging again. I’ll bet this has your curiosity piqued more than back when some of you were wondering who shot J. R. Others will have to do a search on that. Life With Smuffy is never dull. That’s why he has his own page here on the blog. (He’s not all about construction, you know.) If you need adventure and laughs, check that out.

Missed a portion of my kitchen makeover story? It all began with “Death of a Kitchen”, followed by “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel” and “Birth Pains of a Kitchen”. Catch up on those and you’ll be ready for the next installment.

I’ll be sharing some of the meals I made ahead in order to get through this. and some of the ones I was able to whip up without losing my marbles in my Not-A-Kitchen.

Can I have your kitchen remodel ideas? What would you have in your dream kitchen that you don’t have now? Leave a comment!

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 3 of ?): “Birth Pains of a Kitchen”

May 19, 2020May 18, 2020 ~ Midwest Storyteller

I promised to keep you posted on Smuffy’s monumental project. Welcome to the third and hopefully, most painful, installment. It’s a little late in posting as the clogged internet has been refusing to put photos in my posts.

Earlier, in “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”, I shared the little chunk of the project that propelled me forward into the world of a glorious new refrigerator, wall oven and fancy-schmancy dishwasher. After that, we took time out for Thanksgiving, Christmas and to become grandparents. Smuffy then entered another busy season with his business while it was way too cold to be in the workshop messing with wood. Now, at last, we are making progress again!

If you’d like to see my embarrassing kitchen “before” photos, click here, but read the whole post so you’ll have a little compassion.

Have you ever had one of those uneasy feelings – as though you’re being followed by a mysterious “something”? Your Pollyanna nature tries to reassure you that you’ll never have to turn and face it and that it is probably just a series of spooky shadows, but eventually, you round a corner and there it is – the “thing” you knew was there but dreaded meeting face to face. Trying to duck your head and peer at it through only one squinting eye doesn’t help. We’ll, sooner or later it happens to us all and it has happened to me.

Smuffy is a marvel when it comes to undertaking almost any project, but he’s a numbers kinda guy and likes things in columns and rows. Nuance and the artistic sense elude him in some instances, though he does have appreciation for it. For some time, even though I’d labored over the perfect off-white paint for my cabinetry and the antiquing glaze that would go on over it followed by a couple of coats of polyurethane, I’d been deluding myself into thinking Smuffy would be the painter of these glorious creations. I should have known. Full of the can-do spirit he is – gifted with an artist’s touch he is not.

He got the primer on and the first coat of paint and asked me to inspect. I murmured a prayer and did so. Difficult as it was to declare them a tad crummy, I forced myself to be honest. It was mere practice as I then pushed past my lips the notion that perhaps I needed to paint these myself. (Though painfully slow, I am neat as a pin.) Smuffy’s eyes lit up and he rushed to hand me the paint buckets and all the rest of the supplies. I’d known, deep in my heart that Smuffy’s painting style and choice of tools, while fast and thorough, might not produce the results I desired. He’s an expert at detail work, just not this particular kind. That lurking instinct had caught up with me and how here I was, holding the brush, the mini roller and newly sanded face frames, shaking my head, groaning a little, but not surprised that I hadn’t managed to outrun this dreaded task.

Antique Glazing www.midweststoryteller.com

First I used a Benjamin Moore trim paint in Fresh Narcissus with Floe-trol (from Home Depot) added to make the finish smooth as buttah. After letting each coat of this dry overnight, I mixed one part paint in a Benjamin Moore Devonwood Taupe into 8 parts clear latex glaze. I brushed this on and wiped it away with lint-free rags. It doesn’t appear too impressive here on the face frames, but will show nicely on the finished cabinet doors where it will collect in the grooves of the panels and give definition. Once this dried overnight, I applied two coats of clear polyurethane, allowing each to dry overnight. This is because the antiquing glaze is not as hard as trim paint and will wear off if not sealed in between the layers.

Once ready, we started Demo Day for the lower half of the kitchen. In order to have some functionality, we opted to complete this phase and tackle the upper portion once we can actually cook and have water again.

Chaos reigned. Smuffy ripped and tore. I shoved, shifted and fetched. Phoebe June, caught in the cross-fire, opted to enjoy the exploration opportunity of a lifetime. When cabinets, bags and boxes filled with the kitchen cabinet contents began filling every room on the main floor, she considered all rules null and void and flung herself into the spirit of the thing with wild abandon, jumping into bags of canned goods and strolling through utensil drawers. After a while, I just shrugged and made myself a mental note that it could all be washed and wiped down later. To say she was wide-eyed with excitement would be an understatement.

Wide-eyed Phoebe June midweststoryteller.com

By the end of Day 1, we had uglified the kitchen to the point where we were committed to completion whether we liked it or not and as I looked around the house for a bright spot, I found myself thankful that our little grandson has yet to reach the walking stage. I have a feeling he’d make Phoebe June’s escapades seem like nothing at all!

With the lower cabinets in place, we’ll now attached the face frames and anchor everything in place so that Smuffy can begin the process of installing his beautiful walnut countertops and the oak furniture piece that will serve as our sink base. Oh, to have water again!

I’m going to leave you hanging there and end this special episode of my Life With Smuffy. Coming up soon, I’ll give you a peek at my “not a kitchen kitchen” that will have to serve until the counters, sink and gas cooktop are installed. I’m hoping that is very soon!

(After writing this post and struggling to get the photos inserted, we hit some snags. I’ve had to give up my design for the oak furniture piece and I may be having to part with my walnut countertops. I must confess to having two or three mid-remodel meltdowns already. I’d love to think this is the last of them, but… old houses are full of surprises and unless you open up a wall and find a chest full of gold and jewels, they are never really good surprises.)

If you’re not all caught up on the latest Smuffy episodes, check out, “A Studebaker in the Hands…” and “Why Stop When You’re on a Roll?” His river adventures here and here will having you longing for summer days on the water – or maybe not.

I’d love to have your input on a kitchen remodel? What one mistake have you made that you’d like to un-do? What feature of your new kitchen do you love the most? Please comment! I need all the encouragement I can get.

A Last Minute Christmas Gift that Won’t Steal Your Sanity

December 24, 2019December 24, 2019 ~ Midwest Storyteller

It’s Christmas Eve and they coming – or you’re going – and then, suddenly, you find out that you’ve forgotten someone. Or, perhaps you’ve just discovered that So-and-So is coming after all. Yikes!

It truly is last minute. I’ve simply had no time for blogging lately, but I did want to share this great idea in case you need a little something extra to give.

So, run to the storage room and grab a small jar you’ve kept for no good reason other than that you just knew it would be ideal for something someday. Dash back to the kitchen now and grab a mixing bowl and spatula, because we’re making –

Homemade Peppermint Sugar Scrub!

You’ll find complete instructions here in my post about making the lavender coconut version, along with some tips and reasons why sugar scrubs are a wonderful addition to the bath.

However, since the effort to make this takes less time than it does to read that post and I know you’re in a rush, here’s a quick how-to on this falling-off-a-log gift for friends and family. You’ll probably have the ingredients on hand.

To a medium mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup softened or melted extra virgin coconut oil. With a spatula, stir in 2 cups of regular granulated sugar. Add about five drops of green food coloring and ten drops of peppermint essential oil. (I use therapeutic grade, since we are applying it to the skin.) Stir well to mix in the color and oil.

Oh, my goodness, I hope you’re not too exhausted to spoon this into your jars! The number of gifts you create will depend on the size of your little jars. With the jars I used, as pictured in the photo, I was able to fill four of them with one recipe. Small jelly jars work great and since they go to different people, a mix ‘n match batch of jars is just fine.

Now, grab a length of ribbon or twine and tie on a tag such as the ones I made that let the recipient know that they are “MINT” to have a Merry Christmas. If you don’t have time or don’t know how to make nifty tags like this on the computer, a hand-written tag is even more personal.

There you go! Have a very Merry Christmas and all my wishes that this idea has come to the rescue for at least one of you!

Gotta rush – there are still gifts to wrap at my house! Why don’t I have a recipe for that?

Re-Purposed Gift Bags on the Cheap!

May 2, 2019May 1, 2019 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

I’ve figured out why they call it “The Merry, Merry Month of May”. If ever a month came pre-loaded with celebrations, May wins the prize!

There’s the given – graduations. They rarely come in singles. There always seems to be a wedding or two, not to mention showers in anticipation of the weddings in June. Mother’s Day comes along and since a portion of those mothers became one in May, there are birthdays and the parties that go with them.

Do you ever feel like you’re spending more on gift wrap than gifts? I’m definitely a rescuer and a saver, but I don’t want to go down in history as the lady who left this earth having owned the most cottage cheese containers. I want a purpose or a re-purpose for my stash. I want to do something with my frugal hoard and part of that hoard is merchandizing bags from stores that I just know I can turn into beautiful gift bags.

Today, I want to share a money saving idea you can pull off without losing your mind. All you need is store bags (hopefully ones that do not have wrap-around logos printed on them), scissors, ruler, glue and your “stash” – whatever that means to you – and possibly some kids or grandkids if you really want to have some fun and you are one of those people who is at peace with the concept that it’s the process that counts – not the product.

Re-purposing Bags for Gifting www.midweststoryteller.com

Here’s part of my stash, including the gift bag project in mid-progress. I have a Cricut die-cutting machine. Believe it or not, I even got that at the Goodwill Store! Don’t tuck your tail between your legs if you don’t have a fancy machine. I’ll give you some ideas for working without one.

I find that Dollar Tree and Tuesday Morning are great sources for finding doo-dads on the cheap. A full sheet of sparkly jeweled stickers for around a dollar will last you through many a creative binge. I do some scrapbooking, so I always have leftover snippets and papers to cut up for projects. You can often pick up a book of coordinating papers at Hobby Lobby at half price, but if you don’t want to do that, scrounge around for some cardstock, old wallpaper or wrapping paper that isn’t too thin. Kids love working with thin, colorful sheets of fun foam, available at Hobby Lobbyand they can cut out flowers, leaves, trucks, letters and numbers and anything else they have a notion to draw or trace onto the foam. Dollar stores also have full sheets of themed embellishments for scrap-bookers. All you have to do with those is cover the bag’s logo with a shape you’ve cut from foam or paper and stick the embellishments all over it and your once-a-throw-away bag is redeemed. How about the fronts of those fancy greeting cards you’ve been given? There’s some fabulous artwork you can use to decorate your bags!

If the bag rescue idea appeals to you, but you want to avoid the expense of a Cricut or other machine, there are some fun tools to watch for when you’re out bargain hunting. Decorative scissors are inexpensive and will trim the edges of your papers into scallops, ocean waves or a number of other designs. They are usually around five dollars. Punches are fabulous things. You can align paper along a printed guide, punch the design and slide the paper again to punch long strips or all the way around a shape. They come in geometrics, florals, eyelet and lace designs and more. I’ve found them at Tuesday Morning at prices between three and ten dollars, depending on the size. Martha Stewart makes quality punches in varied styles. Visit the link to see what is available and then watch for sales in stores that carry office and craft items. Metallic pens come in a wide array of colors and can be used to add sparkle to the edges of cut paper. If you have no fancy scissors or tools, why not tear the edges of your paper by hand? Once you’ve given it a jagged edge, use the metallic pens to highlight the torn edges and make them pop against the background. Backgrounds are important. A layered effect always makes an embellishment project look much more professional.

Since I do have a Cricut machine (and they are marvels, to be sure), I used leftover scrapbooking paper to cut designs that I felt would be useful for any upcoming gifting needs. As you can see, I just glued the design onto its contrasting background and then glued the whole thing right over the original business logo.

Next, I used a few cheap stickers from my sparkly jewel collection to add some pizzazz to the design. You certainly don’t have to do this, but even just a few tiny embellishments will take your design to the next level and give it a designer flair rather than just a look’s-like-she-couldn’t-find-a-gift-bag-but-she-could-find-a-gluestick-project.

Here are the bags, before and after being be-jeweled. Little things mean a lot, don’t they? Zoom in for the thrill of the sparkle.

Gift Bags Bejeweled www.midweststoryteller.com

Speaking of glue, I highly recommend Martha Stewart craft glue as seen here. It dries clear, doesn’t string, gives you thirty seconds or so for wiggling items into place and then the items stay put! If I run out of it, I will put off a project until I can get some because of the frustration it saves me.

Once you’re finished, the bags are ready for colorful tissue and maybe even a cute tag or a ribbon tied onto the handle if you want to get that fancy.

Shopping Bags Transformed www.midweststoryteller.com

Here are my finished bags. Now for the rest of the stack I have saved up in the closet. Call me cheap, but my mama would be proud!

I do love a rescue project and handmade gifts and this combines the two. Need more ideas? Take a look at the wooden utensil project I did with my friend Kathy here, the falling-off-a-log-easy gifts here, rescued vintage tablecloths here, Sweet Annie wreaths here, and what to do with those pretty leaves you can’t resist picking up here. After all that, you’ll need to treat yourself. Relax with some homemade sugar scrub here.

Any questions? I’d love to hear your comments. Is there anything you’ve repurposed that the rest of us are throwing away?

A Last Minute DIY Valentine Gift You Can Whip Up in 1 Minute!

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 ~ Midwest Storyteller

Sugar Scrub 1 Minute Homemade Gift midweststoryteller.com

If ever a holiday had a tendency to sneak up on you unexpectedly, it’s Valentine’s Day. Somehow, when Christmas is over and the last Happy New Year is wished, we tend to hunker down for winter and take on the attitude that there won’t be a single bright spot in our lives until spring.

So, I’m wondering, are you ready for it?

I know, I know. So much is said about how commercialized Valentine’s Day has become and how it was given a big build-up by the retail world in order to suck us all in to their stores so they could empty our pockets, leaving us to stagger out in a daze wondering if we’d just done too much or too little when all we really wanted was to say, “I love you”, or “You’re special to me.” We resist the nudge to fall into such traps, but let’s ask ourselves one thing – What could be better than a special day to remind us (because we so often forget) to offer someone a loving gesture?

I love old-fashioned, sappy Valentines. Here are some that I’ve made and you can see more about that here.

Handmade Victorian Valentines midweststoryteller.com

A card will do just fine, but as for gifts, I love to give a few special people a simple token of affection without going on a spending spree. Let’s face it, a homemade gift always means more and if you go overboard you can send the person you’re trying to bless on a guilt trip if they think they need to reciprocate. Or, even worse, you’ll start that horror of horrors – the yearly contest to see who can outdo the other – an uncomfortable situation that empties everyone’s bank account and does little to fill the heart.

Homemade Sugar Scrub midweststoryteller.com

If you’re feeling a twinge of panic and wishing you had a few tokens of affection to offer, try making this homemade sugar scrub. You’ll have it whipped up in one minute and have nothing left to do but fashion a cute tag declaring that the gift is “Because You Are So Sweet”! I wish I could remember where I found this great idea and recipe so I could give credit where credit is due, but it’s been a while and a Pinterest search is not bringing it back to me, so I have no idea. If anyone can send me the info or a link to it, I’m happy to include it here.

Homemade Sugar Scrub Ingredients midweststoryteller.com

If you have a stash of stuff like I do, you probably won’t even have to leave the house for supplies. You’ll need a mixing bowl, spatula, small jars, extra virgin coconut oil, white table sugar, 5-10 drops fragrance oil (rose or lavender is nice), red food coloring, ribbon and/or fabric scraps, paper tags, cardstock you can fashion into tags or, better yet, the FREE PRINTABLE TAGS you’ll find at the end of this post! This recipe made three gifts, but it all depends on the size of your containers. Clear ones are best, because the sugar scrub is really pretty!

Instructions:

With a spatula, blend ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil, 1 ½ to 2 cups white sugar, 5-10 drops fragrance oil and five drops food coloring together in a mixing bowl. Fill jars and add a cute tag or label.

I hope you didn’t nod off during that lengthy description. Coconut oil softens at 76 degrees Fahrenheit, so if your work area is colder than that you may have to put the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds to bring it to the point where it mixes easily.

I got into my Printmaster program and designed a tag that suited the look I wanted to achieve. You can always make this quick gift for a birthday or any other occasion by using different colors of food coloring and changing the look of your tags or labels. Again, I used various jars, ribbon scraps and bags I had on hand.

Sugar Scrubs in Varied Jars midweststoryteller.com

Why give sugar scrub, other than the fact that scrubs are popular and can be expensive? My main concern was whether or not they are good for you or pose some sort of health risk or cause skin damage. I am not your doctor or your licensed skin care specialist, so I am only passing on a little of what I know in order to help you continue with your own research.

What I discovered in my limited studies is that some body and facial scrubs are not so good for you. Their exfoliating ingredients range from nut shells to polymer beads to salt and sugar. Let’s face it, exfoliating feels wonderful! However, nut shells and other ground matter have sharp edges and who wants to be scratched? Polymer beads are round and smooth and leave the skin much more intact, but they’ve been found to last forever, making their way into the rivers and oceans and harming marine life. As for salt, it’s a great option, but the edges of salt crystals are still sharper than that of sugar and it may not be what you want for use on delicate areas of the body or if you have sensitive skin.

That leaves sugar! While I would recommend removing as much of it from your diet as possible, I’m giving it my approval , so far, as a scrub. The coconut oil is just about the most wonderful thing you can put on your skin and the combination will leave you soft, moisturized and much, much smoother.

A natural source of glycolic acid, sugar already contains the ingredient that a lot of over-the-counter, spas and dermatologists offer to remove dead skin cells and encourage cellular turnover. It’s an alpha hydroxy acid, and since your homemade scrub is mild, it will be safe to use a couple of times a week in the evenings. Some stronger formulas, available in stores and from spas and professionals, will recommend wearing a sunscreen if using alpha hydroxyy acid formulas during the day. You can read more about that in this article from Huffington Post here.

Sugar is also a natural humectant, meaning that it draws moisture from the air into your skin – and that’s a good thing.

Some scrubs can do your skin more harm than good and you can learn more about that in this article from The Sidney Morning Herald. More info, including safe recipes for sugar scrubs that include honey, avocado oil and other natural ingredients can be found in this ETimes article.

If someone needs to hear you say, “This is for you, ‘because you are so sweet!’”, homemade sugar scrub might just be the perfect token of your affection.

Now for those FREE printable tags – just click below and you have a whole sheet of tags that you can print on cardstock. Attach a pretty ribbon and tie to your jars of sugar scrub! Could I have made it any easier, folks?

Free Printable Banner Sugar Scrub Gift Tags midweststoryteller.com

Questions? Comments? I’m happy to chat, because you are so sweet!

Burning With Creativity? Be Inspired – Create with Kathy!

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

Welcome to Midwest Storyteller’s first installment of –

If we analyze our friendships, we’ll often return to the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”. I found this to be especially true of Kathy. We estimate that we’ve known each other about five years. Prior to that, I knew she existed, but I didn’t “know” her.

The things we miss out on! It’s happened before. Years ago, a lady named Rebekah showed up at my writers’ group. Soon after, she volunteered to help with the Youth Theater I directed. I discovered not only that she’d been my neighbor two doors away for the last two years, but that she and I were twin souls! (Is that what you call it when you each think the other is riotously funny?) She encouraged me and inspired me, helped me and then, as sometimes is the way with life, she moved away, darn it all. She has a blog, too! Be sure to check her out at “There Will Be a $5 Charge for Whining”.

Kathy has proved to be another of those rare souls who has moved from the fringes of my life and taken up residence in my spirit. I’ve been hoping she’d succumb to my hints and agree to be a guest at Midwest Storyteller, so I’m thrilled to welcome you to her debut!

I misjudged Kathy at first. When a friend of mine invited her to a monthly food and fun night, she seemed to fit right in, but, my-oh-my, she took a lot of notes! As we all chattered away, sharing life, tips, ideas, stories, recipes and more, Kathy seemed to be jotting down everything we said in a little notebook that already bulged with previous notations. “Type A”, I thought. “Hops out of bed at the crack of dawn, rounds up all her ducks, requires them to salute as they line up in their rows and that’s the way they march. All. Day. Long. (Without making a mess).”

Then, one night we played a fun personality game. Kathy shocked me! By the time we finished, I could tell that the only thing I’d gotten right in my assumptions about Kathy was the possibility that she might have a collection of actual ducks! I looked at her, astonished. “The reason you carry your little book and make all those notes is so that you can keep all these ideas and go home and do them all!”

Smiling, she nodded. That’s when I knew that Kathy’s brain is every bit as “squiggly” as mine and bursting with creativity! I knew she had a “stash” – a treasure trove of things yet to be. I knew she had a messy room brimming with projects at various gestational stages. I love this woman! I’ve come to know I can count on her for understanding, prayer, hands-on help and she’ll probably adopt any ducks I find because not only does she have a pond – she loves animals!

Having delved into arts and crafts “forever”, Kathy is now retired from the insurance industry and has time to use all her hoarded supplies. Her favorite adventures usually involve a splash of paint as Kathy’s specialty is reclaiming old objects and making something new out of them. Take a look at a few of her fun projects –

And, how about these innovative ideas?

Kathy’s life is built around Christ, her husband, Robert, three children and five grandchildren. Although all the animals in the world would love to belong to Kathy and Kathy often dreams of this, she draws the line at the dog, Bre and the cat, Trixie. I’m grateful that she’s taking time out for us here at Midwest Storyteller to share her latest adventure – wood burning.

After seeing the set of beautiful wooden spoons she created for her mom with a wood burning kit, I wanted to try my hand at it, all the while muttering to myself that all I needed was one more hobby. Nevertheless, I took the plunge with Kathy holding my hand. Take a look at how her project turned out –

Let’s get started. Here’s what Kathy recommends:

Take a little time to watch some tutorials. YouTube always has lots to choose from and Kathy got great ideas and tips from CreativeBug.com
Put down something to protect the surface if you are doing this on your dining table, countertop or some other surface that you don’t want to risk getting a burn mark. Wood burning tools are hot! We used cardboard.
Gather your supplies. Needless to say, you’ll need a wood burning kit. Kathy found this Walnut Hollow Creative Versa-Tool at Hobby Lobby for $29.99. Of course, it’s always a good idea to watch for their great half-price deals or use their weekly 40% OFF coupon. Needle-nose pliers are great for removing tips from the tool that will be way too hot to touch, and a small tube of graphite powder keeps the tips turning smoothly when you screw them in and out of the tool. Safety glasses are a good idea if you’re tackling a project that will take you a while. Remember that oldies tune, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” Well, it does. (We worked on a nice day with the windows open and didn’t really notice a problem.) A piece of scrap wood for practicing with the tips will reduce the “oops factor”. I couldn’t find any, so I grabbed a couple of paint stirring sticks and that worked just fine. Food grade mineral oil, rubbed on your finished project, will bring out the beauty of your work. An extension cord will probably be helpful to allow you to position your work comfortably.
Practice with your tips on your scrap wood. Also, practice with your temperature control so that you’ll be able to get a clean look when creating your design. The paint sticks were “raw” wood and had no coating. The spoons were bamboo and seemed to have a coating or polish on the handles that required higher heat.
You can transfer a pattern if you need to or take off free-hand like a dare-devil! I chose middle ground by placing my spoons on the cardboard surface and drawing around them. Then, I penciled in whatever pattern came to mind when I practiced with the tips, offered up a prayer and gave it my best shot.
Once you’re satisfied with your artwork, erase any stray pencil marks, brush away any eraser crumbs or stray wood fibers and rub with mineral oil.

I know you can do it! All you need are supplies and bravery. My spoons aren’t perfect, but for a first project, I’m pleased! I thought Kathy’s were a masterpiece!

Here are a few more tips that Kathy shared with me and things we learned as we went along –

The shading point is great for leaves and flowers with pointy petals. It helped to rock it back and forth so that the wood burned all the way to the edge of the pattern because the spoons, like many other things you might use this tool on, look pretty flat but have a slightly curved surface.

The tapered point worked nicely for thin stems and small dots, while the flow point, though it looks too big for the job, draws nice lines and is best for cursive writing.

The hot stamping points added a lot of fun. The kit came with three – a square, a round and one with concentric circles. I used the circles for centers of flowers. The square one, pressed carefully along in a line, created the diagonal pattern you see on one of the spoons. The circular one, for some strange reason, reminded me of dandelion fluff, so I used it in clusters to create flowers that resemble those.

Neither of us may have every single duck in a row, but we did manage it with our spoons. Here they are –

Kathy and I both recommend Pinterest for tons of wood burning ideas. You’ll be inspired to create something fabulous! We hope we’ve helped do just that here today.

Thank you, Kathy, for teaching me how to do this! Wood burning turned out to be much more fun than I expected and I’m so pleased with the results.

Kathy and I would both love your comments. Have you tried wood burning? Are you inspired to give it a try? Let us hear from you!

Subscribe now so you don’t miss out, because we’ll be Creating with Kathy again soon!

A reminder: June is about to come busting out all over and you know what that means – There’s a First Friday Freebie coming right up!

Spring Decorating (and the Little Sheep that Led Me Astray)!

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 ~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 3 Comments

Do you ever feel as I do – that you’ve just recovered from a volcanic eruption of decorations back before Christmas, only to experience the aftershock of trying to put it all way? No? Well then, I guess it’s just me.

I’m tired of overhauling the whole house just to satisfy my seasonal whims, so as I’ve already mentioned here, I had planned to do a re-mix on some of my winter décor and share the spring results with you.

Remember my winter mantle?

I’m still just all over that terrarium! I knew it would stay. So, with a few simple changes, we’re feeling springy inside, even if there was snow – yes, I said S.N.O.W. on the ground outside as I began this post and more in the forecast for tomorrow. I’m trying to keep my chin up, reminding myself of all you folks out east who just endured their sixth nor’easter.

Here’s how I switched it up for spring while keeping my favorite things –

As you can see, I didn’t make drastic changes. Switching out a few things seemed to be all I needed to take away winter and invite spring into the room. I took the photo at dusk to highlight the candles, but things look much more airy during the day.

Other than the terrarium, the thing I’m enjoying most about my spring décor is my sheep! Aren’t they fun?

I told myself as I stood toying with those in Marshall’s that they would make an ideal First Friday Freebie for one of my loyal subscribers, but once I got them home, I weakened. I sat them here. I sat them there. They just got cuter and cuter! I confess! I crumbled under their vapid gaze and kept them for myself.

Nobody’s perfect. And, a little whimsy never hurt anybody.

The most amazing thing about these little sheep? They sit in plain sight, just inches off the floor and Phoebe June hasn’t eaten them. Come to think of it, I don’t think she’s even noticed them, which is odd because she pretty much pounces on anything with a “face”.

Here’s how much money I didn’t spend –

The mirror. It stayed – a family treasure described here.
A bunch of forsythia wound into a not-too-perfect wreath – a Hobby Lobby find – maybe $4.00.
A metal wreath stand – another Hobby Lobby find – half-price at $12.00. I’ll use this year-round.
A topiary bunny purchased years ago at a garage sale for next to nothing.
Set of 3 flameless candles (the really cool ones with the realistic moving flames). I found these a couple of years ago at TreesNTrends. The whole set was $29.99! I see on their website that they’ve gone up a little in price, but they’re still worth it. They have timers and a remote and the batteries seem to last a long time. They come in ivory or red and you can find them here.
Our mantle clock – it stayed just as in the winter mantle. The clock, as well as the other “keepers” are described here.
Green glass candle-holder. Strangely enough, Smuffy found them. He comes home with odd things some days and that’s all I’m sayin’.
The terrarium! Another Hobby Lobby find that I describe here.
The contents of the terrarium. These were all items I already had – a small fake plant, also from Hobby Lobby on half-price sale; two brown ceramic pillar candle-holders with twine and bead accents that I picked up at Cargo Largo a couple of months ago for $2 each and have been waiting to use somewhere; perched on the candle-holders – a set of white alabaster doves we received as a wedding gift; and a string of tiny battery-operated lights that I taped around the inside frame of the terrarium to light it at night.
The word-art sign stayed – another Hobby Lobby find described here.
Fake yellow tulips – a rummage sale find I had on hand.
Rustic bucket (my tulips needed to be “re-potted” from the ugly container they came in) – a recent Hobby Lobby find – around $5.
Glass candle jars with pillar candles – they stayed also. I shared how I updated them with sisal rope here. I had the candles on hand.
Wooden box with lavender silk crocus. I gave this to my mom when I finished doing some re-decorating for her. Now that she’s gone, they’re another sweet reminder of her and her favorite color.
Those boogey-woogie, not-too-intelligent-looking sheep – Under $5 at Marshall’s several months ago.
Vintage Black wooden suitcase. It’s something that was always around the house when I was growing up and holds special memories. Mom kept things through the generations, so I have no idea how old it is and, of course, wish I had asked. It was one of the few things I asked my mom to “put my name on”, if you know what I mean.

I’m happy with this budget makeover. All the items that I consider “new” came to around $20 and all of them can be re-purposed for various seasons and different rooms. I hope it inspires you to work with what you have.

Keeping family treasures where I can see them makes me happy no matter what the trends are. My house does not look like the latest magazines. Perhaps it did once, back in the 90’s, when designers, on a Victorian flight of fancy, took a turn at decorating with everything old. All I had to do back then was pull out Mom’s and Grandma’s stuff and artfully arrange it all.

Designers moved on, but since my décor and my inheritance were one and the same, I stuck with the look that I like to refer to as a cross between Grandma’s attic and a rummage sale. I’m thrilled that Joanna Gaines has done much to bring back the popularity of “old”. (I was digging around in dusty old flea markets and toting home “junk” way before she came along!) The farmhouse style so often featured on “Fixer Upper” is making it easy and inexpensive for me to plan my upcoming kitchen makeover. All I’ll have to do is dig a new batch of “old” out of the closet and, once again, artfully arrange.

A major remodel job is coming my way soon and the “fireplace” in these photos may or may not be staying. I’d love to hear your comments and ideas on this. (It’s not a real fireplace anyway, so we can do something else fun if Smuffy and I have any strength left after conquering the kitchen.) I’ll chronicle all that here, which might prove to be therapeutic amidst the rubble, so as they say, stay tuned…

Let me hear from you. Scroll back up to the top of this post and “Leave a Comment”.

Remember – First Friday Freebies happen the first Friday of every month, so fun stuff is just around the corner – as in tomorrow! Share this post with a friend and if you haven’t subscribe NOW, because freebies are for subscribers only. Check out the Freebies page to see past gifts and their winners!

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