International Can-It-Forward

It's that time of year again! Today is International-Can-It-Forward Day

Have you seen the new purple jars? They are just gorgeous. Bright, grape purple. Excellent for crafts, but also excellent for grape jelly. Grape Jelly is a great starter jelly for people just beginning to can because it can be made economically and easily from grape juice. It makes a lovely gift.

FreshPreserving.com has a lot of recipes available. The site is the home of Ball® Canning products, and today they will be showing video workshops and answering questions on their Facebook page and on Twitter.

I love canning, and so does my daughter- and I love the Heritage collection. I have all 3 colors, and my favorites are the green jars from the first year, with this year's purple coming in second. My daughter's favorite are the blue ones.
If you look at the flower jelly in the back- that has a pretty purple lid. This year, they came out with gorgeous colored lids and bands to personalize. So you can have blue jars with red lids, or purple with purple lids. You can mix and match to your heart's content. They also have the Sip and Straw lids in great colors too. Right now I'm a little annoyed because I took a pretty picture of ice water flavored with apples and mint and can't find the photo. The Sip and Straw lids are available in purple, red and blue. If you love mason jar fashion, or simply want to be more ecologically friendly and use reusable drink containers, these are a great choice. The straws are big enough for your thickest smoothie or shake recipe.

I've already written about this year's Ball Blue Book® Guide 37th Edition.

All the things mentioned above were given to me for review purposes, but what I haven't talked about is the Ball® freshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner + Multi-Cooker. I bought this for myself.
I love it, my daughter loves it. It doesn't heat up the kitchen the way having our gas stove on does, and with, we can get things set up production line style. Make the jam, fill the jars, put the jars in the canner. When we want nearly no effort jelly, we use the FreshTECH Jelly and Jam Maker, and make a batch, get it processing, rinse out the bowl for the jelly maker, start the next batch.

I love this time of year. My berries are turning red, and it's time to start canning them forward. Nearly everybody appreciates a gift of homemade jam, and it's so easy.

Rainbow Shawl

I love Darn Good Yarn so much, and while I was buying yarn for my purse, I saw the chiffon rainbow pack, which was unfortunately sold out. I knew right then that I wanted a rainbow shawl made from that yarn.

Darn Good Yarn is a pretty amazing company. Owned by a US veteran, selling fair trade yarn made from recycled goods, in incredibly bright, beautiful colors, a winner in every way.

To make this shawl, I ordered 2 rainbow packs of chiffon ribbon yarn from Darn Good Yarn. The ribbon packs come in different colors, so you don't have to make a rainbow shawl. Pick your favorite color packs. I just really like rainbows. The packs have 4 skeins each. The shawl works up very quickly. It took me 2 evenings to finish it.

In the end, I used 7 skeins, and had about half a skein left of the orange and yellow. Because of the nature of the ribbon packs, your colors may vary from mine, so you'll adapt the colors of the rows to fit the colors you get. Arrange your rainbow so color 6 is one you have two skeins.

UPDATE! 8-5-15 Darn Good Yarn has put together a kit of yarn to make this shawl! Available here- Rainbow Shawl Kit

My shawl used:
1 purple- color 1
1 red- color 2
1 orange- color 3
1 yellow- color 4
1 green- color 5
2 blue- color 6


A size N hook

Stitches used:
ch=chain
sl st= slip stitch
dc=double crochet

Some quick notes- because of the nature of the yarn, to change colors, I just tied square knots in the yarn and kept working, working the ends in as I went. That made it go fast, and it works because there are knots and loose ends from stitched together ends as well in the ribbon. It adds to the texture and makes it super easy.

When you're winding the center pull balls, make them loose and easy. Keep a pair of scissors handy to trim loose threads.

Pattern:
Using color 1= chain 6, sl st into ring
Row 1: Ch 4(counts as first dc and ch 1), dc in ring, ch 1, dc in ring, ch 1, dc in ring, ch 1, dc in ring (5 dcs 4 spaces)
Row 2: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1),dc in same stitch, ch 1, dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in same stitch, ch 1, dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in last dc, ch 1, dc in same dc

Now it's all the same pattern. All the rows start with Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1), dc in same stitch, ch 1, dc in next stitch, until the center loop of the previous row, ch 1, dc in loop, ch 1, dc in loop, continue ch 1, dc in next stitch to the last stitch of the previous row, dc in stitch, ch 1, dc in stitch. So the increases are worked in the first and last stitch of the previous row and in the center.

Rows 3-4 in color 2
Rows 5-6 in color 3
Rows 7-8 in color 4
Rows 9-10 in color 5
Rows 11-12 in color 6
Row 13-14 in color 1
Rows 15-16 in color 2
Row 17 in color 3
Row 18 in color 4
Row 19 in color 5
Row 20-21 in color 6

Fringe- Cut 43 pieces of ribbon 10 inches long. Pull loop of ribbon through first space, pull ends through loop and tighten, skip next space, put fringe in next space all the way around.

Hidden Heart Mandala to color

This heart mandala was one of those that started out one way and ended up doing something different. I do like the final result though. The colored version above shows where the original heart is that I built the mandala around. If you color it differently the hearts aren't as obvious.

Print and color!

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Introducing Twined - something exciting and new

Twined is a brand new site with a fantastic concept. The idea is that Tastemakers- people you trust, write reviews of their favorite products explaining why they recommend them- and you can show your interest if you like or want the product, then Twined uses that interest to get the very best price possible for a group buy.

The reviews are well laid out, easy to read and include images taken by the Tastemakers of the product being used or the final result. These aren't slick, glossy images from PR departments trying to sell you something, they are real people who use the products.

Buy with peace of mind.

The Tastemakers can choose what products they review, they get to recommend their favorite things, Offered the opportunity, I wrote about the Ball® FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker (love it and use it all year round) and Aerogarden 6.

The products cover a wide range of things like crafting supplies, toys, home appliances, and beauty items.

Twined has great FAQs and videos to explain the whole process.

Go, sign up, browse the reviews.
You can check out my profile page  and follow my reviews.

Like Twined on Facebook
Like Don't Eat the Paste on Facebook (if you haven't already)


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Printable Shark Box

It seems to be that time of year again when everyone is talking about sharks.

So I drew two versions of this shark for a printable shark gift box, and let The Amazing Turnip Girl pick the one for the box. I hope you like it!

Click the image for a larger version, print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold and glue!

Mandala box to print and color

I drew up this box so I could experiment with Dewent Inktense Pencils which I ordered recently.

I learned a couple things- they are much more intense than watercolor pencils and next time I'll use a lighter hand. That once you wet the ink, it won't move once it's dried. So make sure you get it as blended as you want it. I also learned that I love them, even if I'm not crazy about how I colored the box. I think I should have used yellow in the middle.

I have an Epson printer that uses Durabrite ink which is waterproof. Most inkjet ink will smear when it's wet. So if you plan to use a water color pencil or Inktense pencils- seal your ink, use a laser printer or use waterproof ink.

Here's an in progress picture-

If you want to make and color this box- click the image below for a larger version, print on card stock, color, cut out, score folds, fold, glue!

Alaska flag coloring page

"Eight stars of gold on a field of blue
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear," the "Dipper," and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
O'er land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier" 

That's the Alaska state song written by Marie Drake, which describes our flag. The flag was designed by Benny Benson in a territory wide contest for school children.  Benny explained his design this way

"The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.”

Here's what our flag looks like- it's a simple design, rich with meaning for Alaskan.

 Alaska flag day is July 9th, which didn't actually inspire the coloring page, but it is the reason I'm posting it. Click the images below for larger versions to print and color. They will print in portrait format to fit the page.
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Faultlessly crisp gorgeous creases with Faultless Premium

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Faultless/Bon Ami Company    for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.


I remember my mother ironing her cotton dresses with Faultless Spray Starch when I was a kid. Those beautiful dresses always came out looking so crisp and gorgeous, the skirts were beautifully full with perfect pleats, the collars were smooth and sharp. She looked so gorgeous and made it look so effortless.

My daughter doesn't wear tailored cotton dresses, but she does wear button down shirts. She wants them just as crisp and clean though, with nice creases down the arms. The shirt above is a cotton sateen shirt that's dark enough that flakes would show if Faultless left flakes. It doesn't though. Check out this sleeve!


It's easy to use, keeps clothing looking new and sharp, it doesn't clog and it absolutely won't leave flakes on your clothing. Spray, press, and wear. The little bit of extra time to make sure your pleats are pleated and your creases are sharp and your clothes look their best helps you feel like you look great and you're ready to do your best to impress. It's also easy to find, fabric stores, drug stores, grocery stores, a lot of major retailers carry Faultless Premium.

Just gorgeous! It's really easy to use, and comes in convenient sizes, including a good travel size. The large can is the one I used, and it's lightly scented with a clean cotton scent. It's easy to find a store that carries Faultless Premium Spray Starch, and they have a coupon available to download- Faultless Premium Coupon 

Faultless Premium can also be used in crafts. One of my favorites is super quick, bright summery necklaces. All you need is some lace that can be cut into motifs, some jump rings, some cord and Faultless Premium.



Spray lightly, iron, flip, spray lightly, iron, flip, repeat a couple times. It won't get super stiff, it will get crisp. Attach a jump ring, then string it on a cord.


Faultless Premium Starch is giving away $1,000 along with a year’s supply of Faultless Premium! It's easy to enter to win  the Faultless Starch Giveaway  for this fantastic prize package. 

• Visit the Faultless Starch Giveaway  page
• Watch the video of Ironing Board Sam singing the “Wrinkle Blues”
• Enter your information
• Share this link with your friends: http://bit.ly/1FP5Up4

Follow Faultless on Facebook for lots of tips, tricks and ideas.

Is Faultless a part of your wardrobe routine? I love how my tailored clothes look when they are starched and like to starch my hair ribbons as well. I think they tie into bows better that way. My daughter likes having knife sharp creases for some of her shirts. How do you use Faultless Starch?
 

Knot to color

I hope you enjoy coloring this knot and ring set! Click the images below to print and color.

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