news

šŸŽ„Using "Leftovers" to Make Ornaments, SupperšŸ¦ƒ, and GiftsšŸ•Æ

admin

On my last post I showed you how to make velvet pumpkins. I had lots of leftover fabric, so I looked up on the Internet, for DIY velvet Christmas ornaments and this is what I gotā€¦

These, like the pumpkins, are easy to make and would make lovely giftsā€¦

These are the materials needed to make velvet ball ornamentsā€¦The gold ball ornaments are from the dollar store, seven balls for one dollar!! Leftover fabric from any project, it doesnā€™t have to be velvet, ribbon to coordinate with fabric, Christmas berry sprigs, 10 inch circle newspaper pattern (I traced a dinner plate), ornament hooks (I ordered these from Amazon), scissors, needle noise pliers and elastic or craft wire.

As with the pumpkins, once I started making these cute little decorative velvet balls, I couldnā€™t stop!!

Directions

Place the ball in the center of fabric circle, gather fabric up to the center of the ornament around the loop, wrap an elastic around the material at base of loop.

Next pull back the fabric to expose the loop, then put the hook through the loop and use needle nose pliers to squeeze hook ends together. Now youā€™re ready to tie ribbon around the elastic. Before you make a bow, place berry sprig on top of knot, then tie the bow over it..

You might have to use a glue gun to attach sprig to knot, but mine stayed put without it!

They would make lovely Thanksgiving favors for each guest at your table, something for them to bring home for the holidays, for a tree, hang on a door knob, use in a center piece, adorn a gift or display on a mantel!!

Our table at The Train House, set for guests, with a velvet ball ornaments at each place settingā€¦not bad for leftover fabric!!

šŸ¦ƒšŸ¦ƒšŸ¦ƒ

This is a recipe idea for leftover turkey, after Thanksgivingā€¦

An easy turkey/chicken pot pie made from egg roll wrappers!! These are the ingredients, Iā€™m using leftover chicken, but you could use turkey insteadā€¦

Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie with Egg Roll Wrappers

Ingredients

  • 1Ā½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, cut into Ā¼-inch dice (1 cup)
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken or turkey cooked breast halves, cut into Ā½-inch dice or leftover turkey
  • 2 teaspoons Bell Seasoning
  • Ā½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1 cup all-natural chicken broth
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables, thawed (I used fresh carrots and celery, I just cooked them longer)
  • 8 egg roll wraps (NOT the smaller wonton wrappers)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, then add vegetables and cook until softened.
  2. Stir in the chicken or turkey and add seasoning.
  3. Place the broth and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add to the skillet, and bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer and stir gently until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
  4. To prepare the bowls, I used a 12 oz. souffle dish, you can get these dishes at Amazon. Spray with vegetable spray, gently place 2 egg roll wraps into each cup, letting it extend over the sides and overlap in the middle of bowls, like the photo below.
  5. Place a generous scoop of the chicken mixture into each bowl. Fold the corners up and over the top of the filling and press to seal the edges (it doesnā€™t have to be perfect). Brush the tops with egg white, then sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt.
  6. Bake until golden and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly before eating.

Drape the egg roll dough over bowls to get ready to fillā€¦

Once the bowls are filled, brush with egg whites and sprinkled with salt, these pot pies are ready to be cookedā€¦

Now they are cooked with golden brown tops.

A nice green salad is a perfect pairing for turkey/chicken pot pie!!

Oh yes, and guess who enjoyed it??!!

šŸ•ÆšŸ•ÆšŸ•Æ

Now, an gift idea for the holidays, that involves leftover tin cansā€¦

Gina gave me this candle holder, she bought at a holiday fair, it is made of recycled or leftover tin cans!!

I got in touch with the creator of this beautiful candle holder, this is a small candle holder and the price is $7.00 plus shipping, but they are very light so I imagine shipping wouldnā€™t be much. The best thing about these are, that they are recycled from tin cans, and that is good for our environment!! For more styles and sizes and for ordering, click Sleepy Hollow Lights on FB.

For this centerpiece, I simply put fresh greens, cut from our shrubs, around the edges of a gold charger and placed gourds on them. You could use tea or votive candles, place them in a votive glass, then inside the candle holder or use battery tea lights, then place the candle holder in the middle of the charger!!

Then, for a cozy holiday accent, for a coffee table or dinner table, you could add red berries and pinecones!! Easy, eco friendly and beautiful!!

šŸ™šŸ¼ā™„ļøšŸ™šŸ¼ā™„ļøšŸ™šŸ¼

I always like to say what Iā€™m grateful for on this blog, during Thanksgiving!! This year itā€™s something unexpectedā€¦I started preparing this post in MA at The Yellow House and then we traveled to The Train House in VA, where I am putting the finishing touches on this post!! As we were traveling down, we were in an accident..we are fine, no injuries at all!! But it was very scaryā€¦a truck in front of us, that we didnā€™t see, had dropped a 4 ft. by 4 ft. package in the middle of the left lane, which we were traveling on, during morning rush hour. With guard rails on the left of us and fast traffic on the right, we had nowhere to go, so we tried to stop!! But the car behind hit us on the rear back side, and bent our rear axle/tire 45 degrees and damaged the brakes and steering!! We were swerving all over the road and that was the scary part, but we were finally able, by the grace of God, to get to the side of the road. Everyone stopped that was involved including the truck driver that dropped the debris!! The fire department and police came, they were nice, but not very comforting. Then along came the tow truck!! The driver jumped out of his truck and came right over to us to ask us if we were okay, and could he bring us to the hospital!! When we told him we were alright, he said to us, ā€œI am going to take care of you, donā€™t worry about a thing!!ā€ His name was Adam, and he did exactly that, took care of us!! He brought us to his auto shop, called the insurance company and the rental car place to find us a car, then drove us to the rental place and waited until we were sure we got a car!! He was an angel and Iā€™m so grateful that his tow company came and got us on that fretful day!! If you are ever in an accident in Southerington, CT, which I pray youā€™re not, hope that Adam from Northeast Mobility comes and rescues you!!

Iā€™m truly grateful for Adam and that we got to The Train House in Virginia, in one piece!! Ā 

Photo on left, before Adam arrived, on the right our car on the tow truck, the dent doesnā€™t look bad, but look at the wheel, that was the problem!!

šŸ™šŸ¼

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family, because, if you are reading this, you are my friend and Iā€™m thankful for you allšŸ§”


Older Post Newer Post