As you can assume by the title of this post, we love crepes.

We loved them before, but we found additional admiration for them during our European vacation. We ate them often on our trip. It’s not that we don’t have crepes here in the states, we just don’t eat out often and I can’t think of a crepe place nearby. We’ve always just made them at home. And, after our trip Farm Kid1 started making them, too. Major score for mom! Eating yummy food that my kid prepares.

Probably part of their charm is that they are time consuming to cook, and therefore we don’t have them as often as we would like.

The ingredients are pretty basic:

INGREDIENTS

• 6 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• salt
• butter

This recipe makes about 24 crepes.

MIXING INGREDIENTS

I add the eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt into a blender. Then, mix everything all at one time until there are no flour lumps. It doesn’t take long.

COOKING THE CREPES

Put a small pat of butter in a small frying pan and set stove to medium-ish heat. The heat is going to be dependent on your particular stove.

Burning butter? Stove set too hot.
Taking forever to cook? Stove set too low.
Perfectly light golden brown crepe? Stove set perfectly.

I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup, fill it most of the way, and pour into warm pan. Tilt and rotate the pan to get the batter to fill the pan with a thin layer.

Cook 2 – 3 minutes. Then, using a spatula, flip and cook other side for about one minute.

Set crepe on a plate and repeat with remaining batter. Bonus points if you actually make all the crepes without someone stealing one before they are served.

They are good by themselves, but the ideas for fillings are endless.

ENJOY!

The kids and hubby eat their crepes as a sweet breakfast item with butter and powdered sugar.

I prefer mine as a savory dish filled with ham and cheese. So good!

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We actually aren’t huge mayo fans. So much so that the store bought jar tends to expire before we use it all. In an effort to have less waste and to use up an egg we always have a plethora of in the fridge, I thought I would try making my own mayo. What I found is that it is amazingly simple and I have no idea why I didn’t try it sooner.

I experimented with a few variations, all which turned out fine. My favorite, though, was this combination of items:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup canola oil

Note: Many of the ingredients can be substituted for like items. You could use dijon mustard, as opposed to the mustard powder. The white wine vinegar could be substituted with red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Salt? Use whatever kind you prefer. Not a fan of canola oil? Using a different neutral flavored oil such as safflower, corn, or  grapeseed, would be perfectly fine.

MIXING

I dumped the egg, dry mustard, vinegar, salt and lemon juice in the food processor and gave it a whirl.

Then, very slowly, while the processor whirled away, I drizzled in the oil.

That’s it!

It literally took only 5 minutes.

The result is a very mild and creamy mayonnaise.

ENJOY!

Now go enjoy your favorite sandwich with a layer of homemade mayo, or whip up a batch of potato salad.

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The few weeks leading up to Christmas were cold and/or rainy making it perfect weather to work on inside crafty projects. I got out the sewing machine and made a few Christmas presents.

My sewing skills would be considered novice & I typically tend to get in over my head. I have a horrible time understanding the printed directions in a pattern and spend way too much time with my seam ripper. Thankfully, my skills must be improving. I didn’t have TOO much trouble with these projects.

UNIFORM BAGS

APRONS

CHRISTMAS EVE PAJAMAS

These didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. The pajama pants I made for the boys are way too big in the butt area. Maybe I sewed them wrong? My kids just don’t have that much junk in the trunk. The nightgown, though, turned out ok.

FUN HATS

PILLOWCASE

I found “I Bacon” fabric at Joann’s and knew I had to make something with it for my oldest son. He really does love bacon & he’s currently raising pigs. I decided on a pillowcase. It’s not my best work. But, he doesn’t seem to mind.

FELT FUN

The kids & I made felt chicken ornaments for our Poultry 4H gift exchange. I made the rooster at the lower right. It took me a couple hours to sew him together. He’s cute, but I don’t think he’s cute enough for the time I spent on it.
I didn’t use a pattern for the penguins. I found a couple photos and then winged it. It’s not quite as cute of a display as I was hoping, but the penguins turned out ok. And, most importantly, the kids loved it.

CHRISTMAS QUILT

It’s been a long time since I have had much time to dedicate to sewing. It was nice.

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!

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As I was getting my stuff together for the Poultry Swap, I realized I could make reusable price tags. So, I got to work making them out of materials found in my craft stash.

THE SIGN

There are multiple layers on the main sign, but it’s fairly simple to put together.

1. The first thing I did was create the wording & border in Photoshop. I printed the signs on scrapbook paper using my ink jet printer.
2. Black scrapbook paper cut slightly larger than the first tag.
3. Cream colored paper cut slightly larger than the black paper on 3 sides & about 4 times as thick on the top.

After attaching the 3 layers of paper together, I laminated them.

Next, I used a hole punch to make 2 holes on the top.

Finally, I applied one side of a velcro dot that had a sticky back to the sign.

INTERCHANGEABLE PRICE TAGS

The price part of the sign is a separate piece so I can change prices as needed.

Using Photoshop, I created individual price tags. They are one piece and printed on the same cream colored paper as the background of the main tag. I laminated these tags, as well.

The second side of a velcro dot is stuck on the backside of the price tag.

ATTACHING THE SIGNS

I used raffia to tie the signs onto cages.

SALE PRICES

Having interchangeable prices is convenient for a couple reasons. I may want to change my prices from swap to swap. Also, I can use the same main tag for chicks, pullets, or laying hens and only need to change the smaller price tag. The changing price tags also allows me to add sale prices, as needed.

OTHER SIGNAGE

I also made matching signage for other items for sale.

These signs looked just as good after the swap, as they did when I first made them. So I’m hopeful they could last quite awhile.

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At my request, Farmer John brought home a truck bed & trailer full of pallets & crates! I had been oogling over all the fabulous ideas crafty people had been creating out of recycled wood. I even made a pinterest board dedicated to pallet projects.

DISASSEMBLING THE PALLETS

CREATIONS

SIGNS
My favorite way to use the pallet wood is painting signs.

POTATO &ONION STORAGE BINS
John built a couple bins to hold potatoes & onions from our garden.

KIDS PLAY HOUSE
The bottom of our play structure is open, so we are going to enclose it to create a play house area. One out of 4 walls is complete so far. It’s not much of a play house, yet. But, the one wall makes a great backdrop for photos.

MORE SIGNAGE
A couple other signs I’ve made are a sign to take with me when I go to chicken swaps & shows, and also garden bed labels. They are actually made from repurposed bender board. But, they could just as easily be made from pallet wood.

Except for the pieces saved for the play house, we have used up nearly all of the wood. One day I would like to get another load of pallets to make more signs & also build an outdoor kitchen.

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To add a little character to our farm, I painted signs using collected pallet wood.

PREPARATION

After collecting the wood, we had to disassemble it, taking out nails & staples. I will admit, that was not my favorite part of the project.

Next was the fun part, though, getting creative & figuring out the types of signs I wanted to make.

Using my computer, I designed the sign text & printed it. I traced right over the printed text, which left a slight mark on the pallet wood. It wasn’t perfect. In some places I had to wing it & hope for the best.

PAINTING THE SIGNS

I painted the signs using DecoArt Patio Paint & Behr Indoor/Outdoor Primer & Paint. Then, each sign got a coat or two of Thompson’s Waterseal. I don’t know how long the signs will last. But, I’ve had many of them outside for almost exactly one year & they still look great.
Update: The signs are going on their second year & look just fine. I should probably wash them, though, and apply a new coat of waterseal.

SOME OF OUR SIGNS

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Years ago, when I made my first hypertufa & cement projects, I built a bench. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a bench. I’ve always thought it was boring, but didn’t know how to fix it.

At some point I decided to try mosaic. I had never mosaiced anything & this bench was a good place to learn. It’s not as if I could really make the bench look worse than it already did, so I gave mosaic a try.

BENCH BEGINNING

WORK IN PROGRESS

I came up with a design for the mosaic & ordered tiles from Mosaic Art Supply.

Next, I drew the design on the cement using pencil & layed out the basic areas of each color.

Section by section, I applied mortar and placed the tiles. This was my first ever mosaic. So, I’m not sure I mortared the tiles in the best order. But, it seemed to work.

COMPLETED MOSAIC BENCH SEAT

Here is the finished bench seat complete with grout. I feel like I need to clean up around the edges a bit, but overall I’m happy with the way it turned out.

I can now say I have created a mosaic. And, I have leftover tiles, so I will get to mosaic again. Oh, the possibilities.

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When I decided to be a vendor at a poultry swap for the first time I knew I had to put together a couple things for the booth. Most importantly was figuring out the cages for the chickens. Next on my list of importance was creating signage that easily stated what we were selling as customers walked by. I came up with an upcycled project using only materials we had at home.

MAKING THE SIGN

For the individual pieces stating the items we have for sale, I used bender board. I originally installed the bender board when I designed our bird village with the hopes of it separating the garden dirt from the gravel path. It kind of worked for awhile. Then the boards split and/or came out of the ground. Maybe I didn’t install it correctly. Whatever the reason, the boards don’t work & are more of a hazard than a help. So, I pulled most of them out & used what I could to make my vendor sign. They work perfectly, primarily because they are lightweight.

The first thing I did was measure each board. Then, I used my computer to print out words that would fit on the board. I chose a font that was simple & easy to read.

The bender board is so soft that I simply traced the letters with a pencil & the pressure made an indent in the board. I used those indentations as guides to paint the words.

Using outdoor acrylic paints, I painted inside the indent first with my main color, then went around the outside in white. I also used Behr’s indoor/outdoor primer & paint. It was all paint I had on hand, and I’m sure regular acrylic paint would work, too.

THE STAND

Farmer John built me this stand as a place to attach the bender board painted signs. It is quite sturdy & doesn’t require any weight to keep from falling over. The only downfall is that it doesn’t come apart & is awkward to fit in my car. But, it does fit.

Farmer John predrilled holes in the bender board signs so they wouldn’t split when screwing them to the stand.

USING THE SIGN

I bring a cordless drill & screws with me to the swaps & attach the individual signs to the stand once I get there. It is simple & takes no more than 5 minutes to set up.

I love this sign for a few reasons:
1. Perfection was not necessary. It’s meant to be fun & slightly wonky.
2. Super simple to make
3. It’s large & legible, yet easy to haul & set up
4. No out of pocket expenses

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A few years ago I made a cement leaf & since then have been wanting to do it again. I finally did it.

I love this craft for a couple reasons. First is just because it’s something different than my typical paper & sewing crafts. Also because it doesn’t have to be perfect. The imperfections make it fun & arty.

The one I made 3 years ago looks as good today as it did when I made it. I’m hoping to have the same luck with these ones.

• Equal parts Portland Cement & Sand
• Mix in enough water to make it a thick brownie batter consistency

Painting the Leaf:
• I used an outdoor acrylic paint for my leaves.
• First, I painted the leaf the color I wanted the veins to be. I used a paint brush, making sure to get paint in all the cracks & crevices.
• Next, I used a large sponge to paint the leaf a green color, trying not to get the green in the veins.
• Last, also using the sponge, I randomly added other colors to give the leaf a more natural feel.

Finished Products:

Now, where to put them?

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There are many homemade laundry soap recipes out there. Here’s the one that works for us:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap

DIRECTIONS

When I first started making laundry soap I grated the soap by hand. Although it’s totally doable, I hated it. I always grated off a piece of skin from slipping while pushing hard on the soap. Now I use the slicer/shredder attachment on my Kitchen Aid. It works wonderfully.

I add the borax and washing soda to the soap & my laundry detergent is complete. Super Simple.
This shoe box sized container holds 5x the original recipe. So, 5 bars of soap, 5 cups of borax & 5 cups of washing soda.

Our scoop is from old cold medicine. Usually I fill the cup about half way per load.

Why do I love this method? Because it’s easy to make, it works and it’s cheap! To make the batch 5x the original it costs roughly $11.60. That batch will last us about 6 months.

Making the detergent is the easy part of laundry. It’s the folding & putting away that drives me crazy.

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