Yummy Gluten and Lactose Free Brownies

It can be tricky to find yummy, gluten free brownies that everyone will like. "Tastes like cardboard!" is a response I often heard. And to make it more difficult, our family needs lactose free as well. Then Betty Crocker came out with Gluten Free Brownie Mix, yea!


I substitute Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the butter, and they are wonderful! People are always surprised when I tell them the brownies are gluten and lactose free. Enjoy!

Outdoor Ambience

Lighting your outdoor spaces doesn't have to be expensive. Try hanging string lights on your fence and setting battery powered candles on the table for an inviting glow. I have mine set on a timer so that they turn on every eve at dusk and then turn off a few hours later. The candles are from Pottery Barn and each has a built-in timer, they work wonderfully.

Drop Cloth Pillows & Curtains

In an earlier blog, I wrote about making hand towels out of drop cloths. I made a couple throw pillows with the same fabric and they turned out wonderful!


This fabric is leftover from the curtains I made with 15' drop cloths.


These are hanging outside on my back porch. Since I needed 6 panels in an extra tall height, I decided to make my own with drop cloths at $20 per panel and they turned out wonderful too! (Pre-made outdoor fabric panels cost about $100 per panel.)

Then a month went by and they started to mildew--dang! My friend Marybeth has the pre-made outdoor panels and after 3 years, she is just now starting to have problems with mildew. We live close to the coast and have very humid days, so it looks like outdoor curtains made from drop cloths are not for Houston. But I am not giving in just yet-- I will launder, then treat with Scotchguard to see if that makes a difference, wish me luck!

Raffia Mania

RAFFIA---what is it? Waterproof straw-like strands that can be used to decorate and tie things. It's super cheap too! For just a few bucks, you can buy a bag that will seem to last forever, see below:


How do you use raffia? I like to use it in place of ribbon for its natural, rustic appeal. Pull out 4 or 5 strands from the rat's nest, see below:


Take the fatter strands and split them apart using your fingernail. You should end up with 10-12 thinner width strands. Tie it around whatever you want and trim the ends as needed, see below:


I have used it to hold up garland and stockings and tied it around vases and candles. One year, I used a whole bunch of strands to make a big bow that I attached to the top of my garland swags on the front porch. I was able to reuse the bows for several years. When the kids were younger, they dipped shaped sponges in paint then applied it to the back side of grocery bags for homemade wrapping paper. And of course the presents were tied with the raffia!

Raffia doesn't rip, it's amazing! Feel free to comment on this blog if you have creative or interesting ideas for raffia.

Drop Cloths Become Hand Towels

After making outdoor curtains with drop cloths (more on that later), I had a lot of fabric left over so I decided to make hand towels for Xmas presents. Drop cloth fabric has character with its nubby, raw linen look and occasional stray thread of different color.

Hobby Lobby provided the fabric paint, stencils, and stencil brush. Before starting, I washed, dried and ironed the fabric. I decided to let two of the edges have a fringed edge. To do this, sew a straight line about a 1/4" from the edge, then pull the horizontal threads that are below your sewn line. There are only two edges of the fabric that fringe properly and you will have to experiment with a piece to see which edges work. I also sewed an additional line right above the first one to help keep the fringe from going past the first line.

The most important thing to remember once you are ready to paint is to make sure you dab the stencil brush on a paper towel after each reload!! Otherwise, the paint seeps under the stencil thus ruining the edge and the design. Good Luck!

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Christmas Chandelier

Hanging ornaments from your dining room chandelier is a great way to add Christmas glitz. It's also a great way to protect your fragile ornaments. Here, I hung a collection of antique ornaments- no cats or kids to worry about!


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Pine Cones Do Triple Duty

#1. An urn begging to become a Christmas decoration is too deep for a tiny poinsettia, so a few pine cones in the bottom do the trick:



#2. Pine cones around the edge add a finishing touch and a wonderful scent if you are using the cinnamon scented pine cones:



#3. Pine cones in potted plants keep friendly little kitties from playing in the dirt. As you can see in photo #2, she was already quite interested in the new foliage. But by the time I finish, she is simply a model posing for the camera:



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