How to: Hand Make a Valentine’s Card

With the price of cards soaring, why not try and make your own card this year?   Your sweetheart will appreciate the personal touch of a well crafted handmade card. 

These directions can be used to make any kind of card just vary the colors and stamps you use.  You will be surprised at how much money you can save throughout the year by making your own cards, it’s a great way to save money and have fun while doing it.

Materials:

• Colored card stock paper at least two sheets
• Stamps: one larger one for the center and a smaller or longer one for the borders
• Stamp pad (pick a color that will stand out from what you are stamping it on)
• Scissors
• Optional for embossing: embossing ink, embossing powder, and heat craft tool or blow drier
• Colored pens
• Glue
• Envelope

Directions:

1. Take one of the pieces of card stock and fold it in half then cut to the size you want the card to be (for a great look try fancy scissors like deckle).
2. Use the stamp you want for the border around the edge of the card.
3. Cut a square from the other piece of paper to fit inside the border and glue it on.
4. Stamp with the center stamp.                
5. Cut another square for the inside of the card that just fits inside it and glue it on.
6. Cut out a small strip to write “Happy Valentine’s Day” and glue it on the inside.                 
7. Write your personal message inside.  If you can’t think of something to write, try a quote, poetry or a saying.  If you are lost for inspiration try an internet search:  “Valentine’s Day Quote.”
8. For embossing use one of your stamps with the embossing ink pad.  Pour embossing powder over the stamped embossing ink and then tilt the card and tap until the extra powder is gone.  Then use the craft heat tool or blow drier over the area until the powder melts.                                                                                                                                              
9. Place card in the envelope.                     

Varieties/extra touches/tips:

• Outline some of the stamps with a colored pen or one with sparkles.
• Sprinkle a little of the embossing powder over the card and without moving it use the heat tool.  This will add little dots of silvery sparkle to your card.
• Stickers especially ones with shimmer or texture make a nice addition.
• Make sure your personal message is well thought out before you write it on the inside or you might have to redo the whole card.  Also you should try out stamps and other techniques on some scrap paper first to ensure you can do each one neatly.
• Its the neatness and little details that make a card look either sloppy or professional.
• If you can’t write neatly try printing your message on card stock and cutting it out to glue on the inside.  That way you can use creative fonts and everything will be very sharp and neat.
• Instead of a stamp in the middle of the front of the card you could print out a picture, either of the two of you, flowers, or animals, the sky is the limit.
• Remember to make your card personal.  Make it especially for the person you are giving it to with the things and colors they like best.  After all one of the great advantages of making your own card is so that it is special for that person.

Your Sweetheart will love that you have taken the time to make something special for them, something that will show them that you know and care for them.

How to: Make a Fabulous Apricot Pie

Apricot Pie, the perfect mix of sweet and sour with a crumbly tender crust.  Tips and tricks from a veteran pie maker.  

With this pie crust recipe you can use any filling apple, peach, even a canned pie filling, but in my opinion (and the opinion of my father for whom I make it every father’s day) the best kind of pie is apricot.

Materials

• Big mixing bowl
• Pie plate
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Fork
• Pastry cloth
• Rolling pin with cover

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup shortening (like Crisco)
• 2 1/2 cups flour (plus some extra for pastry cloth and rolling)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 4-6 tsp water

Filling

• 5 cups apricots
• 1 tsp lemon juice
•  1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbls butter

Directions: Preheat oven to 425˚

1) Mix dry ingredients from crust list (flour, salt, baking powder).

2) Cut in the shortening with a fork until the texture resembles cornbread.

 

3) Measure out water (use more or less depending on humidity) and pour out onto mixture all at once.  Toss with a fork.

4) Form into two roughly equal balls and turn out on well floured pastry cloth.

5) Roll the first ball into a round a little bit bigger than the pie dish (if the crust is too sticky sprinkle flour over the crust).  Then to move it to the pie dish without tearing it roll it loosely around the rolling pin and then move it to over the pie dish and unroll it into position.

6) Cut the apricots in half and remove pit.  Mix in bowl with flour, sugar and spices.  Place in the pie dish and then cut up the butter and place over the filling.

7) Roll remaining pie crust like the first and place over the filling (if you like a little sweeter dessert try sprinkling sugar over crust when rolled out then roll over it lightly to press sugar in).  Pinch together the edges then cut a few slits in the top to let the juice out.

8) Cover the top with foil and bake for 20 min.  Then remove the foil and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juice is bubbling out of the slits.

9) Remove from the oven and let cool for about 30 min.  Serve warm with ice cream.

How to: Get glue trap adhesive off of your favorite clothes.

What do you do if your solution to a problem causes more problems?

The original problem: pesky pests infesting your home.

The Solution: glue traps.

They are great at catching little insects like crickets or the scarier scorpion (which plague my house).  So you put these little glue traps around in strategic places and promptly forget about them until one day you pick up your favorite/most expensive piece of clothing only to find of those stupid glue traps adhered firmly to the fabric.  Well as you know the mystery substance the glue traps are made of is the stickiest substance known to man.  How can you get it off your beloved article of clothing?  A quick online search suggests solutions like acetone, nail polish remover, and goo gone, none of which seem like a good idea on delicate fabric.  Here is the solution I found for…

How to unstick a glue trap from clothes:

Items needed

• Hot water from tap
• cheap olive oil
• rag cloth
• liquid soap

1)  First, as gently as you can, pull the trap off the clothes trying to get off as much of the glue as you can.  This may be hard or easy depending on the age of your trap and how long it has been stuck to the fabric.

2) Turn your tap on hot water (as hot as your hands can tolerate).  Run the fabric under it for a while.

3)  Take your olive oil (I recommend you buy the cheapest you can find, it does not need to taste good and you might end up using a lot) and pour some over the affected area.

4) Use a clean cloth (like a work rag) and rub the stuff off alternating with hot water and oil.  The combined affect of the two should make the glue trap substance come off in little balls and stick to your fingers or the rag.

5) When you think all of the glue is gone wash with lots of liquid soap to get the oil out.

Hope this helps with your sticky situation.