I'm switching my blog over to Wordpress...you can now find me at www.marvelousauntiem.wordpress.com

Hope to see you all there!

Keeping avocados from going bad

I love avocados. I eat them on salads, on sandwiches and occasionally just by themselves.

Aldi had them on sale this week for $0.36 each! I've never gotten them that cheap before. Unfortunately there was a 6 per person limit so I may have to go back in a couple of days to get some more. Especially since I found this method for freezing them.

So easy...cut them in half, remove the seed, brush with lemon juice and pop in to a freezer bag.

I'm so happy I found this.  I figured using lemon juice somehow would aid in preserving them since I've used it to perk up guacamole.

I love lemon juice...so many uses around the house.  Toss the halves in to your garbage disposal to clean it after you've gotten the juice from them.

How to save money on cans of beans

I recently spent a week at my niece's house and she showed me this neat idea for beans. She probably found it on Pinterest but I didn't research it because it was SO easy.

How would you like 16 cans of beans for roughly $5.50? That's only $0.34 a can. I turned 5 pounds of beans in to 16 bags to freeze and pull out when needed.  That is a savings of roughly $0.40 a can depending on where you live and what brand you usually buy.  At my Super Target the beans were $0.74 a can and $0.70 by using the cartwheel app last week...that's still a savings of over 50% and every little bit helps.

If you look at a can of beans, it says 1 serving is 1/2 cup and there are 3.5 servings per container...that means 1.75 cups per can. I put 2 cups of cooked beans in each bag so you could probably get more if you only put 1.75 cups per bag.

I got six bags of pinto beans (from a 2lb bag of dried beans), seven bags of white beans (2lb bag) and three bags of chick peas (1lb bag).

Here's what I did:

1. Soak the beans overnight according to package directions.

2. Drain beans and put in large pot with some kosher salt, pepper and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

3. Cover the beans with hot water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.

4. Put in to freezer bags, I used a 1 cup measuring cup and drained the liquid when scooping out of the pot.

5. Let the beans cool then seal the bags and place in the freezer.

6. Pull them out of the freezer when ready and use them as you would a can of beans.

It doesn't get much easier than that.  An added bonus is that you can pronounce everything in the bag!

If you have any other time saving and money saving tips...please share your knowledge with the rest of us by commenting below :)

Ideas for shirt cuffs needed please

Today I finally got around to updating my Etsy shop and adding all of the hot holders that I had made for my last bazaar.  Feels good to get a variety of items listed...hopefully it will translate in to more sales :).  How cute are these for Valentine's Day?

I've also decided that I am going to give away a $25 gift card once my Facebook page reaches 300 likes...only 124 more to go!  Help me get there and then get in on the action.  Who doesn't love free money?  Plus I post there more than here so you can stay up to date with whatever fun projects I'm making.  Like this little wrap around pot holder...just waiting on feedback from the product tester.

I'm currently working on three memory quilts for a lady and her two daughters.  Her husband passed away after 45 years, 4 months and 1 day of marriage.  This was the first time that I have been to someone's house to pick the clothing up.  It was a very different experience from receiving a package in the mail.  She started to tear up as I was putting the shirts in my car.  I can't imagine how difficult it must be for her having her husband of so many years not there any more.  I'll be posting photos of the finished quilts on here when I'm done.  Right now I have 86% of the squares cut...now I have to piece together 31 more to make all of the blocks needed for two queen and one king size quilt.

I'm trying to think of something neat to do with the cuffs from the long sleeve shirts and the buttons...anyone have any ideas for me?

The perfect Christmas present for the great nieces

I've had a busy few weeks.  For Christmas we drove out to my sister-in-law's house in Colorado and then after being home for a week...I flew to Florida and drove my niece's van and two dogs out to California.  So I can now say that I have driven nearly from coast to coast.  The week that I was home, I made my great nieces' Christmas presents and I did a pretty good job on making them something that they LOVE.

I made them "little mommy" diaper bags that contained baby doll diapers, changing pads, wipes w/ case and a little moby wrap.

I found a tutorial for the diaper bag and I just went to put the link in here and the website isn't up any more.  That's frustrating.  But...it's kind of like a rectangle purse...and really any bag would do.  Here are my two bags:

Then here is the tutorial for the diapers and wipes with case.  The three year old sat down and put the diaper on the baby doll without any help.  I guess she's been watching her mom change her little sister's diapers.  The two year old needed a little more help with putting the diaper on her doll.  Those are the wipes strewn about in the picture below...that was one dirty diaper she was changing.

For the changing pad I just used two pieces of flannel, about 9"x18" and sewed those together with a print on one side and a solid on the other.  Then I sewed two horizontal lines dividing it into thirds and folded it along those lines to make it look a little more like the real ones.


The "moby wrap" was the easiest.  I had a scrap of jersey knit that I just cut into two strips that were 6 inches by width of fabric (the big one I made for their momma was 20 inches by 6 yards).  Jaycey loved how she was able to carry around her baby and all of her accessories while using the wrap to carry the baby doll.

Now I just have to think of something fun to make for a 1 year old...back to Pinterest I go.

Oskar's trip to see Santa

Santa was at the vet's office this morning for a couple of hours.  I haven't taken Oskar to see Santa since he was 1 so I decided it was time to take him again.  Plus they were taking donations for Agape Animal Rescue so it was for a good cause and he is sporting a fresh hair cut.

The groomer put a silly looking bandana on him so I made him a more festive bandana before our trip to see Santa.  How cute is he in the snowman fabric?

After I put his new bandana on him it was off to see Santa.  He's not as crazy about the old man this year as he was 11 years ago.  He was so scared he was shaking. I was still able to catch this picture before he jumped out of Santa's arms.  I'm still surprised by the fact that he let me put the Santa hat on his head.  He hates dressing up (with the exception of the coat he wears when we go to Colorado...he'll wear it out there but not here in Tennessee).

So Merry Christmas from Oskar.

Don't forget...you've still got one more day to register for all of those giveaways going on at www.sewmamasew.com

A Very Merry Child's Infinity Scarf Giveaway

When I first began sewing, it was gifts for family and friends.  Just something to pass the time.  Why not try to make a little money while doing it?  I still do freelance work in television production but I cannot wait for the day that I will be able to make a living sewing and creating.

That being said...

Tis the season...so I am going to give away a child's sized red and white infinity scarf made with designer jersey knit fabric.  Your little one will look absolutely adorable for all of her Christmas photos wearing this scarf...then she can wear it for Valentine's day too!

In order to enter the giveaway, comment with your favorite handmade gift that you have received or that you like to give.  Winner will be drawn at random at 7pm on Friday, December 13th.


There are a lot more giveaways going on over at Sew Mama Sew so go check those out and enter away!  Good luck.

Also, once I get to 500 likes on my Facebook Page...I'm going to do a REALLY BIG giveaway so go on over and help me get up to 500 likes and tell your friends.

You can see what else I make here in my Etsy shop

And you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram