Apple dessert

I love apples and cinnamon. Apples desserts are hard to mess up so I thought it would be a great dish to try in the not so hot solar cooker.

I wanted to try out my solar cooker that I made but didn't want to ruin anything. I thought apple dessert would be perfect because you can eat it raw.

This can be cooked in a solar cooker or a regular oven.

Ingredients:
4 Apples (diced)
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs sugar
Juice of a lime
Granola (I prefer flavored like vanilla)
3 tbs butter

Mix apples, cinnamon, sugar, and lime in your baking dish (I use Pyrex). Sprinkle enough granola to cover the apple mixture. Dollop the butter over the granola and then cover in foil.

I cooked it in the solar oven from 2 to 6. If you bake it in the oven I would suggest 350 degrees, until the apples are tender.

Repurposed fall decoration

I reused a copper candle holder by filling it with spice scented pine cones. Topped with a little white pumpkin.

I love fall decorations and I love repurposing things. Two birds, pow!

DIY iPhone charging dock

My husband Kyle wanted a new charger by his computer. He already had the standard iPhone USB to 30-pin charger/sync cable connected to his computer. So after being inspired by some other crafty geek online, he designed his own.

His charger/dock/amplifier is steam punk. Which means that it is overcomplicated and unique.

He began by chiseling out a slot for the iPhone to sit in from a chunk of 2X6. He drilled out two holes side-by-side through that slot to run the USB end of the 30-pin cable.

Next he drilled out a hole for his pipe/amplifier. Once the two main holes on top were done he drilled a hole through the side to connect the two cut out sections on top. This tunnel is how the sound travels through the iPhone slot to the pipe.

Kyle had to drill straight through the side to get the sound channel where he wanted it. This left an unwanted hole on the side, which was easily sealed with some hot glue.

Once all the holes and cut outs were exactly how he wanted them we went to the craft store. While there, Kyle found sticky back cork paper that had fake writing on it. It was perfect. He also bought some brass tags and corner pieces from the scrapbook section.

Once home, I cut out the cork paper with an Exacto knife and wrapped it around the block, covering the holes.  I know how to work with corners, but I would suggest making a paper template to work with.


Have fun and get creative. This handmade dock is way cooler than any I have ever seen for sale. The best part is it is one of a kind.

Salt and flour dough

Mix 2 cups of flour with 1 cup of salt. Mix in cold water until it becomes the consistency of play dough.

Make shapes. I used stamps to stamp images on them. You can do whatever you'd like. You can poke a hole in them with a tooth pick to hang the finished product.

Once dough it done being molded and shaped. Bake at 250 for two hours or until hard.

I had some bigger shapes that took 3 hours.

I spray painted them this time but next time I want to try spray glitter.

Repurposed shoe box lid

Materials:
Acrylic paint
Shoe box lid
Paint brush
Scraper or end of paint brush

Cover shoe box lid with paint. The thicker you put on the paint the more texture it will have.




Scratch any design you can think of.





I scratched in the boys first letter of their name and the age they are.

Really, skies the limits!

Reused Glass Coke Bottle

Reuse a cleaned out glass coke bottle and a spout thingy as a dish soap bottle.

 You can use any dish soap you prefer the only thing is it must be diluted until it is thin enough to pour out easily.

I think it is super cute.

Aromatherapy nesting boxes

Line your nesting boxes with natures goodness. Choose from most any herbs and flowers and line your hens nesting boxes with them.

Herbs will smell wonderful, promote laying, and deepening on what herbs you choose will most likely have medicinal properties.

My helper and I picked three different types of mint, basil, dill, rosemary, spearmint, oregano, and thyme. We mixed up the aromatic herbs and laid it down in the nesting boxes.

At first my hens thought it was food but once they realized it was not they went on to their chicken business.

I went out to check on the nesting boxes and found the herbs incorporated into the straw and an egg. They think it is good nesting material too.

I really like how heavenly it smells. I can't believe I like the way the chicken coop smells. That's a phrase I'd never thought I would say.

When the coop heated up in the afternoon sun, the smell only got better.

Hooray for aromatic nesting boxes!