Homemade Jam

My friend Jenn hosted a canning party last Saturday. This was my first time to can anything, and although it's a lot of work, it's definitely worth it!

We each chose a recipe to make, then divided up the flavors. I chose Raspberry Fig Jam:

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 1.59-oz pkg Ball® Simple Creations® Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin

2 cups crushed raspberries

2 cups peeled finely chopped figs

2 Tbsp candied ginger, finely chopped

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Plastic Ball® (8 oz) Freezer Jars

 

We also made peach jam, blackberry jam, jalapeno jelly, lavender infused strawberry jam, and regular strawberry jam. (You can visit Ball's website for more recipes.)

 

The raspberry fig and lavender infused strawberry were freezer jams, and were the easiest to make. Unlike traditional canning, there's no cooking or boiling required. You simply prepare your ingredients, add a special pectin designed for freezer jams, then freeze. Freezer jams are good for up to one year in the freezer. Although simple to make, they can't be stored at room temperature, so they're not very convenient to give as gifts.

I don't think these are going to last very long...

July Book Club

It's no secret I love books, but it's probably a lesser known fact that I am actually a member of a women's book club. I joined in April and overall it's been a positive experience. It's given me the opportunity to meet new people and to read books that I otherwise would have never considered. I hosted book club at my house this past week. Here's a photo of us with July's book, The Host.

Yes, this book was written by the same author who wrote the Twilight series. And yes it's also science fiction. But unlike its teen counterpart, it was written for adults and the general consensus was that it was a good novel. Up next month: Firefly Lane. I'm already about half way through this one and am enjoying it so far.

Speaking of Twilight, what do you get when you combine Twilight and Mystery Science Theater?

Button Cookies

I hosted another women's craft day this past weekend and baked up a batch of shortbread buttons for the occasion.

Here are the ingredients roughly converted to US measures:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon + 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Food coloring

I used a 2" biscuit cutter to cut out the circles and a #3 cake decorating tip for the button holes. I used a tea ball to stamp the smaller circles. You can get creative, pretty much anything round will do the trick. The dough was a bit difficult to roll out, but the cookies turned out delicious. I attribute this to the two sticks of butter holding them together.

Dolly Donations

Dolly Donations collects handmade dolls for children in need. The current doll drive is for an orphanage in Haiti. The goal is to collect 132 dolls by November 1st. There are free sewing patterns and step-by-step tutorials on the Dolly Donations blog if you'd like to participate. I'll be sending my doll off soon!

Monster Softie

For those of you who don't know what a softie is, it's basically a soft toy, often made out of felt. It's no secret I like working with wool and felt, so I decided to make our cousiphew Mason a monster softie for his first birthday. I liked this design by Nina but changed it up a bit so it looked more like a monster and less like a cat. I added all the facial features and heart before I sewed the two body pieces together. That way I was able to use my sewing machine for most of the work. I hand embroidered the mouth with a split stitch and the pupils using colonial knots. At first I tried french knots, but the colonial knots were a little larger and looked better.

One of the most helpful tips when sewing a softie is to cut your shape out after you sew it. Also make sure you have a fabric turner (basically a wooden chopstick). These usually come in bags of polyfil. You'll need that to poke out and stuff all the little spaces, like the tail and ears.

Happy Birthday Mason!

Spa Wrap

I have a long-sleeved robe for the winter months, but wanted something a little lighter for the summer. I was inspired by Centsational Girl to make my own spa wrap. All that's required is a large bath towel, about a yard of coordinating fabric, elastic, and velcro. I purchased a towel on clearance for $2 and used a cotton damask print for the ruffle.

SKIL Tool Giveaway | Friday | Flooring Saw

Z: After winning the SKIL Router Table at the blog One Project Closer, I thought I'd try for another item they're giving away this week in celebration of Father's day. Wait, I mean uh....In my usual humble manner,  I thought I'd try to alert our readers to a chance to win their own SKIL power tool. 
Up for grabs today is a 7.0 amp SKIL flooring saw.
Go here to check out their site and make your entry today, June 17th, before 7:59 EDT. Otherwise I'll probably win it and you will be left with nothing but tears, and poorly installed flooring due to lacking this power saw.