Sabado, Agosto 8, 2015

Layered Strawberry and Lemon Rice Pudding

This summer I have been all about the simple things, which is why this Layered Strawberry and Lemon Rice Pudding is right up my alley. Summer is all about being outside until 9:00/9:30 at night; watching the kids play games … Continue reading 

The post Layered Strawberry and Lemon Rice Pudding appeared first on tempting thyme.

Cleaning Closet Organizing Ideas

Cleaning isn’t my favorite thing in the world. Yeah, it’s a necessity of life, but I find that if things are organized and easier to access then it isn’t quite the chore. I’m not always the one who cleans the bathroom or vacuums the floors (because I’m not the only one who lives here) but […]

The post Cleaning Closet Organizing Ideas appeared first on The Shabby Creek Cottage.

Huwebes, Agosto 6, 2015

Plenti of reasons to eat Greek Yogurt!

I am at the stage of my life where everything is “all consuming”!  Whether it is at work, running around with the boys, trying to take care of the family and household, and the endless projects I seem to start……I … Continue reading 

The post Plenti of reasons to eat Greek Yogurt! appeared first on tempting thyme.

Blog Cabin 2015 DIYs: How to Make a Magnetic Knife Holder

Magnetic knife holder using scrap walnut

Hello, my friends. It’s been a while since I last posted on Made + Remade. I’ve been out in the Northwest working on a stunning mountain house: Blog Cabin 2015. One of my favorite parts of Blog Cabin is all our impromptu projects from renegade materials. It’s like an eternal rummage fest of reclaimed and upcycled pieces. I also love working with so many talented people. So when Laurie March, Doug Tolson, and I were looking at some leftover magnets and a piece of walnut, we figured it would make the perfect free knife holder. You may recognize Doug Tolson’s well-worked hands from many different DIY Network shows and he gladly volunteered them for this project. Check out the magnetic knife holder steps below and find more how-to projects over at Blog Cabin central.

My She Shed Project with The Home Depot

It’s always been a dream of mine to have my very own creative space. I adore my small home, but it’s lacking a little extra space to call my own for: DIY Projects, Sewing, Crafting, and Drawing and of course Blogging. Currently when I working a DIY Project, my home can get quickly overran with projects pilled on our dining room table and my bedroom becomes DIY Central [ not as glamorous as it sounds, trust me ]

With that said, I have some dream news to share; I’ve teamed up with The Home Depot to collaborate on a ‘dreaming making’ project to transform a shed into my very own She Shed! This is project honestly a dream come true!! If you’re not familiar with the She Shed concept, it’s basically transforming a shed into a women’s own space that can be used for whatever they want, from a reading nook to a craft room etc.

I plan on using the She Shed, as my Creative Studio Hub for: blogging, interior design projects, sewing & upholstery, crafting and photography and more. For my shed, I choose a 10x12 TUFF SHED SundanceTR-700, giving me 120 square feet of creativity that I can call all my own. One thing [trust me I really have 100+ reasons] I love about the TUFF SHED from The Home Depot is the ability to pretty much to customize their sheds from concept to reality, or as I prefer to say dreams into reality. A year ago, I came across a book while visiting one of my best friends called ‘Stylish Sheds & Backyard Hideaways’, which was a huge source of inspiration for me while designing my TUFF SHED into my backyard studio. I worked with the Jeff, TUFF SHED regional manager in my area to help determine the best location for my shed in my backyard along with taking my concept for my shed from paper to reality. Where I live in Northern California, we have zoning guidelines for how tall, how large, and how close sheds can be placed on near easements (fence lines) and how close they are allowed to be placed near homes, before requiring a building permit. Working with Jeff from TUFF SHED, we made sure my new she shed stayed within those guidelines so no building permit would be required.

Exterior Design Plan

I’m so excited to share my design plan! I envisioned my TUFF SHED as a mini cottage version of our beloved rancher. I’ve already lovely renamed my She Shed, my Cottage Studio because it feels like a little backyard cottage, hang tight I’ll share my cottage soon and you’ll see how it got its new name. Below is my design inspiration board, I put together to help visualize my design plan.



For the exterior of the cottage, I decided to use the same paint colors as our house Pier by Behr and the trim Ultra Pure White by Behr, both in satin finish. I love the idea of adding a trellis on the side of the shed and planting an evergreen flowering vine to grow up the side of the shed. I also plan on building either window flower boxes or a window ledge to hold flowers. To help our shed blend into the surroundings and feel intentional and like it’s always been a part of our yard, the plan is to enlarge our existing garden bed next to our fence line and plant a variety of drought resistance plants, flowers and ornamental tree. I have my heart set on planting either a flowering Dogwood or Crepe Myrtle tree. I think either one would be darling addition to our yard and provide a little shade. On the right side of our shed, I love the idea of planting a trio of hydrangeas that love morning sun and afternoon shade.


image via Style Me Pretty


I also want to create a pathway that leads to the studio, my favorite look is stone or brick steps placed in grass.


For the interior design of the shed, I plan on painting the walls a very pale grey with white baseboards, similar to the interior of our house. I plan on using bookcases to hold books, my sewing machine fabric and more. I’m so excited my ever growing fabric stash will have a new permanent more organized home. I also love the idea of building a window seat inside, filled with lots of colorful pillows giving me extra seating inside and a spot to curl-up blog and read at.


Image via the Everygirl


Now, drumroll please the moment you’ve all been waiting for, here’s my she shed! It was so exciting watching the arriving my shed, on the back of the trailer. The TUFF SHED was prefabricated then built on site. It was so exciting watching my shed arrive and seeing how everything was put together.



To prep our yard for the arrival of the shed, we removed our grass and laid down gravel to give our shed a nice even pad to sit on top of. The build team of Bill and Joe where extremely nice and paid attention to detail while building our TUFF SHED. Since I’ll be using my TUFF SHED as my creative hub year round and the interior will have insulation and drywall, TUFF SHED added house wrap inside which creates a weather resistant barrier to my shed.


Now for a better look at our new TUFF SHED that is now called my Cottage Studio, isn’t my cottage the cutest! I’m in love with it, the shed is the perfect size and fit for our backyard. I’m in love with the twin windows in the front of the shed, and the door! The front door on our shed, matches our laundry door that we enter / exit to our backyard. Doesn’t the door we chose, give off cute cottage vibes! I love rooms filled with natural light, so lots of windows were a must. In the front there are two 2 24x36 windows and on each side of the shed 2 36x36 windows and it also has a skylight! I'm in love with the skylight, best decision ever! The skylight lets in pretty opaque lighting in, which is such a must.




I can't wait to plant the perfect vine to grown along up along the side of the cottage, its going to look so pretty, along with adding plants in the front like I mention above.


Now for some quick photos of the inside of the cottage, its amazing how much different the inside of my little cottage looks compared to just when it first arrived. The white inside of the shed, is the house wrap I mentioned above to help keep my cottage water tight.






Now that our shed has been installed, we’ve been hard at work getting the shed framed inside and ready for insulation and drywall, along digging a trench for electrical. I'll share more of the Electrical details in another post.

Exciting things are happening and I’m so excited to share our finished cottage in a few weeks with you all.

Friends, what do you think of my new she shed? Could your backyard also use your own creative outlet?

This Post is Sponsored by The Home Depot

I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in this shed program. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are in my own words. My post complies with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission

make this: wire basket side table

thanks to Krylon for sponsoring this post Have you ever been to the 127 Yard Sale? It’s a yard sale lovers dream – 690 miles of treasures and deals at over 5,000 different vendors. Starting today, August 6th, the Krylon Crew will take on the Highway 127 Yard Sale. A team of a furniture designer, […]

The post make this: wire basket side table appeared first on The Shabby Creek Cottage.

Miyerkules, Agosto 5, 2015

Less Waste, Great Taste: The Best of Canning

There’s nothing quite like having an excess of fresh fruits and vegetables this time of year – it’s a welcome opportunity to freeze, can, pickle, and preserve the goods so that they last through the summer, and into the winter months. You might take it for granted now, but cracking open a jar of raspberry jam in January is heavenly, right?

Seasonal fruits and veggies are plentiful through CSAsFarmer’s Markets, and at local U-Pick Farms, so if you’re shopping in bulk for canning, don’t overlook those resources to make your end-product authentically local, organic, and/or cost-efficient.

Dilly beans were at the top of my list this year mostly because we had been delivered a total of 10 pounds of beans in only 3 weeks through our CSA and I didn’t want any to go to waste, and also because they were one of the tasty items I inadvertently forgot to pickle last season. (How uncanny! Pickling jokes, people.)

Picking and pickling dilly beans for a special treat!

Making sauces and canning foods is a very zen activity for me. The sanitizing of jars, the prepping and cutting, and the end result, that pantry filled to the brim. It’s the type of project I’ll take on every few weeks or whenever we reach an excess, knowing that a few hours of peaceful labor generates so much good food for our friends and family.

Because of the seasonality of fresh foods, you might be at a different point in your growing season. Look at what’s fresh now to determine what you can be canning. Around here, the season of “WHOA, WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY TOMATOES” is just around the bend, and it’s perfect timing because our pizza and pasta sauce inventory is due for a recharge.

Canning tomatoes to preserve for winter.

Once you make the decision to preserve foods and have purchased the basic materials like an assortment of glass jars and big stock pot, you can resume the hobby year after year with very low costs. I always buy new store-bought seals for the jars, and usually need to to restock ingredients like vinegar and salt.

Canning dilly beans.

If you’re side eyeing my dilly beans (pickled green beans), keep in mind that art of pickling extends far beyond traditional cucumber pickles (and “quickles“). Here’s a short list of other fruits and vegetables that you can pickle to enjoy in recipes, or indulge in straight from the jar. Some are sweet, some are sour, some are classically crisp, garlic-dill:

Pickling lemons is a perfect treat.

The Made + Remade crew is full of awesome canning ideas too. Get inspired by these posts: