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The past 2 1/2 years I’ve been hand-painting seashells as part of the pay-it-forward kindness seashells project. I belong to 3 groups who generously paint and decorate seashells and/or smooth river rocks. Once painted and decorated we leave them everywhere we go for others to …
We have an apple tree in our backyard. It produces a semi-tart baking apple. When I make apple dumplings I like to buy Gala apples at our local Farmer’s Market and combine them with the baking apples from our tree. I will do half and …
During the gardening season my tomatoes don’t ripen at the same time. This is especially true during the beginning and at the end of the growing season. So, how do I preserve those fresh homegrown tomatoes until I have enough of them to cook down to make tomato sauce? Well, I’m going to tell you!
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Here’s how you can quickly and easily freeze your whole tomatoes for later use.
Wash all of your tomatoes under cold running water to remove dirt. Use a small parining knife to remove the stem area from the top of each tomato. Use the knife to cut a small X in the top of the tomato to slightly open up the top. While the water is flowing from your kitchen faucet rinse the tomato again…using your fingers to loosen up any seeds from inside. Shake the excess water off.
I lay a clean cotton towel on a baking sheet on my counter top. Lay the tomatoes on top to slightly air dry. I like to let them sit out about an hour or so. Toss the tomatoes into freezer storage bags or storage container. I like to re-use old bread bags just for this purpose. Twist the top shut. Place the bag into the freezer.
Throughout the growing season I add fresh tomatoes to it. I often end up with 4-5 bags of frozen whole tomatoes in my freezer. At the end of the growing season I get them out to process them into homemade tomato sauce. You simple place them into a pot of boiling water….boil for 2-3 minutes to get the skins lose (blanching). You can find complete step-by-step instructions on How to Blanch Tomatoes and Remove Their Skins on the TCC blog. You can then cook them down to make homemade tomato sauce, pasta sauce, use in your favorite soups & stews, in salsa recipes, etc.
If you’re looking for a great Seasoned Tomato Sauce Recipe for Home Canning, you’ll find one on the TCC blog with hundreds of other home canning recipes.
Looking for a fun arts and crafts Valentine’s Day project to do with the kids? These Valentine’s Day hand painted kindness rocks are easy-to-make! They can be given as little Valentine’s Day greeting cards to their friends, used as little home decor accents or just …
I enjoy painting but I’m no professional artist. I like to use paint in various arts and crafts projects that I make. It’s just a hobby of mine and not a business. Over the years I’ve learned a few things about how to clean my …
I love to decorate painted seashells and rocks as part of the Kindness Rocks and Painted Shells projects. Over the years I’ve decorated and/or painted over 1,000 of them and left them for other people to find. It’s a fun way to pay kindness forward and to bring a smile to other people’s faces. You can find 100+ painted seashells projects right HERE on the TCC blog.
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Last month I purchased a pack of the Fairy and Floral Rub-On Transfers Decals for Crafts from Amazon. This pack contains 12 sheets of beautifully designed fairies, floral items and butterflies. I think they’re the perfect designs to add to the shells that I’m decorating for the upcoming Spring season. They’re colorful and absolutely beautiful.
Each sheet measures 5.9″ in size. There are several designs on each sheet. These rub-on transfers are very easy to use! You simply cut-out the design that you want to use. Peel off the backing. Place the transfer down onto your item. Use a wooden popsicle stick to rub the transfer from the sheet and onto your project. Then pull off the covering. Viola, you’re done!!!
You can apply these beautiful rub-on decals onto various different surfaces: wood, glass, mirrors, clean and smooth seashells and rocks, paper (greeting cards and scrapbooking), metal, smooth ceramic & tile surfaces, etc. If you want to protect the decal from water or weather elements I do suggest that you coat over it with an Acrylic Spray Sealer or brush-on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer.
I’ve been using my new decals on large 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells that I collected from the beach. I also used 4 of them to decorate a plastic storage box that my granddaughter uses to hold her little hair accessories in. You can really get creative with them!
Head on over to Amazon if you’re interest in purchasing the Fairy and Floral Rub-On Transfers Decals for a really accordable price. You get 12 total sheets!
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Looking to make a few stocking stuffers for the upcoming Christmas holiday? If so, consider making a few of these adorable painted seashell keychains and purse charms. You’ll need to collect a few 2″ wide small clam shells from the beach. The ones that we …
Decorate your home for the holidays in a Gingerbread House theme? Just love the cuteness of gingerbread? If so, check out these easy-to-make Gingerbread House painted clam shells! You can use these painted seashells as Christmas decor accents, as table settings, Christmas tree ornaments and …