Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Last weekend we had the grandchildren over for a sleepover and movie night. For snacking, I whipped up a batch of Muddy Buddies Cereal Snack Mix. I make it the traditional way but tossed in a few extra goodies to really ramp up the flavor. …
Last week I started putting out a few of my Autumn and Halloween home decor items along with a few things out in our front yard. We will be adding more items next weekend to get ready for the season. One thing I decided to …
Strawberry jam is one of the most popular flavors of fruit jam around the world. It’s sweet but not overly so. It’s delicious used as a spread on toast, bagels, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, English muffins, etc. It’s equally as good when used in your favorite Thumbprint Cookies Recipe, stirred into vanilla yogurt or used as a topping on ice cream. When I make strawberry jam I preserve it using my water bath canner. Once properly processed, it’s shelf stable for 1 year.
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Homemade Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe
2 quarts whole, fresh, strawberries
6 tablespoons Ball Classic Pectin
1/4 cup bottled or fresh lemon juice
7 cups granulated sugar
Prep: Wash strawberries under cold running water, drain. Remove stems and caps. When I’m working with a large batch of strawberries, I like to use a strawberry huller to prep them. Crush strawberries one layer at a time using a potato masher in a large mixing bowl
Cook: Combine strawberries, pectin, and lemon juice in a large saucepan, stirring to blend in pectin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the granulated sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.
Fill: Ladle hot jam into a hot jar, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim with a clean, cotton cloth. Center lid on jar and adjust ring (band) to fingertip-tight. Place jar on the rack elevated in simmering water in your water bath canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
Process: Lower the rack into the simmering water. Water must cover jars by 1″ depth. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner, do not retighten bands if loose. Cool for 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.
Storage Tips: When storing your jars you never want to stack jars one on top of the other. This can damage their seals. Store in a single layer in a cool and dry place…like inside a pantry. Don’t store jars in a hot attic, in direct sunlight or in a damp basement. Room temperature is just fine.
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Every year our adult daughter hosts a costume Halloween party at their home. It’s a tradition and everyone looks forward to it every year. The party is for families, adults and the kids. She provides the majority of the food and beverages, although a few …
This year my one and only zucchini plant in our backyard garden gave us several nice-sized zucchinis. Last week I baked a batch of homemade Zucchini Pineapple Bread in glass mason jars. I love baking in the jars which gives you nice single-serve or 2-people …
Got a chicken lover in your life? My brother loves chickens and has his own coop on his property. I believe he has 5 hens and 1 rooster at last count. He’s been raising chickens for a few years and they’re treated like pets. Extremely well taken care of! I decided to paint 3 clam shells featuring rooster and chicken designs for him to place outside along the path leading to his one coop as yard art.
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If you don’t have access to large clam shells you can do this simple design on smooth river rocks, tiles or even bricks! A nice way to add a pop of color to your yard or flower gardens. Perfect little gift for the chicken lover! They’re easy-to-make, no pattern or template needed!
You’ll need 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells seashells. Wash them in warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Rinse with clean water and air dry overnight. Dawn is great for removing sand, debris, dirt and fishy odors.
Base coat all clam shells with a coat of white acrylic craft paint. Let dry. Use a pencil to sketch the design onto the seashells. The rooster is a large oval shape (start there) when sketching. I used BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers to paint the design. These paint markers feature dual-tip ends, no priming is needed, no drippy messes, no clogged tips and no foul paint odors. PLUS, they dry quickly!!!
Now…I used ADULT chicken sayings on my seashells. You can find family-friendly sayings by doing a Google search for Funny Chicken Sayings. You’ll find hundreds of them that you can use or come up with your own.
Once the paint has dried you need to seal the shells with 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I apply it using a foam brush and really like the sealer that gives you a glossy finish. Let the shells dry overnight. They can be displayed inside or outside of the home.
If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 150+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!
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A friend of mine owns and operates a motel in Wildwood, New Jersey. It’s a popular Jersey Shore destination and her motel is one of the nicest ones in North Wildwood. A few weeks ago I painted 25 of these little clam shells for the …
Almost every time I go out of the house I take an insulated lunch box tote along with me. I like to keep something cold to drink with me, a few light snacks and I have to take medication out along with me that needs …