Winners of the Creative Summer Giveaway!

We have WINNERS!! :)

Congratulations, everybody!

The winners of the Warfare by Duct Tape ebook of your choice are:

Linda Sears (hsmominmo)
Sarah
Laura Wiley
Reshama Deshmukh
and Katherine!

We will be emailing you ladies about which Duct Tape ebook you would prefer for your prize.

The winners of the three jewelry ebooks are:

Katherine (of Katie's Corner)
Laura Wiley
and Abby (with the email jbsmetalman)!

Congratulations! Your ebooks have been emailed to you with the addresses you provided.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and don't forget to stop by our newly refilled Etsy Shop and check out some of the cute yo-yo earrings, lovely mason jar lamps and old-fashioned kitchen accessory light fixtures!

  You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Sizzling Summer Salsa

Summertime.

One of the best things about summer is fresh veggies from the garden!

Our tomatoes are ripening and it is SALSA time!

Salsa is one of our huge summer favorites.  Here is our recipe for fresh salsa. I wouldn't recommend canning it as it doesn't have the right balance of acidic ingredients to safely can.

This salsa is so good, it will be gone before you know it!!

Ingredients:

• 8 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 or 2 chopped jalapeno pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons sugar (or honey)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vinegar

Directions:

• Wash your tomatoes in cool water.  You can scald them and remove the skins if you like but we just chop them up and enjoy the whole tomato!
• Dice up the tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic (if you are using fresh, otherwise substitute equivalent amount) and jalapeno peppers.  Be extra careful handling the jalapeno.  It can "burn" your skin.  I don't touch them at all, just use a knife or fork to hold them down while cutting.  If you do happen to get the jalapeno juice on your skin and it starts to sting, soak your skin in milk.  It works....I know. ;)
• In a separate bowl, mix the tomato paste, liquids and spices. We use a whisk.
• Combine the veggies and spice mixture and mix them together well.  The flavors will blend together overnight but it still awesome immediately.

Serve with tasty Refried Beans (check out our recipe for that!) or tortilla chips, or whatever suits your fancy!

Makes a large amount, probably more than a 2 quart side dish can hold.

Happy summer eating!

You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Announcing the Re-Opening of our Etsy Shop~Cabin Shabby Chic!

Our Etsy shop is open and ready for business!  Cabin Shabby Chic is where we sell our Mason Jar Lamps and other pretty sundries.

Remember our Mason Jar Lamp Tutorial?

Well, now you can buy the same lamps right here!  It is fun to make them but if you'd rather you can just snap one up from our shop!

We are also selling some very vintage metal pendant lamps, too!

And Mason Jar pendants with zinc lids and oil-rubbed bronze tops!!

So pop on over and see all the beautiful things we have there.

You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Simple Sunday Thoughts # 10 ~ Father's Day Every Day!

Happy Father's Day!

While our earthly fathers are precious to us, our Heavenly Father is always there for us, always loving, always caring and forgiving.

May you be blessed by this video!

   Source: Fathers Love Letter                                                                           

So, how about you, will you be His child?

If you have questions on how to become His child, please email us and we will be happy to help you know Him as your Father.

Blessings,

  You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Have a Creative Summer - GIVEAWAY from Warfare by Duct Tape & Jewels by Julia!

Summer is here! The kids are done with school and looking for fun stuff to do. You don't want them vegged out in front of the Wii all day, right? How about we challenge their inner artist and creativity with some of these great activities?! :D

Let's start with the girls.

Julia has written three eBooks on the art of crafting homemade jewelry, and shared all her tips and tricks for making lovely quality pieces that wear well and look great!
She tells you what tools to use, where to get your supplies, and lays out projects for making seven different necklaces, seven different earring styles, and five different bracelet techniques in her three eBooks.

EASY-to-follow, step-by-step instructions with tons of PICTURES make creating your own beautiful jewelry a breeze.

Julia sells the eBooks as downloads on her website, www.jewelsbyjuliashop.com, for only $4.95 apiece, but we are GIVING AWAY a copy of EACH three eBooks to three winners! Three of you will win all three of these for yourselves! See the Jewels by Julia rafflecopter entry form at the bottom of this post for more details.

Now for the guys!

Bring history to LIFE with your own historically-based WEAPONS and ARMOR crafted from DUCT TAPE! Oh yeah, this is cool. :D

Our two guys, Mark and Steven, have written a series of eBooks on creating a myriad of awesome gear ranging from swords, shields, helmets, the armored glove, flails, halbergs, throwing axes, battle axes, blowguns, and MORE from easy-to-find materials like PVC pipe and soft PVC pipe insulation, (that's right mom - no worries! These weapons are safe and durable!) craft foam, cardboard, and of course... duct tape.

There are also patterns to follow to make tunics, cloaks, money pouches, and money - for paying up those "ransom demands' should any of the valiant knights be captured. Laid out in the books are the "rules" of the battle game.

Your boys will spend hours having fun while "battling" with their friends and challenging their creative ingenuity - and it's as easy as following along with the step-by-step instructions and photographs, put together by our own boys.

Mark and Steven sell these ebooks as downloads on their website, www.warfarebyducttape.com... but we are GIVING AWAY a copy of one book of their choice to TEN winners! You have lots of chances to win! Details are provided in the Warfare by Duct Tape rafflecopter form below. :)

But that's not all! Until the giveaway ends on June 26th, you can use the coupon code "creativesummer" to get 20% off your entire purchase on any of these awesome eBooks! 

And... all the proceeds from our eBook sales for the months of June and August go towards our 2-week family vacation to Virginia, New York, and Maine to visit some close friends and family members. We appreciate your purchase! 

So what are you waiting for? 

ENTER HERE NOW:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

  You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Simple Sunday Thoughts #9 - Peace

This is a profound scripture.  Life is full of ups and downs.  When you are in the downs, unexpected bills, broken tooth, aches and pains, you name it....the Peace of God can rule, actually govern your life......if you LET it.  

Let us LET God give us peace today. :)

  You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

$avvy $avings on Rental Cars

stock images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

We are planning a big trip in August to go several states away, hundreds of miles.  We will need to take extra cargo for our trip.  We have 5 adult sized people in our family and our van is just too small.

SO, we decided to bite the bullet and rent a van, full size with room for 12.  That should about do it with all our stuff in there! :)

I started to search on the internet for rental places and prices.

Let me give you the skinny....if a vacation with a rental vehicle is in your future, make the reservation online AFTER you have searched for online discounts and coupons.  I went with Avis only because they had the size of van that I needed.

 I saved $200 by making the reservation online with a discount.

I know because I made the reservation first by talking to a real person, at the local Avis place, who would not even consider entering any coupons...and no email receipt......and took tons of information about me all except for my shoe size....and then I had to cancel that reservation after I made the better one online.

Also if you need an unusual size like we did, make your reservation early, even months ahead because they book up and you may be out if you wait to reserve. You can cancel up to 48 hours before the trip (check with the company that you choose) if you need to make a change.

Save yourself some time and money.....do it online.    :)

Hope you have a great summer!

You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Simple Sunday Thoughts #8 Wisdom

God is so good to us. He knows we will need wisdom and He has promised that if we only ask, He will give us the wisdom we need!

 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 

 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 

James 1:5-6

You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Refried Beans and Hotsie-Totsie Sauce!

We all love a little Mexican flavor now and then, right?! Well get ready for some totally awesome better-than-Taco-Bell-flavor that's headed right for your taste buds! :)

Not only are these two dishes delightful, they're also a frugal meal because you can serve meatless bean burritos with the hotsie-totsie sauce with a sprinkle of cheese, and for much less money than it costs to eat out at a Mexican restaurant. Satisfying, healthy, and SO GOOD! :D This is one dinner that definitely needs to dive into your menu. :)

And just look how simple it is...

Refried Beans

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups (or 2 pounds) dry pinto or black beans
• about 3-3 1/2 quarts of water, as needed
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 4 teaspoons cumin
• 3 teaspoons salt, to taste

Directions:

• Rinse the beans.  Cook the beans with the water in the crockpot for 8 hours on high.
• Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.  
• Mash the beans and add the bean liquid as needed to make a smooth mixture. 
• Add the spices and stir them in well.

Serve them with tortilla shells, freshly grated cheddar cheese and Hotsie~Totsie Sauce.  Oh, go ahead and have some sour cream if you really have to! ;)

Hotsie~Totsie Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 ( 15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Place in sauce pan and stir well, simmer at a very low temperature for 15- 20 minutes.

Remove and cool. Store in an air-tight container like a mason jar!

May be kept in refrigerator for several days.

You are getting your spices at a really good price, aren't you?  If you haven't heard, please check out our post on Best Prices for Herbs and Spices.

Enjoy this deliciouso dinner, perfect for your summer evenings when you want a little zesty flavor without breaking the bank. :D

  You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.