Simple Syrup is Simple

I love me some flavored syrups.  I'm a year-round iced coffee drinker. We already have the iced coffee part figured out: we brew a regular pot of coffee, let it cool to room temperature, and store it in a pitcher in the fridge.

Now for the sweetener. The Torani and Da Vinci syrups are very easy to make, especially the "classic" or "cane sugar". (Want simple syrup for your cocktails? It's the same thing. Shhh...)

These bottles run you about $8 at the grocery store or $5 at a specialty restaurant supply store. Making it at home? Costs about $0.60.

If you like, buy the syrup the first time and use this recipe for refills. I like the bottle because I like the pump (sold separately for about $5); alternatively you could just use a jar and measuring spoon. A single pump is a 1/4 oz = 1/2 tbsp or 1 1/2 tsp.

Here's the recipe:

Equal parts sugar and water. That easy. To fill the whole bottle, use 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Heat in a small soup pan to boiling and cook for a few seconds until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool to room tempertaure. Use a funnel to pour into the bottle.

Cooking time? Less than 10 minutes.

If you want, you can make flavors with fruit peels, herbs, extracts, and more. Hearty additives like orange peel can be added at the beginning. More fragile additives like mint leaves can be added as the syrup is cooling. Pull out or strain any pieces before bottling. Note: the pieces can be their own happy product (see my post on candied orange peels.)

Result: yummy syrups for 10% of the retail cost and you save a bottle!

No-sew, T-shirt Tote

This is one of my favorite t-shirts. The concert was awesome and we went with dear friends. However, I also love cooking and eating greasy foods, so after a few years of abuse, it was ready for a new life.

There are MANY tutorials for making no-sew t-shirt totes, and I wanted to give it a try. I used this one as an example, if you prefer video tutorials. All you need for the project is a pair of scissors.

First step, cut off the sleeves. The arm holes will become your bag handles.

Next, cut the neck hole wider. This will become the opening of your bag. I was careful to cut from the back of the t-shirt, because the design was printed fairly high up of the shirt. Feel free to do a deeper scoop if it doesn't mess up the pattern on your shirt.

Now, move the bottom of your shirt and cut fringe, about 1/2" strips and 3" long. Where your fringe ends will be the bottom of your bag. I didn't need that deep of a bag and wanted to trim off some of the grease stains, so I first cut off the bottom 4" of the shirt.

At this step you have a choice: I wanted my seam hidden, so I will complete this step with the shirt inside out. If you like the look of fringe, leave your shirt right side out. Tie the fringe together in knots (front of shirt to back of shirt) to close up the bottom seam.

Now. just tying front to back will leave gaps between each knot. So we will do a second row of knots, this time tying the top strip of one knot to the bottom strip of the knot next to it. This will close the gap between the two. Do a double knot on this round to make it solid.

When you are done with the knotting, flip your shirt right side out, and now your fringe is hidden in the bottom of the bag. With all those knots, this bag is surprisingly sturdy.

Voila! A free rockin' tote bag, an a second life for my fave concert tee.

DIY Gift Planters

Today I'm crafting out of my recycling. I'm propagating succulents *crosses my fingers*, and I want to put them in some cute little planters. All we need:

• Jars: I'm using Tostitos salsa and cheese dip jars. You can't keep me away from my cheese dip!)
• Cute paper: check out Seattle Recreative for leftover scrapbook or wrapping paper, use a cute shopping bag, or magazine cutouts. I'm using the wrapping from "Who Gives a Crap" TP, which has infamously cute seasonal wrapping. 
• Mod Podge or other craft glue

Dear friends, I only write about products or tips that I've tried and loved. Therefore, I will not tell you about "Who Gives A Crap" toilet paper. It is my punishment for ordering a case of 48 rolls that I'm making myself finish it myself (T and guests refuse to use it). However, a side result is that each roll is wrapped in really cute paper, so yay, free crafting material. ;)

1) Gather your supplies. You'll need scissors and a brush or sponge applicator in addition to the supplies above.

2) Measure and trim your paper to a size that will cover your jar. Mine needed about 1/3 sheet per jar.

3) Apply an even layer of adhesive to the back of your paper.

4) Wrap around your jar so the ends neatly overlap, and apply a coat of adhesive to the outside of the paper too. This will give a nice seal, so it won't get ruined when you water your plant.

5) Don't worry if it's a little wrinkly. As you can see, the drier jar on the left looks smoother than the wetter one on the right. Any remaining "flaws" are just evidence that it's DIY.

6) Plant your succulent and enjoy!

SIY (Start It Yourself) Succulents

I saw a short video the other day on "clever plant hacks", and today am testing one of them for myself.

The idea is that you can propagate many new succulent plants from:

• the leaves of an existing plant 
• a plastic bottle

Step 1: pull several of the leaves off a succulent.

Step 2: take a plastic bottle (I'm using an orange juice jug) and cut several small holes up and down the sides of it, stopping at least 2" from the bottom. 

Step 3: pour 2" water in the bottom and screw the lid back on.

Step 4: insert the cut side of a succulent leaf into each of the holes.

Put into your window, and hopefully in a few weeks, you'll have roots on each leaf, resulting in about a dozen new little succulents!

I'll post again in a few weeks - if succussful, I will have:

• saved $4 per plant
• saved a small plastic pot per plant
• reused a plastic jug

Happy propagating!