Jenny Gomes

Easy DIY Moth Halloween Costume

October 26, 2015 by Jenny Gomes Leave a Comment

Easy DIY Moth Halloween Costume

10/26/2015

Easy DIY Moth Halloween Costume

This easy, DIY Halloween costume can be done fast, easy, with very little or no sewing and is way better and different from the standard Princess Whomever costume or storebought fare (yawn!). These wings are car seat and small child-friendly and because they have painted fun colors, no one is missing the standout, wired wing variety.

I am actually not as festive as most people seem to think I am. I’m not into doing a lot of decorating for holidays, so whatever I do, it is going to be simple, easy, and likely multi-purpose.

I made this moth costume to fit my nearly-four year old’s request. She loves moths, and wanted to be a “scary, purple and green moth.” You got it, Babe. I can do that, and you can too and modify it to fit whatever your darlings desire.

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Here’s what you need:

You need a shirt that you can sew some fabric wings to (you can remove them later). I used a long sleeved black tee shirt.

Fabric or poster or acrylic paint.

About half a yard of fabric for the wings. If you go to a fabric store and buy fabric off the bolt, it will be a piece that is 18 inches x 45 inches. If you rustle up an old sheet, tablecloth, curtain, etc, you will simply cut a rectangle that is as wide as your child’s wingspan (I measured wrist to wrist with arms outstretched) and as tall as from the child’s shoulders to waist. Don’t get fancy and cut out wing shapes yet. You just need a rectangle.

I used unbleached muslin which comes in a wide variety of widths, so if you are buying new fabric, I’d recommend it. If you are paint-phobic, you could score some beautiful batik print (which is what I originally had in mind when planning this costume) that would mimic a moth’s pattern fairly.

A piece of cardboard to use as a template. I cut open a cereal box and was sure to put the printed side down. The shiny printed side would have let excess paint drip off the edge (rather than absorb it nicely). Depending on the design/flying thing your child wishes to be, you might be free handing. You can do it; it hasn’t been that long since high school art class!

Pipe cleaners for antennae + headband. I used 5 black pipe cleaners folded in half and twisted together to make a distinctly “moth” look. Do not underestimate the humble pipe cleaner; they are so versatile!

Procedure:

I used a large salad bowl as a template for a curve at the bottom edge of the wing. I folded the wings in half and made a matching curve on the folded edge so it created a wing-ish shape, kind of like a wide, fat, letter W.

You can choose to zigzag around your wings at this point but I didn’t.

Create your template from a piece of cardboard. I swear; I found a moth on the porch and modeled my zigzag pattern after it. Moths are typically found in more subdued colors and patterns in nature when compared to their daytime-flying butterfly cousins but do whatever you desire. I sprayed the paint, moved the template up a few inches, switched colors and repeated. Did I drip and were the ends a little wonky? You bet. Does it matter? No way.

The particular type of paint I used took a little bit of time to dry but dried to a super soft feel which I really was pleased with.

Easy DIY Moth Costume Tutorial | A Domestic Wildflower click through to read this simple, low sew tutorial for a costume that is way better than store bought and stroller and car seat friendly!

Using thread that matches the wing fabric (cream in my case, not black that would match the shirt) and stitches to the shirt. It can be a little tricky getting the shirt under the sewing machine because the sleeves are narrow. You should be able to sew from shoulder to shoulder and if the sleeves are bigger than a 2T, I’d think you could sew from elbow to elbow.

Alternatively, you could attach velcro to the wings and the shirt. These adhesive circles of velcro are perfect for those Wildflowers who are in the rather-die-than-sew camp.

Headband: I used 5 black pipe cleaners and folded them in half around the black knit headband and then twisted them together. Hello, Easy!

Happy Halloween, Wildflowers! I hope this little tutorial shows you that you do NOT have to be a skilled sewist, nor super duper crafty to make an inexpensive, creative, not super girly (unless you want to be, in which case, glitter it up!), small child-friendly costume.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t take a photo of my darling little girl in her moth costume, it is because she refused to put it on. Kids…

Please share in the comments below: what other winged things could this little tutorial apply? Bees? Butterflies? Bats? I can’t wait to hear what you come up with 🙂

If you want to learn how to sew, check out the courses HERE!

DIY Shaker Mason Jar: A Smart Way to Reuse Canning Lids

October 22, 2015 by Jenny Gomes Leave a Comment

DIY Shaker Mason Jar: A Smart Way to Reuse Canning Lids

DIY Shaker Jars: Reuse Canning Lids

Here is one way to reuse all those canning lids that are used once for canning now to dispense all kinds of DIY goodness. This little beginner-friendly project takes the shaker to the next level of practicality.

As you start canning a bit more, season from the season, you will soon arrive at a bit of a problem. You must use new canning lids for new canning projects. That is to say, you must use brand new, out of the box lids each time you fill them with jam, tomato sauce, or whatever is boiling in your pot. That means that when you open them, months later, that lid not safe to can with for your next batch. It is however plenty useful as a regular lid. Add four or five canning seasons under your belt and you will have oodles of used lids and if you are like me, you will hate to store and really hate to throw away these lids. I’m always looking for ways to reuse these lids and this particular project came about after seeing dozens of fun ideas on Pinterest and other places for DIY taco seasoning, cinnamon sugar mix, face scrub, etc. All these ideas are great, and money saving, and I love focusing on doing things yourself rather than relying on the grocery store or some other means of dubious merit to elevate your daily life. Here’s how you can take a used canning lid and create a simple shaker.

1. Identify a Used Canning Lid

I suppose you could use a brand new lid but I bet with very little effort you can come upon a used canning lid or two. In fact, on brand new jars sold in flats, very often their lids are “used” because of the heat and weight of transportation. Those lids have the tell-tale crease in the rubber flange and in a pinch, I’ll confess to using them but not without serious doubts as to their reliability to seal. It is best to can with new lids, and handy to reuse the used lids. Here’s the ridge you can see in lids that have been used in canning once before:

DIY Shaker Mason Jar | A Domestic Wildflower

Notice the ridge and also the little edge that is bent outwards, to the right, where the can opener pulled the edge back. This is a used canning lid.

2. Acquire the jar and ring: I like dispensing from smaller jars because you will use up the contents faster and you won’t have to worry about the contents becoming stale or absorbing moisture. These are some tiny jelly jars that I like for both jams for gifting and for dispensing baking soda to use in the shower as a face and elbow scrub. You can purchase them by clicking the link below if you haven’t seen them in stores near you. One of the many, many reasons I love canning jars is because they are either regular or wide mouth. It isn’t like plastic sandwich containers (the bane of my wifely existence) where each lid is specific to each make and model and warps further with every trip through the dishwasher. They always fit. Period.

DIY shaker jar mason jar project | A Domestic Wildflower click through for the easy tutorial for reusing canning lids to create a shaker jar!

3. Mark out a design: I used a permanent marker to dot out a simple grid of holes and a fun flower design.

DIY Shaker Mason Jar Project: A Smart Way to Reuse Canning Lids | A Domestic Wildflower

4. Find a tiny nail and a hammer. The smaller the nail, the better. I used the tiny nail that came in a kit of nails I bought ten years ago that are appropriate for hanging pictures on the wall. The nail will go through the lid with not a lot of effort, so a super heavy hammer is not necessary. Use what you have, Wildflowers.

5. Put the lid on the jar, screw on the ring, and start hammering. I am not particularly good at coloring inside the lines, in any way you want to interpret the metaphor, so you will see marks where I did not hammer through and holes where there are no marks. No matter to me. Keep your fingers clear of the hammer and go slowly and in no time you will have a super cute and functional shaker from which you can dispense:

¼ cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon for cinnamon sugar mix

plain baking soda for a simple but effective scrub

Any other clever mixes like taco seasoning, cocoa and cinnamon mix, etc!

DIY Shaker Jar | A Domestic Wildflower click through to read the simple DIY tutorial that reuses canning lids!

I’d love to hear what you plan on filling your little shaker jars with, Wildflowers! Please share in the comment section below!

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Cheesecake Ice Cream: No Ice Cream Maker Required

October 19, 2015 by Jenny Gomes Leave a Comment

Cheesecake Ice Cream: No Ice Cream Maker Required

10/19/2015

Cheesecake Ice Cream: Simple, Fast, and No Ice Cream Maker Required!

If you desire a fast recipe that doesn’t require an ice cream maker for an improvement upon regular vanilla, you are in the right place. I really like this recipe because when frozen, it doesn’t turn into a block of ice; it remains scoopable. The cheesecake flavor is divine, of course, and you can’t beat how few ingredients it requires.

You will need:

1 8 ounces block of cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups milk, half and half or cream (I made one batch with each and really, I’d say use whatever you have in the fridge because the thickness of the cream cheese really is what makes it creamy. Regular ol’ 2% won’t be a letdown, I promise)

2 tablespoons good quality or homemade vanilla extract

To Make:

If you think of it, let the cream cheese soften on the countertop for a bit before mixing with the can of sweetened condensed milk.

Once the sweetened condensed milk is incorporated with the cream cheese, turn your mixer to a slow speed and add the milk or cream and the vanilla extract.

Mix until very smooth.

Pour into a container and freeze until firm, or mix in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.

cheesecake ice cream: 4 ingredients and no ice cream maker required! click for the easy recipe!

What do you think, Dear Readers? Is this on your to-make list? Share in the comments below!

Roasted Plum Jam

October 12, 2015 by Jenny Gomes Leave a Comment

Plum Jam is an easy recipe that is elevated in a wonderful way by roasting the plums. Beginners can easily succeed with this canning recipe and the roasting plums make your home smell heavenly.

The last time I saw my dear Grandpa Carlos we visited him in his shady lawn in Willows, CA. His plum trees were loaded with pretty, golden fruit and my mom and I kicked ourselves for not arriving with proper buckets for fruit collection. Grandpa watched us pick his plums, filling grocery sacks full, and talking about canning jam. I normally blog about projects that are happening now but I wasn’t blogging when I made this particular recipe, with these delicious and now penultimately special plums. Fall is in the air now, plums are ripening, and hunting season always makes me think of Grandpa too. I came home from Willows that fall, pregnant with my son, and roasted his plums with my little girl on a chair beside me into the best preserve I may ever make and now I’m too sentimental to open the remaining jars and eat it up.

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

I can’t find the recipe or pin I referred to that suggested I roast the plums so I can’t give proper credit. I know my instructions that will follow are based very closely on the recipe for Plum Jam in my favorite canning book, Canning for a New Generation. Buy it if you want a wonderfully diverse and entirely inspiring text. You won’t be sorry.

Recipe for Roasted Plum Jam

4 pounds plums, pitted and diced

2 cups of sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon spice- Canning for a New Generation suggests cardamom but I used cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg and it was divine.

Place the diced plums in a wide, oven-safe pan and fill with just enough water to almost cover. Roast at 400 degrees, stirring often until the fruit is very fragrant, the water is mostly cooked away, and the fruit is broken down. This is the part that makes your house smell heavenly. I can’t say I have had another cooking experience like this one and I hope you find it as wonderful as I did.

When the fruit is cooled a bit, ladle into a food mill and process to remove skins. Alternatively, press through a sieve. I have read that you could process in a blender but I have never done it that way though I bet it would work. Here’s the food mill I recommend.

Add the lemon juice, sugar, and spice to the plums in a wide preserving pan. Simmer, stirring often, for about 20 minutes or until it is thickened significantly. Ladle the hot jam into hot, sterilized jars following safe canning practice outlined in the USDA site here or in the introduction of any good canning book. Leave ¼ inch headspace, add lids and rings, and process in a water bath for 5 minutes to process. Remove to a towel on a countertop and leave undisturbed for 12 hours. Label and store.

My Grandpa Carlos was the kind of guy who encouraged those around him to live it up, which is something I’ve always wrestled with. He’d say, yeah, drink another beer, play another game, stay another hour! I may have to cowgirl up and open one of the jars of jam just for him. He’d never want something good to go to waste.

Share your thoughts in the comment section below, Wildflowers! Have you ever roasted fruit to a similar end? I’m eager to try another recipe so please share if you have!

If you loved this post, read the same recipe + more of the love & life lesson here on Enlightenment is Sexy

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Canning Concord Grape Jam

October 8, 2015 by Jenny Gomes 2 Comments

Canning grape jam is a fairly simple task because the recipe is straightforward and brief, grapes are not difficult to collect (no thorns like blackberries) and are sweet enough that they don’t require a lot of extra sugar. While we most often see the clear jelly in stores, the grape jam is delicious and seems to be a bit more virtuous in my mind because more of the actual grape remains in the pot.

The recipe I use is from the wonderful compendium, Canning for a New Generation (I swear, I have never met the author nor is this a sponsored post; I just love this book!

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

I picked my grapes from the vines my Great Grandma Nona planted on our ranch many years ago. They face the south and every year, during the first month of school, I get to admire her industry and pick.

The recipe from Canning for a New Generation is as follows:

4 lbs Concord grapes

2 cups of sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

I have made this jam with and without the spices and I can’t decide which I like better. If you haven’t tried it spiced, it is very good indeed. Imagine a dollop on hot oatmeal…

The recipe directs the preserver to bring the grapes to a boil and then press through a sieve as a means of skinning and seeding the grapes. I happen to have a food mill which I love, and I ran my grapes through it first with very good results. Here’s the one I have and love, gifted to me by a wonderful friend.

I have been sharing my canning and sewing adventures on Periscope and then saving the videos to my YouTube channel. Here’s my scope demonstrating how easy it is to use the food mill to process your grapes.

After you have either processed the grapes through a food mill or through a sieve, discard the skins and seeds.

Add the remaining ingredients to the grape pulp (about the consistency of a thin smoothie) and bring to a boil. It took my batch 30 minutes to thicken significantly.

Note: I have found that the time it takes for my jam to “set up” (thicken enough so that a dab of the jam dropped onto a cool plate and set in the freezer for 15 minutes is firm- basically when the jam is thick enough to be jam, not syrup) is significantly longer than many recipes indicate. I think that one possible culprit is the product I use is often homegrown or wild (my nose isn’t in the air here; it is the truth only as a matter of practicality) and thus the water content is inconsistent with the more standardized grocery store produce. That said, don’t be afraid to cook your jam a bit longer to achieve a thicker result. Thin jam that is a bit too thick for syrup is still tasty but tricky to pour/spoon and thus use up.

Tip: I have also used half a box of powdered pectin in this recipe, whisked in at the end, following the directions on the box, to good effect. If your jam is still fairly thin, you might try powdered pectin.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving half an inch headspace, and following safe canning practice outlined in this great resource from the USDA here or in the opening chapters of any good canning book.

Put the lids and rings on the jars and return to the water bath. Bring to a boil and process for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from the water bath onto a towel on a countertop and leave undisturbed for 12 hours. Label and store.

I love sharing canning recipes like these because many people are surprised to learn that canning is much more simple than they realize. I very rarely can anything that has a long ingredient list or a lengthy list of steps. Jams are a great beginner preserve because they are so high in acid, as described in my Acid & Canning Guidepost, a canner can feel totally confident that they will be successful and safe.

I did a couple of Periscope broadcasts while I made my last batch and saved them to my YouTube Channel.
Here’s how the jam looks when it is ready for the hot jars.