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Honey Strawberry Shrub: A Perfect Pair with Sparkling Water

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Honey Strawberry Shrub: A Perfect Pair with Sparkling WaterHoneyed Strawberry Shrub

A shrub is one of the simplest types of preserve. I have fallen in love with them and I want you to come along with me. There’s no hot water bath, no fermentation bubbles (though those would be exciting!) and the only real virtue required is patience. It takes about a week on the countertop for this beginner-friendly preserve but the results are so worth it. Shrubs are an excellent addition to water (and really, who is drinking enough? Not me…) and are sublime when added to a cocktail.

You will need:

2 cups chopped strawberries (I tossed in a slice of pineapple because I had it on hand but that is not necessary)

1 ½ cups honey

2 cups apple cider vinegar, good quality

Combine chopped strawberries with honey in a large jar. I used a half gallon like these below.

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

You can purchase half gallon jars from Amazon by clicking the photo or you can rustle some up in a store near you. They aren’t as common as the smaller sizes, I have found, but hopefully, you can get your hands on some. I use them often and find them very useful indeed.

Let sit overnight. Stir with a long wooden spoon thoroughly, being mindful of the heavy honey hanging out at the bottom of the jar. You want the fruit and honey well incorporated. Add the vinegar. Let sit, with the lid on, on the countertop for about a week.

This particular shrub needs to be stirred more often than the others I have tried because it takes a bit more to dissolve and incorporate the honey. Stir daily if you can.

Strain and decant into a clean jar.  Store in the refrigerator.

Serve over ice with:

1 part shrub and 3+ parts sparkling water

OR

1 part shrub, 1 part tequila, 3+ parts sparkling water

If you want to learn even more about shrubs, sign up for my free email course on how to make shrubs! You’ll learn how to turn nearly any fruit into a sweet-tart syrup!

I Want to Make Shrubs!

Honey Strawberry Shrub: A Perfect Pair with Sparkling Water
I hope you are loving the sweet-tart goodness of these shrubs as much as I am. I’m hooked. Share in the comment section below, Wildflowers, any shrub successes or failures you’ve had! Is there a shrub I need to make next? Let me know!
If you love strawberries, you’ll love my Canning Strawberries Recipe Book!

Tips for Sewing Sheers: A Craftsy Class for Sewing Success

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I Am Beautiful and Why My Daughter Will Hear Me Say So

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I Am Beautiful and Why My Daughter Will Hear Me Say So
I am beautiful! I look great. My hair looks so smooth and pretty. My smile is nice, my teeth are clean, and I’m ready for the day. My outfit looks terrific. I say things like this all the time in front of my 3-year-old daughter. She now is starting to say things like this too. When we are ready to head out the door she will comment on how she likes the color of her shirt and that she too feels like she looks terrific.

I could parent this little girl as if she were going to live in a world where appearance doesn’t matter, where her inner worth is the only thing that counts and that no one will judge her for anything other than her character. I wish that the world existed but it simply isn’t so. I feel certain that she will be a teenager at a time where the self will be projected on to the big screen of social media (into whatever form it morphs into in the next decade) and her appearance will something of which she will be acutely aware.

Don’t get me wrong; I talk about lots beyond appearance. I encourage her to solve problems and praise her when she is helpful, tenacious, kind, thoughtful, and witty. I firmly admonish when she is contrary, defiant, or ill-tempered. I simply have made a conscious choice to verbalize self-confidence in everything from my cooking to decision making and back to what I am wearing. I feel strongly that if she doesn’t hear positive self-talk modeled early, often, and consistently, she won’t have an inner voice telling her that she indeed looks (and thus should feel) great when her peers, media, or regular ol’ teenage self-doubt have her feeling otherwise.

I have read countless pieces about how young women should quit focusing on how they look and focus more on matters of the heart, mind, and soul. I absolutely agree but feel that many miss the mark by failing to accept the reality that appearance will absolutely be the focus for much of adolescence, at the very minimum. If positive self-dialogue isn’t modeled, from where will young ladies learn it?

I teach junior high and I can tell you without a doubt, the 12-year-old girls who tell me they skipped lunch because they are getting fat and they can’t figure their homework out because they are too stupid learned those ideas, words, and phrases somewhere. They are very likely parroting the sentiment of other women in their life who say they themselves look like shit or are too fat or dumb. It is one thing to say that young women should be confident but entirely another to model it. Many young women today are encouraged to behave and think in a way that entirely different than their mothers which is nice, but a bit unrealistic. It is our job to do our best to model a better way of treating ourselves.

The thought of my daughter repeating some bullshit thing I said to myself like “I’m so stupid” when I misplace the keys makes me sick. The times I might want to comment on the frown lines appearing between my brows or when I have neglected to see my hairstylist and feel less than gorgeous as a result are when I keep those comments to myself. I’m faking it in those situations, because I do have moments of self-doubt, but hopefully because I’m modeling self-love and acceptance her moments of self-criticism will be far fewer.

My daughter has a noticeable birthmark by her nose. I have never made mention of it but wasn’t surprised when she asked me after brushing her teeth one day what it was. I told her it was a mark, just like my freckles, and that it will probably fade by the time she goes to school. I didn’t expect to feel a lump grow in my throat, but it did because I was worried she wouldn’t like her reflection now that she noticed this red spot. She studied the mirror for a moment and said, “I like it! I look great!” and the lump in my throat disappeared. I know, I know, these things are a piece of cake with small children. But, I think that hearing me say that I’m happy with my appearance, my choice in a recipe for supper, or my drawing on our shared paper will influence her to feel similarly. If she doesn’t hear me say that I feel beautiful, smart, and ready for the world, how could I expect her to feel that way?

I Am Beautiful and Why My Daughter Will Hear Me Say So

I am beautiful, and you are too Wildflowers.

How to Make Gold Antlers

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How to Make Gold Antlers

 

 

Gold antlers are all over the wild web and I wrote this post to bring the impossibly expensive (no thanks, retail!) or the impossible (um, those horn things are cute but where do I get them?) to the very possible for my Dear Readers. This post is your beginner’s guide to antler terminology and in person and online purchasing. It also will demonstrate the way I painted mine for Christmas, using one important paint in particular.

Antlers are the horns of the ruminant mammals cervidae. This includes deer, elk, moose, and caribou. The males of these species (and both female and male caribou) grow antlers that fall off in the wintertime. This is natural and normal and they grow back at a remarkable rate of about ¼ inch or more a day in the spring, to a size that is typically bigger than the year before. If creating a centerpiece, jewelry organizer, wreath or other rad decor is what you want, here is some size and shape info before you start searching or shopping.

Blacktail and whitetail deer horns are typically smaller than the following but would make a great centerpiece for a small or medium-sized table.

Mule deer horns are the biggest, probably, of the three species of deer discussed here. I would think they would be appropriately sized for a centerpiece of a large table, with a tall vase or candle in the middle, for example.

Moose horns are the ones that have wide palms (that’s really what they are called) that are smooth, flat, and sort of dish-like. On the moose, a big moose’s antlers can be 5 or more feet from side to side, meaning he would need a doorway of more than 5 feet wide to walk through. If you wanted a cool place to set tea lights or small objects on a long table, this would be the horn to seek out.

Elk antlers are very large, with large sharp tines (the pointy parts). I think they’d be gorgeous on a mantle, wall, or on a gate, where it would be out of the way of a rowdy child. They are pretty wicked when used as intended; in defending the original owner from attack.

Caribou antlers are large, with pointed tips and while I can’t say I have seen a shed in person, I’m sure they are beautiful.

An eye guard is the lowest point on the horn, toward the base, growing out over the cervidae eyebrow (they don’t really have eyebrows, just eyelashes).

‘Velvet’ refers to the fuzzy coating on the horns present in the spring as they grow.

These are some of the sites a person could peruse. Use the general information above to help guide your purchases.

The http://www.deerantlerstore.com is a wealth of information as well as horns for sale. I think their site is easy to use had lots of more in-depth information.

This site, http://www.antlers-for-sale.com also seemed great and offered a wide range of types and sizes of horns, including dog chews. Other than being a natural chew for Fido, they’d be good for experimenting on, if you wanted to try drilling, painting, screwing, etc.

Of course, you could acquire some horns another way. When out hiking about, you could find a shed. When you find one consider it’s color and condition. Darker color indicates it is a more recent shed while bleached white means it has been in the sun a while. The longer sun and weather have worn on the shed, the more porous and broken down the horn could be which would dictate which type of paint or craft you could use it for.

If you find one, keep an eye out for its mate. It may be nearby…or it may be miles away.

Finally, you could seek horns out via Craigslist or yard sales. This may be preferable so you could semi-arrange the horns on the spot for your intended project and feel with your fingers the surface and make paint purchases accordingly.

Typically, among those who hunt, the mantra “bigger is better” is paramount while symmetry, girth, and number of points (number of tines on either side) are also very important. What you might care about is if it will sit level on a table or flush against the wall, so you might be able to score some smaller, uneven horns for cheap. Don’t be afraid to tell the seller what you intend to use them for.

​
Here’s what I did. I found a primer that has stain guard because my horn’s color was uneven, some were really weathered, and I was painting them a light gold. This particular kind worked really well and is available by clicking the affiliate link below. I would highly recommend a primer for painting antlers.

 

gold antlers primer

Blacktail antlers ready for painting
Once they were really dry, I sprayed them with the metallic gold spray paint.  I liked the way this kind sprayed really evenly, the cap was easy to get off (don’t laugh, I hate it when I can’t get the cap off!), and had a beautiful, reflective finish. You can purchase the affordable can of gold goodness by clicking the link below!

And now, of course, the fun of arranging them on the boughs of my Christmas tree or on my holiday table can begin. I think mine turned out beautifully.
Gold Antler DIY | A Domestic Wildflower
Gold Antlers DIY: A Domestic Wildflower click to read this super helpful tutorial!

Messenger Bag: A Great Sewing Pattern for Beginners

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Filed Under: Sew