grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Homemade Fruit Roll-ups

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Fruit Roll-ups were a staple snack in our house when the kids were young. Fun for them and quick for me! Plus, I admit it, I liked to eat them too.

I recently tried my hand at making homemade fruit roll-ups. They were extremely easy, healthy and tasty.
Ingredients
3 cups strawberries (or whatever is on sale)
1 tablespoon honey (if your strawberries are sweet enough, no honey needed)

Method

Puree strawberries and honey in blender or food processor.
Cover cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Pour the fruit puree over the plastic, leaving space around the edges.
Bake at 170 degrees for 6-8 hours (depending on your oven). It takes a long time for the fruit to dry out, but don’t worry, the oven is not hot enough to melt the plastic wrap.
When dried and cooled (much like leather), peel the fruit away from the plastic and place it over a sheet of parchment paper. 
Cut the fruit and paper into strips and roll them up.  

Store in a plastic bag. They will not last long…

talya
Grace Grits & Gardening

One Ordinary Day

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The Writers’ Post Week #77 Prompt: Rewind, Pause or Fast Forward? – If you could change anything in your life, which button would you press?
***

When my time on earth is done, I would like to re-wind to one ordinary summer day at the lake when my children were young.  Not to change a single moment, but to re-live and remember each second, to make sure I take every detail with me. 
To stroll with them along the rocky shoreline collecting shells, to see them hold hands and spring into the cold water from the dock, to feel the warm sunshine on my face, to hear my name called out before bedtime….all simple, yet special things.

When my time on earth is done, all I hope for is that my kids are happy and healthy and have learned to appreciate how incredibly intoxicating ordinary can be.

Tate and Kelsey

“Do small things with great love.” 
― Mother Teresa

talya

Musicial Pairings:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow


Mixed Media Art Project

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Finished!

I am not a crafty blogger, but I do love to make homemade baby gifts.

I made this mixed media piece for baby Haley, my friend Jenny’s new daughter. 
Haley Frances Rolland

Although the project takes several hours, it is fun, creative, and not as difficult as it appears.

Supplies:

Blank artist’s canvas
Mod Podge
Scrapbook paper
Vintage buttons
Vintage rick rack
Scrapbook stickers
Pictures from old children’s books
Glue Gun
Paintbrush
Scissors / Paper Cutter

I know, I know, I KNOW it’s sacrilegious to cut out pages from books, but I buy these books specifically for this purpose at estate sales and at Half Price Books to lessen the pain…
I also buy stickers and scrapbook paper on sale from Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Target, knowing I will eventually find a use for everything.
sheet of scrapbook paper – various colors/prints
vintage buttons
When I prepare to do one of these projects, I never have a plan other than the general theme. In this case, ‘baby girl’ theme. On my computer, I printed lines from Mary Had A Little Lamb, substituting Haley to make it personalized. This phrase becomes the backdrop for the project. I glued this first piece of scrapbook paper onto my canvas with Mod Podge, then began adding layers of paper.
gluing rick rack along side

The key is to layer and layer and layer the canvas with pieces and strips of scrapbook paper coating each side and seam with magical mystical Mod Podge. The more layers the richer and more interesting the finished piece.

Allow coats to dry before adding more layers. If you tear a piece of paper, no worries. Add another piece. If two pieces just don’t seem to work side by side, glue on a button. (Buttons should be adhered with hot glue rather than Mod Podge…)

Don’t forget to decorate the back with your name and date.
Back

Remember, this isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s hand crafted.

Note:  This project isn’t exclusive to baby gifts…I made the following piece with drawings of my puppies and pages about dogs from vintage books. Favorite sports team is another fun theme. You are limited only by your imagination.

Lucy and Annabelle

Have fun!

talya

Grace Grits & Gardening
p.s. This is the gift I made several years ago for Haley’s big sister, Samantha.

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!