Fall Brings Gourds

Ever since I started my blog, I've wanted to devote a post

 to APPLE GOURDS.

They are  unique and intriguing. A fascination to me. I've

grown a lot of gourds, when we lived in the country and

had the space. You've probably seen them made into bird

houses and decoration crafts. My favorite is the Apple Gourd. 

They grow to about 8" to 10" and look just like an apple.

I'm doing this post in hopes you fall in love with them as

 much as I did. Right now, during the Fall Craft fairs

and events is when you'll find them.

This year's crop, from the patch will

look like this one. If you buy a green one, 

you will have to dry it.

CLICK HERE for information on drying, growing and

 variety s of  gourds

There's a big bonus buying any gourd. There's seeds inside !

I would buy a fresh picked green gourd and dry it on your own

if you want to harvest seeds. With the dried gourds, there's

no guarantee how old the might be and I've had difficulty

growing older seeds.

If they are dried, they will look like these. 

Buying dried gourds cuts down on a lot of work

and may be a little more expensive. They are 

ready for painting, decoupage or making

a bird house.

CLICK HERE to learn how to make a bird house. 

***always wear rubber gloves***

For those of you who have not discovered the miracles

of TSP...CLICK HERE 

Can be purchased at

Lowe's

Home Depot

Walmart

Here is one of my Apple gourds, I decoupaged the kids, grand kid's & great gran kid's  

photos onto. I sculpted my leaves with Crayola Model Magic. After they were dry I hot 

melted them onto my gourd.

This is not an Apple gourd, but I painted it in 04' ( Crap...that was ten years ago !) and still 

decorate with it.

Here's some more examples of pretty Apple Gourds, for ideas. Some of the images are linked to sites.

Here's a sheet of elements you might want to decoupage onto your gourds

using a cute pair of kittens from BUM,BE BUTTON and pretty roses

from FLICKER

(1) Clean the gourd

(2) Paint the gourd

(3) Decoupage the elements onto the gourd

(4) Add an antique glaze

When I decoupage, I prefer to use decoupage paper, wrapping paper or tracing paper. 

Clean and Sanitize your Electric Tooth Brush

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Clean and deodorize the Garbage Disposal

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Cleaning Birdbaths

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I saw this pin on Pinterest.

Add a cap full of Cider Vinegar to the birdbath to keep it clean and the ACV is good for the birds.

Click on the lower right corner of the image to read more

Here's the link to the post on using Hydrogen Peroxide in your fountain

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Use a Bucket Lint Trap on your Dryer vent

HOME DEPOT











Lowes  

http://www.lowes.com/pd_45113-85334-VTL0007_0__?productId=3203205&Ntt=dryer+vent+hose&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Ddryer%2Bvent%2Bhose&facetInfo=

Walmart 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dundas-Jafine-Inc.-CHK100ZW-Dryer-Vent-Heat-Keeper/21800208#ProductDetailhttp://www.walmart.com/ip/Dundas-Jafine-Inc.-CHK100ZW-Dryer-Vent-Heat-Keeper/21800208#ProductDetail

Features:

• Re-directs warm moist air from electric clothes dryers into house
• Prevents cold air from re-entering house through dryer

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Keeping Your Dog's Eyes Clean And Stain Free

                                           My sweet Tagg

                                          

I had never owned a Pomeranian and I had some things to learn. 

Their little eyes run because their tears don't drain into the sinus cavity like other dogs.

I had tried anything and everything to make the stains go away or at least minimal.

One evening I decided to use the coconut oil on his little face where the stains were. Within two days there were no more stains and his little face was dry and clean.
When they start to tear I put a small amount of soft stage coconut oil on my finger tip and place it on the top of his nose right under his eye where the stains form. Don't worry if you get it in their eyes, unlike a lot of the products, the coconut oil does not hurt their little eyes and seems to be soothing to him.
AND did you know coconut oil is a good supplement for dogs and cats ? Start them out with very small amounts added to their diet. Small dogs can usually have 1 teaspoon per day.

Be sure you use refined or organic.

I was going to write a complete post about the benefits of Coconut Oil from my personal experience, but these articles say it best.....

           

 Look for virgin coconut oil, which is the least processed and doesn't contain trans fat.

I whip mine.

     

How to Clean Jewelry That Has Been Through a House Fire or Disaster

This is a emotionally difficult post to write, but if you've had this experience or know someone who has had their jewelry damaged but not melted because it was in a fire, I'm going to tell you how to save it and   make it look new.
I can't give you a photo demonstration because our home burned 20 years ago, but the photo above is a few of my pieces I saved.
Just a couple of days before our fire, we had gone out of town. All my gold pieces I had packed in a plastic jewelry box for traveling. Other than loosing them, nothing could have been worse. My Son found this big chunk of melted plastic and jewelry.
 Off and on for a year I  would get  the mess out and pry my jewelry of the chunk of plastic.  It was still coated with black thick film of plastic and gunk. I placed it in a safe place and a couple of years after the fire I saw a commercial, I don't even remember what it was for, but they were offering a free booklet how to clean old gold with oven cleaner.
 A light bulb went off in my head.....oven cleaner cleans really   burnt on crud off the oven. I had nothing to loose by giving the oven cleaner a try.

Figuring out how to, was risky and  frightening, but it paid off.
1) I lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
2) placed the jewels on the cookie sheet and baked it until it was hot to the touch (350 degrees)
3) Took them out of the oven when they got hot to the touch. Immediately sprayed them with the oven cleaner.
What was happening was a miracle ! I rinsed them good with water and repeated the process( changing the aluminum foil each time) until all the melted plastic and gunk was gone !

My jewelry looked as if nothing had ever happened and new again. 

The cabochon Garnet ring didn't escape with out damage. The heat from the fire had cracked the Garnet, but I found the antique jeweler I had purchased the ring from and she was able to find another large Garnet and replace mine.

UPDATED INFORMATION

A few weeks ago my neighbor and her sister inherited some beautiful antique copper cookware. Really old....they were family treasures and had been used buy their Grandmother with many years of use. I gave her my tip ...to place the kettles out in the sun, let them get warm, then spray with the oven cleaner. It worked ! Their kettle had been used over open fires to make apple butter, so if you have a copper treasure that needs cleaned, this method works on copper too.

*NOTE.....I have not tried cleaning Silver with this 
method

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glenda's world: Close to My Heart

This canvas picture of my beautiful Grandchildren was created for me by

	Website http://www.BDesigned.org

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