DIY Life

For the last couple of days, the weather has been humid, without much wind to cool it off. It was hot enough outside that I had to split the lawn mowing into two days. I will not complain, though, as I will take the heat, sans humidity, any day of the year.

Unfortunately, it gets pretty hot in my house too, as we don't have much shade or air conditioning. It wasn't enough that I had cold water to drink: I needed something more to help cool down my body temperature. I wasn't prepared, but next time, you can bet I will be with these 6 simple frozen treats I can concoct myself.

It seems that when I look at our budget, the greater portion of our expenses seem to be spent on food. Yes, we are self-proclaimed Foodies, so we tend to splurge on good things to eat. The good news is that there are ways to save money in the kitchen; your love of food doesn't have to break the bank.

1. Make a weekly menu and shop accordingly: Creative meal planning wastes less. You'll be less apt to buy things that aren't on your grocery list, and you'll have everything you need for the week's meals, thereby saving gas on fewer trips to the grocery store.

2. Use extra foods to make soups or stews: It's OK to buy that jumbo bag of broccoli florets. After you use what you need in Tuesday's stir-fry, throw the rest into a pot with onions, broth, some dried beans, and some seasonings. The result will be a healthy soup that you can freeze for lunches later. Some of my favorite meals have been the clean-out-the-refrigerator-stews!

What a concept! It's summertime and we've already got the sun's heat beating down outside, while the air conditioner struggles to keep up inside. Why make it worse by using the stove and oven? Kill two birds with one stone, by using the sun's heat to do the cooking outside!

This tip for a solar stove comes to us just in time from Craftster's "ladybuggins" -- it'll be almost 100 degrees here, and I'm hankerin' for some chili! Here's what you'll need:

• A cooking pot with a lid
• An auto windshield sun reflector
• A few clothes pins and...
• Plenty of sunshine!
  

First, curl the reflector around into a funnel shape and secure it with the clothes pins. Set it on the ground with the open funnel pointing upwards. Place the pot with the food in it down in the center, and the radiant energy will focus into the center of the parabola to cook the contents. Bon appetit!

I dare you to find an American household without any carrots in the fridge. Granted, most will probably be the scrubbed-clean, prepackaged, more expensive baby carrots. If you'd like to save money (and waste less food!), read on.

First of all, buying whole carrots -- or, better yet, growing them -- is cheaper than buying baby carrots. A good thing, right? Well, if you learn how to peel them just so, you'll be able to save more of the carrot... and more money.

According to eHow, if you peel away from you with a sharp-bladed peeler, you'll peel off less carrot. Additionally, if you peel the top until no green is showing, then peel the tip as well -- no chopping -- you'll end up with more of the carrot.

It seems like a simple way to be frugal while respecting the Earth's resources.

We've all seen those vacuum sealers on the infomercials. Sure, they might be handy, but at those prices you might as well just buy the minimum amount of food and not worry about food storage. But thanks to the DIY imagination of Eric Foreman, you can make your own vacuum sealer for about $30!

The parts list is pretty simple:

1. A brake bleeder / vacuum pump
2. A Tila FoodSaver Mason Jar adapter
3. MasonJars with lids
   

Obviously this won't allow you to leave out spoilable foods, but it's a great way to keep other things fresh. Use it to store things like tea, your expensive coffee beans, pasta, and bulk spices. And if the survivalists are right, this will turn out to be a very handy contraption to have!

[Via instructables.com]

You're so close to walking down the aisle... only a few finishing touches on your DIY wedding, and you'll be ready for the big day. You've made your invitations, your bouquet, and your centerpieces, but have you thought about your favors yet?

Back when I got married, in an attempt to keep my wedding super-simple, we bought personalized votive candles and stuck them on the tables. Pretty much done, but looking back, I could have done something nearly as easy that:

• showed our personality more as a couple
• had a creative touch
• fit the theme of our wedding
• really said "thank you" to our guests.

If I could do it all over again, I'd choose one of these three favors.

Here at DIY Life, Earth-friendly ideas are always a popular topic. So, when we heard that our sister site Green Daily is running a fantastic giveaway from Gardener's Supply Company, we couldn't wait to tell our readers about it!

One lucky reader will win a complete composting kit, featuring more than US $300 in supplies. The centerpiece of the prize is the Earthmaker Composter (a $225 value), but there are also plenty of accessories in the package, including a nifty odor-busting crock in which you can collect your kitchen scraps before putting them in the compost bin.

To learn more, and enter, please visit the giveaway post at Green Daily and follow the instructions: all you have to do is leave a comment telling them what you would compost if you were the winner. If you've never commented before, the system will require you to confirm the comment with a legitimate email address. Good luck!

If you don't win, a few great DIY composting ideas may come in handy. Check out the following posts:

• Bethany's Start your own worm composting bin
• Create a compost pile in your back yard, also by Bethany
• Francesca's Make a compost bin from shipping pallets
• Anna's 163 items to add to your compost

As that Cheetos orange cheetah tells us, "It ain't easy bein' cheesy!" True, but I didn't know how true until I read this article on the cheesemonger's top ten rules. The first eye-opener is that cheese is a living, breathing thing. It makes sense when you think about the bacteria, but who thinks of it in that light?

As for me, I like odoriferous cheeses like blue cheese, so I was happy to learn that it just keeps getting better. Other things I didn't know -- like the fact that I've been storing cheese the wrong way. You should actually use cheese paper. Who knew such a thing existed?

Don't just rely on what the package says. Taking some DIY responsibility for your cheese is important to you and your family. Read the article yourself to learn:

• how to tell when it's gone bad.
• the shelf life of different types.
• the do's and don't-do's of storage.
• and more!
  

Turns out the cheetah was wrong; it actually is easy bein' cheesy, as long as you know what the cheesemonger does!

[via www.thekitchn.com]

Do you remember Magic Shell? It's that weird and wonderful chocolate creation that, when poured over ice cream, hardens so you get to crunch through.

As a kid, it was just pure fun. As an adult, I have to wonder what in the heck goes into that stuff. It turns out that certain oils keeps the chocolate liquid until poured over the ice cream. What's more, you can make it at home.

All you need is some finely chopped eating chocolate, coconut oil, and a pinch of salt. Brownie Points gives us the how-to. You can even add different flavor extracts to create your own varieties of Magic Shell that can't be bought in stores.

The arrival of Chirp magazine is a happy day in our house. Each month, we pore over the pages of stories, games, and activities. With every issue, there is at least one project that we just have to try. This month, Chirp has us making Bug Snacks.

All you need are some pieces of dried fruit, and a handful of toothpicks. Let your children experiment, making different creepy-crawlies and other creations. This is one kids' activity that you won't just want to supervise; dig in and make some snacks of your own.

We started out making bugs, but with my Kiddie Crafters as creative directors, the possibilities were endless. Check out the gallery to see what we made, then follow me through the break for more ideas.

Nothing says Happy Father's Day like a new tie, right? You can surprise the special dad in your life by presenting him with an artistically created necktie cake. A skinny necktie cake is a lot more fun to bake, frost, and embellish than shopping for the perfect tie. Everyone will enjoy this necktie -- with a little dip of ice cream -- and there will be no sense of disappointment from Dad.

MailJust4me provides simple Father's Day projects, including directions for making a necktie cake. I took liberties with their pan recommendations and used two 9 x4 bread pans. When thinking of a design, I checked out some Armani ties to see what's new.

What you need:

• 2 9x4 baked cakes or 1 large rectangular cake cut lengthwise in half
• white frosting
• food coloring
• ziplock bag
• scissors
• M & M's or other candy
• Large tray or platter to hold finished cake

Check out the gallery to see how my cake turned out, then follow me through the break for the decorating instructions.

After a long, cold winter, the bountiful seasons of spring and summer are here. Fruits and vegetables that often disappear from local markets over the winter are plentiful and inexpensive. With food prices soaring, it's tempting to take advantage of sales on produce, bakery items, and meat. Unless you have a way to store those perishables, however, buying in bulk will just lead to throwing away in bulk when the food goes bad.

The freezer is the perfect place to keep food good for a longer period of time. Most foods can be frozen for at least three to eight months, making that "buy one get one free" sale you just discovered a lot more tempting!

Suite 101 has several tips for freezing fresh foods, including breads, cheese, milk, and herbs, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. While those tips are relatively simple and straightforward, a user at Epinions has some more advanced techniques, for those of you who are really trying to squeeze pennies out of your food budget. Finally, Love Food Hate Waste has five tips for preventing food waste (and dollar waste) in the kitchen. When every penny counts, these tips might help.

Dandelions can be eaten in many ways, from leafy greens to fried flowers to drinking wine; I almost imagine them as lettuce gone wild. Making coffee from dandelions isn't new, but trying this unusual drink is an interesting way to spend a few hours -- and, if you haven't sprayed them with herbicide in the past, an organic way to get rid of those dandelions in the yard.

Tools and supplies include: a weed popper, knife, cookie sheet, oven, coffee grinder, and of course a coffee machine. Follow along in the gallery to get a better idea. Instructions are after the break!

Grab your hip, new reusable shopping tote and let's grab some groceries. But, wait! First, check out the Reader's Digest 10 tips for smart food shopping. It's a quick and easy-to-read guide for staying on track once you step inside the store. Stay on track how? Answer: in every way -- in terms of your budget and your health goals.

Here are my three faves -- all ideas that have worked for me lately:
1. Limit your trips. I try to pick up extra bread and milk when I shop so as to avoid extra runs to the store. The less I go to the supermarket, the less I spend each month.
2. Avoid shopping on an empty stomach. An oldie but a goodie. This is probably the best shopping advice out there!
3. Follow the walls. The less processed stuff you buy, the less money you'll spend and the healthier you'll be eating. Try it. This tip really works!

Enjoy these ideas? Check out Francesca's tips on how to be a grocery super shopper!

I'm an adoptive mom, so I spend a lot (read: far, far, too much) time checking out other adoption blogs. One of my favorites is Do They Have Salsa in China? To keep her two little girls interested in eating healthfully, the blog's creative author has delved into bento boxes.

We've posted about the art of packing bento boxes before. Common in Japanese cuisine, bento is a single-portion meal that is often beautifully arranged -- food that is not only pleasing to the palate, but also to the eye. You can make bento boxes a toddler favorite with a few simple twists that I'll share after the break.