blog - The Gunny Sack

Saturday Sewing: Sunglasses Case

Sunglasses are not only a summer necessity but also a fashion accessory.

Keep your sunglasses looking good by storing them in a unique case!

My cases are inspired by these Thomas Paul cases that I saw in the June 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine.

I used leather to make these cases, instead of canvas. Fold a piece of leather around your sunglasses to figure out how big the case needs to be.

Cut the leather piece and sew along the side and the bottom. I used upholstery thread and sewed the seam twice so the stitches would contrast more. Trim any excess leather. I didn’t get a good picture of this step but this picture shows what I mean.

Take a picture of a pair of sunglasses or find an image online to use for your stencil.

Print the image onto a piece of paper and trace the image onto a piece of Freezer Paper with the shiny side down (you are writing on the papery side of the Freezer Paper).

Using an X-Acto (craft) knife carefully cut out the stencil.

With a low setting (mine was set at 3) iron the pieces onto the leather case with the shiny side down. I know “they” say never to iron leather but I did and it worked fine.

Paint all of the exposed leather. I used fabric paint for the yellow glasses and acrylic paint for the green and blue glasses. The best choice would be to use paint that is specifically for leather.

Once the paint is dry, peel the Freezer Paper off of the case. You can use your paint brush and paint to fix any areas that didn’t come out right or to straighten any lines.

{Mid Week Munchies} Oatmeal Crunch Bars

Sometimes you need a little crunch with your chocolate!

I needed 6 dozen easy-to-serve treats over the weekend. Since these bars are made in a jelly roll pan you get a lot of servings..how many…well that depends on how big you make the pieces! If it’s a treat you, make the pieces big, of course. But if you have to share with a crowd, make them smaller!

Mix together:

4 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Add:

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup butterscotch chips

Press mixture in an ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F.

Sprinkle 2 cups chocolate chips over the bars and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the melted chocolate chips over the bars.

Allow the bars to cool and then cut into pieces…
a big stack of crunchy goodness!

Oatmeal Crunch Bars

by The Gunny Sack

4 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup butterscotch chips

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter. Stir in oats, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Add chopped walnuts and butterscotch chips. Press mixture in an ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the melted chocolate chips over the bars.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Framed Wire Memo Board

I’ve seen a few of these Framed Wire Memo Boards online…I even “stuffed” some in my gunny sack! I finally gave it a try and am happy with the results!

I picked these beauties up at my local thrift store for $1.50 a piece. The frames are plastic.

With my handy dandy Black and Decker screwdriver I removed the screws that held the back in place.

Using a primer, I coated the frame. BTW my son found the Close To Home comic in the frame very hilarious…it says “To encourage young teen boys to use deodorant, Mennen unveils its new Speed Stick Slide.”

After letting the primer dry, I spray painted this Krylon, satin finish, teal color over the primer.

Here it is…painted and dried!

Next, I traced the back piece that I had removed earlier onto the wire with a permanent marker. (The wire mesh I used was from a roll that my husband had out in the garage that he picked up from out local True Value) Using a wire cutter, I clipped the wires at the markings.

It didn’t fit perfectly (of course) so I had to do a little more clipping, as I fitted the wire oval onto the back of the frame. One again, using the B & D screwdriver, I put the screws back in place trying to make sure they caught some of the wire underneath to hold it.

Both clothes pins and magnets (because the wire is metal) work for holding items in place. As does just poking them through the holes.

I painted the other frame white and have another project in mind that I will post soon!!

Linking here: I’m Crafty

Scared Pepper Experiment

Here is another experiment to add to the Science Kits!

The scared pepper “runs away” from the soap!

Gather materials needed for the experiment. I put the liquid dish soap into an empty mini bubbles container with the blower removed. Print the experiment “recipe” below and place all of it into a gallon size Ziplock bag. Add the bagged experiment to the plastic bin so it is ready for your child.

Scared Pepper – A Surface Tension Experiment

Materials you will need:

Plastic Bowl
Small Container of Pepper
Small Container of Liquid Dish Soap

Steps:

Fill the bowl with water.
Sprinkle a pinch of pepper in the center of the bowl of water.
Add a drop of liquid dish soap to the center of the pepper bunch.

The pepper scurries away from the soap! This is because the soap breaks the surface tension of the water and the tension on the rest of the water pulls the floating pepper away from the soap.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings are another one of those comfort foods! This recipe uses a slow cooker and is super easy.

Mix these ingredients in your slow cooker (crock pot):

1 can cream of chicken soup, warmed
1 cup prepared chicken gravy, warmed
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp onion flakes
1/8 tsp pepper
Add about 8 frozen chicken tenderloins or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours.

Shred cooked chicken into bite size pieces with 2 forks.

About 45 minutes before serving, flatten one tube (7.5 oz) buttermilk refrigerator biscuits and cut into pieces.

Cover the liquid in the slow cooker with the biscuit pieces. It’s okay if they overlap. Replace the cover on the slow cooker and continue to cook on high for 45 minutes.

The biscuits might not look done on the top but use a fork to open one of the biscuits to make sure its done.

Delicious!

Chicken and Dumplings

by The Gunny Sack (adapted from All Recipes)

Mix these ingredients in your slow cooker (crock pot):

1 can cream of chicken soup, warmed

1 cup prepared chicken gravy, warmed

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp onion flakes

1/8 tsp pepper

Add about 8 frozen chicken tenderloins or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Put the cover on the slow cooker and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours.

About 45 minutes before serving, flatten one tube (7.5 oz) buttermilk refrigerator biscuits and cut into pieces. Cover the liquid in the slow cooker with the biscuit pieces. It’s okay if they overlap. Replace the cover on the slow cooker and continue to cook on high for 45 minutes.