January 2017

Teeny Tiny Tip: Freeze White Rice

At our house, those containers of white rice that you always get when you order Chinese food don’t always get eaten right away. They get shoved to the back of the fridge, and then discovered again on trash day.

Which is a shame, because a little white rice can turn leftovers into a great lunch. Or a plain broth into more of a meal. Rice isn’t exactly difficult to make, but it does require planning ahead.

Free take-out rice for future meals
Freeze take out rice in a thin layer for use in later meals

The easy way to make use of that rice is to freeze it. Plop that container of rice into a big freezer bag. Press it into a pretty thin layer that fills the bag, pushing the air out as you go. It can be frozen flat, so it doesn’t take up much room in the freezer. And that thin layer means even when frozen, you can snap off a little bit here and there to suit your needs.

 

 

Heart Paper Chain Door Decoration

heart paper chain garland

These cute heart paper chains have been popping up all over Pinterest, and once I saw the basic technique, I knew I was going to make some.

These heart paper chains have been popping up everywhere. Making them into a door decoration is easy

Conveniently, I also needed a new decoration for my front door. It’s January 23rd, so it’s really time for the Christmas decorations to come down, right?

(Like my “hello” sticker on my front door? I cut that out of contact paper by hand before I owned a Silhouette.)

How SuzerSpace created this

Sunday Scrolling: January 22, 2017

A couple of links I found eye-catching this week

  •  The Turquoise Home has been running a great series – 30 Days to Less of a Hot Mess. I’ve been working for several months on my basement, and this technique for clearing a room has a few nice twists.
  • This beautiful wreath is definitely on my “must make” list.
  • This dinosaur project looks like easy fun.
  • I have a thing for planners and calendars, and even though I never really use them, that won’t stop me from looking/pinning.
  • It’s been cold and foggy all week here in Kansas City, which sounds like soup time!

Send Hugs and Kisses to your Valentine

send hugs and kisses to your valentine with this card

There are a lot of theories on how the “xoxo” became known for hugs and kisses. I think it’s neat that the convention has stood the test of time.

This card uses them in a bold graphic style to send a hug and kiss through the mail. Perfect for Valentine’s Day!

With the cheerful flower cut out card, it was really tricky to get the colored panel on centered. Worst of all, that was one of the final steps in making the card, so you could ruin all your work right at the last second. This card takes the difficultly level down a notch in assembly by providing an extra panel for folding in.

How SuzerSpace created this

Teeny Tiny Tip: The best bedside water glass

Do you knock your water glass off your bedside table while rearranging your  blanket? Or miss the table when going to put the glass back down, spilling water near your precious bedside electronics?

Oh. Me neither 🙂

In case you have a friend that does, the best bedside water glass by far is not a glass at all. It’s a sport water bottle.

The best bedside water glass isn't a glass at all

Plastic, so it’s unbreakable. With a nozzle cap so if you knock it over, nothing spills. And if you hunt around, super inexpensive (not a paid endorsement. just my favorite brand of water bottle).

Added bonus – you can take it with you for walks, bike rides or in the car.