About sam

Hi! I'm Sam. Thanks for stopping by. I'm a wife, mother & grandmother with a passion for crafting and diy projects.

Ham & Baby Lima Bean Soup

This is one of those ‘stick to your ribs’ recipes that is so easy & inexpensive to make.

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) pkg. dried baby Lima beans

½ # (2 cups) Ham chunks

8 cups water

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 cups Celery, diced

1 Onion, diced

2 cups Carrots, diced

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tsp. dried parsley

Directions

Place beans in a large pot; cover with 2 inches water. Place in refrigerator & let stand overnight. Drain and rinse. Transfer beans to another container.

Combine ham with 8 cups water in a large saucepan.

Heat the Olive oil in a large pot, over medium heat. Add celery, onion & carrots & cook until onion is translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add diced ham, lima beans & water.  Reduce heat and simmer, adding additional water as needed, until soup is thickened to desired consistency, about 90 minutes.

Stir salt, pepper, and parsley into the soup. Simmer about 10 minutes more.

Optional:

Add 2 cups of potatoes, (diced) to celery, onion & carrots.

To see how I made this, click on the link below!

Happy Creating everyone!

$5 Goodwill Challenge ~ DIY Garden Mushrooms

This is always a fun challenge for me. Old World Home issues an open invitation to crafters each Season. What we are to do is to buy items from the Goodwill or thrift shop, for $5 or less to decorate our homes for that Season. This time it’s for Spring.

I found a couple of items, with a specific idea in mind. I got some wooden salad bowls & a Pilsner glass for beer.

With a little bit of paint & some Mod Podge mixed with food coloring, I turned them into some ‘mushrooms‘ to go with my little garden gnome.

I just love the way they turned out & I can’t wait to put them outside.

To see how I did this, click on the link below.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy Creating everyone!

Potato Salad

This is a recipe that my mother taught me to make when I was just a teenager. It is one of my comfort foods, and with what is going on in the world today, I need all the comfort I can get. This is so easy to make & is a real crowd pleaser.

3 to 4 pounds of Potatoes (Boiled, Peeled, Cubed)

6 Eggs (Boiled, Peeled, Cubed)

2 ribs Celery (Minced)

1 medium Onion (Minced)

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (½ to 1 cup)

Onion Powder –to taste

Garlic Powder –to taste

Paprika –to taste

Salt –to taste

Pepper –to taste

In a large bowl, combine cubed potatoes, cubed eggs, minced celery & minced onion.  To that, add Mayonnaise or Miracle whip until evenly covered.  Add Onion powder, Garlic powder, Paprika, Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cover & chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Add additional mayonnaise if needed.  Garnish with one egg sliced & sprinkle with additional paprika.

Serve

To see how I made this, click on the link below:

I hope you enjoy.

Happy Creating everyone!

Chopped DIY Challenge

This was a challenge that took me completely out of my comfort zone. We were to have someone (Hubby & Son) pick 5 items from our crafting stash, and then put the items in a box. We could use a hot glue gun, paint & ribbon & must use the 5 items from the box to make something.

My guys chose some wooden blocks, some wooden shapes that look like flat thread spools, a set of miniature china, a small stretched canvas & some plastic ‘crystal’ shapes.

The first thing that I did was to paint the wood. It’s a habit of mine to seal the wood & to prime it if I decide to paint it a different color.

Then I started to arrange & glue the items together. What I came up with was something that looks like a miniature tea party.

This was such a fun challenge for me. Like I said, it completely took me out of my comfort zone, but it really got my creative juices flowing.

To see how I did this, click on the link below!

I hope you enjoy this.

Happy Creating everyone!

Bunny Pillow

I was looking online for some pillows for Easter decorating for my home. I wanted something simple. I found this little pillow at Target, but felt that the price was a little high.

I was pretty sure that I could make something very similar for a lot less money than $18.99!

I got some materials from the Dollar Tree & Walmart & this is what I came up with.

I used some fabric from the automotive section of the Dollar Tree as well as a Bunny Ear headband. I stuffed the little pillow with the stuffing from a Walmart standard sized pillow. Needless to say, the Grand-baby loves it!

To see how easily I made this, click on the link below.

Happy Creating everyone!

Bunny Wreath

I wanted to make a wreath that my Grand-baby would love to look at.

I took some items from the Dollar Tree & came up with this. (He loves it, by the way!)

First I went to the Dollar Tree & got a metal wire wreath form, a cloth from the automotive section,and a bunny ears headband. Then I got some batting from Joann Fabrics. Finally I used some white spray paint & some fabric paint that I got from Walmart. A little hot glue & drying time & this was just what I wanted! I hope you give this one a try.

To see how I did this, click on the link below! (It was so easy!)

Happy Creating everyone!

Goodwill Wreath Collab 2020

This was a fun collaboration where we were to take something from the Goodwill or thrift store & incorporate it into a wreath. I had a beautiful picture frame that didn’t have any glass that was just screaming to be used. This is what I did.

I really love how this turned out. To see how I made this, click on the link below:

Happy Creating everyone!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I got this recipe from a dear lady that I used to work with. Anna was such a sweet person who loved to collect recipes. She & I would trade recipes all the time. This soup is amazing. It tastes just like eating Stuffed Peppers & is so easy to make!

2# ground beef

1 qt. water

28 oz. can tomato sauce

28 oz. diced tomatoes w/liquid

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups peppers, diced

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tsp. each – salt, pepper

1 qt. beef broth

2. beef bouillon cubes

Brown ground meat & drain. 

Add remaining ingredients.

Simmer 30 to 40 minutes.

That’s all there is to making this amazing soup!

I hope you enjoy.

To see how I made this, click on the link below:

Happy Creating everyone!