How to Remove Paint From Hardware

Avoid chemical strippers with a simple hot water soak

If you want to strip paint from metal without the nasty fumes and mess of chemical strippers, just fill a slow cooker with water and set the dial to high. The heat and moisture will soften the paint, and often it will fall off as a single piece.
This works on oil, latex and spray paints, but it may not remove some clear finishes like lacquer. Cooking the hardware may stain or contaminate the pot, so use an old one or buy a new one for less than $20. This method won't harm hardware made of non-rusting metals like copper, brass or aluminum. You'll end up with a little rust on steel—not enough to ruin hidden parts like hinge pins or screws, but possibly enough to roughen shiny surfaces. If the steel has a plating like chrome or brass and the plating is already flaking off, this method will cause more flaking.
Some paints will loosen within a couple of hours, but for best results, plan to cook the hardware overnight. If the paint doesn't fall off by itself, scrub lightly with a stiff plastic brush. The paint will harden as it cools, so scrub the hardware as soon as you pull it out of the water. The paint may contain lead, so catch all the sludge and throw it in the garbage.

easy isnt it 

Slow cooker Christams pudding YES YOU CAN

you can in fact cook a boiled pudding or Christmas pudding in a slow cooker


Step one

Get your best, easiest, family friendly , never fail, or favourite plum pudding recipe and make it up

THEN

1. Grease a 2L ceramic pudding bowl. Cut out a circle of baking parchment to fit in the base of the bowl then place that inside and grease. Transfer the pudding mixture to the prepared pudding bowl and pat down to ensure that there are no air pockets. or tap on counter top .
2.  Lay a large piece of tin foil on the counter top, then lay a piece of baking parchment on top of the foil. Make a 3cm wide pleat with the two sheets then place over the pudding bowl, tin foil on the outside, with the pleat crossing the middle of the bowl. Secure tightly with kitchen string around the rim of the bowl and then tie a sturdy string handle for ease of lifting the bowl in and out of the hot water. Trim any excess foil or baking parchment leaving about a 3cm overhang.
3.  Ensure that the water in the slow cooker is simmering then lower the pudding bowl into the water, ensuring that the water comes only half way up the side of the bowl. Adjust if necessary. Cover.
4. Steam the pudding for 8 to 9 hours on high, topping up the water to the half way height when necessary.
5. Remove from the slow cooker and if making ahead allow to cool. Remove the foil and baking parchment and cover with fresh foil and parchment, again securing with string. Store in a cool dark place for up to a year. If using the same day, invert over a serving plate and serve.
6.  
7. This is so easy  you will love it. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

DIY spice racks

I knew those cooling racks would work! Hubby didn't think they would, that while bending them, I would break the weld. But heck for $1 I'm willing to try it!  And I'm happy to say that it worked! Yeah, a couple of the welds didn't hold, but they work just fine!

Here's how I did it.

Bend the little legs flat as possible. 

 Then bend up the one side at the 4th wire. I used needle nose pliers to bend it.

 Then skip one wire and bend the other side up.

 I used this method for the smaller spice containers.  The larger ones, I made them wider at the bottom by skipping 2 wires and then bending up the other side.  It works great! You can see in the next picture.

Now the sides, aren't too fancy.  I racked my brain trying to find a workable solution for the sides from twine to wire.  I had this woven type of ribbon and just glued the ends together with my glue gun. 

Hey, it works! And you can see how I put them on the pantry door. I measured and hung them with screws that had a large head on them. After they were hung, I tightened the screw to hold in place. Pretty simple.

They don't bang around when I open the door and none have fallen. I can find all of my spices sooo easy and they are organized so I don't use the wrong one.

 Many thanks to Story Book house for the tutorial

3 ingredient slow cooker fruit cake

This really is easiest cake to make and it is moist as well as freezable

YOU WILL NEED

1 kilo of dried fruit (I used sultanas for this cake with cranberries)
3 cups of Chocolate milk ( you can also use, tea, fruit juices, soft drinks coffee the list goes on)
3 cups of self raising flour

SOAK fruit in what every your liquid of choice is over night so 24 hours no less but more time is fine

remove from fridge and sift flour into mixture

This should be a wet mixture so add more liquid if it is dry after mixing

line slow cooker with grease proof paper
Spoon in mixture

place lid and remember to place a tea towel under the lid to stop moisture landing on cake.
Cook on high for about 3-3 1/2 hours however every cooker is different so check to see if the cake has bounce when you gently press down on the mixture

Once cooked remove from cooker and leave to cool

once cooled ice if you like and enjoy

Freezer as a root cellar

This is easy and a great way to recycle

remove all of the working parts and cut two holes in each side.   (Note:  if your appliance still contains freon, certified individuals can be hired for freon removal or these services may be available at area junk yards or recycling centers.)  To the holes  attach PVC pipe for air circulation.  When in the ground, it looked like someone had buried a semi.  A tarp was partly buried as well in order to protect the freezer and allow easier access during icy conditions.  We later added a sheet of insulation under the tarp as well.  we suggest making  crates for easier storage and better air circulation.With hopeful trepidation,be  careful to store only the best potatoes and packed the smaller ones in the upper boxes and use use them first.

root vegetable storage

Love this as a way to store vegetables

You’ll need some cardboard or wooden boxes and something for insulation; newspaper, sawdust, peat moss, or sand. Place a layer of insulation on the bottom of the box and then a single layer of your root crop (carrots, potatoes, beets, etc). Make sure the roots aren’t touching the sides of the box. Cover the roots with a quarter inch of insulation, then another layer of roots, and so on until the box is filled. Make sure to leave enough room to have the top layer be a few inches of insulation. You don’t want exposed roots at the top of the box. Also, it’s best to store a single type of root in each box, instead of mixing and matching.

Shower caddy recycled

I love this for tiny kitchens and tiny families

Great way to recycle and this caddy can hang on any wall or end of cupboard and there are many styles of caddy's  around

Lamp shade to wool storage

Love how simple this is and how effective it is as well as how great it looks

Turn an outdated lampshade into this really useful wool storage 

repurpose your old table

This is a fantastic idea for those who need a work table with storage

Take and old table and an old dresser merge them together and this makes a great work space

Vintage bread boxes revamped

Turn these

Into these

fab fab fab

Three ingredient Fruit cake

This is the best and easiest fruit cake .
 I love slow cookers as they are easy to use, they use very little electricity, they do not heat up the  kitchen  so I am going to share the odd easy recipe.


This cake is so easy and can be frozen once its cooked

You will need

1 kilo of mixed fruit
2 cups of self raising flour
750 ml of fluid 

FLUID

I use cold tea or Chocolate Milk ( any flavour really) or fruit juice of choice (often what is on sale)


Soak fruit in liquid over night

When ready to cook add flour mix well

place grease proof paper in  slow cooker 

Pour in cake ix

cook on low for up to 8 hours or high for about 4 hours.

All slow cookers are different so judge the baking time yourself .


cheers

apartment dog potty

These are so simple to make and so good for for both cats and dogs especially when you live in an apartment

Dog collars from recycle belts

Dog collars from recycle belts, what a great way to use vintage belts

Moist coconut sheet cake

1 butter or Vanilla cake mix  3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 packet of instant pudding (I used vanilla)

 Mix together all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan that has been greased and floured. (o use grease proof paper)  Bake at 350 for 32 - 35 minutes or until tooth pick comes our clean.


Poke holes in cake 


then mix 




1 can of cream of coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk


pour over cake then leave to cool, O\I actually put it in the fridge 

Tops with whipped cream and the coconut    ENJOY

 

Lazy Cookie Bars

The boxed cake mix. So versatile, so easy and so yummy. Only 4 ingredients and you probably have them all at home already. It’s not a really thick bar. It’s more like a sheet pan cookie. It’s gooey and I love the edges – those are my favorite. Feel free to mix this up by adding nuts or different types of chocolate chips.

Ingredients:1 (15 oz.) box yellow cake mix
2 eggs, beaten
5 tbsp. butter, melted
1 bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

I prefer to use plane brand cake mix which is usually under $1.00

 

 Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray

 Combine dry cake mix with melted butter and beaten eggs.

 This is easier if you have an electric or stand mixer because batter will be very thick.

 Stir in bag of chocolate chips. Spread batter into greased baking dish.

  spread the batter around using using your hands since the batter is very thick

Once it is evenly spread out, put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

  It will puff up as it is cooking and be golden brown around the edges when it is done.

 

And like any good chocolate chip cookie, I like to eat these warm so you can usually find me sneaking some bites from this pan before it’s cool! This makes a great base for some ice cream too.