Make it Yours Day {23}

Hi Friends!  Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!  My 14 year old son has been in Costa Rica for the last two weeks and he is coming home today!  I can’t believe how much I missed that guy!  While he was gone, I had time to clean out and organize his closet.   That’s pretty much all I got done this week!  Hope you had more luck with your creative projects!

Link up and show us your stuff.   Make sure you enter my giveaway for a chance to win a $60 CSN Stores Gift Certificate!

<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

Here’s the small print:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for sharing your projects!

My Best Bread Yet!

After surviving my recent bread baking adventures (my first loaf of Franken-bread and my first baguettes), I believe I have found the perfect bread book!

I checked this out at the library and after trying out a recipe or two, I bought a copy to call my own.  If you want more info, here’s an Amazon.com link to the book:   Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

After my last bread baking experiences, I was curious how you could possibly make a loaf of artisan bread in just five minutes.  With this method, all you have to do is mix up a few basic ingredients (flour, yeast, salt and water) and refrigerate the very wet dough until you’re ready to use it.  Once you have the dough in your refrigerator, it takes less than 5 minutes of actual work to get a loaf ready to go in the oven.

When you’re ready to bake, you just pull off a hunk of dough from the batch and shape it.
 The shaped dough needs to rise on the counter for approximately 40 minutes before baking.

Right before baking, slash the dough and put it into your hot oven along with a cup of water in a hot pan for steam.    

 

The loaf comes out with a perfect crust and is just delicious inside.  I wish this blog has smell-a-vision and taste-a-vision because this bread is amazing.   My entire family loves this.  One batch of this dough makes four 1 pound loafs.  It’s so easy that I can start a loaf a couple of hours before dinner and have fresh bread on the table several nights a week. 

My grandma baked all of her own bread.  I know she’d be proud to see me now!

What have you baked lately?

Linking up to some of my favorite blogs.

Edited to add by popular demand:  The following ingredients will make 4 one-pound free-form loaves:  3 cups lukewarm water, 1.5 TB granulated yeast, 1.5 TB  coarse kosher salt, and 6.5 cups unbleached all purpose white flour.   Just mix it all together in a resealable, lidded plastic food container.   When it goes into the refrigerator, cover it loosely, but not with an airtight lid.   Seriously, you should check out the book though.  It’s full of great stuff!

More Patriotic Favorites ~ Make it Yours Highlights

I just couldn’t wait to share these wonderful holiday ideas with you.  There’s still time before the July 4th weekend to give some of these a try!

Yummy Smores on a Stick from Whimsical Creations. 

Audra at Simpsonized Crafts made this beautiful Pledge of Allegiance art.  Check out her blog.  It’s a really cute idea!

Annabelle shared a tutorial on how to make these super cute red, white and blue bangles. 

Alison at Oopsey Daisy shared these very festive strawberries!  Perfect for a picnic dessert.

Staci at Just Sew Sassy shared her Patriotic Conversation Jar.   What a great idea for some family interaction!

Here’s a button if you were featured:


<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/zmyxxg.jpg" /></a></center>
Hope you’re all having a great weekend!

Swag Bucks Saturday!

I just love getting packages in the mail!  Especially when I didn’t have to pay for the item inside the box!

This Wii Fit Plus balance board is my latest Swagbucks purchase.  I know that my whole family is going to enjoy this.

Have you signed up for Swagbucks yet?  I must admit, that when I first signed up, I was skeptical.  But they really do add up fast.  When people sign up as your referral, you earn Swagbucks from them too.  Search the web, earn Swagbucks and trade them in for great stuff, like gift cards for Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and PayPal.  When you sign up, they’ll add thirty FREE Swagbucks to your account.   If you haven’t signed up yet, you should!  Here’s the link to the Swagbucks site.

If you have already signed up for Swagbucks, what kind of swag have you received for free?

Hummingbird Love

I just love hummingbirds.  Here in Northern California we have several species of non-migratory hummingbirds.   The ones I see most often are Anna’s Hummingbirds.  While I have a lot of blooming flowers in my garden, I always like to have a full hummingbird feeder.   They’re a lot of fun to watch.  (But hard to photograph…I’m cheating with this great photo from the internet.)

Anna’s Hummingbird: photo © Tony Marple

I was in line at Wal-Mart yesterday.  I always checkout in the garden section since the lines are always so much shorter.  I was in line behind a woman who was buying hummingbird food.  Now, why would anyone buy hummingbird nectar when it’s so easy to make yourself???

Here’s an easy recipe to keep your local hummingbirds happy:

Hummingbird Nectar
In a saucepan, add one part white sugar to four parts water.  Bring to a boil and then cool before filling your feeder. 

Make sure your feeder is clean and mold free.  Hummers don’t like soap, so just use a brush and some bleach water to periodically clean out your feeder. 

Do you have any wildlife in your yard? 

Linking up to some of these fabulous parties!

Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a  $60 CSN Stores Gift Certificate!

It’s a Great Day for a Giveaway!

My friends over at CSN Stores have offered to sponsor another fabulous giveaway!  Some lucky reader will walk away with a $60 gift certificate to be used at any of their online stores!

How cool is that?  If you’re not familiar with CSN, they’re a network of 200+ online stores.  Their products range from furniture, housewares, home decor, lighting,  home improvement and more. 

If I won, I’d definitely look for something to spruce up my summer patio.  Here are a few things I found:
Pretty Outdoor Pillows

How about some outdoor lighting?

Or a whimsical hanging bird bath?

Too bad I’m not eligible to win.  Speaking of eligibility, this giveaway is only open to the residents of the US and Canada.  Sorry far away friends!

Here’s what you have to do.  For each entry, please leave a separate comment below. 

One entry for leaving a comment telling me what you’d pick with your $60 CSN Stores gift certificate.
One entry for following My Backyard Eden.
One entry for following me on Twitter.  (MyBackyardEden)
One entry for tweeting about this giveaway.
One entry for mentioning this giveaway in your blog.

Wow…that’s five ways to enter!  I’ll choose an entry randomly and announce the winner on July 1st.  Please make sure your email address is visible in your profile, or leave it in your comment so I have some way to contact you should you be the lucky winner.

Good luck!

July 4th Favorites and Make it Yours Day {22}

Here a couple of festive ideas from last week’s projects to get you in the mood for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

Miss Fergie at Creative Urges shared a tutorial for a festive patriotic wreath.

Staci at Just Sew Sassy showed us how to make these cute red, white and blue oven mitts.  Perfect for all that holiday cooking and grilling.

Kristin at Holy Cannoli Recipes shared her recipe for Caesar Salad with Flank Steak burgers.  I think this will be on the July 4th menu at my house this year.  Yum!

Jenni from Shared from Way Over Here  showed us an adorable red, white and blue dress she recycled from one of her husband’s shirts.  Super cute!

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab a button:
<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/zmyxxg.jpg" /></a></center>

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.    What cool things have you been working on?    Link up and show us your stuff.   I’ve got a cool giveaway going on tomorrow, so make sure you come back and visit!

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for sharing your projects!

Totally Random Tuesday

Meet my favorite hydrangea bush. 
This little lady has been blooming faithfully for years now.
This year,  she had a surprise for me.

Can you see that every petal on this blossom head has a serrated edge with a little white center?  Kind of cool.

Nature is full of surprises.

What’s surprised you lately?

Let the Parade of Summer Squash Begin

The first zucchini of the season. 

These were delicious.  I sautéed them in olive oil with some sun dried tomatoes. 

Isn’t it funny that you can be so happy to see something at the beginning of a season?   I know that by the end of summer, I will have squash coming out my ears and all of my friends and neighbors will be tired of it too!

But for now, I’ll just enjoy the first squash of the season. 

What are you growing this summer? 

Linking up to An Oregon Cottage and Tidy Mom.

Make it Yours Day {21}

Summer is here!  What’s going on?  Show us what you’ve got!  Today, after you link up, please leave visit the link before yours and leave some comment love!  If you’re the first to link up, leave me a comment!  (You can leave me one anyway, even if you’re not the first!)

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>
When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for sharing your projects!

Bird Feeder Fix Up

I bought this bird feeder on clearance last year at Target.  I loved having it in my yard and the birds loved it, but it did not weather well.  Serious rust.

Here’s a close-up of the rusted nastiness.  Ick.

While strolling through Wal Mart, I came across Rust-oleum Hammered Copper  spray paint.  The label says you can paint right over rust, so I thought it was worth a try. The results are gorgeous.  It really does look like a hammered copper finish.  I’m amazed.  It completely obliterated the rust.  It looks even better than when it was new. 


  The birds are happy again and so am I!

Have you painted anything lately?

Check out these ladies for some more inspiration:  Funky Junk Interiors,   Today’s Creative Blog, All Thingz Related, An Oregon Cottage, Domestically Speaking, Between Naps on the Porch.

Old Window = New Outdoor Art

“School’s out for summer!”  That song’s been playing in my head all weekend. 

After a busy couple of weeks of promotion activities at both elementary and middle school, I’m ready to finally have some time for me!  And that means crafting, sewing, and all that other fun stuff I’ve been missing out on lately.

I’ve been looking for something to fill in the large empty space of siding in my front courtyard.  I found this cool, old window at one of my favorite places for good, used stuff:  Urban Ore in Berkeley.   I got it cheap because it was missing a couple panes of glass.  It has wonderful, aged chippy paint.

I screwed it into the wall and added an old planter box below.
  

I love how it looks in the courtyard by my front door!

What have you repurposed lately?

Go check out these wonderful blogs:  Just a Girl, Between Naps on the Porch, The Girl Creative, Skip to My Lou, The Idea Room, Tatertots and Jello, Making the World Cuter, and

Make it Yours Day {20}

I’ve definitely been AWOL!  Kids’ end of year school activities have been consuming all of my time this week!  Last day of school for my kids is this Friday, so at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I’ll just have to live vicariously through you all.  What did you work on this week?  Show me what you’ve got!

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for sharing your projects!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start June 9, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Make it Yours Day {19}

Happy Wednesday!  Can you believe it’s June already?   Both of my kids are are moving up to new schools next year (Middle School and High School (!)), so I’ve been busy with all kinds of kid stuff these days.  I’ve been spending my little spare time gardening and trying my hand at drafting my own skirt patterns.  What have you been working on?

 

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for sharing your projects!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start June 2, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com