A Mermaid's Tale

Hello and welcome to my newly re-vamped blog. My name is Keli, and I am SugarPieDesigns on Etsy! At SugarPieDesigns you can find handmade jewelry and crocheted and knit items, paper goods, supplies, European beads, and much more!



A little about me...I am a homemaker and mother of two teenaged daughters. My oldest has Tourette's Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome. She is 19 and is a wonderful artist. My youngest is 13 and quite the artist herself, as well as a singer and musician. I am sure you will see their talents on here often! I live in a small town in
Southern Indiana with my two girls, my hubby Mike,
our two kitties and 5 crazy cockatiels.
If you ever decide to get a bird, just know that buying a pair means you will be a breeder- like it or not!


I have been crafting for about 19 years. I started with crocheting a baby blanket for my oldest daughter and fell in love with it. I have since taught myself knitting, beading, some sewing, and a few other crafty hobbies. I cannot explain the feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes with finishing a gift for someone or learning a new stitch...It is fantastic! So much time, skill, and love go into each piece that they really are priceless!

So you may be wondering where the mermaid mentioned in the title comes in...Well I am currently working on an order for someone. An order for 2 beautiful, scaly, pink and purple Mermaid's Tail Afghans! This pattern is so adorable! I am using Red Heart worsted weight yarn in place of the more pricey Swanky yarn that the pattern originally calls for. I think they are turning out quite pretty, don't you?




Off to work some more on this beauty...stay crafty! ;)

In a Jam

I have been trying to find ways to reduce the amount of food that my family wastes. I swear we buy healthy fruits and veggies with the best of intentions...really! It just always seems like half of everything goes to waste. I purchased a food dehydrator last year to help with this, and it has helped. I have dried kale, cabbage, pineapple, celery, tomatoes, raspberries, zucchini, bananas, oranges, apples, and strawberries so far. My cockatiels love the kale and the strawberries!

Speaking of strawberries, I had a package that was a bit too ripe to for my taste. I love the dried strawberries, they are like candy...but I just didn't have the energy after shoveling the driveway today. Yeah. We got 8 inches of snow overnight! So anyway, what to do with those old berries? I have always wanted to try my hand at making jam. I didn't have any pectin, so I was glad I found this recipe that doesn't require it!

I made half the recipe because I only had one package of berries. So here is what I did:

I washed and cut the green tops off my berries, then pureed them. You can chop them any way you like, but my kids don't really like large chunks in their jam. I added my sugar and mixed well, then I let the mixture sit for 2 hours.

Next, I brought the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Then, I turned it up to medium high and stirred often for 5 minutes. Then I added the lemon juice and stirred and boiled 5 minutes. 

Finally, I poured the jam into jars. It filled 2 12 ounce jelly jars perfectly. 

I couldn't wait to taste it...wow. I will be making this again and again! You can use the boiling water method to seal your jars and keep them for over a year, but I am not going to bother. I have a feeling this small batch won't last long around here! Now off to work on some crocheting and have a snack...pb&j perhaps? Stay crafty! 

                   

                  

-K