Storage Containers

With 3 little girls wandering around the house and building their curiosity I really needed a way to contain all the kid "stuff".  Here was my low cost solution:

Supplies:

1. Scissors

2. Cardboard box

3. Wrapping paper & tape OR Contact paper

4. Box cutter (if you have one, otherwise scissors will do)

I used different size cardboard boxes, according to what items I needed to contain.  First I figured out where I wanted the opening & cut that part off of the box with a box cutter or scissors.  Second I wrapped the outside in wrapping paper for decoration.  You could also use contact paper, this would be great because it is already sticky.  I used all the same wrapping paper so that even though my boxes are different sizes, all of them together would have look cohesive.  Also, I labeled the boxes after wrapping them, but obviously this is not a necessity.  My daughter was 4 when I made these & she was starting to read, so it was fun for her to have simple words around her to practice.  

For the handles on the Diaper's check this out!

Traditional Akhtar Family Thanksgiving

2012 will go down in our family's history as the first year I have made a traditional Thanksgiving meal completely from scratch!  It is quite an exciting feeling as a wife and mom.  But, when you are away from home and you want that 'home-y' feeling, then it's time to put on the apron and get to cookin'!

Almost all of the recipes I found online, and amazingly enough all of them turned out good.  So if you are looking for recipes that have been tried and proven to work, here are most of the recipes.




Dinner Rolls

Creamed Corn *best scratch recipe*

Healthy Pumpkin Pie
                                   
Regular Pumpkin Pie (pictured)

**Did NOT use canned pumpkin! Find out more here.**

Green beans..
haven't quite figured these out yet...but I did find a great cream of chicken/mushroom recipe

Stove Top Stuffing 
*tasted just like the box ;-)

Garlic Mashed potatoes
(this is my own recipe that I can share later)

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

The only item I have yet to tackle is the Turkey!  Here in Thailand they range from $25-$85, so it was just more economical to have a roasted chicken.  Also, our fridge freezer is a little bigger than small so it just didn't make sense to try to "fit" it in there.



After giving thanks as a family and eating well together, we delivered a couple of plates of our traditional American food to our neighbors!  

It is such a fun and exciting feeling 
creating family memories from scratch.

Taco Tuesday!

Every week on Tuesday we make some variation of tacos, makes for an easy plan during the week.  I got this idea from a friend (thank you April!), and I have been finally putting it into practice!

Usually I cook chicken or beef with taco seasoning as a staple item.  On the side it varies week by week depending on what we have in the house.  Recently, was avocado season here in Thailand and that was wonderful!  We always had avocado's around to use with dinner.  One of my 2nd staples on taco Tuesday has become homemade tortillas.  The first time I tried these it was a huge undertaking, but they did turn out great.  The recipe calls for enough ingredients to make 30 tortillas, which I did the 1st time and only the 1st time.  Unless you need this many for a group event, I would recommend 1/2ing the ingredients and making 10-15 tortillas to start with.  Also, I DO use 100% whole wheat flour and it works great!

To be honest, I'm usually not much for salsa {unless it's mango season!}, maybe it was the cilantro flavor ..?  But I've been wanting to try to make my own for quite some time.  On the spicy scale I am a minus 1, so I decided to make my salsa without any peppers AND...it turned out wonderful!  I could have eaten the entire batch of salsa all to myself ;-), but had to share for dinner.

Salsa Recipe

Tortilla Recipe

In the picture below I shared pics of the tortilla before cooking, during cooking, and after cooking.  Sometimes it helps to see what it's 'supposed' to look like.

Cardboard Dresser

Moving into a house with almost No Furniture called for a little creativity.  A new friend gave me the idea to use cardboard boxes with plastic drawers, so I took that idea and ran with it!

Here is what I came up with:

to keep the drawer on the top I made "supports" from cardboard and taped them inside.

Here is the finished product in use:

Update:  Since making and using these for awhile, the support for the shelves came 'un-taped'.  Now I use the drawers inside of our current closet at the bottom to organize folded clothes.  And I use the larger outside for storage because 1 fits inside the other like a large drawer...pictures coming soon.

Christmas Decorations ...on a budget.

These are some of the crafts that I made last year (at least the ones that turned out well) with supplies needed lists.  I wanted to share some Very nice looking ideas when you have only a few supplies on hand. 

Old Book Pages Wreath

This is one of my favorite / most proud crafts at the finish!  I was able to find old books for FREE at the church library here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  

Here is the You Tube video for a tutorial.

And here is my finished product!

Supplies Needed:

1. Old Book Pages

2. Uhu glue or Glue gun

3. Stapler & staples

4. Cardboard

5. Ornaments/decorative "something"

I put some cheap Christmas tree ornaments that I had bought at the store randomly in the middle of the wreath.  I think what I like best about this wreath is that it has character because of the age of the pages. 

Fabric Balls

This one I was a little bit skeptical of because I just couldn't believe that these fabric squares would actually stay being just "pushed" into the Styrofoam balls.   And It DID Work!

Supplies needed:
Fabric 
Scissors
Crochet needle
Styrofoam ball


1. Cut the fabric into squares, I think mine were 3-4 inches.  Note About Fabric: The nice aspect of this craft is that you can use scrap fabric that you have extra.  I had this red and white lace-y fabric and the green silk-y fabric to use for scrap...but even though it DID worked I would suggest NOT use a "slippery" fabric.  

2. Take a square of fabric and put the non-hook end of the crochet needle in the middle of the square and push it into the Styrofoam ball about 1/2 inch.  Pull needle out and the fabric should stay in the ball.  

3. 1 by 1 push each square into the ball, work in a line around the ball.  Working in lines help keep the ball looking full.  By the end you will be just filling in a few "holes".  

Here is the You Tube video where I learned the technique.

And here is my finished product...

3D Snowflake

Lastly this has been a great craft for the past few years for me.  Last year it was a great one for creating snow here in warm Thailand!

Supplies Needed:
1. Paper (any thickness & any color)
2. Scissors
3. Stapler & staples
4. String to hang it

Even though mine is a plain white, you can be so creative with this one because of using any color/pattern paper and making them any size from large like mine or smaller!

Here is a You Tube video to learn how to make this.  

HAVE FUN & HAPPY CHRISTMAS CRAFTING!

Creative Cardboard Storage

Our first house in Chiang Mai had little to no furniture, and we were not in a position to ALL new furniture.  My bedside really needed a little table to hold my books and little daily usages (i.e. hair clips, jewelry, chapstick, etc.). Here was my so here was my solution...

                            Supplies you will need:

1. Three boxes that are about the same size. One of mine was a little smaller than the other 2, so I put it on the top & kept the larger on the bottom for a stronger base.

2. Scissors


3. Tape, either duct tape or clear packing tape.

4. Glue gun, I did not use one, but would have been helpful and I have had to re-attach fabric since assembly.  

Start by construction each individual box, by cutting out one end that you want to be the opening.  Then tape the top 3 flaps down on each box.  Keeping the tops and bottoms together will give more support when the boxes are together.  

Now tape (or glue gun & tape) the 3 boxes stacked on top of each other.  
**Also, I cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the top and taped it to the top for extra support.  For instance, I like to have a cup of water on my bedside table, so I wanted it to be extra strong**.

Lastly, cover with fabric of your choice.  I chose a black "felt-y" kind, and I probably would not have chose that if I could go back because of the amount of dirt and dust in Thailand.  Be smart and thing about how this fabric will hold up.  The good thing about this fabric is that it is thick and durable.  

I added a couple of baskets inside (they could have been a bit bigger) to put all my little trinkets (yes, trinkets!) mentioned above.

So, there you have it!  A simple and almost FREE cardboard table for your bedside or anywhere else you would need extra storage.  Similar to something you could buy at Target in their "storage" aisle!

Think outside the Frame!

After a few months looking for affordable picture frames here in Chiang Mai and longing for a Goodwill or St. Vini's trip to find some, I have decided...Why do I NEED frames?

I think the idea of frames came long ago, when people had only hard copies of their photos and wanted to protect them.  Well, we now have digital prints that we pay about 10 cents or less for.  

So I say, think outside the frame!

Today I finally got our family pictures on the wall instead of in a pile waiting...for frames.  Here's how I put mine together...(sorry, forgot to take pictures during the process)

1. Print the pictures you want to hang, and a few more just in case...

2. Start with a cleared dining table or other flat work surface.

3. Lay the pictures out and start playing with different shapes; i.e. cross, heart, square, triangle, etc.

4. Once I got the pictures in the cross shape I turned them all upside down, keeping them in the same spot.  Using clear tape (scotch or packing) I lined up the edges that touched exactly together & laid the tape on the seam.

5. First I put the cross of pictures directly on the wall, but I felt like it needed "something".  So I got some scrap fabric and cut a piece to serve as a backdrop.

6. Be creative with your pictures, shapes, and background...play with it and it should come together.

7. Don't be afraid to "ruin" a picture, you can always print it again ;-).  Our choices in 2012 are much different than even 20 years ago!

So glad to have these pictures of our family on the wall for all to see, instead of in my computer or in a drawer.