That Cheap Chick: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

How To Get Rid Of The Ring Around The Toilet

I’m gettin’ down & dirty today. Cleaning toilets. Doesn’t get much dirtier than that! So, how do you get rid of that yucky brown ring around the toilet bowl? You’ve cleaned the toilet but it still looks stained and unclean. Well, the ring is not actually a stain but mineral deposits from hard water. So, instead of trying to wipe it clean, it needs to be scraped off. There are two things I know from experience that can remove it. One is a pumice stone. The other method is using sandpaper. Yes, sandpaper!

I get a pack of assorted grit sandpaper from the dollar store and it works great. I love that it is disposable. I just toss the paper in the trash when I am done!

Make sure you are wearing gloves because you’ve got to get your hand inside the toilet bowl. Flush the toilet and while the water level is down, gently rub it on the ring and watch it disappear. Flush again and the ring is gone! Toss the sandpaper and you are done! Amazing, right? This method doesn’t scratch the toilet, it simply removes the buildup without any harsh chemicals.

Now, you can move on to bigger and better things than scrubbing the toilet….like laundry! :)

Linking Up:
Someday Crafts
House Of Hepworths
My Romantic Home
Shabby Creek Cottage
At The Picket Fence
504 Main
Tidy Mom
Blissful & Domestic
Craft Junkie Too
Little Becky Homecky
Too Much Time
Tatertots & Jello

Monday, October 29, 2012

Gettin’ Krafty With It {Halloween Eve Edition}

Happy Halloween!

I hope however you celebrate (or not), you will have a frightfully good time! If you will be out and about, please be careful and watch out for all of the little ghosts and ghouls!

Also, to everyone in the path of Hurricane Sandy, please be safe & you are in my thoughts & prayers....

I am so happy to have you here whether this is your first time visiting or you've been a faithful member of every party. Each week I feature 5 linkups and share them on the blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and to a special board called Gettin' Krafty With It Features on Pinterest! I want you to get the attention you deserve for all your hard work and talent! This is the place for you to share your creativity, inspire others and get inspired yourself! This is also the place for you to share your parties, giveaways, and even your etsy shop! This is NOT the place for a lot of rules. This is supposed to be a party, right? So, let's have fun!

Here are a few links from last week that inspired me:

Marigold Mom’s amazing Halloween Party! She really set the mood with these spooky trees as a backdrop! So many fantastic details, you need to go read the entire post!

Chantilly Charm had the wonderful idea of reuseable wooden chalkboard tags for gifts! No need for all of those paper tags anymore!

Craft Interrupted decorated her mantel for Halloween. It is so fun and festive!

Vixenmade found some super cute fingerless gloves but when the price tag was too high, she made some herself! These are so pretty and love the little bows!

Crafty In Crosby made me smile with this cute witch legs in the fireplace! So cute and she shows just how easy it is to make yourself!

If your post was featured, grab this button:

If you are joining the party, I would love for you to add this button to your blog or place a text link to let everyone know!

Why not become a follower so you can keep up with all of the Krafty-ness?

You can find Krafty Kat wherever you like to get social or keep up with all of your favorite blogs.
Krafty Kat is also on HomeTalk now!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Georgia Cotton Whispy Wreath

One of the prettiest things about living here in rural Georgia is the cotton fields. As pretty as they are, we drive by them every day and , after a while, take the beauty of them for granted. We forget that there are many people who have never even seen a cotton field or given a thought that the material their t-shirt is made from came from a plant. We forget how blessed we are to see such a sight.

Lately, I’ve been admiring cotton and had been thinking of using some of the cotton bolls in my decor because of it’s simple beauty but I thought that people would think I was crazy! However, I’ve seen it show up on a few other blogs so I figured what the heck! I’ll make a wreath and if other people think I’m crazy, well, so be it.

I had a twiggy, whispy fall wreath that I disassembled and hot glued branches of the cotton plant around it.

I love how some of the cotton bolls are in full bloom while others have not yet.

I love the natural feel of it. It almost looks like a starburst over my loveseat.

I love how it represents our Southern heritage. So much of our history is centered on this little plant. The cotton itself is so soft but if you were to separate the cotton from the boll, you would find out how sharp the bur is. This is what makes picking cotton by hand such hard work.

I have seen other cotton boll wreaths but they only used the cotton and not the entire branch.

What do you have that is natural to your area that you have been overlooking as a way to decorate?

Linking Up:
Making The World Cuter
Craft-O-Maniac
Between Naps On The Porch
Skip to My Lou
The Girl Creative
Today's Creative Blog
Coastal Charm
Tip Junkie
Homework
Savvy Southern Style
Someday Crafts
Trendy Treehouse
The NY Melrose Family
Chicken Chick
My Romantic Home
Shabby Creek Cottage
House Of Hepworths
Tidy Mom
504 Main
Blissful & Domestic
Little Becky Homecky
Craft Junkie Too
Too Much Time
Tatertots & Jello
Home Stories A to Z
Kammy's Korner

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Banana Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

Tonight, after dinner (homemade potato soup), I made banana oatmeal pecan muffins for the kids’ breakfast tomorrow using the two over-ripe bananas I had on my counter. Trust me, with five kids, nothing goes to waste around here!

Ingredients:
Topping:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp melted butter

Batter:
2 large ripe bananas
1 large egg
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cups pecans
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Mix the ingredients for the topping and set aside.

Mash the bananas.

Mix the egg, flour, brown sugar, oats, pecans, and other ingredients well. Add the bananas and stir just enough to combine. Batter will be lumpy. Fill the muffin cups half full. Sprinkle the topping on and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

These muffins have just the right amount of texture and such a yummy taste! Perfect for a wholesome breakfast or snack even on the go!

Banana Oatmeal Pecan Muffins For Breakfast

Linking Up:
Shabby Creek Cottage
House Of Hepworths
Tidy Mom
504 Main
Blissful & Domestic
Craft Junkie Too
Little Becky Homecky
At The Picket Fence
My Romantic Home
One Creative Mommy
Craft-o-maniac
Making The World Cuter
Between Naps On The Porch
Skip To My Lou
Today's Creative Blog

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Halloween Town

WARNING: This post contains tons of pictures!

I inherited several pieces of a Christmas village from my parents. Big houses that light up and little villagers and it was cute but being a person who has to constantly change things around, I got tired of it and spray painted it white and added glitter last year. I liked it and it gave it a whole new look.

But, I decided to go in a much darker direction this year and use it for Halloween.

I painted the buildings and people black and added some yellow to the window panes to make a Halloween town. I set it up on a black vinyl tablecloth and added some moss and orange lights. Instead of using the white lights that came with the buildings, I pushed some of the orange lights inside to give it more of a Halloween feel. I added my Happy Halloween wooden blocks.

It’s quite spooky with the lights out.

I love how the people and places have changed from pleasant and cheerful to frightful and eerie just with a change of color.

My original plan was to add a graveyard and some spooky trees and really go all out but I have gotten sidetracked every time I try to start so I have decided that I will leave it as is and just add to it each year. Unless, of course, I end up painting them again!