A Make-It Box Birthday

When I was growing up one of my favorite gifts, and gifts to ask for, were Make-It boxes from Grandmother Brown.  She would find a good sized box and fill it with all sorts of school supplies, office stuff and crafty things.  I would open it on my birthday to find a plethora of construction paper, pencils, new scissors, paper clips, etc. You name it. 

This year I have made three Make-It boxes for three nieces, two birthdays and one college Make-It box that kind of added a different meaning to the name Make-It.  It more had extras in it.  Back up stuff so to speak.  Pens, a spiral, bottle of aspirin, minis, roman noodles.. that type of stuff you know.  But these boxes are so fun to make and also fun to shop for.  I thought I'd share my most recent Make-It box for my niece Katelyn who turned sweet sixteen today!

I used an office box that envelopes come packaged in.  I covered it with vintage wallpaper that I spray glued on.  Then added goodies that I have been collecting just for K.K.  You can go wild and shop for all kinds of stuff and miss the point of things.  We keep a birthday budget most of the time of twenty five bucks and under since there's so darned many of us!  Here's a look at the loot.

I covered the box on the outside of this one.  Just measure, cut, spray and stick.

Vintage Pyrex coffee cup with chocolate mint B&B Works hand sanitizer.

Spiral, journal, bobby pins, ink pens, turquoise feather head band and earrings.

ModPodge, be-dazzle rhinestones, lip gloss and a special something wrapped up.

Topped off with a vintage scarf to top off that drab outfit.

Elastic rick rack to hold it all together.

Isn't she just gorgeous!  Happy Birthday K!

This & That

*Juvenile Ruby Throated Hummingbird

*Amish Store Goodies - should have bought some

*A Trip To Scottsville, KY to Amish Life

*Truck Pulls at the Robertson County Fair Friday Night

*Me... Fair Winner :) 10 ribbons total this year

*My Mom

*Sweet 16 Birthday Cake for KK

You got new leags Lt Dan

I once read on a fellow blogger's blog that you should never blog as if you are talking to your best friend.  In some ways I agree.  You really don't want to know everything my best friend and I talk about well... mostly because you would think we were nuts most of the time.  We jive very well.  But this comment about blog "do's and don'ts" makes me hold back at times.  Maybe because I think I will be made fun of, thought badly of or just plain... no one really gives a poo.  So... I have come to the realization that I am just gonna tell ya .. ok!

So.. all that said here's my "You got new leags Lt Dan".... from Forest Gump.. you know!  I went to the eye doctor at Wal-Mart in the spring to get a new eye exam simply because I needed new contacts.  Whilst I was there... browsing the eyeglass frames and trying many, many pairs on as any curious kid would... I spotted the perfect pair.  This pair of glasses had pink frames, they fit impecibly well, they wouldn't allow me to look underneath my glasses and have to look down to see, and they reminded me of something Grandma Covington wore... large frames.  I knew they were the ones for me, but wait... frames are expensive and lenses are even more expensive and I am here for an exam and contacts today. I put them back on the plastic faux nose on the wall, said good bye and walked away with my new contacts.

I thought about these glasses more than a few times over the next month or two but toned down my desire for them by telling myself over and over I didn't need them.  Well I gave in when I had the thought of finishing the dove hunt magazine and having extra money when it was done.  I told myself I could have them... finally as a consolation prize and award for a job well done. 

The day came.  I stopped at Wal-Mart after work on a Friday and although I had not yet gotten my payday I did have enough to go ahead and order them so I thought.  I am pretty sure if I had been clocked on the way in the store I would have gotten a ticket.  I went straight for them, tried them on and felt the "Oh Yeah... these are the ones" feeling once again.  They are large and in charge and I can see the world with these!  I quickly turned to my left answering the eyeglass sales lady's question of "can I help you."  "How much are these frames?" I said.  She answered "Nine Dollars."  Hmmm? My first thought was ... and I waited all this time?  Ok.. "how much are the lenses for these frames?"  Well, she said, if you just get the normal plastic lenses that fit those frames they are 14.95 per lense.  My total coming to a wopping $38.95 for a fabulous pair of frames that I adored.  I couldn't believe it.  I never imagined, nor have I ever spent less than 150.00, that my new glasses would have only been forty bucks. 

I am glad that I didn't ask the day I got my contacts how much the glasses were nor notice the 9.00 tag right underneath the set... mainly because I didn't have my new contacts in at the time.  I walked away with a new pair of glasses and for a steal of a deal.  And my... don't I look smart!

MayPops Jelly

What are May Pops did you say??  May Pops... Wild Apricots as Shaun calls them... or Passion Fruit from the passion fruit vine that grows wild as Christmas at the Denton's.  Here's a couple of pics of what they are. 

 Notice the beauty of it all.  The purple flowers are gorgeous and the fruits look like limes.. but they sure don't taste like limes.

In all my lust for natural items on our farm (free stuff you can eat) I read in several library books that the fruits of this vine are edible.  If you have ever stepped on one out in a field you know that they make a pop sound and there's really not much to them but rind and seeds. 

I must say that I have found this to be very intriguing as I found a recipe online and started making jelly.  These fruits smell wonderful and come to find out they taste wonderful too.  I have had samplers of the jelly say that it tasted like white grapes, honey, and pear preserves .. without the pears in it.

So my short but sweet story on the recipe is this... I found one online and made it.  The jelly turned out so thick a knife would stand straight up in it.  In my mind I either added too much pectin or cooked the sugar mix too long.  The odd twist to this story is that I went to the library to pick up a book I had on hold called A Naturalist's Guide to Cooking with Wild Plants by Connie and Arnold Krochmal (which I have on order for my birthday) and the very recipe was in this book.  What are the chances.. I mean really.  The only difference in the online recipe and the recipe I found in the book was the amount of pectin to use.... key!  The book recipe said to use half of a 1.75 oz package of pectin... not 1.75 ounces of pectin.. which would cause it to harden up like a baseball... like it did the first time. 

I got to work when I finished cleaning up supper dishes that very evening, this recipe truly only takes about 45 minutes, start to finish.  I made the recipe with half a package of pectin and it turned out great.  The color was prettier, the consistency while not quite as set as I think it should be, was much better, and the taste is wild and wonderful.

MayPops Jelly

2 cups ripe maypops, sliced

1 cup water

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 package pectin that is 1.75 oz

Combine the maypops and water in a 3 quart saucepan and boil gently for 5 minutes.  Strain through a colander pressing to extract as much juice as you can.  Toss the skins and seeds(throw away.)  Combine the liquid and sugar and bring to a full rolling boil.  Add the pectin and again bring to a full boil.  Remove from heat, pour into hot sterilized jars, top with hot lids and seal. 

Makes 2 1/2 pints.

P.S. This is a rolling boil... when the boil can't be stirred down.

So I got a little carried away!  Saturday I made four batches.  It seriously didn't take but a few hours and for a winter's full of maypop jelly... it's well worth it!