Do You ♥ Ranch Dressing? Make Your Own!

I love ranch dressing.  I love it on salad, I love it to dip my French fries in (and the occasional veggie), I love it on baked potatoes - there's not much that wouldn't be better with some ranch dressing on it! 

And I love to make my own ranch dressing - I like how it tastes and I like that there are no acids or preservatives. 

Here is my recipe:

1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
dash of dill

Combine all and mix well (whisk).  Chill.  Makes 2 cups, or 16 two tbsp. servings.

Now that you have this delicious ranch dressing, you need a great way to store in in your fridge!

I used to keep in in a mixing bowl, with saran wrap over it and then spoon it out onto my salad, but then I had a brilliant idea - store it in a bottle!

I found a bottle at Walmart for $2, I think and I had just bought a pack of sticker letters - with no real purpose in mind.  So I added stickers and mod podged over them! 

As with any project, a Route 44 Sonic drink makes it more enjoyable!!

It was way easier than passing around a giant bowl and spooning out dressing, but it was still a bit messy.

 

If I were doing this project again, I think I'd get a squeeze bottle, more like the generic ketchup bottles.  And even with mod podge, some of my stickers peeled off after the dishwasher.  I've discovered they make Mod Podge ® Dishwasher Safe - has anyone used this and what were the results?

░▒▓ Outdoor Metal Chairs Get a New Look ▓▒░

I love a good transformation!  Here's all the steps in between:

These chairs, I believe they're called motel chairs, belonged to my grandparents originally.  Everything I've read says you can buy these kind of chairs now, but they don't make them as sturdy as they used to - so look for them at antique stores and garage sales! 

I think they were a faded pink when my parents received them.  My parents painted them hunter green, to match the trim of their house in the 90s.  My mom and I decided, it's time for the chairs to get a makeover! 

The first item (for us) was to choose the new paint color.  We considered red, navy, yellow and turquoise.  We ended up buying Maui Blue:

Then after a bunch of emails, deliberating and sleepless nights, we returned Maui Blue and settled on Satin Aqua and decided we wanted white arms.

For this project you'll need:

Deglosser (wayyyy easier than sanding)
gloves
cloths
2 cans of Rust-oleum spray primer
2 cans of Rust-oleum spray paint (color)
1 can of Rust-oleum spray paint in white
spray nozzle (they are only $3-4 and 100% worth it)
mask (probably a good idea -  I didn't wear one, but I'm thinking I should have)
tarp to protect the ground
trash bags, scissors and tape - if you're doing the arms a different color than the seat [see below]

We discovered (from reading the instructions) that everything needed to be done in one sitting.  So on Mother's Day, we went to work.

Step 1 - Clean the chairs to remove dirt and debris.
Step 2 - Use the deglosser, as instructed.  (We know we're weird, but we loved how it smelled!)

Step 3 - Spray the chairs with 2 coats of primer.

Step 4 - Cut about 3 trash bags into 4 inch strips and wrap/tape the strips around the arms.

Step 5 - Spray the chairs with 2 coats of paint.

Step 6 - Remove the strips and use new trash bags to cover all of the newly painted seat/back of the chair.

Step 7 - Paint the arms white.

Yea!!! You're finished - and the chairs look amazing!!!

Step 8 - Post photos to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and your favorite blog Lyndi's Projects, so everyone you know can see how amazing they look - then sit back and enjoy!!!

Planting Flowers→Pretty Patio

Every spring I re-discover that shopping for plants brings me so much joy!  I love being outside in nice weather and I try to choose a perfect spring day that is cool, but balmy.  Then, it brings out my creativity to "design" a container - I try to choose a variety of colors, textures and heights, when choosing plants for each container.

This year, I chose a perfect balmy evening and went plant shopping with my mom.  I was energized as I placed plants in my cart and envisioned how each container would look!  I also discovered something new - hummingbird moths.  I couldn't figure out if it was a bird or an insect, so I took this video!  Then I posted it on Facebook and got my answer!

(Disclaimer - I'm not a gardening expert - I am just telling you what I normally do.)  For container gardening, I fill the bottom with something other than soil.  I do this to promote drainage, make the pot a bit lighter and to not use so much expensive potting soil.  Things I've used are river rocks and crushed, empty soda cans. 

Then I fill with a good potting soil mix, up to about an inch from the top of the container.  Then I start planting!  There is an easy to follow design rule (which I don't love saying, but I know it helps) - for each container have a "thriller, filler and spiller".  The thriller is the tall focal point plant.  The filler plants are the medium size plants and the spiller, is obviously, one that will trail over the side of the container.

 

This is me planting - lots of dirt under my nails.

 

 

This pot has lavender geraniums and pink, purple and white petunias.  I always get a lot of petunias, they flourish well in heat and I think they smell good.

 

 

The round pot has elephant ears (thriller) in the center, petunias and begonias (filler) surrounding, bright green potato vine (spiller)(which will spread and trail like crazy) and then I picked out a "chocolate mint" plant - which smells AMAZING and I was very excited about.

 

The two long containers have purple heart in the center (thriller), vinca plants (filler) and vinca vine(spiller).

 

One other thing to remember is to leave room for them to grow!

 

Happy Spring and Happy Mother's Day!



Make Your Own Gift Bag

I'm pretty excited about this discovery - you can make your own gift bags out of scrapbook paper! 

1. I love that I can customize gift bags - they make some crazy cute scrapbook paper.
2. Buying gift bags is expensive.  I made these bags for $0.44 (small) and $1.03 (tall) (and I already had the ribbon).
3. This is a solution for last-minute gift wrapping. (As long as you keep a supply of scrapbook paper and ribbon on hand.)

 

For this project you'll need:

12x12 scrapbook paper

tape

scissors

hole punch

ribbon

I used these Gift Bag Instructions that I found online.  Even with the instructions, it takes some trial and error - especially to make the size of bag that you want.

The first step is to fold the two sides to meet in the middle.  The turquoise bag is one 12x12 paper.  All the others I taped two or more sheets of paper together before I did this step. 

 

 

Also I discovered I like to fold (any amount) at the top down before step one, because it gives the top of the bag a more polished look when finished.

 

To get a "normal sized" gift bag, I used approx. 20x12 sheet of paper.

 

Then you tape the sides you just folded in together.

 

 

Next you fold up a few inches at the bottom.

 

 

From that bottom fold, put your hands at both edges and fold in.

 

 

Then tape the top and bottom and fold them together to meet in the middle and tape it down.

 

 

Then you can make folds on both sides and open the bag.

 

 

Finally you punch holes through the top and put a length of ribbon on each side, as a handle.  Tie knots on the inside of the bag to secure the ribbon.

 

 

Then you have a beautiful, inexpensive, handmade gift bag for your gift!