Creative Ideas

Welcome to my creative ideas page. This is designed to inspire you with creative ideas for your life at home and in the workplace. The tips and ideas may be simple recipes to try, decorating hints for the season, or lifestyle thoughts meant to enrich your life. Be sure to contact me with your own ideas and perhaps see them published on this page. Contact me at: ruthhess@woh.rr.com

1. Sweet salty snacks are great for munching when company comes or while watching a favorite television show. One simple tip for fall is just mixing candy corn with dry roasted nuts. The mixture looks great in a wooden bowl in the fall. I have several wooden salad bowls picked up at the thrift store, then painted deep burgundy with a nice stencil in the bottom….so when the treat is gone, the bowl still looks good. One more thought on the candy corn….If you are really frugal like I am, purchase bags of candy corn at the end of the season, place in ziplock bags and store in the freezer until next year. The candy will stay fresh and delicious.

2. Pretzel nuggets are another wonderful treat for this time of year. Here is how we jazz them up at our house, but be careful, they won’t last long so make a double batch. I buy bags of sourdough pretzel nuggets (15 oz.) at the dollar store. Place them in a microwaveable bowl. In another bowl, mix 2/3c. oil with 1/3c. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the pretzels and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir well and return to heat for another 1 or 2 minutes. Allow the pretzels to cool (stirring a few times) and place in an airtight container until ready to serve. Placed in a cellophane bag and tied with a bow, this makes a welcome gift for every season.

3. Gathering pinecones is a fun outside activity with useful purpose, making firestarters! No one minds if you tidy up the neighborhood by gathering up a few of these from their yard….but ask anyway! I gather the pinecones and place them on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes to kill any wild life lurking in the cones, and to fully open them. As soon as they are cool, tie a piece of candlewicking to the top of the pinecone. I melt a lot of used candles that never totally burned down and dip the cones in the melted wax. As I dip each pinecone, I place it in a lightly oiled muffin tin. When both of my muffin tins are filled, I give each one a second dipping and let them cool, sometimes spooning extra wax right over each cone. Sometimes I even add cinnamon or some spice to the melted wax. These are wonderful to light a fire with and just a nice to receive a big basket of them as a gift. I just saw a basket of 12 in a catalog for $14! Just tuck a few sprigs of greenry in the basket and on a tag explain about lighting the wick on the pinecone for starting a fire.

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