Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

I love Le Creuset pans.

A lot.

I just received this wonderful pan as a birthday present.  I love the color and the size (11 3/4 inch.)  I love how heavy it is and it’s handles and pour spouts.  It has me looking for food to cook.  But this pan also has a “Make it Do” story.

I know what you are thinking, Le Creuset pans are SO expensive, there can’t be anything “Make it Do” about it.

This skillet retails at $180.  But my husband, Drew would never pay $180 for a pan.

He found a wonderful deal at the Le Creuset Outlets and I just had to pass it along.  Until the end of August, you can get 40% off any single item.  That means he got 40% off the already discounted outlet price of $112. They are running the special in the store so he had to ask for the coupon because he was ordering online.

If you are interested, here is a list of the Le Creuset Factory Stores. If you don’t live near a store (like me) they will ship it to you for 15% of the purchase price.  Also, the Colorado stores are offering free shipping this month if you purchase $100 and they have some crazy good deals on everything in the store right now especially if you like red.

You might be thinking it’s still an expensive pan.  But there is something else “Make it Do” about it.  If I take good care of it, this is the last skillet I will ever have to buy.  These pans last and last.  I’ve spoken to cooks who have 40 year old Le Creuset pans and they are still going strong.  I received a small Le Creuset Dutch Oven for my wedding almost 18 years ago… and it is the only pan I still have from that day. So in the end, I think it’s a wonderful deal.  (Thank you, thank you my Dear.)

Here’s an interesting article on why to buy “non” non-stick pans from the NY Times.

I should also say that I am in no way affiliated with Le Creuset… other than being in love with their cookware.

I spent today with my Mom, sister Brooke, and Marcie, my sister-in-law and and Jen, sister-in-law-to-be.  Can I just say I love those women.

We were busy with plans and decorations for the upcoming wedding of Josh (my brother) and Jen.

I am so excited about the creative “Make it Do” ideas we have for the wedding… it’s going to be beautiful.

The reception will be outdoors on a patio of a local restaurant.  We are so lucky that the restaurant has a large pergola and trees surrounding the patio from which to hang lanterns.

So the project of the day was to make Mason Jar Lanterns.

We found a wonderful tutorial for the lanterns on one of my favorite websites One Pretty Thing.

Here is the link to the tutorial.  To make this project you will need:

• Mason jar
• 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 feet of wire
• wire cutters
• pencil
• pliers
• sand or potting soil
• voltive candle

Here’s how we made the jars:

1.  Start with about 3 1/2 feet of wire (the tutorial suggests 2 1/2 feet, but this doesn’t hang low enough off the pergola as we needed.)  We are using wire that has been wrapped in a fiber… found at Micheal’s (with a coupon of course.)

2.  Measure 8 inches in from one end and twist the wire around a pencil.  Twist a second time to secure.

3.  Wrap around the Mason jar just under the large lip.  The narrow mouth jars work best.   Twist it tightly to secure. Then use your pliers to twist it again to make sure it’s good and tight.  (We don’t want Mason jars dropping from the sky on the wedding guests heads!)

4.  I placed the pencil through the side with the loop to give it one last twist to secure.

5.  Thread the long end through the loop to make the handle.

6.  Now twist both sides up around the handle.

7.  Use your pliers to make sure the twist is secure.

8.  Fill with potting soil or sand.  Add your candle.

One down and 39 more to go.  It’s a good thing I collect Mason Jars.  I will tell you the story of my mana (I mean Mason Jars) from heaven sometime.   Let just say I should have enough to can to my hearts delight and light up the wedding.

These are going to look great lit up and lovely all around the wedding reception.  I can’t wait to see it.