How-To Foil Line Your Oven

I keep cookie sheets (2) on top of each other in the oven. Does anyone else do that?

With every project there is a story. This story, while funny now, was not so funny a few Saturdays ago.

All I wanted was some stupid cornbread. I used the special recipe on the back of the cornmeal box and it looked yummy! I was even thinking I could cut up hotdogs and stick the hotdogs & corn muffin mix into muffin tins. Hello-- home made bite-sized corn dogs.

Anyways, while the oven was preheating it started to smell bad. I opened the oven to see a flame. Awesome.

Turns out there was stuff on the bottom of the oven that caught on fire. I didn't see it, but we use the oven a lot so I'm sure it's possible. Who knows.

So because we cannot run the oven clean cycle while the dogs are home (the smell is bad for babies and dogs), I just cleaned it myself.

I used water, an old sponge, and dish soap. It literally got everything off! When it was all done I microwaved a wet cloth and did one final wipe down. That was it. The whole cleaning process took maybe 10 minutes.

 Before I was done I really wanted something to catch all the stuff that falls and that I could remove and either clean OR throw away.

Introducing.. tin foil.

It's pretty simple! Seriously. It did use a lot of tin foil, though.

:: Obviously, make sure your oven is off and has been off for a long period of time (1 day).

:: Tear off 4 long rectangles from the tin foil container. 

:: Fold your 4 rectangles in half, and place along the bottom of the oven.

:: Make sure your tin foil goes below the element. Feel free to lift your element up as your need to so you can get everywhere. The element in our oven was easy to move around. Check your oven's manual if you're nervous to touch it.

:: Pat the foil down and make sure it's on there nicely.

:: Your oven is ready for use! This will probably last a while but definitely replace when stuff starts to fall. (Probably after Thanksgiving with that turkey?!)

Good luck! xO

How to Remove Wax From An (Almost) Empty Candle

You can imagine my devastation after noticing my "Wedding Day" Yankee Candle was not able to light anymore. :) I actually was a little bummed-- the wedding festivities are officially over. 

I'll be honest. I've dusted that table twice since we moved here.

I keep meaning to not throw out the jars from candles so I can turn the jars into something functional. It's a pretty simple process and from start to finish, it took about 90 minutes. 

I guess you can't tell but it was completely done-zo. 

Obviously, the candle needs to be completely cooled. Take the top off and plop it in the freezer for about an hour or so. 

Mine just hung out beside some Lean Pockets & fruit. 

I set the timer because I knew I would forget about it and not notice for a while. It really needs to set, so  no amount of time is too long. Unless, of course, it's a year or something like that. 

Well, I should have actually pushed start, because I never heard anything ding. Around noon I walked up to the fridge and there it sat. Still on 75 minutes. Sweet.

When your timer goes off, get out a dull knife. I got out a sharp one and it was too flimsy to work with. I also kept hearing my dad tell me to "never cut anything frozen". He's right! 

Start with the edges. Kind of like you're removing a cake from a cake pan. Slide the knife around. Mine popped off after about 2-3 minutes of doing this.

If you think it needs more time, pop it back into the freezer for an hour. 

Voila! 

Next I was careful and removed the sticker on the front and the sticker on the bottom. 

It took a few minutes, but I scrubbed and scrubbed and all the soot came off! I was a little surprised, actually, because I was sure it was on for good. 

Nice and clean!

At this point, I was wondering why in the world I did this when I had nothing to put in the jar. I figured something in my bathroom needed a home and I was right!

Isn't it cute?!

It holds a ton of q-tips just perfectly. Woo hoo! 

If you enjoyed this tutorial be sure to Pin It on Pinterest. xO