I had one for a while a loved it. I ran out yesterday though and didn't feel like paying another $8 for it plus $9 in shipping...$17 for a grocery list? No thanks. I made my own!
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Saturday, July 30, 2011
grocery list
have you seen these great grocery list notepads from knock knock stuff?
Couldn't decide if I liked the white title or charcoal title better, so I made both :)...I obviously can't take credit for the design idea because I completely copied it from knock knock stuff. But I didn't want to pay that much. Plus, I like mine better anyway. I also personalized the items on my list a bit. I removed some things they had on theirs that I don't use or buy and added things I buy regularly that weren't on the list. I also added a "baby" section. I know it looks off-center on the seafoam background. It's not actually that way when I print it. My printer is fickle, so I have to do odd things (like make stuff off-center) for it to look right when it prints. Don't ask me why or how...
Monday, January 10, 2011
Homemade goods part 2
Last week I did a post on homemade laundry soap. Want a fabric softener recipe too?
You can use this same thing for either fabric softener in the wash or as dryer sheets...
Just add your choice of essential oil to some distilled white vinegar (put as much or as little as you want...depending on how heavily scented you want your clothes to be). I'm a major fan of eucalyptus. It kills dust mites and clears your sinuses. And smells ridiculously good. But you could really use any scent...Lavender, Rosewood, citrus scents, etc. If you want to put it in the wash (to replace liquid softener), simply add 1/4 cup of the scented vinegar to the last rinse cycle OR you can put it in the bleach compartment of your washer. Since I'm not always home for the last rinse cycle, I use the bleach compartment.
If you prefer to soften fabrics in the dryer or want the extra static reducer, just dip or mist a clean washcloth with the same scented vinegar mix and throw it in the dryer with your clothes. And you're done! And don't worry, your clothes won't smell like vinegar. And a note about the essential oils...don't waste your money on the super expensive ones in the store. Go to amazon. They're tons cheaper on there. The purpose of this is to save money, remember? My sister-in-law found another great website with excellent if you want to check it out here.
Have a pesky stain that needs a little more than just detergent? Here's all you need...
1 cup water
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup baking soda
Simply soak the soiled item(s) in your washer for 20 minutes to overnight depending on the stain (double or triple the recipe as needed for the amount of clothes), and then proceed to wash as normal!
I've been told you can skip the water and soaking and just add the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to your wash with the laundry soap for the same effect, but I have not tried it.
All three of these things are so simple, so easy, and so cost efficient. I'm SO glad I tried it. I love it. I'll never buy another thing of laundry soap, fabric softener, or stain remover!
You can use this same thing for either fabric softener in the wash or as dryer sheets...
Just add your choice of essential oil to some distilled white vinegar (put as much or as little as you want...depending on how heavily scented you want your clothes to be). I'm a major fan of eucalyptus. It kills dust mites and clears your sinuses. And smells ridiculously good. But you could really use any scent...Lavender, Rosewood, citrus scents, etc. If you want to put it in the wash (to replace liquid softener), simply add 1/4 cup of the scented vinegar to the last rinse cycle OR you can put it in the bleach compartment of your washer. Since I'm not always home for the last rinse cycle, I use the bleach compartment.
If you prefer to soften fabrics in the dryer or want the extra static reducer, just dip or mist a clean washcloth with the same scented vinegar mix and throw it in the dryer with your clothes. And you're done! And don't worry, your clothes won't smell like vinegar. And a note about the essential oils...don't waste your money on the super expensive ones in the store. Go to amazon. They're tons cheaper on there. The purpose of this is to save money, remember? My sister-in-law found another great website with excellent if you want to check it out here.
Have a pesky stain that needs a little more than just detergent? Here's all you need...
1 cup water
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup baking soda
Simply soak the soiled item(s) in your washer for 20 minutes to overnight depending on the stain (double or triple the recipe as needed for the amount of clothes), and then proceed to wash as normal!
I've been told you can skip the water and soaking and just add the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to your wash with the laundry soap for the same effect, but I have not tried it.
All three of these things are so simple, so easy, and so cost efficient. I'm SO glad I tried it. I love it. I'll never buy another thing of laundry soap, fabric softener, or stain remover!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Homemade goods part 1
Ok, fellow bloggers. If you are spending too much laundry detergent, you need to make your own!! I did it and it's absolutely wonderful and SO cost effective. Want the recipe (this is for powdered detergent)?
1 bar of soap (use Zote, Fels-Naptha, Ivory, or Kirk's Castile...I personally like the Kirk's Castile. It's all natural)
1 cup borax (use 20 Mule Team brand)
1 cup washing soda (Arm&Hammer)
Finely grate the bar of soap into a bowl. Stir in the borax and washing soda. Stir until well mixed, and voila! You have laundry detergent! And you only need 1-2 tablespoons per load (2 tablespoons for something heavily soiled, have a huge load, or if you just prefer that). If you only use 1 tablespoon, that's roughly 48 loads of wash! And it's CHEAP, people! And the borax box includes ideas for all sorts of other household uses. It's amazing stuff.
If you want to make more than this amount, you obviously just double, triple, etc the recipe. You can reduce the amount of borax or washing soda to your liking if you don't like this particular mix. It kind of depends on your water (whether it's soft or hard) and laundry needs. I like the higher concentrate because my hubby works in a job that soils his clothes pretty good, and the extra borax and washing soda add a stain fighter boost.
I must say...I've been using this recipe for a couple months, and I've noticed a difference. I feel like my clothes smell fresher and are softer. AND some of my clothes that used to make me itch (I have super sensitive skin) no longer make me itch! It's wonderful. And also VERY safe for baby clothes! You can find all the ingredients in the laundry aisle of your local Fred Meyer. I didn't have any luck finding them at Safeway or Target, so check Fred Meyer if you have one close by. Except the Ivory and Kirk's Castile soap. You'll find that in the soap isle, but the Zote and Fels-Naptha are specially made for laundry, so they'll be in the laundry isle.
One quick tip for the powdered detergent though...make sure you put the powder in the washer WITHOUT clothes. Let the water run until there are several cups of water in the bottom and the soap starts to dissolve...then add your clothes. If you don't do this, it won't ruin anything, but you might have little soap spots on your clothes. They'll come out the next time you wash them.
1 bar of soap (use Zote, Fels-Naptha, Ivory, or Kirk's Castile...I personally like the Kirk's Castile. It's all natural)
1 cup borax (use 20 Mule Team brand)
1 cup washing soda (Arm&Hammer)
Finely grate the bar of soap into a bowl. Stir in the borax and washing soda. Stir until well mixed, and voila! You have laundry detergent! And you only need 1-2 tablespoons per load (2 tablespoons for something heavily soiled, have a huge load, or if you just prefer that). If you only use 1 tablespoon, that's roughly 48 loads of wash! And it's CHEAP, people! And the borax box includes ideas for all sorts of other household uses. It's amazing stuff.
If you want to make more than this amount, you obviously just double, triple, etc the recipe. You can reduce the amount of borax or washing soda to your liking if you don't like this particular mix. It kind of depends on your water (whether it's soft or hard) and laundry needs. I like the higher concentrate because my hubby works in a job that soils his clothes pretty good, and the extra borax and washing soda add a stain fighter boost.
I must say...I've been using this recipe for a couple months, and I've noticed a difference. I feel like my clothes smell fresher and are softer. AND some of my clothes that used to make me itch (I have super sensitive skin) no longer make me itch! It's wonderful. And also VERY safe for baby clothes! You can find all the ingredients in the laundry aisle of your local Fred Meyer. I didn't have any luck finding them at Safeway or Target, so check Fred Meyer if you have one close by. Except the Ivory and Kirk's Castile soap. You'll find that in the soap isle, but the Zote and Fels-Naptha are specially made for laundry, so they'll be in the laundry isle.
One quick tip for the powdered detergent though...make sure you put the powder in the washer WITHOUT clothes. Let the water run until there are several cups of water in the bottom and the soap starts to dissolve...then add your clothes. If you don't do this, it won't ruin anything, but you might have little soap spots on your clothes. They'll come out the next time you wash them.
Monday, June 28, 2010
New projects
Stay tuned because I have several posts coming! I’ll be featuring a friend’s gorgeous little apartment, my finished dressers, some curtains I’m making for the bedroom, and a new restoration project – a 100+ year old school desk. So check back soon! Happy Monday, all!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
lamp revamp
I'm a total failure and completely forgot to take a "before" picture...and I forgot to take any "mid project" pictures as well. So you'll just have to believe me when I say it didn't look this way before...it was yucky bronze and rather unattractive until I added a new coat of paint and a new lamp shade!
Here's the finished project!
Thrift store lamp - $3.25
Paint - $6
Lamp shade - $14
Total cost - $23.25
Not bad for such an attractive lamp, don't you think?
Here's the finished project!
Thrift store lamp - $3.25
Paint - $6
Lamp shade - $14
Total cost - $23.25
Not bad for such an attractive lamp, don't you think?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Homemade Air Freshener
So I totally got this off Design*Sponge (you can check out the original post by Halligan here). But I'm posting my version and process, which is only slightly different.
Here's the inspirational product:
The major differences between mine and theirs...I didn't use their template. I made my own. Also, I left off the girlie touches since my husband also has to drive my car. He refused to be seen driving a car around with something like that hanging in the window. I didn't use glue because it didn't work well for me, and I also used cloves and cinnamon sticks instead of lavender. Here's my how-to:
Materials:
You'll want to trace your template and cut out the bottom portion of the acorn, and then do a blanket stitch all the way around as show below.
Next, you'll fill your acorn with your scented product of choice. You could use dried lavender. I chose to use whole cloves and a cinnamon stick that I broke up in pieces.
Next, trace and cut out the top of the acorn and blanket stitch all the way around it also. Something to keep in mind that I forgot to do on my first one...if you want to hang it in your car, you'll want to attach the ribbon during this portion. I tried attaching it after and found that too difficult, so I made a 2nd air freshener. I simply blanket stitched to the middle tip, stuck the ribbon in, did another couple stitches and made sure the other side of the ribbon was coming back out (you can see in the bottom picture) and continued my stitching.
I attached the top by doing a simple straight stitch along the bottom edge to grab the open side of the acorn bottom. This is a picture of my first finished acorn. I didn't end up liking the top. I thought it was too small, so I decided to stick this one in a drawer and make a 2nd one for the car.
Hope those instructions were clear enough. Let me know if you have any questions! It was really simple and easy to make. And now all my friends want one :). I guess I know what I'll be attaching to gifts this Christmas!
A couple quick tips:
-If you want your stitching to be thicker like mine and you're using regular sewing thread, just double it up (so you're sewing with two strands of thread instead of one).
-Make sure you cut your ribbon at least 15 inches so you have room to tie a bow in your car.
-Don't overfill your acorn or it will be too difficult to attach the top.
Happy Crafting, loves!
Here's the inspirational product:
The major differences between mine and theirs...I didn't use their template. I made my own. Also, I left off the girlie touches since my husband also has to drive my car. He refused to be seen driving a car around with something like that hanging in the window. I didn't use glue because it didn't work well for me, and I also used cloves and cinnamon sticks instead of lavender. Here's my how-to:
Materials:
- wool felt
- all-purpose thread (or embroidery floss)
- embroidery needle (a regular needle will work just fine too)
- scissors
- ribbon
- your choice of "freshening material" (I used whole cloves and a crumbled up cinnamon stick)
- fabric marker, pencil or chalk
 |
| I didn't end up using the hole punch or the craft glue, so ignore that part of my picture |
Next, you'll fill your acorn with your scented product of choice. You could use dried lavender. I chose to use whole cloves and a cinnamon stick that I broke up in pieces.
Next, trace and cut out the top of the acorn and blanket stitch all the way around it also. Something to keep in mind that I forgot to do on my first one...if you want to hang it in your car, you'll want to attach the ribbon during this portion. I tried attaching it after and found that too difficult, so I made a 2nd air freshener. I simply blanket stitched to the middle tip, stuck the ribbon in, did another couple stitches and made sure the other side of the ribbon was coming back out (you can see in the bottom picture) and continued my stitching.
I attached the top by doing a simple straight stitch along the bottom edge to grab the open side of the acorn bottom. This is a picture of my first finished acorn. I didn't end up liking the top. I thought it was too small, so I decided to stick this one in a drawer and make a 2nd one for the car.
Sorry, picture quality on this one isn't that great. I took it with my phone before I put it in my car, but this is my second one.
Hope those instructions were clear enough. Let me know if you have any questions! It was really simple and easy to make. And now all my friends want one :). I guess I know what I'll be attaching to gifts this Christmas!
A couple quick tips:
-If you want your stitching to be thicker like mine and you're using regular sewing thread, just double it up (so you're sewing with two strands of thread instead of one).
-Make sure you cut your ribbon at least 15 inches so you have room to tie a bow in your car.
-Don't overfill your acorn or it will be too difficult to attach the top.
Happy Crafting, loves!
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