Homemade Laundry Detergent

Here it is folks. A tried and true, super easy, homemade laundry soap recipe.

Now I've always been a liquid soap kind of gal but for cost savings and diy nature in me, I just couldn't resist giving it a try.

I can say that it has successfully cleaned the following...

     a load of whites
     a load of delicate work cloths
     a load of baby cloths
     a load of stinky hubby cloths

AND there was no irritated skin reactions, even from the baby!!! I think that was my biggest reservation of all.

This recipe uses 3 ingredients and takes no more than 15 minutes to whip up a nice big batch.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 c. Borax

1 bar soap

Now I choose to mix the bar of soap and use 3 Ivory (for the gentle factor) and 2 Fels Naptha (for the stain fighting factor)

When I first was looking at these recipes I thought, where do I find this stuff???

Well, amazingly enough the Washing Soda, Borax, & Fels Naptha are all in the laundry isle. Who knew?!?! And of course you know where to find the Ivory soap :-)

I also went to my local Re-Uzit consignment shop to hunt for the perfect container. I figured my laundry room and blog readers deserve the best, tehe!!!

I got super lucky and found this great glass lidded canister with a nice vintage "Goodies" print in a pretty mustard yellow color for $4.50.

And I also splurged on a hand thrown ceramic mug for $.25.

So, let's get crafting...

First, shred the soap in the food processor. Just think of it as giving your food processor a good cleaning.

My dear husband came in and asked how I was making laundry soap with cheese. Silly hubby!!!

Then, mix other ingredients with shredded soap in large bucket.

Next, working in batches, add mixture back into food processor with the blade attachment and process until it is a nice powder. I couldn't get the Fels Naptha to completely turn to powder but figured it would all come out in the wash, hahahaha! I'm cracking myself up now!!!

As your batches are finished add into your pretty container and viola! Homemade Laundry Detergent!!!

If you decide to make the leap and DIY... use 2 T. of detergent per full load.

Bleach Dye T-Shirt - Part 2

Sometimes my ideas look great in my head, great on paper, and then go terribly wrong.

Case in point - Rock On onesie.

Looks great on paper...

Nicely planned

But something went terribly wrong and I ended up with an angry cassette tape.

I'm pretty sure the issue was that my bleach mixture was too thin. The other issue was that I decided, because it was a more detailed design than the first project, to use paint brushes instead of the Clorox pen. The application was all wrong and I ended up going back to the pen but couldn't get the definition I was looking for. And I could see the bleach bleeding into the fabric so I was trying to work fast.

Maybe I can find an 80's rocker wig for Ian and he can be a rock star for Halloween.

Props for the big smile go to Daddy on this picture.

He was up on the roof cleaning the gutters in preparation for Hurricane Irene!

Maybe third time's a charm with the bleach pen project.

I think I'll invest $2.50 in a new pen and see if I get better results.

Stay tuned!

Miss Avery's Flower Girl Doll

I had the fortune of being commissioned by a friend to make a custom doll for her niece-to-be, the flower girl in her wedding. I've sold other custom orders at my Etsy store but this one was for such a special event. I feel so proud!

The wedding colors are white and charcoal grey with an accent color of hot pink roses.

Here is the finished product...

Her skirt ties in the back with an oversized satin ribbon.

The body was embroidered with the flower girls name on the front and the wedding date on the back.

The shoes were a first for me. Typically my dolls have crazy tights. For this occasion I felt only glittery princess shoes would do!

Her neckline was accented with a lazy daisy stitch and pearls.

Her face was dressed up with glitter on the cheeks, fancy eyelashes, and a hot pink flower in her hair.

What do you think?

Photo Challenge - Eyes

This weeks photo challenge on I Heart Faces is "Eyes". I've never entered before but right away I thought of a picture I took of Nathan shortly after I got my new camera.

Tutorial - Skirt to Purse

I love to turn old into new. So when I saw this tutorial on Whip Up I knew I had to give it a try. I can always use another bag!

I really liked the use of the pleated skirt but did not have one one hand. Then I found a cute stripped mini that I haven't worn in years, perfect! I also had some old drapery in my fabric stash that I bought about 10 years ago because I liked the textures but never found the right project.

So here's what I started out with.

I maximized all the hems and seams on the drapery. The main fabric hem was used as the top of the lining for the purse.

The hem on the lining of the drapery was used as the top of the inside pockets.

The side seam between the main drapery fabric and the lining was used to cut the straps for the purse.

After everything is cut, start by finishing off the edges of the pockets. Press the sides and bottom to the inside and sew to the lining of the purse.

Then sew the lining together with the right sides facing each other. Remember to leave the top open.

To create a flat bottom to the purse, bring the bottom seam to the side to create a triangle and sew across.

Next, sew the bottom hem of the skirt together and finish off the corners, same as above.

Turn the skirt right side out and layer the lining inside. The wrong sides should be facing each other.

Carefully pin the top of the purse together. I used a lot of pins to ensure the two pieces did not shift around as I sewed.

Next, finish off two long strap and a short one for the button hole.

Pin the straps in between the lining and the skirt and begin to sew.

I sewed around the opening twice for extra strength. I shifted my needle position the second time around for a decorative look and also to get nice and close to the edge.

I will say that if I were to do this project again I would use a stronger needle to finish off the purse. There were some pretty thick parts and I went through 4 needles! Live and learn.

Viola! Skirt to Purse!!!

Bleach Dye T-Shirt

I came across this great idea for a reverse dying project on Show Tell Share. Instead of adding color, why not take it away with bleach? I happened to have a bleach pen on hand so I was ready to go, or so I thought.

I discovered that my bleach pen was old and all but dried up but I was on a mission.

I decided to mix up some bleach with baking soda to make a loose paste. I sucked that into the bleach pen like a turkey baster and was in business.

First I sketched out my idea and then jumped right in with the bleach pen. I didn't outline on the shirt because I wanted to just go with the flow.

What I discovered was that my old and dried out bleach pen had some gunk still dried in the tip. So if I squeezed really hard I got more than I wanted. To be honest, the design looked better on paper that on the shirt and I think I might make the shirt into pajama pants for Nathan.

BUT... the project was awesome!!! Instant gratification. LOVE THAT!!!

I also decided to write "believe" on the back which I liked very much.

As I said, I will do this project again and thanks to Show Tell Share for the inspiration!!!







Homemade Baby Food

This weekend was filled with food. Saturday morning was spent shopping with Nathan. First we stopped at my favorite farm stand to pick up about 80% of the produce on the list (gotta love summertime!). Next, we went to Sharp Shopper which is our local discount grocer. Then finally, to the regular grocery store for the rest of the goodies.

On the menu this weekend, tons of baby food.

Of course I cooked for us too but I spent a good bit of time in the kitchen with the Magic Bullet. If you are going to attempt making your own baby food, I highly recommend this blender. I was lucky enough to get one second hand from a friend but if you pick one up in the store it will run you $50 or so. But do the math, I spent $1 on frozen peas which made 8 baby servings. Compare to $.69 per serving of store bought peas. The blender pays itself off rather quickly!

From left to right:
Chicken & White Potatoes
Carrots
Butternut Squash & Apple
Peach, Banana, Apple, Strawberry
Zucchini
Peas
Blueberry, Banana, Apple, Strawberry

And then the big people had meatball sandwiches. Mmmmmm, tasty!!!

National Night Out 2011

This year marks the 28th annual celebration of National Night Out. This is a community event focused on anti-crime & anti-drug programs, support of local law enforcement, and overall community spirit.

I am proud to say that our little town held National Night Out in the town park. We might live in a small town but we have a park worth bragging about!!! This was a free event, complete with food, music, games, prizes, the fire truck, and police cars. You could even ride in the fire truck ladder all the way to the top of the old sycamore trees. That's all I really wanted to do but Nate didn't want to come. So instead we watched him ring the bell with the giant mallet (about 10 times), jump in the bouncy castle, and play mini golf.

Now, one lady at work pointed out that if everyone was at the party, who was watching the homes? I didn't think of that! But all was safe and sound when we got home.