i made something.

 

Lately I've been crafting up a storm.  I've been crampy so I've been lounging around this weekend.  Saturday night was so great because the girls played barbies, my boyfriend played video games, and I made stuff.  I've sort of been feeling bad lately that I hadn't really finished the 30 day journal challenge, and I wasn't really happy with my journal pages, so I decided to start over.  My new 30 day journal is SO cute!  It will get it's own post when I'm finished....I can't wait to show you!!  While I was waiting for the gesso to dry on one of my journal pages, I spotted an unfinished wood photo frame across the room.  I had painted a blue dahlia in my journal and had some left over paint on my cute little daisy palette,  so I went straight to work painting the picture frame.  I'm so happy with how it turned out!  It looks really really cute with a real photo in it, and up on the wall.  It was just a cheapie Michales wooden frame I got in the kids craft section, and I just used my cheap Wal-Mart craft paints on it.  This is a fun craft that anyone can do.  Dahlias are easy....just paint a bunch of black ovals and fill them in with whatever color you like (tone on tone colors would look great too).  If you decide to do this project, please leave a link to your work in the comments....I'd love to see your dahlias!

 

homemade laundry detergent

(source)

I finally have a working washer and dryer back in my laundry room again!!!!  You have no idea how excited I am!  It has been nearly 2 months since our washer broke.  At first I didn't think it would be that bad.......laundromats are fun right?  Wrong.  They are scary.  And dirty.  And full of creepy characters like this one:

 

(source)

Ok so I didn't actually see a guy in a bunny suit, but still.  And did I mention inconvenient?!  Clumsily lugging huge baskets of dirty clothes and heavy bottles of detergent and ziplocs full of quarters cannot be done alone while watching out for creepers who might steal your purse or your nintendo ds or try to murder you.  You gotta have a companion.  Preferably an adult male companion.  Taking the kids along adds a whole other level of stress.  And you definitely can't go at night.  Or early in the morning.  That means clothes accumulate if you only get the chance to wash them about 3 times a month.

So you can imagine my delight when I finished my first load in our new to us washer and dryer.  No problems.  Just clean fresh fluffy clothes.  I was a bit worried about the smell of our second hand washer though.  I made sure I put bleach in the first load and washed with hot water.  It seemed to do the trick.  All is well.

I bought a book a while back on natural cleaning recipes.  I've been feeling really crafty lately, so I thought what better than a lazy Memorial Day Monday to try some of them out?  We made the regular washing detergent, and the hard water detergent & mixed them together, adding essential oils.  Here's our recipe:

Lavender Mint Laundry Detergent

2 C grated soap flakes (we used peppermint Dr.Bronners)

2 C washing soda (we used Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda)

1 C baking soda

1/2 C borax (we used 20 mule team)

essential oils (we used tea tree, lavender, and spearmint)

Pour all dry ingredients into large storage container.  Shake well to mix.  Add in a few drops of essential oil.  Shake again.  That's it!  Easy.  You just use half a cup for each load and wash as usual.  Our clothes came out clean and fresh.  The detergent smells wonderful before and during washing, but after drying I couldn't smell anything at all.  Maybe more essential oil next time?  We also made fabric softener.

Lavender Mint Fabric Softener

2 C white vinegar

20 drops essential oil (we used tea tree, lavender, and spearmint)

Pour ingredients into clean empty squirt bottle (we used an old soft scrub bottle that we de-labled and rinsed out really well) and shake to mix.  Add a half cup to the wash during the rinse cycle.  I worried about the vinegar smell, but mixed with the oils it smells fresh.  Clothes came out smelling clean.  Come to think of it, I didn't catch the wash during the rinse cycle, so I rinsed again adding the fabric softener.  Maybe that's why the clothes didn't smell at all when they were done.

Anyway, I was really pleased with the results.  This is a very fun and rewarding project to do.  And it saves lots of money!!     

enjoy

un éléphant.

Some images are just too precious to slap up on the fridge.  This little gem just kills me!  Kid art is just so sweet and perfect sometimes isn't it?  I just knew this elephant drawing belonged in a frame, but the white background seemed a little dull. So off  we went to Michaels to pick up some scrapbook paper and a pretty silver frame at 40% off.  I cut the scrapbook paper to fit the frame, cut out the elephant (see the tiny mouse?), and glued it on the pretty background.  In the frame it went, and voila.  Ready for a real wall.  I think I will do more of this with my girls art.  Cut & paste the adorable bits together.  You know how sometimes the little one draws something so perfect that you hold your breath and hope that they are done.....and then they add something else that just well, adds too much?  I love that my girls express themselves through art.  As a mom, you of course have your personal favorites.  The kids do too.  Sometimes their favorites and your favorites aren't the same.  It's funny how Daisy told me that she didn't particularly like that elephant drawing, and that she didn't think it was one of her best.  The elephant is definitely my favorite.  Go figure.