Pinterest Project of the Day - Day 14

Yesterday I spent the day in a minivan with my sister-n-law and her three children...so...didn't really do much of a project! :)  However, any day spent with family is wonderful!!  So, I thought I would show ya'll an old project that I did and had on back-up for such situations!  I have already talked about my closet and the pegboard to hang my purses (thanks Dad and Stephen).  I had been trouble storing my 'cute' winter boots and saw the neatest idea on Pinterest.   You take those foam pool noodles and cut them to size and stick them down in your boots.  So, I went to get some pool noodles...and could not find them!!!  But finally, after girls night with my best friend we were seeking shelter from a storm in Kroger and there were my pool noodles...ON SALE!!  Woohoo!!  I bought three, but only used two, and here is the finished product!  I am so pleased with this project, and it was SO easy!!

Put the pool noodle  in your boot

Mark the desired height with a marker

Cut with regular scissors

Pinterest Project of the Day - Day 11

I was rather disappointed with my project today.  Thankfully, I had a great day otherwise!!  As I am typing this I have my niece and nephew in the floor playing at my house, because they are having a 'sleepover' with Uncle Steve, Aunt Cori, and Cooper.  However, my project could have proved quite fun, but it just didn't work like I had hoped.  Today's project was to make bathtub crayons.  This is the second time I have tried to do this.  Finding the items to make it with were quite simple...they were at Hobby Lobby and after using a 40% coupon it was also rather inexpensive!  The first time I used basic food coloring (what I keep on hand for my cake decorating, paste and gel color).  The crayons turned out, but would not write on the shower wall...which was what I was wanting them to do.  So, I did a little looking and found some liquid color that said it was very concentrated...so today I tried that...they still don't write on the shower wall.  They do make colors in the water, but I wanted to be able to leave cute/sweet notes on the shower wall...which Stephen may or may not have noticed! :)  Below are the items I used to make the soap, and the finished product.

I melted one glycerin cube in the microwave (1 minute), then added food color, poured into the molds, and let it harden.

The crayons turned out beautifully, and were so simple to make, I love them, but they don't do exactly what I wanted them to... So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to make these not only fun for kids, but also fun for me - so I can write on the shower wall - let me know!! :)

Pinterest Project of the Day - Day 2

I am all about doing things that can save money!  I also love to do things 'home-made'.  I don't go as far as some do, but I do try to do as much as I can to make my own products and do it the cheap way! I also have always been a huge fan of dishwashers!!  As I would help my Mom with dishes at home I always told her that when I got my own house I only wanted 'dishwasher safe' items.  While, not every item in my kitchen now is dishwasher safe, the majority of my items are! Because I love to cook, and try to make everything I can from scratch, I generally mess up quite a few dishes when I go to cook dinner. Therefore, I run my dishwasher every couple days at least (and I'm sure that will increase as we have children!).  Dishwasher tabs are quite expensive and that expense was just not fitting into my weekly Wal-Mart grocery and household needs budget.  So, a friend of mine had tried making dishwasher detergent from a recipe found on Pinterest and they truly liked it!  Well, I got on Pinterest and found quite a few recipes for dishwasher detergent.  Some made huge batches, some made small batches, some required lemon Kool-Aid (which would stain your dishwasher after a few uses).  After ready many many recipes, I finally found one I wanted to try!  So, I mixed up a batch and of course, just happened to have a dishwasher full of dirty dishes to try it on!  I have to say, I like it!!    Below is a picture of my detergent and the recipe I used to make it!  I also used vinegar as the rinsing agent (in that little spot in the dishwasher door!).  Good Luck and enjoy!!

2 cups of Borax

2 cups of Baking Soda
 4 tablespoons of citric acid--can be found near canning items
White Vinegar

Mix everything together by either dumping into a big bowl and stirring it really well or dumping it into a container with a lid and shaking it up. You can keep it in your lidded container or re-use your old detergent box, or a jar.

I use about 1 1/2 tablespoons per load. (3/4 tablespoon in the open cup and 3/4 in the closed locking cup)  I have heard that if you have hard water, you can adjust the amount of Borax, or add salt to the detergent mixture

Recipe from: http://frugallygreen.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-make-your-own-dishwasher.html