So as I stated my family is trying to become a little greener, not sure what shade of green we plan on getting. I mean somethings are just a little to green for me like homemade pads, or toilet paper. Sorry but that is just to green for my taste. However, I am very interested in homemade cleaners and using less chemicals near my family. I decided since we ran out of our usual detergent (All Clear) we were going to try a DIY Laundry Detergent. Which I must say is way cheaper then my All Clear. I was skeptic at first and maybe even second load. However it really truly works just as great as my regular detergent.
My children have sensitive skin and a lot of things make their little skin freak out. This however, did not have any effect on their skin. I got my recipe from pintrest (which is a God sent for crafters I swear). This particular recipe came from Yellow Brick Home which is a powder detergent.
The Recipe
You’ll need Borax, Fels Naptha soap, and washing soda:
1) Grate an entire bar of Fels Naptha with a cheese grater into a bowl
2) add 1 cup of Borax
3) 1 cup of the washing soda
4) mix.
SO easy and Cost me about $10.00 and I have enough borax and washing soda to make about 3 more batches so add on 3 more bars at .98 I am spending less then $13.00. Each batch gets me between 40-50 loads of laundry because you only need 1 Tbsp per load. (warning do not get nervous because it will not suds up but it is working).
Since this was my first time I wasn't trying to cook the detergent to make it liquid. However, I found some great recipes for liquid detergent at one good thing by jillee who is amazing as for as I am concerned. As I get used to it I may try making it into a liquid detergent next time.
My next great experiment will be liquid fabric softener and homemade shout out spray. Wish me luck....
July 19, 2012
July 12, 2012
A new driving force for my posts
I haven't been on my blog in so long I wasn't sure it was even still here. There are many reason for my severe absence and many are dealing with family obligations. As I have said before I have two cuddle bunnies a son who is now 6 and a daughter who has now turned 4. They keep me very busy with karate, tball, swim lessons, dance lessons, recitals, church choir, basketball camps, and soon football. I enjoy them being busy but it does not leave much time for momma bunny to be creative or at least blog about it. We also completed a move last summer that has taken us from Southern GA to Southern Maine which is a huge difference (even for this Northeastern girl). I have not lived in a Northeastern state in over 9 years ( that is crazy to even contemplate by the way). We were muddling through our first winter, which the locals say was mild but it took some time to re-acclimate or for my kids to acclimate at all.
Our winter kicked off early with snow for Halloween, which I was not prepared for since I never had to worry about putting jackets on with their costumes or layers for that matter. I did get a chance to be creative for Halloween and make some pretty awesome costumes. My daughter was Minnie Mouse, My Son was Batman ( I reused parts of a costume I found at good will and made if fit along with a homemade cape), I made costumes for a friends family the scarecrow, the cowardly lion, oz, and the tin man (which was my favorite).
However then the holidays came and I got bogged down with that. Then I got into a rut of not sewing or being creative which is pretty odd for me. I love making decorations, and Christmas gifts. This year did not happen. The most creative thing I did was rack up my pins on pintrest (which doesn't make me creative through osmosis, it should though).
Lately though I have missed being creative and have found some new interests I am pursuing and will be including in my blog. Along with showing off my creative side I have decided to make my family greener and take all of you on the journey with us. I should warn you my husband is quite hesitant but has decided he will go along for the ride at least inside the home. I have been doing a lot of reading and research on ways to be green. The more I read the more I realized 2 things were happening 1) I was totally freaking myself out with all of it and 2) I was becoming overwhelmed by the amount of information. So I decided to slow it down and start small with things such as homemade cleaners (which work pretty well and we will talk about in upcoming posts), unpaper towels which I love (future posts), educating myself, and learning to shop for better foods. The last will come from educating myself, and along the way maybe passing along some great information to you as well.
What does this mean for my blog? Well I will still be showing some great DIY projects and sewing things. My blog isn't going to be all about going green, and Eco-friendliness. I will be sticking to my roots which is my calling to DIY and my family (which is where the going green part really comes in).
So I hope you will stay with us and follow our journey to going green and healthy. Along with some great crafty projects I have lined up. I promise consistency with my post.s
Our winter kicked off early with snow for Halloween, which I was not prepared for since I never had to worry about putting jackets on with their costumes or layers for that matter. I did get a chance to be creative for Halloween and make some pretty awesome costumes. My daughter was Minnie Mouse, My Son was Batman ( I reused parts of a costume I found at good will and made if fit along with a homemade cape), I made costumes for a friends family the scarecrow, the cowardly lion, oz, and the tin man (which was my favorite).
However then the holidays came and I got bogged down with that. Then I got into a rut of not sewing or being creative which is pretty odd for me. I love making decorations, and Christmas gifts. This year did not happen. The most creative thing I did was rack up my pins on pintrest (which doesn't make me creative through osmosis, it should though).
Lately though I have missed being creative and have found some new interests I am pursuing and will be including in my blog. Along with showing off my creative side I have decided to make my family greener and take all of you on the journey with us. I should warn you my husband is quite hesitant but has decided he will go along for the ride at least inside the home. I have been doing a lot of reading and research on ways to be green. The more I read the more I realized 2 things were happening 1) I was totally freaking myself out with all of it and 2) I was becoming overwhelmed by the amount of information. So I decided to slow it down and start small with things such as homemade cleaners (which work pretty well and we will talk about in upcoming posts), unpaper towels which I love (future posts), educating myself, and learning to shop for better foods. The last will come from educating myself, and along the way maybe passing along some great information to you as well.
What does this mean for my blog? Well I will still be showing some great DIY projects and sewing things. My blog isn't going to be all about going green, and Eco-friendliness. I will be sticking to my roots which is my calling to DIY and my family (which is where the going green part really comes in).
So I hope you will stay with us and follow our journey to going green and healthy. Along with some great crafty projects I have lined up. I promise consistency with my post.s
See Pumpkins and snow to crazy for me |
Making Snow angels on October 30th |
That was a really big costume |
Tin man is awesome
|
September 28, 2011
Organizing Your Home and Childs Room
I know that it has been a while since I have posted but we have been in the middle of a military move. With that being said we have been running into some issues on how to reorganize our childrens rooms and make it more efficient for them. If any of you out there are like me ten the lack of organization and mess drives you absolutely crazy. So over the last few months I havefound ways to maximize their space and keep their toys organized. I figured I would share them with you and maybe they will help you too.
Top 10 Tips for Organizing their Rooms and Keeping your home clear of the toys:
Tip 1: Setting up seperate stations or areas in their rooms so that they can play in different areas and stay concentrated on just they type of toys they would like to play with.
Example: My son has a lot of different intrests right now and and sometimes it is hard for him to only play with one of those at a time. That being said if I just throw all of it in a toy box then he will pull all of them out at once. So we split things up and put them in differnt areas, kind of the way they do at school/day care. We have superheros together in one area, blocks seperasted in another, trains in another, and so on nd so forth. This helps him to realize he needs to put away his toys before he moves onto another area. This will help you and them to stay clean and organized.
Tip 2: Using bins either clear or ones with no lids. This allows them to see what is in there are and they can choose the on they are looking to play with. This will stop them from ripping everything out to find one toy.
Tip 3: When you believe your space is limited in square footage then use all of your surfaces. Just because you have a small room does not mean you do not have the room for organization. Build some shelves, or you can use over the door shoe organizers for toys.
Example: We use shoe organizers for our sons cars or our daughters barbies. This needs no square footage and still helps keep them organized.
Tips 4: Label all of your storage areas and add a picture with the label. It allows them to see what is supposed to be stored in that bin or area and they will be able to help clean up and stay organized.
Tip 5: Make cleaning up fun. We like to make cleaning up our rooms a game and see who could put the most toys away in a 5 minutes. I help but mostly allow them to do it and then at the end they have a sense of pride for what they accomplished.
Tip 6: Keep a basket or bin downstairs to catch all of their toys and belongings. Each child has a bin kept in the livingroom and at the end of the night we go around and pick up our toys. Makes taking the toys to their room much easier and makes for a quick clean up.
Tip 7: My children love puzzles but sometimes it is hard to keep their peices together in their right box. So what we do it put a shape such as a triangle on the back of all the pieces for that puzzle. So we know if it has a triangle it goes in that box.
Tip 8: It is never to early to teach yourchild about charity. When we moved I noticed how many toys we held onto that neither of them played with in over a year. So I sat my son down and explained that Santa is coming soon and he would be recieving new toys. I also explained that their are some kids who did not have as many toy as he had and that it would be nice of him to donate those toys to the kids in need. Once he understood we went through his toy and he got to choose which toys he would like to donate. I was very proud of him for being so generous.
Tip 9: Our children love to dress themselves and sometimes there are a few misses with their outfits. So to help them out we have a days of the week closet organizer. It allows them to stay independent and allows me to make sure they don't look like rainbow brite when leaving the house.
Tip 10: Stay calm and remember organization is something that does not happen overnight. It is something you must stay on top of but it will not just happen quickly. By keeping up with the mess and clutter it will stay small. It is when you let it go that it becomes overwhelming.
I know that organization can seem overwhelming at times and yu just want it over with. But there are some easy things you can implemnt in your own home that will help you and your children become orgainzed. After a few weeks it will become like second nature to keep thngs in their place, pick up as you go, and do a quick pick up before bed
Top 10 Tips for Organizing their Rooms and Keeping your home clear of the toys:
Tip 1: Setting up seperate stations or areas in their rooms so that they can play in different areas and stay concentrated on just they type of toys they would like to play with.
Example: My son has a lot of different intrests right now and and sometimes it is hard for him to only play with one of those at a time. That being said if I just throw all of it in a toy box then he will pull all of them out at once. So we split things up and put them in differnt areas, kind of the way they do at school/day care. We have superheros together in one area, blocks seperasted in another, trains in another, and so on nd so forth. This helps him to realize he needs to put away his toys before he moves onto another area. This will help you and them to stay clean and organized.
Tip 2: Using bins either clear or ones with no lids. This allows them to see what is in there are and they can choose the on they are looking to play with. This will stop them from ripping everything out to find one toy.
Tip 3: When you believe your space is limited in square footage then use all of your surfaces. Just because you have a small room does not mean you do not have the room for organization. Build some shelves, or you can use over the door shoe organizers for toys.
Example: We use shoe organizers for our sons cars or our daughters barbies. This needs no square footage and still helps keep them organized.
Tips 4: Label all of your storage areas and add a picture with the label. It allows them to see what is supposed to be stored in that bin or area and they will be able to help clean up and stay organized.
Tip 5: Make cleaning up fun. We like to make cleaning up our rooms a game and see who could put the most toys away in a 5 minutes. I help but mostly allow them to do it and then at the end they have a sense of pride for what they accomplished.
Tip 6: Keep a basket or bin downstairs to catch all of their toys and belongings. Each child has a bin kept in the livingroom and at the end of the night we go around and pick up our toys. Makes taking the toys to their room much easier and makes for a quick clean up.
Tip 7: My children love puzzles but sometimes it is hard to keep their peices together in their right box. So what we do it put a shape such as a triangle on the back of all the pieces for that puzzle. So we know if it has a triangle it goes in that box.
Tip 8: It is never to early to teach yourchild about charity. When we moved I noticed how many toys we held onto that neither of them played with in over a year. So I sat my son down and explained that Santa is coming soon and he would be recieving new toys. I also explained that their are some kids who did not have as many toy as he had and that it would be nice of him to donate those toys to the kids in need. Once he understood we went through his toy and he got to choose which toys he would like to donate. I was very proud of him for being so generous.
Tip 9: Our children love to dress themselves and sometimes there are a few misses with their outfits. So to help them out we have a days of the week closet organizer. It allows them to stay independent and allows me to make sure they don't look like rainbow brite when leaving the house.
Tip 10: Stay calm and remember organization is something that does not happen overnight. It is something you must stay on top of but it will not just happen quickly. By keeping up with the mess and clutter it will stay small. It is when you let it go that it becomes overwhelming.
I know that organization can seem overwhelming at times and yu just want it over with. But there are some easy things you can implemnt in your own home that will help you and your children become orgainzed. After a few weeks it will become like second nature to keep thngs in their place, pick up as you go, and do a quick pick up before bed
February 12, 2011
Last Minute Valentine's gift idea...
Well Valentine's day is upon us and as we get closer I have had to come up with a personal yet inexpensive teacher gift for my children. My Son is in Pre-K and has 2 teachers and my Daughter is in day care and has 3 teachers, plus a favorite teacher from another classroom and because they are such nice women the director and the women who works at the desk. So for all of you that is a total of 8 gifts that I need which can get expensive if you let it. However I found an inexpensive gift that I really love and hope that they do as well.
They were so easy and they turned out adorable. I got these mailboxes in the dollar aisle at target. I used my cricut (still one of my all time favorite gifts) and some pink vinyl that I already had. I cut out the different shapes and the first letter of the teachers name to put on front. I filled with candy and wrapped them up.
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First step in my bedroom makeover...
I have decided to update some of my bedroom linens. I have started a duvet cover but have not finished so I will show that later. However, I decided to try some new throw pillows and this is my first attempt so please be gentle in judgement.... Well Without making you wait any longer here it is....
I got my inspiration and some direction from here... I think her pillow turned out way cuter, but I have to give myself props for my first attempt. I plan on making about two more in different styles and hope they turn out this well too... Well Hope you like it and I will keep updating as the process chugs along.
February 6, 2011
Colorful fun on Etsy
So I have decided to go out an try etsy and see if I can really have a home based business. I have come up with a facebook page which along with my shop is a work in progress. However in the interest of drumming up some new business I have decided to offer a Coupon to my followers. I have put the coupon on the Facebook website and would love it if you all could go over and check it out. While your there grab the coupon code and check out the shop. I am working on some new things that I hope to have listed early in the week and I am taking requests for special order items. Please head over to Colorful Fun Facebook page and give me a like.
February 4, 2011
XOXO Tree
Sorry for the Lack of posts lately my card reader broke and I finally found the time to go out and get a new one.
I have seen a lot of these trees around and decided I wanted to make one for Valentine's Day.
I went to hobby lobby after Christmas when all of their stuff was 75% off and they had the wooden letters in green and red for like 10 cents a piece so I just painted them to the colors I wanted and then added the white polka dots using a dowel.
I have seen a lot of these trees around and decided I wanted to make one for Valentine's Day.
I went to hobby lobby after Christmas when all of their stuff was 75% off and they had the wooden letters in green and red for like 10 cents a piece so I just painted them to the colors I wanted and then added the white polka dots using a dowel.
I cut down the branches from my yard and used a pitcher I already had on my mantle. Then to make it look a little more like Valentine's Day I tied a Heart Doily to it. Total cost was less then 50 cents since I had all of the supplies I needed. I think it adds the perfect touch to the Mantle and to my valentine's decorations.
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