DIY Cleaners

A couple of years ago, B.P. (before Pinterest), I happened to notice a lot of people saying they'd made their own laundry soap. I thought that sounded crafty in a way so I gave it a try and posted a tutorial at myfirst blog site Yay For Mommy!  Click over and take a peek.

Since then I've tried various ways to minimize the chemicals I use around the house with varying results.  I haven't been impressed with the old science experiment drain cleaner (you know, baking soda and vinegar combo that is also a 'bubbling volcano' if you're in grade school).  I like vinegar for it's naturalness, but it's smell, eh notsomuch.  I have a small hand held steamer that does a nice job but I usually have the perception it's a big hassle to drag it out.  My floor steamer is nice and makes me feel like I'm really cleaning the (hardwood) floors not just wetting the dust and spreading it around more evenly.

Since Pinterest has come into my life, the ideas for decorating, organizing, crafting, cleaning etc etc etc knows no bounds.  I wish I could say that about my available time to try everything I pin.  I did just try a recent cleaning pin that I've been seeing over and over.  Perhaps you've see it too?  Have you tried it?  Well I did and here's my take on it.

Simple. Dawn liquid, vinegar, spray bottle.  Three ingredients...if you count the spray bottle you need to mix it in, so it definitely has simple covered.

Inexpensive, relatively speaking, though Dawn liquid is far from the cheapest dish soap around.  Someone's instructions said it HAS to be the blue Dawn so I didn't dare try another type or brand.  I suppose I could have just compared ingredients, though. 

Easy.  Heat 12 ounces of white vinegar in the microwave.  Pour into spray bottle.  Add 12 ounces of Dawn ...uh BLUE Dawn dishwashing liquid.   Mix.  Use.

Effective?  Yah I thought it did a really good job.  Not unlike a movie that gets overhyped, I was expecting a LOT from this combo that everyone is raving about.  Not unlike a movie that gets overhyped I was probably expecting too much.  But objectively, I thought it worked really well.  I cleaned two bathroom sinks, a tub, a shower stall, the kitchen (stainless steel) sink, the glass stove cooktop, and the glass oven door.  It didn't do much for the oven door but the rest of the places I mentioned sparkle.

Miracle cleaner?   I like that it's not overly chemically.  As in vinegar is natural and Dawn is at least made to be used on your food serving items.  It does leave a nice shine.  On the down side, I hate the way it smells.  I'm weirdly sensitive to fragrance and dislike Dawn's fragrance.  A lot.  I've also got to learn how much is enough because I ended up with oodles of soapiness I had to rinse away.  I suspect being a bit less trigger-happy would manage that.  It's only a miracle if one use keeps everything clean forever, though.

So I rate it a solid A-.  I don't think I should hold it's smell against it and come spring when the windows can be opened I may even learn to like it.  I definitely suggest you try it - especially if you already have the ingredients on hand.  Then when someone says they tried this new cleaner from Pinterest you can brag or complain about it too!  Oh and of course you can clean with it as well.



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Pirates Go Shopping

They do?

Dollar Store Addiction

A Hodge Podge of Mod Podge

I do think Mod Podge (often mispronounced Modge Podge) is a pretty cool product. I have discovered, however, that it challenges my inner perfectionist. I can't seem to force it to be perfect and it doesn't give me a "do-over" like I get with a stitch. Anyhow, I have friends who are mad-about-Mod-Podge and I DO like so many of the things made with it, so I've been dabbling. This past Thanksgiving I threw together a wooden sign with a scrap piece of plywood I found in the yard. Really, I just kinda took scrapbook paper and winged it. Here's what I ended up with...

Once it was up on the wall and I couldn't inspect it so closely I came to like it.

I also made a family sign for my sister for a Christmas gift; the top board has hooks on the bottom to hang a seasonal plaque below.  Here's the one I did for 'summer'. 

Winter was four penguins, spring was four bunnies and fall was four pumpkins so there is a family 'picture' to change with each of the New England season changes.

The other Mod Podge project I did is my favorite of the bunch.  I followed this Paint Stick Ornament tutorial that looked like a fun little giftie/decoration idea and added some embellishments of my own.

It's important to always have teeny tiny jungle bells on hand!

 

So there's a sampling of my Mod Podging.  I'm thinking about birthday countdown cubes next....well after I cross off some house projects, and cleaning projects, and sewing projects...<sigh> the list never ends!

Hoop La

Traditions are one of the best parts of Christmas (well unless we're talking about re-gifting fruit cake perhaps). One of my favorites is the now three year old ornament exchange among my friends. About a dozen of us gals gather together for holiday cheer (aka wine and yummies) and jibber jabber until we gather around the tree to share a little summary of our year and distribute one of our homemade ornaments to each friend. Similar to a cookie exchange you make a set of ornaments and leave with a mixed bag of ornaments. Not only do you get new items to 'spruce' up your Christmas tree, you have a happy reminder of the exchange and the friend who took the time to make your little decoration!

After hours of surfing the interwebs looking for the 'perfect' tutorial or idea I finally decided on an applique sewing project I fell in love with. With total due credit to Pilli Pilli for dreaming up these cuties I set out to make my own. I ordered the teeny tiny hoops online (hoping they'd arrive in plenty of time to finish!), had a scrap of linen on hand for the 'canvas' and bought 1/4 yard pieces of little prints in reds and greens. There's always plenty of ribbon, floss and needles here so all I had to do was figure out how to make them!

A bit of trial and error taught me that using a fusable backing for the little shapes would minimize fraying and keep them in place for sewing. I cut each piece free-hand so no two were alike (mostly because I had no pattern and besides, part of their charm is their 'rough' look). I cut 4 inch by 4 inch squares of linen and ironed on the bitty shapes then headed for my Curvy (aka sewing machine). Never having used a machine for free-form/curved sewing I wasn't sure what I'd end up with but it turned out to be easy enough (and the small size made pulling out wonky stitches and trying again easy too!). Next, I fitted the linen piece into the hoop all nice and snug and hand stitched the details. I added little snow flakes to the backgrounds (but they didn't show up too well).  I cut circles from scrapbook paper for a backing, tied a pretty bow around the tension screw and added a silver thread hanger. Then I did it all 11 more times!

I made 6 with happy little trees..

And 6 with happy little snowmen...

And packaged them up up to share!

 I'm already thinking about next year!

Monkey Business!

As I mentioned in my last post I made sock monkeys for Craft Hope's latest project.  A couple of friends came over with their socks and sewing equipment and we made monkeys!  My friend H was the go-to for instructions since she'd already started some (and is an expert sewess - is that a word?).   No pattern needed really and once you make one and find out how fun and easy they are you want to make a whole zoo.  Well, I only made two, but I had a tight deadline to meet!  Not surprisingly my 4 year old apprentice wanted the monkey to be a pirate, but brown monkey wasn't wearing the pirate gear too well.  So I picked up a pair of stripey socks and made Cap'n Monkey.

The extra fabric from the toe of the sock made a nice little kerchief.

He looks sea worthy, eh matey?

But what to do with brown monkey?  A girlie one perhaps?  When else am I going to use a piece of pink tulle after all?  A quick no-sew tutu and some felt flowers and brown monkey became ballerina monkey - and pirate monkey had a date!

They are now nestled snug in a box on a flight to Texas.  Bon voyage monkeys!  I hope whomever they go to live with has as much fun snuggling them as I had making them!

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Stocking Up

Somewhere along the line in my cruising of the interwebs I found Craft Hope, a site where crafters can share handmade crafts with those who need them.  I started with Project 9 making pillow cases for ConKerr Cancer, an organization that provides cheerful pillowcases to sick children in hospitals across the country.  I jumped back in this year with Project 14: Christmas in Dixie.  It is for an organization in Alabama collecting Christmas stockings and decorations to those who lost everything in tornadoes last fall.  In both cases I donated directly rather than as part of Craft Hope since they have their own collection deadlines (that I missed).  But whether you craft along with the Craft Hope timelines or refer to their charities list for ideas that suit your crafty talents, it's a great way to connect and contribute. 

Since I had a lot of green felt left over from a previous project, I just found a simple stocking shape pattern and decorated as I went.  I originally intended to sew the stocking seams on my machine but I ended up doing all the edges by hand.  I used both glue and sewing to attach the embellishments even though gluing makes me feel like I'm cheating somehow.  :-)

The next project (#15) is Sock Monkeys for Texas - they will go to children who lost their homes in Texas wildfires.  The deadline is November 24th so I need to get moving!  If you are interested in joining in, all the details are here.