Toddler Ornament DIY

My family loves to make Ornaments at Christmas time.   This is rather difficult to do with a toddler...  so here is what I came up with.

Very very easy.
Supplies:
Clear plastic ornament (got mine from Michael's) but a ceramic one would work as well.  I just wouldn't suggest glass.
Acrylic Paint- red, green and white.
Plate
Soft paint brush (about 1" wide)
Moist towel or wipe
Dry towel
Cup of water (I prefer to use an old plastic coffee can)
Some where to hang wet ornament, nearby and out of reach of small hands
Willing toddler in messable clothes

Directions:
Place a squirt of each of the paint colors on your plate.
Use paint brush to apply paint to hand of toddler.  Have toddler grab or pat the ornament, I turned mine as he was enthusiastically "pat pat"ing it. Once you finish with warm color hang ornament out of  toddler's reach.  Use moist towel to wipe paint off of hand and follow with dry towel.  Give the ornament a couple of minutes to dry before applying next color so that you don't end up with a brown, pink, light green and tan ornament.  Repeat process for each color.
Hang to dry and clean toddler, yourself and whatever surface you are working on  :P

Also would make a good grandparent gift or gift tag.  It is a rather quick process, the set-up and clean-up is what took us the longest, and it wasn't that bad.

Still Cookin'!

Well today I am 27weeks and 2 days pregnant!!!!!!!   I am further than I got with Lil'C who was born at 27weeks 1day.  So to celebrate... Coupon code for my etsy shop for my readers!!
I'll leave it till Lil'K makes her appearance or..I run out of stock, whichever comes first.

Etsy Link:  StitchinFrog
Coupon Code:  KeepCookin

Repairing elastic in Smartipants

We all know that I use cloth diapers, and I love them.  But after so many washings and tons of abuse elastic can begin to wear out, just like any article of clothing.  I searched the web for a tutorial for repairing Smartipants (my favorite brand and the majority of my stash) elastic but couldn't find one, so I'm making one!

Now before you proceed...  following these steps WILL DESTROY YOUR WARRENTY! So if you still have your warranty contact Smartipants FIRST!  If, like me, it was already shot due to using baking soda or something in the wash, then continue.  Or, if you don't care about destroying your warranty and just want it fixed today. 

Cleaning Recipies

I have gathered TONS and I do mean TONS of cleaning recipies from alllllllllll over the web.  From tons of websites... I feel bad that I didn't include links.. but this is intended to be printed so links wouldn't help much.. 
You are welcome to share this with whomever, I didn't create most of these and I got them for free so who am I to charge or say who gets them?
So make sure you have a LOT of paper in your printer and print away.  If you know of any recipies to add, let me know & I'll add it for everyone :)
Hint: Set your printer on front and back print if you can..
Click me for Recipes

Chicken & Rice

My family has their own cookbook.  Over half of the thing is desserts because.. well, we're bakers.
One of our recipes is Chicken and Rice, a family staple.  I tend to make it when I don't feel like putting much effort into cooking or is someone isn't feeling well.  It's kinna a cousin to chicken soup.

DIY diaper wipes and solution

So we have LONG established that I'm a gung-ho cloth diapering mom who loves to DIY everything I can.. so is it any suprise that I make my own wipes and solution?  Nah.. didn't think so.
Well here is how I do it.

You will need: a box to hold your wipes. (I find that the Kroger brand wipes box works best for this, their wipes suck but the box is fantastic!),  Bottle to mix in (squirt bottles work great, we got that one for free at a Dollar general grand opening), baby oil, aloe vera gel, your favorite baby shampoo, and wipes.  To make our wipes we took 4 flannel receiving blankets (we use the rest at Flat diapers when we need them) and cut them into squares the size of the wipes that came in the box, about 6"x6"  I surged the edges but you don't have too.  You can also use the CHEAP baby wash cloths.  The expensive ones have to much grip and won't "pop-up" well.

DIY Camera softie

No I did not create the original tutorial.  I found it here at Pink stitches which I found at Craft Gossip... If you don't know about Craft Gossip, you should!  And yes... you may just hate me for showing you.

I made this little orange camera for my niece's 3rd birthday gift.  My sister (her mother) is a professional photographer.  Her response on seeing the camera?  "It says Canon on it because it is well made!"  :P    Can you tell what brand all her cameras are?  :P

DIY vannilla :)

If you have been reading my blog for long you know that I love DIY... I have another one for you!   DIY Vanilla "Extract"!

What you will need....
3-4 vanilla beans
1 small bottle of vodka
1 Med-large bottle of vodka

Take the vanilla beans and splice them down the middle.  Drop them in the small vodka bottle and shake.
Make sure the vodka completely covers the beans.  Store the bottle in the dark for a few weeks,  until the vodka turns dark brown.  Use it as you would any other vanilla extract.  Use the larger bottle of vodka to re-fill the small bottle after each use, make sure that the beans are never sit exposed to air so that they do not mold.  I have been using my vanilla for years and have a friend that has been using hers closer to a decade.
Now... if for some reason you don't want to use liquor.... you can replace the vodka with vinegar. :D

More DIY:
Dish Detergent
Window cleaner
both of the above also have more links for many many more cleaners as well :D Check 'em out if you haven't before!

Make sure you check out the comments on the Dish Detergent, there is a FANTASTIC link for laundry detergent by one of my commenters!  :D

I got my beans from Rainbow Grocery but if you need a link... You can go here to get your beans!

DIY Dishwasher Detergent

As I have said before I prefer to DIY, and I have already shared with ya'll my window cleaner.
I have found a pretty effective method for DIY Dishwasher detergent.  
I searched all over for recipes and ended up mixing some ideas.. 

For my system you will need: (notice that it is divided into 2 sections)
Baking Soda

1 part vinagar
1 part castle soap
1 part lemon juice (or double the vinigar)
1 part water

Combine the vinegar, castle soap, lemon juice and water in a container.  A squirt bottle works great for this.  Shake before each use.

When your ready to run the dishwasher put your mixture in the main soap spot (the one with the lid) and put about a tablespoon or two of the baking soda in the pre-wash soap spot. 

The baking soda will help break up what is on your dishes and may even have a slight reaction with the vinegar in the main wash cycle to add to the scrubbing power. 

I love it and think it works great.   My mom still prefers to use Cascade (remember she prefers to buy) and I can now taste it when she does the dishes.  ick...  

What DIY products do you like to use?   Have you found anything new lately?
Check out this post for a large list of DIY cleaners.
Some more to add to the list:
 All purpose cleaning spray
 List of Homemade Cleaners (Faux Fabreze too!)
A nice multi-list

There is one common cleaner that I don't use.. DIY or store bought.   I don't use carpet "cleaners", you know those powdered thing?    We have a specific reason for that...  Years ago when we were replacing my parents carpet and we pulled up the carpet.... ick...   years and years and years (my mom is gonna hate me for posting this!!) of carpet "cleaner" powder alllllll over the place under the carpet and carpet mat..    My one exception would be in the case of fleas.. because one of the ways to get rid of fleas in carpet is by putting baking soda on your carpet since it dehydrates the evil little critters and their eggs.  ick ick...   
Do you have any products you refuse to use... most of the time?

Coupon Disaster..

My Attempt at a DIY coupon binder...  Fail..

I have been working on creating a simple to use coupon book for my mom.. Seriously.. who isn't trying to save money?    I couldn't manage to get a hold of  a pocket portfolio so I attempted to make a faux version out of one...  yeah.. didn't work

DIY Extreme Wet Bag

Our old wetbag. Great single pouch wet bag.

As I have said before... we use cloth diapers.  When you use cloth then you become introduced to SOOO many other neat things..  One of which is the "Wet Bag", which is basically a carry all for wet/dirty things.   I suggest one to any parent, even the 'sposie using ones.    They can be used to carry dirty cloth diapers, wet swim suits, dirty outfits of a potty-training toddler, etc.  home to be washed.

How the garden grows

The white bags are deer deterrent.

So this year I started off doing a square foot garden... then about a month ago my mom decided to add to it... but she wanted a traditional garden.   So now we have....  lettuce, corn, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, zucchini, tomato, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, strawberry, okra, sweet potato, regular potato, black eyed peas, navy beans, banana & bell peppers, peas cammomile, arugala, swiss chard basil, canalope, sage, chives and probably a kitchen sink...
It has kinna gotten crazy.   We have already been eating the carrots, lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes. 

One year old! Both ways!

My big boy :)

Today Christopher is One year old gestationally.  June 17 was my due date.  He was born 15 months ago so he has been a "one year old" for 3 months now. Now when people ask me how old he is I can just say "one year" instead of " __ months old and __ months gestational"  and then have to go into the whole 1 trimester short explanation.

DIY baby food grinder case

Finished bag. Wait till you see all the features!

Lil'C has a Kidco Baby food grinder (edited to update link to new version by the same brand).  It works pretty good, but I dropped it the other day at church and snapped the latch on the case.  I decided I needed a working case, since we usually use it when out and about.   So, to the sewing room I went. 

DIY Nursing Necklace

I have been coveting some nursing necklaces since Lil'C has gotten REALLY REALLY good at removing my glasses.  I have such bad eye sight that I do actually walk into walls/poles/chairs/stairs/etc. without them, and he can remove my glasses in about 10 seconds flat.   That can become really dangerous.

DIY window cleaner

I feel that we have had enough chemical exposure to last a lifetime... so I try and avoid it.
One of the ways I do so is DIY cleaning products.   One of those products is Window cleaner... it is actually very easy to make!
Supplies:
Spray bottle
6 parts cooled VERY black tea (I use 3 cups)
1 part vinegar (I use 1/2 cup)
2 marbles
1 t-shirt cut into squares. (I used one of Big C's old ones, with his permission)

Poor tea and vinegar in spray bottle.  Drop the marbles in the bottle, they help keep thing mixed (think spray cans).

When using, spray the cleaner on the t-shirt squares and NOT the glass.   This keeps you from over using and having streaks. 
Plus when it comes to unframed mirrors, it keeps you from ruining the mirror.  The liquids will seep under the edges and eat away at your mirror.  
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Here are some of my favorite DIY cleaning links!  It's enough to do your whole house!

Laundry Detergent
Giant List of 25
Green Cleaning
Cleaners from the Garden
Dishwasher Detergent

Furniture Polish
The MOTHERLOAD!!

Plus a little helpful motivation!



What are your favorite cleaning links?