I found a new blog today called A Thrifty Mrs. In one of her posts she offered some homemade cleaning recipes. I highly recommend a look see. Her recipes used baking soda, salt, and borax. These are all wonderful cleaning supplies. I use borax and baking soda to clean our home on a regular basis. The article inspired me to share one of my cleaning tips. My friend, Robyn, shared this with me and it is wonderful. We make our own laundry detergent using borax, baking soda, bar soap, and essential oil. It cleans our clothes beautifully, costs so much less than buying bottles and powders at the store, it lasts twice as long as the store bought, and there are no worries about my husband’s sensitive skin. I highly recommend this to everyone. The full recipe is as follows.
6 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
4 cups soap
1/2 Tbsp essential oil
We use Safeguard soap. One can buy 10 bars for $3.50 at Wal-Mart. You can use any soap of your choosing. Just grate using a regular cheese grater. Essential oils can be purchased at health food stores or online. I really like ordering from Glory Bee. We have used tea tree oil, peppermint oil, Euclyptus oil, Orange oil, and currently Cedarwood oil. We store and make our detergent in a 5 gallon bucket. Use a 1/8 cup of detergent per load of laundry. Also, I use a Downy ball with vinegar. The vinegar helps break down the soap and eliminate odors. I hope you find this helpful and please check out the recipes offered by A Thrifty Mrs. Before I close this post, I want to mention a site I found all of 3 seconds ago. It is an online book called Baking Soda Book. It tells you all about baking soda and how it can be used around your home. It looks interesting and I can’t wait to read more tips and hints for how I can use this great product.
I recently stumbled upon this blog called Modish (pronounced moe-dish). I really love this site! It is now at the top of my list of daily blog reads! Modish is all about handmade crafts, indie designers, and people like me who love them. You’ll find great items to give as gifts or keep for yourself. These earrings are perfectly beautiful. You can find them at Sharma’s Designs.
You will also find great interviews with shop owners and crafts people. Click here to see an interview with one of my favorite artisans, Eclectic Eccentricity.
One of my favorite things about Modish is a regular guest blog called “Petals and Pedals” by Renee Garner. In these entries you will find information, thoughts, and ideas about green living and diy projects. Her latest entry challenges us to explore the world of nature around us and seek inspiration. Something so simple and yet it can be so meaningful. I truly encourage you to visit Modish. Once there you won’t want to leave.
I hope you all had as lovely a weekend as I had. Hubby and I did our usual grocery shopping and a little fun shopping, too. One of the things we bought was a couple of silk wrap skirts/dresses. We found ours at Romancing the Stone which is a sister store to Earthbound Trading Company. A little research uncovered the EBT’s dedication to independant artisans around the world. They feel that providing opportunities for these artisans to sell their wares promotes communities and tradtional artforms. They have also partnered with Heifer International, an organization that works to teach people livestock and agricultural skills. It feels good to know my purchase can make a difference around the world. The skirts/dresses are made of Indian silk and can be worn in a variety of ways. Below you will find just a small sampling of how these skirts/dresses can be worn.
The other purchase was books, books, and more books! Recently, Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin? had a 14 book giveaway. I entered and was quite disappointed when I didn’t win. My sweet hubby suggested I buy 14 books of my own choosing. Of course, we did set up a few guidelines. Hubby said that it wouldn’t help the bank account if I purchased 14 forty dollar books. Not a problem, I love hunting for bargains. Also, instead of buying them all at one time, we decided to spread out the purchases over a couple of months. I look at it as spreading the fun out over a longer period. Keeps life much more exciting. Our local Books-A-Million offered up 4 library books at $3 apiece. Later, Hastings offered Kitschy Crafts ($7.99) and The Bath Gourmet (.99). I’m so excited about the reading in my future. I just don’t know where to begin!
A shot of all the books purchased.
This one may be first on my list. The author has traveled all over the world tracing the history and adventure of gemstones. The bookflap mentioned a crawl through Cleopatra’s emerald mines and gem cutting in Sri Lanka where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires. Perhaps its the amatuer beader in me or my interest in history or just my fascination with other places and cultures, but this book just sounds like fun!
Beading, needlework, sock monkeys – This one speaks for itself!
The weekend shopping simply wouldn’t be complete without adding a little something new to the vinyl collection.
Thanks Dad for the love of marches! I’m having fun searching for unusual and different kinds of marches!
Well, that’s about it for my weekend. I’m exhausted now and ready to settle back with some good music and a great book!
I’m really liking her sound right now! I understand that she practices and encourages green living. Pretty cool! Check out her website, www.tristanprettyman.com. You can read more about her eco-friendly lifestyle at treehugger.
Well, here they are folks! The pics of my finished pendant project. For those of you who are new, I found a really cute pendant idea on the Savvy Crafter blog. While searching for ball chain and glaze I ran across some wooden beads that I thought would make lovely pendants. Then my hubby suggested using polymer clay to make the pendants. A few purchases later and I was home experimenting. I used Sculpey clay and the top of a lotion bottle to make the pendants. After baking I added stickers and glaze. I did the same with the wooden beads. Here are the results.
What do you think? I would love to hear your comments. I was thinking of stringing some with ribbon instead of the ball chain. I would also like to try stamping the clay pendants. As I experiment further I’ll be sure to share.
As many of you know, hubby and I have recently begun collecting and listening to old records. We have really enjoyed the old music and the sound of the vinyl as well as the hunt for old albums. While perusing the ideas on DIYLife, I ran across these bookends. I immediately thought, “Cool!” This was followed by, “How sad.” I honestly don’t know whether to hate it or love it.
For other great ideas, crafts, and tips on just about everything visit DIYLife.
There’s a great article on the history of FiestaWare on VintageIndie. I thought some of you might find it as interesting as I did. Click here to read the article.
Recently my hubby and I have found ourselves enjoying “old-fashioned” fun. A couple of Sundays ago we turned off the TV and cell phones, put away the MP3s and the computer, and spent the afternoon listening to old records and playing board games. We played a rousing game of Scrabble followed by a few hands of Yahtzee. It was a wonderful, peaceful afternoon and so much fun to boot. Our latest activity has been with jigsaw puzzles. We helped my sis put one together while up for a visit and enjoyed it so much that we purchased a few of our own. We have spent several evenings together with a puzzle between us. Sometimes the TV is on in the background, other times the record player provides the perfect ambient music. We have found that we enjoy the time spent together. It also brings a little peacefulness into an otherwise hectic world. I find myself looking forward to these quiet moments.
I linked to Echoes of a Dream from where I can’t remember because of the phrase “Cowboy Cookies.” I have a little nephew who loves all things cowboy and knew these cookies just might be his kind of thing. The cookies looked delicious, so I scrolled down to check out the recipe. It seemed straight forward enough, except for the castor sugar. What is Castor Sugar? Not knowing the answer, I googled it. Now I have stumbled upon another website marvel for cooks everywhere. O Chef is chock full of answers to all your cooking questions and if the answer isn’t there, just ask. They’ll be sure to answer. Castor sugar, by the way, is super fine sugar. Oh and if you want the cookie receipe click here.
I just wanted to give a shout out to my dear husband. He enourages my blogging and writing at every turn. He celebrates all the little things I consider milestones in this journey. He puts his photography skills to use, assisting me in taking pics of small objects and occasionally setting a scene. He steps back when I ask and gives advice when I ask. Without him, I never would have found my way around the photoshop software. I am not always the best student. I get frustrated too easily at times, yet he doesn’t give up. He knows I can do it and won’t let me give up on myself. The most amazing thing of all is that he has his own blog, gentlemanbeggar. I know he has things of his own to write and photograph, yet he always takes time for me. So, in closing, thank you ever so much sweetie. Your the best and I love you!
"....magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger."
--Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
