Glitter Ornaments

I love making Christmas ornaments but hate it when glitter gets everywhere. These ornaments are great because the glitter is inside the ornaments.

Supplies:
Clear ornaments
glitter
Pledge floor cleaner (blue cap)
Q-tip
Funnel

I picked small ornaments. Carefully take the top off of the ornaments. Using the funnel gently squeeze the floor cleaner in the ornament. There should be a small puddle of cleaner in the ornament.

 

 Roll the ornament around in your fingers to make sure all sides are coated. Be careful not to mix it too much so you don't get any extra air bubbles. Remove the cap from the cleaner and pour any extra back into the bottle. If you do have air bubbles use the Q-tip to pop them.

Use a paper funnel to help pour in the glitter. Put a decent amount in there. Roll it around in your fingers again to cover the inside. Dump any extra glitter back into the container.

Add the top back on. Now you have a pretty glittery ornament without the glitter causing a mess on the outside. You can leave them the way they are or you can decorate them further.

If you use glass ornaments, be careful not to break them. Then you will have glitter everywhere. This process also works on clear plastic ornaments as well.

DIY Bows

Bow are used for everything and can be really expensive for a one time use. Last year I made my own bows out of old magazines that I had. It was way cheaper. This year I decided to make them out of fabric. Maybe this time they will last a little longer.

Supplies:
Fabric, ribbon, or magazines
thread, staples or glue

You need to cut your material into the following strips:
3-10.5x3/4
3-9.5x3/4
2-8.5x3/4
1-3.5x3/4

 

Start with the longest strip. Fold it in half to find the middle, make a crease and unfold. Twist the ends into the middle and secure with either a pin, staple or glue. Do this for each strip except the smallest piece.

 

Again starting with the longest strip, start layering each twisted strip. Largest to smallest. Secure them.

 

Now take the smallest strip and form a loop. This goes in the middle. Secure it again.

 

Your bow is done. If you use fabric it will be floppy. You can use tape to secure it to any package.




Ghost or Mummy

I enjoy decorating for all sorts of holidays. Since Halloween is coming up I decided to look around to see if there was anything I could make. I came across these super cute ghosts/mummy decorations. All you need is a bottle, something to wrap around it, permanent marker, glow stick or battery operated tea light.

 Make sure you use a clean bottle and all the labeling is off. You can use any size bottle but I suggest not going over 16oz.

 Start wrapping you bottle at the bottom. I used Curad waterproof adhesive tape. It doesn't have to be pretty or straight. Remember this is going to be a ghost/mummy.

 Wrap it all the way up to the top. Yes you are going to have folds and wrinkles. That just adds more character.

 Draw your face on it. It can be scary, funny, or even cute.

Crack the glow stick and put it in the bottle. I put the top on but you don't have to.

**If you don't want to keep buying glow, I suggest using a wider mouth bottle like a mason jar. That way you can use a battery operated tea light. The positive part about using glow sticks is you can have any color ghost/mummy you want.

The Great UGLee Pen

This is a great pen. The grip is very comfortable. I have been able to write without getting a cramp in my hand. It writes very smooth too. There is no ink skipage. I would highly recommend this pen to anyone.









I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Homemade Bubble Soap

My daughter loves bubbles and honestly I don't know if you ever grow out of bubbles. Our kittens loves chasing them too. We had some store bought bubbles and they weren't really all that great. So I started looking for bubbles recipes. Usually bubble recipes use glycerin but I found one that used sugar and it has turned out great!

Supplies:
A jar to hold about 20oz
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dish washing soap

 First add the sugar and water. Since our bottle had a tight lid, I let my daughter shake it to mix it up and dissolve the sugar. Add the liquid dishwashing soap and that's it.

 

 

These bubbles were great. They did bounce a little and didn't pop as easy as typical bubbles. It is best to a smaller bubble wand. We tried using a bubble wand made from a pipe cleaner but the bubble kept popping. That's when we figured out the smaller wand worked best.

Cat Toy

My cats love playing with everything they aren't supposed to. So I decided to make them something.

Supplies:
fabric piece (roughly 11in x 7in)
something for the tail
something to stuff it with

 

First measure out your fabric. I made mine 11in x 7in. You can make yours whatever size you want.

 

 

Next you need something to make a tail with. I crocheted a furry little tail that is about 6in. Half the size of the fabric piece.

 





Fold the piece in half, find the middle, then find the middle again of the now smaller side. Place the part of the tail that you want out on the outside on the right side of the fabric. Example when I folded my piece in half the width is not 3.5in so I placed the tail at about 1.25 in so it would be in the middle.



 

Pin the side together. Make sure you pin the side with the tail. Sew around the piece leaving open the end opposite of the tail. Clip the corners so you have nice points. Turn it right side out. Stuff if with whatever you like. I stuffed mine with plastic bags since my cats enjoy that sound. Fold the open end in and sew it closed.

 

Simply Cosmetics

I was lucky enough to review this all natural make up. It was smooth on my skin and felt so light. The custom powder foundation is a mix of cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut, and many other natural ingredients. The natural ingredients are great which means I don't have to worry about having a reaction to any harsh chemicals that can be found in other foundations. This is definitely something I will be using more.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Breakfast Casserole

Things have been busy these last few with school getting started and getting back into Girl Scouts. I find that casseroles make dinner (or any meal really) so much easier.

Ingredients:
1 can biscuits (any type you like)
9oz ground sausage (I used the sausage crumbles)
1/2 lb of ground beef
2 cups cheese (we like ours cheesy)
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1pk sausage gravy


In a greased 9x13 pan cut or tear up 1 can of biscuits. It doesn't have to be perfect.

I baked the biscuits for about 10mins at 350. I did not bake them the whole time because I knew I would be putting it back in. During this time brown your ground beef and sausage.

Since I used the sausage crumbles, I did not get a lot of grease. If you do, drain it. Sprinkle the ground beef and sausage mixture over the half baked biscuits.

Sprinkle cheese over top of the mixture. Beat together the 6 eggs and milk and pour over top.

Make the sausage gravy according to the package and pour over top.



Bake in the oven for 30-45min at 350.

It may not be the healthiest breakfast but it is one that will fill you up and hold you over until lunch if not longer.

Rain Painting

Rainy days can be no fun. This is a little something you can do to break up a rainy day plus the kids will like playing in the rain. This is super easy and the kids will have a blast!

Supplies:
heavy paper
washable markers
rain

 



 Gather all your supplies and start drawing. You can use dots for dot art or just plain draw. You can't go wrong.

After you finish drawing take your picture outside and let the rain hit it. You don't want too much rain on it or it will wash away the marker.

 

Above: Rain Dot Art

Below: Drawn Rain Art

All that is left is to let it dry. How the art comes out really depends on how hard it is raining.

Haven: A Stranger Magic Book Review

I read the book Haven: A Stranger Magic. It is a fast paced book with lots of surprises. Haven is a place where Witches, Vampires, Orcs, Goblins and Elves live in peace. All of that is a about to come to an end though. The mystery and suspense will keep you wanting more. This is one of those books that you can't put down. I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Homemade Playdough

While surfing Pinterest, like I usually do, I found what looked like a great playdough recipe using Kool-Aid. I followed the recipe and directions to a tee and to my dismay (and my daughters) it wasn't anything like the pictured showed. With that being said, it is still a great playdough recipe. Below is the results and recipe. You can choose to add the Kool-Aid if you want but it really didn't do anything for the color.

1cup flour
1cup water
1/2cup salt
2tbsp cream of tartar
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 pk of Kool-Aid (optional)
food coloring

This recipe is super simple. Add all the ingredients into a medium sized pot. If you want to add in the Kool-Aid, go ahead. The only thing you shouldn't add to the pot is the food coloring. Gently stir the ingredients until they have come together looking like a thin paste.

 

Turn it on medium heat and stir it until it forms a ball. It takes only a few minutes for it to turn into a ball.

 

If you added the Kool-Aid, this is what the playdough will look like when it cools.

 

I decided to add food coloring to mine to give it more color.

 

 

All in all it is a really good playdough recipe to use. It doesn't come out sticky or anything. I just suggest you use food coloring instead of Kool-Aid. 



DIY Febreeze

Almost everyone loves the smell of Febreeze but it can be pretty expensive. Depending on the fabric softener, you can make your own Febreeze for as little as $.06 per bottle.


1/4 cup of fabric softener
2Tbsp baking soda
27oz hot tap water

 



 

This is so simple I couldn't believe it. Add the baking soda and fabric softener. If you are using the homemade fabric softener, the baking soda will fizz a little bit because of the vinegar. Then add 27oz of water. Make sure the baking soda has dissolved by gently turning up bottle up and down a few times.

 

 

 

 

If you use the homemade fabric softener, you can make the Febreeze for about $.06 a bottle. If you buy your fabric softener it can be about $.15 per bottle. A big perk about making your own Febreeze is you can create any smell you want.







DIY Natural Laundry Detergent

I have seen a lot of people posting about making their own laundry detergent. I started looking into it more and asking if any of my friends made their own. A few of them did and said it was great. They didn't have to spend a lot of money on brand detergent, didn't have harsh chemicals or dyes, and pretty easy. So I decided to see what it was about and make some.

Supplies:
1 bar Fels Naptha bar
1 cup Borax
1 cup washing soap
5gallon bucket & funnel

First thing you need to do is grade the Fels Naptha bar. It takes a little bit of time. If you have a food processer it would be easier. It looks like cheese once its all graded. Put the soap in a large pot.

Add 4 cups of water. Turn it on low heat. Let the soap melt, stirring slowly and constantly. You don't want it to boil.

Fill your 5 gallon bucket up half full of water before you pour the soap mixture into the bucket. Add the soap mixture once it has melted in the water. Add your 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of washing soda.

 

Stir the mixture so the so the Borax and washing soda dissolve.

Fill the rest of the bucket, almost to the top, with water. I added about 6-8 cups more water. Put the lid on and let it sit over night.

 

 

When you open it the next morning this is what it will look like. Some may look more like gel. Some may be more watery. It just depends on the humidity on where you store it. If yours is a thick gel, add a little bit of water (this is one reason why you don't fill your bucket to the top). I didn't add any extra water. Stir mixture again so everything mixes well. 

After mixing it again, use a funnel to help put your soap in an easy to use container. I used an old detergent bottle since it had a spout on it. Only fill the bottle half full. Fill the rest of the bottle with water.

 

 

Now your soap is already to use. Remember before each time you use it, you need to shake the bottle to make sure the mixture is mix. You only use 1/2cup of soap per load.

With this recipe you make 5gallons of concentrate. Once you add the water when you put it in the bottle its like you have 10gallons (1280 oz) of soap. Since you only use a 1/2cup (4oz) of soap, its like having enough laundry soap for 320 loads.

Cost break down:
1cup washing soda - $.54
1cup Borax - $.40
1bar of Fels Naptha - $.97

Total - $1.91
Cost per load - $.005 LESS THAN A PENNY!

If you were to buy enough laundry detergent to have 320 loads, it would cost you close to $20 (each bottle having 150 loads) for only 300 loads. You save roughly $18 in making your own laundry soap. Your savings would depend on the type of brand laundry detergent you typically buy.