Re Purposed Light Fixture into Birdbath

In an attempt to get more birds into my yard I decided to make a birdbath.

I first started with a light fixture cover from a light we took out of the kitchen last year. My husband caulked the hole. I had an existing plant stand and I grow spider plants outdoors all year round so I had plenty of baby plants to transplant into a pot under the birdbath.

 After I cleaned the fixture I added pennies dated before 1982 since the word on Pintrest is that it will prevent the water from getting icky. This was a fun project for the kids, I had them dig through all the loose change and find the pennies.

 After that was finished I added some rocks for height and so they have a perch to stand on when getting water. This really isn't something I created for them to really bathe in since we do have a pond that they enjoy splashing in year round.

The spider plant needs some trimming and the trumpet vine above, that brings the hummingbirds all summer, has yet to bloom it is kind of plain, but this is just the beginning of Spring so in a few months our yard will look beautiful and the birds and bugs will be here in full force.

Happy Spring to you all.

Money Saving Homemade Laundry Soap

Now this recipe is, although homemade and money saving, is not all natural or organic. It is a lot better than the liquid stuff and safe on septic tanks than most commercially made detergents.

 It does make a lot and I made enough to fill a 1 gallon container and 2 half gallon containers for gifts. I also had some left that I stored in the leftover Oxyclean container.

 I originally found this recipe on How Does She. It is awesome. I did have to alter the recipe a bit since I couldn't find the Zote Soap and I prefer blue to pink so I used blue Purex Crystals. I ended up finding the containers at Walmart along with all the ingredients to make the soap. My husband figured it to be about $27.50 for the entire batch and if we used 2 tablespoons per load we would have enough for approximately 297 loads (he loves his math).  Enough for the entire year if I kept all of it, but I can't help but give some to friends and family.

Here is the recipe for the Homemade Laundry Soap.

Homemade Laundry Soap
Ingredients

• 1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax
• 1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean
• 2 Bars of Fels - Naptha soap
• 1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda - I buy my baking soda at Costco in the 13 pound bags, so I measured out 4 pounds
• I used one large container of Purex Crystals, blue color. I only used one because I don't really like heavily scented laundry. You could use more if you prefer. There are several scents to choose and Downey also makes a fabric enhancer. So choose your favorite for a custom scent.

Instructions

1. Grate the soap with cheese grater or food processor. (I found that the smaller the grates the better the soap dissolved in the washer.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket  or large plastic bag by shaking gently.
3. Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load.

Creating a Command Center

Back in August 2012 I got a wild hair and decided that I desperately needed to redo the closet in the living room. As you can see in the picture it was a disaster. 

 It was stuffed with movies, office stuff, kids stuff, wrapping paper and gift bags. There was even a bar to hang coats, yet there just wasn't the room to do it. 

I came up with the idea to make it a command center. My oldest was going to start school the following year so I needed a place to hang backpacks and sweaters and I needed a place to hide the paperwork and bills when people came over.

 The process began with gutting the closet. We took out the shelves and the bar. We smooth walled all the walls then I painted it white. I took an IKEA Billy bookcase I had and put it in the back of the closet. We repurposed the coat hanging bar and the shelves that were in the old closet. We cut them to size and attached them to the wall and the bookcase. I organized the wrapping paper, gift bags and ribbons and stored them on the top shelf.

In the bookcase I keep lunch bags on the top shelf. Notebooks, pencils and stickers on the next shelf and the rest hold office supplies.

Here is the finished project.

 The empty shelf now holds my printer and the other shelf holds the kids games so they can reach them.

 I use the door of the Billy Bookcase as a giant white board. I keep reminders, messages, lists and notes to the family on it then wipe it off when done.

I spray painted a cork board black and added embellishments to make it pretty, then added some headers to keep track of bills to pay, appointments, and extra things like receipts that need to be posted or invitations to parties. I keep papers to file in the paper holder next to it and once a week I file them away. I also keep a small trash can in here for junk mail and things to shred.

There is also a double coat hook for each family member. They can keep their back packs and sweaters there, no mess on the floor.

It is great to have a command center where everything is kept organized.

Next week I will take you on a tour of the kitchen command center. It is very basic and very helpful for an "at a glance" organization.

Do yo have a command center or a special way you organized your families things, I would love to here from you. Leave me a comment with your link and I will check it out!

I might add a special post with the most unique or uber organized space!

Have a wonderful day.

Homemade Spice Mix and Ground Chilies

Since Daddy and the Little Man were sick with a fever today, I decided to shake the boredom and craft with food, as Sissy would say.

I started out with something quite simple. I ground some dried cayenne chilies, from last years garden, into flakes and packaged them in a cellophane bag (part of a gift package I am sending to my folks).

Then I proceeded to make some spicy salt. I found the recipe on Pinterest. It uses kosher salt and sriracha sauce mixed together then baked at a low oven. I found that two hours at 200 was just too long. My salt dried in half that time at 200. Ovens vary so watch your salt.

The recipe for the salt can be found at Babble.

It is actually a bit spicy and would be really yummy on popcorn.

Overall a pretty easy project that helped pass the time while taking care of the boys. I packaged the salt in a 4 oz Mason jar and added a label. This too will be added to the folks package, I know they will enjoy this spicy treat.

Stay tuned for a very cute Valentine card. They are so darling and easy to make.

Have a great night!
Heather

Gift Baskets

UPDATE: Since Hubs thought I sounded bitter and hating the world when I wrote the post I decided to get rid of the negative stuff 

I really love making gifts baskets.

I love giving gifts to friends and family. The look on there face when they receive a gift is priceless to me and makes my heart happy.

Does anyone out there like gift baskets? What is your favorite, making them or receiving them?

I like receiving them just as much. A basket full of little bits and bobbles...what fun!

this one is filled with soap, scrub, bath soak, and body spray that I made. 

I made these for our neighbors at Christmas time. A tray with hot chocolate and cookies. Perfect for a cold winter night.

Have a wonderful evening,

Heather

Spring Planting has Begun

Today is about 12 weeks before the last frost so I decided to sow some cabbage seeds. Not many, since last year, or maybe the year before that I had a horrible infestation of cabbage moth caterpillars.

I have a feeling there is a technical name for them but I call them cabbage moth caterpillars and encourage the kids to chase and catch as many cabbage moths as they can.
Year to date: Kids 0 - Cabbage Moths 100

We have also been busy emptying out the raised bed because some how a mole got through the mesh wire stuff at the bottom and ate all my Piment de Padron peppers and some jalapenos and I think it took out my lavender plant and a bell pepper. We will not have that problem again.

I plan on turning the raised bed into a permanent herb garden. Oregano has taken over an entire corner. That stuff is like a weed or peppermint. It roots itself overnight and the next morning it's everywhere!

Here is a picture of last years garden.

Which turned out OK considering I lost my entire collection of starts and nursery stock.
Because me and my vast knowledge of gardening decided to roll my green house out into the garden where it could warm up. Not bad right, until I heard a crash and discovered you shouldn't move the greenhouse let alone move it in the middle of the garden on a windy day. It blew over and everything was a pile of dirt and seedlings. I cried.

But my mistake will surely help someone else, at least I hope.

What are you planting this year? Have you started your seedlings?

Happy planting,
Heather

Handmade Christmas Gifts 2012

In the spirit of Christmas and St. Nicholas I decided to get started on my favorite thing. Making Presents!!! I love making gifts and giving them away.

These gift baskets are stuffed with my home made bath soak, body spray, salt scrub and soap. My deluxe basket! I finished it off with a basket and filler from the Dollar Tree and wrapped in in a clear basket bag and tied it up with simple blue ribbon.

This is another basket I filled with some home made bath soak and salt scrub. I finished it off the same way as the deluxe basket. I also do the little baskets with a scrub/body spray combo and a large scrub/small scrub combo. These are always well received around the holidays. After all the holiday shopping and traveling who isn't in the mood for some relaxing down time? These baskets provide just that!

These cute snowmen are chocolate candy bars we hand out to the kids in the neighborhood, the mail carrier or a delivery person dropping off Christmas packages. They are easy to make and affordable. Just take an 8 1/2x11 sheet of white paper and cut in half. Take a half of the paper and wrap it around the chocolate bar. Tape the back, add a cute little face to the front, tie on some ribbon and you have snowman candy bars! 

This I haven't started yet, but can you guess what I am going to make? You guessed it! Chocolate bars and truffles. These are for a cookie exchange party we are going to in mid December. Can't wait to taste test!

 Here are the soaps that I made this year. Rose scented for the ladies and Drakkar cologne for the men. They turned out quite fragrant. All I have to do is wrap them up and stuff them in a basket with other goodies.

These are the cards and matching box I made for my Mom's birthday. I chose a snowflake theme since she will most likely use them all before Winter ends and by Spring I will have a new boxed set for her!

Last I have these great gift bags for our neighbors. I bought a charger from the Dollar Tree and added a box of cookies and some hot chocolate. I finished it with a basket bag and festive bow. I think project cost me around $6. It's cute, festive and you really can't go wrong with cookies and hot chocolate on a cold winter night.

Do you make gifts for the holidays? What are they? Leave me a link to your blog in the comments and I will add you in an up coming blog post about more homemade gifts!