Fall Decorations

I made these last Fall.  The girls helped stuff them with the batting and loved helping me place them around the house.  We  have little groups of them all over the house.  If you're looking for some fall decor ideas, this is a great project.  I made several different sizes and used some remnant fabric I picked up at Joann's.  You know you want to make them.  Go ahead! Thanks for the How To, Martha.


http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/fabric-pumpkins

Bath Crayons

I wanted to do something different than the typical bag full of candy to give our guests as party favors.  A few weeks ago I found some small spill proof bubbles at Target and bought a ton.  I added some party sized play dough but still felt something was missing.  I decided to revisit some bath crayons I made for the girls a long time ago and had Zoan help me while Zion was at school.  She loved helping me and I think even more loved that she was making something special for her friends. 

Recipe:
1 Cup grated Ivory soap
¼ cup warm water
Food Coloring

Tips:
*Grate the soap very fine, if it's too chunky it doesn't dissolve well in the water and doesn't retain the color of the food coloring
*Use lots of food coloring
*You can use cookie molds if you like, but we just rolled them into little balls. 

We let the crayons air dry for a day then put them in little plastic bags and tied them off with a twist tie.  The girls have been playing with theirs at every bath time.  Good Clean Fun!!!

Homemade cleaning products made easy

For the past couple of years I've been making my own cleaning products and laundry detergent.  Here are a few of my favorite recipes.  Enjoy!

Laundry Detergent:
4 Cups Borax
4 Cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 bar (grated) Dr. Bronner's bar soap

Mix together and use 3 Tbsp per load

Fabric Softener:
16 oz. Vinegar
20 drops lavender oil or tea tree oil (both of these are great at preventing moths)
3 Tbsp will do the trick here, too

Furniture Polish:
1 part Lemon Juice
1 part Canola Oil

Put in a spray bottle and polish away... Very good at getting up what little hands leave behind!

All Purpose Cleaner (windows, countertops, etc.)

2 T ammonia
1 t dish detergent
1 pint rubbing alcohol
4 drops food coloring (I use 2 red and 2 blue to make it look like 409)
favorite essential oil (I like lemon, orange or lavender)
fill remainder of a gallon jug with water

Glass cleaner
1/2 c ammonia
2 c rubbing alcohol
1 tsp dishwashing detergent
fill remainder of a gallon jug with water.
(add blue food coloring if desired)
I like to add a little lemon or orange essential oil just to hide the alcohol scent.

Another great way to clean your windows that keeps them from getting streaked is just mixing a couple of tablespoons of corn starch into a gallon of warm water.  I put it in a bucket, use a lint free cloth to wash the window and immediately dry with a second cloth.  This works very well for the outside windows.  Plus it costs next to nothing!

Hope you all have as much fun as I'm having!
(You save quite a bit of $$$ too!)