Homemade Dishwasher Soap

While browsing my Pinterest pins, I came across a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent. Why not!? I already had the ingredients for the powder version because they are also ingredients that I use to make my own laundry soap. I LOVE it!! I simply used a clean and dry recycled spaghetti sauce jar to keep moisture out and I added a few drops of lemon oil for disinfecting and smell (just add two or three drops to dry mix and shake well to incorporate)....it smells fantastic! I also did the vinegar in the rinse and all my dishes came out spotless!

POWDER BASED RECIPE

Mix the following inside a container with a removable, snap-top lid or a jar with a lid:

• 1 cup of borax
• 1 cup of either baking soda or washing soda

Seriously, that’s it! Add 2 tablespoons per load along with a splash of white vinegar in the rinse chamber of your dishwasher to prevent spots and/or residue. You can even make a fancier version by following the basic recipe above with the addition of several drops of your favorite essential oil (naturally antiseptic tea tree oil is an excellent choice).

LIQUID BASED RECIPE

Pour the following ingredients into a recycled plastic bottle with a squirt-top and shake until thoroughly incorporated:

• 2 cups of vegetable-based castile soap (such as Vermont Soap Organics or Dr. Bronner’s)
• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup of white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
• 3 drops of your favorite essential oil

Prior to each use, shake your homemade dishwashing liquid well and then measure out 2 tablespoons per load.

That's it!! It's green, easy, and cheap!!


Source for recipe

How to Make a Bottle or Sippy Cup Tether

I found just a handful of these online, and I decided to try my own design out with materials I already had. It's just a rough draft, so it's not really pretty, but you can get the idea. I think I might try my hand at making some prettier ones.

Materials: Elastic cord (could also use a hair elastic if it's the right size), Ribbon (or cotton belting or you can make your own strap with cloth which is a little more work) cut to about 2 feet, Velcro, thread

 Measure elastic cord by tying snugly around a bottle or cup with the lid on

 Put ribbon around cording and sew down with knot on the inside of ribbon (so it will look better and stay tied)

 At the other end of your ribbon, sew on one side Velcro, then fold over and put other side of velcro in desired spot-- you will have something like a leash handle when they are attached

 You can attach it to anything you can loop it through. My purpose was for when we are eating out or in the stroller to keep that cup off the floor.

Mom's Garden Book

Have you ever, like me, found yourself dog-earing the pages of your favorite magazines or cutting out randon things that you want to keep for reference, only to find that you never remember you have it?? I began cutting out recipes years ago and putting them in a recipe book, but had never done so with gardening stuff. I remembered that I had a random sticky page three ring album that my grandma gave me and I thought I might use for something. These sticky page albums are not always acid free for photos, but they work great for magazine clippings! The three ring type allowed me to also put two sided pages in page protectors and add to the album. This is a great way to keep your ideas and notes handy when you need them and the same concept can be used for home improvement, recipes, and much more!! 

Yummy Valentine Treats

 I made these whoopie pies for Valentine's Day treats for the hubby...he calls them "poopy pies" but he loves them! 

 My only word of advice...don't make the circles too big, because they will expand a lot and you will have hamburger size cookies! Enjoy!

Whoopie Pies      (link to full & printable recipe)                   

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• Filling, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or preheat a convection oven to 315 degrees F.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until well combined. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again.
In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and beat or stir to blend. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and beat again. Add the remaining dry mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and beat until blended.
With a large spoon, scoop out 32 circles of batter onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
Spread filling onto 16 circles and place remaining circles on top, to make 16 Whoopie Pies.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups shortening 3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/3 cups marshmallow topping

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all ingredients except the milk and beat well. Add just enough milk to achieve a creamy consistency. Spread filling across cooled cookie circles.

Valentine's Day Roses

 I LOVE this Valentine's Day idea from Family Fun!!
They have some really cute ideas on their site...check it out. I came across this in their February issue and thought it was so cool and I couldn't believe I'd never seen this before! Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I had to try this and my four year old, loved doing it, too. Who knew that celery made a really cool flower stamp!?!?!? This is so easy and a great project for kids. All you need is finger paint, paper, and celery!
 Have fun with this...you can do different colors, a collage of flowers, and more. Of course, we can't just make one thing while we have the paint out, so we did several pictures and I now have some very fun artwork for my wall as well. Enjoy! It will be beautiful because you and your kids did it together!!

Casserole Carrier--Thank you Pinterest!

 Oh, I am sooooo excited to announce that I actually did one of my pinned sewing projects from Pinterest!!

I found  the pattern a 2 Little Hooligans and the idea to use the cotton belting for straps at TaylorMade. They have some great ideas on both blogs for the carriers and it is rather simple, just takes a little time. I spent roughly 3 hours (not straight, of course) from start to finish. I am thinking these would make great Christmas gifts, especially with an etched monogrammed Pyrex pan included (that's another project!). Hope this gives you a little inspiration to try one of your pins!!