Chalk It Up!

Once again my family has found itself pretty busy lately. Never a dull moment around here this summner. Despite our packed calendar I have really enjoyed the family time we have had this year. Yesterday was so beautiful that on a whim decided to repurpose a bulletin board I had salvaged from my grandparents house. I have been wanting to make it into a chalkboard for my son who is three. It would be a good way to boost his creativity as well as a great tool for learning. I started by taking all the staples out, and repainting the frame.

Then with chalkboard paint I had purchased at Lowes I painted the inside which was already black. It dried so fast being outside in the sun that I was able to put it up only a few hours after I had finished! Our house is small and we don't have a lot of wall space, so I decided to put it in our living room where there would be easy access as well as a hard surface floor. I wasn't going to put it in his bedroom with carpet. I am not a big fan of messes. I had brought out his table and chairs too, so now our living room is doubling as what could easily take as a mini class room!

I loved the way it turned out! It was so easy to do too! So much fun to come! Enjoy!

Ornaments

I was searching for an idea for a couple of wedding gifts when I got the idea to paint some blank Christmas bulbs that I found at Hobby Lobby. I wanted a keepsake gift, something that they could hang on to for years to come. So I painted them with the intention of including their wedding date on them.

A christmas bulb can be used for Christmas decoration or all year round depending on the style or your decor. 

Not to mention affordablity. A pack of four bulbs cost under $5. A great way to make something that could be so ordinary so special for someone else.

Enjoy!

 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So in an effort to save money I decided that a good place to start would be making some of the things I need myself instead of buying from a store. One thing I do a lot of is laundry. Having a three year old it is hard to avoid.

I found a recipe online for making homemade liquid laundry detergent from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ by Crystal Miller. The recipe is simple, easy to make and seems to work well. I have a front loader and was concerned about how things would wash up, but I didn't seem to have a problem.

For the recipe you will need: 

•  a bar of soap, I used Fels Naptha. You can also use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirks Hardwater Castile or Zote bars.
• Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
• Borax
• water
• bucket, I used a 5 gallon bucket (I figured bigger was better so I didn't make a mess)

First, start by grating 1/3 of the bar of soap you have choosen. I grated it in the large sauce pan I would be using. Then add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap shavings melt. Then add 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup Borax until they dissolve. Remove from heat.



Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket and add your detergent mixture. Stir.  Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water and stir again.

Then let the mixture sit for 24 hours.





After the 24 hour waiting period you can then pour your mixture in an clean empty container to store. Shake before using. 1/2 cup per load should work for normal wear washes.

Hope you try this! It was not hard at all to make and did not take long to do either. Save yourself some money and make your own!

Enjoy!