Nifty Thrifty & Fourth of July Fun!

One of my good friends recently helped me make curtains for the living room. Finally! And after only 2 1/2 years in this house, haha! But hey, they're done now and beautiful. And she made me a matching pillow case! I also repainted a wall to coordinate with the curtains, de-cluttered our built-in shelves and actually put some thought into arranging/decorating them.

I found a frame recently at a garage sale for 50 cents. I usually avoid buying new frames because I seem to always have some lying around the house. But this one was neat and I thought it had potential for that price. I brought it home and painted it with the leftover paint from the living room accent wall. Great remake of a brass frame if you ask me!

 

 

I also wanted to try something I saw on Pinterest. Imagine that! I asked around for an empty Crown Royal bottle and was able to get one from a friend for free. Everything else I used to make this project I had on hand, so it literally cost me nothing. Yay!

I spray painted the bottle with some metallic rustoleum spray paint we had leftover from the furniture remake I posted a few months ago. Then I painted the bottle with our living room accent wall color. After everything was good and dry, I grabbed some sandpaper and went to town. I loved the look of it, but decided it just needed something else. I have a Cricut machine, so I thought about cutting out an F (for our last name) and using mod podge to seal it on the bottle. After realizing that I didn't have any paper that I particularly liked for this project, I decided to just go ahead and print the F with my printer and sand it a little to make it look weathered. I just need to add a coat of mod podge to the top and we're good to go!

Gotta love some new living room decor for under $1.00!

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Pictures from our 4th of July fun! Celebrated with some great friends this year!

 

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Yes, my husband is awesome. He has also become more familiar with pink, Minnie Mouse and princesses than he ever dreamed he would. So the other day when our little princess got a big, bleeding scratch on her leg and couldn't even bare to walk (seriously, she wouldn't stop crying because she was too freaked out to look at the Band-Aid!), hubby did what any super Daddy would do. He got out the princesses favorite color of nail polish and painted a pink heart on her Band-Aid. She was in love! And magically, she was also able to suddenly walk again. :)

 

 

My Love of Wreaths

If you know me at all, you know I have this thing for wreaths...

 

I love to make them, give them away as gifts, hang them on my front door, I just love them! And I get pretty bored with the same wreath after awhile, so I'm always looking for a new one to make. Thank you, Pinterest!

 

 

 

 

The above are all Pinterest inspired wreaths that I have made for myself and/or others. And below is my latest creation, which can currently be seen hanging on my front door.

 

 

I was surprised by how inexpensive it was to make. I bought the grapevine wreath at Hobby Lobby for only 4.99 and I bought the flowers at Hobby Lobby, too (they were 50% off!). The burlap roll I also bought at Hobby Lobby, and I didn't use much at all to make the bow, which means I get to find something else fun to make out of it! The numbers were a bit harder to find, every craft store has wooden numbers, but most were either too big or too small. I found these at Wal-Mart with the mailboxes. They are lightweight and the perfect size. They are also self-adhesive! (I did add some craft glue, though)

 

All you need to make a wreath like this:

Grapevine wreath

Assorted flowers

Numbers

Ribbon of your choice or burlap

 

Inexpensive, easy, and looks cute on a front door! This would make a great wedding or housewarming gift!

 

Homemade Scarf Hanger

We had some wood leftover from the awesome swingset my hubby recently built...

 

 

Can't remember if I put a picture in the post about this massive undertaking, so here it is in case I didn't!

 

And when I was in Cincinnati for my birthday (thanks mom, sis and hubby!) I saw a towel hanger at my sister's that I really liked. Hers was beach themed and oh so cute. So I decided to make something like it for all of my scarves. I stained a leftover section of wood and bought some half-off knobs from Hobby-Lobby. My hubby drilled several holes in the wood once the stain was dry and we screwed in the knobs, then had added a hanger to the back.

 

 

Simple and cheap, but super cute. Just what a thrifty Momma wants, right!?!

 

 

I think you could take this concept and use it in a million different ways, so let's get crafting!

Bread, Detergent, Fabric Softener and More!

Busy day on the homestead! But I guess that's everyday, heehee :)

I came across this mouth-watering recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread yesterday and had to try it for breakfast this morning. We love banana muffins around here, so I thought this would be a great way to mix it up. The only changes I made to the recipe are pretty standard for me, the addition of some ground flax seed and using a mixture of all-purpose & whole wheat flour. It is even more delicious than it looks!

Find the recipe here.

 

Next it was off to try out some of the things I learned in an all-natural cleaning class last night. So many great recipes for homemade all-natural cleaners out there!!! They are much cheaper and definitely better for your health. We even made a glass cleaner out of water, vinegar, borax and all-natural dish soap during class. I tried it out today on some adorable smudgy fingerprints (because I was skeptical) and I LOVED it! The past month or so, I have also been making an all-purpose cleaner with orange peels and vinegar. It is awesome! Send me a message if you want the recipe, super easy and cheap. We always have orange peels around here.

 

This morning, I set out to try three things, more to come in the future I'm sure. First, I made dishwasher detergent pods. I found the recipe at Louises Country Closet.

Here's the link to the recipe.

 

They are currently drying out, so I haven't tried them yet, but I will update the page when I try them. They were very easy and cheap to make, so I'm hoping they work great! Dishwasher detergent is expensive! 

****UPDATE 5/2/2013: After using this for a few weeks, and trying different rinse agents and such, I have come to realize that it is not cleaning my dishes the way I would like it to. The first few times it seemed to work great, but after awhile it is just not working like it should. Not sure why, maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it is not working for us. :(

 

 Next up was homemade laundry detergent. I have wanted to do this for several years, and I'm not really sure why I've put it off for so long. I have many friends who use this recipe and love it, so I am confident that I will, too. I would make sure that you like the scent of the bar of soap you use. Here's a picture of it steaming away.

 

The recipe I used can be found here.

 

And last but not least, I really wanted to try a recipe I was given last night for homemade fabric softener. Again, very easy and cheap. After making all three, this is the one I am most excited about because it looks just like store-bought fabric softener and smells so good. Store-bought softener is outrageous, so I am excited to try this affordable alternative.

 

Simply mix together 6 cups of water, 3 cups of white vinegar and 2 cups of conditioner. *Time-out for a proud Mommy moment. My kids helped me out today and my oldest was able to read "1 cup" on the measuring cup, so he was also able to fully grasp the idea that 2 cups was 1 cup filled up twice. Oh, the fun of homeschooling!*

 

I used a creamy Suave that I thought smelled great. You will need to use a whisk to get the conditioner combined well with the other ingredients. When fully combined, use a funnel and pour into a gallon jug for storage. In the wash, use the same amount that you would use if it was store-bought softener.

 

Again, I haven't tried this yet, so I will update you when I do, but it looks and smells great!

 

 

And now for some quiet time catching up on Bible reading, prayer and The Revolution for Women.

 

 

***UPDATE: Today, 4/11/13,  I tried the dishwasher tabs and I loved them! I did not use any rinse aid, just to see how it went, and my dishes cam out sparkly clean. I sat the tab on the bottom of the dishwasher and started the cycle. At this point, I'm well pleased and plan to discontinue buying store-bought dishwasher detergent. ***

 

***UPDATE 4/16/13: Upon looking further, I've discoverd that I would like some rinse aid, in addition to the homemade dishwasher detergent. It cleans well, but some dishes are left a little spotty. I will be trying some of the suggestions on the blog linked above and I'll let you know. Also, I have been using the laundry detergent and the fabric softener with great success! I LOVE the way my clothes smell!

Furniture Remake

Recently, I found a cheap old dresser that I just couldn't resist. My plan was to remake it and sell, but it turns out my Momma needs one just this size for use in her dining room.

Pretty ugly at first, but I knew it had potential...



Originally, it was all a dark brown, I just forgot to take a picture before I started! ;)

I started with a coat of bonding primer, then added a few coats of paint. I couldn't find the hardware that I had envisioned for this piece, so I decided to spray paint the old hardware. I really like the detail the handles have, but they needed a new color! I also covered the removable panels on the door with new fabric to match my Momma's dining room.

Here's the finished product...