Friday, January 2, 2015

Laundry detergent making day............

I make this all the time but I haven't posted about it since 2009!  I thought I would do a retro post from days gone by but updated, lol!
These are the supplies needed...........
 1.  First I slice up the soap with a knife..........
2.  I place the slices in my blender.........
3.  I put it in a Lock n' Lock container (water tight and spill proof)..........
4.  Then I add 2 cups of Washing Soda, 2 cups of Borax and 1 cup of Baking Soda.
5.  I also add 8-10 drops of natural oil; this one is lemon grass (sorry for the blurry picture)......

6.  I put the lid on and shake it like crazy! LOL!
  I use 1/4 cup in each load.
7.  I also use hydrogen peroxide as my bleach (my version of oxi-clean and so much cheaper) and white vinegar as my softner.
8.  I use some old plastic containers, labeled, to hold my supplies and I always have a back up supply of each one so I never run out. 
9.  When I need to fill the container with the "back-up" then I put it on my white board list on my frig.  I got the little magnetic whiteboard at the dollar store.  Since some of my supplies are only available at the store 20 minutes from here I am pretty good about never running out with my "backup" system of necessary supplies.
I hope this is of use to some of you.  If you want to save money this saves LOTS.  Now, I must admit, I do not get filthy dirty (except during gardening season) and I started using the hydrogen peroxide when I noticed my clothes getting a little  "dingy" but it took care of it.  I started making this 6 years ago and I haven't looked back!
Happy Trails!




Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year 2015!

Here's my annual New Year's gift to you so we all get off on the right foot!  Have a great 2015!

The most common (Federal) holidays of the United States (USA) in 2015 are listed below.
Date
Holiday
January 1ThursdayNew Year's Day 2015
January 19MondayMartin Luther King Day 2015
January 24SaturdayBelly Laugh Day 2015
February 2MondayGroundhog Day 2015
February 12ThursdayLincoln's Birthday 2015
February 14SaturdayValentine's Day 2015
February 16MondayPresidents Day and Washington's Birthday 2015
February 17TuesdayMardi Gras Carnival (New Orleans) 2015
March 8SundayDaylight Saving (Start) 2015
March 17TuesdaySt. Patrick's Day 2015
April 1WednesdayApril Fool's Day 2015
April 3FridayGood Friday 2015
April 5SundayEaster 2015
April 6MondayEaster Monday 2015
April 22WednesdayEarth Day 2015
May 5TuesdayCinco de Mayo 2015
May 10SundayMother's Day 2015
May 16SaturdayArmed Forces Day 2015
May 24SundayPentecost 2015
May 25MondayMemorial Day 2015
May 25MondayPentecost Monday 2015
June 14SundayFlag Day 2015
June 21SundayFather's Day 2015
July 4SaturdayIndependence Day 2015
July 26SundayParents' Day 2015
September 7MondayLabor Day 2015
September 11FridayPatriot Day or September 11th 2015
September 13SundayGrandparents' Day 2015
September 16WednesdayStepfamily Day 2015
September 17ThursdayCitizenship Day 2015
September 25FridayNative American Day 2015
October 12MondayColumbus Day 2015
October 16FridayBoss's Day 2015
October 17SaturdaySweetest Day 2015
October 31SaturdayHalloween 2015
November 1SundayDaylight Saving (End) 2015
November 11WednesdayVeterans' Day 2015
November 26ThursdayThanksgiving 2015
November 27FridayBlack Friday 2015
November 30MondayCyber Monday 2015
December 7MondayPearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2015
December 25FridayChristmas Day 2015
December 31ThursdayNew Year's Eve 2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Tuesday's Thrifty Tidbits............

THRIFTY - Careful management especially of money 
TIDBIT - A choice morsel

Tidbit #1
I don't know if you're like me but come the New Year (and the 4th is my birthday too) I start refreshing my thinking and my objectives for the next year.  This website hopefully will help me you get off on the right foot........Becoming Minimalist
The title says it all and if you tend toward being a pack rat saver then this is the blog for me you!  Good information, good attitude and finally one written by a guy who's "married with children" lest you think he's a bachelor which many times emulates a minimalist lifestyle.  Here's an Excerpt.....
 
" Welcome to Becoming Minimalist. If you are new, welcome! We are honored to have hundreds of thousands of regular readers, and brand new readers every day. If that’s you, welcome. I’d love to make your experience here as comfortable as possible.
Most importantly, Becoming Minimalist is designed to inspire others to pursue their greatest passions by owning fewer possessions."
 

 Tidbit #2
Awhile back, I was browsing Lucy's blog over at Attic 24.  Now, if you're familiar with Lucy, you will know she is all about crochet and color but this time she veered off course and went into beading!  She calls them Hama beads and after seeing it I remembered my children did this in school many moons ago.  Here's Lucy's version of Hama Beading.  At first I wasn't excited but after scrolling down and seeing what she made from them I found myself "googling" the darn things and found a grand selection of supplies on Amazon.  There are Pinterest boards about them too.  Look at this holiday pattern.....a far cry from the little hearts my children brought home to me.
 Tagged Hama Beads
 and look at these cute little ear rings...........
 loritos hecho con hama beads -2€
   I didn't order any and went about my day but when I was at Wal-Mart a few days later I ran across these......
I had to pick them up and satisfy my curiosity.  Unfortunately, in order to follow some cross stitch patterns like Cath Kidson ones that I have, I would need a bigger bead board to work on but I will see what I can come up with.  At least they would make cute coasters, I think.  Lucy seems to really enjoy making them.  I'll give it a whirl so "stay tuned for further developments".

Tidbit #3
Rag edged placemats....who knew?  I remember when they came out with the quilts that were "ragged" on the edges but it still looked like a lot of work...all that snipping but placemats?  Now we're talking! Us knitters and crocheters  have to give it a break once in awhile and Susan B. Anderson's  blog did just that!
 
 These are so cute....and to hear her tell it she used another placemat she had as a template, didn't measure anything and just quilted freehand.....how simple is that and they turned out so cute she was using them for Christmas and giving them as gifts and each one is unique with a different pattern on the other side so no "matchy-matchy".  Now that's what I call stress-free Christmas creating/gifting!


Visit Susan's post about it here and there are even special scissors you can purchase at Amazon (she has a link in her post) that are specially made for the "snipping" and make it easier on your hands.

 
 What a great way to use up bit and pieces of fabric and create something so practical at the same time.  And now with the Christmas fabric going on sale you could even start making for next year right this very minute! LOL!  Okay, now what should I do...bead or minimalize or sew?  Hmmm.....not sure but other than the little bead kit which was about $10.00; I have everything I need to work on some fun things over "my Christmas vacation". 
What plans do you have for the New Year?  HappyTrails!





Sunday, December 28, 2014

YOP Week #26


I don't have much to show but here goes.  Actually, I'm trying to get back to my personal projects after doing months of gift making and now my tools and patterns are scattered to the wind.  Next week I will hopefully have reorganized things and gathered "my flock".
I finally got the hat done for my SIL....13th try was my lucky number and it just so happens it's his.
(Pardon my exuberance but I just found a fun, new to me, free photo editor called Ribbet supposedly just like the old Picnik which is no more.)
He loved the hat but it is too small which I was afraid of so I will get head circumference and make him another one (really????).  This one fits my daughter so when it's all said and done they'll have matching hats.  I hope there's no "second hat syndrome".
After the hat I decided to take a break plus I had cleaning and Christmas to do.
But I did a couple little things....like some hexies or rather pentagons in this one........
These are great for mindless t.v. watching and addictive too!  I'm going to make a bunch just to put in a bowl for decoration.
But one is going to go into a vintage jello mold like it was meant to.........this pattern is for sale (including the pentagon papers for making them) over at Pam Buda's Heartspun Quilts
She has lots of other interesting things there too.  Check her out.  No yarn though that I remember.  I'm a little "yarned out" at the moment.
I have started back working on the crocheted "Jesus" bookmarks for my daughter's Bible study group.  I have 5 of the 10-12 done so far and I'm getting pretty good with that tiny hook.  At first it was like pulling hen's teeth.
Last night I finally got around to making some Christmas cookies.....and eating some too!
 That's all for this week....hopefully by next week I'll have a few more projects...at least something different than my same old projects every week.  I also need to update my original project list and Ravelry list so I know where I stand.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate and here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year!  Happy Trails!