Christmas Clothes 2014

As most of you know, I love making my kids matching clothes! So of course, for Christmas, there is no exception!! I also have a give a huge shout out to my awesome friend Nikki from Nikki's Portrait Photography! She has been taking my kids pictures for 3 years and I'm never disappointed!

DIY Laundry Soap plus a few extra!

Ok! So it all started when I gave up on regular detergents because of my son Alex.. Alex since a baby was diagnosed with severe Eczema.. So I've always had to buy for him the special laundry soaps with no dyes or harsh chemicals added which, I'm sure if you ever look down that isle in the department store, you can see they are not cheap!! So when I found out I could make my own laundry soap with natural ingredients for pretty much 1/8 of the cost I was ecstatic!!

So here is how I make my own laundry soap!

 

First here are the ingredients you'll need!

 

Take the Fels-Naptha Soap Bar

and grade about 1/3 of it

 

 

On the stove in a large saucer add 6 cups of hot water and the grated soap..

Let the mixture simmer until the soap is dissolved.

 

 

Then take 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of Borax

 

 

Add it to the pot and stir frequently until everything is dissolved!

It will be quite foamy!

 

 

Next in a large bowl add 4 cups of water

 

 

Then take the pot from the stove and add it to the bowl of water!

 

Then I took an old 2 gallon jug of laundry soap that was used up..(rinse it first0

and I added 1 gallon of water... (use a funnel) the soap mixture in the bowl and then another 4 cups of water!

 

 

Then to add some scent I added about 20 drops of Orange Essential oil!

(Now something I just learned over this last weekend was that different essential oils have different Beneficial properties.. like Orange is a natural Antibacterial agent... While Lavender is an antibiotic,anti fungal,antiviral, and an antibacterial agent.. You can find a list on line of what each scent has to offer as far as benefits!)

 

 

Then I put the lid on the jug and just shook it a few times!

Then let it sit overnight and it'll become like a soupy gel!

 

 

You can make a lot of house cleaners from borax, lemon juice and vinegar!

Here are a few recipes I got this weekend that I all ready tried and liked!

 

Fresh Bathroom Disinfectant

2 cups water

1 cup white vinegar

2 teaspoons borax

1/4 cup of lemon juice

 

combine/shake in spray bottle then use!

 

 

 

Toilet Bowl cleaner!

1/2 cup baking soda

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup of lemon juice

 

add directly to the bowl.. let it foam up a few minutes.. then scrub with brush and flush

 

 

All purpose cleaner

1 teaspoon castile soap

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups water

6 drop orange essential oil

1 teaspoon borax

 

combine is spray bottle.. shake.. use!

 

Also Murphy's oil with some water and essential oil makes a great degreaser/wood cleaner!

 

Hope these were helpful!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Update: Family Pictures!

I am so in love with how our family pictures turned out!!

We've never had them done as a family untill now and they turned out exactly how I imagined!!

Thanks to my awesome friend Nikki fromNikki's Portrait Photography for taking them!

So here's my family! :)

 

 

 

The Lexie Play-Outfit!

New Item for My Collection!

So I made my own pattern last night and I think it actually turned out great!! I wanted to do a tunic like top with some hot pants! And I'm happy with the results! So I decided to add it to my collection and I'm going to be make a few in every size and I'm going to play with different patterns too! 

When I get time and after I make all the of sizes I'll post a tutorial just in case you feel creative and would like to make one yourself!

Here are my results!