Homemade Deodorant!!

Am I a hippie at heart? Yes, I am! Maybe it came from being raised in California, maybe it was my hippie Aunt Alice or maybe it's just in my blood. I love the idea of living natural and organic. My only problem is that's totally NOT what I'm doing. My entire life I have just eaten what I wanted, used what make-up was cheapest, picked the shampoo that smelled the best and used whatever I wanted with no regards to what was in the products. My philosophy was, if it smelled good and had good packaging and I could afford it, that was the product for me. BUT, now that has all changed. I think it was when I turned 40 and I felt like I was on top of a mountain looking down. Meaning I am on the downhill slide. I read a book called the The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin that opened my eyes to the unbelievable benefits of eating healthy, eating foods God made not man made. This book also started the journey into changing how I do everything not only from eating but what medicines I use, beauty products, household cleaners, exercise and I even bought a massage and aromatherapy book. Who are you my husband asked? lol

I'm someone who is learning all over again. I'm like a kid in a candy store but this time it won't be candy it's more like essential oils. I'm discovering it's a journey not something I can do at once. I have many bad habits that I still need to break. Many new discoveries that I still don't even know about. It's a very exciting time in my life. I know for a few of you this is not new to you. This is how you have always lived. I applaud you. Just humor me while I walk this path and share all my new knowledge that I am learning and sharing.

So, with that said. My first homemade deodorant. There were so many recipes out there but very similar. I started with this recipe because honestly it's what I had on hand :0)  I just mixed all the ingredients and scooped it into a glass jar. By far the easiest and cheapest way to go to make your own deodorant. I read some people don't like the sandy feeling of the baking soda but it didn't bother me. And to my shock, my pits didn't smell! Awesome! That's what I was going for. So stayed tuned for more recipes and ideas on how you can simply and easily make healthy changes to your life.

Another lemon dropped in the bucket!

He is Risen!!

Here is my Pinterest inspired Easter centerpiece. I don't know about you but I spend way too many hours searching for ideas on Pinterest but it is my favorite site to visit. Not only for the great ideas but it has lead me to some wonderful blogs that I would not have known about if it weren't for Pinterest. In my search for great and new ideas to decorate for Easter I came across this centerpiece. I absolutely love it. I didn't want to make it too difficult so I just looked around the house for things I already had. Yes, I had a bag of moss hanging around.

Supplies:
container
dirt/soil
moss/or grass seeds/or ground covering
smaller container
small rocks
sticks
twine


I had soil left over from last years garden. I filled the container to the top with soil and then placed in my smaller container. I created a mound on the side with soil and then layered the moss on top of the soil and small container. The moss laid nicely on top so I didn't need to secure it with anything. Made the crosses with sticks from the yard and tied them with twine. Placed a rock in front of the container and used the small rocks to cover the soil in front of the tomb. This took me less than 15 minutes to complete. It was very simple and easy.

Another lemon dropped in the bucket.

Painted Mason Jars!!!

I love mason jars. I don't know how I lived without them for most of my life. I use to think they were just old, dirty, ugly jars my grandma had in her pantry. And usually they were filled with really weird looking foods. But now I know they were hidden jewels and my grandma knew.

 I loved how this turned out but I had to spend some time getting it covered completely.


Supplies:

mason jar
glass enamel paint (Hobby Lobby)
sponge brush


The directions say you can either paint it on with a sponge brush or swirl the paint around the inside of the jar.  I found when I painted (the inside) it was very hard not to leave paint strokes. So I poured about 1/2 of the paint into the mason jar and swirled it around. I had to keep adding more paint until I was satisfied how it looked. I let it dry over night but I noticed the extra paint had pooled to the bottom of the jar. The paint was still wet enough so I turned it over on wax paper and let it drip out. It worked but the inside didn't turn out very pretty but who's looking inside...lol!

Another lemon dropped in the bucket!

The Were-Rabbit Carrot Wreath

Did you ever see the movie The Curse of the Were-Rabbit? My boys loved it when they were younger. Well, my mom is here this week and she makes some of the most awesome-ist wreaths I've ever seen. Since we were iced in yesterday, we decided to start planning for Spring and Easter. And here we have a carrot wreath the Were-Rabbit would be pleased to eat.

Supplies:

green mesh (10" x 30 ft) x 2

orange mesh (10" x 30 ft) x 3

floral wire

chenille stems (match w/mesh)

wire frame

floral stems (top of carrot)

Some craft stores do have cone shaped frames but we couldn't find one so we used a wire easel. My mom created a trellis with the pipe cleaners and the floral wire so she would have something to attach the mesh too. 

 Tie a bow, attach to wreath with pipe cleaner. She just made bow after bow until the wire frame was full.

Break apart floral stems and hot glue them into the green mesh. She used a low temp glue gun. (Be careful mesh can melt)

It turned out better than I could of imagined. I am so lucky to have such an awesome mom. I love the idea of having a ginormous vegetable wreath.

Another lemon dropped in the bucket. 

Mason Candy Jars

I love the look of old vintage candy jars. Here is an easy way to make some for yourself.  I've used them for birthday gifts, thank you's or to just tell someone they are special and that I was thinking of them. They are very quick and cheap to make.

Supplies:

clear candle holder (The Dollar Store)
spray paint (flat is best)
mason jars
wooden balls (Hobby Lobby)
Gorilla Glue
E6000 glue

1. Spray paint the candle holders, mason jar lid and wooden ball. I needed three layers on the candle holders in order to cover all the glass. 
2. After completely dry, I glued the mason jar to the candle holder with E6000 glue and the wooden ball to the top of the lid with Gorilla Glue. 
3. Let dry and filled with favorite candy. I add a hand printed card with ribbon and tie it to the top of the mason jar. 

I keep one in my office all the time filled with lemon drops. Yummy!  

Another lemon dropped in the bucket. 

Valentine's Day Mantle

I usually don't decorate too much for Valentine's Day but I thought my mantle needed some color. And having all boys,when am I ever going to get a chance to decorate with pink. I looked all over Pinterest and found all kinds of fun and simple projects to do. I started with the banner.

I cut the hearts on my Cricut. If you craft a lot and don't have a Cricut I suggest you go get one. It is a life saver and thanks to my mimi, I received one a few years back for Christmas. Thanks Mimi!

They needed a little something after I cut them so I added glitter to the edges, punched 2 small holes and threaded the ribbon through.

I wanted to say something different than Happy Valentine's Day, Be Mine or I love you. So, what better verse is there than John 3:16 to show God's ultimate LOVE for humanity.

Supplies:

craft letters
acrylic paint
paint brush (I like foam brushes)
glitter

Super simple just paint 2 layers, sprinkle with glitter. Voila!

The vase and flowers, on the left of the mantle, are both from the Dollar Store. The vase was originally clear so I spray painted it white. While I was at the Dollar Store I also picked up some clear candle holders (tons of things you can do with them), another clear vase, Valentine picks and some Sweetheart candy. I love the Dollar Store!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and don't forget to tell your loved ones how special they are to you!!

Another lemon dropped in the bucket.

January Kit of the Month

MAILS HERE!!!!

I was so excited when I went to the mail today. My January Kit of the Month had arrived from My Craft Channel, one of my favorite sites to buy all my scrapbook goodies. They will offer a new kit every month which includes an album and extra fun stuff. So the idea is to have 12 completed albums by the end of the year. That's a big elephant to eat but remember how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Actually, I love to scrapbook but it can become overwhelming. So I have stopped for a long time but really miss it. I think these new kits are the perfect compromise for me to get out some creativity but actually be able to finish a book. Let's take a look inside.

The kit contains:

An album
64 cards
60 pieces of ephemera (really cute cut outs)

The album includes 3 chipboard dividers, 8 scrapbook pages and 10 pocket pages.

Look at all these fun cards. There's over 64 of them. There is no way to get all of these in one album. There will be so many extras. I'm planning on using them to decorate for Valentines Day and also make Valentine cards.

This is ephemera. It's like scrapbook and card candy.

I can't stop saying how much I love this kit. They have done all the hard work and now all I have to do is put it together. I don't think I can go wrong.  Can't wait to see what next months looks like.  (I just checked and the kits are sold out for January but keep checking back if your interested. That's how I got mine.)

Another lemon dropped in the bucket!

Hawaiian Vintage Mirror

Have you ever been in love with a picture, mirror old frame of some sort and didn't want to get rid of it? But you knew it had seen better days and it no longer fit perfectly in your home. Well, that's the problem I had with this mirror. I love how it looks like you're looking through a window and it's a mirror. How could I get rid of it? The problem was it just no longer matched my decor. So a face lift it received.

I found this awesome vintage Hawaiian picture at the Frisco Mercantile and a dried coconut and knew this mirror would fit perfectly in my new Hawaiian inspired bathroom. It just needed to look like it fit by the ocean. So with a little paint, sanding, a board and some L brackets Voila! transformation.

Hawaiian Vintage Mirror

Supplies

sand paper and/or electric hand sander
paint (2 different colors)
paint brushes
1"x 4" board (Lowe's and Home Depot will cut your board for you if you can't at home)
screw driver
L brackets

1. Paint frame. I used the aqua first and then sanded the heck out of it. That's the fun part. If you have an electric sander, use it. It makes it go so much faster and boy is it fun. The simple things in life make me happy.
2. After it looked pretty weathered I applied small amounts of white paint here and there. And sanded again and again and again until I was happy with the outcome. There's no rhyme or reason to this just sand away.
3. Screw in L brackets. This was a little trickier. I had to make sure the bracket lined up on the frame and on the board but didn't hang over the side. Follow direction on package on how to screw in brackets.  That's it. 

I know you might not have this type of mirror to redo but it's the same concept with any frame. There are all kinds of paints to experiment with and fun thingys you can add to your frame. One of my next projects is to take an old window and turn it into a flower box. So instead of throwing your old picture away try and see it in a new light. Don't be afraid to go for it. The worst that can happened is you just don't like how it turned out and you can try something else.

Another lemon dropped in the bucket. 

Fabric Flower Bookmarks

I love making these fabric flowers because they are very simple and I like simple. One of my favorite sites is Little Birdie Secrets and they had these wonderful flower bookmarks. So I thought I would give it a try. 
The hardest part was trying to figure out my sewing machine. It's been awhile. But once I figured it out they didn't take very long.

The flowers are pretty heavy and fall towards the back of the book so I turned my bookmark around so the flower would fall forward. 

Supplies:

Material
buttons
thread
needle
glue gun
sewing machine

Little Birdie Secrets has the step-by-step directions if you would like to give it a try.

I think the ladies in my book club deserve a little treat. These would also make great teacher gifts. I love to make little "treats" for people, these are great little treats.

Another lemon dropped in the bucket.

The Winner is...

Just a lemon drop in the bucket!

My first blog. I was looking for a great and catchy title for my blog so I posted a contest on FB for some great title names and low and behold my HUSBAND is the winner. I promise his title wasn't given any special treatment. I loved his play on words, he's good at that. 


This blog is dedicated to my friends who requested I share with them how I make my cards, crafts, sewing projects, etc. Hope you enjoy!!!