Jocelyn's Rag Doll

Well, of course I couldn't make Ariana a doll without Jocelyn begging for one too! So I made one up this morning to keep her occupied. Won't mind making a few more but have to make some adjustments to my pattern. She's cute and Jocelyn says, "she's perfect mommy!"

Now it's off to play catch up on all the chores I let slide this morning!

Topsy Turvy Doll

This has been a project I've been wanting to create for awhile now and thought it would make a perfect gift for Ariana's 1st Birthday. There was a topsy turvy doll floating about the past few generations of girls in our family and it has since gonna missing in action. Maybe she'll turn up someday but I though it was about time a new gal was introduced to my girls. I enjoyed making her so much I may just have to make a few more!

Start to finish it took about 4 hours, wouldn't of taken so long but I had to come up with a design and pattern. Not to mention the dress was like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle! I love how simple she is. Now I'm temped to make up some more and of course see if they'll sell!

Here she "they" are, in need of clothes...and with their final wardrobe!

Happy 1st Birthday my little miss Ariana!

Wool lanolizing made easy!

Here's my favorite tutorial for lanolizing wool! Plenty of humor and makes it so easy!

http://understandinglaura.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-lanolize-woolwithout-lanolin.html

Don't forget to check out some of her other posts too!

Lambswool Longies...Oh so CUTE!

Nothing like a day of surprises! Decided it was high time to search my local Salvation Army for some good deals. More kiddos and tighter budgets make you think of all sorts of things! My mission today was finding 100% wool sweaters. Believe it or not there is wool out there that isn't that nasty scratchy stuff. So I started with the help of my sister Sarah going thru each and every sweater on the rack hunting for the perfect sweaters to recycle. I was a bit concerned about the high prices we were coming across until suddenly they announced, 50% off all winter clothing and shoes! That includes those sweaters I was thinking of putting back. YEPPY! Who would of thought you could get 100% lambswool sweaters for $1.50 to $3.00!?!?!?! So I still only bought a bag full but fully intend to go back asap and buy up some more!

So after a banana split lunch and some more errands, I couldn't wait to get home and start working on my new projects. So here is result number one!


A beautiful pair of 100% soft lambswool longies (pants lingo for cloth diapering mommas) with a cute little heart applique. I made these just using the measurements from a pair of pants that fit Ariana comfortably. Plus I added a little length and booty room so they last her longer. I LOVE them! They are so fast to whip up I don't know why I didn't start making them sooner.

Using wool pants and diaper covers are the number one bulletproof (leak proof) way to cover your babies! Wool is breathable so even in the summer your wee ones stay cool. The natural Lanolin in wool makes them magic! The diaper could be soaked and the wool longies or cover will feel dry. Plus its anti-bacterial properties make it a diaper momma dream! No need to wash after every use, just hang to "dry" for the next use. It doesn't "stink" either! After so long if your diaper cover or longie seems to be "leaking" it's time to give it a gentle wash and re-lanolize it which is much easier than it sounds. More on that later.

Off to make some more longies and break out a diaper cover pattern! This is so addicting I love it! After I get a few made for the girls I'll work on getting some posted on etsy. Recycling makes me feel so good!

Mondays child is fair of face,

Tuesdays child is full of grace,

Wednesday child is full of woe,

Thursdays child has far to go,

Fridays child is loving and giving,

Saturdays child works hard for his living,

And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

-Mother Goose

Yes, Saturdays child works hard for a living, how well I remember my Great Grandma (known to me as G.G.) reading this to me on one of my visits when I was very young. Written to help children learn their days of the week, it was just special to me. Little did I know at the time what this meant, yep I was a Saturday baby. But this memory just runs into my most vivid memory of my G.G. ...

That shirt or as she would say her "blouse" that she wore for as long as I can remember. She must of had a secret stash of them for nearly every time I envision her standing in front of me, I see the shirt. It was her calling card, her work horse, her signature. The red and white checkered collared shirt. It even had a certain smell that if you close your eyes you could tell she'd been there. When asked what I wanted of hers when she died, all I could think of was that shirt. That shirt is a sign of strength and patience to me, the two qualities that made her shine. I saw her scrub the kitchen floor with that shirt of strength and I remember her firm but patient discipline when I was out of line. G.G. was my one constant, she was always there in spirit and she never changed in my eyes. She was a no nonsense kind of woman but had the softest touch when you needed it. She worked harder that any single person I know and I never once heard her complain. She always put God and her family first and prayed harder for us than anyone else. Even when I was at my lowest thinking no one cared, I knew every morning she'd be on her knees wearing out her bathmat by the tub praying for me.

Now every time I put on that shirt it's like I'm putting on that "superman cape". In my childhood eyes she was the "super woman" I wanted to be like. I know she wasn't perfect but in my eyes she was as perfect as you can get. Those red and white checkers are my signature work horse now. I wear it with her memory lingering on it. It sounds silly but the feeling is overwhelming when I put it on, like superman donning his cape. Shoulders back, head up, and girded with strength and every ounce of patience I can muster.

I'd like to think she's right there passing the torch for Saturdays Child works hard for her living.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe & How to

As Promised the Recipe and How To...

You will need:

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1/3 Bar Fels-Naptha Soap

Grater

Container

A few tid bits about the ingredients...

Make sure it's Super Washing Soda NOT baking soda. The SWS is sodium carbonate NOT sodium BIcarbonate! If you want to learn the molecular breakdown, look it up, that's a whole other blog for a whole other day. The Fels-Naptha nowadays doesn't contain Naphthalene. Again if your interested in the chemical breakdown and whatnot, look it up, I'm just giving you the recipe not chemistry class. You can of course use a soap of your choice in this case but you need to stick with REAL soaps, ones with an animal fat base are best for washing. Such as homemade soaps or the "Good" stuff in the stores. Check the labels! Most soaps now days are not real soaps but a concoction of detergents. Ewe! For an even milder laundry soap I would recommend just use old school homemade soaps, they are fairly easily available. But for this basic recipe I prefer the Fels-Naptha since it really is the best heavy duty soap.

This recipe makes the simple powdered version not the liquid. If you want the liquid version either do a little research and find it or ask and I'll post that one too. I personally prefer the powered just because it's super fast to mix up and takes up no space in the laundry room. But again the liquid form is great, just takes longer to make and hogs up precious space.

DIRECTIONS: Shred the Fels-Naptha with a grater. I used the smallest grater side of my box veggie/cheese grater. Only took a minute or two and the result was a near powered form of the bar soap. Take note here....IF you are using any other kind of soap you'll probably need the whole bar since the Fels bar is considerably larger than most.

Combine the borax, super washing soda, and grated soap into a container, mix it up nicely and there you have it!

TO USE: For normal loads use approximately 1 tablespoon

For heavily soiled loads use 2 tablespoons

I only wash in cold water but that's up to you. Cold water washes just as well as hot or warm and saves you tons of cash!

YIELDS APPROXIMATELY 50 loads

*For a safe and effective fabric soften add a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your wash.

As always the best way to dry your clothes is sunlight, but with these bitter dark cold days of winter that can be a challenge so do the best you can!

PRICE BREAKDOWN:

The price breakdown will obviously be different for everyone being our stores are all very different. But for me at my local high priced grocery store for convinence of course, here's what I paid...

76 oz box of BORAX $4.00

55 oz box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $2.79

5 1/2 oz bar of Fels-Naptha $0.99

Total $7.78

Now notice I can get at least another 7 batches of detergent from the borax and super washing soap, just by pitching in another bar of soap. So even with another dollar in soap, I can spend $9 in ingredients, making 450 loads worth of detergent.

That's basically $0.02 a load.

To top it off I know exactly what ingredients are in my soap unlike the store bought stuff with ingredient lists you need a chemist to decipher.

Again if you would rather use the liquid recipe I can get that recipe for you too or you can just do your homework and find a recipe that works best for you.

After using this detergent I checked every piece of laundry I pulled from the load and gave it all a good look and sniff...unbelievable! It smelled clean and look great. Trust me when I say we get some funky laundry with little ones around. It's a hit and I totally approve! I may make a small batch up using homemade bar soap just for the newborn clothes since they can be extra extra sensitive but even Ariana with her super touchy skin hasn't had any issues with it. Oh and I have to say my cloth diapers never came out so clean!

GOOD LUCK AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKE IT!

Packrats, Consumerism, and crap!

I've been meaning to sit down and write this for awhile now and was motivated the other day by someone to do it, hope this helps!

Dare I write about a subject that so many are defensive about. Sure why the heck not! It is a free country is it not? Okay so really it's not that big of a deal to most but I find the "BUY BUY BUY MORE" thing quite frankly, bothersome. Its not just the buying that disturbs me it's the obsessive need to store, hoard, and hang onto every little thing. You see (here's where I'm gonna catch grief!) I come from a generation of woman who find the need to "PACKRAT" everything. And yes if asked they will most likely deny it. Sadly I've seen the chaos and headache that develops over the years from this "packratting" notion. These "just in case", "ya just never know", "for a rainy day", "I might need it", "but it still works" excuses just don't make a lick of sense to me. Maybe for a moment I can understand but honestly it's a horrible way to live. Maybe I'm just not sensitive to the underlying need to hoard these items. Do you really think these things are going to save the day? Ya can't take it with you when ya die so looks like we'll be stuck cleaning it up. Okay maybe a little blunt there but in all honesty we need to declutter our lives. For some it maybe a security thing and others maybe just a bad habit picked up from somewhere. I say this all from life experience. There was I time when I was a teen and I remember my bedroom being stacked to the ceiling with boxes of stuff just pointless crap. I didn't want to get rid of anything. A few years later during some major life adjustments EVERY item I owned except the clothes on my back and somehow my Bible, were all left behind in an unfortunate turn of events. I mean everything pictures, heirlooms, cherished gifts, childhood teddy, everything! It wasn't long after, once I had gotten past the bitterness I held, I realized they were just material things. I still had the memories that were attached to those items. I could move on and be happy with the few things I owned. I am not a packrat (I know they hate that term) in fact I cringe when I have to think about putting something in the attic to store. I just see no point at all in it. I'm not talking about off season clothing or holiday decorations rather those boxes of stuff! Why hang onto things that supposedly mean so much and shove them in a box to never be seen again. If they actually mean so much than display and use them, be proud of them. Take a picture or create a shadow box, or use the stuff. I understand the importance of heirlooms and such and have shocked a few people with the notion that when certain items are passed down I fully intend to either use them or display them properly for visual enjoyment. Why would anyone find this odd I don't really know. You'd rather I stuff it in a box and let my grandchildren find it years later.

On that same note the notion of "consumerism" haunts me. The constant need to buy more and consume everything and anything we can get our hands on. With this twisted idea that the more I have the wealthier I am or the more secure I become. News flash folks.....LESS IS MORE! I've always fancied the saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" but I kinda think Simplicity is right up there too.

A few weeks ago someone made me chuckle when she said, "Ya know, anytime I go out shopping now it's just to buy something I need." This coming from someone who finds shopping a very enjoyable pastime. I don't get an immense pleasure of just going shopping to go shopping. In fact the few times I have tried to shop just to shop, I ended up circling the stores hands in pocket frustrated. The few time I actually managed to come home with the pointless unneeded items, I felt ashamed and guilty for wasting the time and money. It's just not in my nature I guess. Not that I wish to brag but I take great satisfaction in knowing I can walk thru a store and walk out with nothing but the needed items.

Now mind you with young children in the house and the odd need to want to spoil them, I do occasionally grant them a gift or two. By occasionally I mean over a two month period of frequenting a specific discount store I repeatedly passed up a toy I knew very well was on my daughters "please mommy can I" list. This toy after those two months finally made it in the cart. Not because I was being mean I just couldn't justify buying it just to buy it. I had asked her every time if she really wanted it and she'd say yes. Funny as it is that toy never made it home. Buy the time we left the store she decided she didn't really want it. YES VICTORY! Does this mean I may be getting something right in raising my daughter? If anything I've managed to demonstrate to her that having everything you want isn't always the best thing. Turns out she was perfectly satisfied with what she already had. I want to teach my children the value of simplicity. Cluttering up our lives and home with needless items is pointless and just breeds the need to "want more". I find the old saying "sleep on it" very beneficial. In fact if you let it rest for a week and then come back to it you may find you have no desire for the item anymore.

I have a weakness for buying three things....resource books, gardening paraphernalia, and fabric. Yes I will admit I love to buy these things. Wanna hit a fabric store I'm there! A book store I'll fight for ya for that book! Gardening goodies, ah man that's just too fun! I could blame these habits on some very specific people. Why not right...my Mom for the books, my Nana for the fabric, and the gardening stuff I haven't figured out, might just be me. But I love to shop endless for these three specific things. But taking my previous advice to heart I often sleep on a purchase before buying just to make sure. Most of the time I end up getting said item but I almost always find a better deal somewhere before buying. Oh ya and I can't forget to mention the hardware store is great fun! So yes I do like to shop and consume certain things, my excuse being I'm buying things that I can use or learn from. LOL!

I have this weird way of caring around like a filing system in my head. Like those tv shows that declutter your basements. I have three imaginary bins 1. TRASH 2. ORGANIZE & USE 3. DONATE.

Number 1 ...The trash is an easy one that is self explanatory.

Number 2 ...Organize and Use is a bit more tricky. This is like the keep pile but I just can't keep the item. I must use it and it must be stored in an organized fashion so it can be used easily and frequently. If said item is not used regularly with the exception of a seasonal item, it moves on to be donated. This also includes properly using and/or displaying heirlooms and silly notions.

Number 3 ...is always a treat for me because I take an odd pleasure of putting stuff out. Now these items can be sold for profit, donated to a needy soul, or given to someone who will use it frequently and whom I can borrow from if I so have the need to use it once in a blue moon.

That's it. I can basically walk around my house with these three imaginary bins and regularly declutter. Clutter happens but can be kept tame. Storing, hoarding, "packratting", all need to be rid of. They are beyond taming. They have become the nuisance!

We are a nation of consumers and it is like a disease. It traps us into this never ending cycle of taking in and consuming. Its an evil thing that destroys our lives and our environment. We need to declutter our lives and homes of these pointless possessions and learn to be satisfied with the simply things in life. Our sorry excuses for wanting more and hoarding for a rainy day, affect not only our well being but drastically affect those around us. You don't need a tv host to come in and show you how to declutter and organize and you don't need a therapist to teach you how to break you consuming habits. What we need is the self discipline to get our lazy patooties up and just do it.

I hope this find some of you motivated to nag yourself or a loved one to clean it up. And for those who have taken great offense to this, I'm not sorry for saying it. GOD BLESS! -Christina