Projects and Such

Well Hello All! I hope this winter season has been a great one. For me it's been rather mild. I am ready for weather I don't need a jacket for though. Then again I'm always ready for that! I've got a few projects going at the moment.   Today I finished off some homemade diaper inserts. We use gdiapers and we love them. We were using the disposable/flushable liners which are great, but we are having to buy them all the time. So the cost effective advantage isn't there. We bought the Flip inserts but they have this ammonia odor that is just ugly! So I haven't used them much since we bought. After dealing with the smell all we could, we went back to using the disposable/flushable inserts. Recently I saw a tutorial on http://seekatesew.blogspot.com that I found fairly easy to use.  I don't have a serger so I did a zig zag stitch around the edges. I made them with soft fleece and a plain cotton cute fabric. Got it all on sale at Hancock Fabrics. Thank you to Kate for the tutorial! Hers look so much better. It was an easy project and a money saver!  I'm in the middle of making our own diaper bag.  We need a bigger diaper bag with a toddler and baby. I decided to take on the challenge of creating one that fit our needs. I have a list of things that we need to have and created the diaper bag off of that list. I've got the bag done with the pocket inserts inside. My problem now is it's flopping inward. I wanted the sides to be a bit more sturdy. So I'm trying to sort that out.  My son says it looks more like a nanny bag with the sides floppy. lol Thanks son!Guess what! Baby Fia turns 5 months today!   She's such a snuggle bug too. Every morning she wakes up with a smile.  I hope she never loses that joy. I'm happy that all is well and she still hasn't got any teeth coming through! It keeps me in denial that she's growing up lol! She does like to try and talk which is too cute! I am so very proud of my dear friend and sister Tony Robinson! She has written her first book and Wow what a great one it is! I can't say enough about her. Tony has been there for me every since my older kids were toddlers. She's seen me through good and bad. She's hung in there with me through my crazy times. She's talked sense into my head during my "I'm about to lose it!" moments. She's seen just about the worst of me and has always been able to bring me down to earth lol! I tell you, she, Tony Robinson has been a priceless friend. She's always given me great spiritual advice in every situation. She is an inspiration, an encourager, and a Well Watered Woman! I pray your cup runs over with blessings from the Lord! Please do purchase her book Water From The Well. You will be blessed!  I got my copy and saw she even put in a mention for measly ol me! Love you Tony! Along with spiritual growth we've been doing the 100 days of Real food challenge for physical health. It's not bad! I am surprised at how easy it is to do. We've enjoyed the food and plan to stay on this path. I do wish our Whole  Foods store wasn't so busy. I have to figure out when the best time to go shopping there. Today I've decided besides the Tofu Chocolate Pie, I like the Strawberry Parfait! We make them in these little cups. Yes we do recycle them! I think after we are finished we will invest in some better clear cups we'll keep. So we use some granola we found at Target by Archer Farms it's French Vanilla Almond Crunch. (lol wait does this count as "real food" since I'm not making it??) , Maybe I will looking to trying to make it. Not sure yet but anyway we use that Granola, strawberries, drizzle it with honey, and then Vanilla Yogurt. I repeat until the cup is full. Yummy! Just closing with this, I made these little shoes for Helaina. She rarely wore them. I am so happy baby Fia can! I plan on making a few more shoes for her but using a different pattern. They are so easy to make! I haven't found a pattern I've settled on yet. I've just done a google image search on "Make baby shoes" and saw all the cute shoes! Oh brain overload! Ok on that note, I'm out. Enjoy your day!

I just can't help it. Wait Yes I can!

and again... found a new homemade project! I want to make my own coffee creamer! Mad scientists suit up! A friend of mine shared a site with us as we chatted about stevia sweetner. Here is the link to the recipes deliciouslyorganic.net this is a beautiful site I will be following all over the place. Another project I hope to work on is the Craft Hope website.crafthope.com Please do check this out. If you do any crafts or sewing please help. This current project is helping kids who are fighting cancer. These are simple and easy project to help spread happiness. Please get involved! Thats all for now...

Seaweed Smoothie Fail. Tofu Pie Success!

Ok so I'm a sucker for products and recipes. If the package looks good I want to buy it. If the claims look half honest I'm tempted. I know it makes me sound like I have a house full of junky half used products, but I don't. I don't give into temptation much after all I am a Graphic Designer trained to know and design the tricks that make us want to buy things. It still doesn't stop my curiosity though. I do have self control... sometimes. I'm still in the dog house for the Seaweed Smoothie I created. That creation literally tasted like crab! I tried hiding the seaweed taste with fruit and it just made it have a sweet yet salty crabby taste. Maybe we should have had crackers with it? No. My husband was a trooper as he always has been for me and tried it with me. He drank all his, I couldn't get half of mine down. Good thing the after taste didn't last long! Yeah, Yuck.Oops FAIL! Anyhow,  the latest is a Low Calorie Chocolate Pie I saw Chef Alton Brown made on the Dr. Oz show. Here's the thing, the main ingredient is Silken Tofu! I had never tasted Tofu before until a few days ago. I was skeptical at first but was curious enough to try it. The chocolate Pie is delicious!! My whole family liked it! Yes even my dear husband who doesn't like tofu agreed it was good! Maybe because you don't actually taste the tofu! Hmmm.... So check it out, here's the recipe and the link to where it is on the Dr. Oz site http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/alton-browns-dairy-free-chocolate-pie IngredientsMakes 8 servings 13 oz semisweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup coffee liqueur  (I used a sugar free Caramel flavored Coffee syrup as a substitution) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 lb silken tofu 1 tbsp honey  1 (9-in) prepared chocolate wafer crust (store-bought is fine) DirectionsPlace enough water in the bottom of a 4-quart saucepan to come 1 inch up the sides. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place the chocolate chips and liqueur in a medium metal mixing bowl, set over the simmering water, and stir with a rubber or silicone spatula until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in a blender or food processor and spin until smooth (about 1 minute). Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling sets firm. Courtesy Alton Brown, 2011From “ Good Eats: The Early Years” Try it! It's yummy... now where did I put my slice?

Homemade Mouthwash & International Traveling Bees

Well folks I did it! After weeks of wanting to do this, I finally got to make my own mouthwash and guess what...

I liked it!! I took a recipe from the Gorgeously Green website and modified it with ingredients I found in other online recipes. So I used:


½ cup Aloe Vera Juice
1 cup Filtered Water
1 tsp Honey
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 TBSP Witch Hazel
3 drop Lemon Essential Oil (EO)
20 drops Peppermint Essential Oil (EO)


You might ask, now why would I make my own mouthwash? Have a look at the ingredient list on the LISTERINE^® ZERO™ bottle
Active ingredient: Sodium fluoride 0.02% (0.01% w/v fluoride ion)
Inactive ingredients
water 
sorbitol solution
propylene glycol
flavor
sodium lauryl sulfate
poloxamer 407
sodium benzoate
phosphoric acid
eucalyptol
thymol
methyl salicylate
sodium saccharin
menthol
disodium phosphate
sucralose
FD&C red no. 40
FD&C blue no. 1

Anyone know what all those ingredients besides Mentol are without having to google them? I know Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in shampoos that I don't buy because it's harsh. All the others I would have to google. I don't think it's a bad idea. In fact I'll do it when the little princess tot who hit the floor running this morning goes down for a nap. But for now the list is questionable as is the rest of the other brands filling the bottles on the shelves. This LISTERINE^® ZERO™ won a best beauty award! Beware of these sort of things. Again the graphic designer in me raises a brow. Stay with the safe ingredient lists you know. Our bodies deserve better. 

As for the homemade mouthwash, it's minty and I like it! I have to admit I was a little hesitant because I've read that you shouldn't consume EO's but this isn't to be swallowed! I was asked if I did the math for it's cost effectiveness and I did not because I had these things on hand. So I'd say if you have these things on hand give it a go. The honey was a bit expensive since I bought local honey. You know my daughter asked me to pick up some honey the other day and I was told years ago that you should always buy locally made honey and this article Why You Should Buy Local Honey definitely states why! As I browsed the honey jars looking for local one I was quite disappointed that Schnucks didn't have anything local. Sure they had some "distributed" in Kansas but not made locally. Note, it's only distributed and not made. On the bottle it had it printed "product of Argentina" Whoops! That's not local! I saw some jars actually imprinted with product of India, Argentina and USA all on one bottle. Um can I get Honey that doesn't travel so far? Yes. Yes, I can. I went to Dierburgs to see their selection and purchased some there. The price was higher than the other traveling bees but the quality is better. So while I didn't buy the honey solely for the purpose of this mouthwash, I did learn a lesson. My lesson was to read the back of the Honey Bear container and be ware of those international traveling bees! The EO's can be expensive too so bargain shop for price but watch the quality. If the cost effectiveness is a big factor, I'd say search online to find a recipe that has the ingredients you already have. I found a variety just searching the words "homemade mouthwash." If you do have these ingredients listed, give it a go!

So far so good. Swish Swish!

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Ok sooo... I've Graduated

Ok So i've graduated! I now have my BLS in Studio Art and Art History. I need to get CD's made of my portfolio. I have work but I am undecided on what to put in it. Ugh! I want to eventually teach at an University. Well I'll write more later when it's nap time for the KIDS... :)