Liquid Laundry Detergent

I love making my own laundry detergent! It is so much cheaper and it works great. I have used the powder and the liquid now and I think I prefer the liquid. My washer and dryer are located in my garage so I don't mind having a huge 5 gallon bucket beside the washing machine. I think if my laundry room was inside it might be a different. So here we go!

Ingredients: 

1 bar soap (Fels Naptha, Zote, or Ivory)

1/2 c Borax

1 c Washing soda 

4 cups water

Large 5 gallon bucket with lid (I think mine is actually 6 gallons)

 

Step 1: 

Grate the soap 

 

Step 2:

Take the 4 cups of water and pour into a large pot and then add soap shreds. Stir constantly over medium heat until soap is melted. You can use a whisk or spoon to stir - mixture will be pretty foamy when all the soap is melted. 

 

Step 3:

Fill your 5 gallon bucket 1/2 way up with hot tap water 

 

Step 4:

Add soap mixture then add in the Borax and the Washing soda and stir well. Check out my handsome little helper :) 

 

Step 5: 

Fill 5 gallon bucket the rest of the way up with hot tap water 

 

Step 6:

Cover with lid and let sit overnight. 

Next day you can take the lid off and make sure the detergent set up. It will be very congealed and gel like. Use 1/2 a cup per load of laundry. This detergent wont stud up like a store bought detergent.

 

Note: I used Zote soap for my detergent and it is a great stain fighter! I actually keep a bar beside my washing machine to rub straight on a stain. I have gotten tough stains out that have been washed and dried in. Next time I have one I will be sure to blog on it! 

Ruffles!

I've been looking everywhere to try and find a good ruffle tutorial! I don't know if I just wasn't looking in the right place or what but I went straight to the source: my sewing machine. I was determined to figure it out - so with some trial and error I finally got it. Here are 3 different type of ruffles I figured out how to make.

I used Muslin fabric & matching thread

Things to know!

#1 Set your sewing machine stitch to the longest straight stitch (as you can see mine is a #6)

#2 Set your tension on your sewing machine to the highest it will go (mine is 9)

#3 Don't back stitch

Ruffle #1 (Right down the middle)

First I cut my fabric into 3 inch strips

Place the fabric in and start sewing straight down the middle of your strip of fabric 

 

You will see when the fabric is coming out the back side it's already a ruffle! 

 

 

Ruffle #2 (Double Ruffle)

 On this ruffle I did the exact same thing as ruffle #1 but I moved the seam over to about a 1/4 inch and ran the stitch down one side - turned the fabric around and did the same thing on the opposite side 

 

 

Ruffle #3 (Edge Ruffle)

 

Run a straight stitch down one edge of the fabric 

(This ruffle would be great if you were making a skirt and layering the ruffles )

Here is what I used my ruffles for this time!

 

Outdoor Chalkboard

Summer is approaching fast so I am starting to get some outdoor activities ready to keep Jasper busy! He's recently been into coloring so I thought about making a outdoor chalkboard. I saw a recipe on Pinterest on how to make your own chalkboard paint here Going Home to Roost. I know you can buy it already made but, by doing it this way you can use whatever color paint you want. So here we go! 

Materials you will need:

 

Board

Non-sanded grout 

Roller & paintbrush

Disposable cup

Plastic spoon to mix with

Flat latex paint (I got a quart of black)

Step 1:

Measure out 1 cup of water and pour into your disposable cup. Get a sharpie and mark on the outside where the 1 cup mark is. Dump the water out and dry the cup.

 

Step 2:

Pour your paint into the cup 

Step 3:

Add 2 Tablespoons of the grout 

 

Step 4:

Mix the paint and the grout together (this mixture will be very thick)

 

Step 5:

I tried pouring the mixture into the paint tray and rolling it on but this was no good at all for the first coat of paint. So I recommend just keeping it in the cup and using a paint brush. I noticed that if I used the paintbrush and then went over what I just painted with the roller that worked best for me.

(this was no bueno)

Step 6: 

Let the board dry and put as many coats as you want on. I put 3 coats of paint on mine and it took 2 cups of the paint/grout mixture. (On the website I got this recipe it says to only mix 1 cup at a time) 

 

Step 7:

Prop your board up and paint all the sides if you desire - then let completely dry

Step 8: 

Drill holes into your board. I drilled 8 since my board was pretty heavy. 

 

Step 9:

Attach to fence (I used screws to attach my board)

Step 10:

Let the little one get creative!