Happy Fathers Day everyone!
My husband shared this clip with me and I love it.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
DIY Watercolors
Do remember my little artist? It looks like her wall coloring days are finally over, but she hasn't given up on the arts. She paints at least 4 times a week and she takes it very seriously. It's pretty impressive how fast we go through Crayola Watercolors. When I saw a blog about making your own watercolors, I couldn't resist trying it out.
Homemade Watercolor Paints
You Will Need:
4 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp corn starch
liquid food colouring
container to keep your paints in such as ice-cube tray, small plastic cups, plastic egg carton etc.
Directions:
Mix your baking soda and vinegar together and wait for the fizzing to stop. It’s handy if you mix in a container that has a spout. Add your corn syrup and corn starch, and mix well until the corn starch has dissolved. Pour into your containers. Now, get out your colours and have some fun! Use toothpicks and Popsicle sticks for adding your colours, and stir for about a minute to make sure the colour is mixed in well. Let your paints “set up” and dry. Once they’re hard, simply grab a paint brush and some water and get painting
I mixed all the ingredients and ended up with a consistency I wasn't expecting. It was almost like runny play dough. It was similar to Magic Mud.
One of the watercolor trays was almost empty so I washed it out and filled each section with a little bit of the mixture.
I then added food coloring and started to mix with a toothpick. About halfway through I was wishing I used a bigger container. Because the mixture was a semi solid it was hard to mix in the food coloring in such a small container. It kept spilling over the sides and make a decent mess. Note: if you put a lot of food coloring drops in, you might need to add a bit more corn starch to compensate.
It only took about about 5 hours to dry, but apparently it can take up to 2 days, depending on how big your containers are and what the air temperature is.
I handed my daughter the paints, water, paper and a brush and let her go to town.
The Verdict: Yes and no. Let me explain the yes first.
I loved the colors. They seemed a lot more vibrant and I loved that they were all custom. We had about 4 different shades of blue.
Check out these textures. You can't get that with regular water colors. If you look closely, you can see how the paper is wet around the colors. It took a bit longer to dry then regular watercolors, but it dried just fine.
If you don't get the exact amount of water you either have no paint on your brush, or you end up with a big soupy mess
The darker colors stained my daughters skin. Not a lot, it was faint after I washed her hands, but it still stained.
Overall: It worked and I thought it was great, but my daughter got really frustrated with it because she couldn't get the water to paint ratio right. This is one that I would categorize as an older child product.
Homemade Watercolor Paints
You Will Need:
4 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp corn starch
liquid food colouring
container to keep your paints in such as ice-cube tray, small plastic cups, plastic egg carton etc.
Directions:
Mix your baking soda and vinegar together and wait for the fizzing to stop. It’s handy if you mix in a container that has a spout. Add your corn syrup and corn starch, and mix well until the corn starch has dissolved. Pour into your containers. Now, get out your colours and have some fun! Use toothpicks and Popsicle sticks for adding your colours, and stir for about a minute to make sure the colour is mixed in well. Let your paints “set up” and dry. Once they’re hard, simply grab a paint brush and some water and get painting
I mixed all the ingredients and ended up with a consistency I wasn't expecting. It was almost like runny play dough. It was similar to Magic Mud.
It only took about about 5 hours to dry, but apparently it can take up to 2 days, depending on how big your containers are and what the air temperature is.
I handed my daughter the paints, water, paper and a brush and let her go to town.
The Verdict: Yes and no. Let me explain the yes first.
I loved the colors. They seemed a lot more vibrant and I loved that they were all custom. We had about 4 different shades of blue.
Check out these textures. You can't get that with regular water colors. If you look closely, you can see how the paper is wet around the colors. It took a bit longer to dry then regular watercolors, but it dried just fine.
Now let me explain the no.
Because of the baking soda and cornstarch, the water from the brush would get sucked into the paint and no paint would get onto the brush. We had to dip the brush into the water then back into the paint a few times until paint would get onto the brush.
Overall: It worked and I thought it was great, but my daughter got really frustrated with it because she couldn't get the water to paint ratio right. This is one that I would categorize as an older child product.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Coconut Oil Moisture Treatment
Ok folks, I am doing another short and sweet post today. I have a two year old on my lap that refuses to leave my side today and a 4 year old that wants me to see every new addition he adds to his Lego house and I'm not feeling to hot. So here we go
Coconut Oil Moisture Treatment
You Will Need:
Coconut oil
Hair clip
Shower clip
Blow dryer (optional)
Directions:
Flip your head upside down and rub the oil into your hair, saturating it completely. Once your hair is soaked with oil, twist your hair into a bun or ponytail. You can clip it in place by grabbing some hair from your scalp and part of the bun, or use a hair tie to keep it in place. Cover your hair with a shower cap. You can choose to apply heat or not. Applying heat will open the cuticle of each strand so the coconut oil can penetrate the core faster. Leave the coconut oil on your hair for at least 30 minutes without heat, or 15 minutes with heat. You can use a hair dryer to apply heat over the shower cap. Once your time is up wash and condition your hair as you normally would. You may need to wash your hair twice to rinse away all of the oil.
Even though my hair is short, it's abnormally thick so I ended up using twice this amount.
I rubbed it in all over until my hair was one big grease ball. Several drops escaped and fell so you might want to do this over a bathtub or towel.
I pulled it up into a bun, threw on a shower cap and went about my business. I left it on for 45 min while my son and I had a rip roaring good time playing Chutes and Ladders.
The Verdict: I washed my hair twice then styled it like usual. I was amazed at how soft it was. I couldn't keep my hands away from my hair. BUT, it wasn't a "wow my hair is so healthy" kind of soft, it was more of a "I have coconut oil residue in my hair" soft. When I washed my hair again it felt the same as it always does.
So even though my hair felt great, I would say this is a bust since the softness only lasted through one wash. Although, I may try it again and use the blow dryer next time. Using heat could make a big difference.
Coconut Oil Moisture Treatment
You Will Need:
Coconut oil
Hair clip
Shower clip
Blow dryer (optional)
Directions:
Flip your head upside down and rub the oil into your hair, saturating it completely. Once your hair is soaked with oil, twist your hair into a bun or ponytail. You can clip it in place by grabbing some hair from your scalp and part of the bun, or use a hair tie to keep it in place. Cover your hair with a shower cap. You can choose to apply heat or not. Applying heat will open the cuticle of each strand so the coconut oil can penetrate the core faster. Leave the coconut oil on your hair for at least 30 minutes without heat, or 15 minutes with heat. You can use a hair dryer to apply heat over the shower cap. Once your time is up wash and condition your hair as you normally would. You may need to wash your hair twice to rinse away all of the oil.
Even though my hair is short, it's abnormally thick so I ended up using twice this amount.
So even though my hair felt great, I would say this is a bust since the softness only lasted through one wash. Although, I may try it again and use the blow dryer next time. Using heat could make a big difference.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Book Safe
When I was younger I had a strange obsession with catalogs. I would hide them in my bed and look at every picture in each catalog before going to sleep. While most girls my age were reading The Babysitters Club, I was checking out what new erasers Oriental Trading was selling. One day I saw a picture of a book safe. It was a book you could hide on your book shelf, but instead of pages there was a secret door that you could hide things in.
I thought it was the most incredible thing and HAD to have one. So I saved my pennies, filled out the card and waited the 6-8 weeks for that book to arrive in the mail. Needless to say, when that book safe arrived I was pretty disappointed. My super sweet mysterious book turned out to be a pathetic looking piece of plastic that had no resemblance to a book.
Recently, when I saw a Pin about making my own book safe I knew I had to do it. Not because I was planning on actually hiding things in it, but I needed to finally have my cool book safe so I could close the chapter on that part of my life (pun intended).
DIY Book Safe
You Will Need:
Hardcover book
Glue
Paint brush
Wax paper
Xacto knife
Metal ruler
Directions:
Lay the pages on any wax paper-lined surface with an edge. Pin the first few pages of the book to the front and rear covers and weigh the rest of the pages down so they don’t move. Mix some glue and water together. I used about a 4:1 ratio of wood glue to water (if you’re making one book, you should mix one tablespoon of glue with 3/4 teaspoon of water). Glue the outer edges of the pages together with a brush to ensure that the pages don’t move when you cut them out later on.When you’ve put on a thick coat, unclip the covers and let the rear cover hang off the edge. Place some wax paper between the clean pages/front cover and the glued pages to separate them. Weigh down the book so the wet pages don’t wrinkle and swell.After a couple of hours, put on a second coat of glue and let it dry overnight. Don’t throw the wax paper away after this step. You’ll use it later on. The glue dries pretty clear and should hold the pages firmly. To cut out the cavity, use a metal ruler to make straight cuts with an Xacto knife. Buy extra blades; it’s worth it. After you’ve cut fifty pages or so, you can stop using the ruler. This is tedious work, but you have to be patient and take your time or else the cuts will become uneven and angled. Go into this step knowing it’ll take about forty-five minutes to finish. When you get near the bottom cover, insert a sheet pan or something else you don’t mind scraping up between the pages and the back cover. This is to keep the inside of your book nice and neat. Once the cavity is cut out and you’ve cleaned up the edges with your Xacto knife, it’s time to glue again. Mix another batch of the glue/water mixture. Put your book back on the wax paper with the bottom cover hanging over the edge. Brush the glue all over the inner pages. If you glued the back cover to the pages now, the excess glue would pool inside your safe. The glue will hide most of your imperfections when it dries. Put on a thick coat and place the wax paper between the glued pages and the clean pages/front cover. Let it dry overnight under a heavy weight, just like before. The next day, all you have to do is glue the back cover to the glued pages and glue the first clean page over the cavity to hide your errant cuts. Weigh the book down again and let the glue dry for a few hours. When the glue is dry, cut the top page to reveal the cavity
I searched my book collection and found one that I knew I wouldn't be reading again.
I pinned the front and back cover together and included the first few pages of the book.
I mixed some Elmer's glue and water and painted it all over the edges
I undid the clip that was holding the covers together, put some wax paper all around the glued areas then put a box of china on top of the book. It was the heaviest thing I could find.
A few hours later I put a second coat of glue on, then I let it sit over night.
Using a metal ruler as a guide I started to cut away at the pages. I was able to cut through about 10 pages at a time. After about 50 pages I stopped using the ruler because it was deep enough that the previous cut papers could be a guide.
So I cut, then cut, cut some more, cursed, screamed, cried and wondered why in the world I was doing this.
On the bright side, the outside of the book looks perfectly normal. Can you guess which one it is?
So what did I learn from all this? Use a thin book. Around page 300 is when things went from simple to hard, my book was about 700 pages.
I thought it was the most incredible thing and HAD to have one. So I saved my pennies, filled out the card and waited the 6-8 weeks for that book to arrive in the mail. Needless to say, when that book safe arrived I was pretty disappointed. My super sweet mysterious book turned out to be a pathetic looking piece of plastic that had no resemblance to a book.
Recently, when I saw a Pin about making my own book safe I knew I had to do it. Not because I was planning on actually hiding things in it, but I needed to finally have my cool book safe so I could close the chapter on that part of my life (pun intended).
DIY Book Safe
You Will Need:
Hardcover book
Glue
Paint brush
Wax paper
Xacto knife
Metal ruler
Directions:
Lay the pages on any wax paper-lined surface with an edge. Pin the first few pages of the book to the front and rear covers and weigh the rest of the pages down so they don’t move. Mix some glue and water together. I used about a 4:1 ratio of wood glue to water (if you’re making one book, you should mix one tablespoon of glue with 3/4 teaspoon of water). Glue the outer edges of the pages together with a brush to ensure that the pages don’t move when you cut them out later on.When you’ve put on a thick coat, unclip the covers and let the rear cover hang off the edge. Place some wax paper between the clean pages/front cover and the glued pages to separate them. Weigh down the book so the wet pages don’t wrinkle and swell.After a couple of hours, put on a second coat of glue and let it dry overnight. Don’t throw the wax paper away after this step. You’ll use it later on. The glue dries pretty clear and should hold the pages firmly. To cut out the cavity, use a metal ruler to make straight cuts with an Xacto knife. Buy extra blades; it’s worth it. After you’ve cut fifty pages or so, you can stop using the ruler. This is tedious work, but you have to be patient and take your time or else the cuts will become uneven and angled. Go into this step knowing it’ll take about forty-five minutes to finish. When you get near the bottom cover, insert a sheet pan or something else you don’t mind scraping up between the pages and the back cover. This is to keep the inside of your book nice and neat. Once the cavity is cut out and you’ve cleaned up the edges with your Xacto knife, it’s time to glue again. Mix another batch of the glue/water mixture. Put your book back on the wax paper with the bottom cover hanging over the edge. Brush the glue all over the inner pages. If you glued the back cover to the pages now, the excess glue would pool inside your safe. The glue will hide most of your imperfections when it dries. Put on a thick coat and place the wax paper between the glued pages and the clean pages/front cover. Let it dry overnight under a heavy weight, just like before. The next day, all you have to do is glue the back cover to the glued pages and glue the first clean page over the cavity to hide your errant cuts. Weigh the book down again and let the glue dry for a few hours. When the glue is dry, cut the top page to reveal the cavity
I searched my book collection and found one that I knew I wouldn't be reading again.
I pinned the front and back cover together and included the first few pages of the book.
I mixed some Elmer's glue and water and painted it all over the edges
I undid the clip that was holding the covers together, put some wax paper all around the glued areas then put a box of china on top of the book. It was the heaviest thing I could find.
So I cut, then cut, cut some more, cursed, screamed, cried and wondered why in the world I was doing this.
The Verdict: This took me many, many hours over the course of 3 days. The deeper I got the harder it was to get the razor in and the harder it was to cut straight lines. Part of the problem could be that I had a thick utility razor instead of an Xacto knife. But it was also harder to get my fingers around the cut edges to pull the pages out.
About halfway through, this book started to put up such a huge fight that I'm pretty sure I saw the face of Tom Riddle laughing at me.
The edges started to fray really bad and I eventually got so annoyed at them that I got a lighter and burned them away so by the time I was done I was left with a pretty unappealing mess.
On the bright side, the outside of the book looks perfectly normal. Can you guess which one it is?
So what did I learn from all this? Use a thin book. Around page 300 is when things went from simple to hard, my book was about 700 pages.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Simply Smoking Weed Killer
Last October I attempted a homemade weed killer that failed miserably. I was so annoyed at those mutant weeds that I spent all winter planning their demise. Well little plants, it's spring, and you have sprung, and now it's time for you to run.
When I started to look for another weed killer I knew I needed something different, something that didn't have vinegar or salt in it because clearly that didn't work last time.
Simply Smoking Week Killer
You Will Need:
Boiling water
Pour boiling water on the weeds! Within a few hours, the plants will be dead, their leaves and roots shriveled up, brown and cooked. The hot water kills them from the inside out.
If your like me your probably a bit skeptical. Just boiling water? That's it? Worth a shot.
So I boiled a huge pot of water then carried it outside. I poured enough water on each weed to fully saturate it, and the ground around it. Several hours later I went back outside to see if those suckers were still holding on.
The Verdict: SUCCESS!!!! Take THAT you vile fiends. (I really don't like weeds if you couldn't tell.) Those plants shriveled up and died, roots and all.
Unfortunately this method kills pretty much all living plants, so you have to be careful where you pour it. And if your smarter then me, which I'm pretty sure you are, then you will get close to the ground before pouring the water as to avoid splashing on your unprotected toes.
When I started to look for another weed killer I knew I needed something different, something that didn't have vinegar or salt in it because clearly that didn't work last time.
Simply Smoking Week Killer
You Will Need:
Boiling water
Pour boiling water on the weeds! Within a few hours, the plants will be dead, their leaves and roots shriveled up, brown and cooked. The hot water kills them from the inside out.
If your like me your probably a bit skeptical. Just boiling water? That's it? Worth a shot.
So I boiled a huge pot of water then carried it outside. I poured enough water on each weed to fully saturate it, and the ground around it. Several hours later I went back outside to see if those suckers were still holding on.
The Verdict: SUCCESS!!!! Take THAT you vile fiends. (I really don't like weeds if you couldn't tell.) Those plants shriveled up and died, roots and all.
Unfortunately this method kills pretty much all living plants, so you have to be careful where you pour it. And if your smarter then me, which I'm pretty sure you are, then you will get close to the ground before pouring the water as to avoid splashing on your unprotected toes.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Cutting Glass Bottles with Fire
Is it just me, or is there something really alluring about fire? There is a sense of satisfaction that comes with starting a big camp fire then sitting back and being hypnotized by the flames.
When I saw a Pin about cutting a glass bottle with fire I immediately ran around the house to find all the materials I needed. Maybe I should be slightly concern with out excited I was to play with fire.
Cutting Glass Bottles
You Will Need:
glass bottles
yarn
nail polish remover
lighter
sink full of ice water
sandpaper
Directions:
Wrap the cotton yarn around your bottle 5-6 times, tie and cut ends. You can also braid three pieces together and tie that around the bottle. Slide yarn off of the bottle. Dip yarn in nail polish remover. I filled a bowl with nail polish remover and let the yarn sit in it for a few seconds to make sure it was fully saturated. Slide the wet yarn back onto the bottle. NOTE: The bottle will be cut wherever you place the yarn, so make sure it is as straight as possible. Holding the bottle sideways from the mouth, light the yarn on fire. ****Please please be careful!**** Only the wet yarn will be lit on fire and the flame is very well controlled. Rotate the bottle in circles as the yarn is on fire for 20-30 seconds so that all parts of the bottle warm evenly. Holding each end of the bottle, submerge in cold water and watch the bottle parts separate. Use sand paper to smooth rough edges.
The only glass bottle I had in the house was a maple syrup bottle. I didn't have cotton yarn so I grabbed regular string and...... long story short it didn't work. You have to use cotton yarn in order for this to work.
So I loaded up the kids and went to the store. Yep, I loaded up two kids to drive to the store just to get some yarn. Seriously, I might have a problem.
After wrapping the yarn around the bottle a few times, I took it off then soaked it in nail polish remover. I then forced the yarn back onto the bottle.
I sent the kids outside, grabbed the lighter and the fireworks began.
Check out the massive flame. I was a bit worried and was
really glad that I was holding it over a sink full of water just in case things got out of control.
I rotated the bottle in a circle until the flame died out. It was around 25 rotations. I dunked the bottle into the ice water, grabbed the other end and pulled. It was the strangest feeling. If felt like gum was holding the two pieces together, so the pieces sort of oozed away from each other then suddenly popped off.
The Verdict: Ummm, clearly something went wrong. Instead of a nice drinking glass, I got a torture device.
You mean I get to try again!!!! Awesome!!!! (is there a pyro anonymous group?) I didn't have any other glass bottles so I asked my neighbor if she had some old ones kicking around. Fortunately for me, she did.
I went through the same method, and the first dunk into the water nothing happened. So I got to had to dry off the bottle and start again.
The Verdict: Much better. The cut spot is a bit uneven but at least there aren't horrible jagged edges.
I used a really fine grit of sand paper to sand around the edges and it smoothed up nicely. I would still be a bit nervous drinking out of it, but I think it's more of a physiological fear.
I dont' know if my first bottle failed because of the type of glass, but this could be a fun way to make things like vases or center pieces, just be prepared for it to take a few tries to get it right.
When I saw a Pin about cutting a glass bottle with fire I immediately ran around the house to find all the materials I needed. Maybe I should be slightly concern with out excited I was to play with fire.
Cutting Glass Bottles
You Will Need:
glass bottles
yarn
nail polish remover
lighter
sink full of ice water
sandpaper
Directions:
Wrap the cotton yarn around your bottle 5-6 times, tie and cut ends. You can also braid three pieces together and tie that around the bottle. Slide yarn off of the bottle. Dip yarn in nail polish remover. I filled a bowl with nail polish remover and let the yarn sit in it for a few seconds to make sure it was fully saturated. Slide the wet yarn back onto the bottle. NOTE: The bottle will be cut wherever you place the yarn, so make sure it is as straight as possible. Holding the bottle sideways from the mouth, light the yarn on fire. ****Please please be careful!**** Only the wet yarn will be lit on fire and the flame is very well controlled. Rotate the bottle in circles as the yarn is on fire for 20-30 seconds so that all parts of the bottle warm evenly. Holding each end of the bottle, submerge in cold water and watch the bottle parts separate. Use sand paper to smooth rough edges.
The only glass bottle I had in the house was a maple syrup bottle. I didn't have cotton yarn so I grabbed regular string and...... long story short it didn't work. You have to use cotton yarn in order for this to work.
So I loaded up the kids and went to the store. Yep, I loaded up two kids to drive to the store just to get some yarn. Seriously, I might have a problem.
After wrapping the yarn around the bottle a few times, I took it off then soaked it in nail polish remover. I then forced the yarn back onto the bottle.
I sent the kids outside, grabbed the lighter and the fireworks began.
I rotated the bottle in a circle until the flame died out. It was around 25 rotations. I dunked the bottle into the ice water, grabbed the other end and pulled. It was the strangest feeling. If felt like gum was holding the two pieces together, so the pieces sort of oozed away from each other then suddenly popped off.
The Verdict: Ummm, clearly something went wrong. Instead of a nice drinking glass, I got a torture device.
You mean I get to try again!!!! Awesome!!!! (is there a pyro anonymous group?) I didn't have any other glass bottles so I asked my neighbor if she had some old ones kicking around. Fortunately for me, she did.
I went through the same method, and the first dunk into the water nothing happened. So I
The Verdict: Much better. The cut spot is a bit uneven but at least there aren't horrible jagged edges.
I dont' know if my first bottle failed because of the type of glass, but this could be a fun way to make things like vases or center pieces, just be prepared for it to take a few tries to get it right.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Baking Soda Laundry Detergent
My sister sent me a website that had several different homemade laundry detergents. For the most part they all had the three basic ingredients (washing soda, borax and soap) but with a variation on the amount. I saw two that caught my eye and I decided to try them. As of now I have only tried one of them so I'll share what I think and it then do another post about the other one.
Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent #8
Ingredients:
2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this time–not washing soda)
Directions
Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until melted. In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted mixture, stir well. Then add the baking soda, stir well again. Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.
I decided to half the recipe just in case it didn't work (spoiler alert: I'm SO glad I did that) so I broke a Fels-Naptha bar in half, then broke that half into pieces and put it in my food processor. On the slight chance that any of you remember that my husbands skin doesn't appreciate the Fels-Naptha bar, have no fear, due to his lack of desire to let his cloths be guinea pigs, he is now doing all of his own laundry. It's a win win situation.
The Verdict: NO! It did absolutely nothing. I decided to try and give it a second chance, so I ran the same load of laundry again and used 2 cups of this detergent. Not only did it still not work, but the urine smell that was on my daughters clothes was now all over everything else. Throwing my clothes on the ground and spraying them with a garden hose would be more effective then this. I'm glad I halved it, that way I didn't feel to bad when I disposed of it.
Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent #8
Ingredients:
2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this time–not washing soda)
Directions
Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until melted. In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted mixture, stir well. Then add the baking soda, stir well again. Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.
I decided to half the recipe just in case it didn't work (spoiler alert: I'm SO glad I did that) so I broke a Fels-Naptha bar in half, then broke that half into pieces and put it in my food processor. On the slight chance that any of you remember that my husbands skin doesn't appreciate the Fels-Naptha bar, have no fear, due to his lack of desire to let his cloths be guinea pigs, he is now doing all of his own laundry. It's a win win situation.
This was my first time trying to melt Fels-Naptha in a pot and I couldn't believe how long it took. I can now appreciate the expression "I slaved over a hot stove all day!"
Once it was finally melted, I mixed all the ingredients together and let it cool.
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