A Little Dirty Laundry

So if you've been out in the blogosphere lately, or just cruising on Pinterest, I KNOW you've seen all the posts about homemade laundry detergent.  Well, I too made a batch a while ago, and found I quite liked it, yet felt it was missing something.

First, let me say I didn't try this for economy sakes, but rather an interest of "does it really work".  And if so, the economic part is a plus, but I will be especially happy to be rid of the plastic jugs.  I recycle, but still hate seeing those plastic jugs...

So the first batch I made with a bar of Ivory soap and 2 cups each of Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.  I like it just fine, and is a great virtually unscented option.  But I like fragrance, so after seeing a few pictures on Pinterest, I gathered some new ingredients:

Note the addition of the Oxi-Clean and the Purex Scent Crystals , which is a fragrance additive for laundry (NOTE: if you are sensitive to fragrances, SKIP THIS, as it's quite strong and overpowering, though smells nice on the clean laundry).  I also threw in a box of plain old baking soda, which is supposed to help clean and soften.

Then I grated up 2 bars of Fels-Naptha, to try a different soap:

This also adds some fragrance.  Throw it all in a big container and mix.  Or, if you're like me and realize a partially opened box of Borax gets clumpy, you break out the immersion blender and go to town.

Careful if you do this - it's messy and creates a ton of dust, but it was effective!  I then added all the other items in the picture and mixed and mixed, and voila:

Since I only had about a cup left of my earlier Ivory soap batch, I threw that in here as well.  

To put the quantity into perspective, I mixed this all up in a 2.4 gallon Rubbermaid container.  It's full.  And the best part? You only need 1-2 Tablespoons PER LOAD.  I just kept the Oxi-Clean scooper and use that.  

How does it work? Well, first, I have a High-Efficiency Front Load washer, which are supposed to be finicky when it comes to detergent. So far I haven't had any issues with EITHER version of the soap.  And I almost always wash on the cold cycle.  And so far, my clothes are super soft, very clean, and smell great.  I'm actually really, shockingly, pleased with it.  

How long does it take to make it? Not long.  The longest process is grating the bar soap - maybe 10 minutes of grating by hand, which I could skip if I would just use my Food Processor, but it's a FOOD processor and I can't bring myself to use it on soap.  I would say start to finish, it was MAYBE a 20 minute process. And I estimate I have enough soap to last at least a few months, if not longer (whereas a bottle would last me a couple weeks...).

And finally, cost? Well, here is where you will have to google and see what others tell you.  I'm not a math person, and frankly it was more about the "huh, what's that like?" than anything else.  But I HAVE read others say it works out to just a few cents per load, so assuming their math is spot-on, it's a good deal. :)

Bottom line - it was fun to make something useful, and especially fun once I realized I loved the results.  I honestly think this is the best laundry soap I've used yet. Smells good, cleaned well, and left clothes and towels soft and fluffy, without the Snuggle Bear. :)

Two Months Passed...

Eesh, I can't believe it has been a full two months since my last post! But I suppose that's what happens when life smacks you full on.  So, what has happened during the last 2 months?  Well....

As you know, I'm getting married in August, so crafting and planning and scheming, oh my.  I've truly gone insane with the DIY and details. I'll try to post more this week, and catch you up on some of the latest here.

And there was May...which my fiancé decided to kick-off with a heart attack.  Talk about throwing a wrench into things... ;) Truly we are blessed that he is A-ok now.  But the "event" did culminate with an unplanned trip back east, hanging out bedside in ICU. Always fun. Again, VERY blessed.  You wouldn't know anything was wrong with him now.  Thank you Lord! :)

On top of all that madness, I'm still in school.  That's been a nightmare all on its own... :)

But let's talk projects, because really, that's what it's all about!

Here I am brewing the beer for the wedding - so much fun!!

3 weeks and 3 hours of bottling later, the car is loaded with 12 cases of freshly made beer!

And the final product - complete with custom labels, courtesy of To Make Beer, over on Etsy.  And the super awesome beer carriers, with openers built into the handles, you can find those over on Etsy too!  Check out Cold Creek Brewing for all sorts of awesome wooden goodness! :)

I've also been working on the drink ware...  It all started with this Christmas gift from my friend Becky over at The Barefoot Seamstress.

I wanted to get more for the wine, but they're selling for $12 each...and I just thought, well, surely I can glue a candlestick to the jar?  Turns out, I can.  Quite easily in face. ONCE you have the proper glue.  Do NOT use super glue - it turns cloudy and actually breaks loose after a couple days.  What you want is this stuff:

You can get the E-6000 at Michael's or Joann's, but not at Home Depot (note to self). It dries clear like silicone. Super quick and easy, and now I have 2 dozen of the hillbilly glasses for the wine table. :) Oh and I got the candlesticks at www.save-on-crafts.com - seriously my FAVORITE store.  I've been shopping there for a couple years and always find the best deals and coolest items. Love it!

I also got these super cute arrow signs from Save-on-Crafts.  I stained them with coffee (yes, coffee. In fact, coffee left over from my Saturday morning) and then used my new wood burner to make a bunch of direction signs for the ceremony and reception.

And I will conclude this overly long post with a picture of my ever-expanding jar collection.  A small sampling of my jars all cleaned and ready for wildflowers. :)

So, thanks for sticking with me.  I will try try try to be more timely with my updates! :)

Some Days Just Call For Pie....

Yesterday was virtually a lost day.  I'm generally up and about no later than 8am on the weekends, but yesterday I slept in until after 11am.  A solid twelve hours of sleep, which my body must have been in need of.  It felt good, but the day was nearly shot, though I did manage a trip to the hardware store and nursery for a few new plants, so not a total loss.

Today I was back to my usual self - up and at 'em by 7:30.

I started by breaking out the fabric pennants I've been working on for the wedding.

Only a few hundred left to go! :)

After sewing most of the day, I felt compelled to bake something.  I've been on a strict diet (aren't all brides??) which doesn't allow for...well, certainly not baked goods!  Plus it's been AGES since I baked for me.  

So to the freezer for the strawberries from my fall bounty - small and sweet and scrumptious!  

And a little of my rhubarb.  I LOVE rhubarb.

I tossed in about 1/2 Cup of sugar and 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch, along with a dash or 4 of Cinnamon.  These are not exacting measurements, as I was baking for myself.  I tend to like things a little tart. ;)

Then I whipped up some pie crest, and pulled together these little mini pies, using a muffin tin.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, and then yum!

Tart, berry goodness!!  I confess, I ate 3...before dinner. ;)

A whirlwind catch-up

WHEW!  I have NO idea where the time has gone, other than far, far, away...

Between traveling for work, attending school, and planning my wedding, my life has become overwhelmingly busy.  But in a good way.

To prove to ya'll I AM still crafting away, here are a few samples of things I've been working on for the wedding.  Much more to come, I promise. ;)

Our invitations are being custom designed by my favorite artist, R. Nichols.  This is SUCH an honor for us and I'm BEYOND excited.  While we wait on them to be completed, I bought his blank notecards to create our "Save the Date" cards.  I ordered a lovely stamp from Etsy and got to stamping! So fun.

Every out of town wedding needs gift bags for friends and families.  While a sane bride when order something easy, I'm not remotely sane with this wedding.  So naturally I ordered a case(!?!?!) of canvas bags, dragged out my Cricut, created a design...and then altered it slightly to include 2 birds instead of one.  And then I got to painting...and painting. And painting.

I'm also making my social jams for the wedding favors.  I've been collecting antique demitasse spoons for the last year to tie to each favor.  And then the favor tags...which I hand stamped. Each. And. Every. Letter.  With a little washi tape for color.  These tags too literally FFFOOOOORRRRREEEEEVVVVEEERRR to make.  But I love them. :)

So as you can see I have been ANYTHING but lazy. :)  More to come, and hopefully a bit more timely ;)

A Sweet Little Something

It's been forever since I've added a post!  I've been a busy girl, what with the holidays, end of semester at school and, oh yes, planning my WEDDING!  Way too much going on, but I'm trying to make time for my blog, because I enjoy it so much.

I have a bunch of posts "pending", but wanted to get this little ditty out there.  Here in the PNW we are experiencing a major snow/ice storm, so I've been trapped in the house for days.  Yesterday in my Etsy email was a cute post for heart shaped sugar cubes.  I LOVE sugar cubes.  But $50 for 100 cubes seemed insane.  So I Googled....and realized how simple they are to make.  Sugar, a little food coloring and a teaspoon of water.  Easy Peasy!

So half a cup sugar, and a couple drops food coloring...

Then add about half teaspoon water, and mix until you get the consistency of damp sand.  Not quite as wet as sand for a sand castle, but close.  Add water carefully as too much and it disolves the sugar.

I have these little heart candy molds from back when I thought I'd tackle candy making, which work as beautiful little molds.

Let them dry a few minutes in the mold, then carefully remove from the molds.  Let air dry about an hour, and voila!  Sugar cubes!

Halloweeney Cakey Goodness

I love this time of year.  I hate the weather, the shorter days, and the constant rain.  But I LOVE the holidays.  They are the perfect excuse to try new recipes and bake something good.

Since Halloween falls on a Monday this year, we are having some office fun tomorrow.  So I got started early this morning to create some fun goodies.  First up - Pumpkin Spice Vampire Bites.

Next I needed to make chocolate chocolate chip spider cakes, to showcase my super cute spider leg cupcake holders from Crate and Barrel.

And last but not least, my lemon Mummy cake.

Happy Halloween Ya'll! :)

Fuzzy Buzzy Limoncello

A couple months back I posted about some of my boozy infusions...Blueberry Vodka.  Cherry Bounce.  Raspberry Liqueur.  A couple are still doing their boozy thing, holding tight for holiday time, when they should come right into prime time.

But after two months of infusing, my Honey Limoncello was ready to shine.

I strained the lemons out, and ran it thru cheesecloth.  Gorgeous.  Then I placed the lemons and water in a pan over medium heat and mashed the hell out of them, extracting more pulp and lemony goodness, and strained the liquid into the liqueur.

Next I added a simple syrup made with honey, and poured into the cutest flask jars.

Now, full disclosure on how I achieved this deliciousness.  There are many recipes out there for limoncello.  Past experience has produced an overly sweet liqueur, too over-powering to consume.  Just not good.  I am happy to report this process was a happy mistake.  When mixing everything together, I had forgotten that I doubled the recipe when infusing the lemons, and only made a single batch of the honey simple syrup (roughly 1 cup honey simmered in 1 cup water).  The result was delightful, and those who have tried it concurred, so I think I have a winner.  This produced a dozen flasks, which are stored in the fridge for gift-giving time.  Assuming it lasts that long. :)