December 19, 2010
December 1, 2010
Making Our Own Gingerbread House
1/2 cup butter, margarine or shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
In a large mixing bowl beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until fluffy - at least three minutes. Add molasses and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to the batter a little at a time, mixing in each addition. You will have to use your hands to work in the last additions (Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes)
Note: This is enough for a small gingerbread house. Double the recipe if you want something bigger or you want the walls thicker
Royal Icing For Decorating Gingerbread House
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cream of tartar
3 egg whites
Beat all ingredients until very stiff. Use as glue for assembling house. Icing will harden as it sits, so add a few drops of water as needed. Use assorted candies to decorate house
November 20, 2010
Natural Bubble Baths
Sweet Dreams Bubble Bath
This bubble bath has lavender and patchouli oils to relax you before bedtime. Use soft music and lighted candles in your bathroom for a soothing effect.
6 drops of lavender oil
3 drops of patchouli oil
1 quart of distilled water
1 bar of castille soap. (4 oz. Bar)
4 ounces liquid glycerin
Directions: mix the water, soap and glycerin together and stir. Now add your essential oils to the mixture.
Cold Season Bubble Bath
This bubble bath will help you breathe easier, with eucalyptus oil to ease the cold congestion. This is perfect for the cold season.
6 drops of eucalyptus oil
3 drops of spearmint oil
3 drops of peppermint oil
1 quart of distilled water
1 bar of castille soap. (4 oz. Bar)
4 ounces liquid glycerin
Directions: mix the water, soap and glycerin together and stir. Now add your essential oils to the mixture.
Pure Sunshine Bubble Bath
This citrusy bubble bath will cheer you up and energize you. Perfect for a morning bath or use after exercising.
6 drops of orange oil
4 drops of grapefruit oil
3 drops of lemon oil
1 quart of distilled water
1 bar of castille soap. (4 oz. Bar)
4 ounces liquid glycerin
Directions: mix the water, soap and glycerin together and stir. Now add your essential oils to the mixture.
Love Potion Bubble Bath
This bubble bath will put you in a romantic mood. All of the ingredients are considered known aphrodisiac – so look out!
6 drops jasmine oil
3 drops rose oil
3 drops vanilla oil
6 drops ylang ylang oil
1 quart of distilled water
1 bar of castille soap. (4 oz. Bar)
4 ounces liquid glycerin
November 18, 2010
Quilting Help
November 13, 2010
Hair: Side Bun
October 23, 2010
DYI: Halloween Votives
Aren't these great?! I love these! I think I might just make them! I was looking for some sort of Halloween decor without spending a lot of money so this is perfect! Check out the full DYI post here!
October 9, 2010
DYI: Old Photo Frame to New Tray
October 7, 2010
DYI: Book Ring Holder
I think I might do this if I need to host another shower sometime!
September 18, 2010
DYI: Vermicomposting
So here is my little DYI on having a mini composting system under your kitchen sink!
1) Get a bin (I got mine at Canadian Tire, $3) and some dirt (Dollarama $1)
3) Put a little dirt in the bottom of the bin and spreed it evenly.
4) Buy some worms or get some from a friend (complete with a little compost to make it not so hard for them to get used to their new home)
5) Mix them in with the soil a little
6) Cut some strips of news paper. It has to be a sort of raw paper, so news paper seems to be perfect.
7) Put the strips of paper over the top of the worms and dirt
8)Put the lid on and store under your sink.
Pretty easy right?
Depending on the size of your bin (mine's pretty small, but I'm thinking of up-sizing) you may only have to feed them twice a month (I feed mine about two banana peals and a couple of cucumber ends a month and they're happy as can be!)
Some things they really like:
Banana peals
Coffee grind
Cucumber ends
Apple peals
Egg shells (it's good to crush these up pretty good to make it easier on them to eat)
Always keep news paper pieces on top. They eat that as a sort of palette cleanser and it helps them digest everything.
I hope this post was helpful! And if you're like me and would rather see a video to help me really visualize things here are a couple of great ones!
Happy vermicomposting!
I shared this post at: Tutorial Tuesdays
September 7, 2010
DYI: Fabric Wedding Banner
What's your new DYI project you're taking on? Or want to?
August 24, 2010
August 13, 2010
Make your own laundry detergent
How to Make Homemade Laundry Soap from Tonia on Vimeo.
I've been having these really crazy rashes. At first we thought it was bed bugs (there has been some on our floor in our old apartment). We did everything to get rid of them (if it was that) sprays, washed every thing, got a new mattress (we needed one anyway) and still the rash was there. Thankfully it wasn't the bugs, but now it's looking like I'm allergic to the detergent we were using! So on goes another attempt to figure it out, and my search for an alternative lead me to this! I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to!
August 10, 2010
Tutorial: Vintage Record Bowl
July 15, 2010
Vegan Red Velvet Cake
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp red food colouring (look out for the one where the colour is made from Red #40 (coal derivative) not cochineal/carmine (bug derivative)
June 28, 2010
DYI: Bows
Check out the post on Ruffled for the full DYI! And check out my gift wrapping post for more ideas!
May 17, 2010
DYI: Candle Holders
May 12, 2010
Tutorial: How to Make a Cupcake Tier
April 26, 2010
DYI Phone Wall Idea For Your Wedding
I saw this on Ruffled and thought it was the coolest idea. Check out the post for all the details and how tos.