Great Idea For Old (And New) T-Shirts

Do you have a T-shirt that is washed out but you still love it? Or do you have a design that you would love to put on a t-shirt. Well I have a great solution!

About a month ago the we were planning the PTO's annual walkathon. Jennifer and myself were trying to figure out a t-shirt design that was A. cost effective and B. different from last year. We would make shirts for the board members to wear on the day of the walkathon and then we would make one for each student that raise more than$50. While looking on pintrest I found the perfect idea.

All you need is a t-shirt, a bleach gel pen (for whites) and you design. You can either free hand or use a stencil. Place wax paper or card board on the inside of your shirt. Place the stencil where you want the design and then color in using the bleach pen. Or begin drawing free hand with the bleach pen. Then let it sit. The longer you let it sit the lighter the color will be. Once it is the color you want rinse the shirt in the sink. Some people just put the shirt in the washer and wash it alone with no other shirts. However I prefer to wash the shirt by hand the first time. Once I finished washing the shirt by hand I wrung the shirt out and then placed it in the dryer. You can wash the shirt either way. The gel does not run and will stay in the spot you put it. When I went to wash the shirt after wearing it, I did wash it in the washer alone just in case. However every time I wash it after I was able to wash it with other clothes without a problem. Below is a picture of the shirt that I made for the walkathon.

Creative Candle: Great Gift at a Low Cost

I was looking for a gift that was inexpensive for the kids to give the school secretaries. I was searching on pintrest and came across a candle craft. This craft the kids can draw a picture or you can create a poem or picture and print it out. Because you are printing on tissue paper you need to use an ink jet printer only, NOT a laser printer. I also tried this with photos too. Just print the picture onto tissue paper using the directions below:)

Supplies:

                                                        regular paper
                                                         tissue paper
                                                              tape
                                                    sharpies or markers
                                                             a candle
                                                           wax paper
                                                         and a heat gun

1. Tape a piece of tissue paper to a piece of copy paper. The tissue paper size should have a maximum size of your candle.  Make sure it is taped tightly to the paper especially if you are going to print your picture or poem.  

2. Either have you or the kids draw the picture or write the words you want on the candle. Or set the paper in your printer and hit print.

3.   Cut out your design, and place it on to your candle.  It is important to cut away as much of the excess tissue paper as you can.

4. Then take a piece of wax paper that is larger than your candle.  Pull it tight around your candle,(wax side down)  and use your heat gun to melt your design into the candle.  Moving the heat gun in a back and forth motion for about 30-40 seconds.  Be careful of your fingers, the heat gun will be hot. Also do not go longer than the 40 seconds or you will start to melt the candle itself.

5. After the 30-40 seconds gently peel back your wax paper and make sure the entire design is adhered to the candle.  If not just repeat with the wax paper and heat gun.

After you follow these steps then you can wrap the candle up and give as a gift. I may update this blog eventually. I will be trying to print a family picture out on the tissue paper and attach it to a candle. That would make a really cool gift.

Homemade Body Wash

I have very sensitive skin when it comes to body wash, so I cannot go and buy the cheap liquid body wash at the stores. So I found on pintrest a very simple way to make liquid body wash with any kind of bar soap. My favorite soap to use is dove. The liquid soap for roughly 32 ounces is around $6 or $7 a bottle and lasts me about 2 -3 weeks. I bought a package of 6 bars of the Dove bar soap for $6. I also bought 2 two packs of the Dove Men +Care Deep clean for my husband, this also cost a total of $6.

The recipe is very simple. All you need is 3 bars of soap and 6 cups of water and you get about 48 ounces of body wash. So I only use 1/2 of the package of soap I bought so that is $3 for 48 ounces compared to $6 or $7 for 32 ounces. The bar soap is just as good as the body wash on your skin. Below is the recipe and some pictures.

I love this body wash. It was so easy to make, saves me money and works just as good as the liquid body wash you buy off the stores shelves. 

Body Wash

6 Cups of Water

3 Bars of Soap (any bar will do)

Shred all three bars of soap using a cheese shredder or peeler. In a pan bring the 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the shredded soap. Cook on medium heat until all of the soap is dissolved. Turn off heat. Let the soap cool. When it is cool enough to touch add to any soap container of your choosing (I used an empty shampoo bottle and re-labeled the container). The soap will thicken as it cools and will continue to thicken up to 24 hours later. If it gets too thick you can add more water (just a little at a time while you stir). I did not have to add anymore water to mine. Then it is ready to use!

 

Creative Use For Bunk Bed Ladders: Bookshelves

In my family I am an avid reader. I love books. David knows that if we go to the bookstore it could be anywhere from an hour to three hour trip; so he makes sure he has other stores to visit while I am in the bookstore. My favorite place to work at the school is the library. Needless to say I own a small library of my own. I have filled every bookshelf I own including the ones in the kids rooms. I have books that range from pre-school to adult. Not only do the kids read the books but I also will read a book more than once so I refuse to pack any away into the closet. One day when David was taking a trip to the dumpster he spotted 3 bunk bed ladders with no bunk bed. Knowing I was running out of room for my books; he got an idea. He brought home the ladders and said, " Honey here are your new book shelves." At first I though he was crazy but now that they are done I love them. 

David bought  12 brackets (small ones). He placed the ladders up against the wall and attached them using the brackets. The ladders stick out only a few short inches from the wall. After they were hung I was able to put up my books. I did use one of the ladders for our DVD's instead of books. I have not filled these shelves yet. It may take me awhile but I am sure one day these shelves will be filled too.

Blue Springs State Park

The one thing I love about about Florida is the beautiful springs that are here. You have Kelly Park (AKA Rock Springs),  Rainbow Springs, Alexander Springs, and Wekiva Springs to name a few. My favorite place is Blue Springs. Nestled away in Deland, not far from our favorite park Hontoon Island. These springs are as rich in history as it is in beauty. There is a very deep cavern that starts the springs and it empties out into the St. Johns River. These crystal clear springs are a cool 72 degrees all year round. This makes it the perfect home for the Manatees during the months of November through March. Manatees cannot live in waters cooler than 68 degrees. So during the months mentioned above they migrate to Blue Springs. Last winter 148 Manatees migrated to the springs. From April - September the springs are open for swimming to the public. From November - March the public may visit the park are able to hike, BBQ and view the manatees but they cannot swim. Manatees are a protected species therefore it makes it illegal for people to swim, touch or feed wild manatees. There is also Camping  and fully furnished cabins available all year. Blue Springs is a very serene place to visit and  refreshing place to swim. To all of my Florida friends if you have not traveled to Blue Springs plan a trip to visit soon. For all of my Friends and Family outside of Florida if you travel to Florida this would be a great place to visit while here. Just make sure that if you go during the months of April - September you get there early the park fill quick.

       The Dark Spot in the Picture is the start of the Springs. This is the spot of the deep caverns.

Great Nightlight Idea

Every now and then my 8 year old son likes to have a nightlight on. I came across a craft on pintrest that caught my attention. Its a craft to create a firefly. Its a very easy project that you can do with your kids. All you need is left over plastic Easter eggs, pipe cleaners, markers, and flame-less tea lights. You will need to poke a hole in the top and sides of the plastic egg for  the pipe cleaners. A tack works perfect to do this. You will need to cut the pipe cleaners down to have 6 equal pieces for the legs and 2 more equal pieces for the antenna. Once you place the pipe cleaners in the holes you can add the flame less tea light in the egg and close it up (flame-less tea-lights turn on and off as needed). Draw some eyes on the Easter egg and voila you have firefly. The kids love to play with them and they work great as a night light.

Crayon Project Ideas

Our family tends to stock up on crayons thanks to a friend, store sales, and craft kits. We ended up with so many crayons we started to search for ideas of projects we could do with these crayons. The first thing we came across was melting crayons to make a really cool piece of art work. David decided to create his own melted crayon piece. he organized the crayons into the color order he wanted and melted them down to create the artworks below.

              

Then we came across another idea that is actually a great gift idea for a teacher. The idea was to create the first letter of the teachers last name out of crayons. We decided to try it out with the letter N which is the first letter of the last name of the media specialist at the school my children attend. David took it one step further and made the end have a 3D effect to it. It came out amazing. The kids took it 2 days later and gave it to the media specialist. It now hangs in the school library.

Creating New Crayons

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out some old broken crayons and before I threw them away I came up with an idea for a craft. I had read on pintrest about taking old crayons and putting them into baking molds and melting them down. So I gathered the crayons together and took the paper off. I put a square baking mold on the table and had the kids create the crayons.

The process is very simple and the kids love doing it. You take the broken crayons and fill the molds with the color or colors you want you new crayon to have. You then put the mold in the oven on a low heat of 230 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the crayons are completely melted. You take the mold out of the oven and let it cool completely. When the crayons are completely cool they will harden. Once they are completely cool pop them out of the mold and they are ready to color with.

The kids love to make and use these new crayons.

Hontoon Island State Park: A Beautiful Island in the Middle of the St. Johns

Over the summer our cub scout master set a meeting for all of the den leaders to begin planning the new years scout activities. In this meeting he presented two new places as possible camping trips, Hontoon Island and Turkey Lake Park. One of them was designated as our December camping trip. The place was Turkey Lake Park. David and I being unsure of both of these places to explore what the had to offer. Turkey Lake turned out to be a big disappointment. Although it is a nice park nestled in the middle of Orlando, it didn't fit what we needed for scouts. So we took our next trip out to Deland, Florida. All we knew was Hontoon Island was in the middle of the St. Johns River. We didn't expect to find the beautiful natural wilderness that we ended up exploring.

We explored as much of the Island as we could. We took plenty of pictures, this included the youth site, nature trails, animals we spotted on our hike, the artifacts in the little museum and much more. This Island is free to visit for the day. Including the ferry. 

We took our findings back to our cub master and the camping trip was change. Needless to say we were not the only ones who fell in love with the place. Another camp out was scheduled for February. This place is peaceful, full of wildlife and beautiful. I will post some pictures with this post. If you are looking for a place to visit for the day or for a camping trip. They have tent sites and low cost cabins. In the front of the park they have [icnic tables, grills, and a playground. You can also fish. They only thing Hontoon island does not offer is swimming. My family will continue to go back to the island for day trips and for the weekend. Our cub scout pack will also make this an annual trip too.

Creative Clock: A Simple Way To Make A Clock Your Own

In our living room we had a clock hanging on the wall that we had gotten for free. It was a loony toons clock. Not something that fits our personality or decor in the room. As we were sitting on the couch My husband David got an idea while looking at the picture of our wedding bands that was on the wall. He turned to me and said what if we used this picture as the background in the clock. He said it would be easy to do. As he started to play around with it, he decided to try another picture (the ring picture was fitting quite right). He spotted a character picture that we had done of the 4 kids. David placed the face of clock over the picture. He adjusted the face as need to get the picture just right. The he trace around the face and cut the picture to size. He place the picture in the clock, reapplied the face and hung it back onto the wall.

So if you have a clock at home or you see a clock at the store that has the right shape and design that you like but doesn't have the background that you like. Then take it from David and add your own background. Or if after awhile you get bored of the same old background replace it. Choose a picture you like, print it out and measure it, cut it down to the size and shape you need, place it in the clock and hang it back on the wall.

Crab Ragoons

My husband and I love crab ragoons. Whenever we order Chinese we make sure to get at least one order of the crab ragoons. However with not having money to get Chinese all the time i decided to see how much it would cost to make the crab ragoons myself. $6 later I was home making crab ragoons. The recipe makes 24 compared to the 6 ragoons you get for around the same price. Not only was this recipe easy and cost effective they are only 41 calories. This recipe was created by a person on pintrest and I am so thankful that she shared her recipe and made it possible for me to pass it on. This recipe does have an optional ingredient of curry for those who like spicy. Also unlike the deep fried ones that come from the Chinese restaurant these are bake. This is part of the reason they are healthier. The combination of baking, addition of more crab meat and you choice in added spice these ragoons came out yummier than the ones from the Chinese restaurant. Below is the recipe for those who wish to try them out for yourselves. Bon Appetite!

Homemade Crab Ragoons


Makes 24 Crab Ragoons


A. 24 Won Ton Wrappers (found in the produce section next to the Tofu)
B.  1 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
C. 8 oz. of Crab meat
D. 1 tsp. Ginger
E. 2 ½ Tsp Curry (optional)
F.  ½ cup of cream cheese




Pre-Heat Oven to 375 degrees.  Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Place one won ton wrapper in each miffin tin. In a bowl mix Cream cheese, crab meat, ginger and Worcestershire sauce. Note: I used a beater to mix but you can mix with hand until there is no clumps. Using a spoon add filling to each won ton. Then fold the corners of the wrappers over. You can use a little dab of water to get the wrappers to stick. Place in oven and cook until they are a light golden brown. After they are cool enough eat and enjoy:-)

A Cloudy Treat

Let's take a step away from the homemade cleaners and get to some homemade food. The first on I am going to talk about in this post is a fun treat for the kids. All you need is blue jell-o, whip cream and a wine glass. You make the jell-o the normal way. In the wine glass put a little bit of the jell-o. Then with a spoon place a small amount of whip cream, using the spoon you can make a cloud shape. then carefully place another layer of jell-o. You can repeat this as many times as you would like or until the glass is full. Then it is ready to serve. The kids will love it!

Hand Soap/Body Wash

Ok so I tried and fell in love with the laundry soap and fabric softener recipe. So I decided to try my hand at hand soap. It was a very simple process and I was able to use the remaining bar of soap from the laundry soap recipe. It makes a full gallon of soap. When it was completed I poured some in an empty soap container. It worked exactly how I wanted it too. The kids love it. I am finding because it is homemade that the kids find it more "exciting." They are now properly washing their hands before they eat, when they come in from outdoors, after an art project or after the use the bathroom. I do not have to remind them. Also with this recipe you can make body wash. I love Dove but the liquid body wash for Dove can be so expensive. I can spend the same amount of money for Dove bar soap and get 4 gallons of body wash out of. This one you have to play with a bit more. If you want your body wash to be thicker or soapier I suggest using slightly less water. This is also a recipe you can have the kids help you with. They can help shave down the soap using a cheese shredder. Its a cool thing and again a money saver!

Hand Soap and Body Wash




Ingredients:


Empty Gallon Jug
1 Gallon of Water
2 Tablespoons of Glycerin  (you can find with the band aide aisles)
1 Bar of soap


Note: You can choose any bar of soap that you want to use as either the hand soap, body wash or both.


Shred down the bar of soap (you can use a cheese shredder, I used a peeler). In a pot put in the gallon of water, soap shavings and the glycerin. Heat on medium/high heat till the soap is fully dissolved. At this point it will look like soapy water. Cool for 10-12 hours until the mixture is completely cool. Mix the mixture with a beater.  When you mix it should be the consistency of hand soap/body wash. If it is to hard use a beater to mix the soap while adding a little bit of water at a time till it is the consistency that you want. Pour into soap containers and add the remaining soap to a storage container. You may need to add less water for the body wash to make it thicker.

Homemade Laundry Soap And Fabric Softener

With a family of 6 I am always looking for ways to save money. Our family spends about $40 a month on laundry soap (and that is the cheap kind). I would only spend about $5 a month on fabric softener but because of the cost I would only use fabric softener on my bed sheets and towels. That was also not the only headache I had, I had old towels that were a good condition but through constant use had the musty old water smell that just would not come out. So I did some searching and finally on pintrest.com I found a recipe for both. I decided what do I have to lose. It took about $20 total to make them. The laundry soap calls for fels-neptha or  zote soap. However I like my laundry soap to have fragrance and did not want to spend an additional $5+ for laundry crystals. So I modified the recipe and bar soap that I like the scent of. It does the same thing as Fels-Neptha and Zote soap. Yes it does dissolve Most of the bar soaps come in a 4 pack, and you only need 3. You can use the 4th bar to make either hand soap or body wash but that is another post;-) 

With the fabric softener the person who posted the recipe (again on pintrest) use suave rosemary mint conditioner. Here again you can use any conditioner that you like the scent of. Also a concern my husband had was the vinegar ingredient. He was afraid everything would smell like vinegar. For those who feel the same, no there is no scent of vinegar on the clothes after washing. The vinegar in the fabric softener takes the hard to get out smells out. So after I made the laundry soap and Fabric softener (which took roughly 20 minutes) I tried it out. My clothes came out so clean and they smelled so good and yes they were very soft. So I decided to do a load of towels. Well needless to say the musty old water smell that I could never get out with other laundry soap and fabric softener came out with this. I am a firm believer that it must be the vinegar. I do not know how long the laundry soap and fabric softener will last or how many loads as of yet. You will have to check back. I am guessing I have maybe 4 months worth of laundry soap (give or take) and may 1 - 2 months of fabric softener (and that is using it with every load) this is with a family of six. I am also taking a guess that this will save me over $60 a month. We shall see! Below are pictures, the laundry soap would not fit in one container so there is 2. Also below is the recipe! 

Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener




Laundry Soap


A. 1 Box of Borax (4lb 12oz )
B. 1 box of Armor Hammer Baking Soda (4lb)
C. I box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz)
D.  Oxy Clean ( 3.5 lbs)
E. 3 Bars of Soap ( you can use any bar if you would like to add fragrance, its cheaper than laundry crystals, or you can use zote soap or Fels-Naptha)


Note: all of these are in the laundry Aisles except for the regular bars of soap


Line a large pan with a garbage bag. Pour the entire box of borax, baking soda, super washing soda, and oxy clean into the garbage bag lined pot. Use a cheese grader and grade the bars of soap and add it to the pot. Mix all of the ingredients together. Add to any storage container of your choice and you are done. When you do laundry all you need is 2 tablespoons of the laundry soap. Note: Everything in the recipe does dissolve.


Fabric Softener


A. 6 Cups of water
B. 3 Cups Of White Vinegar
C. 2 Cups of Conditioner of your choice 
Note: I used Suave Aloe -Vera + Ginseng but any conditioner that has a scent you like works.


In a 1 gallon container add the water, vinegar, and conditioner.  Mix the ingredients together.
Note: Do Not Shake It Will Foam up. After it is well mixed it is set to use. All you need to do is add about ¼ cup to the rinse cycle.