Make All Natural, Yummy Smelling DIY Hand Soap for pennies

I have a wonderful tutorial over on Snapguide.com today on how to make an All Natural, Yummy Smelling DIY Hand Soap for just pennies.  Head over there and check it out. 

Basil Lime All Natural, Yummy Smelling, DIY Hand Soap
by The31Woman, Glori Winders

My hubby loves the smell, Basil Lime, and it makes the kitchen smell divine just from washing your hands.  And the best part is that I control the ingredients.  The bar of soap that I used was by South of France that I purchased from iHerb.com for under $3.00.  The soap was made from coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable glycerin, shea butter, basil leaf, natural and essential oils and mineral pigments: No chemicals that I can't name, or additives that I would not want on my skin.  


Making this recipe into a body wash would be pretty identical.  Just find a bar of soap that has the scent and ingredients that you like.  Also great for a baby's sensitive skin.  I hope you enjoy.  I know that we are!

I am Thankful...

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  I love the crisp feeling in the air, the colors, the smells, the tastes!!!!  I was married in the fall, had both of my children in the fall.  I just love the fall!!!  It is a time when I am reminded how truly blessed and thankful that I am.

I thought that I would share a few photos with you today of some simple Autumn decor that I have added around my house to remind us of the Abundant Harvest that God pours into our lives on a daily basis.  I hope it inspires you to Count Your Blessings, as well.

Happy Fall Ya'll...

My fun Subway Art that I did in golden yellow vinyl on a piece of metal that I spray painted black.  And, a pumpkin full of cany corn!

Vases that I filled with layers of black beans, great nothern beans that I used yellow and red food coloring on, and then green lentils.  Very fallish colors!

My totally sweet plate that I made using the Cricut Damask Decor Cartridge and a plate from the dollar store.

I added a little wooden pumpkin that I have had for years with some bite sized candy bars, just for my son!

Aren't these pumpkin candles cute.  My husband's Aunt Nancy gave these to me several years ago and I just can't bring myself to burn them.  I love being able to pull them out each year.

Our Kitchen Table complete with burlap and lace.  I used a piece of burlap for the underneath table cover and then added the crotched table topper along with a bit of pumpkin and harvest themed fabric right under the old dough bowl.   I pulled out my mustard colored plates and made cute napkin rings.

My mother's old dough bowl full of harvest goodies!

The napkin rings that I made using copper strips that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I ran them through my Sizzix and embossed them.  Added a little black paint and green glitter paint and then wiped off the excess for an antiqued look.  I used a paper towel roll cut into 3 inch sections as my base.  Added a bit of black cardstock paper cut at 3 1/2 inches and embossed with a dotted swiss pattern over the paper towel roll.  Then added the copper strips and then tied a piece of burlap string up through the middle of the tube before adding my napkins.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

My $6 Michael's pumpkin that I cut the top out of and made into a planter.  I used copper vinyl for the wheat stalk and black vinyl for "thankful."  Then I made an arrangement out of flowers and cat tails that I picked up at the dollar store.  The entire arrangement costed around $10 to make.

On my downstairs counter, I added a little wicker pumpkin basket that I have had since my children were little and some yellow leaves.  That's my totally awesome children and hubby in those photos!  Yes, I am proud and oh, so 

THANKFUL!

I also pulled out these little figurines that my MIL bought for the children 15+ years ago from Hallmark.  I sent my daughter, who is now in college,  a picture of them and she got pretty nostalgic!  They used to spend hours at the kitchen table playing with these characters.  Maybe one day I'll be passing them on to some precious grandkids.

I repurposed this wire basket that I had into a fall planter using flowers that I already had for the wall by my front door.  Nothing like a splash of color to say "Hello & Welcome."

And, lastly my cute as pie "Welcome" pumpkin.  I cut "welcome" out in black vinyl and applied it to a pumpkin that my hubbie picked out.  He always picks out the BEST shaped pumpkins.  Then we added two yellow mums to the pots on either side.  I am planning on adding pinecones into the bottom pot.  I just haven't had time to pick them up out of the yard yet.  

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the quick tour of my home.  I hope you will be inspired to pull out all of your old deocrations and see what you can come up with.  But, most importantly just spend some time reflecting on the blessings that have been poured into your life and purpose to live with "An Attitude of Gratitude!"

Once Upon A Time Baby Shower Card

Just wanted to share this Baby Shower card that I made recently for a friend.  I used the Cricut Storybook Cartridge and a piece of paper from Die Cuts With A View's Once Upon A Time Stack.

It is a size A2 card,

with a burgundy background cut at 5 1/4 X 4, 

then a white background cut at 5 X 3 3/4 and embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder,

then a pink and brown piece of DCWV paper from the Once Upon A Time Stack cut at 2 1/2 X 5,

and a piece of irridescent ribbon with gold edging taped around the white layer.

The Once Upon A Time was cut using the Storybook Cartridge in burgundy and white card stock and popped up with pop dots.

I printed the saying on the inside of the card on my computer and punched around the edges and then taped it in.

It says, "...There was a little Princess named Dakota.  And, she lived happily ever after!"

Another Quickie Gift Idea from The 31 Woman

Here is another quickie gift idea I wanted to share with you.  Hopefully I will get some videos done soon, but this summer has been pretty busy.

The other day I was at Michael's and they had these cute little candles on sale for 50¢.  I picked up several just to have for a quick gift.  Well, I have already given them all away.  I came up with the cutest way to decorate them, and have been able to give them as hostess gifts, a little gift for a friend and 2 birthday gifts.

For this candle, I cut a last initial out of yellow vinyl to match the lemon candle.  I tied a little piece of raffia around the top.  Then I used my favorite Cricut Storybook Cartridge to cut out a design for the top.  The candle has a little plastic cover on it that is about 2" in diameter.  So, I choose one of the flowers from the cartridge and cut out a 2" blackout flower and then the cooresponding 2" cutout flower and glued the two pieces together.  I added a little brad in the middle of the flower and used pop-dots to attach it to the little plastic cover.  

Very Cute!  I used this one as a hostess gift.

Here is another one that I made again using the Storybook Cricut Cartridge to cut out the vinyl for the side of the candle and to make a topper for the candle.

I used little rhinestones to decorate the butterfly.

Another quick tip is that I always try to keep these three things on hand for quick gift giving:

Personalized Labels For That Special, "I Made This Just For You" Touch

And, clear bags and basket filler.  I have lots of sizes of clear bags and many different colors of basket filler.  They come in so handy.  I buy my bags from Nashville Wraps and/or ClearBags.com

I hope this gave you a few ideas for your quick gift giving needs. 

Using My Cricut to Be A Blessing!

Just wanted to share a quick idea today with you of how you can use your creative talents and the tools that you are blessed with to be a blessing to others.

I have a friend who works with a women's ministry in my local town.  They recently moved their offices and had not been able to get a new sign for their front door.  I just happened to stop by one day to say hello - God was leading.  She mentioned the sign  and I took a look at it.  I thought that it would be pretty easy to use my Cricut Expression and Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) software to design their sign.  I am the one who desinged their logo several years ago.

So, I took the logo and made an .svg file of it using Inkscapes.  I then pulled that .svg into SCAL and designed the rest of the sign.  I cut it out in their colors and applied to the back of their old sign.  It turned out great and they were so happy.  It would have cost them a good bit of money to have a sign company do all of those steps for them.  So it was a blessing for them and it made me happy.

Here is the front door sign for their office.

When I delivered the sign, they were in shock and overjoyed.  They mentioned that they had a new mission statement and had hoped that as some point they could have someone paint it on their wall in the reception area of their offices.  After seeing the front door sign, they were sure that vinyl would work better!  So, off I went again to design some vinyl wall decor from their new mission statement.

Again I used the Cricut Expression and SCAL software and cut the vinyl our of chocolate Oracle 631.  Here is the vinyl as I was hanging it on the wall.

A work in progress...

And here is the final product!

So the moral of the story is to use the gifts and talents God has given you to be a blessing to others.  You never know what fun things you will get to do!!!

A Quick & Easy Dry Erase Kitchen Menu Board

Today I have a quick and easy project idea for you to make a dry erase kitchen menu board.

I used a square plate that I found at Walmart for just a few dollars.  Then I pulled out the trusty Cricut Expression and used my Sure Cuts A Lot software to design some quick decor for the plate.

I cut the design out of black vinyl and applied the vinyl using transfer tape.  And Voila, a cute menu board in minutes.  It works great with dry erase markers!  Write on and wipe off.

I picked up a metal plate holder at JoAnn's to display it on my kitchen counter.  There you have it - Quick & Easy!

A Quick & Simple Tea Towel Bag

Here is a quick tutorial, literally 5 minutes, to make the cutest little Tea Towel Bags.  They are perfect to use as  gift bags, bread bags, or cute storage bags.

All you will need is an 18" X 24" tea towel, a 28" piece of ribbon, and a sewing machine and in 5 minute you can have a beautiful little bag ready.




Hope you enjoyed the video!

Be Blessed,

Baby Shower Invites Using Digital Scrapbook Paper

I have been working on a Baby Shower designing invitations, favors, menu, and decorations.  I am really enjoying myself.  I knew to do all that I had in mind was going to take quite a bit of paper, so I decided to use digital scrapbook paper and print it myself, so I could control my supply.  There are so many places on the web to get digital designs now.  Just do a search for digital scrapbook paper and you will hit the jackpot!

The first item that needed to be decided on was the invitation.  I made three different ones to choose from.  Two are the same basic design with one being square and one being A2 size.  

 This is the square card, but I decided against it since the post office now charges extra to mail square envelopes.

I thought the "Bundle of Joy" was cute, but the rattle and "Here Comes Baby!"  won.

Here is what I did:

Paper cut at:

White Base - 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 then folded in half to make it 4 1/4  X 5 1/2

Yellow Layer - 4 X 5 1/4

Tangerine Layer - 3 3/4 X 5

Lime Layer - 3 1/2 X 4 3/4

White Layer - 3 1/2 X 2, then punched with scallop lace Martha Stewart Punch

Yellow - Rattle cut out with Sure Cuts A Lot on a Cricut Expression then decorated with a white bow attached with Zot Dots

Be Blessed,

A DIY Monogramed Designer Clutch

I simply love getting a great deal and this one rank's right up there!  I had to run in Walmart the other day and was racing down an aisle when this little wallet clutche just screamed my name.  When I looked at the price tag, it screamed even louder.  It said that I had to take it home with me!  Honest.  And, for less than $5, I was happy to oblige.  I wish I had bought more, because when I got home my daughter wanted one, too.  I have been to three other Walmarts, and haven't found anymore.  Glad I listened to that wallet when it was calling my name.

I decided to use a great monogram font that I have and cut some lime green vinyl out on my Cricut Expression using my Sure Cuts A Lot.  This is how it turned out.  Too cute!

Moral of the story is, listen closely when those cute wallets call your name!  And, do what they say - Take Them Home With You!

Be Blessed,

A Veggie Palooza in My Freezer

I just asked my hubby and son what I should title this blog post and my hubby won - A Veggie Palooza in My Freezer. I asked how to spell Palooza and they both agreed that probably no one would know if I didn't spell it correctly! LOL...

Anyway, here is what happened in my kitchen today - I was a busy girl! Between veggies that I had bought and veggies that my sweet mother-in-law had picked up for me, my veggie basket and my frig overfloweth. I decided this morning that I needed to do something with all this bounty before it began to go bad. So, I pulled out my Vidalia Chop Wizard.

I use this handy little tool for onions all the time.  It is so quick and easy.  But today, I decided to use if for so much more and it did not let me down.

I chopped onions, carrots, mushrooms, celery, peppers, scallions, squash, and cauliflower into uniform, beautiful little morsels of tasty goodness.  I placed them in freezer bags and laid them flat on a baking sheet to freeze.  

Now there is a Veggie Palooza in my freezer and whipping up something delicious to eat will be super simple.  I can easily throw a handful of veggies into a stir fry, omlette, or whatever else I can come up with.  The mushrooms are perfect for making my low-carb Cream of Mushroom Soup, which is fabulous by itself or used in a casserole.  Yum!  The cauliflower can be used to make my low-carb Garlic Mashed Cauliflower.  So good! Or, I can use it in this small form to make Faux Rice, or Faux Fried Rice, again low carb and wonderful.

I also had a couple of pounds of Brussel Sprouts and I went ahead and shredded them to cook later in my Best Brussels Spourts Ever recipe.   

Aren't Veggies Just Beautiful - All The Colors and Textures!

I love how uniform everything is which I would never have achieved chopping by hand.

While I was on a role, I decided that I had a few too many tomatoes.  So I cut them up, yellow heriloom, grape and roma's, and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet.  After a quick drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of Himalayan salt, and pepper  I popped them in the oven at 250℉ for about 3 hours.  Oh, they smelled so good roasting.  

After I removed them from the oven, I let them cool.  Then I layered them in a glass mason jar and covered them extra virgin olive oil.  Now, I can grab them out of my frig and pop a few in any dish or salad that I am making, especially those that call for sundried tomatoes.  These are so yummy.  I'll admit I popped a few of the grape tomatoes in my mouth instead of the jar.  But, nobody knows that but you.  Shhhh!

I also had quite a few lemons and limes and I noticed that a few were starting to get hard, so I pulled out 2 old ice trays that I have.  I labeled one lemon, so that I could tell them apart.  I juiced the lemons and limes into the trays.  About 1/2 a lemon or 1/2 lime will fill each section of my trays.  I popped them in the freezer and when they are frozen, I will put them in baggies and store in the freezer.  Then when I need lemon or lime juice, I just pull out 1 cube for each 1/2 lemon or lime that I need.  Brilliant, I know.  I have my moments.

I am excited about all of the bounty in my freezer.  We are going to have some good eats over the next few weeks.  I hope this has given you some ideas to make your cooking and eating healthy a little eaiser.

Be Blessed,

For Beautiful Eyes & Skin - Chill Out!

It's time for this week's beauty tip and here is one that I have done for years - even way back during those pageant days.

Wait, you want to see some big hair first...Check this out! LOL.

Told you it was big hair!  Those were the '80's!  My kids still get such a laugh out of these old photos.  Any way, I seriously digressed here.  Forgive me.

As I was saying, my beauty tip of the week is to Chill Out!  What I mean to say is "chill out" your eye cream and a face spritzer.  That's right, during the hot summer months keep your eye cream and simple water based face spritzer in the refrigerator.  After you have had your shower and are getting ready in the morning, head to the kitchen and pull the spritzer bottle out of the frig for a quick squirt on your face.  Then put a dab of chilled eye cream on your eyes and enjoy the sensation.

If you are prone to any swelling around your eyes in the morning, this trick usually does the trick to remove the puffiness almost instantly and the coolness feels so good.

For my face spritzer, I use a small spray bottle with some water and a few drops of rose water or vanilla oil.  You can choose your favorite scents to add in to the water.  Then just hold the bottle in front of your face and close your eyes and apply a spray or two.  It is so refreshing.

I have been known to stop by the kitchen on really hot days and grab a quick spray just as a quick cooling off.  It really works.

So, don't forget and Chill Out for great skin and beautiful eyes.

Be Blessed,

Paper Rosettes

I am so excited, I have finally figured out a sure fire way of making beautiful paper rosettes!  When I made my first three this morning they all popped and tore when I began to flatten them.  I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.  But, then the light bulb went on and I realized that most of the tutorials on the internet showed using a 12" long piece of scrapbook paper that was no more than 1  1/2" wide.

My problem was that I was trying to make 2" and 3" wide rosettes.  To make them that wide you have to add extra length to the paper.  Problem solved.  Once I got going, I made a pile of beautiful paper rosettes to use in a project for a baby shower (which I will share with you soon.)

Enjoy the video.  Hope it helps you make some pretty paper rosettes of your own.

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