Homemade Soap Tutorial

 

I shared this post over a year ago on another blog.  I love using my homemade soap so I thought I'd share it here!

This past Friday I spent the day with a dear friend and she showed me how to make homemade soap! I had been researching and trying to learn about making my own soap but I was a little nervous about trying it myself, so when I realized I knew someone who made soap I jumped on the opportunity to learn.

There are many different ways to make soap, different recipes, and you can be creative to your hearts content with how you'd like to personalize each batch of soap with scents or liquids or add-ins. I'm looking forward to making more batches in the future but for now here is what we did:

We made a couple batches, the first was made with raspberry tea (for the liquid), melonberry scent and we added dried raspberry leaves for look and texture.
The second batch we used coffee (for the liquid), vanilla extract for added scent and coffee grounds.

The recipe we used:

4 c. Water (or goat milk or herbal tea)
Stainless Steel Container
48 oz. Shortening (non-hydrogenated)
32 oz. Coconut Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
12 oz. Lye (slightly heaping 1 1/4 c.)

(*have vinegar on hand to neutralize any lye that gets on skin. *Coconut oil makes it lather nicely and makes the soap harder)

First get everything together.

Grease pan, waxed paper or molds with extra shortening.

Cut shortening & coconut oil into smaller chunks to make them easier to add.

Put 4 c. liquid into pot (water or tea at room temp., goat milk cold.

Carefully pour lye into liquid.

**Never pour liquid onto the lye and wear gloves to protect your skin. If the lye touches your skin flush with vinegar immediately. Also, because of the chemical reaction between the liquid and lye and the fumes that it creates you may want to do this part outside.

Stir carefully with a stick blender.
The chemical reaction from the lye & water heats the liquid.


Add the shortening a little at a time while stirring.

Add coconut oil at room temperature and continue stirring.

Add olive oil and continue stirring.

Add any extras such as oats, essential oils, spices, etc.


Use stick blender to stir until soap begins to "trail" or "trace".
Be watching carefully as it sets up quickly and you want to pour into pan or mold while still liquid.

Finally, pour into greased mold or pan.

Cover with a lid and blanket so it cools slowly.
Check every 30 minutes.

Cut into bars when it is solid enough.
Cover again until soap is completely solid.
When soap is completely hard, stack and let them cure for at least 2 weeks before using.
Enjoy!

DIY Anthropologie Duvet

This was one exciting project to complete and see the final look on our bed! 

The making of this duvet cover started over a year ago.  And if you ever want to make one, no it does not need to take that long, that's just how it worked out with our situation.  I had a friend helping me and between the two of us we have 8 kids, two of which are babies and she lives about an hour and a half away.  So when we got together to work on making the duvet we made a day out of it.  I'd drive out to their farm, have lunch and then we'd work on our project throughout the afternoon, as much as you can while still taking care of the kids and everything else that always comes up throughout the day.  We always had so much fun though, the kids loved playing with friends and we enjoyed having a reason to sit down and sew, and when a project is done with a friend it just makes it so much more fun.  Usually I'd stay for dinner and then head home before it got too late in the night.  We'd try to get together about once a month but it didn't always happen.  Eventually we were able to finish it and when I finally got it home to put it on our bed I was ecstatic! 

I found this Anthropologie Duvet tutorial from Pinterest.  You can check out how to make it here.  One thing we didn't pay attention to in the first place was to make sure the sheets we had matched the width of my duvet cover.  We cut, pined, assembled and sewed it all together come to find out in the end that the length was perfect but the width was too short.  So we improvised and came up with an edge for the sides that in my opinion make it look even more beautiful!    And in all honesty, unless you are the sewing queen, I think the project takes more than 5 hours to complete.  Just something to keep in mind.

Anyways, I love the final look!  Here's our new DIY Anthropologie duvet cover!

 

New Devet                                         Old Comforter

Household Responsiblility Chart

I am so excited about this project! 

First off can I just say that Tara Bulow does a-ma-zing work!  I had a little bit of an idea of what I wanted, I let her know the specifics and she went to work and did what she does best and I adore the end result!  You should check out her facebook page.  She has pre-made pieces and does custom pieces as well.

Our Household Responsibility Chart for the kids is the highlighted project today.

We chose to name it 'Household Responsiblities' Chart for the kids because not only would it encompass chores but it also has their daily routines.

Do you have your little kids do chores around the house?  We do!  And they do such an amazing job with their chores!  They unload our dishwasher, they can fold and put away all their clothes, they can dust pretty much the whole house.  And they do a great job!  And to tell you the truth they enjoy doing their chores and they have fun with them.  We all work together, many hands makes the work light!  And they are learning such great responsibility while serving their family.

I have the book Managers of Their Chores from Titus2.com and they use the chore pack system.  I wasn't a huge fan of having my kids cart around their chore packs and when I saw the idea of a chore chart to hang on the wall I was sold!  I loved the idea and thanks to Tara I knew I could have one made just for our family!

She made the sign while I designed the routine and chore cards on a Word document.  I printed them, cut them out and then laminated each card.  Once we got the sign back we added eye hooks and drilled holes in the cards to hang on the hooks, mounted it on the wall and now we just have to start using it! 

If the kids forget what to do I can just send them to their Responsibility Chart to see what they need to do next, once they are done with a chore they move the card to the 'Good Job: Done' hook and they can see what's next. 

Check out our Household Responsibility Chart!

Here's our responsibility chart that Tara made!  It looks amazing!

There's a spot for Zeke, Kenzie, Janessa (for when she's old enough) and a spot for another child just in case we have another one, I'm frugal like that and always thinking ahead.

When they are all done with their chore this is where it goes.

Colossians 3: 23-24

Here are some of Zeke's routines and chores, they are color coded per child.

And some of Kenzie's cards.

We added the hooks...

Drilled the holes in the cards...

And hung it on the wall!  Nice and low so the kids can reach.



And there you have it, our fabulous Household Responsibility Chart!

And a little bonus: this tiny little sign sits on our kitchen counter next to the sink.  When I saw this saying I fell in love with it, for me it puts my mind and heart in the right place, to be thankful in all things and to think of others as well.

"I Spy" Bags

So I've had a running list of items to make especially suitable for our long car ride for our family vacation this year.  And when I ran across a really simple sewing tutorial for "I Spy" Bags, I headed to our basement to get out my mom's old sewing machine to try to make a few for my kids.

I ran to Hobby Lobby for some cute fabric, a different design for each of my kids and I went through their selection of little miniatures and items to put in the bags as well as little items from around our house.  Then I headed home to put them together.  And once I remembered how to sew a straight line the bags came together rather quickly. 

I'm really happy with the finished project and my kids have loved playing with them and trying to find all the little hidden treasures.  Their favorite item to find is the glow in the dark star! 

Click on the link here for a tutorial on how to put these "I Spy" Bags together.

Zeke's Bag

Kenzie's Bag

Janessa's Bag

Busy Making Busy Bags

Another Pinterest Project Completed!  Yay!

Have you every heard of Busy Bags?!

I hadn't, until Pinterest.  Thank you Pinterest! Check out some of these blogs for lists of Busy Bags ideas here, here and here.

And I am so thankful I ran across these little jewels.  There are so many busy bag options out there and they are such creative learning tools!

Another great idea, put together a Busy Bag swap with other moms and friends. 

Here's the Busy Bags I put together.  I chose ones that will work for our car ride when we head on vacation this year. Check out the links under each Busy Bag for specific directions on how to make them and printables for each bag.

Color/ Number Wheel
This is a two sided project for the kids to work on their colors and numbers.  This is a simple but great tool.  Click here for the printouts and further directions.

Animal Counting Cards
These I chose to make with velcro so that they could work for traveling.  The directions also have you attach the numbers to bottle caps, I simple chose to laminate the number instead.  Click here for the directions and printouts for this project.

Magnetic Pom Poms
I have a few separate bags of magnetic pom poms.  This is a little time consuming to put together but the kids love this busy bag and there are tons of print outs to use with magnetic pom poms.  I bought the pom poms at the Dollar Store and the roll of magnetic strip at Hobby Lobby.  I broke out the scissors and hot glue gun and got to work.  Like other projects I laminated each page.  Another tip, I purchased small baking sheets/ cookie sheets from the Dollar Store for these projects that are magnetic.  They are also perfect for when using these Busy Bags in the car.
Click here for the printouts and more specific directions for this project.

Brown Bear Head and Tail Matching Game
This one is cute and simple, just match the head and tail of each animal.  She also has a ton more printables that you can look through for more options for Busy Bags.  Like my other Busy Bags I laminated these and added magnetic strips to the backs as well.  Click here for the printouts.

Matching Color Shades
This is such an easy Busy Bag to put together, just grab some paint sample cards, and clothespins.  You can check out more specific directions here.  I also chose to laminate the paint swatch cards, like most every other Busy Bag project I did. ;)

More Magnetic Pom Poms
This one I have a plain template for the kids to create their own pictures and patterns. 

Build-A-Letter
I love this project!  I took at bit of time on this one making it travel friendly but I think it was worth it in the end.  I laminated each letter sheet and added velcro on the back of each foam template.  Click here for the printout and directions.

More Magnetic Pom Poms
Click here for more printouts for this project.

Velcro Mr. Potato Head
This one is just for fun, my kids have fun playing with their Mr. Potato Head and I figured they'd have fun with this on our long car ride coming up.  Click here for the printout for this Busy Bag. 

Upper and Lower Case Matching
This one may be better for a child who is a little older but they can also match using like colors if they don't know all their letters yet.  I added magnetic strip on the back of each letter.  I also made these myself on a Word document.  But I got the idea from  here.

Cupcake Busy Bag
This one is just too cute and you can use it in different ways.  Have the kids simply put it together or have them count out a specific number of chocolate chips or sprinkles.  Click here for the directions and printout!

Quiet Time Bags

Zeke has finally reached the age where he doesn't take an actual nap every day.  He still lays down in his bed during nap time but he doesn't always sleep.  And two hours can be a long time to just lay there since that is how long Janessa and Kenzie usually sleep for.  So it was time to finally make some Quiet Time Bins.

I first read about this idea from Money Saving Mom and the post she wrote on Quiet Time Bins here.

I thought it was a great idea and finally when Pinterest came along and I joined I kept the idea tucked away in the section for my kiddos knowing I'd need the idea soon.

And 'soon' is now!

The one thing I didn't care for about this idea was the bins.  Bins are large and bulky and take up quite a bit of space so I knew I wanted something different for us.  My first thought was a bag and thankfully Old Navy came through on providing the perfect size bags at a steal-of-a-deal price.  We're talking only 1 dollar a piece!  I couldn't pass that up!

So I got 5 bags, one bag for Monday through Friday and then I came home and started going through all the craft items and books that I already had on hand.  It's a start.  There are a few things that I would like to add, especially a photo album with pictures of family members.  And I am sure they will change and evolve over time, but I think that's the beauty of this idea. 

My choices in what went in the bags were geared towards learning and not just playing.  I want the items to make him think a little and learn while he's playing or looking through books. 

There's lots of great ideas out there for what to put in your bins but look through what you already have around your house and I'm sure you'll be off to a great start!

Here's our Quiet Time Bags:

Here are all the items I found that we already had around the house.

The ABC book has magnetic letters that you find and match up, the other book deals with colors and then a game of tic tac toe but he can use that however he wants.  Each bag also has a Bible story to read.

Tracing cards are a great fine motor skill to work on.  The ball is actually balls inside of balls, and only certain ones match up, you have to find the right sizes to fit together.  There are also alphabet cards to look at.

Lacing shapes a Bible story book and an ABC activity book.

I had a puzzle map of the United States and an etch-a-sketch is always fun and a great way to be creative.  The book has simple sight words and even though he's not reading yet, his brain is still getting familiar with them.

The 'builder's tool kit' is a book puzzle that talks about all different kinds of tools which is very prevalent to our current living situation, another set of lacing cards and pipe cleaners can be hours of fun for kids.  Seriously!

Here's my $1.00 bags from Old Navy.

Once again I broke out my label maker to mark each bag for a specific day of the week.  You could easily get way more creative and fun for this part but I didn't have any other supplies on hand and the label maker worked just fine for me.

And then I labeled each bag with a day of the week.

Then put the items in each bag.

I found this basket at Goodwill for a great price and I must admit whenever I see a good deal on a basket I usually pick it up.  I am a basket lover and use them for so many purposes around the house.

I put all the bags into the basket, it sits on the shelf in my hall closet close to Zeke's room where I can simply pull out the bog for the day when it's nap time and he can keep himself entertained during quiet time for him and hopefully learn a thing or two during the process.

I am a firm believer in having everyone take a quiet time every day during the week.  We all need a break, a rest.  And even if a child is past the age of sleeping they can easily learn to play quietly and alone for a period of time each day.  There are many benefits to that.  And incorporating quiet time bins or bags is a great way to keep them interested in the items they get each day because they are kept up and away and only for the special time of quiet time.  And they only see each item from the bags once a week, so when it comes around to that day again, it's still like new.

Do you have a quiet time with your kids during the day?  Why or why not?  If you do, what are some of your ideas for the kiddos who are past napping age?