Going Green for Good!

Taking steps to be more eco-friendly, frugal, and health conscience, so I thought I'd share some of the ways I decided to do it :)

LAUNDRY, boo.  Not only is it a never ending cycle of dirty socks and underwear, but it's expensive to do!  Granted, I buy the good stuff, so it does cost more, but I want something that works.  But, the thing is, it isn't working!  Lately, my towels smell horrible :/  So I took things into my own hands.  I found the perfect recipe for homemade laundry detergent.  Each batch is good for 150 loads of laundry and costs about 98% less, YES I said 98%, than my regular conventional detergent.  All it is is water, borax, washing soda, and Fels-Naptha soap.  It's super simple to make, you can find all the ingredients in most any laundry aisle (I found mine at Wal-Mart), and it's SO CHEAP!  Find the recipe I used here: Homemade Laundry Detergent. And for the fabric softener, all I use is straight Distilled white vinegar in my fabric softener slot. I did my first load today, and YES, YES, YES it works!  My clothes are super soft, and odorless!  Here's some documentation that I actually made it :)

 My 3 ingredients:  Borax, Washing Soda, and Fels-Naptha.

 I grated 1/4 of the bar and stored the rest in a ziploc bag for next time.

 Me melting the soap in water.

 I added the melted soap and 2.5 quarts of water to a basin, then mixed in my other two ingredients, 2 TBSP of Borax, and 1/4 cup of washing soda. Stirred.  Then added 2.5 more quarts of water.  I stirred....

 Then covered it and left it overnight to gel.

In the morning, I mixed it up and poured it into some empty bottles.  One container is an empty tea jug that I decorated with scrapbook paper and clear tape, this jug I filled half way and then filled the rest with water.  The second jug is an empty vinegar bottle.  This one was only a half gallon jug, so I just stored the concentrated formula in it.  I can add the water when I transfer it into the tea jug after it's been used up.  Each gallon jug gives you 75 loads.

My next step is  reusable pads...weird I know, but conventional pads and tampons are not healthy for you and I've been wanting to make the change for a while now.  I made my first cloth pad today and it turned out pretty good I think. Since the ones you can purchase are pricey, I researched different methods of making your own.  My wonderful husband fixed my sewing machine, I rummaged through my old fabric bin, and made a trip to Joanns for some new needles, and some other goodies :)  Here's what I came up with.

First I made up a pattern with some card stock.  I then cut out 2 of each pattern from my flannel and put the fronts together and sewed, turned inside out, ironed, and then sewed them together.  EASY!  Then I attached the snaps with the tools I got from Joanns.  I was able to use 50% off coupons for everything today!

The cool tool, and heart snaps I got today.  They're meant for making baby diapers but whatevs!

 And here's the final product!  A pad meant to be used as a liner, or on a light day.

 The cute little heart snap

 Folds up for on the go.

 Backside

There is tons of information online about reuseable cloth pads, how to care for them and why they're healthier/beneficial for you than conventional pads or tampons, how they're enviornmentally friendly.  So I highly recommend checking those things out!  

I also decided to STOP using conventional shampoo, body wash, and deodorant because of the toxic carcinogenic chemicals in them, the cost, and their environmental impact.  I will be posting blogs about each of those soon.  I tried the baking soda shampoo, apple cider vinegar rinse today and it is AMAZING!  Can't imagine wanting to go back to conventional.  I have recipes in mind for homemade deodorant and body wash/hand soap, but I still need to find ingredients.  For now I'm using my Aveeno body wash until it runs out, and I'll be using baking soda as deodorant.  I'm hoping some of these simple changes will save our family money, lessen our footprint, and improve our health.  

For Friends

 A beautiful request from my sister-in-law...a double leather wrap bracelet with distressed gray, eco-friendly leather, czech fire polished glass beads, and a lovely fleur de lis silver button.  I LOVE this one and found it really difficult to part with ;)  I hope the recipient loves it just as much as I do!

I request from a close friend, as a gift to another good friend, beautiful goldstone, with a mix of glass, and swarovski crystal have been crocheted into a 34 inch strand that can be used as a long necklace, a double looped necklace, or a 5x wrap bracelet. 

Wish I would have taken pictures of another set of bracelets recently done for two other friends, they were so pretty!  They gave me a collection of vintage buttons that were to die for, and I used a few of their favs to make some unique pieces for them.

Handmade Baby Shower Gift for a Special Mom-to-Be

Baby shower gift for a special mom-to-be!

A handmade Double Wrap Leather Bracelet with 'Baby Boy Blue' Swarovski Crystal. A vintage, metal stamped brass button that reads 'Bentley' (the bun in the oven :)  and is adorned with a Swarovski flatback.  The black leather  is eco-friendly, naturally dyed, and SO soft!  I hope the mom-to-be likes it as it's not your typical baby shower gift!

Gift wrapped in a lovely vintage key tissue paper, inside a 3.5x3.5 jewelry gift box

My 10 year Anniversary Gift for my husband - my take on the traditional tenth year tin gift

My 10 year anniversary (the traditional tin gift year) present to my husband, the cook :) An eco-friendly, handmade from found and recycled objects, herb window box - total cost $6 for seeds and organic potting soil.   I used some old left over wood that we had lying around to make the window box- it probably should have taken me hardly any time at all, but I had to learn how to use my husbands circular saw and air trim nailer, so it took me a LONG time!  The glass 'vases' are recycled juice, and various sauce bottles with their labels removed, and the tin cans are an assortment of recycled canned food tins.  I picked the flowers from a nearby meadow.  The metal brackets I used to attach it to the house, I found in our pantry- I believe I paid less than .50 for the pair a few years ago at Home Depot on clearance.

 hand metal-stamped spoon 'markers' with the name of each herb to be planted, tied off with a hand stamped gift tag and hemp string, and 10 packets of herb seeds tied off in hemp.  I've had these spoons for at least 5-6 years that I got for free.  The seeds were only 20 cents a packet!

 I cut out aluminum heart shapes from a tea can and metal stamped our anniversary date on them.  Then I found some tiny nails in the shed to attach them to the box.

CRAZY

As it goes, we right brainers often are known for being creative and scatterbrained...unfocused and crazy.  My daily life consists of one idea after another...skipping from one thought to the next...starting one task without finishing the last.  I'm left feeling exhausted yet unaccomplished :(  I have a million ideas for jewelry pieces, yet very few make it into existence.  Sad, I know, but at least you guys get to see some of them come to fruition.  Today I  worked, and worked, and worked....and came up with 1-2 'okay' pieces. I spend most of my time....WAY too much time looking for new supplies that are just right....and rarely buying them.  It's hard for me to commit to my supplies.   I mull them over and over in my jumbled mind....trying to work out what the finished product will look like...drawing what I want it to look like...measuring things out....it's time consuming and it makes my brain hurt.  Wondering if you guys will even like what I make...and then if it's worth it for me to spend the time and money on the supplies to make them.   I love designing and making...but finding the supplies and weighing the cost, ugh.  Then when I do buy...online mostly...I have to wait for my purchases to arrive and it's torture.   I hope by the time they get here, that I'm still passionate about making the piece they're intended for.  The point....Each piece I make is part of a long, arduous journey. Each one a little victory over my ADD.  And I hope the love, care, and time put into them shows!

What's new?

So, I've spent A LOT of time reading lately and I have to share some books I think my fellow Hunger Games fans will appreciate.  My newest favorites are Enclave by Ann Aguire, and Blood Red Road by Moira Young.  Both Dystopian YA novels with strong female lead characters - LOVED!  Some other EXCELLENT reads in the YA dystopia genre are:  Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, Life As We Knew It  by Susan Beth Pfeffer (a trilogy),  Matched by Ally Condie,  Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch -ALL GREAT - Look for some upcoming pieces in my shop from these must reads!

Hunger Games Jewelry!!!

Looking for that perfect something to show off your Hunger Games fandom?  Check out my shop TheMeadow.artfire.com