Sock Bun Curls

I am sorry to break it to you, this one does not work!!! :( I can not tell you how disappointed I am! The idea behind this one is that you can wet your hair a little and put it in a sock bun before you go to bed. Leave it in while you sleep, pull it out in the morning, and you have beautiful curls! That's the idea, at least. My sister tried this one for me, as my hair isn't long enough, and the picture above is what it left her with. Not the prettiest curls I have ever seen. We will keep playing with this one to see if we can get it to work, because how nice would that be if all you had to do for gorgeous hair is sleep in a bun!?! Hopefully we will have better luck next time.

Sock Bun

Have you always wanted to know how people get their hair buns to look like they have 15 lbs of hair? All full and pretty? I have, and I assumed it was the length because my hair sure doesn't look pretty in a bun, and it's just past my shoulders. Come to find out the answer is a sock. Gross? A little. But don't worry, I washed mine before I stuck it in my hair. Here is what you do: Take a sock and cut off the toe so it makes a tube. Then you roll the sock on itself so it makes a donut like shape. Think about it like you are folding a cuff on your pants, and keep going until it is all rolled up. Put your hair in a pony tail and pull it through the sock. Pull the sock up to the tip of your hair. Fan your hair out around the entire thing and start tucking it up under the sock, so you cant see it. Roll the sock towards your head, tucking up any hair that falls out as you go, until you cant any more. Pin it in place and you are all done. There you go, that's the secret! Best part is, it looks great. Everyone loves it. This one gets my vote!

Pretty Up-Do

I don't know what to call this one, and I can not remember what is was called on Pinterest, if anything. I needed something new to do with my hair, and this was the ticket. It is a lot easier to do than it looks, and every time I do it I get a lot of compliments. All you do is take the sides of the top of you hair and pull them back into a pony tail with a small hair rubber band. Tease the hair in the pony tail so it is not hanging straight down. If you don't it will just slide out one side when you are all done. Then gather the rest of your hair together and put another band in it near the tip of your hair. Take that ponytail and pull it up and tuck it behind the first ponytail. Pin it in place and you are all done. Super easy, right? This is an actual picture of my hair in this do. Please excuse the cell phone picture, this is what happens when no one is around to help :)

Growing Green Onions in a Mason Jar

I saw a pin with a tip for growing green onions in a mason jar for a never ending supply. It said to put the left over white/root part in a mason jar with some water and place it in the window. This is supposed to make the onion grow again, and you can then trim off the green whenever you need some. I tried it. I used some green onion in dinner and didn't cut off any of the white. I put it in my jar, added enough water to cover it, and placed it in the window. Well one week went by and nothing happened. I changed out the water for clean and waited some more. Another week went by and nothing still. If anything, a little mold was growing on it. My family got sick of it and it was thrown out, even before I got a picture. This one did not work for me. If it has worked for you, and I did something wrong, I welcome your tips!

Birthday Garland

My baby recently had his birthday, and of course a party, and I had seen this darling garland around. It was a must for his first birthday! This was really easy to make, and from beginning to end was only about 45 minutes. All I did was take some pictures of the cutie, and they didn't even have to be very good ones because I was going to cut out the head and add a hat. I printed them off in black and white and cut out triangles for party hats out of fun scrapbooking paper. I added a pompom to the hat with tape, and attached them to a string, also with tape. Every one at the party loved this, I got lots of positive comments! I think now that the party is over I am going to hang it up in his room. It turned out so cute, I could not bring myself to throw it away. Another project worth your time, especially the small amount of time required!

Candle Stick Jars

I made these a long time ago, and just never got around to posing about them. These are a lot of fun to make, and more fun to have. I first made these right before halloween, and filled them partially with candy corn, and stuck a flameless tea light in each. I got a lot of compliments on them. All you need is a set of candlesticks, mason jars with lids, paint, and super glue. I think it pretty much explains itself, but here is what I did.

First I painted the candlesticks and the lids to match. I painted these ones a dark brown. Then I made a chromatic black to paint on and wipe away to give it an antiqued look. You can use a paper towel or a rag to do this. I really love how that turned out. Next I super glued the jars to the candlesticks. Lastly, I filled them with fun goodies, and voila! Done!

I ended up making quite a few of these as people ask for them for gifts. Everyone has had a lot of fun thinking of things to put in them for every holiday and season. These were very easy, and turn out really cute! Pinterest has done us good :)

Grandkids Make Life Grand Sign

How cute is this!?! My sister actually made this one (She stole it from my board, dang her!). She got a pice of wood from the hardware store and painted it. The vinyl lettering she cut out on her vinyl cutter. She had her daughter decorate the pins. She gave this to my mom for Christmas, and it was one of her favorites, if not her absolute favorite gift. This was a really easy project, and turned out just as expected. Definitely a winner!

Laundry Detergent

I have seen a lot of "make your own laundry soap" pins. They all claim to cost 2 cents a load. Sounds great to me! A store bought box of detergent usually costs about 25 cents per load. So I tried it, and I love it! This is what I used:

1 bar Fels Naptha
1/2 bar Zote
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax

I first grated the Fels Naptha and the Zote in my blender. (I have an attachment that will do this and it makes it go SO fast!) Then I added the Washing Soda and the Borax. When the Fels Naptha and Zote are grated, they make big curls. I was worried this would interfere with the ability to dissolve completely (might not) so I decided to run it through the blender. It is now the exact consistency of store bought laundry detergent. In case you have a HE machine, this is HE safe! Awesome, right! You can leave out the Zote (but I love the smell of it!) if you have any kind of reaction to it. You also can replace it with any soap you know is safe for your skin, like Dove. This way you can make it completely hypoallergenic.

I have been using this detergent for a few months now and could not be happier. I have noticed that it cleans my clothes just as well as store bought detergent, and is a lot more gentle on my clothes. My lint catcher collects probably 1/4 of what it used to with a load of laundry. With the savings on the soap itself, and the savings of helping my clothes last longer, I am one happy camper!