Trying to Live Simply

by Kara

Remember when we started this a million years ago, Kimmie? I think it's time to open it once again--plus I am procrastinating, avoiding writing an article that it going nowhere.  

So, with that going nowhere, here's this:

I recently resigned, and in the interest of saving some money, I've begun looking into making things from scratch to avoid shopping at Target and Walmart where I spend oodles of money on impulse buys and sales items.  

What have I learned so far about saving money by making it yourself?  
1. Start-up costs are large.
2. There's a lot about natural, "natural," and synthetic ingredients that I need to learn. 
3. When it comes to body care and cosmetics, PH balance and preservatives are worth researching. 
3. I can spend just about as much on Amazon and TKPtrading as at Target and Walmart. 

What have I made and will I keep making them? 

1. Hand soap (actually dish soap--why did I think it was hand soap? . . .  anybody?)

Thoughts: Let it sit for a couple days before using it.  I used too much super washing soda, so it's incredibly thick.  I liked the feel of it for the first few days, the olive oil left my hands feeling soft, but over the course of the last few weeks, it became a little drying.  Admittedly, it's probably because it's meant to be used with dishes.  I used lemon essential oil because I love J.R. Watkins Lemon Hand Soap and I am pretty happy with the final product, but I will probably use a different recipe next time, since it's drying. Is it cheaper than the $2.98 I usually spend on Method or the $4.78 I spend on J. R.  Watkins?  Probably.  So, win!?

2. Laundry detergent
Thoughts: I made the dry detergent, and after a month, I'm out.  I think I'll make the liquid this time only because the bits of soap didn't always dissolve when I washed clothes in cold water. I certainly saved money.  I usually spend $8 on laundry detergent from Trader Joe's, but this cost me just $5 and next time I will have everything but the bar of soap, which I ordered in bulk from Amazon. 

In the next two posts, I am going over some of the free resources I've found and some of the cosmetics I've attempted. 

Thrift Scores! And Summer Adventures

As always, summer so far has been busy, busy, busy! Although I teach I do not have summers off, and this time of year is in fact much more exhausting than the school year. I am technically a camp counselor this summer and spend my days with up to 29 children age 6-8. I can't really complain, though because most of these days are consumed with field trips and awesome activities. So far this summer I have been to the Zoo, the Science Center, Shaw Nature Reserve, the Wolf Sanctuary miniature golfing, the park, and fishing at Busch Wildlife. The most exciting was when we were at the Zoo and the kettle corn kiosk caught fire. AND Summer is only halfway over!

Now to the actual point of this post: thrift scores! When I'm feeling especially worn out, my favorite way to relax is by finding amazing bargains. I find the best deals at garage sales--especially church garage sales, but I have pretty good luck at certain thrift stores too. My first bargain I'd like to share may not seem like such a bargain to you, but believe me it was!

This awesome brick was found at a garage sale way out in the western most edge of the suburbs, far from its original home. The lady who sold this to me said she had purchased it years earlier from the neighborhood where I happen to live.

This ice cream maker was a quarter.

 I can't show a picture of the whole thing because half of it is in the freezer getting ready to do its thing. Amazingly, this little gem makes really awesome ice cream! Totally worth the money.

These stools were actually purchased a few months ago, but I love them and had to share.

I paid $60 for a beautiful set of five! These came from an estate sale and they are totally vintage! They have a sticker on the bottom from Lammert's, which was local.

They go so nicely in my dining corner!

This dress was the real steal!

I got it from a church garage sale this morning.

How darling is that shamrock print?! I love this so much and kind of feel like I should have paid more. I googled this brand and found a lot of dresses for a LOT more than $2.50! But when it comes down to it, this dress made my morning.

My summertime stress has been temporarily relived! 

DIY Camera Bag from Any Bag

This past Thursday started out great. The weather was beautiful as I headed out with my class on a field trip to a farm and a dog show. Of course I brought my camera to snap some photos of my little darlings' faces, and they turned out great.  Unfortunately,  after we got back tragedy struck. My camera was broken, and so was my heart!

After trying everything the internet suggested to try to fix it, I took it to a local camera shop to see what they knew that the internet didn't.  It ends up that all they could tell me was a sad story about spending lots of money to repair my camera, but that it would likely cost more than it was worth.

I took this as an excuse to upgrade. This shop had a whole shelf of used cameras, and I chose to buy a Canon EOS 40D. This model is 7 years old, but it's new to me! I've spent the last two days playing around with it and it is definitely an upgrade.

That being said, to better take care of this camera I started shopping around for a camera bag. Let me tell you, those bad boys are expensive! Making my own seemed like a much better option.

 I started with a bag that I own. I like it alright, but am considering some embellishments.

 I found some foam about an inch thick, and got this pretty green flannel. I measured my bag and my camera,  and started with the piece of foam being 17x14.

Step 1: Measure and do a little math.

Step 2: Cut out your fabric, remembering to leave about a half an inch for seam allowance.

I don't like pinning, and am not a seamstress in any way, so I cut corners a lot. As you can see, I bypassed pins here.

Step 3: With the wrong side of the fabric showing, stitch up 2 sides (or 3 if your fabric wasn't folded) leaving one whole side open. Just like a pillow case.

Step 4: Stuff that foam in and straighten it out. At this point, I also made three smaller rectangles with foam and fabric to be the deviders/walls of my device.

Step 5: Pinning really helps here. Finish up the open end of the "pillow."

Step 6: Mark 2 lines that will be  where the bottom and sides meet.

And sew.

Step 7: Squish everything into your bag and straighten it out.

That's it! A brand new camera bag from an old purse.

DIY Magnetic Spice Tins

Despite the cold and snowflakes today, the past few beautiful days have put me into spring cleaning mode. My teensy, tiny kitchen is always in need of a little space and I was feeling inspired to free some up. This project was super easy, and super inexpensive. 

Supplies:

  -clear top tins (I found mine here)

  -magnets (I used these)

  -hot glue gun

  -labels

  -tape

  -spices

Let's get started! After you've gathered your supplies, start by gluing on your magnets. They need to be strong enough to actually stick to the refridge without falling, so double check the strength of your magnets and use hot glue. I used two strips of magnets to keep the tins from wobbling on the refrigerator.

Next, make and cut out your labels. I stuck the labels on as I filled up the tins to avoid any later confusion.

Stick them on the refridge, and you're finished. That's it! Now, like me, you will have plenty of cabinet space freed up for other necessities, AND a super cute display of spices.

Phases-of-the-Moon Mobile

My fifteen-month-old’s first word was “oon,” or “moon” if you have a more mature vocabulary.  Any evening trips out of the house, my husband and I found ourselves pointing to the moon, saying “moooon,” and one night we watched our little boy stand under the window, point up at a crescent moon and say “. . .oooon, oon, oon.”  So, it’s only appropriate that I make this little boy a stages-of-the-moon mobile.

Here’s what you will need:

1. A pencil or a dark fabric pencil/pen

2. A piece of white chalk or light fabric pencil

3. White felt (I used about 24x18--Wash all fabric before crafting or sewing with it.)

4. Black felt (I used about 5x10)

5. Something perfectly round to trace around (I used an empty espresso can)

6. Either batting or something to stuff the moons with

7. Black paint

8. Black yarn

9. A thin  dowel rod, llarge embroidery hoop, or some kind of hoop

10. A small awl or large yarn needle

I had everything except the black yarn and black felt, so I headed to The Upcycle Exchange and was able to pick up both for a dollar.

Step one: Fold the white felt over the length of diameter of the circle you will trace.  My can was about four inches across, so I folded the fabric over four inches to create a double layer of fabric.  Then trace as many circles as you can on the two layers.  Cut these out and repeat until you have 9 circles.  Do the same for to make one double layer black moon for the new moon.

Step two: Create the stages of the moon.  First, create the first waning and waxing moons.  With two of the nine double-layered circles, using the can, trace about ⅛ of a circle on the edge and cut this out (for shape, see moon A below).  The moon should look like it has been bitten like a cookie.  One of these two moons will be the first stage of the waning moon and one will be the final stage of the waxing moon.  Then, create two moons. With the next two white felt circles, trace a larger circle within the moon to create the next stage.  I moved the can just about 3 cm in from the crescent of the first waxing and waning moons, trace a crescent, and cut it out (see moon B). Move the can a little over half way across the next two moons to create the next stage of the moon (moon C), and move the can a little less than ¾ of the way across the fabric to compose the final stage of the moon, the crescent (see moon D).  When you are finished, you should have a full moon, two first stage waning and waxing moons, two 3/4ths moons, two half moons, two ⅓ moons, a two crescent moons, and a black new moon.

Step three: Sew and stuff each moon.  I like using felt because it’s forgiving.  For the full and new moon, with the “dirty” side of the fabric--the side you traced on--facing out sew around the round the outer edge of the moon, leaving about 1 ½ inches with which to turn the moon inside out and stuff.  Most people leave a ¼ inch edge, but I only leave a little less than ⅛.  Be sure to lock the seam in place by sewing backwards a couple stitches at the beginning and end of the seam. Turn the moon inside out and stuff it, but not too full.  I leave the pieces pretty flat.  Next, iis the hard part. Fold the open side in. Think of pulling your lips in over your teeth, like you are pretending to be toothless.  Pin the fold in place (see the unfocused picture below), and then backstitch around the entire circle.  Backstitching makes things look professionally done.  If you don’t want to sew the black yarn through the finished moon, you can sew it into the moon as you backstitch.  Backstitching means sewing around the edge as close to the edge as possible. Be sure to take the pins out before you sew over them.

The eight crescents are much easier because I don’t sew the inside of the crescent together after I stuff them, but you could if you wanted to.  For each of the eight waxing and waning moons, sew first around the outer edge of the moon, leaving the inner crescent open so you can turn your moon inside out and stuff it.  Use the edge of a dull pair of scissors to push the points of the waxing and waning moons out when you turn them inside out..  Once you turn and stuff, backstitch and close the crescent. You can sew in the yarn at this point, but I didn't.  Trim any uneven edges to make the moons smooth and round.  See, you can’t even tell that you didn't sew the inner edges of semi-circle crescent of the moon before backstitching--yay, felt!

Step four: Paint the hoop or dowel  black.  If you paint the dowel, you can stick it in a potted plant to paint it.  If you paint a hoop, like I did. I painted as much as I could with my right hand, while holding it with my left.  When I finished, I used a hair blow dryer to dry it in five minutes, then painted the rest and dried it with the dryer.

Step five: Attach yarn with which to hang the moon, if you didn’t do it when you backstiched..  On each moon, I attached a about 10 inches of yarn.  I used an awl to poke a hole through the fabric.  Then, I tied a knot and the end of the yarn, strung the knot on the edge of the awl and pushed it through the small hole.  I double knotted it to secure it.  

Step six: Hang your mobile and moons.  With two pieces of yarn a couple inches longer than my mobile, I made a cross over the hoop and tied the yarn to the hoop with a double knot to secure them.  Then, I looped about 12 inches of yarn around the crossed yarn where they met.  I secured the loop with a double knot and hung it.  Finally, tie the moons to the hoop (or dowel if you chose).  I hung the ten moons in an arc and just eyed the length that I wanted each moon to hang.  I tied them loosely at first and then double knotted them when I liked their length.  

Last step! I trimmed all the loose yarn and hung it.  My sky sailor is already pointing at it, saying, “oooon!”  

DIY Cloud Door Mat

My apartment is tiny. My life at home sometimes feels like a battle between wanting to decorate and needing to organize (which is NOT my strength). I dedicated a chunk of my day yesterday to cleaning out and organizing one of the three (also tiny) closets here, and I think I did a pretty good job! As a reward to myself, I made a couple of cute, happy, cloud-shaped door mats.

Supplies:
-Door mat (I got mind at Target for around $5)
-Something round to trace
-A marker or pen that will mark on your mat
-A good pair of scissors

Once you have your supplies, here's what you need to do:

First flip your mat over so you won't be marking on the side you'll see.

Use your bowl (or other round object) to create the individual cloud "puffs" around your mat, leaving one long edge flat. Keep tracing until you have a cloud shape that you like.

Once your cloud looks just right, use a sharp pair of scissors to cut it out, and you're finished! It's that easy!

This project only took about 15 minutes, and it makes me smile every time a walk through my door!

Refashion: A Cozy Valentine's Day Sweater

Supposedly the weather here in the midwest is getting a little bit warmer, but there's still snow in my front yard and there's apparently more coming today! I'm still feeling the need to be cozy when I step out the door on this Valentine's Day, and have JUST the sweater.

And it's even red for Valentine's Day! 

I can't wear it like this, but I have a plan.

First I cut off the sewn-on turtleneck and wristbands and discarded them. I didn't bother with a seam ripper since it wouldn't be visible. Next I flipped the shirt inside-out and used another shirt that I like the fit of, and used it as a pattern to trace around. I probably should have pinned around the shirt where I wanted to sew, but I didn't feel like it. I am a big fan of sharpies and found this green marker before I came across any pins or chalk, so sharpie wins!

Then it's time to sew it up.

 I trimmed the extra fabric and flipped it back right side out.

Much better! Now I'm ready to head out and meet up with my Valentine. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Kimmie