What Am I Up To Now???

What does this:

And this:

Have in common? You'll have to wait and see!! :)

Until next time. . .

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello everyone! I've been seeing several bloggers blogging about making homemade laundry detergent. It piqued my curiosity, but I must admit, I was very skeptical. So I did what any responsible blogger would do. . .research, research, research!! I read every blog post I could find on it and it seemed like the overwhelming census was that it got the laundry clean and cost only pennies to make. So I decided to jump in and give it a try!

Most of the "recipes" for this concoction are basically the same, but I decided to go with one I found over at the blog StoneGable.

Here's a look at my ingredients:

Click on the StoneGable link above to get the exact measurements and recipe. I would list them all here for you, but I've already thrown away all the boxes! The total cost to make a batch of this detergent is around $30. And it makes a huge tub of the stuff, let me tell ya! All you do is grate your Fels-Naptha soap (it looks like cheese!) and then pour all the other ingredients in and mix, mix, mix!

Here's what mine looked like after I mixed it all together:

Since you only use about 2 tablespoons per load, this batch should last me about a year! Thirty dollars for a year's worth of laundry detergent ain't too shabby, if you ask me! I used it for the first time today, and I really like it. My clothes came out fresh and clean without smelling perfumey. I don't have a HE front load washer, but all the info I read on this product states that it is safe to use in these types of machines. Also, it doesn't make hardly any suds so if you try it, don't think you aren't using enough. I used 2 tablespoons in the load I did today and it didn't suds up hardly any at all. But my clothes came out wonderfully clean! I did use my regular fabric softener but think I may now be on the hunt for a homemade version of that, too!

Have any of you tried anything like this? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Until next time. . .

A Simple Project

Hi everyone! I have been seeing rope wrapped vase projects all over blogland and on Pinterest. Since simple is what I do best, I decided to give it a try. I gathered my supplies, which consist of a dollar store glass vase, rope I purchased from Lowes, some faux hydrangeas, and my trusty well used glue gun and got to work.

All you do is wrap your rope or twine around the jar, gluing as you go.

And this is what it looks like when you are finished:

So Pottery Barnish looking, don't you think? I plopped my faux hydrangeas in it and, viola, a cute, summer look for just pennies! The most expensive part of this project was the rope. I think I paid around five dollars for it and the best part is, I have plenty left over for future projects. So for less than ten dollars, I have a stylish piece that is going to go into my "new" master bedroom. I'll share more on that with y'all in a later post.

I apologize for the quality of these photos. I did this project at night, while watching some mindless television. I think the whole project took me about an hour from start to finish.

I'm linking up with these parties this week:

Sizzle Into Summer over at DIY by Design

Wow Us Wednesday over at Savvy Southern Style

Share Your Creations Party over at Kristen's Creations

Until next time. . .