Burned Edge Leather Flowers

The Verdict- Home Made Liquid Laundry Soap

After using it for 2 weeks, here is my results.

1. Laundry doesn't smell like chemical "spring meadows", it smells just clean and fresh.

2. The dark's were clean, the red and pinks were clean, the whites where brighter than usual.

3. The kitchen linens and towels came out specially fresh smelling.

4. 10 gallons of liquid soap=160 loads!! 

It turns out there is a really great reason why this liquid soap works so well here; we have extremely hard water full of minerals, the washing soda and borax both help with softening it so it works better at removing dirt and grime. The kitchen towels generally have a slight musty smell, but after two washes, they no longer have it either, yay! The store bought liquid detergent is really not made for our type of water and even though it does make your clothes smell "clean", they sometimes have to be put through two cycles before they look clean. 

I also love that I haven't had any itching issues, which I have regularly with clothes washed in commercial detergent.

Laundry soap, the bar says it's made in Dominica.

Pool softener, aka: washing soda. 4.99 at  Canadian Tire.

Considering how I only spent money for the washing soda, the price for this is right up my alley. I has laundry soap bars I brought back from Guatemala, they are old but soap does not go bad (it just looses moisture slowly), I also had the borax since I bought 2 boxes back when David was in cloth diapers. I ended up buying pool water softener for 4.99 for a kilogram (Superstore was out of washing soda but it's back on the self today), it is soda ash and the same thing just cheaper if it's for your pool?!

The whole thing is super easy and I will never buy commercial detergent ever again! So the verdict is that it works and I love it using it.
I'm sharing the video I got the recipe from. Anyhow, try it out, specially if you have hard water in your area. You may just be happy to save some $$ and the bonus is really clean clothes.

Cheers,
Viviana

About Love

This is about something that happened a few months back, but I need to share because it is significant to me, as it should be as a parent.

We all are in a rush, and in this world we live in, there never seems to be enough time to just stop and breathe, to slow down and look around and really see the little things that make life big. Unfortunately, my life sometimes is like that of many, and although I work at home, I still tend to run ragged, trying to stay on task to get the kid up out of bed, get him fed and watered and off to school, get the kids back, change diapers, take to the bathroom, more feeding, get them napped, pick up again etc.
I normally don't go up the stairs alone unless it is to go pee, I'm usually running up with a kid in my arms to make it to the bathroom before any accidents happen. When I go up though, I don't turn on the lights on the stairwell, I make a mad dash and sometimes even pee in the dark!
One one particular day, I happen to turn on the light and actually make my way up looking at my surroundings, paying attention to the details, when I found this written on my wall: I LOVE MOM.

A small gesture from my son, a tiny detail in the grand scheme of things, but such a touching tribute to the love he has for me.

When I asked him about it later that day, he said "Oh, I wrote that on there in the summer" (it was early October when I discovered it)....and yes it did bring me to tears (privately, so I did not make him think I was disappointed in him). I was not at all disappointed in him, he said he wrote it in pencil so it would wash off, I was more disappointed in myself for not noticing it sooner. Is this what my life has become? So I made myself promise to slow down, stop and pay attention, see the world with the eyes of a child, admire the wonder and enjoy those little things that make this life a good life.
Yes, the words are still there on the wall (I just took that picture this morning) and some days, I sit on that step and admire those 3 words, they mean the world to me and obviously, I mean the world to the amazing little author.

Cheers,

Viviana

Working on a new video!!

So sorry I've been off the grid for weeks, but I have been very very productive in that time. I've been working on quite a few projects actually; Christmas comes too fast and this year I will be prepared, I may even get my cards mailed out by the first week in December. So, I've been making cards and tags, working on more hair accessories and brooches for my craft shows, making my own liquid laundry soap, rebinding my SMASH book for which I will make a video too, and working on a video of my Configurations Christmas box. I'm posting just a couple sneak-a-peeks before the video goes up. I still have some work to do and editing is a time consuming effort, but I'll work diligently while the kids nap and maybe I will have it up in the next few days.
In the mean time, for your viewing pleasure!

I dug into my trove of scrappy Christmas  bits and bobs.

Everything is from last year or older, I like to make use of what I have rather than buy new stuff!

As you can see, I do not like to follow direct instructions, I did my own thing!

So tune in later on in the week, to see the finished product on my You tube channel. In the mean time, keep warm and stay scrappy happy!!
Cheers,
Viviana

Ron Paul Interview On DeFace The Nation 11/20/11