Holiday Scented Playdough

I have to admit that I've never made homemade playdough before. I have to say, I'm impressed! I thought it would come out greasy or grainy, but its just like the store bought stuff. Its also super easy to make. Since Christmas is next week, I wanted the playdough to smell like Christmas, so I made Peppermint Playdough and Gingerbread Playdough.

Peppermint Play-Dough

 (It really is pink, the pic is not the best)

What you'll need:

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Iodine Salt
• 4 Teaspoons Cream of Tarter
• 4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 2 Cups Water 
• 3 Teaspoons Peppermint Extract
• Few drops red food coloring

~Add peppermint extract and red food coloring to water. Measure flour, salt, cream of tartar and vegetable oil into a heavy, medium size sauce pan. Pour water mixture into dry ingredients, mix well.

~Cook over low heat, stir the mixture contentiously until it begins to thicken and pull away from the sides of the sauce pan.

~ Remove the mixture from the burner. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, kneed until consistency of playdough. Store in a ziplock back up to a few weeks.

Gingerbread Play-Dough

What you'll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 4 tsp cream of tartar or alum
• 5 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. oil

~Combine the dry ingredients in a saucepan.  Add the water and oil and mix well.
~Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken and pull away from the sides of the sauce pan.
~Remove the mixture from heat and knead when cooled enough to handle.  Store in a ziplock bag when cooled to keep from drying out.  

Make your own: Compost Bin

My project this week is to make my own compost. I live in an apartment building and have to share my yard with 4 other families. I'm sure they wouldn't be to happy seeing (and smelling) all my compost items, so I looked into getting a compost bin- and there expensive!

That got me thinking, why can't I just use a Rubbermaid bin? I've been doing some research and found that it is very possible to do, and this is how:

What you'll need

• Rubbermaid Bin (stander size)
• "Browns" or Carbons (Dead leaves, brown grass clippings, wood, sticks, shredded newspaper, dead plants, rice, pine needles)
• "Greens" or Nitrogen (Fresh grass and other plant clippings, fruit and vegetable parts, coffee grounds (with or without filter), tea bags, wool, human hair)
• Extra newspaper
• A good knife

1. Clean the Rubbermaid bin. Make sure to remove all stickers and labels. Take your knife and cut holes along the edges of the bin's lid, about 1 centimeter wide. Next, cut a few holes in the middle of the lid. These holes will allow air and moisture to circulate.

2. Turn your bin over and cut some drainage holes. Also put two slits in each corner, about a half-centimeter wide and 3 centimeters long. They should be big enough for drainage, but not enough to allow your compost to spill out.

3. Rip up your extra newspaper and put it in the bottom of the bin. The shreds should be no more than 1 inch thick, and should fill up the container about 5 to 6 inches.

4. Gather all your "browns". Place them on top of the newspaper. Your bin should be about one-third to one-half full.

5. Gather your "greens". Place these on top of your browns. Your compost bin should be almost full. Make sure to leave a little room at the top though.

6. Place your bin outside (if it isn't already there). If you must place it directly on a deck, a second extra lid can be placed underneath as a drip tray.

7. Water. Make sure it's damp, but not so wet that everything is floating around. If you live in a rainy climate, you can let nature take its course and wet your compost for you.

8. Wait.

9. In about 3-4 weeks, go out and give your compost a good turn. This will allow the microbes that are decomposing everything to spread around. Repeat every 3-4 weeks.

10. Within 6-8 months, you should have a brown, earthy-smelling mixture. That's your compost!

(compost info mostly taken from You Grow Girl)

Make your own baby essentials

Baby essentials can be really pricey, and all those things add up fast! A great way to ease the financial burden for all that baby stuff is too make your own.
Natural Baby Oil: Use pure almond oil. Its hypoallergenic and has a warming effect on the body. If your baby is allergic to seed or nut oil, use olive oil. For babies 6 months and older you can experiment by adding essential oils to the base oil. Store in a clean glass container.
Baby Wipes: Cut a roll of paper towels in half so you have two small rolls. Remove the cardboard center. Then mix 1/4 cup almond or olive oil, 2 cups distilled water, and 1/4 cup baby shampoo, adding a few drops of essential oils is optional. Now place a short roll of paper towels into a waterproof, air tight container (you can use an empty wipes container) Now pour the solution over the paper towels. Places lid on your container and gently shake it around so it can absorb.
Baby Food: Take you fruit or veggie of choice and steam until soft. Add softened food to a food processor (or Magic Bullet) and mix until smooth. If the food is too pasty, add some of the water used to steam the food. Store in a ice cube tray until frozen, then transfer to an airtight freezer container. Each cube is 2oz of baby food. Note: it is not recommended to make baby carrot food due to the risk of nitrates.
Diaper Rash Ointment: Mix 1/2 cup sweet almond oil or olive oil, 2-3 drops lavender oil, 2-3 drops tea tree oil, and 4 Tablespoons water. Transfer to a jar or bottle to use for applying to baby to ease a red bottom or diaper rash

Go Green! Time to Clean.

It’s that time of year for spring cleaning season. I always love to give my home a good cleaning every year. I also like to do it with as little chemicals as possible. (I have a bleach free home) Below I’ve listed some homemade cleaning supplies that will help cut back on the chemicals you use to clean with, and also help cut cleaning supply costs.
Air Freshener: use a 16 oz spray bottle and put 1/2 water and 1/2 liquid fabric softener in and start spraying. It is safe to spray on fabric, I spray my curtains, the couches, bedspreads, pillow, etc
Disinfecting Wipes: Cut paper towels in half width ways, add to a container with 3 cups of Lysol. Seal tight.
Floor Cleaner: 1 cup white vinegar & 1 gallon hot water mix in the bucket you use to wash your floor.
Window Washer: Combine a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water into a spray bottle. Use newspaper to wipe windows instead of paper towels
Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Remember science class? Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to your toilet bowl, them sprinkle with baking soda. The chemical reaction will clean you bowl no problem.