Gettin' my craft on!

Not much to report here, as I have been sick the ENTIRE MONTH! What is that all about? I had a few days here and there where I thought I was getting better, only to get worse in a couple days. So I did A LOT of lying around and catching up on past series of TV shows of years past on Netflix. I had no oomph and no desire to do anything at all.

But finally, FINALLY, it is over now. And I just bored myself to tears (probably because I didn't blink for like, a solid minute) while I wrote the last paragraph! So I'll cut it short by reporting that I have felt much better the past two days and even embarked on a crafty project or two! My first craft project? An antique-style gumball machine makeover. 
First, a little history on why I chose a gumball machine. One day I was wasting an afternoon on Pinterest (surprise!!) and stumbled upon this picture of a gumball machine that had been painted white instead of the traditional red.  It even had white jelly beans inside.

How cute!!  It was love at first sight!  I knew I had to find a gumball machine to make mine so that I would have a constant supply of snacks as I crafted!! I don't ask for much, do I?  So I started to search. First I searched Ebay and the likes, but it was difficult to find one under $50.  I really didn't want to pay that since I knew the lady from the blog (mentioned above and where I got the idea) had only paid $25 for hers.  There was also the fact that I was going to take it apart to repaint it anyway.  So my search continued.  Then, earlier this year I spotted one for sale on a neighboring town's Cragslist a co-worker snagged for me for....TADAH!.... only $25!!

The top portion was in pretty good shape, but the base and feet were a little dinged up. So I took it apart, cleaned it and painted it. I liked the idea of painting the entire machine white, but chose to stick with the original black base and feet for more contrast and flexibility of where the ol' gumball machine could be placed.  Right now, I'm planning on putting it in my craft room, but who knows where it will end up!

 And.... Here is my version:

Also on Pinterest, I saw the idea of putting Jelly Belly's or pistachios instead of gumballs (which I don't really like anyway...). I'm so excited to actually start AND finish a craft project! It has been too long!

Next up for craft projects? Earrings.....

Pinspiration: DIY laundry detergent

Anyone who has had a conversation with me recently knows how much I love Pinterest.

In fact, I often start my sentences this way: "On Pinterest I saw......"

But I don't just pin things....well, most of the time I do.  But hey! I've actually tried out several of the things I've pinned, be it recipes, household projects and outfit ideas.

One of such is homemade laundry detergent.

Now there are several out there, but I tried this one:

DIY Laundry Detergent

If you don't want to follow the link, the ingredients are as follows:

3 bars Fels Naptha Soap (grated)
1 three lb 7 oz box Washing Soda
1 four lb box Baking Soda
1 four lb 12 oz box Borax
3.5 lbs Oxi Clean (or the store brand equivalent)

Then you simply grate the bars of soap with a cheese grater (it actually grates fairly easy and looks like cheddar cheese....so don't get confused and sample any while grating.....) and mix the ingredients together.  I did mine in layers (add roughly 1/3 of each ingredient then stirring with a wood spooning, then repeat 3 times )in an old laundry detergent box. Then you're ready to go!



This looks like a box of Kitty Litter...but it's not!



I found all of these ingredients, side by side at my local grocery store.  For close to $18 dollars and in 15 minutes, I was able to make the laundry detergent. 

Now the beauty of the "supposed" DIY detergent is that A) it is said that only 1-2 tablespoons of detergent is needed.  As a result, B) it should last me quite awhile (it is estimated by the blog where this recipe came from to last about 8-9 months).  It's also nice that it's not too full of crazy perfumes that my skin abhors.

I've used it several times already, (one load from camping) and my clothes have come out looking and smelling clean and they even feel a bit softer!

I'm pretty pleased so far and will let you know just how long it really lasts me and what I still think of it down the road.