Made by Me Monday - Valentine T-shirt

I wanted to make my daughter a cute Valentine's Day shirt, and I had lots of ideas swirling around:

1. collage of different shaped hearts

2. heart balloons

3. LOVE spelled out with a heart for the "O"

I also wanted to make matching T-shirts for my daughter and soon-to-be son, and I had decided on chunky initials out of coordinating fabric.

So, off to Hobby Lobby I went and bought way too many different fabrics with ideas in mind. I got home and started making ideas 1 and 3 to see what I liked best. I decided neither was the perfect shirt for sweet little Finley, so I took a break. However, I loved all the Valentine's fabrics I'd found and didn't want to give up! Back to the drawing board, and this was the result:

Large heart applique in the red polka dot fabric and chunky letter "f" in the coordinating pink and red paisley. Love it (and she does, too!)!!

If you'd like the iron-on applique template and instructions, you can visit my etsy store here: Heart and Initial Template and Iron-on Applique Instructions

Miss Pam's Green Cleaner

One of my goals for this year is to try one new, homemade project each month.  I love finding and undertaking new craft projects, but this goal is meant to be geared more toward projects I wouldn't normally be drawn to actually complete.

This month??  Miss Pam's Green Cleaning Spray

My sister-in-law is an avid cleaner, and when I walked in her house and smelled a refreshing but unique aroma, I asked her about it.  She said she had gotten the recipe for a new cleaner from Miss Pam.  It took me over a year to remember to ask her for the formula, but now I have it!

With the recipe in hand, I went to our local Greenlife grocery store, picked up the ingredients, and came home to create this concoction.

Here is the recipe I used:

• 32 oz spray bottle (with the name of the cleaner and recipe written on the side)

• 2 cups of water

• half a cup of white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon of pure castile soap (this comes in a variety of scents - I used almond, but citrus would probably be better)

• three quarters of a cup of peroxide

• one quarter of a teaspoon of tea tree oil

• one quarter of a teaspoon of each of your favorite essential oils to get the scent you like best (funny story below!)

Mix all these lovely ingredients together, and voila!, you have Miss Pam's Green Cleaning Spray.  I've been using the spray for a couple of weeks now, and I just love it!  It cleans well and smells great (to me!), so what could be better!?

Funny story about the essential oils: I LOVE spearmint.  I will say that again.  I LOVE spearmint.  So, I decided to go with just spearmint oil for this first batch instead of mixing in a more citrus smelling oil.  So, I mixed up the cleaner and started using it right away.  On everything.  Everything is going great, right?

Side note: my husband HATES gum.  I will say that again as well.  My husband HATES gum.  So, a couple of hours after my husband came home from work the day I first made Miss Pam's Green Cleaning Spray, he said, "Honey, I think it is great you are using this homemade spray, but it smells like GUM!"  He continued to walk around the house, and every time he walked into a room where it had been used, he would turn around and walk out while holding his nose.

Well, I was slightly annoyed with his overexaggeration of how the cleaner smelled.  That is until my daughter entered the picture.  She is three years old, and LOVES gum.  So, later that evening, she walks into the kitchen where I had recently been cleaning after dinner.  The moment she stepped foot into the room, a huge grin appeared on her face, and she said, "Mommy, where is the gum that you and me LOVE?"  At this point, all I could do was laugh, tell my husband I was sorry for the smell, and go buy some orange and lime essential oils to add to my cleaner!  Now everyone is happy (except for my daughter, who never really understood there was no gum in the house!).

Ribbon Wreaths

I saw this tutorial on making ribbon wreaths and thought something like it would make a perfect wall decoration for my daughter's third birthday.

Here is the original inspiration from The Long Thread:

It was made as a Halloween decoration, but I love the elegance and think it could easily be used year round!

And here is the one I made for my daughter's lollipop party.  The colors for the party were pink, green, and aqua.  I am thinking about making it a permanent decoration in her bedroom.

These are super easy to make, but it does take a while and ALOT of ribbon!  But, I think the outcome is definitely worth the effort.