DIY Ink pad tower

Hello! Hello! I am really excited about this project.  I ran across the idea while folding laundry and watching YouTube craft videos (my only movie obsession).  My husband doesn't think it's funny.  I don't watch movies very often.  He, and my children, can count the number of movies I watch each year on one hand.  However, the only way I can stay on top of folded laundry is to watch YouTube craft shows.  I love gleaning inspiration from other crafters :)!

Anyway, while I was pinning one of the videos I really enjoyed, up popped the "You might also enjoy" icon.  On this board, there were a couple of ink pad towers.  I fell in love with the idea right away, of course.  Anything DIY is right up my alley, right? 

On Friday, one of my dear friends came over and we put the bare bones of these together.  It took us way too long (4 hours).  On Sunday I finished decorating mine.  I love how it turned out.  There are two drawbacks I have with this.  First, I already have more inkpads than this will hold :).  It holds 28.  I currently have 30! My friend lovingly offered to store some of mine in hers (lol).  Second, I want to put a turntable on the bottom of this.  I am going to drill a hole in the center of a block of wood and insert a small dowel.  Then, I am just going to pop a hole in the bottom center of my organizer and set it on top of the dowel block.

The blog tutorial that I used for my inspiration is http://kimba-slydog.blogspot.de/2012/03/workshop-stempelkissen-turm-fur-24.html.  My box is made completely from cardboard.  Hers is mixed with wood and cardboard. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy crafting! -Dari

Remove Yellow Armpit Stains

I really wanted to share with you another finished project, but I haven't finished one yet!  I have been working on trying to catch up in some areas of my life.  Today I used a homemade stain remover for the nasty yellow armpits of my white dress.  I don't know how they got there, because I don't do anything physical in that dress, but nonetheless, they are there. I left it out for over a week, because I know myself really well.  If I had put that dress away, I would have forgotten about the stains until the next time I put it on. 

So, as I was saying, I am in a mood today.  I love those days.  I wish I had more of them.  You know.  The ones where there is no nonsense.  No distractions. You're a person on a mission and nothing is going to stop you.  I even cleaned out my fridge today!  I think I should go fold my laundry- I'm on a roll!

Enough of my rambling.  The recipe for my ARMPIT STAIN REMOVER is as follows:

4 T. baking soda

1/4 C. water

Simply mix this into a runny paste.  Scrub stain.  I use an old toothbrush.  Let sit for 1 hour.  Scrub more if needed. Wash normally, dry low heat.

Really simple, huh?  Hope you enjoy!  Hope your day is as productive as mine. -Dari

Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Cake

Yesterday we celebrated my father-in-law's 68th birthday.  I was in charge of the cake.  How I wish I had a picture for you, but alas, my phone died, and so I couldn't take a picture.  The really funny thing is that before we even went up to his house for the party, I had the thought, "You should take a picture of the cake before you go."  I should have listened.  Didn't.  It's not the end of the world, and the decorating job wasn't all that great!  My princess helped me with it.  I figured that he is old enough that he would have appreciated her decorating more than a professional one anyway (sentimental feelings).  Everyone loved the cake, and not all of them are on special diets. So, here is my recipe:

GLUTEN FREE DAIRY FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE

(Makes two 9 in. rounds or 1 9x13 cake)

1 C. brown sugar (or sweetener of choice)

1 3/4 Gluten Free Flour mix (see below for details)

3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 eggs

1 C. soy milk or rice milk

1/2 C. olive oil

2 t. vanilla extract

1 C. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350F (175 degrees C).  Grease pan(s) of choice.  

In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the eggs, milk of choice, oil and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in the boiling water last.  The batter should be thin.  Pour into pans.  

Bake for 30-35 minutes until nothing sticks on toothpick or cake tester when inserted into the middle.  Remove from oven.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Frost as desired.

*Notes:  I make my own gluten free flour mix.  Here's how I do it: I pour 5 cups sweet brown rice and 3 cups hulled millet into my grinder.  To this I add 2 1/2 C. tapioca starch.  I mix this well using my Kitchen Aid, handheld mixer or a long handled spoon.  Then I measure the flour out and ADD 1 t. Xanthan gum per 2 cups flour.  I place the flour mixture into a large old Tupperware container and it is ready to use just as you would regular flour.  If you don't have my mix on hand you can use any gluten free flour mix you'd like.  If you don't have a mix, but just bags of individual flours, use the following proportions: 1/2 of needed amount of rice, sorghum, or another that is not really starchy, and then 1/4 of needed amount of two others.  One of these should be starchy ie: tapioca starch or potato starch in order to achieve the same consistency and texture.

This is the only cake I am allowed to make at my house, because everyone always requests it.  Which, I think that is a good thing.  There was only piece left of it last night, but I am told that it got polished off soon after I left.

Hope you are inspired to create something wonderful in the kitchen! -Dari

Coconut Cloud Cream Moisturizer

Good afternoon!  I just got back from my first run of the season.  It felt so good outside today.  My life is a little crazy right now.  I had four kids 4 and under today.  The four year old was my own.  Needless to say, I haven't had a lot of time to do extra things, but my face told me I had to make more moisturizer!  I ran out about 2 weeks ago, and I have just put it off.  The sad thing is that it doesn't take very long to make.  Deciding to just do it is more than half the battle!

Anyway, I decided to take pics while I was making it so I could share it with you.  I LOVE this recipe.  I have been making it for years now.  The original recipe comes from my favorite DIY beauty book, Natural Beauty at Home by Janice Cox (2nd Ed.).  I bought mine on Amazon many years ago and it is my go to.

Her recipe  is as follows:

2 T. stearic acid powder

1/4 C. coconut oil

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 C. distilled water

A few drops coconut fragrance (opt.)

Here is my version of it:

1 T. beeswax

1/4 C. coconut oil

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 C. distilled water

5 drops essential oil of choice

(Today I used 1 drop Rosemary, 3 drops Lemongrass & 4 drops Bergamot)

(Another favorite of mine is 3 drops Geranium & 2 drops Lavender)

 

Oops! I forgot to put the essential oils out, too (lol).

The first step is to grate the beeswax.  I just use my hand kitchen grater.  Place the beeswax and the coconut oil into a double boiler (or if you don't have one you can place a smaller saucepan inside a larger pan.  Fill the larger pan with about 1 inch of water.  If you have a canning lid, place it in the bottom and then the smaller saucepan on top).  Heat the water to boiling over medium heat.  Just stir the mixture occasionally until it is completely melted.

Meanwhile, place the distilled water and the baking soda in a microwave safe dish and "nuke" it for 1 minute.

Here you can see the coconut oil and beeswax melted.

Here is my high end blender!  Funny thing is that I have had some really nice ones, but somehow they haven't lasted.  Yet, this blender that some wonderful person gave us for our wedding 15 years ago is still up and running!

Place the melted oil mixture in the blender.   With the blender running, slowly pour the water mixture in.  Add the essential oils and blend them in as well.

And here is the finished product!  Oh.  A little tip: pour/scrape the lotion into the container you plan on using while it is still warm.  The lotion will continue to thicken as it cools.  

I love this so much that I use it for my everyday lotion.  I use it on my face, hands, feet, etc.  This lasts about 2 months.

Hope you enjoy! -Dari

Stash Buster #12 Gel Ice Pack Pillow

I am so excited about this one for lots of reasons! First, it is very practical and needed at the current time in my life; second, I love the way it turned out; and third, I used a new stitch which is really fun.
So, what am I so excited about? Gel Ice Pack Pillow.  I have been layering washcloths and ice packs on my face for a couple of weeks now. During one of my moments of frustration I thought, "I should make something that would keep these layers together."  Some of the best inventions are created out of necessity!

 

 

I even remembered to post a picture of the yarns I used from my stash.  As you can see, most of my yarns are not in beautiful balls.  Once upon a time.  I don't even remember when that part of my life went out the door!

I wanted to share an up close photo of the sedge stitch I used.  It is one I will definitely work with again.  To create this stitch you need any set of 3 stitches + 1.  For the chain base, add 2.  Turn.  Skip 2 ch, HDC & DC in next stitch; *skip 2 ch, SC, HDC & DC in next st, repeat from * until end.  In last stitch, SC only.
Consecutive rows: Turn, CH 1 (counts as SC), HDC & DC in same st, skip 2 st and repeat from *. That's it!  It has a nice subtle texture and pretty pattern.

To top this off, I made homemade gel packs.  Oh! No! I forgot to take a photo of one.  However, here is the recipe.

HOMEMADE GEL PACKS

1/2 C rubbing alcohol
1 C  water
Blue food coloring
ZipLoc sandwich bag
Food Saver bag and sealer, opt.

Fill sandwich bag with ingredients.  Seal. Place in freezer overnight.  How simple is that?  They work great!

Life's little Satisfactions!

OK, so hopefully you are not as bad as I am! I hate cleaning the fridge. It is one of those chores that I despise. Maybe if I did it as often as I should, it wouldn't be so bad. The last time I scrubbed out the fridge was Thanksgiving! I decided to swallow my pride and take a before and after picture. As I was cleaning, I was creating my post in my mind. I was going to take a picture afterwards of a sparkling clean EMPTY fridge and say, "Unfortunately, I have to put the food back in." The funny thing is that after I got done cleaning, I forgot that little detail! It wasn't until I got all the food back in that I realized I hadn't taken a picture of my clean fridge. LOL!! So, here is the picture of my clean organized fridge. After I scrubbed it out, I sprayed it down with my homemade disinfectant spray and quickly wiped it with a paper towel. I love my spray. Here's my recipe: HOMEMADE DISINFECTANT SPRAY 2 C. distilled water 1/2 C. distilled vinegar 10-15 drops essential oils (I like 5 drops peppermint, 5 drops lavender, and 5 drops lemongrass). This changes. Sometimes I will put tea tree oil, rosemary and geranium. Or, lemon and peppermint or..... Place water in spray bottle. Add vinegar. Then add oils. Put lid on bottle and rub bottle back and forth in hands to evenly mix up oils. Essential oils are antibacterial, antiviral and antiseptic. Amazing resources from nature!! I'm addicted. Hopefully, this will motivate me to not procrastinate so long.