All Things DIY Natural

Sugar Scrub
Before shaving legs:
2 part sugar
1 part olive oil
few drops of Vitamin E
few drops of Grapeseed Oil (just because I had it)

Use on face also...it's a nice scrub..not too oily or abrasive.

I used Tablespoons for one sitting

Lotion
Cocoa Butter
Jojoba Oil
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Essential Oil

DIY Todder Pillowcase Dress

Last year I worked on a really cute black and white bandana dress with yellow ribbons.
This year I definitely wanted to make a few more of these and tweak it a little (adventerous!)
I started with the Owl Dress....I found the fabric in quarters 18x20 at JoAnn's Fabric.  Immediately when I saw the colors and such I knew I wanted to incorporate crochet in this dress how ever possible.

The Yoke is no Yoke.

I couldn't find a pattern that I quite liked so I decided to invent a yoke of my own.  I started with a Single Crochet Foundation chain (first color).  First time attempting and it wasn't difficult to do and then for the second row (second color) just a line of SC and for the 3rd and 4th row (third color) I did a *3dc, ch, 3dc, sk3, sc, sk3 and repeat *
5th &6th rows I did a SC across (first two colors)

Then I sewed the Yoke on by hand once I had the dress hemmed.

Any questions please feel free to inbox me =)

DIY Vinyl Wall Decals

I don't know by definition if you would classify this as a DIY since Cricut did most of the work but still someone had to push the buttons and tis I!

I love this quote, I think it's perfect for my bathroom and I think at one point I did stumble across this vinyl quote in my shopping (Hobby Lobby, I think) but I didn't quite like the font or the layout so I decided to do my own.

Here are the tools and quick/easy instruction:

Cricut Vinyl paper
Cricut Transfer paper (tricky)
"Be your own kind of"  Nate's ABC
Size: "B" 3/12 and the rest in 2 1/2
"Beautiful" Sophisticated
Size: 8 3/4

Once you have your words cut out apply transfer paper.
My transfer paper experience was....meh.  I ended up peeling it off ever so carefully with rubbing each letter on the wall as I was peeling.  Tedious but have patience.  The outcome is beautiful.  ;)

OH and the star I found at a flea market....sorry!!!  But I'm sure Hobby Lobby has or you can be creative with a cardboard one from Michaels. :)

Enjoy mucho!

Healthier Cake Pop Mission....

I love Starbucks...turns out my 2 year old does too....but not for the same reason.  She really enjoy those cake pops (a bit of cake on a stick).  Every once and a while I don't mind indulging her with one.  Thankfully, more times than not half of it falls to the floor so she's essentially only having half a cake pop which is enough sugar/junk for mama and toddler to be satisfied with. (waste of money...i know)
BUT...my toddler loves the idea of a cake pop and...so do I so I've been trying to come up with healthier solutions to divert the sugar and the Star$$BUCKS spent on it.

Option #1 (so far)

Yogurt Pops!!

Sounds great...in theory.   Typically a summer treat...so the littles can eat this outside.  It can get a bit messy.
I used a coconut based yogurt (dairy free) that had strawberry/banana mix.
added a 1/2 teaspoon of honey
and poured it into my cake pop mold tray and froze it.
Took an hour to freeze....about a half hour into it is when I put the sticks in so they stand straight.

PS. I got the mold pan and pop sticks from Michaels Arts & Crafts

Pros:  Healthy and delicious summer treat!
Easy for toddler to handle.
You could probably eat this before it actually melts.

Cons: For a toddler to eat before it melts: almost impossible.
Can be quite messy.
Not easy for toddler to put this down and pick up again.
My toddler was into it for maybe a minute then the novelty wore off.

Back to the drawing board........stay tuned. 

Option Two:

Bobs Red Mill Vanilla Cake Pop - Gluten Free

TAKE ONE:
Ingredients:
1 bag of Bobs Red Mill Vanilla Cake
1 cup of Coconut Oil
3 egg whites (carton = 2/3 cup)
1 cup of water

Mix all ingredients together; pour batter to just top the bottom half of cake pop tin; bake in oven @ 325 degrees; for 25 minutes

Icing:
2 tbs of Simply balanced (berry blend freeze dried fruit) (TOO MUCH SUGAR)
1 cup of Chobani Greek Yogurt (strawberry banana)
1 tsp organic vanilla
2 tbs of organic powdered sugar (Woodstock) (NOT ENOUGH POWDERED SUGAR)

The outcome:
The cake was DELICIOUS!!!  The icing tasted great BUT the consistency wasn't that great.
Even though I put it in the refrigerator to harden a little bit....it didn't do much.
I looked at other recipes and I definitely notice a 1 cup Greek yogurt to 1/2 cup powdered sugar ratio.


TAKE TWO:
Cake recipe same as above.

Icing:
1 cup Chobani Greek yogurt
1 tsp organic vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar (Woodstock)
1 DANNON Danimals Smoothie (Strikin' Strawberry Kiwi)
1 tsp Agave Nectar

Whip together; refrigerate for 30 minimum

The outcome:
The cake was once again DELICIOUS. 

DIY NO SEW Shower Curtain

This was an awesome project because the sewing machine and I...as I've stated before...we have a love-hate relationship.  So the less I'm around it....the better!!  =)))

My shower curtain....I couldn't quite find a pattern or color that I liked in the shower curtain selection that I searched BUT I was able to find the perfect sheet set in the color and pattern that I did like...what is a diy girl to do?!?!

Well...first I bought the sheet set at Macy's for like 18 dollars...super cheap!  (Queen size)
Then...I bought NO SEW grommets at Michaels Arts & Crafts.  (Brilliant)
and then I figured out the measurements between each grommet (approx. 10 in)
I marked the circle (provided with grommets)
Cut and snap these puppies in!  So awesome!

As for the hem.....well the sheet was a bit too long for what I wanted in my shower so I cut it to desired length with leaving a half inch to hem.   Dum dum dum...hem = sewing machine.  Ah...but not always.

Once again, Michaels Arts and Crafts come to my rescue with Heat n Bond Ultrahold iron-on adhesive.
All I needed was an iron and maybe some pins just to keep things straight.

Voila....very proud of my bathroom so far!!!!

DIY Toddler Bandana Dress!! Pinning Sensation!!!

Ok it's no secret that, along with many other people, I'm obsessed with Pinterest.  I also have a very strong inclination to DIY as much as time will allow (nap time, that is).  So here is my latest pin replication and I absolutely ADORE it.  If I didn't have such a love/hate relationship with my sewing machines...this would be all my daughter would wear all summer long in various colors!!!

Here is the original PIN with the generous instructions on how to and their pic. Muchisimas Gracias!

I did get my bandanas at Michaels Arts & Crafts and my ribbon at JoAnn Fabrics.  It really was SEW easy to make...again...if you have a better relationship with your machine than I do. ;)

Here is my finished product and my little cutie pie who turns TWO today!!!  Happy Birthday, my love!! xoxo

My version of the Bandana dress!

I did tweak it a little and sewed the ribbon bow together....Lesson learned after my sneaky toddler pulled both ribbons at the same time and the dress was around her ankles in a blink of an eye.  Oof!

DIY Toddler Work of Art!

My favorite pin/project so far!  Super easy to do, very rewarding, a little messy, SUPER fun for the tots!

What you will need:

16x20 canvas
Masking tape, Sticky letters or Cricut (is what I used)
Finger paints (home made recipe found here)
Toddler fingers

I made a few of these so far as gifts. One for baby Gabby and baby Jackson (both just turned 1)
Brooklyn and I put it to the test and I'm truly loving the outcome.
Here are a few pics as we went along:

 

 

When it dried:

I think what I'm going to do before I hang it up is line the outside of her name in a dark think marker so that the name pops a little better.  I will post as soon as it's done =)

Here it is!!!!!

Great Summer Fun Toddler Project!!!  Enjoy!!!!!!