Most of you who know me know that I am definitely not blessed with a Gardener's know-how, but I love unique garden  art and I love birds so when I saw one of these, I had to make one for our back yard!   So, at the first big yard sale I saw, I stopped and came home with a really pretty cup and saucer.     Since I already have a desk full of craft items,  I used my trusty tube of E6000 glue to glue the cup to the saucer, then let it sit overnight.  This morning before church, I filled it with sunflower seeds and general seed and hung it from a shepherd's hook near the birdbath.  As with anything new in the yard, it will take a while for the birds to get used to it being there.  It is small, but I am hoping the little nuthatches and downy woodpeckers and finches find it!

I never would  have thought that it would be a pleasure to wash the dishes....by HAND! The dish liquid I made with the scent of cucumber melon smells heavenly and I willingly wash every little dish just to smell it!  Even the pots and pans which I have always hated to wash!    My first mistake in making it was to shred 2 bars of natural soap and NOT wait for it to cool completely before putting it in bottles.  Lets just say that TWO  bars were WAY too much and the bottles were full of super thick soap in the morning!  I transferred soap into two more bottles and have been adding, adding, and adding water to get just one bottle to the right consistency.  I think it is finally the way I want it, but now doubt if I could ever recreate it!
I should have used the recipe from an earlier post, but instead of using liquid castile, I used the shredded bar soap.  Maybe I will try the liquid soap next time.

It has been so much fun (and satisfying) in making my own shampoo, soap, detergent, hand creme, etc.  Today I want to share the recipe for  Coconut milk shampoo.  Since I have started using it, I no longer have to use gel or mousse on my hair and it is so soft and silky!  I will never buy store shampoo again!

COCONUT MILK SHAMPOO

1/4 cup coconut milk (You can find canned coconut milk at Walmart)1/3 cup liquid Castile soap (I used Baby Mild unscented Dr Bonners)
1 teaspoon Vitamin E, olive oil or almond oil

Combine all in a bottle or jar, shake well to mix and before each use.  Use only about 1 teaspoon with each use.
I bought a plastic bottle at Hobby Lobby and used an old pump cap on it.  It really conserves and you only need one squirt.  It has wonderful lather!  My husband even loves using it!

As I have said many time,  a gardener I am NOT, but for some reason lately, I have been interested in plants!  Last fall I planted a few bulbs in the back yard and was so pleased that they bloomed this Spring.  My BIL gave me one of his hibiscus plants around Christmas time and it is also blooming!

Was pleased with the colors of the tulips!  The hyacynths (sp) were white, yellow and pink.

Hibiscus are one of my favorite flowering plants (next to lilacs!).  When we lived in Florida, I had a potted  red hibiscus tree on our patio.  It was beautiful!

Scott picked these flowers from my sister, Lorene's old overgrown garden.  They bring back wonderful memories of her!   It doesn't seem possible she has been gone for 12 years and her flowers are still blooming!

New Project for the Home

It has been a while since I have posted. Where does the time go? Over the past couple of months I have been doing DIY laundry detergent, lotions, creams and soap. Here is a recipe I want to try next.

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Ingredients:
-1 ½ cup of hot water
-½ cup castile soap (I usually use Dr. Bronner’s baby mild liquid soap, but feel free to use any scent just be sure to adjust/omit essential oils accordingly. You may want to use a variety that is already scented for a more frugal option.)
-1 tablespoon of white vinegar
-1 tablespoon of Arm&Hammer’s Super Washing Soda (used to thicken the soap)
-1/8 teaspoon of tea tree oil (optional)

Directions:
1. Whisk all ingredients together until thoroughly blended.
2. Store in any dish soap dispensing bottle and use as you would the commercial brands.

Note: You may choose to naturally increase the anti-bacterial qualities of the soap by adding 1/4 tsp. of lavender or eucalyptus essential oils.

The switch to making your own household cleaning products may seem overwhelming at first, but once you establish a routine it will become second nature. From the following items, 100% of my basic cleaning needs are met:

• Borax
• Baking Soda
• Super Washing Soda
• White Vinegar
• Castile Soap
• Essential oils are not necessary but they can be fun to experiment with (I order mine from here. They’re generally less expensive)

Will let you know how I like it!

Sunday Afternoon

It's a beautiful day...sunny but a bit cool! My afternoon is going to be spent working on a new beaded bracelet. I am sooo hooked on them! My trip to Hobby Lobby was well worth it because they were have 50% off sale on beads. $20.00 got me lots of beads to experiment with. I just wish I could find a sales outlet to bring in some more income while Scott is laid off. My problem is that I have no desire to make beaded necklaces...only bracelets. Maybe I will eventually graduate to necklaces, but right now, bracelets are my obsession. I picked up 3 books at the library yesterday that have some gorgeous beaded jewelry. Can't wait to get the supplies and try my hand at making some of them!

Filed the second week for DH's unemployment and this time it went smoother by phone. Now we will see if it went through. Last week was a nightmare trying to file online --3 times I filed for him last week and there was some type of glitch. He had to call the processing center to get it straightened out. What stress!

A friend from work lended me the book CD for Sunday's at Tiffany's by James Patterson last week so I am trying to get into the storyline. It is probably me, but I just can't seem to get interested into the first few chapters. Hopefully it will get more interesting as the storyline goes on. For the past month or so, I have been reading "Faith and Will" by Julia Cameron. This book hits home with me as I find myself sometimes lacking in my faith. ..doubting and not having a positive attitude during hard times. This booked picked my spirit up and put it back where it is supposed to be. I have read the book through once already and have already started to read it a second time. I carry it back and forth to work with me to read on lunch hours. There are a couple of things I don't particularly agree with in what she says, but all in all, I really do recommend it!

This morning in church I sang for the music special. Songs by Keith and Krystyn Getty are some of my favorites (they have an irish flare to them). I sang the song "What Grace is Mine" which is a song they wrote to the tune of "Oh Danny Boy (Londonderry Aire)". This tune is my ALL TIME FAVORITE!! Must be the Irish blood in me that draws me to this tune.

It is so good to hear the birds singing (sounds like finches). They are praising God that the winter weather is almost over and warm weather is here! Their singing sounds so joyful! How can anyone not feel joy when listening to them?

Rainy Day

My last post was over a year ago! Where does the time go? I can't say that I have done anything creative lately. The last "crafty" project was making a flannel quilt for Linda's birthday in Dec 2007. ?? I haven't done anything except journal and read...haven't even done any sketching. Haven't been anywhere exciting....... What in the world have I been doing? Life is passing me by and I can't even remember anything memorable we have done in the past year! SAD! We are such a fun couple, huh? Someone or something needs to get me inspired to get up off my duff and be a more interesting person!

With the downturn in the economy, DH and I have been very blessed not to have been affected with any loss of jobs. So many of my friends have been affected one way or the other. The cost of our heating this past winter is how it affected us. Another winter like this and we just may need to consider selling and moving to a small house or apartment in town. Monthly propane bills of $500 are a bit too rich for our pockets!
We are finally getting some much needed rain. It has made me feel renewed and refreshed. Warm weather is near....yea!!! Time to think about planting some pots of flowers for the deck. L.'s daughter is selling flats of flowers from the local garden center and I am thinking of getting some portulaca. That is one plant I had down in Florida, and loved all the colors. It was very easy to grow too, which is a PLUS for me, since I have a black thumb. I certainly didn't take after my big sister, Lorene, who was an avid gardener. I always have good intentions in planting flowers, but never seem to do it. We'll see.......