Tutorial Tuesday: Natural Cleaners

Well, friends, a long time ago, the twin started doing Tutorial Tuesday. She inspired me to join her and I haven't looked back. Unfortunately, due to first-trimester fatigue and nausea, the twin had to take a small hiatus on posting tutorials. I'm hoping the second-semester is nicer to her--I'm eagerly awaiting the day she returns to enlighten us with her crafty project how-tos.

In the twin's absence, Kelly, from Our Lincoln Log has joined me in weekly tutorials. She comes up with awesome recipes and natural home products so I hope you'll always check out her tutorials, too. Since Kelly has been so consistent and excited about Tutorial Tuesday every week, I wanted her to share in the fun...by joining my tutorial button:

In my recent poll, there was a three-way tie on what you wanted to see in tutorials: how to make things for babies/kids, how to make natural products for the home, and how to spruce up your blog. This week we'll start with natural home products and then get into some more blog tips next week...

Today we are making:

• "Frosting Scrub" (reminiscent of the popular "not-hard" scrub)
• All-purpose cleaner
• Cloth Wipe Cleanser Solution

Here are the main ingredients that you need for those three cleaners:

• Baking Soda
• Castile Soap (I used Lavender Dr. Bronner's)
• White Distilled Vinegar
  
• Distilled Water
• Tea Tree Oil (TTO)
  
• Peppermint Essential Oil (or another essential oil like lavender or lemon)
• Oil (I used Lavender body oil)--sorry! not in the picture!
  
• Clean, preferably sterile, spray bottles

Starting with easiest first:

"Frosting Scrub"

• Pour 1/2 cup baking soda into a bowl.
• Gradually add Castile Soap until you have a frosting-like paste.

• While attempting to photograph this last step, I added too much soap (duh) and had to add more baking soda.
  
• I added 5 drops of TTO at the same time, and mixed it all in.

• Perfect! I scraped most of it into a plastic container with sealable lid and left some in the bowl to use for later.

All-Purpose Cleaner

• Pour 1/2 litre (~2 cups or 16 oz) distilled water into a tea kettle or a pot. Warm the water but don't boil it!
• While the water is getting hot, measure 1/2 litre (~2 cups or 16 oz) distilled white vinegar into a large container

• Add 1/2 Tablespoon Castile Soap to the vinegar, stir;
• Add 10 drops TTO, stir

• Add 10 drops essential oil (i used peppermint), stir;
• Slowly pour the warmed water into the mixture (it can foam so pouring slowly is better!)

• Mix well. Let cool. Warning: it will smell like vinegar but don't worry! It should NOT, however, smell like ammonia!
• When the mixture is cool, pour into a clean and sterile spray bottle.
• UPDATE! I added just a bit of baking soda to the all-purpose cleaner to give it a little more umph in cleaning. Of course, because it reacts with vinegar, you have to add it slowly but it seems to make it a little better in cleaning the tough spots! Don't add too much or else there will be baking soda residue left on the countertops. And, with the added baking soda, make sure you very gently shake the bottle before each use.
  

Baby Cloth Wipe Solution

• Pour 1 Tablespoon of Castile Soap into a mixing bowl
• Combine 1 Tablespoon Oil--I used lavender BODY oil but feel free to experiment with almond or apricot oil! Stir
  

• Add 4 to 5 drops TTO
• and, finally, add 1 cup distilled water into the mixing bowl

• stir to combine--I got too vigorous with mine and it created LOTS of bubbles.
• once the bubbles calm down, pour the solution into a spray bottle
  

• To use, lightly spray a cloth wipe with the solution and then do your business!

Does it work?

Frosting Scrub--9 out of 10--I couldn't believe how little i needed to use (I used WAY more than I needed). I let it sit on the stains for about 2 or 3 minutes and then i wiped everything dry--no residue! That was unbelievable to me! Very nice. In fact, this morning, I couldn't help myself and kept "stroking" the stovetop because it felt so glossy and smooth! The only thing I didn't like was that my hands felt a little gritty from the baking soda afterwards.

Wipe Solution--10 out of 10--I have been using this solution since January and it works great!

All-Purpose Cleaner--9 out of 10--worked really well! Didn't leave a streak on the countertops and the vinegar smell dissipated almost immediately. I was really pleased. I only gave it 9 because next time I think I'll add a little more soap or TTO to give it a bit more "umph". It was great for my counter tops but the KitchenAid chrome didn't look that awesome afterwards. Maybe I should just use the Frosting Scrub for that, though? Also, I got a little carried away with test driving my new cleaning products and attempted to clean the windows--a little streaky but not bad! You should have seen the dirt. Sick.

A few caveats

• Please use caution while mixing these ingredients. While they are not as harsh as other cleaners, it can still cause skin and eye irritations.
  
• I did not use gloves when mixing the ingredients or using the "frosting scrub" but I think I will from now on.
  
• The baby wipes solution needs to be tailored to your baby--when I first made this recipe, I added too much TTO and it actually burned her skin leaving an irritation. I diluted the solution and it never gave us a problem--just make sure you watch for things like that!
• Of course, don't eat it, and keep out of children's reach!
• AND, if you have cats, a special thanks to Amy D. for letting me know that TTO is highly toxic to cats! The TTO functions as a disinfectant and it is not necessary in the recipe--the vinegar will help deodorize and clean on its own.
  

I'd love to hear if you made these and what you thought of them or if you have your own natural cleaner recipes that you want to share!

I ❤ Faces: Family Vacations!

This week, Angie and Amy are on summer vacation so that means I ❤ Faces is, too! This week's theme is "Our VacationStories through Pictures".

We have only been a family of three for 10 months (as of today! Baby C is 10 months old!). J's company hosts a retreat every 18 months and one happened to fall 5 weeks after C was born. When we signed up for the retreat, we were thinking, "sure, easy, peasy, we can do that with a baby". Needless to say, we weren't parents at the time and had no idea what traveling with a wee one would be like. But, sign up we did, and then we were committed!

Because it was our first family "vacation" (J still had some work to attend to), it is my favorite. His company took us to the beautiful Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. This resort is on the National Register of Historic Places (part of it dates back to 1778!) and, until recently, served as the "fall-out bunker" for political residents (read: Presidential cabinet, congressman, etc.) should there ever be an attack on the Capitol.

As a 5-week old, C experienced a lot of "firsts" while on this vacation: first plane ride, first dip in the pool, first time sharing a bedroom with mommy and daddy, first time in a hotel, first bus ride, first "All-White-Dress" party, first hike in the mountains...oh the list is endless!

Since this post is for I ❤ Faces, though, it is time to commence with the pictures...here are a few of my favorites, in mosaic form to get more bang for my buck :0

{baby C's first plane ride}

{baby C's first "travel" crib, first bear in her crib, and first time sleeping in the same room as me and J!}
Do you think she liked her bear? check out those faces:

{family dinner nights}

{first bathing suit, first dip with mom, first indoor pool}

{first dip with Dad, first outdoor pool}

{first time sporting a daddy/daughter matching outfit}

{first family swim together}

{finally headed home!}

Thanks for reliving one of my favorite family vacations. Don't forget to visit IHeartFaces for more!

Social Cause Sunday: #1

While one of my blog friends, Becca, is away at camp, I thought a "camp theme" would be a great way to start my Social-Cause Sunday posts!

I am a huge outdoorsy person. I love to hike, rockclimb, run, waterski, swim, etc. Everything except mountain biking I am really into. I love it so much that the only thing I wanted to do for my bachelorette party was waterski or rockclimb. Happily, i got to waterski! It was a blast!

Anyway, back to camp. I was so so blessed to be able to spend three out of the four "collegiate" summers working as a camp counselor at two amazing Christian camps. I wish I had some of those photos online because they are hilarious. When I worked at Camp All-American, I was one of their Ropes Course specialty instructors--agh! i loved it!

Then, I was blessed beyond measure to be a counselor in the marvelous Pike's Peak National Forest at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado Springs, CO. If you've never been--go! God's majesty is on display in those mountains! It is unreal. Seriously, I could talk about how awesome that camp is for about a year and still get excited. For right now, I'm looking forward to the day C turns 8 so she can go to camp at ELC!

Have you ever been to camp? If not, do you remember getting to be outdoors during the summer and just running wild and free? Unfortunately there are many many kids who will never experience a summer outside of a busy, hot, stifling city. Unless, of course, they are chosen to be a part of the Fresh Air Fund.

Fresh Air Fund is a non-profit organization that has been around since 1877. Yes! It has really been around for 132 years--isn't that crazy? Its mission is to provide free summer experiences in the country to New York City children from disadvantaged communities (to date, they've given more than 1.7 million children this opportunity!). Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states and Canada through the Friendly Town Program or attend Fresh Air Fund camps.

If you live in the New England area, they are still looking for host families. If you don't live anywhere close, maybe consider donating to help an inner-city child have the summer of their life!

Here is just a little taste, 1920's style, of what the Fresh Air Fund is all about:

Super Saturday Steals: Edition 1

Happy weekend! Our weekend is jammed packed with fun! I plan on updating the personal blog about our latest happenings so as not to bog down this blog! (Trying to keep it to one post/day! :0)

Here are some great deals and giveaways that I think you might want to know about:

Starting with cloth diapers (the material possession I am most passionate about!)

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving TWO people the new knickernappies onesize diaper + some accessories. There are tons of chances to win so check out their blog and enter.

The Cloth Diaper Tips blog is giving away an incredible Bummis package worth $160! Make sure you enter this giveaway!

Thinking about buying some cloth diapers from Kelly's Closet's sister stores? Use coupon code "other" to get Free Shipping on orders over $25. Check it out for more details.

The Cloth Diaper Blog is having their weekly "Feed Your Stash" giveaway. I actually won (woo hoo!) an ImseVimse swim diaper cover from them two weeks ago! So exciting! Click the button below for your chance to win a GroBaby set. Neat diaper!

Apple Cheeks is still at with two more giveaways at: MonkeyToe's Reviews and Giveaways and Jolly Mom. These are awesome diapers--I hope, if you don't win one, you'll buy one! You won't be sorry!

Monster Fluff Studios (cute name!) is giving away a diaper cover on the Mom Buzz!

Mama B is giving away the newest cloth diaper to hit the mainstream market: Smartipants (another cute name!). These diapers are less expensive than the average One Size diaper but work just as well.

Fun Freebies...getting you ready for Father's Day weekend!

Orange Julius is giving away free smoothies on Friday, June 19th but you need to download their coupon

ALL National Parks are admitting people for free over Father's Day Weekend (June 20th and 21st). That is AWESOME--we love getting outdoors and enjoying God's Creation--why not do it with your dad when it is free? Check out the parks closest to you here.

CLOSED: Fab Friday Giveaway: Papercuts by Melissa

Week 20 of I❤Faces was all about silhouettes. It was really fun to try to capture a silhouette in a photograph...but what about working with silhouettes every day!?! hint hint...

This week Melissa from the fabulous Etsy store, Papercuts by Melissa, is our featured Etsy store! As they say in Boston, she is wicked talented--she cuts out silhouettes by hand every day! Before i show you her amazing works of art, i want you to get to know her a little bit.

Melissa's family influenced her early--papercutting is one of their family traditions (neat family, huh?). Recently, Melissa decided to branch out on her own and started creating her own designs. She finds papercutting a relaxing and peaceful way to wind down after her kids fall asleep. (Maybe all us mommies should all try it!)

Melissa also loves to bake! A dream of hers would be to someday make wedding cakes. With that steady hand, i'm sure she would be great at decorating them! Melissa also loves to fiddle with anything crafty... from scrapbooking for her kids, to sewing curtains, clothes, blankets, you name it! Talk about Wonder Mom!

Lets look at some of her amazing works of art:

how perfect would this be for Father's Day?


one of my favorites:


and I love this one because it reminds me of my twin sis!


are you seriously amazed by her talent yet?

Buy It!
Melissa's papercuts are incredibly affordable--I don't think she charges enough for the time she invests in each papercut! These handmade works of art are steals--check out all of her products at her Etsy store.

Here is the BEST part: anyone who makes a purchase from now until Friday, June 12th, will receive a FREE 'gathering flowers' papercut in white with black background.

Win it!
Melissa is offering one lucky winner the papercut of their choice.

How?
For the mandatory first entry: Visit Melissa's shop and leave me a comment telling me your favorite papercut.

Once you've left the first mandatory entry you can leave separate comments for doing any of the above:

1 extra entry for visiting Melissa's blog and becoming a follower or subscribing via email. You are totally going to want to do this any way because she features other etsy shops and does giveaways, too!

1 extra entry/DAY for tweeting this giveaway. Leave a comment with your permalink (just click on the time and you'll get a new url) Please tweet:

Win a beautiful handmade papercut from Etsy store Papercuts by Melissa @monkeysonthebed http://tinyurl.com/qxvg7c

3 extra entries for purchasing something from Melissa's store (please leave three separate comments). Don't forget--if you purchase something, you'll also receive her Gathering Flowers papercut for free!

1 extra entry for either following my blog OR subscribing to it

The fine print:

This giveaway is open to the residents of the USA and Canada, aged 18 and older. The giveaway will end on Thursday, June 10 at 11:00 PM EST. You must leave the mandatory comment before receiving extra entries. You must leave a way for me to contact you with each entry! I will draw a winner via a Random Integer Generator and announce the winner on this blog and email the winner as well. If the winner does not reply to me within 48 hours, I will draw a second winner. I reserve the right to delete your entry if you do not follow the rules listed above.

Winner! Modern Classics: Kids + Paper

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

24

Timestamp: 2009-06-05 02:58:12 UTC

Congratulations to The Lady A! I'll be sending you an email soon!

PS I can't figure out how to do a screen capture on a Mac using Firefox..anyone???

Thankful Thursday: Week 6

Hi everybody! It has already been one crazy day and it is only 11:00 AM 11:00 PM (we'll see how long it takes me to publish this post--that will be a true testament of how crazy its been!).

Despite the chaotic busyness, I've been thinking about all the things I was especially thankful for this week. I'd so love to hear what you are thankful for today, too! (note, it is now 11:00 PM and I know it is late but I'd still love to hear from you!)

This week, I am especially grateful for...

1. J's unconditional love for me and Baby C. He puts up with both of us even when we are sad-sack-crankypants (if you read my personal blog, you'll know what i'm talking about!)


2. God's grace--despite writing just yesterday about how to be joyful and content in everything i do (neither complaining nor arguing but doing everything wholeheartedly), i found myself succumbing to the pressures of the day (mind you, pressures I placed on myself!) and way-too-easily slipped into cranky-mode (see #1)--but, God gently reminded me that He is sufficient, no need to stress!


3. My Grandmas. Both my maternal and my paternal Grandmas are such strong matriarchs in our families. My paternal Grandma walked a hard road with my Grandpa while he suffered from Parkinson's Disease. Now my maternal Grandma is walking a hard road while my Grandpa undergoes chemo and radiation. I am daily encouraged by them to see what a loving Christian, sacrificial marriage looks like. Their devotion to their Lord, then husbands, and then families is astounding.
   


4. Esther Grace made it through her surgery today with flying colors!


5. The 58 people who voted in my poll! I am so happy to know what kind of giveaways you all love to enter on Fabulous Fridays and what kind of things you are hoping to learn on Tutorial Tuesdays! Stay tuned for posts geared towards your liking!

now these next two "thankful" items are slightly embarrassing for me to write about but i am thankful for them and want to honor the lovely blog ladies below for their thoughtfulness:


6. Three incredible and fun women graciously passed along the "One Lovely Blog" award. Thank you: Kelly from Our Lincoln Log, Melissa from the Duncan Dialogues, and Jennifer from Momma D and daBoyz! Kelly is my bud because she always does Tutorial Tuesday with me. Melissa keeps me laughing as a Christian wife fresh out of law school--much like J and I were a couple of years ago! And Jennifer has FOUR sons so you know she has fun escapades to talk about on her blog!





7. Finally, thank you to Southern Belle Dreaming for sending me the I-love-your-blog award. Let me tell you there were serious blushings going on over here! If you have never visited Southern Belle Dreaming i encourage you to head to her blog because she has one of my favorite Christian artists singing as soon as you click over--Bebo Norman!
   
   
   

I am now responsible for picking people and blogs that I love to read. Man you guys, I love reading all of you! So this was a hard thing to choose but, in the end, I chose the most influential Christian women who inspire me to stay close in my walk with the Lord and daily turn to Him with thanksgivings and sorrows:

Melissa from the Gill Family Adventures
The Twin from Our Little Family of Three
Julia from the Wreyfords
Angie from Love is Spoken Here
Katie from Fumbling for Truth
Amy from Douglas Days
Kim from Ye Kings of New England
Kathy from Having a Hallelujah Good Time
Rachel from His Treasured Possession
Marissa from By Grace Alone
Lauren from Whatsoever Things are True
Becca from The Stanley Clan

Thank you to the giving ladies and the receiving ladies--I'm blessed to read your life stories every day!

PS When I was at my parents' house today, I learned that, if you are using Internet Explorer, you cannot see all 3 columns of my blog. Not a huge deal at all but, if you want the full Monkeys on the Bed version, check out my blog on Mozilla's Firefox (I LOVE this browser and use it exclusively)

W.o.G. Wednesday: Ephesians and Philipians

Ephesians 6:7-8

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

Philipians 2:14-15

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

I'm not going to lie, our church demands a lot out of us. We are part of a church plant that was blessed to receive free rent from a loft complex--but that means we have to set everything up on Sunday and take it all back down again after service.

We knew that coming into membership and were prepared to offer our services as much as possible. For J and I, it would sometimes be hard to remember WHO we were setting up for (God), WHY we were setting up (for His Glory), and HOW we were setting up (again, for His Glory)--the when (early!) and where were obviously already established.

I love both of these passages. My parents encouraged me and the twin to memorize them when we were younger and I'm so glad they did--Recalling them while setting up or taking down church helped me put our work into perspective--do everything as if serving the Lord! Would he be pleased with my attitude towards work and the effort i put into it? Did I complain about it or encourage others?

Obviously, these verses are incredible passages of encouragement in any task i undertake. How about folding and stuffing C's pocket diapers? What is my attitude like when I'm cleaning up her toys or when she gets up early and i have to get up with her (uhhh...guilty today!). May I be reminded that everything I do (even writing this blog post!) should be done wholeheartedly and without complaining.

Oh! Our church will be in a brand new building of our very own for the first time this Sunday! We all gave thanks for this new space AND for the incredible church attendees that helped move us from our old space to our new space following last week's service. It goes without saying that everyone did it without complaining and most definitely wholeheartedly! Because of everyone's attitudes, moving the church was a breeze!

So long, cramped kid's church(↑^)! Hello, Wide Open Spaces(↓˅)!

PS In case you haven't checked out my personal blog yet, I've posted a few updates on my grandpa and one of the babies I mentioned over Memorial Day weekend.

Tutorial Tuesday: Freezer Paper Stencils

Not crafty? Neither am I! But, I LOVE trying to make things for friends, especially friends that just had babies. This tutorial is so easy because it is really just like coloring in the blanks. Well, you do have to know how to use scissors, tape, and an iron but no worries, i'll walk you through it ;-o

First up, let's gather the supplies:

• Article of clothing (in my case, i chose a onesie)--PLEASE make sure it has been washed and dried (and, if necessary, pressed) so that it won't cause the stencil to shrink
  
• Freezer Paper (you can find this near the wax paper and foil paper--it can only be waxy on ONE side--this is key)
• Design to make into a stencil
• Tape
• Scissors or an X-Acto knife thing
• Iron
• Heavy paper to place between fabric layers
• Fabric Paint
• Paintbrush

1) Find your stencil. As you know by now, i love Picnik. Under the "Create" tab, there is a sub-tab (on the left, under the main tabs) labeled "Stickers". I found the diapered baby under the "Common Symbols" category. You can do anything--a silhouette of your child's face, a letter (or letters) for an initial or monogram, your favorite team's logo--you name it, it can be done!

2) Now, you can, of course print your chosen stencil onto the freezer paper itself (on the dull side) but why waste ink? Actually, I'm out of ink which is why I put my freezer paper onto my computer screen, with the waxy/shiny side against the screen, and taped it tight. Either way works!

3) Completely trace the part of the stencil that you want to cut out--i chose a very straightforward example to illustrate but sometimes it is easy to forget which part of the design you want to keep and which you want to cut out--i suggest finding very simple, solid colored, silhouette clip art images like the ones i found on Picnik.

4) Cut out the design, being careful to trim any spare edges--since it is a stencil, you will clearly see stray snip marks. I usually use my razor/X-Acto knife thing but couldn't find it until later last night :(

5) Now that the stencil is completely cut out, trim those extra edges we were talking about. I also made my freezer paper smaller by cropping around the outside edges. If you used tape, make sure you remove that--it can ruin your iron!

6) Turn on your iron to a setting between silk and wool--I guess the setting would be a middle/high heat but we have a crazy iron that doesn't really tell you.

7) While the iron is heating, align your stencil pattern exactly where you want it--make sure it is straight (unless, of course, you want it slanted!) and that the waxy side is FACING DOWN

8) Press the stencil onto the fabric--i use a lot of pressure, especially on the edges and corners

9) Examine your stencil to make sure that you ironed everything

10) Insert something to serve as a paint blotter--i used an edge of a cardboard box but anything like a magazine to a newspaper works! Insert that directly under where you will be painting

11) Start painting. Feel free to go crazy and paint all over the freezer paper (just don't get it on the non-stenciled part of the fabric!)

12) Make sure that every single space in the stencil is covered completely. Do extra swipes if you want to ensure it is coated well.

13) WAIT. Yes, you must wait until it is COMPLETELY dry. Do what I did--make it at night so that you aren't tempted to check on it during the day--I painted this onesie right before I went to bed so that it would be ready when i woke up in the morning.

14) Carefully peel off the stencil, especially if there are tricky corners or edges. If some of the wax paper sticks, you can use a needle or tweezers to get it off the fabric. Just be careful you don't damage the paint!

YAY! you did it! Go ahead and get crazy! you can do freezer paper stencils for Baseball Hats, a Swimsuit Cover Up, Canvas Tote Bag (or maybe even Canvas Sneakers), you name it, it can probably be done! If you make a stencil, I'd love to see it! Feel free to email me or link it in the comments section!

Special note: When washing a piece of clothing with a fabric-painted stencil, make sure you turn the article inside out so that the paint does not start to peel.

Want the tutorial button for your website? Here it is:

<a href="http://monkeys-on-the-bed.blogspot.com/" title="Tutorial Tuesday @ monkeys on the bed!"><img border="0" width="200" alt="monkeys on the bed!" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/3609819998_5eae6540df_o.gif" height="200" /><br/></a>

PS Mister Linky is still out of wack but I'd LOVE to see your tutorial...please leave a comment with your tutorial link!