Bath Salts...A Mother's Day Gift Idea!

Uhhh, do you know what next Sunday is? Yeah, that's right, it's Mother's Day! Just in case you need a gift idea that you can rock out fast I thought I'd post a super fun and easy project that you could whip up in no time...Bath Salts! AND, this is even a gift where you could get your kiddies involved. Cause, all gifts are better when they are made with love...and little hands!!

So pretty, right? And this gift couldn't be easier to make and personalize to the momma you love. You only need a few ingredients to make the bath salts and the jar to package them is pretty simple to make too...gotta love that! Here's what you need:

Bath Salts and Pretty Jar

3 cups Epsom salt

5-7 drops of essential oil or fragrance oil (you can find bath fragrance oils in the soap-making section of craft stores)

1 tsp glycerin (optional...glycerin is used as a skin softening agent!)

1 gallon ziploc bag

8 oz mason jars

heavy duty glue like E-6000

cardstock or scrapbook paper

compass, scissors

modge podge and foam brush

pack of wooden spoons (I found mine at Wal-Mart for 99 cents...can we say DEAL!)

pretty ribbon

Here is what my Epsom salt, fragrance oil and glycerin look like in case you aren't sure what to look for!

**I used a Lemon Verbena fragrance oil here but I also really like to use a Peppermint Essential Oil(6 drops)-Eucalyptus Essential Oil (4 drops) mixture!!

To make the bath salts, just place 3 cups of epsom salt into the ziploc bag, add 5-10 drops of fragrance or essential oil slowly until you get the smell you like and then add 1 tsp of glycerin to the bag as well. Zip up the bag and mix or shake well. Open up the bag and let the salts dry out for a day or so and then you can add them to your jar. A pretty smelling gift, what could be better?

Here are the mason jars I used...you can get a 4-pack of these for less than $3.50!

Ok, so first things first. We need to glue the two lid pieces of the mason jar together so when your giftee opens up the jar the lid doesn't fall apart on them! You want to separate the the metal band of of the mason jar from the flat lid component like in the first picture. Then, glue around the inside of the metal band, like the second picture and press the flat lid into it. Let dry for a few minutes.

Next, measure the inside indented portion of the mason jar lid...if you buy the ones I bought it should be about 2.5 inches in diameter.

Then, get your compass out and get your 10th grade geometry on. Set your compass for 1.25 inches, which will be the radius of the circle of scrapbook paper you need to cut out and decorate the lid with.

Draw your circle, like so, and cut it out...Easy peasy, right!?! Please ignore the butterfly cut-outs...another project for another day!

Then, modge podge the outside portion of the metal lid, place your scrapbook paper circle on and press it down and let dry for a few minutes. Then modge podge the top of the paper circle, let it dry and do it one more time! Cool, the lid is all done!! Uhhh, except if you think your giftee takes super steamy baths...then you may want to do a coat of acrylic sealer on top just to be safe from the paper curling up on them!

Next, whip out your wooden spoons and cut the ends off, like so, with a handsaw...it's really fun to use man tools every now and again! Now, you have super cute little dipping spoons to add to your bath salts jar...adorable aren't they!!

Then, tie a ribbon along the outside rim of the mason jar and don't forget to tie your dipping spoon to it as well...

PERFECT! The prettiest Mother's Day gift...and it was all made with LOVE!

Love it!

Is it bathtime yet?

And, you could even make your ribbon into the shape of a heart...

What momma wouldn't love that!!

LOVE!

Happy Mother's Day :)

Happy Earth Day to You

So, today is Earth Day and this marks the end of the One Small Change Challenge. If your new to my bloggy just click here to find out more about it. I just wanted to look back at all the fun I had doing this and to let you know that if you have always thought about making some changes to reduce, reuse and recycle more now is the time. I mean, shouldn't every day be Earth Day?

Ok, so let's remember...first for February I added bricks to all our toilets. What a super easy way to reduce the amount of water you use EVERDAY! Apparently, our toilets are one of the biggest water wasters in the home!! Then, I brought more plants in our house. What an easy peasy way to get cleaner air...especially come winter when our homes are all stuffed up. And lastly, I made lots of pretty cloth napkins to reduce the amount of paper towels we use. I'll be the first to tell you that we definitely still use paper towels, but now I buy them much, MUCH less often. It's a work in progress really, I would love our home to be rid completely of all paper towels but I may need a 12-step program to break the habit completely...just sayin'.

In March, I knit up some reusable swiffer sweeper pads (using the pattern found here) to reduce the amount of waste going on in the constantly cleaning my floors department because of our little black-haired pooch. They knit up fast and the materials were cheap, like $1 a skein of yarn when on sale...love it! Plus, they work just as well as the store-bought pads.

In April, my goal was to reduce the amount of plastic we used in our home. I have to admit this one was hard. I mean, with little ones running underfoot it's so easy to see the benefits of plastic: sippy cups, little bowls, plates, etc. especially when they both throw things on the floor on a daily basis. But, I bought tiffins to put leftovers in instead of tupperware/gladware products and lots more Sigg bottles (they even make these sports tops for easy drinking for the kiddies). AND, did you know that Target now carries Sigg bottles along with a bunch of other brands, on sale this week!! Go check 'em out for some great prices. A reader, Sara, even commented on how she brings her tiffins to restaurants to haul leftovers home...brilliant and really how much effort does this really take? Loved that idea!!

So, overall I would have to say that adding these small changes a bit at a time was really not too hard to do. I think it helped that I did a few little things every month instead of one giant overhaul of our entire house, that way I could really, truly try to make the change stick. A little bit goes a long way, no? I am still looking into ideas for getting rid of the little kid-sized plastic bowls and plates we use for the kiddies mealtimes, any ideas?

Alright, so that's all, just a teeny re-cap of events! Thanks for letting me share, you're the best!!

Biggest hugs,

My March Challenge: One Small Change

So, remember last month I told you about the One Small Change Challenge that Hip Mountain Mama is hosting? (Click on the 'One Small Change Challenge' highlighted words above to take you to the new blogsite)! If your new to my blog just see last month's post here.  Well, this past month my small change(s) were to: 

• Add a brick to all of our toilet tanks
• Add more green plants to our home
• Make cloth napkins to reduce the amount of paper towels we use

My challenges have been going well so far...adding the brick was easy, check and done, we'll see if there is any difference in the water bill later this month.  Adding more green plants to the house was easy too...so far they are all still alive, let's cross our fingers that they live a nice, long, happy plant life :)  It's so nice to have so much green in our house these days considering winter looks like it's never leaving.  And making the cloth napkins was a super easy sewing project that I did in ONE nap time!!  We still use paper towels but now we use a lot less.  I really want to rid our home of them completely but that will take a little more time I think.

For this month, I am going to just choose one change.  Have you seen these recently:

It's a knit cover for your swiffer sweeper.  I found this pattern for free at Michael's last November and planned on making a bunch back then but a little bout of 3 month long morning sickness shot that plan to the netherworld.  You can find this pattern at the Michael's website here, if you want to make some for yourself.  It seems like a super simple pattern that should be pretty fast to make, i think even a beginner knitter could get one done quickly.  

I am getting the itch to do some major knitting now that I am finally showing :)  Besides the swiffer cover, I plan to make some baby booties, a sweet baby blanket and a car seat blankie for Bean III.  I made Noah and Penelope all of these before they were born, so I gotta be fair and make this little one a set too :)  I am getting antsy to find out the gender of this babycakes, which we could do at our next midwife appointment.  I would love to make something that is not white, green or yellow....hmmm, do you think we should find out!!!!!?????  We still haven't decided yet!!

One Small Change

So, a reader of the bloggity blog, Carrie of the Tao of Craft (cool blog, check her out!) introduced me to another cool blog, Hip Mountain Mama and their One Small Change Challenge recently. So cool! It is such a neat idea. You blog at the first of every month about one small change you are going to make to help the environment or reduce your carbon footprint, a small change (or a big change) that you are going to make a conscious decision to follow through with for the entire month. Then, on the first day of the next month you are to blog about how your green change went and you also write about your new change for that month. Make sense? If not, just check out the rules to the challenge at One Small Change for a better explanation. Basically, you blog about your green changes from January 1st through April 22 (Earth Day!)...only 4 times really so not that hard! I'm going to start the challenge this month, today actually cause I think it is such a great idea!!!

Ok, so there are lots of things my family already does to try to make a small change in the environment like:

• Cloth diapering
• Using reusable snack bags instead of all the plastic baggies
• Using natural green cleaners to clean our home, check out my post on how to make homemade air freshener here!
• Using homemade natural deodorant, see my how-to post here!
• Using CFL light bulbs
• Buying organic whenever possible
• Turning lights off when we are not in a room
• Turning off the water when we brush our teeth or do dishes
• Using reusable grocery bags
• Using reusable produce bags, see my post here to make your own too!
• Recycling
• Repurposing clothing and other items

This list goes on...which makes me very happy :) ...but you get the point so I'll digress!

But some things we haven't done which we totally should and we are now going to consciously start doing them this month are:

• Add a brick to the each of the toilet tanks in our home to reduce the use of water (how easy is this one and I never even thought of it!)
• Make a mean set of cloth napkins to use in place of paper towels (I have meant to do this For-evah!)
• Bring some more green plants into our home to clean our air more (I'm awful with keeping plants alive so this will definitely be a challenge! It would be so much easier if they cried or barked at me when they needed water!!!)

Doesn't seem too hard, does it? I'll let you know in a month how my challenge is going but in the mean time I think you should get your bums over to One Small Change and start the challenge yourself. It'll be a great way to help the environment, one small change at a time!!!

Have Fun!

Reusable Produce Bag Tutorial

Hold on to your horses, cause I have a tutorial up and ready for you!!! This is a super simple one that you'll love, you can make 20 in less than an hour, Rock On!

So, as you all know by now my Christmas holiday was a little less stellar than I had planned because of all my morning sickness. I told my family not to expect any packages from our family until into the New Year because I just was/am so tired and had no energy to do any shopping. Well, the New Year is here and I actually have all of their gifts ready to be mailed. I just have to figure out how I am going to get in a trip to the post office, Hmmm...anyone want to run to the post office for me!?!

I really wanted to send them all some reusable produce bags, we use these all the time at our house and I just love them! A few weeks ago I was finally able to get them done. Mind you, they are not hard to make...unless you are nauseated and throwing up, then they may take you a little time. These are great to have and great to give as stocking stuffer gifts because they reduce the amount of all the flimsy plastic produce bags that you find in every aisle of the produce section. Me likey...you likey too? Ok, then let's get on with the tutorial!!

Reusable Produce Bags

1 yard mesh netting (may also use tulle, you just want it to be light and see-through enough to read the produce stickers!)

thread

sewing machine

rotary cutter and mat

A yard of mesh netting will make around 6-8 12 inch x 24 inch produce bags, more if you make smaller sized ones!!!

Cute and Practical, the way all things should be!

First, fold your mesh netting in half so that it measures 24 inches in length. I then cut my bags at the 12 inch width mark. You can make them bigger or smaller, I just think this size represents the plastic produce bags size nicely!

Then, keeping the bag folded you will straight stitch down both long sides. Leaving the top open and the bottom folded. Sorry about the wrinkly-ness of my tablecloth and the mesh...neither affects the outcome of the project, promise!

Now, just straight stitch your two long open edges together. You can do this twice if you like but once is plenty strong.

**Side Note** Go slow when you stitch, if you go too fast I found that my thread would break cause the mesh just messed with my sewing machine. If you take your time, it should go quickly and easily!!

It'll look like so when you are finished. I used brown thread just cuz I like the contrasting look but you can be match-y if you like!

**Side Note** You can also turn the top under to make a casing in which you could put some twine to tie the opening closed but I like to keep mine nice and lightweight since the weight plays into how much your produce will end up costing you!! I just knot mine at the top to keep the produce from falling all over my shopping cart.

Now go fill those produce bags up and feel REALLY good that you are reducing and reusing.

Go Earth!!

Books, Books and Cookbooks

Wow! Ok, it has been a while since I've posted anything, sorry! Hey, at least I'm getting in my first post of 2010 before the first week of the New Year is gone!

Quickly, I just wanted to let you all know that I am actually starting to feel a bit better, wahoo! (I think) For the past 2 days I have been able to eat a small breakfast and lunch. I still go downhill and fast around 5 pm. Let's pray this morning sickness/all day sickness is coming to an end....please!

I also wanted to thank all of you so much for the sweet words and the wonderful advice! I have taken many of you up on it and I think it has made a difference! You are all so lovely and my heart is warmed over one thousand times by all the comments and emails I have been showered with, you all rock, seriously!!!

Ok, you all know that I have been a bit on the tired and nauseated side lately and have not been very crafty lately. (I do have something small to show you though, hopefully in the next few days I can get it up for you.) But, to make up for it I have been a bit bookworm-y lately!! Yup, reading books, that is something I can handle. It takes about no energy, you can do it while laying on the couch, and it helps you fall asleep and forget your nauseated yucky self pretty quick. Me likey.

Well, I wanted to share with you what I have been reading, well actually re-reading, cause I think it is such fitting reading for a New Year with New Goals (I really hate the word "resolutions").

I absolutely love this book, Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It is non-fiction and is about Barbara Kingsolver's goal to try and go one year of eating locally, growing her food on her farm and making her own cheese!

I really dig this book because I try really hard to feed my family organic foods, buy from local farmers, and have healthy and natural cleaning practices in my home. With small children and feeling like I am always pregnant I feel it is a must! If you are new to my blog (well, hello there, I'm Maggie) please check out some of my past posts on how to make your own natural homemade deodorant and air freshener. These recipes work and are truly amazing without hurting your body or the environment.

If you are thinking of going more organic or natural I highly suggest you make yourself a goal of doing it for a month. It doesn't have to be a more expensive way to shop. There are so many grocery stores out there now that can really get you going in this direction without breaking the bank. Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's are two that I love shopping at that carry their own generic lines of organic/natural food that are very reasonably priced. The local grocery stores in my area like Jewel, Meijer, and Dominick's also carry organic or natural products and with their store brand labels too. If you just look around and do some investigating you will find a lot of choices at good prices, pinky swear!

Meat is a huge expense for many families and if you buy organic it is even pricier. What my family did last spring was buy a quarter of a cow from an organic cattle farm owned by a good friend of mine. We ended up with tons of different cuts of meats, some I had never cooked with before and that gave me a great reason to search for new recipes! We grilled out a lot this past summer too and every person that came to our house and tried the organic meat was impressed. The steaks were so tender and the burgers always came out perfect. The price we ended up paying per pound of meat was only $2.50/lb!!! What a savings for buying in bulk. The only issue with buying part of a cow is that you need a freezer to store all the meat in. I think we ended up with well over 100 pounds of meat. We only eat red meat once maybe twice a week if we entertain so this meat will definitely last us over a year and that is just awesome. No meat shopping for whole year!! We ended up buying a deep freezer which has also come in very handy for trips to Costco (which by the way did you know that they sell lots of organic items these days? From yogurt to cheese, vegetables and fruits, etc. Totally Awesome!)

Anyhoo, check this option out if you are a meat eater and want to buy more organic, natural, antibiotic-free, free-range meat without the high grocery store cost. There are many local cattle farms out there if you just do a little searching.

The next book I am going to share with you is:

I ♥ this book!! Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, I know, it's a little odd of a choice to be sharing with you right now but I just bought this book for my brother and sister-in-law and my cutest doll of a niece, Emilyanne. They are first time parents and the "when do I start my baby on solids?" and "what should I feed my baby first?" questions come up fast.

I used this book with both Noah and Penny and recommend it to everyone! It gives you month by month foods to feed your baby based on what your baby's digestive system is ready to handle. It teaches you how to make your own baby food and has many other recipes in there all the way up to toddlerhood. I think making your own baby food is the way to go, you can give your baby the best in solid foods by going organic and it costs just pennies. One large organic sweet potato will make like two trays of frozen cubes which is many meals to a little babycakes! Check this one out if you have a soon-to-be-solids eater in your household!

And, now my last book to share with you is actually a cookbook. I bought this book this past summer and have made so many yummy recipes from it. I hope to get back into it once this 'yuck stage' of pregnancy has past me by.

This cookbook, Rustic Fruit Dessert by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, is amazing because it shows you how to make these amazing rustic fruit desserts (hehe, like the title says) but it does it by season! Yup, you heard me right. By season!!! So, if it's currently winter where you live, like me (boo-hoo for the cold!) you can flip to that section of the cookbook and it will tell you what awesome desserts you can make with the fruit that is available at that time of year! SO COOL! There is no better way to start eating locally for dessert than with this cookbook!

Alright, so that's it for now. I hope you pick up one or all of these books and love them as much as I do. They are great inspiration if your New Year's Goals are to live a bit more organic, natural and local or wonderful add-ins to your library if you already do!

Hope your New Year is going wonderfully. I can tell you, I haven't thrown up since New Year's Eve so in my book my New Year is starting off on a good note. Now, if I could just get back to blogging regularly again :)

Talk to you soon!

Greek is Good!

Holy Schnikeys! I have found my newest addiction...Greek yogurt! Dang, this stuff is sooo good and man is it creamy! My favorite brand as of right now is Chobani Greek Yogurt. It is just delish! It comes in loads of great flavors too, my personal fav is Blueberry.

And, to make it even better...they are nonfat! But you would never guess it because they taste so decadent. Plus, there are no bad things in the ingredients so I can feed it to my kids without that high fructose corn syrup guilt we are all feeling these days (mind you, they still get the Stoneyfield Organic YoBaby Whole Milk yogurt so their little brains have all that fatty goodness they need while growing). And, did you know what I love even more is that I can buy a huge load of them at Costco for cheap...and who doesn't love buying in bulk? Costco...you get me every time...especially now that you sell so many organic and all natural things these days, I just can't get enough of you! So, that's it...just a little rant about one of my most favorite things these days...let me know if you like any other Greek yogurt brands out there, I'm willing to give them a shot too!

Natural Air Freshener

WOW! I am so happy that so many of you have enjoyed my recipe for natural deodorant! It feels good to use something for your body that is all natural, doesn't it!! Here is another eco-friendly DIY recipe for natural air freshener. I have always been a little 'granola/crunchy' in my thinking and more so after having children. Who wants to spray all those yucky chemicals around their house and bathroom just to get the icky smells out especially with little ones whose little brains and bodies are growing like crazy? This is my version of a better-for-you, less toxic spray that gets rid of the stinky smells in your bathroom, garbage can, diaper pail, etc. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Natural Air Freshener

1 spray bottle (I bought mine at Target for $1...yeah for Target!!)

16 drops of Tea Tree Oil (You can find this at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or any natural foods store)

1 Cup Water

Get yourself one cup of water from your tap...if you don't like your tap water ie. too hard or whatever, you can use distilled water too...drop 16 drops of Tea Tree Oil into it and mix well. Pour into the spray bottle of your choice. That's it! Simple and easy, the way all DIY projects should be, right? Now, go find those icky smells and spray away!!

For the bathroom, I spray directly into the air just like you would with the other store bought sprays. One nice spritz usually does the trick...try it, your stinky areas will smell fresh and clean in no time...and you made it yourself...naturally! Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, you deserve it for helping the environment one air freshener at a time!!

Natural Deodorant

I've been thinking I should do a post about what many of you have been asking me about lately, the natural deodorant I use and make. It's a super simple recipe that smells great and it really works too! You just need a few simple ingredients and this recipe should make enough for 1 person for about 3 months. If you have ever thought about switching to natural deodorant you should do it!! It's much better for your body not to use aluminum which is found in many of your every day general deodorants, especially us ladies since aluminum has been linked to breast cancer. Here is my recipe:

Natural Deodorant

2-3 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1/8 Cup Baking Soda

1/8 Cup Arrowroot Powder or Cornstarch

Mix the baking soda and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) together and then slowly start to add the coconut oil. Mmmm..smells so good...but don't worry you won't smell like a coconut all day! I like to buy organic, unrefined coconut oil so that it is the least processed. Coconut oil will be in a solid state up to room temps of 76 degrees so your end product will be more of a very thick paste. You can store your deodorant in a plastic food container, an old baby food jar (hey, why not repurpose!) or even your old empty deodorant container. I usually keep ours in the fridge since I like it pretty hard and that way I can just rub the "stone" on. But, if you like you can keep it out of the fridge and just rub it on by dipping your fingers into it kind of like a lotion.

Coconut oil is really good for you and has lots of antibacterial properties, that's what makes it work so well as a natural deodorant. You can also use coconut oil as a replacement for butter or vegetable oil in your baking. It has a shelf life up to two years. I hope you try this, it works amazingly well!

The basic ingredients...minus the baking soda...oops, I forgot to take a picture of that one!

A picture of what the thick paste should look like

After I put mine in the fridge it becomes rock-like, then I just pop it out of the container and rub it on...Presto! homemade good-for-you deodorant!

The Fruits of Our Labor

I am just so excited today! The littles and I were out playing in our backyard this afternoon and I happened to take a peek at our garden which I rarely do because as you know gardens seem to take a long time to get the beginnings of their fruits and then an even longer time to ripen those said fruits. Well, I'll just say it...I found the likes of various yummy things actually ripened, ready to pick and ready to eat! Ok, not many various yummy things but hey, it's a start! We had a few cherry tomatoes ready for the eatin', two jalepeno peppers, and blueberries...enough that I actually need a bowl to get them into the house...yay!! I'm still not quite sure how the blueberries made it into our garden. I think the mix up happened when I was at our local organic co-op getting heirloom tomato and bell pepper plants, I thought I had grabbed an italian eggplant plant which I thought would be a fun one to try and I must of grabbed the blueberries instead. But in my defense I had the kidlets and well, you know how that goes! We didn't even realize this until about a month or so ago, can you believe we are allowed to have a garden, we don't even know what we are planting!! HAHA! For now, the blueberries happen to be our rock steady fruit giver (I know, I just made up that term right now....bet'cha wish you were that cool!) right now, giving us a nice yield of little blue pops of summertime deliciousness, I think next spring I should plant more...and not by accident!

Oh, the magical tomato...they taste the best ripened on the vine...you know it!

A portrait of our blueberries...trust me, they taste as good as they look!

Noah, excited to bite into a tomato...I was too, I'll admit it!

Caught in the act! Penny was picking pine cones while I was picking the fruits from our garden!

Hot peppers...can you feel the heat!

The beginnings of our bountiful harvest...oh yeah!

And This Little Piggy Went to Market...

I just got back from our local farmer's market and I just have to say how much I love it. Even though it's still early in the season, I was able to score some great yellow squash, zucchini, and musk melon. I love how there is a meat guy who sells there too. He has eggs, pork, turkey and beef products and they are all natural which this momma loves. On his Eggs sign it states: Cage Free eggs, Grass Fed, Free Range, No Wing Clipping (and of all things) No De-Beaking, I have never even thought of this one but it sounds horrible and I'm glad he doesn't do it. I bought some nitrate-free bacon and some all natural baby back ribs. I figure I'll grill these up for Father's Day tomorrow, doesn't that sound good!! Maybe, I'll try to post some pictures of how everything turns out. I can just smell them now, so messy but so good...YUM!