Making Your Own Laundry Detergent!

With six people living under one roof, laundry adds up, quick. Lots of laundry detergent means that the money also adds up quick. I was amazed at the idea of making your own laundry detergent for pennies per load and immediately put the task on my "to-do" list.

I found The Duggar Family Recipe of Laundry Soap  through Pinterest. Immediately I began searching for the products to make it. I couldn't find them at the local small grocery store or the local chain supermarket. Instead I found them at my local Whole Foods store. Occasionally I would find one or two of the items, but the local Whole Food store had all three. And right next to each other. I actually hugged the attendant who helped me to the aisle because I was so happy. What were the three ingredients I was so eager to find? Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and a Fels-Naptha bar.

For your quick viewing pleasure, here is the recipe from the Duggar's website:

4  Cups - hot tap water

1  Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax

Step 1.

Step 2.

And here are the directions to make your own laundry detergent:

Step 1. Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Step 2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Step 3. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

You can add in some scents if you like, but I wanted to try a pure and simple recipe, so mine is just the basic. This recipe was super easy and super cheap. Originally I had kept milk gallons to fill them up with the detergent, but I figured this was anything but a space saver. So I have kept the detergent in the five gallon bucket and add it to an old detergent container I happened to have on hand. It has been very convenient for us. We will definitely be making more when we run out- no idea when that will be!


As far as to how well it works? I think it works just as good as any other detergent we've used. It gets out stains-and get things clean. And best of all-we haven't had to buy detergent in a long, long time. It's great. If you get a chance, I urge you to make your own stash.  Or you can buy ours- in stores Fall 2012. Only kidding- but check out this swanky picture!

Happy Mixing

Paper Flowers

Hey SaMiE Designs Fans! My sister, Kris, who lives across the country from me recently posted pictures of this craft on her facebook page. I commented that I would love, if she were willing, for her to write a guest post about the craft.
 (P.S. If you are interested in guest posting, please send me an email at campbells.jacksonhole@gmail.com)


She responded that she would be glad to. (Even re-doing the craft so she could take step by step instructions for your viewing pleasure!) So I'm going to hand it over to my Sister now. Don't forget to show her some comment love!

This paper flower design is fun and so thrifty! All you really need are a few pieces of paper and some glue.  I  got the idea from a little video I saw on yahoo called Valentine's Day Paper Flowers. Since we were decorating our work for the holiday I decided to make a few for our kitchen table.  

The first set of paper flowers we made.

They turned out so cute and were so easy to do I couldn't wait to share this project with the kids.   Here is a little step by step on how we made a "Bunch of Flowers."

Step 1, part. 1

1)  Get a few pieces of paper:  (I've used several types: construction paper, scrap book paper, even a paper gift bag with a funky design worked great.)  Cut out four to six equal sized squares.  Here's Amber (age 7) excited to make flowers for her teacher.

Step 2, part. 2

2)   Take one of your squares and fold the bottom up to make a triangle.  (if it's a little uneven you can trim it up)

Step 2: Folding the square into a triangle

 3) Take each bottom corner of the Triangle and fold up to the middle tip, you should end up with a Kite or Diamond shape.  

Step 3: Folding the Triangle Into a Kite

4)  Take each "kite flap" and fold in half length wise. You'll end up with this Flat Flower.

Step 4: The Flat Flower.

5)  I have no idea how to explain in writing how to do this next part so bare with me (or see above link to the yahoo video).   Take each of your Flat Flower "petals", there will be a little pocket, place your finger in the pocket and gently pull towards yourself and flatten back out, exposing the crease and doubling the size of the petal. 

Step 5: Little tricky, keep practicing & you'll get it in no time!

6) Fold the tips of your petals down to make a flush line.

Step 6: These folded flaps eventually become the center of your finished flower

7) Fold your petals back inwards towards the center.

Step 7: Folding your petals back

8)  Time to get your glue! (I've used tape...wouldn't recommend it) Glue Gun worked best, However depending on the age of the maker and/or availability, glue stick works just fine and dries a little faster than say white glue (however with a glue stick I ended up having to use a little tape as back up). It's your call what works best for you and your family.  Here we used a glue stick.  So apply your chosen sticky element to one side of the Flat Flower and gently fold in half, the goal is to to leave it open, not creased.

Step 8

9) Repeat four times (or six if you were going for a bigger flower) You'll end up with these. 

Step 9

10) Now it's time to build the real deal! Using your glue attach the pieces at the narrowest point, being careful to leave a little opening in the bottom to slide a pipe cleaner or twig through if you want a stem.

Fun it up!! You can add all kinds of things to make this flower truly Unique.  Pretty Gems, tissue paper, pom pom's, stickers..the sky's the limit.  For these flowers we taped pieces of Starburst candy in the middle for that extra bit of fun.  

Happy Creating!

Here's the one made out of the gift bag.

(since the paper was a little slick the glue stick wouldn't work, we had to use a glue gun)

2012 Sketchbook Tour

About 4 or so months ago I saw a posting through an affiliate association of my work's about a Sketchbook Tour Project. I was immediately attracted to the idea and read all the details. I asked for the Sketchbook project for my 27th Birthday, and my mom was so kind as to fulfill that Birthday request. I received my sketchbook approximately three months ago, knowing I had until January 31, 2012 to mail out the finished copy. Ideas begin floating around about what I could possibly do for the sketchbook. When I originally picked the theme "In Ten Minutes" my intent was that I would do ten minute sketches.

Then I decided I wanted to be more creative and make different pages of things you can do in ten minutes, like read a magazine, etc. Then my mom gave me the idea about a baby being born, a man proposing, with the thought of "huge life changes in 10 minutes."

I thought the idea was great and started thinking of the different pages I could do. At first I wanted to go with really powerful and controversial pieces, but after much thought I realized I didn't need to be so out of the box to get a message across.

In the end I decided to show the difference of things you can do in ten minutes, some are huge and meaningful, and some are otherwise defined as a waste of time. I would call this book "Comments on Society." And as an extra bonus, I would try out different mediums to make it diverse and interesting, for myself and for future viewers.

I started working on it immediately, then life got in the way and I kept saying, I'll do it this weekend, I'll do it tonight. Before I knew it, it was January 25th and I still had quite a few pages to do. I pulled it together and was able to get pretty much everything I wanted to do in the book and EVEN get the book mailed out on time. (For those that know me, this is why I was SO busy suddenly at the end of January!)

I did sign up for the digitized version of my book, seeing as how it will NEVER be returned, but just to be on the safe side I copied it before I sent it off. It's on its way to Brooklyn now, where it will be digitized and then go on the 2012 World Tour.

So here it is. Check it out and Enjoy!

The Front Cover, Done with Markers.

The Inside Cover, which explains the sketchbook and the Mediums used.

The first page, and my mom's suggestion. Done with Charcoal Pencils.

The Last Page I completed, a reminder to myself that I am thankful. Even if it's not November. Done with crayons.

Don't you just love those profile pictures that are made to look like they're "in the moment" when you know they spent forever on them? Done with an acrylic background and photos printed on copy paper.

There are ones that I did very simply. Art doesn't have to be elaborate to make a point. Grandma, if you're reading this... I "tagged" you in this one, lol. Done with colored pencils.

It's important to spend time on yourself. (Okay, I have trouble on this one sometimes) This was the first piece I started working on and it's a Victoria's Secret catalog cut up into pieces. :)

My son, Mr. E, was diagnosed with PDD/NOS (A high-functioning level of Autism) when he was four. He will be turning 9 this summer. I wanted to make a statement for Autism Awareness, and I think this came out pretty good. (Except when the modge-podge picked up pieces.) Done with chalk pastel, photos, and modge podge to protect. And apparently ruin. Imagine the irony.

I really wanted to comment on the whole 15 minutes of fame and the rise of reality superstars. Done with an acrylic background and pen.

I was so tired of hearing these comments about Pinterest, which I do think is awesome. So...... there you go. And I did it with Permanent Markers. It was a very stinky page.

I really had to add on to the last page to further the joke. (And also I was short on time, lol.)

The "About the Artist" page. Super well done, I know. :)

And finally the back cover, where I even continued the theme.

I hoped you enjoyed my sketchbook, now go on over to Art House Co-op and get your own sketchbook today!

Taming The T-Shirt Monster: The Hula-Hoop Rug

He lives at our house, does he live at yours? He's very sneaky and can haunt families for years, decades, if you let him. He'll hide in your closet, or neatly folded and packed up in boxes, he even creeps into your dirty clothes pile, if he's feeling gutsy, to be washed and re-washed, again and again. He can disquise himself in many, many forms. Sometimes he's the shirt too small placed in a box until you gather more of his buddies to donate or sell. Sometimes he's disguised as the shirt that won't fit for three more years- but it was so cute you just had to!

I think Stink found The T-Shirt Monster hiding in a pile of dirty clothes!

More often than not he's the shirt that you don't give much thought to, you don't know if it's too big or too small. heck - you can't even remember the last time it was worn! Know exactly the monster I'm talking about now, don't you? The question really isn't 'what is the t-shirt monster?' though, the question is 'How do I defeat the t-shirt monster?'

Glad you asked. I've been wondering the same thing myself for years. Until now. I've been on a mission to find ways to 'up-cycle' those pieces of clothing that never seem to disappear! After all, they've proven their durability! Come with me as I test out fun and creative ways to re-do what's already in your closet!

Last week I found this goodie from the Disney Family Fun site via the amazingly addicting site, Pinterest. I of course immediately pinned it to my "Getting Crafty" board and made the plan to pick up a hula hoop that week. I found one at K-Mart the next day! They had two different sizes. (and only three overall!) I grabbed one of each and when I was checking out I noticed the bigger hoop was dented so I only got the smaller one. I let my boyfriend measure it, it was approximately 27".

The reason I was immediately drawn to this project is multi-layered. To begin with I have three girls, so the mass of clothes at my house is non-stop. Secondly, the project required very little additional tools, supplies that everyone has. (Or can easily get.) Lastly, how COOL is a rug made from t-shirts?

So let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?

1.  Find two shirts that are either the same color or look good together. A boys large shirt (or size 6-8) should probably work just fine. I grabbed a dark green shirt and when that ran out I used a yellow shirt. The colors didn't look bad together but there are things I didn't think about (or realize) when I did this. One part is that these colors will be VERY visible as the center of your rug. They will also be 'tails' of your rug. So let me say it again: Pick attractive colors so you don't end up with this ->
Yeah, dark green and yellow, not the best color combo. Anywho, moving on..

Gotta love the green and yellow, right? This is how you start your rug, with a big X!

2. Go around your house and grab every shirt that has a stain on it, a rip, hasn't been worn in this decade, etc etc. You get the point. For some reason it was an easier decision for me to cut a shirt into pieces than to remove it from my house. Odd. Back to the point: shirts. Grab shirts from everyone's room, including your own! I used everything from maternity shirts to boys shirts to girls toddler shirts to yes...even onesies! My youngest is 3, can you tell me why I still have onesies and maternity shirts in my house? Yeah, I can't either. Overall I used approximately thirty shirts. But a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Here are all the shirts I used on this project:

Shirts used in the hula hoop t-shirt rug. As you can see I used anything, and lots of it! So don't worry about graphics, you'll barely see it! And when you do it adds just another punch of color!

3. Cut the hem off the bottom of the shirts. Then start cutting them into one inch strips, so you are ending with loops. Don't worry about being perfect- it's going under your feet!

Stink showing off her work.

4. Being to place your loops around the hula hoop, each time you add a loop divide a section by half, then place it there. If you are using more than one color, I would suggest you use one color first, then use the second color last, so you end up with an abababa pattern. Place 11 loops on the hula hoop, making 22 "spokes" on the hoop. Then pull two of the sections together so you have an odd number of spokes on the hoop. If you have an even amount on the hoop you will always be going 'over' and the 'under' the same spokes, never creating a true weaving pattern.

Step 5, the first loop.

5. Now it's time to start the pattern. Place a loop around the first spoke (you can start anywhere, but it's probably easiest to start from the two you pushed together) and loop it through itself. This will secure it to the spoke. If you've ever looped two rubber bands together, it's the same looping. I forgot to take a picture, but thankful Disney didn't! Here's what I'm talking about:

6. You add loops of your t-shirt material using the same method. Wrap each loop through the existing loop, then through itself, pulling snuggly. Look, all kids can do it, even a 4-year old!

7. Continue this pattern for the entire rug. Instead of pulling on the loops push them towards the center. You CAN and WILL distort the rug by pulling on them.

Mr.E shows what your rug should look like.

Step.8 pt. 2 Knotting the loop to the nearest Spoke.

8. When you get to the end of your rug, snip the end of the loop and tie it to the closest spoke. I always do double knots.

9.Then you can begin to slice the spokes, pulling them through the last loop and double knotting them together. As you can see I didn't have a lot of room to do this.

Step 9. Cutting the spokes.

Step 9, knotting the spokes.

I had noticed towards the end of a little distortion, but when I was finished the hoop was in an odd shape and the rug was "bowling". I took a few pictures to show you:

My "rug" a.k.a. my new basket. Glamourous? No. But we all learn from our mistakes, right?

THINGS I DID NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO THAT MAYBE MADE THE DIFFERENCE:

Disney Family Fun said to treat each spoke as one for the first 8 inches then as two separate spokes for the rest of the rug. I glazed over this, and it might have made a difference. Disney also said to stop 8 inches from the hula hoop. I also didn't do that. I don't know if it made a difference or not.I also let the kids do a lot of the work, so they could have been pulling on it. And on another note, this project took a few days to complete and in the meantime the hula hoop was definitely played with. Would it have ended up different if I had kept it safe? I don't know. I have definitely got enough t-shirts to re-do this project in the future, and I definitely will.

Now, my rug was warped. I was very disappointed. Until I realized it made a neat little basket. And you know what it was just perfect to hold? All the t-shirt scraps!

 Final note: NO hula-hoops were harmed in the making of this project. After cutting the rug of the hula-hoop, it popped back into shape. I only wish I had the elasticity.