Easy, Easy Kitchen Curtains

I love that kitchen curtains don't have to be too fancy. When I'm in my kitchen, I want to be able to see out the window as I'm cooking, doing the dishes, or whatever. But, I also like a little privacy.

(This is the best before picture I have of this window.)

I was reading up on different window treatments when I discovered this idea and adapted it to my situation. I just bought some tension curtain rods and some cafe rod clips, though regular drapery clips would work, too. Then I took some cloth napkins that we got for our wedding (and never use) and clipped those on to the hooks to use as my curtains. We're going for a blue and white kitchen, so I think these work beautifully!

Other variations on this idea are using bandanas or tea towels. I think each window (I have two of them in the kitchen) cost about $6.00 each because I already had the cloth napkins.

Easter eggs with a gospel message

I've been searching for ideas on how to make Easter fun while keeping the focus on Christ. Here's one of the ideas I found. I made mine today and was really excited to share it! I plan on using it for FHE on Monday or on Easter morning.
Each egg has a scripture and an item to represent the scripture. You open the eggs in order. Here's the list of scriptures and items:

Egg #1- Matthew 26:39 - Sacrament cup

Egg #2- Matthew 26:14,15 and Zechariah 11:12-14 - 3 dimes

Egg #3- Matthew 27:1,2 - Knotted twine

Egg #4- Matthew 27: 24-26 - Piece of soap

Egg #5- Matthew 27: 28-30 - Red velvet

Egg #6- Matthew 27: 31,32 - Small nail

Egg #7- Matthew 27: 35-56 - Pair of dice

Egg #8- Matthew 27: 50-54 - Small rocks

Egg #9- Matthew 27: 58-60 - White cloth

Egg #10- Matthew 27: 60,65,66 - Large stone

Egg #11- Mark 16:1 and Matthew 28:2,5 - Bay leaves

Egg #12- Matthew 28:6 - This egg is empty to represent the empty tomb

More homemade cleaner recipes

Sorry for the really long post. I have even more recipes for homemade cleaners, but didn't want to post all of them. I'd be happy to email them to anyone who wants them, just let me know!

Daily shower spray
Simply give your shower a few quick sprays after you jump out!
1 cup water
1/3 cup rubbing alcohol
Combine and pour into a spray bottle. Simply spray the shower when you get out, no rinsing is required when you use this daily shower spray.

Febreeze
In a 32 ounce clean spray bottle, place 4 tablespoons of Ultra Downy fabric softener (you can chose the scent you like best, or use liquid fabric softener you already own.) Then fill the spray bottle with water, leaving about an inch from the top. Gently shake, then use just as you would use febreeze.
As with all cleaners, spot test before spraying on any fabric or furniture.

Antibacterial Bathroom Cleaner Recipe
Great for disinfecting the bathroom when your family has the flu!
1 cup baking soda
2 tbsp liquid soap
2 tsp tea tree essential oil
1 tsp peppermint essential oil
1 tbsp white vinegar (optional)
In a bowl, add baking soda then liquid soap. Mix well until the baking soda forms a paste. If it is still too crumbly, add slightly more liquid soap until it forms a paste, as some liquid soaps are more "liquidy" than others. Next, add essential oils, mixing well, then add vinegar.
To use, put a small amount on your bathroom sponge to scrub down your toilet seat, shower, bathtub, sink and counter. Rinse out your sponge, and go over it again with clean water.

Lemon dishwasher detergent
This dishwasher detergent is for your dishwasher, not for using for handwashing dishes.
1/2 cup citric acid
1 1/2 cup borax
15 drops of lemon essential oil
Combine and store in a sealable plastic container.
Pour (or use a scoop) to pour into your dishwasher's detergent compartment and use the wash cycle as usual.

Prewash Laundry Stain Removal Treatment Recipe
This stain removal recipe can be made in bulk and stored in a plastic spray bottle.
Create a mixture of 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup liquid detergent, 1/3 cup ammonia. Pour into a clean plastic spray bottle. To use, spray directly on stain, and let soak before washing in the washing machine as normal.

Laundry Detergent Recipe
In a large heavy-duty plastic container, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax.
Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry. Use with cold and warm water washes, with cold water rinse.

Hand Santizing Gel Recipe
1/4 cup aloe vera gel
1/4 cup grain alcohol
10 drops fragrance oil
1 drop food coloring
Combine ingredients and shake well. Store in a spray pump bottle to use.

Homemade Cleaner & Wipes

BABY WIPES

I recently started babysitting a little girl who is just 2 months younger than Nicholas.  On her first day here, her mom handed me a Rubbermaid container with what looked like a toilet paper roll on the inside and told me it was homemade wipes.  I thought that was a little strange, but gave her the benefit of the doubt.  Now I love them!  We have started making our own baby wipes for much less than the cost of regular wipes.  Here's the instructions:

1/2 c. baby wash

1/2 c. baby oil

2 c. water

1 roll paper towels, Bounty works the best and is worth the extra money over a cheaper brand!

2-3 plastic containers

I use three 7c. Rubbermaid containers for mine.  I then cut the roll of paper towels into thirds so that it looks like you've got three TP roll sized sections (you can also just cut the roll in half, but need to have two taller containers).  Place one of each of those in your containers.  Mix the baby wash, oil, and water together.  Distribute the mixture evenly over each of the rolls, which will quickly absorb the liquid.  When the cardboard is wet in the middle, you can easily pull it out and then dispense your wipes from the center.  They pull out really easily and are nice and soft of little bums!  Make sure to put the lid back on the container after you are done using them so that the wipes stay moist.  So easy and works really well!

CLOROX ANYWHERE

I don't know about you guys, but I'm obsessed with using Clorox Anywhere spray!  Love it!!  It's also so darn expensive to buy when I go through it so quickly.  I decided to look up online if anyone has figured out the proportions of bleach to water that is used in it, and I found this article.  Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 tsp. bleach

22 oz water (that's the size of one regular Clorox Anywhere bottle)

I think I'm just going to make this from now on because I use it to sanitize the high chair, table, door knobs, counters, sinks, toilet handles, etc.

Have a great day!

Rebecca

Easy, inexpensive signs

For quite some time I've wanted to make a sign and bow holder for Rachel's room, but I didn't want to spend any money. I came up with this idea and I was surprised at how much I liked the result. I found scrap wood in our shed and painted it with craft paint I already had. I used my sizzix machine to cut the letters out. I glued them on (using a glue stick), then sealed it all with liquid varnish. I nailed ribbon to the top so I could hang it, then nailed in the white ribbon at the bottom. I tied the ribbon in a knot to hide the nails. Then I just clipped her bows and flowers onto the white ribbons.

My Favorite Blogs

I love all sorts of fun easy, CHEAP crafty tutorials.  I love that I've found so many of them on crafting blogs!  Here's a list of some of my favorites:

thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com

kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com

projectsforyournest.blogspot.com

tipjunkie.blogspot.com

What are some of your favorite blogs or DIY websites?  Also, I'm looking for some great websites that give ideas about teaching toddlers and educational activities.  I am now babysitting a girl who is two months younger than Nicholas, and I would like to be able to do some educational activities with them.

Happy Crafting!

Rebecca

Two Peas Videos and Congrats to Lori

First - congrats to Lori on her wonderful baby news. And now I guess we will have to wait until an ultrasound to know if Max will be having a baby brother or sister. Any guesses! I'm not going to guess right now - although I am leaning towards a girl but that is not my official guess!

Anyway - I have always gone to Twopeasinabucket.com to get quotes and ideas, etc. However today I realized that they have videos of different things. If you go to their web site - on the tool bar is the word education - click on it and then you will find various "classes" you can attend by watching the video. They have some on scrapbooking, card making, using photoshop elements, etc. Any some of them are monthly classes. They are fun - some new ideas. I can't believe I haven't noticed that before. I guess it was one of my duh! moments.
--Kathy