Day 158: Homemade Bubbles (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I count these as a success, although I still haven't found homemade bubbles that rival the "blowing power" of store-bought bubbles.  My kids seemed to like this previous recipe a little better than this one today.  Anyone else have a recipe for me to try??

Ingredients:

6 cups water
2 cups Dawn dishwashing liquid
3/4 cup light corn syrup

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large container.  Shake everything up and let sit for a few hours. Pour into empty bubbles containers to use with bubble wands.

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 151: DIY Eye Make-up Remover (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I apologize in advance for these creepy close-up eye pictures of me!  But, this homemade eye make-up remover really works -- and it's cheap!

My eyes at the end of the day: 

Eye Makeup Remover Ingredients & Instructions:
1 cup water
1-1/2 tablespoons tear-free baby shampoo
1/8 teaspoon baby oil

Mix ingredients together in a small container.  Shake before every use.

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 150: Using Vegetable Glycerin in Homemade Hand Scrub (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I have super dry hands in the winter and wanted to try adding vegetable glycerin to the Mary Kay's "Satin Hands" recipe, as suggested by the blog author.  I made the recipe per the pin, and added 1 tablespoon of vegetable glycerin at the end.  I did notice that it didn't dry out my hands as much (a success), but I didn't like how it made the scrub ingredients separate out in the jar (a fail, in my opinion).  This wouldn't look as pretty or be as user-friendly (the receiving person would have to stir the scrub before each use) if giving as a gift.

Verdict: SUCCESS / FAIL.

Day 142: Using Baking Soda to Exfoliate (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Through this pin-a-day journey I'm on, I've discovered that the most versatile item in my house is baking soda.  It feels like it can -- and should! -- be used for everything!  About two months ago, I decided to attempt using baking soda as a facial exfoliate, and it has worked great!  I decided to spare you a close-up photo of my face, and instead explain just how different my face feels :)

Instructions:
Wet your face (I use a washcloth).  Pump a quarter-sized dollop of facial cleanser into the palm of your hand (as you can see, my true Costco loyalty extends even to my facial cleanser!).  Pour about a teaspoon of baking soda into your hand and mix well to combine with the facial cleanser.  Using a circular motion, massage the mixture onto the skin for 30 seconds to remove dirt, oil and dead skin, particularly around the nose, chin and forehead.  Rinse the baking soda scrub away (this is my only complaint with the baking soda scrub -- I try to carefully wash it away with a washcloth, but this step can be a bit irritating to my skin.  It takes a few times of wiping my face and rinsing out the washcloth before the gritty baking soda is completely removed from my face).  Repeat once a week.

I've tried other exfoliating treatments in the past, and my skin has never felt this smooth.  Try it!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 131: Favor Baskets from Scrapbook Paper (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

These turned out so cute and only required a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper, ruler, hole punch and ribbon.  After I finished the first one, I kept making them even though I don't have anything to go in them yet!  I'd better start baking and then distributing as friend / neighbor gifts!

I followed the blogger's tutorial exactly, and felt that she described the steps concisely -- go check them out and make your own baskets!  The only tip I would contribute is that it works better to use sturdy, double-sided scrapbook paper.  The folds are a little more difficult to do with the double-sided paper, but in the end, you'll have a much sturdier basket that will hold  more items and is pretty on both the inside and out!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 117: Straw Bubble Wand (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This worked great!  Using a few items I already had at home, I made a bubble wand that my kids thought was better than the store-bought ones!

Materials:
Tape
7 straws (taped together)
Bubbles (we already had Super Miracle Bubbles, but you could make some at home)

Dip in bubble solution and start creating awesome bubbles!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 107: Homemade Bubble Solution (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I think I've found our new homemade bubble recipe -- it's easy to make, uses only three ingredients, smells delicious, and didn't frustrate my kids when they were using it since they were easily able to create lots of bubbles using this solution.

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1/2 cup liquid dish soap (I may experiment with different varieties to see if the bubbles differ)
1/8 cup corn syrup

Pour the ingredients into a large container and shake well.  Allow the bubbles to settle for a few minutes before using.  This is what my solution looked like before allowing it to settle:

Play!

I found that we could blow the largest bubbles when I let the solution sit for a day before using. That's mostly a reminder for me to make this beforehand!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 104: Gigantic Homemade Bubbles (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

It's felt like summer around here the last few days, and evidently, that means I only attempt pins involving bubbles :)  I'm still on the hunt for an amazing bubble recipe for my kids, as this one didn't do the trick.

Ingredients:
6 cups water
1/2 cup blue Dawn dishwashing detergent
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin

Instructions:
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water, stirring well.  Gently stir in the remaining ingredients.  Allow mixture to sit at least an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the cornstarch from settling to the bottom.

Our cornstarch never dissolved, despite frequent stirrings, and eventually became a hard mass on the bottom of the bowl.  When my 4 and 2 year old attempted making bubbles after a few hours, they weren't very successful and got frustrated.

And because of the cornstarch, my deck looked like this until I scrubbed it down with soap and water...

As a comparison, this is the amount of bubbles my son could create using the "super miracle bubbles" solution purchased at Fred Meyer.  I am on the hunt for a homemade concoction that works this well!

Verdict: FAIL.

Day 90: DIY Cookie Basket Made from a Paper Plate (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This is so cool -- using just a paper plate, you can make a basket to hold cookies / desserts for gifting.  This solves a big problem for me, as I have an issue transporting dessert items I make specifically for this blog to my family / friends before I eat them all myself.  This pin is saving my waistline :)

I'll let the original blogger's picture showcase how to do it...

Inexpensive, easy to make, and a crowd pleaser -- my friend liked both the basket and these circus animal truffles I dropped on her doorstep!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 88: Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I've wanted to try freezer paper stencils on t-shirts for a long time, but haven't had a reason to make anything.  Well, my reason presented itself -- my son is recently obsessed with all things Angry Birds.  The app, toys, apparel, coloring books, building game with blocks / sling shot / miniature pigs & birds -- you name it, he wants it.  He has one Angry Birds sweatshirt and has been begging for something else to wear, but I don't want to spend tons of money on Angry Birds clothing.  Enter, freezer paper stenciling.

I bought a $3.99 youth t-shirt, X-acto knife, and a fabric paint pen at Michaels; borrowed freezer paper from a friend; and printed off a free Red Angry Birds Jack-o-Lantern stencil online.  Easy and cheap!

1. I washed / dried the t-shirt, traced the stencil onto freezer paper (with the shiny side of the freezer paper down), and carefully cut out the stencil with the X-acto knife.

 2. I then ironed the freezer paper onto the t-shirt (using a high heat setting), with the shiny side of the freezer paper down. Make sure to iron around all edges of the stencil so that a seal is created for your stenciled image.

3. I used a black, permanent Tulip Fabric Paint Marker to cover the stencil, and let it dry for 24 hours (the recommendation on the paint marker).

Peel off the freezer paper and it's done!

I have a very happy son, and will definitely be doing this again -- perhaps soon with a green shirt and a "bad piggies" stencil?!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 55: Lemon Sugar Scrub (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

For my second attempt at making a homemade hand scrub, I went for one that promised not to contribute to my already dry hands!  This one worked great, and is also super easy to make.

Ingredients:
* sugar
* extra virgin olive oil
* lemon essential oil

Instructions: Mix 2 cups sugar with 1 cup of olive oil.  Add lemon essential oil to your liking (I added 16 tiny drops).  To use the scrub, rub about a teaspoon of lemon scrub onto wet hands. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Apply your favorite lotion while hands are still damp, as lotion will absorb better on damp hands.

Verdict: success!  Although I've been using this frequently and my hands are less dry than before, I wanted to mention that the sugar and olive oil separate between uses.  That might be an issue if you're planning to make this as a gift (see picture below), but for my personal use, I just mix it up again with a spoon each time and it's ready to go.

Day 54: Imitation Mary Kay's "Satin Hands" Scrub (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I had a few people try this recipe (one of whom is a loyal fan / user of Mary Kay's "Satin Hands" treatment), and this got all-around rave reviews.  Plus, it gets bonus points for being super easy and inexpensive to make, and it now looks so pretty sitting on my new soap / sponge stand in the kitchen.  

Ingredients:

* Sugar
* Dawn Ultra Hand Renewal with Olay Beauty Scent Dishwashing Liquid (found at a drugstore for $4)
* Container

Instructions:
Add the sugar to the container first (leaving room at the top so you can easily stir the sugar and soap together) and then slowly add Dawn Ultra Hand Renewal.  Do this slowly, as you don't want the consistency to be too runny.  The original author suggests that the consistency should be similar to creamy peanut butter.

Verdict: success!

Suggestion for Dry Hands: I had others try this recipe because I felt like my hands were unusually dry after trying it -- but no one else experienced this.  If you tend towards dry hands, the author suggests using vegetable glycerin in the scrub.  I haven't tried that, but likely will the next time I make this!  Or, you could try this Lemon Sugar Scrub, which worked great for my dry hands in this cold weather.

Day 42: Upholstering a Bench Cushion (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My upholstered bench cushion is by no means perfect, but for a) how easy it was to make and b) the price, I am in love -- and as a bonus, we now have a cozy place to read and / or spy on our neighbor kids at the bus stop!

I followed the tutorial above, and although I should have put the fabric + foam pad + board on a firm surface before stapling like she suggested (to make the end result a bit tighter), it's difficult to notice because our bench cushion is surrounded by walls / windows on three sides.  The picture below is immediately before my husband helped me staple gun the three items together (as a side-note, this project requires two people -- one to man the staple gun and the other to arrange and pull the fabric tight before stapling).

Here is our empty window seat before...

...and after!

Total Project Cost: $52

Price Breakdown:

* foam pad from Home Depot ($25 versus $100+ at JoAnn Fabrics)

* upholstery fabric from JoAnn's ($10 for 2 yards -- the fabric was on sale + a 20% off coupon)

* particle board from Home Depot ($17, and Home Depot cut it to size for us in the store)

* staple gun (free -- borrowed from a friend)

* serrated knife to cut foam pad to size (free -- borrowed from our kitchen)

Verdict: success!

Friday Favorite -- Corkboard Art Wall.

Pinterest pin and website link.

This is an easy way to hang kids' artwork -- just remove the original glass, spray paint the frames and adhere the corkboard (I bought mine in a roll) to the back of the frame.  And if you're like me (who typically puts thirty holes in the wall when hanging five picture frames), here's a tip about hanging gallery wall frames!

Day 37: Rolled Towel as Bed Rail (success -- with a disclaimer).

Pinterest pin and website link.

We just moved our daughter from a crib to a twin bed; it turns out that she is quite a fitful sleeper and fell out the first night.  I didn't want to invest in a crib rail since I'm hoping she won't need it for long, so we tried the rolled up towel trick (many other people on Pinterest suggested using a pool noodle, but I wanted to try something we already had at our house). She hasn't fallen out again, which I count as a success, but it's been a little annoying because the towel tends to droop down the side of the mattress after a day or two.  I'm thinking it's because she has a thin IKEA mattress versus a regular-sized mattress and the fitted sheet isn't very tight.  That small annoyance is better than having her fall out of bed or pay to have yet another contraption in the house, so I'm counting this as a success!  This would also work great while traveling!

Verdict: success!

Day 36: Rainbow Shaving Cream Bath Paint (success -- with a disclaimer).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My kids LOVED this.  I think they would have spent 6 hours in the bath -- in freezing water -- to continue doing this!  It was so easy to make, and my only disclaimer is that I, like the original blog author, have white bath tiles and grout.  In her post above, she said that the food coloring didn't discolor any of her tiles, and I found that to be true too -- however, I do have a very slight blue-ish tint to the grout between some of the tiles that wouldn't go away with lots of scrubbing / cleaner.  My thought is that no one but me will notice this, plus my kids are already asking me daily when we can do this activity again, but I wanted to make sure I said something because blue grout might bother some people!

Ingredients:
foaming shaving cream (I used the kind for sensitive skin)
food coloring
containers / paint brushes

Simply mix well and give to your kids in the bath!

Verdict: success!

Day 33: DIY Chalkboard Printable (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I don't have any fancy graphic software on my computer, so I used PicMonkey to complete this DIY chalkboard sign -- and since I'm not a designer, I love how it turned out!  I uploaded the blog author's free chalkboard background onto the PicMonkey site, added text, saved the .jpeg to my computer, and then printed it as an 11x14 at Costco for $2.99.  I love it -- and was able to quickly put this together for our Superbowl party today!

Go Hawks!

Verdict: success!

Day 26: Spray Painting Tips (success).

Pinterest pin, website link and tutorial video.

I have a love-hate relationship with spray paint.  I love how easy it seems like it should be, but I typically rush through it and my final product looks something like this.  Which I hate.

I'm working on a gallery wall for our playroom and wanted to add the first letters of my kids' names, but didn't want to spend a ton of money.  I bought letters to spray paint at Michael's and quickly set to work.  As you can imagine, it didn't go well, particularly for the N (see the long scratch and the paint drips).  I also decided that I didn't like the shiny, silver color in the playroom.

I searched Pinterest for spray painting tips and came upon the above link, and love that she includes a video.  I have always felt like spray painting should be quick and easy, yet I'm fairly disappointed with the end result each time I do it -- the tips on the site and video were really helpful.  I worked in a well-ventilated area; wore a mask; used Rust-oleum's Comfort Grip; shook the can for 30+ seconds; used sandpaper prior to painting, practiced in a non-conspicuous area (on the back of the letters!); did multiple coats; and sprayed in a steady, always-moving manner.

 And I love the end result!  Can't wait to hang these on the playroom wall!

Verdict: success!

Friday Favorite -- DIY Foaming Hand Wash.

Pinterest pin and website link.

We love foaming hand soap in this house, particularly with young kids, but I jumped at the chance to try a less expensive option when I found the above recipe for DIY foaming hand soap.  I immediately tried it, but didn't think it was quite "foamy" enough with 1 teaspoon of liquid soap.  For us, the following is the perfect recipe:

Refill an empty foam dispenser with 3 teaspoons of liquid soap (I use the Mrs. Meyer's brand) or dish washing liquid and fill the rest of the dispenser with water.

Day 23: Felt Wreath (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I love having a wreath hang from my entryway mirror most of the year, and decided to try this red felt wreath (in a traditional circle shape versus the heart) so that I could use it for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the 4th of July.  I followed the tutorial exactly, with the following two changes:

1) I went to Ben Franklin and used the die-cut machine to cut out my circles.  It takes a TON of felt circles to complete this wreath and I didn't have the energy to cut them all by hand!
2) I lined the back of my wreath with red felt, as part of the back can be seen since I display it against a mirror.

I love the end result, and I simply change out the ribbon it's hanging from based on the holiday and loop it over the upside down command hook on the back of the mirror.  Easy!

Verdict: success!