Creativity Comes in Many Forms....

I used to think creativity was expressed with pen, pencil, scissors or some other art form. But I have learned that being creative can come in many forms. Finding healthy, inexpensive, homemade products to meet the needs of our family is one form of creativity. It is an avenue I have been forced into - both my husband and middle son have sensitivities to colors, fragrances and preservatives, so I have HAD to learn how to make things from scratch.  Now that I have been down this road for quite a few years, I am finding that it is fun to make things "homemade". That is why you will see many recipes for homemade products and meals alongside papercrafting projects on my blog. Hope you find them helpful.

Here is a recipe that will save you money - it costs only 1 cent per load! Try this - it really works...

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1/3 bar shaved Zote 
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 gallon bucket
Optional - 1/2 to 1 oz essential oil


Shave soap with knife into sauce pan and add 6 cups of water. Heat until melted. Add soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket and then add soap mixture. Stir to combine and then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups water to soap mixture and stir. Allow to sit for 24 hours to gel.


Use 1/2 cup per laundry load.


Optional: Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups Pure Power (purple) for extra cleaning power

Simple Christmas Cards Workshop

In October and November I will be holding a few

Simple Christmas Cards Workshops.

 I know many of you like to make homemade Christmas cards to send out to family and friends, and if you make A LOT of them, they need to be simple in design. Here are the ones we will be making. They range from wimsical to elegant, but each one is very fast and easy to make. We will make 3 from scratch and 1 from CTMH's Christmas card kit entitled, "Around the Holidays". The kit comes with everything you need to make 12 really classy circle Christmas cards (kit costs $14.95). No stamping is involved - just peel and stick. My boys and I are going to make some of these cards this year to give out. (Maybe I'll get my Christmas cards mailed out before January this year!)

Here is a picture of all 4 different designs.

You get enough supplies to make 3 of each design.

I followed the suggested directions for the first 4 cards,

but the others I am going to personalize with photos of the boys and favorite Christmas verses.

"Around the Holidays Card Kit"

October Stamp of the Month

Close To My Heart's October Stamp of the Month is entitled
"Holiday Warmth". It is cute little set of 11 holiday themed, wimsical stamps. The tree reminds me of the Grinch's tree, so I made a little Christmas card using a quote from the Grinch. The quote comes from a stamp set entitled "Peace on Earth" -it has a set of 17 great Christmas quotes. Just click on the picture to see an enlarged view.
Sorry I don't have a direct way for you to order from this blog (hopefully that will change in the next few months), but if you are interested in ordering any of the CTMH supplies that are posted, just leave a comment with your email and I will get back with you.

If you want to see some really great artwork using this stamp set, you can jump in on the SOTM BLOG HOP:  http://www.livelovelaughscrapbook.blogspot.com/

There is another blog hop that started on OCT 3rd for National Card Making Day, so you might see both on the sites you visit.