December 29, 2011

best of… regina morrison: eco-friendly laundry & dish detergent

Let’s take a look back on 2011 – the posts that inspired, challenged, and encouraged us. Today, enjoy this tutorial from Regina Morrison, published this past spring.

I love eco-friendly cleaning products.  They smell great, they don’t irritate my eyes or skin, and I don’t have to worry when my dog licks the shower.  {Yeah, he does that…}

I do my best to purchase products labeled eco-friendly or safe for the environment, but this can get expensive, especially with laundry detergent.  My solution? Make my own.

For a fraction of the cost of environmentally safe detergent, you can make a HUGE amount of green detergent.

What you will need:

  • 1 bar of plain soap {non antibacterial and free of dyes or harsh perfumes… I used a bar of Burt’s Bees soap}
  • borax {you can find this in the laundry detergent aisle at most stores}
  • washing soda {I had a hard time finding this so I ended up buying Target brand oxygen cleaner.  Its main ingredient is sodium carbonate which is the main ingredient on washing soda.}
  • sea salt
  • grater or food processor
  • air tight containers

Laundry Detergent Steps:

Grate the bar of soap either by hand with a cheese grater or chop it into small cubes and put it in the food processor until it turns to powder {which is what I did}.

Put the grated soap into your container and mix in 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda.

Shake up until well combined.  Use about 2 tablespoons per load of laundry. 

Dish Detergent Steps:

Mix together 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of sea salt.  Store in an air tight container. 

Tips:

  • If you want your detergents to have a scent, add a few drops of essential oils
  • For the best results with your dishwasher, put vinegar in the spot where rinse aide should go – your dishes will sparkle!
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December 15, 2011

Acute How-To: Simple Pop-up Holiday Cards

I saw a similar idea on Pinterest last week and had to try it!  These pop-up cards are a simple and inexpensive way to share the joy of this holiday season.

What you will need:

  • card stock {one sheet per card + extra for decoration}
  • scissors and paper cutter {optional}
  • glue stick or double sided tape

Step One:

Fold a sheet of standard cardstock {8 1/2×11”} in half.  Open the paper up and cut with scissors or a paper cutter down the fold so that you have two equal halves.

Step Two:

Fold each half down so that you have two blank cards.  Take one of the blank folded cards and cut several slits in the back {on the fold side}.

Step Three:

Open up the card that you just cut and pop in the pieces – these will be little stands for your decorations.

Step Four:

Take the second folded card and glue or tape it to the one that has the stands inside of it.

Step Five:

Decorate your card – you can cut out pictures of your kids or pets and glue them to the little stands inside the card.  Or, you can print clip art + a message {which is what I did for one of my cards}.  There are also several free downloadable holiday messages + gift tags that you can download and cut out for the inside of your cards.

{For this card, I used a free downloadable image from Eat Drink Chic blog}

Happy Holidays, everyone!

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December 1, 2011

Acute How-To: Mod and Flower Paper Ornaments

I don’t know about you, but my house is starting to look pretty Christmasy right about now. I always put up my tree and various holiday decorations over Thanksgiving weekend. This year I spent some time creating super simple and festive paper ornaments. I love the handmade touch they give to the rest of my holiday decor.

What you will need:

-cardstock paper – any color you like
-stapler + staples
-scissors
-floral wire {this can be found at the craft store near the artificial flowers}
-string

Steps for the “mod” paper ornaments:

*Cut four strips of cardstock about one inch wide.  Take two of the strips and cut them slightly shorter.

*Stack the two short strips in the middle with a long one on each side and staple the top.  Next, bring the two ends of the longer strips to meet the end of the shorter strips.  Secure with a staple.

*Punch a hole in one end and and string a piece of ribbon or twine through the end.

*A double or triple layer mod paper ornament will be done in the exact same way.  All you will have to add is another set of cardstock strips.  In the end you will have “short, medium, and long” and you will layer them so that the two shortest are in the middle and then the medium and so on.

*Punch a hole in the double or triple layer ornaments and hang them from the ceiling or your tree!

Steps for the paper flowers:

*Cut a piece of cardstock into two equal sized squares.  Fold each one accordion style and trim the ends so that they are somewhat rounded.

*Do the same folding and trimming with the second square.  Join the two strips with a piece of floral wire.  Twist the wire so that it is secure.

*Bring the edges of the folded pieces together and secure with a staple.

If you want to hang these from your tree, pinch a small hole into one “petal” and loop a piece of string through it.  I chose to hang my flowers on the wall by placing removable sticky mounting squares on the backs and sticking them to the wall.

I love the way that the flowers look against the wall – it is so festive and pretty…I think I will make several more!

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November 17, 2011

Acute How-To: Fall Garland

Thanksgiving is next week in the USA…so why not spruce up your holiday decor with a simple fall garland?

Garlands are easy to make and can come in so many forms.  They are pretty much my “go-to” decorating idea for the holidays.  For this one, I decided to make simple pompom flowers out of a fall color palette of felt circles.

What you will need:

  • felt {I chose three different colors – dark red, mustard yellow, and beige}
  • hot glue gun + glue
  • thick string or jute twine {about 6 feet long}
  • scissors

Step One:

Cut several circles of felt.  Depending on the length of your garland, this will vary.  I made 10 pompon flowers, each consisting of 6-10 circle petals, plus one circle as the base and one more as the back of the flower.

Step Two:

Heat your glue gun and, working with one pompom flower at a time, lay down a circle “base.”  Bend another circle in half, then in half again.  Place a dot of hot glue at the point the folded circle makes.  Glue the folded circle onto the base and push down.  Continue this with a few more circles until you have a full bloom.

Step Three:

Once you have all your flowers made, measure out a piece of string or twine.  I used a six foot long piece of jute twine.  Glue the pompom flowers along the length of the twine and place an additional circle across the back to hold everything into place.

Step Four:

Display your garland!  It would be perfect across a fireplace mantle or {if you make a longer one} along a staircase railing.  I have neither a mantle nor a staircase, so I chose to hang mine in the dining room.  With a few other decorations, it will look perfect for Thanksgiving!

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October 20, 2011

Acute How-To: Apple Spice Muffins

One of my favorite things about fall is baking. During the summer, it is always a little bit too hot to have my oven on all day. Chilly autumn Saturdays always make me want to cook warm soups and bake with seasonal fruits and vegetables.

One of my favorite things to make is simple and hearty apple spice muffins. The sweetness from the apples with the warmth of cinnamon and allspice is the perfect fall treat.

What you will need:

  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of whole wheat
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons butter {at room temperature}
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup {no sugar added} applesauce
  • ½ cup skim milk
  • 1 medium apple, sliced into thin pieces
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon – for the topping

 

Step One:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step Two:

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients {flour through allspice}. Use a whisk to mix these all together.

Step Three:

Use an electric mixer to mix together the butter and sugar until well combined {about a minute}. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract for another minute. Finally, add in the applesauce.

Step Four:

Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the egg/butter/sugar mixture. Alternate ½ of the dry ingredients, then ½ of the milk, and so on. Once batter is just combined, fold in the apple pieces.

Step Five:

Divide the muffin batter equally among 12 muffin cups and top each muffin with a sprinkle of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

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