Homemade Christmas Decorations

At the same time that I decided to try out some Halloween Wine Bottle Decorations this year, I decided to try the same with some cute ideas for Christmas too.

I chose during the summer what I wanted to do and spray painted all my bottles then. They've been sitting on my shelf, just waiting to be hand painted and crafted, and I finally got around to it this week!

Christmas and Halloween bottles in the making!

I didn't do as many for Christmas, partially because I didn't have as many good Christmas spray paint colours, and partially because there weren't as many ideas that really jumped out at me for this time of year.

I am, however, incredibly happy with the ones I did do!

These two bottles were fun and ridiculously easy to do:

First, you roughly sand the bottle.

Then coat it in mod podge or liquid glue.

Next, you roll it in epsom salts until it's fully coated. I had to roll it and then sprinkle more salt on to fill in the gaps. 

Wait for it to dry fully and then spray paint it any colour you want!

Voila! The epsom salts give these bottles some really neat texture and glitter and would make a beautiful centre piece, if I had a dining room table! :-P

This one was really easy, which is why I chose to do it this way. I was originally thinking about painting on a Santa face, but I saw this idea on Pinterest and just loved it! Again, it's so simple and rustic! I accented it a little with random buttons and beads I had lying around, but the beauty of it is you can do anything you want with it!

Now this one is by far my favourite, of all the bottles I've painted this year. Again, it's another idea I saw on Pinterest and fell in love with. I'm very happy with how well it turned out! I surprised myself a little with this one :-) Just acrylic paints, some Christmas ribbon, and a square from one of Adrian's old t-shirts, hot glued onto the top and tied off!

So much fun!

These wine bottle crafts are a ton of fun and are so so easy and versatile! There is so much you can do with these, and they are a great and cheap way to repurpose old wine bottles! They do take a bit of planning ahead if you live in colder climates like I do and can't spray paint year round, but other than that, they are a cinch! A bit of paint, some cloth scraps or beads or buttons, epsom salts, a hot glue gun... etc... there's so much you can do with these tools!

One tip that I learned the hard way: when buying spray paint, it really is worth it to buy the more expensive stuff. I tried the cheaper variety, not thinking there would be an important difference, and there really is! It didn't spray evenly, and didn't stick the way the more expensive stuff does! I promise you, it's worth it! Also, I didn't find I needed to sand down the bottles at all when I used the more expensive stuff, but I have read that sanding can help either way.

Homemade Bentonite/Kaolin Clay Deodorant

For the past 6+ months, I have been using just apple cider vinegar for deodorant. It worked really well during the summer, with sleeveless tops, even though I would often need to reapply throughout the day.

However, as the weather got colder and I started needing layers, the ACV just stopped cutting it.

I loved my 2-step deodorant from last winter/spring, but I wanted to try something different and easier this time around. However, I had tried another store bought, natural deodorant and it most definitely did not work, so I was leary about using expensive materials to make a deodorant that wouldn't work.

So, as usual, I did a lot of reading, and decided to try making my own recipe based on a couple that looked good!

What I created was this:

30g coconut oil
20g Shea butter
10g beeswax
10g homemade lemon balm infused grapeseed oil
15g arrowroot powder
15g bentonite clay
5 drops vitamin e oil
2g tamanu oil
5g neem oil
Essential oils (a LOT to mask the neem)

I melted the harder ingredients in a double boiler, took it off the heat and thdn added the liquid oils. Then, I added 8 drops tea tree oil, 20 drops lavender oil, 8 drops eucalyptus smithii oil, 10 drops bergamot oil, 10 drops lemon oil and 10 drops peppermint oil. (I used these ones specifically because they're safe during pregnancy and we're trying again). I then whisked in the powders until it was nice and smooth.

I was a little nervous that the bentonite clay would stain my clothes, but so far (almost three weeks in), I haven't had any problems with that!

I really like it! It goes on really smoothly and all the ingredients are non-irritating, so it's nice and gentle on the pits, even after shaving!

The odour control on this recipe is really good, but it still smells a bit like neem, which I'm not too jazzed about. It does, however, control body odour all day, and the neem smell fades after an hour or so. Next time, i'm going to put in a little less neem, because I don't really want to put in much more essential oils - the concentration is already high enough.

The moisture control was lacking, unfortunately. I thought about just adding more arrowroot powder or clay, but because the jar was quite full, I decided to just make a separate powder like the one from my two step deodorant and that's working really well! And really, it's not that much more work to put a powder on after the cream!

The benefits of the ingredients:

Neem oil: neem is high in Vitamin E, emollients and fatty acids, which are great for dry,  stressed and damaged skin.  It is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately,  it smells god awful!

Beeswax: forms a protective barrier on the skin, which helps with both odour and moisture control. Beeswax is also anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral. It Is also an emollient and humectant and is high in vitamin A, which makes it a great moisturizer.

Coconut oil: an amazing skin moisturizer, coconut oil is also anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial.

Shea butter: shea is high in vitamin A, which makes it an excellent moisturizer with amazing healing properties.

Tamanu oil: this oil is an amazing skin regenerator, great for healing and regrowing healthy skin. It is also antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory.

Lemon balm infused oil: lemon balm is calming and anti-inflammatory.

Arrowroot powder: more gentle than baking soda and a great moisture absorber.

Bentonite clay: is a great moisture absorber and also helps to absorb toxic metals and environmental toxins from the body.

Tea tree oil: this essential oil is antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory.

Lavender oil: lavender is soothing and softening, antiseptic, antifungal, speeds healing, and is anti-inflammatory.

Lemon oil: this one is astringent, antiseptic, antiviral, soothing and deodorizing.

Bergamot oil: bergamot is deodorizing, anti-depressant, antibiotic, disinfectant, antibacterial, and antiseptic.

Eucalyptus oil: antibacterial, anti-infectious, and anti-inflammatory.

Peppermint oil: peppermint oil is a great moisturizer, alleviates stress, is antiviral and is a great deodorizer.

I made a very similar recipe for Adrian about a month ago and it has been working very well for him and also hasn't stained any clothes yet :-)

His recipe is:

30g coconut oil
20g Shea butter
9g beeswax
15g cocoa butter
16g kaolin clay
15g arrowroot powder
5 drips vitamin e oil
15 drops cedarwood oil
6 drops bergamot oil
6 drops tea tree oil

Light Bulb Moment #2

My brother and I have an amazing relationship. Granted, we didn't always, but since high school, we've been really close. He's one of my absolute best friends.

This is the kind of relationship I hope desperately that my kids have. And because of this relationship, my whole life i've always said I would have one girl and one boy, 2 years apart, when I got married and started making a family. This image has stuck with my for as long as I can remember.

For the past few months, Adrian and I have been trying to get pregnant again. Jaxson is now just over one and a half, and we've been struggling for 5 months to get pregnant, with no results. It is by no means at a point of concern yet, but because it has taken us so long when I wasn't expecting that, we have now blown past the time frame I had always envisioned, and that, subconsciously, has been a stressor for me! To be honest, I feel selfish that this has been a stressor for me after what a number of my friends have gone through trying to get pregnant, and beyond. But if I'm honest with myself, I can't deny that it has been a stressor...

My kids will now not be 2 years apart. They'll be 2.5 or more.

We have also been trying to have a girl, which clearly has not been working. This has also been a stressor for me.

The other day, Adrian and I had a really good talk about baby number two. He asked if I would be disappointed if it was another boy. I answered honestly. Yes. I admit, a part of me would be disappointed, because i've always wanted a girl. But in the same breath, I know that no matter what, there's no way I could be disappointed, because my kids are my kids and I will be thrilled regardless of what sex they are! In this same conversation, I talked about my relationship with my brother and how much that means to me and how I want that so badly for my kids. Adrian's response, which really hit me and made me stop short was, sex doesn't matter.... The relationship our kids have will be solely dependent on their personalities, and has nothing to do with gender!

It may seem so simple and obvious, but I thought about that statement all night, and the next day had a massive aha! moment.

Without even consciously realizing it, I had created a picture in my head of what my family would and should be like. I was unconsciously trying to control something that I have absolutely no control over.

Now, I know that I can't change or shape my family to be a certain way, and I most definitely do NOT want to, but by having this picture in my head, that's exactly what I was doing! Or trying to do. I have always been excited to see how my kids will grow up and who they will become, and I have never wanted to make them into someone other than who they are.

It really pulled me up and made me stop and evaluate my feelings and thoughts around my family and my kids.

And I re-realized something that i've known since we got pregnant with Jaxson. What we are given is what is meant to be. It took us a long time to get pregnant with Jaxson, and I was starting to get worried, until finally one month, it happened! And then when Jaxson was born and I really met him and have since watched him grow, I realized that it took us so long to get pregnant, because we were waiting for him, for THIS specific child, and he just hadn't found us yet.

I know this. I believe this. And yet, I have been trying to create an image that i've held onto since I was a kid, instead of just releasing myself to whatever we are supposed to have!

I couldn't believe I had been so stupid and controlling, without even truly realizing it. I cried. I laughed. And I finally released that image.

All I want is for my family to be happy and all of us to love each other. And the only control I have over that is instilling and encouraging that kind of relationship through honesty, open communication, love and acceptance. The rest is out of my hands. I also realized that if I do all those things and my kids end up not having the kind of relationship I want for them, then that is not my fault. I cannot feel guilt over that, I cannot feel responsible, because I will have done everything I knew how to do to build and encourage it.

I feel like there is this huge block... a wall... that has shifted from in front of me. A weight is off my heart that I didn't realize was there.

Now I feel lighter. I remember that we will get pregnant when we are meant to. We will have what we are meant to. Jaxson will be an amazing big brother, to a little sister OR little brother.

Clearly, I wasn't ready yet to be a parent of two kids.

Now I am confident that I am, and I cannot wait to meet our next little one, whenever he or she is ready to meet us!

Edible Goop #2

Now that Jaxson is almost 19 months, I decided to try out another goop recipe to see if he liked it more this time.

I personally liked this goop the most so far, and Jaxson was actually interested in playing with it a bit this time, which was nice :-)

I tried a really simple recipe - just 1 tbsp xanthan gum and 1 3/4 cups water whisked together, food colouring, and then a box of corn starch kneaded in!

First off, I love how easy it was to make!

The texture is a bit like play dough - it doesn't stretch as much as I wanted it to, but I still like it, and Jaxson seemed to dig it way more than the last couple of times! He actually sat and played with it for a bit!

This kind of thing doesn't entertain him for long though - he's such a busy body, he won't sit still for too long! Haha but at least he sits long enough for me to get some wicked photos!

What the heck is this?

Eww!

Ok, having fun now!

Homemade Hair Pomade

Adrian has recently started taking on more managerial shifts at work, working more with customers than in the back of house, and so has started needing to dress up a bit. He therefore needed a product for his hair, but as neither of us use awful, unnatural products, I decided I would make him a pomade to use!

He has been using it for a few weeks now and it works really well, which is saying something, because he has ridiculously thick, curly hair. The pomade's hold is good (it lasts a whole shift), it smells great, and it looks good too!

My recipe:

3tbsp beeswax (this amount can vary based on the hold needed!)
1tbsp grapeseed oil
1/4 cup + 1tbsp coconut oil
7 drops cedarwood essential oil
4 drops rosemary essential oil
5 drops tea tree oil

As usual, heat the harder ingredients in a  double boiler until they are completely melted, then remove it from the heat and add your liquid oil and essential oils until you get to the scent you like.

You can play around a bit with this recipe depending on how much hold you need it to have. Adjust the amount of beeswax and liquid oil you use based on how unruly your hair is! Adrian's hair is very thick and dry, so I used more beeswax than would usually be necessary. 

Because I needed to add so much beeswax, it is a bit hard, but it melts very nicely in the palm of your hand!

Adrian's curly, thick, unruly hair sans-pomade

And with pomade! What a difference, and it stays all night!

All these ingredients have amazing benefits for your hair and scalp:

Coconut Oil: coconut oil is a wonder substance. It seems like it's good for everything, both internally and externally. And for hair, it is absolutely amazing. It's good for all hair types. It helps with damaged hair and split ends. It is also amazing for the scalp and follicles and can really help with all issues, from dandruff to lice to hair loss (which Adrian definitely doesn't need help with). It also adds luster and softness to hair (which in Adrian's case, is an added bonus! His hair is like straw!).

Beeswax: beeswax can also act as a stimulant for hair growth, and is a great thickening agent for something like a pomade as it helps to give volume to your hair. It adds shine and protects hair, making is softer and more manageable. Because it is a thick wax, beeswax also helps protect your hair from environmental damage, which in the prairies, is necessary.

Grapeseed Oil: like coconut oil, grapeseed oil is a natural softener and moisturizer. It helps keep your hair soft, strong and healthy and is lighter than other oils, so doesn't leave your hair feeling too oily. Grapeseed oil helps repair damaged hair and split ends by locking in moisture. It is also great for the scalp and can help address issues like dandruff.

Cedarwood Oil: cedarwood is both relaxing, comforting, and helps with focus/mental clarity. It is also a great oil to use to help with insomnia. It is a good oil for normal hair and stimulates the scalp which can help with hair regrowth and dandruff, etc.

Rosemary Oil: rosemary oil also helps with mental alertness and is a great oil to use when you are overworked and fatigued. It also stimulates the roots and improves circulation to the scalp.

Tea Tree Oil: tea tree oil is incredibly refreshing and cleansing. It is an immune stimulant and helps with both mental and physical stresses. This oil is also a great remedy for dandruff and dry scalp.

Homemade Halloween Decorations!

This Halloween was the first one I've really felt like I could decorate! I have a family, I'm an adult, and we live in a place big enough for me to do this kind of thing! 

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on decorations, so I hit Pinterest for some easy, fun ideas! For what I wanted to do, I had to get started early...

My main decorations were using wine and gin bottles that I spray painted and then decorated by hand, so I needed to spray paint them in the summer, while it was still warm enough to! So I did this first step in September. I chose what I wanted to make with the bottles I had, and then spray painted them.

These are all the bottles, for both Halloween and Christmas decorations.

After that, I had a bit of leeway to gather my supplies and paint/decorate them in my own time. The results were better than I could have hoped!

This one was probably one of my favourites, just because it was so simple! Spray painting it was a two step project: first, I sprayed it gold and then once it had dried, Adrian helped me wrap rubber bands around it and I sprayed it a matte black.

Then, all I did was add on a couple googly eyes, and BAM! Instant mummy!

This ghost was so simple too. I found some clear stickers to put on glasses at the dollar store and cut out some eyes and a mouth that I liked, stuck it on, and then painted over the edged to help them stick and blend into the bottle, and it was done!

My three Tanqueray bottles became a monster family, complete with googly eyes and pipe cleaner hair! The dad's hair is curly, just like Adrian's! haha these ones I was most proud of! I think they turned out really well, and mouths are fun, and again, they were so so simple!

Since the bottles turned out so well, I got craft-crazy and wanted to do so much more. My next, simple project was to draw and cut out silhouettes from construction paper to tape into the inside of our lamp shades. Nice and easy!

The wreath was the only thing I really spent money on, and I still only bought a few clearance items at Michael's to piece together. A little hot glue, and bam!

Another thing I made was glow in the dark ghosts to hang outside. For these, I bought Styrofoam balls and cheese cloth at the dollar store. I used wire I found in our tool box to make the arms and then I dipped the cheese cloth in a mixture of mod podge and glow in the dark paint and draped it over the Styrofoam balls, which I perched on old bottles so they could dry off the table. Again, the result was awesome and they looked great swaying in the wind in our front yard!

The last thing I did was a last minute spur of the moment thing after I found this craft pumpkin at Value Village. It was pretty ugly, so I painted it orange and then made the lettering out of pipe cleaners and hot glued them on. Adrian even helped with this one, obviously bored one night, and made the exclamation mark!

This project was so much fun for me to do. It gave me a creative outlet while Jaxson napped, and kept me busy for a couple of weeks! 

So much fun on a budget, and so easy!

Black Bean Brownies

Now,  before you judge this recipe, keep reading and give it a chance! I was a little skeptical at first, but regardless,  thought it would be worth trying at least once.

I found a similar recipe months ago while looking though healthy desserts,  and stored the idea away for a time when I had a random can of black beans hiding in my pantry.

I'm happy to announce that I finally did have that can,  and also a very wicked chocolate craving, as I always do when I decide to bake! Another great thing about these is black beans are fairly high in iron, and if you're anything like me, when you're craving chocolate, you could also do with a dose of iron! ;-)

Another perk to these is they are gluten free, which is something my family and I have recently become.

First off, I was incredibly pleased with how easy this recipe was. Stick all the ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.  Brainless,  just how I like my baking!

There are a number of variations of this recipe online,  including eggless or sugar-substitute ones.

I didn't choose those. :-)

My chosen recipe has eggs AND sugar. I mean,  they are brownies after all...

Here it is:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Blend the following ingredients in a blender or food processor: (I used our ninja- best blender ever!)

1 can black beans,  drained and rinsed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
A pinch of salt

Pour into the pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake until the top is slightly crispy and the edges pull away from the side of the pan. This took me about 40 minutes.

Something I thought pretty cool is Adrian couldn't even tell what they were made of! They were so chocolatey and rich!

My First Wood Staining Experience

I found these gorgeous, handmade wood pieces at a garage sale a few weeks ago for $1 each and just had to get them! I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to use them for, but I thought they would make yet another awesome diy craft for me this summer. Jaxson is an amazing napper, and while his schedule is slowly starting to change, he does still have at least one 2-3 hour nap a day, and if I use my time wisely, that's a great chunk of time to get stuff done!

Naturally, i've been taking full advantage of that and have been trying my hand at some new things, including knitting, round looming, painting, gardening, and now this: wood staining!

Unfinished pieces, they're even beautiful as they are, non?

I bought a gel stain at Rona and a varnish overcoat so at least the wheel barrow could handle being outside. The wheel barrow also came with a couple small pots that I immediately planted some mini dahlias in, so I wanted to make sure I could water them in it without warping the wood. 

The process was amazingly simple, incredibly fun, and was over before I knew it! I finished staining both pieces, and cleaning up before Jaxson even woke up! The gel stain was great - it was way thicker than I expected it to be, but I liked that. There was zero spatter onto myself, and it went on evenly and simply!

Stained and ready to weatherproof!

I let them dry outside overnight and then coated them with the waterproofing varnish and voila! I'm really impressed with how easy this was to do, and at how good they look! I had a ton of fun doing this, and now make it a point of looking for wood pieces at garage sales or thrift stores that I can sand down and stain! 

Now I just have to be careful to buy useful things and not get stuck just buying for the sake of staining! We've all been there, right? Right??

I love the natural stain outside, because it just finished this piece nicely and doesn't detract from the beautiful plants!

This little tool box became my handy-dandy beside-the-couch lotion, nail clipper, kleenex holder, phone and tablet charger! It looks great and is compact so I have more space for my cups of coffee in the morning!

Homemade Tooth Paste and Tooth Powder

A few months ago, I decided to try making my own toothpaste once we had run out of the expensive, natural kind we were using. A friend of mine here in Saskatoon had tried it with pleasant results.

There are a ton of recipes online, and it took me the better part of Jaxson's nap to do some research and decide on one that a liked... And I couldn't even narrow it down to one after all that! I found two very different recipes and liked the sound of both of them, so I decided to make just a small batch of each!

I wasn't worried about either of these cleaning our mouths, because all the ingredients are cleansing, antibacterial and/or antimicrobial. I mean, I use coconut oil to oil pull with amazing results!

These are the two recipes I tried:

Wellness Mama's Remineralizing Tooth Powder, with my own variations based on my ingredient availability

I made this recipe as follows:

3 tbsp bentonite clay
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp crushed mint leaf (ground with a mortar and pestle)
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ground cloves
Peppermint essential oil to taste

Crunchy Betty's Coconut Oil Toothpaste, again with my own small variations based on research and the availability of ingredients.

For this recipe, I used everything except the glycerin:

3 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp baking soda
Stevia extract to taste
Peppermint essential oil to taste

Both Adrian and I have been using them for a few months now and we both like them a lot!

:-) 

To be honest, it's kind of nice having two different kinds - that way, I have some choice. More often than not, I use the tooth powder in the morning and the paste at night.

Pros for these recipes:

1. They last forever! A single batch of each lasted Adrian and I almost 3 months.

2. Both keep my breath fresh and mouth clean all day.

3. The coconut oil one helps whiten teeth - at least I noticed a difference when I used that one exclusively.

4. Both taste great!

Cons for these recipes:

1. The powder texture takes a bit of getting used to and you really need to rinse out your mouth or you'll have a brown, gritty smile!

2. Both make a bit of a mess of your sink - the coconut oil paste requires washing with hot water, the powder just requires a quick wipe down.

3. The coconut oil paste hardens and needs to be scooped out with a finger or knife.

I ended up making another batch of toothpaste a couple weeks later, to take up to the lake with me so I could leave the original batches at home for Adrian, who had to come back before me for work. For this paste, I tried halfing the amount of baking soda, because I found the original recipe quite salty and have read that it can cause tooth sensitivity, though neither Adrian nor I, nor my friend and her husband have noticed this. I have to say, though, I do prefer the paste with less baking soda, and I still feel just as clean and fresh!

Tooth powder on the left, paste on the right

I'm super happy with all of these recipes, and am enjoying the nice, all-day clean and fresh feel!

Cinderblock Gardening

This spring, we moved upstairs in the house we were living, and therefore got more creative liberty with the yard and garden. Being on a budget, as we are, I started looking on Pinterest for DIY Planter Boxes and fell in love with the cinderblock look!

We found some, incredibly cheap, at the ReStore in Saskatoon, and went to town! Other than cinderblocks, all you need is construction adhesive, hardware cloth or chicken wire, and landscaping cloth.

Adrian and I had fun piecing them together and finding the pattern that looked the best. We settled on two walls - one for mostly culinary herbs, but also some splashes of colours with flowers, and one in our sitting area featuring bug repelling plants. 

I'm in love with the look, and they have done so well! I've really been impressed.

This is how they looked when I first planted everything. I was late in getting things in, so this didn't happen until the first of July! Next year i'll get started sooner.

In this one, i've got parsley, basil, peppermint, cilantro, lavender, sage, oregano, marigolds, geranium, lobelia, and a couple more bright, hanging flowers.

In this, our smaller bug repelling wall, we've got marigolds, geranium, lemon balm, lemon thyme, rosemary, basil, peppermint, lavender, bee balm and an extra lobelia for added colour.

What each plant repels:

Marigolds: mosquitoes, 

Geranium: mosquitoes, beetles

Lemon Balm: mosquitoes

Lemon Thyme: mosquitoes

Rosemary: slugs, flies, mosquitoes

Basil: flies, mosquitoes

Peppermint: flies, aphids, mosquitoes, some beetles

Lavender: moths, fleas, flies, mosquitoes

Bee balm: mosquitoes

I wanted to also get lemongrass and citronella, but couldn't find any, late as I was getting these in the first place. I'll try again next spring for those.

Two weeks later, we've already got some growth!

I ended up moving the lavender into a big pot so that it had more room to take off.

Two weeks later, there's explosive growth!

And these are the most recent pictures... Two weeks later. Unbelievable growth and very ready to harvest! It amazes me how fast changes happen in nature.

I absolutely love the look of these, and am so happy we did it! All in all, including plants, black earth, manure, peat moss, the cinderblocks, construction cloth and adhesive, and landscaping cloth, we spent about $150 for all of this! I'd say that's a pretty good price for what we got out of it!

We plan on making a few oil infusions with some herbs for winter cooking, and are hoping to bring a few inside to over-winter. We'll see how that goes!