Monday, April 29, 2013

Aaaar Matey!

More pirate-y fun crafts in our household! I've had a giant bin of baby/toddler hats sitting around for ages and finally figured out what to do with them. Boys don't wear bows and I like to accessorize so we have hats a plenty. I made a cute and theme appropriate hat hanger!





The canvas is a simple 20" by 16" canvas I hand painted. I found a neat skull and crossbones online and enlarged it on my screen. Using freezer paper I traced it off the laptop screen at the appropriate size. Then I used an exacto knife to precisely cut out the shape that would stay white. I ironed the freezer paper on to the canvas and although it didn't stick well I used that as a stencil to paint the remainder black.




I took some simple twill webbing and sewed pacifier/suspender clips every 4" on the strand. The strands ends were finished with the sewing machine too so it will hopefully stay nice and last. I then attached the strands to the back of a canvas I painted like the jolly roger flag. I think I might add a few webbing loops in the center to snap/velcro bibs around too. What do you think?




Thursday, April 11, 2013

Thrifty Diaper Wash and Diaper Stink Help


I'm always looking for ways to cut costs and for a long time paper towels and detergent (both for our diapers and regular laundry) has been at the top of my list. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get the fabric for unpaper towels this weekend and a few weeks back I made my own cloth detergent.

On the advice of a friend I used this recipe. I'm going to start using Calgon Water Softener as an additive too because we have horribly hard water here. I know hard water makes detergents not as effective  and I plan to add 1/2 the recommended amount along with the 2T of detergent to the wash cycle. With my new homemade detergent I'm using 2T for my cold wash cycle and 2T for the Hot wash cycle for diapers.

I've used this as a boost for our clothes laundry and seen great results. After the first wash of our cloth the microfiber inserts were softer and felt as if the individual thread were more fluffy. I'm a few weeks in to using it and no issues s far! Fresh smelling diapers every time and my checking account is happy (I typed pocket book here as the saying goes then realized that saying probably isn't said anymore!).



Since I've been asked a lot recently about things I do for stinky diapers, I figured I'd add it to this post also. I strip my diapers every other month or so (once baby is past newborn stage) with RLR. I carry it at First Coast Fluff after having problems finding it locally. It takes 1/2 to 1 packet each time and I place my clean diapers in the bathtub with the hottest water. I soak overnight or 5-6 hours minimum. then I rinse by hand in the tub and wring the diapers out. Into the wash they go for 2-3 full cycles with NO detergent since my machine doesn't have a rinse only option.

I'm also a huge fan of Bac-out Biokleen. This stuff is amazing even if you're not doing cloth. It works great for odor removal, I've used it in stinky shoes and for carpet cleaning. For diapers, I spray a bit on horrible diapers or into the pail if it smells. I'll also then add a tablespoon or so to the cold wash cycle I do with diapers. It's amazing and all natural. I buy mine at Whole Foods and it lasts forever. It's also available online cheaply.