Pinsperation!

Last night, my church’s monthly W31 Womens’ Dinner was inspired by Pinterest. Yes! I thought I’d share with you the ideas that were presented there & maybe you can be inspired by some of these ideas.

1. De-Gunking Bathroom Cleaner

Shower cleaner: Microwave 1 c. vinegar 2 mins, pour into spray bottle w/ 1 c. blue Dawn, and shake

If you hate scrubbing soap scum, and I challenge you to find someone who actually enjoys scrubbing soap scum,  then this cleaner is for you. I have personally used this many times & it works!. I like to spray down the glass in the shower/tub area before a shower & then wipe down once I’m in there. I do this in my kids’ bathroom before my oldest showers because he’s the tallest & can reach to the top of the glass, then I give him an extra rag to clean with. He hates this. I love it! I still clean the tub with my regular powder cleanser, but this would probably work there too.

2. Laundry Bags

Organized Laundry!

Who doesn’t want a more organized laundry space?! I love this idea. The bags are actually a really good size. I’m a sort everything kind of girl, so I have 7 baskets in my garage. I think we do a little too much laundry at this stage for me to use this, but when I have fewer kids in the house, I think this is exactly what I will do.

3. Reversible Cup Sleeves

Click http://craftystaci.com/2011/01/10/reversible-coffee-cup-sleeves/ to see the super easy instructions.

I think I could even do this cute little cup sleeve & I’m “sewing-challenged.”

4.  Foil Art

Trace or create your design with hot/tacky glue, let it dry, put foil over it, smooth, & rub with your color choice of shoe polish.

• Draw your picture on paper the size of your final cardboard. Just the big shapes, no details.
• Go over your simple drawing with Sharpie.
• Turn your drawing over. On the back, use your pencil on it’s side  to go over your lines.
• Place your drawing right side up on cardboard and trace over your lines for a graphite transfer to the cardboard.
• Go over with Sharpie if needed to see lines clearly.
• Use a thick, tacky glue to go over the lines and let dry.
• Use a glue stick to attach the foil. (Shiny or dull side showing-you decide.)
• Wrap the foil over the front and to the back.
• Press foil down around dry glue lines. Use a paper towel over your fingers as you rub to avoid tearing the foil.
• Then use a cotton swab up against the glue outlines once the foil is pressed down, just to be sure the glue outlines show up really well.
• Draw patterns in all of the spaces with a dull pencil.
• Once you’ve filled all of the spaces, rub over the whole thing with black shoe polish, wait a few seconds, and wipe off. I think this would look cool with white too!

Instructions are from http://makeitawonderfullife.blogspot.com/2011/12/owls-foil-glue-and-shoe-polish.html. Check it out!

5. Kindness Jar

You can also pull out when you need a pick me up.

I love this idea. I actually had intentions on starting one for January, but amidst daily life, we just haven’t done it. Maybe we’ll just start late…

6. Monthly Memory Page

Collect pictures over the month, write down memorable events, send somewhere to print out & you have an instant memory page.

Now this is scrapbooking that I can do. And  you can put your Memory Page in a page protector. I love, love, love this idea!

7. Homemade Fabric Softener

Doesn’t get much easier than this.

Oh yes. This is soooo simple! I don’t use a lot of fabric softener. If I buy the stuff from the store, it will last me a good 2 years. But I like the idea of being able to make my own scent & it still being cheaper than the store-bought stuff.

All you need is:  6 cups of water, 3 cups of white vinegar, & 2 cups of Suave favorite scent conditioner.

• Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
• Add the vinegar, and mix well.
• Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
• Use about. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your washing machine.

This will work on HE machines.

8. Homemade Laundry Detergent

This laundry detergent works!

I have actually made this detergent & it works wonderfully. I confess that I am a Tide addict, but this detergent can give Tide some competition. My youngest has abnormally ultra-sensitive skin, so I use Tide or Dreft for her when I’m using this. Also, my friend, The Creative Princess, recommends adding a bottle of those scented fabric softener balls/crystals to this to make it smell oh so yummy. Having made this myself, without the softener, the smell is very industrial pre-wash.

• 1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle
• 1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle
• 1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle
• 3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent isle (if you use Zote bars use 2 bars instead, Zote can be found at Home Depot)
• 1 regular container of Oxy Clean  (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

9. Easter Egg Wreath

I’m almost done with this. I didn’t finish it so I could “demonstrate” how to make it. Gonna be a festive one!

This was one of my little demonstrations. I glued a single egg on & then hot-glued some grass in. I think I probably should have taken a little more time & done 2 eggs & another patch of grass but the ladies had already sat thru 8 other presentations & I didn’t want to end up rambling once I got up there.

10. Mesh Wreath

The give-away wreath I made.

This is the Valentine’s Day wreath I made as a door-prize. People seemed to like it, but I wish I had added more ribbon to make it look more festive.

I did a little demo on the different wreath forms to use & showed how easy it is to make these things. I thing it went pretty well.

My wreath at home.

This burlap beauty is my Valentine’s wreath for my front door. Yes, I’m using the same burlap as I did at Christmas. And at January. And I’ll probably use it for March, April, May, and more. I love my burlap!

11. Gift Jars

Goody jars!

Who doesn’t love getting a gift? And who doesn’t love to give a gift that doesn’t require a ton of work? I won one of these jars last night & I love it! Just re-purpose your old relish, pickle, or any other jar you have for your desired gift. Decorate it & voila! You have one awesome gift.

I hope that you can get “Pinspired” with some of these ideas! You can see some of my Pins at http://pinterest.com/HazardousWife/ or click the “Follow Me” button at the right.