DIY Project – Magnetic Menu Planner
Motherhood On a Dime shows us how to make a fabulous magnetic menu planner!
This system would be great for inquiring minds that want to know what they’ll be eating each night!
Mother’s Day Herb and Tomato Gift
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. And just in time, I have a simple gift idea for you! Give Mom a nice Herb and Tomato gift!
You need:
- One or two potted tomato plants
- One or two potted herb plants (I used basil)
- Ribbon
- Wrapping paper (I used brown kraft paper)
- Tape
All I did was cut a strip of Kraft paper wide enough to cover the ugly pots. I taped it in place. Next I took some polka dot ribbon I had from the dollar store, wrapped it around over the Kraft paper, then taped it in place. Finally, I added the red/pink ribbon by tying it in a bow at what I determined to be the front. As a cute touch, I stuck in a butterfly pick that I found at the dollar store.
All you have to do now is add a card and tell Mom to plant them in her favourite planters or garden!
If you’d rather not use tomatoes or herbs, grab a pack of flowers from your local greenhouse and wrap it the same way with the Kraft paper. Like so:
I decided to forgo the ribbon this time in favour of writing “Happy Mother’s Day” on the paper instead.
I’d like to know two things: What will you be giving Mom this year and what do you really want for Mother’s Day?
DIY Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
I’m back with another homemade cleaning product! This time it’s the recipe for my natural all-purpose cleaner. I use this stuff for everything. The counters, the bathrooms and even the walls!
Here’s what you need:
- 2 tsp Borax natural detergent – Find this at your local grocery store in the laundry aisle
- 3 Tbsp Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap – Choose your favourite scent
- 4 Tbsp White Vinegar – a natural disinfectant! I always buy the club size because I like to have it on hand for its many uses.
- Distilled Water (or boiled water)
- 16oz spray bottle
Mix the borax, white vinegar and a little bit of hot water in a spray bottle. (Must be hot water to incorporate the borax.) Add the Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap, then swirl the bottle to mix. Once it’s all mixed, add the rest of the water to fill up to 16oz. It will be slightly white and opaque.
How to Read an eBook even if you Don’t Have an eReader
Lately I’ve been posting quite a few sales featuring some great ebooks written mostly by fellow bloggers, including the amazing Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle! eBooks are becoming quite popular in case you haven’t noticed. 🙂 For those of you that may be scratching your head about the word “ebook”, here’s the definition from Wikipedia:
An electronic book (variously, e-book,eBook, ebook, digital book, or even e-edition) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices.
While real, hard copy books are still my favourite, there are quite a few reasons why I like ebooks:
- They’re available instantly
Sometimes I just want a book right away. I don’t want to wait for it to arrive in the mail or have time to get to a bookstore. Or, by the time my turn comes for a book I request from the library, it’s not applicable to me anymore! - They’re cheaper
eBooks are almost always cheaper then a hard copy book, and I don’t have to pay for shipping! - They’re great for traveling
No need to bring along several heavy books on vacation! I also like the fact that I always have a selection of books to read if I’m waiting for an appointment. - They’re almost clutter free
Aside from the device you use to read them (computer, smartphone, eReader) there’s no clutter involved in owning ebooks! You can have an entire library of books in your bag! - They’re a way to support fellow bloggers
When I purchase an ebook from a blogger, I know that my money is going directly to them to help them run their sites and support their families.
How exactly do you read an eBook if you don’t have an eReader?
Most ebooks that I purchase are in PDF format. I really like this format because it allows me to read the books in several different ways. Here are the options:
- On my computer
This is my currently my favourite way because I don’t have an eReader and it allows me to quickly reference a book because I’m “always” on my computer. You can read any PDF on a computer, but if you prefer to read them using a Kindle app, you can download a free Kindle app for any device here, including your computer. - Print them outI’ve never actually done this with an entire book, but in the case of an eCookbook, I’ve printed out individual recipes once we’ve enjoyed the recipe a couple of times. I put these printed pages into my recipe binder, but if you print an entire ebook, you could put each book into it’s own three ring binder. Or, you could put several different ebooks into one binder if they’re of the same topic.
- Get them bound
If you really enjoy having a hard copy, you may want to head to your local office supply store to have your ebooks bound! This actually might be cheaper then printing them out yourself. - Read on a Smartphone
As I mentioned above, Amazon has several free Kindle apps for you to download making it possible to read ebooks on your smartphone (or tablet, or computer). I have an iPhone so quite often I like to read while I’m waiting in the checkout line or at an appointment. You can also send several different formats, including PDF, to your Kindle app via Send to Kindle.
Tomorrow, I’m going to tell you how I organize all the eBooks I own since I’m starting to have quite the library!
Do you read eBooks? Do you have an eReader, or do you read your them in a different way?
DIY Super Citrus Cleaner
I’ve added a new cleaner to my natural cleaning collection and I thought I’d tell you all about it! It’s the Super Citrus Cleaner!
A friend of mine posted this cleaner on my Facebook timeline because she knew I’d love the idea. I gave it a try on our bathtub to see if it would remove the soap scum that I’ve been having troubles getting rid of, and sure enough, it works really well!
This Super Citrus Cleaner is super easy to make.
- Place the peels of any citrus fruit into a jar. I used orange peels because Sienna eats an orange almost every morning.
- Once your jar is full, pour white vinegar over top to cover the peels completely.
- Let it sit for about 5 days before you use it.
- You could pour it over to a spray bottle, but I just poured it straight from the jar.
I’ve heard it works like CLR, so it might be good for rust stains and lime stains too. I can attest to it’s soap scum removing abilities though!
First Birthday Canvas Art
My daughter recently celebrated her first birthday. Seriously, where did the time go? There’s no way my baby is one! Regardless, I wanted to something to commemorate the occasion.
When a mom in a Facebook group that I’m a part of, posted about her son’s first birthday finger painting art, many of us within that group, thought the idea was a great one. I was one of them!
I made a trip to Michaels armed with a 40% off coupon for some finger paints. I decided on the basic Crayola finger paints. (But you could also make your own! See I Can Teach My Child for a great sounding recipe.) I was also hoping the canvases would be on sale. Sure enough, they were, so I grabbed the 11″ x 14″ size.
We started with the blank canvas with some dots of paint I put randomly all over.
Next, we thought eating the paint would be a good idea. Not so good, but I didn’t panic because the paints were non-toxic. I should have known better because there isn’t anything this kid won’t eat.
In order to get the final masterpiece, I had to direct her hands all over the canvas. I’m sure she’ll catch on soon enough if we do more “masterpieces” in the future!
Having the bath ready and waiting came highly suggested by the Mom in the Facebook group!
Right now the canvas is displayed proudly on our mantle in the living room. One day, I’d like for it to end up in a playroom that we may have!
Did you do something to commemorate your child’s first birthday?
