DIY Dryer Sheets

So I am open to fun new uses for every day products as well as ways to use these products to save money. I have been on Pinterest a lot these days, getting inspired but not really putting the ideas I find to action yet. I found a frugal way to make your own bounce dryer sheets! That's right!!

How fun, now I went to get a few everyday things from Wal-Mart yesterday and went to grab some fabric softener since I NEVER use it in my laundry. The kids and I went through almost all the brands and scents to pick our favorite. Compared to a box of bounce sheets at $8.96 a large bottle of fabric softener was only $4-8 depending on the brand. Now my intentions are not to use the fabric softener for my laundry so it will be so worth it!

***Homemade Dryer Sheets

So here is what you need...

- Fabric softener of your choice (for sensitive skin use fragrance free, or use natural softener if you prefer natural products)

-Rags or old towel, flannel rags etc.

-Container

-Scissors

-Hanger or clothes line and clothes pins

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut fabric, or rags etc into smaller size (around 5"x8") whatever you prefer the size to be.

Step 2: Poor Fabric softener in bottom of the container (don't need too much)

Step 3: Add pieces of fabric to container
and let the fabric soak up the fabric softener
Step 4: Now ring out the pieces and allow to dry by using a hanger or clothes line and clothes pins

The instructions I read on how to do this said each towel should be good for about 40 loads, but even if it is only good for 5 loads it is still worth the money!! Some instructions say to use the towels wet too, something that may be worth a try.

Here are some other good uses for fabric softener:

***Make your own Febreze:

What you need:

- a empty 32 oz Febreze spray bottle or other spray bottle.

- 1/8 cup Fabric softener

- 2 TBSP Baking Soda

- Hot Tap Water (to fill bottle up to the top)

Mix ingredients into bottle, shake up and spray away!

Here are some ideas from Readers Digest

Removing old wallpaper

Removing old wallpaper is a snap with fabric softener. Just stir 1 cap-full liquid softener into 1 quart (1 liter) water and sponge the solution onto the wallpaper. Let it soak in for 20 minutes, then scrape the paper from the wall. If the wallpaper has a water-resistant coating, score it with a wire-bristle brush before treating with the fabric softener solution.

Abolish carpet shockTo eliminate static shock when you walk across your carpet, spray the carpet with a fabric softener solution. Dilute 1 cup softener with 2 1/2 quarts (2.5 liters) water; fill a spray bottle and lightly spritz the carpet. Take care not to saturate it and damage the carpet backing. Spray in the evening and let the carpet dry overnight before walking on it. The effect should last for several weeks.

Remove hair-spray residueDried-on overspray from hair spray can be tough to remove from walls and vanities, but even a buildup of residue is no match for a solution of 1 part liquid fabric softener to 2 parts water. Stir to blend, pour into a spray bottle, spritz the surface, and polish it with a dry cloth.

Clean now, not laterClean glass tables, shower doors, and other hard surfaces, and repel dust with liquid fabric softener. Mix 1 part softener into 4 parts water and store in a squirt bottle, such as an empty dishwashing liquid bottle. Apply a little solution to a clean cloth, wipe the surface, and then polish with a dry cloth.

Float away baked-on grimeForget scrubbing. Instead, soak burned-on foods from casseroles with liquid fabric softener. Fill the casserole with water, add a squirt of liquid fabric softener, and soak for an hour, or until residue wipes easily away.

Keep paintbrushes pliableAfter using a paintbrush, clean the bristles thoroughly and rinse them in a coffee can full of water with a drop of liquid fabric softener mixed in. After rinsing, wipe the bristles dry and store the brush as usual.

Remove hard-water stainsHard-water stains on windows can be difficult to remove. To speed up the process, dab full-strength liquid fabric softener onto the stains and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then wipe the softener and stain off the glass with a damp cloth and rinse.

Here are a couple links for great ways to use Dryer Sheets too! I love learning new ways to re-purpose things!!

http://www.curbly.com/chrisjob/posts/1602-25-alternative-uses-for-fabric-softener-dryer-sheets

http://mountainsurvival.com/bounce.html

Kid Friendly Stepping Stones

So have I have found my new love on the internet... pinterest. Have you heard of it? It is AMAZING! A place to organize all my recipes I find online, crafts and DIY's inspiration, home wants and decor likes... the list goes on!

Anyway, So I have found so many KID FRIENDLY crafts. My little pumpkin, Adalie, is almost 3 and she is mommy's big helper! She loves to help make and bake and clean and craft.... So I have been looking up Kid Friendly crafts for us to do during her brother's nap time. I have found some stepping stone ideas but they use concrete... which scares me out a little with kids since it is TOXIC and CORROSIVE. ( I was not able to find Kid Friendly concrete at Home Depot... ie non corrosive) I found a kit at walmart for 11.96 or something along the lines of that. It makes 4 little stepping stones and I thought, WHAT A FUN IDEA for her birthday party next month!! I remember doing these at our church VBS when I was a leader and at summer camp when I was a kid.

This kit comes with the round butterfly design mold, so you actually make up the stones, let them set for a couple days and paint them... As far as I am concerned... We will skip that. Paint with the age range of kids that come to Adalie's parties probably will stress out all the moms at the party. Adalie and I will do this kit for us... I am putting together my own Stepping Stone kits for each of the kids that is simple, easy, and of course the most important... FUN!!

So enough jibber jabber... Lets get to it.

What you need:

• Plaster of Paris (Kid Friendly source of FUN)
• Water
• Stir Stick (I used a paint stir stick)
• Measuring Cup
• bucket for mixing (not shown in photo)
• Foil container (for mold... you can use a bucket, plastic container etc)
• Flyers or newspaper for easy clean up
• rocks, stones, tiles for decorating
• Any extra fun stuff you want to use

Now for my tin container I didn't use a foil pie plate because I didn't want the slanted sides to be that drastic, I purchased these cook-n-carry, pack of three foil containers that worked perfect! 3 for $1 works for me :)
I got most of my stones and rocks from the dollar store, in expensive, and work GREAT! In fact you could get most of your supplies from the dollar store, and I did! Now I did go to Michaels for a few things and I wanted to see what they had in the stepping stone/mosaic isle. I found some things on clearance. I also found these fun stone stamps. They were 9.99 for a pack and they had two fonts to choose from. I chose the simple block letters since this is KID FRIENDLY ;) So next set up your area. Put your flyers or newsprint down and spread out your decorating supplies.
NOW I played around and made 2 different step stones. I came to the conclusion... you need to work fast if you are doing hand prints or basically any decorating (make mixture a little watery for intricate decorative stones) I mixed 1 1/2-2 parts water to 3 parts plaster of paris.
So here I mixed 3 cups plaster of paris and 1 1/2 - 2 cups water Start with 1 1/2 cups and then slowly add more if needed (add more if you find it sets up too fast)
Mix with stir stick

You want it a yogurt consistency, possibly even runnier.

pour into foil pan
Now it is key to tap the container. pick it up and drop it (only from about 2-4" above your surface. this gets all the bubbles to the top like shown in the photo
Now for the fun part... decorate it! When it is dry (it sets so fast an hour is even good... but leave it longer if you wish.
pop out of mold or tear away sides.

Place in your garden and enjoy :)

This is a fun, fast, easy, KID FRIENDLY way of doing stepping stones. It can get a little messy and it is best you leave the stirring to the mommies and the decorating for the kidlets :)

Have fun!