by UnknownMami on March 27, 2012
I use Windows Live Writer to upload most of my photos for blog posts because it provides an easy and convenient way to add a watermark to all my photos. Not only is it easy, you can also set the watermark to default so you don’t actually have to do it for each individual photo. Live Writer will just remember your preference and do it for you.
Here’s how I do it (I’m assuming you’ve already downloaded Live Writer and are slightly familiar with it, if not don’t worry it’s not hard and it’s free).
- When in Live Writer, insert a photo into your post, then select/click on it to bring up the “Picture” ribbon.
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by UnknownMami on February 13, 2012
Why would anyone want to make their own laundry soap, when commercial detergents are so convenient and readily available? I’ll give you 3 reasons:
- It’s less expensive.
- It’s eco-friendly (less packaging, no harsh chemicals).
- It’s easy (I chose to make the powdered version because it’s the easiest)!
If you’d like to try making your own all you need is:
- Borax
- Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not to be mistaken with baking soda)
- A bar of soap (I used Fels-Naptha, but you can use Ivory, Zote, or any other kind of bar soap that you like). I easily found Borax and soap at my local store, but I could not find the washing soda so I had to order it online.
Once you have all of your ingredients, you need to grate the bar of soap. I grated the entire bar and ended up with about two cups of grated soap.
Mix equal parts Borax,Washing Soda, and grated soap (in my case it was 2 cups of each). If you need some extra cleaning power, you can increase the amount of Borax for a little boost.
Once you have thoroughly mixed the ingredients, pour them into an airtight container and add a scoop about the size of a tablespoon for measuring. I got a plain white container at IKEA and I stenciled the word “SOAP” onto it using a Sharpie marker and I had an old scoop that we used for coffee grounds that I threw into the container.
Use 1 tablespoon per load or 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled items. That’s it!
Notes: This detergent is very low in suds which means you can use it HE front-load washers.
I’ve been using the detergent for a week now and I’m quite happy with it. I don’t notice a difference in the cleanliness of my clothes in comparison to store bought detergent. I have been using 2 tablespoons per load regardless of how soiled the items are because I can’t believe it takes so little to clean a whole load, but I have no reason to believe that 1 tablespoon wouldn’t be enough for a non-heavily soiled load.
by UnknownMami on January 19, 2012
There are broken bits of crayons littering every corner of my home. Until they make unbreakable crayons or my kids get beyond the age of coloring, I’m sure there will continue to be an abundance of broken bits of crayons. Fortunately, those broken bits can be made whole again in a few easy steps.
1. Preheat oven to 250° and have a silicone baking tray at the ready.
2. Remove all paper wrappings from broken bits of crayons.
3. Place broken bits of crayon in silicone mold. I chose star-shaped molds because I thought the points of the stars would be useful for coloring, but you can use any shape you like.
4. Fill the mold with crayon pieces (you can separate the pieces by hue or just mix them up like we did) then place the silicone tray in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
5. Once the crayons melt and turn “soupy”, remove them from the oven and let them cool. We put them in the fridge to speed up the process.
6. When cool the crayons will come out of the mold easily and you will be left with
a lovely constellation of colors. These multicolored ones change color as you draw…trippy dude.
