Making Toddler Pants from an Old T-Shirt

This was one of my simplest projects EVER!!  I got the idea one time from somewhere, but I can't remember where.  So sorry I can't give credit where credit is due.

My 2-year-old is severely allergic to latex, so I can't use any pants or shorts on her that have latex-containing elastic in the waistband (or spandex throughout).  So I decided to make her some pants and shorts, using latex-free elastic.  Didn't these come out cute (if you ignore all the wrinkles!!)?

They were super fast and easy to make, using a t-shirt my hubby had given me that he no longer wears (in the picture above, I used the white t-shirt below).

There's no hemming or anything for these pants, because the t-shirt is already hemmed for you!  

Ok, I had typed out instructions for this, but I hadn't taken pictures of all the steps.  To make things a LOT easier for you, I found the following video on How to Make:

How to Make Baby Pants from a T-Shirt

Go make some easy pants!!!  =)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Project - Tutorial

Our family loves the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.

My kids love to read this book, but I wanted to make it more interactive.  I started by sketching all the foods the caterpillar eats through onto paper.

I then cut all the foods out of colored felt.  I glued on the embellishments at first, then I decided that it wouldn't be enough to stand up to lots of use.  So I added some stitches, too.

I then made a ribbon caterpillar.  I used green 3/8" grosgrain ribbon with a medium-sized red button head.  I sewed the button onto the ribbon.  I used a larger green button on the rear end of the caterpillar to hold the foods on as he eats through them.  I also drew on a smile and two antennae.

I cut slits in each of the foods, just large enough for the red button to pass through.  

Now the caterpillar can eat through all the foods he eats in the book!

This is so much fun for the kids, and it's great for education, too!  It helps them work on their counting (one apple, 2 pears, etc), it helps them work on figuring out sequence (what did he eat first, second, etc), and it even gives them practice on how to button a button!

If you decide to make your own food and caterpillar, please e-mail me pictures.  I'd love to see them!

Linked up at: Fabric Bows and More, Serenity Now, Six Sisters' Stuff, Chef in Training, and Tea Rose Home.

Hair Bow Tutorial

A while back I posted pictures of these hair clips that my friend, Brooke, taught me how to make:

A couple of you have asked me for a tutorial on how to make them, so here it is!  They're really quick and simple.  

Start out by making yourself some helping forms.  These were cut out of a cardboard box.  

Both are around 4 1/2" long, and the cut-out part in the middle is 2 1/2" long.  The big one is 4" wide, the small one is 2 3/4" wide, and the cut-out is 1" wide.

Pick what ribbons you want to use for the larger, bottom layer and for the smaller, top layer.  In the ones above I used a satin ribbon on bottom and a sheer on top.  For the one today I used a part-sheer 1 1/2" wide ribbon on bottom, a sheer 3/4" one on top.  Feel free to mix it up and try new things!  Scroll down for a few more examples.

Start by cutting the larger ribbon to a point on the end.  Don't forget to burn the ends so they don't unravel.  Using the larger form, put the point 1/2 on the form, 1/2 off, and wrap it 3-4 times.  I did 3 wraps here.  Cut the other end to a point.  Both points should be pointing toward the outside.  Put a clip on it in the form cut-out to hold the ribbon for you while you thread a needle.  Don't forget to burn the other end of the ribbon.  (I don't measure the ribbon out ahead of time.  I wrap the ribbon while it's still on the spool then cut it off at the end--that way, there's no wasted ribbon.)

Thread a needle with a single strand of embroidery floss, or something equally strong (thicker than just plain thread).  Slide the ribbon gently off the form and start sewing.  I find it works better to begin with the needle coming up, end with it going down.  Here it is off the form with the needle started in it.

Do several stitches across all the ribbon layers.  Don't pull the needle through the fabric yet--first, bunch the ribbon on the needle into a bow, like this:

Pull the thread halfway through, so there's a long length of thread on either side of the bow.  Wrap it tightly in both directions and tie in a double knot.  This is the bottom layer of the bow.  Leave the tails of your string long.

Do the same thing with the smaller ribbon on the smaller form.  (Sorry, I didn't get pictures of this.  It essentially looks the same as above.)  Lay the smaller bow on top of the larger bow, making sure that all the tails are pointing the same direction.  Take the long ends on the large bow and wrap them tightly around both bows, tying them together.

Now it's time to wrap the center.  The bows at the top of this post use eyelash yarn.  On this bow, I decided to use a white feather boa.  You can tie or hot glue these, depending on what your preference is.

The possibilities and variations with this are endless.  The other day, I found some lace in the clearance section at Wal-Mart.  Each bubble held 9 feet of lace, and they were on sale for $0.50 each!!

I knew I had to use some on one of these bows.  This is the final result:

How gorgeous is that?

I recently received a gift with this adorable ribbon on it:

Not wanting to cover up or detract from the sparkly flowers, I decided to make a single-layer bow out of it.  For the center, I used a simple, sparkly silver flower.

So go make some bows!  Be creative with ribbons, textures, beads, and whatever else you have laying around.  I'd love to see what you make, so please feel free to e-mail me photos!

Castile Soap Tutorial

Ok, I've had a few people ask me for an actual tutorial on hot process soap making.  Well, I aim to please, so here it is!!  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can read a kind of intro here.

I'm not very experienced at writing tutorials, so if there's anything you don't understand, PLEASE ask me so I can clarify it for all.

**Disclaimer:  I am in no way responsible for any damage, injuries, etc that may come from using lye, crockpots, or anything else in the making of this recipe.**  =)

This recipe isn't the most luxurious, but it's still nice and moisturizing and way healthier than most anything you buy in the store.  This is also among the easiest, cheapest, and most hypoallergenic soaps you can make.  Once you get the actual process down, you can apply it to other soap recipes you find.  Soon you'll have fun experimenting with different additives, oils, fragrances, etc and making a wide variety of soaps.

The recipe we are using today calls for:

54 oz olive oil

16 oz distilled water

7 oz lye

essential oils are optional

Start by gathering a few basic supplies.  Pictured below are olive oil, distilled water, a scale that weighs to the tenth of an ounce, measuring containers (preferably not plastic), spoons, and lye.

Make sure you get 100% lye (sodium hydroxide).  I buy mine at Westlake Ace Hardware.  It can be found in the plumbing section with the drain cleaners (a common use for it).  Don't worry, once the soap is finished, the lye is fully saponified--that is, it has all reacted with the oils and is now soap and is no longer caustic.   *For more on lye, it's history, and its source, scroll to the bottom of the post.

You also need a crock pot, stick blender (unless you like to stir by hand for 2+ hours, nonstop), and a spray bottle filled with half soapy water and half vinegar to neutralize any residual lye in measuring cups, etc.

When the soap is finished, you will need a mold.  I use a simple 9x13 lined with wax or parchment paper and sprayed with olive oil.

Start by turning your crock pot on low.  Then weigh out 7.0 oz of lye into a glass container (the lye will static cling to plastic).  I'm going to assume that you know how to tare your scale and weigh accurately.  If you don't, make sure you learn before you begin.

Weigh 16 oz of distilled water into a separate container.  16 oz equals 1 lb.  Make sure you're familiar with your scale and its units.  You can see here that once mine hits 16 oz, it switches over to pounds and ounces.

Now take your water, lye, and a plastic spoon outside.  When you mix lye with water it causes a chemical reaction.  Your glass will get hot, so make sure it's sitting securely on a table.  It will give off fumes that you don't want to breathe--that's why it's best to do it outside.

IMPORTANT:  Pour your lye slowly into the water.  Do NOT pour the water into the lye!!!

As you slowly pour the lye into the water, stir with your spoon until it's all added and dissolved.  The solution will be milky white.  Leave it sit outside for now.

Go back inside and spray the container that had the lye with your soapy water/vinegar mixture to neutralize any lye residue.  Also spray your skin anywhere that lye happens to touch.

Now weigh out 54 ounces of olive oil.  Unless you're doing it in a very large bowl, you probably won't be able to fit it all into your measuring cup.  So be sure to keep track of your math and know how many ounces you've measured!  Here you can see that I've weighed out 32 ounces (2 lbs) so far.

Pour the oil into the crockpot, then go outside and get your water/lye solution.  It should now be clear.

Carefully add the lye-water to the oil in your crockpot.  The lye will sink to the bottom and you can see it starting to react with the oil on the bottom.  Neutralize the measuring cup that had the lye/water in it with your soapy water/vinegar mixture.

Get your stick blender and start to blend.  Make sure that the blender is fully submerged and not splashing.  Also make sure you keep it at an angle so it doesn't suction to the bottom of the crock pot.  If you do splash or spill any, make sure to neutralize it with your soapy water/vinegar mixture.

You will blend for 3-5 minutes or so, until it reaches trace.  You will know it has reached trace when it's like a thick pudding and somewhat holds shape when you pull the blender out.  (Make sure you do not pull the blender out while it's still running, or it will send caustic lye mixture flying everywhere!)  This is what trace looks like:

Put the lid on your crock pot and let it cook.  Meanwhile, rinse your stick blender with your soapy water/vinegar mixture.

While the soap cooks, prep your mold.  I simply put some wax paper or parchment paper across the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spray the whole thing with olive oil.

Now you wait.  About 25 minutes into the cook (all times are approximate, as every crock pot cooks at slightly different temperatures), you will start to see the soap wave at the edge.  Castile soap doesn't wave as much as other recipes, but you can see it here.  (I don't recommend lifting the lid during a cook, but I wanted to show you a good picture.)  See how along the left edge it's getting darker, more transparent, and kind of raised?

As it continues to cook, the waves may rise against the lid.  With some recipes, the waves may even lift the lid.  Here you can see it waving against the lid.

Here's my soap at approximately 45 minutes.  You can see that there's still an uncooked island.

10-15 minutes later, and it's all done!!  Every recipe cooks at a different time, so especially if you're trying a new recipe, check it often.  When the island is gone, stick a spoon down the center of the soap and make sure it's cooked all the way through.

Turn off the crock pot and stir the soap.  With some recipes you'll have a nice layer of glycerin on top.  Stir it all in.  In this recipe, you can see a little bit of glycerin around the left edge.  If you plan to add essential oils, let the soap cool for a few minutes then stir them in.  If not, you can go ahead and spoon it into your mold now.

Hot process soap is already saponified and thick at this point, so you're not going to get the perfectly smooth molding that you do with cold process.  I like mine rustic and rough, so I don't smooth it much.

Now you just wait until it is all opaque.  Here's a batch that isn't quite solidified yet.

It takes several hours to fully harden.  Once it's all opaque and hardened, it's ready to cut, just a few hours after being made (as opposed to cold process soap that takes weeks to saponify and cure).

Grab the edges of wax paper hanging over the sides and lift it out of the mold.  You can cut it with a knife or pastry cutter into whatever size bars you prefer.

Yay!  You've now made your own soap!  Wasn't that easy?

*ETA:  In the comments, a reader asked the following question:   why is the lye not dangerous when it turns into soap?

Great question!  The simple answer is that once the soap is fully cooked, there is no longer any lye in it!  Without bogging you down in chemistry details, an actual chemical reaction occurs between the lye and the oils.  Once the soap is finished saponifying, the lye and oils are now chemically changed into soap.  I actually superfat my soaps by 5%.  That is, I use 5% more oil than needed for the amount of lye I use.  This ensures that all of the lye has been transformed, and it leaves extra oils in the soap for extra moisturization.

Lye actually comes from ashes when wood is burned.  They discovered it way back when, when they would burn a fire and cook animals over the fire, the lye in the ashes was combining with the lard in the animal fat (which is another kind of oil) and forming soap.  Back then, however, they had no way to measure exactly how much lye they were using.  That's why if you hear grandmas talking about soap, a lot of times they talk about how it used to burn.  It's because there was too much lye to not enough oil, so some of the lye was left unsaponified.  Nowadays, we don't have that problem, since we use clean, pure lye--and this why we go by weight, rather than kitchen measuring utensils that aren't as accurate.

Anyway, this is the way our grandmas, great-grandmas, and so on made soap!  Only we have so many more options in the choice of oils, and most of us don't use lard (you can make lard soap, but it's not as luxurious as others).  And we can conveniently use a crock pot, rather than slaving over a fire.  =)

Also, please do NOT just substitute other oils in this recipe.  Different oils require different amounts of lye to react with.  Some need less, some need more.  So if you want to use different oils, please find a proper recipe or use a good lye calculator to determine what ratios you need.

Beaded Hair - Tutorial

My girls love having beads in their hair.  It makes them feel so fancy, and they like choosing what colors get put in and matching their outfits and dresses.

My mama has this really cool machine that puts the beads into the hair.

In a matter of about 2 seconds, it can do a whole line of them.

I, however, don't have one of those machines, so I do it the good old-fashioned way having nothing but beads, small silicone pony holders, and a bit of water.  

Start by deciding where on the head you want the beads, and separate a small strand of hair.

Make that strand into a braid.

Dip the tip of the braid into a cup of water, much like wetting the end of a thread to thread a needle.

Thread the beads on in the order you'd like.

Once you have the number and colors of beads you want, put a small, silicone pony-tail holder at the bottom.  If you have beads with larger holes, you may have to do a second pony over the top of the first to hold them on.

Then style the hair as you'd like.  Sometimes my girls want the hair pulled back with the beads hanging down.

Other times they want the beads pulled back, too.

They love it when the beads kind of circle their heads like a tiara.

The beads can be left in a long time.  They can be shampooed, slept on, and brushed around.

Have fun experimenting with placement of the beads, colors, and styles.  It literally takes mere minutes, and the girls love it!

What fun bead styles have you come up with?