DIY Car Air Fresheners

I love making my car smell pretty, but I don't like the price of the really good air fresheners and sometimes my hubby and I are unable to decide on a scent we both like.
Mostly I don't like having to buy a new one every other week because the scent don't last long.
So what did I do.......

I made my own.  :)

Its really easy peasy, just gather a few supplies

Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils, my favorite is eucalyptus and lemon.

And you have  a longer lasting, healthier, cheaper version of the ones you buy in the store.

And when the scent fades away all you need to do is just add a few more drops.
 Fun and super easy, the kids can help make these and give them out to their teachers for a small teacher appreciation gift.
What fun crafts have y'all been up to lately????

Linking up to these other great blogs :)

Thrift Store Mirror Makeover

As I mentioned in this post, I found a large mirror at a thrift store for $12 a LONG while ago.  I knew I wanted to paint it but wasn't sure what color.  After much thought and still not coming up with a solution I turned to my hubby.  without hesitation he thought it should be our daughter Heavnely's favorite color, aqua. And since I do plan on putting this in her room one day I figured he could be right.  

Three coats of  this Rust-Oleum's sea side paint

We now have this

I think it turned out very pretty.  I know she's gonna love it!!!  

Now lets see the before and after, shall we.

I defiantly like how much the color brightens it up.  So have ya'll been up to any thrift store makeovers??

Linking up to these fabulous parties!! 

C.R.A.F.T. Sumo's Sweet Stuff <>/center

Decision's, Decision's .......

I really, really, desperately  need your help. 

 I bought this mirror at a thrift store

And I'm thinking I really really want to paint it.  However, not sure what color.  

What do you think? Paint or no paint?  And if I do paint, what fun color do you think would look best?  The colors I had in mind are Aqua/teal, cherry red, or bright green.  

Too many decisions for something so minor.  But truly I am stuck :(

P.S. I plan on painting it sometime this weekend.

Rest...

I really can not believe I have allowed myself to neglect my blog.  It truly is my favorite hobby and here lately I have not even tried to do anything about it.  I miss it so much.  I may not be the best writer out there but I do love to write.  Lately though, I have basically been taking a break from everything.  I just recently graduated with my associates degree in healthcare administration, and I guess I just needed a break from it all.
 A few months ago I developed some kind of anxiety disorder that hits me without warning and leaves me feeling sick most of the day.  Since this happened I have been so tormented with the thought of it happening again.  I have had about three attacks all together.
 Because of this I have given myself some much needed rest and feel good about getting back to normal.  I actually start school again April 30th and have many projects planned that I cant wait to share with you.  I think this was my bodies way of letting me know that I shouldn't allow myself to stress so much, and to take better care of me.

Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Easter Pinsperation

Is it just me, or is Easter early this year?  I mean I feel like Christmas just ended. We still have Christmas boxes out.  I guess I should get on that stat!!
Easter is one of my favorite times of the year because that means Spring is here :) Everything is so beautiful and new.  The flowers, the colors, the weather, all of it is so nice.
In honor of Spring and Easter I wanted to show ya'll a few of my inspirations from Pinterest.  My Easter/Spring Pinspirations :) Enjoy!!

1.  Easter Mantel with Moss Wreath
2.  Nesting Baby-Bluebird Cupcakes
3.  Easy Felt Carrot Garland
4.  Happy Easter Mantel
5.  Spring Wreath
6.  Bunny Napkin (how to fold a napkin like a bunny)
7.  Bunny Jars
8.  Fabric Easter Eggs

So these are just a few of my favorites. I'm thinking those bunny jars would be so easy, and a very thrifty craft, especially if you have a ton of baby food jars or mason jars laying around :) And what about that felt carrot garland, another easy project, and one that I'm thinking the kids would love to help with.

Anniversary Weekend

I have totally been MIA from blog world.  I haven't wrote any blog posts nor have I been spreading any love around to other blogs.  (sorry for that by the way)  I have been so stressed out with my classes that I really could not concentrate on much else.  Fortunately I have graduated, Yay, and am now ready to dedicate all my spare time to catching up on some blog time.  Well not really all my spare time cause I do have a life outside of my computer, like for example being a wife and mother :)
Speaking of my life outside of the computer, this past weekend was mine, and Mr. Fireman's 9th wedding anniversary.  Its so hard for me to believe we have been married for nine years already.  Time sure flies when you're having fun.  :)
We started our weekend off on Friday with a date night for just the hubbs and I.  Then on Saturday we took the kids to the place where we said I Do.  The Fort Worth Stockyards.  We had so much fun.  I know its a little late but we decided to make this our new tradition each year on our anniversary.  On Sunday after church we took them to Six Flags and spent the rest of our anniversary weekend there.  It was a great way to end the wonderful weekend we had together.

So I'm curious what are some ways you celebrate your anniversary??  Do you dedicate an entire weekend or are you more traditional?  

Valentines Scarf, and How to Make Yarn Pom-Poms

Not too long ago I wrote about my New Years Resolutions, One of them was that I wanted to teach myself to knit.  Well consider me taught.  :)  It took me a month but I can finally say that I am a knitter.  There are still many, many techniques that I don't know but I'm sure I will learn them along the way.  So far in my first month I have knitted two ear warmers, and 3 1/2 scarfs.  (I'm still working on one)  The one that I'm going to share with you beautiful people today is the latest one that I finished for my lovely Heavenly.  

This scarf was made with a simple basic pearl knit stitch using size 10 U.S. needles.  I found this stitch to be loose, more loose than I originally wanted it to be.  All I did was CO 30, and kept going until I felt it looked just right on her.  I then added the pom-poms to the ends to give it a little something extra.  

To make the pom-poms;

1. simply wind up the yarn around your hand depending on how thick you want your pom-pom's.  I went around my hand 100 times.

2. Next you carefully slide the yarn off your hand, doing your best to keep the same shape as it was when it was wrapped around your hand.

  

3. Taking a piece of yarn, you then wrap it very tightly around your poof knotting it about two times.  It should now look kinda like a butterfly   

4. Once you have it very secure just take some scissors and start cutting the loops until your pom-pom looks like a pom-pom.  

Then, lastly just cut the scraggly parts off and fluff.  

Super simple.  :)

If my instructions were a bit difficult to follow, I suggest taking a look at this tutorial.  Good Luck!!!
I will be Linking up to these other lovely blogs :)

The Dedicated House

Coupon Crazy

I have been trying to get back into coupon mode.  Today I spent 2 hours of my day just clipping yesterdays Sunday coupons.  I have to say though I was very pleasantly surprised to see four coupon inserts in just one paper.  After buying four papers I had quite a bit of clipping to do.

While on Pinterest the other day I came across a blog that had a long list of many companies who would send you coupons if you asked them to.  I have heard often times of companies doing this but I have never tried.  So I decided maybe this time I should.  To my dismay most of the Companies basically told me not a chance could they send me coupons but I could buy the Sunday morning paper or join their mailing list for future deals.  I felt so discouraged.  How did so many people have such luck and I didn't   After about 50 "NO WAYS"  I finally started to receive letters from companies who were happy to hear from me and sent me coupons.

I really wanted to help my readers out so I decided that I should post the companies who were nice and helpful to me, to save you the time and disappointment not to mention the rejection.  Here goes;

Heinz

Stonyfield Organic

Rich's

Sara Lee

R.C. Bigelow

Pinnacle Foods

Welch's

MT. Olive

So yes, out of like 100 No way's I did get a few yes's which was well worth the time and effort.  I will now continually be a loyal customer to these companies because they took the time and effort to send me even just one coupon.  So is it silly of me to feel rejected by the other's?

Oh by the way, most of the coupons don't even expire until December of 2013 and one coupon has a "no expiration "date on it.  Yay for small luxuries :)

So I want to know, are there any other companies out there that will send coupons upon request? I would love to add to my list of favorite companies.  :)

                                           As they come in I will update my list and let ya know.

5 Minute Problem

Here recently I have been enjoying some alone time with Joel Osteen on youtube.  I love his sermons they’re very uplifting and peaceful.  I understand not all of the teachings of the Bible are uplifting but for the most part if you listen to Joel Osteen his words will motivate you.  Or at least they do me.  J  Today I heard one of his sermons about not allowing something as small as a 5 minute problem take away my joy and destroy my day.  That got me to thinking; I do allow those pesky 5 minute problems determine how my days go.  For example my kids fighting with each other in the morning always puts me in a bad mood which ends up staying with me throughout the day. 

I started thinking of ways to help me move on and not allow these problems to take hold of me.  You see I am a much stressed person, in that I get stressed out to the MAX and have recently been experiencing anxiety attacks.  These attacks do feel like I’m dying at times and I can promise if you have never had one you DO NOT  ever want one. 

So far I have found that just taking some time for myself, knitting, and listening to God’s word has been helpful.  I still have a ways to go but I am determined to not allow those 5 minute problems take away my joy and ruin my day.  J

DIY Bronzer/Foundation

People who know me best know that I have a great love for any type of skin care product including makeup.  Unfortunately it has been a while since I have allowed myself to wear any makeup other than the occasional use of mascara and lip gloss.  The reason you ask? Well because, after doing much research back when I worked for a day spa, I found that the chemicals that are used in many skin care products are really harmful for the skin and in some cases may increase the aging process.  Since then I have done my best to make sure that nothing goes on my face unless it is natural and light feeling.

I have wanted to buy the Bare Essentials brand for a long time, but its so hard for me to pay so much money on something that don't seem like a huge necessity 

But because of the New Year I have decided that maybe its not such a bad thing to start putting myself second (God first) for a change.  Just a little bit.  Still, I cant afford to spend that much money on foundation, and since I DIY my own skin care regimen then perhaps I can DIY my makeup as well.

So I searched on Pinterest and found some really good recipes to make your own bronzer and foundation using just a few ingredients that are found in most of our kitchens. The one I will share with you good people today is the face bronzer/foundation.    This bronzer is so light and airy on the skin I didn't feel like I was wearing anything at all.  I also need to point out that I slept with the makeup on overnight to see if I would have any negative reaction and since my skin is pretty sensitive I figured I would, but there was no reaction at all.

the ingredients are simple,

corn starch, cocoa powder, and cinnamon

I didn't measure anything just eyeballed it until I came to a color that I liked and that would match my skin well.

For a liquid foundation I used the same ingredients but added the powder mixture to a little bit of my daytime face moisturizer.  Even though the powder mixture looks really dark it actually matched my skin tone really well.  Also I want to add that because there are no artificial chemicals the product does not stay on as long as other store bought foundations or powders.

I was a bit weary about the cinnamon going on my very sensitive face but like I mentioned above I had no negative reaction at all.  In fact I think my skin looked even better and healthier when I woke up. :) Here is a neat little article about the benefits of  cinnamon applied topically.

Now for a before and after.

Before without makeup (my eyeliner is tattooed) and after with the DIY makeup, lip gloss, and some mascara.  I know it's a bad before and after, but seriously it does cover well,  try it and see for yourself :)  Oh and please excuse my bad unplucked eyebrows, I know, I'm starting to look like Burt. 

Next up homemade lip gloss :)
Linking up to:

 
Truly Lovely

Finaly... New Years Resolution # 3 For 2013

This one is a pretty BIG one, and I think the most important one of all.  This year I want to grow as a christian in my walk with Jesus.  I know that I have grown tremendously in the last few years but I also realize I have still a long way to go.  I believe there is always room for improvement.  I feel as I watch the world around me move farther away from Christianity I want to move much closer.  This resolution will not be just for this year but for the rest of my life here on Earth.  

This is the resolution I am most excited about.  :)

So, I am very curious to know what your New Years Resolutions are for the New Year.