Going Natural

So for awhile now I've been wanting to "go green" except I didn't really understand what that means. This week I've been doing a lot of searching and learning things I hadn't even thought of before. I started thinking about every lotion or cream or type of make-up I have ever put on my skin, and how almost all of it is probably not good for my skin or environment at all. I've also been doing some scoping about healthier eating. I came across this website about foods with the most amount of pesticides in them. When I saw this I thought, "Huh? Aren't all fresh fruits and vegetables good for you?" Well, no. Many of these pesticides can lead to cancer, which I already have enough of in my family, thank you very much. So, I've decided to try to be a bit healthier. From what I wash my hair with to what I clean my house with to what I eat. I know it will be a very long, gradual change but I do feel the need to do it. The bottom line is, I want to be healthier. And I want to leave a smaller footprint on the earth than I am currently leaving. So there you go. Tonight I bought a few things to start off with:

I've been wanting to try Tom's toothpaste for awhile and I was completely out of mine, so I went ahead and did it. It was only about $1 more than my regular toothpaste and I only have to buy toothpaste about twice a year, so I figured, what the heck? I also bought some hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, Dr. Bronner's Soap and a spray bottle to make my own household cleaner. I'll post more about how I'm planning to use these products. I'm especially excited about the Dr. Bronner's because I've heard so many good things about it and I got it for a steal of a deal- $10 at Trader Joe's for the big 32-ounce bottle. It was over $17 at both Super-1 Foods and Huckleberries, so I saved at least $7! 

How do you do "natural living"? I'm curious how other people live and tips they might have! :)

Blog Face-lift

If you haven't noticed, I completely changed the look of my blog! I also changed the URL. I hope you like it! :)

Homemade Barbara's Snackimals!

Alright. I made up my own recipe. And guess what? It WORKED. You should be pretty shocked right now. Have you ever tried Barbara's Puffins? Or Barbara's Snackimals?

I am addicted to both. I thought to myself a few months ago, "Hey. I bet I could make these Snackimals. They're just crackers after all." And I think I did it. So here's my recipe:

You need:
1 cup whole oats, ground (I just used my mini blender)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Safflower oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 teasp salt
1/2 teasp baking soda
1/2 teasp vanilla

1. Mix all the dry ingredients really well in a large bowl.
2. Add the safflower oil, vanilla and molasses. Mix well. I used my hands toward the end.
3. I refrigerated my dough for about 15 minutes, but I don't think it's necessary.
4. Roll the dough out between 2 pieces of parchment paper.
5. Cut the dough into whatever shapes you want. I didn't have any little animal cookie cutters, so I just did diamonds/squares. Also, the dough is a bit fragile and crumbly, so I don't know if adding a bit of water or oil to it before cutting the squares would be helpful?
6. Put on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 8-10 minutes.

When they first come out, they look like cookies, all puffy and soft. But they actually harden up really well and are crunchy when cooled! These are pretty tasty, whether they taste like Barbara's or not! :)

If you taste the dough, it tastes very molasses-ish. But this flavor bakes out.

Mmmmmm!

Fabric Bunting Banner and Fabric Hoop!

Oh boy. I am way excited about this! I've been wanting to make a banner for a long time now, and now I have! Here it is!

I also made the fabric hoop. But first, here is how I made the banner:

I cut squares 5x5.

Then I used the diagonal lines on my cutting mat to make the "flag" shape.

Here they all are!

This is sort of what they would look like...

I ironed the flags and the bias tape.

Then I used my brand new pinking shears! I love the look of this, so much more fun than plain straight cuts.

Then pinned the bias tape to the flags.

Now sew away!

 I ironed it one more time and then it was done!!!

And here is the hoop! I bought an embroidery hoop at Joann's for just a few dollars. I would have bought 2 more smaller ones, but they were out. :( Okay, so never, EVER trim your material until it has been ironed and is in the hoop and is perfectly flat. I had the hardest time trying to make it flat because I had trimmed it all the way to the edge of the hoop. Just don't do that. :)

But hey, it turned out nicely!

My New Craft Room!

We're renting this amazing house from some friends of ours, and when I saw this little space upstairs, I knew I had to turn it into my craft room! Prior to moving into the house, I had a little craft wall in our apartment in our living room:

Here was the "craft wall" before...

 ...and after:

 And here is my new craft room in the new house (so far, I'm still not quite done!).

I made the tissue paper pom and fabric bunting banner. I also put up the embroidery hoop with some of my favorite fabric in it (by Amy Butler). Remember the green mirror? I found that baby at a yard sale and painted it green last summer.

I bought this desk and chair at a yard sale a few hours ago and gave them quite the facelift. I painted the whole desk. I originally painted the chair purple but then changed it to white. I also put new fabric on the chair cushion.

I'm pretty satisfied with my cute little craft room. I'm hoping to put up more embroidery hoops and maybe a small felt banner. I'll let you know!

Tissue Paper Poms

So I've been decorating my craft room and I think I'm off to a good start! I made one of these tissue papers poms to put in the corner of the room and I love it! I followed a tutorial by Martha Stewart, here.

First, you stack the tissue-paper (about 8 pieces). I added a pink piece because I thought it would look pretty. Then you fan-fold the tissue paper, so it looks like this.  In the tutorial, it says to use some wire, but I didn't have any, so I used some yarn instead.

After it's tied, trim the ends how you like. Next time I will try scallops, but the points turned out cute.

My tissue paper was used, so it wasn't as perfectly folded as Martha Stewart's, sorry. :)

At this point, you rotate the folds out, like this:

Then you just pull each piece toward the middle. Be careful at this point not to rip the tissue (I did this in a few places). 

 And voila!!! I had to fluff this thing a few times, but I think it's pretty cute in my new craft room!

Valentine's Garland

So, I have been wanting to make this all month, and finally got around to it! I think it turned out pretty cute!

I just cut the hearts out of felt and stitched them together with my sewing machine. The whole thing took me about 20 minutes.

Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!

New Headboard, New Nephew, Yummy Smoothies

Wow. What a crazy month it has been! Towards the end of last month I flew down to Tennessee to meet my new nephew! Oh he is so cute! Can't get enough of that little guy.

See, he's way too cute for his own good. :)

Niall and I also went to a theater production of Beauty and the Beast at the end of January. It was so fun!

And here is our new headboard! Remember the old door I posted about? Well Niall worked extremely hard for a few weekends, and he is officially finished. He built the entire thing! I am very proud of him and all his craftiness! :) 

 This is before we put the doorknob plate on...

 And here it is with it!

I am so proud and amazed with all his hard work. We love it!

On another note, I've been making these "green smoothies" lately that are delicious! 

All I put in mine is:

-3-4 ice cubes

-A Yoplait yogurt

-Big handful of spinach

-Frozen peaches, blueberries, and/or strawberries

-A few splashes of orange juice

My smoothies turn somewhat purple, I think from the blueberries. And don't worry about the spinach, you honestly cannot taste it at all!!! These are super delicious and really good for you.