Keep your clothes on your hangers!

Tired of those dress shirts or wide necked shirts sliding off the hangers in your closet? Me too!

Need a simple solution that won't take a lot of time? I've got one!

 Use a hot glue gun! Just apply glue in a zig zag pattern on the arms of your plastic hangers. Once the glue dries it will give the resistance you need to prevent all of your shirts from falling off. Works like a charm!

Simple & easy!

Remove Sharpie marks from smooth surfaces!

I never would have come up with this solution on my own. I completely admit it!

A coworker actually told me how to clean up some permanent marker that was accidentally used on my binder. I have one of those plastic covered binders that I use for work and it had been colored with permanent marker. Instead of throwing it away and getting a new one, my coworker told me to find an Expo dry erase marker.

Well, I found one and she proceeded to cover the colored area with the dry erase marker. She then just wiped it off with a Kleenex. So easy! Why have I never thought of this before?! It works on any smooth surface that a Sharpie has been used. Can't get much easier than that, right?

Crocheted flower coasters

Since I've made 2 scarves now, I thought it would be nice to try something different. I have a few friends that I wanted to make some little gifts for and was thinking coasters would be a great gift. So I found a couple of patterns and gave them a try.

Even though I'm still a newbie with crocheting, I think both coasters turned out pretty well. One is a little large and would be great for those big mugs of coffee. The other pattern made a smaller coaster, which would be perfect for regular glasses.

Both patterns were very easy to follow and I would highly recommend them for any beginner that is looking for something different to make.

Here is the larger of the 2 coasters:

I need a little more practice with this one, but you get the idea with how it's supposed to work. I'm hoping with a little more time and a few more completed coasters, they will end up looking like this:

This pattern is courtesy of the Versus: jardain crochet. I really want to make some just like the picture with the striped pattern. They are so pretty!

My second coaster turned out to be smaller than the first, but it's very pretty as well. They look very similar, but I assure you the pattern is slightly different. Here is my finished coaster:

 

 

This pattern is courtesy of One Dog Woof. It's a wonderfully easy pattern to follow and shows you how to make a magic ring that allows you to adjust the center of the ring. With a little more practice, I should be able to make them all look like this:

So if you're a newbie and are looking for something different to try, I really suggest you try one or both of these coasters. You really don't need a lot of yarn to complete one and it's so great to get a project done quickly! Hope you have as much fun as I did!

Ally's technicolor scarf

When Ally saw this yarn at the store, she just had to have a scarf made out of it. She said it would be the prettiest scarf ever! Who can resist a request like that? Plus, it gave me something else to make so I could keep practicing my stitches. I decided to work on my half double crochet and used that stitch for the whole scarf.

Ally was thrilled when I finally finished it and wore it the following day. As she predicted, all of her friends really liked it and wished they had one too. She's so proud!

Stitchin' Fool

I've recently decided I needed to relearn how to crochet. It's a skill my mother learned from her mother & grandmother. I'm thinking it's something that I should work on and learn more about so I can pass the skill on to my daughter when she's older. Some things should just not be forgotten, whether it's a life lesson or something as simple as crochet. Plus, there's something to be said about yarn therapy. Anything that can help you get your mind off of stressful stuff is a good thing!

I've started and stopped various projects several times throughout the years when it comes to crochet. I've made a few different things, but would also start on an afghan and give up. I really tried to make a baby blanket for Ally before she was born, but gave up on it after she was born. There just hasn't seemed to be enough time to work on anything since.

 I've also tried to relearn how to knit, but I get to a certain point and just can't get it to go any further without huge errors. My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Clark, made us learn how to knit as a class. My project was a duster mitt and I learned quite a bit about knitting. However, those days are long past and I can't remember hardly a thing about it now. It was, unfortunately, a skill I didn't keep practicing. I'm pretty sure I gave it all up as soon as the project was done for class.

I came to the decision to start crochet again with a little help from some friends. We have a little group gathering every Saturday morning to stitch and bitch. It's so much fun and they are way more adept at crocheting! It really helps to have them there to let me know how I can change something or to explain a stitch to me. I love it! And since I've started going to the group, I've actually finished a scarf for myself. I'm pretty proud of it too! :) Here it is:

Don't you just love the colors?! Purple and green are such a striking combination! And it was a very simple pattern...all single crochet stitches. What a great way to practice stitches!

Almost as soon as I finished the scarf, I started getting what my friends refer to as "yarn fever". I found myself in WalMart, of all places, looking at all the yarn they had on sale. Along with my groceries, I ended up walking out with about 5 skeins of yarn. Yikes! The obsession has begun! And a new project will begin shortly....

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

 Are you tired of spending so much money on laundry detergent? Isn't it frustrating how the "cheap" detergent costs so much as well? I've read various posts about making your own laundry detergent....powder and liquid. It sounded like a great idea and a wonderful way to save a little money. I wanted to try the powder detergent first as I thought it would be easier to keep on hand than the liquid form It was very easy to make and I promise....it works!

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

1 Bar Shaved Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 cup of Downy Unstopables (any scent you choose)

Directions:
Stir the ingredients together (after shaving the soap) and use 2 TBS per load of laundry. It's low-suds recipe and is great if you have any skin sensitivities too!

Not sure if you're saving anything by making your own detergent? Well, according to Walmart prices 40 loads of Tide are around $9.24. The cost of ingredients for the homemade detergent ended up being around $2.80 at Walmart. So yes, you are saving money. And as it only takes about 5 minutes to make and is easily stored, you just can't beat it!

Cleaning tips

I found this wonderful chart through Pinterest showing various cleaning tips. Some I already knew about and others I'm going to try out. I thought this was such a great chart that I simply had to share it with everyone. I tried to find out who posted it first to give them kudos, but the blogger has evidently ended their site. So, to whoever you may be.....great job!!! :)