Lewis Plain and Simple

Once again Sarah and I decided that we were going to save money! We decided to make our own dishwasher soap.  I was really excited because the recipe we found claimed that it worked great with well water.  It seemed like an answer to my prayer since I hate the hard water spots on my dishes!  I washed a load of dishes but I could not see a difference. I continued to use the soap since I did not want to be wasteful.  After about 5 washes, I started to notice a difference.  The hard water stains on the dishwasher were disappearing and my drinking glasses were looking clearer.  Sarah has decided to not use the soap any more since it did not get the baby bottles clean.

Here is the recipe:
* 2 cups of borax



















* 2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda


















* 2 cups Lemi Shine.  The next time I make this, I will not add this to the mixture.  It made the powder one solid, rock.  I will just sprinkle a little in each load.


















* 1 cup Kosher Salt


















Mix it all together and it is ready to go.  It takes 1 Tbsp/load.  I also add vinegar to the rinse aid spot.

My friend Erin is pregnant so Sarah and I are throwing her a diaper shower. As I was looking online for cute invitations, I found the perfect ones!  Problem was, they were $3/piece.  That was just way too expensive for me!  I decided I would just make them myself.  I have a wonderful friend that helped me bring this creation to life!  I am pretty proud of them...pictures below.  And also they ended up being about $1.40 each.

My friend Sarah and I decided to make laundry soap a few weeks ago.  I haven't posted about it on my blog until now because I could not get the lid off and my husband was never home when I needed it opened!

This is the website Laundry Soap where we found the recipe for the soap.  I have really liked it so far  and it was REALLY cheap!  I found everything at Dillon's. Since I did not take pictures while we made it, I only have the finished product.  The next time I make it I will probably add some scent since that it is the only thing that I miss about this soap.

Let me start off with saying that I suck at taking pictures.  I forget to take pictures before and during projects.  At the end of the project I finally remember to take a picture.....and I just don't take very good pictures!  So I have pictures for this post but I did not remember to take any until today....and the picture is bad because the jewelry holder has already been hung in the closet so I did not have the space to get a good picture!

On to the real reason for this post........

A few summers back I sold vegetables at a Farm and Art Market.  There was another girl there that sold these awesome looking jewelry holders.  I never ended up buying one from her during the summer.  After that I could not find a way to contact her. One day at Kirkland's I saw a similar jewelry holder.....but it was $50!  I did not want to spend that much.  That is when I decided to make my own....it would be cheaper, right?  I went on Pinterest and found some ideas and tips on how to make one.  Below is a picture of the one I made.  I also made one for my Grandma.  For both of them I ended up spending close to $90.  It ended up being cheaper but not by much!

I have been toying around with the idea of starting a blog for a few weeks.  I decided to just take the plunge.  This blog will contain mostly recipes and craft/home projects that I do.  Brady and I are pretty frugal so occasionally I will share my "tips".  I promise that my posts will not be 20 pages long....I do not have the attention span to write that much in a blog!  I hope you enjoy!