Hepburn and Houndstooth

I just love to hear tips about how to get certain stains out, keep produce fresh, and really anything around the house that I may not know.

My favorite tips that I have practiced for years:

Save your used dryer sheets to rub deodorant spots off your clothing. I found a bunch of other uses here.

To keep sour cream (and SC-based dips) from collecting water on top in the fridge, smooth the cream out to a flat surface before storing.

Grind lemon peels through your sink disposal to rid it of odors.

When coloring your hair at home, apply petroleum jelly or conditioner to your face around your hairline to prevent the dye from staining your skin.

If you are prone to cold sores (once you have the virus, you never get rid of it), take a Vitamin C and a Lysine daily. You will most likely never get another cold sore. If you already have an outbreak, take 2 Vitamin C and 2 Lysine the first day, then begin the one-a-day dosing.

What are your favorite beauty and household tips?

There’s a whole site dedicated to crafts made only with supplies purchased at the dollar store (Dollar Store Crafts) and I’m always absolutely amazed at the things people come up with on such a tiny budget!  On a recent trip to Dollar Tree, I found this wooden curio shelf and immediately knew what I would do with it.

I have the one on top with a couple of larger compartments.  I really wish I had bought more of these, because now I can’t find any more.

I borrowed the perfect green from my mom (Plaid Apple Barrel 20587 Spring Green) and painted inside all the compartments and the sides.  I left the back unpainted since it won’t be seen.

It was cute enough, but to protect jewelry, I decided to hot glue in some felt…. in my signature print, of course (houndstooth felt from Hobby Lobby).

Gorgeous and perfect for organizing my etsy shop rings, since it ties in with my branding.  One thing I didn’t realize until I was done is that the houndstooth pattern is running in different directions!  It doesn’t really matter, since this is just going in my bedroom, but in the future, I would turn it all the same way and probably cut it straighter too!

Total project cost: $1.25, with felt left over!

I find most of my new recipes from allrecipes.com, and though I have an account there to save all my recipes, I still like to print them, so that I can access them without logging on.  Usually once I make something a couple of times, I don’t use the recipe, but once in awhile, I need to reference it for a measurement or oven temp.  This is how I’ve kept my recipes “organized”:

This has amazingly worked for me for awhile, but I’d like to be a bit more organized and know exactly where to find a cookie recipe if I need it.  I knew I wanted to put them into a binder, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to organize them.  While shopping at Target, I ran across this all-in-one binder.  It’s a 3-ring binder with a snapped pocket, dividers, and a ruler (which I removed.  Can’t measure a cup of sugar with a ruler.).  The entire thing was $2.50.  There were some fun colors, but none that really worked for me, so I went with black.

I’m using the snapped pocket to hold delivery coupons.

My 5 categories are: appetizers, desserts, soups & steps, main courses, and sides & salads.

I punched holes in the recipes with my 3-hole punch ordered from eBay.  Done!

There is a sleeve on the front of the binder to put in a decorative cover, but i’m waiting to get new scrapbook paper this weekend, then I’ll gussy it up.

A couple weeks ago, I ran across this felt play mat on A Girl and a Glue Gun and knew it would be the perfect birthday gift for my stepson Jude.  Nick wants one as well, but after making Jude’s, I have delegated the task to my mom.  Honestly, this was very tedious and I spent a total of about 7 hours on it.  I wish I was kidding.  The results are wonderful though, and it did take me longer than it should have.  I was working with a mini glue gun and usually on the phone with my friend Nicole.

Mat from A Girl and a Glue Gun:

My version:

The park is my favorite part

I pleated the pockets to hold larger cars.

I have to say, I’m super proud of myself!  This is my largest craft project ever.  I will probably never make one on this scale again, but maybe smaller ones for travel and such.

I linked this on Fireflies and Jellybeans Show Off Your Stuff Party and Show and Tell Wednesdays at Blue Cricket Design. My first link-ups!

Now, no discipline method works for every kid and my kids are so well-behaved that I rarely have to do anything other than correct them.  However, my 4-year-old is not perfect and is prone to whining in an attempt to get his way.  When I saw a blog post about paper behavior charts (well, was going to link to the source here, but i’ve lost it. if this is yours, please tell me!), I was inspired to create one.

I realized that I had more colorful fabric than paper, so I made my own version with stuff I had around the house.  Love a free craft project, especially when it works to help discipline my kids!

I know, my art skills are astounding.

Anyway, the way it works is this:  Nick (or Bob, as he prefers to be called) starts the day with his clothespin on the brown square.  Each time he does a favor for me or something nice for someone, he moves up a spot (this does not include his normal chores that are required of him).  Each time he breaks a house rule or does something he was warned not to do, he moves down a spot (there are some offenses that send him straight to time out, such as hitting or blatantly telling me “no!” which he does sometimes).  At the end of the day, after his bath and before bed, if he has reached the top square, he gets a treat (candy, small trinket, or an activity of some kind).  If he has reached the bottom, he gets either a toy or a privilege taken away.

Yesterday was our first time to try this and it worked GREAT.  He did everything I asked of him without batting an eyelash and as a result, gets to spend a few days with Grammy!

What is the reward/punishment system in your home?  Do you use the same method with each child?