Here are some cute wee Doodle Frames for your projects. Just cut them out, fill them out and stick them down! You can use them as labels and journaling tags.

Download Blue Doodle Frames

There are six matching Doodle Frames, so they’ll suit a theme, either for a series of photos or thoughts.

Maybe you want lines to journal with? Here they are:

Download Blue Doodle Frames – Lined

Journal tags are a nice way to categorise and organize your thoughts or pictures. They break up a page in an interesting way and draw attention to themselves just by their visual nature.

Use journal tags for snippets of information – the main points of your topic. A lot of times they are the only thing that is needed to spark memories or feelings about things or events that maybe you didn’t want to expand on by writing lots about.

Just cut, write and glue!

Happy Crafting!

Design by Mina Keenan

Grab your scissors! – this is an easy one! Download and print these Kids’ Valentine Mini Cards for the children to hand out at school or preschool.

Perfect for teachers, coaches, family and friends.

Download Kids’ Valentine Mini Cards Patterned

Just print and cut. These were designed for children, but they would go well in scrapbooking pages, or to use as gift or journaling tags.

Download Kids’ Valentine Mini Cards Pastel

There is room to write who it is to, and who it is from on the back. Add the year and/or a message.

Download Kids’ Valentine Mini Cards Plain

A range of cards for variety, they are suitable for boys or girls. Have fun with these, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Crafting!

Design by Mina Keenan

You ordered the new vinyl siding, the installer did the work, and now it looks wonderful. But once the contractor leaves, that vinyl siding is in your hands. What happens if something goes wrong? It is important to fix vinyl siding problems quickly to prevent further damage. But that’s hard to do when you don’t know where to begin.

Replacing vinyl siding. Image credit: DIYNetwork

When vinyl siding has a big ‘oops’

These common vinyl siding problems could happen to you. Fortunately, there are easy do-it-yourself solutions to fix them. You will need to keep the following items handy:

1. Extra pieces of siding (your contractor will likely leave several pieces for you when the job is done)
2. Siding “zip” tool
3. Claw hammer
4. Pry bar
5. Tin snips
6. Galvanized nails

Though the procedure will be different depending upon the type of siding and the way it locks together, these tools will likely come in handy. For exact instructions to remove siding pieces, consult the manufacturer. There are often manuals online that will explain how to install a particular type of siding.

These directions are very general, but will give you an idea of what you are getting into with the three most common types of repair:

Water Damage

Sometimes water gets blown underneath vinyl siding, often after a series of fierce storms. Sometimes water will drip from an area of the roof and gradually seep underneath the siding, or there might be a defect in the installation that allows water in. Unfortunately, when you notice water damage on your vinyl siding, chances are the problem is significant underneath.

Start by removing the sections of vinyl siding that are damaged and inspect the underside. In the case of water damage, it is usually only the last few rows that have the problem. Before you replace the siding, it is vital to find the source of the leak; otherwise, you are simply patching over an area that will cause further issues. If the house underneath the siding has water damage, then it is time to call in an expert.

Impact Damage

This is much easier to fix and can often be done in just a few minutes. Start by removing the damaged piece of vinyl siding. Use one of your extra pieces, cut to the proper length, to fill in the gap. The removal can be done with a zip tool to detach the siding from the pieces around it, and the claw hammer can remove the nails that hold it in place. Replacing the piece is a matter of nailing it down in the same spot and using the zip tool to lock the pieces together. Remember to check your manufacturer’s information in order to install the new piece in the proper manner.

Mold and discoloration

This issue might not require removing the siding, but it will require a thorough cleaning. Mold can often grow on areas that don’t get much sunlight, and can leave your siding looking green and sickly. A good scrubbing with a bleach solution can often fix the problem, as can some commercial cleaners made for this very problem.

Vinyl siding colors will sometimes fade, but they should fade rather evenly. Discoloration is another story, as it is usually only a few pieces. Discoloration might be resolved by replacing the piece; however, keep in mind that the discoloration might be on a larger section than you think, and that new piece might stand out like a sore thumb. In that case, you might want to consider replacing all the siding on that end of the house in order to get a more uniform look.

Walk around your house once a month or so to check the condition of your vinyl siding. Look for cracks, discoloration, signs of water damage and other issues that could mean a problem with the siding. Be especially careful to check the siding after heavy storms that include wind and hail.

If you find that you can’t repair the siding on your own, don’t hesitate to call the contractor who handled your vinyl siding installation. Though there will be an additional cost for their time and labor, it could be a small price to pay to have your house looking great again.

Making bath and beauty treatments from scratch is a great way to save money and cut back on potentially harmful chemicals found in some store-bought products.

There are many recipes and variations for making “DIY” bath and beauty products-  everything from homemade deodorant, shampoo, conditioners, facial masks and scrubs or even cleansers.

But almost all of these items have certain ingredients in common, and most of the products used in the mixes are available right in the kitchen pantry or refrigerator.

Fruits in Homemade Beauty Treatments

Fruit is a popular ingredient in many natural facials, skin treatments and bath product recipes for a wide variety of reasons. Fruit is usually high in vitamins, especially C and A, which can nourish and moisturize the skin. Fruit also often has amino acids, healthy fats and oils or other components that seem to be beneficial for the skin or hair. These fruits are commonly seen in home beauty recipes.

• Avocado – High in healthy fats that build skin and nourish dry, wrinkle-prone skin. It’s no wonder this is a favorite choice for masks designed to moisturize the skin.
• Bananas – Bananas have lots of vitamins and minerals and are thought to help relax tense muscles as well as providing moisture to the skin. They are also less likely to cause irritation than some of the citrus fruits, and are easy to mash into a paste, so they are common for thick skin masks as well.
• Other fruits include citrus fruits like oranges and lemons; grapes; berries like blueberry, raspberry and strawberry; and tropical fruits like papaya and mango.

Vegetables for Making Bath and Beauty Products

How often is the picture of cucumber slices on the eyes associated with relaxation and beauty-enchancing spa treatments? There is a good reason for that since many homemade spa treatments include vegetables in them.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and others are used to cool, tone and firm the skin as needed.

Mineral-Based Spa Treatment Ingredients

Many ingredients used in spa treatments and homemade recipes are naturally occurring minerals. These include salt, clay, muds and other sediments, usually in powder form. Each has unique properties and composition although all are thought to provide minerals to the body through absorption into the skin, often in heated masks, wraps, packs or baths.

Grains and Nuts for Homemade Powders

A variety of grains and nuts is often ground for use in homemade bath and body products. There are variations on how fine or coarse to grind the powders depending on desired effect.

Commonly used ingredients from the grains and nuts category include walnuts, pecans, corn, wheat, oats, rice, bran, barley and just about any other type of grain or nut you can imagine. Often they are mixed with liquids of some kind in order to create a paste or scrub, but sometimes they are left dry to create homemade body powders.

Read more details on commonly used ingredients, and basic tips for creating homemade bath and beauty products including allergy cautions.

Do you make any of your own homemade facials or scrubs? What are your favorite ingredients?

Untrained Housewife was started to celebrate the journey to knowledge and self-sufficiency. The thing is – it’s not an easy journey.

Baby milk goat. So adorable with those floppy ears, right?

Milks Goats and Meat Chickens

The biggest set-back: Last year I barely milked the goats at all. I had an infant to tend to, a business to run and it was crazy weather. We weren’t consistent enough to keep our goat in good milk and then the terrible heat wave began and she dried up.

No big deal. I will pick it back up again this year. We’ve taken our two goats to the neighbor’s house for a month-long rendezvous with a buck. And we’ll have new babies this April-ish and get a chance to try again.

Our colorful flock of mixed laying hens in their portable coop in the garden.

Our biggest success: 2011 was the year we ordered baby chicks in the mail. Half were for egg production and half were a meat breed of chicken that we were able to process last May. In fact, my mother-in-law is making a big pot of chicken soup with one of the last of those birds right now.

Talk about an amazing feeling! By the end of the afternoon when we finished processing the birds, the freezer was full! Of the highest quality, most nutritious, and least expensive meat available for my family. Such a fabulous feeling.

The Importance of the Journey

I don’t think self-sufficiency is ever fully achievable. We grow, change, learn. Our circumstances change. Our focus shifts.

And that’s ok. Or so I’m learning.

Developing a more self-sufficient lifestyle is partly about understanding your boundaries. Your personal limitations.

And taking the risk and the chance to push the boundaries of where those limits are. Do you just “know” that you could never have a backyard chicken flock? Do you “know” that you have a terrible black thumb and could never grow your own food?

Why not try again! This is the year for taking a chance and pushing the limits of what your family considers normal. Choose one thing to focus on this year as you take the next step towards self-sufficiency.

For me this year it’s starting the garden from seeds – heirloom seeds that I can try my hand at saving for the first time. It could be a colossal failure, but it could be a brilliant success. Chances are it’ll be something in the middle and that is ok with me.

What step will you take this year to increase your family’s self-sufficiency? 

Have the fairies been visiting your house lately?

If you’re expecting a visit from the wee winged creatures, you might want to stock up on some fairy supplies. After all, you wouldn’t want to make a fairy cry, would you?  

In all seriousness, if you’re going to host a birthday party and you have a fairy fanatic in the house, chances are that the idea of a fairy party will emerge at some point. Be prepared for the fairy invasion, and get your loot bags organized!

Here are a few very simple ideas to place in your fairies’ bags. 

Fairy Jewels

Crystals are magical to children. Go to a rock store and collect a number of different-colored crystals, especially those in pink, white and blue. Fool’s gold is also wonderful to sneak into a fairy package. Also, place a geode in each child’s container, along with instructions about how to smash it to reveal the lovely crystals hiding inside.

A Woven Fairy Crown   

Collect pieces of old or discount ribbon or long strips of colorful fabric. All of the pieces should be smooth, and definitely not itchy! Get three pieces of fabric, and tie a knot at the top. Braid a simple braid, then tie a knot at the end, leaving some fabric beyond the knot. Use that fabric to tie the crown on your fairy’s head! Make this into a party craft by adding flowers, glitter, and fancy rhinestones to the woven crowns.

A Fanciful Fairy Shoe Kit

All fairies need fancy, magical shoes! We had great fun this past summer creating glitter shoes. Ours are red, and my daughter and I look like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when we put them on.

Get a big package of glitter and divide it into smaller bags. Give each child a paintbrush and a small white glue. Give the children the following instructions:

Take one pair of old shoes that don’t look very good any more. Clean them and let them dry. Now, cover the shoe with a layer of glue diluted with a little bit of water. Shake the glitter over top of the glue, and let it dry. Then add another coat of diluted glue to seal the glitter. You’ve made fairy shoes!

A Fairy Garden

I’ve already described how to create a fairy garden of your own. It’s even easier to make a garden in a bag to give to another person. For my daughter’s last birthday party, we had a forest and garden theme, and each little gardener got a miniature garden kit to take home and build for the fairies.

What will you need for your garden in a bag?

A bag or a box to keep supplies in

A tiny pot or a teacup to contain the plants and the soil

A smaller Ziploc bag of potting soil

Rocks and shells for fairy ponds and paths

One or two small plants, if desired

Doll house decorations like miniature tea cups and bells, if desired

Zip all of these items up in a bag, and give the children the instructions in the fairy garden blog. 

Have you hosted a fairy party? 

Save time and money and make these Easel cards this Valentine’s Day.

Easel cards are a little different from the norm and are really easy to make. Use this project as inspiration for our own creations. There are enough images for three layouts, plus an extra page of images so you can mix and match them to fashion your own cards.

Craft Supplies

• Valentine Card Download
• Card
• Paper
• Scissors
• Polystyrene food tray
• Glue

Download Easel Valentine Card Template and Card Images

How to Make the Easel Card

• Print out the download and cut out the pieces.
• Use the template as a guide to cut card for the base.
• Fold along the lines as shown on the template.
• Fold so the card looks like this:

• Decorate the front of the card.

A portion of the inside is decorated, and a ‘stopper’ put in to hold the front (easel part) of the card in position so it will stand. A ‘stopper’ is anything that will give dimension, like a piece of cardboard, a button or a bead.

Download Easel Valentine Card Template and Card Layouts 2 and 3

Card Crafting Techniques

Add dimension to your cards to make your cards pop. Do this by raising images off the card surface – use cardboard, polystyrene food tray (more info on polystyrene food trays) or foam dots.

Download Easel Valentine Card Template and Card Images

Gluing small images can be fiddly. I dabbed the back of the images with glue, put a piece of polystyrene into the glue, with tweezers, turned the polystyrene piece over (so the glue side is now facing up) and then placed the image into position.

When your card is finished, you might need to bend the empty section near the bottom fold as indicated in the photo so the card will ‘stand’ properly.

I was able to make at least five cards from the images in these downloads.
So have fun with these! Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Crafting!

Design by Mina Keenan

If you are thinking about a kitchen remodel, the possibility of doing it yourself has likely crossed your mind. Unless you are very handy with tools and have some home improvement experience, the thought of replacing your kitchen cabinets on your own is probably out of the question.

But what about refacing your kitchen cabinets? After all, it is just replacing the door fronts and drawer fronts, right?

Not so fast. Before you get too ambitious, let’s talk about what do-it-yourself really means in terms of cabinet refacing.

A kitchen after refacing. Image credit: cabinetdoorsdepot.com

Reasons you could do it on your own

Think you’re ready to tackle the work on your own? There could be a few good reasons to do so:

1. The bottom line. Cabinet refacing cost is a very influential reason that drives homeowners to do the work themselves. If you know what you’re doing, you can save a lot of money. But if you don’t, then you might wind up paying more in the long run to have a contractor repair the mess.
2. Taking your time. Rather than set aside a few days for a contractor to work in your home, doing it yourself means that you call the shots and decide when to do the work. It might take longer this way, but if you don’t mind living with the mess for a while, this could work for you.
3. Your house is your own. When a contractor comes into your home to work, you might feel as though you have to be on your best behavior and keep your house looking its best. But when you do it on your own, you don’t have such worries. This can make the cabinet refacing a much more relaxing experience.

Why you should hire a contractor

On the other hand, there are many good reasons why people hire contractors to handle the work for them. Here are a few of the reasons a contractor is a good idea:

1. Let someone else be responsible. Why do all that work if you don’t have to? Hiring a professional means you can sit back, relax and let them do all the heavy lifting. From start to finish, the job is in their hands. You just make a few decisions on materials and write the checks.
2. Potential for custom work. Doing it yourself often means dealing with stock or semi-stock cabinets. If you want a custom look, hiring a professional is a must.
3. Warranties and guarantees. In some cases, kitchen cabinet manufacturers will only cover the warranties and guarantees if their product is installed by a professional. Doing the job yourself can void that warranty. That doesn’t matter much if you never have problems with your cabinets, but what if you do?

Which option is best for you?

If you are very good with tools, have some experience with home improvement projects and can afford the time it will take to do the job right, then handling cabinet refacing on your own is a possibility. But if you are like a majority of homeowners and don’t have much experience with the toolbox, cabinet refacing is a project best left to the professionals.

Fairies, fairies: everywhere you look, you see fairy wings and fairy crowns and books and more books about the wee creatures. Children are fascinated with the idea of fairyland. If you’re looking for the perfect birthday gift for a special child who’s entranced by the fairy realm, why not make them their very own miniature living fairyland in a pot? Building a fairy garden is a simple, inexpensive way to create a magical gift.

Materials Required to Build a Fairy Garden

To create your fairy garden, you’ll need some simple supplies. These are available at most craft and garden supply stores. The following supplies are essential for your fairy garden creating extravaganza:

• A planter of some sort. I’ve made fairy gardens in everything from repurposed teacups to the traditional garden planter. Have your child paint a picture on the outside if the garden is a gift, or use pot markers. These are markers with paint in them.
• Pea gravel for the bottom of the pot, to increase drainage.
• Potting soil.
• Two or three plants. I like to choose plants that have fairyland types of names, like elfin thyme. You can also choose plants with bell-shaped flowers that look like plants fairies could hide in. I also like to have plants that look like small coniferous trees or plants that look like fairy staircases. Make sure that you choose plants that are not poisonous, since children will be playing in this garden.
• A groundcover plant. Thyme works well for this purpose.
• Accessories. This is where you can get creative. Pieces of wood, bark, shells, and rocks make excellent fairy furniture and ponds.I’ve also added clear marbles, because they look like a fairy’s crystal ball. I also add small dollhouse cooking supplies, such as doll teapots and cups, so that the fairies can have a tea party. You can also buy fairy furniture on Etsy if you so desire.
• A fairy ornament, if you wish.

Indoor or Outdoor Fairy Garden

Fairy gardens can be part of indoor or outdoor decor. If they’re outdoors, place the plants in a large planter. Choose plants that are winter-hardy and perennial, so that the child will not be disappointed in the spring. Indoor fairy gardens can be very small, like the garden in a teacup. Incorporate ferns and other hardy indoor plants.

Put Together Your Fairy Garden

To put together your fairy garden, place a small layer of pea gravel over no more than a third of the container. Fill the rest of the container with potting soil. Place the plants in the soil, taking care to cover the roots. Dress up the garden with accessories, or place these in a small bag or purse so that the recipient can accessorize the garden.

Other Fairy Party Ideas

Looking for other ideas for a fairy-themed birthday party or a birthday or Christmas gift for a fairy connoisseur? Try out the following ideas, and your fairy-lover will be tickled!

• A patchwork fairy hat
• A hand-dyed play silk fairy cape
• Fairy bling, otherwise known as rocks, crystals, and geodes
• A simple, no sew purse to hold the fairy bling
• A pair of homemade fairy sparkle slippers
• Magic fairy bubbles

Image Credits: [Biewoef] [nkzs]

Pinterest-Inspired Crafting: A Calm Jar

I have found a new site to suck up all my productivity and glaze over my eyes with daydreams of crafts, kitchen remodels, and new wardrobes… I am referring to Pinterest, of course. After a few months of pinning crafts to my boards, my best friend and I decided to test some out. AND we took pictures.

You will need:

• Mason Jar or baby food jar – cleaned out naturally
• *We used 32 oz. mason jars, so adjust accordingly for amounts
• Craft glitter – 3 pouches (roughly 1/2 tbsp each)
• Glitter Glue – 1.8 fl oz. (we used a full bottle for each mason jar)
• Hot Water

 To Make a Calm Jar:

• Lay all of your supplies out – I realize that may seem silly in a simple project like this but trust me – nothing sucks the fun out of a craft project faster than realizing you forgot a needed item.

•  If you are making more than one Calm Jar, then separate out the colored glue and glitters you want to use in each jar.

•  Boil water, microwave water – in our case we used the “hot water” function on my coffee maker – you just need hot water to break down the glitter glue. Add the water to the mason jar.

• Add desired amount and color of glitter to the mason jar.

•  Add a small jar of glitter glue to the mason jar.

•  Stir vigorously. *Now, I think this step is important – once the jar is completed you will use it by shaking it like a snow globe (not a polaroid picture), but while in the creation stage still I recommend using something to stir and break up the glitter glue completely. We used a long metal BBQ skewer, but if you don’t have those (why not?!) I think a fork would work fine.

•  Seal tightly. *This is another important step. As my best friend said, “it’s *glitter* we need that jar sealed like a submarine.” Valid point. We didn’t take the extra measure of pressure-sealing it – just make sure the lid is screwed on really, really tightly.

•  Shake and Enjoy! The time it takes the glitter to swirl and settle back at the bottom of the jar is supposed to be enough time to calm a toddler’s outburst or calm an adult’s fried nerves (whether or not the two are directly related).

 

 

 

 

Our first Pinterest-Inspired craft was a success. Stay-tuned for more!