So for the past week or so, I’ve been re-doing my living room.  Not out of some material need to have it look better (well maybe a little) but more so, because my husband is famous for starting projects and never finishing them.  A couple of weeks ago, our TV (whom we loved and will iss dearly) died.  Since we had no TV to distract us, I decided this would be a great time to tackle all the unfinished projects in our living room.  Soooo, we did.  And, are STILL tackling those projects tho I’m pleased to say, that they are almost done!  Can I get a amen?!

I don’t know about you guys, but I needed a budget – a very small one – before we could do anything.  For the next couple of days (and most likely, weeks), I will share with you the remodel  (you get pictures and everything!).  I am vowing to myself and my husband that I will not spend over $30 per project so creativity is key.

I hope you follow along with me – I’m sure between all of us, we can come up with some beautiful ideas.  And finally, my living room can go from looking like a yard sale on the wrong side of town to flea market chic.  Hmm…’flea market chic’…I kinda like that.

Blessings to all,

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Is this adorable or what??  While checking out one of my favorite blogs, I saw this tutorial for a wreath made from book pages!  I have lots of books!  I love wreaths!  And, I even have a hot glue gun!!  All the ingredients needed to assemble such a beautiful creation!

It doesn’t seem that hard (of course, I’ll be able to tell you more after I make it).  Oh, I’d love to have it with scripture but tearing up a bible doesn’t set too well with me. 

Items Needed:

Styrofoam Wreath

Book

Glue Gun

Ribbon (for the hanger)

Paint (if you want to add a dimension to the edge of the paper)

Lindsay has a video on her blog of the instructions – but what you basically do is roll the pages whatever way you want them and glue them to the wreath.  Once you’ve gone around the wreath form once, flip it over and do it again.  Continue to do this until you fill in all the gaps.  Then, voila! 

I’ll let you know how it turns out!   

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It’s not like I don’t hear from my sister-in-law often but this time, she sent pictures of her art!  Yeah!  I love to paint or create just about anything – and I especially love receiving items created by others.  Call it a guilty pleasure of mine, I mean, who doesn’t like to receive beautiful things?? 

Of course, what I recieved were pictures of her items but not for long!  I am the proud soon-to-be recipient of a brand new painting created strictly for me by her hands with the Holy Spirit’s guidance!!!

Leslie Moore is a prophetic artist!  Or, she likes to say, ‘Declarative Art’.  This means that what she creates is intended to serve as declaration of faith and truth.  So many times, we get bogged down by the throws of life and it helps to look up and see something (like a painting on the wall) that causes us to speak out God’s Word out loud over our circumstances – this is what her artwork is intended to do for us.

She is fairly new at this but God is certainly working through her – I’m so excited to see what may become of this venture for her.  So now without further adieu, I present Declarative Art by Leslie Moore!

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Okay, so maybe this isn’t your normal recipe – but it is a recipe nonetheless.  And, it’s a recipe that me and my best friend have been using for months with great results. 

It all started when I ran out of laundry detergent and I really didn’t wanna get out to go to the store.  (Have I mentioned that I’m just a tad lazy?)  Anyway, I remembered that The Duggars, from 18 Kids and Counting, make thier own detergent so I thought I’d give it a try.  Turns out, it works great and cost about .78 cents a gallon!  Really great when you have 6 people in the house!

There are several versions of this recipe but this one is the easiest.

Liquid Laundry Detergent

2 gal. hot water

1 bar of soap, grated

2 c. baking soda (not washing soda)

This recipe just calls for a bar of soap. We use the same soap that we use in the shower (Ivory).  I’ve read that Fels-Naptha  is great for stain fighting, but we use what we have on hand and have not had any problems.

Grate the soap.  

Put the grated soap in a saucepan, cover with water and cook on low until the soap melts.  Be patient, it takes a while.  I don’t think that I’ve ever gotten every little bit melted completely, but take some time and get most of it melted into the water.

Now add 2 gallons of hot water into large bucket. Add the dissolved, melted soap and stir well.

Add the baking soda and stir again.

Use a half a cup on regular loads and a full cup on heavily soiled loads. That’s it!

I find it’s best to cover and leave overnight before using.  Just know that  after sitting, your soap will be lumpy and gel-like, that’s normal, just stir well before use.

It is nice to have some old washed out liquid laundry containers or leftover milk jugs to store your homemade laundry soap, then you can just shake and pour in to a handy measuring cup.

Trust me, it works! 

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