31 Days of Pinterest, Day #1: Cleaning the Shower. Borax and Magic Eraser

When I first joined Pinterest, I have to admit I didn't get what all the fuss was about. Once I joined, all of a sudden people started "following" me. I still didn't get it. After poking around a bit, I started to get the hang of it. I discovered the coolness that is Pinterest. Like a friend said, it is like shopping without spending money. I love pinning. I collect recipes, cleaning tips, craft projects, and home decorating ideas. I have about five different theme parties in the works. I will probably never be able to realize all of them before the kids start picking their own themes, but a lady can dream.

I have now come to realize the danger that is Pinterest. Spending so much time repinning and not taking any time to actually use the good ideas that I have found. I have decided that I need to redeem my time spent on Pinterest by trying out the various tips and tricks. I want to try 31 pins. They may or may not be on consecutive days. I am setting no strict timeline. I am giving myself a pass on this one and will be happy to just accomplish any goal. The easiest and most practical to start off with is cleaning. I am in search of effective natural/non toxic cleaning solutions. Let me just say, since having the babies, it has been a constant struggle to clean the house. I am in process of establishing a routine but that is another post entirely.

My shower has been needing some attention for a while. It was in a dire disgusting condition hence no before pictures. I have too much pride, or perhaps shame, to post that. Which then rules out the need for after pics as well, nothing to compare it to so what is the point?! We'll see, maybe I will be so thrilled that I will want to show off my sparkling shower stall.

The first cleaning recommendation I decided to try was Borax. It is simple, cheap and has been around forever. I used it to scrub the shower floor. I have to say it worked as well if not better than a bleach based scouring powder. I was impressed with how easily the grime was removed and with minimal effort. In the end, there was a bit of muck left in the crevices of the patterned shower floor. It would have come up with a bit of elbow grease, but I wanted to find the easiest way to remove it. I decided to try a "Magic Eraser" on this remaining stuff. It came up easily. This is awesome because even with Comet, I have to scrub those crevices with a toothbrush to get them clean. I am impressed. Effective cleaning with no fumes. I guess technically this is two tips, but I'm sure my boards are overflowing with ideas and I will have a surplus to try. I am looking forward to possibly having a clean house in the end.

Our Little Ladybug

I wanted to make a ladybug costume for our baby girl. I figured a regular pattern made with a print that resembled a ladybug would work. I used McCalls pattern 5610. It was fairly easy to make, although I realized that my garment making skills were rusty. I learned some things and plan on sewing more clothes for this little peanut. I will get plenty of practice. I had read some reviews of the pattern that said the bloomers were too puffy. I found them delightful, super cute and yes, puffy. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of the bloomers. I love that this is more of a pants and top outfit as opposed to a dress and panty. From what I hear, dresses are a real frustration when it comes to crawling. Baby girl isn't crawling yet but will be soon enough. This top is short enough to stay out of the way while crawling and yet frilly enough to be girly. I will be making this pattern again.

I started this pattern at the beginning of October and should have made the next size up. By the time Halloween arrived, I had to squeeze the little miss into the top. She looked adorable. The antennae, purchased from the pet department, really made the costume.

The Boy's Garbage Truck Costume

I am not an innovator. Every time I think I have an original idea, one Google search shows that 5 other people had the idea before me. Such is the case with my son's Halloween costume. You see, he is obsessed with “trash trucks”. I thought, why not make a garbage truck costume for him. A quick internet search showed me several examples of what I was aiming for. Glue gun in hand and a large selection of cardboard boxes, I got started. Once I found the properly proportioned cardboard box, the hopper portion of the truck was really simple to shape. To create the beveled edges of the hopper, I used the pre existing creases that form the box bottom and top. I cut a couple inches off each flap, both top and bottom, to make more space for the torso and the legs.

One of the outstanding Google-garbage-truck-costume-pioneers had drawn diagrams of their costume design and shared it on their blog. While I didn't use their method for the hopper, I did follow their pattern for the cab and the built-out portion of the hopper back. I figured, why reinvent the wheel? Especially when that one looked awesome. My husband had the idea to use plastic from a toy package for the windows and windshield. I think the effect is really stunning. I had planned to paint the logos but I ran out of time and ended up printing the WM decals and I found the MACK grill again, thanks to Google. I could have gotten more detailed but again, I ran out of time. The entire costume was made from things we had around the house, except for the paint. In the end. My little guy wasn't over-the-moon with the idea of wearing the costume. He willingly wore it to take pictures and get candy. The toy trash cans, bought on Amazon, really made the costume more appealing to the little guy. I glued a bag in the trash truck in the space behind where the boy was meant to stand. The idea was that he would collect candy in the little can and then dump it over his head and pour the candy into the hopper. THIS aspect of the costume was a hit. Ultimately, I was really surprised by this lack of enthusiasm considering he loves to pretend to be a trash truck. He sets up buckets in the yard and runs a “route” picking up trash. He even makes sound effects complete with hydraulic hisses and beeping when he backs up. It really doesn't matter, because I had so much fun making this costume. It is the first creative project I have done in a while.