For My Child

I bought some wool felt today to start making one of Gracie's Christmas gifts. I know I will need a whole month to actually make it, so while the girls are both napping (!!!) I feel like a little elf. This little project will go with her favorite book, Child of Faerie, Child of Earth by Jane Yolen. I'll keep you posted!

DIY :: Castile Hand Soap

Anyone who has used castile soap knows that if/when you put it into a pump dispenser, it will inevitable clog in the pump, and you will inevitably get a VERY painful squirt of soap in your eye. This is why Dr. Bronner's does not have a pump. They know better. 

So you can either dilute it with water and use a foaming pump dispenser (usually unattractive and plastic) or you can thicken the regular castile soap. Dr. Bronner's sells a thick soap with a pump. It is their Shikakai line which is basically sugar and their castile soap base (I asked them at their booth at the Green Fest last year.) I now make my own at home. I started with organic sugar but it was too brown for my taste so now I use white sugar.

Warm 1 cup castile soap in a saucepan

add 1 cup sugar and cook and stir until dissolved. Let cool and pour into your favorite soap dispenser.

Voila! 

Fun with Playsilks

As you can see, she is dressing herself. 

We made a new purple playsilk the other day. This really is THE best toy a child can have. It can be water for a boat, a sling for a babydoll, used for dressing up (cape, wings, hat, skirt, etc, etc), stuff  the middle with cotton and use a rubberband to form a neck for a fairy, or throw it up into the air for endless fun.

"Mama, it's opening up just like the octopus." We have been to the Academy of Sciences probably 20 times and this week was the first time it was out and really putting on a show. No camera of course!

DIY Playsilks:

mix vinegar (1/4 cup) with food coloring in a large stainless mixing bowl

for the purple one I used 24 drops of red and 16 drops of blue (the cake mix quantities on the box)

pour a kettle full of boiling water into the bowl

use tongs to stir the silk until it absorbs the dye and is super saturated

we bought our silk squares at a silk shop but you can find them online

rinse a few times in cold water until no dye is leaching out of fabric

hang dry and ENJOY!

redye as needed

DIY Playdough

I love that her crown (aka produce wrap) says organically grown!

Nature's Play Dough 

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot juice

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

DIY Diaper Wipes

I am going to try, really try, not to use disposable wipes with the little one arriving in September. If we can do cotton diapers, we can do cotton wipes can't we? We have gone back and forth with Gracie but now we use some bumgenius flannel wipes with California Baby diaper spray at home and Nature Baby wipes for on the road. I really want to try to have a stockpile of these soaking and ready for the diaper changes to come.

There are lots of DIY wipe solutions out there but we are going to try this recipe (from SouleMama)

Diaper Wipe Solution:
1 Tsp baby castile soap
1 Tsp almond oil (jojoba oil) I may omit this for ease in washing with cloth diapers.
1 drop tea tree oil
1 drop lavender essential oil (may omit for newborn)
3/4 cup water
change everyweek