Antique Dresser Update

~ lilthingsmama ~ Leave a comment

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For a few months our “entertainment center” situation has been really bugging me. We were using some cube shelving to put our TV on and also have a small amount of storage. It looked super cluttered and messy! So I told my husband that I wanted to take an antique dresser, give it a face lift, and use that for our entertainment center. He agreed, so my search was on!

I found an antique dresser on Craigslist for $75 that needed some TLC! We are not  super elegant antique kind of people, so we went with a dresser that had a more simple look to it. After purchasing the dresser, I came up with the design of white paint (zero VOC), simple black handles, and leaving the 2 drawer spots open as shelves. So for about $125 (way less than a brand new entertainment center) I could have a clean looking TV area! YAY!

So because I am a figure it out as I go kind of gal, I jumped right in to giving the dresser an update. First, I removed the antique hardware from the dresser. Then, I sanded the dresser. I didn’t sand it in super detail, just a rough sanding.

Then I started painting (going from top to bottom). The whole time i was painting I made sure there were no drips and everything looked even. Now here is where a little research may have helped me out! As the paint dried, there were just a couple spots where it looked like stain was coming through. They were extremely light spots so they don’t really bother me, but on the next project I will definitely look into making sure that does not happen. I applied 3 coats of matte white paint total. Be patient and go by what it says on the paint can as far as drying time.

Once dry, I added the black handles to the two large drawers.

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Next, was figuring out how to make open shelves in the drawer spots. I decided to use my hubby’s strength and saw the fronts of the drawers off and paint the drawer white.  We also drilled holes in the middle of each drawer spot, in the back, so that we could fit cords through.

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I am so happy with how the dresser turned out! A successful DIY project!

Materials:

-dresser

-tarp

-screwdrivers

-sandpaper (not a fine grit)

-paint brushes

-white matte zero VOC (volatile organic compound) paint

-4 handles

-saw (optional)

Have fun, be patient, and be creative! Let me know how your projects turn out! Thank you so much for reading! Like, share, and comment!

Organic Hand Sanitizer

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Hand sanitizers are full of chemicals that are meant to kill bacteria and make you cleaner. Unfortunately, they actually harm your body. So I set out to find a good, quality, effective organic hand sanitizer. A friend of mine actually reviewed “Kosmatology” on her green living blog so I decided to try out this company. I ordered 2 different scents to see which I liked best and here is what I thought!

Ok, so my personal rule is that I will not promote something that I personally won’t use. I have been using these hand sanitizers for a little over a month, and I LOVE the “Goody-Goody Grapefruit” scent.

Kosmatology offers 3 scents of hand sanitizer: “Goody-Goody Grapefruit (Grapefruit & Clove), Botanical Bliss (Lavender & Eucalyptus), and Herbal Fresh (Rosemary & Spearmint)”. The sanitizers are sold in 2 ounce spray bottles for about $4. I did not test the “Herbal Fresh” scent but I will try that scent when I re-order!

I bought the “Botanical Bliss” and “Goody-Goody Grapefruit” scents. My favorite scent was the Grapefruit! The fruitiness of the grapefruit plus the spiciness of the clove is AMAZING! I will definitely be re-ordering this scent from Kosmatology!

I love the smell of the Lavender and Eucalyptus sanitizer, but unfortunately it left a slight stickiness on my hands. So personally I will stick with the grapefruit sanitizer that did not leave that feeling on my hands.

Overall, I loved trying the Kostmatology hand sanitizers! I will definitely be re-ordering! You can purchase the hand sanitizer at kosmatology.com.

Thank you so much for reading! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! 🙂

 

Happy Birthday!

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December 5th was the 1st birthday party for my adorable baby boy! I cannot believe that a year has gone by already! I love seeing my son grow and love his cute personality that is being shown more and more everyday. In this blog post, i wanted to share the pictures from the party and what I have been working on the past couple weeks! 20151205_121301-1

We had about 30 guests so we held the party at a small local event hall. Everything that I planned for the party was done keeping cost down and turning up the creativity. My first DIY aspect to the party was this “happy birthday” banner. I used a cardboard box (FREE) and cut out each letter, then I covered it with scrapbook paper, and duct taped the letters to twine. It cost less than $5 to make.

I bought balloons (blue & yellow) and really liked the idea of attaching photos, from the past year, to each balloon. I then needed to tape the photos to the wall so that they did not twist around. Balloons were probably the most costly decor item ($50 for 30). The photos were a promotion by shutterfly for 101 free prints ($7 s+h).

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Table centerpieces were made up of a paper mache “1” which I painted blue and yellow, then we attached a balloon to create height. We also scattered coloring pages on the table with pictures that related to different things in our son’s life (Bulldog, beekeeper, trains, etc.).

For food we did a baked potato bar, YUUUUUMMM! The toppings included butter, bacon, cheese, sour cream, chives, chili, sauteed veggies, and steamed broccoli. There was also a spinach, feta, avocado, almond, and craisin salad. We offered coffee and spa water as beverages.

MY FAVORITE PART was the milk & cookies bar! My family loves cookies so we decided not to do cake, and we went with cookies! Nom nom nom! Our baby boy loved his chocolate chip cookie with lots of whipped cream on top! I created each chalkboard that was scattered around the room from canvas or wood and chalkboard paint. So much fun being creative and making the large chalkboard that displayed info about our son.

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Lastly, as favors we did a package for kids that consisted of animal crackers, bubbles, and a toy. For the adults, i made small vanilla natural soy candles in baby food jars.

The party went so well, and we are so thankful for everyone who came and showed our baby boy some love on his birthday! Follow, like, share, & pin. Thank you for reading my blog!

DIY Baby Wipes

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I Just made a new batch of baby wipes yesterday, so I wanted to share the process with you all!

Supplies:

-Seventh Generation “unbleached” or “recycled” Paper Towels

-Large sealable container (that can fit half of a paper towel roll)

-2 1/2 cups hot filtered water

-2 Tbsp. Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Castile soap

-2 Tbsp. Organic coconut oil

How To:

  1. Cut the paper towel roll in half with a sharp serrated knife.
  2. heat 2 1/2 cups filtered water in a bowlimage
  3. Add 2 Tbsp. organic coconut oil, stir, and melt completely.
  4. Add 2 Tbsp. Dr. Bronner’s unscented soap and stir.image
  5. Place one half of the paper towel roll in the wipe container/tupperware.
  6. Pour the water/oil/soap mixture directly over the paper towel roll.
  7. Press down the saturated paper towel roll.image
  8. Close the lid tightly, and flip upside down.
  9. After a couple minutes flip back over and open the container up.image
  10. Make sure the entire roll is saturated, then gently pull out the cardboard tube.
  11. Lastly, transfer to the container you use for wipes. Pull up the middle so that it feeds through the container opening easily.image

*The whole process takes less than 20 mintues

*Wipes will not last as long as store bought wipes. Mine usually last about 1-1 1/2 weeks.

Ok that was a longer post! It is worth going through this process, because you do not have to worry about what ingredients are in your wipes. These are safe and mostly natural ingredients. Like, follow, share, and comment! Thank you!!!

Diaper Pail Life Hack

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As a new mom, the cost of all the things a baby needed shocked me! My husband and I bought a diaper pail right before our son was born. We got multiple refills for it (about $7 per refill). Our son was born and we went through the diaper pail bags VERY quickly! I got to a point where I did not want to buy any more refills because they are pretty expensive. I tried taping a normal garbage bag in different ways to the pail, totally made it more complicated than it needed to be. I finally realized I can use the plastic part of the refill and a normal garbage bag. So here is how you do it:

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You need a normal kitchen garbage bag and an empty plastic part of the refill.

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Unfold the trash bag and shake it so it is not clinging together.

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With the open rim of the plastic piece facing up, feed the garbage bag through the middle of the plastic piece.

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Take the drawstring edge and fold it under the plastic piece. Continue tucking around the whole plastic piece.

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Once the edges are all tucked in, open the top of the pail and feed the bottom of the bag into the pail. Place the plastic piece where it would usually be placed.

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That’s it! An easy way to save some money on baby supplies!

Thanks for reading! Like, follow, comment, and share!

DIY Dryer Sheets

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The very first change that I made in my house, to go a little greener, was to throw out dryer sheets. Dryer sheets are chocked full of dangerous chemicals! So I started experimenting with making my own safe dryer sheets.

Supplies:

-Mason Jar

-Distilled White Vinegar

-Filtered Water

-Cotton cloth/t shirt

-Thieves Essential Oil

Instructions:

The first step is taking a cotton cloth/t shirt and cutting it up into pieces. I cut mine into about a 4in. X 4 in. square.

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Next, in a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup white vinegar. Then add 1/4 cup water and 10 drops of Thieves essential oil. Stir them all together, and then pour into the mason jar. Side note: Thieves is an anti microbial essential oil. It will help fight bacteria and give your clothes a good scent.

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Once you pour the mixture into the mason jar, add your pieces of cotton cloth/t shirt. Seal the jar tightly, and let the cloth soak for a minute or two. Then you want to turn the jar over so that all the cloth is soaked. And that’s it! A Super easy way to cut down on harmful chemicals!

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When using a dryer sheet, ring out excess vinegar mixture before throwing it in the dryer. Thank you so much for reading!

The First One

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The Moment Everything Changed
The Moment Everything Changed

To start off my blogging experience, I wanted to share what made me decide to go on this journey. I have been married to an amazing man for a little over two years, and in December 2014 we welcomed a beautiful baby boy into our family.

In April 2014 I found out that I was pregnant. I had absolutely no clue what the pregnancy process entailed. When I went in for my first appointment, I was scheduled to to see an OBGYN. It ended up that the OBGYN I was supposed to see got sick and one of the hospital’s midwives was filling in for her. I ended up really liking the midwife, but did not know much about the differences between a doctor and a midwife. After a little research and thinking about what I actually wanted from my birthing experience, #1 on my list was a natural childbirth. I chose to go with the midwives at the hospital, and plan for that natural/unmedicated, intimate, and personal experience. We accomplished just that!

Natural childbirth got me thinking about everything else in my life. I love my family and want the best for them, so why was I doing things and using products that would hurt them? That is what brings me here! This blog is following my family on our journey to become healthier, happier, and stronger one step at a time! Join me as I discover natural ways to enjoy “the lil things” in life!