Using Baking Soda on Baby Items

I pretty much use Arm & Hammer baking soda for all my cleaning projects, big or small and that includes baby items. I use baking soda to clean and deodorize baby E's bottles and nipples, clean his baby toys, his play pen, car seat, stroller, high chair, changing table, diaper pail and all the spills he creates on the dinner table rug when he's eating in his high chair.

When cleaning baby E's toys I use a few tablespoons of baking soda along with some warm water and a sponge to clean, then I rinse off and dry. As for items and things I can't easily bring to the sink to rinse down I apply the baking soda directly on a damp sponge that's been soaked in warm water to rub, spot clean and then I leave the item to air dry. To neutralize smells like his diaper pail I just liberally sprinkle baking soda at the bottom of his pail and bag. Then every week I wipe down the inside and outside of the pail with some vinegar and baking soda on a sponge to ensure his pail is not smelly!

His baby bottles were smelling like stale milk for awhile and I did not know how to get rid of the smell despite me putting the bottles and nipples in the sterilizer until I decided to soak them in a tub of baking soda and warm water for about five to ten minutes. After soaking I then cleaned and rinse the bottles and nipples as usual. To be extra sure I sterilized all the items and they came out just like new.

Luckily baby E has not made too many big messes and spills on the rug yet however I know that is about to change soon as he's attempting to feed himself and is grabbing at everything within his reach. So far pouring a little bit of baking soda over the mess to help clean and deodorize the rug has worked like a charm.

For additional tips and suggested use of Arm & Hammer baking soda be sure to check out the solutions section on the Arm & Hammer website. Also while you're on the Arm & Hammer website, be sure to print your Arm & Hammer baking soda and other product coupons. Note each coupon can be printed up to two times a year.

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Set of 4 Custom Coasters for $5

Looking for a unique gift? Check out this set of 4 custom drink coasters for $5 when you use coupon code 5COAST at checkout. Note this deal expires on August 15th, so get yours now.

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Bunny and Chick Egg Card Craft Project

Celebrate Easter weekend with these two adorable bunny and chick egg cards. These make for great springtime/Easter decorations and a nice addition to your Easter basket.

Materials Needed:

    • Easter Bunny and Chick Egg Friends How-To PDF
    • Egg Shapes Assortment Pack
    • Googly Eyes
    • Cover Paper in Poppy and Eco-White
    • Bubblegum and Tangerine Sugar Coated 12 x 12 Paper
    • Begonia, Powder and White Glitter Tape
    • 1/4″ Hole Punch
    • Scissors
    • Zots Glue Dots
    • Black Marker or Pen

Instructions:

    1. Use templates provided to cut out shapes from indicated papers.
    2. Adhere shapes onto corresponding egg shapes using glue dots, then glue googly eyes in place.
    3. Embellish bottoms of eggs with strips of glitter tape as shown and trim off excess.
    4. For bunny’s nose, punch out a circle from the pink glitter paper using 1/4″ hole punch and glue in place.
    5. Draw in bunny’s mouth and whiskers using black marker or pen.
    6. Great for sending Easter wishes or gift tags or place cards.

Courtesy of Paper Source

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Sock Bunny Craft Project

Here's a fun project you can do with your kids for Easter and those socks missing it's mate. For the holidays I made some snowmen similar to these bunnies.

Materials:
Spoon or funnel
Dried lentils
Child's sock
Rubber band
Ribbon
Scissors
Felt
White pom-pom or cotton ball
Tacky glue

Instructions:
1.) To make your own bunny beanbag, use a spoon or a funnel to add dried lentils to a child's sock, filling it up just past the heel. Close the sock with a tightly looped rubber band.

2.) To create the head and neck, tie a ribbon around the sock just below the heel.

3.) Use scissors to cut the sock's cuff into two ears, rounding the edges to give them the right shape.

4.) Cut a nose, teeth, and eyes from felt. Attach the facial features and a white pom-pom or cotton ball tail with tacky glue.

Courtesy of Family Fun 

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Bunnies Made from Hard Boiled Eggs

Was perusing through the USA Weekend magazine I saw this cute craft idea for Easter. While you’re hard-boiling eggs for dyeing and decorating, add a few extras to create these sweet-faced critters. Just peel off the shells to begin.

Hoppy Hare. Cut a slice from the side of an egg so that it sits flat. Insert two flat carrot slice ears and chive whiskers. Stick on a carrot triangle nose and black sesame seed eyes.

Pretty-in-Pink Rabbit. Two days before you plan to serve the eggs, open a jar of pickled beets and replace the beets with peeled hard-boiled eggs. Completely submerge the eggs and place the jar in the refrigerator. After two days, drain the eggs and pat them dry. Cut and assemble the eggs as shown here. Add a carrot triangle nose, chive whiskers and black sesame seed eyes. *Was not able to find corresponding image online so had to take one with my phone.

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Stamped Easter Eggs

Stamping is another fun way to decorate your Easter eggs.

Instructions:
1. Prepare the eggs ahead of time. Start with washing the raw eggs with soap and water. Thoroughly rinse and dry the shell and set aside.
Note: If you prefer or are doing this project with children, use boiled eggs. However, if you are not using non-toxic ink it would be best not to consume the eggs.

2. Use a needle to poke a hole in the top and bottom of the egg and blow out the contents inside into a bowl.

3. Rinse the shells again and set aside to dry thoroughly.

4. Choose small stamp designs to avoid slipping. Then stamp the images in rows or randomly to create the design you wish.
5. Use a clear wax crayon to draw over portions or the entire image. The wax will serve as a sort of mask preventing the dye from covering the parts of the egg where the wax crayon was applied.

6. Dip eggs in the dyeing liquid. The longer the egg is left in the dye, the contrast will be developed between the vibrant the dye color and the white shell color.

7. Remove the eggs from the dye and let dry completely.

8. To create the egg stands, cut 1.25 inch (or wider) by 5.5 inch long strips of patterned paper or cardstock. Stamp border designs or other images along the length of the paper and highlight with markers. Apply adhesive to the ends and form a cylinder shape to support the egg.

9. Add additional embellishments at this time; gems, buttons, etc.

Courtesy of Fiskars

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Natural Easter Eye Dye Recipes

If you've got some left over produce that's starting to go little bad or you have scraps laying around, here's a great way to get some use out of them before discarding. Use these all-natural dye recipes made from household ingredients to create Easter eggs in beautifully subdued shades. Leave eggs soaking in the dye in the refrigerator overnight for the richest colors.

Bluish-Gray
Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water, bring to room temperature, and remove blueberries.

Blue
Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar. Let cool to room temperature and remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.

Jade Green
Peel the skin from 6 red onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Green-Yellow
Peel the skin from 6 yellow apples. Simmer in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer 4 oz. chopped fennel tops in 1-1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Orange
Take the skin of 6 yellow onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Red-Orange
Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Yellow
Rich yellow: Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrot tops in 1-1/2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Mustard-yellow: Stir 2 Tbsp. turmeric into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Various shades: Steep 4 bags of chamomile or green tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes.
Pale yellow: Chop 4 oz. goldenrod and simmer in 2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Faint yellow: Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. vinegar.

Brown-Gold
Simmer 2 Tbsp. dill seed in 1 cup water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Brown
Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup strong coffee.

Pink
Faint pink: Chop 4 oz. amaranth flowers and simmer in 2 cups water; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer the skins from 6 avocados in 1-1/2 cup water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Mix 1 cup pickled beet juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
Dark pink: Cut 1 medium beet into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar and let cool to room temperature; remove beets.

Lavender
Mix 1 cup grape juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Have you tried naturally dying your eggs? If so, do share what color combos you came up with and would love to see some photos. 

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!

Eco-Friendly Homemade Cleaning Solutions

Now that Spring is upon us I am inspired to start my Spring cleaning projects. Growing up my mom would have a spray bottle filled with water and vinegar in it and this was always her go-to spray for cleaning. Now that I'm a mom, I experiment with eco-friendly homemade cleaning solutions using ingredients such as baking soda, essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint and orange) lemons, salt, and vinegar. Here are some tips on making your own cleaning products.

Baking Soda
Baking Soda is great as a deodorizer, use to remove stale odors from carpets by liberally sprinkling with baking soda,  wait a few hours and then vacuum. Leave an open bowl of baking soda in the fridge. Soak plastic containers in warm water and baking soda overnight to eliminate lingering food smells. Sprinkle some baking soda at the bottom of your kitchen trash can before putting in the garbage bag.

Baking soda also works great as a cleaner on the counter, bathtub, sink and tile cleaner. Liberally apply baking soda with a damp sponge or rag, let it sit for a few minutes then scour and rinse.

Lemons
Put some lemon peels or any citrus peels (my favorite is clementine) through the garbage disposal to eliminate odors.

To clean the microwave, fill a bowl with 1 cup of water and few tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Place in a microwave and turn it to a high setting to allow steam to condense on the walls. Carefully remove bowl of water and wipe the inside of the microwave with a warm damp rag.

Salt
Salt is great for great for preventing red wine from setting into the carpet and rug. Pour a generous amount of salt over the spill for a few hours and then vacuum once it's absorbed the red wine.

For those pots and pans that have stubborn and hard to remove grease, sprinkle some salt onto the cookware to absorb the excess grease then dump out the salt before washing. Salt should not be used on nonstick cookware.

Vinegar
Vinegar makes for an excellent all-purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and can be used to clean most surfaces around the house. Be sure to test a small surface before cleaning as vinegar should definitely not be used on marble.

To make your own toilet bowl cleaner, pour 1 cup of vinegar into toilet bowl with approximately 1/4 cup of baking soda, watch the mixture foam and then scrub and flush.


There are countless number of homemade cleaning solutions out there but these are just a few that I often use. I also will sometimes mix essential oils to the solutions for a little aromatherapy and an extra perk is that many of the essential oils I use also have antiseptic properties. What is your favorite homemade cleaning solution or must have item(s) when cleaning? Would love to hear your tips and suggestions.

Keep up with all the postings by following us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe Here for our daily eNewsletter!