How to make Bath Salt

Making your own bath salt is a lot easier than you may think and you can customize it too! If you have really dry skin, just add a little more essential oil. You can even customize it for a mother-to-be shower gift by doing pink or blue! I know I would love some relaxing, good smelling bath salt when my body is hurting from being pregnant! 

It's relaxing and smells yummy!

It's a win -win situation!

I usually do a lavender color with my lilac fragrance but I thought I would mix it up a little this time and do pink and blue. 

You Will Need:

* Large bowl /spoon for mixing

* Epsom Salt

* Sea Salt

* Food coloring

* Fragrance (meant for soaps, bath salts, salt bombs.... etc) Don't use candle fragrance!

* Essential Oil OR Coconut Oil

Depending on how big of a batch you want to make, all the ingredient amount will vary. I usually make a large batch so it will last a while.

Pour about 2 cups of Sea Salt and about 2 cups of Epsom Salt into your bowl. Give it a quick mix. 

Add your fragrance to the mix. I just do this to by how strong I want it to be. I don't have a certain amount of fragrance drops I use. Just depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

Melt about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and pour into the bowl. Give it a really good mix. If you used essential oil, follow the directions on the back.

Now, do a few drops of the food coloring of your choice. You will only need a few drops! Remember, you can always add more to make the color darker but you can't take it out!

Wowwza... the colors look really bright here! They aren't that dark in person. I made a light blue and light pink.

Now you can fill your cute jar with your bath salt! 

If it's a gift, you can tie a little ribbon with a scoop on it! My dear sister-in-law actually gave me the scoop with some bath salts for Christmas last year. I love it!

Happy Relaxing!

How to Free Motion Quilt

Free Motion Quilting has become one of my new favorite things to do. All you need is a free motion foot.

Once your quilt is sandwiched together, you can either do a stitch in the ditch quilting, free motion quilt, or free motion quilt following a template.

1) Stitch in the ditch means you will stitch exactly where all your pieces are sewn together. You won't see it from the front, but you will on the back.

2) Free motion quilting is basically just going with the flow... wherever you're guided. It's just your own masterpiece.

3) Free motion quilting with a template means you will trace a pattern with a water soluble pen or pencil onto your fabric and follow it.

Don't be afraid... I promise it isn't as scary as it may seem at first.

TIP: Remember to ALWAYS LOWER you feed dogs on your machine and use the smallest stitch length before free motion quilting!

The first thing you want to do when quilting with any method is to pull your bobbin thread through, so it's on top of your quilt with you top thread. I like to start on a corner and work my way over.

Next you will want to secure it so it won't unravel... just stitch back and forth a little bit like back stitching free motion style.

I like stippling personally. Here is stippling I done on my MIL's quilt.

Also... remember while you're quilting to watch out for the safety pens holing your quilt sandwich together.

Always take them before you get to that spot.

Great Gift Idea

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We were certainly blessed! Things are just getting back to a real normal around here. I took a little much needed break after Christmas and then ALL of my kids got that nasty lingering bug going around! So glad that's done!

I just wanted to share two of the gifts I received that I fell in love with!

My best friend/ sister-in-law (I know, I'm lucky... not many people can say that) got me the cutest gift at a craft fair!

 Isn't it just adorable!? I'm no photographer, but I'm sure with a nice camera, someone could easily depict this type of gift. Love it!

Check out one of my other favorite gifts Here

Sew fun ornament

My daughters' wonderful Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Lynn, got each parent a special ornament and this little sewing machine was mine!

Isn't it just adorable!? I love it, so of course I HAD to share it with all of you! 

How to Back a Quilt

The first time I done a quilt I was terrified! I always thought they had to be so hard, but they really aren't. So, don't be scared of trying. You CAN do it!!! 

Okay... lets get started, shall we?! The quilt I'll be binding in the pictures is a different quilt than in the above picture, but it's the same process.

You Will Need:

* Your quilt top

* Batting of your choice

* Basting Spray and/or large safety pins

* Backing material

* Painter's tape

You will need to sew your back material together to make one large piece. This all depends on how large or how small your quilt is. Just measure your quilt top and figure it by remembering that most fabrics come in a width between 40-45". And one yard is 36" (If your doing a larger quilt, I would really go for the 44-45" width though) You can also buy backing fabric, which is one large piece of fabric already together for you. 

TIP: Always make you backing material about 4-5" wider than your top on all sides! This is important for the quilting part! 

Once you have your backing material ready to size,  lay it on a hard surface like hardwood/laminate flooring
(right side fabric down). If you have a table big enough, that would work too.

Tape the entire back piece every so far. I do one on every corner and two or three on the sides. Play around with it until it is nice and taunt.

Spray your basting spray on your backing in sections while laying down your batting. Now, do the same thing for the top piece. You should now have a 3 layer sandwich. You can choose to also pin all three layers together with large safety pins. You don't have to do the basting spray and pins, but I like to... just to keep things together a little more.

Now you're ready for quilting, either stitch in the ditch or do free motion quilting.