How to make an ironing board cover

I decided I needed to make myself a new ironing board cover. Mine was so gross! It had all sorts of things on it from my projects. So, a new one was definitely in order!

You will need:
* 2 yards of fabric
* 1/4 inch elastic
* Water soluble pen
* ruler

Preshrink your fabric by washing and drying and then give it a good iron so it will be nice and crisp.

Lay your fabric wrong side up on a table or the floor and place your ironing board on it.

Take your ruler and measure out a 3 inch mark with the water soluble pen every so far all the way around the ironing board. This will give you your guide to cut out your pattern.

Iron the edges down 1/2 inch

Iron the edges down another 1/2 inch and sew. Leave about a 3 inch opening for the elastic.

Now to get the amount of elastic I needed, I just done a little over half way around the board, going around the top. Like in the picture below.

Once you cut your elastic to the amount needed. Time to thread it through the casting. I pin one end to my project so it doesn't get lost and do another safety pin on the other end the thread it through.

Once your elastic is pulled through to the other side, sew the two ends together and pull all the elastic in the casting. Sew your opening up.

Wala! Now you've got yourself a fast and cute new ironing board cover! Exciting isn't it?

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

This homemade liquid laundry soap is great plus it's wallet friendly! Yay! Gotta love those words... Wallet Friendly!

My sister in law introduced me to making my own laundry detergent and I'm so glad she did! I was a little skeptical at first, only because my kiddos have super sensitive skin, but it works like a charm!



I use a large bucket to store my soap and I put a copy of the recipe onto the lid.




You will need:
* 1 bar of grated homemade soap (3-4 oz) - I get mine from my sister-in-law and her family who have a small soap business. You should check them out HERE

* 1/2 cup washing soda

* 1/2 cup borax Powder

* Water

* Bucket for your soap (about a 2 gallon size)

Optional: You can add 1/2 - 1 oz. of an essential/ fragrance oil of your choice.

Directions:

Place the grated soap into a saucepan.
Add 6 cups of water and heat it until the soap melts.
Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until dissolved.
Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket.
Now add your soap mixture and stir.
Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.
You use 1/2 cup per load. You may need to stir the mixture between loads. Mixture should have an "egg noodle soup" consistency.

Now isn't that just easy peasy!!!