All things Homemade!

So I'm on this new "homemade" kick right now and have been inspired by all of the different blogs and websites I've been reading to try several new things.  It started several months ago when I decided I wanted to make a gift for a baby shower, instead of buy the usual cute outfit, or teething toy.  I had seen a gift someone had a made at a shower once before called "cupcake onsies", so I sat down and tied to reproduce what I had seen. 

 They went over pretty well, everyone loved them.  A few months later was my little sister's baby shower and I wanted to do something more than just the onsies.  I watched a couple different tutorials online about how to make a diaper cake.  I took some ideas from each of them and started putting one together.  It turned out ok, definitely not professional but not bad for a first timer!

By then I had gotten the "bug"!  A few months later was my other little sister's baby shower and I tried again.

It turned out a little better this time, but still not exactly what I wanted, now I just have to wait for someone else to have a shower so that I can try again!!  In the meantime, while surfing through some crafty blogs I found the idea for a tea towel cake.  Similar to the diaper cake but made with tea towels.   I had been planning a housewarming party for a good friend, so I thought this would make a nice creative gift.  First attempt took only about half an hour and I think it turned out pretty well.  The picture doesn't really show all of the details but you at least get the point.

If you known me for a long time,  you know that I've never really been a "crafty" person, so I'm excited that I've found this new love in something that never interested me before.  It kind of makes me sad that I haven't been doing this stuff all along, it's something that I really enjoy, and I've never really had something that I just enjoy doing that wasn't mandatory, a hobby, I guess you would call it...lol!

So, now that I've realized my interest in "homemade" things, I've decide to expand my horizons.  This week I started making my own laundry detergent and reusable fabric softener dryer sheets.  I realize now that this is something many people have done for a long time, so it may not be as exciting for you as it is for me, but I'm totally excited about it!

For less than $10, I can do about 360 loads of laundry, that's almost a load a day for a year.  The detergent smells so good (and cleans as well or better than anything else I've tried) and who can beat the smell of Gain fabric softener.  I'm hooked! 

So now it's November and time to start thinking about Christmas gifts.  I know homemade gifts aren't everyone's thing, but if you're expecting a gift from me, expect that it will be homemade this year!  Ok, no I won't be making everything myself.  I'm not that handy!  But I do have a plan for some things that I'm going to try out.  I'd love to share them, however a few people that are reading this post, could be on the receiving end of some of my home made items, so I'll have to keep quiet for a little while longer.

In the mean time, Stephen was teasing me last night about all of the homemade things I'm making and asked if I'd figured out how to make my own deodorant.  So.....I found a recipe and will be trying that soon...I'll let you know how it goes!!