Traditions

Today in Shari’s corner of Texas…

I know the holidays are when most of us think about traditions. It’s hard not to remember when the kids were young, or the smell of food cooking in grandma’s kitchen. Ah, now I want my grandmother’s cornbread dressing.

However, for today, I’m talking about the more day-to-day traditions, and passing on skills that may be lost if we don’t make the time to share them with our youth. It is tough to get them to step away from all the electronic distractions, but I have found that once they start working on something, and see it coming together, they also begin to enjoy it. Okay, maybe not always, but more often than not.

A few years ago, I ended up scoring a chair that once belonged to my grandmother. It was long past the need for a makeover, so I decided I’d learn to reupholster so I could make it something she’d have loved.

Here’s how it looked when it was given to me:

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Okay, the cat did not come with the chair. 😉

Her favorite color was purple, and she was a fun woman, so my choices of upholstery ran along those lines.

Here is how that vision manifested itself:

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By no means a perfect job, but I still love it, and I know she would, too. I can imagine her sitting there as I write this.

I found reupholstering furniture to be something I enjoyed. It’s tough to find people who do this anymore, so being able to do it for myself gave me a sense of accomplishment. More importantly, I get to decide how it looks in the end.

Today, I’m teaching my sons how to reupholster a chair. Sure, they may never do it for themselves, but maybe some day they will simply because I took the time to teach them to do so.

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Of course, I can already hear the arguing over who gets to sit in it.

We all know that answer to that:

MOM!

This holiday, give your family the gift of yourself; it is the most valuable gift you can give them – ever!

Love and best wishes to all,

Shari

Homemade Laundry Soap

I’m about to teach RP to make laundry sauce and I can teach you right now, too…So, let’s get to it.

Here is what you need.

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You will cut the Fels-Naptha laundry bar in half.
Shave it and soak it in hot water overnight.

You will mix 1/2 cup Borax and 1/2 cup A&H super washing soda in your Ninja/blender with 1 cup boiled water.
I ended up with almost 2 cups but that is okay.
I’ll add less water at the end.

Here’s mixing the 2 powders with the hot water. I do this to help break down the crystals.

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Next – Cut the gelatinous bar mix.

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Add it to the Ninja/blender.
Add any essential oils, like lavender, now.
Then mix.

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It takes a few minutes to start looking like whipped cream.
At this point, it’s all about how creamy you want it. Add water as desired.

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That’s my first round. I will add about a half cup more of water and let it go.

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When it’s to the creamy consistency that you want, it’s time to pour it into your container.   Here’s my jar, all ready for another batch of laundry ‘sauce’ as I call it.

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I don’t actually count the number of loads of laundry I do, but this batch will last me about a month and the cost, well you can’t beat the cost…  Easy peasy to make and less than $1.25 per batch.

Once it is ready, you can begin using it immediately! I use 1 rounded tablespoon for most loads, but you can adjust according to size of load and the amount of “dirt” you need to remove from your clothes.

I made up a batch a few months ago to give the Jen and to our Mother.  They both love it.

Now two things to note:

It is not sudsy like regular soap you buy, and you’ll need vinegar to clear the soap film from your Ninja/blender.

On the other hand, a non sudsy laundry soap is actually a bonus… And needing to wash your Ninja/blender out with vinegar isn’t a bad thing either.

So, mix some up and enjoy the difference in your clothes and the savings to your wallet.

Oh and a shout out to the site where I originally found the recipe: http://www.hometalk.com/12194185/laundry-sauce-easy-five-minute-laundry-soap-tutorial

Love,

Shari

Happenings Around the 4Texas Sisters

It’s been pretty busy for a while all around the 4TexasSisters households.  Lots going on but not a lot we’d want to write about, ya know …lol

Though I’ve got tons of stuff to share about what’s been going on, I’ll just give a recap of what’s coming up.  How’s that?

And since it’s always hard to know where to start when there are four of us, I’ll start with the eldest and and work my way down the sister chain.

Pat’s been grandparent sitting.  First we had Ethan, now we also have the new addition… Elise.  sorry, no pics right now, but maybe in the future.  However, you can get a glimpse of Ethan if you go to bcalease.com.  You could say he’s the Christmas cover story over there… OR you could just say “he’s adorable” .. either works.  Am sure Elise will end up as a star over there in the future, but right now she’s barely 2 months old, so we’ll let her grow up a bit first.

Anyway, that’s not all that’s happening in Pat’s house.

She’s pulled out those rusty paint brushes and I have to tell you, this woman needs no warm up time… when she paints, she paints.

Check this out.  Gorgeous, huh?

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Keep up the good work, Pat.  We look forward to seeing more soon.

So, moving from the Pat house to the Deb house… Deb’s been super busy too, and evidently is the real jet-setter this year as she gets ready to go on a cruise.  Yep, she’s our cruise child for the year.  lol

She’s been tearing it up with her embroidery machine and sewing machine, revamping her clothes and stealing some of the husband’s to make into her own.

Check out this man’s pair of pants that Deb will now be sporting as a skirt… all trimmed out.

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She’s also been burning up that embroidery work, but I don’t want to expose ALL our projects in one post.

I didn’t get invited on this cruise, but I did get invited to babysit Harley, the wiener dog and there may be a t-shirt involved in this deal (  lol )so, I guess, I’ll go for door number 2, babysitting the dog.

Moving on, to … ME?  Well, I’ve been busy getting my sewing corner set back up and burning up a few threads myself.  This is a bedside caddy I made for one of my grand nieces who has headed off to her first year of college as of the end of August.

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I have to say, I honestly had no idea what I was doing as it all came together.  And I discovered what I’ve probably always known, but kept a secret….   I am a POCKET FREAK.  That bedside caddy ended up with 2 main panels and a total of 15 pockets… which is the dream come true for people who want everything literally within arm’s reach.  I think the only thing that won’t fit in one of those pockets is the kitchen sink.. However, there’s a spot for a water bottle, so that’s close.  Huh?

Oh, and the fabric?  Well, the main solid blue came from the grand niece’s great grandmother on her granddad’s side.  There’s some solid blue jean fabric on it. That came from her great grandmother on her grandmother’s side.  the blue glittery fabric came from my stash I’ve been carrying around since before I moved back to Texas from Florida.  AND the denim Jeans pockets, well, err uh, a few came off the behind of a pair of my old jean shorts.

So, moving along… to last but not least of the happenings in our 4TexasSisters households… Let’s go see what Shari’s been up to.

Pumpkins and furniture.

I have to say Shari and Pat both bring out the décor for each season and holiday.  Sometimes visiting one of their houses is like visiting fantasy land.  lol   Always, always, looks so …. seasonal… oh and awesome, of course.

And since Fall is in the air… Shari is making pumpkins… and pumpkins and…… more pumpkins..  here are just a few that are still in the works.

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AND… she’s become our furniture upcycle gal….  Yesterday she and Ryan were caught working on the springs of a chair.  ok, so Ryan was caught.  I guess Shari had to take the pic.  lol

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And there’s more going on with all of us, but I’ll save that for another post.

So, in the mean time….

Live Every Moment, Love Beyond Words, Laugh Everyday,

~Jen