HomeSchool HomeEc

First, I just have to say that I thought I would never use the words “simple” and “sewing” in the same sentence!! Ever. But here I am.

I have determined in my heart to learn to sew. Again. I have claimed Phillipians 4:13 and I am on my way.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

So I started off praying. And then I went in search of a book to help me. I didn’t want to take a class because I’ve already been through three sewing classes and let’s just say I wasn’t up for any more humiliation.

And then I found this book.

I used my coupons and bought some fabric, thread, rickrack and a drawstring cord. The book starts with the easiest skirt to make and progressively gets more difficult. If I had worked on it all at one time, I imagined it would’ve taken me about 3 or 4 hours. And that’s only because I re-read the instructions at least three or four times before going to the next thing. I worked s-l-o-w because I was unsure. Next skirt will be faster.

I am going to find my camera and share some pics!!

None of my babies have ever really had a big attachment to a pacifier but definitely to bottles. I am not sure how good this idea would work for a bottle, I guess okay as long as it is empty. But then again, my babies only wanted a bottle if it had something to drink in it anyway.

Most babies want the pacifier more as a security attachment than a need to suck once they get a little older. I always try to get rid of bottles and pacifiers by the first birthday. If the child has shown reluctance to giving it up, try this idea. Take scissors and cut the tip off the pacifier. They won’t be able to hold it in their mouth with just a little nub but will still like to carry it for awhile. Soon they will get tired of carrying it because they will want to put it down to play. And then they are broken, yeah!

For all kinds of other wonderful tips click on the banner below.

If you are prone to sore or strep throats this is of great interest to you. Did you know that Echinnechea is used to kill the strep virus? Naturally? There are tons of herbs that can help with congestion/colds/flu.

But I am so excited to share what I finally made:

The tincture has to cure for about 6 weeks and the strained before I can use it but that should be perfect timing for colds to hit. But the salve is a healing salve with comfrey root and some others and has worked wonders on a burn that I had. I also use it for a little rash that had broke out.

I don’t want to go into details because there might be some type of  copyright infringement but I bought the Herbal Medicine Making Kit from Learning Herbs. You also get a free 30 day membership to Herb Mentor which is an invaluable resource to anyone serious about natural herbs for healing. I can’t wait to see how well the tincture works and to make more stuff soon.

You can click on the banner below to be taken to their site. There are tons of free information you gleam from right now.

I know I never do memes at this blog, I do them all at my other blog, Friendship Alley.  But….I know there are many insightful and much more computer literate people out there and I figured instead of my searching around everywhere online, I would just ask and see if the answers come.

Today, that is if it is received today, I am going to work on changing this template. I want to do it before I get too much stuff on it. However, I have no idea how. I ordered a template and I am going to make my daughter  has offered to add the graphics for me. The only thing is I am not sure how to physically move everything. I think I remember how to add the template in and then choose it but will all my stuff just move over automatically? How can I insure it doesn’t get lost somewhere in cyber world? Maybe I shouldn’t be so cheap and just pay to have someone do this for me…naw, it’s a learning experience and that I can’t pass up.

Who couldn’t use a little extra cash? We are a family of seven living off of one income. So not only do I try to live frugally but I also try to make a little extra money whenever, however I can. Unfortunately I do not have any sure methods that will give you a six figure income and besides what would work for one person might not work for another.

I have a background in accounting but when God lead me to be a stay at home mom I had to tap into some other skills to supplement our income. I am going to share with you what I have done and hopefully others will jump in and comment on what has worked for them. Since that time I was determined that I would equip my girls to have skills that they could make money while being at home.

This seems to be a popular subject too. I had several questions from commenters concerning this:

diane d Says:
Question: What is the most profitable business one can enter and work from home?
Peculiar Says:

I would like the question answered, “What things can children do to make extra money at home, or start their own business from their own interests?” Also, I would like answered, “What can SAHM do to earn money? There are so many schemes out there that try and give (or sell) advice on this, but I haven’t seen anything relevant or workable yet. I’d like to do something where I can use my talents or skills, or learn a new skill, have flexible hours, enjoy doing it, and make a little extra money, with no fine print or scheme attached.”

Trisha Says:

thanks for the giveaway. I guess my question is do you know how to get into doing product reviews to either earn some money from home, or just get to try out new things for your family?

Tammy Darling Says:
Can the average mother really make money at home?
Thanks for the contest.

Karen Says:
I am looking to start earning money from home for several reasons, but we have a special needs child that requires a moderate amount of attention throughout the day. Any suggestions on where to get started?

(as you can see I have finally figured the best way to address the questions I received from the Bloggy Giveaway by grouping similar questions <G>)

Since my background was accounting, I started from there. For a very short while I did a little bookkeeping from home for self-employed people. This didn’t last very long but the experience from this (and of course from my previous job) equipped me to do all of our own work when we eventually owned our own company. The good thing was that the income, though small, was steady.

Then I did cake decorating. I had always wanted to try this and figured I would take classes and start making cakes before I left my full time job. This way I had established a customer base before I left. Most of my business came from word of mouth. I did regular cakes for employee birthday parties. My sister had me do a cake for a co-worker once. Soon word spread and I got my foot in the door to make the cake to make the birthday cake each month. I would always leave a few business cards (which you can get FREE at vistaprint.com) when I delivered the cake (I did charge a little more for delivery but seeing that the advertising opportunity alone was huge this way, I didn’t mind making this delivery!)  Employees would get a piece of cake, pick up a card and whenever they needed a cake, they would give me a call.

From time to time I would babysit. Although this is a way a lot of people make money to stay at home, it is not my cup of tea. Sorry guys, I know I have five kids, but I just really don’t enjoy everyone else’s kids for long periods of time. At least not 8-9 hrs a day every day. I require quite “me” time to recharge my batteries sometimes and I also like to just go on a whim and kids, especially other’s, cramp my style. This is because I really hate the responsibility when I am driving someone else’s kids. But I do enjoy it short term.  And I am a pushover and can’t say no when I know someone needs me until they can find a permanent sitter.

I have done mystery shopping. I think the only way this could be profitable is if you were to live in a major metropolis area. Even when I did this, I lived in a bigger city but the jobs just weren’t there to make much money. But it was very fun and there are several companies out there. BEWARE: there are also alot of scams and you should never have to pay for this service. There is even a course you can take to become certified. I would also think with gas prices being what they are, you might find it difficult to make enough considering the time and gas to make this worth your while.

Do your hobby. I have scrapbooked for people who didn’t either have the time or the creativity to do it themselves. Sometimes I would just make blank pages and they inserted their own pics and sometimes they have handed me a shoebox of photos and gave me free reign. I’ve tried soap and candlemaking. Both were too hard with little ones in the way for me to do for a full term commitment. I love photography and am looking now into doing freelance to sell stock photography. You could paint or sew or can. Teach someone how to do something. Give music lessons? Think about your talents and how you can market them. There is an online store Etsy that I absolutely love. I have bought from there but have not had enough time to really open a place there. And if you don’t know what would sell good right now, check out the alchemy section where people post what they are looking for and artists bid on the opportunity to make it for them. Very cool.

Do you like to cook? How about making meals for professionals that work long hours and get tired of eating out/take out? You could easily make two of something, like lasagna, the next time you make it for your family anyway and freeze the extra. I learned how to can a couple of years ago. Although my family uses most of what I can, I also give them away in gift baskets but just as easily could sell them at a local farmers market.  My sister is a raw food vegan and has made salad dressings and sold them thru health food stores.

Then of course there’s the internet. You can always do Ebay. And there are other auction sites as well. You can sell books thru Amazon or Half. There are a few sites that you can sell used homeschool curriculum. And you can make money with your blog. If you visit my personal blog, Friendship Alley, you will see on the left side bar companies that I am affiliated with. This means whenever someone visits that site by clicking from my blog, and make a purchase, I get a small commission. On the right side you will see an icon for Pay Per Post. This is where I basically write an advertising post. I get paid for each post that is a sponsored ad. The affiliate is not a sure thing so don’t actually depend on the money. However, the PPP is. Depending on the rating of your blog, you will get offers from advertisers. It is done on a first come first serve kinda thing and there are only so many slots for each opportunity. After awhile you will see a trend as far as what time of day most of the ops are posted, ect. Some days I can do a full days (you can only do 3 a day) and sometimes I get only 1 a week. But that’s usually when I can only get online very little that week to check the opportunity listings. There are others out there too, I just chose PPP because I had a choice. Some of the others, you have to take what you are given. I haven’t added anything to this site yet for a way to make money but I will soon.

Now, some ideas for kids. First, don’t automatically discard the above ideas for kids. My favorite music teacher I ever hired to teach my daughter was barely fifteen. My kids have mowed grass, cleaned houses, babysat, scrapbooked, designed logos/graphics, yard work, and washed cars. I have paid for a mother’s helper before. A mother’s helper is not a  fully in-charge babysitter but I am home at the same time. Responsibilities can be to help with children or cleaning. Even tutoring. (I have an adult friend that tutors and makes good money from home doing this.)

Party planning is great fun. With the whole stress a party can cause, especially a child’s, a lot of people will simply hire someone to do it for them. Write up some theme ideas from invitations, games, even food and make fliers. Advertise at daycare centers or children’s consignment stores.

Think about where you live and what is needed there. We live near a huge retirement community. A personal shopper would be great for elderly people who do not want to have to run their own errands. Also, there are alot of farms here. We could raise chickens and sell free range eggs.

I am toying with the idea of getting back into cake decorating. Not only was it the best way I made money from home, but it’s a great skill I want to teach my kids. When I got out of cake decorating, fondant was just becoming the big thing. I tasted my first fondant cake and figured there was no way I could in good conscience serve a cake that did not taste good, regardless of how appealing it looked. Fondant gives a smooth finish to any cake but honestly, it is so sweet that very, very few people will actually eat the stuff.

And then I found this. A delicious fondant recipe. Yup, delicious.  Approved by all of my four picky kids. (Sorry, would let the baby try it.) I know buying pre-made fondant is so easy. But it gets expensive and lacks in the taste department. As with everything, but especially with this, buy quality ingredients. It will make the biggest difference, please no store brands for this (you should take this advice seriously because I am the queen of store brand but will not skimp on this.) If you try this and decorate a cake, I would love to have you share it here.

 Marshmallow Fondant Recipe  

16 oz. white mini-marshmallows

If stored AIRTIGHT in a refrigerator this can keep for a few weeks.

1. Holly Says:
   Terrific blog. I’ve look around and subscribed. I’d like to know what you use for stains: grease stains, grass stains… (I have boys!)

Grass stains? well, I’m still looking for a sure thing. Mostly, if I can get to it right away, I pour some undiluted laundry detergent directly on the stain and rub it in. Depending on how bad it is and how long it’s been there, sometimes this works, or at least fades it. I’ll research and try some things and see if I can come up with a better answer.

As far as grease stains, this sounds weird, but you need to spray it with WD-40 to activate the grease again. Rub it in and immediately put it in the wash. Usually this works, sometimes you have to do it more than once. I have found it works best if you work the WD40 in and then put some detergent directly on it and work that in to and then wash.

***Do not ever put stained clothes in the dryer, the heat will “set” the stain, keep trying stain removal methods and rewashing as necessary***

1. reeva Says:
   here’s my question for the blog..or questions.. Do you have a recipe for homemade laundry detergent? What products to you recommend for ‘green’ cleaning?

Why, yes I do. In fact, I got something a little better, a picture tutorial. It is posted right here. As far as “green” cleaning, the majority of the time, I only use vinegar, borax, baking soda and lemon juice to clean with. There are plenty of sites that will give cleaning recipes. I will post some later too. Vinegar is safe for just about everything. I refuse to have ammonia in the house because it is too dangerous to be around kids. My bleach is only reserved for extreme cases and is kept on the highest shelf in my laundry room. Vinegar will disinfect just about anything safely. Not only is cleaning green safer for your family and the environment, but it’s a frugal alternative!

1. Sarah Says:Any good suggestions for getting mildew out of clothing?? My 3 year old left a nice pair of capri pants out side, I found them about a week and several storms later, they have little black mildew stains all over them.

First you need to brush off any mildew that you can, do this outside as the spores are alive and you don’t want to breathe them. I would then saturate the area with lemon juice and set the garment outside. You can add salt to the lemon juice to “scratch” the juice into the stain. If this doesn’t work you might have to resort to using bleach. Read my post about using bleach to remove stains on colored items.

1. Paula H Says:
   What’s the best way to remove chocolate from clothes? It’s the one thing I can not seem to get out.

Here’s something very helpful for chocolate stain removal. Since I am a visual learner this is the best site to learn from. I couldn’t get the video to load on here so you can just follow this link to watch How To Remove Chocolate Stains.

1. Carol Says:
   Question: how often do you use your crockpot, and do you think people should use them more because of the economy?

I do try to use my crockpot every weekend. Especially when we are on a tighter budget. If I know there is a meal in the crockpot, we are not tempted to go out to eat after Sunday School and will just go home. But if I still have to cook a full meal….well, no one wants to wait another hour when they are already hungry.

As far as economy…you can definitely make more frugal meals with a crockpot and I am all for that. However, the longer you cook food, (read: vegetables) the more nutritional value you lose. Actually, to get the most nutrients out of your veggies, you should eat them raw, or steamed. But…you just really need a balance.

One of my favorite meals in the crockpot is Pot Roast. It’s very forgiving and you really can’t go wrong. And it is actually better using the cheaper meats. I place the roast in the bottom of the crockpot. Then I take a knife and make slits thru the meat so the seasonings can penetrate. I place cubed potatoes and carrot slices over the meat. Sometimes I will also throw in a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Then I sprinkle more seasoning and add about 1 c. of water. I have a very large crockpot, otherwise I would use half that amount of water. My favorite seasoning is Adobe with the red lid. You can find it in the Mexican food section of your local grocer. Then I just cook it over night and eat it for the follow day lunch. Usually about 10 to 12 hours.

1. leigh Says:
   
   what are your favorite things to cook?
   thanks!

This is a tough question. I love to cook about everything. But mostly anything that is simple and quick. Like appetizers. And desserts. Okay, the more I think about it, I love to bake cookies. At Christmastime we make hundreds of different cookies and make platters to give out to family and friends. My favorite cookie is already posted on here, Ultimate Peanutty Chocolate Chip Cookies.

When I recently joined in the huge quarterly Bloggy Giveaway, I asked that each commenter ask a question that they would like to see my answer as part of their entry. I received 62 comments so I have quite a bit to post about now. This is the first in a long series!

Victoria Says:

Do you know of any good natural bug repellents for kids or babies?

 Well, my first thought on this is citronella. You are used to seeing it in candles and maybe sprays. But it also comes in essential oils. You should always dilute essential oils with a carrier, such as almond oil, jojoba oil or a really good grade of olive oil.

Pennyroyal is commonly used as well.

I recently had a skin irritation that I used Neems Oil for. I would think the smell would definitely be a turn off for any critter, it is for humans!

Tea Tree Oil is always something to be used for anything skin related.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can find natural insect repellents at the health food store or even your grocery store in the organic foods section. Which might be cheaper than buying all of the essential oils that you need. Unless of course you are in this for the long haul and will need the oils anyway or if you make your own essential oils.

Eucalyptus oil 3 parts to 7 parts carrier is supposed to be the most effective. (The eucalyptus oil must have minimum of 70% cineole content to be effective).

If you would would like to make your own, here’s a recipe I found:

1/2 ounce citronella oil

1/4 ounce lavender oil

1/8 ounce pennyroyal oil

1/8 ounce tea tree oil

1/8 ounce jojoba oil

** all of these are referring to essential oils. You will need to add 16 oz. of a carrier oil (mentioned before) and mix well before you rub on your skin. I would think that you could use any one or combination of the same oils and get the same effect, except the lavender. I think that’s only added for our benefit.

Of course one of the best methods is prevention in the first place: make sure there is no standing water as breeding grounds, mosquitoes are worse late afternoon and evening, do not wear floral or fruity smelling perfume (or even shampoos, deo’s, etc) and cover as much skin as possible. If you are outside in the same area  alot,  I would definitely be burning those citronella torches. Also, include marigolds, geraniums, catnip and lemongrass to your landscape.   And if you are grilling outside, throw some sage or rosemary on the coals, the aroma will also help.

Remember that your skin is your largest organ and your body does absorb whatever you rub on it. Use anything sparingly and cautiously. Essential oils are made with alcohol. If you are needing an insect repellent for a very young child or baby, I would use one part garlic juice to five parts water, shake in a bottle and spray on. Or rub on soybean oil.  These would be the absolute safest remedies I could think of.