Photochallenge Week 5

Here is my photochallenge picture for the week.  I decided to play around with the photo filter in Photoshop.  I learned some new things doing that!  This week, the challenge was to take a picture "looking down."

I am so excited my corn is growing this year...and that I will have more than a cob to eat!

Stache Prize and A Giveaway {From MY Stash!}

Here are the "prizes" I mentioned in the Stache Party introduction.

One random participant will win a pack of 5 homemade cards (by me!)  I made them out of my stash!  If you would like to win ONE of TWO other packs of 5 (of the same prize), there are a three ways you can enter.  (Please leave a separate comment for each AND PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!):

1.  Be a Follower of My Li'l Pumpkin Patch.  Leave a comment and let me know you are following.  If you are already a follower, let me know!
2. "Like" me on Facebook (I have a button at the top right of my page, or a Facebook gadget on the mid-right area of my blog).  Leave a comment and let me know.
3. Follow me on Twitter.  (Button on top right of blog).  Leave a comment to let me know you are following.

The giveaway is open until September 7, 2011.  (This is only open to US residents.)  Two winners will be announced the following Thursday (September 8).  Good Luck!

UPrinting Letterhead Giveaway {Winner!}

The results are in!  I am happy to announce the winner of the 500 Letterheads from UPrinting!

The winner is Carrie, who said, "I follow Li'l Pumpkin Patch! Thanks for the chance to win."

Congrats Carrie!  I will be contacting you via email!  I hope you enjoy your letterheads!

The Stache Party #2 (September)

It is time for another Stache party to begin!  You may start sending me your ideas for this upcoming month!  I have been so impressed with the fun projects that have been turned in and I am excited to share all of them with you tomorrow!

I need you to email your projects to me by September 28th!

If you are new to the Stache Party, please go here for information.

Hang Your Hat Here {Tutorial}

I saw this really great idea over at the Fiskars site.  It inspired me to make these "hat hangers:"

My husband's hats sit in a pile on the shelf in our closet.  I wanted him to have somewhere that was easier to get to them and an easier spot to put them away.  This worked perfectly and I had all of the supplies on hand - which makes it even better!

If you want to make some, all you will need is:

-Wire Hangers cut into 10" pieces (I made 3 out of 1 hanger)

- Cardboard

-Hot Glue

-Paper and/or other embellishments

 First, bend the hanger into a shape like in the above picture.  I bent the top part first, making a nail hole loop, and then the triangular bend. I folded them assembly-line style to try to get them all the same shape. (Pliers help a lot with this step!)

 Cut some circles out of cardboard.  I used a 7up box.  To make the circles, I traced around the inside of a sippy cup lid.  You just want something for your decoration to sit on.

 Hot glue the circle to the wire hanger here.  The triangle gives it more gluing area.

 Then, embellish!  I decided to make so cute little paper pom poms.

I also added some sparkly black brads to the top.  Before hot gluing, I cut the bottom pieces off with pliers.  I just love walking into my laundry room (that's where they are)!  They look so fun hanging on the wall!

I am linking up to these parties and to here.

Pinterest Jewels

I found lots of great jewelry inspiration this past week.  Most of them are from pinterest.  I can't wait to try some of them!

This is actually from Anthropologie.  It think it would be pretty simple to make a similar one.  I love the ribbon tie!

  

Isn't this so cute!  I found it blog stocking this week!  I really want to make one!  I found it here.

With all the chalkboard paint projects, I just had to pin this one.  How fun for a teacher!  Found here.

Check out these cute flowers made out of rick rack!  Found here.

These are called Josephine Knots.  I think this bracelet would be cute with some added pearls too!  This one has a tutorial! Found here.

I found a whole bunch of other really great ideas. Check out my accessories board here.

UPrinting Letterhead Giveaway!

Have you visited the UPrinting website?  They have lots and lots of incredible printing services, and they are all completely customizable!  Some of the products they have to offer, are:

Business Cards!  How fun would it be to have your own business cards to promote your blog!

Canvas prints!  These are all the rage now.  It is a simple way to modernize your home decor!

They also have magnets!  Wouldn't this be a fun way to advertise?  You could even send them to customers if you sell things online!

One lucky reader is going to win 500 (yes, 500!) pieces letterhead! 

Here are the details:

Size: 5.5” x 8.5"

Weight: 70lb

Front Only Printing

4 Business Days Print Turnaround Time (FAST!)

Free Shipping!

(Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only)

The letterheads are customizable!  UPrinting has a program on their site that allows you to create your own look!  Just think of all the possibilities!  With Christmas coming up, use these letterheads to send letters to family and friends!  Use them as thank you notes!  There are endless possibilities!  Wanna know something else?  They also have envelope printing!  You could have matching letterhead and envelopes!

Here's how to enter this awesome giveaway:

You may have up to three entries (please leave a separate comment for each!) Also, please include your email if it isn't linked up to your account.  I will be using random.org to find a winner! 

1. Be a Follower of My Li'l Pumpkin Patch

2.Like My Li'l Pumpkin Patch on Facebook

3. Follow me on Twitter

If you are already a follower, let me know! The last day to enter is next Tuesday, August 30, 2011!  Winner will be announced Wednesday, August 31, 2011.

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive letterhead printing service by hosting. Letterhead design and envelope printing is also available. Please visit UPrinting.com for more details.

Mini Scrapbook Album {Tutorial}

I guest posted this over at Live.Love.Craft a while ago and thought I would share it today, just in case you missed it.  Today I am going to show you how to make this fun little scrapbook album.  This one is perfect for a young girl.  You can use it for pictures and a journal.  It would also be a fun way to remember a birthday party!

You will need 12x12 cardstock, glue, scissors, ribbon, decorative paper and embellishments.  The neat thing about this book is that you can make it as little or big as you want!  Today's tutorial uses two sheets of cardstock.

The first thing you need to do is fold each sheet of cardstock in half.

Then, fold them in half again, the other way.

This is what they should look like.

Fold each sheet diagonally (ONLY 1 WAY!).

Open up the papers and put some glue onto one of the squares that doesn't have the diagonal line running through it.

Glue it down to the other sheet, onto another square without the diagonal line.  It looks like the above picture.  Let it dry for a bit.

Here comes the tricky part.  It really isn't hard, but I have found that some people have a difficult time with this step.

With one sheet, fold the diagonal line pieces into the center.  Then, flip over the album and do the same thing (so the folds are opposite).

This is what it looks like all folded up.  You will need to choose a side and direction for your front cover.  You will want one of the raw (unfolded) edges to be at the right side of the front cover.

Glue a piece of ribbon onto the right side of the front cover.  The length depends on how you want to close the book - either with a knot or with a bow.

In order to line up the ribbons, flip over the album with your first glued ribbon piece on bottom.  Draw a line of glue and set the ribbon down over the bottom piece.  Allow to dry.

I have found that it helps to smash the album in a phone book to keep it flat.  If you use liquid glue, it tends to curl, and this will prevent that.  The next step is to embellish!  I usually cut out a 5 1/2" square for the front and back of my album.  Then I pretty it up with other things.  (It is optional to add embellishments and paper inside also.)

Like I said before, I thought this would be perfect for a young girl, with the butterflies, pearls, and sparklies (I am aware that's not a real word, but I like it still).  I also love to doodle on most of my scrapbook creations.  I think it adds a lot of character, plus, it's so fun!

I have also made these for a girl's camp album, a bridal shower party, and as a gift for my sister.

Here are some details of the cover:

Doodling.  I have found that if you use more than 1 line around the border, it looks much better!  It doesn't matter if the doodling isn't perfect...it adds character!

 It is fun to add lots of different textures.  That's what makes it appealing!

Linking up to these parties!

Versatile Blogger Award

Wow!  It totally made my day this morning as I was reading through emails to discover that I had been given the Versatile Blogger award.  It totally made my day.  Then, as I read through more emails, I found that I had been given the award another time.  I'm not writing this to brag, I just have to say I feel so loved today.  Thanks so much to these wonderful ladies who have given me this award!

There are a couple rules that come with getting this award:


1. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 10 recently discovered blogs. 


The wonderful ladies who gave this to me are:
Marie from My Lil Pink Pocket, and Christy from Christy's Cuties.  Please go visit their blogs and show some love!


Here are some things about myself:
1. I play the flute.
2. My car in high school had several nicknames: jalopy, trusty rusty, the tuna can.  I drove an '82 Toyota Tercel, which was orange.  They are beauties (google one!)
3. I recently joined Pinterest and am LOVING it!
4. My favorite food is Mexican.  I love spicy things!
5. I enjoy cooking and trying out a variety of new recipes.
6. I don't have a middle name.  When I was younger, most of my friends did, and I really wanted one too, so I used to write "Rose" as my middle name.  Ha ha.
7. I love getting fun things in the mail.


Here are some blogs that I have found recently that I would love for you to check out:
1. Taylor Made
2. Procrastination Station
3. A Step In The Journey
4. The Little Birdie Blog
5. Gluesticks
6. It's The Small Things
7. Sewn Escape
8. Life's Sweeter With Chocolate
9. Attack of the Hungry Monster
10. Sweet C's Designs

Homemade Laundry Soap {Tutorial}

I have been seeing a lot of homemade cleaner recipes all over blogland.  My first thought, was, "What a pain!" and "Do they really work as well?"  Then I read a post about homemade laundry soap written by Kadie over and Seven Alive who wrote this great tutorial for powdered laundry soap.  Kadie totally changed my mind.  I decided to try out my own laundry soap.  I was very interested and asked her if she knew if her recipe was safe for high-efficiency washers.  She gave me a link to where she found her recipe, and I was able to find a liquid soap this is He safe.  So, I am going to share with you my adventure in making my own laundry soap.

I found these simple ingredients at my nearest Walmart in the laundry soap section.  They were surprisingly easy to find, and extremely affordable:

Fels-Naptha Soap Bar ($0.97)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda ($3.24)
Borax ($2.98)
(You will also need one 5 gallon bucket with a lid - I also found this at Walmart for a total of $3.71)
(You can also add 1-2 drops of essential oils per 2 gallons once it has cooled)

 The first thing you'll need to do is add 4 cups of hot tap water to a large saucepan.  Then, grate the whole Fels-Naptha bar into the pan.

 Stir continuously over med-low heat until the soap is dissolved.  This took about 45 minutes.  Your house will smell soapy and clean.

 Then fill up your five gallon buck halfway with hot tap water.  Once it is halfway full, add the melted soap mixture, 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup Borax and stir until well-mixed.  I used a plastic spoon with a really long handle.

 Add more hot tap water until the bucket is full, and stir to mix.

 Cover your bucket with the lid and allow to sit overnight.  The mixture will gel.  When I read this from the recipe, I figured it would be this consistent-looking yellow gel.  Well, guess again.  I was wrong.  It looks like something you may have seen in a science class.

 Yep.  That's what it looked like after sitting all night.  I became very skeptical at this point, and wondered how this was going to work out.  THAT is supposed to clean MY clothes?

 I grabbed my plastic spoon and started stirring.  I had to put my hand in it a little bit to reach the bottom.

 Then, I thought of this amazing idea, that I introduced yesterday.

 It worked so well!  I still had to use the spoon to stir up the stuff from the bottom, but it worked so fast!  I was so excited to try it out!  If you are using an empty laundry soap container, fill it half full with the soap and half full with water (the total yield is 10 gallons).  Also, it is important to shake before each use because it will gel and separate!

I used this bowl to try it out with.  All you need is 1/4 cup (1/8 c. soap + 1/8 c. water) for each load if you have a front-load washer and 5/8 cup for a top load.  This is extremely frugalistic soap.  There is a total of 640 loads (front-load) in this 10-gallon recipe with a total cost of about $1.60 per batch.  (This costs $0.075 for 30 loads!)

I was very pleased with how well this soap cleans.  The last time I bought laundry soap, I got the cheapest one I could find (and it doesn't clean at all!).  With this recipe, the clothes come out smelling clean and they feel clean too.