Tuesday, October 31

Me? Missing in action?

I suppose I have been slacking a bit when it comes to updating the blog. My apologies.

I haven't had any new or finished projects to post about as my hands are acting up (carpal tunnel syndrome). I do have an Annie doll and a penny rug in progress but, unfortunately, they aren't far enough along to be interesting. When my hands act up I'm forced to pace myself. If I work through the pain (which isn't hard to do when I'm in the zen-like crafty zone), they end up going numb. I can't even hold a needle well with numb hands. So I've been wearing my braces quite a bit in hopes that I'll nip this flare-up in the bud.

On a more cheerful note, there was a bit of a party at my house yesterday. In all there were about 25 people (mamas and children) here. All are friends (both old and new) that I've met through Amitymama. The mamas sat around, talking and eating, while the kiddos ran wild and had an awesome time. At one point, I peeked into Mason's bedroom. His room is small (10' x 10') and there were about 10 kids playing happily. About 5 of them were giggling hysterically while bouncing on the bed. They (correctly) had me pegged as the type of mama who is wholly in favor of bed jumping.

Becka has asked me to devote a bit of blog space addressing the subject of yummy smelling houses. Although I honestly don't think I have any big secrets. I think that, perhaps, I just devote a bit more effort to the cause than the average person. For me, it's an addiction. ;-)

I love potpourri and have bowls or baskets full of the stuff. I often try to place potpourri near the vents in the house. I even have a small basket of potpourri sitting directly on the vent in the bathroom. In addition to scenting the bathroom, it keeps the bathroom from hoarding the heated or cooled air. I refresh all the potpourri weekly by adding a little fragrance oil and fluffing it a bit with a fork.

I buy fragrance oils in bulk. Those teensy 2oz bottles that you usually find in stores wouldn't meet my needs. I buy fragrance oils in 16oz. bottles from places like Save On Scents or Bitter Creek. I generally use go through 2 16oz. bottles per season.

I also love candles. I don't buy pricey candles because I just go through them too quickly. I prefer big jar candles because I've had too many pillar candles leak. I think I leave them lit for too long. I tend to light candles in the morning and blow them out before I go to bed at night.

My little secret for making inexpensive candles extra yummy is that, after the candle has been burning a while, I squirt a bit of fragrance oil into the pool of melted wax.

I also make room spray with my fragrance oils. Room sprays are easy to make. I fill a atomizer (pump) spray bottle halfway with water. Then I fill the rest of the way with rubbing alcohol. Top off with a hearty splash of fragrance oil and you're good to go. This also works well as a linen spray. I like to spray the layers of my bed with a lavender/rose mixture as I make it each day. I also spritz the dried flower arangement over my bed. I tend to spritz dried flowers/wreaths throughout the house as they'll hold scent longer than just spraying the air.

So that's it...all of my secrets. :-)

2 comments:

Jenny said...

I hope your hands settle soon. Perhaps it is a hint to take things a bit easier. Rest up and look after yourself.

Anonymous said...

Such an exciting blog. My computer friend "hunnybunny" recommended your blog. I'm not a crafty person at all :( but love reading about it. This entry about house scents is just what I've always needed/wanted. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your secrets. I can't wait to implement them in my 40 year old musty-smelling home that we raised our 3 daughters. Thanks!