Hangin' Out At Home

Today has been one of those rare days when the three of us just lazed around the house, mostly watching an NCIS marathon and playing on some sort of electronic gadget. Modern day family time...

With a couple of inches or more of snow on the ground and more coming down, it was just a good day to stay in by the fire.

I did manage to be somewhat productive, installing a heated water warmer in the chicken coop, then taking down the Christmas tree and packing away some of the other decorations. I guess sadly, that means Christmas is officially over.

I spent a good share of the day bouncing around the internet, looking in on blogs I like to follow, and checking out fun stuff on Pinterest.

So thought I would share a few goodies I found today...starting with this fun how-to from
 Treasures From The Heart an awesome blog with some fabulous stuff.

Rusty and Patina How To

Check out this how-to on rust dyeing fabric...one of these days I am going to do this.

A great article and instructions are here at hobbyfarms.com

 and then I couldn't resist a stop at Etsy after I saw these amazing earrings...

 I would love these from blackstar.etsy.com

 I don't know what my fascination is with rust, but sometimes I just can't get enough when it comes to decorating with it or searching for it at yard sales, so needless to say I have several treasures laying around.

There's these gorgeous weathered saw blades..most of which I inherited from my grandfather,
he used to do oil paintings on them.

or...this vintage egg scale

I dug this gem out of the dirt near an abandoned old house, it is one of my favorite finds.

And who wouldn't love the patina on this dustpan?
So what if it's missing it's handle.

I could go on and on, but I won't I will just leave you with a final photo of this lovely rusty cabinet I scored at a yard sale several years ago.

What kind of rusty treasures do you have laying around, please share as always I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day!

Sorry Stanley Steemer Didn't Need You!

This weekend we had some fabulous weather, followed by a late night thunderstorm that rattled the windows and shook us all out of our blissful slumber. Of course now that it's getting close to the Memorial Holiday Weekend, it's cold, windy and a little rainy.

I had a lot going on over the weekend, I was determined, however to get the carpet in my living and dining rooms shampooed. The dirty feet of pets, child, hubby and icky spring weather always leaves my poor carpet in desperate need of attention, and I just couldn't stand it any longer.

So I decided to get out the trusty old carpet shampooer and get it done!

Only to discover I was out of carpet shampoo.

No worries...Homemade cleaning recipes are all over the internet and I knew I had jotted one down somewhere, so after scrounging around in a note file I keep for things I may need someday...

Success...a batch of carpet shampoo coming right up!

White Vinegar + Liquid Dish Soap + Hydrogen Peroxide + Essential Oil = Carpet Shampoo

the homemade way...

Here is the recipe I used:

1-1/2 qts. Hot Water (not boiling)

1/4 c. 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1-1/2 tbsp. Liquid Dish Soap

1-1/2 tbsp. White Vinegar

1/8 tsp. Essential Oil

All brands of your choice, I used the ones in the photo because they are what I keep on hand.

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together, adding the dish soap to the water and not the other way around or you may end up changing your name to Bubbles. Pour into shampoo machine according to it's specific directions and shampoo that carpet.

I doubled the recipe to fill the reservoir in my machine and it worked great, left my carpet clean and fresh smelling.

I am no expert, but one thing I did notice was when emptying the dirty water after I finished, it didn't have that nasty, kind of like a sewer on a hot day smell...ewww...which usually comes with sucking up all of that dirt and grime.

Another advantage I can see of making my own carpet shampoo would be money saved. The ingredients are all products that I keep on hand any way so I didn't have to buy anything special. I don't have a cost break down, but it wouldn't surprise me to be pennies per ounce verses the $12 or $13 dollars it usually costs for the not so big jug of the other stuff that really doesn't smell or work that well.

If I can use a more natural or homemade product to get a chore done, and save money too...well I am all over that!

Next I think I will give the homemade bathroom/shower cleaner I've read about a try.

Stay tuned and I will let you know how that goes.

Have a homemade cleaner recipe or environmentally friendly way of tackling household chores? Please do share, I love to hear what other people are up too.

Have a great day!