Hill House Soapworks Boutique

Hey everyone, I have opened a small Bath & Bodycare Boutique called Hill House Soapworks, on Facebook. I have some fun Halloween items in there, and will add more items as I have time. I plan to eventually carry a full range of Body care items. I would love for you to visit, Like and Follow. I also have a Facebook Group you can join, Hill House Soapworks Group, to hear about new items before they are stocked in the boutique. Thanks for your support!

Front Yard Garden

Well here's the front garden! When we moved here, the house was not painted, just bare stucco. And nothing but dirt and weeds in the front yard! It was (and still is unfortunately) a major fixer upper. After we had lived here about a year, I decided I just had to plant something in the front yard. I put down a soaker hose and planted some cosmos flower seeds around that. A neighbor was out for a walk and told me I was wasting my time. He said nothing would grow up here on the hill, all rock and clay. Well guess I proved him wrong!

Repurposing: My Hardworking Office/Class/Kids Craft Room, an Unexpected Tour

I was looking through some photos of Kids Club meetings and thought you might like to see a room I don't often photograph in. Let me tell you, other than my kitchen this room is a very hard working room! It is an addition to the house and the former owner who built it did not connect to the A/C duct work in there. There is an added A/C window unit but it doesn't really help and oh my gosh is it expensive to run!

We have 3 doors leading from this room into the main house so by leaving all those doors open we mostly get the cooling we need in the summer. Winter is not a problem at all because this room is on the south side of the house. So let me show you my hard working space. 

Mason Jar Solar Light

First published at Family Home and Life.

I love to use Mason jars in all kinds of ways. I found solar light lids you could buy online to make a solar light out of a Mason jar. I thought that was a great idea but when I wanted to purchase one they were out of them. I went online and found some tutorials on how to make your own but I really didn't like how they looked when finished. They had the solar unit sitting on top of the lid and it looked, well….. it didn't really look like a Mason jar anymore. I wanted a solar lid that still left my Mason jar looking like a Mason jar. So, I explained what I wanted to my husband and he made a solar lid for me that fit inside the jar, no big thing on top of the lid!

My Gardening Efforts This Spring

First (partially) published at Family Home and Life. I have added to this post here.

Oh how I love gardening! No you wouldn't know that to look at my blog but really I do. It is therapy for me, and you get a nice pay off with vegetables and flowers. Before moving here 8 yrs ago I had a nice big veggie garden and I sure miss it. Here though, I have struggled to get the dirt right and still have yet to figure it out. Even my planters and pots don't do well here. It's all kinds of birds, rabbits, clay dirt, and left behind construction debris buried in the soil to the max. And to top it off, I have been well enough to do a good job or had the time with all my grand child duties. But still every year I make an effort, only my roses have rewarded my efforts.

Fall Rake Head Wreath

Who says a Wreath has to be round? You can find Rake Wreaths on Pinterest and when I saw this rake head someone had thrown out I knew I wanted to make a Rake Wreath for myself. Super easy too, I purchased the leaves and a small grapevine wreath to spruce it up with at the dollar store. 

Crocheted Rag Rug

Sheets are a great value when it comes to material yard by yard. Especially when you buy them at a Thrift Store at 50% off. I got mine for a whopping 50 cents each! I wanted to make a rug for my bathroom and I had a few balls of fabric yarn but needed one more sheet to cut to make sure I had enough to finish the job. Of course when I found out there was a sale, I picked up a few more sheets. Single unmatched sheets at my favorite Thrift store are $1, so after spending $2 I went home with 4 sheets; a lot of fabric to reuse.

* Painted China Cabinet; From Free To Fabulous!

A good inexpensive way to update the look of your home is with paint. Sometimes painting furniture pieces will bring it all together if you have mismatched pieces. I have painted furniture many times over the years. The pieces I choose to paint are usually older and solid wood.

* My 'Recycled Reused' Dust Mite Proof Pillow Cover

I wanted to get some new quilted pillow covers; the ones I had were beginning to be a little thread bare, so I went shopping at some home goods stores. I had looked around some for them but didn't find the quality that I was looking for at a price I would pay.   Most only had the one layer thin fabric covers that don’t really do the job.  You want a pillow cover to be thick enough to keep moisture and skin oils from getting to your pillow, made from a natural material so it doesn't encourage perspiration, (plastic covers are terrible to sleep on) and with a thread count high enough to keep dust mites from invading your pillow.

* More Uses for Mason, Canning, Fruit Jars!

A look inside my refrigerator shows all my beloved Mason jars in use. In the back a 2 quart jar with Sun Tea, 1 quart jar with pasta sauce, pint of strawberry jam, left over mac and cheese, and some beet juice I’m going to use for another project in the craft room. In the front leftover curried rice and raisins ready for my lunch box, home made yogurt, jello in a half pint ready for hubbies lunch box, butternut squash soup, more jello and yogurt, and some fresh whipped cream to top the jello with. 

* Glass Canning Jars, Fruit Jars, Mason Jars, Ball Jars

Mason is one brand name, Ball or Kerr another, and if your folks are from the south and a couple of generations back you might know them as ‘fruit jars’. They are jars used for canning fresh fruits and vegetables. Whatever you call them, they are workhorses in the kitchen and around the house.  I use them for all kinds of things besides what they were intended for. I try to stay away from using plastics as much as possible.  I also try not to use to many  disposable items in my home such as plastic bags. These jars really help out with that. They are air tight, **oven proof, **microwavable (with the lid off of course), and can be **frozen. 

* My 'Recycled Reused' Dust Mite Proof Pillow Covers

I wanted to get some new quilted pillow covers; the ones I had were beginning to be a little thread bare, so I went shopping at some home goods stores. I had looked around some for them but didn't find the quality that I was looking for at a price I would pay.   Most only had the one layer thin fabric covers that don’t really do the job.  You want a pillow cover to be thick enough to keep moisture and skin oils from getting to your pillow, made from a natural material so it doesn't encourage perspiration, (plastic covers are terrible to sleep on) and with a thread count high enough to keep dust mites from invading your pillow.