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!

Pocket Purses

This first posted at my other blog, Family Home and Life.

I call these Pocket Purses and they are easy and fun to make! I made them for my grand daughters but I want one too. They would be perfect for going window shopping as they are the right size to hold the basic necessities, just add a longer handle. Add a different handle to dress them up or make them your own style. 

Patriotic Wreath

This was first posted at Family Home and Life, my other blog.



You would think that in all my crafting years I would have made several wreaths, but no, this was the first. I really wanted to have something patriotic for the Fourth of July, but I was tired of my same 'ole things. I decide a wreath was what I needed. I choose to not hang it outside but to hang it from an old door I have inside. I like it, it is westerny...yes... but also very 4th of July. 

DIY Fertilizer

I have a new idea, a new experiment of sorts. Well new to me anyway - making my own fertilizer, at least my own bone meal. I have always been interested in being self sufficient and one of the best ways to do that is to use what you already have and not run to the store to buy something. I really don't like having to buy fertilizers and I have been thinking of ways to make my own.

Three Things

Every fall I make apple butter from store bought applesauce to give to my kids. They swear mine is the best they've ever tasted.You know it's not all that great but they like to butter me up and get free apple butter :) 

I don't have apple trees, they are not common here though you can grow them. Nor are there orchards close by (at least not close enough for me to spend gas money on) that I could go to to buy apples for applesauce and apple butter. But there was a really good sale on apples at Safeway and I decided to buy several pounds and try my hand at making apple sauce. It was a fun project but I don't think I will do it again without a way to speed up peeling the apples. Maybe get one of those nifty peeler corer gadgets. Really, though I love homemade from scratch, it wasn't worth the trouble and I didn't save any money over buying applesauce I don't think. I made apple sauce, then apple butter,  canned it and will pass it out at Christmas.

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!

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.

* 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.

* Cloth Coffee Filters

Have you ever returned from the grocery store and realized you forgot something? Something you will need right away? You need the minute you opened your eyes? Well I did. Luckily I had one coffee filter left, but I didn’t want to go back to the store for filters and I didn’t have time to either. So, I started wondering why I use disposable filters in the first place. Disposable means throwing your money away with said item, usually. Online I looked up reusable coffee filters and remembered why I didn’t have one; they are expensive!

I looked up substitutes for filters and mostly read about people using paper towels when they are out of filters. I wouldn’t want to do that, who knows what kind of chemicals are in paper towels and I didn’t want to drink them first thing in the morning. Why not cloth filters? I didn’t really have much luck online in that area either so, I took my one remaining filter and headed to my sewing room. How hard could it be to make one? It turned out to be very easy, for certain types of filters, and not so easy for others. Let me show you.

cloth coffee filter

* Children’s Craft Apron

With as many children as I have around all the time I am always looking for good activities to keep them busy.  One of their favorite things to do at my house is paint pictures and make crafts.  I wanted to make aprons to protect their clothing and of course I wanted them to be very inexpensive. Most purchased children’s aprons are of a light weight fabric that paint goes right through; even the ones from home improvement stores still tend to leak paint. I always try to make do with what I already have so I started looking around my house and at my fabrics.