Tutorials Archives - Homemade Toast

DIY Wall-of-Water

May 22, 2014 by homemadetoast 3 Comments

When my water blob post went viral last month, I received dozens of requests for a tutorial on how to make the walls-of-water that I mentioned in the post. If you haven’t used walls-of-water before, they are basically just a little greenhouse that provides insulation for your plants (I use mine on my tomatoes) when temperatures are colder than the plants would otherwise be able to survive or thrive in. The sun during the day heats the water around the plant, keeping it from freezing overnight. Once temperatures increase a little and your plant begins to outgrow the wall-of-water, it is usually removed.

Last year I used both homemade and store-bought walls-of-water in my garden. They worked equally well – they really are basically identical in size and quality. The only difference is in the color of the plastic.

So, here’s my little disclaimer – you can buy walls-of-water for less than $6 each when you get them in a 3-pack. Or, you can make your own for about $3. Once you get the process down, they take 15-20 minutes to make. Is it worth the $3 savings? I’m not really sure. If you are the DIY type, you may just enjoy the fact that you made your own – but as far as saving time and money, it might be worth it to just go with the store-bought version.

If I haven’t scared you away from making your own yet… here’s how you do it!

You will need:

1-yard of 54″ 12-gauge vinyl (do NOT use thicker!)
about 3.5 feet of parchment paper
iron/ironing board
ruler & pen

First, fold your parchment paper in half, hamburger style.

Draw a line down the length of the center, then two more lines on either side 3″ apart. Then, mark another line about 16″ from the fold. These lines will be your template on where you will fuse your plastic together.

Next, take your vinyl and lay it out flat.

Then, carefully fold in half along the length (so that it is 18″ wide, 54″ long). I secured mine with a bit of tape, but that is totally optional, it will cling to itself pretty well.

Then, you are going to lay out your plastic (shown in grey) and align your parchment with the end. The plastic should be sandwiched in between the parchment – so that it will not melt onto your iron or ironing board when you heat it. The folds of both the vinyl and parchment will align at the bottom, and the end of the plastic should overlap your last line by about an inch.

Next, you are going to seal the end of the vinyl by ironing along the one-inch overlap. It’s a little bit hard to see in this pic, but the dotted line indicates how far the vinyl is overlapping the line. With your iron on its hottest setting, carefully and slowly run your iron along the side of the line, applying firm pressure to seal.

The vinyl will turn from shiny to matte when it has melted and sealed completely. Be careful not to heat TOO much, or your plastic may thin or rip. You can always remelt if you need to later!

Once the end is sealed, you will run the EDGE of your iron along the other lines, beginning at the fold and ending at the 16″ mark (so that the top 2″ are not sealed). Make sure to apply a little bit of pressure as you go. At first, this may take a little bit of trial-and-error to get right – just remember that you can always go back and reseal, but that if it melts too much… a duct-tape band aid is really your only fix.

After you have sealed all of the lines on the parchment, move the parchment down the vinyl sealing lines every 3″ until you come to the end – where you will seal the last entire inch again.

Then, fold the vinyl in half and close your wall of water with a piece of duct tape at the 1″ sealed ends. You COULD melt the ends together – but I actually prefer the duct tape because I can leave it on the plant a little bit longer. Instead of trying to get the wall-of-water off of your plant when it begins to outgrow it – you can just take the tape off, or even cut the tape at the seam so that you don’t risk damaging your plant by pulling it off over the top.

And that’s it! Fill each compartment of your wall of water about 1/2 way before filling the entire thing. For smaller plants, you can fill it about 3/4 of the way and “tee-pee” it inward, providing more insulation. As it gets bigger and the temperatures increase, you can fill it all the way and it will stand up straight.

If for some reason when you fill your wall-of-water a seam pops open, it just means that it was not melted or sealed completely. Empty the water and seal it again (it’s ok if its still wet inside).

When you are ready to take your wall-of-water off of your plant, give it a little rinse and make sure it is completely dry before storing it for next season – it will last you years and years!

DIY ‘Time to Wake’ Toddler Alarm Clock

May 16, 2014 by homemadetoast 4 Comments

Between the middle-of-the-night princess cuddles, my 2048 addiction, pregnancy insomnia and a two-hour bladder capacity – sleep is not really a thing right now.

Both of the girls have never been good sleepers, completely at fault of my own. I kept them in bed with me until they were about 9 months, always rocked or nursed them to sleep, picked them up when they cried, or whimpered, or breathed out of rhythm – I basically did everything you are not supposed to do. Neither of them slept through the night until they were over two. Enter Diet Coke and caffeine dependence. This baby will be different.

I wish I could be one of those moms who was up before her kids, squeezing in a workout, shower, and fresh coat of mascara all while having prepared a hot breakfast for her family before they were up.

Bahaha! Who are we kidding? I’m lucky if I’m out of sweats by 11. Or, at all actually. The girls are my alarm clock – I sleep in for as long as they’ll let me. Which, until a few weeks ago was about 5:30 am.

After a friend of mine told me how her kids read a clock and don’t come out of their rooms until 7 (and it works!) I knew that I had to give it a try. My littles aren’t quite ready to read a clock, so I looked into the OK to Wake Children’s Alarm Clock and the Kid’ Sleep Classic. They are both about $30 – which seemed completely reasonable for a few more minutes of sleep in the morning. I was about to order one when I remembered I had a little outlet timer from college that I used for a heat lamp with my little gecko. And a million night lights.

So, I synced the timer and plugged in the night light – timing it to come on at 7. It works just the same as the other clocks that I thought about buying, turning on when it is time to wake up. The night light is still soft enough that it won’t actually wake the girls up – but bright enough that they can still see if the “princesses are awake.”

The first few days the girls were really excited about it… but come 5:30 or 6, instead of just coming out of their room like they had done before – they would just yell from their room and tell me that the “princesses are still sleeping!” until I came in to acknowledge that yes… they were still sleeping, and they should be, too.

So, I set the clock a little earlier so that they could get used to waking up and having the princesses already be awake. Now, it is set to come on at 6:30 – which is still a little earlier than I would like it to be – but still later than they were waking up before, so I’ll take it! I am gradually setting it a little later every night until I can push the time back to 7. What a dream that would be! Literally. Because then I might sleep long enough to have a dream.

Enough rambling, here’s how you make one!

It’s pretty straightforward. Take your outlet timer (these are $10 for a 2/pack) and a night light. I like these timers because they are pretty small and not bulky at all – about 1-inch thick from outlet-to-outlet.

Set your timer according to the instructions to the time you want the light to come on.

Plug in the night light.

And plug it into the wall. Done!

*If your nightlight has a light sensor on it, and the room is already going to be light when it is set to come on, you may want to cover it with a dark piece of tape so that it will still come on!

Total cost: $8 ($5 for the timer, $3 for the nightlight)

“I Like to Look for Rainbows” Pallet Nail Art Tutorial

May 9, 2014 by homemadetoast 5 Comments

Last fall, one of our closest family friend’s daughter turned 8. In the LDS church, this is a fun year and a big deal because it is the year that the children can choose to be baptized. There is this cute little song that the kids sing called When I am Baptized, more commonly known as “I like to look for rainbows” by its first line. Since E was having a rainbow-themed birthday, I knew I wanted to make her something special that tied in the song. I ended up making this huge pallet nail art sign with a fun combo of texture and color!

Here is how I made the sign:

First, I took some old pallet wood and cut pieces about 30-inches long. I arranged them the way I liked, then lightly sanded the top. My final piece was just over 20-inches high.

I secured them together by nailing 3 thin strips of wood to the back.

Then, I stained the wood a dark walnut color…

…and painted on a lopsided rainbow. After the paint was dry I lightly sanded over it to give it a little more “wear.”

Then, I spray pained some nails a dark brown color – so they wouldn’t stand out so much against the dark wood. They were only half-covered, but it did the trick!

I printed out the word rainbows in the size and font I wanted and arranged it on the board.

Next, I lightly hammered a nail about every 1/3-inch along the perimeter of each letter. You will want to nail it in enough so that they are in there pretty securely, but so the majority of the nail is still sticking out. You can see that there are some spots along the seams of the wood that are bare – (like the bottom third of the ‘w’ and ‘s’). I was able to fill in some spots after the paper was removed, and some I just left alone – after the string was added you couldn’t even tell!…

DIY Contoured Maternity Pillow

May 7, 2014 by homemadetoast 21 Comments

I’ve had the itch to come back to this little blog for a few months now. It has actually been a tougher decision to make than I would have expected. Literally, the day before my water blob tutorial went viral my husband and I decided that it would be worth it to try out again.

It’s not that I think the post’s success was a “sign” or anything – but it definitely gave me the confidence to come back, knowing that it would be worth my time in the end. I had originally planned to come back after baby comes in June, having a handful of posts ready on the back burner and a well-planned and organized schedule to follow – but I just can’t pass up the opportunity to post with all of you new visitors every day! So, for now it will be a little chaotic and disorganized but I am excited to be back and sharing what I love to do with you guys!

Now, let’s talk about that baby.

So I’m due at the end of June. And it’s only the beginning of May. Who KNEW you could even be so uncomfortable!? Maybe my I forgot what it was like near the end of my other two pregnancies, but I really don’t think it was ever this bad. And I still have 7 weeks left. Oy.

About a month ago when the insomnia started really setting in, I decided to make this obnoxiously over-sized pillow to see if it would help at all – mostly, because I am cheap and didn’t want to spend $80 on something that I wasn’t sure I would even use. Ohmygosh. I really don’t know how I made it through TWO whole pregnancies without one!

Literally, a cotton-stuffed miracle, people.

The pros. Since your back, belly, and hips are all supported and aligned – you’ll sleep like a champ.

The cons. Since this thing is over 4 feet long and nearly 3 feet wide, you’ll be taking up a good portion of the bed. But let’s be honest… you were doing that before the pillow, anyway. Also, those six times you get up to pee in the middle of the night? Mini wrestling match vs. maternity pillow. As long as your bladder is willing to give you 15 extra seconds, you’ll win – most likely.

If you don’t have the time or energy (or fabric hoarding tendencies that you need to prove to your husband are necessary by making AND finishing a project with something from your stash.. what?) to make one for yourself – it would be still be worth every single penny of that $80 to just order online! So follow this here tutorial to make one, or order this one that I used as my inspiration. (affiliate link)

Kay. Here we go.

I’ve got you a free PDF Pattern – for Homemade Toast stalkers only, please. Follow on facebook, Pinterest or Instagram to return the love!

Here’s the deal. It comes in two sizes: regular and tall. I originally made myself what is now the “regular” size… and wish I had just an inch or two more length on it (it still fits totally comfortably and fine as-is, but anyone taller than me may want the extra length for sure)… thus the creation of the tall size. I’m about 5’7″, so if you are taller than me – make the tall size.

And, one more disclaimer before we start. Originally, I had planned to make a liner and a cover for my pillow, both using an identical pattern. I got a little too impatient and excited after I had finished what I intended to be my cover and just ended up stuffing it as-is. Because I stuffed it so firm and with cheap stuffing, after a few weeks of use the stuffing has started to just barely poke out of the fabric, making it kind of itchy. So… my advice would be to either use a thicker, nicer fabric than just a plain cotton like I did (minky would be a DREAM!), make a liner AND a cover, use a better-quality stuffing, or just be prepared to lay a soft blanket over your pillow like I do!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Contoured Maternity Pillow PDF Pattern (print, cut out, and piece together by overlapping grey sections)
(two) 50-inch (or 54-inch for the tall pattern!) x 30-inch pieces of fabric A
(six) 3-inch x 40-inch (44-inch for tall!) strips of coordinating fabric B (optional – to give it a little more height)
(two) 2-inch x 25-inch strips of fabric B (optional)
(one) 24-inch (+/-) zipper (optional)
stuffing (I used the stuffing from 4 “huge” pillows to make a VERY firm pillow – ripping open pillows is usually cheaper than buying bags of stuffing!)

Part One: Cutting out the “Contoured” Pattern

1. Lay out your big 50×30-inch (or 54×30-inch for tall!) rectangles. Fold into quarters so that all of the corners meet.

2. Use a large bowl (or good judgement) to round all four corners of both pieces.

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Sea Salt Scrub

August 1, 2013 by homemadetoast 9 Comments

As part of this week’s “Sink or Swim” party giveaway, the bloggers participating are all bringing you ideas to host your own Sink or Swim summer party! We kind of ran with the idea of nautical & beach-themed, and I think you’ll love what everyone came up with!

Artsy Fartsy Mama: Printable Nautical Thank You Cards

Cupcake Diaries: Cookie Oysters

Not Picture Perfect: Summer Party Games

Events to Celebrate: Decorations for a Swim & Splash Party

Dessert Now Dinner Later: Blueberries & Cream Pie Parfaits

Homemade Toast: Sea Salt Scrub

The Bucket List Girl: Tillamook Ice Cream Sandwich

Clarks Condensed: Summer Fruit Cobbler

Like Mother Like Daughter: 7 Layer Dip

Our Thrifty Ideas: Party Pleasing Potato Salad

Rae Gun Ramblings: Mermaid Cookie Pops

Scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter the giveaway, if you haven’t already!

Due to my little soap-making escapade a few months ago, I started running up a collection of oils and butters that have been put to good use making homemade lotion bars, lip balm, sunscreen and bug spray. Its been so fun for me to make things for my family that are completely all-natural and organic. Don’t get me wrong, my recent posts may indicate that I’ve gone all-hippie. But really, I just enjoy creating – especially if it happens to be that whatever it is I am making is better and safer for my girls.

A few weeks ago we stopped in Vegas on our drive home from California. We were walking through the Venetian and were given a sample of this amazing sea salt scrub while walking past some of the shops. I wish that I had caught the name of the place – the product was really outstanding. I remember the girl who gave us the sample told us that there was beeswax and shea butter in it – which turned on a little lightbulb in my head. I could make this!

And so I did!

Not even kidding – my hands have never felt softer. The sea salt is just abrasive enough to scratch away dead skin and leave your hands so incredibly smooth and the small amount of beeswax helps your skin absorb and retain the moisture of the oils and butters. My husband literally refuses to use it because it makes his manly dry callused hands feel too girly! Men.

Wouldn’t these make the perfect party favors? A great way to send something thoughtful and homemade home with your guests a step-up from a trinket that will end up at the bottom of the toy bin.

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DIY Herbal Bug Spray

July 24, 2013 by homemadetoast 14 Comments

photo credit: Dave Taylor

At first, I was a little hesitant to try out my own bug spray – its not really one of those things that is worth the risk of not working, especially on the kids. It actually sat in our car for about a month before we even used it – but when we did, I couldn’t even believe the results!

We were out at the lake, and on our way home The Hubs wanted to stop for a few minutes to throw in a fishing pole. The place that we stopped at had swarms of these giant-mosquito-looking bugs. I am not sure if they were actually mosquitos – but they were gross and huge and everywhere.

So, I opted to stay in the car with the kids and Vahe set out to face the bugs. What a man won’t do for a fish! 🙂 I was so excited when I realized that I had the potentially-effective bug spray I had made in the car – and, since it was better than nothing, Vahe decided to try it out.

I couldn’t even believe it. I took this first picture of the passenger side of the car – probably 100 bugs just hanging out on my window.

This picture was taken of the driver’s window – where Vahe had sprayed himself down just outside the door, about 5 minutes before. ZERO bugs!

If this doesn’t make you a believer, I don’t know what else will! Since then, we have used it on the whole family around mosquitos without a bite. I would even go as far to say that this repellent works BETTER than a deet-laced pesticide spray that you’ll find in the store. Plus, it smells way better and all of the ingredients are completely natural and safe on everyone!

You’ll find varying recipes online for DIY bug spray, this is just how I decided to make mine. Since it has worked so well for us – I don’t think I will ever try anything different. If you use essential oils, chances are you have almost everything you need to make this bug repellent in the cupboard. The only oil I had to add to my collection was citronella – and it has turned out to be a great investment!

At first, the spray had a really awkward smell to it. When you smell all of the oils separately, you can kind of pick each one out when you smell the entire mixture. But, after a few days it gave off more of a woodsy-lemon scent that actually smells really nice!

So, here’s what you’ll need:

4 oz witch hazel
1 oz sweet almond oil – totally optional, I just added it so that the spray was slightly mosturizing. You can sub it for another ounce of witch hazel, or any another skin-safe liquid oil
12 drops lavender oil
12 drops tea tree oil
12 drops peppermint oil
12 drops lemongrass oil
12 drops citronella oil

Pour all of the ingredients into a spray bottle. Shake well before each use, it will separate quickly!

The TRUTH about Homemade Sunscreen

July 2, 2013 by homemadetoast 32 Comments

About a month ago I decided to try out homemade sunscreen – initially just for the fun of it. I did my research – a lot of research. Which, overwhelmingly supported my reasoning for buying more crap stuff to add to my ever-growing craft stash of things I will never use up. You know how that goes.

I read up on both sides of the debate (store bought vs. homemade) and everywhere in between. I’ll let you do your own research, because my sources are likely bias, but I’ll try to touch on the aspects of each that I found that are important to me.

With the info I found, and after putting the theories to the test by making and using both a regular and waterproof sunscreen, I came to this conclusion:

Homemade sunscreen is best. Period.

It’s effective, it’s all-natural, all-organic and completely safe. *But* when I need something waterproof – I’ll take the chemical can. I can have my kids covered in seconds with a spray bottle of store-bought sunscreen, when the homemade waterproof sunblock takes me upwards of 10 minutes to apply. The convenience of the time and sanity saved is worth it to me.

Let me tell you why with a good old-fashion pro/con list…

Store-Bought Sunscreen
+ Waterproof
+ Quick to apply
+ High SPF (up to 60+)
+ Does not whiten skin
– SunSCREEN
– Hormone-altering chemicals

Homemade Waterproof Sunblock (bar form)
+ Waterproof
+ All-natural and organic
+ SunBLOCK
+/- Lower SPF (20-30)
– Takes a long time to apply (the beeswax which makes the sunblock waterproof takes time to spread)
– Whitens skin slightly

Homemade Sunblock (liquid form, not-waterproof)
+ All-natural & organic
+ Quick to apply
+ SunBLOCK
+/- Lower SPF (20-30)
– Whitens skin slightly

First, I should probably let you know that I opt for organic and all-natural when I can, but I also drink 2-3 (read: sometimes 6+) cans of Diet Coke everyday. (Gotta get you 8 glasses, right? If I wanted to cut chemicals, preservatives, or anything artificial out of my lifestyle – sunscreen is way down the list. Baby steps, people.

Also – it’s important to know that my babies have their daddy’s Armenian skin. They tan beautifully. If I had pasty babies like myself, I would be more hesitant to use the homemade sunscreen because of its lower SPF.

Store Bought Sunscreen

The one thing that turns me off from store-bought sunscreen is that it contains ingredients that literally alter the chemicals in your skin (also affecting your hormone levels) to make your skin itself become sun-resistant. That’s why so many sunscreens you buy in a bottle are waterproof – once they have done their job, they are good to go – even if the carrier cream rinses off. Many believe that more people are actually getting cancer from the chemicals in sunscreen than from the sun itself, and that more of us are actually Vitamin D deficient than overexposed.

While I can’t vouch for the cancer proposition – I do believe that we were meant to have a little sun on us. Which, is why the low SPF in the homemade sunscreens are not a problem for me.

(PS – Did you know that an SPF 40 is not equivalent to 2x the strength of an SPF 20? A SPF 20 blocks about 94% of UVB rays, a 40 blocks around 98%)

The one thing that is great about store-bought sunscreen is that you can purchase so many varieties now in an aerosal can and have your baby covered in seconds.

Homemade Sunblock

I love that with the homemade sunscreen, I know exactly what is going into my product. I buy my ingredients organic and make it myself. It is made of an all-natural combination that personally – I have found to be perfectly effective. In waterproof sunblock, I use all-organic coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, zinc oxide (a natural mineral) and tea tree oil. That’s it.

The sunblock is just that – it blocks the sun, forming a barrier ON TOP of the skin to protect it. It does not alter any chemical or hormone in the body and is completely, 100% safe.

Under a microscope, many argue that the particles of an unprocessed zinc-oxide based sunblock do not distribute perfectly. But, from personal use, I have found it to be very effective. Which, personally, tells me more than a microscope could.

Through first-hand use, I have found that the homemade sunblock in both bar and lotion form really do their job. But, you should also know that homemade sunblock does have a lower SPF than what you would probably buy in the store. Personally, I don’t mind a healthy dose of sun and since my girls do not burn easily, it has worked perfectly for us.

One drawbacks of both the homemade lotion and bars is that it leaves your skin looking a little white. For the kids, this isn’t even a problem for me – if anything, it’s actually a benefit. I know where the sunscreen has been applied. And, it’s not even that noticeable, really – just a slight difference only Mom will notice.

The only thing that is a deal-breaker for me is with the homemade waterproof sunblock. It takes much longer to apply. I have found it easiest to break off a little chuck of the bar and massage it in my hand until it has softened. Once soft, it smooths out onto the skin pretty easily – but it does take a while to rub in all the way.

It would probably take me about 10 minutes to cover my kids head-to-toe, which neither me or my girls have patience for – which is why I go for store-bought at the pool.

The regular, lotion sunblock applies just like any other lotion-based sunscreen. Rub it in, and you are set. You get all of the benefits of the chemical-free, all-natural sunscreen and don’t have to put in too much elbow grease or bribery to get it on the kids.

There is so much information out there that will sway you on either side of the sunscreen debate. Decide what is best for you and your family – it may be completely different than what is best for mine.

I went a little overboard in making the waterproof sunscreen bars – that probably won’t get all used up this summer. But, I have found them great for calming itchy bug bites and have also been using them as chapstick – they work great!

If you are interested in making your own homemade sunblock, here are the recipes I used to make my own:

Homemade Sunblock – Waterproof Bars (~20 SPF)
1.5 oz beeswax
1.5 oz shea butter
1.5 oz coconut oil
1 oz zinc oxide
~10 drops of tea tree oil

1. Melt the beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil together. (I put all of the ingredients in a mason jar, and set it in boiling water until melted).
2. Remove from heat and stir in zinc oxide. Pour into molds. (I used empty deodorant containers and ice cube trays.)
3. Let cool completely. Remove from molds – refrigerate until use.

Homemade Sunblock – Lotion (~20 SPF)
2 oz shea butter
2 oz coconut oil
1 oz zinc oxide
~8 drops of tea tree oil

1. Melt the shea butter and coconut oil together. (I put all of the ingredients in a mason jar, and set it in boiling water until melted).
2. Remove from heat and stir in zinc oxide. Pour into container.
3. Let cool completely before use. Store at room temperature.

How to Make a Leak Proof Water Blob (without tape!)

July 1, 2013 by homemadetoast 411 Comments

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By now, I am sure you have seen these water blobs circulating on Pinterest and all over your favorite blogs. And – for good reason! Water blobs will keep the kids entertained for hours.

The only problems that seem pretty universal with the duct tape method is that they take a long time to prep – and they leak within minutes!

This tutorial is a little different. I used about 6-inches of duct tape on the entire thing! It has been sitting in our yard for 3 days now – with NO leaks, at all. And – it only took about 20 minutes to get ready!

*Update: I just drained our water blob. The grass under it was dying and stinky. 🙁 I’m hoping that it will perk back up in a few days – but I definitely won’t leave it out for more than 2 days next time!

I knew there had to be another (better, faster, & easier) way!

I had used a similar method in making my own walls-of-water for my tomatoes earlier in the spring, and so I knew right away how I would put together our water blob!

The secret ingredient: an iron

I literally melted the ends of the painter’s plastic together to form a leak-proof seal. I was done before “I Feel Better” started playing on Doc McStuffins. (Someone, please relate!) For those of you without toddler girls, that translates to about 15 minutes.

You’ll need:

Painter’s plastic/plastic sheeting (affiliate link), *4 mil* – any size (I used a 10×25-foot roll, and cut it down to about 10×20)
Ironing board and iron
Parchment paper
Duct tape – optional, for sealing the hole for the hose

Turn your iron on to its hottest setting. I found it was easiest to keep my ironing board flat on the floor so that the weight of the plastic didn’t cause any cooperation issues. Many times, I actually slid my ironing board across the floor instead of moving the plastic.

Roll out your plastic in your largest room, and fold it in half – to the size you want your water blob. Don’t worry about aligning the edges – they will align as you go!

This was my set-up (the right edge is folded over because I couldn’t lay the whole thing flat):

You’ll start out with a long piece of parchment paper. At first, I tried to use a piece that was as long as my ironing board – but it was actually much easier when I cut the paper about 2-feet long.

Fold it in half, length-wise and draw a line about 2-inches out from the fold. This will be your guide of how far into iron.

Begin with the edge of plastic opposite of its fold, starting at the corner. Open up your parchment and place your plastic inside, aligning it to the fold of the parchment.

Then, fold the parchment back over.

Now, use your hot iron to slowly melt the plastic together by running the iron across the line of your parchment. Do not let the iron touch the bare plastic – it will melt a hole in it, and will make a huge mess all over your iron!

Press firmly, but not too hard – because the plastic is hot, it will stretch. You don’t want to weaken the plastic by thinning it out with too much pressure.

Less is more. You can always re-melt the plastic it did not completely seal!

Let it cool for a few seconds before removing the parchment. If you remove the parchment too early – you could risk stretching the plastic. (You could alternate two pieces of parchment, let one cool while the other seals)

Continue to seal all of the edges, overlapping a few inches to make sure there are no holes. After sealing the end opposite of the fold, work from the sealed edge toward the fold. Everything will align perfectly!

Now, carefully cut a small slit in the folded end of the plastic, near the corner.

Place the hose in a few feet, and prop the corner up so that the water does not spill out while you fill your water blob.

Ours took about 30 minutes to fill about 8-inches deep – and we ended up adding some food coloring about half way in. Totally not necessary, but we loved watching the color swirl into the water!

Seal off the hole with a piece of duct tape – or use your iron and parchment to melt the edge! I opted for duct tape because I plan on using it again a few times.

Then let the kids go wild! We sprayed a little water on top to splash on, and they loved it!

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Update 4/16/14: Although not verified, it seems the original source of this awesome idea comes from Play at Home Mom! This post is intended to be a tutorial for my unique way of making it, and I do not take any credit for the idea itself!

How to Grow Wheatgrass

June 17, 2013 by homemadetoast 6 Comments

A few months ago, our good friends convinced us to get a juicer, they recommended the Omega 8006, which has fabulous reviews across the board. We opted for the Omega 8003, mostly because I was able to find it barely used for less than half the price – love me a good deal! The biggest difference between the two is the color – they have the same motor, and a few parts made of different materials.

When we got our juicer – I knew I had to try wheatgrass. Honestly, I had never even had a wheatgrass shot – I had just heard of all of the health benefits. There are so many articles out there, so I won’t even try to go through it all – but basically wheatgrass has been shown to do everything from curing bad breath to curing cancer. Go forth and Google – you will be convinced.

I set out to do a little Pinterest research on how to grow wheatgrass, expecting to need to special-order in some type of seed from amazon. I couldn’t even believe it when I found out that I could grow wheatgrass from the wheat berries I buy in bulk from Winco! I think I pay 29-cents a pound – so I can grow enough wheatgrass for us for a week for about a quarter.

There are many different methods and time tables online on how to grow your wheatgrass. The truth is, there isn’t one right way to grow it. If you can get your grass to grow tall and green, you’re golden. I’ll just show you how I like to grow my wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass juice does have a grassy taste (it is grass, people), but it is actually not nearly as bad as I thought it would be – and you drink it so fast it’s not really an issue. I’ll let you do your own research – but I started drinking about one ounce a day for a week, and then increased to two. The juice is so nutrient-rich you have to acclimate your body to it.

This is such a fun activity for the kiddos, too!

My girls are such girls – I gave them dirt and water to make “mud pies” with when we were ready to plant – they wouldn’t put more than their fingertips in the mud!

Their favorite is was planting the seeds – and they LOVE watching our wheatgrass grow! Wheatgrass grows so quickly that you can see a noticeable difference everyday – we sneak into the garage a few times a day to check up on our grass. Who even needs a dog, anyway?

Here’s what you will need to grow your own wheatgrass:

a jar, container, or bowl to soak seeds in – I use a mason jar
a cookie sheet – I use the disposable sheets that come in 2-packs from the dollar store (so that when I get lazy I can just throw it away)
wheat berries – I get mine in bulk from Winco, but they are available in any grocery store
dirt – nothing fancy here – just dig something up from the backyard
a black garbage bag or newspaper
tulle scraps – completely optional, but makes rinsing and draining seeds in a mason jar quick and easy (I’ll show you later)
a spray bottle – also optional, but makes watering easy

How much wheatgrass should I grow?

You’ll get 1 oz of wheatgrass juice from every Tablespoon of dry wheat berries you plant.

1 Tablespoon dry wheat berries = 1 oz wheatgrass juice

This is approximate – depending on the juicer you have, when you cut your grass, and the time of year. But, something to go by to get you started – just my rule of thumb that has proven pretty accurate for me.

How much space will I need to plant my wheatgrass seeds?

After you find out how many seeds you will plant, you’ll need to know how much space you’ll need to plant them in!

1 Tablespoon dry wheat berries = 25 square inches of dirt

How long will my wheatgrass take to grow?

It depends. In the summer – you will probably be able to grow your wheatgrass 10 days from start to finish. In the winter, it may take up to 16-18. It all depends on the amount of sunlight and heat your grass gets.

If it’s warm out – you can keep your wheatgrass outside during the day to speed up growth – but I would suggest bringing it in at night. The wheatgrass will attract little animals that you may not want snooping around in your yard – and especially sharing your wheatgrass with you!

Use this day-by-day guide more visually than anything. If your seeds have sprouted on day three – plant them! These pictures were taken in early spring – when it was still pretty cold at night. Your wheatgrass may grow much faster, or even slower.

Wheatgrass is pretty resilient, you have a lot of wiggle-room. Don’t be intimidated!

Day 1

First, of course – you’ll need your wheat berries. You may find a variety of colors/types – I use hard red, but any kind will do.

I plant just over 1/3 cup (or 6 Tablespoons) of seed for every small (10×15-inch) cookie sheet.

Cover your berries with water and let them soak for 24 hours, give or take.

Day 2

Here’s where I get fancy.

For the next few days you are going to rinse and drain your seeds every 12 hours. I like to take a scrap of tulle and screw it under the ring of the jar – as a little built-in seive.

After your seeds have soaked 24 hours, they will have expanded quite a bit. Drain out the water, and give them a few good rinses. Make sure that there is no water pooling at the bottom of the jar – the seeds will not sprout if they are immersed in water. You may even want to let your jar drip upside down for a few minutes.

Rinse and drain one more time after 12 hours or so. You want to keep the seeds moist, but not wet.

Day 3

Rinse every 12 hours. You will see the seeds begin to sprout!

Day 4

Planting day! When the sprouts are as long as the seeds, you are ready to plant!

Give them one more rinse, keeping them a little wet.

Line your cookie sheet with dirt, and get it nice and damp.

Dump your seeds out…

… and spread across, making sure NOT to overcrowd! You want the seeds right next to each other but NOT on top of each other.

The first time I grew wheatgrass I overcrowded some of my flats and saw a huge difference in growth. Here’s a comparison taken at day 7-8ish – both of these flats were planted at the same time. The one on the right was overcrowded and is much less full and quite a bit shorter than the flat on the left. Don’t be tempted to pile on your seeds!

After you have spread out the seeds, cover them with a black garbage bag. You want to block out all of the light so that the seeds put down strong roots first, rather than growing up.

Some people use damp newspaper instead of a bag – it works the same. I prefer the garbage bag because it is easier to take off when I need to water, it’s clean – and I can use it again and again.

Day 5 – 7

KEEP COVERED!

Water as needed. Keep damp, but not wet. Wheatgrass will mold very easily if it is too wet.

I like to use a spray bottle to water – but a little cup of water will do just fine, too.

If your wheatgrass does mold – it’s okay. Just make sure that you cut above the mold when you harvest your wheatgrass. You might loose a inch or so of grass, but it is not worth throwing out for.

Day 8

REMOVE COVER

Once your grass is 2-3 inches tall, it’s time to remove your cover! It will green up in a matter of hours after being exposed to light!

Day 9 – 14

Water as needed.

Harvesting

Your wheatgrass is ready to harvest when the grass blade begins to “joint” – when the blade of grass begins to spout out a second little blade. This is the time when the nutrients are at their peak.

Give your grass a little haircut with a pair of scissors.

Try to store the grass in the same direction – as much as possible. It will make juicing easier and more efficient.

You can store your harvested wheatgrass in the fridge for a week. Keep it covered or in a plastic bag.

There are many conflicting sources – but wheatgrass juice is best fresh. Some say you should drink it within 6 minutes of juicing, others say up to 48 hours. We keep our grass in the fridge and juice it right before we are going to drink it.

I find that running the pulp through one time pulls out a lot more juice – don’t forget to run it through again.

There are some people who say that you can let the grass re-grow and harvest it one more time. Others say you should just compost it after the first cutting. Personally, I just use the first harvest because it is so easy to grow. I am sure that the second harvest, even if it is somewhat lacking in its full nutrient-potential, is still wonderful for you!

the 3-Minute Mouse-Pad

February 6, 2013 by homemadetoast 1 Comment

As a graphic-designer-by-day, I use a huge mouse-pad so that I have enough room to move my mouse around the screen freely. I have used the same one for a few years now – and it was getting nasty.

I found a few tutorials on Pinterest for mouse-pad recovers that suggested Mod Podging fabric to your existing mouse-pad. I was a little worried that the Mod Podge would have left me with a stiff, inconsistent texture – but I was ready to give it a try, hoping for the best.

Sponge brush in hand, I glanced over at some Wonder Under (an iron-on fusible webbing) laying out on my desk that I had out from working on some shoes for my Etsy shop. At that moment, I’m pretty sure I visualized a cartoon light bulb floating over my head.

The rest is history.

How cute is this? Ironing the fabric to the mouse-pad with Wonder Under was so much faster than using Mod Podge would have been. And even better, the texture and flexibility is perfect.