Sundress and Diaper Cover

I made this set for my delightful six month-old niece. 

The dress was fun and fuss-free to make. It is fully lined so I simply sewed right sides together and turned it inside out. It was fun to use a contrasting fabric for the lining. 

I needed to size it down a bit, but took the pattern from a darling dress my Aunt Nita made for my older sister when she was two:

The diaper cover Nita made is lost, so I used the free pattern Sweet and Simple Diaper Cover available on Craftsy. I modified the pattern a little because I thought a sleek bubble shape would better match the style of the dress than a ruffly one. The pattern was very well done; I would use it again! 

Ruthie the cat looks on, a bit forlorn as someone is packing. In this picture, she'd just finally moved to her nest after sitting for over an hour on a carry-on bag, in an effort to prevent the departure of one of her favorite people. 

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

This recipe has been a lifesaver! I created it after researching online hand sanitizer recipes. I had found a lot that I liked, but most of them called for several essential oils, which would have been steep to purchase. Instead, this hand sanitizer allows real plants and spices to steep indefinitely in a blend of vodka, aloe and witch hazel. It is very affordable to make, smells amazing, and is gentle on your hands. :)

2/3c vodka

2/3c witch hazel

2/3c aloe juice

1/4t tea tree oil

16 capsules or 40 drop vitamin E

16 lavender blossoms

16 small lavender sprigs

8 cinnamon sticks, broken in half (we use a hammer)

8 small sprigs rosemary

24 cloves

Combine the four liquid ingredients and mix well. Using a funnel, pour into individual containers. Make sure to leave some headroom. We like these little plastic squirt bottles, which hold 1/4c, but we only have a few, so we store the rest in glass jars. 

We put contents of 2 vitamin E capsules (easy to crush with a clean garlic press!),  lavender flowers, 2 lavender sprigs, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1 sprig rosemary, and 4 cloves in each 1/4c squirt bottle. 

If you prefer, you could simply combine all ingredients in a quart jar and allow to to steep one week before pouring some off to use. Hand sanitizer will be stronger the longer it steeps. :)

Enjoy your picnics and on-the-go meals! 

Gelatin Pudding 3.0

It has been a long time since I have done a gelatin pudding post here. Lately, there has been so much amazing food passing over our dining room table, I haven't needed as many snacks! However, this is still a great dessert and a nice way to add a little protein to a meal. I have refined how I make it these days, so thought I should share the latest and greatest with my readers. This makes a bit less than my previous versions, but I like it much better, as it is more flavorful and has a better texture.

1/2c warm water

1/8-1/4t salt

1/8t vanilla

1t coconut butter

1T gelatin

1 handful frozen berries

Measure first four ingredients into blender. Add gelatin and blend immediately. When smooth, turn off blender and add berries. Blend until slightly thickened. Pour into a pretty bowl; pudding will set in just a minute or two. 

Splendid Salad

No recipe in this post, but I wanted to share a photo of my beautiful first course tonight. I admit to being a pickle-holic. This salad features pickled beets, pickled carrots, pickled cucumber and pickled red cabbage, as well as cheesy sprouted sunflower seed croutons and vinaigrette. YUM!