15 Minute Mom DIY: Baby Toy

We are making a baby toy today!

I have created a new super easy and useful craft for you moms to do! You should be able to do this in under 15 minutes. I wanted to make something for my son. Nothing to hard because lets get real I don't have time for that right now. He loves this one toy that has ribbons on it and he LOVES to chew on them. Not to mention it is easy to hook to a cart with his rings; so it is a good traveling toy. I wanted to make my own version of this toy but better.

What do you need?

-Material

-Ribbon

-Thread

-Sewing Machine

-Pins

-Pencil

-Kitchen Bowl

-Stuffing

What do you need to do?

• First you need to set your bowl on your material and draw around it to make your pattern. Do this twice so you get 2 circles. Make the lines really dark you have to go over it a couple times. Then cut out the 2 circles.
• Next you want to cut your ribbons (I had 8) into  2 1/2 inch strips.
• You will want to put your 2 circles together pretty sides facing each other. Pinch the ribbon in half like in my picture. Insert the ribbon into the circle and pin it in place. I have no idea what words to use to describe what I did, but in my pictures below you can see what I did.
• Do that all the way around. I would do a green ribbon on one side and switch sides and add another green one opposite to it.
• Once all of your ribbons are pinned in place start sewing around the edges by one of the ribbons. Make sure to leave a whole between 2 ribbons when you are done to turn it right side out. I had to go reinforce where my ribbons were attached so I suggest going back over it and sewing on top of the ribbon a second time to make sure it is sturdy; remember this will be played with a lot.
• Now turn it inside out and fill it with stuffing. Once it is full, I got a needle and thread and hand stitched the opening shut. It is a lot prettier to close this with hand stitching. Then give to you favorite baby!

I hope you enjoyed this 15 Minute Mom DIY! Let me know what you think!

Bringing New Life Back Into my Hair

I have always been able to curl my hair and have beautiful ringlets for about 6 hours before they fall. I love curls. I could sleep in braids or rollers and my hair with look beautiful the next day or two. But then I got pregnant and had baby David. After that I wanted to feel beautiful again and bought new hair rollers and a new curling iron but it did not work! I literally curled my hair and it was flawless used hairspray, but 15 minutes later it was flat as a board. I bought one of the BEST curling irons you can buy on Amazon. I was lost and honestly felt like I was going to be ugly forever.

I am sure many of you have the same problem! I even googled it and found tons of people with the same problem yet no solutions. This killed me. I have never had a problem I couldn't find a solution for. I always search and search and search till I can fix something. That is just my nature and who I am. But if you know me you know I know nothing about hair. I survive in the hair world and I want to thrive. So I followed tons of YouTube Channels, I learned to curl my hair from a girl on Facebook. I became really good at doing hair for me; yet my hair still would not hold a curl.

I finally decided that maybe my hair was too long or too damaged. I had not cut my hair in about 16 months at the point. I know I know that is horrible. But like I said I am not the hair girl. Hair had always been easy for me. So I found myself a brand new stylist and she cut my hair and saved my life from doing this crazy short haircut! Praise God! But she also gave me 2 new products to use. She used them on me that day and I had volume and curls like I hadn't seen in years! I felt so amazing. Better than I even did in high school. So I have to share these two products with you!

The first one is to help your hair hold it's curl: Aquage Working Spray. You put it in before you start curling. Spray all over your head and let it sit a bit. This seriously works! Like I said my curls has started falling flat in about 15 minutes and not just falling down. I mean flat as a board. I was going to do a whole blog on the new rollers I bought and took the before pics and how to roll your hair pics. The next morning took them out and NOTHING. So this product has seriously changed the game for me! My curls stay!

The second product is for giving your hair volume: Joico Hair Shake. I have never had volume. Teasing my hair doesn't work it just creates a rats nest. But this product gave it about a 1/6 of an inch poof! I loved it. I felt like I could actually see my hair rise off my head. I loved feeling beautiful again. This product you spray in before you curl too. Great thing is it lasts all day you just have to keep messing with your hair to push it up again.

Well I hope this helps my fellow flat haired ladies! I want all of you to feel like the beautiful queen you want to be! This has helped me so much gain my confidence. Not to mention these are like the only chemical filled products I have in my bathroom. Let me know if you use these too!

Natural Deodorant that SAVED My Life

I am going to be 110% honest with you right now, I stink! I have a sweating problem and I have always smelt bad since probably fifth grade. It has been embarrassing and exhausting. I have tried ALL deodorants and all the clinical strength ones. I even started trying natural ones, nothing worked till I found the one. Now, I know everyone claims natural deodorants work but for those of us with BAD body odor nothing works. It got so bad my clothes only lasted a few months before they started stinking too.

I got to where if I switched deodorant brands all the time I could manage it but that was exhausting always trying to find a new one that worked. Then I learned about the aluminum in deodorants. They have found it in cancer cells and it is linked to breast cancer. Once I heard that I knew I had to go to natural. I mean it did not matter, I was going to stink anyways. I might as well prevent cancer and stink than have cancer and stink.

So a little bit about deodorant and cancer. It has never been proven that deodorant or antiperspirants cause cancer. But they have found traces of parabens and aluminum in breast tumor tissue. So it is a bit concerning. I want to be safe. I do not want cancer and if I find something that works to replace a questionable item I will do! Everything you put on your skin soaks in and has an effect on the body. That is why I try to be so very careful with the products I use.

Back on the topic of this amazing natural deodorant. My sister found it just as I was in the market for a new deodorant. I had been stinking for a few weeks and the 2 natural deodorants I was trying were not cutting it. She has started stinking with pregnancy and nothing worked so she tried this deodorant and it worked! Once my mom found out about it she immediately ordered it for me. If that doesn't show you how bad I naturally stink, I don't know what will.

In 2 days time my Amazon package arrived and I opened it up to my new Primal Pit Paste. It works! I apply it once a day if I stay indoors at home. I apply it again if I leave to house. I also apply it before I go outside or workout. If I do that I rarely stink anymore. I am so happy and thrilled. I am not terrified of lifting my arms up or scared to death that I will be judged for the way I smell. I smell good or at least not nasty. I highly recommend it. It is super inexpensive for natural deodorant.

I hope this helps you and I hope you give it a try. If you do let me know what you think!!!

20 Minute Craft Series: Cloth Book Marks

Today I created something! You know when you just feel like you aren't accomplishing anything! You know those days when you feel like all you are doing is trying to get your baby to go to sleep or keep up with the cleaning when the kids are messing it up. Well today was one of those days for me. It took me forever to get baby David to sleep for his nap. I started thinking about what I wanted to do because who knew how long I had. I knew I wanted to make something. I wanted something tangible to hold in my hands and know I had accomplished something, but I knew I didn't have a lot of time. So I decided to share it with you because I am sure a ton of you fellow moms just need something to make every once in a while to feel accomplished. So I am starting my 20 Minute Craft Series.

Today I decided to make cloth book marks. Mind you I have not sewn anything on a sewing machine in years but it was like riding a bike. Now I am not very good at explain and giving instructions but I promise I will get better.

What do you need:

• Sewing Machine or a needle
• Thread
• Long strips of cloth
• Sewing pins
• Iron
• Scissors

What to do:

First you need to cut out your strip of cloth. I cut mine 2 1/2 inches wide and just guessed on the length. It all depends on what size books you read. If it is for say a textbook it needs to be a lot longer than for a novel or self help book. Then you need to cut another piece the same length and lay them on top of each other.

Then you need to use the sewing pins and pin them together evenly like this. (Now would be a good time to heat up your iron)

Next you are going to sew along the edges but leave a one inch gap open. That way you can cut the left over strings and turn it inside out.

After that you need to take the hole that you left open and tuck the edges under so that it is nice and even. You will then sew it shut. I try and sew close to the edges so that it is less obvious. I also would try and use a discrete color that blends in but today I totally forgot. But that is all okay. Then take your bookmark to the iron and press it to make it flat and get rid of all the kinks. Next comes the fun part making it beautiful. Pick a color of thread that you would like to use for your design. I chose white and then dark blue in the bobbin so that it would pop. You can choose any stitch you like but down below is a picture of the settings I used. I made sure the foot was exactly on the edge of my fabric to get the stitch in the right place.

After you have gone around the whole book mark creating a boarder with your decorative stich and you cut off the extra string you are done! Here is what my 2 book marks look like. I hope you enjoyed this craft and want to try it out some time. If you do I would love to see your finish product be sure to post a picture of it below or tag me into the finish product on social media! I hope you have an amazing and crafty day.

Bible Verse Sheet to Read to Your Kids

God placed this idea upon on my heart and I knew I had to create it. I wanted to start reading scripture to David, but I wanted it to be scripture that would be useful for him. I know he can't talk or anything like that, but God says there is power in the spoken work and speaking these verse over him will be a huge impact. In 1 Timothy 3 it talk about how the believers knew the scriptures from infancy. We need to be teaching out children God's word from infancy. I am putting this Bible verse sheet by the changing table. So every time we change his diapers we can read God's word.

So I am not going to babble like most bloggers because that drives me crazy!!! And lets be honest NO ONE read it!!! So here is the link to the print out! Let me know what you think!
Children's Bible Verse Chart

A Positive Mind Brings New Life Into Your World

I am sure we all know that a positive outlook on life is extremely important to have a good life and be successful. I have been hearing this for the past four years. I hear my friends talk about manifesting, self-love, positive affirmations, and meditation. I knew that those things were all good and amazing and I knew they were on to something! But I felt something tell me they are missing something. This isn't the whole answer. That my friends was the holy spirit. I recently stumbled upon a Dr. Caroline Leaf; she had uncovered the truth. I could go on and on about what she say but the basics are this: We have good and bad thoughts. Bad thoughts cause sickness in our brain and our bodies. Good thoughts heal and renew. Our brain is neuro-plastic meaning it is always changing. So we need to think good thoughts not bad thoughts. But what is missing from the equation is God. For all of this to work in a healthy way the holy spirit needs to be guiding us. For us to bring the things we want into our lives we need God to be at the center of our positivity. He needs to be the source of good thoughts.

With that being said recently I took that into action. I knew that I needed constant reminders or habits to keep my brain in the right place and keep my brain creating positive Godly thoughts. This is what I have come up with so far to create that kind of atmosphere.

• Christian Meditation-I always loved meditating but now it has such meaning. I use an app called Abide. It has guided Christian meditations. It is a great time to be still and just renew your mind.
• Sticky Note Bible-So I remember a long time ago doing Sticky Notes with a Bible Quote. I was an event with church. But the basis was to put Bible verses on sticky notes and have them handy. That is what I have done: I put verses on sticky notes and index cards and placed them all over the areas of the house that I frequently find myself.(Diaper table, bathroom sink, desk, couch, and as bookmarks. These are constant reminders of God's truths.
• Scripture Soaking-I listen to an audio Bible basically. You can find them on YouTube. Some of them even have relaxing music playing with them. This is great when playing with your child or going to sleep or cooking.
• Sermons and Teaching-I listen to sermons and Bible teaching all day. I fill my mind full of the Lord. I listen to what he has to say. I listen to solid believers and what God has revealed to them.

That is essentially what I do. As you can see it encompasses my life! I have God in everything. I try to keep Him at the center of my life and my attention. Of course I utterly fail all the time. But I am always trying something new and working to be more in-tune with the Holy Spirit and listen for God's words.

Since I have been doing this my life has by no means done a complete turn around and I am now on cloud 9. But when a problem arises the Holy Spirit brings me wisdom. I feel more equipped to handle problems in life and I am no longer constantly seeking answers in other places.

Before: Testing Out an Essential Oil "Potion" for Hair Growth

I am trying it ya'll. So for the past few months every time my aunt comes down she is just talking about this new hair "potion" Abi, my cousin, is using on her hair. She talks about how it grows, shines, and is healthier. I was skeptical at first. But then the second time she came down and was STILL raving about it I knew; it was time to try this hair stuff out! I have naturally healthy hair. I always get complements when I get it cut but, lately it does not grow as fast and healthy as I want it to. So I want to see if my hair is going to grow in 30 days of using this.

So what is this magic hair "potion?"

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil
• 1 drop of Cedarwood Essential Oil
• 1 drop of Lavender Essential Oil
• 1 drop of Thyme Essential Oil
• 1 drop of Peppermint Essential Oil

Mix them all together this is 1 serving. If you want to make a weeks worth multiply by seven and so on.

Here is a how to video I made!

Before:

• My longest strand of hair was 21 inches
• My hair is covered with split ends
• My hair looks oily in less than 48 hours

Here is my before picture:

In 30 days I will check back in and we will see how it works.