DIY Swing Set

Build A-Frames

Child safety first: Round the edges and ends of all pieces of lumber with a belt sander. Use 3/8-inch carriage bolts for fasteners and countersink the holes on the threaded side, so that no bolts protrude from the frame. Construct the A-frame ends from 8- or 10-foot-long, 4-by-4 pressure-treated posts. The two posts meet at an angle of 60 degrees. To accommodate a cross beam between end frames, cut the post top ends at 30 degrees. Cut the post bottom ends at 60 degrees to sit flat on the ground. See the illustration.
Use a rafter square to mark the angles. You are making an equilateral triangle in which the base is the same as the height. To use 8-foot long posts, make the base 7 feet wide and the finished height will be about 7 feet. Cut the posts on a miter saw. For the bottom ends of the posts, you will have to cut complementary angles since the maximum angle on a miter saw is 45 degrees. Add two 2-by-4 cross pieces, one at the apex where the angle cuts end and the other at a height of 3 1/2 feet from the bottom of the A-frame. The opening for the swing support beam should be 3 1/2 inches wide or slightly more--measure the beam for the opening size. Drill holes for 3/8-inch carriage bolts and countersink the holes on one side so that the bolt ends, washers and nuts are below the surface of the wood. Trim the ends of the cross pieces to match the 60-degree angle of the A-frame.

Swing Support

Stand the A-frames up in place and temporarily brace each with two 1-by-3 boards. Plumb the frames with a level. Lift a 4-by-6 beam (get a helper, they are heavy) into place between the two frames. Secure with two 1/2-inch bolts by drilling through the post, into the beam and out the other post. Countersink the holes to hide the nuts, washers and bolt ends. Make swings seats from 5/4-by-6-inch deck boards. Drill two holes in each end for ropes. A good width is 12 to 14 inches. In the swing support beam, drill 3/8-inch holes and install 3/8-inch eye-bolts. Countersink the holes on top of the beam to hide the nuts, washers and eye-bolt ends. Suspend the swings with soft, 5/8 inch braided rope. Synthetic rope is best since it doesn't rot. Thread the rope through an eye-bolt and take both ends down through one end of the swing seat, one rope end through each hole. Tie a knot and secure the tag ends of the knot with waterproof duct tape.

Anchors

Dig post holes 6 inches in diameter and 2 feet deep next to each post. Set a pressure-treated 2-by-4 upright in the hole and bolt it to the 4-by-4 frame post. Counter sink the nut and bolt end into the 4-by-4. Add half a 40-pound bag of quick setting concrete to the hole and stir in water per instructions. Once the concrete sets, typically after 30 to 60 minutes, refill the remainder of the hole with dirt.

Source: http://www.ehow.com/way_5453488_diy-wooden-swingset-budget.html

Old Fashioned Sore Throat Cure

Just heat 1 cup  of water
Add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey


Stir and enjoy! That was simple...now take it nice and easy (harder!)...and go get some rest (hardest!)!


Photo Source: http://www.homelife.com.au/life+ideas/wellbeing/how+to+treat+a+sore+throat,4955

Sore Throat Cure

2-4 slices of lemon
2 cm piece of ginger, thinly sliced
A handful of mint sprigs
1-2 cinnamon sticks
Honey, to taste

Infuse the lemon, mint, ginger, and cinnamon in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Pour into mug and add honey to sweeten and soothe the throat.

Photo and Recipe Source: http://www.homelife.com.au/life+ideas/wellbeing/how+to+treat+a+sore+throat,4955

The B.R.A.T Diet

The B.R.A.T. diet is great for anyone with stomach upset, diarrhea, or vomiting. My Mom would have us eat this way of we were sick as kids and it works! I still use it for my kids today!

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
&
Toast


Photo Source: www.carriessweetlife.com

Three Great Feel-Better-Soon Tips

If you can get your kid to eat it, BLACK LICORICE will cure their constipation nine times out of ten!

Did you know that the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar creates a cooling effect that will soothe your child’s minor burns. Just pour equal amounts of the ingredients into a bowl to bathe your child’s hand till the burning stops.

 Ear infections are being treated less and less these days with antibiotics, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t painful. I like to use a hot pack big enough so they can lay their head down to relieve the “ache

Text and Photo Source:  http://www.howdoesshe.com/7-secret-home-remedies

Homemade Lip Gloss

1 cup petroleum jelly
1 pkg of kool-aid drink powder (Cherry or Strawberry)
labels printed out on sticker paper
scissors or 1 inch paper punch

1. put about 1 cup vaseline in a microwave safe bowl
2. heat the vaseline in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each heating. It took me about 7-8 minutes to melt each batch of vaseline. It will be liquid when it is fully melted. It will be very hot! Make sure you wear gloves or oven mitts and make sure children are being supervised.
3. take out of microwave and stir in kool-aid drink crystals until desired colour is reached - I used the whole package for each batch. Stir until the crystals are completely dissolved.
4. if starting to solidify you can heat again for another 30 seconds - skip this step if it is still liquidy
5. pour into your lip gloss containers and leave to solidify - a couple hours
6. repeat this whole process if making more flavours
7. print out labels on sticker paper
8. using either a 1 inch punch, or scissors, cut out the circle labels and attach to your lip gloss container
9. give to all your favourite people, but remember to save a few for yourself too!


Photo and Text Source: http://meetthedubiens.blogspot.com/2011/01/make-your-own-lip-gloss.html

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

Here’s what you’ll need: essential oils (citronella and lemongrass are musts, I also like lavender or you could use tea tree oil or geranium oil for tick protection), 14 oz. bottle of witch hazel (available in grocery stores & pharmacies usually close to the rubbing alcohol), a spray bottle (or two–one for home and one for the diaper bag/car), a jar for mixing, and a funnel.





We used these essential oils: citronella, lemongrass and lavender. You could also use peppermint or cedar wood essential oils as well.



I cleaned out an empty detangler spray bottle for our “on the go” spray.





1. Pour the witch hazel into the glass jar then add your essential oils. We put about 15 drops of both citronella and lemongrass, and about 10-12 drops of lavender.





2. Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until it is mixed.




It should be pretty cloudy.





3. Pour into your spray bottles using a funnel.





Make a label (or write in Sharpie). I used an old Scrapbook sticker to make it look “cuter”. :)






You can spray this on the exposed parts of your body: arms, legs, neck, ankles, feet, etc and then rub it in. Make sure you don’t spray it on your face or get it in your eyes. If you put this on your kids, be sure to try just a little bit first on one area of their skin to make sure they’re not allergic to any of the essential oils.
Or you can use it to spray the area around where your sitting outside.


Original Text and Photo Source: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/06/make-it-natural-mosquito-spray/

Honey Cuticle Cream

It's easy, fun & no chemicals added - you can whip up your own Honey Cuticle Cream in less than five minutes flat. And I love re-using metal Altoid tins! How perfect is that?

1.5 ounces beeswax
3 ounces apricot kernel oil
1 tablespoon honey

Melt the wax and oil in the microwave, stir in the honey, and pour into tins or other containers.

Photo and Text Source:  http://lepetithappy.blogspot.com/2010/06/diy-it-honey-cuticle-cream.html

Sewing Pajama Pants

Original post here: http://www.littlepinkmonster.com/2010/06/18/sewing-pants-101/

I am LOVING Sewing Pants 101. By Natasha on June 18, 2010 in naptime crafting.  I have made each of my kids to sets of pajama bottoms this week!

"I thought I’d start with a good play by play on how to sew pants. I don’t care how little you know about sewing, if you have a machine & you know how to thread it give these a try.

This process will work for all sorts of pants…elastic waist, drawstring, sweats or pj’s. First off you’ll need to make a pattern. Best way to do that is find a pair of pants that fit the way you’d like & lay them out on your fabric (or paper if you want to make a copy you can use over & over) with the crotch pointed out like in the picture below. Trace the legs just to the outside (and therefore adding about a 1/4″ seam allowance) & extend your pattern 2 & 1/4″ at the top of the leg to account for the waistband you’ll be making. Cut out the fabric pieces so they’re folded in half like so. (that way when you open it up it’s an entire pantleg & not just the front, it’ll save you from sewing a side seam like a pair of jeans would have)

You’ll need two of these.

Now you’ll want to sew each pantleg from the crotch down to the bottom of the pant with the right sides facing together. Pin first, sew second. (you can see my stitches in blue)

*Also here’s a tip, if using a regular sewing machine (NOT a serger, been there, done that, no bueno) if you pin seams horizontally (perpendicular to the way your machine is stitching) then you can just sew right across the pins, no need to take them out as you go.

Next step is a neat trick. Lay your two legs next each other like the pic below. Turn the leg on the left right side out but leave the right one inside out. Slide the right-side out leg into the inside out leg. Line them up & pin the seams from the bottom of the crotch to the top of the waistband.

Stitch this seam being sure to stitch back & forth (reverse & forward) a bit at the beginning & end of the seam. This is sometimes called a “lockstitch” & just means you’re locking the seam into place so it won’t unravel later when it gets stressed. After stitching you can pull the leg back out & wah-lah!

They’re lookin’ a lot like pants, aren’t they? Last step is making the waistband. I’ll show you how to do both an elastic waist & also a drawstring…Measure the waistline of the intended pant-wearer & cut a piece of elastic that is that length + 1″. Set elastic aside.

Fold the waistband in one inch & pin in place. *Another trick, if you aren’t crazy about pinning or just want to make your stitching easier you should iron your seams first, then stitch. I rarely take the time to do this because it requires setting up the iron but whenever I do it really does make things easier. Stitch waistband down (therefore making a casing for the elastic) but don’t go all the way around, leave a 2″ opening so we can thread the elastic through it. Take a safety pin & attach it to one end of your elastic, use the safety pin as something to hold onto while you thread the elastic through the waistband casing & back out the 2″ opening. Being careful to make sure the elastic isn’t twisted anywhere inside the casing first, go ahead & stitch the two ends of your elastic together. Go back & forth several times to make sure that sucker’s not coming apart no matter what. Stitch the 2″ opening shut.

If you were just making elastic waist pants then congrats, you’re officially done!  That’s it! Lots of directions but it’s actually kind of easy, right? Once you make a few you’ll be able to make pants in 15 minutes, easy. Not to mention capris, shorts, bloomers…they’re all just slight variations.”

Photo and Text Source: http://www.littlepinkmonster.com/2010/06/18/sewing-pants-101/

DIY: How to remove the bottom of a bottle (Beer Bottle)

How to remove the bottom of a bottle (Part 2)…. without breaking the rest of the bottle. This one takes some practice to get right, but the end result is pretty cool. By just using your hand, and some water, you can make the bottom of a beer bottle blow out, in a perfect circle without breaking the rest of the bottle.

Take the empty beer bottle and fill it with water until the water is halfway up the neck of the bottle. Place your hand around the neck of the bottle, so that your hand is flush to the top. So your hand and the bottle are almost flat at the top. With your other hand OPEN, smack the top of the bottle/hand combination. You need to do it pretty hard. DO NOT do this step over anything important, go find a nice grassy spot. If done correctly, the bottom of the bottle will fall to the ground without breaking the rest of the bottle. When you smack the bottle, leave your hand on top. Immediately lifting your hand will do nothing and just result in a bruised hand. By smacking the bottle, the glass moves down slightly. The water in the bottle moves up closer to the top and creates a vacuum at the bottom of the bottle. This water moves back down fast enough to break the bottom off. Therefore you must keep your hand on top long enough to let the air compress. Luckily that is not very long, because the whole reaction takes place very fast. Do not do this over anything that you may not want to get wet, because it will most definitely get wet, really wet. Be careful hitting the bottle multiple times. When it finally breaks, it could shatter all the way up to the hand holding the bottle and potentially cut your hand. Once the bottom is removed you could sand down the bottom edges to make them smooth!

To see a video of this being done go here: http://www.tvlesson.com/video/4500_party-trick-how-to-remove-the-bottom-of-a-bottle.html

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Blow-the-Bottom-out-of-a-Bottle

DIY: How to remove the botom of a glass bottle (Wine Bottle)

How to remove a bottom of a bottle: These instructions were given on www.remodelaholic.com.

" First I soaked my wine bottles in warm soapy water to take the labels off. Then taped off a section on the bottom and drew a straight line along the tape. This indicates the line I am going to cut along.

Next I was ready to cut. (Remember to wear safety goggles and a mask!) Using the Cutting Wheel of my Dremel I cut along the line I had drawn on the tape. 

Take your time and let the tool do the work. If you apply to pressure you'll just wear down the Cutting Wheel faster, but you won't make your progress any quicker. (Trust me I tried!)

Making some progress! I like to keep the tape on the whole time to keep any glass shards in check. Also remember to periodically dip the Dremel in water and spray some on the glass to keep both from getting to hot. The Dremel can over heat and the glass could crack if not. 

Yay success!! Next you'll use the Grinding Bit for the Dremel to smooth out any rough edges.

Once your are done with this step you can use the polishing bit to make the edge extra smooth and shiny." 

Photo and Instruction Source and to read more: http://www.remodelaholic.com/2010/09/how-to-make-glass-wine-bottle-pendant.html#ixzz1VhZuOZa9