Make it Yourself - Ant Bait

As they days grew hotter this year, we began to see more and more ants in the house. Every time we would kill a group, another would eventually turn up. Finally, they invaded Willie's computer room, and enough was enough. He did some research on how to kill the whole colony. Lo and behold, we had the stuff we needed in the house already!

Here's what you'll need for your ant bait stations:

Borax

Powdered Sugar

Bottle Caps

It's pretty easy to do, Mix 1 part Borax to 3 parts powdered sugar. Dispense into bottle caps. Place bottle caps in an area frequented by ants.

It's best to put these bait stations someplace outside, or in the garage or a shed. Try to choose an area that is somewhat sheltered, with a windbreak. It will also help bring the little guys out during the day if the location of the bait stations is shaded. That way you can tell how many are taking the bait home! *insert evil laugh here*

The idea behind this method is that the ants won't be able to tell the sugar from the Borax. They will take it all home to the colony, and the entire colony will ingest the Borax. This will cause them to be unable to absorb water, and they will eventually die.

Cotton Ball Fire Starters

So, I've already taught you how to make egg carton fire starters to get your campfires started, but suppose you don't have any with you. Now what? Not to fear! I will teach you how to build a fire using another means!

I was trying to decide if I should make my fire "from scratch" or demonstrate one of my methods of fire-starting from my day pack. I chose the latter.

Here's what you'll need to make your little cotton ball fire starters:
Cotton Balls
Petroleum Jelly
Zip-top Bag

Put a few handfuls of cotton balls into the zip-top bag, add a dallop of the jelly, seal, and knead until the cotton balls are coated. If they don't quite all get a dose of the jelly, just add a bit more and knead again. So easy! Now you can put them in your day pack, along with your steel wool, magnesium bar, and sparker.

So, I set up my fire pit with some chunks of wood we wanted to get rid of. On top of that I placed some pine cones. Small, rough items such as pine cones or bits of bark with allow your flame to "catch hold" and grow. Typically you would start with very thin, papery items such as dry grass, moss, papery or fiberous bark, or thin wood shavings. Since our cotton balls are taking its place, we won't need papery items, just something for the flame to hold onto.

Take a few of your greasy little cotton balls and spread them open a bit. The spark will ignite the dry cotton you've uncovered by spreading it open, and the petroleum jelly-covered parts will act as a torch to keep the flame burning long enough for you to add kindling.

I attempted to use my sparker to ignite the flame, but I was using the notched edges on the side, which didn't throw off a very big spark. Willie took over and used the flat edge at the top to produce a spark large enough to start the fire. 

Check out the video to see how easily these little fire starters ignited!

Things to Save or Find for Crafts and Projects

Egg Cartons

Eggs (Duh!)

Fire Starters

Seed Starting

Milk Cartons

Seed Starting

Yogurt Tubs

Seed Starting

Broken Jewelry

Beads

Pendant, Bead and Bauble Christmas Ornaments

2d Christmas Tree

Dryer Lint

Fire Starters

Old Candles

Fire Starters

Jeans

Emergency Water Filter

Denim Quilt

Braided Denim Rug

Broken Crayons

Crayon Candles

Wax Paper Stained Glass

Recycled Crayon Christmas Bulbs

Bandannas

Bandanna Quilt

Bandanna Babies

Sheets

Flat Sheet Quilt

Rag Rug

Pillow Cases

Rag Rug

Pillow Case Dresses

Bleach Bottles

Bleach Bottle Toy Tote

Scrap Yarn

Scrap Yarn Rug

Scrap Yarn Afghans

Plastic Canvas Bookworm Bookmark

Crochet Birds and Baubles

Plastic Canvas Mitten Ornaments

Crochet Hangers

Bleach Bottle Toy Tote

Crochet Soap Savers

Loom Knit Hats

Braided Christmas Card Display

Chicken Sweaters

Plastic Grocery Bags

Grocery Bag Shopping Bag

Trash Can Liners

Lunch Bags

Felt

Felt and Button Mitten Ornaments

Felt Potpourri Sachet Ornaments

Newspaper

Paper Beads

Charcoal Starting

Pinatas

Paper Mache

Newspaper Owls

Seed Paper

Magazines

Paper Beads

Framed Photos

Craft Stick Puzzle

Wire Hangers

Crochet Hangers

Underwear Hanger

Picture Frames

Pressed Flower Art

Children's Book Framed Prints

Family Tree Wall Hanging

Rocks

Painted Rock Cactus Garden

Painted Rock Tombstones

Nuts

Brazil Nut Reindeer Ornament

Walnut Strawberry Ornament

Kids' Books

Craft Stick Puzzle

Children's Book Framed Prints

Cinder Blocks

Cinder Block Kindling Rack

Cinder Block Book Shelf

Drink Bottles

Drink Bottle Flower Vase

Scrapbook Paper

Paper Beads

Newspaper Owls

Paper Easter Eggs

Teacups

Teacup Pincushions

Teacup Flower Arrangements

Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Tubes

Organizing Ribbon

Towels

Pet Blankets/Cleaning Rags

Bath Mitts

Seashells

Seashell Christmas Ornaments

Scrap Fabric

Teacup Pincushions

Tied Scrap Fabric Christmas Trees

Rag Rugs

Scrap Fabric Heart Gift Cards

Scrap Fabric Christmas Cards

Buttons

Button Christmas Cards

Felt and Button Mitten Ornaments

Paint and button Christmas Cards

Greeting Cards

Greeting Card Gift Tags

Greeting Card Gift Boxes

Drink Bottle Flower Vase

So, a while back there was a lady at my nursing home who was not doing so well. I decided to bring in some flowers to spruce the place up. My only problem? No flower vase. I decided to make my own!

I found an empty sports drink container and decided that I could figure out how to make it cute! 

First I took off the label and the cap. 

Next, I rinsed it out and cut off the neck. 

After it had dried out a bit, I found a metallic marker to decorate it with. It doesn't have to be metallic, I just happened to have a metallic one and decided to make my vase fancy! 

After you have fancified the vase, you will need some flowers. If you have some growing in your yard, go ahead and use those. All my flowers had either died or been eaten by goats, so I went down to the vacant lot on the corner. 

There I found a bunch of scarlet mallow, and cut a handful. 

I took them home, rinsed off the bugs, trimmed away some leaves and added them to my vase. I added a bit of water and took it over to the nursing home. 

Make It Yourself - Fruit Fly Trap

See the little fruit fly corpses? I'm evil.

So, I had some limes in my pantry that got shuffled to the back and forgotten about. Lo and behold, the little suckers hatched out a swarm of fruit flies! They infested my pantry, my compost bowl, and even made their way downstairs to Willie's computer room and started milling around an empty beer can on the desk. I hate fruit flies. They are awful. They are hard to get rid of once you have them, because they can go anywhere and infest anything. The first step to getting rid of these little fellas is to remove anything that they want to hang out near. Compost, old vegetation, garbage, dirty dishes, empty beer or soda cans. All of it has to go. Next, you need to lure the little nasties to their demise. A good, super simple way of doing this is with a vinegar trap. Find a small dish or cup, put a drop of dishwashing liquid in it, and add enough apple cider vinegar to drown a swarm of fruit flies. The cider vinegar will lure them in with its sweet-yet-pungent aroma, and the soap will break the surface tension of the vinegar. No surface tension means that when the fruit flies try to bob on the top of the vinegar to get a drink, they sink down into its depths and drown. Perhaps I like killing fruit flies too much. Perhaps I need counseling. Probably not, though. I just want a house free of tiny swarming insects.

Make It Yourself - Laundry Soap

So, Willie and I decided a long time ago that we would explore our laundry cleaning options and figure out if there was a better, cheaper way to go about washing clothes. Willie found a delightful recipe for homemade laundry soap, and we quickly set about making it! As it turns out, it works great! And it lasts forever! You don't need a whole lot of soap per washload to get good results.

I have had problems in the past with being allergic to certain laundry soaps. I once got hives so bad that they were on the soles of my feet. Ick! The doctor who treated me said it gave him the heeby-jeebies, and that's saying something! This recipe is super mild and I have not had any hint of a reaction or problem with it so far. So, if you want to give it a go, visit Making your own Laundry Detergent and whip a batch up for super cheap! I just picked up all the stuff to make my next batch for less than $25.