{DIY} Essential Oil Car Diffuser

I have been using essential oils for over a year now and love how very versatile they are.

I literally use essential oils for everything; health care for my family and my pets, pain management, cleaning, cooking, skin care, hair care, pest control, sleep, hormones, moods & emotional health.

 

They have pretty much changed my life.

 

If that all sounds a bit overwhelming,

then here's just a small example of how I use them in my daily life...in my car!

 

 

I stopped using those fake tree air fresheners in my car several years ago; they always gave me headaches and made me feel nauseous. Let's get real though...I need something to make my car smell nice. I have 3 children and we are always on the go, so my car is a mess of stinky soccer cleats, muddy shoes and banana peels.

 

For the last several months I have been putting oils on a cottonball & tucking it into the airvent.

It's been working pretty well, but well...it wasn't very pretty. (See what I did there? Ha!)

 

During Christmas baking I looked at the Christmas Tree cookie cutter and thought it would make a great template for a car diffuser. It totally does right?

 

I traced the cookie cutter on two pieces of green felt and cut them out, then I sewed them together using a zigzag stitch all the way around. I made some after this one where I straight stitched along the edge and it turned out equally cute and took considerably less time, so that's definitely another option.

 

Then I punched a hole in the top of the tiny tree and looped some hemp thread through.

 

Isn't it just adorable?

 

I put some grounding blend on it because, I mean, who couldn't use a little balance on their daily drive? No road rage for me, thank you very much. (Okay, so this won't prevent people from driving like idiots, but it helps keep me from wanting to drive them off the road)

 

Just a couple drops of essential oil and then hang it on your rearview mirror!

 

And there it is! My adorable and simple car diffuser:)

When the scent fades, just add a couple more drops of your favorite oil.

 

Other oils I love for in the car are Wild Orange and Peppermint, which together are very uplifting and energizing. I LOVE that blend for when I do the long drives for soccer tournaments and visiting family...keeps me alert and focused, which is always a good idea behind the wheel.

Oh and it smells divine. Win-Win!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

If you have been wanting to get more info on essential oils and would like to join my team, comment or email me! I would love to help you enrich your life with these amazing gifts of the earth:)

 

Increasingly Domestic's doTERRA Shop

(The prices on this site are retail, so ask me how to get them for 25% off!)

 

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating, CRAFT, DIY Home Sweet Home

{Handmade} Luke Skywalker Costume

When we decided that Brooklyn would be Princess Leia, it only made sense to have Travis be Luke Skywalker since they are siblings. Plus he doesn't have his own opinions yet,

so I'm taking advantage while I can. Ha!

 He made a super cute Jedi.

For the Cloak I used Simplicity Costumes 5927

The pattern called for felt, but the costume needed linen so I had to add some length and hem.

To get the wrapped fabric look of the boots, I wrapped his rain boots with an Ace bandage.

 For the Tunic I used Simplicity Costumes 4797 and altered the front to a v-neck faux wrap.

For the pants I used Simplicity Costumes 3650.

Super easy sew.

The light saber was purchased in the toy section. The ones in the costume section were not as good quality and cost nearly the same, so it was sort of a no-brainer.

 Sometimes Luke Skywalker chases a Rooster with his light saber.

He loved his costume.

When I was making it he was so amazing about letting me try things on him and every time I pulled out the measuring tape he would stand super still with a big grin on his face.

He loves when Mama makes him things and I love when he wears them.

Winning!

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Handmade} Princess Leia Costume

My daughter Brooklyn as Princess Leia.

Perfect character for her: girly and strong and super sassy.

 My little Leia was asked a couple times if her freckles were real.

Yep. Straight from Jesus, super real.

Her hair got so much attention at the Halloween Carnivals we went to.

People kept wondering how we got them so perfect.

Sock Buns!!!

For the belt I used Jess from Craftiness is not Optional's tutorial.

I just added a couple inches to make it fit my daughter and it came out perfectly!

Thanks Jess!

The "hood" is not a normal hood, but is actually a rectangle of fabric with the short sides sewn into the collar. I made hers a little long, but I'm not stressing over it. She loved it.

The collar I had to free style and I am not thrilled with how it came out, but it was the best of the 4 that I tried. Yeah...4 collars that I sewed on and ripped off (gently with a seam ripper...not all Hulk-y).

I decided that I love it.

For the dress part I used the same pattern that I used last Christmas to make

Brooklyn's Mary costume: Simplicity 4797.

Brooklyn was treated like a celebrity all night and was even bowed to by a few people running booths.

I am not going to get away with store bought costumes for this girl anymore...

she loved how authentic she looked.

Poor cat.

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Made} Infant Peasant Dress

One of my best friends just had a beautiful baby girl the day after Christmas. Because this is her second girl and she already has all the basic necessities, she decided to wait until the baby was born to have a shower. That is in a couple weeks, but I was wanting to make a little something to give to her now. 

Abby from Sew Much Ado shared this FREE Infant Peasant Dress Pattern and Tutorial and I just HAD to make it! The fabric I used is Riley Blake Sugar & Spice by The Quilted Fish.

 The pattern is awesome and the tutorial is so easy to follow and has great step by step photos. The pattern is the same for the front and back, so I added a little ribbon tag to what I decided was the "back".

I did this because there is one side that has more of the red flowers and I wanted that to be the front.

 Here is the dress on that sweet baby girl! I added a pair of newborn pants to keep her little legs warm.

In the summer this dress would be perfect with some bloomers.

*Sigh*I am so in love with her:)

Sewing for girls is so much fun!

It's probably a good thing that I am having another boy;)

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Tutorial} Simple Burp Cloths

I have SO MANY pregnant friends right now and I love giving handmade gifts.

Burp cloths are something that every mother needs and really you can never have too many!

If they are cute...even better!

I love the look of the ones with the strip of fabric down the center of a cloth diaper,

but I have heard from friends that they don't absorb as well.

The spit up runs down the fabric center and doesn't do what it is meant to do.

Flannel is very absorbent and gets more so with each wash, so that's what I made these with.

You could also do a flannel print on the front with minky, terry cloth, or chenille on the back.

Cut 2 pieces of flannel or whatever fabric you are using.

Mine were about 9" X 17".

Finished product is about 8"x16".

This gives good shoulder coverage without being too big and rolls up nicely in the diaper bag.

Pin the pieces right side to right side.

Sew with a 3/8 seam allowance ALMOST all the way around.

Leave about a 3" section open for turning.

Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end.

Snip off the corners.

This removes some bulk in the corners when you turn.

Turn right side out, poke out the corners so they are nice a sharp and press with an iron.

Make sure that the fabric at the opening is turned in(sometimes I pin this)

Then topstitch all the way around.

Backstitch at the beginning and end.

And you're done!

Make them in multiples and tie them up with a ribbon!

I gave these to a friend along with a set of bottles that she had registered for.

Bottles and Burp Cloths...Get it?

I love me a theme gift!

Here's a simple modification:

Round the corners!

 Using a cup, bowl or anything circular really, trace a rounded corner.

I do this after my fabric is pinned together so that I am not fighting to line up the rounded corners.

 With rounded corners you will need to cut out little notches. This keeps your corners from being too bulky.

 Turn, press, and topstitch!

Ask any mom and she will tell you that you can NEVER have too many burp cloths.

Why not give them something that is not only practical, but OH SO CUTE!

Oh, and did I mention that they are super inexpensive to make?

Especially if you get your fabrics on sale or with a coupon like I do!

Happy Sewing!

Linking up with some of these blogs:

Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Tutorial} "Name" Beanbags

I decided to make my son Travis some beanbags to help him to learn the letters of his name.

Uppercase letters on one side and lowercase letters on the other.

I went through my felt stash (yep, I have a whole bin FULL of felt) and realized that I could get almost all the colors of the rainbow to spell out his name!

First, cut your fabric into 5"x5" squares. 2 of each color.
Then arrange them into a rainbow and take a picture.Very important step! Unless your fabrics are not, in fact, a rainbow of colors because that just would not make sense.


#1. Trace the REVERSED Letter onto the shiny side of Heat N Bond, iron it onto the fabric you are using for your letters and then cut it out. Remove paper backing and iron to the center of your 5"x5" square.

#2. Using a zigzag or straight stitch, sew the applique to the fabric square.

#3. Here is my first one all stitched down. I used a straight stitch as close to the edge as I could. GO SLOW as there are lots of turns and curves.

#4. Here is what the back looks like...as you can see it looks just like the letter because of how carefully I sewed. My thread matches, so it's probably not that big of a deal, but I am a firstborn(read:Type A) so I kept it as neat as I could. I eased up a bit after the first one.

#5. Repeat with the lowercase letter on the other 5"x5" square of the same color.

#6. Pin the two squares "T" to "t" like they are smooching. Maybe even make the sound when you do this step. Pin the crap out of it, or don't. Not really necessary to use that many pins, but whatever.

#7. Sew around the outside of the squares leaving a 2"-3" opening. Back stitch at the beginning and at the end so that it is nice and strong when you turn the bag.

#8. "Clip" the corners. This removes some of the bulk once you turn the bag right side out. Make sure you don't cut through the thread.

#9. Turn the bag right side out and poke out the corners with something pointy (pencil, chopstick, actual apparatus meant for poking out corners).

#10. Fill bag with beans. I used about 3/4 cup in mine.

#11. Top stitch all the way around the bag to seal it closed and to add strength.

Let your toddler play with the beans on the floor so that he will leave you alone

long enough to get these finished!

Just FYI:

Making these assembly line fashion is the way to go!

Do each step with all the beanbags at the same time so you save time

and are not going back and forth.

Let the LEARNING FUN begin!

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

Mary had a little, uh, cow?

My daughter was asked to play Mary in our church's Christmas video
which meant that I needed to come up with a costume!

I found a pattern that had Mary, as well as many other Nativity costumes at Joann's and was so excited because now I have costume patterns for future years for my boys as well.  

Simplicity 4797.

It just so happens that Joann's had their Simplicity patterns on sale, 5 for $5!

I was one happy mama:)

My daughter Brooklyn as Mary.

She sat so patiently and did such a great job.

I am so proud of her:)

I had to sew this costume TWICE because I am a dork and thought that if I went up a size then she could wear it for longer, not realizing that it jumped from a 7/8 to a 10/12! Uh, yeah, there is a pretty big difference between a size 7 and a 12. The first one could have fit me in all my pregnant-ness and was ginormous on my 8 year old, so I had to go back and remake it. Thankfully I had just enough fabric for my redo and now I have TWO Mary costumes! I wouldn't have planned it that way, but whatever. Now when I need the bigger size I will look like the awesome Mom who thought ahead;)

No one needs to know the truth, right? Ha!

She did this pose all on her own:)

I have this other kid who we decided to dress as a cow:)

Isn't he adorable?

I found some great cow print fleece at Joann's

and made the little lamb costume with it to come up with a cow.

Oh, and I started sewing it The. Night. Before. the video shoot.

Yep. I am a procrastinator.

(New Years Resolution? I think so!)

Thankfully I didn't have to sew this one twice! Mama learned her lesson with Mary;)

He did such a great job in the video, sitting and smiling.

I just love his face!

My sweet Mary and little cow.

I am DYING to see the finished video!

I will post it after Christmas:)

Linking up with some of these blogs:

Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating