The Domestic Diva » Domestic Duties

DIY Blingin’ Bangle

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 05 May 2012 05:24:04 +0000

Today, I’m sharing a really simple, easy craft to do to add a bit of sparkle to your accessories. One can make their own “blingin’ bangle” however they would like with whatever color glitter they might have on hand. One could also re-fashion an old bangle by adding a bit of sparkle to it.

I love a good bangle. Bangles are that simple accessory that just adds a bit of fun to any outfit especially when they are covered with sparkle.

Thanks Mom for letting me borrow your Modge Podge. Without it, this craft wouldn’t have been possible.

What you Need:

glitter (whatever color you want your bangle to be)
Modge Podge
Wooden Craft Bangle (or old bangle you want to refashion)

How to make-your-own blingin’ bangle

Paint a thin layer of Modge Podge onto your bangle, all over including the sides but not the inside of the bangle
Over a bowl, sprinkle the glitter onto the bangle. Make sure you cover your bangle completely with glitter.
Hang somewhere until dry. I hung mine on a doorknob over night.
Seal the glitter so it won’t come off when you wear it by painting another coat of Modge Podge over the dry glitter. Allow to dry over night once more.

Have fun blingin’ out your bangles!
Looking for more easy jewelry making tutorials? Check out one of our latest posts: Long Chain Necklace under $10.

DIY Long Chain Necklace Under $10 (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:51:06 +0000

Well it looks like the warm weather is back and probably here to stay. We are predicted to be in the 90°F range this week. GAH! that’s hot. It will definitely be a long, hot summer but there is one upside to warmer weather….sun dresses! Whether you are playing it casual or dressing things up a bit, here is a long chain necklace idea that one can make to go with those fun spring outfits. All of the supplies I found at my local Walmart in the craft section.

Supplies Needed

34 in Chain- $3
Metal Accent (Metal Wings/Bow/Pink Acct Silver by Cousin)- $3
Charms (11 Pc Glass Charm Pink by Cousin)- $3
Needle Nose Plyers

What drew me to the Cousin products at my local Walmart’s craft section was that the chains, charms, and accents came with the jump rings and clasps needed to attach to and create a piece of jewelry. This means that I didn’t have to buy these things separately.

Step 1: attach clasp and jump rings to each end of chain. The chain I chose came with 4 jump rings and two clasps. I attached three jump rings together to one end of the chain and on the other I attached the clasp with one jump ring to the chain. This creates our necklace.

Step 2: Attach large charm to center of necklace. We picked a large silver accent that we simply attached to the center of our necklace with a jump ring.

Step 3: Attach Charms. Lastly we attached the charms to our necklace. From the center accent piece I attached a charm every two or three links. These charms also had jump rings already attached to them so with a pair of pliers I opened the jump ring and slipped it onto the link in our chain. One can add as much or as little charms as they would like.

Jewelry is fun and creative. Make it your own.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to use towards the purchase of the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

The Bell Peppers are Sprouting! (Viddy Video)

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:19:17 +0000

I downloaded a new app this morning called Viddy. I decided to try it out and record a video of my recent garden discovery. Viddy videos are only 15 seconds long though, so they are really short videos.

Most of my Viddy videos will be posted to my YouTube channel so make sure you subscribe!!!

Youtube: http://youtu.be/zCGoPyYfLQ0 | Viddy: http://viddy.com/thedomesticdiva

The cucumber and bell pepper seeds are the Seeds of Change seeds that I received from Walmart. The cucumber seeds have been up for a while but the Bell Pepper seeds took a lot longer to germinate….they had me a little bit nervous. I didn’t think they were going to come up but as you can see in the video they are starting to show their little faces.

Disclosure: this is a follow-up post to Gardening: Seeds of Change to show how my seed planting is going. For more information please visit the original post.

Spring Cleaning with the Lorax and Seventh Generation (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:42:03 +0000

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it was time to start Spring Cleaning. This is the time of year where I get to give my home a good deep clean. From cleaning to clearing out the clutter, it feels good to have the house back in some sort of order (even if it is just for a little while).

A couple of weeks ago I was asked as a Walmart Mom to take the Lorax Spring Cleaning Challenge and replace 3 of my conventional cleaners with 3 of the Seventh Generation products.

I live in a house of all boys, we definitely have a lot of messes we have to clean up. So I started my challenge off by trying out the Natural 2x Concentrated Laundry Detergent. This laundry detergent is Free & Clear meaning there are no dyes, fragrances, or masking agents in it. Since I’m used to using a laundry detergent that has a fragrance to it that is the biggest difference that I noticed after washing our first load of laundry. It didn’t matter to me that my laundry didn’t have a smell to it after I washed using the Seventh Generation Free & Clear brand the only thing that mattered to me was if my clothes were clean or not.

The second product we wanted to try out was the Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid. We don’t do a lot of dishes by hand since we have a dishwasher but there are time when we need to wash a dish or two so we always have regular dishsoap on hand at all times. The first thing I noticed about this product was the smell. The Lavender Floral & Mint smells good which is probably why I liked this product the best out of all of the ones that we tried out. I like that this dish liquid is non-toxic, biodegradable, and hypo-allergenic.

And lastly we replaced our regular disinfecting wipes with Seventh Generations Disinfecting Wipes with Lemongrass & Thyme Scent. As far as scents go, this is probably my least favorite. The smell of the thyme is pretty strong to me. While I’m not too crazy about the thyme, lemongrass smell the Seventh Generation Disinfecting Wipes proved to be just as easy, quick, convenient, and effective at cleaning up everyday messes.

After all the cleaning was done, it was time to sit down with the kidlets and read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss to learn about why it is so important to be earth friendly whenever possible.

Every little bit can help, learn more about the Seventh Generation & the Lorax. Looking for more ways to live green? Check out some green living tips on the 7Gen Blog, I found the tips to be not only interesting but pretty easy to do in daily life.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given samples of the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

Gardening: Seeds of Change (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:57:22 +0000

I think one of my favorite aspects of Spring is that it is time to plant the gardens again. A couple of weeks ago we started cleaning out the old gardens and getting the soil ready for some new seeds (thanks Mom for all the help & Hubby too!). After all of the “hard work” was done then I started mapping out what I was going to plant where. Until I figure out a great way to make some garden markers that will hold up with the weather, those mapped out plans I made will serve as my reminder of what has been planted where.

A couple of weeks ago, I was given a kit & some seeds by Seeds of Change to try out. Walmart recently started carrying these seeds in their stores. While there is a bigger variety of seeds available online, I like that Walmart is carrying these 100% certified organic seeds in their garden section.

My little kidlet loves to help me garden so I had him help me start the tomato starter kit. The Seeds of Change tomato starter kit contained everything we needed to start growing some tomato plants: biodegradable pots, organic seeds, organic planting mix, a tray, and how-to guide. The instructions were simple and easy to understand. After about a week we saw our first little sprouts and now we are waiting for them to get just a little bit bigger so we can plant them out into our gardens.

After we started the tomato kit, I also started the Seeds of Change Armenian Cucumbers & Purple Bell Peppers in a seed tray. So far, the Armenian Cucumbers have sprouted and look great. We planted the Early Green Broccoli, Lettuce Mix, and Renegade Spinach directly in the gardens so we will check on those in a couple of weeks to see if they sprout (I’m crossing my fingers that the birds didn’t find the freshly planted seeds).

Seeds of Change has a lot of very helpful information about gardening on their website from why choose organic to succession planting. Look for Seeds of Change at your local Walmart and for more info be sure to check them out on Facebook & Twitter.

Want to share something from your garden with a friend? Check out this make-your-own garden gift set.

What are you planting in your garden this year?

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given samples of the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

Spring Cleaning Tip for the Bathroom

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:33:24 +0000

I have started a bit of Spring cleaning at my house and I decided to tackle the master bathroom with a really good scrub down. While I wish we had one of those removable shower heads to make my cleaning task a bit easier, I had to come up with a better solution for this problem. Besides splashing water with a cup onto the freshly cleaned tiles, I couldn’t think of a better solution for rinsing the bathroom after I spent an hour scrubbing it.

I thought to myself, there just had to be a better way to rinse the shower without getting water everywhere. Then it hit me (in one of those aaaha! light bulb type moments) to use the watering can from the garden to rinse of the walls of the shower. I was surprised that it worked out so well. From now on, I know my watering can won’t just be for the garden anymore.

Have you started spring cleaning yet?

What is the first room in your house that you want to tackle?

Guardsman: Stop Cleaning. Start Caring. (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:51:43 +0000

My kitchen is probably one of the busiest places in my entire home especially at my kitchen table. But my kitchen table isn’t just a table to me. This table has lots of history and memories attached to it. My parents passed this particular table down to me and I can fondly remember sitting at that very same table when I was little to enjoy meals with my family. Now that I’m married, my two young children sit at this table to eat their meals. This table has seen a lot throughout the years from simple suppers to sticky crafts to an occasional study book or two.

Guardsman has been taking care of furniture for almost 100 years now. They recently launched a campaign called “Stop Cleaning. Start Caring” that talks about caring for your furniture in the same way as you would care for other things that you love. Guardsman sent me a couple of products to try out and I couldn’t think of a better piece of furniture that I wanted to “care” for than my kitchen table.

Purifying Wood Cleaner: with two small children you could probably guess that we see our fair share of spills and messes. Guardman’s Purifying Wood Cleaner was designed to cut through grime as well as food and beverage residues.

Revitalizing Wood Polish: unlike other wood polishes that I’ve tried in the past this didn’t leave my table feeling greasy or sticky. Since we use our table almost daily and touch it constantly I liked that Guardsman took into account what the product would leave your furniture feeling like after you used it.

Ultimate Dusting Cloths: these dusting cloths are hand washable and reusable. The convenience of not having to use a spray in order to dust is a plus.

For more information about Guardsman products, how-to tips on furniture care, or to learn more about the “Stop Cleaning, Start Caring” campaign, check out guardsman.com.

How do you care for your furniture?

Disclosure: I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this video and blog post. Guardsman also sent me samples of the products mentioned in this post to try out for myself. My experience may differ from your own.

Make-Your-Own Garden Gift Set (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:40:28 +0000

I love being crafty and I also love to garden. Walmart recently shared with me this tutorial on creating a Thanks from Our Garden-Bulb Gift Set and gave me the challenge to see if I could find what I needed at my local Walmart to create this craft. So with my giftcard in hand I set out to do just that or get as close as I possibly could. This is how my crafting went:

Supplies

8 in. Plastic Flower Pot- $1.96
Scrapbook paper in your favorite designs (I chose damask)- $5.00
Matching Ribbon- $.97
Scissors
Double Stick Tape
Flower of your choice- $4.44
Bulbs of your choice- $5.38
Garden Gloves- $2.97

Step 1: Arrange Flower Pot with gloves, bulbs, and flowers.

The first thing I did was I arranged the flower pot the way that I wanted it to be. I made sure I picked a flower pot at the store that would fit the items I was going to tuck inside (bulbs, potted plant, and garden gloves).
For my flowering plant, I picked a perennial and for my bulbs I picked an annual. I don’t know about you but when I garden I go through garden gloves like crazy, so an extra pair of garden gloves is always a nice thought when giving a garden gift to someone.

Step 2: Decorate the Outside

I picked out a pack of scrapbook paper at my local Walmart that not only had scrapbook paper inside but also die-cuts and stickers. The whole scrapbook kit was only $5.00.

First I took the 3 yrds of ribbon and cut it into 3 equal strands. I tied the three ribbons at the top of the planter in a double knot. Then I took one of the die-cuts and thread it through one of the ribbons and tied it. If the ribbon is not staying on the planter, use a tiny strip of double sided tape to keep the ribbon from falling down.

I picked out my favorite pattern out of the scrapbook kit and made a pinwheel out of two 1 inch wide pieces of scrapbook paper. Colorbok the company that made the scrapbook paper kit that I picked up at Walmart, has a tutorial on their site for how to make scapbook paper pinwheels.

I attached the pinwheel to the flower pot with some double stick tape. I then found a cute saying in the scrapbook kit that I liked “Life is Sweet”. But before attaching this saying to the pinwheel I first cut out a plain circle using the empty ribbon spool as a guide. I attached both the cut out circle and saying die-cut to the pinwheel using double sided tape.

What I liked about this craft is that one can easily personalize it for any occasion. For the most part I was able to find most of what I needed to make this craft at my local store. For instance the metal bucket I could not find so I used a plastic flower pot instead. Wrapping the scrapbook paper around the flower pot wasn’t working in my case so I opted to embellish the gift in other ways with ribbons, sayings, and scrapbook paper pinwheels. Also instead of glue I used double sided tape, that way the recipient won’t have to worry about peeling off glue from the flower pot in order to use it.

What have you crafted lately?

Join the Walmart Crafts group on Facebook (don’t forget to “like” the Domestic Diva page while you are there).
Check out Walmart on Pinterest (& follow our boards on Pinterest too!).
Or get some more ideas at Spotted Canary.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to purchase the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

Easter Basket Hunt (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:22:09 +0000

How do you make an Easter Basket on a budget? I was given this challenge by Walmart to see if I could find what we needed for an Easter basket but still stay within a $10 budget.

The first part of the challenge that we had to tackle were the Easter baskets. Since we couldn’t find our Easter baskets from last year we had to get new ones. Walmart had a large selection of plastic baskets that were around $1 but I thought we would go the less traditional route and opt to use a metal bucket instead. These buckets can not only be used as our Easter basket but the kidlets can also use them in there room on their dresser to hold things. These buckets can also be easily personalized by painting the kid’s name on the outside or adding a tag to the handle. We also picked these small metal buckets because of the Easter Basket Hunt that we do every year and I’ll explain this fun part a little further in this post…

So now that we got our buckets, it was time to fill them and the first thing that usually comes to a person’s mind when they think of filling an Easter basket is….Easter filler grass. I was really surprised that Walmart had filler grass for only $.28. One bag was just enough for our Easter buckets :)

To fill the inside of our baskets with goodies I opted to get several things I know my kids would have fun playing with and one of their favorite sweet treats. Walmart carries a lot of $.97 basket stuffers. I picked out 4 different basket stuffers for each bucket and 1 sweet treat which were a 4 count pack of Ring Pops since those are my kidlet’s favorite treats.

Here is a basic breakdown of the Easter Baskets that we were able to put together using items we found at our local Walmart….

Make-your-own Easter Basket for around $10

Basket One (Total: $10.13)
Easter Grass- $.28
Easter themed puzzle- $.97
Jump Rope- $.97
Bracelet (sports themed)- $.97
Little Notebook- $.97
Easter Ring Pop (4 count)- $1.00
Metal Bucket- $4.97

Basket Two (Total: $10.13)
Easter Grass- $.28
Easter Ring Pop (4 count)- $1.00
Jump Rope- $.97
6 pop up toy- $.97
12 ct. pencils_ $.97
Metal Bucket- $4.97

Easter Basket Hunt

I mentioned earlier in this post something about an Easter Basket Hunt. The Easter Basket Hunt started when I was a little girl. Every year my parents would hide our Easter Baskets somewhere in the house the night before Easter morning. When we woke up Easter morning it was our job to go and find where our Easter Baskets were hidden.

Now that I am grown and have two kidlets of my own, I love to carry on the tradition of the Easter Basket Hunt. It’s sort of like getting an Easter Basket and doing the traditional “egg hunt” all in one, fun activity.

What activities do you and your family typically do on Easter?

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to purchase the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

Garden Plans: What to Plant Where?

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:55:54 +0000

Well, it started raining here today and I sadly didn’t get to dig in the garden like I had hoped. But lucky for you that means I get share with you guys my plans of what I will be planting where with you guys a little bit early. I took these photos of the freshly cleaned out garden beds and added notes to each one in a photo app to keep track and remember what to plant where. I’m hoping to get most everything planted after the rain stops.

This is the main garden. The area that takes the most labor and receives the most love. If nothing else grows, I hope that this area will produce the most fruits from our labor. This year we made this area even larger and we will be planting melons, tomatoes, spinach, blueberries, blackberries, and lettuce.

These gardens are closer to the house and I was a bit at a loss as to what to plant here. Other than the broccoli which I opted to put in the far garden which gets sun almost constantly throughout the day I didn’t quite know what to plant in the bigger side garden. So after much deliberation I decided that I would try and grow the beans and corn in this garden and let the grapes takeover the gazebo.

And lastly, our front garden (which is in the front of the house) is where I thought I should plant the bell peppers and cucumbers. These gardens get lots of sun and I’ve had success in the past with planting bell peppers here.

So those are our rough garden plans for this year….

The Domestic Diva » Domestic Duties

DIY Blingin’ Bangle

What you Need:

How to make-your-own blingin’ bangle

DIY Long Chain Necklace Under $10 (sponsored)

Supplies Needed

The Bell Peppers are Sprouting! (Viddy Video)

Spring Cleaning with the Lorax and Seventh Generation (sponsored)

Gardening: Seeds of Change (sponsored)

What are you planting in your garden this year?

Spring Cleaning Tip for the Bathroom

Have you started spring cleaning yet?

What is the first room in your house that you want to tackle?

Guardsman: Stop Cleaning. Start Caring. (sponsored)

How do you care for your furniture?

Make-Your-Own Garden Gift Set (sponsored)

Supplies

Step 1: Arrange Flower Pot with gloves, bulbs, and flowers.

Step 2: Decorate the Outside

What have you crafted lately?

Easter Basket Hunt (sponsored)

Make-your-own Easter Basket for around $10

Easter Basket Hunt

What activities do you and your family typically do on Easter?

Garden Plans: What to Plant Where?

What are you planting this year?