DIY Home Fragrance Two Ways

I love candles, incense, and all manner of good smellin’ stuff for the house. I’m kind of a sucker for them. $40 summer rain oil diffuser? Sure, why not? Because it’s crazy that’s why!

I needed to curb my habit and decided to start making my own. I was pretty surprised to find that 1) it was really easy and 2) super affordable. Two of my favorite DIY features! Check out this video to make your own home fragrance jars and oil diffusers with ingredients you probably already have!

I love having different fragrances in each area of the house and with these I can change it up whenever I want. Right now I’m loving really clean, fresh citrus scents like lemon and orange for most of the house. And just discovered clary sage for the bedroom, it calms the nervous system and really does seem to help me sleep.

Do you use essential oils? I’d be curious to know which brand is your favorite. Tell us your favorite brands and scents in the comments?

Thrifted Decor: Style & Cleaning

thirfted sofa

Nearly my entire house is furnished with thrifted items, hand-me-downs, and roadside finds. I don’t really have a style (well, I do just not in real life, at my house), it’s more just a collection of stuff  that was someone else’s style, or cast offs of their style. So how do you craft a life, a home,  with someone else’s style? I’m still figuring that out. Emma Stone talked about her love of Pinterest (and mom blogs) on a talk show recently and about how her “Pinterest” apartment is beautiful and stylish, but her actual apartment is empty.

I think I’m a lot like that. Online I think I’ve pretty good taste, but in real life I don’t quite know how to put it together or what to choose. Or maybe I just don’t care so much about those things? I got this boxy sofa, chair, and ottoman for $50 at the Boy Scout yard sale over the weekend. It’s dirty and needs some love, but it “has good bones” as they say. It’s not what I would buy for myself (even though I did), but it could work. Right? And it’s an upgrade from the I need a sofa now! World Market one that I had.

I’m always telling the kids to be happy with and grateful for what they have . And for the most part I am. I just don’t always know how to piece it together in a way that makes it feel like home. So I hit Pinterest for some real room inspiration – not the perfectly styled, curated ones. Only to find beautifully curated rooms of thrifted items in real people houses. And I wondered if I could do the same. I’m loving these so much and need to just embrace my finds, right?

Image via SaucyDwellings

Image via SaucyDwellings

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Image via Retro Renovations – a real readers mostly thrifted living room

I’m working on lots of no sew projects this month to keep the habit of crafting, and maybe I need to no sew up some new pillows and/or tackle the new (to me) sofa and chair as a big upholstery project soon. Stay tuned. I’ll probably be asking for advice on what to do with these babies soon.

Oh, and I’ll share some tips on how to clean your thrifted treasures after I go over these guys one more time.

xo, Jennifer

 

 

DIY: Upholstery Cleaner/Stain Remover

Thank you, Pinterest! Sylvie, the Subaru, hates us less. I feel like we live in the car – shuttling across statelines with each kid going to school in a different state (don’t ask). We often eat breakfast on the go (read here’s a banana and some dry cereal just pleeeease get your shoes on and out the door!). It can sometimes always makes a mess.

Recently we had to transport a 3D model of the Sphinx to middle school, complete with glitter glue. Well, needless to say, Sylvie (the car) was bedazzled with glitter glue. Terrific. It wasn’t enough to really do more than just completely irritate me, but it had to go. So I turned to Pinterest in hopes of a remedy.

Thank you Arch., via One Good Thing for recommending one part Dawn, to two parts hydrogen peroxide, with a bit of baking soda. So long glitter glue!!!

diy stain remover

It was an unseasonably warm day so we headed out with this concoction in hand. On closer inspection there was another kid mess that came from this morning on the cloth door panel. How?! Why?! What is it?!?!

clean car seats

I used the mix along with a toothbrush, a bit of water, a wet towel and a dry. I tested it out first in a hidden spot just to make sure the hydrogen peroxide didn’t bleach out the dark upholstery fabric. It was fine!

I was scrubbing hard, especially on the glitter because it was a bit stubborn. And maybe because Lola was using one of those noise machines just inches from my ear in the backseat. So helpful! But it worked.

helping to clean

Oh, and I found out (the hard way) if you add water to the mixture after it’s on the seat it just makes it soapier. So used the toothbrush, then gently wiped with the wet towel and blotted with the dry. All in all this diy stain cleaner worked really well. Here’s the aforementioned door stain. Maybe it’s granola bar? I have no idea, but it’s gone now!

diy car uplostery cleaner

I’m going to try the same mixture on the carpet in the playroom. Wish me luck! Have you tried this diy stain remover or something similar? What works? What’s your favorite? Be sure to tell me in the comments!