{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

{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

Haul Out the Holly: Double Sided Polaroid Ornament Tutorial

I am super excited to be participating in Gwen's 2nd annual Haul Out the Holly event!

Last year I shared a Mug Rug Tutorial,

and this year I am going to share a simple handmade ornament.

I love pictures on a Christmas tree...it is just so sentimental and special.

Unfortunately I cannot hang any on the "Charlie Brown Trees" that we cut down each year because the picture frame ornaments are just too heavy.

I went through my craft stash with a photo ornament in mind,

and when I saw the white felt I was inspired to make a Polaroid Ornament!

During the design process I decided to make it double sided.

I chose to do it this way so that you see a picture from both sides of the tree,

and as a bonus you don't have to try to "hide" an ugly back.

Double Sided Polaroid Ornament

Supplies:

Stiff Felt Sheet

Scissors

Craft knife

Hot Glue Gun

Sewing Machine

Ribbon

Scrabble Tiles

Cut 2 pieces of felt into "Polaroid" shape.

I used scissors to cut the outside and a craft knife on a cutting mat for the inside.

Stitch along the top of each piece, as well as all the way around the inside window.

I used a med length zigzag on this one.

Make a line with your hot glue gun.

This will be the ledge that your photos will sit on.

Line up the two pieces and press together at the glue line.

Zigzag stitch down the side, across the bottom and up the other side to make a pocket.

Leave the top open! (remember we already sewed the tops)

Punch a hole in the top using a hole punch(I used a Crop-a-Dial).

Cut your picture to the right size and slide it in through the open top.

No exact science here people...I pretty much just eyeballed it;)

Cut the picture for the reverse side and slide it in as well.

Put the ribbon through the hole and tie a bow at the top.

The ribbon acts not only as the hanger,

but also as a way to close up the top of the ornament to keep the photos in.

Using a hot glue gun I attached scrabble tiles for a title.

My daughter was Mary for our church's Christmas video and with it being a Christmas ornament and all I thought this photo would be appropriate.

My son Travis was a cow in the video,

so I put this picture on the back and used more scrabble tiles to spell out COW.

I am looking forward to pulling this ornament out every year

...it already has me feeling all smooshy.

I seriously LOVE seeing this on my tree!

I also love that it doesn't weigh down my wimpy tree:)

There are SO many ways you can customize these and they can be used for:

Stocking labels, Gift Tags, Garlands, etc.

Now go make some!

Thank you Gwen for inviting me to play again:) This has been such a fun series!

If you don't know Gwen yet, you must go check out her blog...especially her Tutorials. 

She is such an inspiration to me and is one of my best Bloggy friends.

I pretty much adore her and know you will too!

Linking up here:

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

Confetti Garland

While preparing for the Beanie Baby Birthday Bash
I came up with this super fun birthday garland.

I love it because it is so colorful and it looks like huge floating confetti.

I used a Yahtzee cup and traced a circle onto a piece of cardboard to use as a template.

I cut 30 circles out of 10 different colors of felt. 

I only used 15 of each color in this garland and plan to use the rest to make two additional shorter garlands.

Taking 2 colors at a time I ran them through the sewing machine one after another,

to make a chain of colorful circles.

I think that is it just so much fun!

On the ends I sewed in a loop of ribbon to make hanging easier.

Glorious happy color.

Bliss.

Confetti Garland.

Now I need to make some more fun birthday decorations and make a birthday box.

I am linking up with these super swell blogs:)