Homemade no cook Play Dough!

I have been looking at several play dough recipes and wondering which one would be the best, in the end I decided to make my own recipe and low and behold it turned out perfectly the first try! So many recipes call for allot of one ingredient like two cups baking soda, that is a whole box! No thank you... I couldn't have figured this out of course without reading and adapting from about five recipes, all of which were mixed by hand where as in I used my kitchen aid and dough hook. I think it proved to be a useful tool albiet not completely necessary but helped I feel in the overall consistency of the dough. The ingredient list is as follows, I purchased basic non organic ingredients as this is a non edible project;

2 cups white flour
1 c. salt

2 tbsp cream of tarter

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 c. baking soda

2 c. boiling water

Food coloring(we used neon colors)

Just mix all the ingredients in your kitchen aid with the dough hook attachment (or bowl and hand mix). I mixed mine continually scraping down the sides for about 7 minutes on low to medium speed. I then separated the dough into five balls and placed them one at a time into a zip lock bag where I mixed the colors by hand kneading. Once the dough was mixed well enough to not stain my hands I removed from the bag and finished hand kneading. The consistency is amazing, I dont ever recall purchasing a dough this smooth and pliable, it holds it shape so well without being too dry or sticky! It is such a fast and inexpensive project that can be done with very young children, my daughter is almost three and was able to manage most the tasks on her own with very little assistance. Mommy did of course pour the boiling water!  

Ingredients

Her favorite part is to pour and touch everything!

Oops the cornstarch didn't make it into the ingredient photo, she loved the feeling of it!

Checking our consistency, we are almost there...

Finally just right!

Putting our dough into the zip lock bag, I started with the lightest color to avoid crossing colors I didn't want crossed, then wiped out with a paper towel in-between colors.

We were very pleased with our colors!

Now the fun begins!

I should include that we stored our dough in one large Rubbermaid container with a tight fitting lid. My plan is to switch over to smaller containers for individual storage and to hopefully keep some from being completely smooshed together. Ya right, like there is any chance of that, half the dough is already a rainbow of combined color. 

Have fun!

-Gypsy Lov'n

University Falls

Ask and you shall receive!  
I recently posted onto Facebook a day trip the family and I took and everyone keeps asking the same question, where is this at?  The answer, University Falls outside of georgetown Ca, the place is epic to say the least. That is if you like natural rock slides, a healthy walk, beautiful clean water and a little adventure!  It is a bit of a hike in and a bit more of a hike out, but if you are moderately fit it is well worth the 5 miles round trip. This is no secret spot and if you arrive after 11am you will surely be a witness to that, the peaceful setting quickly turns into more of an amusement park atmosphere. When I was a little kid the cat wasn't fully out of the bag and you could spend the whole day enjoying the rock slides with only a handful of other people, but alas the internet and people like me blogging about that "secret spot"...sharing is a good thing, right? Well with all that being said if you pack it in you pack it out, and while your at it maybe bring a plastic grocery bag with you to fill up other peoples trash. My awesome husband picked up every piece of trash he saw on the way out, way to be a steward of the earth babe! 
Alright already how do you get there? First you have to look at our documented experience. =)

My favorite shot of the day, Dylan looking pretty in contemplation of the descent.

Ready, set...

Go!

Splash!

My 10yr old sister was the first to brave the slides, go girl!

Where did she go?

Dylan prepping herself...

Katera realizing how cold the water is!

A view of the first and second slide, my dad the birthday boy and I are sitting somewhere up top in the shade watching the fun.

The second slide or third, I didn't hike down...

My little sister

The third slide I believe...

At the very bottom, this last "slide" is not ridden, Quincy hiked down the hill to get some of these shots.

Our photographer and my sweet husband Quincy

My dad and three of his eight children

The husband and my pregnant self, I did not participate in the slides this time, just soaked in the chilly water and enjoyed watching the girls.

Feeling very pregnant and nervous about the hike up the 1200 ft ascent, oops did I forget to mention the climb out? Consider yourself warned! =)

  Quincy found a bird nest during the hike back, it was empty, dont worry no birdies were harmed. 

Directions:


University Falls is 30 miles (50 minutes) from Auburn, Ca. Head to Auburn on I-80, then take Hwy 49 south to the town of Cool. Go east on Hwy 193 to Georgetown. Go left onto Main St pass through town and keep going straight; this turns into Wentworth Springs Rd. Take this about 12 miles. Just after passing through the town of Quintette(there is only a small sign, basically look for a turn out where cars are parked on the left, if arriving before crowds just be aware of the yellow access gate after the big turn) From here, allow 90 minutes to walk in. Walk past the bright yellow gate; continue straight on the fire road. Go left at the next fork (sign "12N67B"). Go right at "the bend" (look for blue arrows on the rocks). Follow this trail down and make a hairpin right onto the trail that follows the Pilot Creek water canal(this is such a pretty part of the hike; continue about .5 mile. Look for the obvious side trail that descends to the left and take it. After 100 feet, go right at the first fork (look for blue paint on the tree). This descends to the falls. 


Like any swimming spot exercise caution there are no lifeguards on duty and this is the sort of place where injuries could happen quickly. The first three slides are the safest most commonly used with the fourth being dangerous and unnecessary. There is a sign posted warning it will take emergency crews 1hr to get there after being reached, I did not have cell reception so be aware of yourself and the people around you. But above all enjoy yourself and this epic location!

Pinterest LOVE!

My love for Pinterest runs deep, I am a creature who seeks all things aesthetically pleasing, I am a Libra after all... Today when perusing through some of my pin boards I was taken aback by the beauty in some of the photographs. But which ones to share? This may have to become a weekly or at least monthly post, call it my pinning and pining...he, he, he or not. That is a bit of a tongue twister.  Hope you enjoy a look into what makes me swoon...

All the links back to either original artist or place from which I pinned can be found on my pinterest boards, under Inspire...Creativity...Beauty or My Style Pinboard.
We live in such an amazing world, full of so many brilliant and creative souls, I thank and applaud you ALL.

Peace
-Gypsy Lov'n

Swim Suit Season

I recently bought the little one a swim suit that she has almost out grown completely, I had it only two months! The endless cost of growing children got me thinking, make your own stuff, well at least some of it...I am no seamstress my any measure, what little skill in that department has come from trial and error and a few wise words from grandma.

It seemed a little crazy though to make a swim suit when I lack proper material and know how, but I decided the heck with it and I must say I am pleased with the outcome. I'll go ahead and include a couple of pictures of the process, I dont exactly feel ready to go full fledge tutorial on you...yet.  So here it is two swim suits for my girl!

I began with a pair of ugly old pants from good old Salvation Army, they consist of 90% nylon and 10% spandex.  I cut them open down the inner leg seams to get a larger piece of material.

I then grabbed a pair of undies that I didn't mind cutting to make my pattern, I traced around them leaving about a half inch allowance for the hem.

I then pinned up my half inch allowance on all sides, this is when the project got a bit awkward, my sides weren't matching and I could tell the suit would sag in the front. I preceded anyway figuring I could guess my way through it.

Then I hemmed...

After hemming I knew I had to do something to tighten up my suit, I didn't have any cute edging so I cut up a pillow case that was missing his mate. I used the trim of the pillow to then trim along my hem, I ran into more problems when I realized sewing around the entire bottoms with my non stretchy lace edging made the suit too tiny. I wasn't planning on side ties for my almost three year old but I didn't have another option...so I snipped and added side ties.

For the top I just sewed a tube, hemmed and added the lace edging around the front, my camera battery at this point was dying so what you dont see is the straps I then added to keep the suit from shimming down! To my surprise the suit worked and the little one LOVES it!

I decided I hadn't tortured myself enough so I made another, this one is a bit more modest which I prefer and even cuter if I do say so myself. ;-)

I made the legs too tight so added the detail to stretch out the thigh, it photographed funny but looks good when taut against the skin.

I think my model likes this one even more then the two piece, yay!

Sadly I did not get pic's of the process but I went about it in a very similar way...trial and error.  So what do you think?

Dylan liked what I did so much she decided to get in on the fun, we came across a brand new Victoria Secret bikini at a garage sale for five dollars! Yep you read that right, it was just one of many scores of the day.  She loved the simplicity of the white suit but longed for more, this is what she came up with, I love it and so does she.

Dylan's before, sweet and simple...

Another pillowcase bights the dust!

Trimmings

Here is the after of the front and bottoms, she hand pinned each section so she wouldn't lose the elasticity in the suit. It is still simple and sweet but now has a touch of personality.

She also went ahead and pinned in the sides since the suit was a bit big in the bottom, great job Dylan!


Hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by...

-Gypsy Lov'n