DIY Reusable Fabric Softner Dryer Sheets

Have you grown tired of buying, buying, buying? It seems like all I do is run out of this, run out of that, and am constantly in a state of using and throwing away. Using and throwing away. It's the little things that are adding up, costly and wasteful. (and that takes money and time away from my crafting and creating!!) This post is in direct response to the mound of dryer sheets I used to toss in the trash (I would use them twice, also to dust with, etc.. but at the end of their life they ended up in the garbage and I had to buy more.) At two loads of laundry a day (approx.) that is a lot of dryer sheets!

I tried using the idea on Pinterest of soaking a washclothe in fabric softner, ringing it out, letting it dry. Supposedly it would be good for 30+ loads. Nahhh... it worked for about 2, and I found myself constantly refreshing it, and it was hard to find sometimes in my laundry as the static was horrid and the washclothe would disappear into the nether world of a pantleg or sleeve.

I also tried adding vinegar to the wash.. that didn't work either! I hate static! :)

Here is my solution. It works. I've used it.

 You'll need:

A bottle of liquid softner.. I really like the fragrance of the Purex brand above. (no, I have not received anything for this post!) :)

A spray bottle

An old towel or some washclothes, preferably in a color that is bold and bright and is easy to remember as a 'fabric softner' sheet.

First, cut up your towel if need be. I used a bright old coral colored one so that I could easily find it in my load and would remember to set it aside and not stick it in the closet with the washclothes.

Next, I used a recycled Shout spray bottle. But any spray bottle would do. Mines not pretty but it's functional, and to me that is most important. (If it is small in size, cut down the amount of liquid fabric softner you put in it.)

Put one cup of the fabric softner in the spray bottle and fill the rest of it up with water. Shake gently to mix it.

My stack of 'dryer sheets' is in a small hanging basket shelf right above my dryer. When I toss in a load of laundry, I grab a sheet, spritz it 3-4 times with the watered down fabric softner and toss it in the dryer with the laundry.

That's it! I get hundreds of sprays per bottle (or per 1 cup of softner) instead of using a 1/4 cup per load in the wash. If I use it the wash, it washes out (duh..) and I find that it doesn't work well enough for the amount of product I use.  You may need to add a few more spritzes or a few less depending on your preferences.

Do you have any tips that REALLY work? I'd love to hear and I'm sure others would too!

Hope you find it helpful! Please feel free to Pin this post.. just be sure to link back to it!

Thank you!

xoxo~

Abbie

Highlighting Kathryn Antyr's Free Mini Dream Journal Download

My dear friend, Kathryn Antyr, aka The Collage Diva, is an exceptional collage artist who lives not too far from my haunts here in NH.  She is the creative force behind True North Arts and has a gorgeous line of lapel pins to inspire, thank and remind us of that which is most important.

She just posted a FREE MINI JOURNAL TO DOWNLOAD on her website.  If you stop by to grab it, please look around. She is an amazing artist, who guides and mentors through creative prompts and wonderful blog posts. There is much to learn there...

And for those of us who are creatively motivated.. any one of her pins would make a lovely, thoughtful gift for someone on your Christmas list.  *wink* *wink*

xoxo~

Abbie

(I recieved no compensation of any sort for this post, just passing along something that I find fabulous!)

Free Fairie Images

This image was a free sample image from Dover Publications. You sign up for emails promoting their products and you get free images in return. This one, although thousands probably recieved it from Dover, I played with in Photoscape. By just changing the hue, it changes the entire feel of the image. Which color is your favorite?

xoxo~

Abbie

Tutorial for Halloween Ornaments

These Halloween ornaments are so quick and EASY!! They look great and can be modified any way you'd like! 

To make the ornament you need two identical images (or one image and a fun patterned paper.) Both should be the exact same size.  Excuse my rough drawing below but it is so much easier to show you than to explain it..

 

et.. voila! 

  

I also sewed two antique buttons on and scrunched small ribbon to make a bow. Both sides are identical.. that way when it spins you see the same image.

Above, I wrapped the ornament with 3 yards of wide, vintage seam binding and a few years ago, sold them in my Etsy shop. Everyone loved them!

A bunch of these hanging from a Halloween tree would be fun.. one from each of the images on the collage sheet offered in my last post. You can use this as a way to make any image you love into a hanging ornament. What a fun way to make gift tags for Christmas gifts. Make one using two photos of a grandchild for the gift topper for the grandparents!

Enjoy!

xoxo~

Abbie

Luscious Labels! Free Images ~ Hints!

Do you ever get struck by inspiration and start running? 

That is what happened to me when I found THIS SITE, www.worldlabel.com.  AND THEN THIS BLOG. AND then THIS post with THESE labels!! Aaahhhh!!!!

 And more.. All of the blank labels, in hundreds of sizes, that you can possibly imagine for printing.. with help! and tips! and ideas!  You can fill in the set PDF files with your text and they are already formatted to fit on the recommended sticker sheets. AND the prices are the cheapest for sticker sheets that I can find.. Where WAS this site when I was working on label packaging for my wee Etsy shop???

They have round, oval, rectangular, square, full size sheets, CD, cassette tape (oh, what I couldn't do with those.. the wheels are turning with artsy ideas!) LABELS!

Take a sheet of round labels, Run it through your printer and print out a collage sheet. (click HERE for ideas) Voila!! Dozens of stickers, fabulously spontaneous round (or oval, or square or fussy cut)  images to add to EVERYTHING. Art, scrapbooks, greeting cards, Christmas gifts (...ie.. canning jars of goodies) Pencils, (yes.. I said pencils.. wrap YOUR pens and pencils in cool, personalized stickers and no one will take them.. or atleast get away with it!)

Did you see the FULL SIZED sheets?? 8.5" x 11" of pure sticker!! 100 JUMBO STICKER SHEETS for $10.45. That is CRAZY!! You can print WHATEVER you want.. any of the images here, from anywhere and fussy cut your own stickers! Hundreds of them!

Ok, I'm done.. go and check it out. Really. Go. Now. Peek.. Their site is www.worldlabel.com and their blog is http://blog.worldlabel.com/ . Look and you find some treasures!!

xoxo~

Abbie