A Bunch of Bishops: May 2012

May 30, 2012

Homemade Coconut Oil Deodorant

A lot of my friends are into making their own coconut oil deodorant and they shared the benefits with me of making and wearing homemade deodorant.
I have to admit, I am a huge skeptic - of everything really.
I'm especially skeptical when something that has been around forever {coconut oil} all of a sudden gains popularity.

So, I just hung back, and waited.
I observed.
I researched.
I asked my friends A LOT of questions.

I was given a jar of coconut oil from a friend so I thought why not try this stuff! I'm SO glad I did!

~Coconut Oil Deodorant~

1 part Baking Soda - 1 part cornstarch - 1 part Coconut Oil

(I made mine with 1/3 cup of each and mixed it together)

Then I poured the deodorant mixture into a tupperware container (that had a lid) and put it in the refrigerator to set.

I LOVE THIS DEODORANT!!!
I even got my husband using it and he loves it too!

A few of my friends (my husband and I included) prefer keeping our deodorant out at room temperature. The consistency is like cake batter. I just scoop a little of the deodorant onto my fingers and rub in on my under arms. The bar method was not working too great with my husband - the bar would flake and get all caught in his under arm hair (sorry, TMI, but that is how I like to research products - by getting all the details!! hehehe). So, we prefer the room temperature consistency.

A few of my friends like to keep theirs in the refrigerator and apply it in bar form by rubbing it on their under arms.

Oh, and you can always add more baking soda and cornstarch if you would like it thicker.

I love that the deodorant only has 3 ingredients!

The coconut fragrance is subtle, light and simple. I am sensitive to fragrances and allergic to some fragrance oils but this is all natural and has no fragrance added!

I thought I would have to reapply it throughout the day but I am happy to say I can go the entire day (even with yard work and chasing after kids) without smelling bad.

My under arms would itch with certain over-the-counter deodorants - but not with this homemade deodorant!

And finally, my BIGGEST concern was that the oil would leave a residue on my clothing - I have not seen anything on my clothing yet! I simply let it soak in and dry for a few minutes while I am getting ready in the morning and then put my clothing on when it's dry.

So, what are your thoughts on coconut oil?
Have you tried it?
Are you a skeptic like I was?

I will openly admit, right here and now, I am so glad I tried this!
I am a believer :)

UPDATE (8-29-12) - A comment below suggests using arrowroot in the place of the cornstarch. "Some folks might have a reaction to the cornstarch (I did). So I make mine with arrowroot." Thank you for this tip Penandra!!!

ps...
If you have any other uses for Coconut Oil,
I would love for you to comment on this post and share them with me!

My friend Andy told me about making your own sunblock using coconut oil.
I saw something similar to it on Pinterest...

Source: coconutoilinformation.com via Janiene on Pinterest

pss...
Want to know where the party's at?
I've linked up to these awesome blogging party hot spots!!

May 29, 2012

Wordless Wednesday!

My sweet daughter is drawn to water like a moth to a flame...

Blessings!
Janiene

ps...
I'm linking up the Wordless Wednesday at...

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin <=== CLICK THAT LINK :)

I joined Bloglovin'!

I'd love it if you followed me - I will follow you back!

Blessings,

Janiene

May 28, 2012

Rocket Ship Photobooth & the Planets!

We had a BLAST at my son's Rocket Ship Birthday party!

I thought I'd show you how I made the

Rocket Ship Photobooth & the Planets backdrop decoration.

For the photobooth, I drew a rocket ship on thick foam board & started painting it with glitter poster paint...

My hubs cut out the windows in the rocket...

My boys in the photobooth!...

Now,

for the planet decorations...

My friend Jenn painted some sweet planets on cardboard...

While my husband cut them out (not an easy job!!),

I got busy making a garland...

I hot glued all the planets in a row,

so that I could hang them behind the food table.

This is back of the planets...

I twisted a piece of pipe cleaner and then hot glued it to the back of the planets. I made two of these hooks so that I could hang up the planets.

Lastly, I taped the garlands to the back of the planets...

Here is the finished look...

The photobooth and the planets decorations were SO fun to make!

The cost was extremely low and the effect was just what I was looking for!

I hope this inspires you to get creative and make your own (very inexpensive but adorable) decorations!!!

Blessings,

Janiene

ps...
Want to know where the party's at?
I've linked up to these awesome blogging party hot spots!!

Rocket Ship 3rd Birthday!

Yesterday we threw Owen a Rocket Ship 3rd Birthday!

Real quick...

Have you seen this sour patch kids commercial yet?
This totally reminds my husband and I of our little Owen...

This commercial pretty much sums up my sweet/sour boy.

One moment he is snuggling you and hugging you,

the next he is wrestling you and body slamming you.

He is such a great kid to parent and love.

I am thankful for the ways God made him -

even the warrior/body slamming sides of him :)

Ok, to the par-tay...

The spread & table decorations!

The KitKat cake!

Prayer for the O-man and for the food...

3 candles!! My baby boy is 3!

The BEST cake EVER!

Rocket Ship Pinata!

The Rocket Ship Photobooth!

The party went so fast!
We also had a bounce house, those fun poppers you get at the dollar store that explode when you throw them on the ground (every child needs to do poppers! a childhood isn't complete without poppers!), and then we just relaxed and enjoyed the sounds of kids playing!

What a great day and a wonderful party!

I'll post on the rocket photo booth
and the party decorations in a bit.
Blessings!
Janiene

ps...
Want to know where the party's at?
I've linked up to these awesome blogging party hot spots!!

The KitKat Cake!

This is the coolest cake EVER!

And, the best part, it is the EASIEST decorated cake I have ever made!
We celebrated my son's 3rd birthday yesterday and I served this cake!
Check out our Rocket Ship Party!

The KitKat cake!!!!!!

I want to thank Laura from Cookie Crumbs & Sawdust for inspiring me to make a KitKat Cake for my son's birthday party!!

The cake was a total hit!

What I used to make this cake...

1 round piece of cardboard covered in cellophane for the base of the cake

2 - 8" round pans

1 butter yellow cake (boxed cake)

1 tbsp of coconut oil added to the cake batter - for good measure :)

Cream cheese frosting in the middle layer

Chocolate buttercream frosting around the cake...

Then you just press the KitKats and M&M's into the frosting.

Be sure to place the M&M's face down so that the "M&M" logo doesn't show - I made the mistake of not paying attention and 1/3 of the way through I notice that half the M&M's were plain and half the M&M's had the logo showing. Ugh. I had to re-do them so that it would look uniform.

I used 42(ish) small kitkats. You want to go to the bagged candy section and buy a bag of the kitkats that are individually wrapped in packaging. There are 2 small kitkats per wrapping and I used 2/3 of the bag of kitkats. You do not want to buy the kitkats in the large bars (they will be too tall for the cake and it will make it look like a crater). I broke up each kitkat and then stuck them individually around the cake.
I hope this makes sense!

My BIG 3 yr old blowing out the candles!!!

I think the best part about this cake was the ease in slicing it!
2 KitKats per slice!
YUM!!

I will definitely make this cake again!

ps...
Want to know where the party's at?
I've linked up to these awesome blogging party hot spots!!

May 27, 2012

Rocket Ship Pinata (how-to)

A basic how-to guide to making your own pinata!

I only spent $3 making it!

My son TOTALLY LOVED IT and that made all the work worth it!

(do you like all the exclamation points?)

I gathered a bunch of used cartons and boxes.

I built this basic rocket shape and taped it together...

I kept adding pieces of cardboard until I got it to the shape I wanted...

The supplies I used to decorate the pinata include:

2 rolls white crepe paper rolls

Black curling ribbon

masking tape

tacky glue

hole punch

scissors

razor blade

To hang the pinata I used 2 metal hangers...

To fill the pinata with candy, and create the hatch door, cut a 3"x3" square (but leave one side of the square uncut to create the hinge)...

I punched holes in the hatch door.

Then I used the razor blade to cut the holes that are too far in from the sides for the hole punch.

I cut out 19 strands of ribbon (each about 3ft long).

I tied one of the strings tightly around the middle hole of the hatch door.

For the other 18 ribbons I strung them in the holes and the loosely taped them to the back of the hatch door. When the child pulled the dummy strings they would just tug a bit and the string would release.

If the child pulled the string that was tied to the hatch door then all the candy would fall out.

Or so I hoped!

I used tacky glue and crepe paper to cover the pinata (this is a very rough 1st coat - it does not have to look pretty)...

A close up of the hatch door and how I loosely wrapped the crepe paper around it...

The 2nd layer of crepe paper finishes the pinata so I made sure I took my time and made it look even.

I started with the bottom of the rocket and worked my way up.

For the finishing layer I used tape to secure the crepe paper since crepe paper is so thin that the glue would show through it...

I filled the pinata with candy and then pushed the hatch door into the box.

I taped 2 pieces of cardboard onto the inside on the pinata, over lapping the hatch door. This created a ledge of sorts for the door to rest on and kept the door from just falling open.

I forgot to take a picture of this step (oops!).

To see what I am talking about, click on the following link:

Young House Love & her awesome pinata tutorial

Once that dried and everything was secured,

I finished covering the pinata in crepe paper.

Here's an up close shot of the pull strings with

the final layer of crepe paper and a NASA decal...

Almost done!

Just need to add the rocket boosters, windows and fin...

The rocket boosters were made from toilet paper rolls that I covered in crepe paper and then used orange tissue paper for the fire. The windows and fin on the rocket are made from construction paper.

The NASA decals I copied from the the NASA website.

And here is the Rocket Ship Pinata in action!

The treats are about to fall out!!!!!

I got a lot of inspiration [and help] from

Young House Love & her awesome pinata tutorial.

I will definitely make all my pinatas from now on -
it was a LOT cheaper and more fun.

My little Owen was super stoked to have his own Rocket Ship Pinata!

Blessings to you all!

Janiene

ps...
Want to know where the party's at?
I've linked up to these awesome blogging party hot spots!!

May 26, 2012

Blueberry Cream Cheese Croissants

Oh My Yumminess!

I have to share this EASY croissant recipe.

These are my FAVORITE preserves...

I am always thinking of ways I can use these preserves in a meal.

Yes, they are THAT good!

Tonight I made breakfast for dinner.

I was going to make plain old boring croissants, but then I thought about that episode on The Office when Michael was trying to get new & exciting ideas for how to make the company run better. Remember?...

Andy: What if we changed our outgoing answering machine message so it just has a little more zing and a little more pep.

Michael Scott: Zing and pep. See that's- those are the kind of words we're looking for. Yes Jim.

Jim Halpert: What about if we did an even newer voicemail message that had even more zing and pep.

Michael Scott: Now we're thinking. I like this.

YES!

My croissants needed even more zing & pep!

hahaha - I crack myself up!

My adorable helper scooped 1tbsp of whipped cream cheese & 2 tsp blueberry preserves onto each croissant...