Easy Do-It-Yourself Luau/Beach Cupcakes
We had a birthday party yesterday for my two youngest. Both of their birthdays are in July and because they are still young, we have a joint party for them. Now that we have a pool, it seemed like a good idea to have a swim party. With that came the luau theme.
You all know that I’m not about to go out and pay $50 for a cake, so each year I surf the internet looking for easy ideas that I can do myself. I found ideas for a beach theme, flipflops, palm trees, pineapples, and more. These teddy bear cupcakes drew my attention though. They looked kid friendly and fun.
For these cupcakes I cheated a bit. I didn’t make homemade icing. I simply bought the vanilla icing in a can and added a few drops of blue food coloring. I found the food coloring made the icing a little runny, so I put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
For these, I put icing on the cupcakes and used crushed graham crackers for the sand. Also used were miniature Teddy Graham crackers, fruit roll ups for beach towels and rafts, tiny paper umbrellas (found these at Hobby Lobby), sour gummy Lifesavers for tubes, and Lemon Heads for beach balls. You could use gum balls instead for the beach balls, but I already had the Lemon Heads.
Here are a few more pictures. Sorry for the poor quality. I was in a hurry because the party was starting.
Other luau cake ideas:
Luau Party Cupcake with umbrella
Shark and Beach Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
Palm Trees/Beach cupcakes from Cake Central
Palm Trees, Pineapples, and Flower cupcakes
Hawaiian Luau cupcakes/cake
Flip Flop Cake from Better Homes and Gardens
Flip Flop Cake from Better Crocker
Enjoy! 
images (c) Karen Weideman
July 12, 2010
Cleaning Challenge: Clean Your Coffee Maker
You may be wondering why people say you should clean your coffee maker. Clean water is the only thing that goes into the machine, right? The problem is, the water causes deposits inside the coffee maker. The deposits can slow the flow of water inside the machine and they can alter the taste of your coffee.
Cleaning your coffeemaker is easy.
To clean your coffeemaker, simply brew a pot of vinegar water. Use equal amounts of each. I filled up my pot to the 5 cup line with vinegar and then to the 10 cup line with water. Next, let the vinegar water run halfway through the coffeemaker and then turn off the machine. Let it sit for a while (may an hour or so, depending on how hard your water is) and then turn the machine back on to finish the cycle. If you have never cleaned your machine before, then you might want to run the solution through your machine twice. After the cycle is complete, run a few pots of fresh water through it to get rid of the vinegar smell and taste.
Have you cleaned your coffeemaker lately?
image sxc
June 29, 2010
10 Tips for Hiring a Plumber
As a homeowner, I understand the frustration of having to call in a professional. How much will it cost? Will it set me back financially this month? You want the job done right without it costing you a small fortune.
Here are a few tips for hiring a plumber:
1. Get references. Word of mouth from friends, church members, co-workers, and family is a great place to start. If someone likes someone, or if they don’t, you’re sure to hear about it. Ask around.
2. Search for reviews. Use a free website such as servicemagic.com or a paid service such as angieslist.com. I have also found other reviews online just by doing an internet search.
3. Give as many details as possible about the problem. Where is the leak? What kind of pipes do you have?
4. Ask if the plumber charges for travel time. For some plumbers, their time starts when they walk in the door. Others may charge when they get into the car. It’s good to know if you’ll be paying extra for their commute.
5. Ask if the plumber will have the parts on hand. Does the plumber keep a supplied truck or will he need to make trips to the hardware store. Will you need to pay him for these extra trips?
6. Is there a minimum charge? Just like going to the doctor’s office, some contractors have a minimum rate and that includes a certain amount of time, such as 30 minutes.
7. Inquire about insurance. Many contractors have their own insurance which will cover them in case of injury or damage to your property. Find out if they have insurance.
8. Find out their credentials. Does the person have any accreditations? How long have they been doing this type of work?
9. Try Craigslist. If you’re a real cheapskate (like me) you might want to put out a “help wanted” ad on Craigslist. Some professionals may not like this advice, but here goes . . . Unfortunately, times are rough for the self-employeed. Put an ad on Craigslist, tell in detail what the repair issues are, filter through the responses based upon credentials, estimates, etc. You’ll be surprised at the responses you will receive from this ad. Some may even offer to come out and give a free estimate. People are looking to work.
10. Consider hiring a professional to work after hours. Perhaps you know of someone that works for a major company. Many times these individuals will moonlight on the weekends to make some extra cash.
Do you have any tips for hiring a plumber?
image sxc
June 22, 2010
30+ Ways to Clean with Vinegar
A few years ago I decided to make a big change in my life. I had used all sorts of cleaners. Many of them had caused me to break out, inflamed my eczema, and given me headaches. I knew the stuff wasn’t good for me and with two small children in the home I wanted to do something different. I began using white vinegar and water to mop my floors. It wasn’t long before I was hooked on the natural and safe cleaner and began to clean the majority of my home with it.
Now I keep a spray bottle under my kitchen sink that has equal parts of vinegar and water. I use it to clean just about everything.
Before I get started on this list, you should know that some folks don’t like the smell of vinegar. If that’s you, feel free to add a tiny bit of lemon oil or some other fragrance to your vinegar.
Here are some uses for cleaning with vinegar:
Kitchen and Dining Room
- Use vinegar to mop your floors. I keep a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water. Just spray on your floors and mop. Or you add 1 cup of vinegar to your mop bucket. I think the spray method uses less vinegar though.
- Refill your Swiffer mop cleaner bottle with vinegar and water. My hubby used some plyers to pull the lid off the bottle so that we could refill it.
- Spray vinegar in your sink and on your counters to kill germs.
- Wash your windows.
- Boil some vinegar and water to take away unpleasant smells.
- Clean your kitchen table, chairs, and hairchair. The vinegar will kill germs without being harmful to foods or your children.
- Soak or simmer stuck-on food in 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. The food will soften and lift off in a few minutes.
- Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.
- Appliances sparkle if cleaned with a vinegar and borax cleaner. Mix 1 teaspoon borax, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 2 cups hot water and put it into a spray bottle. Spray it on greasy smears and wipe off with a cloth or sponge.
- To loosen food grime and clean the microwave, place a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar inside the microwave and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes (it needs to boil). Keep your microwave closed for a few minutes to allow the steam to loosen the grime, then open your microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and wipe clean.
- To remove grease from kitchen walls, put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.
- Fill your water reservoir halfway with vinegar to clean your coffee pot. Follow up by running 1-2 pots of clean water through to remove the vinegar.
- If you have fruit flies, put some vinegar in a jar on your counter.
- Adding a cup of vinegar to a dishwashing cycle will help clean your dishwasher and will also help prevent spots from forming on your glasses.
- Use vinegar to clean your garbage disposal. Run a tray of ice cubes with 1/2 cup vinegar poured over them.
Bathroom
- Use vinegar to clean the outside of your toilet. Simply use your diluted vinegar spray bottle and use as you would a regular cleaner.
- Add full strength vinegar to the inside of the toilet bowl. Allow to sit for a few minutes and then clean.
- Spray the shower curtain to help get rid of mildew.
- Spray to kill germs in the shower inbetween regular cleanings. (I prefer to use Soft Scrub, Scrubbing Bubbles, or something like that to clean the shower. Vinegar helps for those inbetween cleanings.)
- Clean your mirror.
- Mop the floor.
Laundry room
- Add vinegar to your whites to help whiten the load.
- Add vinegar to your rinse cycle or softener dispenser instead of fabric softener. Vinegar prevents your clothes from getting that waxy build up on them. Vinegar is suggested for using to rinse cloth diapers to keep them absorbent.
- Add vinegar to your wash to kill athlete’s feet bacteria.
- Soak smelly clothes in vinegar and water. The vinegar will help to get rid of smells.
- Soak stained clothes in vinegar and water. The vinegar helps to lift the stain.
- Remove ink stains from clothes by soaking them in milk for 1 hour. Then cover the stain with a paste of vinegar and cornstarch. When the paste dries, wash the garment as usual. Do not heat dry the fabric until you know the stain is removed.
- After washing your whites with bleach, run another rinse cycle with vinegar. The vinegar will help to remove the bleach smell.
Other
- Clean vaporizers and humifiers by soaking unit in vinegar. Soak base of unit in a shallow bowl of vinegar and then run water through it. I got this tip from the actual directions that came with my vaporizer, but it really does help to remove the deposits and also to sanitize.
- If your puppy (or child) has an accident on the carpet, apply full-strength plain white vinegar for about 10 minutes and then blot dry. I have never had any problems with the vinegar fading carpet, but you may want to test an inconspicuous spot first.
- Use vinegar and water to clean your baby and children’s toys. You don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals this way.
- For laminate floors, mix 1/3 part white vinegar, 1/3 part rubbing alcohol, 1/3 part water, and 3 drops diswashing liquid. Mix this into a (recycled) spray bottle and you have the equivalent of the Pergo floor cleaner. Just spray and mop. Laminate floors are better off when water doesn’t sit on it too long; the alcohol is added to make it dry faster.
- When rinsing your reusable filters, spray them with vinegar first to kill mold and bacteria.
I know that this only covers a portion of ways to clean with vinegar. What are some ways that you clean with vinegar?
