Swap Packages and More Natural Cleaning

Swap packages have been arriving and I’m providing another printable natural cleaning recipe and label.

Halloween Apron Swap

I’ve already shared the apron I made for the Halloween Apron Swap. Here is the lovely apron Elaine of Alphabet Studio made for me. It’s reversible which is pretty cool! Elaine said she’s never made an apron before and I think she did a grand job.

The apron’s inaugural debut was the making of homemade doughnuts on Sunday. I used the October 1963 recipe for Rich Refrigerator Doughnuts reprinted in this month’s issue of Sunset magazine. The recipe worked great and the doughnuts were delicious.

Vintage Paper Dress Garland Swap

Heather at Speckled Egg hosted the Vintage Paper Dress Garland Swap. We were to make 5 paper dresses and embellish them however we chose.

Here are the little dresses I made hanging on a tiny clothesline with miniature clothespins.

For my base dress, I used a free printable paper doll dress I found online. A bit of lace at the hem, collar, and sleeves in addition to gluing tiny little Svaroski crystals to the buttons on the smocking and my little dresses were done.

These are the sort of dresses I wore as a child as did my daughter. I love their simple clean lines and tried to keep that in mind with this paper dress project. My mother and grandmother would have loved this.

And here is the garland of beautiful paper dresses that arrived from Heather.

The dress designers (from left to right):

1. Lennea from Once Upon a Cottage
2. Rosalie Ackerson
3. Solorn
4. A dress from an unidentified designer (I really wish I knew who)
5. Amy Powers from Inspire Company.

Makes me wish I was a little paper girl and could have these in my wardrobe.

Today’s Natural Cleaning Recipe

This stuff is awesome. I use it to clean my sinks and tubs. It also works great on the water deposits on my glass shower door as well as my outside windows.

A powdered-sugar can with its little dispenser holes is perfect for the powder scrub. I bought it at Cost Plus (World Market) and love the little protective cover.

I use jasmine essential oil in the recipe but you can use some other kind if you like or even none at all. Essential oils are expensive but I feel like my home and time cleaning are worth it.

I already posted the recipe for super simple Lemony Furniture Polish on Sept. 11 here so I won’t repeat that one.