She's One Lucky Duck!

Our very first giveaway ended last night and entry #17, Lauren, is the winner!!!  Congratulations Lauren!  I'll be emailing you and getting your info so I can get this cool crafting tool set out to you asap!

Have a great weekend all!

Anthro-Inspired Knobs

>>> DON’T FORGET TO ENTER OUR CRAFTING TOOL GIVEAWAY!  TODAY IS THE VERY LAST DAY!  THE LUCKY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW!  <<<

We put knobs on the cabinets in our laundry room.  A boring woo-hoo, right? 
[Left was then; right is now…just to clarify in case the change is too teensy to notice.]

But hold up, they’re not just any knobs.  Nope.  They’re knock-offs inspired by Anthropologie that I spent a small sliver of everyday last week crafting.

 
Theirs are just to-die-for/swoon/can-I-marry-them gorgeous, aren’t they?  The $14 price tag, not so much.  Had we purchased these for our laundry room, our back account would’ve been set back a hefty $84 (six knobs) not including tax and shipping.  Mine cost me $3.  Bean for the win!

Here’s what they looked like before I got all snazzy on ‘em: 
I have actually been wanting to put some knobs on those cabinets for some time because they just get so finger-printed and dirty so I headed out to our local ReStore one day awhile ago and snatched up six of these shiny gold knobs.  I could’ve gone gold with them to get Anthropologie’s look even more, and boy did I want to, but I  just didn’t want the gold to clash with the big chrome rings on our washer and dryer.  I mean, I’m all about mixing metals but this is one time I went matching.  So, silver they became.  

My first step was covering up the gold and getting them all nice and prepped for paint with a few coats of white primer (Rustoleum).

I made sure to leave the screws in the back to keep the paint from getting in and clogging up the hole back there.

Once they were nice and dry, I flipped them onto their faces since I didn’t need silver paint there and sprayed the stems and backs with some Rustoleum silver metallic spray paint.
I used the chrome silver, not the brushed silver, but I’ve found that there’s really not that much of a difference between the two.  The chrome is unfortunately not as chrome as the cap of the can would have you believe.  :( 

So after the silver was even and dry, I taped off the faces of each knob and took them back outside where I sprayed them with some plain white spray paint (Rustoleum…again).

After I sprayed the faces white, I let them dry and made sure to leave the tape on (usually I’d take it off right away to prevent peeling but since the coat of white was so thin, I had no problem with it) because next up was…
 
Yep, nail polish!  After a search through the Martha Stewart specialty paint at Home Depot left me hanging for pearl paint, I did some brainstorming and dug through my polish where I found this pearl color by NailSlicks.  I’ve never used nail polish in DIY and I wasn’t sure if it’d work but there’s a first time for everything, right?

Well, it worked and it worked well.  Here are the knobs after I painted their faces with my pearl nail polish:
It’s a little hard to see in the above picture (I was lazy and used my iPhone for pictures) but they’re not perfect; the coat isn’t smooth and even.  But, that’s exactly what I needed considering the pearl on the Anthropologie knobs is laid in squares and not one smooth layer.  The nail polish was a little difficult to paint as it dried quick, making my desire for the imperfection in it all a little easier actually.  All I did was paint diagonal lines out from the center of each knob.  Here’s a closer look:

Also, I took the tape off each knob as I went because I was afraid, had I left all the tape on until I was done, it’d take the thicker nail polish layer off with it.

Next up, the design.  First I made myself a little stencil…I’m no good at drawing perfect shapes freehand.  Oh no, give me a roller and I’ll paint big Ws on a wall but perfect circles and squares you will not get.  Plus, from here on out there were to be no mess-ups or all would be lost.
  So, I actually just traced the design from the Anthro knob from computer screen to a small piece of wax paper, cut it out, centered it over my knob, and traced it on very lightly with a pencil. 

Then I used a silver sharpie (which I made sure matched the color of the spray paint before I started) to permanently draw on my design. 

Here they are, all designed!!

Last, I spray each knob with several coats of the same spray lacquer I used on the knobs in the girls’ room to give them a nice glossy finish.  This part was a little disappointing.  I found that the lacquer dulled the silver a little and really didn’t even make it that glossy.  The faces of each knob were a little glossier after finished but not what I had in mind.  Either way, the knobs had a nice coat of protection and were ready for use.

So pretty, no?
 

Back-tracking a little here…to figure out where I wanted the knobs placed on each door, I googled “where to install knobs on cabinets” and got my friend Lauren to send me a picture of the knobs in their kitchen.  The general consensus was that the edges should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the edges of the door.  After I did some measuring and marking, I cut out some circles the same size as my knobs from a piece of paper and stuck them on the cabinets to see the placement before the holes were drilled.  Fake paper knobs:

Later, after all the knobs were ready to be up and functioning and I was happy with their future placement after staring at the fake paper knobs for a few days, my main man got out his drill and drilled six holes.  And that was that.

    

So, in the end I only shoveled picked out $3 for this entire project because I had everything on hand but the knobs.  If you had to buy everything for this project (somebody puh-lease make them in gold…pllllease!!), you’re looking at around $20+ (primer, silver, and white spray paint, tape, pearl nail polish or some sort of pearl paint, a silver sharpie, tape, and thrifted knobs) but you’ll have loads of supplies left over at the end to be used for other things.  So, when all is said and done, it’s a pretty cheap project…especially when you think about how much you’re saving by making your own version vs. buying the real things.  :)




So, anybody else DIY-ed some knobs out there?  What about knocked-off an Anthropologie or upscale object/design to save some cash but still get the look?  Or maybe you just save up/splurge for the real thing?  Either way, it’s fun to get some character up in herrr, no?

.           .           .

Someone say party?!  Yep, I’m cruisin’ in from March 2014 and linking up with East Coast Creative for their week of knock-offs!  Click over to see some pretty amazing knock-offs!

Five Faves >Unconventional Beauty Products<

>>Before I delve into my five favorite unconventional beauty things, let me make excuses for the couple of blurry pictures…I didn’t enlist the husband – mistake #1, my priorities for the day were to 1) get this post up, 2) keep my kids from whining (fail) and ransacking the house, and 3) eat, therefore I forwent getting the best of the best pictures.   Also, somebody apparently hasn’t been spending enough time pinning “how to take in focus pictures” and that somebody is me.<<

On the plus side, we’re a linkin’ up with Hallie at Moxie Wife where there are a lot more favorites to be read!

SO.  With that said, here are five wonderful things I use on a regular basis that aren’t quite considered “normal” parts of a beauty routine. 

 
>>> Coconut Oil as Face Lotion <<<
[or “Medusa called and Wants Her Top Knot Back”]
I think it was my sister maybe who introduced me to coconut oil and it’s many uses, one being face lotion.  My skin is normal/dry so I stay away from all oil-free daily lotions which dry my skin out and instead swirl this on after washing my face each and every night.  I won’t tell you it’s given me the skin of a five year old or given me that airbrushed complexion we all desire but it does keep me nice and hydrated and dare I say “dewy” even?

>>> Olive Oil as Belly Butter <<<
All I have to say about this is that while I was pregnant with the twins I gave my burgeoning belly a rub-down with this stuff daily during the last four or so months of the pregnancy and I have not one stretch mark…nothing short of a miracle considering this:

Yep, that’s me at 37 weeks hauling 13 pounds of baby (eh-hem…babies).
I know that whether or not your skin stretches with or without the appearance of those marks has a lot to do with the skin your parents handed down to ya but I’m still giving this liquid of zee olive lots of credit.  It also helped ease all that itching due to the stretching even though chances are if you saw me during those months, I was usually scratching somewhere on that big ‘ole belly.
(Oh and p.s., I am in no way trying to brag about not having stretch marks or saying they’re bad or unwanted!  They are the beautiful marks of a mother and in not having them I, in some ways, missed out.)

>>> Baking Soda + Hydrogen Peroxide + H2O = Teeth Whitener <<<
My other sis introduced me to this concoction and then I stumbled upon it on Pinterest.  The recipe calls for a mixing of 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide, and 1/2 tsp. of water.  Brush that on your mouth bones once a week (I just dip my toothbrush in the little cup I’ve mixed it in, brush, dip, brush, dip, and brush until it’s all gone) and I promise you you’ll have whiter teeth in just a couple of uses.  I’m so bad at remembering to do it every week but my sister, well, you should see her pearly whites…blinding.  Did I mention this is like 1000 times cheaper than white strips or professional whitening?  Right up my cheap alley.
(UPDATE:  I forgot to mention that when you brush with this mixture, make sure you ONLY brush your teeth, not your gums.  I learned the hard way and my gums were sore for at least 24 hours…ouch!)

 

>>> Conditioner as Shaving Cream <<<
I saw this little tip on Pinterest and gave it a shot one time after I’d run out of regular shaving cream and now I won’t turn back.  After shaving with regular shaving cream my legs used to always itch like mad around the 3rd or 4th day after shaving and I never knew why…still don’t but after switching to conditioner, they don’t itch one bit, ever.  Weird, huh?  I guess it’s just the increase in hydration conditioner gives vs. the stuff in a can?  Either way, I like it and you only have to use a little bit which equals $$$ saved.

>>> Straightener as a Curling Iron <<<
I don’t use a straightener much anymore unless I’m giving myself a cut but I used to and when I did, preferring slightly curled ends over stick straight ones, I’d use my straightener to get that curl instead of straightening and then heating up the curling iron.  You won’t get ringlets like you could if you used a curling iron but the subtle curl/wave is great for everyday and is so natural looking.  All you have to do is pinch a section of hair in between the plates, twist the iron like the middle picture shows, and pull all the way down the piece until the end.  Wa-la.

.           .           .

Any other wise ones out there with some unconventional beauty tips?  I’m always in the neighborhood for more!!!  :)

Cup of Dirt

Or a mug of dirt but either way, it’s not a science experiment like Brian’s, or Brannammananan’s was.  Lost?  You have to see this video complete with voiced-over animations.  Brian Regan…comedian extraordinaire…the best of the best…watch out or you’ll pee your pants.

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase.  I planted some herbs in mugs only right now they’re still seeds so we’ve got three mugs ‘o dirt on our kitchen window sill.  A few weeks ago Deme at House For Five made another genius move and transplanted three herb plants into mugs and set them in her window sill and they looked amazing!  So, I did what any smart follower of hers would, I copied.  Thanks Deme!  :)

Instead of using the same Target mugs Deme used (I thought I’d let her claim some originality), I took the opportunity to try out the ever popular DIY sharpie mug project that floats around all areas of Pinterest.  So many people have tried it and so I don’t know who gets the credit for the idea in the first place, but if it’s you, way.to.go.  It is genius.

First, I needed some plain mugs.  I hunted through a few stores but per the usual, didn’t want to spend loads.  Then one day last week me madre and I were in Bed, Bath, & Beyond and on a center aisle shelf, these oversized mugs were calling my name.  They were clearanced down to $1.50 a piece…I’ll take three please.  And I did.
Part of me loved the white and didn’t want to taint them with sharpie but the thrill of a project won me over.

Here’s what I did to each: 
The pink/coral/red one at the top is scripted with the words of our song “When God Made You”, the second is a green, ikat scallop (which I originally just had scalloped minus the ikat until I made the third mug then went back and changed it), and the  third is a bronze, ikat, aztec design.  The ikat was so easy.  All I did was draw out my design and then I went over it with up and down scribbles.  No staying in the lines and no perfection, just four-year-old skillz at their bestest.  I also drew a ring around the top of each mug in the same color used on the mugs design for kicks.

Then I threw them all gently placed them in oven and baked them at 350* for 30 minutes.

Before I started this project I did a little research.  I found a lot of people saying their sharpie mugs didn’t work and some saying theirs did.  This is what I took away from all of the trial-and-errors of others:
-Make sure you clean your dish/mug/bowl/whatever before you start!
-If you make a mistake while drawing, a little rubbing alcohol supposedly works like an eraser.
-Put your sharpied whatever in the oven before you preheat it and allow them to heat with the oven.
-Bake anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.
-When done baking, let them cool with the oven…a.k.a. don’t take them out until the oven is cool.
-Hand-wash only unless…
-You use oil-based sharpie markers which seem to be dishwasher safe.
-More expensive dishware means more expensive glaze which means your dish/mug/bowl might not take to the sharpie as well.  Cheaper dishware works best.

One thing I found is that the fine point sharpie I used (the coraly-red), scratches off a little more easily than the wider tipped green and bronze I used.  Either way though, you have to scratch pretty hard.  Also, the bronze sharpie I used is a metallic one but I found that baking the mug took away some of the metallic sheen…boo.  I love how the sharpie looks like it’s underneath the glaze of the mugs though.  So pretty and think of all the design options!

Here are the mugs all baked and sitting pretty on our sunlit, kitchen window sill:

[Update:  Read about how these sharpied mugs are holding up here!]

Next up:  planting the herbs.  It would’ve been a lot easier for me to go grab three small herb plants but I had the seeds on hand already so I figured I’d give my green thumb a work-out since it’s been dormant for a couple of years.

So first I put a layer of rocks in the bottom of each of my mugs for drainage purposes.

Then I packed in the dirt, planted a few seeds in each cup (only to weed out all but one once they sprout), and gave each a little drink of H2O.

Last I created three tiny greenhouses by placing a piece of clear plastic wrap over each.  These will come off once there are shoots.  I didn’t press the wrap tightly over each for fear that a tight seal plus condensation might hurt my sharpie.  Just playing it safe.

And that’s it!  In a week or so we should have tiny sprouts of basil, oregano, and cilantro!  My mouth is already watering at the thought of fresh herbs in pasta and my fave salsa recipe by the Pioneer Woman herself!  :)

Cost Breakdown
Mugs:  $5 (with tax)
Sharpie markers:  $0 (already had but $3-$10 in store)
Herb seeds:  $1.75 (had to buy basil; already had the other two)
Dirt:  $0 (borrowed from an empty pot outside)
Grand Total:  $6.75

Have you ever sharpied and baked?  What did you write on and how is it holding up?  Or maybe you’re dying to try it like I was?  I say go for it! 

.         .           .

P.S.  It’s not too late to enter our Giveaway!!  So easy and you might win some craft essentials!

Made by Felricia & Curt

A few weeks ago when I debuted our remade coral desk, my friend Felricia sent me these pictures of a desk her and her hubbie, Curt, found at a thrift store and stripped and stained.  I was/am so very impressed because the littlest thought of stripping and staining any piece of wood bigger than a wooden nickel gets me all upset and in a tizzy…a.k.a. overwhelmed.  But, seeing their pictures just might have me begging to try it someday very far away… 

Look:

Didn’t they do an awesome job?!  And isn’t that blue chair just the perfect pop of color to top the whole thing off?  Me thinks "yep”.

What about you guys?  Stained anything lately?  Or maybe you’re into the paint can again?  That’s my mode ‘o change!  :)

.           .           .

P.S.  My motivation found it’s way back from Florida and I’ve been a busy bee working on a couple of awesome diy projects!  Think herb seeds, the oven, some spray paint, and a little Anthropologie.  So exciting right?!  ;)

P.P.S.  Have you entered our very first giveaway?  You should because I’m telling you, it’s probably the easiest giveaway you’ll ever have entered and you might win a crafting tool set I’m tempted to keep!  GO, GO, GO!

GIVEAWAY!!

Haaayy!!  We’re back from Florida and trying to get back to the usual routine, which for some reason seems to be taking longer than I want it to.  So, I don’t have any completed projects on the blog roll  for today but I do have a giveaway in honor of Bean In Love reaching 100 Google followers!!  This giveaway isn’t sponsored by anybody or gifted to me to gift away, it’s just a little something I picked up for one of you to thank you for reading and keeping me virtual company! 

One lucky person will get a crafting tool kit which includes a 6 x 8 inch magnetic cutting mat, a 6 inch magnetic ruler, a pair of scissors, some crafting tweezers, an art knife, and a brad setter!  

The best part is that all you have to do is click a button on the Rafflecopter thingy below (and first log in with your email or Facebook so I have your info in case you win) and you’re entered!  I’m not going to make any other stipulations or bribe you with extra entries if you follow but I’d love if you’d come along anyway! 

I’ll announce the lucky winner in two weeks!  Good luck peeps!  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cloth Diapering One-Oh-One

Cloth diapering.  It’s how we do.  One of the books I read while the twins were still in utero on how to breastfeed twins, even though it gave some amazing advice and encouragement on nursing two at once, also said, and I quote “Cloth diapers – are you kidding?  Breastfeeding and caring for twins makes life busy enough!  There is no need for another job…”.  Well, I guess the joke’s on us but the money’s in our pocket too cause we’re crazy enough to try…and succeed!  I know it’s not for everyone but I will tell you that we’ve saved somewhere in the vicinity of $2000 so far by breastfeeding (up until three weeks before the girls turned 1) and cloth diapering.  Cha-ching.

This post is all about the latter though and it’s all you need to know and everything I wish I would’ve had at my fingertips while I was preparing to put cloth on our girls bums. 

>>> The Supplies <<<

1 – A diaper pail.  When you’re talking cloth diapering, a diaper pail is just a fancy word for “garbage can”.  Almost any garbage can will work but you will want one with a foot step that opens the lid so you’re not having to use hands you don’t have while holding a dirty diaper to open the lid.  We have this one from Target but my cloth-diapering sis bought a similar one from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.  You can find them almost anywhere.  Just make sure your wet bag (#6) fits inside it.  Update:  Don’t buy the Target pail.  After one year of use, the plastic ring the held the lid to the pail snapped off and let us pail-less until we bought this Simple Human one that’s still going strong.

2 – Diaper covers.  Diaper covers go over prefolds (#3), the actual absorbent material that catches all of your baby’s waste.  If you opt to use all-in-one diapers, like these by Bum Genius, you won’t need these.  However, they’re cheaper than the all-in-ones.  Our first thought was actually to use all-in-one diapers but after reading a few reviewers saying that tiny particles of poop can get stuck in between the layers, we decided to go with prefolds and covers (OCD ova here).  I’ve heard more good than bad reviews for both types though.  But back to the covers, we use Flip diaper covers and LOVE them.  They’re adjustable so that they’ll fit from newborn to potty-training (but I might mention that we did purchase some “newborn” sized covers that were smaller because our girls were so tiny and used them until the girls were three months old).  They come with either snaps (which we prefer) or velcro and you use one cover all day, unless you have a leak into it from an abnormally large load…that’s always fun.  We give them a quick wipe every time we change diapers and we’re good to go.  There are varying opinions on how many you really need but we have 12 – six for each girl – and we’ve found that that’s plenty.  Also, we made sure to purchase some “boyish” colors so in case we ever had a boy (whadda know?!…we do!), he wouldn’t have to sport the pinks.  :)  Update:  We still love our Flip covers but we’ve had an issue with the laminated lining of a couple of them ripping and therefore leaking.  I’m planning on letting Flip know and so I’ll check back after I do.    

3 – Prefolds.  As mentioned above, these go inside your diaper covers (unless you’re using all-in-ones) and do all the dirty work.  We use Bummis organic cotton prefolds but have some non-organic prefolds and some Flip Stay Dry inserts that we’re going to try when the girls move up in sizes…soon.  We also have some disposable inserts to use when the girls are a little bigger as well.  They serve the same purpose as cloth prefolds but, as the name declares, are tossed like a regular diaper when they’re dirty.  We’ll use them for travel and that’s about it.  As far as how many you’ll need, we have 30 prefolds – 15 per girl – and have to wash diapers pretty much every other day.  That number has worked perfect for us.  Update:  Unless you really want organic, we purchased several of these Chinese prefolds and have found that they work just as well as the Organic Bummis prefolds for half the price.  We also have a few Indian prefolds but have found that they don’t hold as much even though they’re a tad softer.  Also, we’re sorry to say that we’ve been really disappointed with the Flip Stay Dry inserts and the Flip disposable inserts.  The girls have wet through them in an hour or less and, because we’d rather not change diapers every hour, we’ve been exclusively using prefolds.

4 – Snappis.  Out with the big, dangerous safety pins and in with the Snappis!  They hold the prefold on with claws of sort, that grip each side of the diaper and the middle.  They’re super easy to use and semi-elastic so they stretch with growing baby and you use them until they wear out (the package says to switch out the old for a new one at least every six months but we’ve been using the same ones for a year now.)

5 – A diaper sprayer.  This is optional but for us it was a surefire way to remove runny newborn poop but as the girls started eating solids, which as you might know, come out as “solids”, it’s not in as much use.  We  have this bumGenius Diaper Sprayer.  It attaches to your toilet and is similar to the sprayer on a sink.  I’ve heard a few reviewers quoting their dislike for these due to the fact that they spray poop everywhere.  We, however, love it and don’t have poop sprayed everywhere.    The keys to not adorning surrounding areas with excrement is 1) spraying down and into the diaper (duh?), 2) setting the water pressure high enough so that it gets the poop off and low enough that it doesn’t hit the stuff and fly in every direction, 3) having your toilet water level low which allows you to… 4) hold the diaper as deep as possible into the toilet bowl.  The diaper might be soaking wet once you’re finished cleaning it so you can either do the Anthony – wring it out with your bare hands (one of the reasons I know he REALLY loves our girls) and carry it damp to the diaper can, hold it over the nearby bathroom trash can, letting it drip into there while you carry it to the can (my preferred mode), or you can buy a small wet bag just for getting it from toilet to can.  This is probably the worst part of cloth diapering buutttt, did you know that it’s illegal to dispose of human excrement into your trash…a.k.a. you’re supposed to empty disposable diapers of solids before throwing them out.  Read your diaper box, I swear it’s true!  Who does it though?  I wouldn’t know…

6 – Two large wet bags/diaper pail liners.  These fit into your diaper pail and hold all dirty/wet diapers until laundry time.  They’re lined with a flexible plastic sort of material (technical term…I have no clue) so they’re water-proof.  You’ll need two because while one is in the wash with your diapers, you’ll need the other in your diaper pail.  We have these by Planet Wise. 

7 – A medium (or small) wet bag for travel.  This is similar to the large wet bags you’ll need only a lot smaller and usually they zipper shut so you can stash it in your diaper bag for outside-the-home excursions…not that we mothers get a ton of those.  ;)  You really only need one.  We have one similar to this one from Planet Wise.

Not pictured – Wipes.  We use disposable Target brand wipes but I know lots of cloth-diapering parents who use cloth wipes and homemade cleaning solution as well.  Click here for a great tutorial on those from Simple Homemade.  Last, when I sent my must-have list to my sis so she could double check me to make sure I my supposed “pregnancy brain” wasn’t forgetting anything, she told me to add a hazmat suit.  ;)  Disposable or cloth, I’m sure we’ve all had those diaper changes in which we wish we had one of those close by, am I right or am I right?!

>Nighttime<  We don’t cloth diaper at night.  We use Target disposables.  There are overnight cloth diapers you can get that we haven’t tried but we had a run-in with some bad smelling diapers after being left on all night in the beginning of our cloth diaper journey and opted for disposables instead.

There are links to all the products mentioned above within their individual explanations but I didn’t do any research and find where each product is the cheapest at the moment.  We purchased or were gifted most of our cloth diaper paraphernalia by family from cottonbabies.com.  You can register with them which is awesome and they often have some sort of sale going on.  They also have diapers for sale that are marked down due to slight imperfections in construction but perfectly usable.  Most if not all of the stuff can be purchased on Amazon too and a few of the links above are affiliate links that will lead you there!  If you have any secrets on where to purchase cloth-diapering loot, let us know in the comments section!  :)

.           .           .

>>> Folding & Clothing <<<

It took us two diaper changes (hence the different outfits and lack of a changing pad cover in a few) to get all the shots we needed to explain without photo-bombing baby extremities but I think we got every step.  And just an FYI, I’m going to be really thorough with this part of cloth diapering because it’s the one that intimidated me the most and that which I couldn’t find enough info on when I was seeking it.  Sorry in advance if it’s annoying…I’m happy if it’s helpful!

There are a few different ways to fold a prefold diaper.  Our favorite is the angel/angel wing fold; the one you’ll see below.  You can see some other ways here.

First, lay your prefold out flat >>

Then fold it into thirds >>

 

Holding it down around the halfway mark, fold one corner out >>

And then the other >>

Then slip the side with the open corners under baby’s bottom >>
 

Now pull the other end up over baby >>
 

Then grab the top corners and pull them around toward baby’s sides >>

(Side note:  If the prefold is a little big, like ours were when the girls were newborns, you can just fold the front down a little bit at this point.  I meant to take a picture to show this step but forgot…)

Grab the corners at the back and pull them up and over the front of the diaper >>
 

Then grab your snappi and attach it to each side and, while holding the middle-top of the prefold, pull it down and attach it at the bottom >>
 

Snap on a cover and you’re…errr, baby…is good to go!
 

At this point you’ll either be making a fun trip to the diaper sprayer…

or with one little press of the foot, you’ll be done.

Easy.  A few diaper changes and you’ll be able to slap on a cloth diaper faster than you can put on your own pants.

Here’s a little cheat sheet/image you can right-click save in case you want all the folding in one place:
 

I know some people fold differently for boys but I haven’t yet had time to research that.  I’ll get back to you on it in T-minus four months though!  :)

Update:  So, turns out there’s not much of a difference between diapering boys vs. girls.  We use the same folding process only we make sure that our little man’s you-know is nice and tucked.  After a couple of inquiries, I whipped up this little pictorial to explain:

Another thing worth mentioning, you CANNOT use Desitin/regular diaper cream with cloth diapers.  Apparently the wax they’re made with will never come out of your cloths.  I know there are cloth diaper approved diaper rash creams out there (anybody have specifics?) and I’ve also heard maybe coconut oil works (?) but we take the lazy way out and put the rash victim (usually from a reaction to a certain food) in a disposable after slathering on some Desitin.  Update:  Thanks to some awesome readers I can now tell you that Burt’s Bees rash cream and GroVia diaper sticks are cloth diaper and mother/father approved!  

.           .           .

>>> Washing & Drying <<<

Like I mentioned above, having 12 covers and 15 prefolds, we wash diapers once every other day at least.  It’s as simple as removing the entire diaper pail liner/wet bag full of diapers and emptying it into the washer, throwing the liner in empty and inside-out too. 

We follow the washing instructions on a pamphlet that came with our diapers.  First we run them through a cold cycle without any detergent.  Then we add a half capful of detergent (we use Seventh Generation from Target) and set the washer on a hot cycle with an extra rinse.  You don’t need to use as much detergent on cloth diapers as you would in a normal load of clothes.  Remember that if you’re diapering one baby, you’d use even less than we do diapering two.  Using fabric softener and/or dryer sheets isn’t recommended.  To strip the diapers lest they start smelling from detergent/waste build-up, we add about a 1/8-1/4 cup of white vinegar in every four or five loads. 

After the diapers are clean, we hang-dry the covers and pail liner and throw the prefolds into the dryer.

Once in awhile, if we think of it or have some time on our hands, we’ll hang the diapers outside to dry, letting the sun bleach out any stains.  Works like a charm!

.           .           .

>>> Storage <<<

To keep the diapers close at hand, we have a little “changing station” next to the changing pad in the girls’ room.  It’s just a decorative tray I found at Dirt Cheap (originally from Target) that I load their clean prefolds on, a pack of wipes, and a little vase filled with various creams/teething gel/whatever.

Extra covers, the spare pail liner, and our trusty overnight disposables are stored in a drawer underneath…

And the next-size-up prefolds, some Flip Stay-Dry inserts, and a couple of all-in-ones we were given and are going to try are stored in a basket on a shelf below.

.           .           .

Whew!!  Did I miss anything?  Longest post ever!  :)

But after all that let me type it again, we love cloth diapers!  Not only because we’ve saved enough to equal a nice down payment on a minivan (yes…yes we are going there) but because they’re good for the environment and we can count the number of leaks we’ve had on two hands.  In the span of one year, diapering two babies, that’s pretty darn good.  However, I can’t even tell you how many leaks we’ve had using disposables – on trips in car seats usually.  Fun. Fun.  A huge plus is that we’re set for baby #3 and following because we won’t need to buy more!  And, on a totally superficial level, they’re cute!  Who needs bloomers when you have cute diaper covers?  I love pairing them with coordinating dresses and baby legwarmers in the cooler months to make changing a snap.  :) 

I know the thought of cloth diapering can be really intimidating but I promise it’s really not!  It takes maybe 30 seconds longer for me to change a cloth diaper vs. a disposable, but in this case time is not money but just the opposite!  Plus, once you give it a try and stick with it, it becomes normal and just another part of daily life.

If you have any questions or have anything at all to add, leave a comment or shoot me an email at beaninlove@gmail.com!  I’d love to hear more tricks of the dirty trade!  :)

.           .           .

P.S.  I’m sorry if I’m a little delayed in getting back to your comments/emails this week/weekend!  My sister is flying in from Dallas tomorrow and we’re driving with the girls over to St. Augustine, Florida to see my mom and other sister!  On Saturday we’re heading to Disney World for Night of Joy and letting the twins get their first taste of the Princesses, Mickey and Minnie, and everybody else who’s there.  Chances are they’ll have no clue what’s going on but it’s okay because all I really care about is taking them on “It’s a Small World”.  Aaaah!  Can’t wait!!  :)

Have a Magical rest of the week!  :)