4 Small Things Can Make A Big Difference

I absolutely love being able to do things in my home more naturally, without chemicals and with ease. I know I have mentioned before, but dryer balls are one of the best ways we have done things without nasty chemicals in our home. I love using them!

Vita For Home is a company that wants to bring organic, and natural dryer balls. Their Wool Felt Dryer Balls are handmade with 100% NATURAL WOOL from New Zealand and are wool to the core (no cheap fillers like many other brands). They are a wonderful eco-friendly product that are essential for the home. They are perfect for drying all your clothes, but especially towels, diapers and bedding, by helping absorb some of the moisture, but more than that they soften your laundry naturally.

As the 4 dryer balls bounce around in your dryer they fluff the material fibers up, help eliminate static and wrinkles. I have been using dryer balls for some time now and love them! They work and are amazing by doing all the above but also reducing the dryer time by 30-40%! That saves me money and time as well as having the knowledge that I have not been using harsh chemicals on the things that touch my families bodies the most.

We love to use them with essential oils in our dryer loads. Just add a few drops on each ball and toss them in with the laundry. You clothes come out super soft and smelling great without using harsh or dangerous chemicals. My favorite is to use lavender, but I am partial. My guys like it when I use peppermint or cedarwood.

When you purchase the wool felt dryer balls you will get up to 1500 washes with them. You toss all 4 in the dryer with your clothes. When the clothes are dry the dryer balls are dry too. I just leave all the dryer balls in our dryer all the time. I don't have to worry about where to keep them. They are always right where I need them, when I need them!

Oh and they make awesome dog and cat toys. Our fur babies love playing with the old dryer balls that I don't use in the laundry anymore!

You can purchase your own Vita For Home Dryer Balls HERE!

This reviewer has been compensated with receiving the product free in order to bring you an honest review. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

Candy Cane Mice ~ A Christmas Craft

I love making little Christmas goodies for friends and family, and the occasional random person who happens into my life around Christmas! One of the little goodies I am making with a couple of my dearest friends is Candy Cane Mice. This one is an oldy but a goody!

We had a ball crafting these little guys. The day was full of laughter, good food, and even better fellowship. I love spending days with my friends like this. The conversation goes all over the place, we get to share while doing something we all enjoy, and the end results are going to bless other people! That's what I call a good day. Oh and of course there was good coffee too!

So if you want to make some of these adorable Candy Cane Mice here's what you need:

• Candy Cane Mice template 
• Felt in a variety of colors
• Pencil or Pen
• Fabric shears 
• Craft glue 
• Candy canes (full size or small 3" individually wrapped, you just want to make sure the candy canes are individually wrapped or they don't fit in the mouse. )
• Craft Knife or Scissors
• Hole Punch
• Wiggly Eyes (optional)

The process is really easy. If you are using full size candy canes you want to enlarge the template by 150%. If you are using the smaller candy canes (like we did) you want to print the template the size it is without enlarging. 

Cut out your pattern pieces. Trace the ear and body with a pencil on the color of felt you want to use. Cut out your pieces.

With a hole punch cut the nose from red felt and two eyes from black felt (or skip the eyes if using wiggly eyes). Cut the inner ear pieces from a contrasting color of felt. You can even make their noses different colors if you want.

With a craft knife or scissors and the pattern, cut the slits in the mouse for the candy cane and the ears. If you are doing this project with your kids this should be an adult only job!

Glue the face on the mouse body and the inner pieces of the ears in place. Set aside to dry.

Assemble the mice by slipping the ears through the slits in the front of the mouse body and the candy cane through the back slits and tucking them into the ears to hold them in place.

These make an adorable table favor at a party or meeting or even just a cute package topper! Plus they hang from a tree branch by their tails and look super cute as an ornament.

Here's what 100 of these little mice look like!!

Have fun crafting. I know we did!

What crafts are you planning on making this Christmas season?

(The Candy Cane Mice template came from Martha Stewart Kids, Holiday 2003)