Christmas Trees from years past...

2008:

(please ignore the dust, yikes!)

2006:

tiny house = tiny tree.

Wool Dryer balls = FAIL

I'm sad I haven't posted any newer projects, time has really gotten away from me lately, and I just haven't had time. I wanted to update with my most recent failures - one of my dryer balls came about halfway unraveled in the dryer last night. I'm so sad! Also, it was a huge mess since it was tangled up in all the laundry. Boo hoo!

Wool Dryer Balls

I don't know about you, but I find dryer sheets very annoying - they always seem to be stuck inside clean laundry, or I'll find one stuck to the back of my shirt halfway thru my workday. I also was looking for something more environmentally friendly. Someone recently told me I should try wool dryer balls. They are supposed to help with static cling and softening your clothes in the dryer. You can buy them from someone who sells handmade goods (etsy is one of my favorites), but they weren't hard to make; I just found searched and found this website. Mine aren't as pretty, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results. We live in Colorado, and the dry air here is a great place to test these out. So far so good, I think to help a little I'm going to start using vinegar in the wash (you use it in place of fabric softener).

These are the materials I used:

Finished product:

I think my main motivation to start this blog was 2 fold. 1) I enjoy trying "weird" new craft projects and don't have anyone who's really excited to share in them with me, so I figured this would be a good outlet. 2) A lot of the projects I've been doing are as a result of trying to make our household more eco-friendly, I figure since I have a terrible time finding resources for that sort of thing, other people probably do too and this would be a good way to get lots of the things I've attempted online. Most of all I'm excited to share what I've found with others - there's nothing more satisfying than finding function in the things you've actually made yourself - it's the best!