I have 2 sets of Layouts to share with you today, both from Pardon The Mess.
The first kit is a new release today, you can find it here. It’s called “Ride Captain Ride”
This is my “little” brother.
The second kit was previously released, but Sara let me work with it 
Hope everyone is having a great week!
-Megan
PS I have a guest post at Down This Road Designs today. It’s a homemade playdoh recipe. I made another batch today, so I will post the recipe with pictures here sometime soon!
Here are some more layouts from my guest CT spot at Pardon the Mess. I got to work with an adorable kit called “Daybreak Express”. It’s all about trains!
Here’s a kit preview (it’s linked)
And here’s some layouts I completed.
I very rarely buy cake mix. We love the chocolate cake so much that it’s pretty much all I make. I use several variations of toppings, including a sinful whipped cream, chocolate and caramel (similar to better than sex cake), homemade white frosting, and a decadent chocolate fudge frosting.
The cake recipe is my grandma’s No-Mix Chocolate Cake.
No-Mix Chocolate Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cups cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1/2 package instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp vinegar
2 cups warm water
Lightly mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt and pudding mix. Then add oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix well but do not beat. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until done. Cool.
Sara at Pardon the Mess was good enough to let me work with some back kits, so I will be showing off the kits and Layouts as they are completed. Here is an adorable kit called “Little Bird”. It’s available at scrapable.co.
I am excited to announce that I will be a CT guest for Pardon the Mess this May. I got lost in the forums so I am a little bit late on one of the kits, but I will catch up soon. Pardon the Mess is available at Scrapable. Make sure to check her out! I do receive her kits for free in exchange for advertising and promoting her products.
Look at this beautiful kit that I got to work with. It’s perfect for all the weddings that I haven’t gotten scrapped. (eek.) It’s called “Hopelessly Devoted”.
She also has a bundle available with styles, word bits and alphas.
Here’s a LO of my friends Mark and Megan’s wedding.
And here is one of my cousin Jimmy and his beautiful Bride Dawn.
I just love all these romantic pictures. Reminds me of my wedding day. I’ll be married 6 years this fall to a wonderful man.
Before I had my second child, my knowledge of cloth diapers was limited to icky rubber pants, sharp diaper pins, and leaks. Not appealing.
I decided to look around for cloth diaper options when I was pregnant with my second son. I really liked what I saw. But it was SO confusing. There are now so many more options!
Thankfully, I found a local store that stocked a variety of cloth diapers and all of the accessories. I prefer to touch and feel things before I buy, so this was great. There was even a doll to practice on! After about an hour of discussion, we walked away with a good portion of what we needed.
Please keep in mind there are about a zillion options out there, but this is what we use, and our routine.
Flip Diaper System: We have 6 outers, and 2 dozen Stay-Dry microfiber liners. The liners fit perfectly in a DVD storage basket that slides right into our changing table.
Bummis: The Flips were a little too big for our 7 pound baby, so we did stop by and purchase a Bummis newborn pack. We only used it about 2 weeks, but at less than $30, it was comparable or cheaper than disposables. We also have 2 Bummis covers, which I don’t think are as nice as the Flips. We also received a teeny tiny red Bummis so if he came in time for Christmas (he didn’t) he would have appropriate attire (thanks GG!). It was awful darn cute anyway!
Wet Bag: We have the Bummis wet bag. I don’t remember if this was the cheapest, or only option that our store had. But it’s nice, it works.
Sprayer: I very highly recommend this. I have the BumGenius one. Saves on the yuck factor big time. I’ve washed the diapers out by hand while we were staying at my mom’s, and there’s no comparison!
Diaper Pail: I bought a garbage can with a flip up/latch, lid. It’s broken already and doesn’t close most of the time (so I weigh it down to keep it shut). Save yourself the trouble and just get a plain one. I line mine with an old pillowcase, or a laundry bag. I’m still toying with open or closed as the weather gets warmer.
Washing: I have a Cabrio HE washer. I use Norwex laundry detergent. I do a soak with about 1/4 t. of detergent on cold, heavy soil. Then I run a Heavy Duty cycle, with heavy soil, hot/cold wash, and an extra rinse, using 1/4 t. of detergent. I have only stripped the diapers once with bleach and that was when I was still getting the hang of getting the stains out.
Drying: I normally air dry the diapers. I have found that the best way to get stains and any musty smell out is to sun them, so I hang them outside if I can. I also have a small indoor rack that we use if the weather is poor. If I am in a pinch, I will dry them in the dryer, but I prefer not to do this because it sets stains. The diapers take longer than normal clothes because they are thick microfiber. I wash every 3-4 days. I probably wouldn’t need to wash that often, but they tend to stink a little, and I try to wash when I have about 6 diapers left so that the the ones I washed have plenty of time to dry before we need them.
Wipes: I haven’t bought any disposables yet! I love my re-usable wipes. We tried flannel, receiving blankets and old t-shirts cut into squares. The flannel and receiving blankets both left strings on the diapers, and deteriorated quickly. T-shirts win out by far. I confiscated one of my hubby’s armpit stained shirts, and used my rotary cutter to salvage the good parts. No sewing needed. We toss the wipes in with the diapers, hang them just the same. The I use a solution of about 3 drops of baby soap to 1.5 cups of water in a spray bottle as “butt wash”.
Cost: I think our total was less than $300.00. My mother and grandmother were very generous, and purchased about a third of that between the two of them. I anticipate that I will be able to re-use the diapers either on a 3rd child, my sisters future child(ren), or get a reasonable amount for re-sale. Even if I don’t, I still am money ahead.
I made a stacked page as a freebie for Down This Road Designs’ Blog. It’s up for grabs here if you’d like it. Just click on the image to download. Don’t forget to leave me feedback if you snag it. I like to know how many people are actually taking advantage. More comments=more freebies
Happy Scrapping!
-Megan
