More sprout fun + custom chocolate bar wrappers

It was really hard to choose just two projects to share that I made with my Sprout since I had about a dozen I was working on and equally excited about (I can always share those later right?) but custom chocolate bar wrappers won out! It's not that I think straight from the store chocolate bars are awful (though some are) but I have a love affair with custom designing things like this for special occasions.

This time I stuck with very minimalistic designs and it only took like 10 minutes to draw all three on the sprout mat and print them off. I've been in love with the simple tree illustration from Fine little day so I free handed one, filled it in with black and copy+pasted it to fill the page up. So easy!

Here's the link to each print if you'd like to use them for anything: Mountains, Trees, Lines


Another fun way I used it last week was to create a page of everything that Beck loves at 20 months.
I used the 3D scanning projector to scan in his favorite toys (dinosaurs), his swim shorts, his favorite book and his blanket to create a little memory collage. I didn't take any video of the scanning action but it's super fascinating to watch and they have some videos online if you want to see!

And last but not least, I took a short time lapse of me going through photos and writing on them with the mat. It is really easy to use (unlike other writing tablets I've tried)!


Thanks HP for letting me try out the Sprout. I'm kind of in love with and learning more and more things I want to use it for everyday!

Make: Natural Deodorant (that actually works!)

I'm always making my own household things around here (especially with my newish found love in essential oils!) but they are usually unlabeled or worse... labeled with masking tape. The horror! Well, I got this fancy new computer called Sprout from HP a few months ago and I've been playing with it and learning how to use it and it wasn't until last week that I was like Duh... I can make cool labels for all my homemade concoctions now!

The sprout is incredible, with technology I can't really even fathom and it's SO fun to use (I have another project I'll be sharing in a couple days). It has a scanner/projector attached to the top that can scan 3D objects, and touch-sensitive mat that you can use to edit and create projects. The actual computer screen itself is a touch screen too. It's all just so amazing (and anyone that comes over needs to try it out). I'm not super great with using photoshop for design things since I'm a more hands on type of person and this is really nice for that—you can pull photos off the internet, drag them onto the mat, edit them, crop them, write on it, turn it sideways... all with your fingers. I made a little time lapse video for my next post... be excited!




I stuck with something super simple for the label since I don't have the best drawing skills and added text and I was done within a minute or two and sending it to the printer. Hooray!



Now, lets talk deodorant! I've made deodorant in the past and it worked fine but for some reason we ended up going back to something from the store. When we ran out a couple weeks ago Josh picked one up that was natural and wasn't test on animals... and it sucked (ahem..Toms).

I knew I had a bunch of essential oils that are antibacterial which would be great in a homemade deodorant since it's the bacteria that makes you stink. I read about this combo of essential oils in deodorant elsewhere and thought I'd give it a go. And the verdict is: it works so incredibly well and smells great too. We've both been using it everyday and it's been SO hot here and no odor from us whatsoever.

If you're a natural deodorant skeptic, this one will win you over.

Orange Peppermint Oregano Deodorant

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder (I highly recommend this over cornstarch)
5 Tablepsoons coconut oil, melted
10 drops oregano essential oil
10 drops orange essential oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the essential oils to the melted coconut oil and stir it into the dry ingredients until it is very well mixed with no clumps. Put it in the refrigerator to solidify it. Use a pea-sized amount in each arm. Tip: Hold it in your arm for a few seconds before spreading around to melt it a bit.

If you make it and use it, let me know!

oh, bye July! (Currently...)

July has passed by without a peep from me here. Ooops! But right now I have a free minute and this juice was begging to be on the internet (wink) so I thought I'd do a Currently post just for fun.

Currently:

Reading: All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr. Really fun read so far. I've been a reading machine this year and I'm working on my list of favorites to share in a post soon!

Watching: If I get a chance to watch anything, documentaries on netflix are my jam. Any recs of what I should watch next?

Eating: Beck's goldfish right now ;) BUT.... we've also been juicing every day and it feels SO good to incorporate loads of veggies in each one and chug it down. Favorites are: beets apple ginger, cucumber kale apple, and carrot pear ginger.

Wondering: How long I have before Beck wakes up (always the question of the day!)

Shocked by: How much Beck is talking! It feels like he was just saying mama and milk last month and now he says more words than I could write down right now (hard ones like dinosaur and elephant!) and putting sentences together. It makes my heart explode and also want to cry all at the same time. He's not a baby anymore.

Planning: We're loosely starting to plan a few vacations for the upcoming months. A lazy week at the beach reading books and playing with Beck is on the agenda for now... though I'm still absolutely dying to get our butts somewhere tropical. White sand, clear blue water are my priorities.

Learning: more in depth about essential oils. I have this reference guide that talks about the historical data, plant origins, what each one is used for, etc. It's so fascinating! People have been using these for hundreds (actually, thousands) of years. I could nerd out for hours flipping through the book.

Laughing at: the socalitybarbie instagram. Have you seen it? Whoever came up with the idea is a genius (its not me, but I wish it was!) and I can't get enough of it.