East Bay CA FOOD SWAPS
http://www.facebook.com/ebcafoodswap
http://ebcaswaps.blogspot.com/

Food Swap is a place for you to trade your homemade/grown/prepared food items with others in a silent auction style community marketplace. Your homemade creations (breads, jams, pickles, sweets, canned goods, back yard eggs and produce, etc.) become your own personal currency for use in swapping with other participants.

Our first event will be on April 9th 2-5pm

The location will only have enough space for up to 30 swappers. You must pre-register to participate. Sign up's for spots will begin on March 19th, 3 weeks before the event.

A few months back my boyfriend Dan and I bought a house and one of the very first things we decided to tackle in our new home was this bathroom:


We gutted it completly, even rebuilt the subfloor and drywall. The houses original bathtub had been sunken in to the floor at one point so getting that thing out was quite a task.


After Dan was done with the structural stuff I was allowed to design as I wish. Here is what I came up with. Dan and I are very happy with the results. We painted the original tub and a new sink. Dan built the sink vanity from scratch.

I make these out of recycled bike inner tubes that have been thrown out due to holes

I crocheted this skirt for my nieces 7th birthday. She loves pink (like most little girls), and wears this skirt with pink and purple leggings underneath. It's perfect for cooler weather.

To make I crocheted the front and the back separately then crocheted the sides together afterward from the inside. I took strands of all the yarn I used then braided to make the drawstring. The ruffle on the bottom is just a simple ruffle made by adding 3 times the amount of stitches per single stitch.

I crocheted this skirt for my nieces 7th birthday. She loves pink (like most little girls), and wears this skirt with pink and purple leggings underneath. It's perfect for cooler weather.

To make I crocheted the front and the back separately then crocheted the sides together afterward. I took strands of all the yarn I used then braided to make the drawstring.

on my blog: http://girlonbikewrites.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-deodorant.html

I recently stumbled across a recipe online for homemade deodorant and decided to give it a try. After some tweaking of the recipe, I am pleased with the results and don't plan on buying the store brand stuff ever again.



Here's what I did:
Girl on bikes homemade deodorant.
*1/4 cup baking soda
*1/3 cup cornstarch
*10 drops or 1/4 tsp tea tree, lavender, &/or your favorite scented oil
(tea tree works best because of it's antibacterial properties)
*1 tbsp+ coconut oil

Mix baking soda & cornstarch in a bowl with the oil or oil blend of your choice. Stir in coconut oil in until it’s the consistency you like. (mix it quite a bit before adding more)
Shape into disk or smash in to empty deodorant container. The cornstarch needs some heat in order to begin thickening so I put mine in the dehydrator at 145 degrees for about 15 minuets. The bar will be gooey until it cools so try to resist touching it. Once cool it will be firm and easy to handle.