Adventures in Soap Making

I received my Soap Making starter kit today! 

For $30 I got:

2.2 lbs of white soap base

2.2 lbs of clear soap base
1 oval soap mold

3 labColors - Red, Blue, and Yellow

2 Fragrance Oils - Cucumber and Peach

I used the most basic method possible for making my soap. No measuring!

My gear!

Step 1: Cut your soap! Use a sharp knife.

Step 2: Put small chunks of soap in a microwave safe container...

and cover in saran wrap!

You should heat the soap in 30 second - 1 minute intervals until it is completely melted and bubbly.

Step 3: Mix your colors and essential oils!

Step 4: Let Harden!

Final Product!

Cost Breakdown:
Store-bought soap (Dove): A plain bar of Dove soap from the store costs $1.79 (not including tax) for a 3.15 oz bar of soap. That's .57 cents an ounce.

This starter kit for the soap was $30. I was about to make 16 bars of soap at 5.9 oz each.
16 x 5.9 = 94.4 oz
30 / 94.4 = .32 cents per ounce.

Honest Co. Diaper Review

So after finding The Honest Company online, I had to give it a try. I mean, we cloth diaper. Cloth diapering is economical and ecological. 

The Honest Company ships a month's supply of diapers and wipes for $79.95. These diapers are plant based and don't contain any of the dioxins or carcinogens that most disposables do. So why not give them a try? Honest Co. has a 'discovery pack' that you can try for just $4.99 S&H.

The second option, which I also tried out, is the Home Essentials Bundle, which came with laundry detergent, hand soap, shampoo/body wash, balm, and lotion. This bundle is $36.95. I will go over these in another post (once I have used them all).

This is my box! It was a lovely design, and very space-conscious. Obviously this company looks at even the little things!

I received 7 diapers. 2 Pink Stars, 2 Multicolored Flowers, 2 Ice Cream Cones, and 1 plain white. As well as a pack of wipes.

Frugal Mama Review: Honest Company Diapers

Cost: 3 out of 5

With The Honest Company, I would get 216 Size 3 diapers and 320 wipes for one month. This would be $79.95.

Compared to regular disposables, these are a bust!
Amazon Mom offers subscriptions for diapers and wipes, usually with free shipping. I used my account to calculate the totals for other brands of diapers.

Regular Disposables:
Pampers: 216 Size 3 diapers cost $45.36 from Amazon Mom. 320 wipes cost $6.4, for a grand total of $51.76

However, compared to other natural diapers, they rock on the price!
"Natural" Diapers:
Earth's Best: 216 Size 3 diapers, $64.8. 320 wipes, $16. Total: $80.8

7th Generation, 216 Size 3 Diapers, $89.67. 320 wipes, $9.6 Total: $99.27

Design/Functionality: 2 out of 5

Can you say diaper rash?? For a diaper that's supposed to be all natural, this diaper left a blister on Frugal Baby's bottom! Poor thing.

Good Qualities: 

Adorable design. I loved all but the ice cream, it was a little too much. Cute, but the pattern just hurt my eyes, and seeing one filled with poop ruined ice cream for me forever. I wonder why they don't have the boy pattern (Skulls) in a girl version? The skulls can have bows.

Absorbency. These diapers held up well, and Frugal Baby filled two up with massive...poop.

Bad Qualities:
The closure wouldn't stay, and the fit was off. Frugal Baby kept crawling out of her diaper, and did I mention the rash? Her entire crotch area was bright red, and she hasn't had a bit of diaper rash since she was born! (Unless you count the time her diapers got washed in Dreft...oops!)

Overall Frugal Mama Rating: 3 out of 5

These diapers are a great idea. The whole company is a great idea, but they're going to take some work. It's obvious from things I've found online that the company is making strides to improve product quality, but for now, it was a no go for us. The cute prints just didn't win over the ill fit and the rash.

Good night and God Bless

Frugal Mama

DIY Nursing Pads

In a rush so all I have time for is photos. Word instructions coming!

Alright. So the first step is to take a CD or another 4-5" round object. Trace this onto a piece of paper and you have your pattern! I folded my flannel receiving blanket 4 times and pinned the circle onto it. After cutting it out you'll have 4 Flannel Circles.

Repeat with your absorbent material. I used bamboo fabric in this instance, but you can layer flannel.

If you want a contoured pad, this is the point when you would fold each circle in half and mark it 1" from the edge. Sew at an angle across the circle.

When you put your layers together, I'd suggest staggering the seams to keep from having bulk in one part of the pad.

Proceed to sew around the edges!

And voila! A cloth nursing pad!

Cost Breakdown:

The cost for this project? Completely free. All the fabrics were donated. :]
However, I've made many nursing pads in the last 14 months of nursing, and I love to buy used receiving blankets...$1 at a local resale shop. Bamboo is $5-$7 a yard, which will produce at least 20-30 nursing pads, so in the end one set of pads shouldnt cost more that 50 cent.

DIY Cloth Pads

After forking out $14.99 a piece for cloth menstrual pads, and loving them, I decided to be more...frugal. A client of mine gave me several old receiving blankets and baby bath towels, and I promised her I'd make her some nursing pads.

So I started out by tracing one of my Lunapads on a piece of paper. You can use any brand, cloth or disposable, to make your pattern.

It wasn't very even, so I cut it in half and used the half to cut my fabric.

What type of fabric should you use? After looking on several websites for ideas, I decided on flannel and bamboo. The green material is a receiving blanket my client gave me, and the bamboo is some I bought from a cloth diaper supply shop last summer.

I traced the pattern for the center panel out of the bamboo. I decided to use 3 layers or bamboo and 2 layers of flannel for absorbency.

This is an idea of what the pad will look like when done.

I don't have a serger, so I did a basic stitch on my machine around the edge of the pad body.

Then I laid the 3 layers of bamboo on the center of the pad and stitched it with the same stitch, creating the absorbent center. The bamboo is so soft! I know it's going to make a fabulous menstrual pad!

Now, I don't have any metal snaps on hand, but I have the plastic KAM snaps I use for diaper-making.

To apply KAM snaps, you start by punching a hole where you want to apply the snap.

The cap of the snap has a long prong, which sometimes needs to be trimmed when being applied to thin fabric. I do this with PUL, and did it again with the flannel.

After this you need to put the stud or the socket over the cap and use the pliers to apply the snap.

This is a socket.

See how well they fold up and snap when not being used?

Total Cost for this project: $.60

Flannel, free. Bamboo, less than .50 for enough fabric for this project. Snaps: .10

Now, go out and DIY!

Good day, and God Bless!

Frugal Mama

EDIT: I had issues with leaking through the pad, so I added a layer of PUL fabric and it worked fabulously!

Lunapads Review

So when you're already using cloth diapers and reusable bags, and reusable snack bags, and prefolds for paper towels, what's the natural step when your menstrual cycle starts? Cloth menstrual pads.

I know what you might be thinking, "Ew, that's gross!", but why not? I'm already washing diapers. What's it going to matter if I throw some pads in there?

Since I waited until mine were in the wash to do this review, I'll have to use a  upload a picture later. For now, here's the website Lunapads with the starter kit.



Frugal Mama Review: Lunapads

I was sent a postpartum pad and a regular pad from Lunapads to use to show my clients how nice cloth pads were. I loved the feel of them and decided to buy a couple to try out. They took a while to get here, but made it just in time for my next menstrual cycle.


I was hooked! I love them!

Cost: 4 out of 5
To figure up the cost savings here, I checked the price of my preferred store brand of maxi pads. $7 for a pack of 45. Since I easily go through 45 or more in a cycle, I multiplied that by 12, and then by 5,. That was a grand total of 2,700. At $7 a pack, you'll spend $386 in a 5-year span.  For a starter pack of lunapads the cost is $75. (Lunapads.com has an extensive cost savings analysis if you want more in-depth savings breakdown.) 

This means that in a 5-year span I will save $311 using the starter kit, which includes enough to get you through one cycle. This isn't nearly the amount of savings I get from using cloth diapers, but every little bit counts!

Design/Functionality: 5 out of 5
Made of 2 layers of 100% cotton flannel, 2 layers of 100% cotton fleece, and 1 layer of absorbent nylon, these pads can't be beat! In one day I would need 4-5 disposable pads, whereas I only need 1 cloth pad a day. The designs are cute, and the fabric is soft. Surprisingly not as bulky as disposable pads, and much more breathable. They're also more absorbent, so you feel more comfortable!

Frugal Mama Rating: 4 out of 5
I don't like the idea of paying $14.99 for a single pad, but I haven't tried to make my own or buy any WAHM pads yet. I may be able to find a better price, and I will share those experiences as well. All in all though, I love my mama cloth!

Good day, and God Bless

Frugal Mama

Adventures in Juicing

So, as most of my friends know, I don't let Anna Marie have juice.

As listed on nutriondata.self.com, Apple Juices have about 24g of sugar per serving. That's only a 3g difference from a 16 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola. Orange juice is a little better at an average of 14g of sugar per serving.

Raw, fresh squeezed juices have about half the amount of sugar. Now factor in the amount of antioxidents and natural vitamins that are processed out by preservatives and added chemicals, and there's no point in even consuming juice. Which is why Anna Marie is a water and milk only girl. (We'll talk about milk later!)

So, what's a frugal mama to do? I can't afford to buy expensive organic juice. Well, that's where Frugal Grandmama came in! After mentioning it to her, I was informed there was a juicer under the sink! Whoohoo!

This is the result of about 6-8 oranges. :]

2 oranges, 2 apples. Yum!

Here we have a half-quart of orange/apple, a pint of apple, a small container of carrot, and carrot/tomato.

Look! Scrapes for compost...for the garden!

Within 30 minutes I made a half-gallon of orange juice, a quart of orange-apple, a pint of apple, and about a cup of carrot, tomato, and carrot-tomato.

Anna Marie loves it! She's almost finished the quart of orange-apple already!

Now off to nurse my little one into blessed slumberland.

Good night, and God Bless!

Frugal Mama.

Alva Diaper Review

Alright, so here we go, Diaper Review Number Two!

So, I first discovered Alva diapers through Just Simply Baby, who sells them along with a lot of other great diaper accessories. They are listed as Just Simply Baby diapers, and come with a tag with that name. I bought two diapers, the leopard print and green star print pictured below. I was in love! They were so cute!

Alva diapers are pockets, meaning they are made with a waterproof outer material, and a soft inner layer made to wick moisture away from baby's bottom. This layer has a opening in it, to form a pocket, hence the name. In this pocket it where you put the inserts, which are made from 3 layers of microfiber.

 Tiger print and heart diaper from ebay, leopard print and starry print from Just Simply Baby.

Frugal Mama Review: Alva Diapers

After noticing the same prints and design in various other places, I realized that these diapers were being wholesaled/dropshipped all over the place. JSB, eBay, Sew Is Your Baby, Green Bees Diaper Co., and Kawaii were just a few places I found these diapers, and everywhere but eBay had them listed for $10-$14.  I now dropship them on eBay as well, starting out at $5.59. My eBay store is here, where I also sell the sandboxes and doll furniture I build!

Cost: 5 out of 5

If you get the Alva diapers straight from the manufacturer, or off of eBay, they are incredibly well priced. In this instance I don't feel that "You get what you pay for" applies. These diapers are definitely $10 dollar diapers, for only half the price.

For a full set of pockets, you typically want a stash of about 24 diapers. You can buy 24 Alvas for $136 if you shop right, which translates to a cost of .02 cent per change. Because in one year a baby will have an average of 12 diaper changes a day in the first 4 months, down to 4 diaper changes a day by 36 months. That's about 5,826 diaper changes. $136 divided by 5,826 is .02. Doesn't this sound familiar? These diapers are cheaper than Flips, but fall within the same range when you get down to the nitty gritty.

Design and Functionality: 4 out of 5

The Alva diapers are my favorite, it's true, but the downside are the inserts. Now, if you order from JSB, you get slightly thicker inserts that work so much better, and are by far my favorite so far. If you order them straight from the manufacturer, they come with very thin inserts, and quite frankly, are a waste of money.

The upside to this factor are the hip snaps. Most Alva diapers come with hip snaps and that just makes my day. Since Frugal Baby is so skinny, most diapers don't fit her thighs. The extra adjustment options are fabulous!

Frugal Mama Rating: 4.5 out of 5

These are my favorite diapers so far, when you combine cost and design. Though I do use prefolds and other inserts for them instead of the inserts that come with them, but for the price, they're still worth it completely!

Flip Diaper Review

Alright, so I've been wanting to do some Cloth Diaper Reviews for a while, and now that I have a new camera and a fairly large stash, I have no excuse. So here we go!

Flips are obviously the first thing on the agenda, as they have been my faithful poop-scooper for over 13 months now. When I first started out, 8 months pregnant, I was looking for THE cheapest option out there, which I was told at Green Baby was Econobums, but...in my opinion, the Econobums were homely, and Frugal Grandmama was helping with the cost, and we both agreed on the Flips.

Flip diapers are All-In-Twos, or AI2. This means that they come with a shell, or cover, and inserts. Not to be confused with Pockets, which have a pocket, hence the name.

 The shell is the colored part. It is made of waterproof PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric. The insert is made of thick microfiber with a soft top layer to wick moisture away from baby's bottom.

Frugal Mama Review: Flips

Cottonbabies is a leader in the cloth diaper industry, and quite rightly so, they know their stuff. From the fabulous Bumgenious line, to the super cost-effective Econobums, they've managed to produce this beautiful cloth diaper hybrid of both cute, functional, and oh-so-affordable.

Cost: 4 out of 5

I bought 3 packs of Flips. The packs come with 2 covers, and 6 inserts. They are $50 a piece. Since the covers can be cleaned and reused for each change, we'll call that 6 diapers. So for $150 I got 18 diapers. 18 diapers that lasted me for a year. So the cost for a year's worth of diapering, $150.

Without factoring in the cost of washing the diapers, that translates to 2 cent per change.
How is this figured? Because in one year a baby will have an average of 12 diaper changes a day in the first 4 months, down to 4 diaper changes a day by 36 months. That's about 5,826 diaper changes. $150 divided by 5,826 is .02.

Design and Functionality: 3 out of 5

Because this was all I knew, I loved the idea of AI2s, until I used pockets and AIOs for the first time. I still love my Flips, but it's hard to keep the insert in one place. I've had them pop out of the back, or fold over, or get squished between Anna Marie's legs. All these cause leakage. The inserts are also not thick enough for toddler pee, and we started getting a lot of leaks around 11-13 months. This was easily solved by adding a double to the diaper, but this also increased the bulk.

Overall, these diapers have held up remarkably well for the 13 months they've been in use.

Frugal Mama score: 4 out of 5

These diapers are great, and have been loved for the last 13 months. As I've expanded my stash they get used less and less, but they're still great diapers, and for the price, they're simply wonderful!