Projects

Recover of chair cushions

I've had this chair for about five years.  Before that, my cousin had it for about three.  And before that, my aunt had it.  I love hand-me-downs.  I love things with stories.  I don't particularly care to remember stories involving animal hair, drunken sickness or chocolatey hands of children.  By recovering the cushions, I've been able to keep my beloved hand-me-down chair and use it as more than a substitute for a dog bed.

Wall decor color change

The lighting in the following pictures is less than desirable; please trust that these pieces look way better than they did before.

May/June Favorites

I like all of the softlips flavors, but this one is perfect for summertime.

This shade by Essie (Sunday Funday) is really close to Tart Deco, but it has sparkles in it!

I cannot get enough tea; iced tea and hot tea in every flavor ever.

Welding lessons

These are even better than the Neutrogena grapefruit wipes.  They aren't quite as potent, which is really the only complaint I had about the other ones.

Dessert...I won't even say more.

Sloppy photos of what I've been up to lately

I've been getting frustrated with the lack of natural light in my corner of the dungeon lately.

*Rant over*

Rummage sale-ing:

Since going to Yellowstone on a family trip when I was six, bison hold a special place in my heart.  Especially tiny bison.  

There was another pirate duck, but I missed him.  Either way, these are pretty awesome for $.05 apiece.

Pretty weird that this waffle cone dish sparked my mind to put make up brushes in it before I thought of using it for ice cream...Evil spirits may have taken over me.

Another piece for my woodland nursery.  These kids better appreciate the years I put into thinking them and their surroundings up.

I finally finished covering our DVD binders.  I also whipped a couple up for my CDs.

I found some pretty nice fonts on dafont.com, but I didn't put much thought into the fonts I chose for these (or the colors of paper).  I just wanted to be done by the end.  Sticky fingers (and arms and feet) do not make me happy.

March/April Favorites

This is amazing.  I couldn't find it in our local grocery stores, but Walmart had it in stock. Thank God.

The scent is a bit overpowering, but these work really well for getting oil and makeup off of skin.  My May/June Favorites post will have a comparison of these to the yestograpefruit wipes.

I finished two of these in the time of two months.  I'm unsure of any unhealthy aspects this product may have, but it's too late for that, anyway.

These Yes To Blueberries wipes are by far my favorite wipes.  The scent is lovely.    They are as absorbent of oil and dirt as the rest of them, but I love the scent.  Also, I'm partial to the packaging.

These pretty much made all of my dreams come true.  Especially since Shopko had them on sale for less than a dollar.  Love love love desserts.  :)

I haven't used enough of these to say whether they work (concerning the "Clear Skin" claims).  I know that the blueberry scent is more wonderful, but these aren't anything to whine about.

I have a bag of trail mix in my backpack at all times.  Since my blood sugar drops quickly, it's necessary to have something like this around.  The dried fruit is my favorite.  Despite the fact that the nuts get pretty soft because of being in with the fruit, I enjoy this tropical mix the most.

My Woodland Creature Obsession

I'm obsessed with the idea of a woodland nursery.  My friend Liz (http://hartthings.blogspot.com) got a print of this amazing this image:

 from this shop on Etsy, and I couldn't move quickly enough to gather every whimsical image of woodland creatures possible.  I made these just to add more stuff to the bin labeled "Woodland Nursery," for my children who do not yet exist.

Organization

I am very particular about how things are organized.  I have all of my books, CDs, and DVDs alphabetized.  All of my clothes are organized by color, and within color sections, by sleeve length.  Even my underwear drawer is organized by type and color.  It's that serious.

My husband and I have extensively discussed what to do about DVD storage once we move.  It always ends with him wanting to get rid of all of the cases to save space, and with me not wanting to let go.  When I found this Pin, something in me changed.  This woman's blog is wonderful.  I'll soon be purchasing the fabric to make this happen:

From http://unclutteredlifestyle.blogspot.com

I haven't made much progress to this point.  So far I have DVD sleeves and binders purchased, which I thought would be much more expensive (I found them on clearance for $2.50 apiece!).  I needed more than four, obviously...

Our binders will be categorized by letter.  While I like the idea of genre separation, my husband and I have very different ways of classifying movies.  Also, I want finding a specific film to be a quick process.

I'll be purchasing the same Martha Stewart Book Plates at Staples.  I need to find a pattern/fabric that will be durable and also go well with our style, no matter where we move.  I like the French ticking Iesha chose, because it's pretty and timeless.

Once the process of recycling the cases and transferring our discs to sleeves is complete, I'll share before and after photos.

Happy Spring cleaning!

January/February 2013 Favorites

Basically, I like looking at what other people have/buy.  I also don't like wasting my money of stuff that isn't amazing.  I've decided to do six posts this year that mainly focus on products I've tried.  I've been watching way too many YouTube haul videos by makeup gurus lately.  Anyway, I'll sort of review products and things I've purchased. 

The photo quality will improve as I have the chance to use natural light.

Coachfactory.com
I love big purses.  Sometimes, though, I like to avoid the hassle of lugging a big purse around.  There was a pretty great flash sale at the beginning of January.  I love this color (I think they meant for it to be Persimmon, but it said Permission.).  Anyway, it's great in winter, but I'm looking forward to using it in Spring and Summer, too.

I love sweet scents.  I love sugar.  Obviously I needed these.  They smell amazing and they look pretty, too.  They were only $4 apiece at Target.

Promesse by Cacharel
I smelled a sample of this in magazine like six years ago and bought this on a whim.  I've been switching my perfumes up once per week, in order to remind myself of all the stuff I have already.

Yes To Tomatoes Acne Spot Stick
  I LOVE THIS.  I never would have purchased this, despite the fact that I love all of the Yes To Carrots products I have, had it not been on clearance.  I went to a local Walgreens and saw that it was half price, so I grabbed it.  I was surprised how quickly it worked.  I might even pay the full $10 for another one now.

Yes To Cucumbers
This was recommended by a YouTube guru as "the best makeup wipes ever."  I hardly wear makeup but I've been wanting to try these since summertime.  I hate leaving work knowing my face is harboring sweat and grease.  If I had a sink at my disposal every moment, it wouldn't be an issue.  Anyway, these work well, but the scent leaves something to be desired.  I'll try the new Yes To Grapefruit ones when I run out of these.

I first tried the Root Beer Float flavor and liked it a lot.  The flavor goes quickly, but it's still cheaper than buying a real root beer float and it saves me some calories to burn, too!  The Lemon Square flavor is amazing.  I didn't plan on becoming obsessed with these, but now there's a Mint Chocolate Chip one.  I'll obviously be all over that.

Canning Jar Lid Ornaments

I haven't done as much canning as I would have liked to these past few years.  My extended family, however, has been like a scurry of squirrels, stocking us for the winter.  We get wonderful Christmas gifts of salsa, jams, jellies, pickles and canned vegetables.  The only problem is the aftermath.

There's a mess of Kerr, Mason and Ball jars, popped lids and bands.  While the lids are for one-time use, they're still too good to throw away.  I'm like a trash collector, but this time it turned out to be a good thing.

I took some family portraits for my friend earlier this year.  I used the goofiest image I could find for this project, because those make me smile the most...They seem to spark the best memories.  I printed it with Photoshop and it took me awhile to get the shape right, but I cut it down with scissors.  There's obviously an easier way of doing this right in Photoshop, but 

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen this on Pinterest.  But I spend so much time on there that there's a definite possibility that I am wrong about that.  The only supplies required:

I used wrapping paper to decorate the other side and stickers to display the year.  I think when I make more, I'll continue to use wrapping paper but perhaps try scrapbook paper, too.  Also, I might try puffy paint or something instead of the stickers for my next batch.  I may also use them as gift tags next year, depending on how productive I have time to be.

By no means is it perfect, but the mess is off the counter top.  :)