All that Glitters

Ok, so, y'all know that I love things that sparkle.  It's the child in me, I can't help but gravitate towards glittery, fabulous things!  So, when I saw this post on one of my favorite blogs, Pixie in Pumps to read I thought "I have to make those!" 

Materials
Shoes
Sandpaper
Fine glitter in various colors
Mod Podge
Paintbrush
Paper cups

I had these really ugly shoes that I purchased when I got my job in grad school where I actually had to dress professionally.  They were on sale, but are terribly ugly.

Seriously, what was I thinking?

I started by sanding the shoes down a bit, just so the Mod Podge would stick.  Then, I mixed up my glitter to produce my favorite color...turquoise!  I actually used turquoise, silver, and white glitter and came out with this:

Then, I poured Mod Podge into my cup.  I mixed it with my paintbrush and kept adding Mod Podge until it was the consistency of paint.  Don't forget to scrape the bottom or you'll have clumps!

I used  a paintbrush to lightly apply one coat over the entire shoe.  I made a thin layer which seemed to work well.  I ended up applying approximately 4 layers total to each shoe.  It will look funny in the process.

This is what it looked like after 2 coats

I kept applying thin coats until the color was even.  Make sure to let each coat dry in between!  While I was waiting for each coat to dry, I wrapped my paintbrush and covered my cup in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

After I was satisfied with the coverage I applied two clear coats of Mod Podge, just to make them glossy.  I love how these came out!  They're a little young for me (and, as one of my student workers said, "cute in a tacky '80's way!")

I wore them to work today, possibly not a super-professional choice, but they coordinated well with my outfit!

Close up of my glittery shoes!

Lavender Hair Spritz

After weeks of working long hours, I clearly needed a little vacation; therefore, I decided to take my friend up on her offer to spend the weekend at her boyfriend's ranch in small-town Texas. 

For this suburban girl, a Texas ranch is an interesting, if not scary place to be!  For starters, this lovely princess lived in the room in which I slept:

Who knew mountain lions were so fashionable?

Anyways, at this particular ranch, the family has an in ground saltwater pool.  This is the main reason for our trip...it's been 108 in Texas, pool time is essential!  Many of you know that saltwater can wreak havoc on your hair.  Before I left, I decided to put together a little conditioning spritz that would make my hair smell nice and stay soft after repeated dips in the salty pool.  I read online that lavender is a nice ingredient for various hair and body sprays.  I also happened to buy some dried lavender while visiting my cousin in Austin recently. 

Materials:

2 T. dried lavender buds
Teakettle
Glass measuring cup
Tea Infuser
Your favorite conditioner
Small travel size spray bottle (I bought a pack of 4 bottles in the travel section at Target)

Boil water in your teakettle.  Put approximately 2 tablespoons of lavender into a tea infuser (or whatever else you have to brew loose tea.)  Place the infuser in your glass measuring cup and pour 1 cup of boiling water over the lavender.  Let the lavender steep for about 10 min...there's no exact science!

Let the lavender brew cool until it's just simply warm and pour it into your spray bottle (travel size hairspray bottles work well for this project.)  It should look something like this:

This should be very fragrant of lavender

Now, take your favorite hair conditioner and squeeze a few dollops into the bottle.  I probably used about a tablespoon of conditioner.  Then cap the bottle and shake it until the conditioner blends with the lavender brew.  It will turn a murky gray/lavender color.

Now it's time to label your bottle.  I wrapped some pretty purple packing tape around mine to make it cute. 

Spritz away!

Lindsey and I used this after the pool when our hair was still wet.  It made our hair much softer and less ragged looking from the salt.  Unfortunately, the spray will not prevent all ranch tragedies...

Due to the extreme lack of rain in Texas, the pond on the ranch has dried up.  Our friends had the brilliant idea to walk across the dried up bottom...poor guy got his foot stuck and had to be yanked out.  He lost his Croc in the process (a blessing in disguise if you ask me!)

Pillows galore

Hey friends! I'm back!  Work has been crazy busy lately.  Those of you who work at colleges/universities should understand that August is a terrible time to have a social life.  Therefore, I've had no time to craft.  Until I have time to take up crafting again, I thought I'd post about an old project.

I love decorating my apartment.  I love the idea of taking a plain, white, modern style space and transforming it into something entirely me.  One inexpensive way to decorate is by using cute throw pillows.  Now, if you look at any home decor store, a pillow will run you $20 and up.  This is ridiculous!  I bought a comforter set last year that came with 2 pale blue quilted throw pillows.  They were rather plain, so I decided to jazz them up a bit.

Pillow 1:

Materials:
Sewing machine
Felt
Scissors
Matching thread

For my first pillow, I removed the inside (most pre-made pillows have zippered case so you can remove the pillow form.) and then cut out flower shapes from felt and pinned them to the front of the pillowcase.  I then topstiched the flowers onto the pillow in matching thread.  Be careful to use the sleeve arm for your sewing machine to keep the two layers of the pillowcase separate!  If you don't have a sleeve arm, fold the back of the pillowcase away from the front as much as possible and keep shifting as you sew. This was easy and took me less than an hour total for the project.  The results are way better than a plain pillow!

Love it!

Pillow 2:

Materials:

Cute fabric

Paper

Computer

Pen

Scissors

Fusible bonding

Iron

Coordinating thread

Sewing machine

For the other pillow, I got a little fancier.  I found a clipart picture online and enlarged it on my computer screen until it was the size I needed.  I then laid a piece of paper ontop of the screen and traced the image.  This is a great way to make templates! I cut out the shape and then traced it onto a piece of fabric.  After I cut the shape from my fabric I was all set to attach it to the pillow.

Remove the inside of the pillow again.  Cut small pieces of the fusible bonding to fit the shape.  On the right side of the pillowcase, lay the fabric shape, rightside up, on top where you want it to be.  Slide the pieces of fusible bonding inbetween the pillowcase and the shape so the shape completely covers the fusible bonding.  It's important that the bonding isn't coming out from under the shape as this could mess up your iron.  Follow the package directions and iron the shape to the pillowcase (most likely using medium, dry, heat.)

Now your shape should be completely attached to the pillow.  If it's loose, iron it again until it's attached.  In order to finish the edges, stitch around the shape with a satin stitch on your sewing machine in a coordinating thread color.  Check your machine owner's manual to learn how to create a satin stitch. This is a fun stitch to use, but takes a little practice.  I made a few mistakes on my pillow but I don't care.  It looks so cute!

The finished product

Close up of the satin stitch edging

Sewing takes practice so if you're not used to it, then test stitches out on scrap fabric.  Old sets of sheets are great test pieces for things until you're ready to use that fun fabric.

I also love to build up my fabric collection so I have something on hand when I get a new idea.  The remnants bin at the fabric store always has great finds.  I also try to look in more obscure places.  The above fabric came from a vintage baby doll dress I bought at a garage sale for a quarter.  Look at thrift stores for ugly clothes or table cloths that might have great fabric to cut up.  Tea towels are especially fun too.  Buy fabric simply because you love the color or design.  You'll use it eventually!



Wardrobe thriftyness

Well friends, work is getting busy, so my posts might be few and far between for the next few weeks. Sorry!

In my attempt to be more thrifty with my hard earned money, I've made a vow not to purchase any clothing for myself until at least September, if not later.  Due to this, I have been making the effort to reassemble all my clothes into new outfits and do my best to change it up.  I've scoured my closet for a few things that I no longer wear and I'm in the process of revamping them into new clothes that are good for the season.

Dyeing clothing is a simple way to refurbish your wardrobe for less than $5.  The best part is, you can mix and match your colors and techniques to get the perfect item!

My current project started out looking like this:

Pale pink really does not flatter my skin tone.

I decided to experiment by dyeing it with navy blue dye.  All you need for this is a package of dye (I like Rit brand) and your preferred method (Check the back of the dye package for different methods.)  For this top, I filled a bucket with 2 cups of boiling water and sprinkled the packet in.  I then added one cup of plain old table salt.  I put the bucket in my bathtub and swirled it around to mix the dye and the salt.  Don't forget to wear gloves and an apron!  I then filled the rest of the bucket, about 3/4 full with hot water from the tap.  I soaked the shirt in clean water and then put it in the bucket, and swirled it around for about 5 min. 


Technically, I was supposed to stir it constantly for 10-30 min; however, I got lazy and just let it soak for about 10 more min.  I then rinsed the shirt under cool running water until the water ran clear.  According to the directions I was supposed to wash the shirt and then dry it.  I chose to lay it on an old towel to dry so the color set and then washed it the following day. 

Now, due to the fact that this shirt was light colored to begin with, I just went ahead and dyed it.  The result was more purple than navy blue.  See below:

If I had truly wanted a deep navy blue, I could have used a color remover on the shirt first, and then dyed it.    I love the color this turned out to be.  For some reason, the lace trim didn't take the dye and stayed white.  I think it looks good! Much more flattering for me! 

For more dyeing techniques check out this site:  http://www.ritdye.com/