You’re Only in Your 20’s Once!

After our move I kept feeling like something was still not right. I finally figured it out looking through photos on facebook… I needed a new look for our new life here.  I was raised Pentecostal which meant I always had loooong hair. Which sound beautiful but I was unlucky enough to have super thin, super fine, stringy hair. Around puberty my hair developed a natural beautiful luscious curl. By time I was old enough to appreciate the natural curl it mysteriously vanished just as quickly as it had arrived.

Because of this upbringing, the idea of short hair was inconceivable. I would never!!! The shortest it had ever been was about shoulder length near the end of my pregnancy. I assumed it be easier to manage, it wasn’t. Other than that my hair has been pretty much the same with the occasional pop of red but always brown/black…

My straight thin hair with my step daughters beautiful full thick naturally smooth hair. NOT FAIR!

Point is, I made the big and brave decision to not only cut it short, but to shave it! Well, shave part of it anyway.

Most people where aghast with the idea but here is my theory. I’m only in my 20’s once and if I’m going to do something extreme I better do it now! 

This is the photo I sent from the chair to a few close friends and relative. Their reactions where priceless!!!

I was afraid I wouldn’t like the shape of my head or my face would look chubby. Turns out it makes my neck look more slender. Or as a friend of mine said, “like a majestic giraffe”

My wonderful Hollyn (stylist) was sure to leave enough length on one side to not scare me. She also left me enough to hide my scalp if need be. Turns out I LOVE showing some skin… scalp skin that is. I feel like a total post-apocalyptic badass.

I was scared shitless. I’m not going to lie, but I took a risk and it felt GREAT! My husband however took a minute to love it as much as myself. He told me I could not get angry if he woke up in the morning and assumed there was a guy in bed next to him resulting in an injury to myself.

So often we are made to feel like long hair is a sign of femininity and beauty. Never imagined I could feel so sexy and feminine with a lack of hair. It’s empowering. Amazing what one haircut can do.

The girls say I remind them of Miley Cyrus, as many people have also said. We decided to do Miley impersonations the other night. Silver gum wrapper grill included.

What I’m hoping to say here is: if you always wanted to make a change, no matter how extreme, just do it. If your in your 20’s do it a LOT. For some reason people get much more judgmental the older we get. Not that really matters so just do it! Do it! do it! do it!

DIY American Flag Shorts

I recently got a deal on red white and blue Sperry style loafers. They cost me $8 which is still a little more than I like to spend on shoes. So I now have the obligation to make sure I have as many things to wear with them as possible. Got to get that $8 out of them… yes… I… am….that…CHEAP! So I decided to repeat a DIY I tried for the 4th of July. I got so many compliments on my shorts! So I  made a second pair, (technically a third, my first pair ended up being 2 sizes to small.) My pride was tarnished but I soldiered on with a larger pair.

Let me start by saying, American flag shorts have made a come back therefore they are expensive! I don’t like to spend more than $5 on shorts or $10 on jeans, so buying a pair was out of the question.

I pulled out a pair of shorts from the closet. Chances are, since the brand in the tutorial are American Eagle, that my friend gave them to me after she got knocked up. Love when friends get fat or skinny because I’m right in the middle; I get new clothes!!! Now to the how to…

I’m saying $5.00 but technically I already had all the supplies. FREEEEE!!!! I’m estimating $5 for the following supplies

Supplies: Red and White acrylic paint, paint brushes, pair of old shorts, (optional: chalk or white paint pen)

Step 1: Lay shorts flat. Starting at center seam paint a red line straight across to side seam. If you are not confident in your straight line skills you can mark it off with tape. As your paint dries it will darken. I personally think it looks more rugged, but if you’re looking for a bright pop of red, I would recommend going over each line again after they dry.

Step 2: Fill the spaces in between with white paint. Pocket lining and waist band are completely optional. The orientation of your stripes are also completely optional.

Step 3: To put on the stars you have a few options. a) freehand them on with paint and brush. b) using chalk or paint pen, draw on stars then fill in with paint. c) purchase a star stamp from hobby store. I personally found it easy to just draw a five point star using a paint pen (it goes on very faint) When they where placed where I wanted, I painted them in using white paint.

Step 4: Repeat on the back. Getting into the crotch area will be tricky. You will have to hold you hand in the crotch and maneuver you lines around. Another style for the back I have seen is just painting the pockets stars and stripes. Up to you!

How to Care for your Shorts

I made another pair that where washed using regular washing powders and dried in my dryer several times with the rest of the laundry. That pair did fade but colors did not run.  They have that really rugged look, like the ones pictured in the collage for $70.  If you want to keep them as bright as possible you can try sealing with an acrylic sealer though it may cause extra stiffness. For washing, turn inside out. Wash on light cycle using a Tbsp of  baking soda. Baking soda will clean the shorts from regular wear without harsh chemicals that are in usual detergents. Lie flat to dry. For an in between bright and rugged look try washing like you would anything else then using the baking soda method.

Hope you give it a try and enjoy your new patriotic shorts!

Related articles

• DIY American Flag Shorts (ForEverVogue.com)

DIY Old Book Dresser Makeover

Been a minute since I have posted. Been a pretty busy couple months. My computer had to spend some time in the shop as it was ATE UP with viruses. I haven’t been doing many projects but I have quite a few in the works and finally completed one last night. So I present you now with

Easy Dresser Makeover

First let me start by saying, This is the second makeover this particular dresser has went through. I don’t have a picture of  it originally but the below photo is as close as I could find to its original state via Google

It looked a lot like this. Even had a mirror. That mirror has since been removed, repainted, and hung on the wall.

The dresser went through its first makeover for the girls room a couple yeas ago. It looked fabulous, wish I could find a photo 😦 It still looked great before this project but I’m moving the dresser to our room and pink zebra and fashion magazine modge podge just wouldn’t cut it. After stripping off all I could this is what I ended up with.

We had painted the dresser black already before the last makeover so we got to skip that step this go round.

Supplies: Modge Podge, Old book, Black acrylic paint, Brown acrylic paint (optional), box cutter or exacto knife,  Paint to paint your piece whatever color you choose.

Project cost me around $8 if I include acrylic paint and modge podge. Our local book store always has FREE books bins outside, YAY!!! So the book was even free!  The dresser was given to us a few years back FREE

Step 1: Remove Hardware (handles and knobs) then paint entire visible surface whatever color you choose. I actually used black spray paint when I redid it for the girls the first time. Was able to spot paint a few scratches using my black acrylic this go around.

step 2: Tear your book apart. I find it easier to remove the spine and cover. The pages will be much easier to peel away with minimal fraying.

Step 3: Modge Podge paper onto each drawer. In my impatience I did not have actual modge podge. I used a elmers glue and water mix… I would not suggest that method as I had to go back and do a LOT of touch up gluing. Should have just went to the damn store for modge podge. Do not worry about over hang right now, we’ll get to that.

Notice the bubble? Modge podge will help to avoid these and create a much cleaner look. I did not like the straight edge look so I tore paper randomly into rough edged shaped and covered part of the blank margin area.

Step 4: You may like the slightly off white color. I wanted a more aged look however. Using the brown acrylic mix it with equal parts water. It will make a really runny brown stain (that sounded gross!). Brush this mix onto each drawer. I would suggest layering it as it tends to lighten as it dries.

See the difference? The white was pretty but just not quite right for our bedroom.

Step 5: Once everything had dried, trim the edges of your excess paper using a box cutter or Exacto knife. Wait till all glue or stain is COMPLETELY dry. It will slice right off without tearing this way. As you are doing this check your edges and be sure they are securely glued to the drawer. constant sliding will cause any unattached pieces to began to tear over time.

You may want to seal it with a extra layer of modge podge once it is all done to completely seal all your pages together.

Step 6: Put it all back together. Pick a design or free hand a design onto drawers. Think of drawers as one complete piece.

Here is each side of mine. I free handed a simple swirly line then just began adding elements to it. I originally wanted to do a deer silhouette but the spacing between drawers would have made it look deformed.

Last step: reattach all your hardware. (This dresser has been through the ringer so I will actually have to replace most the knobs) I was in such a hurry to get this posted though I’m showing it pre-new-knob. Don’t judge me!

VOILA!!!! One of a kind Dresser!

Check out this beautiful dresser upcycle from Suburban Musing http://kathi.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/chalk-painting-an-awesome-vintage-dresser/

A Month of Toddler clothes in ONE Drawer!

I don’t hang my toddler’s clothes… ooooh how dare I?! I hate children’s hangers and I hate hanging clothes. He’s a toddler; I don’t think he cares if he has a wrinkle or 2 or 7. The only things we hang are bulky items such as coats, sweaters, hoodies, and dress or special occasion clothes. This does cause a clutter in the storage of other clothes but I have found a system I love and is pretty easy to stick to.

I saw a post at the dawn of Pinterest that suggested packing infant clothes in zip-lock bags when traveling. I thought “Hmm.. pretty simple yet effective, but how about all the time?” ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!!! The husband can no longer say “but I cant put together outfits like you” when asked to dress the kid. They are all preplanned. Storage is sooooo easy because entire outfits will no longer take up nearly as much space.

Supplies: Box of SLIDER gallon zip-lock storage bags. That’s it!

Note: I usually slack on this in winter as pants and winter clothes are more bulky and a pain in the tit. PERFECT for summer however.

All this in one dresser drawer! You can even switch to shelf storing with this easy trick.

Start by trying to gather all you child’s clothes that they actually wear, wash them, and have all together.

Set aside about an hour, give or take depending on how much clothes your child has, to do this. It’s actually kind of fun and once you get it done the first time it will be a snap to keep it going.

Start by sorting clothes accordingly. I like to separate mine into shorts, collared shirts, and t-shirts. If you have a daughter you may want to do dresses, shirts, skirts, leggings/stocking. I do not like to do pants because of the bulk so I usually store them all together to just grab whenever I need a pair. Here in Louisiana summer we won’t be needing them anytime soon.

Start sorting into outfits. You will most likely have a LOT more shirts than shorts so I usually pair one collared shirt and one or 2 t-shirts with each pair of shorts. Kids are messy and having a backup shirt is always nice. This is also like having more than one outfit in one bag, saving space! Once you have all your outfits together get ready to bag

Note: I always end up with a couple of extra t-shirts that don’t match anything; these become sleep and play shirts.

One pair of shorts & 2 shirts.

Try to put into bag as flat as possible. This usually mean only folding shorts over once. Use slider bags because they make this step so much easier. Close bag leaving about a 3″ gap open and squeeze out excess air. Once you have done about 8 or 9 bags, stack them on one another, each being slightly opened, then sit on em or squish them. This will push out even more air making them even smaller to store. After pushing out air seal bag.

Voila!

If you have a bow wearing daughter you can include bows that are exclusive to a certain outfit into it’s bag so you always have it together. You can also add socks to the bags so you always have a pair handy when getting your little one dressed.

The Math: I ended up with 17 bags. 14 of these bags had 2 or more shirt options in them. (We’ll say they all had 2 for maths sake) That’s 31 outfits in  a 7″x19″ space. Can’t beat that. Nothing better than walking into your child’s room and grabbing a bag and having an instant outfit with backup clothes to throw in the diaper bag. Even better when we’re going away for a few days. I grab a handful and throw them in the suitcase and he’s set.

To keep this up, keep a box of zip-lock bags in the drawer with their clothes or where-ever you sort laundry.

Hope this was helpful. I promise you this is super easy. I am…well… I wouldn’t call it lazy so much as “unmotivated” and even I keep this up.

Upcycle Old Windows

Old windows have made a real come back, only not on your house, but in it. People are picking these things up like the latest diet craze. Lucky lucky me I have an aunt who generously gave me a few while remodeling a house. Here is what I did.

Looking Glass Painting.

These windows had a mossy like film over the glass that really made it looked age to I cleaned only the backside of the glass.

Using looking Glass paint, paint the BACK of the window. This type of paint looks dull from the side you paint but shiny and reflective on the opposite side.

 

This is the back side of the window where the paint was applied

Because I kept the front side of my window filmy it doesn’t look AS mirror like but instead a little more aged. If you are using a regular or clean window they will appear more mirrored.

To get the image, allow paint to dry on back. Simply use acrylic paints to paint design on the front. If you are not confident in free hand you can use a dry erase marker to get it right or place a picture behind the glass BEFORE you use the Looking Glass spray paint and trace onto the front.

Make husband hang it. DONE! Total cost: $12.00 (Looking Glass Paint)

I used acrylic on the front of the glass, instead of applying it on back side before Glass paint. This was because acrylic is easy to wash off so I can change the quote or image as often as I choose. Great for Christmas time or if I change my room decor.

BONUS: An Easy Window Idea

Old book pages behind glass then mount! Easier than talking smack about that girl you hated in high school!

This project cost a total of $0.00

$5 Cork board Art DIY

I needed to find a way to tie my desk makeover into the decor of my living room, so here was the easy and functional fix!

Cork Board Decor!

Supplies: Cork Board ($5 at Wal-Mart for 4 squares, mounting tape included), Fabric, Modge Podge (not pictured), Glue OR Stapler, scissors

It shows glue in the photo but I ended up using a stapler to avoid the drying process, I will explain both ways.

STEP1: Cut out a square of fabric to fit your cork leaving a few inches of over hang. This is the same left over fabric from the desk I re-did. I only bought a yard and a half of the stuff for like $7 and still have enough left for at least 2 more project! ALWAYS keep your scraps!

STEP2: Cut your fabric and lay cork on top, fold over your corners and staple like so. Be sure fabric is tightly pulled. IF YOU ARE GLUING… put a strip of glue down the side and fold over tightly, lay a heavy book on top of edge till dry. You can instead also secure with paper clips, chip bag clips, bobby pins, hair clips, etc.

STEP3. A completed square should look like so. Back and Front. Now repeat with a second square the same way.

STEP4: Cut out designs from the same fabric, if you are using a fabric that is not a print you may just want to cut out shapes or designs of your own choosing. Here I cut out different shapes from the print.

STEP5: Modge Podge designs onto the 2 uncovered cork boards.

 

Now hang using the adhesive squares included (if you bought from wal-mart). There are a ton of different ways to hang them, great for odd spaces or small walls and completely functional! These are hanging by the desk with matching fabric, pulls it all together great. The cork matches my burlap curtains awesome as well!

Thanks!

Super Simple Super Cheap Glass Desk Make-Over

So, I have the most boring computer desk. I must admit it looked pretty sleek and clean when I picked it out 4 years ago. Now its just looks plain and lost in my eclectic style living room. So here is a cheap and easy fix! Toddler safe!

How-To

Supplies: 1 yd fabric (for this size desk),  Modge Podge, Spray Paint

(note: I used gloss Modge Podge, I would suggest a matte, as the gloss left slight streak marks on fabric)

Step one: Spray paint metal work. You may prefer to leave the metal whatever in color, but silver just did not match what I had in mind. If your fortunate enough you can catch your husband on an off day and convince him to do this, lucky me… today.

I chose a galvanized spray paint as I’m lazy and HATE sanding. This way if it bubbled it would only add to the effect. Turned out great!

Step 2: Lay your glass surface piece on fabric and trace pattern. You want it as accurate as possible to avoid annoying trimming later.

Step 3: Cut out shape you just traced. Easy enough

Step 4: Cover UNDERSIDE of your glass with modge podge

Step 5: Lay your fabric FACE DOWN onto glass. When complete your fabric will be displayed from underneath the glass for easy cleaning. Like I said, toddler proof. Be sure to smooth out all wrinkles and bubbles in fabric.

Step 6: Go over the fabric with another coat of modge podge. Be sure to go around edges to make sure it’s completely glued down. This step helps to find bubbles and secures the fabric to the glass a little better.

Repeat steps 2-6 on other glass surface and let dry. Trim excess edges that may over hang glass.

NOW PUT IT BACK TOGETHER!!!

Paxton insisted on adding his car to the picture. Love that kid.

Feel free to comment and share! Love me some Pinterest!

No-Sew Bikini!!! Busty Girls can Wear too!

So, the only no-sew bikinis I can find are strapless tube top type. Let’s be honest, only the extremely flat chested can pull that one off. Therefore, I, accidentally, found a way to make one for big girls. This can be worn by small, average, and busty ladies and can be altered several different ways. I will show you 2 here. I even included a bottoms tutorial!

Here’s 2 of the outcomes to this tutorial.

The Fringe is optional as is the collar. Collar kinda of adds that retro flair tho, I believe. Now, for the how-to!

Supplies: 2 L or XL T-shirts, 2 Hair ties or rubber bands (not necessary for a smaller bust), 1 pair of scissors.

Step 1 (TOP): Cut arms, neck, bottom hem, and down side. you can’t see here but I cut from the arm pit down to the hem. (be sure to keep scraps)

 Move Scraps. Shirt should now look like this when opened up.

Step 2 (TOP): These will be your tie straps for your neck and waist so need to be no more than 2 inches thick. If they are too thick cut all the way across your rectangle shaped fabric to thin them out.

Step 3 (TOP): Specify your top from your bottom. Doesn’t matter which way you do it just specify them. Cut straps center with hole in center and tie together. Do not knot as you will need to be able to untie and retie when taking on and off.

Step 4 (TOP): Starting from bottom corner cut up toward neck, leaving about 6 inches from center top. Taking out a big triangle.  (sorry for blurry photo upload)

Place arms through large center hole with the TOP behind your neck and the BOTTOM under your arms behind you back. It should look similar to picture above

(((TIP: If you have any natural saggage in your twins put on a bra for this next part. This works with any swimsuit. Put on a bra first then swimsuit. Then remove bra from underneath swimsuit to avoid that crazy “cant get your girls right” experience.)))

 .

Step 5 (TOP) (Less busty): Roll fabric on neckline under and twist tightly.

If you are smaller busted this can be your final step. After twisting both sides tie them and it should look like photo below (minus the black bra)

Without Collar

With Collar.

To get collar simply unroll neckline fabric AFTER rolling and tying. Always roll completely under when tying to ensure maximum coverage.

Finished top for smaller bust. For larger bust continue to Step 5 (busty) below.

Step 5 (TOP) (Busty): Twist neckline under and twist bottom. Secure with elastic to ensure the movement and pressure from those bad boys doesn’t untwist the fabric and you come spilling out in a tidal wave of pure boob awesomeness.

Step 7 (TOP) (Busty): Now here it gets a little tricky. Because of the elastic ties, simply tying the ends together will cause it to look bulky. So here I took a piece of my scrap fabric, ran each end thru the elastic ties, then tied together in a very tight knotted bow…. Oh, and you can now release the Cracken….. (remove bra)

To get the fringe look just cut the excess fabric into strips. Pull each strip. The T-shirt material will roll up on itself when stretched.

You can now unroll upper inner neck to make the collared look if you choose to or leave them tucked.

For this type of finish. Tie elastics together with scrap fabric, wrap fabric around center, tuck ends underneath boob. This will not only hide the ends completely but will give your girls a little boost from underneath. The gathers in the fabric will totally camouflage the tucked ends also.

(((TIP: If you plan to swim or get wet in this top I suggest adding an extra layer of protection. Such as, Nipple Pasties, Bra liner out of an old bra or swimsuit liner from another swimsuit. You know, they put them in those little pockets on the back of your swimsuit tit and they always get twisted in the washer. This top has that heavy vinyl type printing on it so is good on its on. apply this tip to a plain or thin T-shirt)))

VOILA!

NOW BIKINI BOTTOMS!

Step 1 (BOTTOMS): Take your second shirt. cut completely up sides, across hem, and cut off neckline. Leaving 2 big pieces of square fabric.

Step 2 (BOTTOMS): Split into 2 separate squares put one to the side. If you can not free hand the hourglass crotch shape, I suggest taking a pair of old panties (that word is so weird to me), cut the sides of said panties and lay out like shown. ((Yes, those are my fancy Granny Panties))  Outline just the hourglass inner thigh shape. Don’t worry about top and sides where you cut.

(((TIP: Use the extra square of fabric to make a slightly smaller version of these bottom, using same directions. If your planning to actually swim in swimsuit you’ll want double the layer to keep your camel toe under wraps. You don’t want your camel toe to become a moose knuckle. Wear the smaller version beneath version we are making here by tying together on sides… you’ll see what I mean…. Keep reading.)))

Step 3 (BOTTOMS): Cut out hourglass shape but extend all the way to edge of fabric. Front and back ‘waist’ band (far left and far right) should be about 3″ wide. If you got a lot of excess cut completely across. You can see where I trimmed both front and back of mine.

Step 4 (BOTTOMS): Cut split in both sides of ‘FRONT’. Cut a hole into both sides of ‘BACK’. Be sure to do this to BOTH sides.

Step 5 (BOTTOMS): Here it gets hard. Your going to feel like you putting on a grownup diaper. Easiest way to do this is just to sit on it… yeah yeah yeah, I know. That’s what she said… Sit on bottoms diaper style. Bring your slitted front (this just keeps getting dirtier).. bring slitted front pieces thru hole from back piece. Loop around hole and tie. This photo doesn’t really show you exactly how, but the point is to use the hole to tie the slit pieced together so your bottoms stay on! Do this on each side and SHOULD look as follows.

If your bottoms are too loose this is an easy fix. On the pieces where you cut a ‘hole’ and a ‘split’ shorten them. the shorter you make these pieces the smaller around your suit will be.

FINAL PRODUCT!!!!

Any questions or suggestions feel free to comment!

Yes, I have swam in T-shirt swimsuit. Wet fabric won’t rip, your safe

Yes, those are my real boobs. Before you get mad… don’t be, because I have the ass of a 2nd grader. 😦

• Try this bandeau tutorial from KayDanceKloth I stumbled upon. May not work for me but if your here you were probably looking for a DIY swimsuit anyway!  http://kaydancekloth.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/diy-twist-bandeau-bikini-top/

Watercolor Eyeliner! Better than the real thing!

I’m feeling Spring-y this week. So what better way to celebrate than with some color! I have art supplies coming out my ears. A few years ago I was out of eyeliner and had a brilliant idea hit me, WATER COLOR PENCILS!

 

For the price of ONE eyeliner pencil you can buy an entire box of colors from and art store and even Wal-Mart! (Wolly-Wolly-Wolly-Wolly World!!!)

The Color is more vivid and it really glides right onto your eye. However, it is watercolor so it is NOT water resistant but super easy to clean off in the incident of mistakes; just use a wet Q-tip!

For this look I just did some bright springy eye shadow in pinks and purples (purple makes green eyes pop). Then grabbed my Pastel green and True Blue Water color sticks. A 12 pack of these bad boys was like $6.00.

If your using 2 colors always start with your darker color first on the out side of the eye. Simply wet the end, shake the excess and apply. (you may have to rewet a few times to keep it going on smoothly.) Then using your lighter color start from the inner and it will blend into the darker color. Voila! that’s it!

But get Creative! I actually use to color in my husband’s huge dragon tattoo with my watercolors, much like a human coloring page. It’s even great for age appropriate kids to do totally washable tattoos. Just be sure to dull down the edges to avoid a kid like mine stabbing you relentlessly for shits and giggles.

Great for Halloween or just spicing up your go-out-go-to makeup routine. Either way, totally worth the $6 investment!