DIY Flirty Apron!

Hello everyone!

This is what I have spent the last couple of days doing.  I was surprised to find how easy it was to make!

I have attached a small diagram tutorial.  I also added a loop for a towel and a pocket which you cant see in the pictures :)

I am soooo in love with it!!!

Shopping for the Holidays- Shop Fair Trade

Hi everyone! If you are still trying to figure out unique gifts for the Holidays, make a Fair Trade gift… the gift that keeps on giving!

Shopping Fair Trade means that your gift is made by paying fair prices and by providing ethical working conditions to workers in developing countries.  Not only will your gift be helping a worker in another country, but you will also have a unique gift for your loved ones with a beautiful story behind.

This is a great and unique way to shop if you are low budget as well, since your gift will have so much meaning.

I have attached some websites that are certified Fair Trade; I hope you join me in this Fair Trade challenge for the holidays!

Gifts with Humanity gives you a profile for each shop.  You can purchase from artisans from Mexico, South Africa, Guatemala, India and many more.  You can purchase things such as jewelery, clothes, candles, yoga products… there are so many options.  The prices are affordable, free US shipping on orders of $50 or more and they have a 15% coupon code right now.

http://www.giftswithhumanity.com/ - 15% OFF expires Dec 17^th!

Ten Thousand Villages is a global network for artisans in developing countries while also pushing for environmentally friendly business practices from its artisans.  Many, many options are available to you and they have free shipping today on all online orders over $25!

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/

Visit Fair Trade USA for more information on Fair Trade practices and products, from apparel to flowers, spices, tea… It connects you to Fair Trade certified shops!

http://fairtradeusa.org/shopping-guide

Overstock.com has a Fair Trade section!

http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock-Fair-Trade/6/store.html

Green Heart Shop particularly caught my eye for the jewelry made in Laos.  Proceeds help clear land from undetonated bombs.  These are bombs that were dropped during the Vietnam war that have still not exploded.  The Artisan’s name is Peace Bomb.  FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $75 AND ONLY $5.95 ON ORDERS UNDER $75. http://greenheartshop.org/

OTHER SHOPS:

http://www.fairtradewinds.net/

https://www.serrv.org/

http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/products/wheretobuy.cfm

http://befair.org/#products

http://fairtradeamerica.org/fairtrade/find-the-mark

Continue with your own search, just look for companies with the Fair Trade logo.  Happy Holidays!

I'm Back!

So I have not kept up with my blog and thought I should change that… I finally converted one of our spare bedrooms into my sewing room, which will allow me to sew with more ease.  Working on the sewing room reminded me just how little I have sewn this year.  I also recently received a comment to my Christmas Tree DIY to keep writing, which was another sign that I really have neglected my blog and this hobby.  I love sewing so much that when I have no balance when it comes to sewing projects, if I start sewing I become obsessed with it until I finish, neglecting anything else I may need to do, does this happen to you?  Also without a designated area my house ends up a mess.  To add to that I just got a puppy and cutting and measuring on the floor is no longer an option (he is so adorable, but a total brat! He totally has a Napoleon complex.  I wish I knew his personality before naming him, I would’ve totally named him Napoleon). 

Below is a picture of my sewing room, I am so in love with it, I still need to decorate it a bit more but it is such a beautiful beginning, I am so in love! It was a birthday present from my love, ohhh he loves me!

My next project will probably be some roman shades for the windows now that this is more than a storage room.

In the process of decorating I made this "coaster"... (I still have not decided it's use, but for now it's a coaster).  I had this clear frame that is held together by magnets, it held an anniversary certificate from my old job.  I took that out and added petals from roses given to me for my birthday.  I guess I could've better researched this project, we'll see how this looks after the rose petals have completely dried out, but I thought this would be a really neat way to conserve the flowers.  

My baby Remington Cornelius! I love him so much... how can you not!  He was a little rescue dog, I can't understand how something this adorable was picked up as a stray.

Birthday face! I had so much fun.. I never like to celebrate my birthday, but I'm glad I did... I am such an awkward person when it comes to social situations and being a host and planning social events are just a dread for me... I am not the type of person that likes to be at the center of attention or one to lead conversations and in situations such as these, you kind of have to.  Specially when people do not know each other.  I am always concerned that my weirdness will be misinterpreted as rudeness, it's just too stressful...I also have this secret fear of people not showing up if I try to plan something.  Glad I did, at the end of the day the people that truly matter are those who true friends who you know will make every effort to be there for you, which is exactly what happened this night.

I feel like I have so much I want to share! I have made so many changes to my life this year and I want to share with the world! I am very excited to be back!

CHRISTMAS TREE DIY

HELLO EVERYONE…

So I found this picture on Pinterest for a DIY Christmas tree mobile and I decided to recreate it.

My inspiration from  www.notmartha.org

My Recreation:

What do you think?!?! I love it!  It was definitely time consuming, but I am in love with the end results. I pretty much followed Megan's instructions from her blog post and I think she did a great job at making this project easy to do.  However, I couldn't find small lanyard hooks so I used small rings, which made it look cleaner, but definitely made the process more time consuming.  At the end I ran out of rings and ended up creating small s-shaped hooks out of the ornament hooks which is probably the easiest way to hang these ornaments.  Let me know what your think! 

*to save money you can just make the s-shaped hooks yourself.  The ornament hooks are super inexpensive.

I provided links to all the items I used and a link to Megan's step-by-step instructions from her blog, in case you want to try this.  

Materials (visit her blog for more details www.notmartha.org

• Aluminum Pizza Screen (she recommended a steamer rack, but i found this to be more inexpensive)
• Crimping Tool (any will do, it doesn't have to be a jewelry crimping tool)
• Lightweight jack chain (I found at Michaels)
• Carabiner (I used stick-on ceiling hooks so I ended up hanging the mobile from 2 points, instead of a carabiner I used 2 keychain rings I already had)
• monofilament jewelry string (found at Michaels- used 4 from Beadalon brand)
• Crimp beads (Michaels- she asked for 200, I probably used 300)
• Ornaments (I used almost 200)
• Ornament hooks (bought at dollar store)
• lanyard hooks 
• Ceiling hook (I used 2 and they are stick-on... I found at my local hardware store)

Maxi Dress Slip

I have been searching for a slip to wear under this maxi dress and have had no luck. Nothing seems to go with the razer back cut of the dress or they end up being ridiculously expensive.  So this weekend as I decided to hem a few of my super long maxi dresses and skirts, I opted to try to make one... it is super easy, custom made to your dress style and cut and super cheap...

The dress 

Trace the cut out of the dress onto your fabric

Trace the neckline

Cut and and sew....

I sewed mine using the overlock machine all throughout

And you are all done!

Sedona Trip DIY Maxi - Double Slit

What better picture background than the red rock of Sedona.  We went hiking to the Sedona and the Grand Canyon so I decided to take my newest sewing project for pictures.

Make a new maxi dress by using an existing one as a pattern. I used a Guess Maxi that I recently bough as a pattern, added a double slit for a bit of variety... and here is the result!

Sometimes this jersey fabric will be too thin and may be a bit sheer as was the case with my Guess maxi... the benefit of making your own is that you can add lining to avoid the issue, which is what I did.  I simply traced the dress twice, but the lining only goes down to where the slit begins, if you look closely on the picture above you can see that the skirt part is less opaque where the slits begins.

Slit...

Side View ( you can't really tell but this dress has two slits)  

Guess maxi used as a pattern

single slit

The Best Face Mask You Will Ever Try

If you are serious about a deep pore cleansing mask, try this!

Bragg- Organic, Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

Aztec Secret- Indian Healing Clay

Plastic container and scoop

I usually use anywhere from 2-3 scoops

Use an equal amount of Apple Cider Vinegar (2-3 scoops)

Mix into a paste.

And spread around the face evenly staying away from the eyes.

I leave the face mask until it completely dries, about 15-20 minutes.

Be careful if you have sensitive skin!

This is a very powerful face mask, it will leave your face a bit red, so don't be alarmed.

To wash off, just pat lukewarm water on your face until the clay softens to remove.

I usually prefer to use the mask at night before going to sleep to give my pores an opportunity to rejuvenate and breathe and avoid breakouts, dont clog your pores with makeup right after.

I hope you try this out, it works amazingly!