Pinterest Challenge 01

I am a big fan of Young House Love, along with half the universe, it seems. This week Sherry is hosting a Pinterest Challenge: take something you have pinned and actually make it, or your own version of it. This should be a monthly challenge for me because I have so many great ideas pinned on my boards but if I never get around to actually making them myself - what's the point?
I love all the DIY jewelry pins and wanted to post about a project I did lately. When it was my turn to host my monthly craft group, I chose painted bead necklaces. I made one for myself, then one for my sister's birthday and one for my neice for Christmas. I loved this for my craft group because everyone could personalize their necklace how they liked: different lengths, different sized beads, different color schemes: monochromatic, ombre, multi-colored.

I was inspired by Kristina Klarin necklaces, which she sold on Big Cartel and then through Anthropologie. She now has her own site, House of Kami. The necklaces are amazing - hand-crafted, original, fabulous pieces and I would buy several if my budget allowed. Colored bead necklaces are no new thing, but I love Klarin's color mixes and how she makes multi-layer pieces. Click on each piece to go to the best source. (As I said, Klarin no longer sells thru Big Cartel and Anthro.)

Then I found these other pins to add to my inspiration board, and some of these blogs have tutorials too - not that you need much help to paint and string. Click on each image to go to the original source.

So for our craft night we used waxed cotton cording and hand-painted all our beads with craft paint and small brushes. Spray-painting also seems to work well, especially if you are going with all one color. I bought lots of sizes of wooden craft beads, up to 3/4" inch. Most of us with longer necklaces just tied them off so they can slip over the head, but if you have a shorter length you would need some kind of clasp - lots to choose from at craft stores. And most of my craft group chose to spray glossy acrylic over the top to protect and add a nice shine. Here are some of the (mostly) finished products.

Is It a Middle-Aged Thing?

As of my last birthday, I am officially counting myself as middle-aged. Granted, I am at the very bottom end of that spectrum, and other people might not put me in the middle yet, but I am not in my twenties or my early thirties anymore. And it feels good. I have no dismay over my age (other than my baby turning 4 yesterday!) and in some ways it feel nice to consider myself a full-fledged grown up now. Dad, if you're reading this, I still reserve the right to borrow money at some point in the future. You're still my father.

One of the things I have never done in my life is see a dermatologist. I know lots of teenagers go to one for the standard teenage acne stuff, but I just saw my pediatrician or GP for all of that. And as I age I am more concerned about wrinkles and skin cancer than acne. But not exclusively.

So I made my appointment, waited in the waiting room for AN HOUR, and finally had my turn to be examined. And in the end, I kind of felt like I had wasted my time and money. Here's what I came away with:

• I need to wash my face morning and night. Duh. I knew that (but still don't do it).
• Wear sunscreen. Um, yes, especially in Arizona. I did find out my daily 15 spf should be higher.
• Use good lotion/moisturizer EVERY time after you wash your hands. Apparently it's worth the effort and the excema problems on my fingers (under my rings) will probably be fixed by this.

And that's it. I found out that so much of what we fight is genetic & unless you want to drop money on cosmetic work (I might) then there's not much you can do about it. But I am hoping to do better at the above three things - wish me luck - and I think the most important thing I did was get an entire body inspection for skin cancer.  Which is a bit embarassing/uncomfortable but so important. That was worth the money by itself. Have you ever done this? I hear stories of people getting skin cancer in strange places and not noticing and I wanted a good baseline to start judging by. So I guess I will plan to get checked regularly now that I am middle-aged. Maybe every 3-4 years? What do you think? Do any of you go regularly? How often? Or are all my five remaining readers still in their twenties? You babies!

Also, what are your favorite products for face wash, daily moisturizer (with high spf), hand lotion, and eye cream? My dermatologist recommends Neutrogena.

Accidental Purchases

Have you ever accidentally bought something? You know, you don't intend to shop, and you weren't planning to buy something, but somehow you come home with new things anyway. Last weekend I was on my own, as my sweet husband took our three boys out of town (you're the best, honey!) and I was indeed shopping. Hard to believe, right? But I was only looking for a wallet, as mine is falling apart and I keep losing important things like pennies and receipts. I was only looking for a wallet and managed to get in and out of several stores quickly without finding a wallet and certainly without buying something extraneous.

Then I walked into J. Jill. I've been there once or twice before, but never bought anything. I loved some of the looks up front which included linen items - I'm a sucker for linen. And as I headed to the back where they keep accessories like wallets, I naturally ran my eyes over the clearance racks. And since I liked what I saw I looked closer, rummaging through my own size. Since I am... curvy... and short, I often have problems finding things in my size and that are flattering on me. And there were several things on that J. Jill clearance rack and they accidentally came home to live with me. And I love them. It helped that all clearance items were an additional 40% off. If only they had wallets. But here are the new items in my closet:

J. Jill Authentic Fit Skinny Jeans    Skinny jeans are a bit hard for me, but I like them and my previous pair just wore through into holes in unseemly spots. These new ones are very dark & look nice - no distressing, whiskering, or holes. And they were about $20!

J. Jill Shimmer Linen Skirt    I completely fell in love with this soft grey, linen skirt when I pulled it off the rack. But it was a size too small. The sales person said they didn't have my size and that I should try it because they ran a little big. And she was right! On me it falls all the way to the tops of my shoes - a true maxi skirt. And the little, gold, metallic weave through it dresses it up a little and I noticed it helps to hide spills and stains. Of which I have many. Totally my kids fault.

J. Jill Linen Camp Shirt    They had quite a few linen shirts on sale and I tried on several and decided on this one. I love how they are crisp and soft at the same time and I favor cuffed and tabbed sleeves lately. Linen shirts are so classic - especially white.

My New, Natural Look

Even though I love my mineral makeup, in powder form, I've lately been looking around to find an old-fashioned liquid foundation. I used to buy Estee Lauder and have several friends that love Bobbi Brown but I have a hard time bringing myself to pay the $30 plus price tags, despite my light use.

So when, as a BzzAgent, I received a tube of Cover Girl NatureLuxe Silk Foundation, I happily started trying it out. And I was immediately impressed. I love the silky formula that goes on just like moisturizer but doesn't get too oily. The spf 10 is nice, although I wish it were a little higher. Despite the fact that the shade I was sent was way too dark for me, I happily went around with that tell-tale line under my jaw for a couple weeks until I made it to the store to buy something that matches my skin tone.

I like the low price, the high availability, and the frequent sales and coupons from Cover Girl. They don't always have my favorite make up products, but they are reliably good. For example, BzzAgents also sent me the NatureLuxe Gloss Balm. Once again, the color was awful for me, but I kept it by my desk and just started using it as lip balm when I felt dry. And I liked it. Probably not enough to replace my favorite Avon, but I'm always looking for lip products that feel great and have lots of color options. So I also picked up a tube of this in a good color for me. And suddenly I have a great, new look for summer. Thanks BzzAgent and Cover Girl!

 

April Outfit of the Month

I explained the concept of the Outfit of the Month series already, but to sum up: each month I will feature an outfit that I wish I was wearing, either from a magazine or somewhere online. Then I will create a look with a similar feel, with pieces that would fit into the budget of a Well-Rounded Woman. 

April's outfit comes from Lucky magazine and I listed each piece, including price. They add up to a whopping $3,868. And I don't know about you, but that's about six or seven years worth of clothing for me.

Below are the pieces I found, at significant discounts. In fact, at a total of $226 for the entire outfit, that comes to less than 6% of the price of the Lucky outfit. And naturally I don't have $226 to spend each month, but I can usually pick up a piece or two. I already have the pin and I made the necklace recently, and I think I'd like to get a pair of light-weight jeans like this for the summer. I spent a lot of time learning how to make an image map, so please click on specific pieces for the links to where you can get them.

DIY Bead Necklace

As I searched for a suitable necklace for my April Outfit, I couldn't find anything that was what I wanted, but my mind kept going back to a post from the Martha Stewart craft blog. They highlighted a project of dyeing unfinished, wooden beads and stringing them together to make long necklaces. I love this picture:

I had wanted to try this project and this week seemed the perfect time, so I could add the necklace to my April Outfit. I ran to Joanne's to buy beads, dye, and cord to string the beads. The instructions were easy, and by the end of the day I was wearing my necklace. See full directions on the Martha Stewart site here.

Here are some shots of my process, along with details of what I did. I used the following beads:
14    1/2"
24    9/16"
14    5/8"
22    3/4"

You string them on floral wire first to get the length you want and them dye them on the wire. The beads cost me about $10 total and the Rit dye was $2.50. (A sweet woman offered me an extra coupon for 25% off my purchase, which I was glad for because none of my items were on sale.) The MS website recommends using leather cord, which you can dye to match the beads, but I am cheap and bought a waxed cotton cord. I'm sure that would have dyed well also, but I didn't bother. The total cost was around $13 without coupons or sales. (Love my sweet neice as a model!)

I used Rit dye in Teal and was happy with the color, although the tutorial used mostly teal, with a little taupe or grey mixed in. I can see that would give them a more muted look, but I skipped this too. I used my large, non-stick, dutch oven pot and was worried about ruining it, but it was no problem at all. The beads stay in the dye 5-10 minutes, depending on how dark you want them - just agitate throughout and check them often. Dry the beads on an old towel. They took much longer to dry than I thought, and the color lightened as they dried. It would have gone much faster outside. I was worried about the dye rubbing off on my clothing without some kind of rinse or finish. I wore my necklace the next day with an already stained shirt and didn't have any transfer of color. I've worn my beads several times since and I think they look great!

In the end, I couldn't dump out 8 cups of beautiful blue dye, so I ended up dipping a bunch of paper coffee filters. I've seen a lot of amazing crafts made from these and had previously grabbed some at the grocery store so I dyed a few dozen, let them dry upside down to keep their shape, and stashed them away for the next project.

Sprucing Up My Boring Shirts & Front Door

I still love my monthly craft group - this month we made some fabric flowers. I see these everywhere and they seem so easy to make, and so expensive to buy at a store or botique. And I was right, they cost maybe a dollar, and take 10-15 minutes each. There are so many tutorials out there, but we just made 2 kinds of flowers: folded pieces of felt or flannel glued to a circle backing, and acetate/polyester type fabric circles stacked together with burned edges. They can be made in many sizes and used for pins, hairclips, headbands, belts, wreaths, etc. Here are the ones I made to add a little variety to my boring, solid-colored wardrobe.

 

 

Then I decided to make some larger flowers out of spring-y fabric to embellish a yarn wreath for my front door. I chose some boucle suiting fabric with a large weave and when I cut out the larger flowers, they were a bit floppy so I sprayed them well with ironing starch & they worked perfectly. I've been wanting to make one of these yarn wreaths for a while & I like that I can add/change embellishments whenever I like. I just pinned these flowers on for now & can make it into something else later. That's one of the reasons I picked solid cream yarn.

Beauty Comes in Small Packages

The start of fall (it was only 93 deg yesterday) always puts me in mind of beautiful paper goods. After stalking Night Owl Paper Goods for over a year, I finally placed an order this morning. Check out all these lovelies!


Letterpressed cards can sometimes seem like a luxury, but try their sale section, where they have limited amounts left from previous runs. Many of the cards I ordered were $1. Even when you spread out the $5 flat shipping, that's much less than I would spend on a grocery store card, for a far superior product.


Night Owl does amazing work on wooden cards too. I ordered two red, love-themed prints that were intended to be sent as postcards, and that I intend to hang on my wall as art.


Don't you love your friends and family enough to send them beautiful cards?

got 2b... smooth & plump

I received some coupons from Bzz Agent to try out the new line from Got 2b, Smooth Operator. I've had some good experiences with Got 2b products, but haven't ever found anything I'm in love with. This time I tried the new line, Smooth Operator, which has cashmere in it. I'm all for something that can smooth my oft-frizzed tresses and make them cashmere soft. I chose the Smoothing Luxury Mousse and the Smoothing Lustre Lotion. I used the mousse on towel-dried hair before styling, and the lotion after blow-drying and styling. I tried both of them alone and together.


The good:
The Smooth Operator line protects against heat damage from your blow dryer and flat iron, and contains a UV protectant, to fight off that nasty Arizona summer sun. I was impressed with how soft and silky my hair turned out. Which was especially nice in the summer, when the sun and chlorine can sometimes make it, um, not soft and silky. These products, especially the mouse, created major volume - a plus for many people. And I love that Got 2b comes close to salon-brands, but at a very affordable price point. You can get most of the products for under $5 at your grocery store or drug store.


The bad:
Lots of volume. This can be a plus for some, and usually I'm looking for products to boost volume, but with my current unfortunate hair cut (I'm growing out some funky layers & wish it was all 4 inches longer), it created way too much volume for me. Especially when I used both products together. It was pretty wild.


I'm going to hold onto the other half of my bottles for when my hair grows out a little bit. I think it will be perfect then! In the meantime, a little Lustre Lotion goes a long way to smooth and soften my hair.

It's Like Spring for Your Hair

Need to add some spice and color to your look? Try this headband pattern from Larissa at mmmcrafts. I just found her blog today through How About Orange (thanks for all the awesome links, Jessica!) and spent an hour looking through the great posts. There are bunches of tutorials, patterns, and downloads - FOR FREE.

I'm going to make a couple of these headbands from fabric scraps I have lying around. It will be like a spring makeover for my hair!

Can You Wear Stilettos?

Sometimes advertising really works. I'll be the first to freely admit I am often taken with a television or magazine ad for a new beauty product. Last week I saw a tv commercial for Maybelline's new Lash Stiletto™ Ultimate Length Washable Mascara. I loved the 40s glamour girl vibe, and I love the branding of calling this mascara stilettos for the eyes. Even though I can't wear heels for very long, I love what a tall pair of stilettos does for my legs. And now my lashes can look just as good. I picked up a new tube at the grocery store, on sale for about $6.



Maybelline's website says the Pro-Vitamin B-5 formula conditions and smoothes for black-patent shine. And there really is something patent-leather-like about this mascara. It seems thinner, blacker, and glossier than others I've tried. My lashes really do look a little shinier, like patent leather. Stilettos, of course. All I know is my lashes have never looked longer. I look exactly like this model! Almost.

I've been using that XXL mascara, the kind with the dual wand - the white one to plump and lengthen, and black one for actual mascara. It's been a regular in my makeup bag for a couple years, and it turns out Maybelline makes it too. I really like the new Lash Stiletto, but the XXL does a better job at fuller lashes. I'm keeping them both. Hmm, maybe I should check out some of Maybelline's other products.

My tip for each of you (if you are a woman above the age of 14) is to head out and buy a tube of Maybelline Lash Stiletto™ Ultimate Length Washable Mascara from your local grocery or drug store. For other great tips check out Works For Me Wednesday.

If I Had a Little Money

A trip to Target for 1 utilitarian item was almost the death of me the other night. Those Target marketing gurus place the handbags and accessories right as you walk in the door and they just beckon to me every time I visit. Since I was by myself for once, I decided to just browse through. And let me tell you, if you have a little money to spend - and I do mean just a little - Target can make you happy.


Remember that I am saving every penny for a new iPod Touch to replace the one with the 5-day lifespan. But if I wasn't, I would have spent a little of my mad money on a new bag at Target. I think they have a great selection of bags, and have been thrilled with the last one I bought. Right now there is a HUGE batch of clearance handbags and accessories so I thought I would post just a few of my favorites.

I am loving the pops of yellow - anxious for spring, I guess. Or at least spring colors. I am glad to know that in a month or two I'll be able to find some lovely yellow accent pieces for a decent price. Of course the things I was most tempted by are un-find-able online, but here are the lookalikes I found online (for $240 and $395):

In reality it was an Xhiliration black envelope clutch for $20. It looks a lot like the first picture, but had silver accents like the second. Very classic.

I actually found the beret in winter white & loved it. And for the low, low price of $3.24 I certainly could have worked it into my budget. I was just worried about working it into my wardrobe. Sometimes I am tempted to buy for the style I want to have, rather than the one I do. Or maybe I mean the lifestyle I want to have. Moms of three little ones who don't always get a shower every day and who live in sunny Arizona don't often get to wear cute berets in winter white. But maybe someday. I do want to start editing my wardrobe and begin buying more for the style I want to have, and the person I want to become (style-wise). I recently read a couple books on this - look for reviews soon!

For more shopping tips, and others, visit Works For Me Wednesday.

Nukkle in the New Year

One of my most favorite things in the world is to have my back rubbed. I spent a lot of energy trying to coax back rubs out of my mom or sisters while we were growing up. And now my sweet husband rubs my back almost any time I ask. It all started the first time I was pregnant, when he was extra attentive. And it has continued pretty steadily, to my everlasting delight.

My husband is happy to spend the time rubbing my back, but his hands aren't very strong and we do much better with one of those massager, knobby things. Pretty much any variation of this:

We have tried quite a few, and my favorite is the Nukkles. I picked up one of these for under $5 at a bed and bath store a couple years ago and have abandoned all others. It's lasted quite a while, but it is made out of plastic and one of my kids cracked it a few months ago. We've still been using it but luckily my husband surprised me with a late Christmas gift and ordered a two pack from Amazon.





You can hold the nukkles with the palm of your hand and because it's flexible it will follow the contours of your body. There is much less hand fatigue by the massager, and much more relaxing time for the massagee. Ahhh, bliss. And a two-pack means twice the relaxation if you can convince your spouse to use both hands. There is a handy massage guide called, The Art of Nukkleing, which gives you some basic techniques to start with.





If you love a good back rub, put Nukkles on your Valentine's Day list - or buy a set for someone you love. It's a budget-friendly way to maintain your mental health and stay beautiful inside and out.

For more tips visit Works For Me Wednesday.

Minimum Effort, Maximum Reward

I have that kind of hair that's mostly straight, but can kind of be wavy, or even curly with the right product. But even when it's straight, there are parts that won't cooperate, like the sides, underneath my ears. That part likes to be curly, and generally doesn't grow long. And I am currently wearing the rest of my hair long. This problem manifests itself mostly when I wear a ponytail (everyday) and especially when it's humid. I end up with what I affectionately refer to as angel wings - wispy, curly, halo-like masses over my ears. It's fun.


So, why all this babble about my hair? A few years ago I discovered a product that works wonders for me. My hair looks best if I use several straightening, glossing type products and blow dry and flat iron. But, being a mom of little kids, this only happens on Sundays monthly three times a year. But with this new mousse I found, my hair looks pretty good on many a day - at least until it gets scraped into a ponytail out of desperation.

Beyond the Zone Bored Straight is my favorite hair product. It's mousse. But with the amazing ability to straighten your hair. Well, they don't say it's a mousse, but anything that comes out of an aerosol can as a foam and is the first product I put on my wet hair is a mousse to me. I can comb out my hair after I shower, put Bored Straight all over my hair (not just the roots) comb it straight again, and let it airdry. That's it. Even if I don't use any other products, my hair ends up straight and smooth. And shiny. Oh it's good stuff. And only $6 at any Sally Beauty Supply.

If I'm feeling really fancy, I follow up with Beyond the Zone Straight Shot, which is listed as a straightening balm, but is really the stickiest, goopiest product I've ever used. You only need a little bit, and once I rub it on top of my hair (not throughout) I have a hard time getting the slimey feel off my hands. But this stuff is amazing too! I always get very straight hair without having to blow dry.

I continue to try new Beyond the Zone products and have liked others too. And these two are my favorites. But there's a few I didn't care for also, namely the Noodle Head curly products. With the right stuff, my hair can be quite curly or wavy, but I didn't like any of the four Noodle Head products I tried. It could just be me, of course, but in my opinion - go for the Straight Stuff! Here's the picture of me yesterday, I used both products, spent less than 5 minutes on my hair, no blowdrying.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Target Works for Me!

Hey all you Works For Me Wednesday fans - I have a serious tip for you again today. Check out your local Target! I dropped by today to return something and got sucked in by the TEN clearance racks in the womens section. I was amazingly sans children for a bit, so I indulged in a little shopping for myself. And came home with like $75 worth of stuff. My husband pretended to be pleased with my purchases. And I think he was pleased with each individual purchase. Just not happy that there were so many. But I was! Don't forget to head there tomorrow to check it out.

I got a bunch of black items - this dress, and this top (sorry, can't find online), and this skirt. Somehow I found myself without black items to pair with all my church clothes. Now I'm all set, obviously.

And I snagged this silky top that falls just right on me, also to wear to church. Oh, those church people are gonna be impressed with all my new duds.

Oh, oh - I almost forgot. I also got these awesome shoes, which I saw on loads of peoples blogs, and which apparently sold out quick in most locations because they are Sigerson Morrison, and which are now on sale! I read the reviews & a lot of people said they weren't the most comfortable, so I'm wearing them all over the house today and tomorrow to make sure I can handle it. But I'm a little worried that my floors are dirtier than outside, so I hope I like them because the return desk might not believe I didn't wear them outside. Doubters.