February 5, 2010
So not everything I do turns out great. In fact I have many 1/2 done projects tucked into drawers and closets with good intentions of someday going back to them. Sometimes I do, but more often I use the unfinished pieces for something else. I have a few half sewn dresses that I have given up on and a handful of unfinished pieces of jewelry. For a long while, I have wanted to try to make homemade bath products (soaps, lip balms, bath bomb, salt scrubs…). I came across a recipe for homemade lip gloss that did not seem too hard, so I decided to give it a try. This is yet another thing I got from good ol’ Martha Stewart. She had a great article in one of her mags about making these products at home. And just like every other thing that Martha does it looks much easier in the pictures than it actually is when I was doing it. Here are some of the pictures of my attempt at lip gloss…
I had all my products ready. I used unbleached beeswax so it would be kind to my lips, I even put in a little vitamin E for lips that were oh so soft. I bought little silver tins so it would be so cute and perfect in your pocket and after all this…………it didn’t work.
The recipe basically just called to melt all of the ingredients together and use a little dropper to put the liquid into tins or tubes and let it dry. So I ever so carefully squeezed the melted ingredients into the little tins. I even shaved a little lipstick into the mix so it would have a slight rosy tint to it. I thought it was going to be great.
And look! So cute right? Well if you have ever had a lip gloss that was left in a car and froze overnight and when you tried to put it on it was really hard and skids across your lips, you know what this lip gloss felt like. It was horrible. I even tried to keep one in my pocket all day to keep it warm thinking that might make it softer, but it didn’t. Boo. It looks good, it smells good but it feels awful. I guess I can try again. But I’m not really a “get back on the horse” kind of person. If I fail the first time, I probably won’t try again. Which is exactly why I have drawers of unfinished projects that I may or may not get back to. So until then, I’ll just have a bag full of useless lip gloss.
January 13, 2010
You say cheap, I say smart. Making your own wrapping paper is probably one of the easiest things you can do to save money and help ease your tread on this lovely planet of ours. This is something I have been doing for years and think it is crazy that more people don’t do it. I don’t really remember how or why I started making my own wrapping paper but it probably had something to do with not wanting to spend money in college. By now, the idea of buying paper with the sole purpose of ripping it up and throwing it away just makes me crazy. There is no way I could do it. And the big garbage bag of wrapping paper that accumulates on Christmas morning makes me want to scream. I find it odd that many of the same people that are so insistent about recycling milk jugs and beer bottles are just fine with buying paper, just to throw it away. There are those who use newspaper for wrapping paper and I guess that works too, but I need a little more aesthetic credibility. I would also be a fan of the holiday gift bag that gets reused over and over again year after year. I may have even given you a gift this year that is in a bag that you gave me last year. (I can say that my mother has probably been using the same gift bags and boxes for mine and my sisters Christmas gifts for about 10 years. And if you know my mother, you know that 10 years is not an exaggeration.)
So a couple of years ago I bought a few holiday themed stamps and some ink pads and I haven’t bought wrapping paper since then. Every time I buy anything that gets wrapped at the store, I keep the paper and that is what I use. I also keep the tissue paper that they wrap your clothes in when you go to nicer retail stores and certain boutiques. The only thing I do buy every year is ribbon. Cause it’s pretty and I like it. So if you are getting a gift from me you can safely bet that the paper is being reused. And if I give you a present in a gift bag…please reuse the bag. Thanks for reading my rant about paper.
January 13, 2010
A while back my step-mom Sherri had asked me about herbs de Provence. Seeing that it is usually called for in meat dishes like roasts or grilled fish, I do not use it. I knew I could easily find it around here so I told her I would pick it up next time I saw it at the grocery store. What I didn’t know was that it was just a simple combination of dried herbs, all of which I actually had in my kitchen cabinet. And then to my surprise, I came across a recipe for the spice blend in the Good Eating section of the newspaper. (Yes, I still get the newspaper delivered on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I know I can read the newspaper online but there is something about having it in my hands and getting dirty newspaper-fingers that I love. And since the Chicago Tribune has seen better financial days I feel that by subscribing, I’m doing my part to help an old Chicago institution.) So I used ingredients I had on hand and made a container of herbs de Provence for Sherri.
Here is the recipe for when you would like to make your own. All of the herbs I used are dried so they last a lot longer, but I’m sure it would be good with fresh herbs if you have them and plan on using the mix immediately.
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp sage or marjoram
1/4 tsp lavender
December 14, 2009
Watching Martha Stewart one day, I saw her and Claire Danes making homemade marshmallows. Ever since the days of My So-called Life I have had a major crush on Claire Danes, she is just so cute. It looked relatively easy and I wanted to make something for an upcoming party I was going to be attending. Only recently becoming a fan of Martha I realized her magazine Everyday Living has some really good ideas and always has great recipes. I also starting subscribing to one of her other magazines Whole Living Body and Soul which focuses more on leading a healthy lifestyle and doing things that are good for you and the environment. If you are interested in D.I.Y. then I highly recommend either magazine. So I looked up the recipe and decided to make the marshmallows. And this is one of those situations where the homemade version ended up being much more expensive but sooooo delicious. The only thing I would have done differently is to get vegetarian gelatin. Real gelatin is made up of animal skin and bones and I try really hard to keep most animal products out of my diet. After I made them I realized I probably could have found vegetarian gelatin at Whole Foods but they were still really good. This is the recipe for those of you who would also like to try your hand at making marshmallows. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/vanilla-marshmallows
vanilla bean
The recipies are for vanilla and peppermint, but I hate minty flavored things so I used almond extract and they were great.
Boiling sugar and corn syrup.
It also tells you to use a stand mixer but since I don't have the room in my kitchen for that I used the worlds oldest hand mixer and it work just fine.
This is how they sat in the fridge over night.
I cut them into perfect little squares and tossed them into powder sugar.
Bag them up.
And enjoy.
October 30, 2009
Cole Haan makes beautiful things. Always. They have a new line of handbags called ‘Genevieve’ which is made of a really nice woven brown or black leather. I absolutely love it! Being that the bag costs $525, I did not run out and get my very own. But like many things, it got me thinking about possibly making my own handbag. Going into it, I really thought I was getting in over my head and didn’t actually think I was going to be able to pull it off. I found instructions on how to make a simple messenger bag from a book I checked out from the library called Weekend Sewing. I used it as a VERY loose template and went on my way trying to make myself a handmade purse. My goal is to make things that do not look handmade. For me that is the ultimate fail. Here is how the process went…
This is the fake woven leather material I found at Joanns fabric store.
*I have to add that this material was originally $30 a yard. I bought 1/2 a yard and I had a 50% coupon, so after that the material I bought only cost me roughly $7.50.
This is the hardware I bought for the purse. I didn't end up using the straps, but did use left-over material from an old dress for the lining.
The lining.
Before adding the hardware and the strap.
And there she is.
My purse.
*Please notice the handsome dog sleeping on the couch in the background.
Cole Haan purse.
My purse ended up costing about $10-$12 with the hardware. Not bad compared to $525 for the Cole Haan bag. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I have been using it ever since I made it, but I can’t lie…I would still love to own this Cole Haan bag.
October 22, 2009
After weeks of waiting the beer is finally finished and ready to drink! Ryan and Mikey did everything perfectly and were so eager to taste it. When they twisted the cap off, it had the perfect little Pssht! of any nicely carbonated beverage. Ryan then poured it into a few frosty mugs that we had prepared in the freezer.
And the verdict…
eh. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t really good either. Ryan and Mikey drank it, but me and Tina did not. The good thing is that they think they know what they did wrong so they would like to try again. But that’s what homemade is all about, trial and error. How else would you know when you’ve made something successful, unless you’ve made a few flops along the way. They had fun doing it…and isn’t that the most important thing?
Please pay no attention to the KFC on the table. I did not eat it, I swear. OK…maybe a biscuit with some honey, but that’s it!
October 9, 2009
I LOVE homemade bath products! Pangea is about the closest you can get to homemade without actually being made in someones home. They make fantastic products and they are a great company. This is straight from their website…
Pangea products are (and always will be):
• Crafted by artisans in small batches, using pure, organic ingredients that replenish the skin
• Hand-blended to soothe or stimulate your senses
• Preserved using the gentlest of methods to retain the nurturing properties of the botanicals in each customized blend
• Intentionally sourced from organic farmers through fair trade practices whenever possible
• Honest above all else: if it’s in our products, it’s on our labels
NEVER
petroleum-based ingredients
sulfates or detergents
synthetic preservatives
artificial colors or fragrances
The only problem is the price…boo. The salon next to my house sells the lotions for $16, the lip gloss is $12 and one bar of soap is a whopping $7!! So you can imagine my excitment when I walked in the salon and saw the 75% off all Pangea sign!! That means $4 lotions $3 lip gloss and $1.75 soaps!! There are not enough !!’s to explain my excitment. Needless to say…I stocked up. But it also got me thinking about making my own products…hmmm? New project?
There is actually more stuff that didn't make it into this picture and I have a feeling that I may go back and get more.
October 7, 2009
Make your own beer? Sure why not. This was a project done by Ryan and Mikey not me, but I’m hoping they want to share when it’s all done. Or else I will just have to beat them up and steal their beer. I bought Ryan this beer kit for his birthday and he wasted no time to start brewing. The bottles are currently hanging out in a cooler while they finish brewing, but here’s how the process went.
Step 1: get two eager beer loving guys...check!
The kit came with a can of stuff that you mix with some sugar and let ferment for 2 weeks. And these pictures do not convey the horrid smell that came from the brewing process. gross.
fermenting beer
After you cook the beer in a big pot it has to be carefully transferred to the keg and kept in a dark place for two weeks. This keg made a comfortable home for itself in a kitchen cabinet.
After two weeks in hiding, it came out and had to be bottled. The beer gets a few more spoonfuls of sugar and a good shake.
Back into the cabinet for another week.
And there it sits. The beer is in a cooler because apparently the bottles have the ability to explode before they are ready. So far no exploding bottles and we are patiently waiting to drink the beer. I will make another update when it is finished, cross your fingers!
September 28, 2009
Ok…I did not actually get a summer break. And neither did Chicago. But I did get the chance to make a few things. So as an easy way to start my new blog here is a wrap up of some things I have been working on over the last few months…
My ‘Audrey’ pants, inspired by the gap ads a few years ago featuring a dancing and prancing Audrey Hepburn. These started off as a pair of flared dress pants from Express. They still fit but were feeling a tad outdated. So all I did was cut off the bottoms, take in the sides and VOILA! I now have a lovely new pair of black cigarette pants. And the best part? Totally Free!
I made a few dresses, some successful and some not even wearable. There were my two favorites.
For this cream shift dress I used a pattern from www.burdastyle.com which I use often. It is a great community of people interested in sewing. There are plenty of free and cheap patterns you can print yourself at home. There are also lots of tutorials and interesting pictures of items people have made. If you are into home sewing like I am you should check it out. But back to the dress, it turned out a little shorter than anticipated but at 5 ft. 0 in. with a pair of opaque tights, I think I can pull it off. And who doesn’t like a short dress every once in a while?
