Welcome to my first video how-to! (Do I have to tell you how much I hate my voice?) This is a tutorial on one of the most common problems in everybody’s house: a leaky toilet that’s constantly running. This is such a super easy problem to fix. Anybody can do it!
It’s How-To Tuesday! Today I’ll be showing you how to make a fantastic cork board jewelry display. Like most girls I love jewelry. But there were lots of pieces that I rarely wore because they were in a giant jumble in my jewellery box. I tried to find some way to organize all my necklaces and bracelets and earrings in an easy-to-see way, but I have a lot of stuff and there just wasn’t anything that really fit my needs.
I was browsing at the Container Store a few months ago for–get this–a container. I needed someplace to stash my knitting supplies, but instead I found a really cute magnetic bulletin board. There was a necklace hanging from one of the pegs and the wheels in my brain started to spin. I considered buying the magnet board to store my jewelry on but it was $50 and the magnet pins were $12 for 8 of them. Way too expensive.
After wandering around my second favorite store, Hobby Lobby, (my favorite, in case you had to ask, is Target. Duh.) I decided to do a corkboard jewelry display, using an empty picture frame.
The great thing about a corkboard holder is that it can be completely customized to whatever your jewelry needs are. Using push pins makes it possible to change your storage as your jewelry collection changes. Have a lot of long necklaces? No problem. Suddenly get obsessed with bracelets? Just add a bunch of pushpins and you’re all set.
This is an incredibly easy project. It requires zero artistic ability. Things can get a little spendy if you go out and buy a brand new frame (use that 40% off coupon that most stores offer online!). There are lots of frames at thrift stores or you might have some ugly art around your house that can be tossed while still using the frame. All the materials you’ll need (besides the frame) will cost about $20. Considering how much jewelry boxes and displays are, that’s a real bargain!
I originally made my corkboard from a pre-made frame that I got at Hobby Lobby. But I also made a corkboard for my daughter, India, and used a hundred-year-old frame that that my grandma gave me which had an ugly, faded print in it.
The important thing is to consider your jewelry collection. Think about how many necklaces you have and how long they are. What about bracelets? And earrings? Do you mostly wear post earrings or danglies? You’ll want to consider how much square footage you’ll need. You don’t want to make too small a corkboard. Remember that bigger is better since it’s likely that you’ll be accumulating more jewelry through the years.
Another thing to consider is where you’ll put this thing. Mine ended up being 28 inches x 32 inches and that’s not exactly a size of frame that can be stuck just anywhere. I wanted mine kind of near my closet but not out in broad daylight for my kids to pull stuff off of. I ended up putting it in what I fondly call, “the poop room” (the little room in my master bath with the toilet in it). It works for me.
These are the items you’ll need to make this:
Picture frame. It doesn’t need to have glass or a backing. Just the square frame.
Thick foam mounting board. This can be cut to size at any craft store or picture framing shop.
Roll of cork. This can be found in most craft shops.
Spray Glue.
Pushpins. India opted to make some cute pushpins but I prefer clear.
Ribbon for dangly earrings (optional). I used thicker ribbon to make it easier to see the earrings, but any width of ribbon is fine.
Utility Knife.
You may also need a heavy-duty staple gun for the backing.
I highly recommend using the thickest mounting board that will fit in your frame. The cork is actually pretty thin, it’s the foam board that will do most of the actual holding of your jewelry.
If you’re using a frame that has something else in it, pay attention to how the print and glass are held into the frame. Sometimes there are little nails called brads. These can either be removed or simply bent out of the way with a flathead screwdriver.
Before you start assembling your project make sure your mounting board actually fits in the frame. This is especially important if you had it cut at a store. If it’s too big, use a utility knife and a ruler to cut it shorter. Once it’s the right size it’s time to stick the cork to the backing board.
Cork is very brittle. It’s incredibly easy to break it or even stick a finger through. It’s best to roll it out on the ground and not lift it. If your frame is big, it’s nice to have an extra set of hands helping out. The cork board we’re making today is for India’s room, so I’m having her do most of the work. Teach a man to fish, right?
Roll your cork out on the ground using something (or someone) to keep it unrolled. Some heavy cans of food will work.
Spray both the cork and the foam board according to the directions on the glue. It’s sticky, smelly and messy. You should absolutely do this outside!
Place your foam mounting board onto the cork and press it down thoroughly. If the edges aren’t attached well, spray them again.
Once the glue is dry (it should only take a couple of minutes), use a utility knife to cut off the extra cork.
If you want to do a ribbon across the cork board to hang your earrings on, this is when you’ll do it. I put mine along the bottom, but you can do it wherever you like. India wants to use hers as a bulletin board so she didn’t want a ribbon at all. If you do want an earring hanger, hot glue one side to the back of the board. Once it’s cooled down and is very secure (at least five minutes), pull the other side of the ribbon extremely tight. The ribbon will eventually sag if it’s not as tight as possible. Even so I put a few pushpins in the ribbon to keep it from drooping in the middle.
Once your ribbon is all finished, you can flip the board over and place it in the frame. Hopefully yours already has a wire for hanging. If not, you’ll need to install some hooks and wire. You can figure that out because you’re smart. And good looking!
If you used a frame that previously had artwork in it, you’ll hopefully be able to use the clips or brads that were there before. India pulled the brads out of our antique frame and hammered them back in so they were nice and secure (are you totally digging my pink hammer? I have a pink drill too!)
Once you’ve gotten your cork board all put together it’s time to hang it up on the wall.The final (and funnest) step is to stick your pushpins in and hang up your jewelry! It will feel so wonderful to have everything organized and right at your fingertips!
Today we have a guest post by my favorite reader: my sister, Arianne, from Little Pink Houses. She and I (and my brother, too) were ingrained from the time we were born with the notion of “I can do it myself and probably cheaper”. Arianne saw a cute vignette of stuffed fabric birds mounted on a branch and decided to make something similar for her daughter’s nursery. They turned out really adorably and would be completely easy to customize to any sort of decor. I asked her to do a tutorial for my blog because I knew these would be a not-too-difficult sewing project; plus I LOVE BIRDS! OK, Arianne, show us how to put a bird on it!
First you’ll need to pick out some fabrics. Any fabric will work, but some are easier to work with than others (lightweight quilting cotton is easier than denim, for example. Silk would be a really lovely and elegant choice.) You can use fabric scraps you have on hand, you can ask someone you know who sews to look through their extras, or you can buy fabric quarters (called “fat quarters”) in coordinating fabrics. Most fabric stores sell these for around $1.50-2.00/piece, or in pre-coordinated packs for $5-10 for 5+ pieces. You need 2 fabrics for each bird. A safe amount is 8” square for each section of the bird.
I recommend laying out your fabrics in pairs before you start, one piece for the top/head/wings and the other piece for the belly of the bird. If your pieces are different sizes, the larger piece should be for the top of the bird.
Print out your pattern. I used one from SpoolSewing; you can download their free PDF here. Cut the patterns out of the paper.
I made these patterns a little bigger because I found the 1/4″ hem to be a little too tight. It was very hard to sew a ¼” hem on such a small shape, since it requires a lot of turning as you sew. A few of my birds had to be re-sewn because I missed an edge. Give yourself a little extra room around your pattern so that you can allow for a bigger seam allowance.
Next grab your first pair of fabric pieces . Choose the piece to be the top/sides of the bird. Make a fold in it, about 6” deep. Lay the bird top pattern along the fold of fabric 1 so that it will double itself when you open the fold up. Pin it down with a couple of pins. Lay your bird belly pattern on fabric 2 and pin it down. Cut them both out. (If you didn’t leave an edge around the paper pattern, just leave an extra edge around it now as you cut it out. I promise you won’t be sorry for giving yourself an extra ¼” allowance once you start sewing.
Repeat this process with all your birds.
Iron your bird pieces. The last thing you want is to get them sewn and stuffed and THEN notice that they are wrinkly, or that the fold is still showing across the top of one.
Lay the top and bottom bird pieces together PRETTY SIDE IN. In other words, the sides of the fabric you want to show when you’re done should be facing each other.
Starting at the tail, pin together one edge of fabric 1 and one edge of fabric 2. Pin about every 1-1 ½” and stop when you get to the end of fabric 2. Remember that these will be 3 dimensional birds, so the fabrics won’t lie exactly flat. You’ll have to sort of bunch the top piece a little, with little folds between the pins, to get the edges flush. They’ll sew up just fine, so don’t worry.
Sew one edge of your first bird. (Although it’s generally easier to work in a sort of assembly line fashion—cutting all of the pieces at once, ironing all of the pieces at once, etc.—I found through trial and error that you should sew one bird completely and then turn it inside out to check it for seam holes before moving on to the next bird.) I used white thread, but you can use any color you want. The stitching doesn’t show much except on the tail.* GO VERY SLOWLY. You have to turn these babies a lot, and they are very small. It can be kind of hard to get them turned in time if you go fast, and the attractiveness of your bird, especially the head, depends a LOT on how evenly and carefully you sew these seams. Sew it poorly and your bird will end up looking more like a vulture! (Ask me how I know.) Also, remember to sew a little bit bigger hem than the pattern shows (if you’ve cut it with extra room) so you don’t miss any edges.
Remove the pins and pin together the other edges of the two fabrics, again starting at the tail. These two will lay even less flat, with even more bunching between the pins. Just do your best to keep the edges aligned.
Sew the second edge. Now keep in mind, when you get to the end of the belly fabric (#2), you can just keep going and sew up the bottom side of the head of the bird. I found it easiest to keep going up the breast, up the head, and right off the end of the beak.
Then to come back and do the top side of the head separately. If you try to take that corner (around the beak’s point), you may end up with a weird-shaped beak.
You probably won’t need to pin the bird’s head to do the rest of the sewing—it’ll be pretty well held together. Just make sure your two pieces of head fabric are lined up right. This next part is very crucial: STARTING AT THE BIRD’S BACK, TAKE AS SHALLOW AN ANGLE AS YOU CAN COMING IN TO FINISH OFF THE BIRD’S HEAD, almost continuing the line of its back. If you come in steep, you will create a point on the bird’s back, and your bird will look like a vulture! I had to unpick my first 2-3 birds before I got the correct angle. This is why it’s crucial to turn the bird inside out before you move on to the next bird. I even recommend using a pencil point to get the whole beak turned out so you can see its shape. (Sewing around that beak is tough. Just remember, go very slowly. And stop every few centimeters, with the needle still IN the fabric, lift up the foot slightly, turn the fabric, and continue sewing. I can’t stress enough how important it is to do a very rounded seam around the bird’s head to avoid it having a vulture-like neck or beak.)
Note from Jennie: To keep any puckering from happening at the birds neck, make three little snips about 1/8″ away from each other right where the neck arches. You’ll cut from the edge of the fabric right up to the seam (but don’t cut the seam!).
After you’ve sewn both sides and the head (the tail is left open), turn your bird inside out and check to make sure you haven’t missed an edge and left a gaping hole. If you haven’t, good! You’re a better seamstress than me. Now move on to your second bird.
Once you’ve sewn up all your birds, and they’re right-side out, it’s time to start stuffing! I bought one 12oz bag of ultra plush fiber, and it was plenty to do about 14 birds.
Use the eraser of a pencil to push the fiber down into the beak first. You don’t want to get done and find you have a floppy beak! Leave about ½” of the tail empty so that you can sew it closed.
Finish the tail. You can do a fancy hand-stitch here to make the thread invisible. But after doing that with one bird, I found it way too time consuming. Instead I decided to just fold both pieces of fabric over, inward, ¼” and sew a straight stitch across the tail. You can see the thread, but once the birds are up on the branch, it won’t show much. And I actually think it looks pretty cute!
You’re done with the sewing! Aren’t your birds so cute?
Next select a good branch. You can buy fancy polished branches at the craft store. Or you can pick one off a tree in your yard. I recommend one with at least a ½” diameter on the main branch with ¼” diameter shoot-offs; too flimsy and it will bend under the birds’ weight.
Lay out your branch on the ground and position your birds before you glue them on. That way you can be sure you like the final look without having to peel off mis-placed birds. I also recommend taking a picture because once you pick up the branches to mount them, you’ll forget where your birds went.
Mount your branch. You want your branch to be at least an inch or two from the wall so your birds’ tails will fit behind the branch. So if you can find or buy some really long nails (3-4 inches), that will allow your branch to sit away from the wall. Hold your branch up to the wall and mark where you want it to go with a pencil. Put in a couple of nails to support the branch—allowing your branch to lie on them. Use some clear fishing line or thread to lash the branch to the nails.
Hot glue! Use a dab of hot glue on the branch (not on the bird) where you want each bird to sit. Right where the body meets the tail is a good spot for balancing the bird (it’s where the feet would be on a real bird, after all). Stand back and check each one as you go to make sure it’s
sitting level and looking the right direction. It’s a lot harder to move them once the glue has hardened. Put all your birds on and…voila! Birds on a branch!
This is a dip for fruit. It’s probably well known to many of you (minus the Oreos) as there are not a ton of fruit dips out there. I love to combine all sorts of different textures of food, I thought the sweet crunch of Oreos would combine well with the creamy tang of fruit dip. Feel free to eat this with apples, bananas, strawberries, or just skip healthy choices altogether and get out a box of Nilla Wafers. Whatever you choose, this is an incredibly yummy dip. It’s good enough to take to a party, but easy enough that you could whip it up for an after school-snack. Here’s how to make it:
The ingredients are Oreos, A stick of cream cheese, a container of Marshamallow Fluff and about a cup of Cool Whip (optional). This recipe is chock full of delicious chemicals. Try not to look at any labels; all that matters is that it tastes delicious. (Pardon the bargain-brand ingredients; I was feeling very cheap at the grocery store.)
You’ll start by combining the cream cheese (softened, if possible) with the marshamallow cream and mix it well. I like to add a pinch of nutmeg. You can if you want too. Unless you don’t like nutmeg. I’m apologizing in advance for the marshmallow cream. It is quite possibly the most obnoxious food to work with. Sorry.
Once it’s mixed well, you ‘ll add a huge dollop of Cool Whip. I have to admit here that I don’t really get Cool Whip. You know it has to defrost in the fridge for five hours before it’s ready to eat? Who thinks that far ahead? Meanwhile, whipped cream takes approximately three minutes to make. Why would someone choose Cool Whip? I guess because the sugar is already added? I dunno. But it makes this dip a little bit fluffier so if you have some you should add it. If not, feel free to stick with the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. Those two alone make a lovely combination.
Now comes Oreo-crushing time. You’ll take about a dozen or so and put them in a ziploc bag then smash them all up with a rolling pin. If you haven’t figured out how to crush Oreos by this point, I give up. Just leave them in slightly large-ish pieces. You want to keep them crunchy, not ground up.
Add the Oreo pieces along with the Cool Whip to the cream cheese mixture and fold it all together gently.
Spoon the dip into a bowl and serve with your favorite fruit! Yum! (Keep any leftovers refrigerated but return to room temperature before serving.)
In the spirit of Oreo cookie’s 100th birthday, we’re going to make an Oreo trifle today. Trifle are such great desserts to bring to a party; they usually feed a lot of people and they have a big “wow” factor. The scallops created by the Oreos make this trifle extra pretty. It’s not hard to do, but you will dirty quite a few bowls (that’s the downside of making any trifle; they aren’t hard work to make, just to clean up!) Here’s how to make this:
Here are the ingredients (the quantities in the recipe are correct despite what the picture shows):
2 packs of regular Oreo cookies
2 pints of heavy cream
2 packs of cream cheese
1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
The first thing you’ll need to do is clear a space in your fridge for this monster. There is nothing worse than being ready to refrigerate something and having to spend 20 minutes cleaning the fridge out while you’re supposed to be going on to the next step of your recipe.
OK, now crush the Oreos. You will want to crush about 1 1/3-1 1/2 bags of cookies. Use the rest as accent cookies. The easiest way is to throw them in your food processor for a minute or two. Your next best choice is to put them in a sturdy ziploc bag and go at them with a rolling pin. If the bag starts to get holes just put it in a second bag. Kids love to do this. If you have any “helpers” this is a perfect job for them. There won’t be any doubt who will win this showdown.
Once your Oreos have become pulverized, separate them into two bowls. They don’t need to be perfectly equal; just eyeball it. Set one bowl of Oreos aside. To the other you will add your melted butter.
Stir up the melted butter and Oreos and press them into the bottom of a trifle bowl. If you don’t have a trifle bowl, a clear glass bowl will work well too. Once I even used a big glass vase. If you’d like to buy a trifle bowl, I’d suggest checking your local thrift store. Lots of people give them away because they rarely use them.
Now here’s where the fancy part comes in. To make the pretty scallops along the sides, you’ll want to use Oreos that have been cut in half. Here’s the best way to do it. Separate the Oreos that you didn’t crush so you have one side with filling and one without. You’ll want to gently try to break each Oreo side in half. Don’t use a knife! Sometimes you can cut the side with filling and it will work OK. But the plain side will definitely shatter. Just break them in half with your hands and hope for the best.
After you’ve got several halves, arrange them printed-side facing out around the top of the Oreo layer. Chill this in your fridge for about 15 minutes.
While the trifle is chilling you’ll make your whipped cream. Put both pints of cream in a bowl with the vanilla and the powdered sugar. Turn your mixer on high and whip until soft peaks form.
After that’s all whipped up you’ll need to whip both sticks of cream cheese. You’ll either need another bowl for your mixer (if you have one) or you’ll need your hand mixer for this job. You might be tempted to skip this step but don’t! You’ll have huge lumps of cream cheese in your trifle if you do.
Once your cream cheese is lovely and smooth, dump it into the whipped cream and fold them together gently.
Spread half of the whipped cream mixture onto the trifle. Refrigerate the remaining half.
Next you’ll make your pudding layer. In a medium-sized bowl combine two cups of milk with the pudding mix. Beat on high for about two minutes.
Pour the pudding over the whipped cream layer of the trifle. Chill for ten minutes.
Next it’s time to add the remaining crushed Oreo. Spread them neatly over the pudding layer.
Again we’ll take Oreo halves and split them in two and place them around the top edge of the Oreo layer.
Spoon the remaining whipped cream mixture over the crushed Oreos. Smooth it nicely. Neatness counts!
Garnish with extra Oreos and chill for at least three hours. I think this trifle tastes best the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld a little.
I hope your family likes this dessert as much as mine does!
You might think that when you have a big family, you have pictures of kids everywhere. The sad truth is that there are a very overwhelming number of photographs to deal with. Then there is always one child who is completely unphotogenic and you can’t very well have pictures of some children up and not others. Plus there’s the whole issue of buying so many frames, where to fit them all, etc. What I’m trying to say is that I have very few pictures of my kids around my house. I decided to fix the situation in a way that would combine cheap and simple with cute and interesting and would allow me to use quite a lot of pictures. The whole set up cost less than $10 and that includes getting 5 x 7s made of most of my photographs. The nice thing is that this arrangement can be made bigger or smaller and goes well with any style of decor. For How-To Tuesday, I’ll show you how to do your own picture wall.
Cardstock (if you use thinner paper, the pictures will curl when hung).
Photos (I used mostly 5 x 7s with a few 4 x 6s to make things look a little different)
Twine or rope (I used jute twine from Home Depot. $2.50 for a roll.)
Mini clothespins (Regular-sized ones are too hefty. I got mine at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. About $3 for 24. )
Glue of some sort (I like my Tombo but a gluestick will work fine.)
Pushpins. Clear pushpins are excellent decorating helpers. You’d be surprised how often you can find ways to use them.
Step One: Crop and cut your cardstock and photos (if necessary). I left a 1″-1.5″ border of cardstock around each photo. For the love of Fiskars, please use a paper cutter and not scissors! It’s impossible to get a decently straight line with scissors. Believe me!
Step Two: Apply glue to the back of the picture and try your best to apply it to the cardstock without it being crooked.
Step Three: Use your twine and pushpins to string up your display (I did one row at a time). It works best to have a helper telling you if things look straight. You might decide to do several symmetrical, even rows or do them kind of topsy-turvy like I did. The nice thing about pushpins is that you can pull them out and reposition them without making a mess of the wall.
Step Four: Hang your mounted photos with mini clothespins. They hold the pictures up surprisingly well.
Stand back and enjoy! It’s super simple to switch out pictures (cut a piece of cardstock and slap on a new photo. Or even better; flip the current picture over and glue a new photo to the back). You’ll always have an easy way to display your latest photos.
If you’ve got a houseful of bored people or just wish you lived someplace snowy, this is the perfect craft. You can’t very well go skiing on paper snowflakes but they add a nice wintery touch your house long after the Christmas decorations have been put away. They are also very addictive to make. Our family can spend hours cutting these out. This tutorial will help you make very detailed, extra-fancy snowflakes. Little hands might have trouble with the details, but older kids and adults will be fine. They are surprisingly easy and cheap to do. If you think you could never make these, I promise you’re wrong. They look much harder to make than they are. Give them a try!
The materials you need to make paper snowflakes couldn’t be simpler: paper, scissors and a pencil. You can definitely use any kind of paper but run-of-the-mill printer-type paper is kind of thick and makes it nearly impossible to get super fine details. The first year I made snowflakes I only used regular paper and I was thrilled with the results. But the next year I wanted make them even better; I wanted to make mine more detailed and elaborate. If you want to make the prettiest, fanciest snowflakes you’ll need very thin paper and nice pointy scissors. I prefer tracing paper. It’s quite thin and translucent and is absolutely lovely if you hang the snowflakes in your windows. When the sun shines through them they have a soft glow that you don’t get if you use regular printer paper which is completely opaque. This brand is my favorite (I bought this pad of 50 sheets at Michaels for $8. Actually, I had a coupon so it was about $5. Cheap!). Tracing paper is a lot easier to cut as well. Your hands will be aching after a while when you cut regular paper. I also recommend some nice sharp-tipped scissors. These were in the scrapbooking department and cost about $8.
Step One: Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. Make a nice sharp crease. The entire time you’re folding your paper the crease will be closest to you and the loose edges will be further away.
Step Two: Fold the paper in half but only crease the very bottom. We don’t want it to stay folded; we just want to mark a halfway point. Open the paper back up so it’s a half-sheet again.
Step Three: Take the lower right side and fold it over, starting at the midpoint where you made your little crease.
Step Four: Fold the lower left corner over and crease.
Step Five: Flip the paper over so it’s on it’s back.
Step Six: Fold the left side over so it’s completely even with the right side and crease it.
You can’t tell in this picture, but you’ll have a paper edge right along that dotted line. This is where you’ll make a cut.
Step Seven: Cut along the slanted edge. The bottom triangular part will be your snowflake. The top bits can be thrown away.
Step Eight: Now is the time to draw on a pattern with pencil. The idea is to cut away most of the paper. I’ve drawn the pattern on this snowflake. To make it easier to see I’ve lightly colored the areas that will be cut away. Only the white parts will remain. This seems a little daunting and scary but it’s amazing how just about any design looks wonderful. You might think you need patterns or ideas but just experiment; you’ll get to be an expert surprisingly fast.
Step nine: Use your nice sharp scissors to carefully cut out your design. An unfolded snowflake is not much to look at.
Step Ten: Unfold your snowflake ever so gently. These things rip like the dickens so be careful!
Look how lovely! Prepare to feel an absurd amount of satisfaction. Now if only this snowflake didn’t look so . . . foldy.
Step Eleven: Iron your snowflake. What? Iron paper?!? Won’t it burst into flames? Not if your iron is on the lowest setting. If you try to iron your snowflake by itself the iron will get caught on all the little details and rip your snowflake to pieces. So we’re going to take two sheets of printer paper and make a snowflake sandwich. Put one piece of paper on your ironing board, then put the snowflake on top of it. Top it off with another sheet of plain paper. Now iron it gently on low heat. It won’t take more than a minute.
Ah, that’s better!
All done! Now go forth and multiply some snowflakes! Here’s a hint if you’ll be taping them to windows: don’t place the tape on the outer edges of the snowflake; place the tape inside of the details. It will be much less obvious. I recommend transparent tape but plain old Scotch tape is fine.
To get an idea of how snowflake designs translate from folded up to unfolded, here are some examples:
Happy Winter! Enjoy your snowflake-making!
Today is Makeup Monday and although I call it that, it’s really about more than just cosmetics. Anything having to do with the face or skin is fair game. Today we’ll be discussing that gross, bumpy, red skin that shows up on the backs of your arms (or even on your legs, hips or bum). I always figured this skin condition was something that happened to everyone as they got older. It happened to me, although I’m not really sure when I first noticed it—maybe sometime in my early thirties. But I’ve talked to several people who don’t have it (lucky!). I’ve also found out that it can actually be caused by a medical condition called Keratosis Pilaris. (That sounds like some sort of fancy new workout.)
I’m rather passionate about skin care and have tried all sorts of methods to get rid of my scaly, red chicken skin. I have used every exfoliation product sold at the store and still it’s persisted.
Until now.
My red bumps are gone. Completely gone. It took about two weeks.
This is how I got rid of them: (People are always asking me for lots of details when I do a skin “how-to” so this will be very descriptive.)
1. Exfoliate in the shower every day. You can use whatever method you prefer. I have a loofah that I use sometimes. But I also use an Apricot Scrub by St. Ives. This is a really unique body scrub because it isn’t oily. Most scrubs are full of oil so they will moisturize as well as exfoliate. But we don’t need to be coated with oil at this point. So stick with the St. Ives if you plan on using a body scrub (it’s also perfect for exfoliating before a spray tan). It’s cheap and can be found in just about any drug or grocery store. But any product that really gives your skin a good scrubbing will be fine. Exfoliation alone is not enough, though.
2. Moisturize. I stumbled across a fantastic product a while ago called Olay Quench In-Shower Body Lotion. It is pretty strange stuff. After you’ve cleaned yourself off in the shower, you slather this Olay lotion on and then rinse it off. Yes, you rinse it off. So bizarre. But it is wonderful. It will leave your skin so moist and soft. And it has a little sparkle to it. Who doesn’t want to be sparkly? (Okay, maybe not men. But Mister uses it and you definitely cannot see the sparkle through his arm hair.) It has a pleasant scent (not my fave but it’s OK. The scent doesn’t last long anyway). Occasionally I can find this at Target (you know I don’t shop at the Walmarts on principle so I can’t tell you if they sell it there) but sometimes I have to get it here on Amazon
3. After I get out of the shower and do my hair, my lotion has absorbed pretty well so I apply my third—and most important—product: Glytone Body Lotion which you can buy here
I’ve been completely amazed at my arms; they are silky, clear and baby soft. It took me about two weeks to get them looking good, but other people that have used Glytone say it can take up to 3-4 weeks. If you’re going to be wearing anything revealing for the holidays, now is the time to get your skin in tip-top shape.
I was not compensated for any of these products. I bought them, tried them and liked them all on my own.
With the holidays coming up I figured we could all use a little tutorial on How-To Tuesday about how to tell your kids that they won’t be getting everything their little hearts desire. Of course you need to know how to do this all year round. If you think you don’t ever need to tell your kids that you can’t afford something then you will end up with some pretty selfish, bratty kids. Please don’t let them anywhere near me. Because if there is one thing I hate it’s kids who are all, “me, me, me”. Which is a surprisingly large number of children these days.
Kids need to be told that you don’t have enough money. Even if you do. Can you imagine the surprise that awaits them when they leave for college without the basic knowledge that you can’t have everything you want? What will their adult lives be like when they’ve grown up not knowing that sometimes you won’t have enough money to buy what you want? Kids don’t learn this unless you teach them.
This is really hard for new parents. I remember when India and York were little and we went to Target for something. They both started asking for toys or some other nonsense. It was the first time they were old enough to actually understand what I was saying. I thought about telling them that were weren’t there to buy toys for them, which was only halfway true. The truth was that we were very financially strapped at the time. So I told them how we didn’t have very much money and if we bought toys we wouldn’t have enough money to buy food too.
I felt like a loser saying that.
The loserest of losers.
The great thing about kids is that they take things at face value. When you tell your three year-old that you don’t have enough money for the doll she wants, she isn’t going to think, “Boy, Dad must have a real dead-end job. Why doesn’t he go back to school and get his MBA or something? I can’t believe he doesn’t have ten lousy dollars. I have no respect for that man anymore.” Instead your child is thinking: “I want that doll. I waaaant that dollllllll! I want that doll now!!!!! What do you mean we have no money? There’s money in your purse! Don’t blab at me, Mom, just buy me the doll! Now!!!! I must have that doll! That doll is my key to happiness!” You get the idea.
But there is no arguing with, “we don’t have enough money.” Begging and pleading are pretty much nipped in the bud. So not only is it effective, but it gets kids in the habit of thinking about money before asking for things. Which will hopefully lead them to think about money before they buy things as they get older.
If arguing or whining persists, you can always tell kids that they are welcome to write it on a list for Christmas/their birthday– a time when they will be getting presents. This is how it goes for our Littles if they are being persistently greedy at the store:
Jasper: Mom, can I have this Play-Doh Set?
Mom: I’m sorry, Jasper, I haven’t got enough money for that. I only have enough money to buy the things on my list.
Jasper: But you have lots of money. I saw it in your purse.
Mom: That is all the money I have for food and toilet paper. If we buy your toy we won’t be able to buy dinner. I’m going to be hungry without dinner. And what about if there is no more toilet paper? That would be gross. But maybe you could pick some leaves in the backyard for us to use instead. That’s what Indians used for toilet paper.
Jasper: Ew! [not falling for my impromptu budgeting lesson] But Mom, I really want that Play-Doh set. Please can you get it? I’ll do a chore when we get home.
Mom: When you do enough chores to earn you own money we’ll come back and buy it then. You have to do the chores first.
Jasper: Please mom!
Mom: How about we put it on your Christmas list? You’ll be getting presents then.
Jasper: [hesitant and not totally buying the whole Christmas List bait and switch] Hmmmm.
Mom: [acting quickly to distract from whining] What else would you like to put on your Christmas list? How about that Buzz Lightyear toy over there?
Jasper: [perking up as only a greedy child does] Yeah! And the Woody and Jessie toys too! Plus that Darth Vader light saber!
Mom: Let’s start writing that list as soon as we get home. [This part is important!!!] You won’t get everything on your list but this gives Santa some ideas. [You don't want him to think he's getting everything on the list. Which he will certainly think unless told otherwise.]
So, not only did you deflect a whiny, selfish child but you got him to realize that he only gets toys at certain times. Not every time he goes to the store. And that money needs to be spent on necessities first.
I realize that many parents feel like they will make their children deliriously happy by buying them lots of stuff. Listen to me now:
You won’t.
Because stuff won’t make you happy.
Not you. Not your kids.
Do everyone in society a favor and tell your kids no. Tell them that money must be spent wisely. The sooner you do this, the better.
I’m not saying that you can’t ever buy your kids things. Sure you can. But it’s important that kids realize that there are limits, they can’t have everything they want, and that money needs to be spent intelligently.
You aren’t depriving your kids. You are giving them a much more valuable gift than anything you can buy at a store.
Unless its a jewelry store.
(Just kidding.)
Any costume-making procrastinators out there? No? Just me? Don’t fret. Halloween is still almost a week away. Not enough time to get something shipped in the mail, but plenty of time to make a tutu. This week for How-To Tuesday I’ll be showing you how to make one. This tutorial features a tutu-making process that makes an especially full skirt, unlike some of the other “knot a strip of tulle around an elastic waistband” methods. It takes a bit more time but isn’t difficult; you can easily do it while you watch TV. This method is also no-sew (unless you find sewing easier than hot glue, as I do). Let’s get started!
What you will need to buy at the store is tulle (pronounced “tool”). Tulle is basically very fine mesh fabric. The finer the mesh is, the softer and looser it will be. The longer the skirt is, the less stiff it will be also. So you could make two tutus with identical amounts of fabric, but if one is several inches shorter it will stick out to the sides further. Just something to keep in mind.
You have two options for your tulle: precut tulle that is sold on rolls or tulle that is sold on bolts which you will have to cut yourself. Some stores carry hardly any colors of precut tulle (Hobby Lobby generally has a large supply, if you happen to live near one), which will leave you with tulle that is sold by the yard on bolts. This is almost always cheaper, with this tulle costing between $2-4 per yard. You’ll have to cut the tulle into strips but that’s not difficult. If you’re in a hurry and don’t mind the extra expense then go for the tulle on the rolls.
You’ll also need:
embroidery floss in a coordinating color,
ribbon for the waitband (1.5″-2.5″ wide). Measure the waist then add 18″ in order to make it long enough to tie the ends.
any additional ribbon (optional).
I wanted to make my daughter’s tutu very Halloween-y and the orange tulle just wasn’t showing up against the black. So I added a few strips of solid organza instead (organza is fabric that is very light but a bit stiff. Often it is sparkly too) and several strips of orange ribbon. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different colors and fabrics. Tutus are meant to be fun and different!
The tricky part is figuring out how much tulle you’ll need. It will depend on how tall the child is and how long you want the skirt to be. It’s a good idea to make the tutu 3″-4″ longer than you think it needs to be (If you want the tutu to be 12″ long then cut the strips to be 15″ or 16″ long). Once it starts puffing out, it will seem a lot shorter. Remember you can make the skirt shorter, but you can’t make it longer. Arabella is 10 years old and wanted the tutu to be mid-thigh length (about 20″ long). I ended up using 5 yards of fabric (about 3-4 rolls if you’re using pre-cut). If you’re doing a skirt for a girl that’s under age 6, two rolls of pre-cut or 2-3 whole yards should do just fine. I made a much shorter tutu for Ada. It’s the same amount of tulle, but cut to only be about 14″ long.
If you are using tulle yardage, I recommend cutting strips that are 4″ wide. I like thinner strips because they help the tutu pouf out a lot. To cut the tulle you’ll want long strips that are the proper length of the tutu. So if you would like a 15″ long tutu, add 3″ (so you’ll need 18″ long strips). Cut the tulle every 18″. Once you have these really long 18″ strips, you’ll roll them up the long way. Then cut them every 4″. It’s way easier to cut tulle when it’s rolled up.
Pre-cut tulle is 6″ wide. That’s fine. It’s not a huge difference. You’ll unroll the tulle cut each strip to the proper length as you go.
Now you’ve got a giant pile of strips. Tutus that are flat across the bottom look a little dull to me. I cut the edges of my pieces with an angled edge along the bottom. You can cut several at once to make it go faster. The edges don’t need to be super tidy, so if some are sloppy, don’t worry about it.
Now it’s time to assemble your tutu! You’ll need your embroidery floss for this. Cut a piece that’s about eight feet long. Fold the embroidery thread in half. Make a knot about four inches from the folded end.
You’ll want to hook this loop to something while you’re attaching the pieces of tulle. You can place it over a doorknob, or something like that. Or you can do as I do–hook it over your toe. Kind of weird, but it works well.
You’ll want to tie a big, loose knot in you thread. Place a tulle strip inside the knot about 1/2″ from the end and tighten the thread. Tighten it really, really well. Now tie another loose knot and repeat with another strip. They should be nice and snug up against each other. Cram as many pieces of tulle as close as you can. The closer they are, the fuller the skirt will be. You’re going to do this about a million times more.
Keep tying tulle strips until the skirt is the proper length. If you run out of embroidery thread it’s no big deal. Just get another section and tie it onto the loop on the original skirt, right up againt the original section. It will all look like one continuous skirt once its finished.
Once your skirt is the desired length to wrap around the waist, it’s time to add the ribbon. You can either sew the ribbon on or use a glue gun.
If you’re using strips of ribbon as trim on the skirt, you’ll want to cut those first. Cut them to the desired length and glue them onto the waist above the threadline. Once these are in place, you’ll need add the ribbon for the waist. Just glue or sew slightly below the thread line all the way around.
Voilà! You’re tutu is finished! Have fun watching your girl dance around!
