Saturday, July 30, 2011

Photoshoots

I was going through my photos and realized I haven't posted all my makeup pics from various photoshoots & wedding's I've done! I'm just going to post the pictures with no detail - some are from awhile ago & I don't remember exactly what I used.





Running the race

A friend of mine started doing 5k's probably 6 months ago, and has encouraged me to try one ever since. I signed up for my first 5k on July 4th, the "Firecracker 5k"; and just completed my second one today, July 30th, the "Bedlam Run". For my first one, I hadn't put any practice into it, so I decided to do the stroller jog (still a 5k) to start out slowly. I had so much fun doing that! 
My time was: 52:38min





Since that 5k, I've started jogging around my neighborhood to make sure I can keep up the pace for my second 5k. Now, if you live in Oklahoma, you know its been 100+ degrees outside pretty much every day the entire month!! Therefore, I wasn't able to put as much practice as I hoped, but I think today's outcome was still REALLY impressive! I had a goal to run it in 45min or less. And I DID! 
My time was: 42:55min

Friday, July 29, 2011

Friday's Fabulous Find!

Chalkboard Spray Paint!

I think the new fad of having some sort of chalkboard wall/design in your house is AWESOME! There are a couple options in doing it too~ Spray paint or Wall decals.

Spray paint is sold like this & is very inexpensive-


OR....pick out a super cute design!




I even found this cool idea on HGTV!! I'm not sure how they did these, but you could probably buy the spray paint & paint them (any old lamp you want to redo) 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Let the planting begin!

My parents have a good sized garden at their home, and I've always wanted to attempt to grow one as well (a small garden). I've been especially motivated ever since we started using e-mealz, because I know which vegetables/fruits we use the most and I KNOW I could save money by growing a select few veggies on my own!

So lets start with tomatoes!
I've seen those tomato plants that you grow upside down, and have always thought they LOOK pretty cool! I figure, how could I go wrong when they give you everything you need in this box and all you do is water? (we'll see). I found these on sale at Lowe's for only $2.50! I grabbed two - I figure if I kill the first, I'll learn from my mistakes and grow the second  :)

First, you put the soil block in a container & pour 8cups of water into it.

 Let the soil sit in the water & use a spoon/shovel to help break up the soil until tender.
It should look like this when complete.

Transfer soil to pot (provided), and fill to top.

Put lid on pot, then flip upside down.

Count out 9 seeds to place in pot.
Place 3 seeds in each hole, then bury them about 1/4" under.

That's it! All I have to do now is water water water until they're 5" tall, then I get to turn them upside down & watch them grow!


Monday, July 25, 2011

Tuesday's Trash to Treasure DEBUT!

I am debuting my "Tuesday's Trash to Treasure" today! I don't have a button for it yet, but am working on it! Basically on Tuesdays I'll give tutorials or feature a tutorial on reusing something you already have to make something new! It won't be the same category, so there will be lots of cool stuff to see! I'm excited to see what all I can reuse around my home!

Shabby Applique [Tutorial]
 Reuse: Fabric Scraps

Materials Needed:
- t-shirt (or onesie)
- 4 or 5 bigger scraps of fabric
- fusible web
- sewing stuff
- 3/8" ribbon (optional for bow)


Preparing Your Applique Pieces:
I found my giraffe design on google.You can use whichever animal (or object; a car, plane etc would be cute for boys) you prefer, just make sure it's not too detailed & you can actually figure out what the animal is based on its outlined shape. If you are good at drawing, you could always draw your own!  
_Cut out your design & make sure it fits on your shirt

_For the "shabby" effect you will need to use several layers of fabric (4 or 5). Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be perfect right now. I grabbed 4 colored fabric scraps & 1 white muslin scrap I had laying around (the muslin piece is for the "base"). 

_Stack all of your fabric pieces on top of each other facing the same direction **with the exception of one piece that will need to be opposite of the others**.  The opposite piece needs to be the bottom piece of your applique just above your base piece.

_Once your applique is ready, place it on top of your fabric scraps and cut around the edge of your applique. DO NOT cut out all of the details right now.

Marking and Sewing Your Applique:
 To create the shabby effect, in a nutshell, you will be sewing lines across the applique and then cutting between them to expose the edges, without cutting the bottom layer.  

_First, you will need to mark even lines across your top applique piece. I did mine about 1 inch apart, horizontally. There is no rule as to how they should be...anything you try will have a little different effect. Keep in mind that your marked lines will be your sewing lines.

_Once marked, pin all of your pieces together well around the edges.  I pinned mine between each line so that I wouldn't have to take them out as I was sewing.

_Once securely pinned, you can sew straight across each line you marked. You don't have to back-stitch, since you will be cutting the fabric down later.
FRONT:

BACK:

Cutting and Attaching Applique:
Once your pieces are sewn together, remove the pins and you are ready to cut!  
_Cut between each set of lines to create those cute shabby edges.  To do this, you will cut straight down the middle of each section through all layers EXCEPT THE BASE.  If you cut through the base, you will cut your work into pieces, and that's NOT what we want!  

 _Simply place the bottom blade of your scissors on top of the base layer (so that it doesn't cut through) and cut straight across.  

 Once cut, your fabric should look similar to this:

Now, you're ready to cut your applique out & attach to it the shirt.

_Follow the directions on your fusible web (You will need to trace your applique onto the fusible web). Once traced, cut loosely around the edge (again avoiding all of the details). Adhere your traced fusible web piece to the base layer of your fabric stack (the part that will attach to the shirt).

_With this piece adhered, you can now cut around your traced image. Take your time and be patient! You don't want to ruin your fabric now that you're almost finished!

_If your fusible web has paper...Flip your applique over, peel off the remaining tear away paper piece to reveal your webbing...  

_Place it on the shirt where you want it.

_Press really well (it's takes more time through all those layers...but be sure not to iron in one place too long or you'll burn your fabric) and then zig-zag around the edge to complete!
(I'm not sure why they're uploading sideways....I saved them correctly....)


_To actually create the shabbiness, you need to throw that baby in your washer and dryer. The more you wash and dry it, the shabbier it will get.  
[Finished Product]


*You can also add a simple ribbon bow by hand-stitching it to the top of the head.







Sunday, July 24, 2011

How E-mealz saves my family $$$

Any of you seen that "Extreme Couponing" show? Yeah. Me too. Pretty ridiculous for those of us who don't have 40+ hours a week to give to clipping and searching for coupon deals. I'm not against coupons, don't get me wrong, but why not make a show where people could actually relate? Because that just would not be fun to watch! :D  Anyways, before that show even first aired, I was seeking ways to cut my families grocery bills down! Spending $400+ a month on groceries for TWO people was pretty ridiculous! My sis-in-law got me hooked on E-mealz. www.e-mealz.com. Its a VERY doable & affordable way to plan out your meals. My other problem was that I HATED figuring out "what's for dinner?". This company will not only plan out your meals for a week (5 days), but it gives you your itemized grocery list of exactly what you need for each meal (this way you're not wandering the aisles buying random items for dinner, as usual), PLUS on top of that, most meal plans cost around $35-$50/wk! It's easy too! All you do is find which plan works best for your family:

Meal Plan Options

Regular Family Meal Plans

(Serves 7 meals for 4-6 people)
PlanPosted
KrogerSun
PublixWed
Wal-MartThurs
Any StoreWed
ALDITues
Ralphs (CA)Thurs

Regular Meal Plans for Two

(Serves 5 meals for 1-2 people)
PlanPosted
Wal-Mart for 2Fri
Any Store for 2Fri
ALDI for 2Tues
Publix for 2Wed

Specialty Meal Plans for Two

(Serves 5 meals for 1-2 people)
PlanPosted
Low Fat (Wal-Mart) for 2Tues
Low Fat (Any Store) for 2Tues
Portion Control (Wal-Mart) for 2Wed
Portion Control (Any Store) for 2Wed
Low Carb (Wal-Mart) for 2Wed
Low Carb (Any Store) for 2Wed


After you figure out what's best for you, sign up ($5/month) and start saving time & money!! If you do want to coupon with this, think of how much more you can save! Its easy to coupon with this plan, all you do is look for coupons to match your grocery list!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Model photoshoot

Today I helped my photographer friend, Ron, with a photo shoot he did for a model. We did two makeup looks, and of course, they got TONS of great photo's all day!
The first look we did was inspired by the color green. I had these awesome lashes that were black at the base, green at the tips and then had feathers on the outer edges. SUUPER cute! So I did green & yellow for the eye shadow (NYX) then lined her eyes with Smashbox's black cream eye liner. For the lips we went for nude, so I used a nude lip color by MAC.



For the second look (I was pushing for time, so I think she ended up re-doing her lips) she had a leopard print top, so I did a brown & gold theme. The eyes I used MAC eye shadow in a gold & dark brown on the outer corners. Lined them again with Smashbox black cream eye liner. For the lips, the look we had found was this super awesome gold lip that was lined with black color, then had a line of white down the center. . . I was rushing through this part, so I wasn't too happy with the white in the end. But I LOVED the gold & black!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

NEW Luminess Tan

   Many women & men and now looking for a new way to get a tan. The conventional tanning beds take time, money, and honestly, aren't that great for your skin (yes, even if you use tanning lotion). I know from experience, what effects tanning beds can do to your skin. I used to go to the tanning beds regulary, every day actually, before I had my daughter. When I got pregnant, I stopped going due to the risks involved with carrying a baby. Once she came (and after becoming pasty white), I ran back to my tanning studio! Like most people, I used tanning lotion religiously - face, body, ALL OVER!
   A few months ago I went to my dermatologist (for a different issue), and while there she noticed my face already had signs of skin damage! WHAT?! I'm only 23! After I left her office I decided I needed to quit the tanning beds and find something better for my skin.
   There are honestly a lot of products out there that work just as great as going to the tanning bed! From lotions to spray tans you'll definitely be able to find something that works for you! I am in the process of purchasing an airbrush machine for cosmetics & the company I am buying from also offers a new tanning line! PLUS, its priced super inexpensively! For what some pay to go to the tanning beds, you will save lots of money by using the Luminess Tan! Safe, affordable AND conveniently made for in-home use, why not give it a try?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Eye Liner

I've always used just a regular eye liner pencil to line my eyes, but I am in love with a new product!! I've noticed for my work I've slowly started using the gel or cream liner on my clients....because I LOVE how it applies soo much better than the pencil! A lot of times I experienced no product coming off, very little, or tugging as it "glides" across the eye. I know personally I hate having my pencil tug at my eye as I try to apply, so with my clients I generally grab my cream liner first!
There are a lot of different gel/cream liners out there - some come in single pots with the color you use most frequently; and others come in multiple shades (less of each) to give you more variety. Currently I use Smashbox's eye liner palette.
For weddings I obviously use black & espresso brown the most, but now that I'm hooked, I'll personally be using the other colors to play around with my look. Today I applied the light brown to top and bottom corner lash line, then applied the green to the entire lower lash line. Very cute look - you see this two-tone look more and more with celebrities on the red carpet & out and about.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Changes!

I am making some changes to this blog! I have so many interests & don't want to have a blog for each of them, so I'm turning my former makeup blog into my everything blog :)
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