New Years Resolutions

Can you believe its 2015? Last year was one of the longest of my life but as I look back it did finally pick up the pace a bit. Apologies to those who posted comments that I didnt see until almost a year later, apparently my mobile version I was trying to use was not conducive to seeing those.

But forward! Every year I make just a couple New Years Resolutions, mostly just for myself. I like to think of them more as ongoing goals. I know a lot of people don't go in for that kind of thing and I myself try to stay away from the more cliche choices, but I say whatever works for you is great! Here is my short list.

2015 New Year Resolutions

1. Wear more lipstick

2. Wear more cat-eye liner

3. Craft more

Numbers 1 and 2 directly came from New Years Eve. This year a small awesome group got dressed up to go out for dinner, then ice cream, and then back to our house for game night! It was so much fun and I rocked a pretty good cat eye and some lovely lipstick. I have tons of lipstick and I always feel just a little more put together, and a little more vintage when I put some on. So why not make it a goal to do that more? I also feel like I have figured out how to do a decent cat eye that turns out at least ok. Practice makes perfect so I shall continue to practice. Both of those resolutions also continue my less obvious resolution of embracing my inner vintage vixen ;) Number 3 might be my version of 'lose weight' for New Years resolutions. I always have more projects started than finished and the ideas going through my head continue to multiply!

2014 was actually a fairly good year for the crafting. I just want to continue to make and craft and be creative because I am happier when doing so. I have quite a few projects that I did complete in 2014 that I hope to still share on here and then to continue on making! 

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years and that your 2015 is everything you want it to be! 

New Years Eve shenanigans at the ice cream parlor. Coat was an amazing thrift store find a couple of years ago. I think it looks pretty fabulous and probably needs to be worn more :)

Wardrobe Refashion: Summer Skirt

Once again I have delved into my own closet to spruce up my wardrobe. Today it is a dress I've had for years and seldom wear. 

It's super cute but halter and me don't get along. Whenever I wore this dress I wore it with a thin tshirt underneath (so I could wear a real bra!)  I figured I'd get more use out of it as a skirt.

I took off the halter top and re-hemmed the edge. I took the halter straps and added them to each side seam so I get a bow in the back. It's high waisted, a bit retro and super wearable! I've already worn it more than I ever did as a dress. 

*my dress form is quite a bit smaller than me so it looks a bit gappy from the back.

I've pulled a few other items from my closet that are going to get a refresher. In particular I  looking to make some travel friendly pieces for my big trip to Vanuatu in a couple months. I've got loads of travel craft ideas saved so whether you are traveling abroad or road tripping to Grandma's I'll have some projects coming up that might float your boat! 

2 beauty DIYs: Eye Makeup remover & Dry Shampoo

I pin, bookmark, jot down, and overall hoard ideas for all sorts of projects. Once in awhile you gotta just get them made! I finally got around to making a couple of super simple beauty DIYs. 

First up: Dry Shampoo

I've really changed up my hair care routine and I don't wash my hair very often anymore. Dry shampoo is my new best friend. While I like a few store bought brands, the plethora of online tutorials to make your own was just too tempting to pass up. 

I went with a super easy combo to try. 

DIY dry shampoo:

- 1/4 cup cornstarch

- 1/4 cup baking soda

- 5-10 drops lavender essential oil (or your fav)

Mix up the ingredients in a small bowl and then fill whatever container you wish! I used this super cute vintage powder box, but any small jar would work. Apply it with a makeup brush at the roots, let sit and brush out. For darker hair you can add cocoa powder to the mix.

It smells great and works really well.

Next up: eye makeup remover

After being not so impressed with some store bought I thought I should give this a shot. I've seen many different versions out there so pick one that works for you. The one I chose is only 3 ingredients.

DIY Eye makeup remover

- 2 oz water

- 1tsp tear free baby shampoo

- 10ish drops baby oil

I used my empty bottle of eye makeup remover, with my handy funnel. Mixed up ingredients in a measuring cup and poured it on in. Done! If you go this route be sure to shake up your solution when you use it. 

So far I would say it works about as well as the store brand stuff I was buying. I am also now using the leftover baby oil to shave with- a little tricky but my legs feel super soft! And I have used some of the baby shampoo to wash my hair brush and combs. 

Any favorite diy beauty tricks you have tried? 

RETRO-active blogging: MN Comic Con Edition

Yeah this was like 2 months ago but I'm getting to it! The first weekend in May brought Wizard World comic con to MN. My sister really wanted to go so we bought ourselves one-day tickets. We didn't have grand plans for outfits but a recent binge watching of 'heroes of cosplay' on syfy really made me want to do at least a little something! So I tried to think of easy-ish costumes that would be quick, cost efficient and fun to wear. We were treating this con as our warm-up/starter con as neither of us had ever been to one before. 

After some late night Pinterest searching I decided to go with a cute, vintage, lady captain America.

Here is the dress I started with. I already owned it! I bought it months ago on sale at target and it was too big. I ended up buying another one in my size and forgetting to take this one back. Now, long after the return policy has ran out, this dress will serve a purpose! 

Along with the dress the pile of fabric and trim above came right from my craft stash. Yes that is super awesome Captain America comic book fabric that I bought probably about 2 years ago for a project that did not happen. 

So far cost: $0

This is what I bought for the costume. Red opaque tights and a red and white striped infinity scarf. I could have gone to the fabric store but I thought the scarf would work just as well and that saved me another trip. 

Scarf and tights: $12.50

Here is how I made my star. I centered it by eyeballing it with the center of the Peter Pan collar and used a cookie cutter for the shape. I taped it off and used some metallic fabric paint to fill in. I didn't have any craft brushes that weren't super tiny so I improvised and used a makeup sponge to dab the paint on. I put a magazine between the two layers of the dress and was generous with the paint.

Ta-Da! With the infinity scarf I cut it half and then in half lengthwise. I sewed the two long pieces together, folded the now super long piece in half width wise and made a tube. I turned it right side out and tied it around my waist making a generous bow in the back. I cut off the excess on the ends and sewed them shut. 

The sash now gives the too big dress some bombshell shape. 

With my comic fabric and some webbing I had on hand I made this super awesome bag. (I need to find the tutorial I used and link it!)

On the day of I added the red tights, some blue flats, and some vintage inspired hair and makeup to make this outfit cute, comfy, and just the right amount of fun! 

I loved this outfit. And I think it gave me the confidence to go a little bigger next time around! It was a strange experience to have people stop you and ask if they could take your picture. It only happened a few times but I admit it kinda made me feel like a movie star. Everyone was so nice, there were a ton of other really cool costumes and my sister and I had a great time! 

Any other people new to the cosplay thing? 

Summer cakes (so far!)

Ah summer! You are going by quickly and I am totes ok with that. Keeping busy at work and home making cakes and treats for friends and family! Here is a sampling of the summer so far! 

Game of Cakes! I'm quite happy with this little beauty since it was a last minute choice for my friends birthday cake. She is totally House Targaryen. Key to a good GoT cake? Write 'Happy Name Day' instead of birthday and you will collect all of your nerd points :)

Next up is sweet treat for my sweet sister! She has a serious love of sushi and I have seen lots of cute sweet versions. After reading some online tutorials I just winged it. For me it was a lot of trial and error. And the best part is you get to snack on the errors! Mwuhahaha! 

I also totally cheated and bought this massive slab of rice crispies from work. I only used about half of it and just cut and wrapped the rest of it for treats. Other than the rice crispie treats it's whatever candies and other treats you want. 

And just to round things out I thought I would share this little cutie I made at work. 

Perfect for a summer 1st birthday! 

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July! 

Let the summer crafting/making/baking continue! 

Dollar store bathroom update

My friend Krista is set to move into our house any day now and while I am excited to have her here I am less excited about sharing a bathroom again. Yes that probably makes me a horrible person but the last two years have spoiled me! So to reclaim some space for her things I took a trip to the dollar store. Before adding more storage space I took all of my stuff out and deep cleaned the whole bathroom. 

I had two main goals: make more storage space on my shelves and make all my 'counter stuff' fit on one side of the counter. 

For the shelving unit I bought 6 plastic baskets from the dollar store and a pack of zip ties.

They were easy to add to the white rack and they will be easy to remove later down the line.

Next I saw a lot of inspiration on Pinterest to make a tiered bathroom storage unit. I love my vintage mirrored tray, but I thought something with height would make more sense in the space. I have seen several versions with pretty vintage plates/dishes but I decided to stick with the dollar store and combined a pretty pink oval serving dish and chip and dip with a plain plastic wineglass. This way everything is not too sentimental if it gets broken.

Just a little glue and bam! instant storage space. 

I think it goes rather nicely with my vintage pink vanity boxed from Great Grandma Ruby! 

With these two simple projects I only spent $10 and almost doubled my space. That combined with me just cleaning out some old stuff there should be plenty of room for two girls to share this bathroom!

Stay crafty!

Wardrobe refashion: seam ripper edition

I have really been trying to buy less stuff, it's not really working but I am trying. I have also started a bit of wardrobe refashion to spruce up my closet. I have a bad habit of buying dresses on clearance, usually at target. Sometimes when they are a great deal I buy all the colors of one dress.  Enter this pair of floral dresses I am in love with.

Super cute right? Well as you can see on the gray dress I have already altered it into a skirt. As cute as the dress is on my carpet, I have a few more curves and the top of this dress always ended up boxy and unflattering. I have been lusting after all the cute skirts on Pinterest and with only a seam ripper I have converted these dresses into cute ultra-wearable skirts. These were the dresses I would try on and then take off to put on something different. Now the skirt can be a bit longer (the dress was pretty short) and I am already picturing pairing this with my go-to hoodie. Mmmmhmmm.

My roommate suggested that I now also have a crop top. Haha. NO. But maybe I can come up with some way to use the fabric. 

Skirts! Love. 

I worked on this project while watching 'heroes of cosplay' on syfy. Anyone watch it? I'm kind of hooked.