Batiste dry shampoo review

Good day my lovelies,

For all of the moms out there this review is for you!! 

As we all know being a mom of young little ones it is difficult to get a shower in every day.  What with all the housework, taking care of the little one and if they are constantly moving around and never let you shower on your own this is an interesting product you may want to try out.   For me I am lucky if I get to shower every three days.  My hair routine has been shampoo and condition every other day.  By day two of no washing my hair is looking pretty greasy and gross.  So after researching glossybox and this batiste dry shampoo being in one of the past boxes, and stumbling across a 3 travel pack I decided to give it a go.  I had my hair poofed so there is a bit more  craziness going on.

After spraying the batiste and brushing my hair thoroughly.  

First impressions:  well I believe this dry shampoo is supposed to freshen up your hair in between washes it does appear less greasy.   I did find there was a greyish hue when I first was brushing my hair.  As this is only the second time I am using dry shampoo, and the first time was a complete disaster( it was by fructise I believe) this worked fairly well.  It didn't feel weighted down with grease but when I touch my hair I end up with a gross feeling on my hands. Maybe this will go away after a few hours.  I put my hair up because I don't want to deal with it today. 

@11 right after sprayed and styled hair

@12  

So the weird feel to my hair was still there but it didn't look greasy. 

At 3 am my hair feels normal, still doesn't look greasy.  

Overall this product seems to work pretty well.  I will continue to use it to see if I can get it to work well as others have stated.  Till next time beauts, I am out. 

Duct tape clutch

After seeing a duct tape clutch I decided to mix card board, duct tape and fabric to make a hounds tooth clutch. 

 

I started with a spare piece of cardboard and folded it into the shape of the clutch.  

  I wanted a divider in the clutch so i cut some cardboard and duct taped it to the main piece. 


 

The tricky part of this project was securing the fabric on what would be the inside of the clutch.  It took a bit of playing around with it until I got it to where I wanted it.



In order to secure the fabric to the cardboard I duct taped it in place.  This was by far the most difficult part of the entire process.  Once I got the main parts secured the rest was much easier.



 I wanted the clutch to have pockets so I used extra pockets and used some black duct tape to keep the pockets in place.



I also made card holder slots.  By creating individual pockets and taping the bottom of each so the cards don't fall through.



 I also made a lip stick holder.

   

 In order to keep the edges closed I taped two pieces of tape together.



 Make sure to leave enough tape on each side to stick it to the clutch.



I outlined the clutch with the small black duct tape that you can get from the store.  Then I put velcro on it to keep it shut.

I have a finished clutch that is perfect for a night out with the hubby!

Kindle cover

I had gotten the hubby a kindle fire a few years ago, and we use it on occasion.  I originally had knit a cover for it, but started thinking a more discrete cover was in order if I was going to carry it around.  So after some long pinteresting I stumbled across a diy cover. 

So I grabbed an old book I had lying around and got to work tracing the tablet on the page so I could take and exacto knife to the thing.  It's a little overwhelming to cut a book the way I did but I knew I wouldn't read it again, and once I got past the first few cuts I was on a roll.  I did find that it was easier once I had glued the pages together.

I got to work gluing all of the pages together and I think it would have been easier if I used rubber cement over a glue stick.    

I didn't have rubber cement on hand but I did have spray adhesive so I used that to flue the pages together a lot better.  Than I decided to glue some felt so I could protect the tablet.

After finishing this cover I ended up adding some black duct tape around the edge of the cover so that the felt would stay in place and for a cleaner look.

I unfortunately didn't get a picture of that so hopefully I will remember later to post it.

Glossy box subscription!

My love for fashion is also a love for a conpleted look.  I adore eyelash extensions, but haven't had them in probably a year and a half if not two years.  I also love experimenting with beauty products, but rarely buy them.  I go for a classic but natural look when it comes to makeup so after some thought I decided to start researching beauty boxes. 

I decided to ask my bestie if she had heard of birch box or glossy box.  She, unfortunately for me, had not.  So off to YouTube and blogs I went to research the many, seriously there are so many, beauty boxes.   Now I am very intrigued to try a few different boxes/bags.  I do not want to go overboard so I have decided, after seeing the sneak peak for glossy box to order that one first.  So they showed two products that would be included.  One is a winter weather cream and the other is a beauty blender!  Omg I have wanted to try one of those out for awhile.  So needless to say I am so excited and can't wait for it to get here.  It did say shipping would take 7-10 business days.  I think the latest I would get it was in February.  Now I hope to get it sooner, but understand that I did order it in the middle of the month.  

Now I will review the different companies I was/am considering.  

Birch box:  so I had heard of Birch Box a few years ago and was interested but never looked into.  So I went to their website and "signed up" aka you have to be on a waiting list.....so not impressed.  So I proceeded to YouTube to watch some reviews and have to say I wasn't impressed.  I mean I don't know exactly what I was expecting for $10, but I'm not a huge fan of those little teeny, tiny sample sizes. I was able to come across more box subscriptions while doing the initial research, so that was the good from that process.  

Glossy box: I'm going to preface this with I have watched many negative and positive reviews.  From my understanding a big complaint is how late the boxes arrive, and from earlier videos the boxes were sometimes hit or miss.  I watched a few of the more recent reviews and it seems that the products are getting back to the quality of when they were first introduced in the states.  I will of course keep you posted. 

Ipsy:  so I was very, very tempted to go for this one.  Seems to be more focused on makeup. The problem I have with this is why pay for something that color wise may not look good on you.  I was also torn on the bag the products come in. Some were cheap and flimsy while others seemed decent.  Again unsure why I would expect more.  I did love the idea of getting more bags to use.  

Julep maven is the final one I researched.  I came very close to ordering this one.  My complaint was the little introductory box. Only comes with two polishes and a beauty product.  So you are still paying $20 for next to nothing.  I will have to look up more reviews.  

Until next time my loves 

Faux leather tassel

I was bitten by the craft bug and have been constantly working on projects.  Thankfully I have picked quick and easy projects I can work on after little man is asleep.  Now I don't know about you but I have been obsessed with handbag decorations.  My favorites are the fur poof(faux fur) and the tassel.  Since I am not sure when I will get around to ordering the fur poof I settled for making a tassel.  

I grabbed my handy dandy measuring tape, I have a billion of these since I was always misplacing them.  Measured out where I would make my cuts.  I drew a line across so that I would know when to stop cutting.  

I didn't feel line drawing complete lines so i made little marks and then cut the strands.

Once I had cut all of the little strands I eyed it and decided that the top part was a bit too big.  I didn't measure the length or width I just winged this project.



So once I had it to where I was happy with it, I just a piece of faux leather to make a loop.  You can use other things for the loop it just happened to be what I had on hand.



I used tacky glue to first glue down the loop and put glue all along the part that would be rolled.



Next step is to roll starting on the side with the loop.  Make sure when you roll that it is tight.



I secured it with duct tape but again this part you can change up to your liking.  I was realizing that the glue needed time to set and dry but I didn't have time to hold it together so I decided to use some of the duct tape I had to keep it secure.  I am so excited about the tassel I can't wait to put it on my bag!


Well my crafty friends I am off to search for my next project.  It just may have something to do with sunglasses.  Keep checking back for my next project!

Christmas haul 2013

I had debated about whether to write this, but I have watched so many youtube haul videos and find them fascinating I figured why not.  So here goes.....

On Christmas eve I celebrate at my grandfathers house and also my fathers house.  So my father wanted to find something that we would use and also some fun stuff.

* tool set(trust me all the diy stuff I have been doing I definitely will use it!) 

* The big bang theory game.  We have already played this and it is so much fun, a little more challenging than I thought it would be.  I'm a huge Big bang theory fan and I have watched all of the episodes a few times, so I thought it would be a piece of cake.  I definitely recommend this game for any Big Bang Theory fans.  

* Sherman Seahawks jersey!  I was so excited for this I'm a die hard Seahawk fan.  

My fathers girl friend got me the adorable little handbag and a red velvet bath and body works candle yum!

The hubby surprised me with an early christmas present, since we normally do gifts on Christmas.  He got me the Fast and the Furious six movie  <- insert sad face

On Christmas day we celebrate as a family and then go to my moms house to celebrate with my brother.   My brother happened to get me tons of Zak! Designs stuff.  The dessert tree is in black and white.  I haven't used it yet but can't wait.  I absolutely love the happy face spoon!  The cupcake tray is quite amazing as well.  I can't say enough good things about these.

As for the hubby and little man they got me some awesome things.  They know me well!  The potato express is awesome!



My brother and sister in law also got me this beautiful scarf and gloves.



I adore cupcakes and my mom picked me up this cupcake calendar.  I have loved every cupcake calendar she has gotten me.



My bestie picked me up this handbag holder.  So when you are out you don't have to put your bag on the floor.



My mom also picked up this bag organizer for me for my bag that my hubby got me.  I have found it to work out so well.  If I didn't have it my bag would definitely be a crazy mess and I would be digging forever.



My little man got me these awesome sneaker wedges, and OMG they are the comfiest wedges I have ever worn.  I can run in them without worrying that I will run out of them!


So Tell me what did you guys get for Christmas?  Any favorites?  Or did anyone get the dreaded present that you didn't want and wont ever want to use/wear!  I hope not but I have been there many times.  Thankfully this year was good.  Hoping everyones 2013 ended well and 2014 started out well!

Attempts at sewing

In an attempt to make my new bag more organized, and so I won't have to constantly dig for things, I decided to make a diaper and wipes clutch.  I saw a few on etsy but didn't want to spend the money.  So I looked for a pattern on Pinterest.  She didn't post an actual pattern and I did tweak it a little.
Diaper wallet clutch: http://www.jenniferkramer.ca/2011/06/27/a-sewing-sunday-afternoon/

I must say I had taken sewing lessons when I was around 10 and also a class in college, but I am still not confident in my sewing skills. My goal is to get better at sewing by the end of the year.  So I do apologize for the less than stellar stitches. 

I picked up some chevron fabric.  I bought a yard and a half which cost me a little more than $5, but I would have been fine with half a yard.  Being a beginner sewer I didn't know and took my moms advise, who has more experience, but does not sew often. 

I began by measuring our how much fabric for the back piece.  I took the wipes case and a diaper to measure the length.  I than cut out a two inch strip to sew onto the wrong side of the fabric.   This way I wouldn't have to double the fabric.

Next I cut out what would be the pockets. One that would hold the diapers and one for the wipes.  I made sure to have the wipes side pocket in two pieces.   

I sewed the seams.  One side for the diaper pocket and two sides for the wipes side.  I cut a small piece of fabric to attach the two pockets that would hold the wipes.  Sewed around the outside and turned out the pockets.  

I cut a piece of fabric to use for the button.  I had room on the diaper side of the clutch and stitched the fabric there to secure it.  I hand sewn a button onto the strap, I know there is some way to do this on the sewing machine but that is a bit more advanced than my skill level.  It took me about an hour and a half to complete this project so I'm sure for people with more experience this project would be such a breeze.  

I am very proud of myself for this project even if it isn't perfect.  I'm hoping to only get better as I keep adding new sewing projects.

So I'm off to take care of my little man.  Until next time my crafty friends.

January 5th style of the day

I have this crazy obsession with wearing black and grey, so of course I wear them together any chance I get. 

What I'm wearing:

Boots: can't remember the brand but got them at famous footwear) 

Target jeggings

Maurice's grey top

Target black sweater 

Scarf(was a gift) 

Lia Sophia Necklace(gift) 

Oh and while discussing shoes today I realized my heel collection has taken a hit since I got rid of some.  I found these amazing Steve Maddens on sale but they didn't have my size.   It was in a blush color which I am definitely needing. 

Unfortunately for me I won't be wearing heels for 6-8 weeks. 

Note: when running in heels check the ground for rocks. 

January 4th 2014 style

Mixing blacks and browns!

A peplum is a moms best friend.  Well in the fashion world anyway.  

What I'm wearing: 

Geo peplum top 

Guess skinnies

3/4 sleeve jacket

Ugg studded loafers in black

LV neverfull 

I am in the process of finishing my spare room to closet conversion but I will post an update soon. 

Diy duck tape checkbook wallet

I had a random checkbook wallet lying around, you know the type, the kind you get in wallets but you never use them together.  So I have never been fond of it since it didn't line up correctly.  So I decided to grab a sheet of duct tape, some card stock and transform the checkbook wallet into one I would actually use.  

I measured out the card stock and lined it up with the checkbook holder, taped it to secure it and then it the duct tape.  One I had the outside covered and folded I added the Velcro dots. 

It was such a simple project I forgot to take during pictures.  

Note:  I did not cover the entire checkbook holder with duct tape.  I only covered the outside, card stock and a little on the inside to secure the card stock.