As intimidating as homemade skincare prodcuts was to me, I finally decided to give it a go. Through the years, I’ve spent a lot of money trying out different products to deal with acne, blackheads, and oily skin. I’ve even cut out gluten and dairy. Some of the products I tried out were pretty helpful in controlling my oily face situation, but I wasn’t happy with the list of chemicals in their ingredients. Lately I’ve been passionate about eating whole foods and trying natural remedies, so why not try natural skincare products? Continue reading »

As crazed as I am with pom poms, I was afraid of going into withdrawals after the holidays were over. No more pom pom crafts for gift wrapping or pom pom garlands around my house. So how about a nice, winter apparel DIY featuring the fuzzy favorite? This shirt is so easy to make, and only took me a few minutes to put together. Now a favorite top has a fresh spin, but it can easy go back to how it was after my pom pom crazed days are over.

If you still need more pom poms in your life, check out this cute pom pom sleeve sweater idea!

• Back scoop neck shirt (like this one at ASOS)
• 1-inch pom poms of the same or coordinated color
• sewing needle threaded with same color as shirt

So easy! If you’re an experienced crafter, you probably don’t need directions. But if you’re not sure where to start, here’s how I went about it: Thread your needle and begin at the inside of the shirt at the seam on the shoulder where the front meets the back. Pull your needle through to the out-facing side of the shirt, pierce the pom pom through its side, then pull the needle and thread back into the inside of the shirt a couple of millimeters from where you originally drew the needle through. If you want to easily return your shirt to the way it was, don’t pass through that same pom pom any more times. Simply do the same technique to a new pom pom one inch from where your needle is now. If you want to keep your shirt this way permanently, then pass through each pom pom at least a couple of times to keep it secure.

Now enjoy your new top, and be prepared to impress your friends when they ask where you got it, and you tell them that you made it yourself!

When I find a pair of jeans I like, I’ll buy two pairs in different colors. But what’s a girl to do when she finds a vintage item she likes? Well make a second one in a different color, of course! That’s sort of what I set out to do with this brooch project. I found myself wanting to wear this rhinestone brooch nearly every day, so I made a pearl one as an alternate. It’s so easy, you should make one too!

P.S. You can buy my blouse here!

• cutting mat
• blade
• steel ruler
• pencil
• pearl beads (small and large)
• pin back
• chip board
• paint brush
• gesso
• tacky glue

Step 1 : Draw a 2 x 1″ rectangle onto your chipboard. Draw a vertical line down the center, and from the middle, mark out a 1/4″ line on the center line you just drew. Make lines connecting the corners of the rectangle to the ends of the 1/4″ line, and now you have your bow shape.

Steps 2 & 3: Using a cutting mat, steel ruler, and a sharp blade, cut out the shape of your bow. Now paint it with two coats of gesso. Gesso is a primer, so you don’t have to worry about it flaking off later on.

Step 4: Now cover half of the bow with a thick coat of tacky glue. Using your pin back, attach the small pearl beads in a row, making sure the bead openings are mostly unseen. Do the same to the other half of the bow, leaving an uncovered space in between each side for the next step.

Steps 5 & 6: After the glue has dried, Glob on some more in the middle space you have left bare and affix a large pearl. Let the glue dry completely, then flip it over and glue on the pin back. After the glue has dried, it’s ready to wear!