DIY: Baby Gnome Hat

March 16, 2015January 19, 20161 Comment

Little baby August was born this past Valentine’s day at a hearty 7 pounds and 6 ounces. But despite his ample weight, this long and lean baby has the tiniest of craniums, causing any and every hat we have for him to slide down over his eyes. The result: one fussy baby! So what’s a mama to do? Make some DIY hats of course!

To ensure our little guy’s noggin was staying nice and toasty in our home and beyond I whipped up a simple yet chic hat design that I could create using various fabric scraps. Using printed fabrics on a bias instead of elastic, and solid t-shirt fabric for the top, August’s “krasnoludek” hats have become an instant hit! Keeping his head warm while adding a pop of color to his ensembles, making these little gnome hats in different color combos is becoming my new pass time, in between feedings and naps at least.

So without further adieu, I bring you a quick photo tutorial on how to make a baby gnome hat (or two or three!) for your own little bundle. Enjoy!

DIY: Eco-Friendly Handmade Gifts

December 2, 2014January 19, 2016Leave a comment

Are your fingers feeling itchy to craft? Then get those digits to work!

To get your creative juices flowing, I’ve assembled my all-time most popular DIY tutorials for you to peruse through. Click on any of the photos below to read the full set of instructions on how to make these practical and design-savvy eco-friendly gifts for the holidays.

After all, nothing’s more festive and heartfelt than something that’s handmade with love!

DIY: Festive Fall Garland

November 17, 2014November 15, 2014Leave a comment

Pumpkins deep jewel tones and warm hues, spicy candles and cozy fabrics all of these things are what make autumn my favorite season. So when dreaming up a new look for our fireplace mantle, I knew I wanted to combine all my favorite elements of fall into the spread. Pumpkins. Check. Wine colored mums. Check. Now for the finishing touch: a fun upcycled garland.

Pom poms, those delightfully little fluffy balls of yarn, are one of my secret obsessions. I will use any excuse to make a fresh batch – affixing them to gifts, headbands, art prints and more. So when choosing the texture of my festive fall garland the choice was easy.

Now when choosing the colors and textures – that’s where a bit of experimentation came into play. Digging through my drawer of varying fabric scraps, I settled on a warm cream linen, rich pumpkin velvet, and grey and lilac t-shirt cottons. I then grabbed a ball of white yarn that had been sitting untouched after a summer project. Cutting, wrapping and slicing I found that the linen frayed too much and didn’t have the fluffy outcome I wanted. The velvet and cottons, however, worked out perfectly!

So without further adieu, I now bring you an tutorial on how you too can make one of these festive pieces for the season. Play with a variety of colors, textures and pom pom sizes to give your garland a twist of your very own.

Lay out your chosen fabric
Cut the fabric into 1/2″ strips
You’ll need 4 strips of fabric per pom pom
Tug both ends of each strip to stretch and fluff them out
Wrap the first strip around four fingers
Wrap each of the remaining strips around the first
Using a shorter excess strip, place the string between the center of your fingers and tie a knot
Pull the pom off your fingers and cut the looped ends
Fluff and trim your pom so all the ends are similar in length
Cut a long piece of yarn onto which you’ll tie your poms
Center each pom along the yarn mapping out the spacing
Tie the yarn across the center of each pom and pull into place

And there you have it! In fifteen minutes or less you can be on your way toward making a festive fall garland of your very own! Should you give the project a try – be sure to share pictures of your final creation with us on Facebook or Instagram!

DIY: Peppermint Mocha Body Scrub

September 11, 2014September 8, 2014Leave a comment

It’s the time of year when we turn off the air, bust open the windows, and let the cool breeze of autumn whip through our homes. Forget spring cleaning – fall is when I want things to be light and fresh – which is exactly what has inspired my classic homemade Peppermint Mocha Body Scrub.

Made with ingredients from the kitchen, the exfoliating texture and delicious smell of this DIY treatment will transform your bathroom into a foodie spa extravaganza. Unlike the fattening espresso drink of the same name at Starbucks – this luxurious scrub is actually good for you! Made with olive oil, coffee grounds and effervescent peppermint, it will awaken your senses while sloughing off dry dull skin.

Follow the recipe to see how easy it is to indulge!

Ingredients:1 cup used coffee grounds, 1/2 cup raw sugar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 10 drops peppermint oil, 1 teaspoon cocoa

To make, combine the coffee grounds and sugar in a small bowl and stir together. Next, add the two oils to the coffee sugar brew. Once you have thoroughly mixed the oils in, add the teaspoon of cocoa to give it an extra kick of scent. Pour your concoction into a cleaned out jam jar. For gifting purposes, wrap a string of ribbon or raffia around the base and tie in a bow. Will stay good in open air for two weeks – or you can refrigerate it to extend the shelf life.

Enjoy!

DIY: Homemade Cheek & Lip Stain II

June 30, 2014June 30, 2014Leave a comment

One of my all-time most popular DIY tutorials is my homemade cheek and lip stain that I put together years ago after discovering the Cosmetics Safety Database. Looking up product after product within my cupboard I had discovered that many were laced with ingredients that were toxic to my health.

This led me to do a total purge of all my make-up, including my most prized product, Benetint. After searching store after store for a natural alternative, I decided to make one up myself using basic kitchen ingredients. And the result? Perfection! My DIY stain was toxin free, easy to make and created a picture perfect come-hither glow.

Fast forward and I’ve found myself once again drawn to Benefit products – this time a pretty coral stain. But rather than compromise three years of skin detox, I decided to give my original recipe a twist and create a pretty tinted concoction that I could use all summer long. The main ingredients? Beets and carrots.

Saturated in pigment and easily pliable, both of these root veggies make a perfect base for a cheek and lip stain that will give you a rosy blush to go with your summer tan. Don’t believe me? Follow my directions below and you too can opt for a homemade lip and cheek hue that will make you glow from the inside out.

Continue reading →

DIY: No-Sew T-Shirt Turban

June 3, 2014June 20, 20141 Comment

It’s the time of year for biking, sunshine and humidity – which can mean only one thing – it’s frizz season!

If you have any hint of kink in your hair than I know you know where I’m coming from. You can be having the perfect hair day, go on a nice long bicycle ride, arrive at your location only to find that you’ve got that finger-in-a-light-socket look, and it ain’t pretty. So what’s a gal (or guy!) to do?

There are tons of products out there that can potentially help, but rather than slop gunk onto your locks try this out instead: a cotton turban headband. Not only will it keep your hair in place, it will also draw the eye away from that halo of fuzz that inevitably develops in the summer months.

Here’s a quick five-minute tutorial on how to make your very own headband using an upcycled tee and a pair of scissors. No sewing machine required! Give it a try and you too will find it’s the easiest way to beat the frizz this season. Continue reading →

DIY: Clementine Facial Scrub

April 25, 2014April 24, 2014Leave a comment

It’s that time of year! Time to slough off winter and freshen up for spring. That’s at least what I had in mind the other day after seeing all the dry flaking skin that was accumulating on my face. Time for scrubbing up!

Realizing I had no scrub on hand I quickly put together my own concoction using a mix of sugars, olive oil and clementine juice. The results? Fantastic! After using my DIY creation my skin felt refreshed, soft and glowing. If you’re looking for a simple way to rejuvenate yours – give this easy to make scrub a try.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 peeled clementine

Instructions:

Combine your sugars and oil in a small dish and stir.
Squeeze in 3-4 wedges of clementine juice
Mix well and use immediately.

If you’re looking to take your scrub one step further, consider adding a teaspoon of honey to help super parched skin or 3 drops of tea tree oil if you have an oily complexion. And should you not have any white sugar in your home, compensate with brown. I don’t recommend using turbinado sugar as the mill is not as fine and can tear up your skin. If you want to make a big batch in advance to use over the course of a month, pop it into a small yogurt jar and keep it in the fridge.

So there you have it! An easy to make, all natural and super effective scrub to help your skin recover from the winter blues. Enjoy!