Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts

May 20, 2015

Flipit Ashley: Feminine Hygiene that Saves Money

I am thrilled to introduce you to our newest contributor for fromG2B!

Her name is Ashley, she's a blogger - at Amsterdam Blog - and professional editor at Flipit Australia. There is writes all about thrifty living ideas, couponing, how to save cash. That's what many of us care about, too, and I know she'll be a major asset to fg2b.  Her blog post today should be memorable and I can't wait to see what the reaction will be! When Ashley proposed the subject as a great way to save money, my question back was, "Is this a common thing in Europe?" Read on and learn more...

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May 31, 2013

➷ Repair Any Pressed Powder Make-Up ➹


I was running errands the other day and found myself patiently waiting in line at Target, thanks to some juicy tabloids mags. My purse shifted in the shopping cart, sending several contents, including my pressed powder, sailing through the air. It smashed mercilessly against the hard tile floor. 
I yelled, "Noooooo!!!" with an outstretched hand, but that didn't stop some muumuu-wearing-lady from rolling her cart right over the the broken powder... and then, sadly, my heart! ;-( I was really attached to my powder puff! We've been through thick and thin!!! If you gals are anything like me, then you'll understand when I say, I hear the military taps trumpet playing, as I walked up on its crumpled body. "Body bag for the sobbing customer in checkout number two," I thought I heard a nasally announcement over the intercom. 
Instead, my friends, it was just my mind playing tricks on me. 
Yet, right before my very eyes, the shrewd reality of disaster lie in the twin tan tracks, now running down Target's white tile floor. It looked like two speed stripes on a race car. Oh the agony... No the savagery... okay fine, enough!  I lost quite a bit of powder in the spill, but I salvaged some that was still inside the bottom. 
 I remembered hearing from... I can't remember where, but I do distinctly remember hearing that you could add some rubbing alcohol to powder and voila, pressed powder is restored. For this little project I sort of improvised and made things up as I went, but it was a piece of cake and took less than 5 minutes to do!
1. First things first, this SHOULD work for any pressed make up- eye shadow, blush, or bronzer or powder. If your powder is anything like mine, the piece will be in uneven sizes from the fall. So go ahead and even them out. Crush them up using a mortar and pestle, your hand, your cat- whatevers, there's no judgement here, this is a safe place!

2. Next, spread the powder into an even layer across the bottom of the case. Pretty much how it looks when it's spread out is what it will look like when its finished and dry. I wish I had spread mine out more evenly across the bottom, because little things like that drive me nutso! 
But that's what happens when you make it up as you go!
3. Add a few drops of rubbing alcohol to the powder. I found it best to add one at a time, looking for dry areas to place the drop. This keeps you from over applying. I estimate it took 5-7 drops for my powder, which was 1/4 full. 
4. Moving on-this last step is optional. The powder will dry on its own and doesn't need to be messed with. 
However, I was sorta bummed to see how bumpy and uneven the results were. So I improvised. 
I cut a small piece of textured card stock into a circle and used it to press the fast-drying powder down. Just press down firmly and evenly, right after applying the rubbing alcohol, to get the best results. Then allow it to finish drying. 
Can you believe the difference between the two pics? Crazy, huh? The card stock works like a charm!

When it was finished drying, I did the Dairy Queen Blizzard test. You know, where you fearlessly flip it upside down and hope the whole thing doesn't fall onto your somewhat clean kitchen floor?! I am happy to report it worked perfectly! Ta da!! This is one easy peasy project, though I wish I didn't have to do it in the first place!! lol Since these things cost 20 bucks a pop, I imagine I saved about 4 dollars worth! ha!

I'm glad to be back here on the blog, what have you been up to?? Any make up disasters, or any other type, creeping up on you?
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May 28, 2013

➷ I'm Back!!! ➹

Hello, dearest bloggers! Oh, how I have missed you all! 

I have finished my first year of MBA school and the whole time I was itching to return to my blog! For those of you who have gotten an MBA, you know how awfully awesome getting your face kicked in by school can be! 
On the one hand, the kid in me was like, "Screw this! Blog! Blog! Blog!" 
On the other hand, the adult in me was like, "No time! Study! Study! Study!" So it's been a months since I've been able to say hello! 
None of you sweet ladies have any  idea how badly I wanted to do something, do anything, get out, and let all my pent up creativity out in a crazy project frenzy. Instead, my year was filled with long black skirts, tidy professional blouses, and math, math, math! 

I am sooooo... excited to see what's been going on and what this year has brought you. Please leave me links to your blogs or fav projects in the comments, so I can see what you've all been making!! 

Love yous guys! 
   ➸ xoxo ➸
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November 16, 2011

✥{Glassless} Framed Calendar {Gift Idea} ✥

You know how when you were little, and it was Christmas or Father's day, or something like that, and you'd make your parents a present because- well because you were a kid. And they were all "thanks for the ridiculous, hideous, falling apart pot holder made out of strings that were Elmers glued together?!?" Then you'd skip away, bursting with happiness, cause you made'em something and they said they liked it.


Well, I made my "bonus-Mom" {aka awesome stepmother} a birthday present.
This is me skipping away all Pippy-Long-Stalking-style.
I made her a personalized photo calendar.
There's a ton to choose from online. You can find them for free {my favorite price} or you can pay {if it's a gift, like this one.}

I figure most people use their computer calendars or phones. So I picked a setup that emphasized the photo aspect of the calendar.

Then I put the pictures in a frame rather than having it bound together. I figure that's a lot better to look at than the regular spiral bound type hung with a thumb tack, plus, it's not hardly as customized.
To make it user friendly, I took the glass out of the frame.
This way you can write on it and the notes section is still accessible.
You can see the message area beneath the dates where my "Bonus Mom" can write all her important appointments etc. as things come up. My hope was that it could look good and be functional. Nifty, 'eh?

 I made sure the family pics were personalized for Bonus Mom's special dates. For example, pics with her and the Pops for their March Anniversary and pics of her with her mother for Mom's Day. I also included the dates of family birthdays on the calendar when I had it printed up, so no excuses if you forget my birthday Bonus Mom!
If this had been for me I probably would've printed a free version offline and popped it in a frame. 
Since it was a gift, I had it professionally printed so the pictures would be the best quality possible.
A few of the pictures weren't printed properly the first time, so I was given a couple of rough draft copies. The only set back with DIY is that it often takes several attempts to get a project done good and "right".
{See that gray area on the top right corner- yeah, that's not supposed to be there. I digitally edited them out of the other pics.}
It all worked out though, since that's what I stuck in frames for this impromptu photo shoot.

I like it hanging on the huge cork board best. When I saw it here, I was sold. Think I'll be making another one for us. Until the next project, Au revoir.








I'm also linked up here.

November 10, 2011

Gallery Wall + Tutes & Tips


It's done!!! Was this the longest gallery wall transformation in the history of all gallery walls or what? How did I do the wall, you might ask? Well, thanks for the inquiry. Let's see, first I purchased the frames in 1 fowl {fowl or foul? I can never tell} swoop, from Ikea. They're mostly the famous Ribba with a few dark brown Fjallsta frames thrown in for contrast. Total, they cost less than $80.

Gallery walls are super popular  now {or maybe they always were?}-but the whole reason I did mine was this annoying thermostat. There it is, right in the middle of the wall. One big eye sore right there at eye level. I mean right smack dab in the middle of the wall, right where you may want to hang a large mirror with a wreath on it. Hmmf. No getting around that sucker. So instead of being angry at thermie, I embraced my thermie. I became one with it. You hear that? Embrace your thermies, people!
Planning the layout was rather arduous. First, I had to lay out all the frames on the sales floor at Ikea. Couldn't really tell which ones would work so I convinced my handsome husband we "needed them all". With a shrug and a hug, the frames were in the car {snug}!

Next I used this fantastic wall tutorial on Pinterest? Have you any of you checked this out? If you haven't, you should! It uses wax paper to help line up the frames and keep track of where the nails should be placed. So, I used that.

Well, no that's a lie- I saw the tip way after I started my wall. But I would use that, if I did one again! And you guys probably should!
I used the butcher paper you get free from Ikea -you know, the paper they let you take to protect your  breakables? Yeah? So I used that stuff to cut out out squares correlating with the frame sizes.
 Next, I hung those cutout papers on my wall. This makes it super easy to mark where the nail hole should be right on the paper. Go ahead and hammer the nail right through the paper, it's easy.
I don't know about you- but trying to hang a bunch of frames straight & level horizontal lines is one of my least favorite things to do. So the papers are worth the extra effort.



 Once I'm all hung up, I use a level and some mounting putty to make sure none of the frames will shift when people walk by or if when you dust, hee, hee. Mounting putty is like 2 bucks, a little goes a long way, and it's reusable.



Ta da! All the "art' was handmade and I blogged tutorials for each of them. So if you are curious, feel free to check out my many, many projects. I was able to incorporate personal details for the hubs and for me, that makes all the difference. One of the many reasons I love DIY! Plus, I find that when I DIY, I AMSWM {Appreciate My Stuff Way More};-)


So here's the tally:
Apiary Sign made from salvaged wood, using a transfer technique-$0

Wood Grain Initial Blocks-$0  
 Typography Photo Art-$3.10 @Costco
Of course a frame for my arch nemesis new friend, Thermie.



 Ampersand-$3 @Hobby Lobby
Rhino Map Art- $0
Happy Therm-y - Priceless 


I love how the frames are mostly white, but the infusion of dark frames keeps your eye moving.
I hate to say it, but just as I finished the wall I began thinking of switching out a piece or two and making some new art! {Don 't tell Zack!}  



Grand total for the project- $90.
If I had used frames I already owned, then the total would have been less than 10 bucks!!!
 Great totals for my frugal friends who're planning the same projects. Right?


Have you guys been working on a gallery wall, lately? Has anyone used any of these art ideas? I wanna see'em!!


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October 13, 2011

✥ Get What You Want {Thrifting} ✥


A good, well constructed hardwood chair can cost a pretty penny.
Since we've gotten a new couch I really wanted a chair that looked aged. Something with a vintage feel and a softer shape to contrast with the modern lines of the couch.
Here are some of the inspiration pics from my chair file. I kept these in mind while "shopping" the classifieds.
(I am so sorry, but these were not originally intended to be in a post, so I don't have links for them, sorry! Please let me know if you know where they're from so I can add the links. )
I love the curved back, outlined by the dark wood frame.
This is selling for 649$. Love how it was upholstered with two different fabrics and also love the sloped arms. 
Look at the curves on this baby! That high back is total drama.
This chair with the crazy fabric is selling for around $3200!? Sheesh!
Here's a great "after," I like how this chair's a little softer with the curves and its legs are gorg. I think I'm headed in a similar final destination with mine.
This is the one I've found. It took me a few months to find it because all the chairs that resembled my inspiration photos were priced starting at $150. Not a great starting price when you add in the cost of fabric, paint, nailheads, and the lifetime it will take me to finish this project. 
Can you see my "new" 1950's fan on the table behind the chair? Love it!
After several months I saw this guy in a classified and I knew he was "the one." It had only been listed a hour when I saw the ad, but when I called it was already spoken for.
I hemmed, I hawed about how much I wanted it. Then I remembered a post called Criaglist Ettiquette is for Suckers from Mandi at Vintage Revivals. {Do you read her, if no- then you should. She's completely awesome.} She mentioned how she was trying to buy though the classifieds and the item, a chair I think, was already sold, but not picked up. She offered the seller more money and they said, "Yes." Bold move, right? Maybe a little sneaky, but you snooze, you lose.
So I did it. I offered more money. The chair was already priced so ridiculously low that offering more was still a steal of a deal!
Here it is the the space. There's a lot of wood furniture happening in this photo, I know. But don't worry, it's just the before pic. Most every piece of furniture we had has been sold, will be sold, or has an appointment with a can of spray paint.


I think the hardest part of DIY isn't the labor or necessary skill, it's having the patience to search ads for months for just the right shaped chair, then to deal with the before phase -like orange/red paisley fabric- while you get the project done. 
Speaking of a completed project, don't hold your breathe for the results on this one. It's my first real upholstery job, you know, not a ottoman or headboard, so wish me luck! Now get out there and buy what you want!


September 20, 2011

Create a Blogging Signature


I had never really read blogs before I started mine. I expected to write about Z and I and , well, just life. But very quickly I realized blogs are awesome! Seriously, I couldn't believe I had never checked them out before. My favorite to read were and still are home blogs about creative and inspirational DIY decorating.

When I decided to start blogging my own little projects there was a pretty big learning curve. But I took note of all the little {and big} touches that set popular blogs aside from the run of the mill family one.

I noticed that creating an identity was important. One way to do that was to add a personalized signature to sign off at the end of a post. Adding a signature is a piece of cake. Head over to My Live Signature where they will walk you through a few easy steps in creating your new individualized touch.

You will choose the font, color, size, and angle your signature can appear.
You don't need an account, just select "Click Here to Start" .
 

On the next page we are going to select the first option, 
Step 1:Write your name, as you want it to appear in the box.
Step 2: On the next page we can choose from 120 different fonts by viewing a preview.
Here's some of the ones I liked:
 
 From there you will be asked to select all your specifications to make your name look exactly as you'd like it to.
Step 3: Pick out your size, I think I choose size #5.  I'm not 100% certain though.

 Steep 4: Color. Just double click in the box and you'll have the whole color wheel to choose from.
In this screen shot you can see the preview for my name on the left. 
I chose a transparent background and a color for my name.
Step 5: Pick the slant for your name. Currently I have slope #1, which is  pretty much 0 slope. I think I'll change it in the future, to make my name stand apart from all the other text a little better.
Go to the next page and you will have 3 options of what you can do with your new signature. You wan the last choice,  "Want to Use this Signature?" 
The link takes you to the next page, just click on "Generate HTML Code."
Step 6: Now your last decision, would you like you name to appear with other writing or alone. Do you use a good bye tag line? Would you like to start using one?
For example, some peeps say "Hugs" or "xoxo" or something like that. Now's your time to add one if you want one.
Preview your choice and click on "Generate Code" once you've finished.

 Step 7:Choose the link "Generate Code for Blogging" { there are other usage options if you want to explore those on your own}
Below your new code you should select "click here" to get directions on how to insert the code into your blog.
It's super easy, I copied them and pasted them below in case you guys have questions.

WordPress

To add your signature to a post:
- Select "Code" in the editor window
- Insert the HTML code of the signature
- Select "Visual" and continue editing

 Blogger
To add your signature to a post:
- Click "Edit HTML" in the editor window
- Insert the HTML code of the signature
- Click "Edit HTML" and continue editing

Basically, your signature Html code is pasted into the Html version of EACH post you write. You can paste it anywhere, I always scroll to the very bottom and paste it in there.

BLOGGER: You can also upload it permanently into your blog template- just go to:

  • Settings
  • then: Posts and Comments
  • in the Post Template box add your img src code
Super easy and quick way to help personalize your blog, portray who you are, and solidify you blogging identity. Hope that helps some of you new guys. I wished I had help with these things { like making blog buttons, creating the Html code to allow others to copy your button, personalizing your Favicon, and adding Email and RSS social media icons} when I was getting started.
That's why I write these babies up! Hope they help!

 
 Looking for places to link up your projects? Check out my Party page
I'm also linked up here