Monday, April 23, 2012

All About Mistakes

Yea, I know. Yesterday was Sunday, and there was no new recipe try-out. Joshua and I were supposed to go on a super special date, but good ole Mother Nature got in the way, and we canceled, so I got super upset, and didn't feel like doing much of anything. So he and I stayed in and watched movie and ate popcorn. There were some tears, because the weather even decided to screw with that, too (the internet went out, and we were trying to use Netflix on my laptop and his Wii. And then the TVs went out because at his house they have Direct TV. So no bueno overall). Luck was just NOT on our side yesterday, so I was not in the mood for cooking or baking or anything. And since today is all about mistakes, I have decided to try a nifty craft I found on Pinterest (here). It is the...
T-shirt. I probably should've put that in the title picture... oh well!
This is an AWESOME craft to try out for very little moolah! All you need are:

  1. A t-shirt (lightly colored, or white). Mine was a plain cotton shirt from Wal-Mart. Nothing special. Make sure to wash it first!
  2. Sharpie markers. Any colors your prefer to play around with. I stuck with the color wheel (minus Indigo. Sorry Indigo.)
  3. Rubbing Alcohol. I used 70%, other people have using ones with high percentages. I'm not really sure if this matters, so we'll see.
  4. A cup (mine was a knock off Solo cup). Size doesn't really matter. The circles can sorta be controlled. I'll explain later.
  5. A rubber band.
  6. An liquid dropper (I used and eye dropper).
  7. And something to put in between the layers of the shirt so the colors don't seep through (I used cardboard).
The only reason I say this is super cheap, is because I had all of these items already. The only thing I needed to buy was the purple Sharpie (because that's the only color I can't seem to find).

So now, what you wanna do is lay out your shirt and stick the cardboard in between the layers. Then put the cup under the shirt wherever you want to start, and place a rubber band over the shirt, over the cup, like so...
That stain up there is where I started. Once the cup is in place, take your sharpies and make a design. Keeping in mind if you put the complimentary colors together, they may turn brown when they seep together. I had a color wheel open on my laptop to help me remember which colors those were, because I am not an art student, and the last art class I took was most likely over 10 years ago (Whoa! I'm gonna go curl up into a corner now. Where's Neverland?!). Also, make sure the material is tightly banded to the cup. The more taught the material is, the faster the rubbing alcohol will spread.

Once you make your design of choice, take your liquid dropper, fill it with the rubbing alcohol, and drip it into the middle of your design, like so...
Since my dropper was so small, I dripped a lot of drops on one design at once. For bigger droppers, use less drops. 

Here is where you can also kinda, sorta control the size of the design. Less drops means smaller design. More drops mean bigger designs. That along with out taught the material is will slightly add to the size. If you like the size, take the rubber band off. This will slow down the spread of the rubbing alcohol, and eventually stop it at your desired size. It will most likely continue to spread, but not as much as it was when the shirt was being pulled tightly.

Here's what it looked like after it finished spreading...


And here is my finished product (err, almost finished)...

Almost done!!
Once you are done, you will need to heat set it. I'm gonna go throw mine in the dryer for 1 hour on high heat, BY ITSELF! You don't want the colors to stain anything else. Also, I would let it air dry for a bit before tossing it in the dryer, because you want the colors to set where they are. If it is still wet, the colors might seep through to the other side, or combine when bunched up. 

For now, I left the back alone. Tomorrow I might go back and do the back, but I wanted to set the front first before placing it on my dining room table. My father might kill me if I stain the table.

The reason this is called All About Mistakes (besides my schedule oopsie) is because this craft is all about just that, making mistakes. This is your own personal, one-of-a-kind design.  There are no rules, so mistakes are 100% welcome while experimenting with this. 

So in the words of The Magic School Bus's wonderfully, crazy Ms. Frizzle, "take chances, make mistakes, get messy!"

A picture of me in my completely finished Sharpie tie-dye t-shirt will follow shortly. Maybe tomorrow when the back is done, too!




Wednesday, April 18, 2012

My Scent Obsession & The Memory of an Old Friend

My dog, Buddy, died a couple nights ago on the 16th. :( It was a very, very sad night for everyone in my household. We had him for a very long time. It has probably been a little over 10 years, and I just didn't feel right creating a new blog post without saying something about him. I cannot pretend like it didn't happen. This house will not be the same without him greeting me every time I walk in the door. Without him practically begging to be fed way too early in the late afternoon. Without him waking me up too early in the morning to let him outside, because everyone else is a heavy sleeper and does not wake up by just hearing his feet click on the hardwood floor. Here is a picture of him & the place where he now rests peacefully:
Buddy as a young pup. He's a Beagle.



The beautiful resting place my father and sister built for him in the backyard. <3
Rest in Peace Buddy Boy. You were a wonderful dog, and will forever be missed as long as we all live. <3

Now onto a much lighter topic. My scent obsession! Bath and Body Works carries it, and I own almost every product in the one specific scent. It is... Japanese Cherry Blossom!

I am absolutely obsessed - no, addicted - to this "exclusive, award-winning fragrance" (quoted from the Bath and Body Works website & products), and all of the products they offer. From left to right, the products that I own and love are the:
  1. Shimmer Gel & Body Lotion - It has 2 compartments containing the lotion in one side and the shimmer gel in the other. On top of the bottle is a really cool "select-a-shimmer" dial where you can choose more shimmer or more lotion in your wonderfully scented mix.
  2. Perfume or Eau de Toilette - I don't use this as often, only because it has a higher concentration of fragrance oils for a more intense scent, like most perfumes do. I save this for special occasions.
  3. Fine Fragrance Mist Travel size - Or better known as body spray. This is necessary for me to have on hand because the spray is my favorite product of the line, and I go through it like crazy in the original size, and the travel size helps me to refresh this wonderful scent when it starts to wear off.
  4. Cooling Mist - 100% a MUST for summer. It contains aloe vera to help cool, refresh, and condition skin after a day of sitting in the sun.
  5. Body Lotion - Containing vitamin E, jojoba, & shea butter, this wonderful lotion makes me feel smooth all over while matching (not clashing) the seductive scent of the spray that I'm already using.
  6. Last, and definitely not least, the Fine Fragrance Mist original size - This bad boy (or girl I guess) is what made me fall in love with this scent in the beginning. The breakdown of the scent is as follows:
    • Top Notes: Asian Pear, Fuji Apple, and Ume Plumb
    • Mid Notes: Japanese Cherry Blossom, Butterfly Lily, Kyoto Rose, and Mimosa Petals
    • Dry Notes:  Vanilla Rice, Imperial Amber, Silk Musk, Cinnamon Incense, Himalayan Cedarwood and creamy Sandalwood
Inspired by the exotic gardens of Japan, this scent is seductive and mysterious, and that, my friends, is why I adore this entrancing scent. It is sweet, yet strong. Feminine, and bold. I usually have the body wash in my collection (to complete my morning bathroom routine), but I recently ran out, and haven't had a chance to get to the mall to replace it, so for now I use an unscented wash, so not to clash with the Japanese Cherry Blossom. I also use an unscented shampoo and conditioner, so that they don't clash either, because I spray my hair a couple times since hair tends hold scent better than skin.

And there you have it. My second blog on one of my all time favorite products: Japanese Cherry Blossom. Now to go shower and get ready for work.

What's your favorite Bath & Body Works scent?



Sunday, April 15, 2012

Drunken Munchkins & A Sober Introduction

So... here we go. I have finally joined the blogging world. I knew I always wanted to, but never knew what to do. Not too long ago, a lovely website called Pinterest came into my life, and I have been pinning, and pinning, and pinning non-stop since. Everything from recipes, to clothing, to wedding inspiration (I'm not engaged, just obsessed with weddings). I decided to tie my new found obsession in with my new blog. So every Sunday I am going to pick one of the fabulous recipes from my Pinterest, try them out, and blog about it. Throughout the week, I plan to do random blogs about the crafts I come across on Pinterest, and also talk about some products that I just simply adore.


Before I do that, though, I feel an introduction is in order. My name is Chelsea. I live in New Jersey, and I am 21 years old. At the moment I am not going to school, but I do have my Associates in Liberal Arts. I plan to go back to school soon for Interior Design. I am the beauty associate at Kohl's, and I also work at the jewelry counter there, too. I have a wonderful boyfriend, named Joshua, who I have been with for 3 wonderful months (today!). I love love love music, and I also love to read.


Today I tried out something I like to call Drunken Munchkins. I found the AMAZING idea here. I changed it up a bit for myself though. Instead of cherry Jell-o and spiced rum I did two different flavors. I tried Amaretto with grape Jell-o and Malibu Coconut Rum with lime Jell-o.
look closely! see the green & purple!?
Here's what you'll need:
  • 1 box of pre-made munchkins or donut holes
  • 1 box of flavored Jell-o of your choice (or two if you plan to do two different flavors like I did)
  • 1 cup of any flavored liquor of your choice (preferably something that makes sense with whatever flavor Jell-o you're already going with, like my coconut & lime and Amaretto & grape) (and again, or 1 cup of 2 different liquors if you plan to make 2 different flavors)
  • 1 cup of water (to boil for the Jell-o)
Now this can get a bit messy, but can be soooo good:
  1. First follow the first direction on the Jell-o box, boil 1 cup of water and add the Jell-o packet. Stir until Jell-o is dissolved.
  2. While the water is boiling, prep your munchkins by placing 24 on a paper towel lined cookie sheet and prick holes in them (we used a meat thermometer to do this).
  3. When the Jell-o is cooled add the cup of liquor and mix. Pour this in some sort of spouted cup or measuring cup to make it easier to get the Jell-o mixture in the pricked holes.
  4. Carefully (this is where it can get super messy!) pour the Jell-o mixture into the prepped munchkin holes. This is where I made a super huge mess, and thank goodness Joshua is super smart because he mentioned putting a paper towel down under the holes, just in case.
  5. Once you've gone through all of them, do it one more time, so that you really get the flavors in the munchkins.
  6. If you do make a mess like I did, transfer the munchkins (hole side up) to another paper towel lined cookie sheet.
  7. Place the munchkins in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
  8. Enjoy responsibly!
I love the color in the munchkins when they are all done and ready to eat. And you can really taste the yummy flavors. I do love the coconut lime one the most, but that's probably because Malibu Coconut Rum is my very favorite rum out there.

I truly hope you enjoy these as much as Joshua and I did. Not only are they delicious, but they were really so simple and quick to make. I don't really think you'll get all that drunk off of them, because they aren't soaked in the mixture, but they do taste yummy, and as always be careful anyway, because the alcohol is definitely there. It wasn't cooked or baked out. The Munchkins were pre-baked, so we basically only injected them.


Any questions, don't be afraid to ask!


xoxo,
Chelsea