A Thing of Beauty

Yes, I changed the look of my blog, what do you think? I think it's sweet and fresh.  Today I dove right into a pin that I pinned this morning.  It was super easy and a beautiful makeup brush roll.  I love this material that my mom had lying around her house and didn't want.  I used this tutorial from Irene Design.  It is real simple and she breaks it down step by step  to eliminate all the guesswork for even the beggining seamstress.  By far the best tutorial for anything that I've come across. 

I made some alterations to mine.  I laid out all of my brushes that I have and measured out how long my roll would have to be to accommodate them all, so I made it 18" instead of 13" (would be 17" after the seam allowances) and added a few more pockets to fit the brushes. I used 3", 2, 1.5,1.5,1,2,1,1,1,2,1.  I did end up with some extra room, but that is fine, because I intend on getting a few more brushes.  I also read the comments and decided to go with the rounded flap corners.  

I started my makeup career about a year ago.  Back in my pageant years -Let's face it, there was only one year- I had to learn to do my own makeup for a regional pageant I was in.  About 2 years after that I kind of fell into doing makeup for others. 

Hubs cousin was my first subject.  Meme -mother.in.law- and I were playing dress up with her, Meme did her hair, and I did her makeup. Then we had a little photo shoot in the living room for fun.  Her mom really loved how I did her makeup as compared to the salons she had been taking her too. And I know what she meant.  I was in our school pageant a few times, and I finally quit going to salons for my makeup because they always used so much and I felt like I looked like a clown.  Especially on someone so young, dark overdone smokey eyes and super highlighting just isn't necessary.  So she recruited me to do her makeup for their pageants since. 

Then word got to Beauty Queen's hair dresser, one of Hubs's second cousins, and she hired me to do all of her makeup appointments since she didn't really like doing makeup.  And that's how it begun. 

I've just recently decided to start doing it at full force, trying to get my name out there and get some more clients.  I have a handful of regulars. I love doing their makeup.  They're young girls, about 10 and 11 and their complexion is beautiful, a smooth, perfect canvas.  

Here she is, the night she won a crown in her local pageant last year.

 Now today, you have a bonus Pinterest project.  Now that I'm doing makeup for others and have these new brushes I got for Christmas and was finally able to use this past weekend, I have to clean/dry them.  I didn't want to have to go for a special cleaner, and I knew I had something on Pinterest from ages ago.  

I clean my case brushes after every client session, I clean my personal brushes about once a week.  

Now no one has to worry about having someone else's face on theirs when I do their makeup, haha.

Cleaning my brushes with 1 cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of baby shampoo, cold rinse, then a  20 minute soak in 1 cup of warm water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Cold rinse, pat dry, and lay out on a towel where they're leaning down at an angle to finish air drying.

Be sure to dry your brushes angled downward.  If you dry them brush head up, the water settles and starts to deteriorate the glue that holds the bristles onto the head.  And we all know how annoying it is to have those little hairs come out on your face!

 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1:27

K.I.S.

Today was such a lovely day. So in addition to getting my hair cut, I decided to work on the yard and my tan.  
Here's our lovely sweet potato mounds that we planted! I love working in our garden.  Everything is growing so fast, we'll have produce before long.  I have a feeling that Peanut will be much like Bug, and end up eating a LOT of pureed squash and mashed peas. 

Today, instead of conquering a pinterest idea, I made up my own.  As simple as it is, I decided it would be nice to share the idea.  After all, Pinterest is the world of "that's so simple, why didn't I think of that".
I had to plant a few basil plants and a citronella in some pots, with very little potting soil.  But that's ok. I had a simple solution to it that I will use from now on to make my bag of potting mix last longer. 

I mixed it with topsoil tilled up in our garden.  That's it. About a 1:1 ratio, so it makes the bag last twice as far! 
See simple! That's what I did today. Kept it simple.
As Daddy says, K.I.S. ~keep it simple~

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118:24

Rubber Ducky, you're so fine!

You make bath time, lots of fun. 
Ever since she was little bitty, Bug has loved rubber ducks. Of course it helped that at the time her infant tub was an inflatable rubber duck tub from Garanimals and we got lots of lil duckies for baby shower gifts. 
So when it came time that I decided something needed to be done with our guest/kids bathroom, I knew just where to go. It was so bland, and I'm horrible at "before/after" pictures, so I just have after shots, but there wasn't much to show. It had a mirror, sink, toilet, shower with a clear curtain, and white walls. No shelf, no towel bar... nothing. very very bland. 
I didn't want something super baby, or something super childish that my guests wouldn't enjoy it. You may disagree, but I think everyone loves rubber duckies! 
In a previous blog I stated that sublty when using a theme is key to decor, and it stands true for my bathroom.  
So my first step was of course paint. What color should the walls be? I'm not a big fan of yellow, not to mention that wouldn't be very subtle if both the walls and the duck decor were yellow. So I went with a peaceful pretty light blue that paired very nicely with the duck yellow.  
Next I had to find a shower curtain. It is the main piece of the puzzle. I found 2 that I just couldn't make up my mind between so I let Hubs decide.  Now looking at it I wish I had gotten the other one. It was cloth and had both ducks and little blue umbrellas on it. 

Which gave me my inspiration to make the bathroom cute but not too cute and still contemporary and guest friendly.  
 
An upside down umbrella with multi colored bubbles escaping. It turned out as a beautiful accent wall in my bathroom. 
The main part of the bathroom was now complete. 

Next there were just bits and pieces to accentuate the theme and decor.  I already had lots of rubber duckies to use.  I purchased the shelf and towel bar from Lowe's and installed them myself, it's super easy, and I love the glass shelf.  It doesn't look obvious or appear to take up a lot of space. 

My favorite piece of decor however was the canvases. Given it took me several several months before I finally completed them, today. But I'm so proud of how they turned out and they complete my bathroom! 
It truly transformed the bathroom into a fun cute bath space for my kids.  Bug loves running in here for bath time or to brush her teeth.  The blue walls contrasted with the white furnishings, making the room appear bigger.  And it still guest friendly, in my opinion. 

Now, I know what you're thinking. "What about a Pinterest project?"  I won't leave you disappointed.  This was the second project I did, and it really only took about 5 minutes to complete.  Bug now voluntarily runs into the bathroom each morning after breakfast to brush her teeth and wash her hands. 
It's so easy. All you need is an empty baby soap/lotion bottle.  In this case I used the Johnson's & Johnson's lavender Bathtime wash bottle that I had been letting Bug play with in the tub.  
First, just cut the top off right where the bottle starts to curve.  Then cut around the label on one side.
The last part is tricky and took a bit of time for me to cut.  Of course if you used a drill bit made to cut circles out of plastic, it would make this task much easier.  I slaughtered the base of mine, but it easily yet snugly fits over the faucet and is simple to remove when I need to use the sink without it. 
And voila! An extension on your faucet so your toddler or preschooler can reach the water! 

 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

1 John 2:12

Back in the saddle

I'm sorry if I let y'all down with my absence since November. My last trimester of pregnancy really took its toll through the holidays. I am going to go back and make a few posts for specific dates, such as my birth story of Peanut, or my battle with post partum depression, dealing with a demanding high spirited toddler, dealing with a sensitive and difficult newborn.
I am glad to say that I'm back! And boy do I have some fun for y'all.
I'm still battling through post partum depression, but it is much better and I'm feeling more like myself and am able to focus and get things done. I have so much to discuss with y'all, but I'm gonna try to take it one post at a time.
Today I'll start small. I will link to different posts of my journey as a new mom of two, for those who can relate or need someone to relate to your own situation. To come I will share with you my pinterest journey I have begun. I will make no promises as to how often I will post a new project, but I'm so tired of pinning all these great things and saving up supplies for them and then just accumulating clutter of useless things. So I am putting my collection to the uses I kept them for. I know I'm not the only pin-crastinator, so I hope I can inspire you to get up and spend the few mins it takes to do some of these projects.  First things first, follow my pins for access to all my projects!

The first pin I will share with you is none other than the cleaning schedule that I use to actually have a clean home, clean and fed kids, and time to tackle these projects.  I got this from ClassyClutter.

See, that's not so bad. I spent some time as a "flybaby" and took some of the principles with me, that I add to this.
Laundry: a load a day keeps the chaos away.
*shine your sink!  I will give testimony to this. Visit Flylady and read her reason why a shiny sink is the start to a happy, clean, clutter free home. The weight of my home seems lifted from me when I shine my sink, which I don't do as well as I should.
*get dressed! Get up (before everyone else if you need to) and put on real clothes fix your hair, go ahead and do your makeup if you're going somewhere later (or you may not have time to then) and then lace up your shoes! I will testify to this as well. I wake up around 5 or 530, feed Peanut, then I go for a morning mile walk, get back and put my toddler (who is usually awake by then) in bed with her daddy and I hop in the shower. I don't leave the bathroom til I'm dressed and my hair and makeup are done. I feel great and ready to start my day.

And if you have a toddler who is starting to copy you and become interested in the things you are doing like Bug is, let her help with small tasks. Bug helps me pick up toys and throw away trash, "fold laundry" and sweep. Most of the time she's not really doing anything conducive to the task at hand, but by letting her push the broom and take the clothes out of the basket to stack on the table she starts learning how to help, feels like she's a part of something mommy is doing, and it also keeps her occupied and out of trouble and keeps her interested in helping in the future whereas I might discourage her if I scold her for messing up mommy's folded laundry or swept dirt pile.  Forget the neatness of it all and help encourage your child's love of learning and helping and it will pay off when they are coordinated enough to actually accomplish these tasks. It's all a process.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13