Favorite Beauty Products As Of Right Now (Summer/Fall 2012)

So this is highly awkward. Who knows if anyone is listening right now on account of I haven’t blogged in forever, but this summer was another chlorine-filled one like the last. However I did not bake as much as I did last summer. I did make some yum treats though. Fresh strawberry cupcakes, strawberry muffins, salted caramel cupcakes, cake batter muddy buddies. Probably a few more. Te he. Today I’d like to show you some of my favorite beauty/hair supplies.

*One note before we begin:

In my profile picture I’m donning pigtail braids, so it’s not obvious what texture my hair is. I have naturally curly/wavy/frizzy/thick/huge hair. From December/June I tend to straighten it with a flat iron very often. Now I swim during the fall so there’s normally no time/reason to go at my hair with heat. In the summer I normally don’t use heat on my hair except on special occasions. Lately I’ve been trying to blow-dry my hair straight although sometimes it turns out extremely puffy. My hair is also really long (I don’t know if this matters), but I do have split ends so I guess that might contribute to the type of conditioner I use? I don’t know. Anyways it’s like 5 inches away from my butt when it’s curly. It’s obviously a lot longer when it’s straightened out.

Oh and another note:

My hair does not have the normal outside forces ruining it everyday. I swim everyday in chlorine which dries out my hair and changes the texture.

Ok, now that we’ve gotten that aside, let’s begin!

Photos: Courtesy of http://favim.com/image/492614/

So, let’s begin with my shower products. I use a face wash. I have tried plenty of face washes. Plenty! Again with the swim thing, my face gets extremely dry and I can’t use any ol’ face wash. Before I swam I would use Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cream Cleanser. This stuff works beautifully and it makes your skin feel so clean and refreshed. It not only minimizes pores and blackheads but it also treats acne. I also used to use some alcohol-smelling cleansing pads from the dermatologist and some cleanser that works really fast but it does bleach the face and dries it out. I also used to use Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Cleanser and I occasionally use it still. I also shower every other day and sometimes longer because of my hair texture. So I used to wash my face every other day and then use the alcohol pads on the days I didn’t wash my face. Now, I use Alba Coconut Milk Facial Wash. I can use that normally every day without my face peeling from dryness. P.S. I have provided links for each wash so you can go to the site and see what it looks like :)

Kay, now... drumroll please...

Hair Care!

Last summer I had an epiphany with Tresemme weather control shampoo and conditioner or whatever it’s called. This summer I’ve been using Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo and then Aussie Moist Conditioner. I wash my hair first with my shampoo and after I put the conditioner in I brush it out with a wide-tooth comb. Then I wash it out in coolish water. Brushing it out while it still has conditioner in it makes the hair really smooth and detangled and when you wash your hair with cold water it seals it in. Both my shampoo and my conditioner smell heavenly so that’s always a plus :)

Now, let’s see. When I get out of the shower I always moisturize my face. I swear, I have to slap that moisturizer on as soon as I get out or my face will start peeling. Oh, and my go to moisturizer is Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Combination Skin. The amazing thing is that they have 3 kinds: for oily, sensitive, or combination skin. I probably should be using sensitive skin right now but I used to have oily/combination skin and it still works excellent.

Makeup

Now after I moisturize I brush out my hair with a wide-tooth comb (never use an actual brush on wet hair, it’s too harsh) and detangle it with Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner Spray. This stuff also smells amazing and detangles great. I’ve been using this stuff for about a year and I think I’ll stick with it. But this summer I’ve been also using Garnier Fructis Style Pure Clean Smoothing Cream. Now I don’t think it tames my frizzies very well but it does work well as an extra detangler. Then I use Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Define & Hold Creme. It works pretty good on keeping my waves/curls smooth and defined but I think I could do better. Although it also smells really good :) 

Today I just bought some Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk and I’m trying it out to see if it’s any good. Wish me luck!

Honestly, I don’t wear makeup, but I still have some that I use on special occasions that I really do like. Maybelline’s the Falsies Mascara seemed to really enhance my eyelashes the one time I used it for pictures. For foundation I like Covergirl NatureLuxe Liquid Silk Foundation with sunscreen in Aspen. I’m not much of a gloss or lipstick girl so I really enjoy Maybelline’s Baby Lips. It slides on easily and it’s not cakey like lipstick. Also the cherry color smells really good, like cherries! For lip balm I religiously love Burt’s Bees. I have the Ultra Conditioning kind right now but I have gotten the Honey balm before too. Oh and back to lipstick, during the school year, on busy mornings, it was so simple to just put on the Baby Lips just like chapstick! I also use Covergirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm in Grenache which looks beautiful!

Pretty much that’s it when it comes to beauty products! Bye bye!

What's IN This Christmas Season

This Christmas and New Years’ Eve, it’s your turn to show off those sparkles and rock the red, green, and SILVER! Here are a few tips and ideas to make you stand out under the mistletoe.

Denim

This gorgeous denim polish pretties up any outfit this season. It goes with pretty much any pattern, florals or stripes, and you will steal all the attention.

Find: $9 Essie Bobbing for Baubles

Glitter

Glitter makes a perfect disco ball appearance to your fingertips and an even more perfect addition to your New Years’ Eve assemble.

Find: $14.99 OPI Muppets Collection Rainbow Connection

Fur Mittens

 Your fingers will be all toasty and warm and they’ll look cute at the same time!

Find: $19.50 Aerie Convertible Mittens from Aerie

Fair Isle Sweaters

Paired with pants, a skirt, or leggings, this holiday trend is too darn cute. They’ll provide you with plenty of cozy but cute outfits during the rest of winter.

Find: $70.80 Free People Cropped Fair Isle Pullover Sweater from Bloomingdale’s

Hope these quick ideas will keep you looking sleek and chic at your upcoming parties.

Bye, bye!

Clever Ideas to Deal with Pumpkin Pie and Crust Scraps

So, I must have made my pumpkin pie bites from the earlier post a bit small than Bakerella’s. But, hey, I’m not one to follow the crowd (and that was a pinch of sarcasm for the day).

Because I had a heck load of pumpkin filling and pie crust left over. So, here is what I did with it:

INTRODUCING:

Idea #1 Cupcake-sized Pumpkin Pies (hey, it rhymes!)

Ingredients

-pumpkin pie filling (I used leftovers from the Pumpkin Pie Bites)

-refrigerated pie dough (I used leftovers from the Pumpkin Pie Bites)

1. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes of dough.
2. Push the pumpkin-shaped pie crusts gently into a cupcake pan, folding the dough the hangs over into the cup.
3. Fill with your pie filling.
4. Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes (this is what I think I cooked it at)

And here is the process:

Enjoy! 

Cheetah Fingernails

Ah, the glory of the difference of these two designs. Remember my Cheetah Toes post back in August? Well, let the memories flood back. This time I did my nails myself and painted my fingernails, not my piggies. I’m so sure that the last one was better, but here they are!

What I did was coat the nail polish brush very lightly. If you have too much polish you will have big blobs, not cheetah spots. Be careful, and the messier, the better. Remember, this is cheetah print, not perfect zebra stripes. It comes easier the more nails you do. Just dab your brush onto your nail in very quick, sharp movements until you create spots.

Have fun and try this out! Mistakes are natural!

Bye, bye!

Getting to Know Sure Cuts A Lot 2: Using SVG Files

This is the final tutorial of how to use Sure Cuts A Lot 2. Yes, I know, there’s only 3. And they aren’t that fancy. Kinda crappy, actually (giggles). And I know there’s waaay better  ones on professional sites. So before I give my idea on how to use SVGCuts, lemme just give you a link to this baby right here, so you can actually have a real tutorial created by the persons who created the program.

Step 1: Go onto SVGCuts and find the file you want. Download it. I don't know what happens when you download it on a PC but when you do it on a MacBook it automatically downloads to where you want it.

Step 2: Go ahead and find the file you downloaded. In my case, I downloaded two, using Steve The Monkey and the balloon from the Graduation Cuddly Friends File.

Step 3: Now the files you downloaded should be on your virtual mat. Arrange the layers where you want and cut!

Happy crafting!

Getting to Know Sure Cuts A Lot 2: Cutting With Your Cricut™

Don’t you hate when you really want to do something but you just can’t? That’s how it works with me and baking. Last night, at 11-something pm, I had an absolute need to bake. Maybe it was from drooling at pictures on Erica Sweet Tooth (You do not know how much I heart this site) or all those new ingredients I have in the pantry just waiting to be used (real vanilla, flour, soft brown sugar) and those extra ingredients that would be perfect for a recipe on that site (graham crackers, Hershey’s, and marshmallows). But I had a need. I really needed to bake something fresh out of the oven. And guess what? I didn’t. Why not? It was 11-something pm.

So now that we got over my random sob story, let’s get started!

Tuesday I revealed some very healthy tips on where things are and what you use them for. Today, I’m going to show you how to get a picture from the Internet perfected on your virtual mat so you can cut it.

Step 1: Go into the Internet or your personal picture library and pull out the image you want. Save it.

Step 2: Click the Add Image button and find your pic. Once you have, open it.

Step 3: This window will pop up. Don’t freak, it’s supposed to look deformed at this moment.


*Sorry about this, but Blogger was being stupid and it kept on switching Step 4 and 5 around*

Step 5: Your image should now be on your virtual mat. Get ready to play with it’s height and width until it looks semi-normal.

Step 4: Tinker your picture with Settings and preview after each change until it looks how you want it to. Click OK.

Step 6: Get rid of your Shapes Table and Font Table. That way you have a more clear view of your virtual mat.

Step 7: On your Properties, check Keep Proportions

Step 8: On your Properties, control Position & Size by changing the width and height of your object.

Step 9: On your Properties, control Position & Size by changing where your object is located.

Step 10: Cut your object with your Cricut™ connected to your computer.

Happy crafting!

Getting to Know Sure Cuts A Lot 2: Where and What

Your relationship with your cutting machine is an interesting one. It’s the relationship that brings you all those “oohs” and “ahhs” from those adorable crafts you create. It’s an important relationship to establish.

However, the relationship between you and your key to cutting anything you desire is far more important. Like my relationship with Sure Cuts A Lot 2 is fairly good. But I think it would like if I used it more. Yeah. That’s what would make it better. What makes it a good relationship?

#1 I know how to use it-

Knowing how to use your Sure Cuts A Lot 2 is an important step in establishing a good relationship. That way you can use it more!

#2 I like to use it-

Don’t get Sure Cuts A Lot if you don’t have a Cricut™ and you never will. Make sure you know what it’s for before you get it.

#3 I have time to use it-

Okay, I waste a lot of time doing stupid stuff, but I do have a good amount of time to play with my Cricut™ and its accessories (Sure Cuts A Lot). I have more time than I think. Don’t plan on getting either expensive things if you don’t have the time for it.

#4 Now that we got that cleared up, let’s get started!

This is what the Sure Cuts A Lot 2 window looks like when everything is opened up.

You’ve got your Font Table, Shapes Library, Properties bar, Tools bar, and everything in between. A lot of stuff that you don’t know what it is for. Well, let’s start with...

Where and What

I’m going to go over the basics of where everything is and what it is for. Don’t get bored along the way!

Hope this will help you for the time being! Over the next few days I will be posting; each  post helping you get around Sure Cuts A Lot 2 and developing your relationship (snicker, snicker) with it.

Have a good day!

P.S. If I began to sound a little hyper over the next few days, don’t worry. It’s only a little sugar rush I have from pigging out on Ben & Jerry’s® Milk & Cookies and Mint Chocolate Cookie :)

Wet and Sticky is Very Icky, Sticky and Wet Makes Mommy Upset

Who knows what this quote is from? Come on, I know you know it. Alright, I guess you give up. It's from iCarly. That pre-teen show? Yeah. Why am I saying this quote, exactly? Who knows. See, that's kind of how people are. If we say something random and funny, everyone around us will burst out laughing, whether they know what we said or not, just because it was out-of-the-blue. And then a little while later they realize that it was not funny at all and they wonder why the heck they were laughing at it anyways.

Yeah, random, I know. That's how it works with me (giggles). Okay, so the reason I said that corny quote (tee-hee, isn't the word corny hilarious?) is because I have something sticky to share with you today.

Yes I created this picture with some Kevin and Amanda fonts, only because it's pretty cute, and I did not want to deal with copyright issues by stealing some other pic off the Internet

Mod Podge. Ever heard of it. Since I was an elementary student, I always thought it was pronounced like Modge Podge. I also thought it was spelled like that, but let's save my history of bad spelling and pronunciation for another day, shall we?

So anyways, Mod Podge. What is it? It looks like really thick glue that drys clear and shiny. And since I was determined to send a traveling journal (by the way thanks to my auntie for telling me about eighteen25. If you're reading this you know who you are!) to my sister while she is away—and I've been wanting to buy my own Mod Podge for a long time—I said what the hey and got a bottle plus a pack of 6 sponge brushes for only .99. Not including the sticky stuff, folks. Sorry. America's not that cheap.

And the story ends happily! I spread that Mod Podge over the cover of my already-made journal and smiled to myself. When I was done it was all glossy and shiny and the paper was sealed together. It turned out perfect.

I recommend you go out and get some Mod Podge if you haven't already. This stuff works like a charm and I've already got a few other projects in mind I'd like to use it for. I also suggest stopping by Hobby Lobby. This place may be a scrapaholic's dream. They've got rows and rows of everything you could ever need for crafting. And the prices are perfect. I shopped there one night to make my last-minute gift for my bestie's birthday party and I got a whole lot of crap for one small price.

I hope you enjoy! By the way, who’s as shocked as me about the Pretty Little Liars episode that premiered Tuesday?

My Green Post

Do you know what today is? Come on, don’t be afraid to guess. Well, if you are a clueless citizen (not to be offensive or anything), but it’s Earth Day! Yes, the beautiful day where we worship the land we stand on. Oh, and it's Good Friday to those who are *religious* like me (*Don't eat meat*) And we bend and kiss it and praise it (I was just kidding, don’t kiss the ground. That might be a little too friendly) Below is our wonderful Earth.

It’s so gorgeous I think I might cry (sob, sob... just kidding) But really. Mother Earth is unbelievably amazing. It’s so amazing I might fall flat on my face just thinking about it. But ignore the weird things I do. Just focus on the blue and green swirly colors in the picture above. I picked up trash all over a field and found some pretty... interesting things. I will not mention them, because it may be slightly disturbing, but ignore that too! This is what I want to know. How will you help the Earth today?

Don’t be worried if you don’t know, it’s one of those things we humans wonder about sometimes. Do something nice for the Earth. It can be anything. Even the smallest thing will make you feel a bit like you accomplished something.

Because I don’t want to copy—and I’m lazy—the following are links to some great pages:

• 100 Ways to Save the Environment

• 50 Ways to Help the Planet

• 100 Ways You Can Save the Earth

• 21 Practical Ways to Help the Environment

• 101 Ways To Help Planet Earth

 Have fun with these! P.S. Remember this chant: When you're trying to have fun, remember rule #1- Earth is our Mother. So let's try to save her! I know, it's lame. Ignore it. Bye!

8 Ways to Organize: Electronic Wise

Electronics are all a necessity to us, right? I mean we communicate, share news, learn things, and so much more! But then there’s the cords, and the plugs, and the disks, and the headphones—all that electronic-savvy mumbo jumbo that we don’t need to get into. And on the bright side—all that mumbo jumbo gets tangled up and ruined! No, I was just kidding. That doesn’t always happen. I’m serious, chill. But you know what I mean. Taking care of electronics can be hard, but it can be easy too! Now here’s the fun part:

I’ve got 8 Ways to Organize, right here. So sit back, relax, and have your electronics close to you, cause you may want to start organizing while your reading this! JK-ing again.

8 Ways to Organize: Electronic Wise (Hey, it rhymes!)

Wrap your cords so they don’t get tangled And the best way to do this? Ta-da! Yes, it’s magnificent, it’s creative, it’s the most original idea on Earth—zip ties! You never would have guessed, right? Or some fancy schmancy things I like to call... twist ties! They’re extremely expensive and very hard to find though. Just kidding again! Wow, what’s wrong with me today? All these lame jokes are probably really getting to you. But zip or twist ties are both cheap and easy to find. You can usually find them any place. But if you wanna get real scientific, look at an office store.

Make a special container to keep your earbuds Well, what do you know? I have an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy craft idea exactly for that right here! Having a small place that you recognize is for that item, really helps you remember to put it back and KEEPS THEM UNTANGLED! How great is that?

Fold your cords of certain electronics Do you know the right way to fold your electronic cords together? Well, do you? Well if you don’t (let’s pretend that you don’t), put the two ends together, and keep folding together. Yep, it’s that easy. Don’t sweat it, you’ve still got 5 more tips to go! (squeal!)

Get a case Yes. I know this not the most original idea out there, but it helps. There are cases for everything! Laptops, iPods, iPads, handheld game devices, phones—you get the idea. And guess what? There is even cases for your electronic accessories. Cases to keep your cords and plugs, cases for your headphones—I could go on and on but you get the picture. And... you wanna know the next cool thing? There is even cases to keep your cases in? Wow, aren’t we creative. But, the point is, cases keep your items concealed and protected. Oh, and did I mention adorable?

Put certain things together This may be a little confusing, so let me explain. I mean if you have certain items and their accessories, put them all in one container. Yep, that’s right, you’re not hallucinating. I mean go out and buy some of those drawer dividers and arrange them in your desk drawer. Make sure only electronic-related items get put in there. Keep a designed divided area for each different item—for example: iPod related stuff; supplies for cleaning electronics; all of your headphones; batteries; chargers—and keep those items in their places. Then you’ll get used to reaching there when you’re looking for something and putting it back when your done.  

Get rid of those cases, get modern! You know how DVDs get lost or scratched because sometimes their cases are being used for something else or were misplaced? Well, try this. Recycle all those trashy cases and buy a DVD album. That’s right! There are some pretty cute ones out there too. Keep all your DVDs in there. Or, if you’re the tech-savvy-kind, load all of your movies and CDs onto a computer and don’t deal with any mess. This is easy and a good way to get rid of unwanted clutter.

Put everything together! Want to forget the cases, forget the dividers, and forget having separate places for everything? Then this is your dream come true! Get one of those large storage boxes from any store and throw all of your junk in it! That’s it! Just be warned that you’ll have to fish out your items any time you’re looking for them!

Charge it up Sorry, I stole this one from a little birdie. Shh... Okay, your family is all charging their devices in different areas, which is a recipe for disaster. If everyone had some idea where they last saw the device, there would be no problem, right? So get a charging station or dock. This will be so much simpler for the family, and, you could station it at the home computer which we all use on a daily basis.