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12.29.2015

Tutorial Tuesday!

Tire See Saw:



How to build a seesaw out of a tire

Espresso Martini:

Espresso Martini Recipe-5

Rosemary Cheese Bites:



rosemary cheese bites watermark


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Hope Studios

12.28.2015

Warning: Scary Close-Ups!



(Click photo for full screen view)

My latest R+F Updates:

Here are my super close-ups I took to see if my Rodan and Fields Reverse Regimen was helping with pore size. I feel like they are definitely less noticeable! 

I am feeling better and less tired looking. 

I'm wearing a lot less makeup - I feel like I don't want to cover up my skin!

I do have to say that I did not see these results overnight, but I never see results from diet or exercise right away either. I feel like it's the same kind of thing.  I have been very consistent which was a little hard at first, but it seems to be true that 6 weeks of doing something makes a habit!

I have been keeping all my products all together in a little drawer next to my sink and I keep a cleanser in my shower, so it has been pretty easy to keep consistent.  I'm going to toss some R+F Wipes into my gym bag this week to clean my face after the gym.  I do have a bad habit of shopping or running errands while I'm out and not taking the time to clean off all the sweat.

I got my 3rd paycheck and used it to buy plane tickets to The Big Guy and I to Key West for his birthday trip this April! I know it might seem small, but I was so proud that I could do that on my own!  Moving upward!

**To celebrate this little milestone I have some Micro-Dermabrasion Paste packets to give away!**

These little magic packets will help you get the smoothest skin ever! You will be super exfoliated and your cheeks will feel as soft as a baby's butt!  Comment below and I will email you for your address!

12.25.2015

Merry Christmas!


Thanks for another great year! Merry Christmas to all! 

Now, get off the computer and go enjoy your families!

12.22.2015

Tutorial Tuesday!

Winter Scene Cake Make-Over:

DIY Winter Scene Cake Makeover- perfect for the holidays! 


 


Christmas Tree Bath Bombs 


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Hope Studios

12.19.2015

What Should be Under Your Tree?

 
10. Because you are tired of stay-cationing to save money.

9. You want to surround yourself with positive and empowering women and men.

8. You have an shoe (purse) habit that needs to be funded.

7. You are ready for a new title in addition to mommy/wife/maid/chef/laundress/taxi driver/student.

6. Your New Year's Resolution is to look in the mirror and smile.

5. You love me and want to spend more time with me.

4. You love having coffee and wine with friends.

3. You would like to retire. Sooner than later.

2. Traveling around the world on the doctor's dime and getting lots of fabulous presents sounds like fun.

1. You have goals and dreams for your family and to give back to others ... And the only way it's gonna happen is if you do something different today than you did yesterday!

Yes, it's cheesy, but most of these reasons played into my decision to look into this business a little further.

I'm happy, I'm making some money, I feel valued, I'm making friends outside of my bubble, I'm liking what I see in the mirror, and I'm working toward goals and a purpose.  It's not for everyone, but this is for me I now see. It's filling that void I had inside to do something more.

I don't post this stuff to be annoying or pushy - buy sometimes passion can come off that way. I get it. I just want everyone to know I do this, this is "my thing".  If you need something, want to join me, have a question, I'm here.

12.17.2015

5 Styles for Second Day Hair

 

I'm hair-impaired.  There, I said it.  I SUCK at doing freshly washed hair and suck even more on second day hair.  But, I'm trying to be good and follow my stylist's advice to STOP washing my hair every day.  "You are KILLING YOUR HAIR" she says. Ok, that scared the crap out of me.

So, I bought some dry shampoo with all this giddiness about how great this was going to be. My hair was going to be awesome, the articles said, so FULL - so BOUNCY.  Except mine looked more greasy. I was doing it wrong.  I got on the Google machine to learn how:

Positive Med hooked me up:

13 Hairstyle Hacks Everyone Should Know 7 

Turns out I was doing a lot of things wrong...like, all the things wrong with the dry shampoo thing.  

Next, I started collecting ideas for what the heck to do with my hair after I applied the spray because mine doesn't look good just brushed and down the second day. I know I won't fuss a lot and so I didn't even save things that looked to "done" or complicated:


 


 

Classically Contemporary: (yes, I need a tutorial to make a ponytail)



Mess TopKnot for Short hair 


 

Good luck! Maybe I'll try to photograph some of my attempts? If you are ready for a laugh, I'm ready to provide one!

12.15.2015

Tutorial Tuesday!

296 FREE Printable Gift Tags:




Ornament Gifts for Kids:



ornaments for kids that make great gifts from Nap-Time Creations

3 Creative Ways to Wrap a Gift Card:

Three Creative Ways to Give a Gift Card - illistyle.com


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12.14.2015

Recycled Gift Bows



Repost from December 2011, Enjoy!

Need some last minute gift wrapping ideas? I always run out of bows when i don't have time to run to Target.  Here are some bows you can make with magazine pages, wrapping paper scraps or even old homework papers!

Pull out your old magazines, girl, because I know you are just like me and hold on to those dang things "just in case"! Well, the time has finally come. Nah, nah, Big Guy!

Use a page of print to wrap your gift, then make this quick and easy gift bow GGCAA taught me how to make from a colorful magazine page. For this example I used a magazine photo of a giant ice cream cone!

Recycled Gift Bows

Supplies:

Magazine
Scissors or paper cutter
Stapler
Tacky glue
Tape


I used my handy dandy paper cutter to cut 9 strips of paper 3/4 inch wide:



Next, I sized them as follows:

Leave 3 strips at this length.
Cut 1 inch from the end of 3 strips.
Cut 2 inches from the end of 2 strips.
Cut the remaining strip to a length of 3 1/2 inches.

Now, begin to form figure 8's from all the strips except the shortest. Staple them to hold. *(I had a momentary brain fart during this step, but I finally got the hang of it. Just keep looking at the picture.)



The last strip will be glued to form a small loop.

Now, nest those babies! Begin with the largest figure 8's like this, placing a dot of glue between the layers:




Go ahead and layer the remaining 8's, largest to smallest then staple the whole lot together in the center:



Using a dot of glue, slip the loop you made from the smallest strip into the center:



Check out what you can do with an old homework paper and an ink pad. You're so clever!



Want some more ideas?

Try dressing up a paper lunch bag with scrapbook paper and ribbon.

Wrap yarn round and round plain brown craft paper wrappings, like ErinEverAfter:



Wrap in a square of reusable fabric, like Chewingthecud:



Or weave this amazing paper gift topper like PaperCrave:



Savvy Southern Style

12.13.2015

Flashback to 2009 - Project 365


I don't know if many of you were here with me back when my blog was still a baby? Pretty sure Wendy and Craig were, but not sure how many others.  But back then, "selfies" were not a thing and moms like me were realizing they were conspicuously absent from their family's photo lives (because we were the ones behind the camera).

I worked on a photography project called Project 365 and my goal was to take one picture every day and I had to be featured in it. I really only shared the project here on my blog. I was embarrassed to talk about it with my husband and friends. I thought I would seem vain and self-absorbed. Little did I know that narcissism was the wave of the future.  

At the beginning of the project, I wrote a letter. I later placed it among the pages to be discovered at a later date:

"Who am I? This is a journey lasting 365 days to answer that question.

It's so easy to lose yourself in your labels, responsibilities, relationships...who am I underneath all of that? Who is the woman who is also the mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend?

This project forces me to slow down and spend time with me each day. I hope to learn to appreciate my face and body for what they are, not what they were or what they could be.

I want to reveal to myself as the days go on and see the growth and progression by the end of the project, uncovering layers thought lost or never discovered.

I hope that if this project is discovered by my children later in life, they can look at it and understand who mom was as a woman, a person."

So, I started looking through old photos the other day and made a collage of my 2009 photo with my before and afters from the past 3 months. I was pretty astounded and happy and wanted to share:


Ugh! The lips!! Where did my lips go? I think that is the next project I'm going to see if Rodan + Fields can help with. I can only go so big on this page, so you can click on the photo to see full screen.

12.11.2015

Soul Sisters Ornament Exchange Party - 2015 version


We had our annual Soul Sister Ornament Exchange Party last night!  The food was great, the wine was flowing, the laughs came easily and the ornaments were amazing as usual!


So, you remember the rules, right? All ornaments must be handmade and the supplies must cost less than 20 bucks. Let the games begin!

I went first and gave the Santa's Belly Ornament I taught you how to make earlier this week: 


Next, Treat Girl gave us this gorgeous Holy Family wooden ornament (she made it last January and totally avoided the whole stress of a time crunch. We hated her):

 

Then Joy gave us this amazing origami-style Christmas Dress with tiny clothes pins and a handmade hanger!



And finally, Marzipan gave us this beautiful hand cross-stitched Christmas Tree ornament:
 

 Dessert Break!


Cheers to another great SS Christmas Party!

 

12.08.2015

Tutorial Tuesday!

Tree Decorating Secrets From The Pros:


Step-By-Step Christmas Tree Decorating Directions From The Pros

15 Make-Ahead Holiday Cookies:

15 Fabulous Make-Ahead Holiday Cookies via thefrugalfoodiemama.com - the cookie dough and/or finished cookies for these recipes freeze beautifully for the holidays

Chocolate Pretzel Christmas Trees:

These fun Chocolate Pretzel Christmas Trees are fun to make for any holiday party | OHMY-CREATIVE.COM

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How to Avoid Stress At Work