DIY Fall Candle Holders using fake (or real) leaves

Hey guys!!  I haven't done a DIY in awhile and I was in a crafting mood this weekend.  Plus I got these supplies last year but with the move, they got lost in all my craft supplies.  So needless to say, with the holiday season soon approaching, more and more DIY's will be coming!

This will be one of the easiest and prettiest crafts you will ever do!!

Get together the following:

• Type of glass (vase, jar, bowl)
• Mod Podge (I used matte finish but you can use shiny too)
• Leaves (fake will be the quickest as real you will need to dry out prior to using)
• Sponge
• Optional: Burlap, Twine, Ribbon

Take your sponge applicator and apply mod podge liberally to the glass.  Wait a few seconds until it gets tacky and then put your leaves on, one by one, and coat liberally with mod podge until the edges stick to the glass.  Keep turning your piece around and around, adding as many or as few leaves as you like.

Let dry at least an hour.

I popped a candle in right away to see how pretty it looked!!

I then added some twine and ribbon for the finishing touches!!

And there ya go! I placed them right on my dining room table as my centerpiece!  You can see the mod podge gives kind of a stained glass effect.  If you don't care for that, then be strategic with your placement of the mod podge so it only covers the leaves.

Easy Peasy!!

Have you done any modpodge crafts lately?  What are your favorite fall DIY's?  Let us know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

What Coconut Oil Can Do For You And Your Face

Excuse the bright lighting on this pic....holy flash Batman....I wanted to show you the benefits after using coconut oil for 2 weeks, not the starkness of how white my untanned skin is....

First, let me go back to how this journey began for me.  I was doing some research on new homemade dog treats for the babes and came across one that was all natural and gluten free and sent to me by my crunchy friend, Rachel.  It contained coconut oil.  I wanted to see how it would affect my babes and was pleasantly surprised (info and recipe to come in future post) at all the ways it actually would.

So I went out and bought a big ole tub of it.

And then I was like, Rachel, I have this big ole tub of coconut oil, what else should I use it for....she was like, let me count the ways.....

That's some pretty heavy stuff right?? But today I am going to touch on the ways you can incorporate coconut oil into your beauty routine and the ways I am currently using it.

First, I take off my make up with it!! No more need for those expensive makeup removers, or two for that matter, I can use this on both my eyes and my face.  Works like a charm.  In fact, I bought an expensive oil based makeup remover to review and I think the coconut oil actually works better.

After I wash my face, I slather it all over again and let it soak in for a bit....usually this means I indulge in a trashy show :)  Then I take a hot rag and rub it in and wipe it off.  If I am particularly dry, I will leave a small amount on my face overnight.....but that is dangerous with puppy kisses, since they want to lick it all off my face :)

Since my last post was about highlighter, did you know you can use coconut oil as an all natural version?? Just swipe it on the high points of your cheek bones after you do your makeup for a natural dewy look.

Now on to hair.....I use coconut oil as a deep conditioning treatment and it can be used for split ends....which I haven't had in years thankfully.  If you do, just rub some coconut oil on the tips, wrap your hair in a towel and go to sleep.  Wash it out in the shower in the morning.

You can use it as a moisturizer on your hands, use it in place of shaving cream for your legs and even add it to some brown sugar or sea salt for a body scrub.

I wasn't really a believer until I tried it but my skin is doing a complete transformation since leaving behind harsh chemical cleansers.

It's interesting that in doing my research I found out that it wasn't until the 20th century that many people actually started believing in the health benefits of coconut oil......In the 70's there was a huge propaganda campaign spread by the corn and soy industry against it claiming it was harmful for us due to its high saturated fat content.....and there is your history lesson for the day ya'll!!

Have you used coconut oil in any of these ways before??  What's your favorite way??

Let us know in the comments below!!

I AGAIN thank my dear friend Rachel, for turning me on to this magical wonder.

Have a great day!! xo

Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Face and Body Self Tanner Review

Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Face and Body Tanner!!  This stuff is incredible!!! The end.   HaHa, If only all my reviews could be so simple.  I am trying to not turn into leather face and have cut back on the tanning booth.  I haven't gone in about 8 months and my pasty white pale skin reflects that sadly.  I was sent this by a friend and I am so grateful!!  I have tried cheapo "tanning" lotions from the store and have never turned orange, nothing happened at all.  I love Tarte and have been pleased with everything I have tried from them so I gave this a whirl.

This was my first time using a tanning mitt so it took some trial and error.  I also tried using it on my face.  I did it before bed, lathered up and waited till each section dried and went to bed.  I woke up and of course had forgotten I had done it until my husband said, "Whoa".

I ran to that bathroom and it looked like I had just come back from a wonderful, stress free vacation, ya know just without the vacation.  I was tan.

And a nice golden tan.  I had every intention on keeping up with it as with those overnight results I would have only needed to do it about 3 times a week I believe.  But since I get so much stuff to try I have forgotten about it.

Mama and I went to get mani's and pedi's the other day and I nearly blinded everyone with my white legs soooooo I plan on using this again this weekend and really being diligent about getting in to a routine until the summer months.

Try this!  If you want a natural gradual tan that you control the color of, this is great for beginners. Plus most of the reviews I read were positive, too!  And there are 2 sizes you can choose from if you don't want to commit just yet.

My pointers would be not to rub it up and down in strokes though as I did notice minor streaking in some parts.  Use circular motions, the color goes on dark enough before it dries so you can see where you have put it.  And if you do plan on doing your face, make sure keep it seamless with your neck :)

Have you already tried this product?  Do you love it?  What tips do you have?

Let us know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

How To Fix Broken Eye Shadows, Blushes Or Other Soft Powders

Supplies Needed

This is actually really easy to do! My last Glossybox included a broken blush so I saved it for this post.  And one of my awesome friends sent me these broken glitter (of course) eye shadows to use for my blog post.  I may be crazy but I won't be breaking makeup just to write a post about it!! :)

You will need the following:

• your broken products
• a tool, such as a butter knife, to break up the large pieces of product
• a flat surface (I used a quarter, not shown here)
• some paper towels or gloves or plastic wrap (just to keep your hands clean)
• rubbing alcohol (the higher concentration the better)

So first take your product and your tool and break it up into a finely milled powder.

This will be messy

Add a few drops of alcohol (the higher the better as it will dry quicker-even though you will need to let any product dry overnight) and let it soak in for a few seconds.

Soakin, Soakin, Soakin

Take your tool again and mix it all into your product.

Now, here is where the method can vary.  I took a quarter wrapped in paper towel and pressed the powder into the container until it was all level.

Press gently, yet firmly

Or you can take a piece of saran wrap and do the same.

Once your product is leveled out, leave it alone to dry over night.  That's it!  The alcohol smell will evaporate and be gone by morning time and no one will be the wiser!!!  You can make it as pretty as you want, even stamping it, I just didn't have the time :)

Completed look

If this is just too messy for you, here is another method.  Pour all of your broken product into a small ziploc bag.  Smush (that's a word) it up until it is powdery.  Put a few drops of alcohol into the product pan. Cut the tip off of the corner of the bag and pour the product into your prepared product pan and mix and press from there.

Have you lost a pricey product before reading this tip?

Or have you saved one this way??

Let us know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!! xo

DIY Homemade Lip Gloss

So the other day, I hinted to my next DIY project.  And here it is! Homemade lipglosses and lip balms.  First, let's talk about supplies.  Super easy to obtain and depending on how many you want to make, you can get supplies online or at your local craft store.  To be that is either Hobby Lobby or Michaels and sometimes Big Lots.

First you are going to need supplies:

• beeswax
• shea butter (you can use vitamin e and organic honey, just the same)
• almond oil (you can use coconut oil, just the same)
• flavored oils (such as peppermint, pineapple, tangerine, tropical punch, etc. I got mine from LorAnn Oils)
• containers (tubes or jars)
• a mixing jar, with a lid
• saucepan with boiling water
• stir sticks (wooden as not to melt)
• measuring spoons
• labels

First, take 4 teaspoons of beeswax, 2 teaspoons of shea butter and 3 teaspoons of almond oil and put in your jar that has the lid.  If you want glossier chapstick, add an extra 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond oil.

Fill a shallow pot with an inch of water and bring it to a boil.  Place the jar in the boiling water of course making sure it is below the rim and lower to medium heat.  Stir the mixture until it is melted, using your wooden stir sticks.

Have your flavored oil ready to go, a 1/4 teaspoon should be enough.  If you want to mix your flavors, use 1/8 of each to make 1/4.  Look at me using fractions!! :)

I started out in small batches, I recommend doing this since you may want to change things on the next batch.  For example, for the first batch I mixed peppermint and tangerine but the second batch I only used tropical punch oil but added some lipstick shavings to tint the lipgloss!  If you want to tint the lipgloss, add the shavings into the jar while you are stirring all the ingredients together.

Once you take the jar out of the water and add the oil, put the lid on and shake immediately so it is all mixed.  This is wax we are working with so you must do this with some quickness or it will start to harden :)

Peppermint and Tangerine

Tinted Tropical Punch 

Once you pour the wax into your desired container, you will need to let it set undisturbed for about 20 minutes.  If you notice when you pour your wax in that there is still a little dip in the center, add an additional drop of lip balm from the jar to level it off.

And there ya have it!! Easy Peasy!!

Now, of course I have so much lip gloss that some people will be getting gifts!! YAY!! :)

Have you made any lip balms before??  What are you favorite flavor combos?

Let me know in the comments below!

Oh and less than 35 hours for my giveaway.  Make sure you have entered loves!!  Click HERE!!

Have a great day!! xo

DIY Christmas-Homemade Infused Olive Oils

Last up in the series for DIY Christmas this year is homemade infused olive oils.  I did both garlic chili and rosemary olive oils.  It was a lot of fun and super easy. I mean I hope people think I slaved over a hot stove all day long making these beauties :)

First thing I want to tell you about is the potential for food poisoning....yeah, hate to be a buzzkill but the threat is real so make sure you really take the time to adhere to these guidelines prior to making these.  Any time a fresh ingredient is introduced in to a dish, there is the possibility of it causing more harm then good.  Thus the reason I did not do just fresh garlic infused oils and have garlic cloves in the oil.  If not properly prepared, botulism is a risk.

Moisture brings mold so when making the rosemary infused olive oil, if you choose to buy fresh rosemary, make sure you wash it and let it dry for about a week.  You don't want to be able to bend the herb at all, you want it to the point where it is cracking when trying to bend it as that means all the moisture has been removed.

You can skip fresh rosemary all together and just use dried herbs, too.

For the rosemary olive oil, I sprinkled some dry herbs in my jar and then added the (fresh) dried herb for decoration.  I cooked my oil on the stove with some of the other dried rosemary sprigs for about five minutes and then drained the rosemary out.  Let cool for about five minutes and then add to your jar. You can use extra virgin if that is what you have lying around, but regular olive oil seems to infuse and take on the flavors better.

For the chili garlic oil, I smashed some fresh garlic and put it in a pot on the stove with my olive oil. I let it cook for about five minutes or until you can smell the garlic cooking.  You don't want to burn it so keep an eye on it while it is in the pot.

Then I sprinkled some crushed red pepper in the oil and let it cool for another five minutes.  I threw in a dried chili for decoration in the bottle and then poured the olive oil in the jar.  You can get a funnel but I just used my turkey baster to transfer the oil :)

Done!  I attached a note letting my giftees know to use within one week or keep in the fridge.  You can let them know the oil can be used in cooking, sauteing for example, or you can dip crusty, french bread in the oil and eat it that way.  You can use the chili oil with egg rolls or in stir fry.  You can use the rosemary oil with a chicken salad.  So many delicious options!!

And there ya have it! They look beautiful.  I got my jars from Hobby Lobby when they had all glass 50% off and I just tied a pretty tag on the jar with some twine for the rustic look.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!!

Enjoy!!

Have a great day!! xo

DIY Christmas-Homemade Mason Jar Cookie and Brownie Recipes

Everyone loves sweets for Christmas.  It's a time of indulgence.  I love to make gifts that can be dumped into a bowl with a few fresh ingredients.   Simple yet people know how much time and effort went into making them.

I am going to include three variations in this one post.  Remember if you are one of my loved ones I expect you to be happily surprised when you see them if you continue reading :)

Last year was my first year making these and I knew some changes had to made this year and I changed all the recipes as not to gift the same ones, too.  So round up your supplies first.  I save pasta jars all year long as I make these gifts for Easter and other holidays so they always get used.  But you can just buy mason jars or canning jars at the store, too.  I just take the labels off and clean them very well.  The same method that goes behind cleaning my old used candle jars for my vanity gets used here.  Slowly take the label off and then take equal parts baking soda and vegetable oil to make a paste and let it sit on the glue for about 10 minutes until you can wipe it off with a paper towel.  You can also use Goo Gone if you don't want to make your own :)

Last  year I tediously cut out scrapbook paper and glued it to each lid.....this made for a very long project but also I was told the lids were hard to get off since the modge podge had really stuck on there. So this year I got some scraps of Christmas fabric and once the goodies were in the jar I laid them on top and then tied them on with some string.

Let's get to the ingredients used to make these homemade cookie and brownie jars.

Recipe used from TheFrugalGirls.com

First one is Butterscotch Cake Cookies in a mason jar.  You just need a box of white or yellow cake mix and a bag of butterscotch chips (try not to eat them all while making these because it requires a lot of self control).

You might want to get a funnel (I just used a piece of paper) to get all of the ingredients in the jars.

Take the entire cake mix and pour it in the jar.  I use my pestle from my mortar and pestle to really pack them in so the entire box fits.

Yes that is a picture from the next recipe :)

Once your white cake mix is in your jar then take about a cup of butterscotch chips and add them to the top.  If there is more space in the jar then add more chips to it.  Done!

You can hand write your recipe card or print it out and attach it with a string to the jar.  I still have to do that part but I wanted to get this up here for ya'll :)  Oh, I also am attaching a Christmas spatula to each jar this year.

Directions:
Beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  Add contents of jar.  Stir well and form dough into a ball.  Let chill in the fridge for 15 minutes prior to baking.  Drop into rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden.  

Next recipe I literally had to pry the bags of Reese's away from my husbands hands :)

Chocolate Reese Cake Cookies in a mason jar.

You will need a box of chocolate cake mix and 1 1/3 cups of Reese's pieces.

Recipe used from TheFrugalGirls.com

Pour the cake mix in the jar and push it all the way down.  Add the Reese's pieces on top! Done!

Directions:
Beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  Add contents of jar.  Stir well and form dough into a ball.  Let chill in the fridge for 15 minutes prior to baking.  Drop into rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden. 

Last recipe is a big one and this one takes some time but it looks oh so pretty!  I recommend making more than one jar of this at a time since you will have all the ingredients out to make your life a little bit easier.

Christmas Fudgy Brownies in a mason jar....mmmmmm........

I will list out the ingredients in the order they should go in jar and this is an actual recipe so measurements are important in this one or else your giftee will think they did something wrong :)

1 cup and 2 tablespoons of flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar (packed)
2/3 cup of white sugar
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup of cocoa
1/2 cup of your choice of sprinkles (or use more chocolate chips)
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

You will need to pack each layer down as you go to get the desired layered look but it is all worth it, it looks so nice!!

Directions:
Mix contents of jar with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of water, 2/3 cup of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

And there ya go!! I hope I covered it all and if you have any questions please let me know in the comments below!

Have fun with this and get creative in decorating them :)  These are always a huge hit.  People love the simplicity behind them and the fact that they don't have to do much.  If you have kids, this is also something they can help create with you as it really is a lot of fun.

Have a great day!! xo

DIY Christmas-Homemade Peppermint Sugar Body Scrub

The time has come where I am again a crafting fool making things to give as gifts this year.  I absolutely love making unique things for people all year round but Christmas is especially fun.  For the family members that read my blog, be warned, I expect you to be full of surprise in the event you receive any of the gifts that I post over the next week :)

This is probably the easiest gift I have ever made and I hope you all will try it, if not for a gift but for yourself.  This is an all natural exfoliating body or foot scrub, perfect for the dry winter months.  This can be made with any oil or scent you want, too.  I am going to use white sugar, olive oil and peppermint but you can swap the olive oil for coconut oil and the peppermint for vanilla.  You can swap the white sugar for brown sugar.  Add some lavender, add some lime juice.  This is easily customizable and lasts for up to 2 months.

First you want to pick the jars you are going to use.  Hobby Lobby had all glass 50% off so that is where I went.  I wanted cute jars but also ones that would be easy enough to get the product out. Next time I may go with plastic but I really couldn't find any that I liked.

Grab your ingredients.  I am going to be using about two and a half cups of sugar for these 6 jars.  Of course I didn't know that until I made them :) The olive oil I did not measure as you are going to make it to the consistency that you like.  And I had this peppermint oil in the cupboard, had I not I was going to use vanilla.

Pour your sugar into a large bowl and slowly start pouring your olive oil in.

I kept stopping to check the consistency until I got it where I wanted it to be.  Rub it through your fingers so you can feel it instead of only looking at it.

Once it was perfect, I added several drops of peppermint oil and mixed it really well.

It smells divine.

Then I scooped it into the jars.

Oh and I got these really festive labels that fit on them perfectly.

I, of course, did it the hard way and labeled my jars once the labels were on them.  To make it easier, write on them before hand :)

And there ya go! I mean super simple yet a perfect gift for anyone and everyone.  Especially people you just don't know what to get for.  My family loves my homemade gifts as they truly know I am taking the time to do something for them and that is what the holidays are all about.

I'd love to know if you try this recipe or have made your own homemade body scrubs before!

Let me know in the comments below and be sure to share your variations!

Have a great day!! xo

How to re-purpose your old candle jars!!

My Vanity

We all love makeup and candles so why not incorporate them??  I love crafting and want to show you an awesome idea to make use of those leftover candles that we pay SO much for!

First, when you are done with your candles, put them in the freezer.  I usually put them in there and forget about them so I would say at least put them in there for an hour.  That makes it so much easier to take the labels and the wax out.

Here is a video showing you just how easy the label will come off!

My hand in action

After the label is off, you want to get the leftover wax out.  The longer you leave it in the freezer, the more the wax will crack, making it easier to grab a butter knife and go to town on it.

This is a good crack

Nice and easy as to not crack the glass

Lift the wax out

Now, if you can get the little lit parts to come out with the wax, all the better as they will be a little harder to get out.  Having them come out in the wax eliminates you having to stab at them so in hindsight I should have made my own crack the other way.

I have one of those wax melter burner thingies so I keep the nice wax (none that have smoke on them) and reuse them in the burner!  Another way to save money and get the most out of these candles!

Almost done!

Now for that pesky label on the bottom.  Go as slow as you can, we aren't ripping a band aid off here :)

Slow and steady wins the race

But once it is off, we are not going to worry about any adhesive that is left anywhere on the candle. Now for the magic part!

Take equal parts vegetable oil and baking powder to make a paste.  Start out with two teaspoons of each depending on how much adhesive is left on your candle.  If the paste still appears runny, keep adding baking powder until it is a paste again.

Magic paste

Spread this mixture on to the sticky parts of the candle.  I usually let mine sit in the sink for about 10 minutes.

Magic paste

Once ten minutes is up, take a dry paper towel and wipe the mixture away from the candle.

No more stickiness

TA DA!

All the adhesive will be gone!

Now, in the event it is not, just put more paste on and let it sit another ten minutes.  Also, make sure you are always wiping the mixture away with a dry paper towel.  That helps a lot.

You can use this trick and magic paste on any type of adhesive to re use the bottle :)

I have them all over the house but here are some ideas!

In the bathroom

On the vanity

Use them everywhere

I even got more creative and put glitter letters on my jars to label them.  I hope you enjoyed this DIY and I would love to see what you make!!  The possibilities are endless!

Do you already have a way that you re-purpose your old candles?

Let us know in the comments below!

Have a great day!! xo