I Love Ulta

I have an addiction. It's makeup. I love trying new brands and finding great products. I shop at Ulta, probably more than I should, but after my separation and now divorce, looking good just makes me feel better. So I figure on a scale from harmless to rock bottom time for rehab, this makeup addiction is on the benign end of the spectrum. One of the things I love most about Ulta is their rewards program. I earn points for every purchase and those points are worth cash off of future purchases. The points never expire, so that's nice too. It's free to join and right now you can get a coupon for $10 off your next purchase just for signing up!

Free Fancy Feast Cat Food Sample

I don't actually have a cat. However we do have a neighborhood cat. I think he has a home a few houses down the block, but he shows up hungry on a semi-regular basis. So, when things like this pop up I always order them, just to have on hand. This offer is painless, they don't ask you to watch a video or share a photo like some freebie offers. The link to the form is on the right hand side of the page.

Nook Book vs. Paperback

I was just shopping on Barnes and Noble's website. A book in one of the series that I read faithfully just came out and I wanted to download it. Then I noticed that the price for the Nook Book version was practically double the price of the paperback copy. That seems a little ridiculous given the cost to produce the eBook vs the cost produce the paperback book has got to be significantly less. 

Now admittedly, I don't have the exact numbers. It just stands to reason that a book being delivered electronically should be less than the same book printed on paper, bound and shipped from where it's produced to where it's actually distributed from. 

I didn't buy the book. 

Not yet anyways. I recently picked up a hardcover in another series I love at Costco, so maybe when I finish Sue Grafton's "X" I'll check back on the price of Laurel K. Hamilton's "Dead Ice". 

Halloween Wreath DIY

I decided to get a little crafty this week! 

I already had all the materials here in my ridiculous crafting stockpile. The wreath itself I purchased a couple years ago at Dollar Tree. I picked up a few since they were just $1 each. (Which reminds me, I should probably check out the dollar store craft section soon, it's been a while.) The tulle I ordered on eBay. I sometimes just watch random craft items like this to find auctions that end incredibly cheap. I paid between $0.25-$2.00 a roll. This was the first time I had actually used tulle and it was surprisingly easy to work with. Much easier than I expected anyway. The spiderweb ribbon I picked up on sale at Michael's last year after Halloween. All in all I'd estimate the wrest cost about $6 to make. If you've priced wreaths of any kind lately, that's quite a bargain. 

I started by making the pom-pom flowers from the tulle. I read online that I'd need a darning needle and thick thread, but instead I used a regular sewing needle and regular thread. Mostly because I don't actually know what a darning needle is and I certainly don't have one laying around. I don't think so anyways... To make sure the knot didn't just slide through holes in the tulle I cut a little piece of a fabric scrap, folded it in half, and slid it on the thread, down to the knot, before starting. 

For the larger pom flowers I cut 2 pieces, roughly 25" of tulle, layered them together, and folded them in half. I did the stitches down the crease. The stitches don't have to be neat or even in any way. After stitching from one end to the other, I pulled the thread taught and pushed the tulle backwards to form the pleats.

 I then took another tiny piece of scrap fabric to finish this end. Then to finish this piece of the flower, I simply sewed the 2 tiny pieces of fabric together. 

I set this piece aside and made pom-pom from the opposite color of tulle. I made it just like I'd make a pom-pom from yarn. I now some people have templates or fancy things that they use for making pom-poms. Me? I just wrap the material around my hand. 

Depending on the size of the ball, I wrap it tight or loosely. And I just eyeball the amount I use, usually about and inch thick on each side. I snipped the tulle, slipped it off my hand and tied it in the middle with some bakers twine. (Purchased in the $1 bins at Target). I left a few inches of the string hanging, which I pulled through the hole in the center of the bottom piece of the tulle flower that I had set aside before. 

I cut another piece of tulle, the same color as the bottom piece of the flower, roughly 8" long. I tied the baker twine in the center of this piece and pulled it tight. Now, I cut the twine short. This final tulle piece is what I used to tie the flowers to wreath. If they stuck out too far, I trimmed them slightly. 

To make the smaller pom flowers the only thing I really changed was how I made the bottom piece. For these I only used 1 piece of tulle, roughly 25". I folded it into thirds and put the stitches down the edge that would keep it sealed. 

The ribbon I just wove through the wreath. I tied it behind the flowers since it can't be seen there. 

The tulle bow was made very simply. It is not actually tied like a bow at all. I just decided how big I wanted it, looped tulle together and tied it in the center with a small piece of tulle to form the bow loops. I cut strips of tulle for the bow strings, folded them in half, layered them and then tied them along with the loops in the center again with another small piece of tulle.

 I used tulle to make the hanger as well, I looped it twice and you could make it as long or short as you want. I used one last small piece of tulle to fasten the bow to the hanger, again right in the center. 

** All the measurements here are approximate. I don't generally measure when I craft unless, you know, it's super necessary for the project. 

Good Cook Bakeware

Admittedly, I bake pretty often. I'm a stress baker, so over the last year I've made my fair share of muffins and cupcakes. Because of this, over the course of this past year I've purchased some new bakeware, including some new muffin tins. 

Yesterday, I made some banana bread muffins for a friend who was going out of town for a job. When I was washing the tin afterwards I noticed that one of the cups had come out of its slot. At first I thought maybe I could just pop it back into place... I was wrong. 

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a huge deal. I have other muffin tins and this one is still useable in a pinch. I just think that something like this should remain intact more than a year. Bakeware and cookware used to be made to last. My grandma had the same stuff for decades. 

I'm definitely not impressed with the quality of Good Cook. 

Finished Stove

Well, I finished the stove. 

I actually finished it a few days ago but I've been staring at it everyday, deciding if I like it or not. When I first finished, I was thinking that this was probably my first major DIY fail. It was definitely not love at first sight like with the finished fridge. 

I have to admit though, it's growing on me. I'm not sure if that's because I actually like it or if I'm just dreading a redo. At first glance I thought it looked like one of those brown stoves from the 70's. The bronze just didn't come out quite as I had imagined. I think my first mistake was buying paint at the craft store rather than Home Depot. The paint said it worked on metal, and it did. Sort of. It just took A LOT of coats to cover. I also didn't take in to account the way bronze would look against the black parts of my stove. I don't like the combo as much as I thought I would. 

For now, I'm leaving it. But in the coming weeks it's very possible that I'll be repainting it.