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I am project obsessed! I also have a some what distorted belief that I can D-I-Y everything!!! I'm in my mid 30's and still trying to figure life out.

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Friday, August 24, 2012

What Would Pinterest Do? Newspaper Print Nail Art

So I decided to start a new series of blog post titled "What Would Pinterest Do?"
In these post I want to take popular Pinterest Pins and take my hand at them, from make up to crafts, fashion and more! I will do my best to source the original pin!!! If you have any insight please share.

The first of these series starts with the ever popular Newspaper Print Nail Art. The original pin I found came  from The Hybrid Chick at  http://www.thehybridchick.com/2011/09/the-digi-nails-a-hybrid-manicure/
I then delved deeper and found some people were using newspaper print.

Here is my how to video:




Thursday, August 2, 2012

Go ahead, be high and mighty

keep your heels, head and standards high...
I think I need to say this to myself one thousand times today. I seem to have gotten the heels part down but need to work on the head and standards at times. 

DIY Cocktail & End Tables

Chevron Pattern Tray DIY Cocktail Table

Mirrored Cocktail Table

Vintage Suitcase turned bedside or End Table

Each of these pieces are so distinctively unique, and I adore them all. The thing that is universal about each of them and perhaps why I adore them all, is that they can all be DIY-ed. Yep, that's my new made up term. 

The first is a series of Chevron trays on top of a luggage stand. Any narrow, low profile table would do the trick though. Just make sure that the trays cover the length and width perfectly for full affect. 

The second is a bit of a project but can be assembled with properly sized plywood, mirrors (you can buy mirrors and cut them to size with a glass cutter) and molding (shoe or quarter round). 

The last requires some scavenger hunting but is really just a suitcase painted white placed on top of a beside table. Depending on how high you want it you may need to adjust the height of the legs of the table. 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Favorite Spaces - Bedrooms







Silvers, grays, crisp white, vibrant blues... Upholstered headboards, metallic and mirrored furnishings, additional seating either with an accent chair, ottomans or benches.


This one is def the most dramatic and masculine but still has some of the same elements... upholstered headboard, metallic finishes and additional seating

Monday, July 23, 2012

DIY - Custom Drawer Organizer

I think I am a really organized individual and my resume agrees with me. (Thanks folks, I'll be here all week. Remember to tip your bartenders.)

The bane of my existence has always been my dresser drawers. I have purchased inserts before but nothing has ever worked, because nothing was ever CUSTOMIZED to the drawer. Alas! I have created a very inexpensive solution! All you need is foam board.Yep, foam board. Then gather things you should already have like a tape measure, Xacto knife, painter's tape and a pencil and transform your drawers from disorganized to systematized!

To get the step by step watch my video. : )


DIY Custom Drawer Inserts and Organizers





My Sister Has Wedding Brain!

It sounds like a bad thing, having Wedding Brain, and I guess if she got all Bridezilla it would be. However she has not and I am here to make sure she does not! Since we are so far apart, with me in California and her in Chicago it can be hard sometimes to share our ideas. To make things a bit easier I put together an animated inspiration board! Check it out! 





Sunday, July 8, 2012

Going "Bronde"

Bored with being brunette I decided one day crazily and hastily to bleach and then dye my hair blonde. My mom owned several salons/day spas for most of my life and so I had basic knowledge on how to do this myself. Yep, I turned my hair from the picture on the top to the one on the bottom all by my lonesome.

Me and my close friend Dan

Me and the Mister

Not completely satisfied and perhaps also bored I decided to then transform myself further to what I look like today. I call it "Bronde".
Me as a bronde
So How did I do it? The first step was using bleaching powder and 40 volume developed that I got from my local beauty store. Here's exactly what I used:



I parted my hair into 4 sections (top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right). Then I bleached each section separately. Yes this took forever because I had to wait the 45 minutes for each section to lift and wash it out. The most crucial part was getting the roots to match the rest of my hair. Because my roots would lift the quickest I made sure NOT to apply the bleach to my roots until 35 minutes after it had been on the rest of my hair. Basically, I waited for the last ten minutes to apply the bleach to my roots. It actually worked! After doing each section my hair lifted uniformly! The bad part was that it was a brassy. That's when the toner came in. Because I didn't want to be brassy I decided to get a 8A Light Ash Blonde color. I applied it to my entire head using a 20 volume developer. Here's what I used:


Satin Light Ash Blonde Hair Color
After two months playing with that color I decided I wanted to add some dimension. The first thing I did was added some low lights using a 5N Light Brown with a 10 volume developer to the underside of my hair. I applied the color to select sections of  the bottom back part of my hair. I made sure to only leave the color on for 10 minutes. I didn't want it to over develop and turn grey or green. I also used a 10 volume developer because I didn't want lift in the color. 

Then I parted my hair down it's natural part and applied a 7N just to the top of my head. I also used a 10 volume developer for the same reasons as above. 

After that I added some highlights using bleaching powder and 40 volume developer. This is the end result: 
Bronde Hair Color - Blonde and Brunette - How to dye hair Blonde



I think this chart is so helpful. The rows at the top read Natural, Ash, Gold, Beige, Gold Copper, Copper, Red Copper, Red and Mahogany.