This Is Me #3

#1. My favorite color as a child was blue.  I hated pink.  I rebelled against all things labeled 'girlie'.  

Sorry about the blue mark on my neck, some pen transfer on this old photo.  

#2.  My 20s has been all about reconnecting with my inner girl.  I love pink now.  I'm embracing lace, sparkles, accessories, animal prints, and frilly things.  I've been growing my hair out.  This is the longest it's ever been.

#3.  When I imagine what I currently look like, I always picture myself with blonder hair.  I was a true toe head growing up, but I slowly became whatever color I am now.  What is this chestnut brown?  No where near blonde.  

#4.  I used to build houses for Habitat for Humanity in Orange County, California.  I miss how rewarding that hard work was.  I am thankful for the people I got to work with, and it was a blessing meeting the families we were building the homes for.  They all had their own unique story.  

#5.  I love long rides in the car on beautiful sunny days.  Which is exactly what Aaron and I are doing right now!  We are heading to upstate New York to visit some friends.  We are going to a jack & jill bridal shower, and camping.  It's going to be a blast!  

Have a lovely Saturday everyone, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Fun Friday Fascinations #10

My first fascinating find for you this friday is for my ladies, and it will get you in a good mood, no matter what time of the month.  It's kind of humorous that 95% of the bloggers I follow are female, but I hardly ever see anyone writing about periods.  Not that I have any room to point fingers, I'm just as guilty.  We all deal with them, but we've been so conditioned to think they are gross, and something we shouldn't discuss in public, little less  ::gasp::  on the internet.  Gala Darling wrote this tremendously humorous article on The Ultimate Guide To Making Your Period Suck Less!  Great tips for making you feel better inside and out during that special time of the month.  

Gala's wonderful article lead me to this fun pair of quirky period panties from Harebrained.  Haha!  What a fun idea!  

I'm really loving this pair of wedges from ModCloth.  Those droplet cutouts and buckles are darling.  One of these days, I'll actually buy something I put on this list!  

I use to make sock monsters, but for some reason I stopped.  This sweater monster looks like just the DIY to get me back into it.  :)  Now I need to 'borrow' a sweater from Aaron ... 

Chevrons and reclaimed wood, what could be better?  Love this planter box DIY.  Oh! you could use it store magazines, or kids toys, or yarn in it!  

I've been thinking about buying some light bulb kits to make some funky lamps.  This tutorial from Poppytalk is just the inspiration I need.  

I have a dresser that I bought from a second hand store, and it's a fun 50s art deco style, but the natural wood color just doesn't suit me.  I Create With Love's green dresser makes me want to experiment with refinishing my thrifty furniture find.  

Well those are my finds for this friday, hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend!  Happy DIYing, chris!  

Cherry Mojito

It's still super hot here.  Heat wave central. Hello, Summer!  I know a great way for (adults) to cool off on these hot summer evenings.  A nice cold alcoholic beverage.  I don't drink much, and when I do it's usually a Jack and coke.  I say coke but I prefer pepsi, and every once in awhile I'll reach for a ginger ale instead of a pepsi as my mixer.  I've also been know to mix my whiskey with root beer, which I know is completely bonkers.  Also, I'm not too brand specific on my whiskey, nothing that's cheaper than Jack Daniels, which really isn't anything special.  

Wow, that was a little rant about my go to alcoholic beverage!  Anywho ... in the summertime I enjoy a good cocktail.  I get more adventurous with my adult beverages, and I start experimenting more.  Today I came up with a Cherry Mojito.  MMM!  I definitely dig a good mojito.  The mint and lemon lime flavor is so crisp, and refreshing on a super hot day.  I didn't want to mess with that classic flavor too much, but I figured I like all cherry flavored things, so how could this go wrong?  I'm so happy I tried this, so super tasty.  I think I'll be making this again!  

What You'll Need:

- white rum

- simple syrup (or water & sugar)

- fresh mint

- half a lemon

- rose grenadine

- maraschino cherries

- cherry soda

Directions:

I started off by making some simple syrup.  I made a small batch, by boiling 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan, and then I lowered the heat and added 3/4 cup of white sugar.  I continuously stirred the two ingredients together until the sugar had completely dissolved.  This only took about five minutes at most.  I funneled this into a small bottle, and chilled it in the refrigerator.  I went through some extra old junk mail, and catalogues, while that cooled down for a bit.  

About an hour later I picked some of my orange mint, and rinsed that off in the sink.  I placed about five to seven leaves in my pint glass.  Next, I squeezed the juice of my half lemon in the glass.  I poured in a shot of rum, a half shot of the simple syrup, and I mashed that all together.    Then I poured in a half shot of rose grenadine, added some ice, and filled the glass with some store brand wild cherry soda.  Mixed it up, added some mint, and a maraschino cherry for garnish.  

It's fantastic!! Not too sugary, not too fruity, not too rummy.  A great spin on an old favorite.  Hope you enjoy, and happy Thirsty Thursday! :)  Oh, and in case you're more a beer person, the glass I'm drinking this out of is from a brewing company called Twin Lakes.  It's brewed right here in my home state, Delaware.  I'm not a beer person, but Aaron is, and he says their beer is great.  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Wide Macramé Bracelet Part 2

Oh man, hello Summer!  The high today for my area is 101ºF!!! Whew-wee, it's hot out there.  I didn't let the heat hold me back, I didn't delay!  I got the macramé bracelet I started yesterday finished.  To see the first half of this tutorial, check out yesterday's post.  Now on with how you'll finish off this bracelet.  

I periodically tested the bracelet around my wrist, and once I reached my desired length I began tying the last row onto the jump links.  The last row has to be a row that includes the first string in the first knot.  Other wise you'll have a lose end.  

I have twelve strands, so I tied four on each of my three jump rings.  

When I was done tying on all the embroidery threads I tested the bracelet out, and made sure I could easily attach the hook.  The first time I had to remove the jump rings, and add a couple rows.  I tested it again, and it was perfect, that's when I trimmed the long tails off.  My guess for 56 inches of thread to begin with was a bit off, at  least it didn't mess up the project.  I just need to figure out what to do with all these thread scraps.  :)  

I like the way this bracelet sits on my wrist, and the clasp is lovely.  

Of course I love the colors too.  :)

 I'm totally enjoying this technique.  I want to make a ton of these.  I'd like to try better thread, and find a bead that would work, and play with different clasps.  I guess there are only so many of these I need though, I wonder if my female family members would want one?  I wonder if strangers would be interested in buying them ...  I'd totally enjoy making a ton of these.  I love playing with all the colors, and there are so many different materials I could try out.  

Well I'm off to make up some more fun things.  Hope you're having a lovely day, and don't let the sun burn you out!  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Wide Macramé Bracelet

I finally put together a DIY tutorial for my simple macramé bracelet.  After showing you a glimpse of it in my most recent Photo An Hour (Part 1 & Part 2), and my outfit post from this past Sunday, I figured I was past due for a tutorial.  

I started off by drawing a straight line on a piece of cardboard, and then sticking 32 straight pins as close together as possible on the line.  The number of pins you need will be determined by how wide you'd like the bracelet to be.  This will become more clear once we begin.  32 pins will make a bracelet that is about 3.25 inches wide.  For this tutorial I will only be using 12 of the pins, to make a bracelet that is about one inch wide.  

Gather together embroidery thread, and a clasp.  I am using three colors for this project, for the wider bracelet I used four, but it is completely up to you.  I am using a five loop closure, that I bought at Michael's.  On the wider bracelet I made, I used four toggle clasps.  I thought about using some acrylic beads, but once I started I decided they were too big for this project.  

Now measure out each strand for the bracelet, and wrap one strand around one pin.  The middle of the embroidery thread should be touching the pin.  

Since I made up this tutorial out of my head, I guessed how long they should be.  My guess is 56 inches, but I never measured the threads for my first bracelet, and I lucked out with decent length tails.  How I guessed the length, was I figured it should be one and a half times longer than the length I would need to make it around my wrist.  Without the toggles my first finished bracelet measures six and a half inches.  

This is what it looked like once I measured out all the embroidery thread, and wrapped them around each individual pin.  I placed two threads of the same color next to each other, going from orange, green, and then pink, and repeating that pattern.  

Now, let's get down to the actually bracelet making! Start by running your first strand through the first loop on the five loop clasp, and make sure the thread is perfectly doubled in half, and tie it in a tight knot.  Do the same thing with the second strand in the first loop.  

Continue tying each strand to a loop on the clasp.  For twelve threads and five loops, I ran two through the first, three through the second, two through the middle loop, three through the fourth hole, and two through the last loop.  

Moving on to the next row.  Skip the first thread, and tie the second and third strands together.  

Keep tying the strands next to each other together, until you get to the end.  There should be a lose thread on each end.  Now you have the technique down!  The third row will be the same as the first two, and the fourth row will be the same as the second row.  Keep repeating this until you reach the desired length.  

I will share in another tutorial how to finish this bracelet off.  This is how far I got before my ADHD got the better of me, and I needed to find a new project. 

Well, I've had a long enough break now, and it's almost dinner ... err, I just ate dinner, and walked the dog.  So back to making knots, and watching more Sister Wives.  Hope ya'll enjoyed, and happy DIYing, chris.  

Fresh Herb Dijon Mustard Dressing

On hot summer days all I want to eat is fresh picked salads, fruits, and veggies.  If it involves using the stove or oven, I'm not interested in cooking it.  So today I have a super simple salad dressing, a Fresh Herb Dijon Mustard Dressing.  Happy Nom Nom Monday!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-  1 Small Lemon

-  1/4 Cup jammed pack with fresh Basil

-  2 Tablespoons fresh Mint (I used Orange Mint)

-  2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard (I used a tablespoon of store brand, and a tablespoon of fancy Sweet Vidalia Onion Mustard)

-  1 Small Clove of Garlic

-  1/4 Cup Cold Water

-  3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I only had regular olive oil)

Directions:

Pick the basil and mint you'll need.  I've made this dressing before with parsley instead of basil, and it was super yummy too.  Experiment with different herbs, that would compliment the dijon mustard flavor.  Experimenting with different dijon mustards would be fun too!  

Prepare your herbs and clean everything.  Then squeeze the juice out of the small lemon.  Dump all the ingredients expect for the olive oil into a blender.  Blend everything super smooth, about two minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, and then slowly add in the olive oil.  Mix for another minute or so.

Pour into a salad dressing container.

It's a lovely creamy green color.  It's a great flavor for salad dressing.  Usually I'm one to view lettuce as the perfect vehicle to transport blue cheese into my system, but this dressing could have me moving over to the healthier side of salad dressings.  Even my grandmother who is a SUPER picky eater said she liked it, and she's not one to hide her true feelings about anything.  She would definitely tell me if it was gross.  So if you have a picky eater at home, and it's hard to find healthy salad dressings they like, give this a try!  Hope you enjoy!  

Happy DIYing, chris

Barefoot Days

Happy Father's Day!  I always make Aaron pose for a pic before we trade spots, so this photo is for Aaron's doodah, Happy Father's Day, David!!!  We love you, and miss you bunches and bunches!!

Now for my outfit.  I did some light gardening, and then hung out at my grandparent's.  It was overcast most of today, which made for perfect spring weather.  Not hot and humid, or cold and rainy.  This outfit is great for a relaxing day outdoors.  

Top -- hand-me-down from my mom

Tank Top -- H & M

Capri Jeans -- Kohl's

Shoes -- Dirty Laundry with DIY pizzazz

Bracelet -- made by me

This top was my mother's when she was a bit younger than I am now!  I love the girlie sleeves, and the embroidered eyelets.  I don't own any white tops, but I cherish every fiber in this shirt.  It's too thin not to be worn with a top under it, and I like to wear this super bright pink, or any bright color really.  This outfit is a perfect spring look for me.  I could wear variations of this everyday.  I'm not big on open toed shoes, but it is necessary to wear a light weight shoe and sock in the summer.  Honestly, I'd rather just be barefoot all day.  My pup thinks anytime I put on shoes means we are going for a walk.  Wouldn't it be nice to lead a barefoot life?  

I know I haven't been good at posting any DIY tutorials this month, but I did make this awesome bracelet recently.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I forgot to take any step by step photos, so I'll have to make another one to share with ya'll how I did it.  I'm really proud of how this turned out.  I didn't follow any instructions off of someone's blog, or a tutorial from a book.  I made this up all on my own.  :)  I want to make more in different colors.  Maybe add some beads.  Experiment with different clasps.  All sorts of ideas for this new technique I made up.  

Hope ya'll had a lovely weekend, and happy DIYing, chris.