Fashion/Jewelry/Makeup: My favorite makeup tips

  Oh yes it's makeup time.  The things most women love and most men hate.  With this post I just wanted to share a few things that I love and that have given me some great tips and ideas for makeup.  I think one reason why some of us are scared to try something new (as far as makeup) is because it's on your FACE.  Right out there where everyone can see it and it's like putting yourself on display.

  One of my go to items is makeup artist Bobbi Brown's book called Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual.  Love, love, love this book.  This woman is amazing and her instructions are easy to follow.  After reading her book I got compliments on my eye makeup all the time.  I would love to meet Bobbi Brown, she is such an intelligent woman.  There is a lot more than just colors behind makeup; there is chemistry and art.

  Another favorite source of mine are my Youtube channels.  Amarixe, Kandee Johnson and Tiffany D are my 3 main girls I watch.  They are all fun to watch, they share their favorite products and they have tutorials.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kandeejohnson
http://www.youtube.com/user/amarixe?blend=3&ob=5
http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupByTiffanyD
The links above are for the ones I watch.  If anyone has others please share in the comment box I would love to check it out.

I do want to share a couple tricks that I have just learned on my own with having sensitive skin.  First one is how to make your own makeup brusher cleanser.  Second, I change my foundation sponge every week or two.  Both of these things have improved my skin dramatically.  I try to clean my brushes about every two weeks.  If you actually need to wash them you can use the brush cleanser and run them under water with the bristles facing down.  Lay them flat to dry.

Makeup brush cleanser formula:
Witch Hazel- 2 Tablespoons
Bottled water- 1 cup
Baby shampoo- 1/2 teaspoon
  Mix it in a measuring cup and then put it in a travel size shampoo or squeeze bottle.   Pour a little bit of the cleanser onto a tissue and then swirl your brushes around.  Be gentle enough not to damage the bristles but firm enough to get down into the whole brush.  Lay them flat to dry.

  I hope you guys check out my favorite things and try a couple things.  I do have to warn you that you might get addicted to watching it and buying make up like I am now.

In The Kitchen: How to prepare for holiday cooking

   Even though Thanksgiving is over the holiday season is still very much here and the hustle and bustle has just started.  My intentions were to get this post up pre Thanksgiving but I became so busy that I had to put everything on hold.  However, it is kind of a general basis and the simplicity of it is something you could use all year.  Whether it's big events or small dinner parties I think these tips and ideas will come in handy.  Remember I am not a professional chef but I do think if you conduct yourself that way you will feel like one.

My general rules:
1.  No matter what you are cooking or baking make a list of what you need.  Actually go through your pantry and look to see how much flour, sugar, salt, spices, ect you have.  There have been so many times that I have assumed that I have something and I only had a pinch of it.  I know this may sound funny but I have been caught one too many times not doing this that I make myself do it now.
2.  Check the recipe a couple weeks before your event.  There may be a hidden ingredient that you might have to go on a man hunt for and we all know how extremely frustrating that is when you spend most of your day trying to find one ingredient.  My ultimate place for rare ingredients is at Cost Plus World Market.  They carry their spices all year round and they are really inexpensive.
3.  If it is a recipe you haven't tried maybe test it out a week before.  Make a "test" batch.  Cut the recipe in half so you are not using all the ingredients you bought.   Then you can make changes of any sort.  I taught myself how to cook and I learned that cooking isn't just about the ingredients it's about technique.

AND FINALLY
4.  Make sure you have enough or the right kind of cookware.  Some  I will share some of my favorites with you in pictures below.  Things that make your process smoother.

  I am sure that there are more tricks to this but you get the idea.... (I hope).  Cooking can be stressful and messy.  I think that's what I hate the most is the mess.  Take your time and enjoy the part of learning how it all goes together.  Cooking has been shown to reduce stress.  Have fun.

My Dutch Oven.  

My Kitchen Aid mixer.

My chocolate melter.  No more double boiler!

My bin for my cookie cutters.  All in one place.

Paper and Glue: Thanksgiving Cards

   My friend Amanda started embossing and I couldn't wait to try it for one of my projects.  Amanda had a to go through trial and error to test the best products to use.  So, using the stamp that I made from the post prior to this, card stock and embossing tools I made some Thanksgiving cards.

Supplies:
1.  Versa Mark ink/glue pad-$7.99 at Michael's
2.  Embossing powder-$3.59 at Michael's
3.  Embossing gun- $24.99 at Michael's but I used my 50% off coupon so really I only paid $12.99
4.  Stamp
5.  Blank cards-I just cut a 8" x 11 1/2 " stock card in half and then folded those pieces in half

How to:
1.  Press your stamp into the Versa Mark ink/glue pad
2.  Stamp your image onto the card where you desire
3.  Pour your embossing powder over the stamped image then tap excess powder off.  Just like using glitter.
4.  Then turn on the embossing gun and hold your card a few inches from the barrel of the gun.  Heat the  powder until it begins to change into a glossy finish.  As soon as your image is glossy shut off the embossing gun.  Make sure that you don't leave your embossing powder tube in the way of the gun and make sure that you don't get to close to your fingers.

Versa Mark and embossing powder

Thanksgiving card

Paint/Wood/Metal: How to make your own stamp

   I am going to jump right into this how to project.  Don't worry it's easy you just have to take your time and have the right tools.
 
The supplies you will need:
1.  Carving pad (soft)-I bought mine at Quality Art in Boise, Id fr $11.99
2.  Carving tool with different size tips-Quality Art of Michaels for around $6
3.  Your image to carve
4.  Acetone-Walmart or Target
5.  Cottonballs
6.  Paintbrush 1"
7. Knife

How to carve your stamp:
1.  Once you find your image print your image using a laser ink jet printer.  If you don't have access to one you can trace your image by using tracing paper.
2.  Take your image flip it over and lay it on top of the carving pad.  If you printed your image with an ink jet printer take your cottonball and dip into acetone but don't soak the cotton ball.  Dab it over the back of the image.  This process copies it right onto the pad.  If you traced it place it onto the carving pad the same way.  Then rub the back of the paper and it will copy the image.  Remember if you are drawing directly onto the carving pad make sure the image is reversed.  So if the is writing or something is faced right you will have to do the opposite.  Cut your stamp out of the pad so you can maneuver it while you carve.
4.  Now you are ready to carve.  I always start with the smallest tip #1.  Depending what you want to stick out you carve around it.

All my tools and supplies

The carving pad up close.

My image that I wish to carve.

My image copied onto my carving pad.

Carving around my image.

After I carved all around the image.

5.  After you carve around your image then carve out what you don't want to show.  So in the image above I carved out all the white.  I used a #3.  It's really what you would be comfortable with.

   If you have any questions  please let me know.  I am hoping to get a camera so I can actually vlog to make it easier to explain things.  This little craft I picked up is in thanks to my two followers Carma and Amanda.  They have taught me a ton of things about this along with letter boxing.  To learn more about letter boxing go to atlasquest.com.

Why I love Fall

   All of the different colors and the way the atmosphere changes is just a couple of reasons why I love Fall.  Leaves changing and the cool air in the evening I know that holidays are fast approaching and that is so exciting to me.  Don't get me wrong I do think it is a little crazy to see Christmas decorations out before Halloween in the stores but I do enjoy the pure glory of the tradition it all brings.   Around our home I try to plant for all seasons so I can enjoy different things all year round.  I snapped these pictures this weekend as my husband and I were doing final yard work and I wanted to share them with you.  Now you will see why I love Fall so much.

Leaves in the front yard.

Looking up into our Cherry Blossom Tree.

November's Blog Challenge list

   November already?!  With the holidays approaching I will make these next two month's a little bit easier for me to manage but still with great reasoning and useful projects you can use.  I will be posting more photos of ways that I have decorated or anything that I feel needs to be seen.  So here is my list for this month.

In the Kitchen:  How I prepare for holiday cooking
Organizing/Cleaning/Decorating:  Tag charm labels
Paper and Glue:  Thanksgiving Day cards and how to emboss
Thread/Needle/Fabric:  Apron
Paint/Wood/Metal:  How to make your own stamp
Fashion/Jewelry/Makeup: My favorite makeup tips