It's a plan-ner!

It’s been a very snowy DIY Day here at the roost. Once the thrill of a snow day wore off around noon, I decided to tackle a project I’ve been meaning to get around to for quite awhile. That’s how my planner went from this:

To this:

This planner started its life as a very bland Dollar Tree planner. I refuse to spend the big bucks that cute planners seem to always cost, so I tend to go the cheap-o route, which usually limits my selection to playing kittens or boring solid colors. I tried to fix it up with some mod podge and scrapbook paper, but you can see that it didn’t exactly hold up to the abusive gauntlet that is the inside of my purse. However, duct tape can rescue just about anything.

Step 1 - Because the planner had a spiral spine, I needed to cover it with something before I started duct taping. If your planner doesn’t have this kind of spine, feel free to skip to the next step. I used felt to cover the planner and create a smooth surface for the duct tape. I just stapled the felt to the planner like so…

This gives you a nice blank canvas.

Step 2 – Go nuts with the duct tape. I used my aqua tape (since it’s the color of the year and I like to be trendy if I can do it for free!) and a little bit of my pink and white striped Japanese tape.

Step 3 – I keep my coupons in my planner, so I wanted to create a cute way to hold it closed – or at least a cuter method than the extremely fashionable rubber band I had been using.

To create a little fastener, I sewed a vintage mother-of-pearl button to the front of the planner. Be sure to use a cheap needle, because punching through the duct tape will ruin it! Next, I cut a small slit in a strip of felt, slipped it over the button, and sewed it to the back of the planner.

Ta-Da! Since I had everything on hand, this project was free – double yay! Think of all the duct tape possibilities in your future – you could cover an ugly notebook, or freebie cosmetic bag, or empty soup can – oh, the potentials of an empty container and colored roll of duct tape!

<3
Hattie

Sharpie Your Shoes

See my new shoes? I sharpied them! Let me explain…


I’ve had these plain white ballet flats for at least three years.

I never wear them. They make my feet feel ginormous, and they get splattered with dirt within five minutes of leaving the house. Plus, there are all those rules about when you can wear white shoes, and it all just gets very confusing.

I wanted silver shoes. I’ve wanted them for about a year. So, on our last trip to Wal-Mart I spent $1.45 on a silver sharpie two-pack. This afternoon I grabbed those neglected white shoes, cut the bows off the front, and went to work with a sharpie. It only took one sharpie to color both shoes.

They needed a little something extra, so I used this method to make two tiny flowers to replace the bows.

I love them! I’ve already planned several outfits around my shiny new shoes. The white pair would have been stuck in the back of the closet and eventually sent to Goodwill, but now they have new life. Side note: it is incredibly awkward to take pictures of your own feet!

Do you have something in your closet you’re just going to give away one day? Take a chance and try to make it into something you’ll love.

Oooh, and any fun sharpie stories? Do tell!

<3
Hattie

dreaming of snow cream

There are a few tastes in this world that instantly take me back to childhood. The tangy sweetness of a Bill’s Barbeque lime aid transports me to muggy 4th of July nights, waiting in a park for fireworks to light up the sky. The perfect, buttery, gooey bliss of grilled cheese dunked in chicken noodle soup reminds me of Sunday afternoons spent devouring my Dad’s special super-duper grilled cheese sandwiches. And the cold, creamy sweetness of snow cream takes me to snow days spent making snow angels, constructing snow men, and tramping into a warm house to thaw from my big adventures.

If you have qualms about acid rain or germs, this recipe probably isn’t for you, but if you live with a five second rule, have been known to sample raw cookie dough, and don’t worry too much about a little dirt, you might just love snow cream.

You will need:
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 cups fresh, clean snow

Mix milk, sugar, and vanilla and refrigerate.

I used dark brown sugar, because that’s what I had on hand.

Once well-chilled, dash outside and gather eight cups of snow. Stir cold mixture into the snow and serve immediately. Freeze leftovers.

Yes, it looks like a sandy mess, but it tastes like heaven!

It’s still snowing here, so I might have to make more before the weekend is over! Anyone else remember snow cream? What are your favorite snow memories?

Enjoy!

<3
Hattie

Drumroll please!

And the winner is…..

A lovely lady who selected this pillow….

And wrote the eighth comment on the giveaway post….

Congrats Megan!

Please email me with your mailing address!

And, I just have to say one more time how thankful I am for each of you. It amazes me that people take the time to read my little blog! I get so excited every time I have a new comment or email from a sweet reader. Y’all constantly make my day!

<3
Hattie

Winter Skin - update

A had to give y’all a mini update on my dry winter skin issues, because the advice you gave was so wonderful!


Julia suggested mixing sugar into some olive oil to slough off dead skin and moisturize. This advice has seriously changed my life! I’m not even kidding. I just poured a spoonful of sugar into a cup, poured a little olive oil on top, stirred it up, and went to work.

Note: If your husband gives you strange looks for taking a solo cup of goop into the shower with you, just assure him that you read about it on a blog. Mine is fully aware that blogging is the root cause of all of my strange behaviors, including taking twenty pictures of one pillow, standing precariously on furniture to get a good photo angle, and being obsessed with cleaning with vinegar, “Why does the house smell like pickles?” “Well I was reading this blog….”

I’ve used this mixture all over, but I really like it for my face and lips. Nothing says classy like giant flakes of skin hanging off your nose. Regular scrubs have always been too harsh for me to use in the winter, but this clears off all that yucky, scaly skin and leaves my face feeling super soft. Not only is this method effective, it’s also practically free and natural.

Strand family suggested lowering the temperature of my shower water. I am cold natured and I LOVE hot showers, but she is so, so right! Saying no to the super hot showers does make a difference. I’m trying to lower the temp little by little, and I’ve also taken to ending my shower with a dash of cool water. This helps close my pores and lessen the risk of skin irritations. Added benefit - the cool water has also made my hair much less frizzy. Apparently cold water smoothes hair cuticles.

Tracy suggested slathering on the moisturizer while still a little damp from the shower. I’ve been doing this and using Avalon Organics lavender body lotion. Since I shower before bed, I love that the lavender scent is nice and relaxing.

Ladies, thank you for all these wonderful tips! My skin is doing so much better. If you also suffer from dry skin, be sure to check the comments on the original post for more tips. If anyone has any additional dry skin advice, please share!

Don’t forget to enter my one year giveaway – I’ll be drawing a winner Thursday night at 7:00.

<3
Hattie

5 minute Valentine's decorating

When I thought about decorating for Valentine’s Day this year, the idea of adding another layer of “stuff” over my décor did not really appeal to me. Since the Christmas decorations have been packed away, I’ve been enjoying the airy feeling of having fewer things sitting around. I still wanted to do a little something to celebrate, just on a small scale. I came up with two super easy and super fast ways to add a smidge of love without going overboard.

As you can see, I used my glass fish bowls for this project.

For the large bowl, I grabbed a deck of cards and pulled out all the hearts. I tossed them randomly in the bowl (ok, I painstakingly fanned them out in an artist manner that looks casual) propping up a few numbers with special meaning. 6/23 is our wedding date.

For the smaller bowl, I reused some vintage seam tape and a retro valentine from last year’s banner.

I just coiled the seam tape in the bowl, and plopped in the valentine.

Easy peasy!

Do you decorate for the smaller holidays, or am I the only crazy person?

<3
Hattie

Sneeze If you please...

…because on this DIY Day, I can offer you a tissue from a pretty box.

Let's face it, only the most expensive tissues come in pretty boxes. As someone who can easily go through an entire box in a week (let's hear it for allergies!) I buy tissues based on cost, not the attractiveness of the box. But, I always stare longingly at the designer boxes because I am girly and like even the most mundane and utilitarian items to be stylish. So, I’ve had this tissue box cover idea glued into my inspiration book for a couple of years.

The problem is, this project has always intimidated me because it seemed like it was bound to involve math and measuring – things I do not excel at naturally. Need someone to find symbolism in the design of a sprite can, or deconstruct an e. e. cummings poem? I’m your girl. Need someone to draw a straight line or multiply fractions? Keep looking! But, my sewing skills have been improving and my distaste for the ugly tissue box growing, so I decided to give this a go and see what happened.

Step 1: I made a very not mathematically correct pattern by sticking a tissue box on a sheet of paper, scooting it about ½ an inch in from the edge (so I’d have ¼ of an inch seam allowance all the way around), drawing a line next to the box, and cutting it out. Next, I held the edge of the paper up against the box, folded it over the top, and drew a diagonal line towards the center of the box. I folded the paper in half and cut along the line. I made two of these, one with a bigger triangle shape than the other. I held them up to the box, to make sure that the triangles would meet in the middle of the box. It helps to just see them.

Step 2: I cut two of each shape out of some thin canvas type fabric, pinned the edges, and sewed.

Step 3: to make sure I wasn’t totally off, I fit my fabric tube around the box, so far so good!

Step 4: I ironed all the seams flat, turned up the edge ¼ of an inch, pinned and sewed.

Step 5: I stuck my tube back on the box, wrong side facing out. I paired up my diagonal edges, pinned and sewed them. Notice that this leaves a little gap in the middle for tissues to poke out.

Step 6: I folded over all the raw edges around the tissue hole, and sewed them as well.

And here is the finished box cover! This was much easier than I thought it would be. I would totally recommend taking the time to make a paper pattern. I know I made it sound complicated, but it really only involves wrapping paper around the box. Also, I think checking the fit of the cover on the box after each step really helps ensure that the cover will fit correctly. This took less than 30 minutes from start to finish (and I have no idea what I’m doing) and resulted in something pretty spiffy!

No more ugly tissue boxes for me! Be sure to enter my one year blogiversary giveaway!

<3

Hattie