I learned something new today...

Today, I learned how to do a fishtail braid and it's all thanks to youtube. I am so inept when it comes to fixing my hair and doing fancy-schmancy stuff to it...so yeah, this is getting "wordpressed". ^_^

 

 

 

Turning Left Over Materials into a Fashion Statement

I have a lot of left over materials from past artisan jewelry projects ranging from toggles, jump rings, chains of various shapes and sizes, etc. I've been mulling over what I wanted to do with them for quite some time now...and finally it dawned on me - CHUNKY BRACELET!

Who says recycling can't be fashionable and fun?!

My Coastal Scent Haul

I finally got my Coastal Scent stuff in the mail and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by their products. This company piqued my interest, as it got a lot of great reviews from the pros and from regular make up aficionados like myself. I love their palettes...the packaging is simple, easy to open (trust me, I've bought brands in the past that were a mother bear to try and pry open). Note that I used my iPad as a point of size comparison in some of the photos below. Yup, their palettes are BIG...that's how much product you'll be getting. Pretty sweet, huh?

My entire haul

Camo Quad Color Corrector (I used my camera's lens cap to show y'all the size of their concealer quad)

Brushes: Pro Blending Fluff, Classic Stippling, Classic Buffer Flat Head. I love my MAC brushes but these CS brushes are so soft! I love them already!

Contour Blush Palette: It's all about creating natural shadows on the right spots. The lighter shades in the palette are the colors you wanna use for highlighting while the dark shade (brown) is what you would use for contouring your facial structure. If you want to make your cheeks look slimmer, make your cheekbones appear higher, make your nose looks slimmer...or if you simply want to emphasize your best features - this brown color pot should do the trick. The last two are obviously colors typically used as a blush. My personal favorite blush shades are Violet Orchid by Laura Mercier, Dirty Burgundy from MAC's Mineralize Blush Collection and Orgasm from NARS. These two blush shades from Coastal Scents look build-able and promising tho and I must say that I am very excited to try 'em!

28 Neutral Eye Palette: I love palettes that are "build-able". I love colors that I can use for daytime and pump up for a night out.

Shadow Worx Matte Eye Shadow Primer: My favorite eye shadow primer to date is Prep + Prime Eye from MAC which retails at around $18.50. I sorta kinda love Urban Decay's primer but I have a beef against their packaging - not a big fan of that tiny bottle and wand they have going on. Coastal Scent's version is only $9.9 and it comes in that squeeze tube that I like. We shall see how good it works...

Freebie: Mineral Eye Shadow in Swiss Chocolate

I will always love my "cosmetic bff's" - Laura Mercier, MAC, Urban Decay, Stila (to name a few)...and a few other drug store brands that have treated my skin oh so well, BUT I am always up to trying new brands. I did my research and have watched/read a lot of fantabulous reviews about this brand and I am so excited to try it out!

I'll let y'all know how my adventure with Coastal Scents go...

Inexpensive Make Up Storage

I have been toying with different ideas on how I can properly store my makeup and my brushes. As we all know, make up palettes and tools can get very pricey...so it is a must for us to store them properly. 

 

Here are a few inexpensive storage solutions that I came up with:

 

   

Vases from Walmart's Floral Section - 97 cents each

Clear Crystal Beads from Michael's Garden Section - $2.98 

The pack of crystal beads from Michael's was originally $5.97 or something like that. I had a 50% off coupon tho (I never leave home without them), which brought down the price of my purchase to $2.98 (hey, every single dollar counts!). I suggest that y'all check their website for coupons before going on a shopping trip, specially if you're planning on scoring a big haul from their store. You can also download their mobile app like I did, so you don't have to print any coupons.I had my husband download their app too...so I can do separate transactions and use more coupons.

 Three-Tier Storage Trolley from Walmart - originally $19.97 but went on sale for a little over $16

 Moral of the story...?! We don't have to spend thousands of buckaroos on expensive/designer storage systems. All we need is a little imagination. Coupons and sales are a big help too! =D

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Beauty...is it really skin deep?!

One of my favorite palettes.

This Woman Is Trying Out Something New...

I have heard/watched/read so many wonderful things about Coastal Scents make up brushes and cosmetics. I love my MAC brushes but always kept an open mind (and wallet) for other brands. I fell in love with Eco Tools' brushes actually - soft, pliable, easy to manipulate and work with! Their palettes are on sale...so yay me for timing my purchase perfectly!

Anyways, the pros are saying that they like some of their CS brushes better than their MACs (hmmmm....we'll see). I decided to take their products for a test drive. I didn't wanna go too crazy so I just picked out the bare minimums - basic items that I can play with.

Order's been placed so all I have to do now is play the waiting game and stalk our friendly neighborhood mail-woman - God bless her heart! =D We'll see how good the pro make up artists say these products are...*crossing my fingers, toes and eyes*

Carb-Free Microwave Bread

Four years ago, I was a full blown Type 2 Diabetic. Like most challenges in life, I didn't let this predicament weigh me down. After months and months of research and a lot of hard work...I am now free from diabetes!

The key to breaking free of this condition is being mindful of your carb intake. Going to the gym regularly and being mindful of your sodium and cholesterol intake helps too.

Here's one of my staple breakfast items that I wish to share with y'all:

CARB FREE MICROVAVE BREAD

Mix the following in a microwaveable bowl/container:

4 tbsp. ground flax seed meal (all the carbs in flax seed meal is fiber...and fiber doesn't really count as actual carbohydrates because our body naturally flushes it all out. ergo...no carbs.)

3 tbsp. no calorie sweetener (i prefer sucralose or fruit based sweeteners)

1/8 tsp. baking powder (I use the low sodium variety - the less sodium we consume, the more weight we'll lose and the healthier we'll be. Weight loss and healthy living = freedom from diabetes)

1 tbsp. ground parmesan cheese (no carbs...but ALWAYS be mindful of the calories and sodium)

3 tbsp. egg whites

a dash of water (just enough to make the mixture wet - a teaspoon or so is more than enough)

Microwave your mixture for 1 minute and 40 seconds. Voila...you have your healthy, carb-free bread!

Pretty easy huh. =D

A Day Out in Denton, Texas

Ass Kisser, anyone?!

Watery Paradise

You can take the woman out of the islands...

But you can never take away the islands out of this woman's heart.

I miss home. *sigh*

Weaved Necklace with Polished Stone Pendant Tutorial

Hello, fellow bloggers and crafters! This weaved necklace is one of my best sellers and people love it when I give it to them as gifts. I'm feeling extra generous today so I thought I'd share my pattern with y'all. So here goes nothing!

You will need the following to make your own weaved necklace:

Crafting/Jewelry Making Pliers, Crimper and Cutter

Beads or Stones of your choice and 28 gauge non-tarnish silver wire. For this project, I am making use of semi-precious agate chips, clay beads and a polished stone for my pendant. Please take note that if you are using a stone/gem of your choice and turning it into a pendant, you will need to make use of a headpin so it can hang from your chain. You will also need jump rings and a clasp or toggle of your choice. If I forgot to mention any other materials you will need for this project, I'm sure you will find it on the instructions below.

I chose this stone for this particular necklace. Note that I used a decorative headpin to turn the stone into a pendant that I can work with and incorporate on my necklace.

You can also use ready-made pendants that you can get from stores. The possibilities are endless when it comes to making your weaved necklaces. You can go for any color and design that your heart desires.  One word of advice tho...measure, measure, measure! If your ready-made/store bought pendant has a small opening, you might have to adjust your pattern to make it fit the chain.

 

I've already explained the pendant part of the necklace but if you have any questions about the pattern, feel free to post a comment and I'll get back to y'all the soonest that I can. Now on to the chain part of this project...

Measure how long you want your necklace. I am making an 18 inch chain but I measured out 25 to 27 inches of wire so I have extra material to work with. The reason being, you need extra wire to be able to weave the bracelet and add clasps/toggles to it. 

 

After you've cut out your wire, go ahead and string your beads (in my case I used agate chips). Since I am making an 18 inch necklace, I strung an 18 inch strand of agate chips.

This is the first strand that I have finished. If you're done with your first string, go ahead and set it aside. Don't tie the ends or anything...just set it aside and make sure it's secure so none of your beads will fall out! Trust me...I have done this several times in the past and it's annoying when you end up with beads all over the floor just 'coz you forgot to secure it.

Do the same with your second strand. This time I am using clay beads for contrast. I suggest using different colored gems or beads for aesthetic interest.

I decided to use a plain silver chain as my third strand - but you are not limited to my patter, y'all. You can opt for just weaving 2 strands or you can use a third strand of beads for your weaved chain. 

 

Now for the weaving part...

If you have a clamp at home, you can use that for the "weaving" portion of this tutorial. My husband got one for me 'coz I use it a lot for my other wire art paraphernalia. It shouldn't cost you more than $2 or $3 at your local hardware stores. 

Go ahead and attach your strands to your clamp. Make sure that it's very secure before you start weaving then go ahead and braid your strands. You can start twisting your strand after you're done braiding, until you're satisfied with how it looks like.

Note: I slipped the two strands of wire on the very last hole of my silver chain, so I can braid it together. You can enlarge the picture so you can see clearly. Again, please do not hesitate to ask me questions if you have any.

This is my chain after I got done braiding it.

Next, you are going to use crimp tubes to secure the ends of the necklace.

Slide a crimp tube through your wire strands and crimp it using your crimping tool. 

 

You can use decorative findings to hide your crimp tubes like I did on this project.

Then all you have left to do is to attach your clasp and pendant to your project. If you're not sure how to do so, you can consult youtube videos like this one:

 

You can attach your pendant by using a jump ring:

You can also make a matching bracelet using the same pattern, like I did.

I hope y'all had fun with this project! I hope it ain't confusing to follow but if it is...I'm just a comment away.

Have a wonderful Thursday, y'all!