DIY Elastic Hair Ties

You know those hair ties that have been in style recently? The ones made of the flat elastic that cost somewhere around $12 for a package of 5? Well, I bought a few packages of those before I realized that it was so easy to make my own. I simply went to this Etsy shop and bought a bulk package of the elastic material (called fold-over elastic) and cut and tied it. There are some great deals in this shop--I got one yard of five different colors of elastic for $2.75+$2.00 shipping. I can make about three to four hair ties with each yard of elastic, which means I could potentially make 20 hair ties for less than five dollars! You can even make stretchy headbands, hair ties with beads, and other neat things with it.

When I first got my package, this is what the elastic looked like:

After cutting, tying, and using a lighter to seal the ends (bring the flame close to the elastic, but don't touch it!) this is what my elastics looked like:

These make cheap and beautiful gifts, and look great on your hair and wrist.

Have fun making, and hopefully you'll never have to spend another dime on store-bought elastics again!
P.S. If you know me, please ask about buying some hair ties from me!

Mm, I stopped by a local bakery today and picked up some gourmet cupcakes. I've always wished I could make cupcakes this beautiful and delicious. These are wedding cake flavored, and I also got a carrot cake flavored cupcake whose decoration got ruined on the way home.

More DIY From Old T-Shirts

There is an infinite number of things you can make with t-shirt strips. I recently found out that there is even such a thing as crocheting with t-shirt strips to make rugs! Although I don't think I have quite the amount of stamina or old t-shirts it takes to make a rug, I did make some smaller projects with the same material.

My sister's bowl

My coaster

In both of these projects, we braided three strips of t-shirt scraps together and then used hot glue to adhere the sides. When you begin the braid, sew or glue the ends of the three strips together. To create long lengths of strips, cut on a whole t-shirt and spiral the cut around the t-shirt. This should create a seamless length. I began by using a needle and thread on my coaster, but realized it was too tedious and didn't look as good as using hot glue. For extra help, here is a great tutorial on making coasters with t-shirt yarn.

Enjoy this DIY!

DIY Headbands From T-shirt Scraps

My sister and I made these cute headbands from old t-shirts--a great way to upcycle used clothes (which I have too many of!). I followed this YouTube tutorial to make them. They are so cute and quick to make.

I made a thicker one and my sister made one that was a bit thinner.

Try this with colored shirts, as well as combinations of colors! In the future, I'd also like to try putting beads in the knot.

How to Create Matte Nails with Steam

If you're like me, you like painting your nails for fun sometimes. Personally, I've always liked nude/pale colors--less is more, right? Recently I experimented with mattifying nails using steam, a great look if you want your nails to be a little more toned-down. It's super quick and easy. Just paint your first coats of polish on, and grab a pot of water!

Here are my nails before mattifying:

Now boil a pot of water. When steam starts coming out, you're ready!

Paint on either a top coat or another coat of the color you've been using. Quickly, hold your hand over the pan for a few seconds, rotating your hand so the steam hits all angles of your nails.




See the difference!

Tips:

• Make sure to rotate your hand while it's over the pot. Some of my nails ended up being part-matte and part-shiny because I didn't do this.
• Don't leave your nails over the pot for too long because water will condense and bubbles will form. Hold your nails over the pot for a few seconds, then remove your hand so that steam can dry, then repeat.
• Don't burn yourself! 

In this tutorial I used Revlon Nail Enamel in Elegant and Sally Hanson Diamond Strength in Flawless (clear).

Head Warmers Galore!

Even though winter is already over, there are still days when my ears just can't take being out in the cold for a long time. During the season I've had something of an obsession with crocheting head warmers. Here are three of my favorites: the wider red one with buttons, the flowery green one, and the chunky and warm gray one.

For the pattern for the red headband, see my Crochet Winter Headband post. The other ones are simple double crochet headbands, the green one with a crochet flower from a pattern I found online. Unfortunately, I won't be able to wear these for long...I'll make use of them while I can! :)

Happy crocheting!

In Progress: Boot Cuffs!

There's a great crochet pattern for Lacy Scalloped Boot Cuffs on Domestic Bliss Squared, and I decided to try it myself. So far I've made one boot cuff, and it's looking great! Here's what I have so far:

After I make the other one, I'll be sure to model it and post some pictures!