{creating myself}

Vlog! Makeup Tutorial, Segment Two

Whoa, freaky angle.

This is the second segment of my Makeup Tutorial. I hope you enjoy it! It focuses more on achieving a smoky eye, applying mascara and liner the right way, and fixing brows & lips.

Here's a closeup of my after face:






Thanks for watching! And thanks for the help, Alexa! :)

Vlog! Makeup Tutorial, part one.

Hello, friends!

I often receive questions re: my favorite products and the steps I take to achieve my going-out face, aka flawless cheeks and smoky eyes. I promised some friends I would post a tutorial, so here it is. If you have product or technique questions, you can ask them here.

Here are some of my favorite makeup faces I've done...

















This is segment one of the makeup tutorial, which includes foundation and cheeks. Check back tomorrow for segment two, eyes, brows, and lips (& more favorite faces!).

I realize that this video is awkward and funny at times :)
I'm not a professional makeup artist nor am I a professional videographer. :)

DIY: Personalized Datebook!

I'm blog traveling today. :)

I'm a guest blogger over at Polka Dot Robot's blog party!

I wrote a DIY on how to create a sweet little guestbook to be cherished for years to come.

Click here for the DIY. Enjoy the party!



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P-A-I-N-T PAINT PAINT PAINT!

No, not that kind of paint. (I wish.)



The kind that makes your home prettier. :)



As much as I love painting canvas and paper, is about how much I hate painting walls.  But I really wanted my studio to be BEAUTIFUL!  And so it went… off to WalMart for some mint green walls.



I know what you’re thinking.  Why couldn’t she just use that mint green Essie nail polish she talks about all the time?



And believe me, I tried. But the amount of wall space to the amount of nail polish in a bottle ratio was waaay off.  And the paint roller didn’t fit in the travel sized bottle, anyway.



So as I was working, and taking photos, and getting drunk, I jotted some notes to share with you all.  Which of course I lost.  But I still have some unprofessional painting advice, if you want it.  Maybe you are rich and can afford someone to paint your walls for you.  For the rest of you, read on...





1. Prepare: Tape the sides of the walls/windows and use a drop cloth.  Even if you think you can paint a straight line, use masking/painters tape anyway.  I have popcorn ceilings, so I wasn't sure I could tape them (if you have them, you know what I mean.) Anyway, I taped them off and it worked.  I have to say that when it came time to pull the tape off (after the paint has dried), some of the little popcorns were stuck to the tape, and it grossed me out. It just looked weird.
As for the drop cloth, I purchased Valentine's Day tableclothes after V-Day for about 50 cents. The fact that I forgot to use them and now have paint puddles dried on my carpet is irrelevant. Or maybe it's exactly the point...




2.  Paint two coats. Use a roller.  Confession: I don't actually paint two coats. I'm way too lazy for that, and I feel
l like it's time that could be better spent. BUT I really believe the second coat makes a *huge* difference for long term projects, especially with darker colors.  The roller just makes the job easier, and makes the end product look better.




3. Work in increments.  I get restless and bored easily, so I painted this room over the course of a couple of days. Okay weeks. Okay a month and a half.  I painted one wall at a time, so that it wouldn't look weird when I picked up the brush again for rounds two and three.




4. Reward Yourself! You did it! Now eat a treat, and send me your photo :]

you asked for it: granny square help.

here is an email i wrote lindsay when she asked for some help/pointers to learn grannies.
i wanted to share it with you all, because after someone explained the correct method to me, i was *enlightened!*
this is a great opportunity to cross "learn to crochet a granny sq" off of your 2010 list, and your first one will probably take less than an hour.

again, to clarify: the SIZE for Operation GS does not matter. i will fit them together appropriately when i receive them.

anyway, here's the email:


here is a good written tutorial for grannies.

the thing about grannies is that they are really hard the first one or two times you try.
after that, they are easy as pie. you just have to be patient and practice. i am honestly convinced that if i can do this, anyone can. my first granny looked like a stop sign.

some more good links:
video one: solid granny
video two: two color granny
there are plenty of other videos as well , just search youtube for "granny square."

love, amy


more beauties:


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handmade holiday, volume five. :)

this is a great project if you answer yes to any of the following:

• you want a superfast way to get crafty
• you want a supereasy project
• you need a supercute way to store your headbands, and find that you use your stuff more if it's out in the open.
• you need an inexpensive way to get crafty

(this is the bottom view, so you can see where i glued the fabric.)

if you have a roll of paper towels, a swatch of fabric, and a little fabric glue... you can make this! :)
i gathered the ends and tied them, first with a pink hair tie and then with a piece of lace. sort of like a candy wrapper.
but if you want, i'm sure you could tuck them in and glue them, like a wrapped present.
if you have any questions, of course you can leave them in the comments or e-mail me.

and in other "hand"made news... i finally grew out my nails long enough to give myself a french manicure!! :)

xo.

not just a hat rack, my friends.

desperately want to make these gloves (arm warmers, whatever..) from the red velvet blog:


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but there are two problems:

1. i don't know how to knit,
2. i don't possess the patience it takes to knit.

holly is an amaazing knitter.. i'm so jealous.


anyway, i've decided to attempt making these gloves, or at least something that RESEMBLES these gloves. here's what i have so far (remember, i'm basically teaching myself here... don't judge!) my crochet skills are about a 1 (on a scale from 1 to 10, ten being the highest.)  so that's what i'm doing.



i'll be sure to keep you updated! :)

i <3 hambly

Aww, but everyone already knows this.  I made a layout last night that I love a little bit a lot, and I would like to share the technique! i think it would be a cool technique cool to apply to the front of cards too.

Start by punching or cutting a shape (I like stars) out of the paper, like so:



Take a paintbrush to the inside of the negative space (as seen in purple).  I find it easier to paint from behind the page, pointing the paintbrush towards you.



Tape the transparency behind the negative space.





Now: fun!  Add embellishments to the inside of the stars.  You can add rhinestones, journaling, photos, rub-ons, ANYthing!  I added pearls, smaller cutout stars, and glitter stickers.  And of course, I outlined the negative space with glitter :).



Voila! :)