Mason Jars Round 2

I already showed you how to make a glitter Mason Jars and spray painted Mason Jars, but there are so many options to choose from, I couldn't stop there! Two of my other favorites include glitter dipped jars and dyed jars. (If you missed my first tutorials check two posts ago for more Mason Jar fun)

Third: Glitter Dipped Mason Jar
The beginning of this tutorial is similar to the spray paint tutorial. You will need a Mason Jar, spray paint and glitter in matching colors, and clear acrylic sealer. Start with a clean and dry Mason Jar. Follow the instructions written on the can of paint to apply 2 coats of the spray paint. I made a black and gold version of this jar. For the gold on I used the Krylon Gold Metallic Color Master Indoor Spray Paint, and for the black I used Rust-oleum Flat Black Spray Paint. Once the second coat is dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge Matte Clear Acrylic Sealer to keep the paint from chipping. Use a small paint crush to apply Matte Podge to the bottom third of the jar and sprinkle the glitter of the matching on. I would suggest doing this part in sections so the glue won't dry before you have put on all the glitter. If you want to be sure to get a straight line of glitter, lay the jar down on its side and hold a piece of paper at the border of where you want the glitter to end. I did this with my black jar but not my gold, and as you see in the end picture below, the line looks much sharper if you use a piece of paper. Don't attempt to tape it because it will remove the paint when you remove the tape (I'm not joking about this. I'm the type of person who thought it would be okay it I used a different kind of tape and ended up ruing my jar because the tape peeled off the paint). Warning: This is a decorative jar. Do not get it wet. In case you do get it wet, use a paper towel to pat the majority of the jar dry WITHOUT wiping, and then let the rest of the water air dry.
This is how my glitter dipped Mason Jars turned out! 

Fourth: Colored Mason Jar
This jar is different from the other colored jars I've done in that it uses no spray paint, just Mod Podge and food coloring! The end result is that it's colored, but you can still see into the jar, so it's more of a tint. Choose what color of food coloring you want and mix five drops of it with 2 tablespoons of Matte Mod Podge in your Mason Jars. If you plan on doing more than one jar the same color. You can mix the food coloring and Mod Podge in a bowl and pour the appropriate amounts into each jar. Tilt the jar until every side is covered with the mixture, then turn it upside down on a paper plate to let the excess drip out for about an hour. Once all of the extra mixture is puddled on the paper plate, turn the jar right side up to air dry. At this point it will look like ordinary paint, but as it dries it will become see-through. Warning: This is a decorative jar. Do not get it wet.
Here's how my color tinted Mason Jar turned out!
Because I didn't let it sit upside down to drip out the excess food coloring for long enough, it had streaks in it when it dried, so I would suggest letting it dry for at least an hour.

Sore Throat Remedy

Cold season is upon us people. And it came back with a vengeance. I live in Iowa, Mother Nature's personal experiment where she see how hot it can get in the summer and how cold it can get in the winter. I know, people in Arizona are going, "You don't even know what hot is!" and people in Michigan are saying. "We can get frost bite by stepping outside!" But what people don't understand is Iowa doesn't have it the worst on either end of the spectrum, but we hop from one extreme to the other. After that long and winding introduction, I get to my main point. This winter has been a hard one, and it's not even February. Being both cheap, and suspicious of all medicines, I LOVE home remedies, especially ones that taste good. This quick recipe can help with sore throat, hacking cough, and tight congestion, using four simple ingredients found in your kitchen. You can use it to help in the midst of a cold, or take a teaspoon when you feel one coming on in place of a drugstore cough suppressant or decongestant.
Mix 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of Water in a small bowl. Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon each of cayenne and ginger in the vinegar and water mix. Add a tablespoon raw honey and mix. Take a tablespoon to help with your cold.

Mason Jars

I am in love with these handy little things called Mason Jars. They are great for keepings organized, and now you can personalize them however you like! I actually have so many that I don't know what to do with them. So far, they are holding my makeup brushes, writing utensils on my desks, and my spare change. I've collected my 4 favorite ways to decorate Mason Jars and I'll be sharing the first two ways with you in this blog post. Keep an eye out for my a post next week, in which I'll show you how to decorate the second two. Mason jars can be found at your local Target, Walmart, or you can even look at a thrift store to see if anyone has donated them. My grandma happens to have a stock pile of Mason Jars in her basement, so I have an unlimited supply to play with.

First: Regular Ole' Spray Paint.
This is the simplest of all the jars. All you need is a Mason Jar, spray paint in your color choice, and clear acrylic sealer. Start by cleaning your Mason Jar with warm soapy water and letting it dry. Once it is completely dry, put it on a piece of cardboard (I just cut a poster board into sections) and take it outside or into a well-ventilated area. Apply your first layer of spray paint. I used Rust-oleum Satin Blossom White, so if I can tie different colored ribbons around it and it will always match. Apply the first coat by spraying in a steady back-and-forth motion, keeping the can an even distance away from the jar. Wait 10 minutes until the jar is dry and apply a second coat in the same manner. Once the second coat is dry, apply the clear acrylic sealer over the entire jar. I used the Matte sealer from Mod Podge. This will keep the paint from chipping. Warning: This is a decorative jar.  Do not drink out of it or get it wet. In case you do get it wet, use a paper towel to pat it dry WITHOUT wiping, and then let it air dry any of the water you could not get.
Here's how my jar turned out!     

Second: Glitter Jar
This has to be one of my favorite jars. Though I would probably say that about all the jars I made. To make it, you need a Mason Jar, Matte Mod Podge, a popsicle stick, and any color of glitter. The jar needs to be clean and dry. Pour about 2 tablespoons of Mod Podge into the bottom of the jar. The instructions I read said fill it until it's about half an inch full, but when I did that I was able to fill up three jars instead of just one, so I would suggest using about 2 tablespoons. Pour your glitter in with it. The more glitter you add, the more concentrated it will be when you are done. Stir the glitter in with the Mod Podge, and make sure it is even so that the glitter will be evenly distributed. Once it is all stirred up, tilt the jar every which way so that the mixture covers the entire jar. Place the evenly covered jar upside on a paper plate so the extra will drip out. After about half an hour the excess will be puddled on the plate. Lift the jar off the plate and let any excess drip off. Place it right side up and let it dry for 24-48 hours. Don't worry that you can see the white Mod Podge while it is still wet, it will dry clear. Warning: This is a decorative jar.  Do not drink out of it or get it wet.
Here's how my glitter jar turned out!

Making Your Own T-Shirt Design

Your always warned to be careful with bleach because it can stain your clothes, but it wasn't until Pinterest that I thought to use it to make my own personalized t-shirt design. The Pin didn't include any instructions, just a four pictures showing the process. Know that the color the bleach will turn your shirt depends on the color the shirt starts off as. You can't tell in the pictures but the shirt is a dark purple color, so the bleach turned it a light pink. However, any color will turn white if you leave the bleach on for long enough.
First, set out your t-shirt or tank top on a flat surface. Make sure to put a piece of cardboard or a white towel in the shirt to keep the bleach from soaking from the front of the t-shirt to the back.
Next, chose your design. I chose something simple, because of my lack of artistic abilities, yet meaningful. It's a tattoo that I've seen people with, a heart made out of the treble and bass chefs.
After that you simply have to put the design on the t-shirt. You can use straight bleach, but that's much more time consuming. If you do use bleach, make sure to wear gloves at all times and our slowly. Only attempt it if you have a lot of faith in yourself. I used a Clorox bleach pen to trace my design instead. You can make it as large as you want, with the lines as thick as you want, but keep in mind the bleach will bleed out a little bit, so if your make the lines too intricate, it will end up one big blob.
Since the tutorial didn't have any words, I didn't know how long to leave the bleach on the t-shirt. After about 10 minutes I could see the fabric around the bleach changing color so I went and rinsed it off in warm water.
  You can see the bleach hadn't had enough time to set in so the color change was too discreet to notice. I retraced the design but gave it an hour to dry this time.
 The design was much easier to see. I then let it air dry before washing it by itself in the washing machine. Make sure to wash and dry it by itself the first time so that the bleach doesn't get onto any of your other clothes.

Baseball Bracelet

This project is the closest I have ever come to making something myself that I have ever come so far on my blog. The idea stuck out to me because it was ingenious and simple, and very unique.
You start with a baseball, and make sure it is one you don't want to use again. If you buy one new from the store you can skip the first step and start making the bracelet. Because I decided to use one of the many baseballs we have from when we were kids, it needed some deep cleaning first. When I tried just washing it with water, it still had some discoloration to it, so as the internet crafter I have become, I googled how to clean old baseballs. I found a simple process on Wikihow that took about 2 minutes and only used a teaspoon of toothpaste.              
Get the baseball slightly damp and cover it with a thin layer of toothpaste. Let it sit for about a minute, and while you're letting it sit, dampen a metal scrubber (the kind that you use when cleaning pots and pans) with warm water. Use it to scrub off the toothpaste  and then wash it with hot water. My baseball showed major improvement. In two minutes it went from this:
  to this: . If you don't have the resources to buy a new baseball or just have some lying around that you know you'll never need, I suggest doing this before making your bracelet to give it a cleaner look.
Now that the baseball is clean you can start making your bracelet. Use an Exacto knife to CAREFULLY cut the part of the baseball with the red strings away from the rest of the baseball. You may have to use the knife to gently and once again CAREFULLY pry the skin of the baseball off the insides. It should come off in a circle and look something like this:
 . Keep the strip with the red string through it, but throw away the rest of the ball.
Cut a strip of the circle so it a line instead. Unthread the red strings about half an inch up both sides of the strip. You can either braid the strings or just tie the ends. The finished product is your bracelet! Tie the string together around your wrist for a unique and sporty accessory.

Side note: like I said at the beginning, I used an old baseball we had used before and cleaned it before starting yo make the bracelet. I would suggest buying a new baseball because what I didn't expect was that the leather was also dirty on the inside after I pried it from the inside. I ended up having to wash it again, and even after I did, it still felt grungy on the inside. It would save you effort and make your bracelet feel cleaner if you bought a new cheap baseball at Walmart instead.

Teeth Whitening

There are commercials on TV all the time about mouth washes and toothpaste or different dental strips, all promising to give you a bright, white smile in no time flat. These products can be expensive and cause your teeth to become sensitive to hot or cold foods. I saw a post promising fast, drastic results using a few simple ingredients that can be found in the average household: hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, toothpaste, and mouthwash. Not only that but it would only take 2 minutes. So I figured, what do I have to lose?
Start by missing equal parts hydrogen peroxide and mouth wash. I used a third of a cup of each and had a ton left over, so I would suggest using an eighth of a cup of each. Gargle this mixture for 60 seconds. I used the 60 seconds to start mixing up the toothpaste mixture. Mix toothpaste (the amount you would use when normally brushing your teeth) with a teaspoon of baking soda. It will give it a cookie dough-like consistency, so dilute it with a couple of drops of water until it has the consistency of toothpaste again. Once your 60 seconds are up, spit out the mouthwash concoction and start brushing your teeth with the toothpaste and baking soda. Brush as you would normally and then rinse and spit.
I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the results. I couldn't see any difference, even when looking at the before and after photos side-by-side. Perhaps you have to repeat it multiple time before it begins to work, but I don't plan on trying it any more. WARNING: If you do this repeatedly, spread out the times. If you apply it too frequently it could wear down your enamel and destroy your teeth.
If you want to see the original tutorial, you can find it here.

Making a Tank Top from a Guy's T-shirt

We all have those oversized t-shirts in the back of our closet that we never wear but can't bear to throw away either because of its sentimental value or because we are just hoarders in general. Or at least, I hope you hoard t-shirts too, because I have at least 20 hidden away somewhere. When I saw on Pinterest you could turn those t-shirts into cute racerback tank tops, I was excited to dust them off and wear them again. I started on one that I didn't have any particular sentiments toward so if I made a mistake I wouldn't be devastated.
I began by gathering my materials: the old t-shirt, a tank top, a sharpie, and some scissors. I laid out the t-shirt and then put the tank top on top of it to use as a guide when spacing where I would cut.
Next, I traced the sleeves (or lack thereof) and neckline of the tank top onto the t-shirt. You might be tempted to skip this step, but I would highly recommend it because you can move the t-shirt while cutting without having to worry about losing track of where you should be cutting, as well as the lines help you plan where you are going to cut and see if they are even. Once all the lines are drawn you can start cutting. I cut the sleeves first, both layers at a time. When I did the neckline, I cut the front first and then moved onto the back. In the tutorial from Pinterest that I was working off of, she cut the front and back of the neckline evenly, so it would go down as far in the back as it would in the front. I would suggest leaving more material in the back. I'll explain why in a second. After everything is cut, it's time to turn it into a "racerback" tank top. Pot do this, start by cutting two 1-inch strips from the sleeves of the t-shirt you removed. They will come off as a ring so cut them both so they're a line, and then tie them together so it is one long strip. Turn the t-shirt over so the front is on the floor. Hold the two straps of the tank top and hold the together. Use the material from the sleeves to tie them in place until it looks like one stripe. The reason I suggest that you don't cut the back as low as the front is that in my first try I did and there ended up being a gap underneath this piece because of the extra cloth.This is the finished product! My first t-shirt didn't come out perfectly, but I think with a little perfecting it could look great for wearing on a lazy day or when I work out.
Tip: remember that you can always cut more off, but you can never put it back together. Cut off the least amount of material you think you need to. It's very likely that's how much you'll want, but you can always trim off more at the end.

Organix Moisture Mask Review

I have read multiple reviews on Pinterest about the Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask, all claiming it would work wonders on damaged hair. It was also advertised to have a very low cost, so I figured you might as well try it. I found mine at target for only $5.79 for 13 oz, which I figured I could get around 6 uses out of because I have long thick hair. The package promises that the macadamia oil will help hydrate your hair while sugar cane and bamboo extract help mend split ends. The review suggested leaving it on for an hour, but the directions on the jar said only 3-5 minutes, so I decided to go somewhere in between. I started by shampooing with the Organix Repairing Awapuchi (yes, that's really spelled right) Ginger Shampoo. Then a applied a quarter sized amount of the mask and put my hair in a bun to keep it out of the water. I continued on with my normal shower routine and used a exfoliating mask for my face that I got for Christmas before letting my hair down and washing out the mask. Total, it was in for about 20 minutes. My wet hair didn't seem any softer than usual so I went to bed and let my hair air dry over night. When I woke up, may hair felt silky smooth. There was just as much frizz as usual, but the container did not advertise to help reduce frizz, so that should have been expected. I straightened my hair and it looked and felt amazing, almost perfectly straight (which for my hair is an accomplishment). My hair felt amazing into the next day as well, but when I took a shower again, my hair went back to normal, with none of the benefits left over that I could see. In the end, this product worked very well short term, but you can 't expect miracles for $5.79. 

Click here to see the original review. 

String Art

About 2 months ago Pinterest went crazy with the newest fad, called string art. The complexity varied: some were simply one letter using only one color of yarn, some were cursive letters using different colors, and some used negative space with string being everywhere on the board but the letters, Each one of these string arts had the same basic concept. You would hammer nails in a wooden board and then use yarn to connect the nails. I decided this would make a great Christmas gift for one of my best friends, and I have always liked giving gifts that I had made because it can show more thought than just buying something from the store. Because I had never done this before, I decided to make a very simple version of the letter 'E' for my friend Emilee. Her favorite color is blue so I found yarn that went from light blue to dark blue to make it look more complex. I started by buy a 8" by 11" piece of wood from my local craft store, as well as the yarn, and a package of nails and white spray paint  (you could use any color that matches your yarn) from a hardware store. I started by using a ruler and pencil to lightly trace a grid onto the piece of wood with 1 inch squares and then drew the 'E' by connecting the lines of the grid. I then hammered nails on the lines of the 'E'  keeping them half an inch away from each other. I then applied two layers of the spray paint to the wood and nails in a well ventilated area and allowed it to dry for 48 hours.

It should look something like this: 
 Next I used the yarn to make the outer later of the 'E':

Then, start making x's through the nails. Start in the upper right corner and go down one nail and one to the left. Then go up one nail and one to the left. Do this until you reach the end of the row and then repeat, only moving one nail to the right instead. 

This should be the result so far:

Once you have covered the entire letter with x's, you continue by connecting nails that are farther apart, for instance moving down one nail then 2 to the left or moving up one nail and 3 to the left. Continue until all areas of the letter are covered with yarn. You can choose how much yarn you want to connect.

Mine ended up looking like this: 

If you don't like having this much empty space on your board you can write a message or attach pictures. If you want to be able to hang it up on a wall, you can also buy an attachment at the hardware store and simply nail it to the back of the board.