Mod Podge Cabinet Drawers

08/31/2014

As you all know I'm a HUGE fan of DIY blogs. I'm constantly linking other blogs in my own entries because I'm amazed by what some of these other women and men can do! I must admit, I'm more average than the rest; Many of my projects don't turn out nearly as good as the work done by the blogger I reference. I am 21 years old and we did just buy our first house around 6 months ago though, so we are still on the learning curve!

To be totally honest, I'm not much of a crafter. I appreciate the arts, and love participating in many, but crafting isn't my thing.. I don't like my handwriting for scrapbooks. I never spent enough time drawing so I need an image to "copy", rather than attempting to draw an original from memory, and I'm not a fan of gluing and sparkling or folding...

Many of the blogger ladies I follow are crafty, or there men are. I have been on several blogs where the blogger or their spouse actually MADE their light fixtures! That is impressive! Young House Love is the blog I'm featuring in this post. They did this:

Notice how you don't see any bubbles and everything is completely flat? Well my first time using mod podge didn't turn out quite as well:

I still won't say it was a total bust because the after picture is still better than the before! The mod podge makes the after water resistant which is great for tooth brushes. My favorite part of the after however is the fact that its new and doesn't have the old homeowners germs on it... I'm really OCD about other peoples germs when I move into a new house.

Clearly there are tips and tricks when using mod podge that I didn't get down 100%. Here are the 3 most important from my experience.

1. Do a "dry" run to make sure the wrapping paper fits EXACTLY with no excess. Cut NOW.

2. Begin in the middle and flatten out to sides to prevent bubbles or lines.

3. Put the Mod Podge on the surface of the object rather than the back of the paper and wait til the paper is dry on the surface before mod podging the front!

In the future I may redo my drawers to make them perfect without lines, but for now I prefer them to the before so its "good enough" =)

Best Shampoo Ever: Renpure!

08/26/2014

Alright, so I'm super stoked to share this product with ya'll because it is AMAZING! This is the best shampoo I have ever tried and its eco friendly and safe!
Renpure Argan Oil Shampoo

• No sodium chloride, sulfates, dyes, harsh salts, parabens, gluten
• Safe for color treated hair
• Not tested on animals
• For all hair types

I personally was most interested in the 1st and 3rd bullets. I'm a huge animal lover so I don't like animal testing and since I love animals its only natural for my to care about the environment so I'm all about switching over to natural products that are good for us and the environment!

All I have tried so far was the Shampoo. I must confess I'm really bad about not using conditioner, I have naturally more oily hair so I don't really feel like I need it! I found the product on sale at Walgreens and anything natural I will try once. The fact that the shampoo is made using argan oil was a major bonus because I feel like the best shampoos have that in them!

Other than the shampoo Renpure has a whole line of hair care products:

Money Envelopes

08/24/2014

So money envelopes... I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey, despite the fact that most of his advice isn't aimed or helpful to me and I'm not his target audience. If you have read a Dave Ramsey book its pretty clear that his target audience is middle aged parents who are currently in debt, I am none of the above! There are Dave Ramsey tips I do find useful though, like money envelopes.

The concept of using money envelopes to stay on track with your budget is simple: You put the amount you have allotted for the month in an envelope and you use the cash from that envelope only- NO DEBIT NO CREDIT CARDS NO EXCEPTIONS!
If your like my husband and don't like to carry a lot of cash you could also do a modified method I just thought of: the gift card method! Same principal only for this one you just buy gift cards every month or two weeks to give you your budgeted amount and only use those... or you could do a combination if you primarily buy from one place but want to keep some cash out for other stores/gas stations/ etc you want to be able to shop at if you choose to!

Just like most people Dave Ramsey wants to make money. He sells tools to help people get on track with their money and one thing he sells is envelope systems . For anywhere from $5-$30 you can get started with his gear for your money envelopes!





When I started using the envelope method over a year or two ago I did it very simply. I would buy the smaller envelopes from the dollar store so $1 for 60 envelopes and would just label them what their purpose was... I would reuse them for a while and throw them when they got messed up. It wasn't ugly nor super attractive, just plain and functional!

Now that more people have gotten into using the envelope system you have those crafty people who want to make budgeting fun and attractive so they create beautiful money envelopes, then you have those people who want the beautiful envelopes but don't want or can't make them so you have stores selling them.
Here are my two favorites, one from the store I hyperlinked and one from a blog I found!

Homemade     

                                                                         












Sold in Stores
















Now here is my attempt at homemade:
Mine isn't nearly as nice as Amy Bayliss but I don't have craft tools/supplies. I in fact didn't even have glue and used hodge podge that I had from a recent house project!






Overall money envelopes were a great way for me to keep on budget which is why I'm getting back to the envelope method... but I honestly think I prefer plain envelopes... no muss, no fuss, and I'm not worried about them getting messed up!

Review: Annie's Chocolate Bunny Grahams

08/17/2014



So some things are exactly as they seem. The title says it all, I will once again be doing a review and this time its of a food item. I have been trying for some time now to lead a greener and healthier life... I think it started almost two years ago now when I got pregnant for the first time. Although we still haven't managed to have a baby since I still look at the options that are available for healthier choices for babies... crazy I know!

When I visited my sister, who has two children, I was introduced to Annie's bunny grahams. I have tried Annie's macaroni and wasn't impressed, but the girls seemed to love the grahams and they were made with organic wheat so I thought I would give them a try.

I bought these a week ago, and they are great for all ages! One serving is 31 cookies and only 130 calories! Are you trying to diet but love chocolate? These are your answer! They have relatively low sugar and 9g and provide 20% of your daily calcium. I got mine on sale for $2.50 for a box which contains about 220 cookies in it.

I highly recommend this as a snack food. Its more filling than most junky snacks and a whole lot less calories. This is your I want something sweet or want to give my kids a treat but don't want diabetes food!