My Turn

Here's the result of my inspired creative mind all thanks to Sophy Robson and my friends at www.makeupalley.com. I started browsing around for ideas and found this modern twist on french tips. Since I'm quite the rookie when it comes to painting my nails (actually painting anything, for that matter) this task didn't seem too bad since the supplies only include tape, scissors, lacquer & relatively no skill. I tried duplicating this look from chloesnails.blogspot.com she has this and so many more awesome looks.

Lately I've been in this earthy ethereal mood so I chose some neutral colors for my nails. My base is some unknown brand in a very nude color. Don't forget to let your base dry completely before continuing.

Next, I placed a piece of tape (sorry it's black, it's electrical tape, I recommend using clear scotch tape) diagonally across my nail. Be sure to press it firmly onto your nail to prevent any bleeding of your top color.

I put about three coats of O.P.I's Over The Taupe over the base coat (that's DRY!) and removed the tape. You do not need to wait for this to dry before removing the tape.

Continue previous steps to each nail and this is what you get. Feel free to move your lines around to create a more individual funky look or stick with what I did if you'd like. This was really easy and it looks cool. I can't wait to go out and pick out some rad color schemes to try out next. Hope you guys liked this, if you have any questions just comment at the bottom and I'd be happy to help!

xox,

- Mj

DIY Tribe Princess

Here it is people, my version of the DIY feather hair accessory. Before I continue, or rather, you begin, be sure to cut some time out for this craft. Before I knew it an hour and fifteen minutes had gone by the time I was finished. The time is worth it though, the feeling of wearing something you really like is even better when what it is that your wearing was hand crafted by you. Be warned, the quality of my photos are horrible. I won't even get started on how much I hate my digi camera but the short of it is...I got it for free as an incentive for signing up for college. As if I would really be THAT much more inclined to attend school upon finding out you get a "Free Digital Camera Purchase for Enrolling!" ugh. I hate bribes. Anyway, the pictures suck, try to deal with it until I buy a camera of better quality. Until then we're workin' with what we got. Sorry in advance, I don't have photo's for every step. Try to visualize as much as you can.


Preparation.
You will want to have everything you need right in front of you because working with little pieces of jewelry that get lost oh so easily can get a little tedious, so make it as simple as possible by setting up a nice work station including, but not limited to, the following:

Supplies

- A Small, thin strip of leather ( I un-braided this old head piece / necklace and cut one strand about 4 inches long for mine )

- Chains from an old necklace ( whichever sizes you prefer )

- Several jump rings, size depends on the size of the chain you use.

- Feathers, these below make things even easier because if you can see they already have jump rings attached. They're from various earrings and necklaces I never use.

- Charms, beads, anything you want to add, really.

- Scissors

- Thread

- Jewelry tweezers ( really, you can use your hands, it's just a little harder )

- Little tiny black or brown rubber bands ( like the ones you use in your hair, they're tiny and actually rubber, not covered with material or anything )
- MOST IMPORTANT: Patience. Be patient with yourself especially if this is your first time making it.

*Remember, this is your accessory, the great thing about DIY is you can make it how ever you'd like so don't limit yourself to only these supplies. Grab some old jewelry you never wear and rip it apart to use the chain or charms from it. Adding your own sparkle is what makes these so great.

Now we begin.
1. You're going to start with the small strip of leather, this is going to be where everything attaches to, well mostly everything.

2. To add a feather: Take one of your little rubber bands, now place a feather wherever you would like it to sit on the leather and wrap the rubber band around both the leather and feather until it's secure.
3. To apply more than one feather: You can apply as many as you'd like at different areas of the leather, so if you'd like to do that just repeat Step 2 until you're satisfied.
4. To add chain: Open a jump ring so that you can place the end of the chain onto it, then close it. Be sure it's secure and the chain won't slip out. ( I know it's bad but I use my teeth ) Next, feed the leather through the jump ring, make sure the chain sits on top of your first feather so it won't fall. 
5. To add thread: You can make a variety of things using thread. In this particular piece I braided together 2 different color threads, along with braiding, I also wrapped them around one another, just anything really. It doesn't have to look perfect.

6. To add beads: I like to add beads when I use chain because they hold the chain and everything else in place and also look amazing. Feed the leather through the beads as you did with the chain. Put the beads on top of the chain to hold that in place.

7. Finally, add one last rubber band above your highest addition to the accessory, this is where you will attach your hair to it. I like to create a small braid wherever I want my feather to be so it has something sturdy to attach to rather that a straight piece of hair that will slip off much easier. Once you've braided your hair and secured the bottom of it with a rubber band, place your accessory wherever you'd like it to fall in your hair along side the braid ( I like it kind of low and toward the front so it's more visible ). Take the rubber band that you secured to the top of the leather and wrap it around both the braid and itself until you feel it's on there good enough. 

There are a million ways to do this, and no one way is 'better' than the next ( maybe easier though! ) it's all about personal preference.

Here are some photos for more inspiration:

DIY Exfoliating Scrub

Since I've gotten older my skin has become more of a hassle to work with. My face can get really dry and flaky and putting make-up on usually makes it show more. Sometimes, when I put lotion on it won't even get rid of the dryness because of the flakes, the lotion will settle in the cracks of the flakes and I'll have white bordered dry spots, lovely I know. So, I've recently taken interest in DIY ( do-it-yourself ) projects and thought this would be a perfect and simple beginner DIY task. I'm going to make an exfoliation scrub for my face and lips ( those are really dry and peel almost non-stop too ) only using sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Here's my step by step process...

This is what I started with, an end of the day flaky face with make-up

1. Apply warm water to a cloth and dampen your face, or you can just use your hands. ( but you will need a cloth / towel for the end steps ).

2. Take the extra virgin olive oil and apply it all over your face ( lips too in my case ) so that you create a nice layer.

I put my oil in a little on the go container so I could reuse it.

3. Smooth the sugar wherever you need it, paying extra attention to the most dry areas. Now, rub in circular motions gently for 20-30 seconds. FYI: Be delicate with your skin, especially around the eyes, if you rub too hard that gentle skin can irritate very easily, so be nice.

Again, I put my sugar in a tupperware container so I could have it all handy for next time.

4. Rinse your face with warm water to get all of the sugar off. The oil is a little more difficult to remove because as we all know water and oil do not mix, this is where your cloth or towel comes in. Make sure that it's dampened with warm water ( I emphasize warm water because hot will dry you out even more and cold is a little harsh ) and gentley remove the rest of the oil from your face.

5. Repeat once a week for a smooth, healthy, flake free face!

Here was my end result, I know you can't tell from the first photo but today was a really dry day for me, my nose and forehead were very flaky and dry and got even worse after applying make-up. After this exfoliating treatment, I couldn't even see the flakes or dry patches! It really worked and it was all from products I got out of the kitchen. I love when you find great things that work well AND are inexpensive. I definitely recommend this, and even for those of you who aren't as dry as I am, this is great for just a refreshing scrub that makes your face silky smooth. Let me know how it worked for you if you try it!

XOX,

- Mj