DIY Bird Feeders

Make your own bird feeders!

What you'll need:

+ bird seed

+ toilet paper rolls

+ rope, twine, or string

 + peanut butter

Directions:

+ Cut a piece of rope, twine, or string so that it is large enough to tie around a tree branch

+ Poke a small hole into a side near the top of the toilet paper roll using scissors or a pen

+ Tie the rope, twine, or string into a loop

+ Find a knife and a medium to large sized Styrofoam plate

+ Use the knife to spread peanut butter over the outside of the toilet paper roll (you can put some inside too near the openings of the hole so the birds can reach)

+ Dump bird seed onto the Styrofoam plate 

+ Carefully dip the peanut butter covered toilet paper roll in the bird seed until the entire roll is covered

+ Find a tree where you know birds like to hangout and hang it up!

 Voila! You have your very own bird feeders. If you know rain is in the forecast, I suggest waiting to put yours up until a nice day. I left mine out for about a day and when I would go to look at them, the food was gone each time.

Tip:

You can buy bird food anywhere from Wal-Mart to the Dollar General. You could also make your own bird food if you want to DIY to the next level.

The above picture displays a day I went on a DIY binge. I made a bunch of bird feeders.

The heart is a little succulent garden. My succulent at the time was flowering and the nursery owner said the little green tear drop shaped things growing off of it could be planted in sandy soil and grow into new succulents. I decided to put my Valentine candy container to use and planted some of the flowery things in there (I don't know the correct term, sorry!) Check out more ideas for up-cycling Valentine candy containers in our previous post.

Lastly, I spray painted clean yogurt and applesauce containers. They will be used to plant seeds in. At some point I'll make another post about up-cycling different types of containers and jars because I'm pretty obsessed with it!

#upcycle

#enjoylife

Beauty

Beauty Products and DIYs

It's not secret in my house that I am a magazine addict. I think I have almost ten magazine subscriptions! One of the many perks to receiving magazines is that there are usually awesome free samples! Not to mention all the new perfume samples you can tear out and place into purses and dresser drawers. With that said, I was super excited when I got this month's issue of Cosmo. 

The coolest mini perfume was inside called Alien, which smells amazing. I got a couple puffs of perfume from the sample and the scent really lasted.

There was also a sample of the new Biore Charcoal Pore Strips. I love these! These strips, my friends, are even better than the regular Biore Pore Strips. My skin was so smooth afterwards and my pores were visibly smaller. They're only about $8.00 at drug stores. Give 'em a shot! Here is the package to look for:

The last beauty product I want to write about is Montagne Jennesse peel off masks. This mask was incredible! To be specific, I bought the Honey and Jasmine scent. These masks are available at Five Below, which is where I got mine. And at about a dollar a mask, these are a heck of a deal. I even saved some leftover mask in a tiny Tupperware container to use for the next week. Some masks promise a peel off that will leave your face smooth and without residue. Many I've tried have failed the test, but I can assure you that Montagne Jennesse passes the test with flying colors. It peeled off so easily it almost seemed too good to be true, especially for its cheap price. After peeling the mask off . Oh, and it smelled DELICIOUS!




Sticking to the topic of all things beauty, I want to write about a few cool DIY tricks for your makeup and hair:

• When your mascara starts to dry out, simply run hot water over the tube for about 30 seconds. I've read about doing this and finally tested it out and it actually works. Don't expect long term effects, though. This is not a cure all for an exhausted tube.
• If you have build up in your hair, like me, you're probably trying to wash it more often to maintain the grease. Instead of shampooing more often, try using a baking soda and water mixture. Stir the two ingredients together in a small cup until pasty. Avoid using an excessive amount of either ingredient. Spread the mixture on your hair using your fingers. WARNING: The mixture may clump in your hair and fall out onto the floor if you do a lot of moving/walking around. I suggest staying in your bathroom or after lathering up your greasy spots, hop in the bath so you don't have to worry about cleaning any lumps of baking soda up off the floor. 

You can put on a face mask while you're at it! You deserve to treat yourself!

Apple Pie Moonshine!

OK, if you are stuck somewhere in Pennsylvania right now like me, you are probably trapped inside your house yet again. Thanks snow!

If you're looking to get a good buzz, this easy to make Apple Pie Moonshine can be enjoyed at room temperature or refrigerated. I like mine refrigerated but I advise you not to use ice! It gets too watery and being refrigerated makes it cold enough. 

Let's do this.

What you'll need:

-1 regular sized bottle apple juice

-1 bottle apple cider (You can buy a gallon but you don't need to use it all. I poured mine into the apple juice bottle to measure).

-3 cups sugar

-8 cinnamon sticks

-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1 bottle (a "fifth") Everclear

-Mason jars (if giving as gifts)

Directions:

-Combine the juices, sugar, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg in a very large pot and bring to a boil.

-Cover and simmer for an hour.

-After an hour, remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Keep in mind that this will take a while, so don't make it at the last minute to bring to a party like I did.

-Once cooled, pour into a separate bowl using a strainer to catch excess spices and cinnamon sticks.

-REMEMBER to wait until the mixture is COMPLETELY COOLED to pour in the Everclear!!!

-You don't have to add the entire bottle of Everclear. You can add the liquor and taste as you go to see what suits your taste.

-Pour the moonshine into mason jars and add a cinnamon stick to each for fun.

I gave these as gifts so I bought little tags at Hobby Lobby and taped them to the lid of the jar.

**I combined recipes from a co-worker and recipes from Pinterest.**

Post Valentine's Day Crafts

Don't Throw Away Empty Chocolate Boxes

Reduce Reuse Recycle

 

Literally every part of these boxes can be repurposed. Time to show you how!

 

1. Jewelry Box

 

Jewelry replaces the chocolates perfectly! You can display your most frequently worn earrings and rings or even use this as a display for handmade jewelry at a craft fair. Another thing you could do to make the plastic look more appealing is to paint it a color that will make the jewelry pop more, such as a matte black if most of the jewelry is silver.

 

 

2. Sun-Catcher Window Adornment

If the plastic is thin enough, the sun will shine through these babies to create a unique design. Simply attach some festive red ribbon and hang them on the window with either a suction cup or tape. Leave them hanging year-round or save them for next Valentine's Day.

 

 

 

3. Wall Décor

Paint the outer cardboard boxes different shades of red and pink and attach them to any wall in the house. This super cute collage of colorful hearts will certainly spread love to all of your guests. (I will add pictures at a later date.)

 

4. Cat Toys

 

While eating the chocolates, I realized that the white plastic on top makes that crackling sound that cats adore. Decide what shaped cat toys you want to make and cut the white plastic to fit the toy. Sew the outer material partially together, but leave enough space to add cotton stuffing and the crackly piece of plastic. Cat nip is optional. Then finish sewing and voila. I will make a blog post with more specific instructions on this craft at a later date.

 

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Remember that you can always create something new and unique instead of sending it to a landfill.

 

Easy Dollar Tree Christmas Tins

If you are looking for an easy homemade gift to give your loved ones this Christmas, then you have come to the right place! These Christmas themed tins are easy and cheap to make.

What you'll need:

• acrylic paint and paint brushes
• Christmas colored tins
• puffy glitter stickers
• stocking stuffers such as candy canes, holiday ornaments, and chocolate
• tissue paper
• paper bags
• Sharpie markers or metallic paint pens

You don't need to worry about painting the entire tin, unless you want to of course. We bought ours at the local Dollar Tree. We even bought the candy at the Dollar Tree which included an assortment of Christmas themed lollipop rings, candy canes, and chocolate coins. Putting tissue paper at the bottom of the tin is a good idea so your loved one can see what is in the tin and it looks better than just throwing everything inside.

The glitter ornaments are handmade by us. Here are directions on how to make them:

http://crimsonandclotheher.blogspot.com/2013/12/diy-snowflake-decorations.html

You can bag up your tins into paper bags or whatever you prefer. We decorated ours with paint, stickers, markers, and metallic paint pens. This is such a fun idea to do by yourself or with friends and family. Put on some Christmas music and start creating!

Last Minute Pumpkin Decorating

Sadly, October is coming to an end. If you bought a pumpkin and still haven't decorated or carved it, I understand. We are all busy with work, school, volunteering, eating, sleeping, and watching Netflix.

If you happen to have any jewel type stickers, you are in luck because they are the only things required for this pumpkin decoration. This idea is cute and fun and takes little time to do. 

I call it the

Bedazzled Pumpkin

These stickers were on sale for about a dollar at Michael's, a craft store in our area.

My Instagram shot:

I also wanted to share pictures of my mums. This was my first year ever buying mums. As you can imagine, I was very excited. I bought them with only about three flowers on them because I wanted to see their transformation. Here it is!

Beautiful!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Squeeze in a Little More Summer

I absolutely love everything fall. Who doesn't? But I feel our society always rushes into the next season without enjoying the last bits of what we have left of the current one. This is why I'm going against the grind of all the autumn posts that consist of everything that is pumpkin and cinnamon. I'm going to share a delicious end of summer salad idea and smoothie recipe that I made last week.

 I hope someone feels the same way I do and wants to squeeze in a few more summer days. After all, it is not officially considered Fall until September 23rd!

Here is a delicious homemade salad dressing. I don't know the exact measurements of ingredients. It's fun to sometimes just wing it but you will need a lot of olive oil. The cider vinegar, lemon, and Dijon mustard adds majority of the flavor. I suggest taste testing often while preparing this dressing. 


Homemade Dressing:

You'll need Dijon mustard, olive oil, juice of a lemon, honey, cider vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Make sure to stir well.

Note: Leftovers should be stored in a small Tupperware container for up to two to three days.

Peachy Watermelon Smoothie:

Here is the actual recipe from Natural Awakenings magazine. This magazine is free and can be found at most grocery stores and some gas stations. 

I only added watermelon and peach to this smoothie.

The yogurt I used was Chobani Strawberry Banana Greek Yogurt.

YUMM!!

ENJOY!