Donut Pillow

I found this really cool pillow on A Beautiful Mess and I knew that my Daughter would love it, so today I decided to sew it.
I used an Ikea mirror to make my template and freehanded the frosting part, but the next time I make one I will make it a little skinnier so it doesn't cover up the donut part too much. Being this is my first donut pillow,  I love it!

I used the fleece for most of it, including the sprinkles.

I think I am going to make a cream-filled donut next and maybe a cupcake; who knows. They were fun to make and the kids love them.

Chanel Lipstick

I went on a trip to Barcelona and my favorite purchase was a Chanel lipstick. I have always wanted a bright red lipstick from Chanel but I was never confident to wear it till now.
Before I left for my trip, I looked at the colors on the Internet and planned out which one I was going to buy so when I walked into Sephora, I walked right up to the Chanel display and put on the one I thought I wanted. But, when I looked at myself I didn't like it; that just shows you that the Internet can't replace seeing the color on you in person.
I ended up loving the next color that I got -- #99 called pirate.

 

One of the first things I checked was if it made my teeth look yellow (and it didn't) but I did need to get a lip liner to go with it in case it bleeds.  I didn't get one from Chanel; I bought a different brand from Sephora that wasn't as expensive. 

While I was in Barcelona, I noticed that my lipstick stayed on forever and always felt creamy without being sticky and leaving lipstick prints on everything, but once I got back to Germany I realized that it must have been the climate there because here it doesn't stay on quite as long and I do have to reapply more often. 

Very often when I buy lipgloss or lipstick, I have the problem that the glycerin in it makes my lips dry and I end up having chapped lips. With this lipstick I don't have that problem at all and it just goes to show you, "You get what you pay for".

No matter what you are wearing or if you don't have much makeup on, as soon as you have pretty lips you look put together, unless of course you have a rats nest on your head -- then you will look like a slob with lipstick on. 

My friend, Nicole, is wearing "wonderland" lipgloss by Dior.

I suggest that if you want to buy one then definitely go try them first to see how it will look with your skin, because the Internet just doesn't do the pigmentation justice of a Chanel lipstick. Besides, you might pick up something else you like while you are at it because you can never have too much stuff to make you feel pretty. Am I right?

DIY Chalkboard

I know that DIY Chalkboard paint is all over Pinterest, but this paint is made with scouring powder instead of cement, which makes it different.
I have been wanting a chalkboard to write our meals on for a while, because I have been writing them on paper and sticking it to the fridge, so my kids don't ask me everyday what we are having.

 

I picked up this mirror for 12 Euros and the scouring powder for about 3 euros.  I still had the paint from the bathroom makeover that I did. 

What I did was pour paint in the pan, added the powder and stirred until it was thick and pasty. Then I just started painting the mirror with a paintbrush.

I didn't prime it first. I just painted a really thick layer and let it dry, which took about 3 hours. You should probably let it dry till the next day.

I sanded the first layer because it was really gritty, which doesn't make for smooth writing, and I painted the next layer on top and let that dry for at least 3 hours and sanded it again. 

It was a quick project that didn't cost me much, and if you have something you can paint over instead of going out and buying something, it will be even cheaper. 

I have wiped it down several times with a wet rag and aside from the chalk, nothing has come off in terms of paint or the powder so I would say it was a success.

Now I just need to hang it up, but that might take longer than the project itself.

Give it a try and tell me how it went.  

Open Air Seeed

I love Music and when the opportunity arose to see "Seeed" live in Bensheim, I totally took advantage of it, even though I hate porta potties and a bunch of drunk woman who think they can dance.
That is the crowd you end up with at festivals;  you listen to hours of crappy bands waiting for the headliner to show up and drink because it's hot as hell out.

Around this time, people start acting a fool and thinking they can dance even though they are pretty much dancing to a song nobody else can hear; they twirl around like an effing pinata, but it does make for some laughs since I was definitely making fun of these people.

It was a great concert. I just wish it would have started about 3 hours earlier, but you just go with the flow and still have a good time.

Maleficent

I am a sucker for a Disney movie and this one was a doozy, let me tell you! It was pure perfection and I can't wait to see it again.
Angelina Jolie was so good in this, and I felt for her the whole 90 minutes when she was wronged by Stefan the wannabe king / douche bag, whether she was furious or sad or lonely or devastated.
The costumes and makeup are just off the chart and so detailed that I could just stare at the screen for hours and not see everything.
The soundtrack for this movie is beautiful and "Once upon a Dream" sung by Lana del Ray is perfect for the mood of this movie; it's kind of dark and creepy but beautiful.

So, if you want to see the other side of the story then go see Maleficent today.

Stuff I Tried

Summer is here and I am leaving for Barcelona in 19 days, which means in a perfect universe I would already be sun kissed before I get to Spain. Because this is real life, I really look like an Albino and a Vampire had a baby and named it Me.
I asked on Facebook about using tanning cream, and if anybody had suggestions, but mostly the answers were: Don't do it; you will hate it.
But, of course, I didn't listen so here are my results:

I took a shower and first used one of those gloves that takes off all the dry skin, so I wouldn't have any orange spots. I only did my legs to see if it would work and if I would even like it.
When I opened the bottle I was pleasantly surprised by the smell because everyone told me these things stink. When I smelled a fruit salad in a bottle, I was happy.
After I put it on my legs, I washed my hands right away and then sat on the toilet lid for about 10 minutes to make sure I didn't ruin my clothes. Then I went to bed. After about 15 minutes, I started to smell popcorn and went looking for the source (since I wasn't eating any). It took me a while to figure out that it was my legs that smelled like that, like popcorn. The next morning when I got up I had orange knees, ankles and feet.

Conclusion: I'm glad it only cost 1,79 euros, and while I am sure that you get what you pay for, I have heard that they all give you orange extremities and smell nasty. So I guess I will look like a cotton ball in Barcelona.


Curling your hair with a flat iron
I recently started seeing a lot of pins on Pinterest lately of hair curls done with a flatiron, so I decided to get mine out of the cupboard and try it. I watched a couple of tutorials and gave it a shot.
Even though this was the first time I used it for curls, I did have the feeling that it's faster than curling your hair with a curling iron.
I sprayed Got2Be Guardian Angel on my hair, which is important so you at least can tell yourself you protected your hair first. I have been using this product for a while and I really like it, but I am sure any heat treatment you use is fine.

Conclusion: I like it. It makes a different kind of curl and if you don't leave it in your hair too long you have nice, be achy waves, which is really cute. Plus, you won't have that Grand Ol' Opry look that I sometimes get when my curls are really big.

 

I really need to work on my selfie face. 

So, there you go -- my two cents on some of the stuff I tried. Now let me know what you think about curling with a flat iron vs. a curling iron.

Baby Clothes Pillow

I have been holding onto baby shirts for a while now because I just couldn't part with them. I knew that I would not be having another baby so I needed to make something else with them, and I decided on a pillow case for a throw pillow.
I used 2 shirts for this project and a piece of scrap jersey that I had laying around. The front has a little hippo on it that I reverse appliquéd, which is the easiest thing to do if you don't want to use fusible interfacing. Plus, this way it stays as soft as possible.

 

I loved this little shirt and just couldn't part with it. Look at that little face (the kid not the shirt).

This pillow is really soft and squishy so it doesn't hold it's shape very well, but it's just right for a toddler bed.
The grey fabric that I used was a size 6 so it didn't have a lot of fabric. I needed a bigger piece for the hippo so I used the back for the middle piece and the front for the side pieces.

This is a slipcover pillow so you don't need a zipper and you can take it off and wash it whenever you need to. The back fabric is a really soft jersey and so comfy.
I found a really great tutorial for this kind of pillow so if you want to sew one for yourself, check it out on Made

 

Mia loves her pillow and I am really happy that she gets so much use out of it. Even better, Even better, I didn't have to throw or give away her baby shirts.

I think that I might even consider making a t-shirt quilt someday; I just have to find the time.