ali

One-of-a-kind Shrinkle dresses just listed! Perfect for your NYE party. Click to shop!!
http://shrinkle.etsy.com

For a limited time only, I'm also including a free Sugarpill eyeshadow sample with every order from my Etsy or eBay store!

For more fun stuff, feel free to check out my blog!

I'm also on Twitter!


XOXO
Amy

My mother and i would like to start a little kitchen garden in the back yard in a small section of the yard where lilies used to grow, because it's the only place that has never been sprayed. I was just wondering about how to go about making the other soil where grass is growing safer if she decides to eventually expand the garden? I'm pretty sure we're going to have a raised bed, so maybe it doesn't matter that much?
They stopped spraying the yard in march or april i believe.
Sorry if this is too vague of a question, i'm totally clueless when it comes to gardening!

 
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So, I was able to see a post in the memories about dry eyes but it wasn't close enough to my situation to be any help.

This is a BIG long shot, but maybe someone has advice!

I had PRK in both eyes the end of July (it's kind of like LASIK, but slightly grosser, so if you want details I suggest you google) The surgery went fine, healing as normal.

I do have typical post surgery dry-eye, and I've been using the artificial tears recommended by my opthamologist (Refresh Plus). Now that it's getting cold & dry here, my eyes are really starting to bother me. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I had chunks of sand under my eyelids, it hurt so much. I'm especially vigilant about the eye drops before bed, too. Anyway. I DO plan on going to the opthamologist (I'm calling tomorrow to make an appointment), but we are talking about Army healthcare here (don't get me wrong-I'm grateful to have any healthcare!) and it might be 3-4 weeks before they can see me.

Are there any supplements that could possibly help increase tear production, or am I totally crazy for asking here?? I've learned so much just by reading everyone's posts; this seems like a pretty knowledgable community :) Thanks in advance!!

I finally finished all the x-mas gifts I needed to make! WOOT~! This is my first time posting here, but I've been watching it on and off for a long time <3 

Hey, all! I bought an adorable cloche hat recently, and I was hoping I could figure out how to duplicate it. Does anyone know of a sewing pattern for these types of hats?

So, I was planning on making some felted soap (for the first time) for Christmas gifts this year. I got some raw wool (natural grey... wanted to stay away from super dyed, fake looking hot pinks/lime greens etc..) and a big hunk of shea butter soap base which I grated down and added some essential oils to.
Long story short, the soaps look like owl pellets. Or hairballs. They're quite unattractive, which doesn't matter in the least to me but since I'm giving them as gifts I'd like them to look somewhat more presentable and appealing. Also, not everyone who is recieving them is on the 100% natural bandwagon and I can only imagine their faces when I tell them they are supposed to rub this fuzzy mess on their naked bodies...hahaha.

I was planning on wrapping them in some cute fabric or ribbons but I don't know. Does anyone have any tips or ideas on how to make these soaps look less...well you get the picture.

I've seen felted soaps with different colored felt shapes attached to them..how is this done?

Any ideas/tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

My look to go job hunt in Boystown (which here in Chicago is where most of the gays bars/lounges are) so I thought what doesn't dazzle any sort of man than brown eyes and red lips?

(ps. sorry that my bangs are in the way 90% of the time!)

( hiya boyz )

cc welcomed, wish me luck
xxx

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I don't mean the high fructose kind, I mean regular corn syrup. Like Karo. In comparison to other sugars, how bad is it?

Also, is it true that the darker the corn syrup is, the better? My husband buys the dark Karo because he insists it's healthier.

Thanks!

My tired body craves warmth (and I just posted about being cold in New England, so this a pretty logical follow up), so I'm looking at investing in a hot water bottle. (Also useful if I move and don't have a microwave because God knows that I cannot live without a kettle, ever in my life, even when I move into the upper canopy of the Everglades during the zombie apocalypse and live off of canned jam.)

I'm looking at Amazon, but if they're attractive/well rated, they're expensive. If they're not expensive, they're ugly and have serious flaws. I want something with a cover that won't leak hot water all over me and my mattress in the middle of the night. Since this is an alternative to an electric blanket (obviously not natural) I was hoping for something a bit cheaper, but maybe that's not an option?

Suggestions?

I tend to get anemic due to low iron levels, and as a vegetarian I'm always looking for things to eat that will boost my iron intake. I know vitamins are an option, but I really prefer to consume it from natural food sources rather than a supplement or a fortified product.
I bought some blackstrap molasses today, which will provide 70% of the daily value of iron in one tablespoon a day, so I was wondering how you guys use it. Any simple recipes? I know you can cook it into baked beans, but I'm not a huge fan of them. I suppose I could just suck it up and eat a straight tablespoon of it, but it's strong stuff!
Any other good sources of iron that you know of?

This look didn't photograph so well. :/
Aaand I'm not really a fan of this purple.



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Hiya, I have just been attempting to make my first ever soap, I stirred it for an hour and its now been an hour and a half but its not even reached trace! has anyone had this problem before? what could be wrong and what could I do to fix it?! thankyou in advance!

edit: after 2 hours I added some more caustic soda... was this a bad plan or is this ok?!
it doesnt seem to be dissolving...

i hope this is ok to post here.....

i am getting married in a little over a month. I refuse to wear anything other than red lips.

i need recommendations on red lipsticks that are long lasting. i don't want it smearing, rubbing off, or coming off on my fiance. i also don't want it to dry out my lips!

help!

& so its not text only:

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My sister-in-law visited a while back and she had the most adorable little "panty traveler" as she called it. It was a little bag for in your suitcase for you clean/dirty undies. (I don't really love the idea of United Airlines staff opening my bags and finding my underwear on top, especially worn pairs!)




Sorry for the bad pictures of the original - sis-in-law doesn't live here so the pics were all I had to work from. Someone told me they saw these at Gap Body so they're probably not expensive, but it's more fun to make your own, I think. And a good use for little scraps of fabric.

So, I thought it would be easy to make and a great gift. I invited a few of my girlfriends over for a sort of craft workshop and let them know they could do whatever they wanted, but if they wanted to make a "panty traveler", I would help guide them. It ended up being a really fun day and everyone had a great time and some of us even finished our projects.

Here's my friend Mel with her finished bag:


So cute! Mel AND her bag.

Anyway, I plan to make a couple for gifts and I think it's probably pretty easy for all of you to figure out how to make them. I keep meaning to make tutorials and never get around to it. Sorry.

More pics of the event, and lots more of what I've been up to, sewing-wise, at my journal page.

Happy Holidays to all my Sew Hip friends!!!

Howdy All!

I'm having some shampoo bar issues and was wondering if any of you could offer some advice.

So, since about May I've been shampooing with Chagrin Valley shampoo bars. I love the simplicity of the shampoo bar concept, the fact that they don't contain unpronouncables, and the fact that I'm supporting a small business. During the warmer months I'm a wash and go kind of girl - wash, condition with diluted ACV, scrunch with some natural mousse and go! The shampoo bars have worked wonderfully for that. But, it's kind of hard to pull on a hat over my lion's mane of hair without it totally looking like crap so in the colder months I have to resort to blow drying the mass of it straight. It seems that therein lies the problem. When I try to blow dry my hair in the morning after shampooing at night with the shampoo bar I just cannot seem to get it dry. Actually, it does get dry, it's just that there's so much grease in it that looks wet.

What the heck could possibly be going on? I've tried switching bars thinking that one formula could be more conditioning than another, but same results. I've tried washing with baking soda thinking that perhaps the soaps have left some sort of funky residue that just needed to be stripped, but again same results. I'm totally ready to throw in the towel here and pick up some nasty chemical laden shampoo just to get things back to normal. The weird thing is that my hair has NEVER been greasy. My scalp is pretty oily, but my hair has always been on the drier side - probably because of it's coarse nature and all - which was cool because I could last at least 3 days between shampooings. Call me lazy, but this shampooing and blow drying every day is getting to me (and probably kicking my hair's butt since I used to just blow dry once a week and wrap for the rest of it).

Any suggestions?

~Ania~

Could I make a floral infusion using Jasmine buds to use in a body wash/ shampoo or as a body spray?

I was thinking of steeping the buds in hot water, then cooling it down and storing it in a spray bottle in the fridge. Is that a good method, or would some other method work better, and preserve the scent for longer?

I want to do this because I saw the Jurlique Jasmine shower gel, and I don't want to buy it, but I miss having something Jasmine- scented to use.

Thanks :)

I'm going on a long trip (cross-continent, 18 hours, three plane changes) at the end of the month and am trying to plot food options (yes, I start planning REALLY early- I have the packing list nearly done.) Trail mix seems like a good carry-along snack, so I am mixing up one from peanuts, cashews, dried blueberries, starfruit and raisins. What other food items would people recommend? Airports are not known for easy healthy food choices, for the most part.

The following are caveats- I am allergic to walnuts and brazil nuts, citrus triggers migraines for m so I avoid it, dairy can only be eaten at meals because I have to take medication with it.

I used to bring a cooler with breakfast and lunch, but with luggage restrictions and the new liquids rule, it's not really workable. Also, I'm trying to do carryon only- we will see about that.

Lots of FOTDs. Word.


( all my bubble dreams )