Hello Again Blogosphere!

I started this blog as an assignment for AP Language and Composition junior year of high school. In three years a lot has happened (college and such) and I happened upon my blog recently. Looking back on the posts has been fun, and so I've decided to make some more posts! My fondness for crafts and nails has not deteriorated over the years, so I'll be sharing some more posts like that and posting them on my Pinterest boards. I don't expect I'll be getting many views on my tiny blog, but it's fun for me to take a break from busy college life and do something fun!
See you soon,
Samantha :)

Goodbye Cruel Cruel Blogosphere

As AP Lang comes to an end so do my blogging days...staying up until 11:30 to complete a last-minute blog before the deadline of 12:00a.m.
We've been through a lot, tears, loneliness, and desperation. 
I went through a period of indecisiveness, and existential crises. I made tens of useless products that I will never use, (probably giving them away to unfortunate friends or guests at a white elephant event). Nevertheless my bloggin' made me a hearty soul and enriched my knowledge of Pinterest.
They were the best of times, they were the worst of times, they was bloggin' times.

Decorating Mason Jars

My friend bought a Mason jar for the tips she earns at work, she asked me if I could decorate it for her. I decided to decorate the Mason jar with paints, it was just a question of what kind of paint was best for glass.  I decided to go with Enamel Acrylic Paint, the brand I used is called, "folkArt", and at Micheal's two fluid ounces was two dollars.  I got pink, yellow, orange, blue, and white so that I could mix the white in with other colors to create different shades.
I also found a sticker stencil, (the alphabet in stencils that you can stick to the glass, making it easy to paint letters on the glass in an even way), you can use each of the stickers twenty times before the adhesive wears off and the stickers will no longer be able to dry off and stay sticky. The stencil was four dollars and in addition to the alphabet stencils there is also stencils of stars, swirls, hearts, and punctuation.
The brushes I used were simple and cheap, I've had them for a long time, so I don't know where they came from but any kind of thin brush from Micheal's or Walmart will do.
I started by aligning the stencils on the front of the Mason jar, since the same two letters are in her name I had to do the first letter, wait for it to dry, then move the stencil over to do the second letter.  Instead of pouring the paint out onto a plate or into a small container I just took off the cap of all the paints I am using.  To fill in the stencils I blotted in the letters and made sure there weren't any "bald spots" in the stencil.
I let the paint dry for about a minute, then carefully pealed the stencil off.  You can wash the stencils by running them under warm water, using soap if necessary, and then laying them out to dry.  Once the stencils are dry they should once again be sticky, and you can place them back on the plastic they came on.

Washing the brushes is simple, just have a bowl of warm water and an old towel nearby.  Wash the brush in the warm water then rub it on the towel, you can NOT let the paint brush dry with the paint on it, it WILL stain the brush. 

Homemade Jolly Rancher Suckers

I know that my blogs are usually about beauty and DIY crafts, but when I saw this post on Pinterest I had to try it myself.

What Pinterest Said:

 Looks extremely simple, just line up the Jolly ranchers on a wax paper sheet and put them in the oven for five minutes.
I highly disagree with this method, this is an example of how Pinterest doesn't always turn out like you thought. Luckily, I did this myself and adjusted the recipe so that it does work!


What I say:
All you need are Jolly Ranchers, Popsicle sticks, wax paper, and Pam.
1. Preheat your oven to two hundred degrees
2. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and lightly spray Pam on it to keep the Jolly Ranchers from sticking to it when you are all done. (I didn't use Pam because the Pinterest instructions did not include this and my Jolly Rancher suckers had wax paper all along the backs)
3. Align the Jolly Ranchers on the wax paper the way you want them, in groups of three
4. Place your Popsicle sticks on top of the jolly ranchers, with the ends of the Popsicle stick sticking out both ways
5. Put the tray into the oven, and leave it there for about ten minutes
6. After ten minutes the Jolly Ranchers should be melted a bit, and easily manipulated, so using a fork, press down on the stick in between the jolly ranchers so that the Jolly Ranchers will continue melting around the sick
7. Wait another ten minutes before you take out the tray, you will know when they are ready when the Jolly Ranchers have flattened out and melted over the top of the Popsicle stick.
8. Take your Jolly Rancher suckers out and wait another twenty minutes for them to cool, (if you don't let them cool the Popsicle stick could become detached from the Jolly Ranchers)
9. Carefully pull the suckers off the wax paper sheet, hopefully the Pam helps because as I said earlier, I didn't use Pam and the wax paper stuck to the back of the suckers, If the Pam doesn't help you either use a butter knife and scrap off the paper, or you can run the back under cold water which will loosen the wax paper making it easier to peel off

 I liked this recipe because it required little prep time, was very easy, and is delicious! Pinterest didn't give very accurate directions for this recipe, so just keep that in mind when you are pinning, not everything you see on Pinterest is so simple and straightforward!

Two Very Simple Face Masks

In the past I have done tutorials on semi-elaborate masks and reviewed store bought masks, so for this blog I wanted to stick with two extremely easy, (and effective), face masks I have discovered.
Advil Liqui-Gels:
You have probably heard of these already, they are pills to reduce pain and fever, but used as a face treatment the red spots on your face signaling skin irritation.
For twenty of these liquid filled capsules the price is just thirteen dollars.  What I do to release the liquid inside the gel capsules is take a safety pin and poke a hole in the liquid-gels, make the hold bigger if it takes too long to squeeze out.  When you do have the capsule open, put one fourth of the gel on your forehead, one fourth on your right cheek, one fourth on your left cheek, and the fourth one fourth fill go your nose. With your finger rub in the gel until your hold face is covered in this gel, and wait at least three minutes before washing it off with a damp washcloth.
Lemon and Honey Mask:
 For this mask it really doesn't matter what kind of honey you're using, the only thing you might not already have in your kitchen is a lemon.
To start I cut just one fourth of the lemon off of the rest, and put about five drops of honey on the lemon.  Rub the honey into the lemon, the honey might just try and slide right off, so hold the lemon up upright when you do this.
When applying, pull all of your hair back and start rubbing the lemon and honey in from your chin to your forehead, and this may include adding more honey then you at the beginning because it will wear off.  After you have rubbed the lemon with honey all over your face for about two minutes, let the mixture sit for just three to five minutes, and wash off the mask with a wash cloth.

So there are two masks that are very simple to prepare and only take up about twenty minutes of your time.

DIY Lush Coalface

Since last week's blogs were about Lush products I love, I decided to do a tutorial on how to make your very own Lush product for a fraction of the price!  Since Lush products are very natural, the price of their products tend to be steeper than other brands.  A trademark of Lush is their wide variety of face scrubs/washes, so for this blog I will explain how to create your very own Lush Coalface face scrub.
This only requires three ingredients: Coconut oil, Charcoal caps, and baking soda.  I know that most everyone will have baking soda, a well-known ingredient in home made beauty products, but Coconut oil and Charcoal caps are more difficult to locate. I found both of these ingredients at Walmart, Coconut oil in the baking aisle, and Charcoal caps in the dietary supplements aisle.
To mix my ingredients together I used a mortar and pestle, but a small plastic container and spoon will also do.  First you need one half a cup of Coconut oil and since the coconut oil I have is in solid form I continuously scraped off shavings until I reached one half of a cup.  Another way you could do this is put the Coconut oil in the microwave for about twenty seconds then drain the liquid into a measuring cup. Next you add in three contents of the Charcoal capsules, to get these open I cut them close to one end of a capsule and tapped the contents into the bowl. Lastly, add in one tablespoon of baking soda and mix all of the ingredients up, crushing everything with either your spoon or pestle.
Now you have your own Lush face scrub!  My mask was a bit more liquid than I wanted, so to fix this I would add in more baking soda next time, and probably a bit under one half a cup of Coconut oil.  
 For me I apply this by pulling back all my hair with a ponytail and a headband, and taking two fingers, dabbing it on my face starting from the top of my forehead and moving down to my chin.  When I apply this I keep a towel below just in case the mask drips.  Before rinsing with a washcloth, (the charcoal can be a bit difficult to get off when it is paired with Coconut oil), I leave the mask on for fifteen minutes, and don't worry, if the mask gets in your mouth it is completely harmless!
You will probably end up with leftovers, so store them in the refrigerator, and when you want to do another mask you will have to re-stir the concoction because some solid parts of the mask form at the bottom when left sitting for hours on end.  

Sugar Scrubs

For this blog I will combine a Do it Yourself blog and a beauty related blog.  I will demonstrate how to create three different sugar scrubs, lemon, coffee, and brown sugar scrub. You can use these in the shower or bath, basically they make your legs super smooth, especially if you shave, apply the scrub, then shave again.
Lemon Sugar Scrub:
You'll need one cup of sugar, half a cup of olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, and the juice from one lemon.
Put all these ingredients together a small bowl and with a pestle, (or fork/spoon) crush and mix the ingredients together.  This create a handful of scrub that lasts two or three weeks showering every day.  This scrub also helps to eliminate streaks from self tanners that you may or may not have.
Coffee Sugar Scrub:
You'll need one fourth cup of raw sugar, one fourth cup of ground coffee, one tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of coconut oil, and one tablespoon of sea salt.
Mix the coconut oil and olive oil together again with a pestle/spoon/fork. Mix the solids together the same way then pour the solid ingredients in with the liquids and mix.  This is the same amount of scrub that you will get from the Lemon Sugar Scrub, and if you love the smell of coffee, you'll love the scrub!
Brown Sugar Scrub:
This is probably the easiest scrub because you most likely already have all the ingredients you need right in your kitchen. You'll need one half cup of brown sugar, one fourth cup of white sugar, three tablespoons of vanilla extract, and one and a half tablespoons of olive oil.
Mix all ingredients together at once and crush as you have for the past two scrubs!
Start by using the scrubs just once a week for a couple weeks before using more frequently, you could have an unknown allergy/reaction to the scrubs. Using them too frequently at first can irritate your skin making it red and/or itchy.  As I said at the beginning of the blog, using the sugar scrubs between shaving your legs makes them extremely smooth and smelling great!
I hope you enjoy your sugar scrubs!