Archive for December, 2009

Dec 17 2009

How to: Jcrew Tissue Tees

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Many of us have drooled over Jcrews’ beautiul tissue tees, with their ruffles and ripples and ribbon accents. My cousin, creative and thrifty as she is, decided to create some of her own, and they are gorgeous!

View the video to see our first creations, and experiment with your own.  We picked up a stack of inexpensive tshirts and sweaters from T.J. Max, Ross and Walmart. You can cut up fabric and embellishments from your local craft store or cut up a matching tshirt.

Total cost per shirt: $6.50 Jcrew’s price: $58

That is a saving .

14 responses so far

Dec 16 2009

What is your favorite Christmas Tradition?

Published by Christa Taylor under Homemaking, Misc

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1. Memory Basket : One of our favorite Christmas traditions is our “memory basket”, we hang the basket with the decorations and place a stack of 3/5 cards and pens nearby.  As family members recall a special memory from the past year, they jot it down and throw it in the basket. All the memories are read aloud Christmas morning around the breakfast table.

2. The Night before Christmas: Silly, but very dear- all of us kids (old and young) sleep in the same room, amidst a giant pile of blankets on the floor. Simple, but makes Christmas Eve extra special (especially for the little ones).

What are some traditions you have enjoyed? Care to share?

14 responses so far

Dec 14 2009

I asked a model for advice…

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You may be thinking, “Is that such a good idea?”

But Shannon Stewart is no ordinary model, an ET to the core, she has made a public declaration, in the face of television, pageant, and public pressure, that she will not compromise her convictions.

This is a girl worth listening to.

Shannon Stewart competed on the first season of “America’s Next Top Model”. But, in the semi-finals during a nude photoshoot in Paris, Shannon and fellow contestant Robin Manning caused controversy when they refused to take part in the photoshoot because of their Christian convictions. Continue Reading »

12 responses so far

Dec 14 2009

How To Reuse Last Years Boots!

Published by Maresah under Fashion tips

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So you’ve got a pair of shabby boots, don’t throw them away! It’s perfect timing to bring out the country “shabby chic” side of your wardrobe.   (chic is pronounced sheek)

Chic-i-fy  Your Boots

1. wear with Knitted knee highs, don’t be afraid to let them come over the top of the boot.

2. Flip the lip :  if you have the pirate look boot with the top folded down (which is a great look in itself) try flipping it up and check out the complete change in the look!

3. tights with leg warmers: make sure they are different but coordinating colors and like your socks, make sure the warmers just poke out the top of the boot! (this looks great to tie in a knitted hat and scarf: )

6 responses so far

Dec 10 2009

C-T Holiday Benson Shoot!

Brooks and Amy Goddard modeled for our Holiday shoot, here at Portland’s Benson Hotel. Amy and I knew each other long ago (10 years ago now!), and they both agreed to model for our holiday shoot.  Besides being an adorable couple, both love Jesus!

Enjoy the pics and behind the scenes video from our latest Christa-Taylor photo shoot!

The Holidays are here!

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10 responses so far

Dec 10 2009

How to Condition more Effectively

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Ever wondered the secret to moist shine rich hair? Often the answer lies not in a specific product but how you apply and rinse your conditioner.

Condition:

Bleached/Highlighted: 

If you hair is currently chemically treated, like me,  you’ll want to condition end to root every time.

Natural Hair:

For natural hair, i only conditioned the mid-lengths and ends every time and the roots about once a week.

 Step By Step

 

1) don’t worry so much about hitting the top of your head with the mass of conditioner your holding in your hand. Try starting from the ends of the hair, working towards the top. This will help eliminate excess moisture on the scalp which causes that premature oily feeling.

2) Try just conditioning the mid-lengths and ends every time you shampoo and only the top every other time or about once to twice a week. Your hair is healthier the closer it is to the scalp, so the target area should be the mid-lengths and ends as this is where most splitting and damaging occurs  from brushing, hot tools, pony tails, clothing contact, and hair coloring.

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Dec 08 2009

How to Shampoo more Effectively!

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This How To is for those of us trying to treat our hair better, but keep getting frustrated because our tactics do not seem to be helping.

Hair Patterns

There are many things that cause us to change the pattern of how and when we care for our hair:

1. New job that requires more bathing.
2. Just heard that washing your hair everyday is not good for it
3. Can’t understand why you hair gets oily so fast
4. Can’t understand why its so frizzy, but feels like silk
5. New hairstyle that requires more or different product
6. Stuck on old habits
7. Etc, etc, etc.

I know my frustration came from a few things, but mostly I was avoiding washing my hair everyday (who has time to style their locks every 24 hours?) but then I felt my hair wasn’t really clean! This frustrated me, because i had many friends doing the same thing with great success! Well one day i had a hair teacher say “if you can’t seem to get it the first time around, do it again” so i decided to try washing twice before i conditioned. What a difference!!! The soap even lathers up differently the second time. Weird? It totally works.

So now i shampoo every two to three days and am very happy with the results.

Shampoo: Try This

Shampoo: better to shampoo twice in a row than every day.
(unless you have that oh! so awesome extreme oil prone hair)

Many times people who try not to wash everyday fail to wash more thoroughly when they actually do shampoo. This causes frustration because the hair seems to get oily or dirty faster.

 Double shampooing: Try it. 

#1: Focus on the Scalp. Once to focus (and i mean really focus) on that scalp! you need to remove the dead skin and oil buildup as to allow the scalp to breath and help new hair grow appropriately.

#2  focus on the rest of the hair and really make sure all of the grime is out!

Hair brittle after your shampoo? Come back for tips on conditioning your locks.

10 responses so far

Dec 07 2009

Holiday Giveaway!

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A couple weeks ago our dear Maresah blogged on several companies that feature natural skin and face products.

This week we are highlighting a face mask from Arbonne as a giveaway to our readers.

Not to be left out in the dark, I decided to try a bottle of the product for myself. And i can tell you, this stuff is powerful! Not only does it rejuvenate the skin, it helps clean out all those pesky dead skin cells that cause black heads! The bottle recommends once a week, which means it’s going to last for a long time. ::happy sigh::

$45 dollar value. No, it’s not cheap (natural products never are) Which is why you should enter the giveaway!

Giveaway ends the 22nd. If you post a link from Facebook, twitter or your own blog we’ll enter your name twice.

*Leave a comment to enter, we will track your site links through our blog back-end. Let us know you posted a link and we’ll be able to match the link to the entry.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ENTRY #60, Emily at Glenn Fashions- YOU WON THE ARBONNE MASK. ! :)

133 responses so far