Missing in action.

Holy cow! I didn't realize it has been so long since I've written a post.  We've finally got settled into our house, and I have recently started school. I'm studying to be a Veterinary Technician. I'll basically be a nurse at a Vet clinic. I'm loving school, and extremely passionate about it.

I've done a lot of DIY, but haven't bothered to document it. Sorry! Hopefully sometime within the next few days I'll get everything put together and have some posts for all of you.   Again, I'm really sorry.

- Emily.

Happily in a new home

As some of you may know, my husband got transferred to a new duty station. We are now stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. It’s a joint base so there’s Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force. The base is about 5 years old, so everything is really nice! And let me tell you, it’s absolutely gorgeous here!  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing the mountains. It’s such a refreshing sight to see in the mornings, or as the sun is going down. We’re both looking forward to exploring the area, and being as active as possible. Summer can’t come soon enough! I’m ready for some killer hiking, and river rafting!

I moved out here last Friday, so I haven’t had internet access at all. I’m really sorry I haven’t updated anything! But now that I’ve got my new home there are lots of projects to come, I promise! I recently made a pintucked duvet cover; I’ll share the tutorial soon. I’ve also been doing A LOT of thrifting. The thrift stores out here are to die for. Really, to DIE for. Ikea and Target donate to the Goodwill so there’s some awesome finds. The second Saturday of the month the whole store is half off, so that makes the deal so much sweeter.  (:  You can turn almost anything from the thrift store into a piece that is designer worthy. Solid color porcelain figurines are really in style right now, and a can of spray paint is really all you need to do the trick.  Just today I spray painted an old clay bird with white spray paint, and now it looks like something I bought from West Elm. Simple as that!  You could also transform lamps, mirrors, picture frames, pottery, and vases with spray paint.

I love love love seeing the traffic my blog is getting. I really hope I’m helping each one of you accomplish something that will save you money. Don’t be afraid to comment. I love getting feedback whether it’s positive, or suggestions. I’d love to know if any of you want me to find a frugal approach to something in your own home. Don’t be shy! ;)

A new year; A healthier me

2012 is going to be holding a lot of changes for me, and my family. For those of you who don't know me personally, my husband and I finally got our orders. We'll be stationed at Buckley AFB in Denver, and I can't  even explain how excited we both are. The downside to this is that he has additional training in Texas until April. I've already managed 4 months away from him, I'm sure I'll be able to do 4 more. This also means I'll be able to start cosmetology school! I'm so ready for that!

In addition to our orders, yesterday I started my weight loss journey. Josh and I both decided that we needed to make a drastic change in our eating and lifestyle habits. A good friend of mine introduced me to Clean eating. Clean eating is basically eating 5-6 small meals composed of clean naturally grown foods free of chemicals. Many people say that with out clean eating many weight loss and fitness goals can't be reached. You're completely ridding your body of chemicals and you'll soon start seeing changes with your body inside and out. Your metabolism will be boosted there for giving you more energy. When I told my husband about the change I wanted to make he first said, "wow it sounds like our food will be bland." No, not at all! There are many recipes and cookbooks out there for clean eating. Check out The Gracious Pantry she has tons of mouth watering clean recipes. I also suggest grabbing a copy Tosca Reno's "Clean Eating Diet Recharged" she explains EVERYTHING about clean eating in this book!

As far as my workout plan I am doing a 12 week trainer developed by fitness model Jaime Eason. The plan in completely free and has 3 phases each containing 4 weeks. I like this plan because it's much different from others, and the before/after photos are phenomenal! In her first phase there is no cardio at all! Yes, you read right; no cardio! You lift weights and establish your strength and muscles before slimming down in phase 2 with added cardio. Phase 3 consists of low carb eating, with added cycling and sprints. The program is completely free and includes all workouts plus meal plans. The program also has a Facebook support group which really helps. Every one in the group is so supportive and help keep you motivated!
If you're interested in the program click the picture below!

I'm so ready to start this chapter in my life. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be an amazing year.

Tutorial: Natural citrus hand and body scrub.

I bought some amazingly amazing oranges at the grocery store. I felt like a little kid getting orange juice all over my face, seriously. They were SO good.. Anyways, I didn't want to waste the orange peel so I was thinking of something I could do with them and then it hit me; Citrus Scrub. Yum. I love this stuff!

Supplies:

• Two oranges
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice (optional)
• Mason jar, or tub for storage
• Food processor or Blender

Steps:

First peel your oranges, and save about 1/4 of the actual orange. Throw the peels and 1/4 orange in your food processor with 1 cup of water, and lemon juice. Let the mixture puree for a good few minutes. 

Start adding your sugar, and olive oil.  Test the mixture, if you don't feel that it's gritty enough you can always add more sugar.

I'm keeping mine under the sink to use after I wash my hands, but you could also keep in the shower to use as an all over body scrub. Just make sure you pat dry, other wise the olive oil won't soak into your skin! 

Tutorial: Gallery Wall

I showed you a sneak peak in my last post of the gallery wall I was doing for my sister. Remember these?

Well, I finally finished them and I'm really satisfied with how they turned out!

Supplies:

• 8-15 frames. I bought mine from various thrift stores. I also bought a mirror, and the key. I spent about $10!
• Clip-art. I found most of mine on Google. For example; I searched for "Owl Silhouette." I also used this website. http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/index.htm 
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Black gloss spray paint
• Painters tape

First measure your frames. That way you know what sizes of clip-art to print. Then you can start taking your frames apart, and spray painting them all. Make sure you tape off your mirror before you paint it. Use something to lay  under them so you don't spray your grass or table. I used an old towel that was ruined with hair color.
At first I used the cheap 96 cent spray paint from Walmart. Big mistake. It was really watery, and didn't cover well at all. I went to Ace Hardware and bought "Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover 2X Coverage" in Gloss Black, and it is absolutely amazing! I barely used any of the can! It was only 3 bucks too.

While the frames are drying go online and find the images you'd like to use. My sister had an inspiration page from a magazine, so I just went off of that. Then using Microsoft Word, I printed them off. I used the margin ruler as a guide in order to print the images in the size that I needed. 

Then using the glass from the frame I traced around the photo. That way they would be exact for the frame.

Cut out all your images, and simply add them to the correct frames!

I sent this picture below in a picture message to my husband, and he replied with "Cool, where'd you buy those?!" He thought they were store bought! This whole project was less than $20!
Sorry about the picture too. I just laid them out on the couch. It's a gift for my sister, and I wasn't about to create holes in the wall and hang them just for my blog.

My Thrifting Adventure!

My sister asked me to make her a gallery wall for Christmas. So, of course I gladly said yes and I'm probably more excited than she is! I went to several thrift stores including Goodwill and the Salvation Army. I found some awesome deals!  I snagged all of her picture frames for less than $13, and even scored something for myself!

I was snooping through giant boxes at Goodwill for frames and mirrors. I was going from box to box, and then suddenly I saw "the" box. It had beams of light shining out of it, and angels singing. A 68 piece vintage Sheffield dish set. Yes, 68 pieces! Marked for only $3.99! At first I thought, okay someone forgot to add the last 9.. But, no! The cashier rang them up for $3.99, and I went skipping out of the store as happy as can be.  When I got home I decided I'd look them up online. A 63 piece set was selling for $200, and I only paid $3.99! I feel so amazing that I got a good deal, and I finally found the perfect dish set!

Now, for the sneak peak on the frames! Of course they're not so pretty right now, but I'll be posting the tutorial on how I fix them up soon!

Tutorial: Tissue Paper Flowers

I've been so busy, and haven't really had time to post anything. Sorry! But, today while I was wrapping gifts I needed something to jazz them up a bit. It was insanely simple to do, and worked out great. I made these;

What you'll need:

• 6-8 pieces of tissue paper
• Scissors
• Twist Ties, or String

First, cut your tissue paper to size. I cut mine about 6 inches X 4 inches. You can go larger or small depending on the size of flower you'd like.

Next, start accordion folding your paper. Fold it up at least 4 cm on your first fold.

Lightly fold your paper in half. Locate the middle, and tightly tie your string or twist tie.

Undo the half fold. Trim each in with scissors for flower shape. For the flower I made, round the ends; for a Dahlia look trim the ends to a point. 

Now, from each side start pulling up the individual pieces of tissue paper.

Continue pulling up the individual pieces of paper. I reccomend doing one side at a time. You can also pull one piece up, and one piece down on the same side if you're wanting to create a flower "ball" instead of a flat bottomed flower.

And Viola! Now you have a cute little flower.

Just pop it on a gift for some pizazz! Or, if you made a flower "ball" you can hang them from string like these from Martha Stewart!

Feel free to post your flowers!