The Daily DIY: Mercury Glass

You'll need:

Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint

Vinegar

Any Glass Jar

Music: Generator^First Floor by Freelance Whales

Depending on how thick you spray the paint on and how much vinegar you let sit, will decipher what look you end up with. I like the way this turned out because it looks a bit aged now, but it's subtle.

This is such an easy way to add a little "antique" to your decor even if you don't have the real thing.
Have a lovely day!

Cleansed!

I recently posted about a juice cleanse that I was doing. I did continue throughout the weekend and am so glad that I did. The evening of my last post had me feeling terrible... seriously terrible. The cleanse had not flushed out my systems the way that I had hoped, which made me consider that something actually was not working properly in my body (I've actually been saying this for months, hence the reasoning behind the cleanse in the first place!).

When I write that my systems weren't "flushed" I am basically saying that I did not go to the bathroom all week. Only having the juice concoction that I was drinking should have definitely made that happen. So, on Friday I began taking a mild laxative as well, just to see if that would help. Thankfully, it did. This, along with the two extra days of the cleanse, made me feel INCREDIBLE. I do feel like my systems were finally flushed out and I am amazed at how I feel. Even more amazing, I had not begun my cycle since having the little Mister (he's almost 18 months old!) and within two days, I had (with NO cramping, bloating, or fatigue!!! Whaaaat?!?!?!). Every ache and pain that I've been concerned about was gone. Just gone.

I researched adding solids back into your diet once your cleanse was over and found a schedule that looked good for me and slowly began adding solid food back into my diet; soft, cooked vegetables the first day; grains, the next (I actually had quite a few solid things that evening as I had some guests over and I DO NOT recommend that, bring it back slowly!!); dairy, the third day; animal meats, the fourth day; and I could begin eating fish the fifth day. I do feel as though my body reacts to either dairy or grains in an adverse way, so I'm hoping to keep those to a minimum (but seriously, I now notice how much of those two things are part of my daily diet, so it will take a little bit of tweaking for sure... totally worth it to me after doing this though!).

{Becky, this next section is for you!} I've always wanted a juicer, but after watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" I wanted one more than ever! So, I kept my eyes open, but they are so expensive and I just could not justify spending that kind of money (though in hindsight knowing just what it could do, it's absolutely worth the money). However, I follow Groupon and one day they had a Dash Juicer as one of their deals. It ended up only being $69 and I couldn't pass that up.

I love this juicer. It is so easy to use and even better, so easy to clean up. I also learned that this is one of the only juicers that will juice Celery (which was one of my ingredients) so I was quite happy about that. There's a great review here as well... if I didn't sell you on it, this lady will!

I'm not just happy with the results, I am ecstatic at the changes that it's allowed me to make. The ailments that were bothering me (that my doctor was unable to diagnose or really even help with) are just gone and I am amazed that our bodies are made the way they are. 

I'm a juicer for life.

The Daily DIY: Instagram + Washi Tape Calendar

I love Instagram {@sheislaughing}. I love having my camera with me, but honestly with three littles hanging on me, jumping on me, and wanting me to hold them, my phone just has to be able to do the trick most of the time when we're out and about.

I received this Instagram Calendar as one of the gifts from the Handmade Gift Swap that I did last year. I've had several ideas of how to display it, but nothing really came about, until... 

I was picking things up around the house and looked over and saw the calendar sitting near my Washi Tape (um, yep, you guessed it... The Plaid Barn) and had the brilliantly simple idea to just tape each month together and then hang it on the wall (I used the Command adhesive strips).

I love it. It hangs perfectly on the wall in the room off of our kitchen, so I see it all the time. And I smile every time I see it.

You can make your own Instagram art here (there are so many options!), and get some pretty Washi Tape here (as well as lots of other awesome crafty supplies!). This was a great gift, and now I can't wait to make my own personalized Instagram art. And Washi Tape may be my new addiction.

"I Made That!" Monday: Rose Cabochon Pendants

Let me fill you all in on something...

Each morning I wake up to some crazy little munchkin people running into my room;

they cuddle and snuggle and jump and finally realize that they are ready for breakfast

and just start saying over and over, 

"I'm ready for breakfast, I'm ready for breakfast...".

So we're up and at em' pretty quick getting breakfasts made and bellies filled.

However,

in the time that they are cuddling and snuggling and jumping,

I am usually checking emails...

looking for one very special,

very exciting email...

each morning.

It's my daily deal from The Plaid Barn.

The Plaid Barn is a website that offers you an

AMAZING DEAL

on some kind of craft supply or DIY kit each day

at FRACTIONS of their normal costs...

seriously like up to 90% sometimes!

For someone who LOVES a deal

AND

has an addictive personality...

well, you can just imagine.

These were actually two different daily deals:

the Round Tile Pendants 

(which also came with an epoxy cover...

the girls and I have already made some Mod Podged pendants and used those...

and they are CUTE!)
and
the Tiny, Petite Rose Cabochons.

I saw these sitting together one day and decided they would combine
and be the perfect little afternoon project for me.
I painted a few of the pendants,
but loved the look of the wood for some of them.
Then I just glued the little cabochons on,
and the connector for the chain,
and voila!
And I still have some left over...
so some sisters may be getting some treats soon,
we'll see.

Be lovely today!!

Petie Mae Giveaway Winner Announced

Well, the random generator isn't wanting to show it's face on here...

so you're just going to have to trust me on this one:

NUMBER 2

JESSICA R.

Congratulations, Jessica!!

You'll be receiving "Lane" 

from Petie Mae's necklace collection.

Thanks to all who participated in this giveaway

and thanks again to Petie Mae for sharing!

DIY Vanity and a GIVEAWAY: Petie Mae Jewelry

I go a little bit crazy with jewelry.

I just love a great accessory... I can't help it.

My dresser, however, was not appreciating my crazy love,

and frankly, neither was I.

I needed to do something.

There is a local surplus store here that

can be a treasure chest of amazingness,

or just a giant junk drawer.

One day when I was there,

it was a treasure chest.

I've had my eyes open for a little desk

or a little bookshelf that I could place

next to our bed as my own

girly space,

so when I saw a little metal bookshelf for $10,

I was just a little bit excited.

With a little paint,

it would be perfect.

I also had in mind a place for all my jewelry,

which in the end, ended up costing me nothing

because I had all the materials.

Tada!

Since I'm WAY into metallics right now,

it's only fitting that this be covered in them.

I love it.

The frame is from an old mirror that had broken.

I've used it for all kinds of things through the years,

and found it out in the shed begging to be used for something.

The wire was already attached,

as it's most recent use was for pictures to hang from.

The wire and screw that it's attached to are from 

a picture hanging kit... super easy.

Just measure out how far apart you want your wires,

screw in the little screws and run the wire through it.

So, once it was up on the wall and my space was coming together,

I was noticing that A LOT of my jewelry are creations from 

Petie Mae Jewelry.

My love for Petie Mae

(the girl and the jewelry)

is a bit unabashed.

I love her creative style.

Her pieces are unique (right up my alley!),

feminine and just altogether lovely

(a lot like the girl, herself!).

She's SO lovely,

she's giving away one of her beautiful pieces

to one of you!!

This giveaway is only open to US residents and will go through
Monday, April 8th until midnight.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 9th!

Preval Sprayer

A few weeks ago, I saw this being advertised on my blog so I checked it out.

After looking through the website, I was really interested in checking this product out.

I contacted Preval and was given the opportunity to try out the Preval Val-Pack, which by the way, is on sale through the end of the year.

I have a lot of different cans of leftover paint from different projects, so I love that I can just pour some in one of the jars, attach a sprayer, and begin painting.  

I used it to prime this table:

It worked well spraying out primer, but for a bigger project like this, I chose to go a different route for the coats of paint. 

Overall, I think this is a great product for my small projects.  Although after looking through these projects, I think I may be trying it out for a few other things!

Earth Mama Angel Baby

I've mentioned before in another post that I've had two pregnancies end in miscarriage.  After the second one, I began working with a midwife, just trying to figure out what was going on with my body. And whatever we figured out worked, because I was soon pregnant with my first little lady.  It was an easy pregnancy. I felt good; I exercised regularly; I ate a balanced diet; so as we were getting to the end I figured everything else would go as planned.  The plan was to let the little lady enter this world at The Birth Inn, which is a home where you can go and have your baby rather than in your own home. Weeelll... 39 weeks came and I was showing no signs of giving birth... not too abnormal for the first time.  However, at 40 weeks, I was still not showing any signs of going into labor and my midwife was becoming a little bit discouraged and after a lot of prayer and discussion, we decided it was best to go see her back-up doctor.

As I met with the doctor, he didn't seem discouraged at all and decided to let me go another week and if I didn't go into labor that week, we'd more than likely have to induce. And sure enough, that's what happened.  Fast forward through that day and by early evening, the little lady was still not here.  After receiving an epidural in hopes that would produce some results, it actually put the baby in stress and my doctor believed it best to do an emergency c-section. And then she was here! Fast forward even more and her little sister and little brother would also be born via c-section.  Not exactly the way I had planned for my babies to enter this world, but they're here and I'm happy.

C-sections, however, require a little bit more of a recovery time.  And multiple c-sections definitely start to take a toll on your body. After my first c-section I had found a website called Earth Mama Angel Baby that offered products that were made from completely all natural, organic, toxin-free ingredients.  And they had a product, C-Mama Healing Salve, rich in Vitamin C, essential fatty acids and amino acids, that was specifically designed to help with cell regeneration and wound repair.  I really wanted to try this product, but for some reason I didn't.  Second time around, again I really wanted to try it out, and I never did.  Third time... I WAS GETTING THE SALVE! 

 

I got the salve.

Friends, it is AMAZING.

I'm now nine weeks postpartum and I've been using the C-Mama Healing Salve for seven weeks. Scar tissue building up is one of the things that can cause quite a bit of pain throughout recovery, causing the scar to knot up at the ends and just be tender throughout. However, massaging the salve into my scar each day, I've noticed there have been no knots and my scar is actually diminishing. 

I had read others reviews who had used the salve on their stretch marks, and guess what? It works on those, too.  How do I know?  Because having two babies over nine pounds causes your tummy to streeeeetch. So, I just rubbed a little bit of the salve on those, just to see (because I was pretty skeptical) and sure enough I can see a difference!

The reviews also mentioned using it on old scars, psoriasis and eczema, inflamed rashes and burns.

This product is so wonderful I began mentioning it to my friends who had also had c-sections, and then I thought,

"I should blog about this and REALLY spread the word."

And then I thought, 

"Maybe I should let Earth Mama know how AWESOME this has worked for me."

and so I did.

While letting them know that I was planning on reviewing this product on my little blog, I just happened to ask if there was anything that they could do to entice you all to check them out... and they did not disappoint!!

They are giving you all the opportunity to try the C-Mama Healing Salve out for yourself!! And I as mentioned before, this salve is not limited to JUST c-section scars. So... to enter this giveaway I want you to go check out the Earth Mama Angel Baby site and then leave me a comment sharing which products stand out most to you.  If you'd like to sign up for Mama's Monthly Newsletter or begin following on twitter (@EMAB_HQ), leave me another comment saying you did so and you'll be entered a second and third time as well.

All entries need to be in by midnight, September 5th.
Check them out right... now!