Pinterest Addiction: Cocoa Hair Mask

Unlike a lot of professional internet surfettes, I don't have a tumblr or a twitter. I don't do video posts/blogs. I don't have a Wordpress blog. BUT I do have a Pinterest, which can be quite bedazzling to behold.

I have to limit my time on the blasted thing, because I spend more time looking at pins to do than actually doing them. I've decided that I should try to do at least one pin a week.

Some background on this particular post... I've been dying to change up my hair lately. I'm growing it out, but it's reached the dreaded "half point" where it's not really long, not really medium length, and lacks any interest. There was a point where I was ready to chop it for a pixie cut and dye it Christina Hendricks Red, but then I remembered that I need to have it long and "natural" colored for Gettysburg.

Such a pretty color!!!!

I mulled on the ideas of cutting and dying for a week now and I've decided I won't cut it until after Gettysburg, and red is really hard to make convincing. Sigh. Stuck with my hair as is.
I trimmed the dead ends, and then came across a pin regarding naturally darkening your hair with cocoa. O.O I think I can handle that!

This is the pin I ran across... it calls for regular cocoa, but of course, in my infinite wisdom (note: sarcasm) I changed it a little bit. I'd like to darken the ends of my hair or darken it all to a deeper shade. Soooo this was the recipe I ended up concocting:

1/2 c. Natural Yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/3 c. Black/Dark Cocoa
3 Tbs Regular Cocoa
2 tsp  Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp  Honey
1 tsp  Olive Oil
Plastic Wrap or a Shower Cap

Mix all the ingredients together and apply to wet hair. Secure hair in a bun, cover with plastic wrap or shower cap and let sit for 1-3 hours.
According to the original post/recipe, the yogurt is supposed to open up the hair so it can accept the darker color, and the vinegar acts as a mordant to lock the color in.

that's pretty dang dark.

I kind of panicked after I mixed up the recipe. It's SUPER dark and I was feeling kind of like Anne Shirley.... "He said it would turn my hair a beautiful raven black--he positively assured me that it would."


 *cue nervousness* So here's my hair before I put on the stuff:

You can see it's kinda blah as a cut, and I don't want a blanket color for it, I'd just like to liven it up a bit and darken the ends.

Now, I didn't realize this was going to be a paste when I started this project. I figured it would be more like a watery solution to comb through the hair, so I doubled the recipe as I always do (my hair is both thick and long-ish). In order to get this stuff to get to all of the hair, I had to wet my hair to begin with, then apply the paste. Make sure you're naked and in the bathtub, with the shower curtain drawn.... the stuff gets EVERYWHERE.

It feels pretty weird, I gotta say.

Real fun, real fun.

I put my hair in a top-knot and covered it with plastic wrap. Make sure to keep a damp washrag with you to wipe off any that decides to run down your face or neck. I was sweating with the plastic wrap on my head, which led to some drizzles.

I left it on for 3 hours then washed my hair like normal. I had to scrub my shower after it was washed out, because it looks like I had massacred a chocolate bunny. Thankfully it didn't stain my tub, which was my biggest concern. I blow dried my hair, then went to bed because it was late, but managed a picture the next morning.

Morning face! Yay!

Slightly off color view of hair.

So what did I think of this whole thing?
Well, my hair was REALLY shiny, which was nice. But it wasn't as soft and had a tendency to tangle more than the oil, vinegar, and honey rinses I have done in the past.

Did it do what I wanted it to?
No. I was after this mask to darken my hair, and it did the opposite. The ends of my hair are now a little brighter and almost reddish in color. I can see it working great for someone who's hair is real brown, but my hair is a brown black, so fading into a reddy-brown isn't what I had in mind. The second picture above is closer to the color of the ends than the picture before it.

Would I do this again?
Nope. I wanted darker, and got lighter. I may go back to the coffee soaks I did in high school, they actually did darken my hair really well.

Photo Friday

This is a beautiful ad from Vogue, 1955. It's currently for sale on RubyLane for $15. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bathing suit. I'm a sucker for sage green and I love the bloomers... though I'm not sure how well they would work in real life. I'd probably look like I was wearing a diaper, but I might just test that theory and let y'all know.

Happy Friday Everyone!

A new life for my couch!

After being married and moving into a new place, we took in a lot of free stuff. Everyone seems to have stuff they don't need in their home so many people gave us their old things to furnish our house with. This is great! Especially for an extremely frugal me, who hates to spend money on anything unless it's a necessity.... well unless it's fabric or yarn or antique.

*This is how it looks so far...

One of these freebies was a couch. A very comfy couch. And I recovered it! Same comfort, Better style. For $100 I transformed my blah couch into a pseudo-antique looking one!

This particular couch came from my in-laws and happens to be one of Devin's favorites. It's seriously one of the most comfortable couches I've had the pleasure of sitting on. It was just so, well, ugly. I wanted to recover the couch but I do not have the money to put out for upholstery fabric because of course, I only want the most prettiest, expensive, light tone-on-tone upholstery fabrics that cost a gazillion dollars per yard. So I had conceded that I would have to put that idea out of my mind. But, having found a brand new addiction for Pinterest (if you would like to follow my boards, click the link!), I started seeing all these pictures of people using drop cloth as a sofa cover! What a wonderful idea! I thought, but I realized... making a slipcover is a LOT of work and I greatly dislike working with piping. Blech. Luckily though, another pinner had posted her own adventures in upholstering with a drop cloth and the results were great! I read her post, watched a couple of videos and decided to attempt it on my own.

With the help of my mom, we decided on what was gonna happen with the couch and we bought our supplies:

12'x15' Canvas Drop Cloth
1 roll King size Quilt Batting
2 rolls Upholstery/cushion foam
1 bag Polyester Stuffing
Couch
Heavy Duty Staple Gun/Ammo (Long staples)
2 pkg Cut Tacks
1-2 Cans Scotch-Guard

The biggest drop cloth I could find

First, I washed the drop cloth 3 times and dried it with softener... it took FOREVER. But I'm glad I decided to soften it, because boy it was not comfy before. After that I analyzed my couch and figured out what I wanted to do with it. I wanted a "camel back" or "hump back" to my couch, so I used a lump of the polyester stuffing material and stapled it in place with some quilt batting. This part was interesting because we had to pack the stuffing so tightly. Also, finding the wood support beams took a little trial and error.... and frustration.

We trimmed the excess batting, just fyi

After the hump was made, we then stapled the upholstery foam to the back of the couch to smooth everything out and to make the back a little cushier. More quilt batting was added atop this and cut to size, then we laid the batting out to use as a pattern to cut the canvas (being extra sure to add lots of seam allowance to the sides) Then the batting was stapled into place.

Again, excess was cut off

After the back had been padded with foam, we added the canvas, stretched, stapled and pleated to fit.

^We used the cut batting as a pattern for the canvas^

Notice the HUGE blotch on the back? I didn't notice it until I had
taken a picture of the couch. If you choose to do a project with
drop cloth, be sure to inspect your fabric and cut accordingly,
to avoid my mistake!

 The front lip of the sofa proved to be far more challenging than I anticipated. All of the support beams were covered in springs and knots, leaving me completely helpless as to what to do next. I had figured I would just staple the fabric to the support beams and be done with that process, but ended up taking another route. I laid batting on the "decorative fabric" of the lip, so as to cover up the weird pattern, then laid a strip of the canvas atop; stapled and tacked the fabric to the bottom, then whip-stitched the canvas to the original upholstery. This took me 2 hours and my pointer finger is still somewhat numb after 2 weeks.

I used 6 fibers from the canvas for the thread and a giant tapestry needle.

Finished sewing. Phew

 A similar process as the back was used for the arms of the sofa, apart from adding "stuffing" to the arms. Foam was added directly to the top of the arms and the process followed how we went about the back.

Upholstery Foam added and stapled...

Batting to the right arm, so you can see the difference.

Next step I did the underside of the arms. Using batting for a pattern, then cutting the canvas. The hardest part of this was making sure the staples and cut tacks wouldn't be seen. I stapled the fabric and batting, right side to couch, underneath the crest of the armrest then folded the piece down, to cover the staples and tacks. The fabric was then stretched and attached to the underside, back and front of the armrests.

The last, and hardest non-sewing part, was the final back piece. Like the under-sides for the armrest, the staples and tacks shouldn't be seen, but one also wants the line to be completely straight. The only way to achieve this ( the sturdiest, longest lasting way) is to make a tack strip with finishing nails and a cheap piece of trim, nail it to the back of the couch, then fold the fabric and batting over the strip to conceal it. Tacking and Stapling is done to the bottom of the couch like normal.

Yay tack strips

Now.... THE hardest part was making the cushions. Ugh. I HATE making square cushions. So here's a good tutorial for those of you who would like to know :)

I made two more cushions for the back, using the original cushions as patterns and the original zippers for thriftiness. All in all, I think it turned out well and is just as comfortable as before!

Last step before using is Scotch-Gard-ing, make sure all your windows are open and do as much as you can outside. Our house got fumey really quickly.

Since the couch is practically done that ends this post. But know, that because I like to make everything harder than it should be so of course I have decided I'm going to do another, unnecessary step... adding wood to look like it is, or kind of is, an antique. But that shall be a post for another day!

Welcome, Ms White.

Hello all! I'm back after a long hiatus. I'm not dead, if any of you were wondering. A little has changed since I last posted, I finally got a job! Not an awesome job costuming for some company or organization, but a waitressing job. I'm working 5 days a week, so that plus school, plus everything else has been keeping me busy. But, I am sure glad I got that job.

Because with my first paycheck I bought:

My newest toy

....A Treadle Machine! This particular model is from 1890...edit! After further research I have found that it is actually from 1912. Patented last in 1890. and is the White brand from Cleveland, Ohio.

Gorgeous.

  The colors on the machine are superb and has very little rust or discoloration.

See the bright green silk???

 I also found while rummaging through the 6 drawers on the original cabinet, 5 extra bobbins and 4 extra needles. Though, the needles are mostly rusted, it's still amazing that it's all together. The bobbins also have silk tread on them. I have no idea when it was last used.

The pedal is deceptively responsive

 Here's the underside, again showing off the brand name.

The tin itself was just cool.

And the coolest part... Another goodie I found inside the drawers of the cabinet... a tin box with:

11 attachments! For what? I have no clue.

 A ton of attachments! And the original packer's slip!

Also, the hardest part to find for this model is the bobbin shuttle. I found 2 inside the tin.

They're weird and evil looking.

 ....and one in the machine itself! with a bobbin inside as well!

 I'm so excited to clean it up and get it working. I need to purchase a new belt, but other than that it seems to work exactly how it's supposed to.

 I bought this lovely piece from an antique dealer here in Athens. He had bought it 30 years ago and had it as furniture in his own home. He told me that when he moved 10 years ago, he put it in his shop to sell. Unfortunately, or more fortunately for me, it ended up being put to the back of his shop and got buried underneath things. I came in a month ago, just wondering if he had any sewing machines and he pointed me to this one.... I fell in love. Just look at the tiger-stripes!

 He then told me he just needed to get it out of his shop and would part with it for $100. It was mine.

Carrying it up my two flights of steps was certainly an adventure. My mom and I aren't built for such things. She now lives in my apartment, almost ready for use.

I'm so excited about getting going. I don't know much about the machines, other than what they go for. If any of you have tips on using them, PLEASE let me know. Any help is welcome!

BIRTHDAY APRON!

Today, I turned 21. Can you guess what I did for my birthday?

Only what every girl would do....

 I made an apron for myself! 

Pretty Cute huh?

The inspiration was from Jessie Steele, an apron site I happened to find a week ago. Her aprons are adorable and ever so classy. I simply had to make one.

This is the one I like the most:

Jessie Steele Black and White Apron

......so I decided to make it Sailor style, because I love sailor stuff.

Fabric wise, I used some leftover navy fabric from my 1780's Caraco/Petticoat and some white bias tape. For the skirt, I used a flared half apron from the 50's as my skirt pattern template. The pocket was a quick whack-job of an applique
*NOTE*I've never done an applique before and just barreled through it, only looking at a tutorial for applique's after I had it already been attached 

For the Bib, I draped some muslin for the pattern, giving a dart on each side, to give it a little more shape. It's only cute if it fits!

and in 6 hours and 2 seasons of the office later....

VOILA!

SAILOR APRON!

I'm sorry I don't have any construction pics. It was an "on-a-whim" project that I was so focused on finishing, that taking pictures was the farthest from my mind. I plan to make a couple more aprons and experiment with different fits. I'll be sure to take more pics for the coming ones.

Donald?

Sewing Room

I have wonderful news!!! I have a functional sewing room!!! BOOYA!!

My parents are redoing our TV room and decided to get rid of the Entertainment Center. Upon looking at the large piece of furniture, we had a vision:

As you can see, this room does double duty as a music room, too

 Viola! Sewing Center. It's very functional, as I have bins for most of my notions and fabrics while being within an arms reach. I don't even have to get up from my sewing chair to get them. I love being lazy.

The room is not yet decorated or painted, but I think I'm going to go with the color scheme of the bins I have.

And as the icing on the cake. I made some pretty filigree-ish labels for my bins. I have labels for different colors of fabric, different projects, and alterations. Of the labels, the "Patterns" label is my favorite. Maybe it's the scissors? I'm not sure. But I like it. C'est la vie :)

Summer Sewing part 1

I don't have a job this summer, so I'm going to fill it with projects! YAY! Some of these include,

1)Make a clone of myself
2) Make a Day Dress for my mother
3) Make at least one apron
4) Put together some undersleeves

Last night my mom and I started on the clone. It took a good 2 hours to wrap me up and cut me out of it. Then afterwords it needed to be closed up and stuffed. My, Oh, My. It was quite an ordeal, and to boot... I looked like a Protocol Droid (C-3PO). but The end result is quite amazing. I HIGHLY recommend doing this for yourself. It only took me a roll of duct tape, some old newspapers, and a friend to help me. The benefits of this are endless too! You can make stuff for yourself and fit it how you want it, without being awkward trying to pin things on yourself... You can hand this clone to a friend who's making you something if you don't want to go thru the trouble of fittings... You can put your costumes on it for the heck of it... I tell you, it's endless... and AWESOME.




So today, I made use of my new self... I put on some 1860's bodices on it and drafted a pattern for a new bodice. I kind of wanted to just go with it and do an experiment... so this is what I did....

I NEEDED:
1 Clone
Bodice (optional, but be cautious if without. you better have an insane knowledge of 1860's clothing if you decided to go without)
Common Sense (mandatory)
Plastic bag(s)
Sharpie
Sewing Pins
Scissors



I cut the plastic bag below handle to the bottom. Cut the fusing of the corners and pull apart to reveal a perfect new corner! If you do this to the other side and you have a nice big piece to work with.
 Then, Take the bag and place it over the clone where the bodice piece would seem to go.

I pretty much just draped my pattern with the plastic bag. I'm sure others have found this way of doing it, but it was a revelation to me! I was quite proud of myself :)










That's as much as I've done so far. Tomorrow I shall cut the pieces out of my new grey fabric and hopefully get most the pieces together.