Other than getting paid to go on Eco-Adventures and teach people all about the sea, another added benefit to my work is that most days of the week I am sporting beach hair.  What exactly is beach hair, you ask?  It’s those luscious, wavy locks one gets after a day of paddling through the waves.  Used to be that the only way to get said locks was to go to the nearest pier and dunk your head into the ocean.

Until now, that is!

They do sell these sea salt sprays in stores, but there are some strict laws in my household that must be obeyed – or else.  For example: don’t throw away empty toilet paper rolls; always save me the last martini olive, and DO NOT spend your hard-earned money on things you can make yourself!!  The best part about this sea salt hairspray is that 1.) It looks great on ALL lengths and styles of hair, and 2.) It’s dirt cheap to make a million-and-a-half-year’s worth of this stuff.

Here’s how it’s done:

To be more specific, you will need:

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon gel
• 1/2 tablespoon conditioner
• A couple spritzes of your favorite perfume

step 1: Mix the sea salt into your warm water, and stir until completely dissolved.  (NOTE: The hotter the water, the easier it will be to mix the sea salt.  But please be careful not to burn yourself!)

step 2: Mix the hair gel into the sea salt water, and once more stir until completely dissolved.  (Gotta love that tropical ocean blue!)

step 3: Mix the conditioner into the sea salt water, and – you guessed it – stir until completely dissolved.

step 4: Use a few sprays of your favorite perfume (I did 5 squirts) to add some niceness to the mix!  (NOTE:  If you’re the impatient type like me, please take this time to make sure there are no sea salt/gel/conditioner chunks in your sea salt hairspray, and stir, stir, stir some more.)

step 5: Use your funnel to empty your DIY sea salt hairspray into your clean (and in my case recycled) spray bottle.

Now all you have to do it spray the sea salt hairspray on your freshly washed, towel-dried tresses,  scrunch ‘em good and wavy, and you’re good to go!!

And here’s a tip if you want to make this carefree summer style last well into the next day: spritz more sea salt hairspray onto your hair before you go to bed, then braid your hair.  When you wake up, simply run your fingers through the braid and – TA DA! – more beachy cuteness!!

I hope everyone is having an amazing start to their summer, and I can’t wait to hear all about the fun things you and your families are doing!!

Would you like to learn how to make this living (but totally easy to maintain) succulent and shell wreath? Great!! Here’s what you need:

I know it looks like a lot, but I promise all of this is extremely easy to obtain. One quick trip to your local craft and hardware/garden store should do the trick! And if you want to save yourself even more money, don’t bother buying your succulents; collect them from the park (or ask your neighbor for a small cuttings) instead! VIOLA! Money in your pocket. ^_-

step 1: Grab your drill (or dremel tool) and drill a hole at the base of each shell. If you’re like me and terrified that you’re going to put someone’s eye out if you even go within ten feet of a power tool, get your hubby to do it for you. =]

step 2: Put your dried sphagnum moss into the bucket of water (I used about half the bag). Make sure to submerge all of it so it’s nice and wet.

step 3: Get your wreath form and stuff the front side nice and tight with moss, squeezing the water out as you go along.

step 4: Wrap your wreath with your clear thread (or fishing line) to keep the moss in place. Don’t worry, the thread completely disappears against the moss and you won’t even know it’s there. By the way, this particular job is definitely easier with two pairs of hands. (“Oh Honey… I need you again.”) =}

step 5: Once it’s all wrapped, flip your wreath over and stuff the back side with moss. And tell your hubby to stick around; you’re going to need those strong, helpful hands again. ^_-

**NOTE: This is what happens when you try to complete your tutorial late at night after a really long day: you accidentally erase pictures of some steps thinking they are duplicates. Working bloggers, take it from me: tone that excited creative energy down a few notches, and take a nap first. lol =P

step 6: Have the hubs help you wrap your wreath with the clear thread once again.

step 7: In order to make it easier to mentally plan your design, lay your succulent cuttings out in groupings so you can clearly see what you’ve got.

I had kind of a lot…

step 8: Using your pencil, poke a hole in the wet moss.

step 9: Dip your succulent cutting into the powdery rooting hormone.

step 10: Place your freshly-dipped succulent into the hole you created with your pencil. Continue this process until all your succulents are planted, but be sure to leave some space for your shells.

**NOTE: If the succulents feel a little loose in their perspective places, use bobby pins or straightened paperclips to secure them in place.

step 11: Gather your nails…

step 12: And start placing your shells!! Don’t worry, the nails aren’t permanent – they simply act as a place holder until they’re stuck on for good.

step 13: Continue laying your shells in place until you have covered the entire wreath.

step 14: Prop your wreath on two objects (chairs, step ladders, children, whatever). ^_^

**NOTE: I waited a day in between step 13 and 14 because the moss on my wreath was sopping wet, but that’s totally your decision. It would probably work out just fine if you didn’t wait, but just be sure to work in an area you don’t mind getting wet.

step 15: Gather your scissors, jute, and a small bit of water.

step 16: Cut a 12-18” length of jute (just eyeball it, it doesn’t have to be exact).

step 17: Dip one end of the jute in the water and twist to temporarily prevent fraying.

step 18: Remove the nail keeping one of your shells in place.

step 19: Thread your jute through the hole.

step 20: Place the shell back in place and tie the length of jute tightly around the wreath, then knot it in place. (I was originally going to use clear thread for this, but I really liked the subtle visual texture the jute added.)

step 21: Cut off the excess jute, and continue tying shells onto your wreath until they’re all attached.

step 22: (Feel free to skip this step if you’d prefer your wreath to be a table decoration.) Once everything is in place, push the moss aside on the back and tie a longer length of jute directly onto the metal of the wreath form. Make this jute as long or as short as you’d like, as this will be the piece used for hanging.

And that’s it!! You’ve just created an incredibly beachy-beautiful, versatile wreath that can be laid on a table as a decoration, hung on the wall to bring the outside in, or draped over a door as a lovely welcome wreath.

Thank you so much again for allowing me to share this with you! I’ve enjoyed my time with all of you SO much!! Until next time, Lovlies. ^_^

And in case you’re wondering, yes those things really did happen… lol.  ^_^

This is my first time creating a frame-able free printable, so I hope I did alright.  I created this picture with a pretty high resolution, so you can print it out in just about any size and it will still be crisp.  Simply click on the on the picture to enlarge it, save the bigger file, and print it any size you need it.  Thank you to The Graphics Fairy for the beautiful vintage hydrangea picture!!  I could spend all day browsing all the goodies she has.

Teacher’s Appreciation Week isn’t over just yet!  Come back tomorrow, as I have a “Teacher’s Appreciation School Supplies Cake” that I think you’ll love!!  Until then, my lovely readers.  =]

Linking to all the amazing parties on my “Links” page, as well as these lovely websites:
http://www.thethriftyhome.com/

“I’m bored.”

My usual response is, “Hi Bored. I’m Nicole.” However, that didn’t solve the problem. So I moved on to playing the Wicked Witch every time I heard those dreaded words and would use them as slaves for their free child labor give them housework and chores that needed doing. Good for me – not so cool for them. Plus, I didn’t really like playing the Wicked Witch… That’s just not how I roll.

So I did what I always do when I’m looking for ideas: I skipped merrily off to Pinterest Land. ^_^ And this is what I came up with:

A popsicle stick “I’m Bored” jar!! Brilliant, eh? Gotta give credit where credit is due, though.

I was totally inspired by the following brilliance:

Shayna from "Shades of Life"

Steph from "Somewhat Simple" (via "Skip to My Lou")

Audrey from "Miss Audrey Sue"

However, there was also someone else that I stumbled upon, someone who’s ideas I’ve used many times before, and who once again inspired me with her creativity and cleverness:

Alison from "How Does She?"

Those popsicle sticks are UH. MAZ. ING, and I knew from the start that I wanted to incorporate her idea. And seriously, how does she?! Genius, I tell ya.

So here’s what I did to prepare (and hopefully eliminate) the summer induced “I’m bored”-itis (characterized by whining, complaining, and possibly staring blankly at walls):

You can also download the 101 ideas (made to fit tongue depressors, not popsicle sticks) here. There are mainly fun, crafty, and creativity-inducing ideas included, but I did throw some quick and easy chores into the bunch, just to help mom out. ^_-

I have also included a blank sheet at the end of this PDF file in case you’d like to add your own ideas!! =] Also, this document comes as a 14 page PDF, so make sure you have Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat installed.

step 1: Scale the pages from the “101 Idea” PDF file to 90% before you print them. I’m not sure if the tongue depressors I bought at the craft store are true to size, which might be my problem here. However, it’s also possible that I may have gotten the wrong dimensions for tongue depressors. I can’t be perfect 100% of the time, after all (pfff… yeah right). =P

step 2: Print your pages. I used some extra scrapbook paper I had laying around, and used a regular piece of printer paper to trim it to size.

step 3: Cut your 101 ideas out.

step 4: Using your paint brush, brush your Mod Podge onto the back of one of your ideas.

step 5: It’s a bit hard to see in this picture, but place your tongue depressor on the side of the idea with glue on it. Then hold it up against a bright light so you can see the outline of the tongue depressor and even out the placement.

step 6: When the tongue depressor is in the correct position, place it on a hard surface and press down along the back to make sure it adheres to the paper well.

step 7: Repeat steps 4 – 6 for all 101 ideas, and allow them to dry (which shouldn’t take more than a half hour or so).

step 8: Trim the excess paper from around the outside of the tongue depressor.

step 9: Use a piece of sandpaper or a sanding block to sand around the edges of the paper and the tongue depressor. This step is completely optional – I just like the look of it. ^_^

Here’s a comparison shot so you can see the difference of sanded (bottom) vs. not sanded (top).

Also, be sure to do this in a place that you don’t mind dust, as the sanding can get messy, lol. Although it’s nothing that a damp cloth and a quick once-over with the vacuum couldn’t fix.

You might have noticed that I had a stamp/aging pad included in the “Materials” shot. This is also optional. I ended up trying it on an extra blank tongue depressor strip that I had made for exactly this reason, and I ended up not liking how it looked. However, that could very well be because I’m too brainless to age them correctly.

Once you’ve decided how you like things, simply pretty up your container (in my case it’s a mason jar wrapped with burlap, ribbon, lace, and tied with a jute bow), and you’ve got yourself a summer vacation lifesaver!

Thanks for crafting with me, everyone!! I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying being a part of your lives. ^_^ I’d LOVE to hear how these worked out for you!! Until next time.

Linking to all the amazing parties on my “Links” page, as well as these lovely websites:
http://www.thethriftyhome.com/

I’ve been letting the hubs enjoy that particular fascination with her, while I take care of the tea parties (which are much more my area of expertise.  Except when she announces that she’s serving spider and chocolate chip tea to her teddy bears and I…  And yes, that’s been happening a lot lately.)

Anyway.

For Easter this year I decided to load her up with all the tea party goodies she could ever want, instead of loading her up with processed sugar and chocolate (never a good combo in this house).  This included a new tea set, some pretend sweets, and a pint-sized tablecloth to cover up her yucked-up craft table!!  (Mommy couldn’t be happier about that extra bonus.)

There are so many ways you could do this.  In fact, at first I was going to make it a fitted tablecloth, but then I started thinking about the child size oval table that will (hopefully) be handed down to Maddy someday.  This tablecloth will fit both our current cheapy square Ikea table (only $20 for a table and two chairs!  Good for when they’re young and want to color on every possible surface), as well as the antique oval one.  ^_^  Cool beans.

To make one of your own, here’s what you’ll need:

(Yeah, I know that’s not technically a fabric marker.)  =P  You will also need pins for this project.  I can never seem to remember everything for the picture, can I?  Bleh.

step 1: Drape the fabric that will be the top piece over the table, but make sure it’s upsidedown.  Along all of the four edges, mark directly where the fabric falls over the side.

step 2: Cut about 1/4 of an inch below the lines you marked.  This will act as your seam allowance.

step 3: When your top piece is completely cut out, lay it over the fabric that will become the sides of your tablecloth, and trace the shape of the top piece.  I always do this by marking the corners of whatever fabric I’m trying to duplicate.  (And yes, the hubs jumped in to help.  He enjoys helping me make things for Maddy.  But shhhhh… You didn’t hear it from me.)  ^_-

step 4: After I mark the corners, I then connect the lines with my ruler.  I find that if I don’t do it this way, I end up with a wonkily-shaped piece of fabric.

step 5: Once the top shape is duplicated, divide that second piece in half and mark it right down the middle.

step 6: Cut the entire shape out.  (By the way, do you notice all the extra lines?  Yeah, that’s because I gave my hubs the wrong measurements, lol.  My brain just isn’t wired for math…)

step 7: Cut your second shape in half.  I simply lined the two shapes up in this picture to show you what you should have at this point.

step 8: Match up the two side of the tablecloth to the long sides of the top fabric.  Then use your ruler to measure the length of the short sides (19” in my case).  Make a square of fabric using that measurement, then cut that that square in half and match these shapes to the smaller sides.  (All this is clear as mud, eh?)

step 9: Just because I know how confusing those last few steps were, here’s a visual of what I meant.  Long sides matched to long sides, short sides matched to short sides.  =]

step 10: Grab your side fabric from the bottom edge and flip it on top of the top fabric, so that the right sides are together.  Pin into place.

step 11: Sew your side piece to your top piece.

step 12:  Once again, flip your second side piece onto your top piece – right sides together – and pin/sew in place.  Repeat this process until all four sides are sewn onto the top piece.

step 13: Lay your entire tablecloth right side up.  Measure and cut the amount of dyed lace you will need for the bottom edges, and once again lay the two fabrics right side together.  As before, pin in place.  (If you’re unsure how to antique fabric easily and without chemicals, see my antiquing tutorial.)

step 14: Sew the lace onto the bottom edges.

step 15: (If you’d prefer a fitted tablecloth, feel free to skip ahead to step 19.)  Cut two squares that are the same measurements as the empty, inside corners of the tablecloth.

step 16: Cut both of these squares in half diagonally, leaving you with four triangles (one for each corner).

step 17: Cut a length of lace for the bottom edges of each of the four triangles.

step 18: Again, flip the lace on top of the triangle shapes, right sides together.  Pin the lace and sew into place.  Do this for all four triangles.

step 19:  Right sides together, line up the edges of the lace on the tablecloth, as well as the lace one of the triangle shapes.  Pin in place.  (If you’re making a fitted tablecloth, do the same as shown above, but instead match up the corners instead of adding the triangle pieces.)

step 20: Then move on to straightening and pinning the upper piece above the lace.  Doing it this way simply helps keep everything in line.

step 21: Sew the pinned edge into place.

step 22: Once again, make sure that the right sides of your fabric are together.  Pin the other side of the triangle/lace piece to the loose corner-edge of the tablecloth.  Repeat steps 19 through 22 for all remaining corners.

And that’s it!!  I know my instructions were a tad confusing at times, so hopefully the picture above will help clear things up.

Time for some tea party fun!!

The Easter Bunny took a bite of our cake.  He thought it was the real thing… ^_-

A cinnamon roll made from a sponge cut in half, then rolled up and hot-glued in place.  The frosting was made from white puffy paint.  =]

I hope you and your little one enjoy your tea party tablecloth for years to come!!  Thanks again for crafting with me, everyone.  ^_^