I never thought I would say I hate egyptian cotton.

but I hate egyptian cotton. I am so frustrated.
last night I started a craft project to die for, and it has been non-stop struggling so far.
problem #1: I bought this really cheap (quality-wise) rotary cutting tool (fiskars 45 mm comfort grip rotary cutter $21.99) and it absolutely did not cut through the tshirt/sheets material I was using for my project-so I had to cut everything with scissors-by hand!
problem #2: I used egyptian cotton sheets. they got balled up into a frayed, tangled mess in the washer and were literally destroyed. bad, bad idea. this is why you don't deviate from instructions!
problem #3: used black rit dye thinking if I used a little it would make the fabric grey. not so much. they're purple.
sigh.
so now I am off to my local joann's-because I am frustrated with michael's-to pick up some actual GREY fabric dye, pinking shears so I salvage some of the egyptian cotton to make into decorative pillow cases, and a legit rotary cutting tool that bill probably cost an arm and a leg.

note to those crafting this rug:
-do not use egyptian cotton sheets ($12 down the drain...)
-read dye box/bottle instructions. twice.
-goodwill has 50% clothing every monday from 12-closing (I spent $0.25 per shirt!)

so far this is what I have spent
$11.98 : egyptian cotton fitted and top sheet (ruined)
$1.50 : six plain white t-shirts (still using)
$5.56 : two bottles of black rit dye (used one, returning other)
$21.99 : rotary cutting tool (it sucks-returning)
$2.99 : latch handle tool (still in the game)
$8.99 : latch hook rug mat (still using)

wish me luck & good luck to anyone else doing this.

makeup nonsense.

yesterday I headed into my local sephora, and as usual I felt completely overwhelmed. I always go in there thinking 'I need new mascara-mine is old' and then I get in there and start sifting around and it's just makeup overload! this may come as a shock, but I am not a makeup artist. I know, I know. calm down-it's okay; just keep reading. so after reading makeup blogs (after I got back from sephora doubting my $75 receipt), I decided that I would review a few products that I have-& love!-for anyone else who is confused by the beautiful world that are makeup stores.

tarte natural cheek stain (in flush) $30

plain & simple-this stuff rocks. I have and always will be a blush girl, I always wear it. in the winter, I feel like it's so precious and cute to have a subtle, mind you very subtle rosy cheek. and in the summer, due to my fair skin-it's an absolute necessity to help fake my sunkissed look, considering I wear SPF infinity whenever I am outside or I will burn in an instant. I have a hard time spending more than five bucks on any makeup product, but this item is so completely worth it. it has a push up tube, like a push-pop, and I have almost had it for a year & have still yet to push it up for more product & I use it every other day. it also smells like raspberries, yum!
warning: when you first put this on you're probably going to be grossed out, because at first it IS sticky and gross feeling. and after slicking it on your cheeks and rubbing it in, your face might be all red-from smearing the product around-but relax! it fades to a sweet & subtle glow-no stick!

here's what I just bought yesterday, after I use them more, I'll post reviews-stay tuned!
benefit "hello flawless" powder cover-up with SPF 15 in "I love me" ivory ($34)
too faced flatbuki brush ($12.50-now $15)

tarte emphaEYES waterproof clay shadow/liner with double-ended eyeliner brush in bronze ($22)

wishlist:
benefit erase paste in fair ($26) - I tried this on in sephora & thought it made a difference on my undereye circles.
benefit lemon-aid ($20) - heard so many good reviews, I have to try it.
benefit they're real! mascara ($22) - looks so amazing!
sephora by o.p.i. spark-tacular! top coat ($9.50) - so colorful & sparkly, would look so cool over almost any color.
clinique almost lipstick in black honey (14.50) - I've heard this color is flattering on everyone!
bronzer
illuminator
tinted moisturizer - suggestions on these last three? I'm clueless!

bored beauty reviews

Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Split End Leave-In Protector

Under $4.00 for 6 oz.

The Good: This creme-like formula smells super yummy and has a nice pump feature unlike other products where you have to dip your entire hand into a pot of stuff. It also comes in a skinny bottle which I liked because it fit in my medicine cabinet. And it's cheap, which is my favorite part!

The Bad: I just plain don't like this stuff. The bottle says it can be used in wet or dry hair, uh FALSE! If used in dry hair, it doesn't make your hair feel "silky" it just makes it feel gross. On wet hair it's a bit of a different story, it does feel soft..at the time. But it leaves your hands feeling slimy. I bought this product as a leave in conditioner of sorts, and it fails for that. I really don't understand what it's use is.
Instead Try: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-In Conditioning Cream. About $4.00 for 10.2 oz. I've been using this stuff to detangle my hair for years-even my dad uses it as a deep conditioner in the shower. It's great unless you use too much-then it becomes too heavy and sticky when it dries.

knit crazy.

hey ya'll!
I opened my etsy shop this week! check it out! www.etsy.com/shop/paigella16, I have knitting things and photography up right now but more is coming as soon as this weekend!
right now I am working on curtains! I have these two big windows in my living room that were looking so plain & curtains for that size of window are so expensive, so I decided to knit them! I'm making them in a soft gray called linen, one of my favorite yarn colors by far. I'm almost done with one set! once they're finished I'll put them on etsy! they're gorgeous so far!
I'm also working on collecting some lovely vintage pieces! hopefully I will have lots of things up after the weekend after going to some garage sales/flea markets/auctions/goodwill/etc!
I'm so excited about this shop!
stay tuned!

it's friday!

it's friday! yay! finally! with school on tuesdays & thursdays, horseback riding on wednesdays and homework everyday in between, I'm ready for a little R&R. being a college student isn't so easy!
& just to make my life that much more stressful, I had an interview for a job yesterday at a cute local boutique! they're opening a new store & are looking for girls to work there. the interview went good, it was short, I don't know if that's good or bad, but she said she'll be in touch! so I'll let ya'll know! keep your fingers crossed for me!
now onto knitting, I just started on my second ball of yarn, hopefully this one doesn't become a crazy tangled mess like the last one. don't you hate when that happens?! after I get this ball all knitted in I'll post another picture.
until then.

coffee cup cozy & pouf update.

just wanted to share some of my knitting projects I've been doing lately, cup cozies! I drink a lot of tea & coffee, A LOT. I got the reusable cups but I still feel wasteful using those darn cardboard sleeves. plus, they're really not cute at all. so I scoured the internet in search of a sweet cozy. & while I found some very cute & creative options, I just really don't feel like dishing out $15-20 PLUS shipping for a dern cozy. therefore, I made one. duh!

here's two of mine that I made. the first is using a sweet moss stitch, the second, using a type of basketweave stitch. do you like?

I also have a little update & picture for you of my ongoing pouf! I love the pattern I picked, especially since they let you use their patterns and then sell the items you made with them, a lot of sites don't allow that. anyway, I chose a 100% acrylic, medium (weight 4) yarn by Vanna's Choice (http://www.lionbrand.com/) in Linen. it's a good yarn for my project because a) it's cheap & I need a lot of yarn for this project so price is a huge factor! b) it was a color I wanted & c) it was washable & squishy & soft. so far I have knitted an entire ball (170 yards) in the moss stitch. I doubled up my threads so that it would be a little stronger, and I'm using size 13 U.S. (9 mm) needles. I'm really liking how it's turning out so far, but I have a few concerns. I want to use this as a seat or small footstool but I'm worrying about it stretching out really easily. I want to sew the edges just for a little strength and then put a elastic liner in. maybe I should make an envelope edge on it so that I can use it as a slip cover so I can pull it off every now & then and dry it to shrink it back up. I'm not to sure what to do yet, but here's what it looks like so far!

the distresses of an aspiring knitter.

So ever since Christmas of 2010 I have wanted to start knitting. In the beginning I wanted to knit all the women in my family a lovely scarf. My crafty sister is always making amazing things for presents while I am always just buying, and I finally decided it was time to upstage her. And so I did. I made these long soft scarves for my grandmothers and mother and they all absolutely loved them. Not sure why, because as my knitting skills have (somewhat) advanced,  I have come to the realization that the scarves I made were of very crappy quality.

Since then I have been YouTube’ing a storm, learning different stiches and getting some of the knitting lingo down and yet I still come across several hardships every time I try to knit! There is absolutely not a single website or helpful book of any kind that breaks down knitting patterns stitch by stitch to help someone actually learn to knit.

I learned to knit on YouTube, unfortunately my mom couldn’t remember how and my grandmother only crochets, so I had to teach myself. It took a couple hours to get the first couple of stiches going and then a couple days on actually making my item, but finally after two weeks and many, many errors, I conjured up my first scarf. But it was so hard!

So basically, I am here today with the intentions of making this adorable knitted ottoman pouf that I found on one of my favorite homewares websites, CB2, a modern adaptation from Crate & Barrel, my all time favorite(and affordable) home store. While I would love to say I am filthy rich and plan on just purchasing this pouf, I simply cannot afford to pay $89.95 PLUS shipping. So I figured I would just knit one myself! In a color I want! For way cheaper! Sounds perfect right?

After much surfing, I found the pattern that I’m going to use. Tomorrow (after I finish my theatre reading assignment, barf) I’m going to go pick out the yarn I’m going to use.

In the meantime, here’s some more pouf pictures and places you can purchase them (say that five times fast!).

marymarieknits $108

lacasadecoto $69.38

danasjoy $350

bobbleknit $98

tscarf $100.45

Keep in mind, after I successfully make these poufs, I will sell them on MY etsy account, where you, my lovely (nonexistant) readers will be able to purchase for a reduced price with a coupon code I will give you. exciting!