DIY feather tee

A couple months ago, a friend of mine introduced the word "refashion" to me. I'm not the sewing type, so this word was not yet in my vocabulary. That is, until I typed it into Pinterest. If you type this word into Pinterest, a whole new world will pop up on your computer screen. You can refashion clothes by sewing them, dyeing them, or by using fabric pens. 

One refashion idea I came across was a feather tee from Merrick's Art. (A blog you will by dying to follow after just a few clicks) And then I tried it out myself. All you need is a light-colored t-shirt. (I got mine from Cotton On for $5) and a fabric pen. ($3 at Joanne's.) Here are the results:

I love it! 

Sincerely Jules. Merrick's Art. Then me! 

how to enhance your scripture study

Okay. Here's the thing. I shave always struggled with consistently reading my scriptures.  There have been times in the past that I did a good job, but overall, it has been a struggle of mine. When New Year's came around, I made it a goal to never go a day without reading my scriptures. I was so determined. January was a success and I think I did a pretty good job in February too. However, come March, April, May, June, and July, I went back to my old ways of only reading them every so often. 

If you're reading this and you're struggling too, then keep reading because I think I have discovered a new way to keep people like me (the easily distracted, artsy kind) not only consistently reading from the scriptures, but studying them too.

For my birthday, Ammon got me some pretty awesome gifts. He knew I needed a new scripture case and that I wanted a CTR ring, so while he was grabbing me those, he also grabbed some scripture markers.

I absolutely love them! It's the best gift he could have given me because now I am using them and reading from the scriptures like no one's business! 

There are many different ways to enhance your scripture study time and if anyone tells you that there is only one correct way of doing it, I don't think that is true. Everyone is different and scripture study time is going to be different for everyone. I am someone that gets distracted easily while I'm reading. If the slightest noise is going on, I have a hard time concentrating. I am also a very artsy person, which means I still love to color and use anything that emits color. (Hence the reason Ammon takes me to Color Me Mine each year for my birthday)

Here's what I've been doing that has really helped me stay focused and engaged: I am still reading in chronological order (right now, it's from in the Book of Mormon) and as I read, I mark things that stand out to me using a certain color.  Different people use different colors for different things. I picked topics that I wanted to focus on and colors that made sense to me. 

Faith is like a light so that's why I picked yellow. 

Prayer starts with p and so does purple so that's why I picked purple. 

The atonement is the greatest evidence of our Savior's love and in doing so, he shed his blood for us, so that's why I picked red. 

I picked salmon for love and charity because that's another good color for love. 

The Holly Ghost is a spirit and blue seemed like a good color for that. 

You get the picture, right?

The possibilities are endless and just pick whatever feels good for you.

Each day I've been reading a chapter or two and sometimes it comes out looking like this:

Call me a nerd, but I think it is fun! And I look forward to reading my scriptures. 

I would recommend doing this with a new set of scriptures. I still cling to my scriptures that I've had since I was 8 years old, but I've noticed that if I read from them, then I tend to just skim the parts that aren't highlighted and only read the parts that are already highlighted. However, when I read from a blank slate, new things stand out to me because I am at a different stage in my life. 

The Book of Mormon is true and I love reading from it. Although I struggle with consistently read from it, I know that when I do, there are so many questions that can be answered within the pages of this beautiful book. The person I need and want to become becomes more clear as I read about previous prophets and their example. I love the stories. I love reading about my Savior Jesus Christ who I know loves me and made it possible to become a better person. I love it all!

DIY cheap cut-off shorts

I love shorts during the summer. Not skirts.

Skirts are fun for church and getting fancy for things, but let's face it... 

My legs are too short and my feet hardly hit the ground. Therefore,

I don't like sitting like a lady. It is very difficult for me.

You can ask my mom. We had a lot of battles at the kitchen table. :)

Shorts are actually really cheap and easy to make. Well, at least the cut-off kind. Here are the end results of my latest cut-off pair:

I love them!

Okay. Here's what you do. Take a pair of loose-ish pants that you think would look good as cut-offs. 

I wouldn't recommend using skinny jeans, it just doesn't come out looking that good as shorts.

If you don't already own any boot-cut pants you want to cut, then D.I. is a great place to look. Most of their pants are only 6 dollars. I found this pair after only searching for a few minutes:

 They're cute, but they were way too huge as pants.

Plus, I wanted some white shorts to mix and match with.

Okay. After finding a pair of pants, don't get too attached to them as pants because you're about to cut them in half. This is a must. 

Next, lay out your pants on the ground or on the bed. Then grab a pair of shorts you already own as your model. (Any length) I already own a pair of roll-up shorts from gap, so I just unrolled those and used them as my guide. Lay the shorts on top of the pants and use a pencil or tailor's chalk to draw a line where you want them to be cut but only do it on ONE PANT LEG.  (I'll explain why this important later.)

Once you have drawn a line on one of the pant legs, cut it carefully. Now, the most important thing with cut-offs, is making sure that the pant-legs are even. So what I do, is I fold over the pant leg that I just cut and place it on top of the other pant leg. Then I DRAW A NEW LINE. That way, they are a lot more even than if you just tried cutting them both separately. 

After you have finished cutting both pant legs, put them on and fold them how you like. If they are too long, just cut off another sliver. Once they are the perfect length and you have folded them the way you like, take them off and iron them. That way the fold stays. For jeans, I don't need to sew anything at the hem because I like when they fray. But for pairs you don't want to fray very much, I would recommend sewing a stitch across the bottom. 

There are many ways to make cut-offs, but this is just how I do it. This is how they turned out:

(one of the folds is coming unfolded, because I hadn't ironed it yet.)

Here are some other cut-offs I have made:

I'm excited to add white to my collection and I think I will start looking for other colors next time I hit the D.I.

DIY bleach shirt (a great way to make team shirts)

This Saturday I am running the Dirty Dash race with Ammon and a couple of friends from work. 

A long time ago, we decided that our team name would be: The Septic Tanks. (Ammon's idea) 

It's brilliant.

We've been wanting to make team shirts for quite some time, but didn't exactly know what to do. 

I was so excited when I finally found a cheap and easy way to make team shirts. 

There are many different ways you can use bleach to design your own shirt, but I'm going to show you how I made my shirt. Here is the final product:

Pretty sweet eh? It's not perfect, but not too bad for my first try. 

Alright. Here's what you do. 

Step one. Buy everything you will need. This includes a dark shirt that is 100% cotton, liquid bleach, a spray bottle, and label paper. (The whole piece of paper is one giant sticker) I couldn't find the paper at wal-mart, but you can get 25 sheets at Staples for only $13. As for everything else, wal-mart is perfect. 

 

Step two. Type up the words you will need on Word. Pick a font that will be easy to cut out! To make our team shirt a little more exciting, I found the following clipart online:

Again, pick something that will be easy to cut out. 

Step Three. Print out everything you will need onto the sticker paper. 

Step Four. Cut out everything carefully and place the stickers where you want. 

Step Five. Pour bleach into the spray bottle and add almost the same amount of water. (The darker the shirt, the less bleach you will need) Now you are ready to spray your shirt! It is ideal to do it outside, but I didn't have my own yard, so I did it in the shower. Wear gloves. Be careful because bleach is potent. BEFORE YOU SPRAY: understand that the bleach doesn't work right away. So if you don't see anything at first, don't go crazy and spray a ton. Wait it out and you will start to see your results. If you want your shirt to be speckly, then tighten the spray bottle. If you like drips down your shirt, then loosen the spray bottle and spray dart like streams at the shirt. I did a little bit of both.  

Step six. As soon as it looks how you like it, peal off the stickers and rinse in cold water. The more you wait, the more the bleach will take effect on your shirt. 

Step Seven. Wash in the washer like normal but with COLD water. Dry like you normally would and enjoy your new shirt!!

how to create beach-like curls without heat

One of my summer bucketlist items includes going the whole summer without using heat. 

How is this going to be possible? My hair is not naturally straight. Nor is it naturally curly. It's just kinda in between. Well. I have found the perfect solution that I am so excited to share. I plan on having beach-like wavy hair all summer. And here's how:

Conair medium spiral curlers. 

Plus a little bit of this every other day:

I've never used either of these products before, but so far I am liking both of them very much. Especially the curlers. I bought them at Rite Aid for $13 and they work very well with my hair. All I do is spritz my hair with a little bit of water with a spray bottle or I wait until my hair is just about dry after a shower. (If your hair is too wet, then it will take a lot longer to work). Then I wrap my hair around the curlers as if it was a curling iron. It'll look a little something like this:

Then I wait about 10 minutes or so and my hair looks like this:

Tuh-duh! Beautiful beach-like curls without any heat! 

Note: if you want your curls to be a little tighter, here's a very helpful video. (This video is where I got the inspiration to go without heat)

how to plan a bridal shower in less than 24 hours

So my very bestest friend in the whole wide world {besides Ammon} is getting married so soon!! And get this! ----> her soon-to-be-husband is cousins with my husband!! We always joked that we were family in High School, and now we really will be family. :)

Anyway, because she is marrying into my husband's family, I wanted to throw her a shower with all the lovely ladies on Ammon's side. And even though I set the time and place way in advance, I didn't actually start doing the planning until the day of!

Here's how:

Step 1. Log onto pinterest
Step 2. Type in the following phrase: "bridal shower games"
Step 3. Find a few you like (but don't pin them because then the bride-to-be might see what you're up to!) Here are a couple I decided to use

   

                     

                 

                        

                              

                                    

Instead of writing advice on paper, have the guests write advice on wooden spoons. Put them in a large jar and label it: "Recipe for a good marriage." 

Instead of having the guests just watch the bride open presents, give them bingo cards beforehand. They fill in the blanks with things they think the bride will open. Prizes are awarded to those who get bingo. 

Step 4. Buy and gather all the needed supplies. I got the wooden spoons at Wal-Mart {4 for $0.89} and then I made my own bingo cards on Word. For the decorative supplies, I found everything I needed at the dollar store. Oh how I love that store! :)                      

Step 5. Arrive early enough to set up everything.
Step 6. Greet the guests. Be flexible. Don't plan too much that you don't leave the guests any time to ask the bride-to-be questions or mingle with one another. Relax and have fun!

Now, you're probably wondering about the food. That part shouldn't be left until the day of. Don't worry, I made sure to do that part in advance. :)  For food, I made a sign-up and asked for volunteers. Luckily many of the guests were really sweet and helpful and offered to bring many delicious contributions.

I think the party went well. It helps when the bride-to-be is really easy-going and sociable with everyone. I'm lucky to have her as my best friend.

Another fun game is interviewing the groom beforehand. Ask him questions about the bride. If his answer matches her answer, then she gets a piece of candy, if they don't match, then she gets punished! (Gum, marshmallows, sprayed with silly string, etc.) I guarantee you will get a few sighs and laughs from the girls as they get to know more about the soon-to-be-married couple!

D.I.Y crafts i actually made

{one: felt flowers} {two: fort-making kit} {three: winter wreath} {four: ribbon wreath plates}