Easy DIY: Ring Boxes 1

Why would we want to know how to make ring boxes? Because why not. Here's Ring Box #1. I'll show you how to make Ring Box #2 next week.

Here's what you'll need:

Note: Up top are all the materials. I'm only going to list the materials for Ring Box #1.

-Hot glue gun

-Exacto-knife

-A piece of sponge

-Black felt (or velvet)

-A little box

Let's make a ring box:

1. First measure out your box and then cut a matching piece of sponge. Make sure it fits in the box.

2. Now cut a matching piece of felt! You may want scissors for this. Exacto-blades don't like felt. Sponge, but not felt.

3. Glue your felt n' sponge together so it looks like one of those cheap desserts you get at a buffet. 

4. Now cut that sponge. I put three slits in mine since it wasn't a big piece of sponge.

5. After all that gluing and cutting, you can stuff your sponge cake right into the box. You can go ahead and glue it in there but friction does well in holding it in place; just in case you need the box again.

6. Ta-dah. You have a little ring box.

More notes/tips:

Keep in mind here, you can make yours as fabulous as you want. You can put washi tape on your box. You can use a different kind of felt (I originally wanted orange felt but I couldn't find it). The possibilities are endless with a DIY as simple as this.

When did "DIY" become a noun?

Just asking. I noticed I do that a lot.

It Was Supposed to Be a DIY...

But it was just a mess and I'll show it to you anyway.

So I have this cruddy little clip board I never use.

It's not like it's that bad. I mean, I loved the fact that it has measurements on its sides but I have enough rulers to measure out a mile.

So I decided to paint it. I was feeling a kind of striped patterned thing.

So I started with a baby-blue base and spray painted the front.

Then the back.

 And I was all ready to make some nice purple stripes.

And I start spray painting...

 And it's going all nice n' stuff. AND THEN I FREAKN' RUN OUT OF PURPLE SPRAY PAINT. I'm like "what? Really? FREAKING, REALLY?" So I crack out the acrylic paint and I don't have a single purple that even remotely looks like the one I was spray painting with. So I think to myself "okay, just relax, chill out, I can mix paints, I can do this."

The end product was a purple that didn't completely match the original but is totally undetectable by anyone's eyes but my own. It may bug me but at least no one else will know.

So the back (the spray painted side) came out fabulous. It's not the smoothest, but it's still nice.

 The front, however—the side in which I may write on—was a lumpy-surface-area disaster. The acrylic paint was pulling on the tape and made a couple of scraggly sides and of course I didn't think about what the millions of coats of acrylic paint I applied to get the purple hue right would do to the all over look and feel.

So I said "Nuggets. Just forget it." and I then applied a nice coat of this stuff. Which is for paper but I used it on something totally different anyway. Happy Monday guys.

Apple Cider: The Wonder Liquid

Bragg.com

I hadn't even a clue what apple cider vinegar was 'till my mom brought it home from the grocery store. "What's this?" and I took a swig. Horrible idea considering it's strength and bitter flavor. I felt that burn travel down my esophagus and into my stomach. My brother took a swig and had it go down his trachea a bit; 'couldn't breath for about 20 seconds. Wheezing for the next 5 minutes. Scary stuff.

Yet as horrible as this poison flavored liquid sounds it's relatively beneficial for your health. I take two tablespoons a day. Diluted in water. And not all at one time.

1. It's a nice source of potassium and iron. We all know iron is good for you and chances are you're not getting enough of it. It's good for your hair and skin. A lack of iron will cause you to become fatigued as well. In essence, the iron in ACV (that's what I'm calling the vinegar for the rest of the post.) will help you feel a little energized. And for potassium, well, you'd be dead if you didn't have any so I think it's safe to say you should have a good source of potassium. Potassium helps maintain important organ functions and can help protect your heart and brain in it's ability to aid in lowering blood pressure (mass.gov | webMD.com - iron | webMD.com - potassium).

2. Weight loss. Yeah, maybe. It has many characteristics that aid in weight loss such as its acetic acid which helps boost your metabolism; however, it is not a quick fix. Instead it would be a great addition to a current diet or an already healthy lifestyle (rd.com | webMD.com).

3. It's good for your dog. What? Yes, I happened upon this article by the Bragg brand. It's got some good minerals for you pooch and can be beneficial to their skin: it can help with bugs (fleas and ticks) and can help give them smooth skin. It can also help you get smooth skin too if you choose to use it as a vinegar facial (yes, those exist) (Bragg.com).

4. It gets you in the mood. Not that mood. I know what you were thinking. In a chain reaction, ACV helps break down proteins into amino acids which help create tryptophan which then stimulates the release of serotonin: the happy hormone. Okay, it's not a hormone. It's a neurotransmitter but I was that desperate for the alliteration. Anyway, serotonin helps you feel relaxed which can aid in depression and anxiety (health.usnews.com).

5. Good for diabetics. This is an important one for me since diabetes has a bad habit of showing up in my family. ACV has an apparent anti-glycemic characteristic which helps lower blood sugar. Though it doesn't block 100%, ACV can block much of the digesting starch which could increase your blood sugar. Do remember, though, that vinegar is highly acidic and adding this to your diet can increase the level of acids in your body (webMD.com).

It wasn't until after I finished reading several articles on webMD that I found the warning "Don't drink it straight. It’s so acidic that it could harm your tooth enamel and your esophagus."

World Elephant Day!

And here's a baby elephant from the cheezburger site to make your Elephant Day a little special!

#SAVEELEPHANTS

Easy DIY: The Overly Moisturizing Foot Cream

You have Crisco. Or some form of shortening. You probably do. Did you know you can wipe that stuff on your feet for a super moisturizing cream? But of course you want to make it pretty and stuff! Let's make a Spiced Moisturizing Foot Cream.

Here's what you'll need:

-Some Shortening or Crisco (1/4 cup). I've used both and they're pretty much the same.

-Some powdered cinnamon and nutmeg (2:1 of preferred spice).
-A teaspoon of shea butter.

-(Optional) Two Vitamin E gel capsules.

Let's make a moisturizer:

1. Start off by mixing your Crisco and shea butter together to get it smooth. You can do this by hand or you can put it in the blender to kind of whip it.
2. Next add a couple of shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Your number of shakes should be a 2:1 ratio of your desired spice. If you want more cinnamon, then add twice as much cinnamon than nutmeg and vice versa if you want more nutmeg.
3. You can stop here and put it into a container (a nice little jar for a stupid cute look) or you can get your vitaE gels and pour a couple of them into the mix. I like to add a ton of them but I'd be careful with this mix since it's already heavily oily (it's got a feel like a smooth coco butter).

More Notes/Tips:

Now all that's left to do is to slather some on your feet before bed, put some socks on, and sleep away. Or if you have insanely dry or ashy skin, this could work for you. It's a bit slippery but it does its job incredibly well.

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Recipe: Mediterranean Tuna Wrap

I got this amazingly easy recipe from OneHundredDollarsaMonth.com because food that burns more calories to make than the calories actually in the dish is just not worth it. Here's the original post.

Ingredients:

• 1 small can tuna fish. I used tuna in oil.
• 1 flavored tortilla
• Some fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons feta cheese
• 8-10 cucumber slices. (Not a cucumber fan so I left these out).
• 3 tablespoons of chopped roasted red peppers
• 2 oil packed, sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette

Step 1: Lay out la tortilla and just kinda place things how you think you'll like it.

A quick note: I played around with this recipe a little and found that canned chicken breast is a nice replacement if tuna is just not up your ally. So, like always, don't be afraid to get funky with your ingredients if a sudden burst of creativity demands that you do so.

Tip Tuesday: I FORGOT TO BUY TOOTHPASTE

Have no fear. These substitutes/alternatives will hold you off!

ARM & HAMMER©

1.) Baking Soda. Duh. This is the obvious go-to if you don't have toothpaste on you, don't like toothpaste, or just want a better alternative to toothpaste.

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internationalcoconut.com

2.) Coconut Oil. An oil? Yep. Coconut oil is usually a solid at room temperature so don't try and picture yourself brushing with something like olive oil. You can brush with this alone but it works better with a bit of baking soda mixed in (mercola.com ).

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wikipedia.com

3.) Charcoal. That stuff I BBQ with?? Yes, kinda'. I take it back; no not really. That would be too easy. What you want is activated charcoal. It's one of those substances that's great for cleaning and absorbing everything. At the same time, though, it's one of those substances that absorbs EVERYTHING. This includes any medicines you plan to take, so be a little cautious about this one (xovain.com | mayoclinic.org).

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fitsugar.com

4.) Dry Brushing. Or, you could just skip a substance altogether (livingthenourishedlife.com).

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naturalhealthadvisory.com

5.) Sea Salt. Does that mean I don't have to brush during a beach vacation? No. Like you'd do with baking soda, just pour some on your toothbrush and brush away (livingthenourishedlife.com).

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wikipedia.com

6.) Xylitol. I thought sugar gave you cavities! Not this guy. If you're diabetic, you may have this lying around the pantry (xylitol.org).

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therabreath.com

7.) Mouthwash. If you're that lazy.

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howstuffworks.com

8.) Oil Mouthwash. Remember that picture of yourself brushing with olive oil? Yeah, bring that back for a moment. Swishing on oils like grapeseed, olive, or almond oil can help clean the mouth just like any mouthwash and also helps in the gingivitis area (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

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Aura Cacia©

9.) Natural Mouthwash. This one requires some essential oils. Grab some water or one of the said oils above and drop in some cleansing essential oils like tea tree, rosemary, or other refreshing oils like peppermint (breathmd.com).

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10.) Make some toothpaste. You could add everything I just wrote into a jar. Ha. Not really. Just take some coconut oil, baking soda/sea salt, and some fresh/cleansing essential oils. You can also add some of the xylitol to take a bit of the edge off the baking soda.

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More notes:

All these are a great way to brush your teeth lest you forget your toothpaste or don't like toothpaste. Frankly, though, I like my toothpaste. Fluoride and all.

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Favorite Friday

It's Favorite Friday again so I can acknowledge my favorite items I've made and 9 of my favorite items from my fellow Etsy team members (Afternoon Tea, Chat and Treasuries Team). The team is doing a favorite brown, bronze, and copper thing so I thought I might pick out my favorites!

1. My Coffee Scrub. Brown and luscious.

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2. City on the Water by Artbyasta

Even your house can style in brown to match your outfit today!

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3. Natural Wood Hair Clip By LeSirenes

You know what would go great with that nice painting? This rustic wood hair band. Does that make sense? Probably not but who cares; it's an excuse to wear pretty things.

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4. Amber Glass Soap Dispenser By Lovesoldstuff

Wash your hands in lovely amber vintage style!

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5. Beer Me Finger-less Gloves  By Pikeys

BECAUSE WHY NOT?

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6. Vintage Tea Pot By TheWhistlingMan

I freakin' LOVE teapots and anything tea related! Even though I'm not really a tea drinker...

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7. Vintage Brass Shrimp By CottageAndSprout

It's a brass shrimp! For all your brassy-shrimp needs! You know; if you have any.

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8. Pumpkin Spice Napkins By FlaxyPlanet

Somewhere in time you will be hosting a party that requires these napkins.

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9. Handmade Plate and Cup Set By BakedNGlazed

MORE TEA!

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10. Owl Doorstop By DelaneyDesignsUK

So cute! I'd put this little guy everywhere and anywhere! Not just for your door!

6 Things I Put Washi Tape On the Moment I Got Home

And the big hype? Washi tape. So I decided to take a gander and buy myself a couple rolls of these cute colored tapes.

1. The corner of my crafting table

Well, I had to test it out on something first. How about my crafting table?

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2. My tablet case

My tablet case had been needing some beautifying a bit.

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7. My laptop

I generally don't like putting things like stickers on my laptop, but I kind of needed something to detract from the crack on it's rim. Shh. Don't tell my dad!

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4. My marker board

Ignore the bad picture, it's located in a dark corner so I needed the flash. I thought sectioning off parts with colored tape would look cute! It's also not May 29th. I have a bad habit of never updating anything ever...

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5. My day planner

like my tablet case, it needed something. I was trying to go for an almost plaid look. Didn't come out as well as I'd hope...

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6. My crafting table stool

My old beaten up stool could use some make up. So I put tape on it.

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The final verdict?

Nah. Frankly, I don't really like them. They were already pealing from my stool after about a minute. On my day planner, after I had left it a night, it looked like condensation had gotten under it (you can see that in the picture). It seems like there's a very limited amount of surfaces these guys will stick to. They like to stick to smooth but not glossy surfaces (but not including paper). Of course, this won't stop me from not getting other patterns I like. They're undeniable cute and pretty and I will surely continue to play around with different brands and styles!