DIY Two Color Ombré Hair

Wow.  So the last quarter of 2013 flew by and I didn't keep up so well with this blog (obviously).  

Let's kick off 2014 with something a little different - a hair/beauty post!

A few weeks ago, my daughter requested that I make my hair pink, like Molly from 'Bubble Guppies'.  

Now, I have absolutely nothing against unusual hair colors - I really like them - but pink is not my favorite color, and I'm loving the red hair I'm currently rocking (plus, I'm growing it out to do an Erza Scarlet cosplay.)  After some debate, which included weighing the pros and cons of dyeing my hair vs buying a wig, I was searching Pinterest and saw some really great examples of ombré hair color from blond or brown to pink.  I was a little concerned that red to pink would look weird, but decided to try it anyway.  I didn't  want  to shell out the $$$$ to get it done at my salon, so it was the internet to the rescue!  Luckily, there are lots of tutorials on DIY ombré technique. 

Here's what I did to get my look.  Standard disclaimer: I'm not a professional and when in doubt, go to the salon.

Since I had some root growth going on, I started by dyeing my hair with my usual color - Ion 7RR with a 30 developer.  I focused on the roots and pretty much ignored the ends, since I knew I was just going to bleach the out anyway.  

This is what it looked like after the red was applied.

Next, I divided my hair into eight sections and put each section into a ponytail.  Since I wouldn't be bleaching my bangs/fringe, I pinned it out of the way.

Next, I mixed some Loreal quick blue, Ion 30 developer, and Ardell red-gold corrector in a non-reactive bowl.  I also pulled out my foils.

 The red-gold corrector gave the mixture a purple tint. 

I applied the bleach to the bottom 2" of hair on each ponytail, folding the bleached sections into the foils.  I applied a little heat from my hair dryer to get the bleach going.  

After about 20 minutes, I unfolded the foils and re-applied bleach, this time to the bottom 3" of hair.  I left it on for another 15 minutes, then rinsed in cold water and washed it with a baby shampoo. 

I slathered the ends in Manic Panic's Virgin Snow, a purplish toner, intended to make pale blond hair white.  It didn't do too much to take the yellow tone out if my hair, but it was great conditioner for the bleached ends.  

Now for the fun part!  The dye I used fory hair was Beyond the Zone's Party Time  Pink.  I would not have selected this brand normally, but the Girl-child grabbed it and was insistent.  It was easier to go along.  

 

I must say that this dye smells AWFUL.  It's aroma is a cross between bubble gum and melted crayons.  The overall impression is 'juvenile'.

I applied the dye to the lower half of my hair, going into the red sections just to keep the transition smooth, wrapped my head in a plastic bag. And kicked back for a couple episodes of Kill la Kill.

I rinsed in cold water and tada!  Ombré hair!  

Both of my kids love it, and I think it is fun too.  It fades to a nice pastel after a couple of eashes, but I found that after a week, I needed to do a touch up.

Falling for Cotton: Part Deux

Holy smokes, September has FLOWN by!  Between the Etsy shop, my PTA duties, my mom duties, and my kids' crazy schedules, I'm amazed I was able to finish this dress at all! Seeing as #fallforcotton ends on September 30th, I'm just squeaking in on the deadline.

Apparently, I'm a glutton for patterns of many pieces right now.  Here are the pieces for this dress:

Ack!  So many pieces!

Here are the edits I made to construct my dress:

First, I cut the back piece into two pieces just below the shirring lines and added 5/8" seam allowance on each new piece.

Marked

Cut

Due to the limited amount of skirt fabric I had, I also narrowed the front skirt pieces - the original has 3 pleats on each side, mine only has 2. 

I did end up using the floral fabric for the skirt, collar, and to do fabric covered buttons.  I read a great tutorial on doing fabric covered buttons without a kit here.

I have to say, this really is a comfy, do-anything kind of dress.  I wore it to church and received a compliment from a woman old enough to be my mother (or my mother's older sister), and then, when I wore it to pick up my son from school, received compliments from two 3rd grade girls, which pleased me to no end!

Front view selfie.

The back view.  I really need somebody to take my FO pics for me.

Behind every good dress is a good seamstress, and behind every great seamstress is a cat.

What's Cooking? Nutella Latte!

Hey everyone!  Sorry I've been a bit absent - I launched my Etsy business and then got contacted about doing a couple of local craft fairs, so I've been frantically making pieces and trying to get my display up to par, which has left little time for blogging.  Also, I just finished up my #fallforcotton dress.  More on that later.  I openly admit that this will be a pic-free post - I just whipped this up and want to get the recipe out there ASAP so you all can enjoy it too!

Right now, let's talk about fancying up coffee.  Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm generally a hard-core black coffee kind of girl.  No sugar, no cream, no fancy flavorings with only a few exceptioins - Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the fall, and a shot of peppermint syrup in the winter. 

This evening, I really wanted a little something sweet, but frankly, I didn't want to share with my 2 year old.  Mom of the year, I know.  :)  I was already getting ready to pour out a cuppa when I remembered that I had some Nutella in the pantry.  A little kitchen experimentation and voila!  Delicious, sweet (but not too sweet) coffee dessert with stuff I already had in the house.  Go, me, go!

Here's the "recipe":

Ingredients: 
Nutella (duh)
Coffee
Milk

Instructions:
Take a teaspoon and dip into the Nutella.  Give it a half turn to get the spoon coated.  Remove spoon from Nutella and put into an empty mug.  Pour hot coffee in mug.  Add milk to taste - I don't care for milk in my coffee, so I just added a quick splash.  Stir until Nutella is well mixed.  Enjoy the coffee, then enjoy licking what's left of the Nutella off the spoon!

Easy peasy!

What's Cooking? Tomato Pie - Tex-Mex edition!

Thanks to our fabulous CSA, Gorman Farm, we are nearly drowning in fresh, delicious tomatoes.  We have pounds - pounds! - of them sitting in our fridge.   I'm not really in the mood to can any more tomatoes, so I've been looking for things to do with them.  Luckily, the CSA also puts out a weekly e-newsletter with recipes for some of the produce we are receiving.  A few weeks ago, they sent out a recipe for Tomato Pie, which was an instant hit with my husband (not so much for the kids).  It's super simple to make and easy to adapt.  The original calls for a mayonnaise sauce, which is very rich, very creamy, and thankfully does not taste very mayo-y.

The original recipe  [Tex-Mex changes in brackets]:
1) Obtain pie crust - I get mine from the freezer section of the grocery.  If you're a real purist about making your own, more power to you.

2) Bake unfilled pie crust at 350 degrees for ~ 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove crust from oven.

3) Layer sliced tomatoes [and banana peppers] into crust.  I usually cut them ~1/4" thick, but again, it's not a precise science.  I layer until the crust is halfway full.

4) Spread sauce (which you have previously mixed).  The original sauce is 3/4 c. mayo, 1-1/2 c. shredded cheese, and salt & pepper to taste. [Tex-Mex version: 1/2 c. ranch dressing, 1-1/2c. Mexican four cheese blend, salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon (eyeball it) of Tapatio hot sauce.]

5)  Add another layer of tomatoes, and more cheese if desired (and really, who doesn't desire more cheese??).

6) Bake for ~ 15 minutes.

7) Remove from oven and ENJOY!

The final product

The side view

Pinkie Pink Pink - Oh, look! I made a jacket.

It's finally done!  The last installment (for now) of Pinkie Pink Pink is complete.  Admittedly, it's not quite as pink as I thought it was, really more into the burgundy tones, but that's okay - let's just go with it, shall we? 

Here it is, my new fall jacket, made of some lovely floral print velveteen:

I used the Simplicity 2057 pattern, which is part of their Project Runway line.  I omitted all the "extras" - welts, epaulets, tabs, etc. - since my print was so busy.  I opted for the pleated sleeves, which definitely give a nod to the 1940s.  Some people might say it's too much, but I disagree.  It is lined in an ivory flannel backed satin, which is so lovely.

Facing & lining.

The pattern itself was not very difficult, but cutting out the pieces took FOR-EV-ER!  At least a couple of hours.  I looked at the pattern reviews before starting this and while a couple of people suggested reducing the depth of the armholes, I didn't find a problem with the way they were on the original pattern. 

The back

I really couldn't be happier with this, and I anticipate getting a lot of use out of it.  Once the weather decides to cooperate, that is.  It's forecast to be 90 degrees for the next few days. C'mon autumn, get with the program!

See the shorts?  Clearly it isn't yet jacket weather.

Next garment up is the #fallforcotton dress. 

Etsy love and an Announcement

A few words on Etsy. 

First, I love Etsy - some of my favorite jewelry items and gifts have come from Etsy.  What a great expression of boundless creativity!

Second, I love that Tim-freaking-Make-It-Work-Gunn loves Etsy.  There's a great interview with him where he talks about the world of craft here.  As if I needed another reason to love the man!

Third, I am reopening my Etsy shop, Moon Star Adri.   Here's a peek at what you expect to find...

PLUS, I haven't even taken photos of the envelope clutches I'm working on, which will also be for sale.

I'll be unrolling the above items and more in the next few days.  

Exciting times around here, I'm telling ya. 

Falling for Cotton

I came across the blog Lucky Lucille this weekend while browsing 1930s and 1940s patterns, and discovered that is running a sewing challenge called "Fall for Cotton."  The details are here, but in a nutshell, the challenge is to create a vintage-style garment in the month of September using 100% cotton fabric. 

I scored this fabulous fabric at Jo-Ann's over the weekend - originally $13/yd, got it for $3/yd! - although the bolt only had 2-1/3 yds left on it.

So, so, so in love with this print!

I want to make Gertie's Shirtwaist dress, but that requires 4 yards of fabric.  Clearly, I don't have enough. 

I'm thinking about the version on the left.

So here's my thought for this challenge - make the skirt portion of the dress, and maybe the collar in the floral.  Make the shirt part of the dress out of a muslin and possibly do fabric-covered buttons.  What do you think?  Am I on to something? I think this would be so cute with a little coral or mustard colored cardigan.