Thursday, December 22, 2011

I bet Santa would like one of these


Well, I know Mrs. Claus probably would. I believe she's my kind of girl. Something tells me she sometimes fills in for her jolly old hubby when it comes to delivering the presents and sampling the plates full of goodies on Christmas Eve ;-)

My hubby was thoughtful enough to let me sample this yummy treat, which came with his One Lucky Duck order. He wanted it to be fresh when I tasted it, so he gave it to me early (the sample and not whatever he actually ordered from the site; that's still a mystery).

The delicious recipe can be found on pages 287 and 288 of "Living Raw Food" by Sarma Melngailis, if you'd like to make some to leave out for Santa (see him pictured here with Hayden and yours truly. I think she did better this time, compared to her last encounter with St. Nick) at your house, or you can buy them online here.

Speaking of buying online, I wonder what Matthew bought me. Usually, he gets me chocolates and beauty products, like Priti Nail Polish and 100% Pure makeup, from there. I hope he got me a new RMS Beauty uncover, as I'm running out.

RMS Beauty is one of my favorite makeup lines. It is all-natural, organic and raw (not entirely vegan, but it is "bee-gan"). You can imagine my excitement when I saw it available on the Saffron Rouge website.

I recently won a e-gift card to Saffron Rouge from Jessica of Plenty of Thyme (thanks! Love that site name). Although I used it to buy some Yarok shampoo and conditioner (it's vegan, cruelty-free, natural, etc.), I did select an RMS Beauty product (as well as this natural hair powder) from the free sample list at check out.

I used the Lulu Organics hair powder (dry shampoo) yesterday, as I wasn't going anywhere special. It was nice to give my hair a rest from the usual shampooing. I was also able to salvage my style from the prior day (my soft curls survived a good night's sleep; no bed head here), and freshen the roots with the hair powder.

I also tested out the RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek sample in Muse. I already have Modest (a youthful, bright pop of pink), Promise (perfect for a natural, yet slightly darker hue than my lip color; also works well as a base color) and Rapture (a deep red for a night out with my hubby and/or holiday party), so I knew I'd like the product itself; I just wanted to see the color in person and take it for a test drive (it's so difficult to get a real feel for the shade when viewed online).

Muse is a very light nude color that practically blends in with my skin tone when applied to my hand (I do have a medium skin tone). Therefore, I opted not to post a pic of a sample swatch. However, it looks amazing on my lips. It's pale and shimmery. I can see myself wearing it as a basic everyday shade or paired with a more dramatic smoky eye for night.

I'd also have fun wearing today's DIY jewelry project out on the town. It's my version of these Urban Lace bracelets I've had my eye on for a while. My hubby prefers that I don't buy myself things like this leading up to Christmas, so I decided to make my own with what I have on hand.

The original (which I recommend you purchase if you like it and have the means to do so) is eco-friendly and made out of recycled bicycle inner tubes collected from local bike shops. It would look perfect with my recycled tire purse from this post.

My version of the bracelet is made out of a scrap of shiny black material, laminated on one side with contact paper. The attached contact paper both creates a similar texture to the tire bracelet and keeps the fabric from fraying in the next steps.

I used sharp scissors to randomly cut out teardrop shapes, creating a horizontal pattern in the size I wanted my bracelet to be. Then, I cut the edges in a scallop pattern to compliment the teardrops. The results were quite similar to the original bracelet.

Rather than adding snaps to the ends to hold the bracelet together, I sewed on pieces of a bra extender that I found in my sewing box. I don't know when or why I bought it, but it worked perfectly (and it's adjustable, too).

Other options for closures could be ribbon ties, buttons or velcro. Oh how I searched the house for some velcro, but I guess I was out. At least the hooks were simple to sew on and easy to latch when putting on the finished product.

What do you think? It's just right for wearing while watching the finale of "Project Accessory" tonight. Fingers (and arms) crossed that Nina wins (check out her gorgeous creations for sale here; I really like the necklaces on the site's home page) :-)


In case you missed it, check out these related past posts:
Posted by at