DIY: Braided Top Knot

Braided Top Knot

Is it just me or is the top knot crazy popular all the sudden? I had no idea there was even a name for this hair style until I read about it in the blog world. If your like me you’ve probably be sporting a “top knot” or what I like to call a messy bun since your pre teen years. While I do still love rocking the top knot {it’s a staple for my evenings and weekends} I like to spruce it up a bit for the work day. Enter the braided top knot! Just as easy and just as cute!

 1. Put a little bit of product in your hair. For example, some mousse or gel or pomade, but just a bit!. I find that it helps the braid from getting those lovely flyaways.

NOTE: If you want, tease your hair at this point {good idea if you have finer hair}. This will just make it look a little more messy and your hair won’t look like it’s pulled back as tight. I did not tease mine, as it’s thick and messy already. :P

2. Put your hair in a high pony tail. 

3. Put your ponytail into a braid. Don’t braid the hair too tightly, otherwise it will make it shorter and you won’t have as much to wrap. Secure the end with a hair band.

 

 

4. Twist the braid around the base of the pony tail and tuck the end of your braid under and into the center of the bun.  Sorry, I didn't get the best photos of this, but it's pretty easy.

5. Now secure this sucker with bobby pins. I only needed three, but use as many as you feel necessary. I would definitely secure the end of your braid and that little tail if it’s sticking up. Then I put in two more pins, one on each side...and VOILA! Incredibly easy right?! 

I like to add cute hair clips, like a flower, to the side of the bun. Just makes it a little more fun. :)

Recipe: Cinnamon Vodka

I’ve been wanting to make infused vodka for awhile now and I decided to finally try it! You can use lots of different things for infused vodka [like fruit!], just do a little online research and you will find many helpful tips. I finally settled on cinnamon [although I almost did pineapple], because I thought it would be good for the holidays

 

What you need: 

Vodka 

Cinnamon Sticks 

Funnel 

Strainer 

Clean, air tight bottles/jars  

*How much you need of everything really depends on how much you are making

 1. Clean and sterilize your bottles. I had saved some liqueur bottles from over the last year or so [not sure why, but I’m glad I did!] So, I just took all the labels off of those and clean them up.

2. Put 2-4 cinnamon sticks in each bottle. I put 2 in to start, but I think I will be adding 1-2 more half way through.

3. Use the funnel and pour the vodka into your clean bottles. {FYI - I bought a big jug of cheap vodka. On a second thought, it might be worth getting pricier vodka. I’m not sure, but I’ll report back on the flavor.}

4. Let the vodka steep [infuse] for 3 weeks. I think you could let it sit less or more, but most sources I found said 2-4 weeks.

5. Strain your vodka. I haven’t done this part yet, but I’ll report back. I plan on straining it into a jug, then using my funnel to pour it back into the two bottles.

There you have it! I found some cute cordial glasses at the thrift store to go with the vodka and I plan on making a cutesy label for the bottle. My vodka has been sitting for about 5 days now and it’s a brownish golden color. It still smells mostly like vodka to me. I think I’ll wait about another 5 days and then add some more cinnamon, because I prefer a stronger flavor.

Definitely let me know if you try this!

Happy Wednesday! Kassie

Thursday Eats: Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup 

This is crazy yummy and super thick, I don’t even know if it should be called a soup. In fact it almost reminds me of mashed potatoes. Either way, you can enjoy it as a side or main dish. :) Just fyi, this makes a HUGE batch!


What you need:


30 oz bag of frozen hashbrowns
3 cans of chicken broth
Pepper
Velveeta Cheese
Canned/Frozen veggies of your choice




What you do:

1. Add hashbrowns and broth into the croc pot. Add pepper to taste. Let cook on low for 4-6 hours.
2. Add in cubed velveeta cheese. How much you add is completely up to you. I think I used about ⅓ of a small brick. However, next time I will be adding more! I like things cheesy! Let this cook until cheese is melted, probably another 30 min or so. 3. If you have frozen veggies add them now with the cheese. If you have canned or fresh veggies, just add them a few minutes before serving to heat through.

 Review: This is good, but super thick. I’d maybe consider adding even more chicken broth, or some cream cheese right at the end [I’ve seen this on this recipe before - only add before serving!] I added more chicken broth on day two, along with some carrots and it was fantastic! Overall, super easy and super yummy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Kassie

DIY: Art Wall

Hello lovlies!

Today I thought I would share another home project with you. I have this huge stark white wall in my living room that is just asking for some love and attention. Originally, I had planned on asking my landlord if I could paint it, but then I thought it seemed silly to spend extra time and money on something that I can’t take with me when I move. So, then I decided I would figure out some sort of art piece [or a couple] to take up the space.

After much research, I decided I would just do an interesting photo wall. Pinterest really helped me out on this. :)

In a magazine or somewhere, I can’t remember, I had seen a picture of a wall with lime green empty frames and I was instantly in love. I decided that I liked the more ecclectic/mis-matchy feel, rather then the photos be all lined up and the same. So, I started collecting random frames from our local thrift shop. Super cheap and a great way to get a good mix. Here’s a little walk through and some pictures of what I have done so far.

After I gathered enough frames, I started playing with the layout. First I was doing this on my livingroom floor, but I just couldn’t get it right. You’re probably going to laugh at this next thing, but oh well. I decided to measure all the frames the create a layout in photoshop. :)

It worked really well! After that I laid them out on the floor according to the PS image, to get a better idea of how they worked together. I was happy with it, so then on my PS sheet I assigned a color to each frame, then moved on to spray painting!

First, just let me say I’ve never spray painted anything before, so I was just sort of flying by the seat of my pants. I read a couple online articles about painting frames, then I just got on with it! For the wooden frames I lightly sanded them with 220 grit - lightly! Then I primed them. I also primed all the other dark frames.

After the primer set, I sprayed the frames according to my little cheat sheet. I ended up changing a couple and added a third color, but basically stayed with my originally idea. I had a couple hiccups with little gnats, some drips and some major finger cramps, but all in all it worked pretty well!

Next is hanging them! AHH! Obviously, I wanted to be sure they got up there straight and that the spacing was correct. After thinking on it for awhile I decided to use the ol’ newspaper trick. Basically, you lay out some news paper [or tissue paper, wrapping paper, whatever], lay your frames on top of it then trace them. I even went so far as to figure out about where my nail holes should go. You then tape this masterpiece up on the wall and hammer in all your nails. I hung up the frames once too, just to get a feel for it all.

Now just rip the paper off and ...VOILA! For hanging frames I keep some wall putty on hand in case there are some unruly ones that refuse to sit straight. A little pinch in the corner will work magic!

Isn’t it beauTIful?

The artwork are just different prints I had or printed. I actually created the one with the Incubus lyrics in photoshop with an image I found through google. Fun stuff! :)

If you have an questions on this project or if you have ideas/tips from your own experiences please share them!!

peace, kassie

DIY Book Wreath

Hello All!

My little business trip went very well, but now I am back to the regular grind. Anyway, how about a DIY post?

Okay, so I have been seeing these Book Page Wreaths all around the blogosphere and I absolutely love them! After looking at a couple different styles, I finally decided on the one by Living with Lindsay.

 

I essentially followed her instructions, so I won’t go into much detail. I’ll just give you a quick over view and show you some fun pictures!  Be sure to check out Lindsay's blog post for a full tutorial!

What I used:  A couple books, some spray paint for the edges (sort of like in Lindsay's), a foam wreath, hot glue gun

 This is that first step where you glue the rolls to the back first, then flip it over and start adding more to the wreath. 

 Getting a bit fuller now...

 And FINISHED!!!

I do think I made mine “tighter” so to speak, b/c I definitely ran out of book! I had another book that I sorta filled some spaces in with. I’m pretty happy with the result, but I have a feeling I’m going to add a bit more to the center to cover up some ugly parts. You can’t really tell in the picture, but in the center you can see where I glued some pieces. I'm not going to lie, took much longer than I expected, but I used a larger wreath.  For the loop to hang it I plan on just used some hemp twine I have. I think it will look nice with the book pages. Then, since I rent and don’t want holes I will be using a 3M removable hook and attach it to the inside of my door. I’m not 100% sure I'll like it there, I may put it on the adjacent wall. Anyway, if you have any questions about what I did, or any thoughts/suggestions, just let me know!

For now, I’m off to work on another project - one that has been in the works for awhile. I can’t wait!

peace, kassie