I'm in the middle of a 7 week experiment inspired by the book 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. I'm calling my journey 7 Weeks of Less.  I'm three weeks in.  Read on to see how it's going - and join me if you'd like!

1. FOOD
2. STUFF
3. CLOTHES
4. WASTE
5. SHOPPING
6. MEDIA
7. STRESS

The Rules:

I will choose 7 items of clothing to wear this week.  That's it.  Wash and wear.  All week long.  Underwear & socks don't count.  The only jewelry allowed are my wedding rings.  No makeup (ouch).  Hair gel is allowed.

1. pink ribbed tank top
2. black & pink running shorts
3. black sundress
4. blue sundress
5. turquoise ribbed tank top (changed to white camisole tank)
6. tennis shoes (changed to turquoise dress)
7. flip flops (add tennis shoes.  Jen Hatmaker counted two pairs of shoes as one item...so will I!)

I will also take inventory of my clothes and try to get rid of as much as possible. I've done this recently, so I'm curious how much more I can prune. 

I feel like this week won't be too hard (though kind of boring).  Since it's summertime, I won't need things like jackets, hats, jeans, sweaters, etc.  Having only one set of workout clothes is going to be the hardest.  That will require daily laundering.  And I'm going to miss wearing earrings. 

Dang. And I just realized I'm scheduled to drive to Nashville this weekend for a bachelorette party.  No makeup & no jewelry? Jazz.

The Wrap-Up:

Aside from my wardrobe this week, which was simple, easy and predictable, it was the most insanely busy week that we've had in a long long time.  So I barely had time to think about what I was wearing, let alone worry about it!  And truthfully it ended up being a less-than-typical week where normally I would have worked out 3-4 times and changed clothes more often.  But it was a plenty social week, so I had to parade my simple self all over Birmingham (and Nashville), visiting with people who see me everyday as well as many who only see me on occasion. 

Here's what I came away with this week:

• I completely failed to go through my clothes and get rid of anything.  Not a single item.  I'll get to it. One of these days.
• I only cheated once, in the name of nostalgia.  I put on my brother in law's Carbondale Terriers baseball jacket for about a minute as I was unpacking their coat closet in their new house. :) 
• I was so thankful that underwear and socks weren't included in this week's rules.  I totally changed underwear just for fun...several times.
• I was much more aware of how my hair looked all week, and did the best I could to keep my eyebrows tweezed.  Makeup and jewelry can do a great job of distracting from blemishes and insecurities.
• I really missed earrings.

Did this week make me closer to God and more thankful for my physical blessings of clothes and accessories? If I'm being honest, not really.  I felt more like I was on a trip and forgot to pack half my stuff, so I was making do.  Which was fine, but I was too preoccupied with life to use that situation to ponder the inequalities of clothing availabilities for the world.  I was however very thankful for and aware of our washer and dryer.  I would not have liked wearing dirty clothes. 

Day-By-Day:

Day 1 - Sunday, June 3, 2012

Here it is. My wardrobe for the next 7 days:

1. Blue Dress
2. Pink Tank
3. Black Running Shorts
4. White Camisole Tank
5. Turquoise Dress
6. Black Dress
7. Tennis Shoes & Flip Flops

Ben calls this "Hobo Week."  I don't really think that's funny.

Harder than wearing and washing only these items of clothing, I'm also not wearing any makeup or accessories.  No jewelry, no cute flower pins, no scarves, and only functionality switches allowed in the handbag department.  For me, this week is less about having an excess of clothing and more about realizing how much time and effort is spent into "vanity" and "variety". 

Sometimes I stand in my closet for 15 minutes or more trying on different combinations of clothes, trying to find the "right" thing to wear.  I change earrings or necklaces or shoes several times before deciding.  Makeup only takes about 5 minutes, but it's a nice mask for blemishes, mascara and eyeliner makes me feel stronger (I don't know why!) and I always feel like I need a little bit of blush. 

Heading to church today with just my turquoise dress & flip flops, I felt a little naked. And I have to confess, to  try and compensate for no makeup and jewelry at church this morning, I went to the tanning bed yesterday for a little bit of extra color and straightened my hair this morning.  I have a problem.  Or just a dependency.  This could turn out to be a more interesting week than I anticipated!  Especially because it's a very social week where I'll see lots of people I don't see every day, and would normally try to make a good visual impression for... Why? I don't know.  They don't care what I look like.  But I'm a girl. I guess that's what we do.

Day 2 - Monday, June 4, 2012

Most of today I was entirely too busy to even consider what I looked like.  My blue dress, flip flops and pony tail with no makeup or jewelry matched the no-nonsense mood I needed to get it all done!   By the evening though, when it was time to take the kids to VBS at Riverchase, I had a clothing "fast" moment.  The church was going to be COLD. I knew it. And I couldn't change into jeans or bring a sweater.   So I shivered instead.

I took inventory today of my clothing.  Here's what my closet & drawers contain:

• 36 sleeveless shirts
• 35 short sleeved shirts
• 27 dresses
• 27 pairs of shoes
• 19 long sleeved shirts
• 9 pairs of shorts
• 9 pairs of yoga pants
• 8 scarves
• 6 pairs of jeans
• 6 pairs of pants
• 6 skirts
• 5 sweaters
• 5 "fashionable" jackets
• 3 hooded sweatshirts
• 3 pairs of leggings

Grand Total = 204 items

That doesn't include underwear, socks, pajamas, swimsuits, or coats.

In addition to taking inventory of my own clothes, I went through the kids' closets and pruned out clothes that are too small, too stained, or too crazy looking to wear. :)  We've been blessed to have several friends and family members give both kids LOTS of hand-me-down clothes.  We love it.  The kids love it.  It's wonderful. 

Day 3 - Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Yesterday, as I was going through Ayla's clothes I found three pairs of her jeans, all with a hole in the right knee.  They still fit in the waist, but the knees were well beyond repair.  So we turned them into shorts. Perfect way to have another few months of use out of them before she grows 3 or 4 more inches and they'd be too short.

I wore my black dress today, with the white tank underneath it.  Today was a work day, so I was cutting wood and working at my computer all day. Then this afternoon I took the kids to see a Roger Day concert and then VBS was tonight.  The only time I was uncomfortable in my dress w/no makeup and no jewelry - VBS.  Cold again!

Day 4 - Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I helped my brother in law move across town all day today, so my workout clothes were just right for all the lifting, hauling and stair climbing.  Then tonight I switched to my turquoise dress for  VBS.

I'm still missing makeup and jewelry the most.   And since today was the first day I repeated clothes, I do admit to being a little bored with my options.  But thankfully I still like all my options.  I just might not wear them for a few weeks after this. :)

I did break my clothing rule once today. As I was unpacking the wardrobe box full of coats, I TOTALLY had to put on my brother-in-law's Carbondale Terriers baseball jacket and parade through the house - just for a minute!  We all went to the same high school, so it was nostalgic to pull that out!

Some things I've noticed this week - my face feel so much cleaner and my skin so much softer all the time without all that makeup on!  And I definitely don't miss having raccoon eyes at the end of the day.  Plus, my contacts haven't bothered me near as much as normal. 

Day 5 - Thursday, June 7, 2012

Got a blob of black paint on my blue dress today (I painted signs all day today).  Thankfully, it was small and mostly came out.  I think perhaps 7 days isn't long enough for this clothing fast. I'm only having to re-wear each dress once.  And since it turned out to be an abnormal week, I didn't end up working out as much as normal, so even my workout clothes haven't gotten worn as much as I thought they would. 

I suppose the true test is tomorrow, when I head to Nashville to see old friends and attend a bachelorette party.  I do wish I could wear makeup/jewelry/different shoes for that event.  But I won't.  I'm okay with the natural me in semi-sparkly flip flops. 

Day 6 - Friday, June 8, 2012

Today I left for Nashville to meet an old friend for lunch and then meet up with about 12 women for a bachelorette party.  I wore my black dress and straightened my hair, but was bummed not to be able to wear makeup, jewelry or fun shoes.

I was definitely overly aware of everyone else's makeup & jewelry and cute clothes & shoes all night.  But still, I felt okay and comfortable in what I was wearing.  And one of the girls mentioned in passing that I looked so pretty and carefree like I was ready to go to the beach.  She didn't know about 7 Weeks of Less, so that made me feel pretty good. :)

Day 7 - Saturday, June 9, 2012

Last day! I slept in my workout clothes last night (since PJs weren't on my list of clothing options and I was sharing a living room floor with 4 other girls).  It made me wake up and want to immediately go run! Ha! I didn't. I forgot to pack my running shoes and we were on top of a mountain!

I wore my turquoise dress and flip flops all day. We went out to lunch at Chuys and then walking around the mall for a while.  After about 15 minutes of "shopping" I realized it is absolutely NO fun at all to walk around a mall when you aren't buying shoes, jewelry, clothes or makeup.  No fun.  At all.  So I headed home to B'ham a little early while the other girls continued shopping. 

Next week is Waste.  I'll be a recycling fool...

A friend recommend a book to me called 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  

As someone who does try to keep things simple and not buy into the "keeping up with the Jones''" mentality, the topic intrigued me, so I decided to read it.

Now that I have, it's weighing heavily on my mind and I've got to figure out how to apply it and process it. 

Let me explain...

Here's the Amazon summary and description of the book:

American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born.

7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

After reading the book, not only do I feel a need to further simplify and remove several unnessary "things" from my life, but Jen's motivations for this fasting exercise have resonated with me as well -- "a less of me, more of Him" approach.  Fasting in these several areas of life allows space for God to do his work, instead of me trying to do *my* plan.  And we all know...I like to have a plan.

Though I realize it's contradictory to publically document your fast (fasting instructions in the bible - Matthew 1:16-18 - say you should do it privately), I enjoyed Jen Hatmaker's very candid and real diary of her experiences and since I, like her, process well via experiment and documentation, I thought I'd give it a try and document my own version of her experiment. 

My Own Version - 7 Weeks of Less

There are 7 weeks between now and when I leave for Chicago with my kids.  7 stressful weeks of a summer schedule with both kids at home when I can't work as much as I'd like to, and am likely be naturally irrititable, rushed, ungrateful and frustrated.  Seems like a bad time for an experiment, yes, but perhaps that's the point.  Since less of me, more of Him is the whole reason for the exercise (not to mention having a more simplified life), I'm going to do it now and hope that God will give me an extra measure of peace and contentment as I make these sacrifices.

Here's my plan.  I can't commit to 7 months, and I probably won't even be as extreme as Jen was in her fasts for these short 7 weeks.  But here's what I will strive to do and focus on each week for 7 weeks:

Week 1 - Food (May 20 - 26)

Rather than choosing only 7 foods to eat this week, I've decided to eat only from what we have, and not buy more.  This means no eating out,  no picking up bananas or flour or eggs, bread, etc. from the store and no accepting food from other people.  Instead, I'll be eating food from the pantry, refrigerator and freezer that we have in the house right now.  This would have been easier at the beginning of the month when we had recently been shopping.  However, we have not been shopping in a week or so and *are* currently out of several things, so I imagine I will have to sacrifice plenty.  In fact, I think we're almost out of coffee.  That's serious.

I also will not eat any food after 8pm.  Liquids only.  The snacking fool in me will surely feel this sacrifice.

In addition to not eating anything we don't already have and not eating after 8pm, I'm going to be in charge of dinners this week, which is not normally one of my jobs on weekdays (yes, let's all do a GIANT cheer for a husband who cooks).  But in an effort to not force Ben & the kids into my experiment, I will come up with and cook dinners this week instead of forcing Ben to consider my experiment before planning meals.

*Note - I will replenish food for the rest of the family if necessary, but won't let myself partake in those items.

Week 2 - Possessions (May 27 - June 2)

We have 10 rooms in our house, plus a garage - all full of stuff.  A week is not even close to enough time to prune out everything we could, so I'm going to focus on getting rid of at leat 7 things (hopefully WAY more) in these 7 spaces:

1. Bathrooms
2. Kids Rooms
3. Playroom
4. Kitchen
5. Garage
6. My Office
7. Closets (particularly the front hall closet & Paxton's closet, which is used for storage)

In addition to getting rid of all this stuff, I will NOT let anything new (for me) to come INTO the house. 

Week 3 - Clothes (June 3 - 9)

I will choose 7 items of clothing to wear this week.  That's it.  Wash and wear.  All week long.  Underwear & socks don't count.  The only jewelry allowed are my wedding rings.  No makeup (ouch).  Hair gel is allowed.

1. pink ribbed tank top
2. black & pink running shorts
3. black sundress
4. blue sundress
5. turquoise ribbed tank top (changed to white camisole tank)
6. tennis shoes (changed to turquoise dress)
7. flip flops (add tennis shoes.  Jen Hatmaker counted two pairs of shoes as one item...so will I!)

I will also take inventory of my clothes and try to get rid of as much as possible. I've done this recently, so I'm curious how much more I can prune. 

I feel like this week won't be too hard (though kind of boring).  Since it's summertime, I won't need things like jackets, hats, jeans, sweaters, etc.  Having only one set of workout clothes is going to be the hardest.  That will require daily laundering.  And I'm going to miss wearing earrings. 

Dang. And I just realized I'm scheduled to drive to Nashville this weekend for a bachelorette party.  No makeup & no jewelry? Jazz.

Week 4 - Waste (June 10 - 17)

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  This week I will find ways to be green and more environmentally aware.  I like to do these things and regularly practice a lot of "greener" things, but know I can improve and make better choices such as:

1. Drive less (ie. exercise at home instead of the rec if I don't have any other errands to run, combine errands to one outing)
2. Use fewer napkins, paper towels, and other one-time-use conveniences like zip lock bags, plastic bags, etc.
3. Recycle more. Find a place to recycle glass especially and be more diligent about getting papers, cardboard, plastic & aluminum to the recycling bin instead of the trash
4. Think of second (or third or fourth) uses for items before they become trash
5. Fix things that might otherwise be thrown away.
6. Save energy and resources by turning off electronics, lights, the water, etc. when not in use. 
7. Take out the trash & recycling, roll it to the street & back, etc.  Normally this is something I leave for Ben to do..I'll take responsibility for it this week as a physical and visual reminder of the waste we produce.

Week 5 - Shopping (June 18 - 23)

I confess, I had to save this week for after Ayla's birthday party.  I'm simply going to have to make several purchases to get that done and taken care of.  But once that's over...

7 days of no spending - on anything other than bills that are due. Plus, I want to find places to cut spending.  I guess I better be sure the car is full of gas before this week starts! 

I don't even know if this week is  going to be possible.  I'll reevaluate this "fast" and make more specific rules closer to that week.  Regardless of the specifics, I'll try to be aware of how often I spend a little here, a little there and how much that adds up to.

Week 6 - Media (June 24 - 30)

1. No Facebook (except SignsbyAndrea-related)
2. No Pinterest checking and surfing. 
3. No blog reading. 
4. No television. 
5. No Netflix or Hulu.
6. No radio. 
7. Just telephone, email and texts for communication.

I'm actually looking forward to this week.  I spend entirely too much time surfing the web, reading blogs and checking pinterest and facebook again and again and again and again. 

Week 7 - Stress (July 1 - 7)

Ha! This should be interesting, because it's the week I'll be packing and getting myself and the kids ready for a month-long trip to Chicago to visit with family and live out of a suitcase, sleeping in campers, hotels and basements.  If planning for a 4 week trip with two children across the country with a business to run while you're gone doesn't sound stressful, I don't know what does. 

To reduce stress during this time, I want to try a variation of what Jen Hatmaker did with several set-aside times throughout the day to pray and refocus. I'm not sure I can do all "Seven Sacred Pauses", but I'm going to commit to four of them and each day I'm going to dedicate 5 minutes to each prayer - which I realize is nowhere close to an hour, but these are baby steps:

• (7:00 am) The Awakening Hour: Remembering God's goodness and complete control over my life and trusting in Him.
• (11:00 am) The Hour of Illumination: Honoring Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and recommitting to giving my life away in service, love, and peace.
• (2:00 pm) The Hour of Wisdom: Praying for wisdom and perspective.
• (6:00 pm) The Twilight Hour: Expressing gratitude and serenity during the witching hours.

I think I'll set alarms. 

At the end of each week, I'll compile my journaled experiences and thoughts and share them 

I hope you'll join me in this experiment if you feel inclined to do so.  Read the book and come up with your own variation of the experiment. or just let it adjust your perspective on the abundance of stuff in our American priveliged world.  However you participate, I believe you'll be positively affected.

Several weeks ago, I borrowed this book from the library - The Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey.  I was in desperate need of a haircut, was wearing a lot of ponytails, the weather was humid and atrocious, and I had read about this "Curly Girl Method" and figured I'd see what it was all about.

The handbook convinced me to give it a try - for at least 6 weeks.  I mean, look how pretty those curls are! I was wearing my hair curly most days anyhow with all the insane Alabama humidity, so why not try to make it look better when I did wear it that way?  Plus, it looked like the process would be pretty easy...just a little odd, since you have to quit using shampoo. 

Okay, let me explain...

The Curly Girl Method

Here are the basics of what I did:

1. Get a haircut.  I needed a trim, badly.  It had been about a year since my last haircut.
2. Quit using shampoo - cold turkey. Evidently sulfates are a big no-no for curly girls.
3. Use a light conditioner - I used Suave Naturals Conditioner - just on my fingertips, and vigorously massage my scalp with it.  This is supposed to remove all the oils, dirt, hair product, dead skin, etc.
4. Rinse hair thoroughly, starting to detangle with my fingers.
5. Apply a deeper moisturizing conditioner - I used Giovanni Conditioner - from the bottom up covering the ends first and moving upward in a scrunching motion.  
6. Comb through with a wide-toothed comb to remove tangles and loose hairs.  
7. Scrunch again and let conditioner sit on your hair for a couple of minutes.
8. Rinse hair gently, but not completely, leaving much of the conditioner in it.
9. Squeeze hair dry in the shower as much as possible, still using that scrunching motion.
10. Use a t-shirt to scrunch the curls dry, squeezing out more water. According to the book, terry cloth towels can cause a lot of breakage, but cotton doesn't.
11. Apply gel (lots of gel) from the bottom up in a scrunching motion (curly girls REALLY like the scrunching) - I started off using Suave Naturals Gel, but later switched to LA Looks (about week 4) and liked it much better.
12. Let hair finish air drying.
13. About an hour later, I would turn my head upside down and shake my hair out, scrunching the curls to "release the gel cast" from the gel.

So that's the method I used...and here's what I thought of it and how it worked:

Week By Week Results

First...this is the hair I was aiming for.  Realistic? Maybe not (especially since she has about a foot of length on me and is some sort of model). But we all start with a wish, right?

Before: These photos were taken just after my haircut and my last shampooing, with just some mousse scrunched in my hair.  I let it air dry.   As you can see, it's kind of wavy, a little bit frizzy, but not so awful, the curl is just a little uneven.

1 Week:  Not liking this.  My hair feels a little greasy, my scalp itches, and I haven't figured out how to squeeze the water out of it very well after I wash it.  Curlier? Yeah, I guess...but it feels kind of icky.  And I felt like I was getting some odd looks from people who see me often.  My guess is, since they didn't say they liked it, they thought my hair looked crazy. :)

2 Weeks:  I (and my hair) are more used to the process now - not using shampoo and using lots of conditioner and lots gel. I can see that my hair looks a little bit bouncier and the curl is more even.  I'm having a hard time not running my hands through it though, and feel like it's ALWAYS tangled.  Since I used to straighten my hair about once or twice a week, I'm really missing that smooth feeling - at least once in a while. This week I did get a couple of compliments though on my curls, which helped me press on.

3 Weeks: This week I started noticing a little bit of dandruff and what looked like product buildup at my roots  Nothing major, but I switched up my conditioning routine to apply less of the deeper moisturizing conditioner to the top of my head, and concentrated mostly on the middle and ends.  That way the roots just got cleansed and massaged, but not overly conditioned.  That appeared to help.

This photo (below) was taken at about 3 weeks into my experiment.  Seeing the photo was the first time I thought - Wow! My curls actually look pretty!

4 Weeks: I would REALLY like to shampoo my hair this week (about this time I probably should have tried a warm water and baking soda rinse to remove some product buildup), and I'm dying to just brush it and wear it straight for a few days.  But, I don't.  A six week experiment is a six week experiement.  So, instead, I start shopping for a different gel since it still gets pretty frizzy by the end of the day.

5 Weeks: I switched to LA Looks hair gel this week, and although it makes my curls a little crispier, I think it makes them much more definined, less frizzy, and a little "lighter" looking.   I did a one-day trial with some Suave Mousse (and no gel) - and it was Frizz City!  Back to the gel I went...

6 weeks: I spent most of this week dreaming of straightening my hair and being able to run my fingers through it without them getting stuck.  No joke. I actually had a dream about using my flat-iron.  That said, I DO like the way my hair looks when it's curly now and I think experimenting with this haircare method has helped me cultivate my curls a little better.

Additional Notes: 

While doing this exeriment, I always liked the way my hair looked better when I showered in the morning and let it air dry, rather than when I let it air dry at night and then slept on it.  On those days I would use a spray bottle with water to wet my hair and re-scrunch it, which worked fairly well, but since I couldn't really comb or brush through it first, it always felt more tangled on those days.

I still have a lot to learn, and there are lots of great recipes that I'd like to try - such as a lavender mist spray to revitalize your curl, or a brown sugar scrub to exfoliate your scalp, and a baking soda rinse to remove product buildup.  Maybe I'll try those sometime soon.  Here are some great recipes if you want to try them - Curly Concoctions.

VERDICT: Is it possible to be a partial curly girl?  I'm going to continue working on finding a formula that works for me.  Right now, I'm thinking it will include an occasional sulfate-free shampoo and occasional flat-ironing too -- even if the true curly girls think that's from the Devil!  However , I do have a renewed love for LA Looks hair gel - which is a major throwback to my junior high perm days. :)

But tomorrow - I'm straightening my hair and I can't WAIT to run my fingers through it again!

Curly Girl Products:
 

Update: Here are links to some curly girl products that have been mentioned and recommended in the comments below from fellow curly girls: 

• WEN products
• Aveda Be Curly Products
• DevaCurl Products
• Mixed Chicks Products
• Sebastian Potion 9 Wearable Treatment
• Kinky Curly...Knot Today
• Redken Contour Shaping Lotion
• Moroccan Oil Curl Control Cream
• Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balance Moisturizing Conditioner
• Loreal Sulfate Free Products
• Organix Brazilian Keratin Treatment
• Nature's Gate - Tea Tree Calming Shampoo

Update:

This post has gotten WAY more attention than I ever would have imagined, so I think it deserves an update. :) After this experiment, I tried a few of the suggestions people have mentioned here.  Some things I liked:

• I loved how a white distilled vinegar rinse & water solution made my scalp feel and how well it removed all the buildup from the conditioner and gel. 
   
• In the same fashion, a sulfate free shampoo works really well too.  I've recently started washing with Nature's Gate - Tea Tree Calming Shampoo.  That seems to help with removing the product buildup and significanly reducing dandruff and itchiness I had started to notice when I began this experiment.
   
• One commenter recommended the Ouidad.com web site for great curly girl products and tutorials.  I checked it out and tried the "rake & shake" method they recommend as a way of detangling and applying gel while it's wet, and then "setting" the curls with a shaking method.  I tried that today and I've been SO pleased with the results of that very easy-to-do technique!  Here's a look at my hair today after trying it out for the first time (click images for larger pictures):

  

  Rake & Shake Method -
  Section your wet hair (I did the bottom section, then middle section & finally the top section) and secure it with a clip.  

  Then put a dollop of gel in your hands and apply it to your hair in 2-3 inch sections using a raking motion to detangle the hair. 

  Rake to the ends of each section and then gently shake the hair.  This lets it set into it's own natural curl pattern.  Continue throughout the rest of your hair by section.

  When finished, scrunch the curls gently with your towel (or cotton t-shirt) to enhance the curl and remove excess moisture.  You can then diffuse dry or air dry.  It left my hair with un-frizzy ringlet curls all day long!  

A while back, I made myself a jewelry organizer for my closet from a picture frame, wire and fabric.  But, after dropping earrings on the floor over and over and over again (because of the fabric backing & wire not having enough space between them) I decided to give it another shot with a new design.

I went digging in my garage and came back with two metal cube panels, several nails and some ribbon.

I liked the idea of the metal cube pieces, because if you face them the right way, the cross-bars leave a natural space between them and the wall that allows the earrings to hang freely.  Plus, using the grid means I can easily stagger the earrings so I can see them all well and they won't get tangled up together.

I used ribbon to tie two panels together and secured the top two corners with screws.  The bottom is secured with one screw to hold it still.

Since this grid solution didn't work for my necklaces, I simply added some staggered nails directly to the wall. 

Let's hope this solution is a little more user-friendly!  I'm not the only one looking for a great jewelry organizing solution. Check out these great ideas that I found on pinterest:

A  few weeks ago I learned how to make a large t-shirt into a fitted tee shirt.  Very cool, right?  But...I still had some trouble figuring out how to make the sleeves look right since the REALLY big t-shirts had such low shoulder seams.  Plus, the necks seemed awfully high and confining on some of the shirts I tried it on.

Since I'm NOT a seamstress of ANY kind, I went looking for some solutions and landed on this scoop-neck version that I think might be just what I needed.  

Here's what I started with and the link to the tutorial for how to get from a large t-shirt to a fitted t-shirt:

It worked great with my navy fire department shirt, but with this shirt, I wasn't happy with the neckline or the sleeves, which meant I hadn't worn it yet and wasn't sure whether I liked it.  So, I figured it couldn't hurt to get a little scissor happy on it again in an effort to "save" it once more.

I went back to youtube.com for some inspiration, and sure enough, found this video by ashleybrashier about "How to cut your shirt into a scoop neck".

Here's how it's done:

Lay your shirt on a flat surface. 

Make a small snip on each shoulder about an inch from the collar.  You can also put the shirt on and mark where you want to cut, but I've found that about an inch works perfectly for me, while keeping the shirt on my shoulders (instead of becoming an off-the-shoulder shirt). 

I also make a cut down the center of the front collar, so that I have a mid-point to cut towards to make an even scoop across the front. 

When you've finished cutting the front scoop, it looks a little like this:

Cut the back of the shirt straight across directly underneath the collar band.

Next, try on your shirt and mark where you want the length to be cut.  I just used my scissors to cut a little hole on one side. (PS...I don't recommend holding a camera in the other hand while snipping! That's just for this tutorial pic!)

Lay the shirt back out on a flat surface and begin cutting across the bottom of the shirt where you marked.  

I like to cut a small curve in the front, and then fold it over to match the other side.

For this shirt, I decided not re-cut the sleeves (yet), but you could cut them just after the shoulder seam to give the shirt an even more cropped-sleeve look.  I'm going to try this short little sleeve out first and see what I think. 

But that's it!  It's significantly more comfortable with this neckline, and (I think) a little more fashionable.  My husband still rolls his eyes and just sees me in a cut-up tee shirt. But that's a guy for you. :)

I have these two t-shirts that I love.  They're soft, comfortable, and have good worn (and sentimental) designs on them.  But, I never wear them for anything other than around the house because they are large men's t-shirts and look completely shapeless on me. Then I found this great tutorial on YouTube for how to make a big t-shirt a fitted shirt!  - T-Shirt Surgery: How to Make a Shirt Fit

So, while I was staying with my mom at her camper this summer (she lives & travels in an RV), I asked her to help me try it out.  So yes...we broke out the sewing machine next to the campfire.  Strange, I know, but it gave us a project to work on!

First, a before & after look at the t-shirt we did.  Oh yeah, I know you love those electric blue fingernails. :)  

So, here's how it's done. 

1. Start with a t-shirt you love that's just too big
   
   
2. Turn the shirt inside out and lay a shirt that DOES fit you on top of it, lining up the collars so that you can be sure it is centered over your large t-shirt.
   
   
3. Trace the shirt that DOES fit you onto the large t-shirt.  Turn both shirts inside out so that you don't mark on the front of the shirts.  I used a sharpie, but you'd be better off to use a washable marker, chalk or a fabric pen.  When you do the sleeves, try to make your line parallel to the top shoulder.
   
   
    
4. Next, fold the large t-shirt in half to make sure that the armpit marks line up.  Mine did match up, but if yours don't, you can just re-mark them to match.
   
   
   
   
    
5. I went ahead and pinned the front and back of the shirt together, so that it didn't slip while we were sewing.
   
   
    
6. Sew along your traced lines.  Or, in my case, have your MOM sew along the traced lines. :)
   
   
    
7. Try on your shirt (inside out) to see how it fits.  Mine was still a little big, so we sewed it up again about a 1/4" more on each side.  Then it looked like this:
   
   
    
8. If you like the fit, then you can trim off the excess fabric.
   
   
   
   
    
9. Turn the shirt right-side out and try it on.   You can leave it as is, with longer sleeves, or you can cut & hem them - which is what I decided to do.
   
    
    
10. While I was wearing the shirt, I marked with a pin the length I wanted the sleeves to be.  Then I took it off, turned it inside out again and drew a line.  Okay, two lines, because I remembered that I wanted to angle the sleeve a little bit.  Then I cut about 5/8" past the line (to allow for a hem).
    
    
    
    Try it on and make sure it looks the way you want it to look.
    
    
     
11. Fold the shirt in half and cut the other sleeve to match.
    
    
     
12. Hem both sleeves.
    
    
     
13. You're done! Try it on & love the new look - preferably with cute jeans...not gym shorts and bright blue fingernails. :) But hey...we don't all do our crafting while looking our best, right?
    
    
     

Thanks to brianagayle for the video tutorial & tips! I'll be using this technique often I think. :)

No time to make your own? I love these tees (and no sewing machine required):

Congratulations to Alexis! Her comment was randomly drawn and she wins a piece of hand stamped jewelry from Frostings in this week's giveaway!

Everyone's a winner though! Don't forget to use the discount code by May 31st to get 10% off your custom handstamped piece of jewelryl

Just use code SIGNME10 at checkout in the Frostings Etsy Shop or at checkout when ordering on the Frostings website*. This code is good through May 31st, 2011. *If ordering on the website, the 10% discount will be refunded after purchase.

Be Joyful Always Hand-Stamped Sterling Silver Necklace by Natasha Vaughn @ Frostings

Discount

Natasha has generously offered a 10% off discount for you!

Giveaway

1. Visit the Frostings web site and comment here telling me what piece is your favorite.
   (Required entry.)
2. For a second entry, become a fan of the Frostings Facebook page.
   (Leave a separate comment here to let me know you became a fan.)
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Not long ago, I saw this fabulous tutorial for how to make fabric flowers and knew they'd make great little-girl barettes. 

With a little girl birthday party coming up for a little girl with ADORABLE pig tails, it seemed like a good time to try it out. 

I raided my stash of random fabric scraps and pulled out this turquoise fabric that I used in both kids' bedrooms.  I'm a sucker for turquoise.  I bought lots of extra...

Here's how it's done (remember, not my original idea...I followed this great tutorial):

1. Cut a flower template from scrap paper and trace it onto the fabric and cut them out.  You'll need 6-8 flowers per bloom.

   
    

2. Cut a circle from the fabric to use as the base for the bloom.  Then fold each bloom into half, then again into thirds.  It helps to trim the point with scissors before then using hot glue to attach it to the circle.  Keep adding flowers around the circle with hot-glue until you have a full bloom.

   
    

3. Use hot glue to attach the bloom to a ribbon-covered hair clip. I actually bought these at Target, and they were already covered with ribbon - score!

   
    

4. To present it as a gift, I just cut a piece of coordinating patterned paper and made slits in it to add the clips:

   

Love it! I will definitely be making more of these...in fact, I made a larger version for Ayla:

Looks like maybe I should branch out to some different colors & materials though. :)

Since I made Paxton a birthday shirt this year, I didn't want Ayla to feel left out.  She picked "butterflies" as her party theme, so we took a good old Garanimals t-shirt and turned it into a butterfly party shirt with a reverse applique design and some scrap fabric (actually, I think they were hankerchiefs)!

Glad I could get this smiley picture of her.  She was in a silly face mood yesterday: