Dec 30, 2008

In retrospect

I haven't posted in a while, and that makes me sad. I've virtually been a sweatshop these past months due to the holidays. Baby blankets aside (posted in my etsy shop on the right hand side tool bar) and other knitted things, I've made blankets, jewelry, sewn and crocheted goods, scarves, and beanies galore. I'm tired, but I'm back. And, once I find my camera, you will be tuned in :)

Sep 4, 2008

Mermaid Polymer Clay Necklace

i had a polymer clay pendant that i honestly did not know what to do with. so, i gathered all of my green, ocean looking beads and came up with this:



i love the way it has a yellow duochrome shine to it!


here's a little flip flop charm i found at michael's... totally me!


& how cute is the saying on the other side? "made with heart and soul/sole!"



& for the action shot!


feel free to tell me what ya think, & thanks for stopping by!

Aug 21, 2008

K So Pregnancy Count So Far...

I have six people in my life that are pregnant right now!

my co-worker Erica - sex still unknown
my other co-worker Alysa - boy
my co-worker's sister Mandy - sex unknown
one of my best friends from high school Maggie - sex still unknown
my friend Karlie - boy
My stepmother - boy

crazy, right? well they are mostly boys, so i hope some still have girls, so i can make cute stuff!

Aug 14, 2008

Gingham Dress & Baby Tube Socks

hi guys! i made a couple of things: one for myself, and one for my friend alysa from work who is pregnant with a baby boy!

this first thing is a dress i made from fabric i found at wal-mart for $2 a yard! what do ya think? & remember it's not ironed yet!

i thought getting a sport zipper would be easier, since it's plastic instead of metal, but nooooooooo. it gets stuck a bunch (i even thought i got stuck in the dress for a second!), and it kinda made weird creases around it, but whatever, it's DONE! granted, i've never done anything larger than a tote bag, so i'm surprised as well that i can now clothe myself. :D

this second item are super cool baby tube socks! haha this kid is going to look pretty baller, i'm not gonna lie. check them out. i think next i'll make baby chuck taylor booties.


as always comments are appreciated & loved... thankya & g'night!

p.s.: robert comes in tomorrow from serbia, i'm so excited!

Aug 7, 2008

Zip-Up Sewing Bag

Yes, I've been too lazy to put my sewing machine away, soooo I decided to make more goodies for me! Plus, I had an extra zipper just lyin' around. This time I made a zip-up bag to put all of my sewing crap into-- thread, thimble, tape measure, pins,& hem ripper ( i think that's what it's called).

So here we go!

So: I took the strip of fabric.


Then: took a contrasting fabric for the lining, measured it to match my first strip, & cut it out.

Now funny story. I had to iron both pieces, cuz they were kinda wrinkly, and you want smooth fabric to get the most accurate results. BUT I COULD'T FIND MY DAMN IRON. So I improvised, and used my flat iron. LOL. it worked just as well, if not better, & i was able to get smaller corners and fold better than a conventional iron. I wouldn't make a habit out of it though, maybe it has damaging long-term effects. anywhoo...

Now: i thought i'd like a pocket inside for small things like safety pins, or sharper things like scissors. i took another fabric and folded in the edges to make seams.


Project Pocket Complete!


For some reason, i thought it would be a good idea to make an appliqué on the outside of the bag, since it looked kind of plain. Mind you: I have never done appliqués before, & honestly, this was the hardest part of the whole darn thing.


Afterwards: I turned it inside out, attached the zipper on both sides.


Now: because I just took a the two strips of fabric and folded it in half, i could now just pin the sides and sew them up!


Baggie Finished!


Yay!

Aug 5, 2008

it's been a while!

HI GUYS!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
it's been almost two weeks since i've been gone! i've been missing my other half... he's in SERBIA of all places right now, he's been gone and won't be back until august 14th. my co-workers have been so weet to me! they have been "adopting" me for a couple of days each--taking me out to distract me; i've been to the beach mostly or eating at different places, but i've been busy crafting ~ jeez that makes me sound like such a grandma!

well, i made a knitting needle roll-up. frankly, i have too many needles and they are getting out of control. so i took some fabric scraps (mostly gotten from ReproDepot Fabrics or fat quarters from Michael's) and pieced this little beauty up.

mind you, it hasn't been ironed or anything yet, so it still looks "pillowy." and i didn't use any interfacing, because i think we all know by now that cynthia is lazy., plus i didn't really think it was necessary.

unfortunately, i don't have step-by-step instructions this time, because honestly, i didn't know what was going to come out! i really did it all willy-nilly (you can definitely tell in some places), but i had so much fun making it, and love that i now have some organization! i also made a little pocket in the bottom left for my crochet hooks.




hope you enjoy & thanks for looking!

Jul 22, 2008

Gotta Love Wal-Mart

Okay, so I hate to admit it, BUT i love Wal-Mart. Mostly because I love all the cheapy makeup they have, and some is actually really good! A couple of days ago I ran out of bronzer (I don't really use blush because of my dark skin) and bought NYC's Sun2Sun Bronzing Powder, which has a darker color to use along the hollows of your cheeks (the parts that sink in when you make a fishy face) and a highlighter color to use on the apples of your cheeks (the round parts) and upwards.

I usually go for colors that are gold-based, but this was a leap of faith for me, since it is more pink based than anything else I've owned. BUT I LOVED IT! It is highly pigmented and blends extremely well! I was inspired Eva Mendes and went with a very soft, bronzy brown look. I even got dressed up for it. :p








Eyeshadow Used:
NYX Eyeshadow in Walnut Pearl on Outer Lid
Fira Eyeshadow Brown Color in Heaven Sent Palette in Crease
NYX Eyeshadow in Oro on Inner Lid
NYX Ultra Pearl in Nude Pearl on Brown Bone

Jul 16, 2008

Pin Curl Tutorial Along with Me!

I've always been jealous of Jude Rivera's pin curls. So, I've decided to see if I can imitate the look with absolutely NO knowledge on how to do such a thing. Woo!

Now granted:

  1. I've never done this before.

  2. The instructions say you are supposed to grab small sections of hair & make even rows, but I didn't because I was lazy.

  3. Other people said to dampen your hair before you curl it. I have naturally wavy hair, so I didn't think it was necessary for me to do that.

  4. It was 4am & I was bored, so if it comes out badly, you'll be the first to see!

  5. Apparently you're not supposed to use bobby pins because they crease the curl... I have thick ass ethnic hair, so I didn't think I'd have to worry about that.




& here is the finished product:

I know it looks way crazy and disheveled, but everything was pretty much secure, so off to bed I went!

The next morning:


I shook my head a little more, sprayed some shine defrissant, and shook my head some more, and GENTLY finger combed my hair.


Now it looked a little messy, so I went ahead and took each curl with my finger and sort of twirled it to re-give it its shape. I applied some liquid eyeliner, red lipstick, mascara and neutral eyeshadow to give you this:

As you can see, I parted my hair to one side, I took a bobby pin and pinned a section of hair up on the smaller side of hair. To add some flair, I took a headscarf to see how that would look:



In retrospect:
  1. I probably would have used some type of light gel or spray to fix the curls once taken out.

  2. I figured out the way to pin a curl (for myself): running one bobby pin horizontally along the top of the curl, another one parallel but along the bottom of the curl, then finally one running vertically, pinning the other two as well. This prevents the pins from falling out or opening up in the middle of the night.

  3. It didn't take that long to do at all! Maybe 15 minutes. And it lasted into the next day.

  4. Whenever I cornrow my boyfriend's hair (He's Japanese but has curly hair, weird huh!) I make him wear a pair of pantyhose I bought for him specially to keep his nice and neat. I just took the legs and tied them together a couple of times. It really kept my curls together, and made sure no pins fell out. I'd really recommend doing this! Wrapping a head scarf would probably work as well, and look less ghetto!


If you practice this at home, let me know, I'd love to see how it turns out!

Jul 9, 2008

Blue Look

Hi guys! Not much going on, although I did by my first grill today! i'm the proud owner of a stand up charcoal grill that i can now use to cook up yummy treats.
i've been trying to eat a lil healthier, so i think this is the ticket. i had a burger and omigosh it was so juicy and had that delicious chargrilled taste. now i should try grilling up some veggies, and maybe some seafood!

a few days ago my friend jen decided to give me highlights. she's a professional hairdresser, and plus it would be at no cost to me, so i gave in and she went to work. i told her i liked how jessica alba has her hair, how it looks blended but still multifaceted. in this next look i just did a basic blue to go along with my shirt. i don't think you can really see my highlight in these pictures very well, so i'll try to post some pictures where you can see them more clearly.



I pretty must just used NYX eyeshadow in Aquatic, and Wet N Wild in Buttercream, and just blended the crap out of it. usually, when i say it's a basic look, i mean that all of the action is on the lower part of my eyelid. and when it's dramatic, i do some creaswork and/or more variety of color. i have pretty small eyelids, so i like to keep the basic looks for everyday purposes so i don't look retarded, haha.



what is an eyelid primer?

basically, it's a product that is the very first thing you apply to your eyelid, to prime it, that helps keep your eyeshadow fresh and prevents the oil from your lid from destroying it. you know, that nasty creasing that you can get sometimes.
so, i thought i'd talk about the eyelid primer from benefit called lemonaid. if you've heard about it or not, you need to. i got it from ebay a couple of weeks ago, and i cannot believe what a difference it makes! before, after a serving shift, i'd have some major caking that led to me looking like a hot mess. i haven't really played around with many primers, so i can't really compare.

BUT the pros are:
*it's super easy to apply, just rub your finger in a couple circles in the product, then rub all over your eyelid area and leave for a little bit.
*it's small, a little bigger than a pot of lip gloss.
*it's got a mirror built in
*it CORRECTS COLOR! this means if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and have some haggard red puffy eyes, LemonAid is the solution. i don't get that, but i do have dark circles under my eyes, and i'll use that sometimes for a quick fix.



the only thing i must say about it (and it's not necessarily negative) is you MUST start with a clean lid. i'm way lazy, so i've been known to go to bed with faint traces of eyeliner. color transfers very easily on this little magic compact, so when i first used it, i had black swirling in with the product and almost had a heart attack. but otherwise, it's a 4 out of 4 horsehoes!

Jul 3, 2008

Purple Look

Well, the Padres game was fun, although we lost, but at least we got to take a gorgeous picture!

Good Times with Jen.


SOOOOOO a few days ago, i was doing laundry, you know, pulling the sheets out of the machine, when i double check the bottom to make sure no socks or other small items are left behind when i see

MY CAMERA

i just about flipped. i meant, what are the chances? ugh. so i had to resort back to my first camera. as in it was bought in 2001. it's lasted really long, but it pretty much looks like a silver brick. so no more videos for me :( for now at least. i was bored last night so i played around with my NYX Ultra Pearl Eyeshadows, Lilac Pearl, Baby Pink Pearl, and Purple Pearl, & this is what resulted:




Please excuse my hairy eyebrows. I don't know what wrong with me, but I can't seem to find ANY of my tweezers right now, so just try to avert your eyes the best of your ability :D

My dad called a little while ago and asked if I wanted to go to the Del Mar Fair (I guess officially it's the "San Diego Fair, wtf)!! It's gonna be lots of fun, I'll be sure to post info on that! ♥

Jun 26, 2008

Day Off!

Hi guys, hope everything is well! I have the day off, which means Jen and I are going to the Padres game today against Minnesota! Plus it's a day game, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on the sun that I've been so missing!

Well, here on CaLucky, I like to cover basic information about makeup and such, since there seems to be little to none of this material out there. So, I've decided to come up with a category known as...



This week's question is, "What is a Makeup Haul?"

Many blogs and beauty sites mention this, so I decided to go on Yahoo! for answers. There, Jordan D said, "What they've bought or otherwise "acquired" recently, maybe on ebay or through swaps as well as buying." My favorite answer was from Skyler, which was "When they go out and buy a shitload of makeup. :)"

So I hoped that answered your question! Feel free to submit any sort of question you may need answering, it's all anonymous anyway! ♥

Jun 22, 2008

I've been tagged!

Hi folks! it's a beautiful sunday afternoon (well apart from it being 102 in La Mesa!). I'm on call for work today, so hopefully i'll be having the whole day to myself. on friday, the boyf & his waterpolo friend plus gf and i went to the tigers/padres game. it was so much fun! thank goodness we won too, or else i don't think it would have been the same. well, to get down to business, i got tagged!! so here we go....

YOUVE BEEN TAGGED!

RULES:
* Post rules at the beginning of the post.
* Answer all the questions.
* Tag 6 people, and go to their blog and leave a comment to inform them that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
* Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?
i was 13, my sister was a few weeks short of being born. i was in 7th grade at St. Therese, chillin like a villain in my plaid kilt and friends i'd never forget.

What are five things on your to-do list today?
not work
play with the dogs
go bbq somewhere
stay cool
hope & pray for my stimulus check

Snacks you enjoy?
anything mexican

Places you’ve lived?
la mesa, clairemont, ocean beach, chula vista, mexico, panama, italy, and spain

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
invest
donate
buy a home & car
support myself & never have to work!

People you want to know more about?
everyone! i love learning more about all kinds of people, i find it so interesting.
----------------------------------------------

the other day my sister brought over her new puppy dorie. isn't she precious? she's almost 3 months, yet she's three times the size of my puppy.

okay folks enjoy the rest of your day & stay cool!

Jun 20, 2008

hi guys it's been a while!! father's day weekend was so hectic at work, ack. well, my bf's good friends invited us over to watch the laker game (against the celtics which we BOMBED in--we if you are rooting for LA), so went with a multicolor look.

i used:
HIP pigment in Valiant, mixed with NYX Ultra Pearl Purple Pearl for lower lid (applied wet!)
NYX eyeshadow in Atlantic for out lower lid
CoverGirl eyeshdadow in Aqua Paradise
NYX ultra Pearl in Nude Pearl
NYC mineral Eyeliner in Black

now i am aware of *proper* makeup etiquette in regards to the care of brushes. HOWEVER, lots of times i'm just in a HELLA hurry and can't help but use the top of my hand as a replacement sink. check it out:

grody huh? haha!

anyways, i love to use multicolor looks because it shows off my still new ability to blend, but also i think is kind of like coloring a picture. personally, i own a few coloring books, as well as the 100+ crayola crayon collection. i LOVE LOVE colors, and can't get enough of them. i design web layouts as well, as my major is computer science, so anyone want anything, just holler! gotta go to sleep now, but have a good night, and until tomorrow!

[EDIT:] later that night, i discovered that my puppy girl had chewed this headbeand to absolute pieces, so boo! :(

Jun 11, 2008

Sunrise Eyes



It's not a very dramatic look, PLUS this is what it looked like after 5 consecutive hours of serving. I used this little trio that CoverGirl made under the Eye Enhancers line. It has:
First Light on inner lid
Golden Sunrise on middle lid
Morning Cocoa on outer lid.
[EDIT]: OMG only until after I had posted this did I realized how haggard I looked in the video (& that my shirt was stained!). So apologies for that. ♥

Jun 9, 2008

Summer Look & Eyeshadow Display Shelves

Hi guys! Long time no write! I've been super busy working every day at Outback! I can't believe it, my it's my first day off in 13 days. Ugh. Well, this morning, it was so lovely out, I decided to wear my new Billabong dress, and of course wear matching makeup with it, & took the pups out in the yard to play while I read a book. Here's my look:




I used: NYX Ultra Peal Mania in Lime Pearl on inner eye & lash line
NYX eyeshadow in Wildfire on middle of lid and lower lash line
NYX eyeshadow in Luxor on outer lid and outer lower lash line

The colors didn't pop as much as I wanted, since I used Mac Paint tube in Tan Ray, and that's the not the kind of color that brings anything out other than browns or golds. BUT I'm still waiting for my Benefit LemonAid to come in the mail, so it will have to do!

Now, on another note, I really wanted to build something to hold my Ultra Pearl Mania tubes from NYX. So, I did!
See, I saved the cool little shipping box that I had received my latest shipment in.

I took it apart, and cut off the extra portion, so I'd only keep the boxy shape.

Now, with that extra piece that I cut off, I took the edge that looked like a triangle and cut about three and a half inches above it to create a shelf.

See how it folds naturally? Well, the triangle part is the support for the shelf. So, I took my hot glue gun and attached it to the the boxy shape I already hot glued some corners together of:

I messed up here: I realized too late that I wanted to have a second shelf, and I had already glued the first one, so I couldn't measure anything. So I took the extra piece that I was left with and tried to best guess and cut myself another triangle 3 1/2" shelf. But, since it was a straight piece of cardboard, I had to score it with a pen before I could fold it:

Then, it was off to paint!

I love the beach and all kinds of underwater stuff, so I went outside, collected some random twigs and rocks, took some of my plastic jewels, and hot glued together a little ocean action:

I also took a darker color and used a sponge to make it look textured. Finally, I sealed it all with Mod Podge Sparkle because I KNOW myself and don't want it getting wet and ruined. Here's the finished product:

Yay for creativity! Hope you enjoyed it, and I apologize if I didn't explain it all too well.

Here are some pics I took of the puppers outside!