Fireworks and Blueberries

 

A few snapshots from our 4th of July.  We visited some friends, ate delicious food and picked pounds and pounds of giant blueberries.

Hope you had a good 4th, even though I'm a week late!

Niki

Introducing Chasing Rainbows!

Hello friends!  I am so excited to show you what I've been up to lately.  I've been moving towards getting my new Etsy store up and running.  So now, I proudly present (would it be too much to ask for a drumroll?):

 

Chasing Rainbows!

 

 

 

Currently, I have hobo bags, lunch bags and baby bibs for sale in my shop, but I have lots of other ideas floating around in my head that may show up soon.  All items have been handmade by yours truly.  I'd be so honored if you would go take a peek and tell me what you think!

Niki

I'm Going on an Adventure!

On Tuesday morning I will be on a plane.  So...you won't see me around this blog for a couple weeks.  However, when I get back, I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures.  Lots of pictures.  Of Europe!  I'm so excited!!!  Aaaaahhhhh!!!! 

Bye for now.  I'll see you when I return.  And now, I must go finish packing!

Niki

Green and Clean

Let's talk about hair care.  More specifically, let's talk about shampoo or the lack thereof.  I have a confession to make.  I haven't used shampoo in a few weeks.  And no, that's not why I was wearing a hat in my last outfit post.  ;)  My hair is just as clean as any normal person's and here's why.  Baking soda and vinegar.  That's right folks, just like that volcano you made in your first science class.  Except without the exploding fizz. 

 

I first heard about this from the same place I come across most great ideas: Pinterest.  A link took me to a very interesting article about "No-Pooing" which just means washing your hair without shampoo.  I was intrigued.  More research lead me to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to give it a try, especially since it boasted frizz-reducing qualities.  I decided to take pictures of the before and after of my hair for "scientific documentation."  Mostly because I thought you might be curious if this actually works. 

 

I'm showing off my greasy hair for the world to see.  This is what blogging does to you...

 

 

These are the before pictures.  Not as bad as it looked in real life.  This was the 3rd day after I had washed my hair with shampoo.  I usually wash it every other day.

 

Now let's talk about how you actually clean your hair with volcano ingredients.  The baking soda washes  your hair.  Mix 1 Tbsp with 1 cup of water and pour this over your head at the scalp.  Scrub with your fingers.  You won't get any lather, but it does feel kind of slippery.  Don't scrub down the length of your hair, just at the scalp where it gets greasy.  You can let it set for a minute, or rinse it out right away.

 

The vinegar acts as conditioner, smoothing the hair.  Again, mix 1 Tbsp in a cup of water.  Pour this over your hair from the base of your head down.  Don't pour this part over your scalp, unless you have really dry hair.  What I've been doing is dipping the tips of my hair in the vinegar solution for a little while, then letting that sit for a while.  Then I dump the rest of the vinegar water over my head, because my hair needs the extra conditioning.  I let it sit for a couple seconds, then rinse.

 

And yes, it does work.

 

Here's the after pictures.

 

 

All clean!  Puffy, but clean.  And surprisingly, your hair doesn't hold the vinegar smell.  You may be able to detect it while it's wet, but once it's dry, the smell is gone. 

 

So far, this process has worked just like regular shampoo and conditioner for me.  No noticeable difference in frizz or grease level.  I'm trying to go further in between washes and let my scalp get used to not having to produce as much oil.  I think it's working.  I'll keep you posted.

 

Are you intrigued by this method?  I was!  I couldn't believe I actually wanted to try it.  It seems so crunchy and green.  But hey, baking soda and vinegar are cheap, they don't contain artificial ingredients, and they work, so why not?  Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

 

Niki

M.I.A.

Dear lovely friends and followers,

I regret to inform you that this blog will most likely not be updated until after Christmas.  I hate to have to abandon blogging for that long, but I'm just too busy this month to come up with any decent posts.  Christmas is rushing towards us faster and faster, and I had this idea that I would make all of my Christmas gifts.  Maybe that wasn't a good idea, because I have quite a large immediate family.  I'm also working around 40 hours a week for the first time in my life, and adjusting to that is hard.  I come home tired, and then have to remind myself to work on all those Christmas presents.  Needless to say, I'm starting to feel a little stressed out, which is horrible, because normally Christmas is my favorite time of year.  And unfortunately, I just don't have any spare time for blogging these days.  I really, really wish I did, because I have all these projects I want to make and share with you, but I don't even have time for making things except Christmas presents, and then I don't have time to post them.  My creativity is feeling a little stifled.  Not good when you're a person who really, really needs to do creative things frequently.  So anyway, sorry for the rant, and sorry that I will be absent for a while.  I will return as soon as possible. 

Enjoy the holiday season!
Niki

The Earth is a Sphere, and I Haven't Fallen Off...

Just a quick post to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  I'm just really behind on sewing projects, ect.  I've had a lot of hours at work, and then when I get home, I just want to sit down and read a book or something.  So nothing's really been getting done...But I shall try to post something of substance soon!  In order for that to happen, I first need to get off the computer and actually do something worth posting.  Bye for now!

Niki

Operation Christmas Child

Are you familiar with Operation Christmas Child?  If not, let me tell you about it.  It's a wonderful organization that works to send shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts to impoverished children around the world.  These boxes are typically filled with things like toothbrushes, socks, candy, small toys, soap, pencils, ect.  While it may not seem like much to us, it means the world to the kids who recieve them.  I've read stories of how the specific needs or wants of a specific child have been met by one of these boxes.  And not only to the kids recieve a box full of much-needed items, but they also recieve the Gospel message, the greatest gift of all. 

Personally, I've packed a few of these gift boxes in my life, working with my youth group to send out a bunch of shoe boxes.  (One of the girls wrote a letter to put in her box, and recieved a reply back from the child who recieved it!)  It was a lot of fun working together to bless children with Christmas gifts.  Well, I can't go to my high school youth group anymore, but I still want to participate this year.  So I'll be going out and buying gifts to fill a box or two this next week.  And I had an idea!  I decided that I am going to handmake some of the things that I will fill my box with.  It's always special to recieve something that's been made just for you, so I want to do that for the child who will get my shoebox.



Warm hats (crochet pattern here) are pretty much always a good gift.  They're easy to crochet (or knit, if you knit) and can be customized for a girl or a boy of any age.



These fabric hair bows are adorable for little girls.  And big girls too!  They're super fast and easy.  I actually made a few of these this afternoon, but my method was a tiny bit different.  I may have a post for you about it sometime soon once I perfect my technique.  :)



I may even whip up a quick skirt or two. 

I hope I've inspired you to make a shoebox of your own.  Even if you only fill it with store-bought items, some child somewhere will appreciate it more than you know.  There are drop off locations all over the country that are open between the 12th and 19th of this month to collect the boxes.  Please visit the Operation Christmas Child Website for more information about filling your boxes, drop off locations and more.  Send Christmas to a child this year.  You'll be glad you did.   :)

Niki

P.S. I'm not affiliated with Operation Christmas Child, and am not being paid in any way.  This is purely me sharing something with you that's been on my heart.

Do you Amigurumi?

So.....I went to the library today.  And that meant some time spent in the aisle with the craft books.  And while I was standing there, I decided I wanted to learn to crochet.  I've done a little crocheting before, but I needed a refresher.  So I got some crocheting books to learn the basics.  I also got this book.

 

 

I've been seeing these cute little crocheted animals all over the place.  Etsy has tons of them, and I've seen them on Pinterest as well.  They're so fun and impractical and cute!  So yes, I'm learning how to crochet so I can make little animals.  I watched a great tutorial here, and learned how to make a basic ball shape.  I'm kinda excited about how easy it was.  I think I'll try to tackle my first real pattern tonight.  You may be seeing some amigurumi critters around here soon.  :)

 

 

Have you ever tried making amigurumi?

 

Niki

Dressed up for Sunday Meetin'

I felt a little old-fashioned when I dressed for church today.  I don't know why.  Maybe because my skirt is long and floral.  Maybe because not many people actually dress up for church anymore.  Maybe it was the key, watch and cameo on my necklace(s).  Who knows?  But I'm okay with it.  I've always liked old-fashioned things anyway.  Sometimes, I wish everyone still dressed up on Sunday's, hats and all.  It would be fun to have more excuses to wear pretty dresses and skirts without wondering if you look too fancy.  Not that I think this outfit was too fancy.  I'm just rambling. :)

A close-up of the pattern on my skirt.  I like the mini dots amongst the flowers. 

Do you still dress up for church every week?  And by "dress up" I guess I mean wearing a skirt or dress, or just trying to look nicer in general.  :)

Niki

Skirt: refashion.  T-shirt: Old Navy.  Cardigan: Old Navy.  Flats: thrifted.  Necklaces from various sources.

October Verse a Day Challenge

So apparently, October is the month to challenge yourself to do 31 days of something.  I've seen stuff on a couple different blogs, but I love this particular challenge because it actually seems do-able and is a great thing to focus on everyday.  And no, I'm not taking a picture every day, although I actually might now I think about it...Anyway, I'm going to come up with a verse that goes along with the "Photo A Day" list.  I got this idea from Helen at the Blue Eyed Beauty Blog, who got it from someone else. 

Today's theme was "Where you stood."  Well, that's kinda obscure, but a verse did come to mind right away.  I thought of the verse that talks about how the Lord knows when we sit and when we rise, when we go out and when we are at home.  I looked it up and I love this translation of it.

"You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do." Psalm 139:2 (NLT)

Do you want to take the verse a day challenge too?  I'd love it if you'd join me!

Niki

My Saturday Off

Busy.  I've been busy.  To busy to work on sewing projects or outfit posts.  I've worked every day this week.  Thursday and Friday were 8 hour shifts and I came home too tired to put any effort into a blog post.  I've also been weirdly emotional or something this week.  Maybe I've just been tired. 

I had every intention of sewing on one of my many projects tonight, but my sister roped me in to help her make a gift for our little sister's b-day in two weeks.  It was a sweet idea, but she was up late last night, so her patience level was short.  Her little bunny turned out cute, though.  We were inspired by this post, but added some details of our own.  I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow maybe. 

Today was a fun day though, and it was my day off.  We went to Philip Foster Farm this morning, and I took a bunch of pictures, so maybe some of those will be posted tomorrow as well.  For you non-Oregonians, Philip Foster Farm is a historical site of the house of someone who came here on the Oregon Trail.  There's hands-on stuff you can do and it's fun. 

Then a friend of mine hosted a girl's bible study/hang out thing this afternoon.  I hadn't spent time with friends in a couple weeks, and I almost forgot how much I like them.  We talked about women of the Bible, which was awesome too.  I definitely noticed some good stuff in the passages about Mary and Martha.  It was some much needed Bible and social time. 

Well, time for bed.  Hope you all are having a good weekend so far.  :)

Niki

The Quest for the Terrarium

 

I keep seeing pictures of cute terrariums and mini gardens.  I wanted one.  So I decided to try my hand at it.  It was an adventure.  First of all, I needed a jar or bowl, so I found one in my sister's fort (she said I could use it) that was full of rotting vegetation of some sort.  I cleaned it out and put some pepples and dirt in it.  Then I needed to find my plants.

 

 

But I got sidetracked taking pretty pictures. 

 

 

 

And making new friends.

 

 

And walking through and taking pictures of spider webs all aglow in the afternoon sun.

 

 

I found some moss and a little sprig of something to plant in my jar.   I gave it a little water and brought it inside.

 

 

Then I searched the house for little things to inhabit my terrarium.  I found a little bunny and Piglet.  Perfect.  And a bottle cap for good measure, just cuz I love bottle caps.  One of my weird obsessions.

 

 

Now my mini garden lives on my bedside table.  We'll see if it thrives or dies.  But making it was sure a fun use of an afternoon.  Because in my heart, I will always be a country girl who loves traipsing around in nature with only her imagination for a companion, discovering beautiful things that her Creator has made.  And having a little piece of the beautiful indoors by my bed sounds lovely too.  :)

 

Niki

 

P.S. Sorry for waxing poetic/nostalgic/sappy at the end there.  ;)