Sunday, January 15, 2012

Clean up is a snap!

In 2007 I purchased a new living room set from Rooms To Go. Bought into that whole microfiber suede craze. The sales man convinced me that it couldn't be punctured or stained. I figured this fabric was from the future, so I bought it. It was gorgeous. I still wonder why I chose a red love seat and cream sofa. Within a month, my cat Sally had clawed her way across the front of the couch. And over the last 5 years it's been stained, and cleaned, and stained and cleaned. Now they sold me on the whole 'use this fabric cleaner and it'll be like new'. Yah right. What they don't tell you about microfiber is that if it gets wet then this nice little dark ring dries and makes a new stain. So over the years, I've been scrubbing, steaming and soaking my cushions to get them clean. Until I joined Pinterest, that is. I've been seeing DIY cleaners for this fabric, but in reading on another blog, most people just toss the cushion covers in the washer and dryer. I figured what the heck, they're 5 years old, if my red love seat turns pink, so be it.

The following 2 are before. Most the small stains are from my heard of pets.


This is my beagle Haley keeping warm on one of Florida's colder days.

And here is after washing! Tada. There are a few spots left, but it's 98% clean. Real soft too!


I forgot to take before and after pictures for the red love seat but the results were amazing! Didn't see ANY spots on the red one.

Here's what I did:

  ~ Removed the covers.
  ~Turned inside out and zipped up almost all the way.
  ~Washed in warm water with my regular detergent and a spot of Borax.
  ~Dried on the low heat setting.
  ~Before putting the covers back on, I sprayed the cushions with my DIY fabric freshener.

So far so good. Now I know if something spills, they're easier to clean!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Just have to share

So as all (3) of my followers know, I am unemployed. I'm always looking for ways to save some money. I love shiny, sparkly eye shadow but all the cool ones seem to be expensive. The other day, I was browsing the mall with my mom and cousin for good deals. In Forever 21 by the registers, they have all these cute little products, mostly under $5. So I found this cute set of 16 colored glitter eye shadow and decided to try it. Lo and behold, it's awesome. Intense pigment and stays on! No need for primer.

Next time you're in there, check it out! I'll post more deals when I find them.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Crafting time

So the last few days I've been making some stuff. Knitting, card making and treat bags. The cards are for Valentine's Day. Here's what I've been doing,

Started off with my supplies. I find great deals at Michaels, Jo-Ann and Wal-Mart with the Studio G $1 items. The cards, wooden stamps, glitter and ink pads were all $1 items. Of course, my Cricut is very useful.


My Cricut personal and amazing Ott Light

Ta-Da! XOXO cards, for sale on Etsy here.

Hot pink Smitten cards for sale here.

Cute little simple blank Valentines cards.

Haven't finished all the treat bags, but I've also been utilizing my new Cricut cartridge that makes treat boxes! More pictures when I'm done with those later.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

I cooked! Well sort of.

So I've really been into trying to cook. I don't do it much because frankly, I don't like it. But thanks to Pillsbury.com I've gotten some awesome, super easy recipes to try. And I'm even adding my own twist to them.

So yesterday, I found this recipe. Good and simple. So I tweaked it a bit.

Rather than using Progresso soup, I used my favorite; Dinty Moore Beef Stew.

And instead of making a bread bowl, I made a sort of pot pie. Added 1 1/2 biscuits to the bottom of the bowl, then ladled the stew in. Added a biscuit on top.

Baked first for 14 minutes, and realized the biscuits weren't done. Added another 7 minutes to the timer and...

Mmmmm. It was so good and steamy. Great for a cold night. I had to dog sit for a great dane last night. So, I brought it with me and it was still hot and warm. The underside of the biscuit on top was a bit gooey, so I'd recommend a few minutes more if you want it more cooked. 

Hopefully, more tweaked recipes to follow. I'm kinda liking this modifying a recipe.