DIY No Sew Fabric-Lined Basket

I have a love for baskets!  Baskets can be incorporated into the decor of any room and help with organization by providing a space where like items can be collected. I decided to take on a DIY basket-making project that was both budget-friendly and customizable to your own taste and this is what I came up with:

The best part about this project was that it cost me less than $5 to make and sewing isn't required!

Supplies Needed:

1. Cardboard Box
2. Hot Glue Gun and Glue sticks
3. Staple Gun (Optional)
4. Jute, rope, or any material of your choice
5. Fabric 

The fabric was 30% off at Hobby Lobby and I used my 40% off coupon for the jute.

First, I started by cutting the top flaps off my cardboard box and trimming about 2 inches off the height of my box.

I attached the long flaps that I cut off the box to the bottom so that the base of the box would be a little more stable.

I started measuring the sides of the box and cutting my fabric so that there was enough length to cover the base of the box and the sides.  I also made sure to add extra length to my measurements so that there was enough fabric to cover about 2 inches of the outside of the box.

Truthfully, accurate measuring isn't necessary.  You can hold your fabric up to the box and trim the fabric accordingly.  I also folded over the edges of my fabric and attached the edges using my hot glue gun so that the fabric looked more finished and "hemmed" like so:

I attached the fabric to my cardboard box with my glue gun, but you can also use a staple gun if you choose to.  After attaching fabric to 3 sides of the box, the inside looked like this:

There was no method to my madness, I just made sure that the actual cardboard was no longer showing and my edges looked finished.

Next, I attached the jute to my cardboard box using my glue gun.  I just worked the jute around my box row by row from the bottom to top until I finished.  

I made sure to keep going until the jute was under the fabric and the cardboard was hidden.  That's all!  This is a simple and easy DIY project that you can customize with your own fabric.  The options are endless!   You can continue the jute onto the inside of the box instead of lining it with fabric.  Another DIY project, maybe? Muahahaha!  Ever since completing this project, I've been looking around my house for reasons to make more baskets.

I hope you try it and let me know if you have any questions!

How to Clean Makeup Brushes

I cleaned some of my makeup brushes today and decided to share my method.  It only takes 3 or 4 easy steps and 1 kitchen tool for me to get my makeup brushes clean.

About 2 years ago, I looked up "how to clean makeup brushes" on Youtube and came across tutorials that used this oven mitt-looking cleaning tool.  I was definitely interested in purchasing the glove...until I saw the price.  It was and still is $35! For an oven mitt with bumps and grooves in it?  Granted, the Youtube beauty gurus made the oven mitt look magical, but $35?  Really?  So I went on the hunt at HomeGoods and got my silicone oven mitt with little bumps on it for $4.95.  Woot Woot! 

Supplies: 

1. Olive Oil or Jojoba Oil
2. Oven Mitt (Not required, you just might have to work a little harder to get between the bristles)
3. Castile Soap, Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent, or Baby Shampoo
4. 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Optional, but highly recommended)

Steps:

1. I dip my brush into the olive oil or jojoba oil and work the oil into my brush with the oven mitt to try to remove as much makeup as I can.  I only use a teeny-tiny amount of oil.  I use olive oil and jojoba oil because I have used them on my face before and I know my skin doesn't react to either oil.  If you have reactions to either oil or are allergic I would recommend skipping this step.
   
2. I rinse as much of the oil off as I can, then I pour a tiny amount of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap onto the mitt and work my brush into the soap to create an great lather.  I've also used baby shampoo and Dawn Liquid Soap, but I only had castile soap on hand today.
3. Next, I swirl the bristles of my brush on a CLEAN towel to dry it as much as possible.  
4. This step is optional, but I highly recommend it.  To disinfect and help the bristles dry a little more quickly, I dip my clean brushes into a cup filled with Isopropyl Alcohol and swirl the brush on a clean towel to remove any residual oil or residue.
5. Lastly, I re-shape my brushes and lay them flat to allow them to dry.  They usually dry within a few hours and are ready to use by the next morning.

You can find numerous tutorials and videos online on how to clean makeup brushes, but this is the method that has worked the best for me the last few years.  Washing makeup brushes not only helps keep your skin clear but it helps your eyeshadow, blush, and powders apply more evenly and the colors are less muddy compared to makeup applied with dirty brushes.

I know everyone has their preferred method so let me know how you clean your makeup brushes.   Also, if you purchased the Sigma glove let me know how well it works for you.  I'm really curious!

The Best Drugstore Pencil Eyeliner

I have to share my latest makeup discovery with everyone! It’s the L’Oreal Silkissime eyeliners.  They are the closest thing I have found to Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils for drugstore prices.  For reals. No joke. I’m serious.

The L’Oreal Silkissime eyeliners are smooth and apply easily onto my eyelids.  I don’t have to use a lot of pressure and I don’t feel like I’m scraping my eyelids off when I use them in the morning.  But the best part about these eyeliners is their lasting power!  I normally apply my makeup around 9 or 10 a.m. every morning and I don’t take my makeup off until bedtime, which is around 1 or 2 a.m..  So we’re talking more than 12 hours of wear.  Of course, I have to be realistic and let you know that at the end of the day my eyeliner doesn’t look exactly like it did right after I put it on in the morning, but its still there and the line is still dark and defined.

Just apply, let it sit for a few seconds, curl your lashes, and you’re good to go.  I have the Silkissime eyeliners in black, plum, and highlighter.  The colors are pretty much self explanatory with highlighter being a champagney-pink color that’s perfect for the waterline or the inner-corner of your eye.  The plum color is a basic purple color, but I do wish that it were a richer, more royal purple rather than the basic purple that it is.  The black is a black-black, not a gray-black or a light-black, which is perfect! I believe the fourth color available is charcoal, but I chose not to purchase that color.

I got my eyeliners at Target for $7.99 each, which is a lot less than the $20 price tag of Urban Decay’s Glide-On Eye Pencils.  Don’t get me wrong, I still think Urban Decay Glide-On Pencils are some of the best on the market and the color selection for their eyeliners comes second to none.  However, if you’re on a budget and you need basic eyeliner colors then I recommend these Silkissime eyeliners!  You have to try these out!

Office Window Update

My office organizing and unpacking escapades are going as planned and I'm having a lot of fun along the way.  I wanted to take a moment to share the changes I've made to my office window.

This is what my window looked like for 4 months.  Installing blinds on this window was never a top priority for me, but the sheer sheet gave me a false sense of security.  I felt like the window was covered, but the covering was so sheer I knew that if someone stood outside they could see everything (especially if it was dark out and the room was lit up).  To fix this problem I installed Home Decorators Collection 2' Faux Wood Blinds from Home Depot.

Better right?  These blinds came with great instructions so the installation process was a breeze.  I also love that the manufacturers included plastic clip-on valences that help hide the hardware.  I know "plastic clip-on" valences sounds really cheap, but they actually look really nice.  They are a very sturdy plastic and don't look flimsy or cheap at all.  In fact, the blinds are such a great value for the price I want to replace all the blinds in my house with these!

Now that my office window is looking a lot less dingy and I have a lot more privacy, I want to add some curtains for a little pizzazz ya' know?  These are some options I'm considering:

1/2/3

All the options are bright and colorful with fun patterns!  Aren't they awesome?  They're all really affordable too.

I can't wait to show you which curtains I end up choosing and what my entire office looks like after I'm finally done.

How to Remove an Old Door Knob

The first things I changed when I moved into my home were nearly all the door knobs.  I changed the exterior door knobs for safety reasons and the interior knobs for aesthetics.  Googling "how to remove an old door knob" gave me a lot of results, but I never found a "how to" on the specific knobs that I had in my home.  They aren't similar to the new ones I've installed because my old knobs don't have any exposed screws.  So where was I supposed to start?

I read multiple articles and posts about removing old door knobs and the ideas were essentially the same.  Slowly take away the parts that cover the screws and remove as many pieces of the knob as you can until you are done.  So, after combining different steps from different posts, this is what I did to remove all of my knobs.

First, I used a utility knife to cut around the knob so that i could cut away at the paint that was holding the knob cover (?) to the door.

I also used my flathead screwdriver to chip away at the thick layer of paint, but I really don't recommend doing that because you can scratch or create deep dents in your door if you aren't careful.

Then, looking at my door knob from a side view I was able to see a little tab that stood out at the neck of the knob.  I used my flathead screwdriver and pushed in on the tab while using my other hand to pull the knob straight out.  I don't have a picture of myself doing this because I only have two hands {boo Wendy, boo!}, but this picture gives you an idea:

Afterwards, I was left with this:

At this point, the knob cover (i'm sorry I don't know the technical term) is still on.  To remove the knob cover, I used a small flathead to depress the little loop that was sticking out while wedging another flathead between the cover and the door.  I worked my way around the entire cover until it literally popped off.

Finally, the screws were exposed!  Yay!

I unscrewed the screws and removed any pieces I could.  I had to use a little muscle to push the knob out through the other side.  

Lastly, you're supposed to unscrew the lock from the sides, but I did this first, which is why the knobs are still attached in this picture:

The lock popped right out with a little wiggling and I was left with this:

Those scratches around the hole are from the utility knife and screwdriver I used to loosen the knob from the door.  Nothing a little sandpaper and paint can't cover!

Replacing door knobs is a easy and quick way to update an old home.  If you have knobs like mine, I hope this post helped.  Installing new door knobs is actually a lot easier because of the detailed instructions manufacturers include in their lock sets.  Let me know if you have any questions!