Dying Ombre Curtains

Today I was feeling a bit crafty, so I decided to try hand-dying curtains for my daughter's playroom. I had thought this was a better route because I really wanted to have those ombre curtains after seeing them all over Pinterest.  The downside to those curtains is they can be expensive if you can find them.  JCPenny was the only website I was able to find them on and theirs started at $60 a panel.

Not bad, but not worth the money, in my opinion.  

The only problem with this project I had no idea where to start.  Of course where do I go for inspiration .... Pinterest. I found that Emily over at Better Remade had the best post about how to go about making these curtains.  Hers turned out pretty well, so I thought "Why not? How hard can it be?".

I gathered up what I needed.

And got started....

Ok, truth be told I had a feeling this was not going to work to well before I started.  The biggest thing was the dye bottle said it was not recommended for use on 100% polyester.... and what were the curtains... 100% polyester.  I figured I would still give it a try.

I did use this scale to help with the length of time to dye each section.

I didn't measure anything out.  I am not much into that unless I HAVE to do it.  The only thing I did do was clip the two panels together.  This way I knew that the dye job would be much closer then if did them separately.  

After waiting ALL that time.... (lol).....here is what I got....

Not much of anything..... I know because of it being a sheer, I wasn't expecting this deep deep color, but it took awhile for me to find the right angle and lighting to even get a picture to show you the results.

This wasn't a complete fail, but far from a complete success.  Next time, I will be much more diligent about what I am using before I start.

This is worth a Second try.

Do you take cream with your coffee?

I promise this is not a start of a trend.  But, I do think it was only logical to make my next post about the homemade creamer.

The homemade creamer was actually the first DIY that I had tried.  I kept seeing friends on Facebook keeping share pictures of the creamer.  After about a month I finally thought I needed to give this a try, since I was pretty much buying myself creamer every other a week.  I needed an alternative.

After searching a bit, I found several sites, all with different combinations depending on what flavor creamer you wanted.  No matter what flavor, they have 2-3 basic ingredients.

Milk (2cups), Sweetened Condensed milk (14oz), and Heavy Whipping Cream( 1/2 pint).

How hard is that?

Now, of course, depending on your diet needs, you can use low fat, non-fat, sugar-free, or what ever your little heart desires.  Also, the whipping cream can be left out altogether.  I use it only because I feel it adds a nice thicker creamy taste to it.    

The only other thing you need is whatever sealable container you have on hand.  I personally use my old store-bought coffee creamer jug.  If this is what you end up using,  just make sure it is the 32 oz size.

Now once you have mixed that all together, here comes the fun part..... the FLAVOR!

The options are endless!

You can have chocolate, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, mint.... let's see what else?  Well, you get the picture.  I just have one suggestion.   When using solid flavors, like chocolate syrup or cinnamon, add it to the milk first and heat it on the stove for a bit.  This will help incorporate them into the creamer better.  If you don't you may have floating things in the mix. Umm, yeah, no.  (I found this out the hard way.)  Next time I will listen to my own advice.

In the end.... This is worth the try.

Happy creating!

Coffee, Please.

I have always LOVED the smell of coffee brewing in the morning.  Which is a bit strange because I didn't grow up in a home where there was pot on every morning.  We had a coffee maker, but I could probably count on one hand how many times I remember it ever being used.  Also, truth be told I hated the taste of coffee.  No matter how much milk or sugar I put into it, it was always too strong and bitter to me.

Then a few years ago while working I made a coffee run for a few co-workers and I was introduced to Starbucks.  I found out there was more to coffee then strong and bitter.  Like many others, I would stop for my morning coffee, my hot summer day iced coffee, or just a random pick me up.  (Even as I write this I have my mug.)

Eventually, things got a bit out of hand. I knew I needed to find alternatives to my coffee consumption. Don't worry I didn't stop drinking coffee. OMG, NO!  I couldn't never do that.  But, I needed a less expensive way to feed the demon.

As you will find out if you read and follow this blog, I am a BIG Pinterest addict.  I could easily spend days looking through all those pins.... DIY, kid crafts, home projects, food, sweets...... OK focus.  I never really found anything about making hot coffee itself, which ok.  I have been able to find some very nice flavored coffees that are great.  Between the coffee and the homemade creamer (that is my next post), I am pretty happy with my hot cup of joe in the morning.  

My next challenge was being happy with Iced Coffee.  I did like probably many have done.  I would let my hot coffee cool and used that.  I never liked it.  It always had a bitter taste to it.  It took some searching, then I found something I thought might work if it did what was claimed.  I follow a website called The Yummy Life.  She posted about cold-brewing your coffee.  The claim was by cold-brewing your coffee there was less acid, which in turn made it less bitter tasting.  It sounded good to me.  So, I gave it a try.  She explains two methods to brew the coffee.  You can check it out yourself if you want.... Iced Coffee.

Here is all you need to start.......

Pretty easy, right?

Now this NOT an instant gratification.  I repeat... NOT instant.  But, if you are willing to wait the 12 hours until the first batch of coffee is brewed, I think this is definitely the way to go.  The coffee does not have that strong bitter coffee taste to it, in my opinion. And I think it looks pretty good too...

After, I made this for the first time, I made a comment on my personal Facebook.  I received a few comments that I think were very good advice.  The two main things were if you truly, truly can't wait for the first batch to brew, you could always use instant coffee.  The other one was to make some ice cubes from the coffee and use them instead of regular ice.  That way the coffee won't get watered down.  Once, I get around to buying some ice cube trays, I'll try this myself.

There in no limit on what can be done with the coffee.  The combinations are endless.  You can fit it to whatever you like..... I am even thinking of trying in a frap.  Why not?

In the end.... this one is worth the try.

Enjoy!