Tips & Tricks : Never Lose an Earring Backing

I'm always scrambling to find those little clear plastic earring backings that hold so well. They're definitely a nuisance to put on the back of your ear but it's worse when you drop one. I can't even count how many times I've said 'screw it' when I've dropped one on the floor. 'Guess I'm not wearing earrings today' is the only solution I can think of after that happens. So the other day when I decided to spontaneously clean out my jewelry drawer I decided to do something about it. So voilà! My tip to keep all those little earring backs together! And the best part is you get to eat chocolate. Check out the picture below to see how:

A KINDER SUPRISE EGG. No joke. It clasps closed just enough to not open accidentally and opens easily enough to get what you need in a rush! And what's even better -if this could get any better- is that it's small enough to stay in my earring drawer! Booyah. 

What I'm Trying : Oil Pulling

Oil pulling was originally brought to my attention on the Kitchen Beautician page of The Beauty Departments website. Essentially this page is for the DIY-er who wants to make their own beauty products at home. In my case I'm just poor and think beauty products are radically over charged. But in any case I visit the page regularly and was pleasantly surprised to see a new article on natural teeth whitening. 

Here's a little back story for you folks who don't already know why I'm obsessed with my teeth. When I was 'little Kendra' and teething I caught the chicken pox. This interrupted what should have been my natural teething process and turned it into years of oral-financial stress and endless Ortho/dentist appointments. My two incisors (right beside the two front teeth I believe) didn't come in naturally when the baby teeth fell out, leaving me with gaps. Ever since then I've had veneers attached to a very discreet retainer in my mouth. Anyone meeting me after this point can never tell so I'm pretty happy with the outcome. This can make whitening your teeth a challenge though because the veneers are made to match all your other teeth. 

Here's where the oil pulling comes in handy. Although I receive endless groupons for teeth whitening treatments and see about a half dozen 'New client whitening' ads everyday I still don't feel comfortable chemically forcing my teeth to change colour. I tried a formula last month using Hydrogen Peroxide, water, baking soda, and toothpaste (containing fluoride) but the results just didn't do it for me. So we shall see if the oil pulling technique can walk the walk. 

Here's the website with the steps I followed: 

http://thebeautydepartment.com/2014/03/kitchen-beautician-8/

And here's what I did: 

Step 1: Get coconut oil. Seriously it has almost endless uses and I bought a huge can of it at Wal Mart for $2. You can use to get make up off, as a moisturizer, cooking, hair treatment, etc... It's pretty amazing stuff. 

Step 2: Grab a teaspoon and scoop out a fair share amount of the coconut oil. Because the coconut oil is solid I heated up a mini dish in hot water and let the oil melt into the dish. 

Step 3: Let the coconut oil melt and use the spoon to mash it up. Basically until it's at a liquid consistency. 

Step 4: Ok. Put it in your mouth. It's gross in the beginning but I tell you after 1 minute your own natural saliva kicks in and you don't even notice what's going on. Swish for 20 minutes. 

20 MINUTES. 

Step 5: Spit into a garbage. This is important because coconut oil will cool and harden in your pipes.

Step 6: Rinse your mouth with water and spit into the garbage. 

Step 7: Brush your teeth as normal and don't forget to floss!

Canvas Maps

 

       

 

These I made on a hot afternoon a couple of years ago after initially finding out I'd be graduating soon.  With the inevitable end of my 'Ottawa social life' and the impending doom of moving back home with my parents I realized I wanted something to symbolize all my experiences. While I have lots of little knick-knacks such as ticket stubs and .... Well it's mostly ticket stubs (and Facebook photos) I wanted something a little more general and all-inclusive. 

 

I'm not sure where I got the idea of the canvas maps but the project was very easy and I'm proud to say of how happy I am of how they turned out. Here's the directions below: 

What you need: 

- 3 blank canvases (found at Dollarama) 

- a general road map of Ottawa (Staples or Wal Mart) 

- white liquid glue (not glue sticks) I bought a 3 pack from Dollarama

- water (check your kitchen) 

- whisk 

- mixing bowl 

- paper towel 

- scissors 

- painting brush (basic from Dollarama)

- pencil and ruler 

What you need to do: 

Step 1: Choose the three sections you want and trace the canvas on top with a pencil. Do this lightly so the pencil markings won't show up on your finished product. Make sure you put paper towel down around you so as to not get glue on the floor. 

Step 2: Take your ruler and measure 1/2 inch (depending on the thickness of the canvas) around your outlined area. This will allow you to wrap your sections around the canvas so the sides aren't bare. 

Step 3: Cut out each section and place them over each canvas to make sure they fit and placed properly. Now take each section and crumple them up like a bad draft of an essay. This creates the 3D look. 

Step 4: Create your glue paste with a 1:1 ratio of glue and water. So for every amount of glue there needs to be the same amount for water. Example: 1/2 cup of glue = 1/2 cup of water. Mix with the  whisk until completely mixed with no clumps.

Step 5: Position your canvases with your mapped out sections.  Now take the paintbrush and slather your 1:1 glue ratio onto the canvas. Really the more the better. Now quickly take the map and place it on top in all its crunchy glory. Take more glue ratio and slather some more on top of the map for a shiny effect and extra hold. So basically it's the hairspray of your project.  

Step 6: Repeat step 5 for the rest of the canvases. Make sure you glue down the sides of the canvas as we'll so the entire canvas is covered. Allow to dry. 

To hang: Initially I used thumbtacks to hang my canvasses because it allowed me the freedom to easily move them wherever I wanted. But when I moved home I used 3M's with the Velcro (Home Depot) so as to not damage the walls. Their final placement is one inch apart roughly. Voila! Beautiful canvas maps to represent the city I'll never forget.