TIPS FOR GOING BLONDE

Recently, I decided to dye my hair blonde.  I have always dreamed of having long luscious silver locks.  The thought of being a seventy year old with long white hair delights me to the core.  Due to time and money constraints, I must admit that I am a box-job dyer.  I love the ease of going to the store and picking out a colour.  There are also those times when I get in a mama rut and the thought of changing up my look inspires me to make more positive changes in my life.  

With that being said, here is my little tutorial for going blonde at home from dyed dark brown.  Firstly, remember PATIENCE.  You will be removing colour from your hair.  In my case, I was removing all of the colour plus hoping to strip the natural colour as well.  This presents many problems if using a box bleach.  The hair is already damaged from colour dye.  Bleaching is very harsh.  The box dye also doesn't contain the bleach volume that is needed to whiten your hair in one go.  This essentially means you must strip the hair several times before achieving the look you want.  My natural colour also has reddish and brown undertones.  Achieving a silver, white look is nearly impossible (or so I've been told).

Knowing all these things...let's begin

Choose your hair bleach.  It has been suggested to me that you use the same brand.  This could be because the formulas they use to produce the product is created and tested in the same lab.  I chose Feria by L'Oreal (Note:  this is not a vegan product by any means.  There may be vegan bleaches, I just don't know of any.  So please, if you do know some, pass along the names.)

Prep your hair.  Do not wash your hair for a week or longer.  This is not a problem for me as I rarely add soap to my hair.  I'm a non-pooer really.  Allow the oils in your hair to naturally produce themselves.  Some friends have suggested melting coconut oil, allowing it to cool and then placing it on the hair, generously.  I skipped this step.

Leave your roots last.  I cannot emphasize this enough.  When I did my first bleach, I didn't read the box and did all of my hair.  It left me looking like a skunk.  The roots were bleach white and the rest of my hair an orange.  I had to wear a hat for 3 weeks.  

Saturate the hair with bleach.  I started from my roots down.  The tips are split and damaged from wear and dyeing.  Once saturated leave on for a generous amount of time.  Check OFTEN!  I looked every 5 minutes. Do not leave on longer than 40 minutes.  This is a process and you will do it again.  You will not get the desired result immediately so please do not fry your hair and end up with no hair.  YIKES!!!

Once at the desired lightness, WASH EVERYTHING OUT IMMEDIATELY AND THOROUGHLY.  After one of my bleaching treatments I woke up to find myself at three in the morning with the most dry, dead hair.  I forgot to get it all.  I raced downstairs to the sink and just worked at it until it was gone.

Condition and Toner.  A must!  Don't skip.

Wait 4-8 weeks between treatments, cutting the ends each time.  This entire process took me over two months.  In between bleaches I did not wash my hair at all, avoided heat and conditioned with a macadamia nut oil.  Coconut oil is the best!!!

And voila!!!

Stay tuned for my next hair post about adding vibrant colour!  If you want it you must achieve this look first or even blonder!  Hope it helped and please if you have any tips or vegan sources, I'm all ears.  Comment below.

NEW YEAR EXCITEMENT

{ 1 / dancing girl / 2 / confetti poppers  / 3 /  star backdrop / 4 /  cheers banner 

/ 5 / gold fringe hats / 6 / wish banner }

Christmas has yet to arrive and my holiday gift making and food preparations are far from begun, but we are very excited for New Years this year.  We plan on making it a real family bash and the babes are getting really excited.  This photos have inspired me to make an epic party for the littles.  Should be fun.

I foresee getting dressed up, eating delicious homemade hors d'oeuvres, painting our nails and DIYing.  It will be an evening in and we may all fall asleep by 9 but it will be cozy.

What are your New Years plans?  Any suggestions for rocking it for 4 babes and a tired Mama and Papa?

DIY: COLLABORATIVE ART PROJECT GIFT

Birthdays are special but they do not have to be overdone.  Little gestures and handmade gifts go a long way and especially when trying to figure out something for the grandma who has everything or really just wants a gift from her special grand kids.

For grandma's birthday this year, we decided to work on something together to present to her.  I racked my brain for a bit and came up with this:  a collaborative family portrait.  It is very simple.  For our particular portrait we decided to use a drawn picture of our house as a focal point.  You could choose any place you like.  The more familiar and familial the better.  We each took turns drawing our selves.  Vye has very little drawing abilities so I drew her.  But I could have incorporated her using a hand print or thumb print.  The eldest babes took turns writing the letters of Grandma's name and message and embellishing the pictures of themselves.  I completed the project with watercolors and a frame.

There are a multitude of mixed media you could use:  real pictures, collage, fabric, crayons, paint, markers, a piece of wood.

Our goal is to make a family portrait each year and to collaborate together to see how our artistic talents evolve as a family.

(Thinking back I should have put a year on it!)  All in all, grandma was super ecstatic.

DO SOMETHING: DIY FAMILY MEMENTO BOX

To start off my do something project I decided that as a family we were going to get together and decorate a box to fill with 2014 mementos and that it would also house a list of the things we would like to accomplish as a family.

You will need:

- any box with a lid (my sister gifted me some body shop items in a cute little box so I just used that)

- glue

- art supplies

- adornments

- scissors

I suggest setting out all the supplies pre-crafting.  We find it helpful for the babes just so that we can control the mess.  

Getting work is fun.  We decided to collaborate but you may want to choose spaces, particular themes, a word that you want to emulate (togetherness, love, learning, kindness).

After everything is put on work on the list of to dos.  This could be as lengthy as you like or as short, the idea is to work together.  The babes did specific goals and we decided on specific activities that come to mind:

-family volunteering

-get records for each of us

-camping overnight

-osheaga music festival

 I hope everyone is having an amazing new year this far and stay tuned for more somethings.

 

DIY: Make Your Own Saddle Shoes

Inspired by a post from a Beautiful Mess (no relation to this little blog unfortunately) I decided today to paint a cheap pair of saddle shoes that I've been itching to redecorate for some time.  The tutorial is quite simple:  Simply apply 2-3 coats of an acrylic paint to the desired part of the shoe.  I think I may use a sealant to complete the project and longevity of wear.  Hope you enjoy and hope you see these on my toes very soon!

 (source of photos found here)

How to: Cleaning 1 Hour Before Company Arrives

My home is my office, my sanctuary, and the place where I nurture and teach my children.  Hence, when it is in shambles, my brain is often in shambles and the Babes let the chaos penetrate their little souls.  It is good for no one.  I actively embrace company visiting, although if said mess has reared its ugly head, I start to get really anxious from the embarrassment.  So I have devised this little list of to-dos in an hour to get ready for company.

Start with this Simple Recipe to whip up and cook while doing the rest.  Everyone loves the smell of baking bread in the oven, so why not distract them with this banana bread recipe that is sure to please.  It literally takes 5 minutes to prep.

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

3 Mega Ripe Bananas

1/2 cup sugar

4 tbsp of flax meal and 2 tbsp milk

1/3 cup light tasting olive oil

1tsp vanilla 

2 cups flour

1tsp bkg soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of chocolate chips

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.

2.  In a large bowl, blend the bananas, sugar, flax, milk and oil with a hand blender.

3.  All dry ingredients then the chocolate chips.

4.  Pour the batter in a buttered / oiled loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.

YUMMY!

Clean only those things that will be visible and that company will congregate in and Prioritize those cleaning spots.  

The Bathroom:

Simply clean the mirror, close the shower curtain, scrub the toilet, make sure the potty is clean in case younger friends are coming over, and the sink.

The living room: 

Just make it cozy.  Lightly dust surfaces, vaccuum.  Easy way to get rid of laundry is to throw it in the dryer.

The Kitchen:

Run some dishes.  Clear the counters.  Wipe down.  Spot clean the floor.

The Kids Room:

They are supposed to be messy so carry on.  Just pick up their clothes and throw it in a pile.

Your Bedroom:

Just make the bed and throw your clothes in the closet.  

Done and Done and Remember:

YOU ARE ACTUALLY THE ONLY ONE WHO PROBABLY CARES ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOUR HOME IS A MESS.  YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY LOVE YOU AND HAVING AN IMMACULATE HOME DOESN'T MATTER.  SO EMBRACE THE MESS!

xoxox

The Mama

(image source)

Hallow's Eve Plans

The Babes and I have been working hard to bring together a truly haunting Hallow's Eve.  Our lesson books are full of pumpkin stickers and the house covered with the macabre.  We spent the better part of a morning cutting cardstock bats via Dana Made It.

This Mama plans to complete several of her tutorials (as pictured below - all sourced images from the above link):

Halloween also happens to be the 2nd year Wedding Anniversary for the Papa and I.  I have been searching for some interesting vegan dinner ideas for such an occasion.

These lovely vegan ladies have some recipes I am dying (hehehe) to try:

Mama et de bebe Hawk and her Butternut Squash Spiced Doughnuts
Fork & Beans is dishing up a Halloween themed Vegan Mofo!  Frightfully delicious.

xoxo  The Mama

WHAT THE MAMA WORE WEDNESDAYS

A little late I know but my camera was on the fritz and after putting a chopping knife to it, it works again. Last night I completed darning some wool socks.  The socks were really special because they were a Christmas gift, the year the Eldest Babe was born, from a receptionist the Papa knew.  She knit us all these amazing wool socks.

I had worn out the heels from loving them so much so I decided to needle felt these lovely hearts on the bottom.  It is really cute when I walk with them on because you get cute little glimpses of the love.

xoxox

The Mama