How to clean car leather

This is probably an odd post for a my blog, but that's okay.  You'll thank me later.  

We recently bought a new-to-us van.  Seeing as I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and our current car already had three car seats sandwiched in the back seat, we were in need of a van.  We found an '05 Odyssey that was great and what we could afford.  The only thing I wasn't in love with was that the seats were pretty dirty.  But we bought it cause it was very well maintained mechanically and the people we got it from were super nice.
So what to do about the dirty leather.  I started by doing some research.  Aside from specifically made car-care products, the suggestion that popped up over and over again on car/van forums was Woolite.  Plain old Woolite.  Huh?  Figured it was worth a try.  And it worked.  Pretty darn well, I'd say.
Here's what I used:  Woolite, I picked up a bottle at Target for $8.  Mix that with some water at a 1-10 ratio, ie. 1 C. Woolite to 10 C. water.   Old toothbrush, old baby brush, and some microfiber towels.
Vacuum out as much of the gunk in the seams as you can.  Spray some Woolite mix on the seats let it sit for a few minutes.  Then get to scrubbing with the baby brush or the toothbrush depending on what area you're cleaning.  Wipe off with a dry microfiber towel.  If more work needs to be down, repeat the process.  After I was finished I wiped the whole seat down with a wet microfiber towel.
Here are the results!! All these pictures are straight out of camera (no editing done).

Pretty good, right?!!  To do this bucket seat, it probably took between 30-45 minutes.  But they look a million times better.  Obviously not showroom floor quality, I mean the van is 7 years old, but compared to what they did look like, I am VERY pleased.
So go get yourself some Woolite and get to cleaning.

Linking to:
Make it Monday
Tip Me Tuesday
Show and Tell
Weekend Wrap up

Oh, and just because this is 2012 and people are ridiculous, I assume no responsibility if you use this method and it damages your leather for some reason.  Use your brain.  

DIY Glitter Polish {st. patrick's day nails}

My girl loves glitter polish, and I have kinda been loving it lately too.  Did you know that you can make your own on the cheap?

I was googling glitter polish the other day (who knows why) and came across tons and tons of post about making your own.  HELLO, endless possibilities!!

All you need is some clear polish (a sheer color polish would probably look awesome too), and some glitter.  You want your polish to have a little bit of head space at the top, ie. not be a new unused bottle.  I should have poured a bit out of mine to make more room.  

My polish costs a whole .99 cents at ULTA and I had this micro glitter in my stash.  

Pour some glitter into your polish using a paper funnel.  Sidebar, a lot of posts that came up on google actually showed you how to make a funnel w/ paper.  If you're a functioning adult capable of getting on the internet I'll assume you can figure out how to make a funnel.

Ok, back to glitter, pour some in.  Give it a good shake.  

Voila!

 Now paint your nails with your cheap glitter polish.  For mine I did white tips then two coats of green glitter.  SUPER FUN for St. Patty's Day. 

Please excuse my overly dry cuticles that need some TLC.  

I think it looks pretty darn awesome!  I'm gonna do Brooke's later today.  And I can't wait to get some more springy colors and make her a whole set.  Possible Easter gift?  

Word to the wise:  The glitter will settle after awhile, but just give it some good shakes to redistribute it.  Real glitter polish has a special something that helps keep the glitter suspended.   Also depending on the glitter you use, your clear polish make take on some of the glitter color.  After a bit mine turned slightly green, but it didn't affect application at all.  If you used cosmetic grade glitter this probably wouldn't happen.  But since this is a cheap project using stuff I had on hand, I wasn't to concerned about either of these issues. 

PS. Is it me or do I look like I have a freakishly short pinky finger?

Gray w/ Silver Sponged Tips {nails}

Gray.  Who knew?  But I kinda love it!  The gray is super cheap NYC Sidewalkers. 

It is actually really great polish, surprisingly.  Goes on smooth, and after three days showed no major signs of wear.  Even without a topcoat.  But after those three I decided to add some flair to my tips.

Gradient silver tips.  Fun, right?!

(This post is mostly an effort to see how well posting from my phones goes, checking formatting and stuff.)

ETA: Blogger app=epic fail.  At least for Android.  Pictures were throw in at bottom of post and not in the order I uploaded them.  Pictures were grainy and didn't look right at all and wouldn't enlarge.  Ended up emailing them to myself and reposting from blogger dashboard online.  If you want to post from the app just a plain text post, go for it.  That worked.  But if you plan on adding pictures (which is what makes reading post interesting anyways), I'd steer clear.  

New Socks

It's actually Thursday.  And even though she constantly gets her feet stuck while sitting like this way, it's still her preferred choice. 

ETA: My friend Sheyenne wondered about this pic, so here is the sooc, and final edit along with some details. 

 ISO800 * 55mm * f/5.6 * 1/15 sec shutter speed.  

Here's what I did with it in photoshop elements.  I ran Urban Grit action from Coffee Shop Blog. I painted just on the socks to apply the affect.  Then I ran Purely for the Web action from Pure.  That's it.  

I obviously am by NO means a photographer or expert photoshopper, BUT I'm learning, and it's fun to learn.  As a result of me learning, you'll probably be seeing lots more short photo posts like this one.

LEGO Obsession Continues {the girly edition}

After Christmas I had got on the LEGO website, don't really know why actually, but I came across these.  A new line of LEGOS, just for my girl.  How cute!!  We were already getting her a big girl bike, but knew what we'd be telling grandparents to get her.  It's no secret that in our house LEGOS are a bit of an obsession with Mason.  Now Brooke would be able to join in the building fun.  Unlike Mason though, I suspect her sets will stay put together.  Granted, Mason keeps several of his intact, but he goes on building sprees where everything gets taken apart then put back together in some new creation.  Brooke on the other hand has been playing with her sets for a over a week now just as they are.

I just CANNOT get over the cuteness of these!!

Olivia's Tree House.  I spy a Star Wars guy, can you find him? 

Heartland Dog Show.  She thought more doggies were needed so 101 dalmatians came to play too. 

Seriously?! The cuteness!! Dog washing station that goes with the dog show.  Interchangeable bows, little LEGO water pieces, white picket fence.  Cute.  Cute.  Cute. 

City Park Cafe.  I think this is my favorite that Brooke has so far.  

Don't you agree? 

(L to R) Ice cream maker, pie display case, cash register with cupcakes ready for purchase.  Those cupcakes are actually upside down, the brown cupcake is supposed to fit in the yellow wrapper but didn't fit right (my only negative for this set), so we put the on the bottom.  At the booth two soda fountain drinks and a juice box.

Want to eat your burger out on the patio?  Go for it!!

Need some ketchup or mustard?  How 'bout salt and pepper?  They've got you covered.
BEYOND CUTE!!

Butterfly Beauty Shop.  A close second for favorite is the beauty shop.

If the Friend's need a new look, just swap out the hair.

Lipstick bar, oh my!

Ready to pay?  Check out at the cash register.  Brooke informed me later we forgot to put the sticker on the screen.  She fixed that problem.  Way to pay attention to detail!

The Friends.
She has seven, one was playing in her room when they took this group shot.

Brooke has already started asking for the Heartlake Vet.  It comes with a hedgehog named Oscar, and really what's cuter than a hedgehog?

So what do you think?  Aren't these so fun for a little girl?!!
The LEGO invasion continues. 

Very Last Minute Teacher Gift

The morning of Mason's last day of school I realized that his teacher should probably have a gift.  Whoops!! I blame my pregnancy brain.  

I had seen cute mug rugs over on Smashed Peas and Carrots here and here.  Her tutorial on how to sew bias tape was VERY helpful.  I have done a few bias tape projects before, but this one turned out the best by far.  I even made the bias tape cause I had no time to drive to town and get it.  A shower had to be taken before I went to Mason's party at school.

I adjusted the dimensions down just a bit, I think mine ended up being 9x5ish.  I was really pleased with how it turned out.  Luckily his teacher loved it too.  Should probably make a stash of these to have on hand for last minute gifts.  I know I want one for myself.

Linking to:
Made by You Monday

My New Toy {Holiday Bokeh Challenge}

Santa brought me a new camera lens, it even came a bit early on Christmas Eve. 

I must have been really good.  And mom & dad love me lots. :)
Here's one of the first shots I took with it.  I had been reading up the How to Capture Holiday Bokeh tutorial, which is really helpful.

ISO 1600 ~ 50mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/30 sec shutter speed