How I "fixed" a hole in my shirt

I recently had a traumatic ironing experience. Last month I bought a shirt that I love, the front of it is made of polyester - which can't be successfully ironed so I was steaming it with my iron and I TOUCHED IT with the iron!!!! Aahhhhhhh! My new favorite, twice worn shirt, is ruined!!

I gotta' cop to having thrown a teeny bit of a hissy fit and tearfully (OK, not tearfully, it's not like I spilt milk) threw the shirt into my closet...where it taunted me every time I walked in.
Since we don't have a money tree and the holes are in a totally noticeable place, I resigned myself to the idea that I'd probably have to pitch my new shirt with no hope of a replacement.

But then, I saw this blog post on Pinterest and thought that I could adapt her idea (her flowers are a bit too foofy for me) and somehow use the flowers to cover up the holes in my shirt!

I dug through my scrap basket and found two fabrics that I like together. Using two different sized mugs, I traced circles onto the reverse side of the fabric and cut out 7 circles.

I cut 6 semi-even slices into each circle and rounded off the edges to create a flat flower with 6 petals.

Now, the fun (and probably toxic) part - using pliers (a blister on my finger demands that I emphasize the necessity of these) hold each petal next to an open flame until the fabric begins to melt and curl up in a petal-like fashion. Repeat for each petal on every flower using the pliers to keep the rest of the flower out of the flame and wax.

I then laid out the flowers in a cascade that covered the two gashes on my shirt and stitched them, in random places, to the shirt. 

Tah dah, the finished product! While I prefer the shirt without any foofoo on it, I'm pleased with the finished result. This isn't permanent so if I decide that I want to try something different in the future, I can easily snip off the thread and remove the flowers.

                    

Reese's spreads

This is a funny time of year to be reviewing a product like this, what with all the resolutions folks are still successfully clinging to but I recently received a Voxbox from Influenster containing a jar of Reese's spread and I desire to unleash my opinion of it upon you!

Now, I generally try to keep my family on a healthy diet but we do indulge in the occasional treat, such as a Reese's peanut butter cup. In the case of my 18 year old, he recently "indulged" in 2 half-pound Reese's cups - and by indulged I mean decimated.








Anyhoo, this Reese's spread is all the yummy chocolate peanut butteryness that you expect from a Reese's cup but in a spreadable format. I didn't expect the spread to hold true to the flavor of a Reese's cup but it absolutely does and is super yummy when spread on all types of things - which would be really difficult to do with a Reese's cup!

I am one of those weirdos who doesn't like hazelnuts so I find Nutella icky but a little spoonful of this spread is Oh So Yummy!

As you can imagine, I had a lot of "quality assurance testers" forcing their assistance upon me and we came up with several delightful conduits for the spread, the favorite being a spoon (or finger before I caught them and put an end to that).
We tested the spread on: apple slices (good), banana slices (The Elvis: delicious), frozen banana slices (Frelvis: even better), bread (eh), pretzels (what's not to like), and the aforementioned spoons/fingers. I can see this being yummy on vanilla ice cream or even as a cake filling or frosting.

I believe the cost of a 13 oz jar of this beauty is around $3.50. It's really bad for you but it tastes so stinkin' good! That is all.

WOMM = Word Of Mouth Marketing

I started to write a post a week ago, wrote a paragraph, came back, wrote another one, and then left it until today. I realized that the reason I was so unmotivated to write this is because it was turning out super dry and BORING! If I don't want to write it, who is going to want to read it!

So - WOMM, how does it work? Well, basically I sign-up with a company (I'll have links to the ones I currently use later in this post), they send me a product (s) to try out, I try it out, and then gab about my experience to my social circle and occasionally host a party featuring the product. There are guidelines and "challenges" to follow and a final "report" to file (which usually isn't too arduous). My compensation tends to be: the product, points toward gift cards and things, entries into drawings for prizes and gift cards, or various other items.

The Word of Mouth Marketing companies that I belong to are contracted by companies looking to maximize on WOMM. What's in it for these companies? Inexpensive marketing utilizing WOMM, consumer input, occasional focus group data, and potential new customers - all at a significantly lower cost than traditional marketing.

The first WOMM company that I signed up with was Crowdtap - in the beginning they were pretty awesome and compensated you with cold hard cash. However, as they grew and gained new members the compensation is fairly sucky. That being said, I still actively participate with Crowdtap as I enjoy the products I get to sample and the occasional Amazon gift cards I win. The best free item I've received from any of the companies came from Crowdtap - a Windows 8X cell phone and $75 gift card to use for party supplies/eats.

My current favorite is Bzzagent. The reporting process is super simple and I've been able to try a lot of fun products that I might not normally have purchased.

I also participate with Influenster - they send out what they call Voxboxes. My boys are really enjoying my current sample from them but that's for another post.

I've been participating with WOMM companies for several years now and I definitely recommend it if you like trying new products (or businesses) out and sharing your honest opinions!

How about you, do you use any of these companies? Do you have a favorite that I haven't listed?

Neutrogena Rapid Dark Circle Repair Eye Cream

I was recently chosen by Crowdtap to sample Neutrogena Rapid Dark Circle Repair Eye Cream (retail price is listed as $20.99). Although I had not previously heard of this product, I was super excited for this opportunity as I suffer from permanent bags/circles under my eyes - the result of having had Graves Disease (and children) and am always on the lookout for ways to minimize them.

This product comes in a long pen-like container with an attached brush that dispenses product as you turn a knob at the base.

 

The product is a thin white paste with a slight shimmer and no noticeable scent.

When first applied, this product does slightly disguise circles (I think due to the shimmer) but after two days of use, it started to sting a bit when I applied it. I have used this product for 2 weeks and do not see any lasting noticeable change but the stinging aspect makes me think that it might be a skin bleach and so it may work on folks who were born with darker pigment under their eyes.

Conclusion: This product provided only a very slight temporary lightening under my eyes. I'm unsure of the cost of this product but I think if you have dark rings under your eyes it might be worth it for you to give it a shot.