To Dye For (how to dip-dye a white dress)

I love giving new life to old goods! This DIY project is going to give a new life to my old wedding dress. (It's now going to be my 3rd anniversary date night dress) Now keep in mind my wedding was super casual and super exclusive (ha ha just me, my hubby & the preacher man) so my dress isn't a fancy smancy silk or taffeta or whatever fabric most wedding dresses are made of. Mine is a nice soft white cotton. Perfect for dying!!!

Things you will need....
* White dress (or any other article of clothing you wish to dye)
* Fabric dye (I got Dylon Bahama Blue permanent fabric dye for $2.99
at Hobby Lobby)
* 1 cup distilled white vinegar (helps to intensify & hold color)
* 1 cup table salt (helps the dye bond with the fabric)
* Enough hot water to cover the fabric and allow fabric to move freely
* Plastic container to do the dying in
* Plastic bowl that will hold 4 cups of water to make the dye,salt & vinegar mixture before adding to the container
* Plactic Disposable Gloves (so you don't have hands to match your dress)

Make sure that the dress has been pre-washed if it is new.

1st...Decide where you would like your color to come up to and tie a rubber band around fabric

2nd...Put on your gloves and dissolve dye, salt & vinegar into 4 cups of hot water (i used my gloved hand to stir to avoid dying a kitchen spoon)

3rd...Poor mixture into container and then add enough hot water to reach the level that you need to soak your fabric

4th...Hang fabric above container with dye water

5th...If you want your fabric to have a fade effect where it gets darker towards the bottom then dip all the way to 1/2" of where you tied on the rubber band (the dye water rises this much) dye for 15 minutes then pull fabric up however much you would like and dye for another 15 minutes then pull fabric up to the last level and dye for a final 15 minutes
If you want the dye to all be even just soak fabric 1/2" below the rubber band and time 45 minutes.

6th...Using rubber glove covered hands wring the dye water out of fabric being careful not to splash

7th...Using a plastic sack to catch any dye drips carry your dress to the sink or bathtub and rinse with cold water until water runs clear. Hand wring the fabric to remove as much water as you can.

8th...Shake out dress a lil (to avoid massive wrinkles) and hang to dry somewhere that it wont be resting against other things and away from natural or artificial heat. (sun or heater ha ha)

The first couple of times you wash your new dress do it on it's own so that you don't accidently dye your other clothes....eeeeee not good.....

Enjoy your beautiful "new" dress =)

Much Love & More to Come
Jenny

Soft as a Babies Tush & Sweet Enough to Eat (Favorite Products)

The day I ran out of both my favorite bodywash and my favorite body lotion started in a panic (i suffer from dry skin haha) and ended in cocoa bliss!!

How did this happen???......

Well.....I did what any desperate, already-in-the-shower-and-wet women would do, I did a quick scan of my options.
1....Bar of soap (yeah might as well get out of the shower and into a meat dehydrator with what that would do to my skin) eeek if you have dry skin steer clear of bar soap!!!
2....left-over bottle of a motel who-knows-whats-inside bodywash.
3....my husband's 2-N-1 bodywash/shampoo...now granted it did say moisturizing, but i'd rather leave the manly musk smell to him.
THAT ONLY LEFT ONE THING
*** My baby girls Johnson's Shea & Cocoa Butter baby wash***
I followed up with
***Johnson's Baby Creamy Oil in Shea & Cocoa Butter***

AHHHHHH YEAAAAA NIIIIICE =)

I'm telling you these products feel like liquid silk going on and leave your skin feeling incredibly silky soft! I mean really what better way to get skin as soft as a baby's bum then to use baby products! I AM HOOKED!!!

The Super Softness of your skin isn't the only sense you will be pleasing!! This stuff smells incredible!!! Incredibly edibile =)) Yummy!!! Like a delicious chocolate cupcake!!

The first day that I used them I was left with an intense i've-smelled-this-exact-smell-before feeling! And then it hit me! I know where!!! So not only was I enjoying super soft skin and a sweet as desert fragrance, but also a trip down memory lane!!

In the 80's there was a group of dolls called the Cherry Merry Muffin's...My very favorite of these beyond awesome dolls was a pretty little brunette named Chocolottie and she came with a little helper named chocolate drop and they were both...you guessed it....chocolate-scented!!! Awe to be a kid again!!!

Moral of the story is.....If you want silky smooth skin that smells like it could be displayed on a bakers rack, look no farther than the baby product isle and be prepared to fall in love!!

Much Love & More to Come
Jenny (Chocolottie) :)