Tuesday, December 23, 2014

3 Easy DIY Christmas Gift Ideas!

Man, does time fly by fast or what?! Christmas is 2 days away! Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Sometimes getting gifts for people is tough. You don't know what to buy for them... or maybe your funds aren't looking too great and you don't have a lot to spend and time is almost up! I completely understand. Times are rough! But your gift giving doesn't have to be. DIY gifts are near and dear to me because since you make it yourself, it makes it that much more special. Today, I have 3 quick and easy DIY gift ideas you can put together that costs a little but means a lot.  

DIY COFFEE SCRUB
This first idea is for that person who is into skincare or pampering themselves. This DIY gift idea is perfect for them!


What you'll need:
1/2 cup coffee grounds
2 tbs cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix!)
1/2 cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tbs cinnamon 
1/4 cup coconut oil 
1 spoon 
1 bowl for mixing ingredients
1 jar
ribbon 

Quick side note: why these ingredients? Coconut oil has proteins that help hydrate and rejuvenate the skin. Cocoa powder is packed with antioxidants that help to repair your skin cells and nuetralize harmful free radicals. Not to mention, it smell delicious. Raw sugar is the main ingredient for all over exfoliation. The coffee grounds contain caffeine that stimulates the blood that helps to circulate the fatty flow under your skin to help reduce the look of cellulite. Cinnamon brings blood & nutrients to the skin to help relieve dry skin. With repeated use overtime, you will see a decrease in the appearance of cellulite and your skin will be softer and radiant. 

1.) Start with a clean and dry bowl. Add in all of your dry ingredients first. Mix well with a spoon.


2.) Now you're gonna add in your coconut oil. This is where it might get a little tricky but just take your time and eventually it will look like this. 


Once it is combined, DO NOT continue to mix it. You don't want the sugar to dissolve. You just want everything to be combined. 

3.) Remove it from the bowl and add it into your clean and dry jar. Decorate your jar with a cute ribbon or maybe a bow. You're all finished!



DIY HOT COCOA JAR
Who doesn't like hot cocoa? Surprise someone with this sweet gift. 


What you'll need:
1 mason jar (or clear container of your choice)
1 ribbon or bow
2 hot chocolate packets
small marshmallows
candy canes
1 Hershey's chocolate bar

1.) This one is unbelievably cute! Start off with your mason jar. Make sure it's clean and dry! Add in your hot chocolate mix. I like to tap the jar lightly on the table so that the mix is even and flat. 


2.) Add in your marshmallows. Add as little or as much as you like. 


3.) You're gonna add in the Hershey's chocolate bar next. I wanted it in chunks so I cut up the bar in pieces. You can definitely use chocolate chips instead if you're making multiple jars but I'm only making one and I'm going cheap here. Bag of chocolate chips? $3-$4. One chocolate bar? $1. Besides, I like the chunky look. 


4.) Last but not least, add the candy cane pieces on top. For this step, I just crushed the candy canes in their packaging with a spoon until it was the size of my liking. If you buy full-sized candy canes, just put one or two in a ziploc bag and crush them that way. 


Just finish it off with a ribbon or bow and voila! Your gift is ready to be given. 


DIY BEANIE
The winter season is upon us and baby, it's cold outside. Make your friend a beanie and help them stay warm all season long.

What you'll need:
fabric of your choice
scissors
marker or chalk
needle and thread (or fabric glue & glue gun)

The cheapest way to go about getting fabric for this is to look through your closet for old sweaters or my favorite, thrifting! Look for a small to medium sized sweater in the color/design of your liking.

1.) I liked how large the neck was on this turtleneck sweater and the material was perfect beanie material so I chose to cut that off and use that for the beanie.



2.) Cut the fabric open by cutting right up the edge of the fabric and wrap the bottom of the material around your head to fit it to size. Mark it. Leave about 1/2 inch of space from the marked line and cut the excess material off.


3.) Now lay the fabric down flat and fold it into thirds and turn it upside down. You're going to cut a "U" shape on the cut edge. Really take your time to shape out a nice "U" shape. 


4.) Now sew or glue the sides of the beanie together. You're just going to be left with the top pieces. Ok, so to make this simple, I've labeled these three top pieces as A, B & C & colored the sides that should be sewn/glued together. Take the side edge of A and sew or glue it to B on the side directly next to it. Then take the other side of B and sew or glue it to C on the side closest to it. Then sew or glue the other side of C to the remaining side of A.


When you're done, it should look like this. 


5.) Flip the beanie outside-in and you're done! 



I hope you guys enjoyed these little DIY gift ideas! Have a wonderful holiday!

From me to you,
Xx Melissa. 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Oh no! ):

I've been having some issues with my phone lately. I've had to do a hard reset so I lost all my photos! Thank goodness my music and contacts are stored on the cloud! I haven't backed it up for a while so that's why there's no "my week in photos" today. BUT!!! I want to continue doing so but I'm gonna make it more of a monthly update type of thing instead because I work so often that sometimes I just need to stay home and sleep, naw mean?! I plan on moving soon so work has my full attention so that I can save up. 

Anyways, just wanted to give you guys a lil update on that. Hope you guys are having a great day!

Love & Rockets,
Mel. 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

My Top 10 Christmas Songs For 2014

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I just love everything about it! The decorations. The atmosphere. The music. Just everything! Don't even get me started haha. One of the things that puts me in the biggest christmas-loving mood is the music! These are 10 songs that I am totally LOVING this season, old and new!

1. Cee Lo Green Feat. Christina Aguilera - Baby, It's Cold Outside
2. Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me
3. Run-D.M.C. - Christmas In Hollis
4. Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
5. Ludacris- Ludacrismas 
6. Chris Brown - This Christmas
7. Ashanti - Christmas Time Again
8. Afroman- Afroman Is Coming To Town
9. Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin
10. Kanye West Feat. Pusha T, Big Sean, Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Vado, Musiq Soulchild, Cyhi da Prynce & Teyana Taylor - Christmas In Harlem

Some of these aren't the traditional type of Christmas songs but they're all worth checking out if you haven't heard them already!

What gets you in the Christmas spirit?


Xx
Melissa. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Favorite Eyeliner | Maybelline Master Precise


This eyeliner is by far one the best drugstore liquid eye liners that I've ever used! Wait, I take that back.. One of the best eyeliners I've ever used period. 9 times out of 10, this is my go-to eyeliner and I've been through my fair share of liquid eyeliners. I seriously have like 4 of these on hand right now lol it's a problem. 


The pen shape is so easy to hold and the felt tip makes drawing on that perfect eyeliner shape so easy! It's super user-friendly with beginners. I always recommend this eyeliner when girls ask me what eyeliner to try to practice.  Whether I want a barely visible line or I wanna Amy Winehouse it, I can achieve it with this pen. What's the second best thing about it? The freaking price is unbeatable! You can get it for about $9 in any drugstore near you. Doesn't get better than that! 


Drugstore makeup has come such a long way from what it used to be. I could honestly say it's competing with some well-known department store brands. 

What's your favorite eyeliner?

Xx
Melissa. 




*I am not sponsored in any way by this brand. The item(s) were purchased with my own money and all opinions are solely my own. 

Monday, December 1, 2014

My Week In Photos #3

Oh, maaaaaan! This week was crazy hectic! I wasn't able to blog at all this week and sadly enough, I didn't get many pictures of all the things that kept me busy but whatever! Still comin to you with another "fabulous" week in photos. Let's begin! 

My bestie, James, invited me to go to a comedy club that one of his co-workers was performing in. It was so awesome! The venue was beautiful and all the comedians that performed were hilarious! I've never been to a comedy show so it was an awesome experience. 







The food was also great but my only complaint was that there weren't any vegetarian options for food besides French fries lol so that's what I got. 


I took the time to reorganize my personal makeup train. I mean, I am super anal when it comes to my pro train case but I was seriously slacking when it came to my liddo personal one. It was driving my nuts! So I made time. Does anyone else get super crazy when things are unorganized??

Oh, and by the way! It was snowing up here in NYC while I was working! 


Good thing I was inside though lol. So, Thanksgiving was awesome. I spent it with some friends because my family is in Florida. I ate a lot, laughed a lot aaaand of course, I bought some goodies online because I'm not about that Black Friday shopping life. I'm more of a cyber Monday kinda person, you feel me?? I have not, nor do I think I will ever go shopping in person haha.

Welp! That's it, my friends! Haha seriously a short post but it's ok. How was your Thanksgiving?? 

Love & Rockets,
Melissa.