Prom: the Second Time Around

I'm always down for a costume party. If you haven't caught on from my Halloween posts, I'll take any opportunity to dress up for a theme or as a character. So when my friend A texted that her friend was having a 90's Prom themed birthday party, and did I want to be her date, it was an easy yes from me. 

A couple years ago, my friend L had invited me to her daughter's princess-themed birthday party, and I acquired this dress, but didn't end up getting to go to the party. I was thrilled to have another chance to wear it. Somewhere between lilac and dusty rose, this tulle gown is not a color I would typically choose, but it's perfect to be a pretty princess or attend 90's prom.

The dress was new with tags, orignally $45 from Charlotte Russe, but just $15 at Goodwill.

To add to the 90's look, I added frosted lip gloss, fully lined and smudged eyes, and a deep side part with butterfly clips.

Of course, it wasn't the 90's without a choker, and I acquired this beaded choker at House of Vintage (SE Hawthorne, Portland) for $13. 

Not pictured is A's outfit. She went the more goth/grunge 90's route with a black spaghetti strap slip dress (thrifted from House of Vintage) and Doc Martens (borrowed). SE Hawthorne was a great street to make a day of shopping, featuring multiple vintage, thrift, and antique shops, ranging from clothing to furniture to housewares.

Overall, it was super fun to dance the night away, with the nostalgia of classic prom attire and music.

Dress: $15

Necklace: $13

Getting to relive prom: priceless

Spotlight: Mama and Hapa's

I was down in Portland for a brief visit to wish my friend A a happy birthday, when we stumbled across this cute Zero Waste shop "Mama & Hapa's". I'm excited to see more of these types of shops cropping up, just going to show the idea of more eco-friendly products is becoming more mainstream, which in turn should make them more affordable over time. 

This store's emphasis is on refillable bath and body and household cleaning products. Check out this wall of dispensers, which is just about 1/4 of the total dispensers they have.

M&H simplifies the process of refilling for you. You no longer need to tare your container or risk paying extra for the weight of your container. They use RFID cards to activate the dispenser which also track the amount of product you dispensed. Then the card is scanned at the register for easy checkout.

These sample hair conditioners show the set-up. The digital display shows the price per unit ($.39 and $.53/oz). You set the RFID card on the little wooden block, and your jar underneath the spigot. I was pleasantly surprised to see how affordable these were. For reference, my prior drugstore L'Oreal conditioner is going for $.23 - $.80/oz, depending on how large a bottle you get, so these products are comparable with no packaging, and no need to buy in huge quantities to realize a good price.

Watch this to see how easy it is:

After sampling some of the lotion, I was impressed with the quality as well - it absorbed well, leaving my skin silky, not greasy.

Beyond the refillable liquids section, M&H carries several other sustainable alternative products, and again the prices are fantastic. These laundry and dish detergent pods are super competitive at $.25 each, compared to $.28 / pod for Tide Pods and $.31 / pod for Cascade + Dawn dishwasher pods. They have both unscented and scented versions.

No packaging doesn't mean no labeling. Each product has a small paper slip you can take with directions and indegredients.

Don't have a container to use? Take from their free stash! Have 30 jars collected that you want to give a second life to? Donate for others to use!

Want to transfer your product from that spaghetti sauce jar into your decorative pump? They have a small funnel for that!

M&H also sells some other sustainable goods like swedish dishclothes, travel utensils, reusable straws, and bamboo toothbrushes.

Check them out at mamahapa.com or 2 locations in Portland, OR.

DIY: Sewing Kit

As we approach spring, I've been doing several cleaning, decluttering, and reorganizing projects around the house, and of course I've come across several items I've kept "just in case" I came up with a project. So time to keep myself honest! 

I came across this easy tutorial for creating a pincushion from a mason jar, and decided to give it a whirl. (Click the link if you want additional directions or examples.)

First, I gathered my supplies (Cost - $0): 

• scraps of fabric (each pincushion will need a 6" square). Do you leftover fabric from making COVID masks, or quilting? If you aren't a sewer, do you have a work shirt or bed sheet that needs to be retired? The only requirement is that the fabric not be super thick, or you'll struggle to close the jar lid again. 
  

• a mason/canning jar. This project requires the ring and lid style, so any random jar won't do. I used a jar from a previous jelly making experience.
  

• quilt batting. I'll be honest; I kept the stuffing from a toy my dog destroyed. 😆
  

• small scrap of felt or cardboard (2-3" circle). Also reused from previous craft projects. This is my 3rd time reusing this same felt. Most recently it served at part of a Halloween costume.
  

And tools: 

• scissors
• glue gun or fabric glue 
• needle and thread

This is a beginner level project with no sewing skills required!

First, I'm cutting a 6" square out of my fabric. I like these water soluble pencils you can get at the craft store to mark your fabric, but none of our edges will show, so feel free to use any marking device. We're going to end up rounding the edges to make a circle. This project doesn't require an exact pattern, so feel free to free-hand it. If that makes you nervous, print and trace this 6" circle. Note: this pattern works for the smaller mason jars. If you have larger jars, you will likely need a larger circle.

Next: you're going to do a simple stitch around the edge of the fabric. Again, don't worry about being too precise. My stitches we're between 1/8" and 1/4". (The thread color also doesn't matter; the stitches will be hidden.) You'll leave the beginning and end of the circle as loose threads. When you start to pull on these tails, the circle will start to gather into a pouch.

Fill the pouch with your quilt batting. 

Next, insert the inner lid portion into the pouch. (The white you see below inside the pouch is the lid. I show a second lid beside it for reference.) Draw the strings tight, and tie them together in a knot.

Your felt or cardboard circle should be smaller than the lid center. You can trace the lid and then cut a little smaller. Glue it in place to cover the opening of your pouch and cover the stitching.

Push the poufy, quilt-batting-stuffed portion through the ring of the lid, so that the lid lays flush with the ring.

Fill your jars with any small sewing pieces (ex. buttons and bobbins), screw the lids back on, and use your new padded tops as pincushions.

Not only have you used up and upcycled your jar and fabric scraps, but you now also have storage to collect all these stray small notions. 

I was pleased with how easy this came together, and that it will help organize my increasingly messy craft room! These would also make a cute gift for crafty friends.