Like free stuff? This is a post for you!!

I have recently discovered the most amazing website I have ever used! This website is Listia... and I have been using it for about a month now and I am addicted! You can think of it as Ebay... only you barter with credits (points), although some people do ask shipping fees). You sign up and begin with 500 credits and you can take surveys, download apps, and auction off your own items to gain more and more credits. Then, once you have credits, you look for things to place bids on. This site has everything! Of course, there are rules and some people try to scam new users. But, if you're careful and follow the rules, you will find out just how much this site can help you out!! I personally have auctioned off 29 items to other users and currently have 13 open auctions. The more you sell, the higher ratings you achieve (the users you sell to and buy from give you ratings of positive, neutral, or negative and can leave comments). If you want to try it out, use my personal sign-up link https://www.listia.com/signup/3208538 and you will receive an extra 100 credits for using my link :) Our own Amber has started using it after I told her how much I love it and I believe she currently has some awesome auctions live as well. So if you want free stuff and would also like to get rid of some of your old or unused things as well, join Listia!! Here I the official Listia getting started video... check it out! http://www.listia.com/get_started_video
Love,
Your DIY Diva ~ Cortney

Here I just wanted to show some of the things I have actually won and received on this website :)

And here... showing some of what I am currently auctioning!

 Hope you at least check out the video!! This site is totally worth the time you put into it, because you can get nice new items for nothing, really!! And if you choose to join and have a smart phone, I highly suggest downloading the app! It makes it so much easier to list auction and upload photos to those auctions!!

Glitter Explosion!

Hello there. Amber here. I am so excited to be writing my first post on here.

 This is something that I've been wanting to do for awhile now and I'm so glad to be apart of this. I've been planning some fun things to post on here but somehow ended up fracturing my rib. It hurts to do just about anything but now that I've rested and I've been taking my medicine like a good girl, I'm starting to feel a little bit better.

 So, Lets get started...

  I love going to Goodwill. I always find some sort of treasure there. I went there the other day and found three margarita glasses and I thought to myself, this would be super cute for Valentines day. Now, I know what you're probably thinking, Valentines Day? Didn't we just celebrate Christmas. Why, yes. Yes we did but, I love every single holiday there is and I really get into the holiday spirit (to say the least). But anyways, I thought, I'll throw some glitter on there and then use it as a little candy dish. So that's exactly what I did.

What you'll need:

Margarita glass (mine was only $0.49 each from Goodwill)
Modge Podge ( I used Gloss-Lutre/ $4.99 from Hobby Lobby)
Glitter ($2.99 from Hobby Lobby)
Paintbrush ($1.29 for a pack of 3 from Hobby Lobby)
A bowl
Foil
and something to lay on the table so you don't get glue and glitter everywhere.

[EDIT: I've been noticing that the glitter on my cup is falling off. If yours is doing the same, your going to want to buy some clear lacquer while you out buying your other supplies. It's in a spray paint can. This will help the glitter to stay on your cup.]

   To start off, make sure you wash your glass so it's nice and clean. After you wash it place it aside and take the bowl and place the foil inside of the bowl.You'll be mixing the modge podge and glitter together inside of the bowl. First add the glitter

Then add the glue.

After you add the glue, take your paintbrush and mix them together like so...

There are no measurements for the glue or glitter but after you have mixed the two together it should look like this...

Now, you are ready to apply the glitter/glue mixture to your glass. I wanted the whole cup to be glittery but if you prefer it not to be, you can use masking tape to cover up the parts you don't want to be covered in glitter. So, I started by applying the mixture at the base of the glass...

I know it looks weird, like it should be more glittery but it dries glittery. If you prefer, you can always paint the cup in sections with modge podge and add glitter as you go. I ended up applying glitter on top of the mixture.

Half way through, I flipped my cup upside down and painted the rest. I left it upside down to dry so the extra glitter I added could fall off.

Leave it to dry overnight and the next morning it should look like this...

As you can see there are a few spots that I missed and some spots that are darker than others. I touched up the parts I missed and as far as the dark spots, It's clumps of the mixture. So what I suggest is applying the mixture in coats instead of globbing it on like I did.

After my touch ups dried, I grabbed some left over Christmas candy I found laying around and put it in the cup.

Cute huh? It sure stands out. I can't wait till Valentines Day when I can fill it with those adorable conversation hearts.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I had fun making this sparkly little craft and the best part about this craft, It's super cheap.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come back

xoxo,

Your DIY Diva ~ Amber

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

So... I was cold and hungry searching the fridge and cabinets for a snack... but I couldn't find anything. I had left an apple out earlier in the day, hoping that if I saw it enough I would want to eat it (yeah, right). Well... I just so happened to be on Pinterest and I found the PERFECT snack!! It only takes two minutes and very few ingredients. So... here is what you will need.
One apple (you will want to peel it and cut it into slices)
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
1 TBSP water
One tablespoon of sugar (like, an actual spoon, since I didn't really measure)
And... that's it!! So what you want to do is combine all of this in a plastic baggie, sandwich sized should work fine but I used one a little bigger. Mix it all up so the apples are all covered in the cinnamon and sugar. Like this...



 








So what you do is heat it in the microwave for two minutes after opening a small portion of the bag for steam to be let out. (You can ignore the microwave being so messy haha).
After one minute... I take it out and check it to make sure it isn't getting too hot. After that I watch very closely... depending on what type of bags you use it may be done by 1 1/2 minutes or 2 minutes.



Then, pour the contents out of the bag and into a bowl!!!
Oh, and a few days ago I froze some cool whip from a can sprinkled with mini chocolate chips... just take out of the freezer and use them for coffee. Thought it might be good on the apples and it was GREAT!!! :) You can always play with the spices to fit your personal taste. Enjoy!!
Love,
Your DIY Diva~Cortney

Hands Like a Desert

So as I write this, I have to try not to look at my hands. They are disquistingly dry and this Wintertime  air does not help very much. I try to use lotion, but I just forget. I recently found an amazing recipe on Pinterest, and as I changed and tweaked it, I came up with a great moisturizer! Now, it does have baby lotion in it, and I liked that smell so much I didn't bother to add any essential oils. You may, if you wish. Another note, I use this moisturizer ALL OVER my body, except for my face. My skin tends to be on the oily side, so I try to stick with store bought lotion on my face. But any who try it on their face, please let me know how it worked for you. So, let's get started!!
You will need for 32 oz. of body moisturizer:
16 oz. Baby Lotion
8 oz. Vitamin E Lotion
8 oz. Vaseline (some people I know prefer to use coconut in place of the Vaseline)

Here is the easy part... Measure, mix, and put straight into a container with a tightly sealed lid. Viola!!

I found all of these items at a dollar store in my town and here is the price breakdown I personally found!
I bought 32 oz. of Vitamin E lotion (it was a twin pack), which came out to $3.00
I bought two of the store brand of 16 oz. baby lotion, coming out to $3.00 as well
Lastly, I bought the store brand of the 16 oz.Vaseline, coming out to $2.50
With what I bought, you can make twice as much as I show in the recipe, and still have Vitamin E lotion left over! Most other sites I have found have their body moisturizers total to aprox. 18cents/oz.
Mine totaled $8.50 overall for the supplies, and with my total of 64 oz. (my total is for double the recipe, cut in half if you are only making the exact amount) I come out with paying 13 cents/oz. By the way...these pictures are not all this recipie makes, it makes a ton more!!

Amazing!! So why pay all that money at the store for lotion when you can pay so much less? Hm...
Now, I will mention that I had my mother try it out as soon as I made it, and she thought it was a little "sticky" at first (this is the Vaseline) but it sunk in well after a few minutes. You could always use a little less Vaseline in your mix, so feel free to experiment, that's what DIY is all about!
Love,
Your DIY Diva ~Cortney

The DIY Divas ~Amber and Cortney~

So, here we are writing on our first-ever blog! Who are we? Well, we have been bestfriends since diapers and beyond... and we live in different states, so we decided to start a DIY blog together!! Over the past three months, I, especially have become absolutely obsessed with DIY everything! Mostly beauty supplies, because hey - who doesn't love to feel beautiful? And now I have got my other lovely DIY Diva onboard ;) So here we are, to share all our own beauty recepies and discover others as we go along! So here we go!
Love,
Your DIY Divas