Living a DIY Life

My husband and I really wanted one of the projection lamps for the holidays, but we didn't want the same one as everybody else.  I saw this one on amazon and liked that it had 12 different patterns that could be switched out depending on the time of year.     The whole package includes the lamp, 12 easy-change gels (the things that have the images on them), a stake for installing in the ground, a metal plate if installing it on something else like a post, and a nylon bag with velcro closure to keep it all together. This is the front of the lamp.  The dial with the glass circles rotates, which in turns makes the images move around. The bottom of the lamp has a rotating arm so that you can point the light exactly where you want it to go. I gave this lamp 4 stars because 2 of the gels had odd designs that didn't make any sense.  One of the gels had lipstick, lips and high-heeled shoes and the other had clowns, balloons and circus tents. ...

This scarf is so amazingly soft.  It's made of cashmere and wool so it's very warm, too.  The scarf is about 6 feet long and about 28 inches wide.    Since the scarf is so big, it can be worn in many different ways.  There are tassels on both ends of the scarf.  It is very versatile.   It is a light grey color, so it will coordinate with almost any outfit.  My husband and I both wear it and will occasionally fight over whose going to wear it.  The scarf also comes with a gift bags with a sticker on it that says "It's not only a scarf, but also a warm hug" and I have to agree.  This scarf is very comfortable to wear. You can get it on amazon right now for $18.99 which is a steal for a cashmere scarf. I received this product for free for my honest review.

Headphones are one of those things that are always disappearing or breaking.  I have been using some cheap ones ($0.99 a pair) and I've been getting what I paid for.  They usually only last a couple of weeks of use.  I saw these headphones on Amazon and thought I'd try them out.  They were more than I normally spend ($9.50), but I thought I'd give them a chance. One of my favorite things about these headphones is that they came with their own carrying case.  This makes it very easy to store them and toss them in my bag.  I don't have to worry about them getting damaged with the books and whatnot I carry in there, too. The headphones also came with several different sizes of ear tips, including a set of noise-proofing ones.  It also came with over the ear hooks, if you are like me, and constantly struggling with earbuds falling out of your ears.  I swear I have weird ears.  I love the noise-proofing ones. They are made of the same ...

One of my passions is sewing.  I like to make bags and upcycle clothes.  I've tried my hand at sewing my own clothes, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be.  I saw this deal for 40 spools of thread from Homeder on Amazon for only $11.99 and couldn't believe it.  I normally pay between $3 and $6 per spool.  Since I'm always trying to save money, I thought I'd give this thread a try. The spools come with a pink plastic box with a lid.  The box has holes around the edges, so if you were planning to use this thread for embroidery, you could string the thread through one of the holes.   I wasn't a big fan of the pink color, but beggars can't be choosers, right?  I'm kind of anti-pink, but that's a whole other story.  Per the description, each spool contains 200 yards of thread, which is more than enough for most sewing projects.  The spools fit perfectly onto my sewing machine.  I sewed a practice project with my machi...

I bought this drive on Amazon so that I could watch movies that I bought on my laptop on my iphone and my tablet.  My tablet using the Android operating system, so this drive having a lightning, mini-usb and micro-usb on it made it perfect.  I put 5 full movies on the drive and still have 22 gigs of space left.  It was easy to copy files onto it and just as easy to open the files on my phone and my tablet.     The drive has a lightning connector on one end.  On the other end is a combination micro-usb and mini-usb.     To switch between the two usb connectors, there is a hinged piece that is easy to flip open and closed.  There is a small white button in the middle that helps slide one end or the other out.   The only flaw I have found with this drive is that one of the connectors is always exposed and uncovered.  This leaves it open to having something degrade or break one of the connections.  It would have...

I bought these clips on amazon to organize the wires on my desk.  I have all the wires that go to my computer and charging cables from my phone and tablet.  I wanted to keep them organized and out of the way, but also I wanted clips that would make it easy to remove the cables when I needed to, like when taking my laptop home.  This is a stellar deal - 150 clips for less than $10!   The plastic is very sturdy and I have been able to open and close the clips several times without the hold weakening.  The clips are about .5 inch x .75 inch and about .25 inch tall.     Inside the clip, there is a piece of flexible plastic that keeps the wire firmly in place.   I put the clips along the edge of my desk.  The sticky back is not so sticky that it leaves a residue, but strong enough to not keep popping off.  One of the edges I put it on was smooth plastic and another edge has some texture to it.  The clips stuck well t...

I got this messenger bag as a Christmas present for a college student on Amazon .  She has an Amazon Fire and wanted something to carry that and one or two books in, but didn't want a backpack. This bag will easily fit her tablet in the front pocket and has a large enough inside pocket to fit a book and her spiral. It doesn't appear to be big enough to hold a 3-ring binder.  The bag has a total of 5 pockets, 2 on the front with snaps, a zippered one on the bag, the main zippered compartment and another zippered pocket inside the main one.    There are also 2 pens slots and 2 expandable pockets inside the main part that could fit a phone or other things like that. The bag appears to be of quality, sturdy construction. The description says the bag is made of leather. It doesn't smell like leather, but it does appear to be leather. I'm assuming it must be treated with something that took the leather smell away. The strap is leather with a canvas ...