The Ultimate Guide to Distressing Your Jeans

For quite a while, I only owned 2 pairs of jeans.

I didn't wear them often, only on the weekends, because I was still working and they were not considered professional dress.

When I made the decision to retire, I also knew that I was changing out a wardrobe of "teacher clothes" for items that were much more casual but still on trend and classy.

So, I sent my professional wardrobe to Thred Up and once I got paid for those items I turned around that cash and purchased MANY pairs of jeans from them.

This is one such pair.

My favorite jeans for my body type are Chicos.   I like the way they fit me every time, and they wash and wear great!

Since I had purchased about a dozen or so pairs, I've been wanting to distress the hems of these jeans for quite awhile.  So I just dove in and did it.

Here's how to do it yourself.

Gather the pair of jeans you want to distress and a good pair of sharp scissors.

Lay them out flat, making sure to button the top if there is a button.  You want your jeans to be as even on both the right and left side, otherwise, your hems will not match.

Decide how far UP from the original hem you want the new distress hem to be.  

I recommend you try them on and mark with a pin, or use another pair of pants that you like where the hem hits your leg.

Remember, the pin represents the BOTTOM of the new distressed hem.

You can mark this imaginary line with tailor's chalk, or if you are good a cutting a fairly straight line, simply cut straight across.

Save the cut portion.

You will want to use it to "mark" your other pant leg.

Now, cut across that leg using your guide.

I wanted my distressed hem to be 3 inches long.

I placed a pin at the 3-inch mark just along the front side of both pant legs.

It only took 3 pins for each leg.

Now comes the fun part...

STARTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANT LEG (Very Important), I made a straight cut up to but not past the straight pin.  

I cut both the FRONT and the BACK at the same time.

Starting in the middle allows you to evenly distribute all your cuts across both the front and back of the leg.

I moved my scissors about a quarter inch to the right and cut another strip up to but not past the straight pin.

I kept repeating this process until I got the far right of the leg.  I repeated towards the left part of the leg.  At some point, you will hit the side seams of the legs.

Here's how you attack those thicker sewn pieces.

Pick up and separate this larger piece of fabric.  See how I did this in the photo above?

Now, using your scissors, cut just like you did on the regular parts of the leg.

You will get a piece that has the seam, but that's okay.  It will disappear within the distressed part of the fringes once you are done.

Your jeans will look like this, but you're not done yet.

Now, using your fingers, start "scratching" your fingernails toward the bottom of the fringes.  Keep doing this and you will start to see the distressing taking place.

Small bits of fabric fiber will begin to come loose.  Keep going!  The more you scratch, the more the fringes will curl and give up those bits of cut fibers that are running side to side in the weave.

This is what you want!

As the cross fibers are coming loose, you can grab them and pull them out.

Don't be afraid if you need to tug a bit.  That's okay.  it will help the fringes to really become more and more distressed.

Here's a great side by side comparison of the scratched side (left) and the untouched side (right).

You can also use a wire bristle hair brush, BUT I didn't have the same effect as I did when I simply used my fingers.

Now comes the last part.

Take your jeans to the washing machine.

Put your setting on heavy duty so that the jeans get really tumbled and "hard washed" in the machine.

If you don't have this setting on your machine, throw some towels in with your jeans.  They will help to "rough" up those babies as well.

I used a warm setting, high spin, and normal soil level.

I did lightly dry them in the dryer until they were damp, and from there I let them line dry.

Here was the result:

With a new pair of casual wedge sandals.  Perfect for shopping and walking around.

With my leopard pointed flats.  Dressier but still casual.  Add a black T and a fun pink sweater or jacket...A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

And finally with my only pair of heels (I know, but I can no longer wear "real heels" because they kill me).  Add a fancy black jacket and sequined tank underneath...I'm ready for a night out with the hubby to a fancy restaurant.

I priced ready-made jeans for this and found them to be anywhere for $50 (on sale) upwards of $200 (which I would NEVER spend on any pair of jeans or pants).

These jeans were $12.00 on Thred Up, and the cost to distress was free.

I bet you already have a pair, OR you can find something at your local thrift store.

Being on-trend doesn't mean you have to break the bank.

You just have to break the rules!

How I Clean My Essential Oil Diffusers

If you use a diffuser with your essential oils, you will need to periodically clean it.

But don't be intimidated.

It's one of the easiest things to do and doesn't require any special tools, equipment, or cleaners.

I clean my diffusers about every 4-5 months.  I just write a reminder in my planner.

It takes about 10-15 minutes to clean a diffuser, so it's time well spent.

Let's get started.

All you need is your diffuser (Desert Mist style from YL), Young Living Lemon Essential Oil, a few cotton swabs, and tissues.

Make sure to UNPLUG your diffuser first.  You don't need to cord for anything while you're cleaning it, and safety is always a good idea.

Most diffusers have three parts.  

The base which holds all the inner workings and where the cord attaches.

The funnel cover which goes onto the base and directs the diffused water and oils up and out.

The cover which is purely decorative and makes the diffuser beautiful.  This is an optional part of some diffusers.  The funnel cover might be by itself.

My diffusers tend to get dirty around the outside of the well, especially on parts where dust and oil residue can collect.

Here, the cotton swab is pointing out that dirty part.

Now, don't be confused because you think this diffuser is clean.  Keep reading.  You will see how dirty it actually is.

I drop about 6 drops of YL Lemon Essential Oil right into the well.  Our lemon oil smells heavenly and is one of the most affordable oils in our collection.  You are not wasting it by using it to clean your diffuser.

Here you can see the 6 drops over the ultrasonic plate in the bottom of the base.  I pick up the base and swirl that oil all over the bottom and up the sides.

Using a cotton swab, I gently swirl it over the ultrasonic place and around the metal ring.  I do this a few times

Then I take a new swab and really "scrub" those areas where dirt and grime are evident.

You can see the accumulation of that on the ends of the swabs.  It was hard to see it in the diffuser with the naked eye, but believe me, here's evidence that it's there.

Leaving the oil in the diffuser, I grab a tissue and wipe all around the bottom and the sides of the diffuser base. 

The tissue will collect the Lemon oil and gently clean those areas as I wipe it around.

Again... it didn't look this dirty, but the proof is on the tissue!

Now it's time to clean the funnel cover.  You can see where there are some dirty residual spots on the underside.

Drop a few drops of lemon oil onto a clean cotton swab and gently clean away the dirt and debris here.  The swab will get into the tight places on this piece.

For the decorative cover, I simply rinse that under some warm water at my bathroom sink.  This removes any dust that has collected on the decorative pattern.

THIS IS THE ONLY PART THAT I PUT UNDER RUNNING WATER.

Never put the base under the water!

I dry the cover with a soft towel and then put all three parts back together.

I plug it back into its cording and plug that into the wall.

You will have some Lemon oil residue still in the diffuser.  This is fine.  

I like to fill my diffuser with water and add more lemon and other oils and start my diffuser up.

Here, I've combined Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint Essential Oils to make great respiratory support blend.

I turn it on and enjoy the clean fresh scent of these three oils.

Perfect!

Affordable Apple Watch Band Storage

I love watches.  In fact, I have many watches that I don't wear because when I purchased the Apple Watch I was hooked!

If you are not familiar with the Apple Watch, it's a separate case which houses the watch that is synched to your I-Phone.  You can get messages on your watch, talk on the phone on your watch (very James Bondish!), track your steps and workouts, listen to music...

Everything you can do on your I-Phone.

What makes it especially versatile is that you can change the bands to match your mood, outfit, style, and season.  They slip on and off with the help of little magnets.

So, instead of having watches for all those different "needs," I now wear one watch and have many bands.

These are what I've collected so far.  Most of them have come from Amazon and are very affordable. I have silicone ones that I probably wear most often.  A few are more of the sporty type bands that I like to put on for yoga class.  The "leather" and fabric ones are great for dressing up or wearing casual clothing.

Up until now, I stored them in a little 2 drawer chest.

They were laid in both drawers, but often got jumbled around when I opened and closed the drawers.

What I needed was a way to store them in some type of organized fashion.

Of course, I started with Amazon and found many ideas, including the option above.

Then I looked at the price and thought...NO WAY!

I can make something that works for me with stuff that I already have.

So that's what I did.

Here's the little drawer system that I was using already.

I had purchased this years ago from Target for my daughter's room.  She didn't want it when she moved out, so I took it over and used it for storage.

I also had a sheet of foam core board from the Dollar Store.  It was leftover from a prior project so I didn't have to make a special trip.  (Darn!)

I grabbed my ruler and began the task of measuring the height, width, and depth of the drawers.

I then wrote down those measurements.

I used the width and length measurements to cut 2 boards 8.5 inches by 9.5 inches.  These will go in the bottom of the two drawers and give me a sturdy base for the smaller dividers.

Next, I measured the length and height of a watch band.  This would give me an idea of how I wanted to make the little compartments for my bands.

They are about an inch from side to side and just a bit over 5 inches in length.

If you notice, I place the longer side of the band through the shorter side of the band.  This keeps them from separating while being stored.

I decided that I wanted the individual compartments to be 5.5 inches in length and .75 inched in height.

Using my T-Ruler, I marked over 5.5 inches from the side and drew a pencil line.

Using my Dollar Tree razor, I cut right on the line (over my self-healing craft mat).  It cuts the foam core board beautifully the first pass.

Now I measured and marked as many .75 inch strips as I could get on the first large 5.5-inch wide piece.

You can see that here.

Then, using my razor again I cut straight down those lines until I had a collection of individual dividers.

I plugged in my hot glue gun and went to town on the base piece.

Adding a stripe of hot glue down one side, I placed it on the base.

It adhered quickly and firmly.

I repeated that process until I had developed this set-up for the bottom drawer.

I "eye-balled" the placement of the dividers.  I didn't need to do advanced math for this because it was going in a drawer and it was the Apollo Space Shuttle. (meaning, it wasn't a matter of life and death if it wasn't precise...)

Because the drawers do not slide all the way out, didn't want to make dividers past a certain point.  This would have captured some of my bands, making it hard for me to get them out.  Plus, I can put some additional accessories in the back in those large compartments.

I placed it in the bottom drawer and it fit perfectly.

It looked and WORKED great for the first set of bands.

Because the bands are very light-weight they are not putting any undue pressure on the dividers and I'm confident that the hot glue will perform great over time.  If not, I can just reglue or replace dividers if needed.

For the top drawer, I decided to go with just a straight divider pattern from side to side, leaving a larger areas in the back open.

It too was a great set-up for my bands.

You can see that I have room for a few more if I find some that I think I can't live without.

Both drawers afforded me 12 sections for bands, for a total of 24.

The total cost was $0 because I had all the materials.  But, if you didn't have the foam core board, one large sheet is only $1 at the Dollar Tree, so it's VERY affordable.

If you don't have small drawers, cut down the height of a cardboard shoebox, keeping the lid.  Cover it with decorative contact paper from the Dollar Tree.  Use the foam core to make your own dividers.

Compared to the cost of the options of Amazon, I think I broke the rules AND NOT the bank with this one.