There’s not much real estate on my desk. I share one monitor between two laptops. The setup I have going on needs two keyboards and two mouse. The keyboard tray fits both keyboards but can easily fall out in the back. I made this quick easy hack at zero cost partly as a fun challenge and more importantly to stop this annoyance of my keyboard falling out in the back every time I switched keyboards. You could use it on a slanted tray in the front to stop the keyboard from sliding off. It may not look very pretty in the front of the tray but will do the job if you haven’t found a solution yet.
Measure and cut 2 pieces of cardboard (In my case I just cut out the small side of a tiny cardboard box.)
Measure the thickness of the keyboard tray.
Divide the height (4″) in half and draw a line in the center and measure a rectangle with the measurements indicated on the photo in the middle of the cardboard.
Divide the width (8″ into five columns) 1.5″, 2.5″, 4″, 2.5″, 1.5″.
Use Xacto of utility knife to cut out the rectangle strips from #4. For a tight fit, cut out less than the thickness of the tray.
Fold at the dotted line.
Slide the 2 cardboards onto the back of the tray and tape for extra reinforcement.
One of my favorite buns had little braids in the middle. I tried it before I knew how to  make my sock bun looking nicely. The technique I saw didn’t work for my annoying hair. When I saw the bun again while surfing the internet I thought I’d give my “Gutsy Sock Bun” technique a little challenge and see if it would work. With some modifications,  my “Gutsy Sock Bun” technique  handled my disobedient THICK, STIFF, and LAYERED hair very well. Let me know if it works for you as well. Enjoy!
Materials:
Scissors
A sock
A doughnut or a DIY sock doughnut
Rubber bands
Comb
Directions:
Cut a 1″-2″ hole at the toe of the sock and your ready to start !
At the highest point where your bun will sit, grab a small circular section of hair and tie it up. Don’t grab too much hair for the top, you’ll need more hair at the bottom to cover the sock and mesh donut.
Select a tiny bunch of hair. braid to the end and tie it off. If you have longer hair you can braid half way down or a little more to save time. The ends of the hair will be tucked and hidden inside the bun.
For my bun I did about 8 braids, you can do more or less according to your preference. I think the more braids the better the bun looks.
Grab the rest of the hair and tie it up and finish off with using “a bun with a gut” technique.
KEY POINTS:
The thinner the braids the easier it is to conform to the shape of the bun.
Keep the braids wrapped in the center of the pony tail
Here’s a quick tutorial for those of you who use your hair bun mesh donut very often like me. The mesh donut will eventually either completely or partially break apart. The mesh material is very sturdy, there’s no need to create waste so don’t throw it out. I’ll show you how simple it is to fix in the video below. Enjoy!
If you are looking for easy things to sew or things to sew for beginners here’s a easy free sewing pattern I made. You can use a scrap of stretchy fabric or even cut up fabric from an old shirt because it requires so little fabric.
I have been eyeing this pretty piece of vintage scrap fabric in my mom’s stash for a long time. The fabric has been around since the beginning of time for me. There’s not much left of it so I thought it would be great for a summer top. What I ended up with is this halter top. It requires very little fabric and is super easy to sew. It’s super comfy and stretchy, unfortunately I don’t know what type of material it is. You could use any stretchy material and it would work the same.
How to customize free sewing pattern
The image below shows you how to make your measurements and how to draw the fabric pieces to make your custom halter top pattern.
Materials
Front piece (cut 1) = A (width) x E (height)
Back piece (cut 1) = B (width) x E (height)
1 Strap (cut 2) = A (width) x C height (height)
Add hem according to color chart above.
Directions
Hem the top of the Front and Back pieces by folding 1/4″ then 1/2″ and sew.
Fold the 2 strap pieces in half and sew on the wrong side. Turn the pattern side out.
Place straps on top of the Front and Back pieces and sew together.
Face pattern sides together and sew the straps together.
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My natural hair color is black. I have lots of premature whites growing in. Love them or hate them a lot of women are growing out their greys these days. It’s also an opportunity to have fun with colors. I love henna, it completely covers my white hair and makes it shine brilliantly with glowing red and orange hues. Henna gives my course hair softness it’s never had before. I especially like that henna is all natural and doesn’t contain any chemicals. My biggest problem was I had a hard time coloring my hair without dripping it all over my clothes, the ground, my face…very messy! Everything I touched was dirtied with henna. The process took me hours and I wouldn’t know if I covered all my hair roots. Rinsing the henna off was enough of a chore, to top it off, dishes and tools used to prepare the henna had to be washed also. What a chore! I am lazy, I like to keep things simple. I’ll show you how I cut my henna process by half and eliminate part of my cleanup with one simple tip.
How to prepare henna:
Materials
Box of body art quality henna
Juice of grapefruits or lemons (orange juice shown below)
Strainer
Two Ziploc bags <– this is the key
Note: Metal may chemically interact with the henna and ruin the dye, so DON’T USE anything with metal in it when mixing the henna. Ex. use plastic spoons or glass bowls not metal spoons or bowls etc.
Directions
Henna is ready when it  changes from green to brown.
Double up the Ziploc bags. The Ziploc bags will be your mixing bowl and application tool. Pour the box of henna powder into the Ziploc bag.
Juice half of a grapefruit first. Using the strainer, pour the juice into the bag. Carefully push air out and seal both layers. If you feel comfortable you can use one bag. I use the second bag for security.
Massage the bag gently to mix the juice into the henna. Continue to add juice until you reach the consistency of super thick yogurt.
Set sealed bag in a warm place (under the sun, on a heater set to the lowest heat, a warm spot in the house). Wait about 24hrs or until the dye in the henna are released.
How to easily apply henna on your own hair:
You will be less tired if you have this type of dryer
Materials
A henna bag prepared 24hrs ahead of time
Pair of plastic gloves (reusable)
Take out chopsticks (reusable)
Plastic wrap, enough to wrap around your head.
Directions
Cut a small hole at the corner of the Ziploc bag.
Squeeze henna directly onto the roots. Push henna into roots, work evenly to end of white/gray hair growth.
Wrap head with plastic wrap and leave henna on for 3-6 hours. You can shorten the time to 1-3 hours, color will be less intense.
To make colors stronger and come out faster add heat with a hair dryer alternating between on and off.
Rinse hair clean with water only. (DON’T USE shampoo OR conditioner)
Wait at least 24hrs before shampooing.
The color will oxidize and get darker after a few days.
Repeat as often as you like. It’s 100% safe & natural.
My experiences with henna:
Ever since I learned the benefits of henna I’ve always used Reshma, 100% Henna. It’s been about 5 years now. It was cheap and easily accessible from my local Indian store. Often the packaging differed slightly but I was happy with this product. Recently the packs of henna I bought were going against the nature of henna and not releasing dyes but was still coloring my hair. This seemed odd and there were no guarantees to what I bought. This experience prompted me to look for safer options. I color my roots as often as every two weeks so I want something more safe to put my nerves at ease. I have mostly experiment with dark brown and 100% henna. I am looking forward to experimenting with other colors. In the interest of health, color and saving time, I found a few organic options to share with you.
I listed the pros and cons of each product below after using them. Brands are not listed in order of preference. I bought all my products below at full retail price at a local Harvest House store. I was not as web savvy at online shopping as now. If you like to shop online and save a few bucks, the affiliate links are listed below for your references.
My most used henna:Â Reshma, 100% henna
Reshma, 100% Henna is the cheapest, best texture and most convenient brand I have used. The only down fall is the inconsistency of quality. Lemons and oranges produces an orange copper color. Grapefruit gives my hair a redder tone that I like.
Pro:
COVERAGE: 100% covers my whites
APPLICATION: Easy to apply and sticks very well to my hair
COLOR: Permanent, colors my hair orange brown to red-brown
PRICE: Cheap, $2.99-$3.99 at local Indian store
TEXTURE: Fine powder makes consistency easy to apply
STORING: Can be prepared ahead of time and stored in freezer if you have left overs
Cons:
ORGANIC: No
PREPARATION TIME: Two day preparation
CLEANUP: Easy, no dripping
AUTHENTICITY: In some packs, colors did not release in preparation but still colored hair
Organic henna:Â Light Mountain Henna, Dark Brown
I like the fact Light Mountain Henna is organic and colors my hair a darker shade of brown that doesn’t have the copper orange tones. I just wish it didn’t flake as much while applying. I will add yogurt as suggested next time and give it another try to see if the texture improves.
Pro:
ORGANIC: Yes
COVERAGE: 100% covers my whites
APPLICATION: One time preparation and application of indigo and henna
COLOR: Permanent, colors my hair dark brown
PREPARATION TIME: Saves time with same day preparation, 1 hour color release
PACKAGING: Premixed indigo and henna in one pack
Cons:
STORING: Can’t be prepare and stored if you have left overs
TEXTURE: Powder becomes gritty after it’s mixed and doesn’t stick well to my hair
CLEANUP: Henna mixture easily flakes off and drops all over the place
Organic henna: Light Mountain Henna, Color The Gray, Dark Brown
APPLICATION: Separate application of indigo makes color more rich than premixed combination of henna and indigo
COLOR: Permanent, colors my hair dark brown
STORING: Can prepare and store henna in freezer if you have left overs (Indigo has to be used the same day it’s prepared)
PACKAGING: Separate packs of indigo and henna allow you to prepare henna ahead of time to release more dyes for a richer color and separate applications creates a blue undertone black color
Cons:
PREPARATION TIME: Twice the work separately (Preparation, application, leave in and rinse off) for henna and Indigo
TEXTURE: Powder becomes gritty after it’s mixed and doesn’t stick very well to my hair
CLEANUP: Henna mixture easily flakes off and drops all over the place
Non-permanent henna : Surya Brasil, Dark Brown
Surya Brasil Henna Dark Brown Cream was the easiest one to use. Although it’s the most expensive, it’s also the most convenient when I needed to do small touch ups in the front. It’s especially great when I’m in a rush, it requires no preparation or cleanups.
Pro:
ORGANIC: No
COVERAGE: 100% coverage with white hair but the color is on the light side
APPLICATION: Very easy and precise tip for retouching roots
COLOR: Non-permanent, colors my hair a light brown
PREPARATION TIME: No preparation time or clean up, it comes in ready for use
STORING: Easy seal lid
PACKAGING: Tub like toothpaste makes application very easy
Cons:
PRICE: Expensive for a small tube
QUANTITY: Not enough to color my whole head
LASTING COLOR: Not permanent, it washes out in a few weeks
I want to try: Light Mountain Henna, Burgundy
Burgundy seems really nice. I like the purplish tint. I will update with pictures once I try this.