Tag Archives | tricks and tips

{Tips & Tricks} Get your pots & pans shiny again

I am in full wedding mode here in Kansas!! My brother is getting married in 2 days and there is a lot yet to be done!! However, as I see wedding presents accumulating around here, I thought I’d share my husband’s (no, I can’t take credit for this one) incredibly wonderful trick for getting those lovely pots & pans we got for our wedding back to their original, right-out-of-the-box luster.

To start, fill up your tea kettle and get that water boiling

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Meanwhile, begin filling your sink with very hot water. Add some soap & a scoop of OxyClean (Shhh! this is the secret ingredient!!!)

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Once your water is boiling, add it to the water in the sink

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Add your dirty pots & pans, soak over night and in the morning, they’ll be good as new!

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Happy Cleaning!

xoxo Lori Danelle

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My new best friend (or Evolution of an X-acto knife)

As a graphic design student in college, I did a ridiculous amount of “mock up” projects and mounting things on black board. Thus began my relationship with the X-acto knife.

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My first knife was simple, no frills. I was naive and didn’t know to look for anything else. It got the job done, but was hard to hold and hurt my hand if I spent too much time cutting. Plus, it was a bit slippery. Not a good quality in a knife.

So I kept my eyes open for something better.

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Something better came in the form of this knife. Seemingly the same knife as before, but wrapped in ergonomically shaped rubber, making it easier to hold and hang on to. Those hours at the cutting table became much less dreaded, though still not ideal.

I graduated college, got a job, and began to realize that my X-acto knife was always going to be a part of my life, despite what I had believed while in school. Projects still needed to be mocked up, but this time for a client instead of a professor.

This believe reached a new level about 6 months ago when I discovered paper cut art. Done entirely by hand, using only an X-acto knife or scalpel, intricate artwork was formed from a sheet of paper!!

I HAD to try it.

Immediately I was hooked! However, my dissatisfaction with my knife grew. I couldn’t imagine spending hours cutting for years to come with the uncomfortable knife I was currently using. For simple mock ups, it worked wonderfully, but a project that takes 8 hours minimum of intricate cutting? Not so great.

Enter this beauty:

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When I first saw her, I admit. I was skeptical. The packaging claimed to offer superior precision cutting and ergonomic control, but packages are supposed to say that sort of stuff.

Then again, what did I have to loose?
I bought it.

Best decision I could have made!! I love this knife.

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I used it for the entire Nate + Lori piece and never once felt my hand or fingers cramp or get tired. So if you find yourself reaching for an X-acto knife somewhat often, head to your local craft or office supply store and grab one of these!! Believe me, I never thought I’d be giddy about a utility knife!!! And if the pink is a bit too much for you, don’t worry. They have a grey and black version as well!

xoxo Lori Danelle

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Not on the wrong foot anymore!!!

Do you own a toddler?

Does your toddler like to “do it myself!” when it comes to dressing and shoes (not to mention, EVERYTHING else)?

Does this often result in a day spent with shoes that look like this? (Because of course you are NOT allowed to help fix them!!)

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Well, if you, like me, posses one of these independent toddler types, rest assured: Your shoe problems may be at an end.

1. Grab a Sharpie or some fingernail polish.
2. On the inside sole of each shoe mark a dot (fingernail polish) or draw something fun like a small heart (Sharpie) in the same location on both shoes.
3. Instruct your self-reliant tot that when putting on his or her shoes to put the hearts/dots together.

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4. Ta-Da!!!!

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(Don’t you just love her tattoos that won’t go away no matter how much we scrub??)

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The results??

One very confident kid-o that is so proud of him or herself & one Mom who can feel good about give her child the tools to succeed! And of course, no longer having to remind yourself that it’s not important that her shoes are on the wrong feet, it’s more important that she feels that she’s accomplished something new, all by herself. . .See? Everyone wins!!

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Now go out there and empower your kids!!!!! :)

xoxo—Lori

now if anyone can help me with why Big Sis insists on wearing both pj shorts AND pj pants to bed at the same time, I’d be much obliged.

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