DIY Makeup Wrap

December 23, 2019December 22, 2019 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

12.23.19

0600

Materials:

Fabric piece – 28″ x 17″
Ribbon – 38″ long

Tools:

Sewing Kit
Sewing Machine
Ruler
Blue Ink pen (if using a dark fabric) OR Washable crayon

So I wanted some type of organizer for my makeup and my makeup brushes. A lot of the organizers that I found in stores, only organize make up brushes, but I wanted an organizer that I could also organize my makeup pallets as well. I just wanted some type of organizer that could organize multiple beauty products. Since I couldn’t find one, I decided to make it.

I found two pieces of black fabric that’s were 17″X28″. Both pieces of fabric are a cotton blend and are usually used to make dress pants. I knew the fabric would be durable for this project.

First, I hemmed all the edges. Since I hemmed all the edges at 1/2″ in width, and I folded each edge over twice, the final size of the fabric piece was 15″x26″. Essentially, I had used up an inch of fabric on each side.

My makeup brushes averaged a height of 7.5″, so I knew that my makeup wrap would ideally be 8″ high.

I decided that I wanted 4.5″ base, to hold all of the items in place. I folded the bottom of the wrap, up 4.5″ and pinned the fabric together using sewing pins. I then folded my wrap in half, to find the center line. I wanted the right side of the wrap to hold my brushes and the left side of my wrap to hold my makeup palettes, combs, mascara, eyeliner, etc. I wanted my wrap to be able to hold more than just make up brushes.

Using a washable white crayon, I marked off 1″ sections, for my brushes and then divided the other half into two 3″ sections and two 3.5″ sections. Three inches seemed like a good width for makeup palettes, but check the width of your palettes to see if you need a wider section. I wanted the last two sections on the left side to be 3.5″, because I have a feeling that I’ll need slightly larger slots in the future.

In addition to the washable crayon, I also used a blue ink pen to draw guide lines for the slots, so I could sew the lines straight, when using my sewing machine. The blue ink blends in with the black fabric, so it was only visible under the sewing machine light bulb. I also could have used the washable crayon to mark off the guide lines as well.

Usually, when I create any sewing project, I try to end the sewing line, close to the edge of the fabric. It’s easier to create the back stitch when it’s close to the edge of the fabric.

In this case, I started my sewing line near the top of the folded flap, used the back stitch lever to create a back stitch, continued to sew down the guild line, and then ended the line at the bottom edge, with another back stitch as well.

Since the wrap was long, I folded the right side of the wrap inward, so I could still keep the shape of the wrap neat and clean as I fed the fabric through the presser foot and needle of the machine.

I wanted all of the sewing lines to start at the hem line, because I thought it would create a cleaner look for the wrap.

After I finished sewing all of the slot lines, I wanted to create a top flap, that would cover the makeup bristles and ferrules. I simply folded the top edge of my wrap down 3″, and ironed that edge.

I took my ribbon, and I folded it in half. I needed to find the center line of the ribbon, so I can line up with the center line of the last slot on the left side. I wanted my makeup brush wrap to unroll to the right, so I had to attach the ribbon on the left back side. The wide slots on the left also provide a good section to attach the ribbon to.

The location of where I sewed the ribbon was based on the location of the heels of my brushes. The heels of my brushes were close to the middle of the wrap. It was also the location where my ribbon had to wrap around in order to contain the entire wrap securely.

Using a sewing pin, I pinned the ribbon to the wrap, and sewed the ribbon to the back of the last left slot. I wanted a really long ribbon for this makeup brush wrap, because I wanted to be able to wrap the ribbon twice around the entire wrap, if needed.

So this is what the finished product ended up looking like. The bottom picture is what the wrap looks like when it is wrapped up.

Reusable Facial Cotton Pads

November 19, 2018June 24, 2019 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

11.19.2018

0600

Materials:

3-4 Cotton Handkerchiefs, pattern or color of your choice (Note: if you tend to use makeup/liquids that are oil or wax based, the substance will leave a slight film on the fabric, over time)

Tools:

Sewing machine
Sewing Kit
Iron
Ironing Mat/Board

When I started eliminating single use products out of my life, I really had no need to replace all of the products with reusable ones. But as we all know, life changes, and we adapt to it. Years ago, I had used single use, cotton rounds to remove makeup and nail polish. When I transitioned to a minimalist zero waste lifestyle, I eliminated nail polish from my life and only used vegan makeup. My vegan makeup removal process does not require cotton pads to remove the makeup, just soap and water.

Recently, I was gifted a facial skin care kit and I had no cotton pads to use with it. So now, in order to use the gift, I needed to prepare beforehand, and sew a pack of reusable facial cotton pads.

So for this project, I took a shortcut in which, I used a few handkerchiefs I already had. I knew I only needed rectangular cotton pads about 2″ x 1″, just wide enough to hold across my three fingers when using them.

I know that the makeup industry standard is to use “cotton rounds”, but when I broke down the division of my handkerchiefs, it was easier to make cotton ‘rectangles’ instead. I took each handkerchief and divided it in half, then divided those pieces in half, and then divided those pieces in half, until I broke down my handkerchief into small squares, about 2″x 2″. These squares will be folded in half and sewed into rectangles. This way, the cotton pads with have two fabric layers.

Technically, the final size of the cotton pads is up to you, because if you end up with a larger square, that only means you get to use a larger rectangle surface to use on a day to day basis.

So I took one of my handkerchiefs and folded it in half and cut it. I then folded the rectangles in half, which resulted in large squares. I folded the large squares in half and then folded those rectangles in half to create the small squares.

Using my iron and ironing mat, I folded each small square in half, to create the crease for the cotton pads. This crease is where the rectangle shape starts to form, and to save time, I would iron the pieces four at a time.

In order for me to iron four cotton pads at the same time, I placed four cotton rectangles in a square formation, in which the edges were placed inward and then I would iron the creases across the mat.

I used my sewing machine to sew the open edges together and I chose to use the zigzag stitch and a universal needle for this project.

The most common use of a zigzag stitch is to enclose raw edges as a seam finish. As a seam finish, one edge of the stitch is sewn off the edge of the fabric so that the threads of the fabric are enclosed within the threads of the zigzag stitch and the fabric is unable to fray because of the zigzag stitch.

Be sure to sew in from the edge slightly. Then, trim away the excess beyond the zigzag, making sure not to clip into any of the stitching. You can also use two rows of zigzag for extra “fray-stopping” power.

I started my sew line from one open end of the fabric, and continued around the open edges.

I like to tie off my thread ends, but you can reverse the stitch so that it your sewing machine creates a back stitch. In other words, while you’re sewing the last leg of the fabric edge, slow down the speed of the stitch by backing off of the pedal. Slow to a speed in which you can spot each needle point going into your fabric. If you can learn to anticipate where the needle will land, then you’ll be able to get as close to the end of your sew path and create a tighter back stitch for your projects. So, as you get closer to the end of your sew path, press the Back Stitch Lever, and hold it down, so that the direction will reverse. When you’re satisfied with the length of the back stitch, let go, and the machine should continue to push your fabric back to the original direction. (Try to get as close as possible to the end of the sew path before reversing the stitch.)

Personally, I would only reverse the direction for about half an inch. Don’t go back too far, since this is such a small piece of fabric. This back stitch will lock in your stitch. Then simply trim the thread, and you’re done.

I brought home an empty coffee creamer container from work, since I liked the shape. I knew that this project was coming up, so I thought it would be a good container for my reusable facial cotton pads.

So there it is, this is how I created my reusable facial cotton pads. I hope that this post may inspire you to eliminate single use personal care accessories in your bathroom.

Sewed Fabric Bags For My Makeup Tools

May 23, 2017August 12, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

05.23.2017

0600

So originally, I had created these bags for my Utensil To-Go Kit, and I realized that I could create smaller bags for my make-up tools. So I tested it out and this is what I came up with.

I had some old zippers from awhile back that I never used and these were a great fit. I first undid and removed the drawstring from the bag. Then I cut the original bag in half and sewed the sides of each to create two smaller bags. Because I cut straight thorough the original drawstring hem, I took the string and also cut that in half.

I measured each zipper and made appropriate cuts on the front of each bag for each zipper. Using small sewing pins, I attached each zipper to each bag and then I hand sewed the zippers to the bags. I inserted the smaller drawstrings through the new drawstring hems and tied them off.

The end product were bags that could be accessed through the zipper or through the top where the drawstring closed the bag. This was an interesting solution because when I place items in these type of bag designs, I never have items of all the same height. This bag allows me to access the taller items from the top opening and the smaller items from the front where the zipper is located. I’ve used this for make up tools, writing utensils and also my “Take Out Silverware Kit” that I keep in my purse.

Make-Up Brush Bag Hack

May 9, 2017August 14, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / Leave a comment

05.09.2017

0700

Materials:

Plastic store bought brush bag

Tools:

Razor Blade or scissors (Please be careful when using the razor blade)

So I bought an e.l.f. Angled Blush Brush from Target back in 2016 and it came in a clear plastic bag such as the ones in the pictured below. I didn’t want to add it to my trash collection, so I set out on trying to figure out how to convert it into a product that would be useful in mylife.

I knew I wanted to create a holder for all of my brushes (luckily I only use two types of brushes) So I came up with this design to hold my vertical make up tools, such as my mascara, eyeliner pencil, angled blush brush and my EcoTools, Bamboo Smudge Eyeliner Brush.

I sewed the flap that covered the holder to the bag itself. I did this because, I didn’t want to remove the flap to access a clean opening but to also reinforce the bottom of the holder. (At this point I had decided to hang this object as a vertical brush holder).

I opened the other end of the holder by cutting a small slit across the top side of the bag and hold punched a hole on the opposite side. I only put one hole punch on one side because I would be using that side to hang the bag and I didn’t want anything blocking the opening of the bag. Lets call the hole punch end the “Top” and the sewed end of the bag, the “Bottom”. (you kinda have to picture this bag vertically hanging like that)

I used a permanent marker to show you where I placed my cuts on each side of the bag. On the same side as the hold punched hole, I sliced a longer slit on the bottom third of the bag. On the opposite side of the bag, I sliced a shorter cut closer to the top. These cuts do not cut through both walls, please keep that in mind. This design will only work if both walls of the holder are not cut at the same spot.

For the taller brushes, I am able to insert both of my brushes through the opening at the top, however, I can also slide the brush I tend to use through the slit towards the top.

The same rule applies for the slit towards the bottom third of the bag. I can use the slit I had created to hold my mascara and eyeliner but be able to access them from the outside. The next few images demonstrate the versatility of the cuts better than how I’m describing them.

Here is what the bag looks like when it’s hanging up and being utilized. You can see that my EcoTools, Bamboo Smudge Eyeliner Brush is inserted through the opening I had created (towards the top of the bag) and that my angled blush brush is actually on the inside of the bag. I use my Eyeliner brush more than my angled brush so this is why I keep it on the outside, for easy access. On the opposite side of the bag, you can see my small eyeliner and mascara sticking out from the small opening I had created towards the bottom. I also use my mascara and eyeliner often so I like to have access to them easily.

When I travel or move around with my makeup brushes, I can easily tuck everything inside the bag and nothing with get caught during transportation. I actually do have a bag for my toiletries when I travel and this brush holder goes into that bag as well. The last image shows what the brush holder looks like once everything is tucked inside the entire bag. I know that this bag with eventually fall apart and I will end up adding it to my trash pile, but as long as I don’t stretch the plastic by putting too many items into this holder, it might hold up well.

This is a simple and interesting design manipulation of what we receive along with products we buy and how to re-design them to accommodate to our own needs. I really like this design manipulation because I tend to hang things a lot and I didn’t have to throw any packaging away. I hang things a lot because I like to keep my surfaces clean. Maybe this design might accommodate you somehow, I hope it will.

What’s In My Makeup Bag?

December 27, 2016August 12, 2018 / Yen-Van Tran / 2 Comments

12.27.2016

0800

When I started my journey to a zero waste lifestyle, I had to purge a lot of my bathroom items and I mean just about 3/4 of my bathroom items were either donated or thrown out. My beauty products significantly dwindled down to what I considered- my bare essentials. There was trial and error in the process to find a comfortable place where I knew exactly what I wanted to buy and spend my money on, along with the challenge of trying to not produce trash. I had to break down my beauty needs to a basic level and still be happy with it.

When I became more comfortable and found my rhythm of my make up products again, I thought I would share that with the world. Here is my list of items:

In the small pouch:

Stainless steel nail file
Nail clippers
Small mirror
Tweezers
X-acto X670 Single Edge Razor Blade
Clubman Styptic Pencil

Hair style tools:

Comb
Extra hair ties
Hair barrette
Hair Shaper Razor by FROMM

Make-Up Items:

Make-Up Products by Gabriel:
1. Black mascara
2. Black eyeliner
3. Shimmer eyeshadow
ecoTools- Eyeshadow brush
Burt’s Bees- Beeswax Lip Balm
Pencil sharpener
Eyelash curler with an extra silicone rubber pad

I also keep an S-Hook in my kit for when I open up my makeup bag to set it up at my destination. I use the S-Hook to create an extra location to hang my comb and eyelash curler for easy access.

I sewed two small covers for my nail filer and one for styptic pencil. I made one for my nail filer because I wanted to protect the surfaces from scratching other items in the small pouch and I like to keep my styptic pencil and tweezers together so I can grab it out of the dark pouch quickly.

So that’s a list of my items in my make-up bag. These are my essentials, what are yours?