3. Notice how all of my bottles were originally clear. That wasn't gonna fly for mucky Halloween! I went on and found this tutorial on how to tint glass bottles/jars. This next information is what I feel is important if you're needing to do this as well:
- I did this treatment 6 times (each bottle one time, except one I re-colored again) and each bottle had major streaking. The author of the tutorial claims her way will prevent streaking, but I couldn't get it to work. But lucky for me, it only added to my grimy Halloween look! So it ended up being awesome, but I wouldn't try this if I wanted it perfect.
- Her measurements are great and same with the oven temperature and time. Mine streaked so much I wonder if I should've changed her first 3 minutes to 2 minutes before flipping them over. If there is a next time, I will try that.
4. Print your labels on sticker paper. You can find it at most stores like Walmart or Amazon. Cut them out and see which labels look best on the bottles you have. After you figure it out, tape them on the bottle so you know which one is which. Or write it down so you don't mix them up because you will need to remove the label to paint and bake it.

5. Prep your work area and make sure you have newspaper to protect your surface. I had some leftover packaging paper that ended up being awesome because I wrote notes on it as I worked.

That's not blood - it's red food coloring. And I never used the toothpicks... I don't know why they are there.

 6. Follow the directions on coloring the jars/bottles.
7. Here are how mine turned out. You really do need to go heavy on the food coloring to get dark colors. This is how many drops I did for mine to give you a better idea:
- Blue: 26 blue, 1 red, 2 yellow
- Dark green (I originally was going for green and instead it turned into a bright, faded green. So I re-colored this one and tried going for brown.): 3 green, 24 blue, 6 yellow, 23 red
- Orange (I was going for yellow, but it turned orange): 5 yellow, 1 red (I didn't write this down, but I think that's what I did.)
- Green (Again, I tried going for brown and it ended up green): same as previous brown, but not as many blues and reds
- Dark purple: 28 red, 15 blue
8. While your bottles cool off, paint any finishing touches you need to do. I painted my lids to make them look more rustic and old. I also painted the "Horn Dust of a Unicorn" jar grey on the inside to make it look older. I made cuts into my new corks to also roughen them up.

9. When your bottles are cooled off, grab your Modge Podge. Peel off the stickers and place them onto your bottles and jars. Smooth them out. Some of them may get a little crinkly as they try to mold onto crevasses or on rounded edges. It only adds charm! Brush on some Modge Podge on the stickers so they're sure to stay in place.
11. The bottles/jars are supposed to dry for 24 hours, so when that time is up, here comes the fun part: filling up the bottles/jars! Here is what I used for my pretend fillers:
 - "Bone Powder:" Baking soda.
 - "Horn Dust of the Unicorn:" salt and gold glitter. Could also use sugar and/or silver glitter.
 - "Toadstool Clippings:" dry white beans, large and normal sized (Great Northern Beans, would be my best guess.)
- "Snake Venom:" empty. I didn't want to put actual liquid in here because I didn't want to risk a leak, so I tried seeing what a piece of paper would look like, if it could fake the look of liquid, and it doesn't work. It looks like a message in a bottle.
 - "Arsenic Poison:" also empty
 - "Feathers of the Crow:" bag of feathers from the craft store
 - "Tarantula Legs:" cut up pieces of brown pipe cleaners
12. After the bottles are full, hot glue the lids/corks on. I didn't want to risk having baking soda spilled all over when I pack them up, so these suckers are in there fo' life!
 And that is how it's done!

These pictures of my niece are so stunning this photo doesn't do it justice! If you're in the Utah area, my sister Missy at Xpressions Photography took these photos. She'll hook you up with great photos!

I feel like a broken record at this point because it seems like I just wrote a post about this! But I just want to keep you guys in the loop. I hate it whenever bloggers I'm following just fall off the face of the earth and you don't know why! They keep me hangin'!

So here's what's up:

From a personal discovery I feel like this blog and my Etsy shop aren't the right timing for me right now. I will continue to post things that I feel like sharing from time to time, but it's not a priority for me. This will become my hobby opposed to a business venture. Designs by TiffanyCo has been going for 4 years! and it hasn't blossomed into what I was dreaming, so I feel like this isn't my season right now. There's a time and a place for all things. I'll keep doing what I'm doing, but I'll do it because I want to and not have any expectations for growth. What I do feel like I need to be focusing on is my family, especially my 5 year old. She's been going through some anxiety issues which have lead to a disorder and we've been going to therapy to fix it. It's been hard work to change the way I've been parenting to help her overcome her issue and this needs a greater portion of my attention.

I just listened to a really great podcast from Awesome with Alison, and side note, if you aren't listening to this, you seriously are missing out! It's been my favorite podcast to listen to. But anyways, it's Episode 26: Teach Me Your Ways, and she has her dad, Craig, on the show to share his top 3 roadblocks in his life:
     1. Why not having money is awesome.
     2. What to do to get over doubting yourself.
     3. How to see your weaknesses as strengths.
(By the way, Craig is currently fighting stage 4 cancer, so the fact that he never said, FIGHTING CANCER, says a lot about this guy. Huge respect!) These 3 things really resonated with me. I've been having these thoughts about how my blog and shop aren't the right things for me to be focusing on right now anyways, and I've been pretty bummed about it! Which is why I've been putting off saying it out loud on this platform because it really has had me in a funk and thinking thoughts like, "What is the meaning of life!? What am I supposed to do now??" And after hearing Craig explain these 3 roadblocks and how he overcame them has really put this blog and my shop into perspective for me (at last!) and see how this will be a good thing.

For those of you who don't know, my husband is training to become a helicopter pilot. And it's like Ivy-League-med-school-hecka-expensive. So the fact that trying to boost my shop and try to earn a side income from it isn't what I should try to focus on, really has had me in a loop. I mean, isn't trying to pay off student loans a good thing?? Wouldn't taking on this responsibility be the best thing for my family?? Well, apparently it's not and I've come to terms with it.

Craig expounds on why not having money is a good thing. He says it makes you be creative. And literally, the light bulb went on in my head. YESSS!! He's absolutely right! I would have to agree the times when I'm most creative is when I have to solve a problem using what I already have. And, another side note, does anyone watch Project Runway? I feel like most of the time the best designers are those who didn't have money and had to come up with different textiles as a solution to their clothing designs. They were constantly thinking outside of the box. What silhouette would look the best using these plastic cups?? So in conclusion, not having money is a good thing. It'll help bring back more creativity for me seeing our current situation.

With his second point, I feel life I've always believed in myself. I have always loved what I did and didn't care what anyone thought, except, well, that they'd like it and want to buy it. But I just kept doing what I wanted to do because I loved it. This discovery has put some self doubt on the table and I was grateful to hear how Craig said to keep believing in yourself and take action. Nothing ever gets done if you don't make it happen and have confidence in it. So I am going to take action. I will continue to make and create things and not expect a huge breakthrough from them. I have been taking a backseat on releasing some new designs because this "isn't my season," but what the heck! Imma do it anyways!

And lastly, with the third point, I'll be honest, I didn't have any personal thoughts with it because my kids were needing my attention and I didn't pause it, but it's always a good practice to acknowledge your flaws and be ok with them! It's ok to not be the best at baking or planning or exercising. Instead of beating yourself up for it, just say to yourself it's ok! I've come to terms time and time again that I am not a handyman. I'm just not! I keep thinking I'll be able to hang a couple of simple closet rods, but I am the type of person who can mess that up. And I'm totally ok with it. I just ask for help from someone who knows how! There's nothing wrong with admitting you're bad at something. It gives that other person the opportunity to help!

So there you have it. Don't expect a lot of content to be coming forth this year or so. I always and forever appreciate the people who do stick around, but I will in no way be offended if you don't think I'm worth your time. Because I get it. I follow the bloggers who post regularly and have something to offer and if someone hasn't posted for awhile, I question if following them is worth my time.

Here's a toast to families and to a time and a season for all things - where we should be focusing and putting most of our energy into.
Annnnddd she's done! That's a wrap, folks!

I don't have a compiled list of "100 Things to do During Summer Break," but I do have this: celebrate Teddy Bear Picnic day! July 10th is Teddy Bear Picnic Day and it's a fun little holiday to break the kids out of their summer rut.

1. Cut up strips from the t-shirt. I did my pieces 2 inches wide and all the way up the body part of the shirt. I didn't bother with the sleeves, but you can if you want.
2. Piece 3 similar lengthed pieces together. It's fun to mix and match different colors.
 3. Tie a knot at the end.
 4. Braid it.
 5. Finish it off with another knot. That's it!