Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Catching Colors...fo' Realz


So a few weeks ago, I finally decided I really really needed to wash my duvet cover. Full disclosure...I had never washed it. Since I got it. Which was...oh...5 years ago.

I know, so gross right!? Yes, I wash my sheets and towels once every 2 weeks (ish), so I'm not a total scummer. But I was SUPER paranoid about washing my comforter cover because it was the dreaded red and white color combo (along with some blue, yellow, and green). I LOVE this comforter. Like, I love it more than  I probably should, which is why I avoided washing it. It was out of love. Honest. I was terrified that it would come out of the wash with a pink tint. Don't get me wrong--I love me some pink. But there's a time and a place for that, and it was NOT on my duvet. No way Jose. (You like that rhyme? You know you did).

Then magically, as if in answer to my endless worrying about the impending day of doom when I would have no option but to wash my duvet due to a horrific stain (ok...exaggeration. I really didn't worry about it that much...or really much at all. But it's more dramatic this way) I saw a commercial. It was like the clouds opened up, rays of awesomeness shone from the heavens, and the wonderful product known as Shout Color Catcher emerged from the fluffy beauty up above. Cue the heavenly angel music.




I will be the first to admit that I was super skeptical. In the commercial, this soccer mom lady throws her red dress (scandalous) along with her husband's white work short (oh snap) into the wash and--POOF!--they both emerge unscathed, the red dress a nice deep sanguine and the shirt a crispy starchy white fabric fit for the gods. And I saw that commercial and thought to myself: "What a load of crap." (That laundry pun was SO not intended, but now that I typed it I am definitely NOT deleting it).

But then, one day, on a waste of my time and money very important and needed shopping trip to Target, I happened upon the duvet cover I had been lusting over for months...on clearance. And not regular Target clearance where they knock off less than 10% and type it on a red tag and say "clearance." Real clearance--like more than 50% off. I have no idea why. I have no idea how. But I couldn't resist. I had been looking for a new duvet cover under $40 for about 3 months since we moved to our new apartment and my pretty, but loud, current duvet cover just did not fit in our new pad. After snatching that perfectly pretty white damask floral parcel, I promptly realized the day had come where I had no choice but to wash my other duvet cover if it was going to be put into storage for use another day. I hemmed and hawed and finally grabbed some Shout Color Catcher on my way to the register, got home, threw a catcher in the wash along with my precious duvet cover, and prayed.

And lo and behold--it worked!




Admittedly, I threw in 4 catchers to be safe, but those crisp little white sachets came out a nice soft to medium pink. I couldn't believe it. They actually worked. Take a look at those bright, clean, white flowers below. White never looked so good!




So if you're in the mindset that these color guards are a waste of precious moolah I say to you--NO SIR! I mean, I wouldn't throw them into every load so I didn't need to separate my laundry, but for special items like this they are a STEAL. They pay for themselves ten times over on a single important item this. I couldn't be happier with the result. It's like it was magically cleaned by the laundry fairy with no water at all.

In conclusion: Shout Color Catcher = Awesome.

Me Likey.

Note: I was not paid or perked by SC Johnson (a family company!) to promote this product. (Pfft--I wish they knew who I was--hah!) I just legit like this product and think it actually works the way it's advertised.

Double Note: Shout Color Catcher image from here.


Monday, March 5, 2012

Revamping...

Ok, long time no see. I've been trying to figure out some stuff like how to making blogging easier for myself as far as pictures/images go. I do tons of projects, take tons of pictures, and then don't get any further because I find editing, uploading, and physically writing around images SO tedious. So I'm researching new methods to see what I can do to get around this block! A quick search shows that there are third-party apps that may be able to help me with this...?

In the meantime, the blog is getting a makeover. I love my new logo and I'm a huge fan of the new colors and look in general. However...I somehow disabled my tab box and you can't toggle from one to another now, so...I've been trying to figure that out and it's FRUSTRATING. Computer, why don't you speak English? Oy!

To sum up, I'll hopefully be up and running soon. My certification exam is this weekend, so after that's done, I can breath a sigh of relief before freaking out in about a month while I look for jobs that aren't there yet :)

Happy creating :)