Wax Eloquent

Under Construction!

2010-06-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

You read that right, the blog is undergoing some changes. I have lots of things to share, but I am trying to focus the blog a bit more. Look forward to more regular posts and more fashion, craft, and lifestyle ideas. Lots of exciting surprises coming your way and an official reveal on August 1st. Until then check back once in a while for sneak peaks of post topics and new features!

See ya around!

Where Have I Been?

2010-06-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well readers I have been a lot of places since my last post. Finals, presentations, graduation, the highways and freeways between San Diego and Seattle, Lower Yosemite Falls! Yep, quite a few thing, but not too much crafting sadly.

But I am pleased to announce that I have graduated, and I have to brag a little bit, I got straight A's this semester. I defiantly was working hard down to the end and was able to pull off good grades! Finish strong right? But I was able to sneak a little craft project in between the end of finals and walking across the stage. I don't have the time tonight to write up the tutorial, but it will be up soon. Here is a sneak peak...

My roommate and friend Amanda had her commissioning ceremony to become an officer in the navy so three of us made shirts! Since she will be reporting to Pensacola in the fall for flight school, we channeled a classic, Top Gun! I really loved how they turned out and can't want to show you how easy they were to make, and how great they looked!

In other news this is what I have been working on remotely, for the last few months.

More information to come!

Night!

...And Thursday

2010-05-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

As a knitter I have always loved scarfs. You really have to, when you first start knitting you don't have the guts to make more than a simple rectangle. In addition to putting yourself in the scarf box, most beginning knitters think of knitting as a purely winter sport. But over the last few years the spring/summer scarf has become a staple in many a wardrobe. Well, I am ready to take the plunge with this awesome project from Martha! She calls it the Ombre Scarf, but its just a cotton scarf that you dye yourself. The directions look kind of complected, but a video accompanies so you can watch it before to make it easier. Pretty much you are taking some dye and putting it in a squirt bottle. You go from the ends to the middle and dilute the dye as you go to get the gradient effect. I think that set up is what really takes the most time and that maybe it would be more time efficient to make a few, maybe to give as gifts? Mother's Day perhaps?

What you will end up with is something really fun and ready for all your summer escapades.

Here is some inspiration!

You can even make up a few bottle diffent bottles of dye, make a couple solid color scarfs

then some multi-colored ones like these

Dip-Dyed Scarf (One Size Coast)

Happy DIYing!

...and remember to wear gloves!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

2010-05-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted much lately, I have been busy applying for jobs and doing school work. But I only have a week of school left and then finals and then I graduate! But even the busy student takes time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Just in case you want to break out the tequila here are a couple of non-margarita drinks I thought I would share.

The Mitchel
-Tequila
-Fresca
-Grandine
-Lime
-Ice

Fill a tall glass with ice, add a shot of tequila. Add a splash of grenadine and fill glass with fresca. Garnish with lime.

Fizzy Tequila Lime
-Diet 7up
-Tequila
-Lime
-Ice
-Margarita mix- Optional

Same as above, fill glass with ice, add a shot of tequila, add a splash of margarita mix, and fill glass with the 7up. Garnish with a couple lime slices.

Both of these drinks are pretty awesome and not too calorie heavy, both diet 7up and Fresca are 0 calories. But of you are craving a more authentic margarita drink try these sugar free dry mix ins. They are like crystal lite but for cocktails. They are great to have on hand for when you want to unwind guilt free on a warm summer evening! Delish!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

...And Thursday

2010-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

With my last round of tests over until finals, life in San Diego is easy and fun once again. It's spring time and while the sun is out the wind is keeping me in coats and jeans, instead of the V-necks and skirts I prefer this time of year. Sitting inside looking outside at the pretty blue sky has me itching for all the things about summer I love. I am daydreaming about events that are sure to be mentioned in detail while they are happening. One of my favorite summer events is my annual 4th of July party. Everything about the party is a surprise until people arrive. I plan the menu and decorations way in advance. As in- I already have the main and side dishes planed, still working on desert and drinks! I have been working away on different ideas for a few weeks now and when I stumbled upon this dress, I knew that I would be wearing a version of it on the 4th!

Isn't it amazing? It is the perfect mix for nautical and patriotic, something I can wear all summer long! But there is no way I am paying over fifty dollars plus shipping for this dress. So here is my plan. Find a suitable tank top replacement and add it to a skirt in a similar cherry red. I will probably make the skirt myself. It is a fairly simple A-Line number with a little extra volume in the form of pleats/ruffles at the top. Sounds pretty easy and fun, I hope to keep the entire look under 20 dollars. I am currently debating between two different tanks, one about five dollars and the other ten. I might actually go into forever 21 and see what I can try on in person as well. But here is where the fun feature come in! I am defiantly not going to rock a huge bow on my waist, like some pretty package waiting to opened...UM ICKK! Bows are one trend I cannot get with! Instead I am going to make this...

Totally Awesome Rose Belt!

I think this belt would be the perfect topper for my tank dress. A fun detail at the waist, but not a huge bow like a bride's maids dress! The belt is simple to make, all you need is some fabric, interfacing and 2 D rings. Another positive about this over the bow, is that I can wear it with more than just my dress. Hop on over to Emily Spark's blog and browse the fun other fun tutorials she had. But don't forget the awesome rose belt!

In other news, I graduate in less than 30 days! 23 days and 19ish hours according to the senior tab on my school's website! Once I return home this blog is going to be SO MUCH MORE AWESOME!! I will actually be able to sew some projects! I will have all my craft items in one single place, instead of split between California and Washington. Needless to say I am very excited! But I will keep crafting and sharing and writing in the meantime. A big thanks to all the readers who have supported my baby blog, which is growing up everyday!

The Sunday Five

2010-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

This week is going to suck. I realize that by making this statement, I
A. sound like a grade schooler via my use of the word suck, &
B am guaranteeing that the week will indeed suck.
Here is my week, and let me mention that I have literally have only 12 days of class left this semester. I have two tests tomorrow, one in operations management, and one in real estate finance. I have a paper due Tuesday, in my interpersonal relations class, I also have a business law test either on Wednesday or Friday, and I have an event about BEER I have to go to for my strategic management class on Thursday night, as well as the second to last round of the business simulation competition due on Thursday night. But I digress, even with the insane amount of work I have I still have pleanty to be happy about. Getting past all the complaining/venting here is my Sunday Five!

1. John Mayer- it seems that this amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist has had some bad press recently. I pretty much just ignore it and think what I want, the phrase I do what I want comes to mind... But I hadn't listened to my extensive collection of John in a while. I was in my roommate's car yesterday and Heartbreak Warfare came on the radio when she turned on the car. If you follow me on Twitter, you will know exactly how this made me feel. But since I have more the 140 characters to express it here let me tell you again. Hearing that song come on the radio was like running into someone you LOVE but haven't seen in a really long time at the grocery store. You didn't expect to see them but your heart just fills with joy and you want to run up to them in the middle of the store and hug them super hard. I have know idea why I reacted this way but it was the image that went along with my feelings right at that moment. I wish I could have hugged, John in the flesh, his music makes me so happy, reminds me of great times and some of my favorite people! Ok I will stop sounding like a crazy fan now. But In case you were wondering this is what I am listening to now...

Half Of My Heart (with Taylor ...

2.The sunny weather seems to be making a reappearance, although weather.com says it's only temporary. Knowing my days in California are numbered, literally 28 until I graduate, seems to make every sunny day that much more precious. Seattle summers are gorgeous, but usually include more than enough rain. Every second I can be outside in the warm sun the happier I am.

3. Glee! Have you seen the most recent episode? Well it was totally Madonna themed, and super amazing! Sue says that Madonna is empowering and well, the episode was just that. I mean its a musical TV show, so the stories are going to be exteme, but the message was clear! I love love love Glee, and adding Madonna to the mix just made it that much better!

4. I had a comment this morning on my blog on my dollar store post, the Zipped Cuff

"Michelle L. said... This is beautiful! Extra thank you for the no-sew part. Also (first time reader here) you are an amazing writer. If I'd been drinking milk it would have come out my nose."

What an amazing complement! I try SO HARD to be funny and most of the time I fail, so when people actually laugh it makes me feel incredible. In addition she said I am a great writer, which I always love to hear. Now if my teachers all saw it that way... But the comment really made my morning!

5. I had a wonderful relaxing walk this morning with my friend Denise, in Coronado. I love walking the boardwalk, and the beach. It was a great way to get the morning started, and since I have been so busy lately it was nice to catch up on the goings on here at USD. It was just what I needed to start this week off strong and kick butt on my tests (3) and paper (1).

Bonus #6. The Vampire Diaries was AMAZING this week. Only two episodes left!! I just watched it this morning and it totally rocked my TV world. I am always in such shock during the episodes. I even did the Home Alone Face...

**Image Via Google

Seriously, I do that, just ask my roommates! I know I say this all the time but I love the show so much, I am addicted. I spend so much time reacting to all the craziness, I am constantly caught off guard by what happens next. I never see anything coming. My only prediction is that Elena is going to become a vampire. But my guess is that won't happen this season. I can't wait for the next episode!

Okay party people, I have shared what is making me happy this week, its your turn!

What is making you happy this Sunday??

Coupon Clipping?

2010-04-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

I love saving money, it's no secret. Although I currently feed myself using gift cards from Trader Joe's, when I would shop for my whole family, I was always trying to break my max savings record of sixtyish percent. You know at the bottom of the receipt where the checker circles, you saved.... Well I love seeing how big I can get that number to be on a grocery trip. So when a new coupon website invited me to peruse their vast supply of coupons last week, I happily said yes!

Although I had never heard of http://www.couponchief.com before, it is a large site with A LOT of coupons. It is the perfect place to go when you are buying something online and want to check around for a free shipping code, or a 10% off offer. The site itself is more efficient that just typing discount codes for The Gap into your search bar, which is what I had been doing previously. For example, I do a TON of shopping on Amazon. All you have to do is type the store into their search bar and up pop's forty four coupons!

Adding to my excitement, is the ability to rate the coupons. I love sites that let you rate the coupons, because then you can look at other people's ratings, to see if the codes even worked! They even have a page of coupons for Ebay, I didn't even know Ebay coupons existed! As if I need another reason to feed that addiction... Members add new codes all the time, and by becoming a member you can get alerts for stores that you shop at most! So if you are looking for coupon codes to keep that online shopping budget in check check out Coupon Chief!

What In The World?? Zippers!

2010-04-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

You may remember from my last post I received quite a few zippers in the envelope of random sent from Heather at Dollar Store Crafts. These zippers have been keeping me up at night, what could I do that hasn't already been done a bazillion times by the other online crafty folks. I have seen zipper necklaces, and zipper flowers, exposed chunky zippers in place of invisible zippers on skirts and pants. Well last night inspiration struck. I didn't write down my idea, which usually means it will be forgotten by the morning, but when I woke up, I still remembered. It is craft destiny! Insert really epic music HERE!

The Zipper Cuff

Here is what you need

Cardboard roll- I used a paper towel roll
4 zippers, in coordinating colors- they need to be a few inches longer than it takes to go around your wrist
Ribbon- I used two colors but you could use one, use colors that go with your zippers
Hot glue
Elmer's glue

*** A note on supplies and colors. Everything I used I had on hand. However if I were to do this craft again, I would make some changes. I would use different color zippers. I would probably go toward neon, or more bad ass colors like gray, black or gold. One of my new years resolutions was to be more bad ass... I thought that yellow and the pink and teal would look good together but I think that the finished product looks slightly like an Easter egg. I might have used black or gray ribbon for the center stripe and the ends if I had some. I would also make the cuff a little less wide, I am not sure my little wrists can pull it off...

Here is what I did-

1. Cut the cardboard to size you want your cuff to be. I made mine quite wide, still not sure how I feel about my length. The skinnier yours is the closer the zippers will be, or you can use less zippers.

2. My cuff didn't quite go all the way around my wrist so I added a bit of extra cardboard the same width to make is a bit bigger. I glued on the extra with regular Elmer's glue.

3. Cut the tops off your zipper right below the metal part that holds them together. Take off the zipper pull and separate each zipper into two pieces.

4.Remember you have a lot of laundry to do, and go throw it in the washer. This step is optional...

5. Set your zipper design. I decided I wanted to do stripes with the pink and teal zippers I was sent from Heather. The pattern certainly doesn't have to be symmetrical like mine, it could be totally random. I set the pattern out on the floor, with the zipper part facing out and set my cuff base on top to check out the fit.

6. Next I glued a strip of yellow grosgrain ribbon down the middle. I would not do it this way again. In the end it looks better to have the ribbon down the middle cover your zipper sides, not the other way around.

7. Now I started gluing. Working from the outside in, glue the zippers down in the pattern you chose.

Leave the ends hanging off a bit. We will finish and trim them at the end.

As you begin to layer the zippers you might notice that the fabric sides are bubbling up a bit.

As you glue press firmly down and slide your finger to even out the zippers.

You can also add a tiny amount of glue to keep everything flat.

7. Go put your laundry in the dryer. Again this step is optional

8. Once you have all the zippers layered, add the ribbon over of the middle. Also trim the ends of the zippers and the ribbon to be flush with the edges of the cuff.

9. To finish the raw edges, I encased the edges with white ribbon. To do so, I put a line of hot glue on the very edge on the zipper side and placed the ribbon edge on it. Then I put a glue line down the inside of the cuff and folded the ribbon over and pressed the other edge of the ribbon into the glue.

10. Trim the edges of the white ribbon and burn quickly to seal them. Be careful not to catch the rest of your project on fire. Wait, I think you probably had figured out that you shouldn't burn up your bracelet...

11. Now depending on your cuff base, and how large you made it you could have a slight problem. The weight of the zippers and glue was causing my cuff to uncuff. As in it was getting less circly. So I glued a part of a rubber band to keep the cuff together.

12. Unveil you finished product to all your friends!!

What the Heck?

2010-04-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know I recently received a package in the mail from Heather (great name!) over at Dollar Store Crafts. As a part of April Stash Bust month and in celebration of Earth Day, Heather sent out envelopes of random stuff from her crafty stash, to ten lucky crafters. I guess I got lucky! So here is a look at what I received.

So here is what I got

A really sweet letter from Heather
A large manila envelope
Five zippers
two pieces of red shiny paper
two red birds
A bag of blue buttons
A tattoo sleeve
a giant red bead
Some weird magnet things, Not sure I havn't opened them yet
A pair of really red long gloves
A really big plastic thing with snaps

So Heather said she sent me a bag of purely, random stuff because she thought I could make do with it. I am glad she believes in me. But seriously... I have no idea what I am going to do with all this stuff! I have a few ideas, zipper flowers, or some zipper jewelry/embellishment maybe? The real kicker is that tattoo sleeve, what the heck am I going to do with that?

Well look forward to some fun tutorials using these supplies with some of my own stash thrown in!

Just for fun, a few pictures of my day trip to Disneyland.

The Sunday Five

2010-04-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

What a week! So much to be happy about in life right now! So lets get started

1. Disneyland- I spent yesterday with two great friends at the happiest place on earth! My current roommate and my former roommate headed out of San Diego yesterday at about 7AM and spent the day on rides; alternating between laughing and screaming! We had an amazing time!

2. I could probably write this every week, but the Vampire Diaries really really makes me happy. I don't watch too many TV shows regularly anymore, but I look forward to TVD every week and it just keeps getting better and better! Only 3 episodes left until the season finally!!!

3. I have a few things coming around the bend that are also making me giddy, just looking forward to them! One is my friend Jackie is coming to visit me in San Diego, and I am so excited to show her around, while I still call California home!

4. Another thing I am looking forward to is the NFL draft. I don't think many people are as insane as me, but I pretty much watch it for 48 hours straight. I am really nervous and excited to see who goes where. The draft is really exciting especially when you follow college and NFL football, its like you really know the players!

5. Even though they always make me happy, I just want to throw a shout out to my roommates! They make me so happy and we just have a great time together. We watch movies, play card games, and even do insane workout DVD's together! I am so lucky to have great roommates, it make school SO SO SO much better!

...And Thursday

2010-04-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

So far in my pursuit of gathering the fun and easy fashion projects out on the internet I have focused on actual clothing. But everyone knows accessories are a girl's best friend. So today I am happy to feature a great, easy, beginning project that can go with so many different outfits.

Jersey Necklaces!

Click here for the tutorial,

picture via I Still Love You

For minimal effort you get an amazing professional looking versatile piece of jewelry. This project is perfect for beginners, grab a some jersey, some scissors and your sewing kit, that's all it takes! Another theme of the projects I feature, customization! She makes these out of T shirts, imagine all the different possibility, you could even braid in something sparkly for a more after five look. Anyway, use your imagination, and before you cut up that shirt, pick something that will go with your most worn outfits and tops!

Happy Crafting!

Fashion Forward Wednesday

2010-04-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Onto the fashion...finally! I have been an avid reader of Adventures in Dressmaking for quite a while now. The blog features great tee shirt make overs and drool worthy home dec pictures for inspiration. I totally admire the great woman who runs the blog, she makes something new practically every day, I would be exhausted! One thing you must check out if you click on over to her site? Her Amazon Store in the top section of links, she has a great selection of books for the sewing and craft minded person.

So back to project! Have you seen the rolled cuff slightly longer than normal jean shorts out there?

Via Adventures in Dressmaking

Seems like a trend for only the super fashionista, right? WRONG! That short is amazing, the inseam is a bit longer so its age appropriate for people who have are past the booty shorts age, and a great weekend look for any young lady on the go! Sometimes picking up a trend piece is just not worth the money, especially for artificially destroyed jeans, but this is a great way to add a fun spring and summer trend piece from something you already own. Grab a pair of jeans that still fit, but you might not wear so much any more and click on over to the amazing step by step tutorial and hack away. Come the warm days of summer, you'll be glad you did. A great variation to this trend? have the cuffs lined in a soft plaid so the rolls contract the jeans a bit. I have seen some great ones in the April/May fashion magazines! If I make the lined version I will be sure to let you all know how I did it!

Reliving Sixteen

2010-04-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so I have been reliving a lot of things from my 16th year. Not on purpose, but I have the craving to watch How to Deal, which I saw in theaters when I was sixteen, I have even been listening to the soundtrack. This yesterday I listened to my birthday mix, which I was given when I turned sixteen. Once I started noticing this, I saw that for some reasons I have been doing a lot of 16ish things. I am having a huge garage sale this June, probably the biggest since the one I had when I was 16, it was also the first year I had my friends from high school come help. One still helps, a lot!! I even started drinking soda again. I am re-reading the Sloppy Firsts series. It is just really weird that 16 is coming back to haunt me. While that time in my life was very fun most of the time, it is also marred with somethings I would rather forget. Birthday, they seem to serve as reminders.
Take a listen to my favorite song from How to Deal

The Monday Million

2010-04-12T19:50:00.003-07:00

...Just kidding.

I decided to postpone the Sunday five for one day. Two reasons: 1. its my birthday so its the best day to celebrate all the stuff that makes me happy, and 2. I was really tired yesterday. Driving in the dark is a major energy suck! So what is making me happy on my 22nd birthday? Read on to find out...Hint, its more than five less than a million!

My new Whirley Pop popcorn popper. If you know me personally or have been reading the blog for a while you probably know how much I love bacon, but my love for popcorn is a close second place. A while back I read an awesome post about kettle corn over at Chica and Jo. Well for my birthday I asked for the popper and my parents came through. I already tried the movie theater mix that came with, AWESOME!! I love it!!
My Birthday play list, which I tried SOOO hard to upload here for you guys to listen to, but I will just had to add some links so you all can listen! This is just a 5 song sample from the birthday mix I got when I turned 16! I am very lucky to still have the giver in my life! Song 1 Song 2 Song 3 Song 4 Song 5. Happy listening!
Vampire Diaries. Are you following me on twitter? Well if you are you know I am totally obsessed. The last episode literally drove me insane. I can hardly wait for the next episode, the show is just so good, I can't put it into words.
Palm Springs. Over Easter and this past weekend I was visiting my parents in Palm Springs that is where I have been with no internet access. But it was super relaxing and a great way to celebrate with my parents.
My new favorite drink! Diet Mug Root beer with some no sugar added vanilla ice cream. SO amazing low sugar and low cal root beer float! Tasty!
Living at the beach. Sometimes San Diego feels just like any other city. But 80% of the time the air has a hint of salt. The morning starts with a hint of onshore flow and some pretty white clouds keeping the spring just cool enough. I love everything about the beach, except sunburns.
LIMES!!! My roommates and I are totally obsessed with anything hint of lime. Hint of lime chips, popcorn and beer have all been approved here! SO SO SO tasty, cannot even convey! We are currently in search of a lime salt so we can give a hint of lime to even more foods!

Get ready for some awesome posts this week, and some fun pictures of my trip and some of the trinkets I acquired along the way!

Sorry

2010-04-09T01:28:00.000-07:00

Even though I missed quite a few days blogging I am going to make it up to you all. Soon, I promise. I have so many fashion projects just waiting to be featured! I have fun sunglasses postes and knitting posts. But they all will have to wait. I am heading back to Palm Springs again this weekend which means no internet again. But I promise you all a great Sunday 5 once I get back on Sunday evening. It maybe even 5+!! So don't give up on me yet, fair readers, I promise to return to blog life once my internet conncetion is secure and pictures are uploaded. Once I start uploading the posts again, keep hitting refresh, I'll be writing as fast as I can!

Sending all my Friday love your way!

Happy Friday!

...And Thursday

2010-04-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung in the hearts of fashionistas around the globe. Anything and everything from television adds to magazines spreads, even bloggers are sharing the latest spring pieces. But as most know, spring can be a difficult time to dress, one second its sunny and the next it is blowing rain in your face, and messing up your hair, uggg! Pieces that are just a bit on the warm side are perfect for spring and summer evenings. A perfect transition into summer is a knit dress, good with tights, leggings, or even jeans now, and great for summer evenings later. Enter on of my favorite free knitting pattern blogs out there Pickles. This is the third Pickle's pattern I have featured, so you know I must visit the site often, I do. When I am there I usually stop over at the store to droll over the yarns too. Someday when the amount of yarn I own can fit in just one SMALL box, I will buy from the store. I really recommend their yarns, as buying the yarn helps support the free pattens, plus they are reasonable in price and the colors are amazing!

But back to the dress...

Is is a sweater, or is it a dress? It can be anything you want. Since your are knitting it you can control the length, a little longer if you want to wear it as a dress alone, a little shorter if you are short like me, or super confident, or plan to wear it as a tunic style sweater. Another great way to make this fun dress perfect for spring, knit it up in the nudes and pinks that seem to be everywhere. One tip when choosing colors, if you are fair stick with pinks, roses and warmer colors, if you have tan or olive skin the lighter cooler colors work like gray, and if you have dark skin think bronze when choosing yarns or any nude pieces for that matter. Knitting the trim in a black or navy would be a great way to get a pop of dark in the dress! Another idea, you could knit it in two colors, color block style, with the change at your waist and then belt it to exaggerate the color block style. The possibilities are endless. Have I convinced you yet? Simple stated this dress is quick and simple to make and sure to become a spring favorite! Click here to visit Pickles and the sweater pattern!

Fashion Forward Wednesday

2010-04-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

Today's Fashion Forward post comes from a blogger who's style I have admired since I stumbled upon her blog once upon a time. I encourage everyone to go take a peak at Alisa Burke's blog, she is totally unique, unlike anything I have seen on the web, and I mean that in the best way possible. She is so creative and I am sure I will be featuring her in future posts! Today I am showcasing a project that involves no sewing or knitting, just the willingness to let your creativity go nuts, with paint!

The Messy Dress

If you head over to the amazing tutorial to create this dress, you will find that with a few tools and some fabric paint you can turn a plain target dress, into your own custom work of art. Like most of the other projects I have featured, you can customize the final product with different dress choice, she shows a gray and green dress, and different paint colors. Another perk of this project, you start with a fairly cheap dress, and end up with something totally fabulous looking, so much craft bang! Once you have tried her method out you could even expand the technique to tee shirts or skirts. Let your imagine run wild! Check out her awesome tutorial here! As the artist said both the dresses are "simple, graphic and a little edgy" a perfect addition to you spring wardrobe and sure to become a dress you will love to wear!

See you tomorrow!

My Dollar Store Challenge!!

2010-03-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few days ago I am participating in a themed challenge going on over at Dollar Store Crafts. I love making stuff from Dollar Store finds because everything is only a dollar (when I went last time they come on the loud speaker to remind us...), need I say more? So this week the challenge item was placemats. On Friday I headed out to the Dollar Tree and got two different placemats, I wasn't very impressed with the colors or the styles but I grabbed up this blue one. I guess the real question is, what did I decide to make with it?

A picture frame! I take an extreme amount of pictures and often I buy prints at street fair that are in non-standard sizes. Custom made frames are expensive so a dollar store revamp is a great money saver.

Materials

Placemat
Matching needle and thread
Hot glue
Ribbon
Add on's like sequins, beads, or thread for embroidery

First decide on the picture you want to use. You will want the opening on the inside of the frame to be slightly smaller than your picture, or you can make the opening bigger and create a mat for your picture. Since my placemat already had a border going on, I used that as my frame and chose a picture to fit.

I cut a half inch border around the outside of three sides, the bottom and the two vertical sides. On the top I cut right along the pattern. On the three edges, I folded the half inch over and sewed along the fold. Make sure you sew along the fold, it creates a pocket that you can slip the back into. Ironing might help create a sharp fold.

Once you sew all three sides you will have a a slot to slide the back of your frame into. Now, fold you frame in half and cut out the middle section, try and cut it out in a single piece, you can use the middle to create a mini frame, two for the price of one, dollar!

See the pocket?

For the back I used a cereal box that I cut open. Trace the outside of the frame and then trim it down from there. Start big and slowly trim it down to the correct size.

On the inside edges I bound the raw edges with ribbon. Since I had no ribbon and thread that matched, and I was feeling super lazy, so I hot glued it. Measure inside edge to inside edge and cut some ribbon. Fray check the ends with a lighter really quickly. Start with a short bead of hot glue near the edge and place the top half of the ribbon on in a straight line. I placed the ribbon on top to check placement first then ran a thin bead of glue on the front and held the ribbon taught to ensure a straight line. Flip the mat over and repeat on the backside, to encase the raw edge. Repeat for all four inside edges. Once you are done it will look like this.

I added some table confetti I got a Pier One a couple years ago for the corners. For the top I added some yellow grosgrain ribbon tied in knots. Sadly I could not print the 8X10 I wanted to fill this frame but here is my finished frame.

The Sunday Five

2010-03-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Sunday Five! As I write this it is a gorgeous 76 degrees with pure blue sky and sunshine. In fact I can't believe I am inside on my computer, but I love blogging too much! Today was a wonderful day spent with different friends and doing things I love. Onto The Sunday Five

1.The Beautiful San Diego weather. The constant warmth of the sun, got me out the door and to class this past week, and sitting in the sun made studying much more enjoyable. I have to say, I am a bit of a tan-aholic.

Can you tell how tan I am?

Note the UW shirt and the messy spot in the back corner- that's my bed...

2. New yarn! Although I am poor, I went on a thrift store adventure with my friend and former roommate today, and two of three were closed. But we were close to The Grove in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego. I bought two skeins each of a minty multi-colored Blue Sky Cotton and some slightly variegated blue silk and merino from Louisa Harding Yarns. I know they look pretty similar, but this is what I am into right now.

3. Did I mention midterms are OVER! I Cannot even express how happy I am that the tests are over. I still have a quiz and a paper on Tuesday, but doing your work in advance is for, well not me.

This is what I was taking to the beach all last weekend. Ya.... Business Law, that book weighs almost twenty pounds, almost ripped the seams off my towel/beach bag.

4. This weekends Harry Potter movie marathon. Between yesterday and today my roommate and I have watch Harry Potter 1, and 4-6. I love Harry and CANNOT wait for the last movie to come out.

5. Working on a new pattern for the new accessories line. Not many people know about this, but I am in an early early stage collaboration for a line that I hope to start on Etsy later this spring and hopefully into some local stores eventually. Here is a sneak peak...

Hummmm... the colors look similar to the yarn I had up top. I am REALLY grooving on the teal, mint greens and blues.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for my take on the place mat for this weeks Dollar Store Challenge!

Happy Sunday!!!

So Much To Say...

2010-03-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

Well my midterms are over for the time being. In case you are interested out the the four I got A's on two and the other two I don't know the outcome yet. But the good news is they are OVER. Now I can get back to what I like to do, blogging, crafting, and not doing homework. But another reason I have not written is that I just haven't felt inspired to create much this past couple weeks. Crafting just for the sake of crafting isn't really doing it for me anymore. So in order to remedy this I have decided to focus my blog a little bit.

Since my aspiration within the realm of creativity is to build a successful line of accessories and maybe clothes in the future, I think gearing my entries towards fashion will unleash my creativity more. Not that I am a fashion expert, by any means, but I will be sharing my thoughts on how we can all be a little more fashionable, without heading to the nearest deparment store or empty our wallets. Part of what makes fashion so amazing, is that everyone can express themselves differently and still look great. I think that when we customize the plain stuff from a store, or make something from scratch ourselves, it is much more a pure expression of our own style. In this vein I will be adding a post called "...and Thursday" This post will be in addition to my Fashion Forward Wednesday post. I will now be featuring two patterns or projects, per week that I think will make a stylish addition to any wardrobe. In an aim to please every kind of crafter/DIYer I will try to feature a mix of projects for sewers, knitters, and beginners.

I will also be adding a post in conjunction with a very style minded friend, called "How do I style it?" Here I will ask a close friend who works in the fashion industry to help me style an item of clothing each week. My plan is to post the clothing in question a few days ahead and then have her write how she would style it, giving some helpful links to the clothes to pair with the item being styled. The post will end with me, or who ever is asking how the item will be styled, pictured rocking the new style. And yes, if you have a styling question I encourage you to send me an e-mail with a picture of the piece you need help with. I would really love to have some readers be featured in these posts.

Since I am a poor college student, I am always interested is saving money, and doing crafts on the cheap. I will be spending time on fashion and home dec crafts. I will be moving in May and again hopefully in July, so look forward to some decorating tips and projects for those on a shoe string budget. Other projects might include designer inspired jewelry and clothing tutorials, like the ones I feature on Wednesdays, but my own.

Finally I am participating in the Dollar Store Challenge over at Dollar Store Crafts. This week the theme is place mats. I am currently working on my project and will have it posted with a tutorial before the deadline of March 30th. I think the challenges are going to be ongoing, one every two weeks, so I will keep going with the challenges for a while.

Oh... just a last thought, I am going to continue with The Sunday Five. I just love it so much, remember to add your five every Sunday too!

Lots to look forward to here, so please stop by as the future unfolds!
Hope you enjoy my new look/layout!

Fashion Forward Wednesday

2010-03-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Most ladies out there often find themselves in the "Dressing Room of Doom". Where you pull something off the rack and drag yourself into the dressing room, even though you hate trying on clothes, or are not is a shopping mood, etc only to be slapped in the face. You really have to like something to even make it back to the dressing room and then once you get under the florescent lights your own image assaults you. Dang, you think to yourself, if only this were looser here, or shorter there, or the print wasn't hideous. Once I get through all the if, ands or buts, I usually leave the store empty handed, with slightly lower self-esteem and a bad mood. Do you need any more reasons to sew your own clothes? Have I painted a bad enough picture of shopping yet? But then you cut out a pattern, based on the same, often insane, sizing as retailers and what do you get a slightly less bad version of something you could have bought at a store. Well, dang, what is a girl to do?

The obvious answer to to design patterns and clothes ourselves. Perfect! Oh wait, you can barely thread a needle let alone design, and sew your own clothes? Enter the sewing blog I discovered a bit ago, Petit Main Sauvage. Heaven for the sewing obsessed, like me. Even better is the simple directions and inspiration to take on this crazy craft called sewing!

But I digress, a simple, and straight forward tutorial is what awaits you at Petit Main Sauvage. With the easy gored skirt pattern, you can have a pattern tailored to you specific measurements in no time, and a skirt pretty quickly after that! I know this is the second skirt I have featured, and I promise that I will diversify, but I implore you to click here to make your fit fantasies come true! Everyone can use another skirt in an fun print!

Come on ladies...Get Your Spring On!!

Here's that link again

Fashion Forward Wednesday

2010-03-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today's Fashion Forward Wednesday is so simple that even non-crafters will want to break out the scissors. When I first came across this post I thought to myself, wow this has a lot of craft bang! You see craft bang is a project that is easy, fast, or cheap and produces great results. So things, like mittens on size zero double pointed needles are tedious, and while the result are often worth the effort, it is refreshing to start a project that will take very little time start to finish, and give you something amazing afterward. Hence today's choice...

The Leather Clutch

Head on over to EvaForeva and look at the simple and straight forward directions with pictures. While I am with the author, I like the look of leather alone, you could easily add some pretty extras, like embroidery, or beading. This is another great project that can be tailored to suit your taste and (growing?) wardrobe. Another way to make this clutch your own, add a simple pocket to the lining for your cellphone, or chap-stick. I think you all should make one and grab it when you head out on the town to your local farmers market, who needs a huge purse and a big bag of produce to carry around? While I don't have any leather to cut into here at school, I am on the look out and once I find some, I will definably be making this clutch! Break out that spring top and slip on your jeans and head out the door to enjoy the day, but don't forget your new leather clutch! Don't worry we won't tell how easy it was to make!

*Picture via EvaForeva: Leather Clutch Tutorial

Hey Hey Hey Its Monday

2010-03-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

So far midterms aren't quite as bad as I made them out to be, but I haven't actually had one yet....

Another revelation today, spring has sprung here in San Diego. Tomorrow and Wednesday's high is supposed to be 78 degrees! I can't wait to soak up the rays! You can really tell I am feeling the happy...this is how I took my diet 7up today. I poured it out of the can and everything....

I have some amazing things to share this week, so remember to stop by!
Happy Monday!

Sunday 5

2010-03-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

I am just going to cut to the chase... here is my Sunday Five
These are the top five songs that are making me happy RIGHT now! Make sure you add your own in the comments section!

Breathe Me- Sia
Cut- Plumb
Wait Til You See My Smile- Alicia Keys
One More Time- Daft Punk
Alice (From "Alice In Wonderland")-Avril Lavigne

Fair warning, these songs are addictive! Another note: I have midterms for the next couple weeks. I will still be posting fashion forward Wednesday and Food Friday but I am not sure how much time I am going to have after studying and going to class. Well see. But don't worry I will be crafting!

Happy Sunday!

Can I Get a Heck Yes?

2010-03-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Last night was a wonderful evening. It was so special because I finally finished the yellow eyelet skirt I have been working on forever. This thing has been a pain in my butt, first it was too small, so I added two panels, then it was too big. But I had already sewed the zipper and the lining in, I sewed the lining in backwards too. So I had to try and remove the pleat in the lining so the eyelet would lay right. The skirt was way too long for me so I had to cut off about two inches there. But I made it! Getting it done has inspired me to finish as many half done projects as I can today. So after this blog post I will be running around with a mad glint in my eye looking for projects to finish. I will post some photos of all my finished projects later today, or tomorrow.

But first I have to show you the skirt. I thought that after I finished it I would never want to see it again, but I have to admit, I can't wait to wear it and whisper to whoever, oh hey, I made this...
Note: I do not like taking pictures of myself, but I wanted to show you all the skirt so badly that I did. Even when I am sick, and just cut my bangs myself this morning. So just ignore me and look at the skirt!

Food Friday

2010-03-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today's Food Friday will be quick. I am much to excited about tomorrow's post to do this recipe justice. All I can say is make them. Please make them!

I want all of you to click here to be transported to the Seattle Times. Here lives the recipe for the best tasting, easiest to make, dinner rolls EVER. The article has pictures to help, and they are almost impossible to mess up. So run to the store, grab some yeast and some powdered buttermilk and get ready for heaven. in. your. mouth. Another positive, they freeze great so make a bunch, put them in a gallon zip top bag and the next time you are feeling lazy, open a can of soup and warm up some of the best dinner rolls ever. You have to trust me they are awesome!

Here's the pictures from the first time I made them....

Before

After

Here is that link again!

Fashion Forward Wednesday

2010-03-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

I couldn't think of a better title for the post. Lame I know but here we go-

Welcome to the second week of Fashion Forward Wednesday!

This week I thought I would mix it up and feature a knitting pattern! If you have been reading this blog, or my twitter feed for very long you know I love the site Pickles! I really really really do! They feature free patterns all the time and have great yarn at decent prices. Knitter heaven!

Head on over to pickles to pick up this pattern, free in a size large, or if you need a different size you click over to the store and buy the PDF file. Make sure you click the British flag for the store to be in English. In case you didn't already figure it out, the lovely ladies who run Pickles are from Norway!

Wild Vest

So why should you knit the Wild Vest pattern? I don't know if you have noticed but the menswear thing is still happening. I still see people in suit-style vests all the time. This vest works from that style in a slightly softer knitwear version, that is extremely wearable and customizable. You can pick what ever color you want, and the single color daisy stitch adds nice detailing; fun to knit and pretty to look at! Another great feature is the bottom ribbing, the ribbing is knit on smaller needles and with 31 less stitches than the body of the piece, this keeps it from ridding up and creates a more open vest look. I don't want to ruin all the surprises but the body is also knit on size 13 US needles, making this a quick project once you get a hang of the daisy stitch. So go grab your needles or head to your local yarn store and cast this puppy on! Its a great piece to grab as the days start to turn warmer, and perfect for a cool summer night! Also check out their store with the yarn they used for this and other projects. Really wonderful stuff, I promise!

Happy Knitting!

(Pictures Via Pickles)

Manic Monday

2010-03-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Queue up the song....

This was my Monday. I wanted to go to Joann Fabrics to get supplies for my button down shirt project. But my mom had a doctors appointment, about a half hour south of where we live. So I agreed to go with her to and hit the fabric store on the way home. But I couldn't download the pattern fast enough and forgot my coupons on the kitchen counter. I had a whole page of 40% off coupons. So we decided to come all the way home to get the pattern and the coupons and my mom's list for Costco. On the way home we encountered this, in MARCH no less, in Seattle, in an El Nino year!! Completely loco, in case you don't know that all of these factors should never add up to snow.

I took these pictures in a moving car on the
freeway, they don't do the intense snow blizzard justice!

Good thing I am going skiing tomorrow...Powder Day!!

I did get some crafting time in today, after all the driving and dinner cooking and eating with my family. Here is a picture, can you guess what I am knitting?
See you all on Fashion Forward Wednesday!

The Sunday Five

2010-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hey!! This week I have a lot to give thanks for and be happy about, but I am in a terrible mood! While I am visiting Seattle for my spring break I have no car. Usually I can borrow my Mom's car, but she had to take it since my Dad took his car golfing this morning. So I am stuck in the house with NOTHING to do. I really really really dislike being bored. But I am trying to get over it. I will stop the complaining rant and get onto what is making my happy this Sunday. Remember to hit the comment section after this and add your own Sunday Five, its all about spreading the love people!

1. Being in Seattle- I love being home even if I can't do anything or get talked into doing yard work...
2. The song Cut by Plumb. Everyone should listen to this song, totally amazing!!
3. Coming home to my back issues of Shape magazine that I somehow get for free! Pretty sweet!
4. Being totally inspired by Alice in Wonderland- saw it last night, loved it, already want to see it again. The colors and the clothes- everything very inspiring to an artistic type like myself.
5. That my parents still have jobs. My parents are self employed and have been looking a little guilty lately. My dad builds custom homes and remodels on a very small scale. This economy downturn has hit my family fairly hard, and while my parents have savings they feel bad that they aren't giving me some extravagent graduation present. It doesn't bother me at all and I am glad that business seems to be picking up.

Well that's it for the Sunday five! Since I am going stir crazy I might delve into a crafty project later today, so there could be an update later today. Maybe- no promises here- plus the Oscar's are on tonight, and that will keep me busy later.

Happy Sunday!!

Food Friday

2010-03-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Food Friday!

I promised you a non-bacon themed food post and I am delivering! This week I am proud to present a recipe that people request all the time! Popcorn Balls. These are amazing, they are sweet and salty, portable and easy to eat! They are very similar to rice krispie treats, another one of my specialties! For these guys make sure you are heavy on the non- stick spray and have some wax paper to set them on to set. This recipe makes about 20 small popcorn balls, but you can make them any size you want. They can be store in an airtight container for about a week. I keep mine in individual snack bags, but large ones work too, or large containers with wax paper between layers!

To start gather your ingredients:

- popcorn- I air pop mine but you can also use the microwave kind. You need about 8 cups, 1/2 c seeds or about 2 bags from the microwave.
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 bag of marshmallows
-Non-stick spray
-wax paper
-pinch of salt

Pop your corn! Spray the bowl with non-stick spray first to prevent the marshmallow from sticking later. This part is pretty easy, after you are done pick out the un-popped seeds. You really don't want to bite down on one later. You might also want to spray the popcorn a little and add the pinch of salt. This step is for the air-popped only, it amps up the salty sweet combo awesomeness. If you are using microwaved corn, you don't need to salt it- just remember to spray the bowl!

Lay out some wax paper in a spot where the finished treats can set up!

Before you turn the heat on, spray the pan with non-stick spray. This will make clean up much easier. Now add the butter to a pan on the stove. Keep over medium heat until the butter is almost all melted.

Don't let the butter get to the brown stage.

Add your marshmallows.

Here I added a couple of drops of red to the partially melted marshmallows. My finaly product ended up as pink- you will see soon!
Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth and uniform.

When the mixture looks pretty smooth like this-->
You can stop stirring. Turn the heat on low

Pour most of the mixture into your popcorn bowl. Using a spoon covered in non-stick spray, mix the marshmallow and the popcorn, covering as best you can. Don't worry it doesn't have to be perfect, we can fix it up as we go.

Once you find that stirring isn't doing anything, grab your non-stick spray and cover your hands with it. I mean use A LOT. Like a gross amount, this is the only way to move quickly or else you will never get past the shaping steps. You might need to re-coat a couple of times!

Get your hands in there! Grab some popcorn mixture and shape it into a ball. Set a finished one on your wax paper. Be careful the mixture will still be pretty hot. As you can see I didn't have any wax paper I used a plastic bad and a Trader Joe's bag! They worked ok. As you continue shaping you might notice that you need more marshmallow mixture, grab some of the leftover that is still sitting over low heat and add it on. You can also add extra popcorn from the bottom that isn't coated yet to clumps that have too much marshmallow...wait too much... is that possible?

Keep going until you have used all the popcorn,

Once the treats have set store the popcorn balls

in airtight containers or in zip-top bags.

To clean up just soak the pot in some hot and soapy water, worked like a charm.

Happy Snacking!

Should Be Wednesday Pattern

2010-03-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

I was all set to start my new themed day yesterday. All I needed was a cute pattern to show. Well I got a little stuck. I couldn't find the pattern I had in mind so I ended up postponing till today.
First let me explain the point of this. Every Wednesday, I will be featuring a pattern, knitting or sewing, that I think is fashion forward and should be added to your wardrobe. Now anyone could search around all day for simple sewing and knitting project that are fashionable. But why spend the time when I will be compiling them here for you? The point is to give you a go to spot for handpicked pieces when you have an itch to make something new for yourself or as a gift.

So here we go!

This week's pattern is something you might already have in your closet. It is something that just about eveyone can pull off and is fairly simple to make. The Pencil Skirt! Don't click away just yet, even if you already have one or think you can't pull off this look. Even if you already have the standard wool black pencil you should consider making this one. Not only, can you never have enough simple work skirts, when you make your own everything is totally customizable. The fit, the buttons, the fabric, you can even add a lining so it doesn't ride up with tights. I hate that!!

Enter BurdaStyle my favorite go to for sewing patterns. The patterns are cheap, sometimes free, and you can print them at home, follow the directions and assemble the pattern easily! Another reason to give the pencil a go? Its fairly cheap supplies wise and a great pattern for a sewer looking to increase confidence- its easy, and it is sewing instant gratification. You can make it in a short amount of time and put it into the rotation for work right away! Another great aspect of BurdaStyle is that it is a network of sewers, so if you have questions you can post right on the pattern page for help. You can also browse other people finished projects and their comments on the process and any hiccups they had.

This particular version of the pencil has some great detail in the front as well as a cute side tab style button. According to the pattern description "It fits just below the natural waist and with pleats on one side, it accentuates both slender and curvy figures." You can make it a very serious piece with suiting
material, or you can go funky. The possibilities are endless!
So please go check out the Alexis pattern #7945 and get sewing!

Also if you have a snappy name for my fashion forward Wednesday post please drop me a line in the comments section! I want to tag them all the same so people can easily look at all the featured patterns, but I am currently at a loss for a snappy name. Thanks in advance!

**Pictures are from BurdaStyle users

Mind Wandering Weakness

2010-03-02T13:42:00.001-08:00

I love to start projects. I have many many many projects that are cut out or bookmarked waiting for me to start them. It is finishing projects that I have a hard time with. Once the mystery of how to make something is gone, and my hands or needles or sewing machine are on autopilot my mind begins to wander to the next project. It really is an illness, one that certain motherly figures will likely never let me forget.

The short list of unfinished project sitting around my house? One half finished baby sweater knit in primary colors, a knitted quilt with lamb blocks, my Lady February Sweater, one finished glitten ( A Christmas Present still waiting to be delivered...) Numerous hats that just need ends weaved in and seams sewn, a huge CD organizing project, a yellow eyelet skirt that just needs hemming, a pair of Banana Republic cords that I want to turn into carpi's.... really the list goes on, but is all I can think of off the top of my head.

To try and counteract this I am assigning crafting time to certain projects. Since I am going home this Friday for a week, and none of my other friends will be out of school to hang out, I have a whole week with the sewing machine and my knitting needles with nothing to do! SO I have 3 projects I would like to complete start to finish over the week. Its a pretty lofty goal but I know I can finish at least 2, the third might end up as a long term project. Two of the projects I have already talked about here.

Project #1

First I want to finish up this sweater. As you may remember from this post I already took in the sides for a slimmer fit. Step two in the sweater revamp is to change the neckline into a V-neck. I would also love to add some ruffles, but I am thinking that might be too much with the sweater, since it is already striped. This sweater is really just a test run for it's sister sweater in gray that I really love.

Project #2

Next up is another project I have already mentioned here. If you will recall this post, you already know that I am planning to make the shirt that Nina Dobrav is wearing. I have been looking around for a pattern for a modern button down. Considering my sewing skills I will probably make the shirt once and then mess with the pattern to make it more fitted and add the ruffle on my second try. My goal is to make it look like the one in this picture. I will be scouring the fabric stores at home from some cheap fabric for a first try and then hopefully some navy blue for the real deal. I think these two are totally doable projects, since I will have my sewing gifted mother at my disposal as well.

Project #3

My third project will be the most time consuming and and the biggest stretch of skills for me, of the three. For years my grandma has been pestering me to write a sweater pattern for her. She knits A LOT. Like she finishes a huge blanket in a few days. She knits herself sweaters all the time, but they don't fit her. I think I would be hard pressed to find one that did. You see she is the skinniest person ever! EVER!! So she wants a sweater that actually fits. I have never written a sweater pattern before, and I am sure you will all hear my cries as I write this one. However, I don't think it will be too hard considering I won't have to do ANY shaping. Yep, skinny and built like a ruler... Wish I had gotten some of her genes! Spring break will be the perfect time to buy yarn with her, and get her measurements and design specs so I can knit her a sweater and write a pattern along the way. For this project I will have little help though, just books, the internet and my own know how. Well I guess I will have some help afterall, but none from any knitter around here, I happen to be the best knitter in my family, not bragging just a fact, I swear!

So what do you think? Do you gals approve of my spring break of crafts? Just keep your fingers crossed that everything gets done!

Pearls

2010-03-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have always had a thing for pearls. Tthe first earrings I bought when I got my ears pierced? Freshwater pearl studs! I must have had an eye for classic style, even at the young age of 11.
In the same vein, I have been working with a fashion and accessory specialist, to develop some new pieces for my Etsy shop. I wanted to combine ribbon and pearls and she helped with the right lengths the design and with current and classic color combinations. You can be assured that these necklaces will become your new go to pieces and that they will last you a long time. I specialize in pretty strong jewelry, I know how I treat mine... I just listed five new necklaces in my shop to see how people like them.

Without further ado here are some pictures of my new beauties...

So tell me what you think about them? I know I love them but that could just be me? In other blog news I am thinking about adding another theme day. As you know I currently do the Sunday 5, and Food Friday. I am thinking about featuring one knitting and maybe sewing pattern each Wednesday. I know it would be nice to have a place to go for handpicked fashion forward knit pieces. If you would be interested in this type of feature let me know!

Well I am out, I need to recover after the hour and a half I just spent with my calculator doing mortage calculations in my Real Estate class. Ya I know, your so jealous!

Happy Monday Party People!

The Sunday Five

2010-02-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

What is making me happy this Sunday?

The rain appears to be over. After a long weekend of cabin fever, the sun is out and the extended forecast seems to be dry. Finally! I know that I am from Seattle, but at home the rain doesn't keep you inside. Here is San Diego it is dangerous to drive in the rain, people here don't know how and drainage is very bad so standing water is a big problem. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curling- Could be my favorite sport of these winter Olympics. I lot of people think it is a lame sport, but once you understand the rules, it is SO intense. As an extra bonus, my second favorite country won a gold in curling, SWEDEN!! Sweden also medaled in at least one XC skiing event. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olympics being over- this may seem to conflict with my joy over the Olympics, but I am ready for them to be over. I probably wouldn't feel this way if NBC did a better job covering the games. Instead I end up staying up till midnight every night, when the coverage could be hours shorter if the announcers didn't like hearing the sound of their own voices so much. Also everything is delayed even though the actual events are in my own time zone, and the coverage is so sparse on non-USA dominated events. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the games. I love the Winter Olympics, but I could have written a book with just the ridiculous phrases the announcers came up with. "Get the monkey off her back" WHAT??? So I am happy to get back to my regular sleep schedule, and not be glued to the TV all night, watching the same commercials over and over, Milkaholic, thanks moms, go world, swagger wagon, the marriage ref... Wait this is supposed to be a post about happiness? Right, I am happy they are over tonight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alice in wonderland- I am SOOOOOO excited to see this movie which comes out on Friday. While this movie totally scared the crap out of me as a child, I am super excited to see a new version as a grown up. I never wanted to see the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this one looks so much fun. I have always been very intrigued by the other, not so innocent, themes in Alice and Wonderland, and this new version will highlight those more I imagine. In this same vein, Disney at Ruffles and Stuff, just posted some great photos of necklaces she just made. I can imagine Alice wearing a lot of them. I am thinking this movie is going to be a great source of inspiration. Click here to check out the necklaces over on Ruffles and Stuff! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The exhibition figure skating and ice dancing performances last night. Last night during the Olympic coverage of the final runs of four man bobsled, the winners of ice dancing and figure skating were able to perform one more time, for fun. Not only were these performances beautiful, but it was obvious that without the pressure of competition, these amazing skaters few higher and had amazing smiles on their faces. I especially enjoyed the Canadian ice dancing couple with the combination of a song from the Nutcracker and some other disco song, maybe, that I cannot remember the name of right now. Maybe I am in shock becasue I just watched the end of the USA Canada hockey game. Just saying.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well in my quest to keep this post happy, I should really end before I hear the start of Oh Canada. I start taking cheap shots when my team, or country loses.

Happy Sunday!

Food Friday

2010-02-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my first Food Friday

This week's subject is bacon, surprised? But I promise I won't pick bacon themed Food Friday every week, just this week. I can even tell you next week is a desert/snack recipe.

Do you remember this post I did a little bit ago? Well after I wrote it I hit the contact us part of the J&D's site just to let them know I had written about their new product. Later than night when I checked my e-mail I had a reply saying they were going to send me some samples!! Boy was I excited. I called my mom, and sent texts to like ten people. I was on cloud nine! A short three days later I came home to a package sitting, waiting to be opened.

When I ripped the box open the first thing I spotted was the bacon popcorn. Popcorn is also one of my top foods so I am extremely excited to pop some up!!

They also included some bacon salt which I first discovered at Luna Park Cafe in West Seattle. I already have some at home in Seattle and now I have some here too. The bacon salt sticker is awaiting the perfect place of prominence. But I haven't found that perfect place yet. The most interesting thing included?

The bacon lip balm. I was actually scared to try this stuff out. I am not generally afraid of anything bacon related...

As you can tell from the picture, the seal has been broken. I did try it, but only once so far. I tried it out after I had eaten too much food and already felt kind of sick. Consequently it didn't sit to well with me. But I will try it again. It defiantly tastes like bacon.

So foodies, go out and cook up some bacon. Or sprinkle some bacon salt on some fries. Happy eating!

The Mobile- All Grown Up

2010-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

I love mobiles! When I was in The Land Of Nod a month ago all the mobiles in the mock up kids rooms just make me melt. They are a fun and a simple way to add to a kid's room. But what am I supposed to do as a grown up who wants one for herself?

Here is what I came up with...

Want to know how I made this? Well your in luck!

Supplies (for one tissue paper ball)

About 2 sheets tissue paper, I used solid pink and three colors of green on the other
3 inch Styrofoam ball
Craft glue
Ribbon and 5 straight pins - to connect them into a mobile

First cut you tissue paper into squares. They don't have to be perfect mine were around 3X3. Try and keep them about the same size. I cut my tissue into strips and then cut the squares all at once to keep them uniform.

Take the square and fold it in half diagonally.
Now take the two outer corners and create a cone, around your finger, by bringing them up and to the opposite sides.

Now cover the end with your craft glue. Take your finger and press the cone to the Styrofoam ball. Press the glue on then kind of bend the cone up with your finger so it sticks up straight. If you press real hard and kind of squish the ball down the paper stick even better. Continue going around the ball until its all covered and you cannot see any white. This is what they look like when they are done!

To create the mobile take some ribbon and put a straight pin through it. Dip the pin in your craft glue and stick it in the ball. Now take the other end of the ribbon and put a pin through it and dip it in the glue and stick it into the other ball. Take another piece of ribbon and double it to make a loop. Stick another straight pin in the ribbon, dip it in glue and stick it in the opposite end of the ball you want at the top. Let the glue dry for a few hours first so the weight doesn't pull the pins out. Find a sunny spot and hang you new spring mobile.

As you can see I also added my sequin St. Patrick's Day ball to the very end, to add some holiday flair to our dorm room. To see how I made that click here.

I also think these would be pretty against an empty wall. To get them to stick out from the wall far enough you would probably have to hang them from the ceiling. I would use fishing line instead of ribbon in that case.

Dear Readers

2010-02-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

My Dearest Readers,

I am lame. I have not posted anything in quite a while. Please be patient with me. My roommate is sick, I have midterms this week, and I am busy making new accessories for the Etsy shop. But I have so much to show you in the near near near future. Like tomorrow, and Friday, and this weekend. I will post Food Friday for the first time, well...this Friday. I hope that you all check back soon, and don't hold a grudge against me for not posting any fun craft projects.

See you'll soon!

Put A Pin On It - Take 2

2010-02-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the St. Patty's Day version of the flowers I made earlier this week. When I made the first one, I envisioned it as part of a pair, around braided pigtails. After bribing my roommate to be my model, my version has become reality! Super!!

Here they are in all their glory!

Don't you love them? I do soooo much. They look amazing on my roommate, who plays the part of Irish quite well. She is actually from Paraguay.

What did I do differently for this guys as apposed to the red tutorial I posted a few days ago? First I used three circles, one white and two green. I controlled the folds and ruffles much more than last time. First I folded the circle taco style and sewed along the fold. Then I folded the circle where I wanted a ruffle to be and sewed up the crease on the bottom until I got the look I wanted. The felt is kind of flimsy so you have to sew it a lot to get it to stay put. Just keep folding and sewing until you like it and then sew the three layers together. I made the green ones really big and after I sewing them together I trimmed them to be smaller. Then I did the whip stitch around the edge like last time and glued on the pearl. Perfection! If you wanted to check out the original post with the step by step tutorial click here!

No April showers needed for these spring flowers!

My Irish Eyes Are Smiling

2010-02-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

I have 8 Styrofoam balls left over from Christmas. Yes I over bought, and now I am scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with all of them. Today I decided to use up some of the sequins I have, also left over from Christmas. Ready to make a cute green and gold decoration to celebrate the Irish in you?

Supplies

Styrofoam ball
Straight pins
Green and Gold sequins
Clip art print out
Optional- Beads and Glue

Here I started with a sequin then a bead then the pin. But I ended up taking out the beads, since I think they distract from the image. So the pictures will show both ways.

Stay on the edges and then fill in the design. You can pin right over the design. Remember to take out the pins you used to put on the clip art as you get around to them.

Once you finish the shamrock your decoration it will look like this...

Once you go around the outside of the shamrock, continue covering the rest of the ball with the gold sequins. I only did the design on one side, but you could do two designs, or even a few smaller shapes on yours!

Here is the finish product! Not quite sure what I am going to do with this guy. I think I will attach a ribbon to the top and hang it somewhere, but it might end up as part of a larger St. Patrick's Day display!

Here is another picture with another Styrofoam ball project that is headed you way later this week. I found a neat way to cover the ball with felt. No glue, and the pins are not holding it on either.... A Mystery!

*One quick tip, if you add ribbon dip the pin in a little glue then push it through the ribbon and into the Styrofoam. This will prevent the weight of the ball from pulling the ribbon out when hanging.

** This is a great project you can zone out and do while watching the Olympics! That's what I did, just watch those pins!

Put A Pin On It

2010-02-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

Want to make this pretty flower? It can be a pin of even go in your hair on a pin or ponytail holder.

Here we go.

1. Gather your supplies

Felt- you can use whatever colors you have around
A needle and thread- you can see I used a contrasting thread for the edges
A pearl or button- you can use anything here for the center of the flower
hot glue- for putting on the center, you could also sew on the middle if its a button or something else with a hole.

2. Cut two circles out of the felt, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller one is the center of your flower
3.

Don't be afraid to add a lot of stitches here. This is the center of your flower and the stitches won't show. Get it to look good.

I trimmed the white circle so it was kind of wavy. Here you do the same thing as above. Pinch the white and sew through the folds to get the look you want.

Next thread up your needle with a contrasting thread and do a whip stitch around the edges of the outer flower. There is lots of variations you could do here. Add another layer of felt, do different colors, do two layers of the same colors, or do the contrasting stitch on the center layer or both layers. The possibilities are as endless as your craft supply stash!

Finally pick out your center and hot glue it in. I added a safety pin to the back and wore it around on my shirt all day
I am going to make one so I don't get pinched on St. Patrick's day. I will post it soon!

Spring Wreath

2010-02-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas I bought a Styrofoam wreath form. I was planning on making a Christmas wreath. But I never got around to it. I have been debating what to do with this wreath and to celebrate spring I created this beautiful yellow and green wreath for our door!

I thought I would share how I did this wreath so everyone can celebrate spring!

Start by winding a small ball of yarn from your larger ball. This will make it easier to wrap. It is really hard to estimate how much yarn to wind but err on the side of too much.

Start wrapping the form. Wrap over the end a few times and it should be secure. Wrap until the wreath is covered.

Glue in the center of the flower- I chose a pearl bead.

Place your flowers on the wreath and glue. I put mine off to the side a little.

Now you have a few options. I took 12 strands of yarn and braided them. Then I glued them on the back of my wreath like so...
You could also use ribbon of a contrasting yarn.

Ta DA! A pretty spring wreath!

The Sunday Five

2010-02-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Are you ready? Here we go...

1. We saw this in Business Law on Friday

2. Coldplay- the band in general is playing A LOT on my ipod. After seeing my in concert this summer Coldplay is almost an addition.

3. A new Cd called Lungs by Florence + The Machine. I first heard the song Cosmic Love on The Vampire Diaries, and totally fell in love. The whole album is worth your ten bucks.

4. The Olympics- I mean I am watching them right now, and won't stop until they are over. Go USA, Then Sweden!

5. The Olympic announcers. Can they be any dumber? For two days straight my roommates and I have been making fun of these guys. They say the same things over and over and OVER again. But its really entertaining to make fun of them.

You know the drill-
Share what's making you happy right now!

Share the Love

2010-02-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today I didn't do much of consequence in the crafty/bacon, my 2 favorite topics, realm. I thought I would share with you one of my favorite bloggers!

I discovered French Press Knits a while back and since then I literally hit refresh all the time hoping she will post something new. I bet plenty of you have seen her pretty slipper pattern or the slipper themselves on Etsy. They seem to be pretty popular, I can't wait until I have time in my knitting line up to sneak those guys in!

The reason I love the blog so much, is that she loves knitting. I can really relate to someone who loves knitting as much as I do.

In addition she makes patterns which I think is wonderful. I think it takes really skill to write a pattern, let alone post some for free, on the web. I have written a few patterns in my time, usually for my mom, but that's about as far as I get. Having them on the web for everyone to try, that takes guts, and I think a lot of people don't realize that its a big step coming out with your first pattern. Defiantly a leap of faith, in my opinion! What if no one likes it, or you made an error, or no one can understand you instructions. I bet Miss French Press Knits never has the knitting self doubt like me, but I really admire her, her beautiful photgrahs, and her blog. So go ahead and check it out, you know you want to!

An Ode to Bacon

2010-02-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

I really like bacon, not like a normal person does. But when have I claimed to be normal? Bacon is actually my favorite food. But since it's not the best thing for you I eat turkey bacon most of the time. Bacon is more of a special occasion food for me. But I really really love it, so when I opened my e-mail this morning and found this at the bottom of my Hungry Girl email, I kind of freaked out, and then I decided to write about it.

They are called Mmmvelopes and they are bacon flavored envelops!! I, like most people don't enjoy licking envelopes, but its just part of life right? Well once I order some of these puppies I will be writing letters to everyone I know. That 2nd cousin once removed I met when I was three? Getting a letter! My cat, SOOOO getting a letter.

Once I got this e-mail I began to ponder the other bacon subliminal signals I have been getting lately. Have you seen this add from Jack in the Box yet?

Then there is this site all my friends keep sending me a link to. 6 Reason Bacon is Better than True Love. You should defiantly check that out. Just a sneak preview the first one says, " True love only happens once in a lifetime. Bacon can happen seven times a day, if you want it to."

It's really amazing where you can find bacon in your life. This is really only a smattering of the ways bacon has infiltrated mine. As I have been know to say...the only thing that would make this better is MORE BACON!!

The Sunday 5

2010-02-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

What a day! Today for my Sunday 5 I am feeling really happy about having things to look forward to.

While I was watching the Super Bowl, I was kinda down, thinking about how I had no sports to watch for a while, and how my team was losing. Then I was sad because I was thinking how awesome it would be if the Seahawks went back to the Super Bowl, but then I remembered; the new coach is my arch-nemesis. Then I fell asleep during the 4th quarter, I know I know, how is that even possible? I have only ever fallen asleep during one other football game in my life, also an important game. But I was woken up by my roommate yelling because the Saints had just scored. Not something I was happy to wake up to. I am really a messed up sleeper, and this too has been getting me down lately. I am not tired so I cannot fall asleep, but then I cannot get up in the morning and it is a continuous bad cycle of sleeping in, and I cannot seem to control it. But I realized I am lucky to have the time to sleep in. I am also lucky to have so much to wake up for, something I need to keep in the front of my mind as I try to get on a better sleep schedule! And now for the 5 things I am happy to look forward to...

March Madness

The NFL Draft- who will draft Colt McCoy? Is his arm better?

The Winter Olympics- just a few hours north of my home
Spring Training

Spring Break- Bring on the spring skiing!!

Right now is a good time to think about all we have to look forward to with happiness. The unknown dark of the future can loom out in the distance causing stress, especially to someone about to graduate college. But staying focused on awesome things is the best way to add some bright spots to that darkness. No matter what job I have or where I am after May 23rd, I know I will at least have baseball.

Happy Sunday

Please comment and share all you are looking
forward to in the next few months!

Superbowl & Food

2010-02-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

I guess this is becoming a theme, starting a blog entry with things I love. Today is the Superbowl, which is a day that combines SOO many things I love. Football, TV, food! Oh how do I love the food I get to eat because of the Superbowl. So today I thought I would share a couple different things I associate with game days. The first recipe, if you can call if that, comes from my grandma. It is SOO terrible for you, but I have remade it so I never feel guilty eating it and sometimes even have it on days other than game day...

First grab those ingredients I mentioned in my last post
-Hot Dogs
- Bacon
-Cheese
-Toothpicks
-a bun, or bread if you have some around

Now this is how my grandma makes them. First she butters the buns, wraps them in foil and sticks them in the oven so they will be warm when you're done. Next she takes a hot dog and cuts a slit down the middle. Here she inserts a few cubes of cheese. Next grab three toothpicks and a slice of bacon. Attach one end of the bacon to one end of the hot dog with a toothpick. Wrap the bacon around the hot dog securing with another toothpick in the middle and at the end. Now place on a broiler pan and broil this puppies until the bacon is cooked to your liking and the cheese is melting. Unwrap a bun, remove the toothpicks and take a big bite, today is the Superbowl you deserve it!!

What if you are like me and want that bacon to extra crispy? Here's my advice, cook the bacon a bit first in a pan. Now don't go to crazy here, cook it low and slow, and remember it has to bend once you wrap it so don't cook it all the way.

Another version? Lighten this up using Hebrew National reduced fat, or 97% fat free hot dogs and turkey bacon. I can't tell the difference between reduced fat and the regular, but the 97% guys do taste different, but its a small price to pay when they are 35 calories and when wrapped in bacon, I mean what doesn't taste great wrapped in bacon??

Another great way to make these is with a George Foreman Grill. I wrap mine and stick it on the grill, this way I don't need toothpicks, just make sure you rotate every a couple of min. Then I toast my bun in the oven with a couple of slices of cheese on the bun. Fantastic!

One final tip, if you are doing this on an actual grill outside, soak your toothpicks first so they don't catch fire. This makes them extremely hard to remove...

Have you got your cheese grated for the typical gameday nachos yet? Here is my number one tip for great nachos, layers. It is all about the layers people! For a big batch lay out some foil on a cookie sheet and then a thin layer of chips. Take care that the chips are not in a huge pile, spread them into a thin layer. Next add your shredded cheese. Add another layer and then more cheese. Do not skimp on the cheese, it is the binder between the layers and it's also really yummy! Layer up until you have enough and put your cookie sheet into a hot oven. Somewhere around 350. Check often and make sure the inside layers are melted before you take them out. If the top is getting too done, put a sheet of foil over the top. You can also do this on a microwave safe plate, but cover with plastic wrap before you cook, and remember to leave a vent.

If you plan on adding various veggies put them in the layers as well. Some add ons are better just on top, because they are so flavorful, like jalapenos. Some good veggie ideas? Green onions!! These are the best topping EVER!! Also tomato or a pico de gallo are good for tomato lovers, or make your nachos Cali style and cut up some avocado! The options are endless, just remember LAYERS!! Layers people, layers!

See you after the game! Enjoy whatever Super food you decide on this afternoon!

Super Sunday

2010-02-07T01:19:00.000-08:00

Log in Sunday morning for an amazing game day recipe using these....

Run, do not walk, to your kitchen and make sure you have these righttttt.... NOW! Also look for my tips on achieving the perfect nachos!!

Make sure you log in after the game to get my Sunday 5 as usual! See you all tomorrow, twice!!

Inspiration Take 2

2010-02-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Now that I am thinking about it, I guess I really love a lot of things. So far I have mentioned quite a few things, sewing, knitting, jewelry making, adding glitter to anything and everything. Today I endeavor to talk about another thing I love even if I am an amateur. Fashion.

I really really enjoy pretty clothes. And all the bloggers I love have been taking things from stores and recreating them themselves. Ruffles are fairly easy to sew and it seems a lot of people are cutting up their tee shirts and sticking ruffles on anything with two sleeves. Which I think is awesome. I once believed that I cannot pull off ruffles, but my mind has been changed. It could help that everyone seems to be wearing them so when I do, I don't feel like I am stick out like a soar thumb.

Since I follow Nina Dobrev on twitter, I saw some different tops she has been wearing for different covers and shoots for The Vampire Diaries. I really like how they are styling her, and low and behold they stuck some ruffles on her. Now these ruffles are a little different that the stuff I have seen around so, I am going to give this shirt a go!

I really like how the ruffle become the sleeves and how the shirt dips so low in the front. Plus I am in love with navy blue so that's a plus too. I haven't quite decided what I am going to start with though. I am thinking I could either sew the entire shirt myself from a sleeveless blouse pattern or I could find a button down in navy blue, make it more fitted if I need to, and then add the ruffle. I was leaning towards the second since it would probably be easier but I would probably have to buy 2 shirts just to get enough matching fabric to make the ruffles, which would defeat the cheapness. So I will probably just make the entire thing myself since if I need more fabric or I mess up, that tends to happen when I sew, I can just run to the fabric store, or rip out my stitches. This will also give me a lot better control of the fit of the shirt too.

The sad part is I won't be able to make this beauty until March since that is when I will be home again and can use my mom's sewing machine. But until then I will be hunting for a pattern. I can't wait to show you all what I come up with. Like I keep saying, inspiration strikes in the oddest of places! Oh twitter how I love you!

While I am talking about fashion, which I know very little about compared to my other hobbies, I would like to direct you to a fashion expert! Kelly Skahan writes for the Examiner online, covering the Seattle fashion scene. She is currently stationed in New York, so she really has here thumb on the pulse of fashion! She writes great articles on how fashion amateurs, like me, can pull off the newest, coolest, looks without looking like a crazy person! Go check her out!!!

Pictures via twitpic.com and the examiner.com

What I would love

2010-02-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

Since I am graduating this May I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to do, what I really want to do and what jobs will make me happy. One thing I know, is that I need to keep crafting and creativity in my life. However I would like it to be more than just a hobby. As all you readers know I have Wax Eloquent now, with my glowing candle holders and earrings, but I know that it cannot support me once I get out of school. I mean I hope it will but realistically I am just hoping for a few sales between now and then so I can afford to go see a movie that's not a matinee.

As I have been contemplating what would be ideal, I thought wouldn't it be awesome if people who pay me to knit stuff for them? Knitting is something that I really enjoy and happen to be good at, and knitting for a living would be awesome. But I would probably get fat. I would sit and knit and watch movies and TV ALL DAY! But I would love it. However, even this wouldn't totally satisfy me and my need to be around people often.

Then on the opposite end from crafty business is working within my major. Finance major econ minor, there is a lot I can do with that as well. I think running my own craft business is actually a good blend. If I were to become a full time entrepreneur I would use everything I learned from business school, while still having a creative outlet. As of right now I don't think I can support myself in this way. So just like every other college senior I will be applying for jobs for the next couple months and keeping my fingers crossed that Wax Eloquent becomes a huge success!

But in my interpersonal relations class today we have to write our own personal mission statement. So, whatever I decide to do, I want it to fit in with my person mission statement. Here is what I have so far...

To always be thoughtful in thoughts and action, to treat my friends as family and my family as friends. To keep happiness and fun as constant companions and finally to be generous with my gifts and share creativity with the world around me.

Inspiration!

2010-02-02T23:16:00.001-08:00

So lately I have been grooving with a new source of inspiration. Nature! I know your thinking, Heather that's what some many artists, photographers and other crafty people say. I know, your right, but for me this is new.

I was working on some new glowing candle holders, I had 2 matching square ones that I just started covering with a dark blue. And then SUDDENLY inspiration struck. On my way back from class, around five the other night, I looked up and saw the moon. I love seeing the moon during the day! The white against the lighter blue it is just so so so pretty. How pretty?

Anyways so I thought, I should put the moon on my dark blue candle holder. Oh OH Oh and I can make them a set and put a star on the other. So I DID!!! Once I saw my finished set, I fell in love! I know, so humble right? But once I started with the moon and the stars the ideas just started to flow. So I really want to try and make a sky blue set with a sun and a cloud or a rain drop. I think that the nature ideas work well in pairs. Then since I liked the yellow on the dark blue, I thought LIGHTNING BOLT!! I don't know what to put with that one, maybe it won't be a set.

Then since I have been so obsessed with the sunsets lately, I was like, I should make some sunset colored pieces. San Diego is just so picturesque it's almost hard not to be inspired. I guess, when I am in an anti-california mood, I can talk on and on about the beauty of Seattle, and Mountains, and Snow and clouds and rain...and on and on. But that anti-californianess is not allowed to permeate me anymore so I am seeing more and more of the beauty of my sometimes home.

Want to see the set that I fell in love with? Here are some pictures! Look for them on Etsy later tonight, after it gets dark so I can take a few pictures of them with candles! Get ready for a lot of pictures since these guys are my favorite things I have made, EVER!!

See they even have little rhinestones on them like little twinkling stars in the night sky!

Hey! You!!! Leave a comment,
I love reading what my readers have to say!

Secrets Come Out

2010-02-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

So I have a confession. I am totally, insanely in love with a new TV show. Let me preface the embarrassment with a little background. I am a TOTAL sucker for all things teenage. I am more a teenager now then when my age actually ended in teen. I read books out of the young adult section in the bookstore. I find myself at the movie theater looking around and see lots of girls who can't even drive yet. I don't even really understand it, I have some theories why I love all things teenage, but today is not the day for psychoanalysis.

So back to my new favorite TV show. I really only started watching because I really like the main female character, Nina Dobrev, because she is from another teenage show I really like, Degrassi. I am all slightly obsessed with Canada so Degrassi is like heaven for me. This show is like the perfect storm of things I love, because it also is filmed and takes place in the south! I love the south!!!

So last semester during finals week The CW was showing a marathon of sorts, of the show Vampire Diaries. Wait don't judge me just yet! It is SOOOO good! Seriously I love it. It is not just like twilight on TV. The show is actually based on a book series from the 90's. Despite being a vampire show, it is a really good show about trust, truth and lies. New things are reveled often and twists are around every corner. It also is developing into a kick ass love triangle, which rings of Dawson's Creek esque intensity. Plus there is plenty of brooding monsters who want to be good....

Need I say more? Check it out, Thursday nights 8/7c
(picture via twitpic.com)

Now it's your turn. What are your favorite guilty pleasure TV shows?
Tell all in the comments section!!!

The Sunday 5

2010-01-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

Wow so much is making me happy this Sunday. Right now I am having a ball watching the Grammy's with my roommates! But it was the start to my day that was really fantastic! In fact its #1 of the Sunday 5! Without further delay...

Getting up early- this is really hard for me usually so I was proud of myself to get up on a Sunday Morning.
Walking Sunset Cliffs this morning. Pictures and story to follow...
Having frozen yogurt for breakfast! Strawberry and Pineapple with strawberry pieces, YUM!
3 loads of laundry. Today I did three loads of laundry and now have a closet full of different outfits! Exciting!
Staying in touch with all my Seattle people via Twitter. Its amazing and we stay connected this way. Sometimes I am amazed with technology. Twitter to my phone?? AWESOME!!

Sometimes, especially when I am home for a long break, I really rag on California. I even refer to it as the land of the vain. But that is just me being negative Nelly. Today when I was walking the cliffs with my old roommate Denise, I remembered just how much I love San Diego and the beach and USD. Sometimes my Pacific Northwest friends taint my opinion of Southern California, because they might not like it. But I it love here, I chose this place and I love it. So here's to San Diego, where all of the Sunday 5 took place this week. California YOU ROCK!!!

Sunset Cliffs...a story in Pictures!

Isn't it pretty? The park is mostly a trail right along the cliffs. It was warm but the cliffs have a nice ocean breeze and spray! Lovely!

This guy's surfboard broke in HALF!!

We did in fact see a rescue! I surfer apparently lost his board? And then I saw this guy jump off a cliff and try to rescue him. Well he failed! The guy was totally stuck in a spot by the cliffs that was pulling him every which way. The guy who jumped in ended up leaving him. Then a life guard came and got him. Then a boat came to pick them up, and THEN a helicopter flew over!

What can I say, has there ever been a better argument for The Heather Cam? If you have no idea what The Heather Cam is, it all centers around all the crazy things I see. But if I were to wear a camera on my head, like a helmet camera, I could document all the loco stuff I see.
Happy Sunday!!!

Gone Thriftin'

2010-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just like the title above sugests...I recently went to the thrift store, and the dollar store which I consider thrifty! Oh yes I did! Want to see what I got?

First a side note: The best part is what happened on the way from the Salvation army to Trader Joe's. So my partner in crime, Denise, and I tried to get from the thrift store to TJ's. They are about ten minutes apart...maybe? But I couldn't take a left out of the driveway back towards TJ's so I went right. Well Denise and I have been at USD for 4 years, so we thought we could find a new way to TJ's on our own. Boy were we wrong!! Like seriously WRONG! We went through a series of rights and lefts through neighborhoods we didn't recognize until finally we got on top of a hill to get our bearings. Just like Bear Grylls from Man Vs. Wild taught me! But what did we see? The ocean of all things!! Trader Joe's is on the bay side of the point NOT the ocean side. So I made a bold choice. Go to the ocean and turn and hope to find the bay. Here we stumbled into a park. This park was beautiful, with a meandering trail along the cliffs. The ocean was filled with surfers. It was so pretty and amazing we are going back tomorrow! But then the road along the ocean ended!! A dead fricking end!! I mean come on!!! To make the rest of this long story short we eventually wound out way out and got to TJ's, after about 45 min!!! Ridiculous!! It should have been 10 minutes!!! Turns out, Denise and I do not know San Diego as well as we thought. But we certainly learned a lot on this crazy journey.

...But I digress back to the thrifting part of the adventure...

Here is the group all washed a ready to be transformed by color and embellishments. Can't you just taste the possibility?

Yes those are pumpkins on the towels. I can't help it I love Halloween!

Want to know what else was AWESOME!! The salvation army was having a blow out fifty percent off sale! And I didn't even know about it!! I just stumbled in there, extra sweet!!

Here a few of my favorite ones. I just love working with the different shapes. This one here, so different -->
The top part is so different. It will probably end up being two toned to emphasize the two halves of the vase! I just love it, it is defiantly my favorite out of the bunch!!

I don't know why but I am really grooving on anything that has edges. Hence this beauty I picked out. What's really cool about this one is that the edges are on the inside. The outside is perfectly smooth! It looks like it will be perfect as a glowing candle holder.

Once I got home I couldn't contain myself and the crafty energy was flowing through me. So I started one piece that I haven't shown you yet. It is kind of like a fish bowl, pretty big too. But I found the perfect color. So here it is in all its unfinished glory.

I am not sure where to go from here. But I think the turquoise needs to be darker so I will soldier on until more inspiration strikes. I am thinking blue to go with it. Something blue defiantly.

I also worked on some earrings this evening. Afterward, I was browsing the web, like I do, and I found the BEST sight. Confetti.com!!! My Oh MY!!! This place is a dream for anyone who loves sequins, like ME! Can you tell how excited I am?? Well my advice is that everyone check it out!!

That's it I'm out!! Tune in tomorrow for the Sunday 5!!

Who Loves Sparkles???

2010-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

A while ago I showed you all a couple of pictures from my etsy shop! And today I am excited to announce a new line, so to speak, of pieces I am proud to offer. Earrings!

Like my candle holders and vases, these earrings will have that little sparkle and pizazz, that embody my sense of style and personality. So far I have just listed one pair but expect more to come! They are made of 3 sequins. A large pink and purple and a small translucent pink. They are on a fish hook style earring and made with quality jewelry making supplies. From the base of the hook part itself the earrings are about 4cm or 1.5 in in length.

Here are some pictures!

In other store news, today is Friday which means, I will be shopping around for new glass pieces to work on this week. Since I only have 2 classes in the mornings on Fridays this will hopefully become my routine. Shop on Fridays and work on pieces throughout the week. This means more items into the shop on a semi regular basis. If you know someone who would like what I make please send them my to my store.

Happy Friday!!!

Sunset

2010-01-28T22:01:00.001-08:00

This is what I came home to this evening after my 5:30 class...

Tomorrow is Friday! Oh Happy Day

Hold Me Accountable

2010-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

So I was over at Pickles the other day. And they had this amazing free cardigan pattern. It is just lovely. I am sharing this because I want you all to remind me to knit it again when I am out of college and have a steady income. Or when I become a huge success on Etsy!

Here is the picture from their sight -->

The best part? They recommend yarn from their shop and its not to expensive either, even if you upgrade from merino wool to cashmerino. For all you non knitters, cashmerino is a blend of cashmere and merino wool, which is also very soft. Even better, it has a slightly open fabric and a double strand, so it will knit up fairly quickly on larger needles. I can't wait to knit it! So, call to action here, remind me!

If you want to check out the pattern yourself, click HERE.

Add Some Fleece to Your Life

2010-01-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

Ever knit a hat that turned out just a tad too big? Or was itchy? Well I certainly have, and the solution is surprising simple. Sew in a fleece lining!

Tools:

Fleece
Hat
Matching thread
Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
Straight edge
Measuring tape
Scissors

To start: Lay out your hat and decide how wide you want your lining to be. Essentially you will be sewing in a head band, so your forehead and ears won't be irritated by the yarn. I decided that 3.5 inches would be right for my hat. Decide what fits your hat and needs for this step. Next measure the circumference of your hat. This doesn't have to be perfect since you will be cutting the strip a few inches longer anyway. I put my straight edge up against one edge and used a rotary cutter to cut in 3.5 inches. Of course you can use plain old scissors and it will work just fine.

Next place one short edge of your strip at the center, inside, back, of the hat. At this point your hat should be inside out. Pin the short edge in, and head over to your sewing machine. Here using a semi wide zigzag stitch is going to be your best bet. The widness helps prevent the knitting and fleece from puckering. Here is what I used

After you have sewn in the short side, pin the lower edge. Since the hat gets smaller as it goes up the lower hat edge will probably be slightly longer and should be sewn first. After you have sewn in the bottom edge, iron the strip and your hat. This will help smooth out minor puckers from sewing something this thick and stretchy. Now you should pull the strip taught and pin the upper edge of the band slightly tight. This will compensate for the slightly smaller circumference at the top edge of the band.
To help sewing the upper band part, I took off the arm of the sewing machine. If your sewing machine has this capability DO IT!! Very helpful! So after you are done sewing the two lines you need to cut the excess so you can sew the final short side of your band. Cut so the ends ever so slightly over lap each other. This will create a perfect match up when you sew the final side since stitching it down will pull it in slightly. When you are done it should look something like...

And

Now if you didn't do a perfect job sewing some of your lines you can trim the excess outside the zigzag stitch. But be careful not to clip your sewn stitches or your hat! I cut the corners of the short sides so they won't poke when the hat is being worn.

So there you are a wonderful fun hat with an equally fun purple soft lining!
Bring on the cold, right?

The Happy Triggers

2010-01-24T21:17:00.001-08:00

This Sunday is an extra anxious Sunday. See tomorrow is the first day of the spring semester here at USD. But I am feeling pretty calm. I was waiting the tummy ache, or the chills, or the freak out to come. And, well, it hasn't. Which is great, no complaints here. At first I thought, finally I have outgrown the Sunday night tummy aches, on this my very last semester of college. But what I was quick to realize is that I have just learned my happy triggers. While I sat on my bed contemplating the new week about to start I had an idea. Why not share my happy triggers with the world and ask you guys for yours. Thus begins...

The New Sunday Tradition

Every Sunday, on this here blog, I will be sharing 5 different things that are making me happy right now. This week, and, I am sure many weeks to follow, my list will consist of music that is keeping me upbeat and positive. All I ask of you is to add a song or five in the comments section, that makes you happy. Consider it a happiness trigger karma bank, give a penny take a penny, so to speak. So without further ado here are my top five happy songs for this my very last first week of school!

Moondance- Van Morrison
I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
Whatcha Say- Jason Derulo
Just Say Yes- Snow Patrol
Strawberry Swing- Coldplay

Happy Sunday!!

New Years Resolution?

2010-01-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

Is that new years resolution to get fit going well? If this sounds like you this next tutorial is right up your ally!!

Sweater Revamp!!
So I have this sweater...

I kind of think its icky! It is not made of very nice fabric, all the edges are nasty and as you can see the back is longer than the front. And if you think about that, having the back longer than the front is only going to be exacerbated on a lady... ya. So I just bought a cute v neck ruffle tee shirt from j crew and two amazing v neck sweaters at the Gap. So I thought I am going to make this sweater into a V neck, they look better on me anyway. But while I was messing with it, I also decided I would spruce it up a little more. THis sweater is TOO big now. It is stretched out and doesn't fit any more. So for part one of this tutorial I will be showing you how to bring in a sweater and create a more slim fit! Perfect if you have been hitting the gym as part of your New Years Resolution.

Tools:

Sweater
Sewing machine- need to use either a zigzag stitch or an over lock stitch
Scissors
Matching thread
Measuring tape or ruler
Safety Pin
Washable marker- something non permanent to draw on your sweater with

One tip to start- you are going to get a better fit if you are willing to try the sweater on every once and a while in this project. To make this project go faster wearing a tank top so you can just throw on the sweater, is ideal.

To start try on your sweater. You want to take off even amounts from both sides so pull the sweater away from your side and measure how much you want to take off from each side. I took off an inch on both sides of my sweater. Any time I mention an inch just insert how much you are taking off your sweater or tee.

Next turn your sweater inside out and lay it out in your work area. I put a safety pin where I wanted to go in. I did not slim the sweater through the bust, only the torso.

Next you want to measure an inch out from the current seam. I used an erasable marker to draw what will become my new seam.

I drew right along my straight edge until the safety pin.

Once you get to your safety pin draw a diagonal line that meets up with the original seam. You can see my line 2 pictures up. Now just sew up your line! You have a couple choices here depending on the fabric of your shirt. Mine was part sweater part jerseylike tee shirt. What worked for me was using a zigzag stitch on my line, then cutting and then using an over lock stitch on the raw edges.

Here is what my zigzag looked like before I started cutting.

However I think it would also work well to use an over lock stitch and then cut very carefully right next to you line. If you choose this method make sure you don't pick an over lock stitch where the needle has to miss the edge of the fabric. If the fabric of your shirt does not fray you can skip this and just do the zigzag. If you want to clean up the raw edges then do an over lock stitch. I really all depends on the fabric. However I did both and then trimmed after the over lock stitch.

After sewing up the sides try on your shirt again. Is the fit ok? Maybe you want to make it smaller. Here is your chance to make another line. If you need to go in further be aware that you have to be willing to make the new line at least a half to a quarter inch further in so the old line will get cut off. Remember that is on both sides!! So try hard to get your line right first, or if you want to experiment baste the lines first and try on your sweater.

After my over lock stitch and trim

Turn your revamped sweater right side out and press the new seams. Where the safety pin was will be a little funny but if looks fine after it its ironed. Well isn't that swell, an old sweater is good to go once again!

Part 2, where this sweater becomes a V neck, won't be for a while since I left this sweater in Seattle with the sewing machine...

...and to end, a fun picture of my kitty, Emily all wrapped up in my bed...

Back To School

2010-01-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Monday begins the final countdown until I can rock out to "Schools Out For Summer" for the final time in my life, fingers crossed!! In case you are wondering exactly 4 months from today, May 23rd, I graduate with my degree in finance and minor in economics!!

Tomorrow I will head to the airport and jet back to San Diego. So until I get settled and back to craftin I will not have much to say. Unless you all want to hear about my classes. But I can already tell you they will be boring and I would probably fall asleep at my keyboard typing up the 'lowlights'. But the good thing is I will be back at it right away. I am finishing the flap hat, some glittens and my cousin just asked me to make him a crazy hat as well. So I will have some knitting projects and patterns to share soon. Also before I head out tomorrow I will be lining the knitted hat I told you all about so the pictures should be up for that tutorial soon too!

Sadly I did not have enough time to finish my football themed box, so it will have to wait until I am back in Seattle, spring break probably, since the box is too big to travel with. Sports fans don't fret, I promise some sports projects in the interim. Speaking of sports I am so bummed, tomorrow my flight is at 3PM, so I will be at the airport and in the air during the NFL playoffs. I am hoping the Vikings lose and the Colts win!

Well wish me luck, my last semester of college!! I hope its easy, interesting, and goes by quickly. Can anyone say senioritis ?

Cheers!

Baby Blues

2010-01-21T22:44:00.001-08:00

I just HAD to share the baby sweater I recently finished. I have been working on this sweater FOREVER. Literally, I bought the yarn this summer! I finished the back while I was on vacation in August. Then I realized that if I didn't finish it in time for Christmas it wouldn't fit the intended toddler. So while I was at school I struggled through the moss stitch until the entire sweater was done it. Let me tell you, PAINFUL!! Moss stitch is sooo much worse than seed stitch. But I eventually finished all the pieces. So then I brought the pieces back with me when I came home for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to put the pieces together with the sewing machine. I have never done this before, I always sew by hand with yarn. But I was ready to take a step towards a better garment. SO I threaded up my mom's sewing machine and put right sides together and sewed it up.

One tip- Make sure you iron your pieces before you start sewing. I checked the sides I was about to sew to make sure they were the same length before I started pining and sewing. With an iron you can stretch or squish the pieces so the lengths are equal. Taking the time to iron your pieces makes your finished product SOOOOO much better. I promise it is worth the time. Make sure you press the seams open before you sew another seam that goes through it. This happened when I sewed the sleeves and the sides. First you sew the shoulders and the sleeves in. You sew the sleeve in but they are open, not a tube yet. When you sew up the sides and continue to sew the sleeve together you sew over the shoulder seam and the arm seam. But if you press the first seams open it works a lot better. I pressed all my seams open, just to make it a bit more comfy to wear. Unlike a regular sewn garment, I did not sew the seams open. That wouldn't work well on hand knitted pieces.

WOW why hadn't I done this before? It was faster, stronger and better than anything I have ever sewed myself. So here is the final reveal....

One feature I really liked was the blanket stitch around the edges. One part I didn't like? The hood comes to a point. I thought it looked insane, but everyone else loved it! If I were to knit a hood again, I would try something different. You might also notice I didn't put on any buttons. He is in a chewing phase right now and I was afraid he would chew them off! Finally that moss stitch, I really like the way it turned out and the moss stitch is part of that. However I probably won't knit something in moss stitch for a while!! I need a break!

Can you say exhausted?

2010-01-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well I certainly can! So where have I been since my last blog post? Having the time of my life? Sleeping? Watching TV? Nope! I have been working! And finally some of this is ready to be revealed! I have my first listings on Etsy! I cannot even contain my excitement. Today I listed three valentines themed candle holders, a larger yellow candle holder, and a blue vase. All are handmade and one of a kind. All the candle holders can also be used as vases. Just a little add for myself and here are some pictures to wet your appetite!

Pretty Right? Well I think so. To check out the rest and more pictures click HERE.

So what else have I been working on? Lots and lots of projects that I am almost ready to share with you here. First I am working on a football themed Mod Podge project. It would have been up here already but I cannot find quite enough extras. But I will give you a hint! The top is covered with a calendar page that has one of my favorite University of Washington players on it. I am quickly discovering that calenders make great inspiration and have perfect images to Mod Podge with. I will never throw a calendar away again! I already have a panda one saved, I love pandas!!! Can't wait to see what that turns into!

What else is on the horizon? A new knitting pattern! Yep a while ago I knit a hat for a friend of mine and now I am making a pattern of my own. The ear flap hat is coming your way soon!! Here is the one I already made and the inspiration for the pattern I am working on now!

An Action Shot!!

After that a tutorial will follow with instructions on how to line the hat with fleece in case you made the hat a little big or used a itchy yarn. The hat from above was a little itchy so I will use it in the tutorial. I have one more big project, actually a gift up my sleeve as well but that's a secret for now. All I have to say is, inspiration strikes in the oddest of places!!

Well that's all for now, but a lot to look forward to in the coming days! Talk to you all soon!

Business Sense

2010-01-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know I am trying to start up my own business. Over the past couple weeks I have been making pieces for sale, working on my own website, and starting this blog. Needless to say this has been keeping me quite busy. I have always wanted to have my own business and while it is hard work so far, just to get everything set up, it is a labor of love!

I bought this book at Barnes and Noble from the Missing Manual series, called Creating a Website. It's a lot more complicated than I thought. Luckily I am working with a 60 day free trial of the Microsoft web page editor. This makes designing a website more like creating a Word document or PowerPoint presentation, but still not something I can churn out in a weekend. Once I get that up and running it will link to this blog, my future Etsy store and some other exciting features to be revealed. I already bought my domain name www.waxeloquentbyheather.com so look for an announcement coming soon when the page is up and running. Very Exciting!

In other news, I should have five pieces on Etsy.com this weekend and I have three in the wings that should be up soonish as well.

The task really getting me down? Of all this tasks upon me right now while starting my handmade business, what am I avoiding the most? Maybe the thing I am trained to do? Well if you guessed Accounting, GOLD star for you!!! Yep the finance major, who has worked in accounting for three years is completely dreading working out the books for her business. I need to enter all my receipts and figure out the cost for me to produce each piece. But have I opened an spreadsheet yet? Nope. I do have a pile of receipts by my feet a good start I say. Tomorrow is a new day and I promise I will at least open a spreadsheet. I guess I have to anyway if I am going to list anything on Etsy. Have to figure out the price, right?

So tomorrow after I have taken pictures of my new pieces, input all my receipts, and listed five items on Etsy I hope to have a fun Mod Podge tutorial for you all. The theme? Oh, just one of my favorite things, football!! I figure lots of craft people make lovely gifts for the females in their lives, why leave out the boys. So stay tuned for a fun football theme project for all the little boys in your life!

Glittervention

2010-01-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

So what is there to say about glitter? It's amazing, and sparkly? It gets everywhere, hard to control, and TOO sparkly? Well here are some tips so you can experience the softer, sensitive side of glitter.

~Your Plan of Attack~
The trick is in all the friends you bring along. The tools of the glitter tamers trade: fine tipped glue bottle, a medium paint brush, wax paper, Mod Podge, clear spray sealer.

First determine if you want to add fine designs, like outlines or words, or more chunky designs like filled in shapes. For fine work you should use glue with a fine tip applicator. I used the glue that came with the 3 pack of Martha Stewart Valentines themed glitter I picked up at Michael's last week. Its a pretty small amount of glue but I have seen larger bottles. I would stay away from something like Tacky craft glue, its too thick. Think more of an Elmer's consistency. Set up your work space and cover that area with wax paper. Glitter isn't super cheap and glitter doesn't stick to wax paper so you can pour it back into the container.

Next use your glue to draw your design. Cover the glue with glitter, don't be conservative here really cover the area with glitter. Remember you can pour most of the excess back into the container.

For filled in shapes, like circles the best technique I have discovered is to make a stencil. For a small circle trace the bottom of a shot glass on stiff paper, like a note card. Cut out the shape and lay your new stencil on the object to be glittered. Here instead of glue Mod Podge works perfectly. Hold the stencil down, or even tape it if the surface allows, and paint on the Mod Podge. Then pour on the glitter. Blow off any excess and carefully peel the stencil away.

From here on the directions are the same no matter the type of glitter design you are working on. Wait for the glue to dry, no touching!! Once you are sure it's dry, one clue- the glue turns clear, start brushing away the remaining glitter with the paint brush. If you are glittering on a surface that is slightly sticky, say it is coated with Mod Podge, make sure you don't leave the step for too long. The longer the glitter sits on the sticky surface the harder it is to get off, I had to use my finger nails on a piece I left for about 2 days. Just make sure your glue is dry!! Next carefully cover the glitter design with a layer of Mod Podge.
Wait for this to dry. Here you can add another layer Mod Podge or go straight to sealing. If your piece is finished hit it with a few coats of a clear sealer. This seals in the glitter and makes your piece water resistant, but NOT water proof. After the sealer drys you can touch the glitter area and it won't even rub off on you.

A tip for recovering your excess glitter- Fold the wax paper down the middle, that will make tapping it back into the tiny mouth of the jar a lot easier. When you can't seem to get anymore, take the cap and scrap it along the fold to save the last little bit of sparkle.

Well I hope this helps everyone who suffer from glitter-phobia. Glitter is a fun and fabulous tool to have in your craft arsenal!!

Note: This technique works well for surfaces that you have already used Mod Podge on and items that need to be sealed anyway.

Side note: I just watched an especially gripping episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive, a show that Animal Planet must have picked up since if used to be on Discovery. If anyone is interested in reading about an amazing woman and her dog that shouldn't be alive, an article about her tale can be found here, check it out!

A Favor For a Friend

2010-01-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

So a while ago a friend called me up asking for some Glittens. Having never heard of this new term I asked and found out that glittens are all the rage in the cold parts of earth. Part gloves part mittens they are the perfect combo for fluctuating temps and easy finger access to text like we young people do ALL THE TIME.

Now said friend asked for a warm oatmeal color yarn, slightly hard to come by in Southern California, where it was still pretty warm. I went to my favorite craft, yarn and sewing store that is near my college, The Grove. Here the lovely lady helping me pointed me toward this beauty.

As you can see it knit up quite nicely. While she may not have received the requested oatmeal colored glittens I was pretty happy with how they turned out. See for yourself.

~Non Knitters Turn Back Now! Knitting details to follow...~

I used this pattern I probably found on Ravelry. The pattern was pretty easy to understand and I did fine until the part you flip over. I picked up the stitches called for but didn't use my head and started the decreasing right when the length covered just the finger parts. Well I didn't think that the fingerless tops are quite short compared to actual fingers so I had to rip back and make the tops a lot longer to cover the tops of fingers comfortably. If I were to do the pattern again? I would make the flip tops wider by a couple stitches. It was kind of tight on even my little hands. I also omitted the button and loop contraption from the pattern, per customer request.

Sports ... Crafts? Yes Please!

2010-01-14T15:05:00.001-08:00

Gifts are my thing. I love love love finding the perfect present for a friend or family member. I have this file on my computer (note to persons with access to said computer, don't go looking for this file!) where I put links and ideas for all the people I need to get gifts for. Mother's Day, Christmas, Birthdays, you get the idea. So when I found THIS post online I knew I found the perfect gift for another sports fiend friend.

So Chica and Jo spell it out but I thought I would share my experience and the following gift receiver reaction. Stay tuned for that pic!

The biggest roadblock in this project was squaring the piece of AstroTurf the kind people and Home Depot sold me. Thankfully I was at home for the holidays and my dad, a general contractor by trade, helped me with this time consuming task. Frankly, it wasn't super important that the rug be perfectly square. I folded the turf the long way and squared it off that way. It worked pretty well however I'll warn you, don't use a utility knife on your nice backyard concrete, ours is all scratched up and some people aren't to happy about it. Yikes!

Like Chica and Jo I used duct tape for the yard lines. However unlike Chica and Jo I used puff paint for the numbers. I used stencils, usually used for spray painting addresses. So far according to the new owner the painted numbers are holding up fine.

Hopefully your puff paints aren't as old as mine, can you say hand cramp, I can barely type it!

And as my final magic act I wrote Washington in one end zone and Huskies on the other. Yep we're UW Husky fans around here, and we don't take kindly to Dawg haters round these parts!! And while I may be a fan of one team in the Pac-10, a ducks fan I am not. I just have to give it up to the champs of this years Rose Bowl. Any team that defeats the Ducks wins a gold star in my book so here's a big heyyoooo to the Ohio State Buckeyes and for the Final Final a picture of the winning coach!!

As for the gift receiver reaction? Well the day of I got a great picture of the reaction, the verdict 2 thumbs up. While I may want to share that picture I don't want to turn readers into enemies. Posting your friends online, they may not like it. But you know how I really knew she liked it? Her and a roommate playing paper football, you know the kind all the boys play in grade school, using the rug!! Hey score one for the gift giver!

My First Post!

2010-01-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well how exciting, I have decided to enter the blogging world! After months of reading all the other fantastic craft blogs out in cyberspace I have decided to enter the fray. I figure if I have one tenth of the craft prowess all my favorite bloggers have, I'll be fine.

So, my plans for this humble receptacle of my thoughts? Talk about crafts of course, one of my few true loves! Other topics may include college life, small business owning, finance? I promise I won't bore you, but I am a finance major. Really though, I think some interesting stories might pop up between my last semester of classes in sunny San Diego, job hunting and of course crafting.

So welcome all and I look forward to hearing from all of the readers I hope to attract and entertain!