Accomplice: FOUND

I have made a friend who enjoys the splendors of creativity! OH JOY! AN ACCOMPLICE! I am SOOOOOO happy to have a friend to project with now! Yeah! Check out some of the onesies we tie dyed for our babies.

I was going to just dye my onesies bold single colors... but then my friend started doing all this crazy dipping and wringing... and I couldn't help myself! She made it all look to good, and classically Grateful Dead-ish, I just had to join in the fun. Hooray for fabric dye!

not-so-cute jeans to FABULOUS Skirt!!!

A few weeks ago I decided to google how to make a denim skirt out of old jeans. There were A MILLION results- with a million ways, all cute and easy, to do it. Pretty much I just cut the jeans about how long I wanted my skirt. Then I ripped out the crotch seam, and pinned it together. I filled the gap in between the legs towards the bottom with fabric from the legs I'd cut off already.

I sewed it together, and hemmed it using thread the matched the original stitching.

The tricky part was folding over the crotch area, especially in the back so there wasn't a cook-a-loo bulge...

Anyway... I'd do some things different next time... but this was SOOOOOOOOOO easy, and totally fast... maybe like an hours work? AND... you know how expensive denim skirts are- this cost me about $1.oo for the thread, (as I had these jeans already, and they looked hideous on me). Hooray for repurposing!

The Stars Aligned!!!!!!!!!

This is a project I've been dreaming of..... and I'm IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't she THE best thing I've yet created? It's like the stars aligned, and I found THE perfect vintage scrap of my life, and buttons combinations which accentuated the beauty within.

Dreaming of Projects....

Tonight I had a lovely moment to sit in a rocking chair with my eyes closed- and think. Moments like those are rare indeed.... I began to brainstorm future projects... I'm DYING DYING DYING to take a soldering class. I have done a little of it... but I'm aweful. I need training.

BUT... once I get that training I want to make tiny glass boxes within which I will place vintage buttons, broken jewelry, old pictures, bits of broken glass from old dishes, scraps of stained glass... you name it... then, I want to stick a metal loop on the top and slide it right onto an awesome chain, ribbon, rope, whatever- gorgeous necklaces...

I also want to make a bracelet COVERED in buttons- vintage buttons, fabric covered buttons, bright buttons, sophisticated buttons....

I want to make a few pieces with neon yellow mingled with older colors...
I want to decoupage buttons, or maybe small round discs or some such with inspiring, or amusing words to buoy me... and then stitch them to an awesome leather band making knarly awesome bracelets....
Then what if I somehow tint the decoupage colors...? Can I do that?

I want to make coasters. Tile, on which I will adhere old family pictures, or fun collages, and then decoupage or resin on top of....

I want to get a bulletin board, and spray paint the cork a bright fun color or colors... maybe even stencil some.... can I do that?
I have an old Montreal map that is falling apart from use... I want to put that on and end table, and pour resin on top- or some kind of thick glaze to make the bar table look ...

I want to make placemats and napkins
I want to make drapes for my house
more awesome onsies for my baby
more hair things
AND.... I want to get about 10 different colors of spray paint and go to town...( not literally of course!) I just want to give old frames and such some serious makeovers.

I want to make AWESOME headboards...or things that hang above the bed that just ACT like headboards... maybe like 3 or 4 old barn windows hung... but first I'd have to paint them because plain white wouldn't do.
Maybe I could just use a huge peice of particle board, staple batting on it, and then fabulous fabric...

All this and so much more.... sigh

Good night!

Project: Finished

... and just in time. Check out how much thread was left.

I made this skirt with absolutely no pattern... a fact, I'm sure, which does not surprise you by seeing it's poor quality! Oh well. It was not made for greatness... All things considered it isn't half bad. Hooray for me.

Create: An inspiring, and short video- a must watch.

I just watched this- it gave me chills and brought a hot potato to my throat. :) Please please please take 2 minutes, and be creatively and spiritually inspired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

chair cover fixing....

The chair... The chair with the problem cover: the top is too long...

After the nip and tuck... things are much improved.

From the side...

A little over a year ago my husband and I bought our table, and chairs at IKEA- man I love that store.

The table, is divine.... but the chairs we found in their sale area for $5.00 a peice, (they were being discontinued) which was, for bargain hunters like ourselves, a deal we couldn't refuse. It was awesome- instead of getting 4 to 6 like we planned, we decided to splurge and get 8 because, why not at that price, right?

The catch: they weren't upholstered. So, we bought some chair covers there... but since our chairs were discontinued, they didn't have covers that fit. We bought some anyway, deciding that one day it wouldn't take much to make them fit...

FINALLY, we got up the nerve to take the scissors and seam wrippers to them, and fixed them. They aren't perfect, because as always, I didn't really know what I was doing, but with seam wrippers in my husband's hands, and a sewing machine at the ready, I think we did a pretty good job.

Additions to my shop...

Some of these are newer than others... I'm in love with this bottom bracelet, "Sophisticated Lady." Truly THE perfect accessory for a someone like myself- I love things that get noticed, but I also want them to be comfortable! That's exactly what this is- a lot of pop with zero annoyance. Perfect.

wrong addresses...

Sorry folks! Apparently in my last post I wrote both the addresses incorrectly! Anywho, I fixed it- they both work now! Sorry for the inconvenience- but do try them out!

Free Photo Fun!

Do you love playing with pictures, but lack the awesome and often pricey software to do it easily? If so, go to http://www.picnik.com/ you can buy a yearly subscription to awesome editing, or upload pictures five at a time, and edit them for free! I love it.
Also, if you're in the Utah Valley area, and want a fun photoshoot opportunity, contact my friend via http://bellepetitephoto.blogspot.com/ She took the picture below and MANY more that my husband and I adore! We had such fun- and now have a CD full of awesome family pictures- the hard part is just selecting a few to frame- we loved so many! Thank you friend!

My new obsession

People, button covering is where it's at. Seriously easy, and beyond adorable- simple project ideas abound. I love it.

Awesome UNO shirts!

After one of my very first posts, on stenciling, it was suggested I look at dana-made-it.blogspot.com. She is AMAZING at EVERYTHING, but in particular, it was suggested I look at her UNO shirt stenciling, as an idea for a baby's first birthday. My sister-in-law did it- and it turned out fantastic....

So, today my son turned 1, and I gave it a go as well. Here are the results! I really love them!

I made two for my son, which may seem excessive, but he had two little parties, and after I've made the stencil, it's a piece of cake to paint the "UNO" on. The onsies were first dyed with Dylon fabric dye, then painted with tulip matte white fabric paint.

We just happened to have an apple green plain t for my husband, so I painted him one up as well... and then of course I didn't want to be left out, so made myself a more feminine version. First, I sewed together scraps of vintage fabric, then sewed on a scrap piece of black jersey fabric, on which I stenciled the "UNO" as well. Sigh. It was such fun to be matching! I'm only sad my husband always blinks when we take a picture. :)

THE WINNER!!!!

No joke- choosing the winning name was extremely difficult! I honestly loved each and every suggestion, and read over them time and again! In fact, I hope you all don't mind, but I would like to use those names for inspiration for upcoming projects.... :) May I?

In the end, the bracelet whispered in my ear the name which fit her best.... making the decision much easier... so.... without more stalling I'm happy to announce:

Congratulations Meredith! You are the winner of "Captured Bliss!" What a perfect name! It fits her like a glove! As previously stated, I will send her to you straightway tomorrow, but I will need your address! Or, if you prefer, we could meet face to face and I could give it to you in a week or so because we're leaving for vacation to the West on Friday! Wahoo! Just let me know in a comment, or on the phone, or via facebook or e-mail or by vision, or through whatever way your preferred communication is!

Thank you all for your participation! I'll do another naming gift giveaway soon!

check it out!!!

Okay everyone, I want ALL of you crafters out there to check out my good buddy's blog, All Things Crafty at http://megscraft.blogspot.com. She is seriously amazing, and as you can see by some of her work, she can make awesome stuff out of literal garbage! (The utensil ladies and radish fork were our joint efforts.... but the soda pop plate ladies were ALL her, and since these were taken years ago- she has taken all things crafty to COMPLETELY new levels! Check it out!!!

Naming Contest! Winner will recieve this bracelet free!

Since opening an etsy shop and creating more things than I ever have before, naming each creation has become a surprisingly fulfilling part of the "listing" process. It's like naming a puppy- and not just any puppy-the puppy. The one you plan on raising right along with your babies.
Or maybe it's like naming your child- you know that whatever name you give your little darling will in some way shape their destiny. It's important.
That, on a smaller scale of course, is how I feel when I name something I've made.
It is in pondering all these things I've decided to host a naming contest for this darling bracelet. I will allow anyone to post up to three suggested names- just leave them as comments. In one week, I will chose the name from amongst those suggested, and announce the winner! Then, I will ship this darling the very next day to the deserving winner. :) Good luck!
About the bracelet: She is a fabric scrap collage embedded in resin- drilled and stitched to a wristband of red leather and vintage fabric stitched together in red with a zigzag stitch. Eclectic, funky, yet charming and full of feminine wiles. Let her inspire you.

a new project! Vintage button bobby pins!

Voila! Today's project... layered vintage buttons on bobby pins! I love them!

dying onesies

The before.... seen it, right? Been there? Done that? Stained it 1,000 times? ....After some choice dye, mixed with 4 tablespoons salt, and 4 cups warm water... voila. Imperfect as always, ( I wasn't as vigilant in the stirring process as I should have been....) but hey- I'll take'em. :)

If you've never dyed anything- let this inspire you to change your ways. I used Dylon- available at wal-mart for $1.97. I dyed them in a mixing bowl. So easy. Plain ol' white has it's place, but that place is NOT on an army-crawling 11 month old boy. Whities are ruined in moments with that kind of behavior. Color still gets messy, but fares much better, and looks TOOOO cute! The Green are my favorites...

My gift haul!

Oh my goodness.... I should have done this forever ago.... but anyway-- be inspired! I just wanted to post about the homemade goodies I recieved from 4 lovely ladies who participated in the gift exchange/ craft forward do-dad. I LOVE LOVE LOVE every single gift! I am still a bit of a novice at uploading pictures in any kind of order.... so here are my adorable gifts....

A gorgeous and inspiring journal for me to fill. I had to post a lot of pictures so you could really get a good feel, and hopefully get ideas of your own!

I have started journaling on this one... a love note from my husband written at work. :) So sweet.

An AWESOME bag made from a jersey... from CANADA!!!! For those of you who may not know, I lived there for roughly 11/2 years.... sigh.... it is so lovely there...

Another true beauty, a serving tray- hand painted and mosaiced!!!!! How did she DO this?

Gorgeous, right? My sister made this! She needs to give us a tutorial! These are the pretties who started this whole thing! Thank you so much Camille! I have never even met you, but I am so grateful you started this! Thank you SOOOOOO much for these gorgeous and classic earrings! I love them!

Let's do this again soon! Except.... maybe next time it will be a true exchange... hummm... yes... soon....

Mass producing earrings!

I've been toiling away, trying to finish up a batch of earrings I've been working on for the etsy shop.... whew.... believe it or not, writing up the discription is the most time consuming part for me! I try to really express how each peice feels to me... which is not an easy task for someone as nonverbal as me. :) Anyway... a picture is worth a thousand words right? Check these babies out! Seriously, are they not perfect for spring and summer?! I love them! One of these days I will post a picture with them actually on a head. :) I'm sure they will look even better then!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I've got good news, bad news, and some SERIOUSLY unfortunate ugly news.

First off, I sold two of my bracelets in my etsy shop this weekend! I am SOOOOO thrilled! It's weird though.... could it have been a parent of one of my adoring fans? The person who bought them hails from South Jordan, UT.... aka, MY HOME TOWN like 1 mile from my mother's home! Is this a coincidence? Perhaps... but I doubt it. Hopefully I will soon find out if I know this person.

The bad news, which is also good news... I've been making some scrap fabric earrings that look AMAZING, until you put them on. Actually, my friend here just had a birthday, so in brainstorming of something I could make for her, I came up with this idea-- little pillow earrings... but I didn't have any batting... so I stuffed them with little peices of plastic bag. Like I said, they looked great until I tried them on. :( But then, I added a little something-- and voila! Gorgeous! Unfortunately, I gave them to her without taking a picture, but here are some others I've been practicing on... though they are still missing the item which makes them sing. I need to get more of it at the store... but still... you get the idea. Once finished I'll put them in my shop.

Now for the ugly news. I got my hair done this weekend. I was SOOOOO excited, had waited forever, saved my pennies- but alas. My cut is EXACTLY like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. That's a great movie- classic even, and Julie has THE most gorgeous voice in the world, and is a superb actress... but her hair in that movie is NOT my favorite. Not even close.
Also... I'd wanted to go extremely blond again... but ... sigh. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be....

Uh-uh ladies! I am the master of my own fate. I'm not giving up so easy. This next Saturday is the day-- the color at least, I can do something about. I'm just sad to loathe my hair in the meantime.

mass producing...

So, I've been busy as a bee trying to use up old material to put in my etsy shop! Here are some of the fruits.

More bracelets with resin beads, some of which were embedded with hand painted lace, among other things like fabric roses. Each is hand stitched to leather... which can be difficult... I actually punctured my index finger with the dull end of a needle with one of them. ouch.

Some leather and vintage inspired fabric bands I may leave plain... or I don't know... any suggestions?

And some earrings. One pair is like a button sandwich- I flipped one over so you could take a peak. Another is resin embedded with hand painted red lace... the others are pictures, and embedded roses... My favorite are the bright red ones... They dangle from a rustic, thicker chain, which gives them an awesome super-feminine/army-girl or tom boy flare. It's been raining cats and dogs here, so I've been wearing a lot of olive green (rain coat and galoshes...) anyway- they offer THE perfect splash, and hang just below my bobbed hair. PERFECT. (See picture below.)

This is actually an atrocious picture... but oh well. Don't fret or judge me because of my nasty hair. I'm considering going super blond soon... ti's the season.

I think my next project will be adorable placemats and napkins. Isn't it classy and earth friendly to have cloth napkins you ACTUALLY use????