Clothes and Crafts

I am bad at blogging- my last entry is from May. Whoops! I'm one of those bloggers who don't even attempt to follow a schedule. In my defense, and in many of theirs, this is because of being a university student. Not that that's stopped me from crafting and sewing in general. I have done a lot of crafts, the main problem is that the blogging process adds a considerable amount of time to the process.

So this post is a photo storm of projects I have done this fall (I really need to start taking 'before' photos to go with the 'after' pics)

First up, my obsession with Mystery Science Theater- the DVD sets come with mini-posters. I plan on making more of these as I continue collecting the show:

My Star Trek costume for Halloween- made from an oversized Goodwill men's sweater, some fake velour, and a gold fabric marker for $9!

I bought the pin for $9, then used nail polish and a chain that I already owned to make a groovy necklace.

This one was directly inspired by Marisa from NDAD copycatting Anthropologie- I got both shirts at different places for $7 total, and after hanging in my closet for a year I had to jazz them up!

This isn't necessarily a refashion- I was trying new outfit combinations and discovered that my $7 Faded Glory shirt and $14 dress made me look like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, one of my favorite movies!

This one was just yesterday- A scary 90's-tastic floor-length number became a minidress to wear with leggings, for $2.50 at Goodwill! This has already become one of my favorites.

Also since the spring and my last entry, I've maintained my diet and have lost 70 lbs! Since about half of my clothes don't fit right, and I've wanted a new wardrobe anyway, this is a great opportunity to score unique new outfits for super cheap!

Last year my 'learn one new skill every year' goal was to learn how to sew. I quickly discovered that not only am I crap at following sewing instructions, but I like to cut corners (haha, bad pun alert!)- not a good habit for sewing. My second discovery was that my Goodwill store sold its dresses for $5 each, and I could pull a New Dress A Day on an ugly dress in far less time and with far more flattering results.

So why Goodwill, and not thrift stores? Because there are a lot of little hipster thrift stores and resell shops around my area that jack the prices up real high because of the university's college hipster crowd. Goodwill, though less trendy, is much cheaper and frankly, fits my incredibly small budget much better.

Today's conquest is one of today's finds. I've made the full circle in my opinion of floral prints (I hated being forced to wear them, as a 90s child, but now I've reconciled a little), and this dress had exactly the kind I like.

So many floral print dresses in my childhood...

So this is the dress I found at Goodwill. It is not very appealing as it is- notice the lovely skintight sleeves- but I love the collar and the accordion pleat skirt!

Also please notice the 30 lbs of weight loss. :)

 I want a cute dress I can wear all summer- the forecasts at this point say to expect about 10 degrees higher than normal, which will put us over 100 F for several months. The last time I tried to make a halter dress it did not go well, so I did a little research first on what would work best for this dress and made my game plan.

Sophisticated advanced research methods. To Google!

I cut up the sleeves, sewed some edges down, and BAM- halter dress!

I would have modeled this in a less myspace-profile-pic way, but my mom borrowed what turned out to be my only SD card for her vacation. Yeah camera phone!

Hoop Collage

Once again I've sweded an idea from Pinterest for my own! Above is the original photo I repinned. I originally found several examples of this on Google but I couldn't find them again. Below is my knockoff version:

In buying all the hoops, I spent maybe $15. They're incredibly cheap, as it turns out. The fabric was all from a single pre-matched squares pack at Joann's, which are $10 full price (I had a coupon). No glue, no sewing, just cutting the fabric, putting it in the hoop, tightening the hoop and then trimming off the excess! I spent more time trying to balance the patterns on the wall than making them- a fun and easy craft for sure.

Rose Barrettes

Hey guys! Long time no see!

My semester is finally done, and other than changing jobs, moving, and an awesome out-of-state vacation, my summer is free for whatever I want. I started today with an awesome craft I found on Matilda Jane via StumbleUpon. I had no idea this blog existed, but I'm in love with it and get these strong "I MUST DO THIS" inpulses whenever I see their tutorials. These roses are one of them. Click the link to see the original tutorial, and scroll down on this page to see my photos.

I wanted to make a wild fun one too!

Edit, later:
These are so addicting. I made more. I'm out of ribbon now. Try this. They only take about 10 minutes each.

Closet Cleaning

I am one month away from being halfway through grad school. It's a really good feeling! However it hasn't left much room for much else, between commuting, work, and all my endless research papers. This problem is being resolved this summer- I'm moving to new digs much closer to campus in a few months.

This means going through all my stuff before I move, since I will no longer be allowed to use my parents' house as a storage unit. One major problem area that I have deliberately ignored through five years of college is this:

The fleshy thing you see on the right of the photo is my arm. I had to hang onto the doorway with one arm to get far enough back into the closet to get that shot. My closet is the toxic dumping ground for everyones' stuff, especially my things no one wanted to deal with, plus it is long and narrow.

Instead of working on my final papers for the semester, I cleaned all that and organized all my clothes. First was going through everything- even leaving out the things that were in okay enough condition for Goodwill, I still threw away six trashbags' worth of pure garbage.

One quick trip to Walmart later and I netted this cute shelf liner (lucked out- this was the only non-boring/ugly/bland one they had).

I put my clothes back in, added in my hanging fruit basket full of gloves and winter wear,shoe rack, and BAM! A very nice looking closet for the few more months I have it.

And then with what was left of my closet possessions fitting onto one shelf, I was able to move some things into my closet that I previously couldn't.

The best part is that I still have half the roll of that shelf liner. I may line my dresser drawers with it, it's so cheerful and fresh.

Silly Walking

I've decided to keep a blog for my weight loss efforts- Silly Walking! Mostly I'm planning on talking about the things I discover while I try to lose weight, things I see while exercising and lots of talk about yummy food!

Go check it out!

(This blog will be updated normally, a.k.a. whenever I do something crafty. See previous post.)

Weight loss

No crafts planned at the moment because life is happening- I have some huge term papers, increasing amounts of work, and a small vacation to go on in the next two months!

But most importantly, I'm trying to get healthy. Physically, it's gotten to the point where my weight was starting to cause health problems. I'm already at pretty high risk of thyroid disease and diabetes anyway, and then to add all those extra pounds didn't help at all. So my biggest project this year is to get in shape.

I have a goal: Complete the Walt Disney World 1/2 marathon next January. Just complete it. Nothing more.

My dad did the Goofy Challenge this year and (survived) did great!

I currently can walk about 1.5 miles at a moderate pace before getting tired, which means I've got my work cut out for me. This is why I set this goal now, in March, so that I have most of the year to get my speed and endurance up.

So in a few weeks when my current clothes no longer fit, some sewing projects may pop up as I start replacing things. Until (and during) then, wish me luck!

Silk polka dot cowl

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you in relationships! My Valentine's day wasn't so fun (I had a presentation and three hours of homework to do, in addition to being single), except for the part at the end where one of my friends had her baby today! That was exciting. :)

Also, I made a cowl based on this one from Maybe Matilda. I saw the post, read it, looked at the pictures, and decided "Yes. Yes, right now."

It really is a 15-minute project, plus I used the last of that scrap of fabric to make it!

iPad Keyboard Sleeve

I use my iPad all the time, and I am unashamed. Despite (or maybe because of) the touch-screen, note-taking has been difficult until now, because I finally caved and bought one of those iPad keyboards that work via Bluetooth. So! I browsed the Internet for awhile but didn't really find any homemade sleeves that rocked my world/that I had all the materials for already, and ended up making my own.

Time: 1 hour

Cost: $0! - used scrap fabric and unused materials from other crafts

Materials:

1+ fabrics (how many you use determines size per fabric)

Cotton batting

Thin fusible (stiffness optional- I wanted a little movement but not much)

Sewing machine, thread

Optional- decorative accents like buttons

First, measure the keyboard (or Kindle, or iPad, or whatever device it is). The sleeve is only sewn up one side, so make sure that when folded in half the item fits with 1" seam allowance on both ends and the long open side.

Layer the outside fabric right side down, then the fusible, then the batting, and then the inside fabric right side up. Make sure all of the pieces are the same size.

Round the bottom corners so that when folded in half, the end makes a semicircle shape. (Crafter's note: make sure edges are even on the inside and outside so that it isn't lopsided when you sew them together.

Sew the opening first, and then sew the sides so the bag is inside out (you'll pull it right side out later). (* see two steps down for how to add the tongue and strap if you'd rather do that now instead of after sewing the bag shut*)

Trim the extra fusible and cotton down close to the seam if there is extra (but not too close!), then flip the bag right side out and make sure the keyboard/iPad/Kindle/etc fits inside. It should be cozy but not too tight or loose. This is the moment where you fix sizing mistakes!

*Next, take some fabric and make a tongue (fold inside out, sew three sides, pull right side out through the open side) and a moustache (same process). Sew the tongue on the inside of the back (you decide which are the front and back sides). Sew the short sides of the tongue on the front near the top, leaving it open on the long sides. Be careful not to sew through both sides of the sleeve. This step can also be done before sewing the sleeve shut, as mentioned above*

Now add any extra details you may want to, and enjoy your safe, stylin' technology!

I'm Batman!

I was looking for easy glue crafts to do to pass some time a few days ago, and was inspired by ComicSalvage's Etsy shop to make a necklace... this is what I came up with:

Disclaimer: I don't own DC or Batman. The comic image came off Google so I can't credit the source. I took this photo.

It really was easy to make-

1. Google the image (eat that, SOPA!), measure the size of the backing and size image to fit. In this case, my backing was the flat side of a big rhinestone that was about 2" by 1.2".

2. Print image, and glue on the backing- The goal is to have the image be flat on the surface for the Dimensional Magic to set on, so whatever glue you're most comfortable with that won't make the paper wrinkle is best. I used tacky glue spread thinly. Wait to dry.

3. If you have any paper hanging over the edges of the rhinestone, trim it off. I did this this with an Exacto knife and a cutting board.

4. Spread a decent amount of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic over the image, making sure it goes all the way to the edges- but not quite over the sides of- the image. Make sure there aren't any bubbles, and then set flat to dry. This is the longest step; I let mine set overnight just to be sure.

5. Once the Mod Podge is dry, glue a hook onto the back of the rhinestone. When that's dry, thread a chain through and BAM! awesome new necklace for under $1!

Bonus point: I don't buy chains, I take them off other necklaces and trade them around depending on the jewelry. This is a good option if you don't like buying chains, like me.

Sharpie art

I like to draw with Sharpies. Sometimes this is a bad thing, such as when I draw on something and then spend the rest of the time regretting it, and sometimes it turns out awesome. In this case, it turned out awesome.

My brother has a music studio set up and I was keeping him company while he moved things around. He let me draw on one of his broken drums, so in the music spirit I Sharpie'd him up a little drumset. Do you ever draw with Sharpies? What sort of things do you like to draw?

My Crafty Grandmother

Artistic inclinations run in my family. I take strongly after my grandmother on my dad's side. She does a crazy amount of crafting of all sorts- sewing, painting, applique, anything, and there is always something getting a mural or a refurb at her house. It was nice to visit her this winter (first time in five years) and catch up.

She found this old desk and seat and painted it before I was born, and put some of her old readers on it.

Look through the clutter at the Santas painted on things- her work as well.

Part of her craft table.

The sewing table, and dozens of spools!