Crochet Along and renovations

Still over at Maybe Matilda's doing the crochet along! I am going to have one fluffy cowl in a few weeks! Personally, I think that if the farmer's almanac is to be believed regarding the severity of the coming winter (worst on record last year and this one is supposed to be worse), then no amount of fluffy is too fluffy!

It's fluffy, and a good use of what's left of my brain after grad classes end for the day.

The bathroom renovation also goes well. The wallpaper is about 95% off and the molding (wainscotting) is slowly coming off the doorjams and baseboards. I broke the light in the tub section of the bathroom on accident, but we are going to replace it anyway. Hopefully this week we can get the primer on and buy the blue paint, if not completely paint. It's going great! Meanwhile, my brother and I are using the guest bathroom downstairs since there's exposed wiring in ours.

Photo from Thursday. Even my brother's girlfriend came over to help. This wallpaper was universally hated.

So all is well. See you later for another update!

Crochet Along with Maybe Matilda!

I'm going to do a whole project! Not finishing projects is my kryptonite (that and grad school and having a job), plus no one I regularly come into contact with crochets so I don't do it as much unless I need a winter hat/scarf combo. This shall change this year, hopefully, starting in a few weeks.

Why? Because I'm doing Maybe Matilda's crochet along! The idea is that a whole bunch of Internet-dwelling crafters are going to make the same project during the same timeline, and then post pictures at the end. There are prizes and such, but mostly I like the project that we're going to do. I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out my yarn already because I'm that excited- Yarn Bee's sherpa blend 103- "Serenity", which apparently does not exist on the Internet. So I took a picture so you can see the pretty colors:

The best part (other than finding yarn at all) is that these were in the clearance bin, so I only paid $8 for all three!

I'll have more updates on this once the crochet along starts!

Virtual Redesign- Kitchen

Back in 2000, when we moved into a new house that Mom didn't like much as my Dad did, the agreement was that she be allowed to pretty much redecorate the entire place without having to consult him. Unfortunately, two of the biggest eyesores- the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom- have been untouched (Dad doesn't understand that there's a problem. There are walls, and the doors work, so everything's good, right?). It's finally been delegated to me, as the daughter bumming free rent during grad school a concerned family member to make the rooms pretty.

Things that can't change in the kitchen: the white cabinets, island counter and plantation shutters have to stay as they are.

Ideas:

^I love the color and look of these countertops

^The wood panel island idea is fascinating.

^When I showed it to mom, this was her favorite.

I like the walls, light fixtures, and everything about the

countertops (color, texture, rounded edges)

^Accent color tiles

The main thing is to replace the countertops and repaint in our kitchen, those two things alone will completely change the room. Next update: the upstairs bathroom ideas!

$5 or less- Goodwill Floral Dress

Above: Before. Below: After!

Hi again! Sorry it's been so long, yesterday was my first official day of graduate school. I'm about to depart for more errands (I bought two of the same textbook on accident, go me!) but wanted to update first. I haven't been slacking on the crafts, but I haven't taken any photos of my latest stuff. Eventually I will and will post them, but today's focus is this awesome 90s dress I got at Goodwill.

I've expressed my love of altering Goodwill clothing before, and this piece was just as easy as the dress in the link. The original dress had the hemline about 4" lower, a back and sleeves, and- of course- shoulder pads! What made me want to buy this was the little vintage crochet piece on the front and the little buttons right below it, and whatever I did to this dress must feature those pieces. So, halter!

Those were on the dress already and prettier than anything I can do.

I cut the shoulder pieces out to add to my collection and then cut the top of the dress into a halter shape sans the straps. I raised the hemline and used some of the fabric from that to make straps, sewed them on, and fitted the dress to me a little better, and BAM! Brand new dress in very nice condition for only $5, and nobody else has one like it! Bonus: this dress seriously slims me down. I'm fairly heavyset and it's nice to look skinny. Another bonus: cute and fresh without having to resort to copious amounts of cleavage.

This afternoon one of my stops will be at a local vintage dress shop I discovered in my college town, hopefully I'll have a post about that soon. For those of you in school, have fun, and for those who aren't, also have fun!

College cleaning tips

I somehow seem to spend the most time in the smallest, most cramped places. In my current living situation (back in my parents' house post-college), I have roughly 2/3 of my apartment's contents in an 11x 14 space. This includes my desk, queen-size bed, bookcase, dresser, several large storage bins, and a craft table. Yikes! So despite me not being a particularly messy person, piles accumulate.

Also, as hot as it's been in my area (yesterday it was 110 out, I wish I was exaggerating), I've been indoors when I'm home, hiding from triple-digit temperatures in air conditioning. So again, things are piling up.

Here's a bunch of tips I have learned about how to make a messy room (or entire apartment) look presentable in under 1 hour:

1. Make the bed first. Not only is this going to make roughly 1/4 the room look nice right off the bat, but it gives you a surface to put other things on while you clean.

2. Put all the clothes away. Trust me, unless you're super Type-A there's clothes laying around. Fold/hang up the clean stuff, and put the dirty stuff in its proper place.

3. Throw away all trash. Tissues, plastic cups from various stores, receipts, outdated post it notes, tiny fabric scraps, etc. Also, take this trash to the trashcan. Don't leave the bag sitting around the room.

4. Put things in their correct spots, or if you're in a time crunch stack things pleasingly. Textbooks can be gathered and stacked in one pile. Fabrics and papers can be folded and stacked.

5. If there's time left, dust/vaccuum, Febreeze, etc.

And voila! Passingly cleaned living quarters in under an hour!

Remnants- Jewelry frame

I've only been sewing since the beginning of 2011 (seventh grade home ec doesn't count), and I've already built up a large collection of spare fabric bits from various crafts. So far I've found out of the way places to put them, but soon there will be too many to stash under beds! Lately my goal has been to use a bunch of my remnants and clear out some room for more.

Today's craft is based on an idea I've seen on other craft blogs- a framed jewelry display. Here's the version that finally got me inspired to make my own, courtesy of Poppytalk.

First off, my materials:

Foam board- $2, Hobby Lobby

Fabric- $0, remnant from a previous craft

Nails/ hammer- $0, already owned those too

Wood frame- $12, Hobby Lobby (I have no doubt that cheaper frames can be found though)

Spray adhesive

Pins/tacks- I used $3 beading pins from Jo-Ann's and have plenty left over for future crafts

How- To:

First, cut out the right size of foam board- slightly smaller than the area in the frame. Cut fabric 2" larger on every side, and glue (or tape, doesn't matter) to the foam board.

Cut more fabric for the frame, 2" extra fabric on both the outside and inside of the frame window. Glue on frame.

Glue/tape foam board to frame. I had a damaged spot on the fabric in one of the corners, so I made a twisty flower by scrunching up one edge of fabric and glueing the whole thing on top of the spot.

Place pins on foam board as needed to hang jewelry on. Suggestion- put the pins in so they tilt up slightly, so that when the frame is on the wall the jewelry doesn't slide off!

Hang on wall, add jewelry, and show to all your friends!

Photography

One of my few hobbies that doesn't take up a lot of space is photography. I love taking photos of everything- whether it's interesting or not- and recently upgraded to a Canon Eos Rebel T3 (or as I call it in my head sometimes, the "Terminator 3000" because I'm a nerd).

A park near my house

It takes crazy detailed photos and because I am somewhere between 'beginner' and 'amateur' in my skill level I'm learning my way around the camera as well.

The camera I'm using for my photography class. Using real film instead of digital is so nerve-wracking.

Mostly I just wanted to show you some of my pictures I've taken with it.

One of my classmates. He has the Canon Eos T2, and it's his fault I couldn't wait for the T3 for Christmas like my original plan had been.

Hopefully I'll get the dress I made tailored a bit to fit and photographed for this blog soon, or at least finish a craft at all. Photography's taken over. That's all for now, folks!