project in the works

i thrifted some wool/acrylic blend sweaters.  and washed em up all nice and tidy.  any guesses what theyre going to be?

crate centerpiece

i made a centerpiece for my dining table!  aaaand its not made out of pallets.  but very similar.

swarovski swag

remember i won something??!  well... i finally made some jewelries this weekend.  and it reminded me of two things.  one: i have the smallest desk in the land.  two: i need a craft room.  but that is for a future post. 

i unpacked the swarovski kit and dug out my jewelry/craft/beading box and ... after a fruitless 20 minute search for wire cutters... used the slightly ghetto wire cutting section on my scissors.  not ideal.

winner winner chicken dinner!

omg you guys.  i won something!  now i did technically win a pattern [and some notions!] in far's giveaway, but it was more of a i-got-to-pick-what-i-wanted situation.  but last month, rachel held a swarovski giveway.  i assumed i wouldnt win, but left a comment anyway.  turns out, the winner she chose, never responded to her email, and i was next!  so all the way from austria, [via dhl.  they left me a note after attempted delivery on the downstairs foyer door and i said wtf is this??] the swarovski elements swag bag! 

with color carousel just like their phone app.  that i still have. 

sparkles galore

ill admit i went a leeeetle crazy at michaels this weekend.  and it reminded me how superior michaels is to ac moore.  but whatever.  what did i buy you ask... well. 

does that help?  pink extra fine glitter, in the shape of a z?

xmas 2013?

cos its never too late to start procrastinating projects for next holiday season that you didnt do the last one...   some projects found in my mom's collection of holiday home/cooking/crafty project books from the late 90s

• sparkle centerpieces - silver candlesticks and candelabra adorned with rhinestone necklaces
• belljars with middle eastern flair
• an overabundance of red poppies [too much with the terracotta walls]
• clear glass/plastic ornaments with gold/bronze leaf or actual leaves glued on
• feather tassels - wood finials and feather biots
• 10 types of holiday greenery and plants

sparkle paint and the headache

so you wanna spend too much money on glitter spray paint?  do it.  its frikkin awesome.  be sure to heed the "use in a well ventilated area" warning.  and if you already have a migraine...  wait until tomorrow.

i bought a ridiculous number of animal "toob" sets including, aquatic life, wild/safari, horses aka stallions, and dinosaurs.  i already had the silver paint from a previous project, and had bought the little tubes of acrylic paint for future projects with freezer paper.  those may still happen but dont hold your breath.  but sparkle spray paint.  oh my god people.  it is "intense shimmer finish" all right.  it also is so aerosolized, it blows glitter fucking everywhere.  i cleaned glitter off the wall, all my dishes, the stove, the side of the cabinets, and the floor.  but i digress.

paper flower garland

i decided to try making some paper peonies based on a pin from rebecca caridad's blog manzanita.  and they were a success... except i didnt have any strong enough wire to make stems.  and a trip to the craft store ends in certain overspending. 

curbside crap

since moving to long island, i have noticed... people put a lot of good stuff out at the curb for trash day.  usually, it gets damaged since it rains about every 2 days or it gets put out the night before and is picked up immediately and thrown in collection truck.  not only is this really really wasteful [like much of life on the island..] but 90% of the time its only slightly used and could be donated or resold with very little effort.

being a horder-in-training, i collected a few sweet pieces on saturday.  friday was veteran's day, so no trash pick up.  but most people [our house included] forgot and put trash out anyway.  it hasnt rained for a record 4 days, and i only picked up stuff that could easily be cleaned, ie no furniture.

hard-sided faux alligator suitcase

replete with inside pockets, built-in hangers, and a fold-over clothes protector.  and a bus luggage tag!  the suitcase will either stay as is, or will [eventually] be made into a table/chair

Source: countryliving.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: blog.craftzine.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: seekatesew.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

a vinyl bowling bag [i removed the bowling ball and icky shoes]

 heavy plastic picture frame, with probably tacky picture already removed.  i will be making this into a jewelry holder or a chalkboard like this:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: thecreativityexchange.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

happy halloween!

the halloween cat.  looking sane for once.

pumpkins need hats, no?

food, sparkles, and dye

what else do you need, i mean really? 

first: curry night!  i made roti to go with roommate's curry dish since none of us wanted to go to the store and buy naan.  i used these recipes for roti and self-rising flour.  i was a bit worried about the cooking process, but the end product was delectable. a little misshapen and i didn't add enough flour to coat for the second rest and a bunch of pieces formed the large blob you see on top. 

to make the curry, have on hand chicken, potato, indian spice paste, yellow curry powder, and guyanan roommate.  cook, take blurry picture in all the excitement, and gorge.

next on the magical mystery tour we have...

sparkle spikes for some kind of wreath thing, feathers

other sparkle spikes, and a mask. add hot glue... and voila!

halloween mask

and butterfly wings!  i still havent figured out quite how to attach them, but i think it will involve removing the felt i glued on the back and attaching a flap of cardboard..  we'll see.

last: the trials and tribulations of dying clothes. 

heres what i attempted to dye:

• green and white [dingy] dress from honduras
• white and black thrifted skirt
• aqua used-to-be-maxi-dress that i chopped into knee length
• a $5 macys skirt that matches with..nothing
• 2 h&m bras
• pink bunny scarf

heres the result:  the scarf is pretty much impossible to dye and after trying to dye it green previously and blue time.. nada.  i tried an ombre dye on the former maxi dress but ended up dumping it into the rinse cycle too soon.  the frilly purple skirt is now more iridescent purpleish with dark in the middle.  a bit easier to match...we'll see if i manage to wear it though.  the bras and the wool skirt turned out quiet well ..and a tea towel was sacrificed to clean up but it turned out rather nicely as well.

dyeing and sewing

remember the butter yellow dress i thrifted?  now its a dark sage.  and much improved if i do say so.    now.. if i only had somewhere to wear it..

this calvin klein shirt/tunic/thing has been worn a grand total of once since i bought it 3+ years ago now.  but after cutting off the awkwardly long straps and adding elastic... its a pleated skirt! 

i love the remnants bin at joann's.  danger zone.  i bought green vinyl and sheer paisley brown/green/orange fabric.  and made a wrap skirt/dress thing.  i have no idea how i will ever wash it... but that is beside the point. 

and finally...the white dress from ny&co that i wore once to school and once for a ballroom dance event got dipped in the dye bath along with the first dress.  granted, i have multiple items in the same colors, but i decided a very light mint would be nice.  a tad darker than i intended, but maybe with a few more washes it will lighten.  then again rit dye is rather toxic and supposedly permanent so.. perhaps it wont.

fin.

bracelets for sale

distribution mechanism [ie.. more pics, descriptions, and possibly paypal] to be setup soon

available in purple with purple leather

yellow turquoise with brown leather

uber closeup

regular turquoise [single strand]

from another angle

also to be posted-earrings and pendants that were on etsy, the canvas bags i showed awhile ago, and some random sewings.  stay tuned folks. 

in other news, did you know there are entire blogs [with thousands of followers] devoted to nailpolish and manicures? 

THE QUILT OF DOOM

no not doom really.  it just took me 1.5 years to finish.  there may or may not have been a year hiatus in the middle...

all 8 blocks.  im not sure how i intended on doing 9 before... it would have been hellishly misproportioned.  this way it is only a bit wide for its length.  more like an old lady lap blanket.  oh.  and the bottom right block is a pair of chemistry beakers. 

green polartec on the back with quilt batting in between for extra warm.

more sewing stuff

joann's carries dwell brand canvas.  so i made totes. 

 

 

 

and the roommate and i have been discussing making random plushies for the new long island children's hospital.  so i attempted to add ears to a pillow.

the result was...less than satisfactory.

and since were also a bunch of dirty hippies we made some reusable produce bags to go with our reusable grocery bags.  the nylon mesh is surprisingly hard to find but not that difficult to sew. 

halloween cupcakes part deux

raaawwrrr vampire fondant topppers!

rocky horror lips

generic happy face + fangs

for once i only had a teeny tiny bit of fondant left over instead of...shitloads like usual

lemon cupcakes with dark chocolate buttercream and vampire tops

and just for good measure... our pumpkins