Fun Things from Facebook!

One of my friends shared this on Facebook today, and I think it's really creative and a pretty good tip to keep close and hand. :)

Enjoy!

Post by 95.7 KJR.

How awesome would it be to only have to have this for the gym?? All your clothes in the approximate size of a water bottle? Awesome!

Source

Blanket Goodies

My new favorite crafty thing to make right now, sewing-wise, is definitely chenille-esque baby blankets.  They are made from flannel, so they are super soft and easy to make, and they are the newest addition to my Etsy shop.

They are the perfect size for a bassinet or car seat, or to be baby's security blanket, and I have a lot of un mixing and matching patterns.

Isn't this blanket so cute?  Its totally done in Tiffany blue-hues, and would be adorable for a little girl, am I right???

Here's a close up of the prints, along with close-ups of the other finished blankets:

Don't they just look so soft?!?!  I really enjoy making them, and I totally made one as a gift for my cousin's new baby.


I am totally looking for new themes and colors to make new little blankets in!

It's been quiet, too quiet ...

I know it has been quiet on here since before my wedding ... I mean to change that!

I will hopefully be posting more crafts soon, but for now, I want to announce my Etsy shop is reopened, and has some new goodies like these:

My sister in law is pregnant, so I have been making bunches of cute stuff for her, and I made some for my shop too!

Bridal Emergency Kit

Goodness! My wedding is only two weeks away!  It's practically here!

I mention this, because I am a planner.  I like things to be organized and I like to prepare for anything that might go wrong, so this week I put together my bridal emergency kit.  It has everything I could possibly need in case of emergency.  I browsed pinterest for ideas on what I would need, as well as talking to my future sister-in-law about what she needed for her wedding, as well as when she was a bridesmaid for a friend. This is what I have:

Whew! That's a lot! Here's a list of everything:

1. Sunscreen
2. Your favorite Body Lotion
3. CLEAR Deodorant (I usually use a white solid deodorant, but I want to make sure there are no marks!)
4. Eye Drops (I got the kind that won't react with my contacts)
5. Mouthwash
6. Gum
7. Dental Floss
8. Instant Tooth Brushes
9. Straws (for drinking with lipstick in place! Stay hydrated ladies!)
10. Duct tape (I chose white, because wedding ... hehe)
11. Simple snacks
12. Water bottles (Hydration!)
13. Tampons or Pads
14. Cotton Swabs
15. Clear Nail Polish (for nylon runs) and the Nail Color for your maids
16. Petroleum Jelly (perfect for those spots where your shoes rub too much)
17. Cotton Balls
18. Mints
19. Toothpaste
20. Toothbrush
21. Hand Sanitizer
22. Disposable Razors
23. Black Socks (perfect for those groomsmen who are bound to forget matching socks)
24. Safety Pins
25. Wet Wipes
26. Lip Balm
27. Make-up Remover Wipes
28. Nail Clippers/Nail File (I just got a nail kit with everything in it)
29. First Aid Kit (just in case!)
30. Tissues
31. Bobby Pins
32. Hair Ties
33. Static Guard
34. Wrinkle Release Spray
35. Activities for the kiddos (I don't know about you all, but I have two 5 year olds that are going to be hanging about, and I want to keep them busy!)
36. Headache Meds
37. Upset Tummy Meds
38. Allergy Meds (for all the meds, I found ones that don't need water to take them)
39. Little Scissors
40. Dress Tape
41. Lighter
42. Super Glue (just in case of broken heels!)
43. Lint Roller

Not pictured (Things I remembered after I took the picture):

44. Hot Glue Gun/Sticks (because I crafted almost everything, i want to make sure nothing gets damaged in transit)

45. Perfume 

46. Mini-Sewing Kit

Once I got everything sorted, I bought some plastic reusable tubs to keep everything sorted inside my big bag of stuff so I don't have to dig to find anything.  The bag I used was an oversized reusable bag that I got at a Bridal Expo that I attended.  The kids' activities got their own bag, partially so we can plunk them down somewhere, and partially since I didn't have any room left in my big bag!

I have fun sorting everything, and I think I am going to be prepared for anything!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sorry for being absent for the month of February so far, but I had to make an appearance for Valentine's Day!  School has been crazy, but I wanted to take some time to do something sweet for my fiance! I am in the middle of baking him a cake (crossing my fingers that it comes out nice!) and I made him a card.

Inspired by this card.

I couldn't resist such a cute nerdy card, considering I am getting married on Pi Day!

I will be sure to take some pictures of the cake, whether is comes out nice or not ... :)

Take a Peek!

So, I am not quite finished with the tutorials for these, but here's a sneak peek of the flowers I am making for my wedding!

I am using flowers like these for my bouquets, the bridesmaids bouquets, the men's boutonnieres, the wristlets for the mothers, and the aisle decorations, phew! It's a lot of work, but it's a labor of love!

Book Review

So, did I ever tell you that I loveLOVElove to read? Well, I do!

So I thought I would try giving you a series to look into: the Newbury and Hobbes Investigations by George Mann.  I found the second book of this series at the Dollar Tree, and I loved it so much, I ordered the first and third books from the series from Amazon.

                                            

 (Book 1, image from Amazon, Book 2, image from Amazon, Book 3, image from Amazon)

I think what drew me some much to these books is that they were both steampunk, as well as mystery books.  I love myself a good mystery, but most of the steampunk books I have read aren't really mysteries.  The Newbury and Hobbes series has a hero and heroine that you will fall in love with, because they are good characters, but they also have secrets and character flaws.  They are relate-able, for sure!

I highly recommend looking into this series!

p.s. while collecting the images for this post, I found out there is a fourth book I somehow missed! Adding to my cart now ... ;)

Book 4, image from Amazon

DIY Wedding Banner

So, I am not quite to the age where all of my friends have small children I can borrow for my flower girl or ring bearer, but my fiance has a cousin with small children, so we lucked out! In fact, our ring bearer and flower girl are actually twins! So cute right?

Well, what if you don't have a little girl to include in your wedding? In our case, that's not a problem, but the twins have an older brother we didn't want to leave out, so we turned to a solution that I have seen popping up over on Pinterest (follow me!) ... a banner boy!

Then I needed to decide exactly what kind of sign or banner he would be carrying.  So I came up with this:

I only spent about $6 on this project (I din't have to spend money on the spray paint, because I had already bought some for other projects, but if you have to buy spray paint so should still spend less than $15).  I bought cheap foam core for the frame from the Dollar Tree (I could live there!), the ribbons came from Joann's, and I used puffy paint I found at the 99 Cents Only Store, spray paint (black and copper) and acrylic paint, with hot glue holding it all together.

I started by measuring out the size I wanted overall, and the thickness of the frame. My overall frame is 15 inches by 20 inches, and the frame width is 2 inches.

I then decided on a vintage frame shape, so I found the centers of each side and blocked out an inch on either side of the center for a square on the frame, and I measured in a half inch all the way around, for sketching in the curved parts of the frame.

I used the skinny rectangles as my guides for the curved edges, by marking the center of the inner line, I sketched in from the outer corners to the center.  I wasn't going for absolutely perfect, but if you want it more precise, I suggest trying to find a bowl or container with the right diameter and tracing it.

Then you just need to cut out the outer edge (and the inner rectangle, so the frame is empty, but I forgot to take a picture of this). By cutting out the inside, it gives the banner/sign more dimension, so it doesn't seem so flat.

Next, you need to cut out a second rectangle, slightly bigger than your opening.  My opening was 11 inches by 16 inches, so I cut out a rectangle that was 12 inches by 17 inches, so each edge would have a half inch overlap.

You don't need to do this next step for the inner board, because it won't really be seen, but I highly recommend it for the frame.  I hot glued a ribbon the same thickness as the foam core all the way around the edge, both on the outside and inside edges of the frame.  This both gives it a nice edge, as well prevents the spray paint from dissolving the inner foam, and making the edge look weird.  If you aren't using spray paint, this isn't necessary, because acrylic paint doesn't normally dissolve foam, but I still like the classed up edge ... haha.

Here's a close up with both edges done (sorry about the blurry picture!). My ribbon is a tiny bit wider than my board, and you can probably see it sticking up a bit, so I made sure that I lined it up with one edge, so all the excess was on one side (aka, the BACK, haha). Then I spray painted both the frame and board with light coats (matte black for the board, and metallic copper for the frame), since the foam core is paper clad, I didn't want the paper to wrinkle if it got too wet all at once.

After the paint, I added my copper puffy paint (in stages, so I wouldn't smear the details I had already put on as I was adding more). I also realized I didn't like the color of the copper puffy paint, versus the color of the spray paint (the puffy paint was a bit redder) so I knew I would need to do a coat of spray paint so that is was all the same color.  I briefly thought about aging the frame, and adding patina, but since I don't have a lot of aged stuff, I decided against it, but maybe for after the wedding! I also ended up adding more detail.  Without the puffy paint, it was a bit blah, and with more and more added detail, it didn't looked like cut out foam core anymore.

After hot gluing the two pieces together, I decided I wanted to paint on the "Here Comes the Bride", instead of making it into a chalkboard.  With it being handled by small kids, I figured it might get wiped off or smeared otherwise. I didn't trust my freehand skills, so I printed out a stencil to use.

Three stages of the process at once!

I cut out each word and figured out the placement first, marking the edges with painter's tape.  Then I remove the word, and coat the back of the paper with chalk (making sure I covered the space where the word is extra thoroughly).  I place it back where it was, and trace the outside edge of each letter, with some pressure.  This is my way of making my own kid of carbon transfer paper.  After I get the outline in place, I carefully paint in the word, taking care not to wipe off the stencil.

After getting in one coat for each word, I then go through and wipe off the chalk smudges that are left over (you can see them around the words in the picture above).  I then added a second coat of paint, so that the words are bolder.  I only did two coats though, so that it is still a bit streaky, because it makes it so it still looks a bit chalk-ish.

All that is left is adding the ribbon so that it can hang from the neck of the banner boy; although, you don't have to only use this kind of sign for a banner boy, it would be cute for any kind of sign you might need for your wedding (or party!).  You could even leave out the "chalkboard" center and use it as a photobooth prop!

I really loved how it turned out!

Dapper Duck

So I thought I would give you another little glimpse of cute wedding-ness!

I made Duck a couple of cute little cufflinks to wear with his tux at the wedding.  I was going for cute, a bit of silliness, and steampunk!  I took a gear from my pack of gears that I bought at Michael's to use as the backing, a little duckie button I got from Joann's (it came in a pack of like 10), and used Sculpey to craft the little details of the wee top hat and scarf.  I used the scarf to cover up the button holes, so they wouldn't show, and I really like how it adds to the look.

I baked the Sculpey components in my crafts-only toaster oven (I don't like to mix crafts surfaces/tools with food surfaces/tools) for about half the time the Sculpey package recommended, and I checked in frequently.  I have past experiences where little components burn if you leave them in for the recommended time, so be careful.  I think they expect you to make bigger things than I make!

All I have left to do is attach them to the cufflink blanks (I bought mine here for $4.15 for five pairs, and they come in antique bronze, chrome, and shiny gold tones).  What do you think? Cute, right?

Sooo ... school ...

So yeah, school has started again.

I am half happy about it, and half terrified of working in my wedding around my school schedule, and vice versa.  Yikes!  It's a lot of work, and I have only done three days of classes so far!

I am also tiring myself out more, because I decided to attempt to get in better shape before the wedding ... phew! It's a lot of work, and my knees hate me but I plan to ride every day that I can (I might skip days that it rains and any day that I have to tote projects to school).  It might be a bit difficult with my furniture design class to schlep a chair or whatnot back and forth on a bike!

See the helmet? I am trying to be safe as I navigate the crazy streets between home and school.

Because I am in the professional program, I get cubicle space, which I get to decorate and stow stuff at, like my vinyl toys.

I took all my toys home with me over the winter break, so I am slowly bringing them back a couple at a time, so they don't get crushed in my backpack so I will keep you all informed as the others make the trek back to their school home.

See the one in the middle?  That's a color-your-own vinyl toy, which I haven't quite finished yet.  I am going for a Steampunk Pin-up, and I will show her off completely once I finish her. :)

So, yeah, I will try to keep up with my blog as school and wedding craziness takes over, so wish me luck!

Bridal Shower!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!

Last weekend, my bridesmaids threw me a Bridal shower, with an adorable Love Birds theme!

My Matron-of-Honor insisted I needed a tiara, because I had never really owned one before!

It was a ton of fun, and I will try to get some pictures up soon so you can see how cute the theme was! (oh, and how fun is the locket? My Maid-of-Honor's mother gave it to me at my other Bridal Shower (one close to my mom, in case she couldn't make it to my local Shower) ... don't you just love the Steampunk-ness?)

DIY Chalkboard Signs

So just the other day, I was complaining to my Matron of Honor about not knowing what to do about wedding signs.  I was thinking of using foam core, but It was mostly a back-up plan and I was mostly resigned to the idea, when she suggested something to me.

She was saying that she had seen where someone took cheap plastic trays, and spray painted them to be chalkboard in the center, so they could be used for anything!  I was immediately on board with the idea, and I had a cheap plastic tray that I was willing to sacrifice to the cause.

Well ... I ended up not liking the shape of the tray, so I decided to hit my local Dollar Tree and see if they had anything better.

Look what I found! There was a stack of these cute metal (not even plastic!) trays!  I immediately loved the vintage feel of them, and felt they would blend well with the rest of my Steampunk theme.

I immediately started taping them off so I could spray the middles with chalkboard paint.  As I was taping them off, I was thinking that although the color didn't match my theme, I was okay with that because my can of copper spray paint wasn't very metallic and I didn't want to use it on the border of the tray.  Weeeeell, by the time I had taped off most of the trays, I wasn't happy with the chrome/silver, so I ran off to Michael's to get a can of metallic copper spray paint.

Of course, this meant that I needed to untape all of the trays to get the copper sprayed first ... d'oh!  I am a very indesicive person ... haha.

So I focused on the border, giving the edges several light coats of paint.  When working with metallic paint, it is important to go slow and do light coats because paint drips are super obvious when using metallic paints.  I am not really very patient, but I managed to only get one small, barely noticeable, drip.

I did all the spray painting in my backyard, to prevent getting paint on anything important (my arm not withstanding) and so I didn't inhale too many fumes.  Please excuse my patio, it's been kinda ignored all summer long and with school projects, it has been getting a bit messy.

Remember that taping off process? Well, now it's time to re-do all off the trays.  I did two light coats of regular black spray paint that I had laying around, so that I wouldn't have to worry about using as much chalkboard paint.  I still sprayed two coats of chalkboard paint, before peeling off all the tape.  I touched up the edges with matte black acrylic paint, so they looked nicer and smoother (the matte black blended well with the matte chalkboard paint).

This also worked on the large plastic tray I found too.  So you can use pretty much anything you want for this project, and the border would work in any color too! Such an easy project, and super cute and helpful, that I am glad my Matron of Honor gave me the idea!