Le Style Collage!

‘Cause it should be in French, right?  No, I guess not.  Anyway, I’ve been seeing these cute collages everywhere, from clothing to interior design, so I thought I’d try one myself.  I started out with one of my favorite stores, Urban Outfitters, because I love their fun, funky styles and reasonable prices!  Everything but the dresser with mirror is from UO; the dresser is from Ikea.

If I had my druthers, this would be the bedroom!  Maybe it would be an acceptable guest bedroom, but it does have a level of femininity that would overwhelm Nick a bit, I suppose (well, hey, I’ll just have to make one for him!).  This is very much the style of my last apartment on my own: very eclectic, kitschy, coordinated but not matchy.  I am definitely a fan of the little graphic pillows, and I’ve been in love with that whale print for a year!

What’s your idea of the perfect room?

Tags: creativity, decor, decorating, DiY

Two Happy Years

With my dear Nick.

You are a marvelous person and an amazing boyfriend.  Thank you for encouraging all my endeavors, from crafting to teaching, and supporting me throughout all of it.

Adventures in Fajitaland!

Had a FANTASTIC meal over the weekend (for Nick’s birthday!) of Southwest Flank Steak with Salsa.  Not only was it a great meal by itself, eaten fajita style with salsa, guacamole, and tortillas, but the following day it made for an incredible Southwest Steak salad on fresh baby spinach.  It was also easy peasy (and inexpensive!), with just the steak, a package of fajita seasoning, olive oil, and a little dry mustard.

Mmmmm, delicious steak!  And then…

 

Amazing salad!  Try it out!  Recipe from myrecipes.com.

Tags: food, frugality

Finally!

Oh look!  A new costume!  Holy cow, took long enough!

Click on the image to visit the page.  Enjoy!

Tags: costumes, cosplay

Whew! Catching up…

I unfortunately do not have a substantial post this Wednesday; having been away from home for five days, only to immediately go to school and class, I’ve found myself shorthanded.  But even so, there are a bunch of things coming up that I’m excited to do.  So since I haven’t been able to do them yet, I’ll share what I’m looking forward to doing!

Chalk Board Speech Bubble

I have no idea WHY I want to do this other than it seems amazing!  What a fun project (and easy and cheap, to boot) for classrooms, photos, even weddings!  All you need is posterboard, chalkboard spray paint (I just love this stuff, so versatile!), and a craft knife or box cutter.  Check it out over at Make and Takes!

Chalkboard Clock

A related item, this chalkboard clock is another item that’s charming in so many settings.  I love this for a classroom, but it would be equally suitable in a kitchen or even a kid’s bedroom.  This example over at Apartment Therapy is $79 for the clock with four magnets, but I think you could work this out DiY without much trouble at all!  Chalkboard spray paint to the rescue again!

Pom Pom Name Pennant

This is something I’d like to work on for the baby of a friend.  It’s such a simple, charming idea and inexpensive to complete.  Homemade by Jill has all the instructions!

What’s in your plans?

Tags: crafting, crafts, creativity, DiY, frugality, projects

I wanted the ocean, it came to me

I am not dead but I was REALLY REALLY CLOSE for about five minutes (the truck I was in was is in the very edge of the top right corner, no foolin’ you guys.  Seriously).  I was on a trip to South Texas for a long weekend and was very busy with weddings and sightseeing, though it was all very wet!  Even for all that it was a lovely trip and very beautiful country.  I will return here tomorrow to provide the regularly scheduled craftyblogging!

See you then!

Happy little scarves

I am super happy that it’s getting to be fall now (Hear that, Colorado weather?  FALL.  F-A-L-L.  So knock off this whole state being on fire crap.  It is not cool.), because I always miss the layering and sweaters during the summer.  But even when things are still a little warm, I like to add a little color or texture to an otherwise plain outfit with scarves.

Fortunately, this is really easy!  Soft, light scarves are popular even in summer, and for great prices (I found one recently at Walmart for just $5!).  But then I thought, what the heck?  I know how to sew, and there’s tons of great fabric out there, so why not make something personalized and unique (and did I mention super simple)?

I worked with a few fabrics I’d picked up from remnants and came up with this simple plan: working with about a square of 54” fabric, I could get two long rectangles, or one big square.  I have both in my closet already, but since I thought I’d try a few different techniques, I opted for the long rectangle.  One I sewed into a big tube with the selvages on the ends, the other I roll-hemmed on my serger all the way around.  Ta da!  Two nice black and silver scarves!  This was a little more substantial fabric, but if I’d had something a little softer and thinner, I would like to do a full square.

Here are some things to think about if you do this project:

Look at the fabrics being used for commercial scarves.  They’re super light, and have a very soft or silky hand (that means they’re kind of slinky, soft, and not stiff at all!).  Look for fabrics that have a soft hand to make your own.  This will ensure you have a nice soft, drapey scarf, rather than a stiff bunch!

Look at the fabric width (the measurement from selvage to selvage).  44” will make a nice ascot style, 54” and up will make a good scarf length.

Feeling ambitious?  Add tassels or other decorations to the ends!  Go for it!  Don’t have a serger?  Pick up a cute hand stitch like the blanket stitch and use that!

Tags: crafting, crafts, creativity, DiY, frugality, sewing

NOMday foodie considerations…

Get it?  NOMday?  From Monday?  Yeah, I know….

So I was thinking this morning, as I began planning out another bi-monthly shopping trip for groceries, about one of my favorite (and Nick’s not so favorite) condiments, balsamic vinegar!  A lot of people are familiar with Modena style, which is a reproduction of the originals from Italy, and can be commonly found just about anywhere.  I headed over to ye olde wiki for more information on this delightful, tangy, sweet and pungent flavoring.

There are only two ‘real’ styles of balsamic vinegar, detailed and protected by Italian and international law, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena) and "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia).  They begin with a reduction using their specified type of grape juice, and must then be aged for at least 12 years.  What a wait!  Bottles of this traditional style run to hundreds of American dollars!

The more familiar version, that of Modena, is commercial grade and available for very economical rates everywhere.  The production of this wine vinegar is not aged, and emulates the flavors of the traditional by adding caramel and perhaps some natural thickeners.  Be that as it may, it’s still a flavor I love, and I will take what I can get!

I’ve found it a great flavor to add to a lot of dishes, and I’m finding it a frequent ingredient in my recipe experiments from myrecipes.com.  From there I learned to add it to commercial jarred spaghetti sauce to enhance the flavor and give it a more homemade taste!  I prefer it as a marinade for steak and fish, and for grilled fish like salmon, it makes a superb sauce when reduced with a little fresh garlic and honey.

I love this versatile, interesting flavor!  What’s your favorite?

Tags: food, condiments

Purple 80s Hair

This is all I have to offer in exchange for the post I missed on Friday.  I was too busy parading around in my delightful winged finery.  And by parading, I mean sitting at the bar!

Courtesy of Lilacwire!  See you tomorrow!

Tags: costumes, costuming, cosplay, conventions

How is your space organized?

As crafters and creators, we LOVE our spaces (if we’re lucky enough to have them!).  They are a haven for creativity, a delightful sometimes magical land to spend a few hours in.  They can also become pits of disastrous carnage where we can never find the ribbon we bought last week, or that yard of fabric we SWORE we had a month ago.  It’s also someplace we want to display our aesthetic; a beautiful environment is inspiring and invigorating!

Mine is a little corner on the landing of the second floor in our townhome.  There are some simply excellent cabinets that were installed during the construction of the house, and they have been a huge lifesaver.  While they are permanent and can’t be rearranged, they do provide me with a VERY solid work surface, and a little extra storage!  There’s a perfect place for Sophie (the dressform!) next to the hallway, and a large hall closet opposite the cabinets.  Thankfully, there are also plenty of electrical outlets for my multiple sewing machines, glue guns, irons, and the occasional laptop.

The most recent thing I did was install these floating shelves (I LOVE floating shelves.  I have them everywhere.  One of them is my bedside table.  There are two in the kitchen.  I don’t know how I lived without them before), and on top of them installed a collection of kitschy kontainers.   I mean containers.  They provide the service of keeping all the little bits and bobs I use for sewing and beading and general crafting organized.  They’re also labeled with my little copper punched tags – that’s right, the same ones I use for the wordspell signature line!

I occasionally covet the master-designed, many-drawered crafting rooms seen on other blogs and on HGTV.  Some of them are professional, some of them are DiY, but all are images of majesty that I hope to achieve some day.  Here are some of my favorites:

Organized Craft Room Ideas: HGTV. I love this room because it’s calm, uncluttered, and looks like it could serve as an office or something OTHER than a craft room.  I am all about multitasking.

Inspirational Craft Rooms: Apartment Therapy.  I mean seriously, where else are you going to go?  Cubbies, hello!

What’s your craft space like?

Tags: decor, decorating, DiY, creativity, spaces, crafting, sewing

Happy Labor Day… Late!

I had a weekend filled with lots and lots of sewing… and a few mishaps!  D’oh!  Here’s hoping all your crafting and creating ‘labors’ went well, and you enjoyed your weekend!  See you tomorrow!

Been to Burda lately?

(FYI, since I’m at school for 13 hours at a time on Tuesdays and Thursdays – sheesh! – the schedule has switched up a bit...  Thoughtful Thursday is more like insane busy Thursday now, but Wednesdays and Fridays are great days for posts!  I will be rethinking my themes!)

I’ve been seeing project after ADORABLE project go up at BurdaStyle.com recently!  I’ve even used a few of the free patterns myself, and they’re excellent!  Even the regular Burda patterns are great, like this one for just $3 right now! What a deal!  Get one on the website and print yourself at home, or keep an eye on your local sew-craft store for sales.

And be sure to check out all the free user-submitted patterns!  There are amazing FREE patterns for all kinds of projects, from dresses and cardigans to dolls, hats, and accessories.

What’s your favorite pattern?

Tags: sewing, crafting, DiY, creativity, cute stuff, patterns

Back to our (stretchy) roots…

A project coming to fruition in about a week is completing some classic Sailormoon costumes!  Ah, Sailormoon, how long our love affair has been! Super Sailormoon was my Very First Costume as a cosplayer, and that was a Long Time Ago at SDCC 1998.  Interestingly, a classic Sailormoon costume is one I never did!  No time like the present!  I’m joined by my friends Lilacwire and Mara Lune for this endeavor.  ‘Cause we’re nerds.

I wanted to really focus on a good fabric for our purposes.  We wanted to go with a stretch knit for obvious reasons – the costume is basically a leotard, after all.  Lilacwire sent me a link to Spandex World, which offered me a great opportunity: to get swatches!  Spandex World provides up to ten (it says 12 on the website, but I kept getting batches of 10) FREE swatches!  That really gave us the chance to review our options in texture and color without the commitment of several yards. Their swatches of stretch moleskin turned out to be exactly what we wanted.  Moleskin is a heavyweight fabric that is matte – not shiny!  It also has a 4 way stretch (stretching across the grain and up and down), and was just what we were looking for.

The only falter was an unavailable orange in moleskin, so we replaced that with milliskin; similar in texture to the moleskin, slightly lighter weight, which was fine for the skirt.  They were quick to notify me on the order and we got it taken care of in no time!  Thanks, Spandex World!

This week we complete the costumes and next will be the debut!  Stay tuned!

Tags: cosplay, costuming, old school, crafting, sewing, nerds