Bridal flower crown

Recently a friend asked if I could make a headpiece for the bride from a bachelorette party that she was organizing.  She wanted a floral crown that was a little more earthy than typical party gear. She shared a few pins and pictures with me for inspiration and basically let me choose the color scheme and overall look of the piece.

The party was tonight, so now I'm free to share pictures of what I made without ruining the surprise!  (Naturally, I had to try it on to test out the fit, so bear with the pictures of me in someone else's crown.)

I usually shop at Joann's for my craft supplies (they sell most of what I need, and send me coupons through their mailing list), but for this project, I opted to get my stuff at Michael's.  I've always been hesitant of silk flowers, but since this piece needed to last, I was pretty set on trying to find some that I liked.

The wedding is coming up this fall, so I wanted this piece to be a little autumn-ish, but still summery enough for August.  I used mostly small white flowers and some orange and green ones.  I found perfect glassy looking green and orange beads that were pretty earthy, but a little fancy too.

I twisted the wrapped wire and flowers together and fastened the flowers on it pretty securely (I also took each flower off and glued them back onto their plastic stems since they have a tendency to pop off pretty easily).

I didn't know how big to make it, but since I wanted it to fit and stay on, I loop each end of the crown and braided yarn to tie the whole thing on.  The crown itself has some flexibility, so it can be bent to fit better if needed.

I'm so happy with how this turned out!  I love getting requests for projects; I feel inspired to try new things and do my best to make them work.  The bachelorette party is happening now, so I hope that the bride-to-be enjoys this crown as much as I enjoyed making it!  (In fact, I feel some inspiration for my own wedding plans!)

Summer crafting: apron top

Summer has been super busy so far, between music festivals, outdoor activities, grad school, and work, but I've still managed to complete some projects that I'd been meaning to get to!  Here's something that I whipped up this weekend:

(Gin & tonic, the ideal summer beverage)

I bought some corduroy remnants at the craft store this past winter and knew I wanted to make some sort of patchwork project, but I waited until the right inspiration struck.  After five festivals so far this year, I decided a patchwork apron top would be best for this fabric.  I considered making a dress, but my wardrobe is definitely lacking cute tops to pair with shorts.

I made the top of the shirt a little longer, with one panel of black and pink right below it.  I pleated the bust, so it's more fitted than traditional apron tops, so it looks a little less "maternity" wardrobe.  I also top-stitched everything to give it a finished look.

I can't believe how well the fabrics all go together, and they were in the same remnant bin at the same time!  I figure someone else mixed those fabrics as well.  (I also love that remnants are generally 50% their current price, meaning if it's already on sale, I get a double discount!)

The back of the top is pretty open and revealing.  I wanted it to cover a little more, but really, who cares?  It laces up, so there's some detailing over my back.

I added an applique lotus on the front of the top.  I recently bought a different brand of fusible webbing than I'd usually used, and it's a little trickier to apply.  It stuck to the front of the appliques and looked bad, so I had to double up on the layers of my lotus.

I love how this project turned out!  It was just my second totally from scratch, no pattern, homemade clothing item, so I'm pretty proud of the results.  Summer may be almost over, but I'm sure I'll have a few opportunities to wear this before autumn starts to roll in!

Crocheted hip bag

A few weeks back at Bella Fiore I visited the booth of a vendor selling leather waist packs.  I'd seen people wearing them at festivals in the past, and I was super excited to see somewhere to buy one.  Well... that lasted until I found out they were $130 and up.  Then I saw this great felted peacock feather waist bag at another booth for half the price, but when I decided I wanted to splurge for it, another girl had already bought it.  I got home, surfed the web and bit, and (long story short) decided to try to just make my own with things I already had!

The belt and pockets were mostly made with a 25 cent skein of yarn I got garage sale-ing, accented with another yarn I already had, buttons, and felt/bead peacock feathers.

The main pocket is big (wallet-sized) and has a large feather on the front.  Perfect for carrying around money, an ID, etc.

I also put on two smaller pockets: one that would fit a camera and another for lip balm or something else small.  The whole thing ties on with longer crocheted pieces.

I can't wait to wear this to our next festival this summer!  It's practical, cute, and didn't cost me $130 to make!  Depending how the initial wearing goes, I'd like to make more similar bags to sell.  What do you think?  Would you wear a crocheted hip bag?

Bella Fiore

So, it's been nearly a month since we went to Bella Fiore, but here's how we spent our lovely long weekend:

1.  Napping!  I love napping at festivals so I can keep my energy up.  The first full day was pretty cold and gloomy, so I didn't mind curling up on a blanket with Mark for a few hours.

2.  Hydrating!  We brought LOTS of water with.  It's no fun to have a super hot day, no water, and super long lines at the vendors, so we made sure we had extra water with and carried it around at all times.

3.  Hanging out with our camp!  We had a big, fun group, and a view of the stage from our area, so we got to hang out there quite a bit. 

The whole group:

4. Um, music!  There were three stages to see, so we were bouncing around a lot, depending on who was playing. 

Our friend brought this little toy with that provided hours of entertainment for us and passers-by.

Big Gigantic

5.  Taking in the scenery.  It's such a lovely park, so it's fun to explore, even if you've been there lots of times, like I have.  You never know when there will be a perfect sunset or fire-spinning or just a great crowd vibe!

Not pictured:  the rain storms on the first and last night.  We'll just pretend our tent didn't flood and we weren't sleeping with damp bedding all weekend. 

Bella Fiore: what I bought.

So, this post will make it seem like all I did at Bella Fiore was shop, but I'm really just waiting on other people to post the pictures that I failed to take.  I did take some, but not nearly as many as I would have liked.  I danced and enjoyed some music, camped out while it rained, lounged in the sun, napped, socialized... pretty great weekend overall.  

1.  Sweater for Mark's new niece.  It's such great colors and covered in felt animals.
2.  Printed card by Phil Lewis.  I used to have a larger print of this and wanted to replace it, but it was sold out so I settled for this smaller version.
3.  Embroidered headband from the Chicken Thief.  This guy had the best merchandise ever and he picked it all himself.  He doesn't have an online presence and only does occasional festivals, but he is definitely worth checking out.
4.  Pins!  Mushrooms and Day of the Dead Storm Trooper.
5.  Purse, also from the Chicken Thief.  Great adjustable across-the-chest strap and detailed stitching.
6.  Yoda finger puppet... Chicken Thief again.
7.  Little stone dinosaur.  Had his twin a year ago, but broke it.  Looks like Little Foot.
8.  Peridot ring. You can't see it here, but it's the best.
9.  Printed disc from Phil Lewis.  For Mark.  To throw.

 Chicken Thief merch. 

Phil Lewis.

Dino and ring.  

And my Star Wars fare.

I really hope to post about the rest of the weekend soon!

A good chance of rain...

We leave for Bella Fiore today and I can't wait.  I've been going to Harmony Park (this lovely campground in the middle of nowhere) for years, but I haven't been to Bella since the first year it started, and this is it's 6th year!  I can't wait to see how the event has evolved...

Here are some of my favorite pictures at Harmony from the past, a few are from the first year of Bella: Bella Luna, 2007.

Fire dancers, Project Earth, 2009

Project Earth, 2009

Project Earth, 2010

Bella Luna, 2007

Project Earth, 2011

Bella Luna, 2007

And right about here began my love for Trampled by Turtles. I consider this proof of my undying affection for Dave Simonett.

Lake Geneva, Project Earth, 2009

Bella Luna, 2007

Project Earth, 2011

Pre-storm clouds, Project Earth, 2010

And, even though Mark and I have each been to Harmony Park many times (and even at the same festivals!), this will be our first time there together! So that's fun!

PhotoSho!

My dear old friend posted something recently that was just wonderful:



From her new adventure in Australia. Apparently the hippies transcend oceanic divides.


Go here for her great blog about life, Australia, music, etc.

And here's us, years ago: