My engagement ring!

A week and a half ago I got my new engagement ring!  We'd sent back the one Mark had originally given me, because it was a couple sizes too big.  It was a wire-wrapped gemstone ring and originally the designer said we'd have to pick something new because my finger size was too small for a ring that fit the three original stones.  Much to our surprise, he was able to fit each of the stones in my new ring with some minor adjustments! 

I love it so much!  It's totally unique and special because Mark chose it for me.  We're probably going to get a different "forever" ring for after the wedding.  I'll probably wear both, but want the option to take this one off because of it's size and to keep it safe. 

So yay!  We've already been planning some parts of our wedding (the big day is going to be a year from this Friday!) and I'm excited to show my inspiration and plans here on the blog! 

Little projects

I've been crafting like crazy lately, getting things ready for my first craft show!  Our house seems to be overtaken with my supplies... sewing machine on the table, piles of fabric across the living room floor, yarn everywhere. I will be a relieved when the show has come and gone, and I know I made things I genuinely liked.  Some of my favorite things to make are these little brooches and hair clips with flowers and embroidery. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Some are felt and beads, some have little crocheted flowers I whipped up.   It's nice being able to have variation between pieces by changing things slightly.

 

 
 Well, back to work.  I'm very excited and nervous about the show, so hoping it goes well!  (I may have had a nightmare that I didn't sell anything, so here's to hoping I sell at least one or two things!)

Pinterest Project 1: bird's nest pendant

While this may not be my first attempt at a Pinterest project, it's the first I'm documenting via blog.  This one is a bird's nest necklace.  I found the project on Pinterest (obv.), and the link to the original tutorial is here.

It was super easy to follow, and only took about half an hour to get it looking the way I wanted.  A cute, simple project with things I already had lying around!  I used some basic thicker wire and wooden beads.

Dexter helped me model my new necklace.

Give this a try for a simple wearable craft or maybe a gift for a friend!

Craft room organization

After the walls were painted and the furniture was moved in, it was time for me to organize my supplies.  Once again, I opted to use things I already had to make the space my own.  I mean, our own.

I sorted through my supplies and made sure everything had some sort of space or organization.  Well, I tried at least.  Thread, needles, pins, etc. went in the antique sewing box my grandma gave me.  Felt into a $5 sewing basket from Goodwill, complete with vintage fabric lining and built-in pincushions.  Yarn in the basket my aunt made. I tied together a stack of fabric scraps.

Since I'd already filled up my table space, I stacked up boxes and baskets between my desks and garbage can.  The gray travel case was another heirloom from my grandma.  It's filled with odds and ends, like old jewelry I plan on cutting up.  The bottom box is beads and wire.  

I used an old plastic crate as a tabletop shelf for craft books, sketch pads, and canvases.

After moving from my apartment, I hung onto a Hello Kitty toothbrush holder that's perfect for scissors and crochet hooks.  Colored pencils in a jar from Toby Keith's I Love This Bar (don't ask... it was a truly painful experience).  I got that adorable little crayon box at the thrift store for $2.

So, there's my initial organization of the craft room!  There's sure to be more as I find more things that belong in the room and I've already decided on a few things to change.  How do you organize your crafts?  Are there any things you struggle with finding a good space for?

Our new craft room!!

Well, we completed out first major project since I moved in with Mark, and it's pretty much my life dream: a craft room!  

The entire project was done on a budget- basically only paint and a few small thrifted items to spruce up the space, so I hope it provides ideas for using personal items to create a whole new room!

 The walls were white with an old 90s children's border, so we pulled that down and painted the room blue.  It was supposed to be be more grayish, but since it's our first painting experience, I don't really mind.  Plus, it looks different depending on the lighting.

The table had been in the dining room before I moved in with my own.  I suppose it would make more sense if there were a chair at the table, but we're working on that! 

We moved the futon (aka Mark's old bed) in.  As nice as a table is for paper crafts, I sometimes like to just lounge while I crochet, sew, and bead.  Dexter (the black lump on the futon) seems to have decided that this is his craft room. 

We also added this end table with a small TV and a bigger shelf on the wall.  Extra storage and entertainment for craft time.  My parents dropped off a record player today, so that might be great for non-television entertainment (notice the Wham! album on the shelf, awww yeah!)  

Organization and decorating are essential for a craft room, so I'll be posting more of the details later this week!  

Glass hangers for house plant propagation

As if we didn't have enough houseplants already, I've been taking cuttings from a few and putting them in vases around the house.  Yes, I want the house to be a jungle.  Someday, maybe.  Anyways, there was an accident with one of the vases that resulted in two of Mark's carboys for brewing beer breaking, and the dollar vase from Goodwill being totally fine.  My solution: hang the cuttings. 

Two of the bottles I used were from American Science & Surplus in Milwaukee.  I picked them up on our road trip for something like, 50 cents a piece.  I wish I could find them on the site, but they don't seem to be available online.  

The other, the longest one, was from an oil lantern that I lost the main piece to.  

I wrapped them with wire and beads in various ways and voila!  Hanging propagation bottles for my cuttings. 

I'll likely make more if I find more bottles.  You could probably do something similar with other bottles or vases, but what I like about these is that they don't have flat bottoms and don't sit upright, so they need to be hung.  Each is different, and they look pretty in the bay window in our dining room.  I love looking at the roots as they grow.

Hemp pouch necklace.

So, one of the things I saw and liked at Craftstravaganza last weekend was a crocheted necklace pouch, but Mark convinced me that I could make one on my own for free.  So, the other night I pulled out some hemp from Sho and attempted a DIY project.

I used an earring for the clasp.  (I have a growing collection of single gauged earrings as a result of losing/breaking one from the pair so I've been trying to find uses for the lonely pieces.)  I added some matching green beads and hemp tassels. 

I pretty much winged it for the pattern.  Just some double crochet stitches and improvisation and it was done.   The only challenge was in regards to the actual hemp- it varies a lot in size, from very thick to quite thin.  I decided I really like this about the end result.  It's not perfect... in a good way. 

Also, I wore leaves in my hair today.  

Mushroom bottle necklace

So, we were at the craft store the other week and Mark found a package of nine little bottles that are perfect for pendants and other jewelry projects.  I decided to make this little one first... in the smallest bottle.  It seriously took a few hours to make, but I really love how it turned out after many attempts and many mushrooms that were too large for the bottle.  

I made the moss with felt that I shredded and stitched back together with thread so it would look grassy up close.  The mushroom stem is a wooden bead and the cap is felt and seed beads.  After that was done, I wrapped the top with wire and put it on some green hemp. 

 

I love the way it turned out and love wearing it just as much.  Now I need to pick some projects for the remaining eight bottles!  I'm thinking there's a least one pair of earrings to be made...

My DIY peacock feather dress

My most recent completed big project:




Plain dress embellished with felt peacock feathers with yarn plumes.



This was the old dress I started with. The beading fell off the first time I wore it, and I just shoved it in a basket after that with the intention of re-beading it. That was a year and a half ago.


Recently, I was anxious to embellish another item in my closet, but I also like to keep some basics around so it was hard to pick what to use. Then I remembered the dress! I had to rip out the original beading, which took some time, but then it was perfect!


I made nine peacock feathers with this method.




I used a bunch of different colors of felt and mixed up the color combos. I think they all turned out very pretty. Also, I used beads that were originally on the dress to add detail to the feathers.


I sewed the feathers on with embroidery thread and made feather plumes with several colors of yarn using a backstitch.




The fabric had a lot of give, so it stretched pretty well to accommodate the yarn and large needle I was using. I also pulled the fabric taut every five stitches or so to make sure it wasn't bunching up and the stitches would have give when I move around. I wasn't sure how well the fabric would hold up, so I used a fray preventative around the holes on all the stitches. That part took a while, but I hope it helps the dress last longer.

*If you are going to try this, I would not recommend using yarn, but rather trying embroidery thread or something thinner. I expect that some of the parts I stitched through will eventually become holes that I will need to repair. Another thing you could try would be a fabric paint!



This project took quite a bit of time, but I love the dress and I'm so excited to wear it this spring and summer!

Valentine's for little ones.

So, for Valentine's Day, I decided to take on a project for my students. I made each one (that's 39 kids!!) a felt keyring. They were pretty simple, but time-consuming, especially when I'd misplace my good scissors and spend loads of time trying to cut felt with a dull ol' scissors.



Here's what I did:
1. Cut out all the letters. 1 per student for their first initial.
2. Pinned the first letter on felt and cut two more layers, each slightly larger than the last.
3. Sewed the top two layers together. Added some beads and brightly colored thread for fun.
4. Used tacky glue to attach the top two layers to the bottom.
5. Sewed the keyrings on with a small strip of felt and more colorful thread.


It took approximately 10 hours altogether, but I got it done while watching some of my usual TV shows over the last week or so, so it went pretty quickly. Also, I loved some of the color combinations I came up with as I randomly placed felt together!








I have lots of "A" names!