My Very Studly Jacket

I haven't blogged in what seems like 10 years.  What can I say? I've been super busy...

So I've been seeing studded "things" everywhere these days.  I kind of felt the 80's were coming back again and was initially disgusted. Hello!  Hair bands and leathery grunge are not cute...but when I saw Kim K. (don't get me started on her...she's just a fashion example) sporting the very cool Burberry Studded Trench coat, I was sold.  There was NO WAY I was spending 5k on a coat that I'll wear like 3 times...my husband would kill me and he'd divorce me faster than Kim ditched Kris...So I decided to make my own...Not the Kim version, the black leather goth/emo version...

I ordered the studs from STUDS N SPIKES, they are very cool.  I should have ordered the cat claw kind, but I forgot. Boo on that.  The jacket is from FOREVER 21 and it was like $32.  I see there is a cheaper one on there now that will work just as well.

I actually have a ton of studs left, but don't know where to put them.  I might use them on the sleeves (I got bored tonight and finished after the shoulders were done) or I'll save them for some future event...

I also have a pair of knock off D&G shoes to make soon, but I didn't want to break out the E6000 glue in an enclosed area tonight and it's too dark to work outside. BOO to daylight savings time!  Maybe tomorrow!

They're Not Just Clothespins...

I have an obsession with these little clothespin things ever since we made them in a Paper Source Workshop a few weeks ago.  In the class, we used regular 12 x 12 cardstock and double sided tape or the Baby Xyron.  For my own purposes at home, I used very fun label paper that I found at Michael's. 

I use them for lots of things. They're super fun.

DIY Anthropologie Knock Off Stone Jewelry

I have a secret place to buy fabulous jewelry cheap cheap cheap in Houston (don't ask me where it is, I'm stingy and it's my secret and I won't give it up or else y'all will start going there, they'll raise their prices and my secret happy place will be gone).  I went there a few weeks ago after taking a walk through Anthropologie...I love Anthro. I really do, but their prices are outrageous.  Especially for accessories that cost pennies to make. So I hit up the happy place...

I got lots of stuff that day...lots of wrap bracelets (LOTS of these. I love them and wear them everywhere since they don't dangle and I can craft while wearing them) and this very very very adorable pig ring. I love my pig.

The Pig and I At A Bat Mitzvah...

I was really on the hunt for a stone pendant necklace. Remember when you were a kid and you went to the museums on school field trips and they had those huge rocks for sale? Well, now apparently it's cool for you to wear them as necklaces and rings...I'd found THIS, THIS, THIS and most especially THIS one in my travels and I wanted one. Or three...

That last one is so cool that it deserves its own pic...

Anyway, so I found this one necklace that had several different stones on it. While I kind of liked it how it was, it was too big. It's 110 degrees here in Houston, TX, there is no way I'm wearing something that involved around my neck in the summer...

As it started. They even included a free pair of earrings that I have yet to re-create...

The happy accessory place had a clearance section (I almost fell over) and I bought a bunch of ugly necklaces for under $1 each just for the cords...Then I took out my handy needle nosed-pliers (my dad would be so proud that I know the proper name for my non-powered tool. Hi Dad!) and snip snip snipped them away from the regular necklace, then I put them on the free cords and was almost done...

Here they are being almost done...

I got super excited when I saw the embellished stone at Anthro, so I used some cool stones that I got from the asylum, an earring that has seen better days and the very smelly but useful E6000 glue to create this gem.

I also really liked the black stone on the original necklace too much to make it a necklace, so I made it a ring using the leftover rings from THIS blog project. 

Like my rock?

All of this from one necklace that cost me about $15. Maybe $20.

DIY Nautically Rope Belt

I was very inspired when I saw THIS blog post while I was blog stalking one day...Why was I so excited? Why, by my love of all things beachy of course-duh!!!!  I got a whole big bunch of nautically rope at the Asylum one day and was dying to use it. I also have an obsession with big belts, so this one was perfect for me.

Besides the rope, I used some generic off white ribbon, off white felt and my all time favorite hot glue gun...

I used hot glue to curl the rope around in a circle.

I wanted to make sure the middle circle was bigger than the side circles.

So I traced them on the side to make sure they were the same size...

When they were done I cut them out...

Then I cut a long piece of ribbon and hot glued it to the back. 

Does this need some embellishment? I haven't decided yet.

Pocket Watch Necklace (It's Sort Of Vintage...)

A few weeks ago, I found myself in one of my favorite places, TEXAS ART ASYLUM.  I bought lots and lots of fun things to re-create. Oh it was such fun!!!  I was really looking for a pocket watch.  I've been eyeing several necklaces (HERE, HERE and HERE), but really wanted to make my own ever since we got THESE cuties at PS...

Supplies! Look at the Statue of Liberty on my pocket watch!

I covered her cloudy day with flowers. So much better. 

OOOO up close!

With a chain. I need to put a pink bow at the top. I wore it the other day though and totally forgot to do this...

Smash Smash Smash Away!

I have been absent lately and I apologize. I think I didn’t realize how many people read my blog…so thanks for the emails and Facebook comments. I’m thinking of changing this blog from Blogger to Wordpress. For some reason I can’t comment on posts and that’s just ANNOYING…Soccer Mom, if you’re reading, thanks for commenting on my DIY Chanel Ice Cube Clutch…I’m considering making the clear box one.

OK, onto the crafting that I’ve been doing but not blogging about…

First, I had a great impromptu weekend in NJ with the fam. Hello Fam!  It was so nice to see all of you…While in NJ, we took a day trip to see the Civil War Re-enactment in Gettysburg, PA.  It was riveting and that's all I'm going to say about that.  I'm so excited to chronicle our trip in my sort of brand spanking new SMASH book…OMG. Have ANY of you Smashed lately????  It's like scrapbooking for novices. I LOVE it!

This is my first Smash Book...I have since purchased another one with a black binding. 

I’m going to preface this entry by saying that I am NOT a scrapbooker. I have nothing against scrapbookers per se, but I just can't get into it. And I get bored. Smash is different. It’s very cool and easy. Essentially, it’s a binder with fun pages in it. In order to maximize their profits, the Smash company (who I actually think is K & Company) has created all sorts of things to go with it (fancy post it notes, huge rubber bands to hold that sucker together when it gets too big, and fun masking tape with sayings on it-to name a few). All they want you to do is “smash” stuff in there. There is a pen/glue stick attached to the side of the book, making it super easy to smash away. 

I’ve read about this smashing phenomenon on the Archiver's Blog and OF COURSE from the PAPER SOURCE BLOG. We have one of these books at our demo table and we’ve each created a page. Mine was about extreme couponing and it’s super fun. Maybe I’ll take a pic of it this week and put it in here…

Anyway, here are some smashing pics…

I don’t know if you can read this, but this is what they suggest you do with your Smash Book.

   

And this is the first vellum page that you see when you open your Smash Book.

This is one of the very cool props that you can use with your Smash Book. It’s a date stamp. I love that you can put, “Oh, Snap!” next to your date entry.

My first page. I attempted to copy the Extreme Couponing one that I did at the store, but I was tired. I’m still working on it though…

DIY Journal (super super easy too!)

At Paper Source, we sell THESE little journals. I love them because they are so simple. I was examining their construction yesterday while at work and decided to give them a try.  Minus drying time, this project took me all of 15 minutes. I did most of it while waiting for Mark to get ready to leave the house this morning...

Remember when I made my own heart shaped pad?  If not, please visit THIS LINK so that I don't have to repeat myself...Sorry, that was short. I'm tired. 

Anyway, I used text weight 8.5x11 paper cut in half (15 sheets cut in half, so 30 sheets for the journal) and then card stock for the front and back covers.  I had this particular pattern in a pad from Michael's. It's really pretty and has glitter on it.  I also used PVA glue, binder clips and THIS book cloth tape. 

Waiting to dry. I actually did this step twice. 

All done. I really like it. Now we'll see if it holds up to normal journal wear and tear...

DIY: Mini Clutch

I wear glasses. I have since I was like six years old. There is no way in this world that I am able to NOT wear glasses. Once, this guy that I worked with actually thought that I took my glasses off when I got home...Uh NO.  All I have to say is THANK GOD they have technology that shrinks really thick lenses. Without this, I'd be a coke bottle glasses wearing nerd.

Anyway, I have lots of glasses cases around. Of course, for this project, I didn't use one of them...I went to Ross Dress For Less and found three really cool ones for really cheap.  In my blog stalking, I've seen several bloggers do this DIY...HERE ARE EXAMPLES. I love this project. It's fun, easy and I actually might use this one (to note, I've worn the glitter shoes twice so far...).

What I used

• E6000 Multi-Purpose Adhesive-3.7 Ounce
• Sunglass cases
• Beads from Michael's
• Rings from the findings section at Michael's.
• This birdcage bead thing from Michael's. 

Stuffs...

I glued the rings onto the cases. 

I glued the birdcage thing onto the pink case.
This one is done. It's my favorite because it's kind of weird.

Then I glued these beads to the top of the three  rings on this case.
Those beads were attached with fishing line already and I didn't see ANY need to change that, so I just used a lot of glue to make sure they stuck. They did, but it took a few tries...

DIY Wedding: Aisle Runners (oh and a fire too...)

When my sister was planning her wedding, I was browsing some wedding forum somewhere and came upon a picture of this super spectacular personalized aisle runner (sorry, I can't find the picture-I tried. I really really did). I BEGGED her to let me make one for her because it was just awesome. She agreed and I was so excited!!!!

This one wedding item made the largest (and most firey) impact (in my opinion) and it looked great in pictures (see at the end of the post...).  It was also VERY easy to make, so easy that I almost cried when I looked on Etsy and saw how much people charge...Again, I'm in the wrong business. I really just need to do this for a living and give the bar thing a rest...but I digress-as usual. 

I bought a 100 ft runner (I think I got it at Hobby Lobby) which was waaaaay too long. I cut 25 feet off the end of the runner, measured out 50 feet from the new end and placed the monogram there. I was slightly apprehensive about this, probably because I can't measure to save my life.  It all worked out in the end though... 

I really wanted to personalize it, but I needed the monogram to be 3' by 3'.  I had one heck of a time trying to figure out how to print the it that big,  my printer wasn't having it, so I finally just called a copy place and they did it for me. Very easy. 

Here is the monogram printed on big paper behind the runner so that we could trace it:

Originally, I had the "H" behind the other text and we were going to make it glittery, but that would have looked weird with the black paint being non-glittery, so I put the H on top.  After some consideration,  I decided to NOT make the "H" glittery, because I didn't want it to get all over her dress when she walked over it.  I'm glad that I kept them separate in the end, the paint bleeds a little when you use it on that kind of material and the two colors wouldn't have looked very good bleeding into one another. 

Mom and I traced the monogram onto the runner (I had help on this craft...there's my mom!  HI MOM!!!).

There she is, hard at work. Good Job MOM!

Then I started painting.  Mom was bored at this point, so I took over.  Before I started, I put wax paper behind the runner. That paint is nice and all, but it would NOT have been nice all over my dining room table...

It looked really good. Like, REALLY good. I was actually quite proud of myself.  When I rolled it up to ship to Florida (where the wedding took place) I put wax paper on both the front and back of the design.  The aisle runner material is very porous and I didn't want the paint bleeding through onto the non painted parts.  In the package, I also put a huge roll of very wide, very sticky double sided tape. I wanted the florist to use that (and not stick pins) to secure it to the carpet. They did NOT take my advice and panic ensued...more on that later. 

Here is how it looked on the big day...

Now onto the most disappointing moment in my crafting career...Notice on the sides of the runner that there are candles in water vases on the floor. Yes, that's right. There was FIRE on the FLOOR when there was a very very VERY flammable aisle runner mere inches away. After the wedding party marched out of the chapel to take pictures, someone knocked over the fire ONTO the aisle runner and it proceeded to go up in flames.  I did not know this, nor did I hear anything about it until the cocktail hour (thank God for wine) when my husband told me. I thought he was kidding, but soon confirmed the story with my father in law (who would NOT lie to me) and so it was true.  One of the wedding guests  actually put out said fire with his hand and sported burn blisters for the rest of the evening. 

The moral to this story? If you're going to have an aisle runner, DON'T PUT FIRE ON THE FLOOR!  DUH!  I tried to tell her...she wouldn't listen and my masterpiece went up in flames. 

It's Time For the Perforator

Remember that percolator song from the 90's?  Every time I say perforator I think of that song...






Enough silliness...I had a very fun weekend of crafting.  I took a lovely handmade album class at Paper Source Houston. It was super fun and I made this lovely addition to my crafted items.






While in this class, Sheila suggested that I blog about the PERFORATOR.  We love this thing at our store. It can be used for SO many things (rip off cards for invitations for one) and I decided to perforate the pages in THESE little notebooks. It's so handy to have a little tear away notepad available. Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to buy them because they're super cute...

The notepads and the perforator. 

I use a straight edge to run the perforator along.  It doesn't always work because generally, rulers and I don't get along, but whatever.
Notice the crazy nail polish?  It's really those Sally Hansen strips that are now my greatest love. 

You can see how I tore the page up top along its perforation.

I think that every house should have a perforator. It's really quite handy and goes along with my dad's old saying, "the right tool for the right job."

DIY Wedding: A Homemade Veil

Right after I got married, my sister Lindsay got engaged. Since weddings were fresh on my mind, I took the opportunity to put all of my DIY skills to use. I did a lot for her wedding (programs, menu's place cards, aisle runner, her veil, a video slideshow, the invitation suite etc...).  She wanted a really long cathedral veil. Have you priced cathedral veils lately?  Ridiculously expensive. 

Since Lindsay has an obsession with Princess Di, the veil had to be really really long. I think it was five yards of glimmer tulle. It cost me all of $20 to make. 

Here I am cutting the end. We wanted it to be rounded. What this picture does not show is that I used a huge salad bowl as a template to round the corners.

I sewed on a big comb...This is the extent of my sewing skills. If I could have glued it, I would have. I hate sewing.

Before it was steamed, but the comb is on, it's cut and rounded, so we're almost set. 

I thought it was a little boring, so I bought these scrapbooking sticker crystal things at Hobby Lobby.  When I stuck them to the tulle, they kept coming off, so I put them where I wanted them and then I used Gem-Tac glue and a paint brush and painted the glue onto each of the swirls.  It took forever, but that stuff worked, let me tell you! On the day of the wedding, the veil kept catching on everything and those babies stayed on, but the tulle around some of them ripped that glue was so good. 

See how long that thing was?????

You can see the rhinestones here...

DIY Wedding: A Pink Crinoline!

I wasn't a bridezilla, I really wasn't, but when I was engaged (four years ago), I found myself more and more outraged with the price of wedding stuff.  Slap the word "bridal" on something and expect a 70% increase. It boiled me. So for my wedding, I DIY'ed a lot...

While browsing Etsy this evening, I revisited my bridal rage for a moment when I discovered that sellers are charging upwards of $100 for dyed crinolines. OMG. I almost had a heart attack. I dyed my own crinoline (and a few others) for my wedding. I wore a pink one that my sister wore a year later when she got married...It cost me less than $2 to dye it.  I think that I even bought the actual crinnie on ebay for like $10. So, you can understand my outrage. It also took me all of 45 minutes. I'm in the wrong business. I need to start selling this stuff...

How to Dye a Crinoline (or anything really...)

An important site for dyeing info is the RIT DYE SITE...there is a color chart that will help you make custom colors, should you want them...

To start, I filled my washer with hot hot water, then I put on gloves (you don't want pink hands do you?).  BEFORE I put the dye in the wash bin, I dunked the crinoline into the water. Since I didn't have anywhere else for the wet crinoline to go, I put a towel under a laundry basket so that water wouldn't get all over and I put the wet crinoline in the basket.

Here is my set up...

I then added the dye (RIT liquid dye, Rose Pink) to the wash bin and set it to agitate, then I added the crinoline to the dye and dunked it in as much as I could (this is where wearing gloves comes in really handy, because that water was HOT).

Here's the crinoline right before I shut the washer lid to let it agitate.

I kept setting the washer to agitate, I let it go for about 15 minutes, then I took it out, unraveled it the best that I could (it was heavy...) then I put it back in for another 15 minutes. This step is really important because if you don't unravel it, your crinnie will end up tye-dyed.

A mid-cycle pic...

After it was done agitating I let it rinse twice, the 2nd time, I added just a bit of detergent, rinsed it again, let the water drain and I took it out.

Here it is right before I took it out of the washer...

I hung it up in my bathroom the best that I could...it was REALLY tangled within itself and I had to have the husband (then the fiance) help me...

It turned out pretty well. I think the color on the bottle very accurately describes the color that the crinoline turned out to be. I was surprised by that actually.

Here are pictures of my former crinnie and hoop skirt that I had also dyed. I was trying to match the color "truffle," which was the color of my bridesmaid dresses...it took a lot of work, four things of rit dye, but it was successful.  I freaked out at first because it was REALLY purple.  I looked on the rit site and saw that you could make burgundy out of 1/2 cup dark brown and 1 cup of wine, I switched that up and it ended up really purple, so I used two more packs of dark brown and voila! Perfection!

Up close color of crinnie #1

Here's the hoop skirt and crinnie together...

The crinoline looks tie dyed in this picture, which to be honest, it sort of was up top, the fabric for this crinnie was different from the one that I actually wore. 

Out of thousands of wedding pictures, this is the only one that I can find with a good view under my dress...Which is a good thing I think?