Methinks My Thinker Be Obsessed.

      I have a huge project in my head. Next time I have a chance, I am going to snap a photo of what inspired me to do what I'm going to be doing in the next several weeks. I'll try to remember to do some little blog posts while I'm collecting all I need for my major project, but I wanted to let you guys know that I might forget...

Anyway, a little tiny brief note about what got me going:

I absolutely fell IN LOVE with a patterned wall in one of the local shops in town, and the owner told me it was silk. I need a patterned wall.
... No, you don't understand.

I NEED IT.

So I googled and googled... and googled.

Crap, I cannot afford silk. Especially not enough to cover a wall. I honestly can't even afford fabric (not that I found any I was in love with). So I have decided that I am going to dedicate a lot of time as well as a huge blog post into covering a wall with a pattern. That will include several things:

1. Troubleshoot the no painting/please don't put holes everywhere in the walls problem.
2. Figure out a pattern/color
3. Create an actual space that is to be used as a background for photos (since every time I need to take some I come up short and use some pretty ridiculous methods for photo'ing)
     [Step 3 will include cleaning out/reorganizing all of the junk that we are currently storing in useable space, to become my craft studio!]

I am justifying all of this because we just signed a lease for another year and I definitely need a place to photo/store all of my craftiness.

So, it seems that this might be a massive undertaking, but I cannot get the image of that fabric wall out of my head.

It was like this, but wayyyy not.

 I can't even find anything similar. I'll just have to make do with loving whatever I make.

Anyway. I guess that's it for now, nothing too exciting, but I have just spent like... 2 hours planning this. Obsessed much? I think so. Now, I will retire for the night since I am going to go GARAGE SALING tomorrow!!! I hope I find some treasures :)

Schmoozy Shoesies

The following might only be interesting to people who love shoes. If you have no interest in shoes and the shallow shoe love that is to follow, stop reading now!

I have several great pairs of shoes, so be prepared to be JEALOUS.

For my friend, Laura's wedding, I had these amazing shoes in my head. I wanted royal blue peep toe pumps and I searched the world over for them, to no avail. I did however stumble upon a super comfy pair of nude peep toe pumps, and needed a way to make them have some sort of color on them. So I came up with the idea to make a little decoration to make them pretty.

Here's what I came up with for Laura's wedding, amazing photo courtesy of Kimberly Neyer Photography . (If ever you need newborn photos, family photos, or engagement photos, please drop her a line! She did my and Laura's weddings last year -- unfortunately she is no longer doing weddings -- and was a blast to work with and the photos were AMAZING... I honestly cannot say enough good things about her and her work -- THANK YOU SO MUCH, KIM!!!).

These little flowers were initially hair clips, so I sewed them onto velcro to wrap on the shoes.

I had gotten so many compliments on these cute little shoe accessories that I decided to share them with everyone and make some more!

So here's what ya get!

These turned out to be a little on the costume-y side, but they're pretty darn cute anyway.

Today, I was just about to take a shoe photo shoot with only my nude peep toe shoes and I realized...

If I used other peep toe shoes, would my "shoesies" (as I've so fondly named my little decorations) fit other shoes? The answer was ASTOUNDING. At least to me. I did a victory lap around the apartment when I realized all my other shoes would work, too. Andrew gave me a disapproving look. Whatever.

HOW FITTING FOR MEMORIAL DAY! I'll admit it, I love geeking out over holidays where I can accesorize, so I made patriotic shoesies!!!

Oh say, can you see? These shoes rock.

I did not realize until well after the fact that red and purple together symbolize the red hat ladies, so it is also fitting that I put buttons on them, too. Since I'm an old woman at heart anyway.

Then I got to try my shoes on and take some foot selfies (wayyy harder than you would expect). I also had to find something to make a pretty background out of since I don't have a yard or anywhere pretty enough for this girly blog. Look at my average feet in adorable shoes!

I'll admit it. Even though I probably will never use the red, white, and blue shoesies, these do look super cute for this weekend. I love them.

And the most painful/cutest shoes award goes to these. SO cute, but SO much discomfort. My ankle veins definitely are making their feelings known.

SO MANY OPTIONS!!!! 

You better watch yourself, people, because your simple shoes will be jealous of my shoesies. You're also welcome to make your own. Or, you can pay me to make some for you by emailing me a request.

Out of my funk. But still funky.

**disclaimer: I seriously typed "I'm back" into google image search and this was the first pic. I thought it was fitting.

I know you've all been eagerly awaiting my next post and it took FOREVER. I mentioned earlier that I was making the most boring scarf in the world. Well... It didn't end up being the most boring scarf in the world -- it's now a super freaking adorable earwarmer!

... I honestly did not have the patience to make it long enough for a scarf... or even a cowl. Man, I am lazy.

The way it all came about is that I was going about my cute little crochet business while watching movies and apparently I have very little ability to multitask effectively. I made about 30 rows and realized that somehow I had dropped 5-7 stitches, so the end was shorter than when I began. I was really really really disappointed because I finally had gotten into my groove and all my stitches were beginning to look really super awesome and even, and in the end it would not look good. So I shoved the partially completed scarf under our ottoman out of sight while I was disgusted with it.

I decided that it was definitely time to start cleaning the apartment, and you all know how cleaning goes -- you're always looking for a distraction! So I found again the yarn project and realized that I had just bought the most awesome box of buttons recently (Thanks, Gail!!!), and HAD to show them to you guys and the mother of pearl buckles might be an awesome addition to the scarf thing. 

So here are  my preciouses the buttons: 

OMG AREN'T THEY BEAUTIFUL!!! 

They will all become something wonderful :) And these are just the MoP ones!

 I realized today that I'm developing an obsession with real mother of pearl buttons so if you have any, I would definitely take them off of your hands to look at forever.

Anyway. I made this thing and I think I might actually wear it someday!

Wow, I'm so fancy and artsy and stuff I was going for "sullen teenager" in this shot. Also, I think it reads very clearly "took this myself and wish I had a photographer".

But really, I do like it. I might actually even use it. Absolutely not now, since it's 90 degrees outside, but I guess I had to finish it sometime. I am THE MASTER of procrastinating. 

Sneak peek...

http://instagram.com/p/X2lgXnlonI/
Hope this turns into a legitimately wearable garment. No failure hurts as bad as spending tons of time on something that you wouldn't even deem fit as pajamas.

Easter Craft Time! (Plus video bonus)

 I mentioned in my previous blog that my friends and I get together around Easter to do what we have named the "Easter Beer Hunt". Each year, we end up learning a little bit about how to play it and adjust the rules to make the game fair/give tips on how to have a successful Easter Beer Hunt. Last year, I thought up the idea to decorate my 6 pack case to show off my Easter "basket". It was wonderful. So this year -- I had to make it better, I had to make it stronger, I had to make it take more time to make! I also [due to poor planning] had to do it without a hot glue gun.

Rule # 1: the "basket" must be a six pack. I suggest choosing a drink that is not a type of beer that everyone else will bring. The majors (Miller, Bud, Coors, etc) may get mixed up with others. You can always decorate your specific beers, too (we thought of that as a "thing" this year).

Rule # 2: There may be some sort of theme. We will release a note about the "theme" of our Easter Beer Hunt a couple weeks before the event. This year, I chose to go with the traditional "basket" theme.

I found a bunch of pretty colored ribbons. That'll do for an "action" shot.

Rule # 3: Votes are accumulated via Facebook. The winner is awarded a ribbon. 

Here's a good shot of the front. I chose to leave the sides open for an unknown reason. I also put a glitter bunny on the front!

And the backside was a little too plain with just the woven fabric ribbon, so I gave it a pop of color :)

close-up of the actual weaving. It was a ton of work. I don't recommend it.

AND NOW FOR THE HUNTING RULES:

1. Someone else must hide your beers in the approved areas.

2. Flashlights are welcome and encouraged since we hide them at night. Subject to your discretion.

3. Try to remember where you hide the other person's beers.

4. First one to find all six of their own beers gets bragging rights!

5. HAVE SOME SILLY FUN!

6. Maybe tell the police that many adults will be wandering the street with flashlights and beer... Forgot to do that one this year...

So I ended up in 4th place for the basket decorating contest. I am confident that if people actually had to score the votes on effort that mine may have won. It looked super great in person. Want to see the other entries? OF COURSE YOU DO!

Winner[/cheater] -- 18 pack Beer Bunny from John & Heather

Second Place - Flamboyant Easter - Mike

Third Place - Pretty Princess on a Pedestal - Kim

Honorable mention - Lucky Cutesie - Jenna (check out the rabbit's foot! awesome!)

Dishonorable mention - NOT REALLY DECORATED - Kevin

And here's the whole shebang together :)

In addition to our evening of silly beer hunting, the husband and I went to our good friends' house and decided to do a Harlem Shake video with all the children. We are all Halloween costume people, so here's what you get when we decide to unite our costume powers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn3qnyWLxwg

The 24 hour project!

I found this super amazing tutorial online and I have been dying to duplicate it!

View said super amazing tutorial here (click).

The hardest part is actually finding something like the pleated skirt she used (HEY MOM, CAN I STEAL YOUR PLEATED SKIRT FROM THE 80'S TO MAKE THIS????).

I have been to 3 separate goodwills, and they are not as easy to find as you would imagine. Goodwill #1 had nothing even remotely like it. Goodwill #2 had one in a teeny tiny size, and it would have been too short.

So my challenge for this one was really to find a skirt that will be large enough for me. I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I'm a bigger girl, I get it. So I was just about to give up at Goodwill #3 when I spotted it.

...

It is a skirt that someone had taken the time to make at home with their own tender loving care and then DONATED. It had an elastic waist band, was approximately a size 10, and an added bonus that I didn't notice until I started cutting: POCKETS!!! Unfortunately for me, the pockets are going to be wasted, unless you come by me sometime and put a tampon in the pockets that are currently located in my sleeves.

So first things first, I will address that it does sort of look like a shower curtain. Who knows? Maybe it was. I don't care. It's pretty understated, and I sort of like that about it... Alright, who am I kidding? I would NEVER have spent $12/yard at the fabric store to buy this. Ever. But it was only $4! AND THE BEST PART: It was half off red tags that day. So I bought it for $2.17 <------- winning!

It was most likely donated to Goodwill because it was boring. But maybe I can make it better. We'll just have to wait and see.

I started with the immediate removal of the gross old elastic. Put it on over your head and dance, sans arms like this.

And then I went to town with the scissors. I sliced up some arm holes and sewed some side seams and like magic, I have something that I will wear for a photo. Not sure that it will see the light of day aside from this, but it'll be on the internet, so I guess I probably could wear it in public.

And now for the great reveal. I will preface this with a photo describing my feelings about Andrew's photographer abilities: 

(sheer horror)

And this:

(absolute disapproval)

Without much further ado, and the best photos my husband is capable of, here is what I made!

I hate the whole finishing step, but if I hear that this dress is cute enough for public, I might take the time to do it. What do you guys think?

We're in a library. It makes us look smart.

So before you see these pictures and think, "what the hell is going on here and why are these pictures kind of weird", realize several things:

1. I am sorta/kinda weird.

2. I used a film camera without a flash

3. I did not feel like cleaning my apartment to take photos everywhere.

4. I am not a professional photographer and apparently do not give good direction.

So, knowing that, LOOK!

This FANCY. 

Want to see the dress on a real person!??? I knew you did :) 

More photos/witty commentary after the jump!