Panda Apron!

I had sooo much fun making this for my girlfriend! She requested it when I signed up for Style School, so I made it for her for her birthday :) I used this awesome fabric I found - blue with white stars (because I love stars!!), along with a cerulean cotton and blue and light purple felts. The face is backed with felt, the bottom is doubled. I embroidered the face and ears by hand. I crocheted the neck and waist bands with a dark blue to match the felt. The neck band is attached with buttons (so it's adjustable); the waistband is attached with two loops. Hopefully she'll send me pics of herself in it soon, but in the mean time this is what I have!

Panda face!!!!!! hehe ^_^

New Sketchbook!

I'm starting a new sketchbook today! You may remember it from my sketchbook cover project in Style School:

After filling up my old one, I finally get to use it! Underneath that adorrrable cover [;)] is just a regular ol' hardbound, plain, black sketchbook like this one:

I've used a lot of types of sketchbooks, and I can never decide which I like best. My last two were a thick-paged leatherbound, which was gorgeous, and a graph paper softcover that felt oh so lovely in hand (though the paper was thin). I think I actually bought both of those...I'm lucky enough to have friends and family who frequently gift me sketchbooks :)

I know my brother prefers a hard, black, spiralbound sketchbook:

These do lay flat, which is the basis of the appeal for my brother, I think. It's obviously easier to draw if you aren't having to fight your paper down. For me, however, the spiral gets in the way. I get all up in my sketchbook when I draw, haha!

Of course there are the much loved Moleskeins:

I love these for the fact that they are small, plain, and easy to carry. However, they don't lay flat, which can be an issue. And they don't have many pages. But I love them anyway ;) And it doesn't hurt that they come in a million colors!

There are a million options for sketchbooks, but the ones I've mentioned are my favorites :) [click the images for source]

What's your favorite type of sketchbook? What do you use?

This Week's To-Dos

I've got lots to do this week!

1. I WILL work on Style School homework! I took a small break, but I need to get back on it. Lots of fun stuff to make :) (But NO stress over it. Good plan.)

2. Tomorrow I'm going to my first committee meeting for Team Etsy Austin! I'm a little nervous (because I'm silly like that), but I think it'll be fun!

3. Thursday The Office comes back with a full hour!! YAY! There are very few TV shows I keep up with (ok, make that one.), but The Office has me hooked! A couple friends should be coming over to watch, then we'll play some games (I'm also a board game addict). I love Thursday nights :D

4. Friday one of my friends is having a little fiesta! Should be fun :)

5. I'm doing an ACEO swap with Christine of MiniMakMakings and Katie of PunkProjects. Looking forward to getting new things in the mail!

6. Speaking of mail, I ordered an awesome Happy Camper shirt from SquidInkKollective, and I can't wait to get it!!!! :D:D:D *rawr*

Oh, and, ya know, work full time, play with the puppies (we're dog-sitting for my sister until Sunday!), and maybe see my hubby in there sometime, too ;) Hehe...I won't like, I love busy weeks! What are you doing this week?

Felt Flowers

For Style School, we are supposed to make a photo garland to string up with embellishments. Truth be told, I'm not much of a garland girl. However, I have my awesome postcard wall:

 

Alex recently replaced my yarn with wire, so it looks even cleaner - straighter at least. (See the before here.) Eventually we'll probably replace the clothespins with silver binder clips. Then it'll be really slick!

Anyway, I decided to just embellish my postcard wall with the flowers like so:

I really enjoyed making these flowers. I like the creativity within the same canvas - They all started as a purple felt circle, then I added buttons and embroidery thread. And they're all different and fun! I made something similar before for hair clips. I may actually use these flowers to attach to a headband like this one! Wouldn't that be cute?

PS: More photos on Flickr.
PPS: WOW! I have 50 followers! Thanks for the support, everyone :D Just in time for an upcoming giveaway, too....;D

Just Go For It

I started working on my first ACEOs ("Art Cards, Editions, and Originals" or Artist Trading Cards)! I've always been a little wary of trying, because I wasn't sure what to do for them. Then I thought, just go for it!! And I did. And I'm glad. [If you're looking for a good mantra, "Just go for it!" is really helpful.] Some are silly, some are sweet. Overall, I'm happy with them. It's nice just to be able to get the creative juices flowing, don't you think? :)

These two are my favorites:

 

 "Don't stop believin'" will eventually have embroidery on it

What do you think of the middle one? I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, there you have them :) And I've got ideas for more! I'm going to try a lot of different styles and then see what I like best. Or maybe I'll like having tons of styles! Will you tell me your favorite?

What are you working on right now? What are you unsure of? (Just go for it!)

Car Accessories

Here are some car accessories I made for Style School project #19. I had a lot of fun making the yarn-wrapped wire pieces last night! I worked on them while playing games with some friends. I used some wire I had (not even sure what gauge it is) and some pliers to make the shapes. The teal yarn I found in an old stash, and the gray yarn is from my broken (T_T) wreath. I'd really like to make more, but first I have a whole bunch of projects to catch up on ;-)

And of course, you can see more photos on my Flickr!

And MORE exciting news: One of my emoticon pillows was featured over on Essyhach's blog today ^_^ Check it out!

Leg Warmers and Wooden People

Just a little update on some Style School projects :) I'm really far behind, because last week was a total blur :-/ My trip to New Orleans was fun (other than the freezing wind and torn muscle!), and I can't wait to go back for my sister's wedding in May! So, without further ado, here's what I've finished:

 

Leg warmers from an old sweater. I wanted to add these awesome buttons, but I can't find my bag of big, vintage buttons :(

 

Wooden people! Aren't they cute?! I may have to go get more so I can make my friends :D I kinda screwed up my face, but I think Alex turned out really well!

And here's a fun pic of the two men in my life...making faces at me ;P

Also - more updates in the shop! And more to come ;D Very exciting.

Stamp Making

I thought I'd let you see the rest of my stamps :) Though I will be making more eventually, I'm sure.

I had a =duh= moment. I was trying to think of stamps to make that would be really me/my style. And then I remembered about my "Things I Love" drawing! =DUH= :P It helped me think of some ideas for stamps.

And there we have it, things I love ^_^

I've wanted to try my hand at stamp making for a while now, but I had too many other things going on (not to mention I was too cheap to go out and buy the tools).  This class is really making me do a few things: (a) actually spend the money to (b) try things I'd been wanting to do anyway, (c) thinking about my own style as I (d) finish them. It's really wonderful. The other Style School students are so motivational and supportive! It's a gift to have met them[/you] and be in contact throughout the projects (and hopefully afterward!) :-)

Busy Bee

Woo! Here are my latest projects!

 

I finally got around to finishing Project #4 - the fabric pom-pom necklace....but I made it into a headband ^_^ The last thing I need is more volume below my neck :P (TMI?) Honestly, I didn't think I'd like this project at all, but once I got it on my head...I kinda love it. In fact, I may have to see if my sis will let me wear it to her wedding, because I think it would compliment my black dress wonderfully!

  

Project #11: Button earrings. As you can see, these are not earrings. I was on the fence, but after seeing how big they were on my ears (I'm a small jewelry kind of girl), I decided to go the alternate route and make magnets! You know I adore magnets, don't you? Anyway, they'll look adorable next to all the bottle cap magnets I made!

  

 Project #12: Handcarved Stamps. I made a whole bunch! This one is my favorite. I knew I wanted to make a tree, but couldn't decide how to do it. Then I looked up on my wall, saw my painting, and =duh= decided to make one like this :-) Oh, and you can check out the rest.

 

Project #14: Headbands. This is the secondary project (the real one will come soon!). I love love love this gray yarn! I also used it to wrap my wreath (which fell and :'( broke). I had been dying to make one of these for a while, so I'm glad I finally made myself do it! I learned how to crochet a couple weeks ago, but hadn't picked it up again. I still need to find time to learn how to make a granny square! Anyway, the yellow buttons are vintage, as is the gray thread I used to sew them on! How cool is that?

Oh, there is so much going on right now!
• The next Knit for a Cause will be February 16 :D Mark your calendars!
• Style School is half over, which means in 3 weeks I'll actually have tiiime ;)
• 2 of the 3 mini Huggles have sold! Sooo happy I'll have to make more!
• AND I'm making a custom Valentine's Huggle!!! It's gonna be soooo cute!
• Oh, and you know, working full-time, seeing family and friends, etc...;)

Feature!

Hey, all! Just a quick note to tell you to check out my feature on Emily Mae's blog Divine Chaos! I feel very luck to be her first "Friday Friend." She's such a sweet girl :) I met her in Style School (fun fun fun!) - you can check out her projects on her Flickr. Yay! And happy Friday!



PS: Stamp making and pom-pom projects coming soon!

i ♥ u pillow

Just finished Style School project #10! I had a lot of fun with this :-) It's my first time cross-stitching! Alex helped me think of the "quote," and I think it turned out really well. Because it's computerized text, I decided not to do any embellishments.

I can't wait to make another one! What to say, what to say...

Panda Cosmetic Bag ^_^

eeeheheheeee.....panda ^_^ (I might as well add "panda" as one of my tags, haha)
Here is Project #8! I wasn't sure how much I'd like this project to be honest, but I'm so happy with the result! I'm glad I decided to go with one of my favorite animals :-)

(Don't be fooled. The colors are actually gray and a very dark navy blue!)

Sketchbook Cover (and some more)

Style School Project #5! My sketchbook cover with pockets in my fav colors :D
I may add some more embroidery later. I love it the way it is though too! It has my favorite colors, so I think I'll still like it in the future. It's a verrry snug fit, so I actually left the back flap open on the bottom. I'm glad I'll be able to reuse it once this sketchbook is full.

The front pocket is divided for pencils and pens. The back pocket goes all the way across, which will be perfect if I just want to grab my phone and go sketch somewhere!

And here's what my hubby did while I was at work today!

He hung up my inspiration clipboards and new jewelry "box!" So exciting ^_^ Now I'll have more room on my dresser. Alex and I designed the jewelry holder together, and I think it works really well. Necklaces and bracelets hang down from S-hooks; rings fit inside the channel; earrings can either hang by the hooks or by the channel! And this way I can see all my jewelry when I'm getting dressed (so I'll actually wear it!). Wonderful :)

We're thinking about selling it in my shop. What do you think?

Inspiration Clipboards

Style School Project #6! Yes, I skipped #4-5 for now. I'll catch up this week ;) I was just really motivated to do this project tonight :D

Hubby has offered to hang them up for me tomorrow while I'm at work. How sweet!

And in case that's not enough for you, check out my Flickr ^_^

Studio Apron

Style School Project #3!
I used a yellow denim for the main material (and small pocket), a black and white patterned cotton for the big pocket, blue ribbed ribbon for the ribbon holder, and a bright green for the tie! I thought about doing some embellishment, but I feel that it's bright and bold enough already ;)

I love that this class is motivating me to do both new projects and projects that have been in the pipeline for a while. I had an apron pattern waiting, but never really got around to it. Now I have one, and my hubby's requested one, too! :-)

I'm a couple days behind in Style School, but I hope to get projects #4 and #5 done tomorrow! Need to go pick up some more supplies...

PS: You can also see project photos on my Flickr ^_^