Epic Trinkets

Epic New Blog!

2010-08-21T15:03:00.001-07:00

In order to bring you more crafts, more often, my friend SmallRiniLady and I have started a new blog together:

Crafters in Disguise

Please follow me on my new blog!

Every week we will have new posts with crafts, art projects, costumes, etc. We'll be alternating between the two of us for variety and scheduling posts ahead of time... in fact we are already booked with lots of posts up through the end of the year!

Yes, I will of course re-post crafts from this blog as well but I will add new text and even some new pictures, and I promise to have new crafts as well, as fast as I can make them!

Organizing the House

2010-06-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Since moving in I have spent many hours unpacking and organizing what we have, attempting to set up the new house utilizing what we have in order to minimize what we will need to purchase. I did stop at Ikea this week to pick up these wire basket drawers, which have turned out to be really great for fabric storage. I love being able to easily see all of my fabrics, organized by color.

In the craft room I also moved my desk to the corner to make more room for the ironing board to the right of it (not pictured). This also puts my drawers of thread and tools within arm's reach while I am sitting at the table.

This is the extra bedroom, all that it has so far is a twin bed, which I have draped my quilt upon. I need window treatments and bed linens! I am thinking about doing a painting for the wall above the bed, or perhaps a grouping of smaller pieces. The closet in this room houses my costumes and the vacuum cleaner.

This is the library/music room. I picked up the chair at Ikea, which I might make a new slipcoved for someday. I think I might add an area rug and curtains, but I haven't decided where I want to go with the style yet. I would like to get better bookshelves first (these are falling apart) and perhaps MORE of them, but that will have to wait for another day. Right now it is clutter-free, organized and functional, which is more than can be said for the rest of the house!

We ran out of space on the first two shelves so I picked up this white one at Target. It is the RE brand and cost about $27. I do not recommend this bookcase, I actually returned the second one I had bought because it is not very sturdy. It is basically one unit sitting on top of another and might actually be dangerous around children. If we ever have any of those, then it will definately be time to upgrade the bookshelves!

Lastly, here is the office. My husband helped me hang the curtains last night. I still need to steam or iron them and hem the bottom, but I think they look nice and they make the room feel airy and cosy. I managed to crop most of the boxes and clutter out of the picture, but you can still see this room needs help! I'm thinking a bigger desk and some storage/organization, such as shelves.

Quick Quilted Pillow

2010-06-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made this pillow! I had fun picking out whimsical fabrics from my collection of fat quarters. I love the yellow print especially, it looks like it was inspired by Mary Blair. I tried to pick out coordinating fabrics that also looked like they could belong in a Mary Blair painting.

To make this 8"x12" pillow, I cut out stripes of fabric 9" long and of different widths from the five fabrics. After sewing them together with half-inch seam allowances, I cut out a 9"x13" piece of fabric for the back and two duplicates of a plain yellow fabric (which I had leftover from a Gryffindor Quidditch robe), and then I sandwiched quilting batting between the nice fabric and the plain fabric. I quilted the layers together by hand-sewing with three strands of embroidery threads in vertical lines one inch apart, alternating between two lines of orange and two lines of lime green thread.

After quilting both the front and back, I put the two quilted pieces together back-to-back and sewed the edges (except for 4 inches on the bottom), clipped the corners, then turned it right-side out and pressed. I stuffed it with polyester fill and hand-sewed it closed. Ta-da!

Chair Transformation

2010-06-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I discover a fabulous fabric in the remnants bin at JoAnn's. This is a great way to get a yard or less of expensive fabric for a big discount. The only catch is that you then have to figure out what to do with that small amount of fabric!

So I had this piece of green and white decorator fabric which was obviously too small to make a curtain out of. I could have made pillows out of it, though I would have had to pair it with another fabric. However, I recalled one of those home improvement TV shows where the designer took a family's old dining set and made these little slipcases for the tops of the chairs to instantly update them and make them fresh and white.

It took about 30 minutes to make my own slipcover for the chair in my crafting room. It probably would have been a lot faster if I didn't waste time figuring out how to do it, but once I figured it out it was really easy and I could have replicated it quickly if I had more chairs (and more fabric) to go through. However, for this IKEA dining set I have banished the other 3 chairs to the downstairs office and entry way (in lieu of a bench). Maybe I will use the pink and white remnant fabric I also picked up to cover one of the other chairs.

All Stuffed Up

2010-06-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Another day at home with a cold, another craft project started and completed! This project took probably an hour, I wasn't actually timing it though. I used a storebought pattern and the bear turned out much larger than I was expecting so I think for future bears I will take the pattern to a copy machine and shrink it down to a smaller scale!

I have a friend who makes bears like this for a charity called Operation Teddy Care. They give the bears to counselors, medical professionals, military personnel, etc. who then give the bears to kids who are impacted by abuse, neglect, illness, conflict, war, and so forth. I think this is a wonderful outlet for crafting energies so in the hopes that I might someday be proficient (and proliferent) enough to contribute to this cause, I decided to try making a bear. I've made wearable things, pillows, quilts, and bags before but never stuffed animals, so this was quite a fun opportunity to sew together a three-dimensional cuddle friend.

As a bonus I was able to use up most of this blue fabric I had leftover from a nursing cover I made for a friend a couple of years ago. Now I will need to make more stuffed animals and use up more fabric!

I also took the opportunity to snap a couple of new shots of my "Midnight Fantasy" quilt which is currently adorning a twin bed in our guest room. This is the first quilt I ever made, which I completed back in 2007. It is actually sized for a queen bed, but on a twin it drapes over the sides to cover the mattress nicely, which is a good thing because we don't have sheets on this bed yet!

Congrats Grads!

2010-06-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Two of my cousins just graduated from college and I am on my way to a family BBQ tonight to celebrate their success! We got them gift cards, and since I have like 200 plain white pillowboxes sitting around I had to decorate a couple to put the gift cards in. I decided not to use one of the pillowboxes I had decorated before because I wanted something that was brighter and more colorful and more appropriate for a congratulatory gift.

The scrapbooking paper I used for both of these boxes came from the same big stack. For each box I used two different coordinating papers. I made Peter's first, cutting out a 5-inch strip of the striped paper and wrapping it around the width of the blank box. The other paper I had was a bunch of squares so I wrote CONGRATS and PETER on two strips within the design, then cut them out and used double-sided tape to attach them to the box.

For Kari's box, I selected a nice spring green plaid and then I wanted to use a polka-dot paper to write CONGRATS and KARI. However, when I wrote out CONGRATS it was longer than the box because there was a lot of white space between the dots. Taking a tip from my sewing knowledge I decided to box pleat the paper, in effect making the word pop up away from the background. I think it turned out pretty cool!

Sewing Again!

2010-06-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

I started this project about a year ago, it is intended to be a small patchwork quilt made from fabric scraps. When I left this project I had all of the squares cut out, but had only sewn a few of them together because my sewing machines weren't working correctly. Then we decided to put the condo on the market so I had to put all of my crafting things away. FINALLY I am able to pick up where I left off! I finished piecing together all of the squares today!

My new craft room has lots of natural light and lots of space to lay out quilts on the floor. The best part is I don't have to put it away when I am done working for the day, I can just close the door!

I need to make a trip to the fabric store to get some soft flannel or cotton for the back side of the quilt before I can put it all together and have a finished project. I have a working sewing machine now as well so I hope to be working on more sewing projects in the near future!

Issaquah Cuisine

2010-06-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

There are some really great places to eat in Issaquah... Jak's is a really great steak place, XXX Rootbeer is a unique experience and Tutta Bella has yummy pizza and Italian food. Most recently my friend Kris encouraged me to check out this locally-owned diner called the 12th Avenue Cafe. She said this baked potato dish called "The Montana" was really great so I had to try it.

I ordered the Small and only finished a third of it! My husband and I both enjoyed the leftovers though.

I have also made a couple of trips to the Burger King right off of Exit 15. Both the drive-through and take-out have been good experiences, and I also had a bit of a chuckle over my order number.

I guess someone at Burger King doesn't like Jedi Knights!

Week 1 in the [New House]

2010-06-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

We spent the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend moving all of our wordly posessions from my in-laws' place to our new house. To accomplish this feat, we invited family and friends (about 2 dozen people!) to come help. Fortunately my husband is friends with a bunch of 20-something strong young men who are wonderful, helpful people. We started around 9:30 after picking up two trucks (one 10' and one 16') and we finished at about 2pm after two trips with the 16' truck and only one with the 10' truck.

Our house is three stories (basement, main floor, bedrooms on upper level) so as you can imagine I was very greatful for the guys who hauled all of our things up the stairs and put them in the right rooms. I think I only had like 5 boxes that ended up in the wrong place. It really helps to label all of the boxes clearly AND put signs on all of the rooms so everyone knows what goes where. Pointing out which floor it goes to is key to not having to move things up and down the stairs later!

So here we are almost a week later, settling into the new house and resuming our typical lives at home though in a new environment. My husband in enjoying going through his collections and putting them up to display on shelves and I am actually enjoying cooking in the new kitchen. I went through my collection of science fiction books and most of them are now in our new library (one of the extra bedrooms). It is really nice to have them all in one place again instead of just in boxes. We need better shelves though, the cheap RE shelves from Target are really not very good, it is basically one shelf sitting on top of another, not even connected well. They used to have better shelves for the same price but I guess with the recession they cut back a little by removing the support braces and only finishing one side of the top piece. That was disappointing because we liked those inexpensive shelves. Unfortunately the carboard backing to those shelves did not survive multiple moves and our third shelving unit is completely trashed anyway. Nicer shelves are going on my wish list!

iMove, Final Edition

2010-05-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

The last 7 months or so have been pretty exciting! My husband and I decided to sell our 1-bedroom condo and buy a big new house. It took 6 months to get an offer we liked (I blame the crazy market and the winter season), but finally the condo has been sold! My husband bought it five years prior at the peak of the market but we actually managed to sell a little higher than the purchase price.

I am really looking forward to the new house and the prospect of never having to move again (at least not for a while, right?). Ever since I have graduated from high school I have seriously moved at least once a year, sometimes twice a year (during college). That makes me a l33t PRO at moving, with more than ten years of experience. Allow me to outline my experience:

1. 2000 - graduated high school, left my childhood home to go to college

2. moved back home for the summer

3. moved back to college my sophomore year

4. Mom remarried; I moved my stuff from my childhood home to Mom's new house

5. moved to the new house for the summer

6. moved back to college my Jr. year

7. moved back home for the summer

8. back to college for my Sr. year

9. 2004 - graduated, moved back home and Mom started charging me rent to make me get a job

10. moved to a tiny basement room of a house in Greenlake with 4 roommates (cheap rent)

11. got my own studio apartment (no roommates!)

12. moved to a 1-bedroom apartment

13. Fall 2008 - got married, moved in with the hubby (the 1-bedroom condo)

14. 2010 - sold the condo, moved in with hubby's parents (temporarily!)

15. COMING SOON: the FINAL move to our new house! (Seriously, we better not move again in the next 15 years...)

In less than two weeks we will be closing on our new house! I am already planning out where to put everything. We found a great new house which was new construction a couple of years ago but was barely lived in. The neighborhood is gorgeous and new, and Target and Costco are conveniently close by (woot!). The best part is that we are going from a 1-bedroom+den condo to a house with enough space that my husband will get his own man cave in the basement where he can display his action figures and I will get.... my own CRAFT ROOM! Woohoo!

Seriously, I cannot wait to start working on crafts again, it has been impossible to work on anything ever since we staged the condo and put it on the market. I have unfinished projects to complete and blog about! I feel like my life has been in limbo the past 7 months. Heck, I even cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription. Fortunately I had a StarCraft 2 beta key from BlizzCon 2008 so I have had a game to play whenever I have 20 minutes to kill. It's much easier to just sit down and spawn zerglings for a few minutes than it is to get sucked into raid dungeons for 3 hours straight.

Some Idle Idol Advice

2010-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

With the new season of America's favorite televised singing competition well underway, next season's hopefuls are currently dreaming about next year's tryouts. Many young adults and teens will show up woefully unprepared and unrealistic about their chances but the smart ones will be browsing the web for all the helpful hints they can dig up to hopefully gain an edge.

I tried out for American Idol two seasons ago, realistically expecting that at my best I might get through the first round, but just planning on having a fun day seeing what it was all about and trying to sing well enough to not get pushed through as one of the "bad singers". I managed to lose my voice during the "warm-ups" (and due to standing in the cold and rain for 4 hours) but was able to walk out with a good experience and my dignity in-tact.

In the two years since my humbling audition experience I have learned a lot of "need to know" tips that others may not be aware of.

Start preparing months early:

Take vocal lessons from a contemporary singing coach early on. Get at least one session with a coach who can help you discover your problem areas and give you a training plan that you can work on on your own.

Develop your chest voice. If you don't know what that is, find out or quit now! Work on the range of your chest voice, how you transition to head voice on higher notes, and develop your range and tone. Do "nyah nyah nyah" exercises to train your chest voice to sing higher so you can belt those high notes. If you can do that, the judges will love you.

Eliminate tension. Watch yourself in the mirror or videotape yourself singing and look for any place where you are tensing up physically. It looks bad and it constricts your tone. Relax those muscles and try singing it again.

Learn 2-3 audition songs. Find songs that fit your voice, style, and your range. Learn them inside-out. Once you know the song, try singing it slower, faster, higher, lower, louder or softer until you figure out the best way to sing each phrase.

Get someone else's opinion. Perform in front of friends (not your parents, they are biased) to get their opinions. Find someone who really knows music, not just someone who thinks you are wonderful.

On the day of the audition:

DRINK WATER. Make sure your voice and throat are in the best condition possible. DRINK WATER. Start drinking water as soon as you get up. You need to start hydrating yourself at least an hour prior to singing. This will help your vocal chords and throat be at its best. Don't eat anything that day that will coat your throat like dairy or sugary foods. Pack apples and celery sticks for breakfast and lunch the day of the audition and bring a two or three bottles of water. Throat spray for singers such as Vocalese or Entertainer's Secret are also helpful right before you are about to sing.

Do your own warm-ups. After you get your seat (which is assigned), go to the bathroom and do all your warm-ups. Don't blow out your voice screaming for Ryan Seacrest.

Don't be sick. Take Vitamin C for a week or so prior to the audition, wash your hands, do whatever you can do avoid getting ill.

Dress comfortably but stylishly. This is a job interview, after all. Personality is great, but you also want to show that you are taking the audition seriously. If you are going to wear high heels, bring slip-ons to wear until the actual audition. Dress to fit your voice type too, don't wear a cowboy hat unless you are singing country. If you have a rock vocal style, don't be a poser and dress like a goth or rock star unless you already are one. An outfit from Express would be more mainstream, but looking like you're going to a garden party would really be weird if you start singing some Janice Joplin.

Bring a friend... or not. Ask yourself - will this person make me more extroverted or more introverted? Will this person make me nervous if they are watching me audition? Or will I have a lot more fun if I bring this friend with me?

Bring your Nintendo DS. I made friends in line purely becuase we both had Animal Crossing. I gave him pears and he gave me a golden rose. Seriously, you will probably spend a lot of time waiting so bring something to calm your nerves. Boredom can also make you a lot less patient and nobody wants to see you rant and rave on live television because you got cut after waiting 8 hours for an audition. Or do they?

The main thing is to have fun and be realistic. If you want to win, you have to put in the work.

After the audition, if you walk away without a golden ticket, there is always next year.

Lastly, if someone tells you that you can't sing, that really means you are a very bad singer and clearly have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. HOWEVER - this does not mean that you can never sing. It just means that you need a LOT of work. If you seriously want to sing, get a vocal coach and learn what singing it about. Singing doesn't happen overnight, it can take years of practice, especially if you are starting from scratch without any clue or natural talent. But there is ALWAYS room for improvement and the first steps are the ones that will make the biggest difference.

Dipped in Chocolate

2009-12-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

Homemade treats are a quick and easy holiday gift to do in bulk. I bought a bunch of graham crackers and cookies and dipped them in melted chocoloate, added sprinkles, then packaged them up and delivered them to hungry recipients for Christmas. This was also a quick way to put together gifts for all of my extended family on Christmas Eve. It only took one evening in the kitchen to complete the whole project by myself and the results were nothing short of yummy!

The goodie bags came in a pack of 2 dozen for only a couple dollars at Target. I made the gift tags myself and tied them on with satin ribbon and a jingle bell for flair.

Book Review: The Gathering Storm

2009-11-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for this book ever since I finished reading the last of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and discovered that the author had passed away prior to completing the final installment of this epic saga. Brandon Sanderson is releasing the last book as three separate novels and after seeing the size of this one I am happily looking forward to all the nice long hours I will spend enjoying the final two books.

I finished reading The Gathering Storm this weekend, possibly due to the fact that I had nothing better to do on Halloween. Once I started reading this I did have a hard time putting it down and only the Harry Potter-esque thickness of the tome kept me from finishing it 24 hours after bringing it home.

Brandon Sanderson did a wonderful job of keeping the story feeling like Robert Jordan's work. His interpretation of the characters, places and storyline fit in exactly with how I expected things to be and I was able to immerse myself in the story without any distraction of being aware that someone other than Robert Jordan had penned the words.

However, Brandon Sanderson did make use of one technique that I felt worked well coming from him that would not have felt right if it had come from Robert Jordan - now and again he would revisit places and events from the earlier volumes. In a way it felt like a tribute to Robert Jordan's work but also served the purpose of coming full circle and building up towards the impending goosebump-enducing ending to the epic.

I loved how the story ended; after it just seemed to get darker and darker, finally there is a ray of hope shining through that makes me look forward to what will happen next. However, it's making me think that in contrast the second book of the final trilogy should end up with an Empire Strikes Back type of cliffhanger ending to lead into the final book. But I'm going to have to wait to find out!

Book Review: Elantris

2009-09-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day weekend I read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.

I decided to read this book because I enjoyed Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and Brandon Sanderson will be writing the final installment since Robert Jordan passed away before finishing the last book. I thought it would be best to familiarize myself with Brandon Sanderson's work prior to the release of the next Wheel of Time novel.

I like to rank books by how I read them. I either a) love them and can't put them down, b) enjoy them but find it a little tedious to get through them, c) stop reading them and never finish them, or d) never start reading them in the first place because they don't appeal to me at all. To my delight, Elantris was an "a"-category book.

It's not a book I would read again right away, but it was a very enjoyable one-volume fantasy story that had the epic feel I enjoy. As the story went along I found myself expecting and predicting how the plot would turn out in the end quite easily, but this did not take away from the enjoyment of reading it through. There were enough surprises thrown in as well to make things interesting.

It's hard not to compare his writing to Robert Jordan's even though this was his first novel, but I felt like Brandon Sanderson dealt with plot better than characters, but he did a great job of tidying up the ending of the story and not letting it come to abruptly. Fortunately Robert Jordan has already established the characters in the Wheel of Time series very well, and what is needed for the final trilogy is plot development and a tidy, climactic ending. After reading Elantris I am really looking forward to The Gathering Storm.

[Whimsical Willow] on the Water

2009-07-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

I just finished this painting today. It's sort of like a willow tree on the edge of a little green river with a forest on the opposite bank. I liked the pink accent color against the greens so I added some flowers.

We raided Ulduar last night, wiping for three hours while trying to kill Thorim on Hard Mode. This allowed for a lot of downtime so I set up my little easle in front of my second monitor and painted while raiding.

You can actually see the forest background better in this picture. I thought it looked awesome before I painted a tree on top of it, but I had to put some sort of object in the painting. It's actually really easy to paint trees like this. I start with a solid green background and let it dry. Then feather in some black around the edges on top, then mix some green and black and slop on some vertical lines like trees. Before it completely dries, add in lighter shades of green to create depth (highlights) to define individual tree trunks. I used a similar process when I did that purple Night Elf forest painting a while ago.

Must-Have iPhone Apps

2009-06-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Having recently bought an iPhone, I have been relentlessly searching for new apps to download from the iTunes App Store, especially free apps. So far I have come across a few that I really enjoy. Some are useful, some are informative, and some are merely hillariously amusing. Here are my favorites:

Apps that are useful for staying up-to-date:

TweetDeck (FREE) - Excellent Twitter interface.
WootWatch (FREE) - Check what's up for sale on the Woot sites.
Facebook (FREE) - A simple Facebook interface.

Apps that can make you look smart:

Tipulicious (FREE) - Calculate tips and split bills.
Dictionary (FREE) - Includes a thesaurus and dictionary.
Keeper (FREE) - Track passwords in one place under one PIN.
Shazam (FREE) - Identify songs you hear.

Apps to help you get ahead (especially fashion designers!):

Fasio Network (FREE) - View the latest collections of top designers.
TouchCloset (FREE) - Catalog your clothes and accessories.
Units (FREE) - Quick measurement conversions.
Lose It! (FREE) - Weight loss goal and calorie intake tracker.

Apps that you will get a kick out of:

SmackTalk ($.99) - Instantly make people laugh.
EggShaker (FREE) - Not quite the same as the real thing.
Lightsaber (FREE) - Turns your iPhone into a lightsaber.
StickWars Lite (FREE) - The best free iPhone game ever.
BubbleWrap (FREE) - You know you want to pop bubbles.
Fluid (FREE) - It looks and acts like water when you touch it.

[Priest Costume] update

2009-06-29T15:11:00.001-07:00

The sleeves are finished now except for the gold details. I plain to paint the swirls on using fabric paint. I bought several shades so I can add some depth to the designs. I will try out all of the colors on scraps first because I'm not sure how thick the paint should be or what it will look like after it dries. It would be horrible to just start painting directly on the sleeves and then have it turn out really ugly. So my planned process is:

1. Trace the design onto a piece of tagboard or cardstock to make a stencil. Label one side "right" and one side "left" so I can make sure it will be mirrored exactly on the left and right sleeves.

2. Test the paint on scrap pieces of the purple satin fabric to make sure it bonds well and looks good. Also test the design to figure out which colors to use and how to add depth with highlights and lowlights.

3. Pin the design stencil onto one sleeve and paint on the design. After it dries (if paint got on the stencil), flip the stencil and do the other sleeve.

The lower half of the robe is closer to completion now too. The side seams are finished, including adding a zipper. I am currently working on the bottom hem. I am sewing yellow double-fold bias tape along the bottom hem to give it the gold border at the bottom. The added stiffness should also make the hem less flowing so it is more like a robe than a skirt. Once this is done I should be able to paint the designs on at the same time (and via the same process) as the designs on the sleeves.

Once the sleeves and skirt are complete I will probably start focusing on the side panels or finish the top. I may save the top for last because I could decide to skip some of the back details and opt for a cloak instead.

Putting Crafts to Work

2009-06-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

My push pins that I made a while ago out of glass marble rocks and scrapbook paper have made themselves useful at work. I often have notes and Post-Its all over my desk so it has been helpful to use tacks to paste notes on the wall and clear up desk space.

I've had this little box for a long time and I think it has gone through at least four different color schemes by now. I decided to bring it to work and fill it with stacks of Post-It Notes, headphones, glass wipes... all sort of things that had been hiding behind my monitors. Now they are out of sight but still within reach when I need them!

[Resurrection] on Unfinished Projects

2009-06-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't had much to post about because I've been focusing on finishing some projects. Yesterday I finished a second drawstring damask bag for my sister's wedding so she and her husband-to-be will both have one to collect money in for their "money dance" at the reception.

Raiding in the World of Warcraft has also taken up a lot of my free time because my guild on Gorgonnash is working on hard-mode content in Ulduar on 10-man and trying to kill Yogg-Saron in the 25-man group. I scored tickets to BlizzCon so I am considering working on finishing my Tier 4 priest costume as soon as I finish a couple of other projects related to my sister's wedding.

I began the purple-and-gold priest costume about a year and a half ago, but projects for my own wedding began to consume my crafting hours. Moving also meant that I had to redefine my crafting space and I have a hard time spreading out and working on large sewing projects in our condo because there isn't a lot of space. I don't like leaving my stuff in my husband's way when I am in the middle of a project.

After BlizzCon last year I also decided that I want to take an easier approach to the designs on the priest robes and paint them on with fabric paint instead of sewing on applique. It should be a lot less time-consuming and still look great. It's a costume after all, not a couture dress.

Here are some shots of the construction when I was working on the costume in my old apartment. I have the top and skirt cut out and pieced together. I created a pattern for the collar but it will need a lot of reinforcing to get it to stick up correctly. I think I will attach it to the top via snaps instead of sewing it in.

The sleeves are almost finished, except for the gold details which I might paint on instead of using fabric. I am debating whether to create a crop jacket or sew the sleeves directly into the top. I think a crop jacket could be a more interesting way to put the outfit together, and I could attach the collar to the jacket as well.

Painting [Cherry Blossoms]

2009-05-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a lot of time to work on crafts over the last week but I did manage to do a little painting. I'm not sure that I am done with this one or not, but here's what it looks like so far! I feel like I need something on the top, but I'm not feeling inspired right now. Perhaps I will come back to it later. I like the color combination of aqua and red though.

Somewhat Abstract

2009-05-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

So I had this huge tube of metallic silver paint and wondered how it would look as a background color. I slapped some on, then grabbed some eggplant color and it sort of grew organically from there. I love this color combination.

Etsy Favorites Promotion #6: AdoptanAlien

2009-05-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is where science fiction meets... plushies! I love these collectible little critters! Their big eyes just say "zomg, aren't I cute?" and the variety of colors means you could be sure to find one that would look right at home at your place. There are so many unique aliens with different personalities and names, some with three eyes, two heads, or even with their tongue hanging out.

They come from all over the Universe and even distant Galaxies. They are all strange and one of a kind. But, most importantly, they are all looking for a good home! These little Aliens are all orphans and are up for Adoption at the Adopt an Alien Agency. For a small adoption fee you can bring one of these sweet little aliens into your home. Adopt your Alien Today! http://www.adoptanalien.etsy.com/

Painting the Spring

2009-05-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

I ran out of mounted canvases so this was painted using acryllics on canvas paper. Mary Blair's artwork served as inspiration (it was an easy transition from Eyvind Earle since both painted Disney animation concept art). I really like the combination of orange and aqua blue, so after starting with an aqua-colored background I decided that had to be sky, so why not have a blossoming orange tree? I also felt that the clouds in the sky were a little lonely without a few white doves frolicking in the breeze.

Tree in the [Grass]

2009-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

I received a request from a friend to do a tree painting for her using the elements she liked from my previous tree paintings. So this is what I came up with based off of the following criteria she presented me with:

- whimsical like the Eyvind Earle trees
- mysterious (not obvious) background
- light-colored background but not too light
- "green is good"

Having learned a lesson from my last painting, I started this one by painting the background. I liked how subtle vertical stripes fading into the background color can look like trees in a fog, so I started with fat green vertical stripes blending into a yellow background and then painted over them with another layer of yellow.

Next, I added in the grass in several layers of shades of green but decided that the grass really should be the foreground, so after painting on the tree silhouette I repainted a lot more grass over the bottom of the tree. The nice thing about grass is you can keep adding on as many layers as you want and it keeps giving the illusion of more and more depth.

Etsy Favorites Promotion #5: fringe

2009-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to trend-setting fashion, fringe clearly stands out. This Etsy designer takes scarves to the future by offering a variety of neck-warming fashions that are sure to turn heads. I love these fashion-forward cowls, scarves and shrugs - they come in a variety of styles and colors and could be easily dressed up or dressed down.

This is what I call soft and warm, attractive and functional, wearable art!

The items in my shop are hand-crocheted, knit, sewn, and/or embroidered with care. My creations are original designs I create and they include scarves, cowls, capelets, shrugs, shawls, lariats, ensembles and so much more. Expect an occasional surprise among the items I create. There are many types of styles in my shop. From dramatic couture fashion to urban prairie and lots of styles in between. I always create these items with the idea that they will give their owners a divine self-confidence just by wearing them. - Dennice from fringe

Etsy Favorites Promotion #4: LovingLeeCrafted

2009-04-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

LovingLeeCrafted was one of the first Etsy sellers that I added to my favorites because of these whimsical fairy doors. I think it would be a lot of fun to turn a backyard garden into a mystical fairyland by adding doors and miniature fairy furniture among plants and stones so they look almost like they grew there.

The paint job and details on these doors is what makes these stand out as a work of art. Lisa also sells paintings and other wooden pieces like buttons (which would be a gorgeous natural accent to a piece of clothing or a purse or even rustic home decor), but where her painting and woodwork comes together is where you can see that real magic happens!

Imagination and love, two most important ingredients in any craft. I believe I capture both in everything I create. I use a variety of techniques from carving, painting, wood burning, crocheting…the list goes on and on. I try to make every item fun, friendly and decorative. Most recently I’ve indulged in the art of making fairy doors. I spent many years as a youngster reading and dreaming of the faerie folk but then grew up. I missed the mischievous, innocent, honorable people. I invited the fey into my life and it has improved immensely so I'm offering the same opportunity to you! Many of the fey folk will bring with them luck, good wishes and a happy helping hand. Provide them with a door into the mortal world. Keep a look out, I’m always creating something new and exciting and most importantly, something I can be proud of. - Lisa
pictures by LovingLeeCrafted

Upcycling [Plastic Bags]

2009-04-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

After reading this article on Etsy I decided to try my hand at fusing plastic bags. This process creates a thicker plastic that you can use as a fabric similar to vinyl or polyurethane. The article covers the process in greater detail, but basically you just iron several layers of bags together between sheets of paper.

After ironing the layers together, I trimmed the edges then decided to make a little pencil pouch out of the "fabric" I had created.

You can't tell from the picture because I shot it from its good angle, but the pouch is totally lopsided because I failed to make a pattern first or do any measuring first. It's ugly but functional! I only used half of the plastic so I might make something else later too. This took 6 plastic bags from my hoard under the kitchen sink. It's better than having them all end up in a landfill!

Etsy Favorites Promotion #3: lolashowgirl

2009-04-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Lolashowgirl is a Victorian-inspired, steampunk clothing line all handmade by Laura Ann.

She makes modern clothing with a unique, eye-catching twist. It's like adding a touch of costume to your every-day clothes in a trendy way that doesn't overstep the "wierd" line. I could totally see myself wearing one of these tank tops with a pair of jeans.

The Gothic couture wrap caught my eye, and I love that it's pictured with a simple white tank top, letting the potential buyer realize that this could be worn not just as a cover-up with a strapless gown on a special occasion, but for a trip to the mall or a night out to dinner with friends. This piece was definately a "heart-worthy" Etsy find.

"I design and sew all types of clothing from bridal wear to couture, and unique tanks!" - Laura Ann

Into the Woods of Teldrassil

2009-04-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

The enchanting forest home of the Night Elves was the first area of Azeroth that I encountered when I began playing World of Warcraft.

This painting has been sitting on my easle for over a week now. Today I managed to finally add the last touches and get it to a finished state. I'm not completely happy with it but it was fun to paint on two different canvases and I think it at looks pretty good from a distance at least.

I painted this using acryllics on primed canvas with an in-game screenshot for reference.

Etsy Favorites Promotion #2: DotandLine

2009-04-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

DotandLine is today's featured Etsy shop. Gone are the days of boring white lamp shades! These graphic prints will turn a boring necessessity into a fabulous feature of any room, and whether your style is modern, rustic, traditional, retro, or totally unique, if you can't find it already in their shop, a custom lampshade is sure to be the right choice for your space.

Here's what Annie from DotandLine has to say about her company:

Hello from Dot&Line Home Accessories. We are a small but growing company! My name is Annie Bierma and I am the owner/founder. I have my degree in Theatre Lighting Design and now find my joy in designing pieces that allow you to add your own story to a room.

As a company, we do our best create pieces inspired by nature, vintage materials and light itself. We try to keep our designs as "green" as possible, reusing materials and lamp bases as much as possible. Using hand printed and vintage fabrics also keeps our footprint small and results in one of a kind, handmade items you can't find anywhere else.

In addition to making pieces inspired but us directly, we also enjoy collaboration with individuals to create something that is uniquely "them". This guarantees that our clients get exactly what they want and need for their space and nothing makes us happier!

Etsy Favorites Promotion #1: RedHarp

2009-04-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Since I don't always have a new craft to blog about, I decided to start promoting sellers and items in my Etsy favorites, particularly items I have "hearted" that haven't sold in a while or sellers that I think are worth promoting.

RedHarp is a seller I know personally so she gets to be first! Not only is she skilled with a sewing machine, but she is also quite crafty - she once showed me that it is possible create a lightsaber out of plumbing parts and without the need for power tools.

RedHarp's Etsy Shop contains a variety of items including colorful fabric shopper bags and purses in many different fun themes, and of course you shouldn't go without the handy purse organizers! Her bags are great catch-alls for shoppers and convention-goers and the fun prints just scream personality and uniqueness. She doesn't mass-produce these so you can be sure a lot of love and careful work went into each one.

I know some of you love the beauty of the English countryside so you should definately check out her photography.

She also offers clever glass photo pendants that should satisfy both Steampunk fans and the SCA. These are made by attaching a tiny photography behind a glass stone so the glass magnifies the photo (similar to the [Push Pins] I made a few days ago). In particular think the pendants that have pictures of circuit boards are fabulous idea!

On a /roll

2009-04-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Decorating the first group of pillowboxes was so much fun last night that I continued the project today and tried some different colors and styles. Mother's Day is coming up (my mom loves purple!) as well as several birthdays in our family. If I don't plan a gift ahead of time, there's always the last-minute gift card and if I already have these little boxes decorated, they would be a great way to quickly wrap up a gift card (with room to spare for a handful of candy!).

[Rosey Pillowboxes]

2009-04-17T23:57:00.001-07:00

I think these pillow boxes would make great gifts for any occasion, such as wedding favors, baby or bridal shower favors, or gift wrapping for small gifts like candy or gift cards.

One piece of 12x12" scrapbooking paper was more than enough to decorate two boxes and I used some of the scraps to create coordinating gift tags. Ivory satin and organza ribbon leftover from my wedding added a finishing touch.

I look forward to making more of these! There is no end to the way these can be decorated to fit the occasion, whether with paper and ribbon or perhaps fabric and twine or even a felt wrap with a button closure.

Schnazzy [Push Pins]

2009-04-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

I saw these on Etsy and decided I wanted to make my own! I found some old tacks in a bag of stuff from my elementary school days and I had glass stones leftover from my wedding centerpieces so I didn't need to buy anything at all. I cut out little circles from some scrapbooking carstock, glued them to the back of the stones with Mod Podge, then (because I couldn't find any better glue) used white glue to attach the stone to the tacks. With some other paper and a piece of cardboard I made a coordinating board to stick them on so they would be easy transport to work without poking myself.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

Bunnies and eggs are for kids! I decided to stick with a spring floral theme for these Easter cards. Pastels and bright colors helped bring Spring to the cloudy gray rainy Sunday.

She calls it a [Money Bag]

2009-04-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

My sister asked me to make this for her, I hope it is what she had in mind! It's a black and white damask cotton bag with a hot pink ribbon drawstring.

Not a Boomkin.

2009-04-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Rowr!

I found this blank plastic toy at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer and decided I would jump on the "draw on a blank toy" bandwagon. It took me a while to figure out what to do on this one. The shape is interesting and the top piece is actually seperate from the base. I originally thought I would paint on it with acryllics but I decided to try out the Sharpies.

I drew my inspiration from my level 28 druid in the World of Warcraft. After shifting into kitty form I left my character on the screen and started doodling away on this blank canvas.

Hug this [Tree]!

2009-03-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

I painted this tree today based off of another Eyvind Earle piece. I love his whimsical style. This painting is on an 8x10 canvas, done in acryllic paints. I used water to help blend the colors in the background.

Cards for all Occasions

2009-03-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine hosted a crafting party today and showed us how to make these adorable cards using Stampin' Up! paper products and scrapbooking tools.

Crafting parties are a great way to spend time with friends and by having a project pre-designed and ready to go, everyone was able to participate equally regardless of artistic ability and we all went home with two practical creations.

Playing with Colors

2009-03-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

I painted a couple smaller 8x10 pictures to try out some different techniques and ideas. The smaller canvases are inexpensive and great for a beginner like myself. I could even paint over them and reuse the canvas later.

[Green Striped Handbag]

2009-03-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

This handbag is green in more ways than one. I made it out of one upcycled green striped placemat (4 for $2.50 on clearance at Target), a bamboo purse handle I had sitting around, and some vintage(?) matching lace trim that my grandma gave me years ago when cleaning out her closet. The lining is a special order fabric sample from JoAnn's that I scored when the store in Redmond was closing down.

This is actually my first purse, and I had to hand-sew it due to my current lack of a working sewing machine. A couple things I would have done differently in hindsight would be to add a little pocket inside on the lining, and perhaps try to extend the lining up and add a zipper so it can be completely closed.

A [Tree on Canvas]

2009-03-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Michaels had some canvases on sale today so I decided to bust out the acryllics and try my first painting on canvas. Normally I just use my acryllics to paint little wood boxes, plastic blasters and Jedi comlinks, stuff like that. So for my first painting on canvas I decided to draw inspiration from one of my favorite artists, Eyvind Earle.

I started painting the background and just layered on the green then mixed in some black and came in from the edges with strokes to look like grass or vines.

After getting the background the way I wanted it and letting it dry, I found a picture of an Eyvind Earle painting online and basically tried to copy it without getting as detailed. His lines are too painstakingly perfect for my patience so I took a more impressionistic approach and focused more on getting the idea of the shadows and highlights conveyed. I like how it starts with a silhouette but adds the contrasting white highlights to give the tree some depth. A lot of amateur artists are doing the black tree silhouette-on-a-colored background thing right now. It's easy and can look great in a modern room. I will probably hang this painting in my bedroom.

Tastes like Chicken

2009-03-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

I don't cook every night, but when I do I like to keep it quick and simple. Steamed asparagus compliments this Indian dish that is easily created with a jar of sauce, a pound of chicken breast, and steamed white rice.

Green is the new purple

2009-03-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

I made a few little things this weekend while reorganizing my craft area. In the interest of "going Green", I tried to use up some things I already had.

This was a white kitchen towel I had found at Target for $1. It's very simple and basic, but looks much better with some appliqué and embroidery. It is completely hand-sewn because my sewing machines are both misbehaving.

I started by drawing the design on some scratch paper, then I traced over the leaves on velum and created a template for five or six different leaf shapes that I then used to trace onto some green linen that I already had. Prior to cutting the linen I ironed on lightweight interfacing to the back of the fabric. Lastly I penciled the design onto the towel, stitched the main vine then contined one leaf at a time until finished.

Our kitchen bar tends to collect an assortment of pens and pencils. I tried to make a place for them in the craft drawers, but a handful still ended up on the bar counter space in an ugly flourescent yellow plastic cup. I decided I needed to make something that matched the rest of the kitchen better.

I found this wooden cup at Michael's and brushed on a thin layer of "eucalyptus" acryllic paint. I like seeing the wood grain beneath the paint. Adding the leaf design from the kitchen towel in white was an easy choice.

Looking back I think I would prefer green-on-white rather than white-on-green, and I may just paint over this some day. For now, it looks cute and serves its purpose well. I think something like this could make a nice gift for a coworker or a male family member that is difficult to shop for - perhaps in a different design though.

Lastly, I used some of the same green linen as well as some old felt scraps and fiber fill that I had sitting around, and a button leftover from a quilting project to create this little emery. I actually did need a place to stick all of my "in use" needles. I have a drawer for assorted needles from sewing machine needles to embroidery needles but I usually have two or three that are currently in use for hand-sewing projects and they typically end up getting mixed in with my pins or stuck in the fabric of my ironing board.

I love how this turned out and I think I might make more, I certainly have a lot of these materials left over. Next time I want to try using a large hole punch to cut out the flower(s) though, I think that would look even better. For this one I hand-sketched a design on paper, then traced it on velum to create a template.

[Silk Floral Pew Bows] by the dozen

2008-10-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

I created 24 pew bows for my wedding ceremony, 12 in green and 12 in blue.

Materials (for one):
1 Silk Hydrangea stem
1 Pew clip (from orientaltrading.com)
5-6 yards 6" ivory organza ribbon
2 yards 1.75" ivory satin ribbon
1 floral wire, about 1' long
3/4" masking tape

The first step was to secure the hydrangea stem to the pew clip. I cut the stem to about 6 inches so that the head of the flower sat on top of the clip with the stem pressed against the outer face of the clip. Then I wrapped masking tape over the entire stem and clip.

Next I created a bow out of the 6" organza ribbon, creating three loops on each side with a tail hanging to the floor. I used floral wire to secure the bow to the clip just underneath the flower so the clip and masking tape would be covered. Lastly I tied a length of satin ribbon in a double-knot over the center of the organza to hide the green floral wire.

It was easy to store and transport these by hanging them by the clips on three plastic hangers, eight pew bows to a hanger. This kept the ribbons from wrinkling and I think it kept things simple for my friends who were setting them up.

images by Siang of Lightphoria - www.lightphoria.com

Got [Escort Cards]?

2008-07-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

photo by Siang of Lightphoria - www.lightphoria.com

Escort cards are a popular means to guide guests to which table they are supposed to sit at for your wedding reception dinner. It is possible to buy cards by the pack that you can print on, but this can be really expensive, like 50 cents to more than a dollar per card.

Making your own escort cards is a little time-consuming but it is a rather simple process and can save you a lot of money. Handmade cards are also a nice personal touch.

To make 200 escort cards I bought a stack of card stock from the PaperZone for around $20 and I ended up using up less than half of the paper supply. My other tools and supplies were items that I already had on hand: art markers, a caligraphy pen a shaped punch, ruler, and paper cutter.

Customizing a [Flower Girl Basket] x2

2008-06-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

I found a couple of basic baskets at the store, but they were kind of plain. I added some satin flowers, a pearl spray and ivory ribbon, and viola! One-of-a-kind flower girl baskets.

This was a very quick and easy craft project. I already had the flowers and pearl spray on hand because I found them at Michael's on clearance a few weeks ago. The satin flowers just happened to match the baskets perfectly! The ribbon actually came with the baskets as a tie on the outer packaging; I just untied it, ironed it, and made it part of the actual basket design.

This [Card Box] takes the cake!

2008-06-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finished another one of my wedding craft projects. I made a box for cards that looks like a wedding cake!

Materials:
1 set of 3 hat boxes
1 roll of 1.5" blue organza ribbon
1 roll of 1" blue satin ribbon
2 feet of wired blue ribbon (optional)
1 tube of ivory acryllic paint

Tools:
- hot glue gun
- Craft knife
- Scissors
- Sponge paint brush

Basically I got three round nesting hat boxes from Michael's, cut holes in the tops of the bottom two boxes and a slot in the top box, painted them with acryllic paint, hot glued them together, then added decorative ribbon using double-stick tape. It was a fun, fast, and easy project.

3/24/09 Post-Wedding Update - The wedding cake-shaped card box served as functional decor at the gift table in the foyer as guest entered the church for our wedding. We received a lot of cards!

Picture by Siang of Lightphoria - www.lightphoria.com

Crafting [Silk Wedding Bouquet] x5

2008-05-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

My bridal party includes my Maid of Honor and three Bridesmaids, for a total of five bouquets. I love blue and green hydrangeas, but they seem to be more of a Spring-Summer flower so it may be difficult to get them in the Fall. They also like to change color if they aren't stored at the right temperature with the correct amount of water. I've never done flower arrangements before, but it doesn't seem too difficult to make what I want out of silk flowers, especially since I will have all summer to make them rather than just two or three days prior to the wedding.

I found some gorgeous flowers in the perfect colors at Michael's, and they were on sale because they were from the Spring selection (it's almost Summer now!). I got some lilies, peonies and blue roses to go with the hydrangeas as well. So far I have started preparing the stems, gathering them in bunches and wrapping them with green floral tape. The next step is to trim the excess length off the stem since the stems are almost a yard long.

The last step will be to add a handle to cover the ugly plastic green stems. I bought some white dupioni silk which was on sale at JoAnn's (didn't even have to use the 40% off coupon!) that I will use to wrap the stem, and then I plan to add pearl buttons for accents to finish it off!

FLOWER SYMBOLISM:

Hydrangea - Heart-felt.
White Lily - hope of everlasting life, virginity, purity, majesty, abundance.
Blue Roses - someone is mysterious.
Peony - Happy life, happy marriage.
Rosebud - Beauty, youth.

3/24/09 Post-Wedding Update - The finished bouquets turned out to be fabulous!

photo by Siang of Lightphoria - www.lightphoria.com

Enchanted [Handmade Garter]

2008-05-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to make my own garter for my wedding because it looked simple enough... so I did! I finished it today. I sewed it by hand and used two different types of lace, some satin ribbon, and added bows, with a bead and sequin in the middle of the bow.

It was about a 2-3 hour project, I think, but spread out over 3 weeks since I just worked on it a little bit here and there while playing my favorite MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) on my computer. Ah, what one can accomplish while sitting around waiting for raid leaders to finish distributing loot and then drone on about the strategy for slaying the giant monster in the next room.

3/24/09 - An After-the-wedding Anecdote: My sister caught my bouquet and her boyfriend caught the garter. Three months later he proposed and they are getting married in July!

pictures by Siang of Lightphoria - www.lightphoria.com

A [Quilt] of Epic Proportions

2007-07-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first quilt! I admit this undertaking was greater than I first expected, but in the process I learned many new sewing tricks. I learned to sew long strips before cutting them into squares. I learned to chain squares together to keep them in order and to save time while sewing. I also learned that it is quite difficult to sew buttons in the middle of a queen-sized blanket.

I call this my "Midnight Fantasy" quilt. This theme inspired my color choices as well as the patterns themselves. If I didn't think it could be a part of a story like A Midsummer Night's Dream or Lord of the Rings then I wasn't going to use it.