Spring In Winter

I found another tutorial on my fav website Cut Out + Keep. This was so easy. It didn't really involve crocheting - just chaining. I used mostly worsted weight yarn so mine isn't as big as the original. I still like it. I didn't really have sequins, etc, but I did have pearl beads that I put in the center. Now if I don't feel like updating my purple dye job, I can throw my hair in a ponytail and wear this. The colors actually go pretty well with the purple.

Blossoms

I had to retire the Capri Sun purse for the season because it is wide open and, although I like snow, I would rather not have it in my purse. I tried making a Japanese Knot Bag, but apparently my ability to follow directions at 3:30 am sucks (well, and all the time). So I played around and made an envelope bag of sorts. The inside is lined with the color of the flowers. It is small but amazingly enough holds everything. The flowers were so easy. I drew general 5 petal shapes of different sizes, held together a couple of flowers of different sizes, and used rivets to attach them to the purse. On the strap I used my sewing machine's vine pattern which was insanely easy. I love my sewing machine :-) This purse is not as cool as the Capri Sun purse but I think it's pretty.

Have Your Dessert And Get Buzzed, Too

The idea of champagne sorbet had been put into my head when I was 12 or 13. There was this wonderful dessert place that served the biggest slices of cake ever. They had two kinds of sorbet: lemon and champagne. The idea of champagne sorbet intrigued me, but I didn't get to try it. It only took me 18 years to get myself some champagne sorbet and I had to make it myself! I think it is pretty good. It turns out it is also ridiculously simple.

You need 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and a bottle of Brut Champagne (or Sparkling Wine). Chill the Champagne in the fridge and put the drum for the ice-cream maker in the freezer. Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water at medium heat. Let cool and then place in the fridge. I let it all cool overnight. The next day assemble and turn on your ice-cream machine. First pour in the sugar syrup. Then pour in the champagne slowly. Fill drum. I was able to get a full bottle in :-) Churn for about 25 minutes. Mixture should be frozen and slushy. Serve immediately or place in airtight container. Leave in freezer when not serving. This is wonderful and rich so you only need a small scoop.

The Weather Inside Is Delightful

I am not so big on Christmas anymore, but I LOVE snowflakes. I also like real snow, but I can't buy or make that. Anyways, I found a great tutorial for how to make elegant snowflakes. It is so easy to do and so pretty. I think I need some glitter, though... :-)

Kiss Me, I am a REVAMPire

Another shirt takes a hit in the name of craftiness. I love this shirt, but it never fit quite right in the shoulder or sleeves. I had seen the tutorial for the cut out V and weave and decided to try it on this shirt. It worked great. So I decided to split the sleeves and now the shirt looks awesome and fits better. Yay for crazy T-Shirt revamping! (Note the one pic where you can see the green. It's not a tube top. It's my bra from the previous post!)

Hello, Ladies

I have been playing around with shirts but end up with shirts that are wide, scooped neck or have thing cut out of the back. I am too well endowed to go braless and a strapless bra would still show out of the back. So I cut up an old shirt and turned it into a make shift strapless bra. Don't laugh. It kind of works!

No Pork Chops, Just Applesauce

I have had an apple obsession lately and decided to make homemade applesauce a while back (and man could I go for some right now). Homemade applesauce is nothing like what you buy at the store. It is actually tasty. It also tastes great with honey flavored greek yogurt. The recipe is here. It tastes good and it is healthier than eating an entire apple pie, which is what I thought might happen if I had used my apples to bake pies.

Tie A Black Ribbon 'Round...

I love rings but was cursed with massive fingers. Finally a developed a ring for me. I used shrink plastic to make the form, which could be any size. I taped the ends together to form a ring. Then I hot glue gunned black ribbon along the outside and black ribbon along the inside. I glued on a basic bow and voila! There are many option in terms of what you cover it with and things you can glue on top. I have a bit of project ADD, so I haven't done more with that :-P

Commitment

I have been hemming and hawing about getting a tattoo but I have so many problems. What design? Where would it go? What if I don't like the design anymore? What if I leave the parlor, see someone's tattoo and get buyer's remorse? How badly does it hurt? And isn't it expensive? So I found this. All you need is some shrink paper, some colored pencils, fine grain sandpaper, some chain, clasps, and jump rings. It's actually all really cheap and, by the time you buy everything, you can make quite a few necklaces. Think of all the tattoos you could have. Cheap, pain free, and you get to play with shrink plastic!

I Snow What You Mean

I <3 Winter, especially snow. I wanted a snowflake necklace and then, of course, I decided that I had to make it myself. I found a great tutorial. Playing with wire is always annoying but I think this was worth it.

Complex

This is another one of those projects that should have been easy but turned into something crazy. Basically I cut a wide scoop neck. Then I cut around either side of the text. I resewed it in such a way to make the shirt fit to my body better. Since the scoop was large in the back, I cut down farther and made it into a corset. I also lined the corset area, the neckline, and the waste line with leftover material from other T-Shirts.

Refreshing

I am well known for my Capri Sun bag now. I am having to put it away for the season because wide open bag + snow can't be good. This is a great project. Who doesn't like Capri Suns? Even as a grownup I still love them. So this is a bonus. Drink, recycle, and get a purse. Awesome! You could probably make this with just duct tape. I prefer to sew and then duct tape. You definitely want the duct tape because it will make it last longer.

Splash

I was supposed to go tubing (I never did, but oh well). I didn't want to stand around in just my bathing suit, and I didn't want to wear cotton in cold water. JoAnn Fabric to the rescue. I found these synthetic material for cheap in a color that kind of matches my suit. I just made a tube, folded it over to have a pocket for a drawstring, and that is pretty much it. I am always going to have one of these to match any bathing suit.

Delicious

I finally made kitchen curtains and found material that was polka dots with different types of food in the dots. I had a leftover material and thought it would make a great tote bag. Don't ask me how I made it. I had no pattern. Just pure craziness :-) But I think it turned out.

Elegant

I love fingerless gloves and wear them all the time. However, I have never found any dressy enough for certain outfits. So I finally made my own. It is like a somewhat stretchy satin but not as nice as satin. Hahaha. I thought I could get away with a tube, but because I wanted it long and the material wasn't super stretchy I had to make something that tapered. It worked! I made the bracelet to go with it so it wouldn't be just plain black gloves. I just stringed three pearl bracelets, made a rosette out of leftover glove material, glued some tulle on the rosette, held the three bracelets together, and glued the rosette to the three bracelets. Plus I can wear the bracelet separately.

She Sells Seashells

I have a lot of shells from Florida and wasn't sure what to make so I made these. One of these days I need to sell these at some craft fair/farmer's market.

Cut It Out

For a while cut out seemed to be the thing. Cut Out + Keep had a DIY Fashion contest. I wanted something easy and cheap, so I did my version of cut out features with ribbon. I didn't win, but I think it is cool.

Dear Old RPI - Where Dork Meets Crafty

This started out as an easy skirt project. Just cut out two rectangles, cut holes up each side, and lace up. No sewing! Whoops. I don't do measurements well. So no sew turned into nothing but sew. That's ok, though, because I still got a skirt out of it. Also, this skirt is probably more sturdy. I will have to wear it to the Big Red Freakout.

Under Medicated

More fun from Generation T. Chop off sleeves and neck and then add holes on both sides of shirt from bottom to half way. Add holes from neckline to edge on both shoulders. Lace up, pull, and you have the cinched look. Now I can at least be under medicated in style ;-)

I also turned my dorky Maxwell Equation shirt into something more fun. Chop off the sleeves and neckline. Cut rows of slashes that run diagonally and weave ribbons in and out. Physics never looked so great.

Brokenhearted

I love my book Generation T. It seems that no T-shirt is safe. This is an easy one. Just draw a heart, mark off lines, and cut along the lines within the boundary of the heart. I meant to do more. Maybe one of these days I will do other patterns. You can always place orders ;-)

Welcome

Here you can keep track of my wacky projects. The directions are usually on Cut Out+ Keep or you can ask. Cheers!