Crafting Update

It's been a while since I did a crafting update, so here are some of the things I've been working on:

-Monster Pants: These have been a true challenge. My motivation comes in spurts with long periods of inactivity between. The motivation just isn't there to finish them because they've been taking so long and because I really hate weaving in ends. I've finally finished the knitting part, and I think they'll still fit G, but I have the duplicate stitches and the i-cord to finish still. I can do this! [I hate weaving in ends from stripes and I absolutely loathe knitting ribbing because my purls are always too loose and makes the ribbing look bad]

-Crochet Turban-Inspired Earwarmer: I made one of these earlier this year and ended up giving it to my sister in law. My stitches are always so tight, but this time I really focused on keeping them loose, and I think I went the opposite direction: the headband ended up a bit too loose. I might remake another, but I've had a few other projects I want to finish

-Newborn Bunny Set: I crocheted a bunny set for a baby due around Easter. It was surprise because I wasn't sure I could get it done, but I spent a full day crocheting and finished it all, even getting it in the mail before baby arrived! I made my own hat pattern up, and used a diaper cover pattern. I made the pom pom tail removable so the diaper cover would be useful past the photos

-Newborn Gnome Set: I saw this on Ravelry, and it is too adorable! I wanted to crochet it, so I used my candy cane cocoon pattern, and made a belt (I'm proud of the buckle) and then used other patterns for the hat and beard, which is removable.

I was waiting to make our peapod's outfit til we found out the sex. James really likes the cupcake hat, so I'll try my hand at that, but I might also make a giraffe outfit, we'll see. I didn't want to do a pumpkin again, even though she's a fall baby too. I'm making myself finish the monster pants before I start on this though.

-Quick Crochets: I've done a few quick crochet projects to try to get my motivation back and start using up the stash yarn I have. I made a face scrubbie (and have plans to make more) and a potholder that I'm relatively happy with. The pattern was for just one side, but I wanted to add a pocket, and it didn't turn out quite as well as I was hoping, but it works, especially since we didn't know where our potholders had gone in the move.

 

-Maternity Calendar Shirt: Another one! I messed up the first one, and I will be using it in the first few photos, but my mom is sending another, and I'm hoping it turns out much better (less paint, more daubing, gentler). We'll see. So far, time has been spent on other things.

-Stockinette Scarf: I was actually hired by James' cousin to make him a scarf to replace one he'd lost. I can't wait! The yarn from knitpicks has arrived and my needles are ready and waiting to cast on! It'll be a long one, and probably in stockinette. Practice purling, I guess.

-Wave Blanket: I also ordered four different blues for a wave blanket (chevron) that was originally going to be for G's room, but might end up being for the whole family. That'll be crochet, but it's on the bottom of the list for right now. I might bring it on vacation if I'm close to finishing other projects so that I only bring one project with me on the plane.

-G's drawers: The beautiful bedroom set we bought for G has flowers on the top drawer of the dresser and the nightstand drawer. So we're going to be painting the drawers: the dresser will be painted ombre, and the nightstand will be either the lightest or one of the medium colours.

-Paintings for Baby Girl's Room: I'll be doing similar paintings to the ones I did for G's room, but with land animals. I have the canvases, paint and brushes, so I'll be getting started on them soon!

-Doctor Who Quiet Book: Saw this online and loved it! I've been wanting to make a quiet book for G anyways, and I'm really loving Doctor Who lately, so this is perfect. I have the felt and I'm (again) using the pictures for inspiration for it. I hope it turns out well, but this is at the bottom of my craft priority list.

There are other things I want to work on, but my craft supplies haven't been unpacked yet. Eventually we'll be all settled and it'll be easier. Hopefully the quicker crochet projects will help my motivation to finish those adorable monster pants. He'll probably be able to wear them once or twice before he outgrows them, but maybe I'll make other pairs. Without stripes.

Splatter Pearls

I love pearls. They are, after all, my birthstone. I used to think that June really got jipped in the birthstone department, since pearls aren't really a stone (and I didn't like them at the time), and the alternate stone is one almost no one has heard of (Alexandrite). Now, I love them and love that June is unique in the respect that we get this awesome thing from the sea instead of just a normal gem.  So now I have pearl necklaces, earrings and bracelets and love to wear them. But though they do go with everything, they are a bit formal and sometimes that's just not the look you're going for.

In comes this awesome tutorial I found. The author of VJuliet knocks off some Chanel pearls that look like they've been splattered with paint. They look awesome! Modern and funky, a completely different take on pearls, colourful and fun. I shared the idea with my mom and she sent me a bunch of glass pearls (I really don't think I could stand to do this to real ones) and decided I'd give it a shot. Since I have a massive nail polish collection I had pretty much everything I needed.

I started by stringing the peals onto a necklace. I strung all the ones I had and got them to a length I liked. I kind of like that they're different sizes instead of the normal uniform size strand. Then, as per the instructions, I took my nail polish and a straw and started trying to splatter. It was pretty much a failure. I tried taking a paint brush and splattering the nail polish. This also didn't work. I tried and tried and tried the straw, but just couldn't get it. I searched nail sites for splatter nail tips but couldn't find anything that worked consistently. Finally, I picked up some coffee stirrer straws at Target's food court a few days later. I figured maybe the smaller diameter would work. It did! I still didn't have as much control over the aim as I would've liked, but it did work pretty well. I used the colours in the tutorial (fuchsia, dark purple, blue) and added a pretty lime for a pop as well. I did do the two sides, though I would recommend doing four sides in the future for even coating. Or at least, make sure you get the sides too!

Closeup of the splatter on the pearls

I'm really happy with how my pearls turned out. I think they look awesome and really fun and funky. I like the longer length (and so does Grayson, unfortunately) and I think the colours come together nicely. I did have a lot of clean up though. The nail polish splattered beyond the confines of the magazine I was working on, I used up the entire sample size of the fuchsia polish and most of the purple as well, and I had nail polish all over both hands. It took at least an hour of airing out the kitchen to get the smell out too. Next time I think I'll put down wax paper (a few tacky spots picked up some magazine) and work outside with gloves on. But all in all, it was a super successful project, and I love moving things into my "Completed Crafts" folder :)

The aftermath of the magazine. Next time, wax paper for sure!

The pearls, all ready to wear

I like the length, but it's way too easy for G to grab!

In case you're wondering, the way I find all these awesome tutorials is by trolling (see definition 3) craft sites. Some of the best are Pinterest (of course, though there are copyright issues and not everyone links to a tutorial or real site or anything), CraftGossip, and Craftgawker. But the best by far is a Tumblr site called Truebluemeandyou. It is AMAZING, and my absolute favourite. There are other sites that I know have tutorials, and if I have time I check them out, but between the last three I mentioned, I've usually seen the newest posts.

Crafty

Sorry about being gone for so long again. I always want to wait til I have something interesting to report, but then I get busy and come home tired and just want to relax. So I'm finally making myself write this post. A lot has been going on lately: I started a knitting club, I'm learning to sew, I've been upping my jewelry-making and I'm just loving my volunteer work with the animal shelter.

The knitting club is great! We only have a handful of members, but we meet once a week at St. Peter's Church in Del Mar, at 6 pm on Wednesdays. All levels are welcome; I've even taught someone to knit! Yay! It gives me a nice uninterrupted hour in which I work on my knitting, and will force me to finish projects. It also allows me to ask for help for things I don't understand, which means I can move beyond rectangles and squares. How exciting! Once a month we'll watch a movie while we knit. If you're in the area and interested in joining, just shoot me an email or stop by on Wednesdays.

My new dress, which I wore to work yesterday!

Cute shirt, if I say so myself.

Fabric yoyos + buttons = cute & fun

Learning to sew is not easy. First my sewing machine didn't work, so I got it fixed at a local shop. Then it unthreaded itself and I ran out before I could check on how to thread it, so it wouldn't work again. So I brought three projects up to my mom's place for a 36 hour trip and she helped me finish two of them! I made a denim tote (to which I am adding handles soon) and a mail sorter out of placemats from Ikea. It looks pretty neat I must say. And adding in a bar from a hangar was an absolutely inspired idea from my mom. Then we got to work on my sorority tshirt blanket. It's not going to be a quilt, but mom has all the fabric and helped me figure out exactly how it was going to work. We got through the hardest part (so she said) and when I visit again, we'll work on the next part of it. I'm so excited! I've also been making some fabric yoyos (which I've used on a shirt and to make some pins) and I found some great pre-smocked fabric at JoAnn's and made a dress out of it, easy peasy.

Ribbon pearl necklace

Wrap bracelet, pre-lace

Rosette necklace

My jewelry making has also been going well. I received my first order last Sunday, to make a necklace like my pearl and ribbon necklace for a parishioner's daughter-in-law. I also used the glass pearls to make a neat wrap bracelet, and even thought it's not pictured, I used some flexi lace hem tape to wrap around to make it all lace-y. It's a nice dusty purple colour now. And of course, they rosette necklaces are still available. There is an orange, pink and yellow on for sale in the shop, as well as one that is a bit like a bib and would look super cute with the right neckline. I'm making one that's black and white with a red center bead for a friend, and I'm using smaller rick rack, so we'll see how that goes. But making jewelry is definitely something fun for me to do when I get home and on the weekends.

Now for one cooking item: The best enchilada recipe I have been able to find is from Campbell's Kitchen for their verde enchiladas using their cream of chicken soup. I highly recommend this recipe for a quick, easy, scrumptious dinner! Check out the picture and just try to tell me it wouldn't be delicious (yes, I know, you can't, can you?) :) Check out this link for the recipe!

Happy cooking, crafting and reading! I'll be back soon with some book reviews!