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.

Maternity Calendar Shirt

I have had so many people ask me where I got the shirt I use in my weekly photos, and I've decided to write up a post about the DIY I followed and the tips and tricks I learned (by making mistakes). If you love the shirt, but aren't a DIY person, do not fear! The original creator has the shirt available for purchase here.

First of all, credit for the idea goes to Miranda of One Little Minute, and was posted at DIY Maternity. I basically used her tutorial, but I changed a few things and there are some other things I would change if/when I make another one.

I'm not going to go through her tutorial; it's fantastic and thorough and that's why I linked to it. But I will share the things I learned:

1) Buy a NICE shirt that will last you the pregnancy. The ruched side Target shirt I got looked great until I hit the third trimester. Now it is unflattering, and requires a cami underneath it (because it shows my belly and because it's so thin). I wish I had invested in a Pea in the Pod ruched side shirt--the two I have I'm absolutely in love with.

2) I am not a fan of puffy (dimensional) paint, so I chose to use Tulip's matte fabric paint. Black for the numbers and crimson to cross off the weeks.

3) Since you'll be tracing onto the freezer paper, conserve trees and print the numbers double-sided with one space between them.

4) Turn on a movie or a few tv shows and curl up with your freezer paper, a fine tip sharpie and your exacto knife (I bought a hobby knife specifically for this). It'll take a few hours to trace and cut out everything. Remember to keep the little pieces from the 4, 6, 8, 9 and 0's--you'll have to iron these into place too!

5) Carefully place your stencil before ironing. I wish I had measured and centered it perfectly. A little OCD? Yes, but the fact that it's off centre drives me NUTS.

6) Place something between the two layers of your shirt, unless you want to paint the layers together, like I did the first time. (This also applies for each week you cross off! Even a plastic bag works!)

7) I used a sponge brush and sponged on a coat of the black over the stencil. I had an issue with brush strokes pulling up the stencil on my first shirt and learned that daubing the paint onto the fabric worked best for me. DO TWO COATS!! I ran out and am impatient, so mine's a bit light and faded now.

8) DO NOT IRON THE PAINT. I know the original tutorial says to, but this is how I ruined the first shirt (and almost ruined the iron). Read the instructions on your paint to see if it needs any special setting technique and follow those instructions. I ended up with melted paint smeared all over the shirt.

9) I am a bit of a perfectionist, and not skilled enough with a sponge brush to pull off decent-looking cross-marks. I have a brush whose bristles are glued together (it's my glue brush!) that makes a nice, fine line that I use to cross out the numbers.

10) Wash the shirt inside out to prevent as much fading as possible. Mine's faded pretty noticeably by now, at least up close and in person, but since the cut is no longer flattering on me, I don't wear the shirt except for the photos.

11) Cover your work area! Somehow, fabric paint (both red and black) ended up on one of our brand new dining chairs and on the rear of a pair of James' shorts, both of which are khaki. I don't know how since I don't think he was even home when I was working on it, and it's not a huge deal since I figure the impending child will cause many more messes, but still--take precautions, no matter how careful you think you are.

One last note: Please remember that this is for personal use only--you cannot make and sell this shirt. That would be WRONG and STEALING from her. So don't do it. Check out the disclaimer at the bottom of the tutorial for the legal wording. (In fact, I asked permission to even link before I posted this). Now, happy crafting!

Nursery

Last weekend James and I worked on the nursery and finished it all up! We went with an ocean theme, since we both love the ocean and it was gender neutral before we found out Wallaby was a boy. Most of the decorations are from the Bubbles & Squirt collection by Lambs & Ivy. I'm really happy with how it turned out--I think it looks nice and I enjoy hanging out in there (when it's cool at least). So here's some pictures of the finished nursery!

This is looking into the nursery from the doorway. You can see how most of the room is set up. Our room is to the right.

We got a toy chest that has pistons to avoid slammed fingers, a hamper that looks like a whale and the crib.
                            


Here's the glider we recovered. There's a two drawer file cabinet we're using as a side table that the lamp and night light are sitting on. There's the dresser/changing table that also has a bookshelf. There's a diaper pail, a diaper bag (hanging on the edge), and the painting I did.

A little school of fish below the window! These decals were so cute!

Our vinyl decals over the crib to make a little underwater scene for Wallaby. James was awesome putting them all up and helping me design it. The best part about the decals is that they're reusable!

Here's the quilt that came with the crib set. It's so cute. And the blowfish (which you can just see the bottom of) has a squeaker inside of it! He'll be sleeping in our room at first, so it might be a while before he gets put in the crib (especially since there's no air conditioning in the nursery and it is still HOT here)

The closet is hiding my sewing machine and craft organization on the right, and some baby stuff on the left. You can see the whale triptych, and the valance over the closet doors.

This is the rug we found at Costco! It was just one of those awesome accidental finds. Ocean-y and educational. Although I don't understand why the last row of numbers is backwards, it's still cute!

Father's Day DIY

Since this might become a craft-y blog, I wanted to try my hand at a tutorial! Yay! And for once, this is an idea of my own, not even inspired by any other idea I saw. Instead of using someone else's tutorial, as I so often do, I had pored through Father's Day's gifts and just couldn't come up with something for my dad. He's almost impossible to shop for anyways, but I wanted to do something special for him this year. I had made my mom pearl earrings for Mother's Day (I love pearls and when I saw them online, I just thought they'd look beautiful on her) and I didn't just want to buy something for Dad this year. The plan was also to make a card because every card I read was "funny," but not actually funny, and a little insulting too. I decided  making a card would be better. However, that didn't quite happen. Sorry for the lack of step-by-step pictures, I was focused on finishing it, not on making a tutorial.

We celebrated Father's Day a week late because we were going to visit the next week. This gave me a little extra time to work on it. I bought a few sheets of nice scrapbook paper, 12x12, in our favourite colours: blue and gray. I bought a little too much: 6 pages of gray and 2 sheets each of 3 different blues (light blue, dark blue and a teal-ish blue). I spent a few hours measuring out 1 inch strips onto each page with a pencil. On each strip, I used a corresponding sharpie colour to write down a memory I had of my dad, or of my dad and I. Most of them were little things from my childhood, although a lot of them involved the interesting food we experimented with. Some examples:

-Playing space invaders on the way home from German School

-Playing Slug Bug in the car with our unique point-scoring system and rewards

-Melted cheese plate with A1 sauce

-Finding milk duds in my salad, or grapes in my sandwich

-You singing "Zoom ditty dit da" while drying my hair after my baths

-Getting lost on our mystery trip bike rides, asking for directions and finding out our apartment was right down the block

Those are just a few of the memories that I wrote on those strips. I filled up almost one page of each colour, taking turns writing on the colours so there would be approximately an even number of each. Then I carefully cut the sheets up into the strips (I really wished I'd had a paper cutter for this). I used a pair of needlepoint pliers to grab the end of each strip and wrap it up into a spiral. I pulled out the needlepoint pliers shortly after beginning to wrap in order to shape it into a circle. It's kinda like quilling, which is amazing, but I didn't have the proper quilling tools, so I had to just make do. I wasn't sure the spirals would stay all wound up, but luckily they held their shape pretty well. (By the way, I totally wish I could actually quill--it's SO COOL!) I used a mason jar from the craft store to hold all the memories. It ended up being about 3/4 full, which was perfect. I still have strips left, and we can both continue to add memories in the future. He can pull out a spiral, and read a memory, and see what things I remember most about him and our relationship. It's definitely a cheesy gift, but I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I think my dad liked it a lot too. And sometimes, it's not the big, flashy gifts that make an impact, but the little ones that have thought and effort put into them. 

So here's a picture of my Father's Day gift to my dad. If you want to use the "tutorial" and make your own , please do so. I've included a picture and I'd love to hear about it if you decide to make one! It's very versatile and would work with almost any relationship. It might be fun to do as a couple too. Use your favourite colours and throughout the year, write down memories that make you smile on your colour and put them in. Then on New Year's Eve, you can pull out each others' and read them! (Or something like that)
Happy Crafting!

Spirals and pretty colours!

Fails-Kitchen and DIY

Some fails. Don't worry, the last one has a happy ending.

I love buffalo chicken ANYthing. I think my love affair began with a buffalo chicken dip one of James' relatives brought to a party. I could have eaten nothing but that all night and been perfectly happy. Since then, I've been accumulating buffalo chicken recipes to try. I don't make it often since Hubby isn't a spicy-foods lover, but he relented and let me try a buffalo chicken mac'n'cheese recipe I found. I don't want to link to the recipe since I'm pretty sure the result was due to faulty ingredients.

The first thing you have to understand is that I never had Kraft mac n cheese until I was 13. My mom always made macaroni and cheese that was more like a casserole. She made it the way my grandma made it, and my grandma made it the way Papa's mom had made it. Cook the noodles, mix with some cheddar and bake in a casserole dish. If you're Papa, dad or me, add A1 (or HP) sauce and enjoy. Yum. This is one of my top comfort foods, placing second only to schnitzel. And now I lost my train of thought and want macaroni and cheese....where was I? Oh yeah, James doesn't fancy this dish as much as I do. He prefers a saucier dish, which I usually do too, so we've had to compromised and I've learned to accept (and maybe even like) Kraft mac'n'cheese and hotdog nights.

We halved everything since it was just the two of us, and it still made enough leftovers for at least another meal. There were some things I would have changed: it smelled delicious while cooking, but didn't have much spice or buffalo flavour, so I would probably double the sauce (and kill James, according to him). We also definitely skimped on the chicken, but I hadn't realized we only had one chicken breast left when we started cooking at 8:30, and didn't feel like running to the store. I left out the panko because I really don't understand that topping for mac'n'cheese, and had to leave out the blue cheese for obvious reasons :( It ended up alright, but it was mediocre at best. I also burned the butter when trying to make part of the sauce, so that probably didn't help.

The problem was the reaction we both had. My stomach ache yanked me out of a pleasant dream the next morning. Hubby said he thought he was dying in the shower. I thought it was just my tummy, since my digestive system is finicky at the best of times. I've just learned to accept that and deal with it, but James tends to have a cast iron stomach. I went over the recipe again, trying to see if it was something in it. If it had just been me, I would have assumed that I should have taken a lactaid, but there was nothing in there that should have bugged us; I'm relatively sure something was up with one of our ingredients or we did something incorrectly/undercooked something. It's unfortunate since the dish had some great potential. If you have a recipe for buffalo chicken mac'n'cheese that you've tried, please pass it along, because it still sounds delicious to me...though it might take James a bit longer to warm up to the idea of trying it again.

My DIY fail was spectacular. And no, there are no pictures. I read this blog post on Delighted Momma and was thrilled. Those of you who know me know that I have digestive issues; I've been to many doctors, had every procedure short of invasive surgery, and no one can figure out what is going on with my stomach. My symptoms match Crohn's, but no one can confirm it since no doctor has been able to see visual signs of inflammation. And my body decides to be normal when I'm having tests done. And since going off birth control last July, my skin seems to have reverted to the middle school complexion I never had. I can control it with benzoyl peroxide, but was told it wasn't safe during pregnancy. I figured I'd give this home remedy a whirl. After all, it can't hurt, right?

Wrong. I haven't had the guts to drink it as recommended, so I can't comment on the digestive properties Delighted Momma claims. I did find some organic, unfiltered (but not raw) apple cider vinegar at Trader Joe's and figured it should work as well. I was cleaning up the bathroom, so decided to sponge the vinegar on my face and set the timer for 20 minutes. My face felt a little flushed, but I wasn't concerned since that's par for the course right now. James came home 5 minutes later and I apologized for smelling like vinegar, but he asked what had happened to my face. I checked the mirror, and my face had turned BRIGHT RED. Worse than the worst sunburn I ever had. And it followed the line of where I put the vinegar, so around my eyes was still super pale. I looked like a bad tanning bed experiment. It was terrible. I immediately washed my face with cold water, but it didn't seem to help. My face had felt flushed, but not burning, not anything that would have suggested this level of reaction. I sponged some milk on my face, and that helped cool my face, but I'm not sure it had any reaction on the redness. I would have used yogurt, but I only had peach yogurt, and I didn't really want to experiment further that day. Within 20 minutes, my face was almost back to normal. I reread the post, and followed a link at the bottom about using the vinegar topically, and sure enough the mistake was my own. You're supposed to dilute the vinegar, 1 part to 3 parts water. I also decided I would find the exact brand in her picture (available at Fresh & Easy) just in case the non-raw thing had something to do with it.

I made up a batch and have been using it 1-2 times daily on my face and chest and it has definitely made a difference! My skin is softer, and my breakouts are fading and less red. I don't know if it's the vinegar, but I think it is. (I skipped a few days and noticed a change again--not for the better). All I know is that that one bottle will last me quite a while and I will continue using it. I'd rather use a home remedy like this than medications, pregnant or not. I would definitely recommend this for someone who has mild/moderate breakouts, but I would stress diluting it!! (Of course, my skin tends to be super sensitive, so *shrug*)

See, I told you one of my fails had a happy ending! And remember, if you have any buffalo chicken recipes, please share them with me! Or any recipe, really. I can't wait to cook more!

DIY-ing (picture heavy)

I've been DIYing quite a bit lately, crafting my little heart out. Especially since crafting exploded and it's all organized again. Then, in Coronado last weekend I found a whole box of supplies! Amazing! Why didn't I take these with me? There was a whole little compartment box of beads! I've had some successes: the fishtail friendship bracelet, the proenza schouler-inspired knockoff and some gifts that I can't post quite yet. I thought I'd share some photos of my recent craftiness, along with tutorials if I had them and some tips I discovered while making them.

Embroidered watermelon coasters (also in pink)
Tutorial adapted from a Joann's flyer

I found these coasters on one of those "Crafting with Joann's" flyers and decided to try it out. I had some pink, white and black yarn at home, and picked up some green and red on sale. Make sure you use the plastic embroidery circles that have 4 holes in the center, otherwise the yarn/needle doesn't go through. Then, glue some felt onto the back, and presto, you've got watermelon coasters. Lazy daisy stitch for the seeds. I imagine you could do this with almost any fruit, even cutting the circle into different shapes


  

Knitted headphones to keep them from tangling. And they're fun!
Tutorial here. This is a good yarn stashbuster

I found these knitted headphones on Pinterest a while ago (see the tutorial for hers) and decided to give it a try. I had this yarn leftover from an impulse buy. I loved the colours, but never found anything to use it for. Since the stitch is basically an icord made around the headphones, I needed some practice and used the yarn and an old set to practice. Since then, I bought some sock-weight yarn on Knitpicks, but I think it's too rainbow-y for me. Besides, looking at my two test-runs next to each other, I actually prefer the thicker weight yarn (and the colours). I'm horrible at icords, but I think the heavier weight hides mistakes a bit better. You do need double pointed needles for this project in an appropriate size (I think I used a bit smaller than the yarn recommended)

Fishtail friendship bracelet: I used this tutorial

I've always loved how fishtail braids looked, but never learned how to do them. Those of us with fine hair don't usually bother learning all those neat little hair tricks and updos other girls learn; we rarely have the bulk for them. I wish I did, but they just don't look the same on me. Anyways, I saw a fishtail braid on Pinterest and got to thinking, "I wonder if you could make a friendship bracelet with a fishtail pattern?" Since I wasn't sure if it was like french braiding, I didn't know if it was possible. Google to the rescue! I found this lovely tutorial and used that. It's pretty simple, and she even adds a trick for keeping the loop at the top from tangling, which can be used in other projects too. Since then, they've posted a quicker version, using only 6 strands, but I really like the look of the other better. Just remember what order your colours are in, since mine got tangled up pretty quickly. I'm loving the peaches and dusty pinks and purples I used in this; I've really been into peaches, oranges, and dusty pinks lately as well as creams and ivories. I might just have to make another...


As a lot of you know, my mom and dad are taking James and I on a pilgrimage to Israel with their cathedral in just a few days (we leave this Friday! EEE!). I got to thinking about money and such. I hate those money belts that you wear under your clothes, but there are certain places that aren't the safest for a traveller's wallet. I decided it would be pretty cool to make a little secret safe out of a chapstick tube and went through quite a few trying to figure out how to make it work. What I was planning on doing, after some google searching, was to pop off the bottom, take out the tube, pop the bottom back on, and glue in the actual balm part, with only about 1/2" left, so it still looked like a usable chapstick should someone open it up. Well, that didn't work...the bottom kept falling off and wouldn't stay on. So instead, I just left out the balm and glued the bottom on, trusting that no one would actually try to open it. It's pretty easy to make: just get some pliers under the the bottom and pry off, then cut the stick that's attached to the balm. Push it up through the tube, and clean out the tube by running a paper towel through it (not kleenex!). Glue the bottom back on and voila!

Chanel-inspired bobby pins: tutorial here

Honestly WTF is my favourite DIY site ever. Not only do they have picture tutorials (so important for a person who learns by doing), but they also include links showing you where to buy the materials they used. They're generally knockoffs of designer stuff since they're a fashion blog too, and a lot cheaper than the actual thing. I saw these and knew I had to make some! I had all the supplies I needed since I have a bit of an obsession with pearls; they are my birthstone after all. I also love hair decorations: clips, pins, combs, etc. But I hardly ever use them. So I've made these and I'm waiting for the perfect occasion to wear them now! This one's a bit tricky when you start wrapping, but they end up looking really nice. The only thing I needed to buy was some wire. I think I used 20 gauge wire, and my pearls are a bit smaller than the ones they used, but I'm saving my chunky pearls for a different project.

Tutorial here

This is one I would never actually wear, but I felt like trying. I have so much embroidery thread that it fills a giant freezer ziploc bag, and I can't even zip it anymore. Actually, I should probably go through it and divide it so I can actually close it. Anyways, I got some wire and I'm not a huge fan of hot pink, so I used a gray-purple that I like. In retrospect, I don't think I like the colour; it's too gray for my taste, but it does kinda make it look like metal, I guess. Anyways, here's my take on a knock off of an Anthropologie necklace ($48 there!) Since I had the thread, I ended up spending about 3 dollars for the 16 gauge wire I used, which could make 6 or more.

Tutorial here

Remember those wish bracelets people used to make with hemp? I had such a cute choker a friend made, with seed beads in all the colours of the rainbow and held together with a safety pin. I have no idea what happened to it. I found a tutorial for one and decided to try it. I never had figured out how to braid the beads in, and I had some silver beads left over from a different Honestly WTF project I wanted to try. I used  crimps and a clasp on the end, and as you can see, my sides aren't quite even since you have to guess where the middle would be. I also like using cord (cotton or leather) much better than hemp, and prefer the braiding to the macrame (I have nothing against macrame, just against hemp).

Tutorial here

I found Chic Steals through a DIY fashion blog week at another site I check out. She had made these adorable Dolce and Gabbana inspired sunglasses, which I plan to make. But I also found this cardigan clip she made. I loved the idea, especially since with a burgeoning belly it's not advisable to wear button up cardigans anymore. Since I can move the clip, I can move it up the cardigan as needed, but it'll also keep it closed when I want it closed. My mom gave me a ton of lace hem tape in all colours, so I picked up some stiff felt and some cute pearl buttons and clip on earring backs. I couldn't find shoe clips anywhere. I did my lace a bit different, but I like how it turned out. I'll have to make another soon!

Kate Spade for $1.40! Tutorial here

I scour craft sites that pull from all over the web and saw these Kate Spade knock off earrings. I loved the idea of the wood and paint juxtaposed together. Again, hers aren't the colour pink I like, but I have a large collection of nailpolishes. After a quick trip to Michael's revealed that they did not have wood furniture buttons, I found them at Joann's (I wish we had a Hobby Lobby here!). I messed up the first batch: do NOT use tape when painting, even with nailpolish, invest in painter's tape. I was pretty happy with how they turned out, but when you put them on, the little back of the button makes them stick out. The real ones lie flat. I tried to figure out a way to saw off the back, but other than using a sanding block, I couldn't figure it out, so I have some work to do to figure it out, but I will get it...eventually. I do however, love how they turned out, especially the second from the right in front. Oooo sparkly!

Ah, my beloved prescription sunglasses. I bought these almost four years ago (no significant vision changes) and wear them ALL THE TIME since contacts really bug my eyes. I did not choose them for the rhinestones, but the shape of the glasses...unfortunately they were ridiculously expensive. I had a lovely sales associate at Lens Crafters who offered me his last family and friends 50% discount, which made them slightly more affordable, but they remain my most expensive wardrobe anything. (my wedding dress cost more, but that's about it). After 3-4 years of rough wearing, including puppy bites (oh yes, you can see her tooth marks), a lot of the rhinestones have fallen out. It wasn't pretty. But Michael's has Swarovski crystals that are pretty much a perfect match! The largest and smallest in their variety pack matched the small and medium holes on my glasses. I can't find the teensy tiny rhinestones, but they're much less noticeable than the others. You can barely tell where I glued them in! Almost like new!

Adapted from this tutorial

This Honestly WTF has been on my list forever, but between the wood mouldings and the spray paint I'd need to buy, it's been on the back burner. Plus, I just don't wear jewelry that big; I prefer understated pieces. But I loved the scroll-y, swirly look. I was at Michael's, wandering through the scrapbook section, looking to decorate my phone case and saw these 3D stickers that were perfect! They were also half priced! Perfect! I bought them, scraped off the sticky part and spent some quality time with Dad's dremmel tool (which is on a long-term loan to me) and ended up with this necklace. Much smaller, colour-blocked (kinda), but with the same feel as the other (no danglies, I know). Plus, I had enough stickers left over to make matching earrings. I still have some left over, so I'll have to find something to do with them. I personally LOVE how it turned out, and will definitely wear it more than I would the original.

Tutorial here and here

The neon trend. It's like the worst of the 80's have come back to haunt us. I never liked day-glo, even though I love pretty much everything else from the 80's. Anyways, I've been wanting to make another woven chain bracelet for a while (I still can't believe they retail at ~$380!). And I wanted to try it with a thicker set of thread. I still love the one I made for me, with the peachy-pinks. This time, I used 24 strands total, and still wrapped twice in each link. I like how it turned out; the bracelet has more structure this way and the colour combination isn't that bad. This is probably the closest I'll get. Honestly WTF is where I first saw the idea, but for some reason, I could NOT get it from their tutorial, so I used the one at Studs and Pearls instead, though I do use bobby pins to help thread through the links. Because of how thick my strands were, I had to work with them a bit more to get them tight and looking nice, but I think it was worth it in the end. We'll see if I ever wear this bracelet, but I have a shirt I think it would be perfect with...


Well that's my crafting for now. I have a lot more in store, including a yarn-wrapped bowl, a Shamballa-inspired bracelet, a collage bracelet I've been working on for over a year, this amazing pearl haircomb and of course, the sunglasses I mentioned. That's just a few of the bookmarks I'm working through. I love having something to work on at night like this. Now, my closet is in shambles since I had to pack up most of my clothes that I can't wear anymore, and I haven't actually put up the ones I can wear. Then I have to shower, take some baby bump pictures and get to cleaning up the house for our house and dog sitter. Plus begin packing up some stuff! Busy, busy weekend. Hope you all have a relaxing Saturday!