Bejeweled Clutch

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Over the weekend I made what I consider to be one of the most super-fun projects of all time: take a plain old thing (in this case, a leather wallet/clutch I picked up at Goodwill for fifty cents) and BEDAZZLE THE HELL OUT OF IT.

YAAAAYYY!!!!

Read more...

Necktie Purse Tutorial

Happy Impending Gift-Giving Holiday everyone!! ARE YOU READY YET???

Yeah me neither. Let's be procrastinators together!!!

Dear readers, I have a confession. I have a mild but growing fetish for...

Neckties. I just recently discovered that I can pick them up for a dollar apiece at my local Goodwill, and well...let's just say it's over. There's no turning back. I adore neckties. They're like little soft, silky jewels, just waiting to be turned into something magical.

So, I made them into something that I think is pretty magical. Click "Read More" to find out how I turned these:

Into this:

UPDATE: I happened to make this again, incorporating a lot of my "Lessons Learned" (which you can find at the bottom of this post), and made it into an Instructable! You can find it HERE!

Weekend Update: My Absence Last Week and Coming Changes

Hello my lovelies!

Some of you may have noticed (or not) that there were no posts last week. I assure you that wasn't my intention! I had to spend the week in Dallas for work purposes and while I THOUGHT I'd have the time and energy to post some stuff throughout the week, I unfortunately found myself far too exhausted at the end of each day to do so. I apologize!!

I did take some fun pictures from the 21st floor of the amazing building the Dallas office is in. It's right in the heart of the arts district, which is arguably the prettiest part of Dallas. The view from my temporary workspace was incredible:

Dallas has really stepped up its game in the last decade or so. Some of the architecture is really stunning. Check out the curved building here (I think it's a church):

I also had a good view of the front lawn of the Dallas Museum of Art:

And even though they may say "don't look down"...I, of course, looked down immediately. Pardon the reflection of my brightly-colored dress in the window:

(My car is down there somewhere...)

I had a good time, overall. I ate some of these:

(OMG they are SO EFFING GOOD!)

And I got to play with a Windows Surface Pro 3, which had been dazzling me from afar thanks to their pretty awesome commercials:

(Yes, it had a Star Trek: TNG game on it, which I played for about 30 minutes while I was waiting for updates to install on my computer.)

I learned a lot while I was there, which was the purpose of my visit. See, I'm vying for a promotion. I've spent the last three years with this company working as an executive assistant, but I'm ready to step up my game and start learning some of the more technical elements of the work we do at the consulting firm. One day I hope to be a full-fledged consultant! I'm going back to school in January to attend some tech-specific courses so I can get even better at this stuff. It's all pretty exciting!

It does mean some changes to my blog though. While I have no intention of abandoning the blog or my love of all things crafty, I will likely be reducing the number of posts I make every week. With last week as a major exception, I've been attempting to give you a dose of my handmade hell once a day, Monday through Friday. Obviously I'm not gonna have time for that anymore. :( But I am hoping to post at least two or three times a week! It may not always be on a schedule, and it may not always be super well-curated, but this blog is way too much fun for me to abandon it entirely. 

So thanks to everyone who has read my silly little blog so far, and thanks to everyone who continues reading it in the future! I will try very hard to keep it interesting - or at the very least, entertaining - for as long as I am able to handle a sewing machine, glue some crap onto some other crap, or maneuver my way around a pair of knitting needles. 

Much love to all of you and I hope you have an awesome holiday season!!!

XOXO

Quick Tortellini Meal

Happy Friday!

Because it's Friday, that means I'll be talking about FOOD FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD today!

I have to say, I have set a very bizarre and unintentional standard in my house. I only recently "discovered" cooking as something I really enjoy, and as such, I've been making homecooked meals every night - even when I don't feel like it. As a result of that, my family has come to expect that every night I will prepare a delicious homecooked meal.

Sometimes I can get pretty creative and come up with something really cool, but sometimes? Sometimes I just want something easy that doesn't take a lot of brain power.

One of the reason I love cooking is because once you get the hang of it, you can tweak any recipe and make it your own. Also, I just got this badass apron in the mail from ThinkGeek.com and now I wear it every time I cook:

So last night, it came to be around 6:00 and I knew I had to start...shudder...planning dinner. Normally I love planning dinner, but it's been stressful and busy for me lately, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I definitely didn't want to mess up a bunch of dishes and spend an hour in the kitchen.

I rooted through my freezer and decided to make a simple, basic meal based on my favorite freezer staples. Click "Read More" for the recipe I just made up last night.

Failure Files: The Shoe Tassel Incident

Hello my pretties!!

Flush with success from my last awesome shoe recon, I decided to do another one: replacing the tassels on my suede loafers. COULDN'T BE EASIER RIGHT??

Sigh.

After the jump, you'll see exactly why this was a tremendous and utter failure.

Color Block Heels Refashion

Hello all!

I recently tried something a little bit new for me - shoe recons! I love looking at some of the zany things people do with their shoes. I knew I would have to start small, and start with a pair of shoes I wasn't crazy about, so I hunted through my closet and found this pair of super-boring black low heels that I bought to wear at conferences to work:

They're really comfortable but I hate the way they look. They are. So. Boring.

After the jump I give a step-by-step photo tutorial of how I turned these from my most boring shoes to my favorite shoes!

Hat #10: The Bling Cloche

Hello all! I figured that since this is Hat #10, I ought to do something a little special. You're probably getting bored with all the knitted/crocheted hats I've been making lately, and frankly - so am I!

After about an hour scanning beautiful hats on Pinterest for inspiration, I felt sufficiently ready to do something a little crazy.

This cloche is pretty crazy. I'll be honest - it probably doesn't look that great on me. But if you look good in a 20's style cloche, this is the perfect project for you! It's simple, and the rhinestones add a pretty badass blingy effect.

And honestly? I can't remember when I've had so much fun posing for pictures in a handmade creation. I had some fun with filters too, to give it an old-fashioned look:

Super fun, right? This cloche is made out of plain old felt, a scrap of shiny fabric, and RHINESTONES!!! It covers the ears, so it's appropriate as a winter hat as well, but it doesn't have to. There are a million different ways you can make this hat. Click the jump for full instructions and MOAR PHOTOS!!

Hat #9: Steampunk Hat

Hello all! I'm back on hats now. :) Yay!!! I knew you were wondering about it.

I don't really know why I called this a Steampunk Hat, but I thought it had some qualities that might put it in that category. The color is an amazing dark green khaki color that would fit right into that genre, and I love the little corseted side bit.

Plus the brim I crocheted on the end made for a really neat newsboy style that I adore!

I love the way the ribbon jumps out and yells "HEY I AM RIGHT HERE DO YOU SEE ME I AM A BIG PINK RIBBON!!"

Pattern is below the jump - enjoy!!!