Inkodye Table Runner

Earlier this year my best friend Brigette gave me this awesome craft kit from Darby Smart. She knows me all too well. Crafts = way to my heart. Well, pizza too but that's a little shorter lived.

The kit was for an Inkodye Table Runner, and I was pretty excited because never had I ever heard of anything like it. When she explained it to me I felt like I was in some wizarding world mix of Potions class and Transfiguration mixed with Home Ec. Count me in. 

Unfortunately living in a crummy apartment your options for a five foot long full sunlight spot are limited. And I really didn't wanna mess this one up. Luckily my parents have plenty of space and sunshine so I patiently waited to do it there. 

Turns out I picked the perfect weekend with great sun but not scorching heat and also- the perfect size TV box for the project. 

Clipped some foliage first to look at all our options. And mapped it out a bit. 

Then we got to work spreading the dye. I actually love that it's a bit uneven. Gives it a nice earthy/artsy feel. 

Watching it develop was really fun. It started as a beige color and got progressively darker until it reached its rich plum color. So beautiful!

Some leaves blew off half way through but I like how some imprints are darker than others. The ferns are my favorite. 

I was a little nervous about messing it up, but it turned out fantastic. I would be interested in getting more dye and doing other projects with it. 

Thanks for the fun project Brigette! I love the way it turned out. 😊

Early Halloween

Remember Christmas in September? When Christmas comes early it's assumed to be a happy thing. When Halloween comes early, it's a scary thing.

A really
scary
terrifying
frightening

thing.



It looks like this:

Horrifying right?

I just dropped a bunch of cash on what I like to call "capital investment." For some time I've been toying with the idea of opening an Etsy shop. My Etsy evolution started like this:

1) Oh cool idea.

2) Wait, you can sell THAT for that?!

3) Other people telling me, "You could do that!"

4) To me telling me, "I could do that!"

To 5) never actually doing that. But I gave it really a lot of thought.

When I saw that Joann's had a huge yarn clearance, I gave it a little more thought. It would be a relatively small investment compared to what I had previously anticipated. And I thought it was time to take the final leap and make a commitment that would push me to start something.

Now I am sitting here in a living full of yarn wondering what I have done. It's this calmness between
"What have I done?" and "What's next?" I'm just staring at my crochet hooks. Hoping to have a Fantasia moment where I suddenly have 20 products to list.



Because right now I think it's just called hoarding.

In other news, Ross comes home from Utah on Saturday and I'm just so sure this is what he is going to say when he sees what I've done.

In the meantime, Ryan believes in me, and that is all I need.

I Made Dis

Me: My name is Kristen. And I have a craft supply addiction.

You: Hi Kristen!

Me: I have lots of craft stuff. Not always the craft stuff that gets made into crafts. But I want to change.

You: Thanks Kristen.

That's my problem. I have a hard time starting. I don't have a hard time envisioning and going to the craft store. Me and Michaels be like:



STOP WITH THE 40% OFF COUPONS (j/k please send more)!

As much as people joke about crafts being therapy, they really are. Creating is my rejuvenation. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel whole. It is an outlet. And I therefore need more of it. The good thing is, I have closets and drawers and tubs full of supplies. I decided I am going to try to be better about starting, working on, and finishing projects. Trying to highlight my creations once a week or so. I think that's not bad "homework."

My new segment shall be called "I Made Dis" Because of these meme.

Hopefully my projects will be more otterly adorable than not!

Card Palooza

As I explained in this post. Vacation is the perfect time for crafting. I love my Silhouette but the process is actually quite labor intensive. It can take me about an hour to make a card. Mostly because I need to pull out the machine and all my supplies and papers and get the creative juices flowing!

What I have been trying to do is make multiples. It may take me an hour to produce one card, but it only takes an hour and a half to exponentially increase that. I got all my supplies out to make a card for Ross's birthday.

Ta da! Too lazy to move extraneous things out of the photo. Once I had that squared away I made some more, to store away for a quick grab when they are needed. 

And then I got scrap crazy and made a day of it. Ross is studying away for his Step 2 CK exam so I just talk to myself, watch Netflix, and craft. 

It feels good to have a batch of cards made. I love doing it, but I feel like I never have any ready when I really need them.

Summer Crafts

Summer vacation means fun trips but also some alone time with my crafts. It means you simply have more hours in the day. And when it comes to crafting, that is all I need. Time.

June and Cassie's wedding celebrations really gave me a push to use in Silhouette in a variety of ways. First at the Bridal Shower, and beyond (below)!

Envelope and embellishment for the beach themed gift we gave as siblings.

Wedding cake card, so happy to finally use this pattern that has been sitting in my library for 7 months now. I knew it would come in handy. 

Also, I wanted to learn how to reversible knit for this amazing scarf pattern I saw on Ravelry. It is intense but it is the coolest thing I maybe have ever seen in my life. I would list it but it just might be a Christmas gift if I can pull it off. I wanted to learn to knit, so I did. 

I need to practice, but I think that's a pretty good start! 

Inspired by cats and Teo, I made this little cross stitch scrap. Maybe someday it will find it's way on a scrap of fabric to live it's life as a bookmark. I'm fairly please with the way it turned out. 

"You've cat to be kitten me right meow!" Is pretty much my response to the idea that my summer vacation is over and I have to start work again. 

Bridal Shower Decorations

When I have a vision, it is going to happen. And never before have I had such a complete plan and vision than for my little sister's bridal shower! That may sound so dramatic but it is a very exciting time you see. 

My best friend Brigette did an absolutely amazing job with my bridal shower years ago. She is also a woman with a plan and vision, most particularly when it comes to the planning and execution of parties. I drew from her strength and ambition on this one. 

I thought an "Up" (Disney Pixar movie) would be a great inspiration for the party. It's all about love, traveling, and adventure (yes we are overlooking the tragic first five minutes of the movie). 

Balloons, bright colors, and maps were quickly in order. Here's my crafting progress so far. 

I've been crocheting these cute little balloons. I like all the color they bring in. I think I will put them in a vase with some candies for a table decoration. 

I continue to be obsessed with my Silhouette machine, the main reason I wanted to write this post. I'm getting the hang of it but I know there is still so much more I am missing. Here is the process of cutting and assembling different labels for all the toppings for the yogurt bar. 

As nerdy as this sounds, it is pretty fun to watch the machine do it's work. Here is a little video. 

Recently I added a "pix scan" mat to my Silhouette supplies. I used it for the project above as well as this one. I found this Up! house printable on this blog. It's super cool and I am grateful for talented people who make stuff for free. You inspire me! Since the printable is very detailed, I thought I would let me pix scan do the work. Here is that process. 

It wasn't exact, but I also didn't calibrate it and it was still good enough for me. I am working on the assembly. I think it would be fun to have some balloons coming out of the top and use it for another decoration. 

This next project I'm super proud of. Using a template I re-sized and engineered this insert to hold a cupcake as a favor for our party guests.

The cupcakes were drama in and of themselves. But I will spare you and just share some pictures of the finished products. They turned out maybe too adorable. 

Oh and also, when Ross is enlisted in a project, he takes it very seriously. 

I've been going a little overboard with the decorations and staying up past 1am almost every night this week. It's hard to be so creative and have so many good ideas. :) But everything is coming together very nicely. I am excited for it all to come together.

Crochet Crazy

I don't really seem to be slowing down much. I'm full-blown crochet crazy.

I have had some time off from work and I am perfectly content with sitting in my pajamas all day and crocheting while watching some stupid show on Netflix. I don't think that makes me a particularly interesting person, but I am still a little bitter I'm not in New York this week on some fabulous adventure so whatever. I'm still trying to catch up with myself from that awful week of work I had before finals. Just thinking about it makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

Instead of crying, I'm just awesome. I put the finishing touches on this little pony-pattern turned unicorn. Ross calls it the Rasta Unicorn and I would have to agree. I love how wild the mane is. 

I'm also trying my hand at this Ewok at Ross's request. It is a little tricky but things were going well until I got to the lips. Hand embroidering on amigurumi is one of my least favorite parts of the process. I was pretty irritated when I spent all that time and they still looked awful. On the left is mine, on the right is the pattern... obviously. 

I know it's hideous but a part of me just can't admit defeat and rip out the stitches to try again. For now this project is in time out. 

Moving on. I really love this little kawaii cactus pot. It ended up being a lot larger than I thought, but nevertheless very cute.

I decided to mix it up with different flowers and faces. Like a whole little family! Since it is a little too big for my desk at work I think I will just keep it at home. 

Silhouette Craft Machine

Last November I treated myself to a Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting machine. I've had my eye on it for years now, and I only became more determined to own one. They always have killer deals on Black Friday, so I kept my ear to the ground, determined to find the best deal.

Needless to say, I did. And I made it happen.

I was a little hesitant to use it at first. I found great joy in just staring at it in awe from across the room. After a little pushing from Ross, I experimented with it. Definitely a learning curve with all the trial and error, but here are some fun things that I have made so far.

Happy Birthday Card- Putting all my floral paper to good use.



Graduation Thank You Card- Color scheme turned out perfect.



This one is a little more fancy. It is an "explosion box." It folds up into a box and when you take the lid off it unfolds. Awesome for a group because there is lots of space to write.

Happy Birthday Pop-up card. This one had some little pieces that needed to be just right. I am learning the importance of a good and manageable glue. 

Happy Birthday swing-out card. Once you get your head wrapped around the design, it isn't too bad. Pretty clever design.

I've been having a lot of fun so far and I'm excited to keep learning. It seems like the possibilities are endless. 

Amigurumi

My grandma taught me how to crochet when I was younger, and I have loved it and sucked at it ever since. You can see my progressing in the past few years as documented on the blog. First here. Then here. But also here, and lastly here. I have come a long way. Mostly just meaning that I actually finish the projects I start. I have found that the best way to ensure this is to just scale the project down.

Scarf? No. Granny squares?? Meh. Afghan?! Absolutely not. Tiny little stuffed animal. Probably.

That is what brings me to Amigurumi, or the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting stuffed animals. Sounds a little specific but whatever. These little animals are so cute! I love them. I always kinda told myself I would someday figure out how to make them. But I realized that my previous projects were actually pretty good preparation and that I knew more than I thought.

That feeling doesn't happen often, so I am still treasuring it. Long story short, here is my new little friend and first official amigurumi project compliments of this blog and of course YouTube.

Makings II

Maybe about once a month I should do a round up of all the "Makings" I have been up to. It might motivate me enough to do more projects on my never-ending list.

I love photos, and am too cheap for frames, so I present to you a photo collage!

It was fun going through literally, over a hundred photos and laying them out to put up on the wall. It took awhile to finish it, but what else is a girl to do when her husband is constantly gone?

I decided I wanted to pay tribute to my Grenada years, in some beautiful and definitely unrepresentative way. Maybe even incorporate some of my travels to other countries.

I am proud to say that with the help of my sister, I made that beautiful little 'Petersen" sign. I think it is unfinished, but I am pretty lazy, so maybe it is. I am still trying to find some rope/ hemp to hang it up on the wall. 

I also finally finished the Grenada shadowboxes. Here is a closer look. 

I am pleased with the way they turned out. I think I may have "over done it" on the whole packing relics back from Grenada business because I still have a duffel bag full of sea glass, shells, and sand.

Makings

My Pinterest is full of pins of projects that I fully intended to make during the 5 seconds it took me to look at the pin and re-pin it. Me, and millions of other people across the globe.

But when I get up enough energy and interest, sometimes I dig into those pins with ferocity and figure it out. I've always wanted to be sufficient at reading crochet patterns, mostly so I could get into amigurumi. And kind of because I need smaller-scale projects that keep my interest.

With all of this in mind, I found this little guy a good place to start/ resume.

As with all my projects, I had to rip it out and re-do it.

 But after a few attempts and some YouTube videos, it turned out pretty cute! 

Perfect excuse to get some candy corn to fill it with. 

Also, I got courageous and decided that a good use for all my yarn would be a slouchy pumpkin beanie so your whole head can look like a pumpkin. I used this tutorial. 

I thought it might be cool to give my sister for her October birthday, to use to go trick-or-treating with her little buddies. It's the ultimate way to show you care about Halloween but are too cool to really dress up. I even added a little green pom-pom on the end so people can get the idea.

I don't think it turned out as cool as I would have liked it. No matter how tight the stitches are, patterns seem to run large. Maybe if it is put in the wash it will soften up a little and shrink. But I hope she likes it!

Crochet Project

Previously I posted about a sewing disaster *ahem* adventure I embarked on.

Next on the docket was a crochet project. Lucky for me YouTube has lots of crochet videos that simplify the hobby. I'm not coordinated enough for knitting, but crocheting is just typing a bunch of knots in yarn so how could I go wrong right?

Armed with a crochet hook and colorful yarn I brought back from the States, I embarked. It is by far the longest (pun intended) and lengthiest crochet project I have finished. "Finished" being the operative word here. Ask my mom and yarn stash about my track record with finished projects.

But without further ado, pictures!

The nice thing about living in a world where Arts & Crafts are a lost art is, you don't have to do much to impress people. I am totally okay with that!

Here is the one side, where you kind of have ridges around the borders of the squares.

Here is the other side that looks a little smoother.

Here you can get the full effect!

Tada! It is supposed to match the bed sheets and curtains I have in the room. The colors aren't exact but these also weren't exactly purchased and Bed Bath and Beyond or Norstroms or anything. Haha.

My Rasta Poncho

Did the title get your attention? Are you thinking that I have turned into a crazy white girl with clumpy matted dreadlocks who hasn't showered in weeks? Because I might think that. I almost embarked on that slippery slope.

Weeks ago when I was downtown I found this cool rasta/ hibiscus fabric that was on the discount table. It took me a few trips downtown before I bought it because I didn't think I could be that crazy.

But I did.

I wasn't entirely sure what to make with the fabric but I knew I could only pull off wearing it on Grenadian Independence Day.

With the day quickly approaching and knowing that I have a love hate relationship with my sewing machine, I had to get down to work.

With the help from my crazy friend Patty, she decided I should make this pattern.

http://thesoutherninstitute.com/2010/06/the-anna-maria-horner-museum-tunic-tutorial.html/

Here is the thing with Patty. She makes me crazy enough to believe that I could pull that off in RASTA colors. So of course I decided it was a fabulous idea. She said I should do the stripes vertical because the long lines would have a nice slimming effect.

Here is what I learned.

All ponchos are slimming.

Because as you stare at a human swimming in yards and folds of fabric, you realize that there very well could be an extra tiny human in there somewhere. 

Now THAT ladies and gentlemen, is what we call, "too much." Imagine me showing up to the national stadium in full rasta-poncho glory...

It's like I don't have any limbs!

Because I was lacking in crazy but full of confidence I decided to scrap the poncho and try a maxi skirt. Any self-respecting woman with short legs like me knows it can be troublesome to pull off a maxi type skirt but it could only go up from here right?

Well, that is where I was somewhat wrong. I learned that my tiny, primitive sewing machine doesn't want to shirr. So I had to go over on my hands and knees and bribe Patty to shirr the top of the skirt for me on her handsomely powerful sewing machine.

I don't think the long length looked half bad, and I was even somewhat convinced that rasta might be my color. But after hemming the bottom I thought it might be a bit of an awkward length.

So I did what I do best... scraped that idea to sew something else. I opted for a shorter length.

And that is what I settled on!

I wore it to the stadium for the Independence Day celebration. When Ross and I stopped at a restaurant for some Ting a lady looked at me and exclaimed,

"You are wearing Grenada colors! Did you know? It's Independence Day!"

She was really excited. I told her I did know and we had just come from the stadium. She thought that was pretty cool too. :)