happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day!  

before i run off to do some more baking, let me share with you this year's work valentine's treats.  
i was especially excited to make something this year because i was so busy the past few months with a nasty deadline that i didn't have time for my normal christmas baking/craft craziness.

i wanted to pass out individually packaged treats this year, and remembered the white chocolate bark with berries and toasted rice from 2012.  the colors work perfectly for valentine's, and i could incorporate a cheesy pun as well.  i did run out of white chocolate though (meaning i ruined a huge batch), and had to make a batch with milk chocolate.

the heart strawberries on my tags were cut with my silhouette.  i had a great time assembling everything. it was the best part.

this is a special batch i made for bffbf.  i got these candy molds from ikea a while back, and decided it would be a good time to test it them out.    i filled the middles with toasted rice and freeze dried berries as well.  i didn't bother tempering the chocolate, so the bottoms look lumpy, but that's ok.  they still TASTE good. 

oh, if you've found yourself in need of a last minute valentine's card, you can print out the one i designed a couple years ago (wow, was it so long ago?) for free.

heart blouse

until i made bffbf's costume (aang the airbender) a few weeks ago, it had been over three months since i had sewn anything.  i spent most of the summer baking, cooking, and working out, and just didn't set aside time to pull out my sewing machine.  inspired by the success of his costume, i decided i wanted to sew some more.  i had recently purchased some apparel fabric and using an old shirt as a guide, made a pattern for a basic blouse.  

here's the front view.   it's a little hard to tell but the front is scooped.  the back (below) has a v-neck with a strap across it. 

and here it is on.   i would love to say that i was able to whip this up in a couple of hours, but it actually took me many hours from pattern making to finish.  i'm really out of practice!   but it still felt great to sew again.

i'm ready.

happy halloween!

thank you ohhappyday for my costume this year.  oh and amazon.  that's where all the (free packing) paper is from.

i'm ready.

easy beach wrap tutorial

... and somehow it's summer again.       

in anticipation for some warm beach days this summer, i made a simple wrap around beach cover up.   

simply modish has a really nice video tutorial here.

this was an easy, hand-sewn project that i mostly did sitting on the couch watching hgtv. i've posted only a few pictures of some of the steps below; i recommend watching the video first for the full tutorial as her directions are nice and straightforward.    

to make this yourself, you want to purchase enough fabric, roughly 1.5 times the circumference of your hips.    

i bought a yard of pink jersey knit fabric (because the width of 54") from joann's for this purpose, which was regularly priced at $13 a yard, but i saved some bucks by using a coupon.   

if you don't have a lot of experience with knits, be aware that it shrinks.  54" would have been perfectly fine for me if it hadn't shrunk several inches, but i was too cheap to purchase more fabric-- as it would have been, at that point, cheaper to buy one of these online somewhere.   even with the shrinkage, it fits fine, however, it doesn't drape as much as i would like.  

it is also normally recommended that you wash your fabric before you use it.  for this project, i would actually recommend that you not, as knits tend to curl at the edges and it will just make the cutting process annoying.  since you're not sewing anything complicated, i would just skip that step and wash your beach wrap after you've made it.           

first cut out the arm holes. i used a salad plate to cut out the arm holes using my rotary cutter.   you could also use a tank top you have as a guide.  you should be cutting one arm hole on each side (on the longer edge).  

from the bottom (opposite side from the armholes), cut the strips to make the straps. i eyeballed the width of the strips, and they were probably only .5 inch thick each at most (width of 54").  i found that three strips braided all together was more than enough to make two straps. 

take one of the edges where the armhole was cut, and tuck it through part of the braid.  pull the edge out far enough so you can fold it over the knot.  

hand sew around the knot to secure the strap.  repeat with the other end of the strap, and then do the same on the other armhole.  and you're done.           

it should look something like this.     

i haven't made it to the beach yet, but i've been wearing it around the house a lot... because, it's just so comfy.

free printable valentine's day card

i made you a card that you can print out and give to someone else.
it's simple and to the point.  i hope you like it.

click here to download the pdf file.  for personal use only, please and thank you.

i suggest printing on a sheet of 8.5"x11" heavy weight white cardstock.  cut the card in half (i drew a short gray line beneath the card indicating where to cut), and fold in half, using a scoring blade if you have one.   when completed, the card will be 5.5"x4.25".

enjoy!

baby a's nursery

surprise!  i'm going to be a mommy.

just kidding.

JUST KIDDING.... and i realize that wasn't funny at all.

the truth is my friend a- recently had a baby we'll call baby a-, and today i'm going to share with you her amazing nursery.

ikea expedit wall shelf --> nightstand

my new life left me with zero pieces of furniture.  so as i searched for a place to live in san diego, i simultaneously started collecting ideas for my future home.

being divorced and unemployed pretty much limits my shopping range, meaning places like room&board and crate&barrel are pretty much out.  possibly forever.  luckily, i love ikea, which generally matches most of my design sensibilities without tearing too big of a hole in my pocket.  my room is mostly finished, and i am quite happy with it.  while i am not ready to showcase the full room yet, i will first show you my one "diy" piece: my nightstand.

i can be very particular.  i want things to be just so, especially when it comes to my furniture, something i see and use daily.   i bookmarked several nightstands and except for a west elm nightstand i didn't want to pay for, i had trouble finding something that would fit the bill.  but after looking through what seemed like every product on ikea.com, i settled on turning the expedit wall shelf into a nightstand by adding hairpin legs.

hairpin legs are my FAVORITE.

aren't they magnificent? !

i bought my 8" legs made to order from hairpinlegs.com and attached them to a white ikea expedit wall shelf and added a two-drawer insert.   if you want to make this nightstand, you'll also need a drill.

i also rust proofed the legs before screwing them on, since i bought the raw steel hairpin legs.  just in case.  i just did a few coats since my nightstand lives indoors (the can recommended something like 6 coats?).  the legs are also available in brushed stainless steel, but i prefer the raw look... which is also slightly cheaper.

i kind of really want a second nightstand, but i don't have anywhere to put it... nor do i really need it.  how unfortunate. 

oh, and before i forget, happy new year! ! 

halloween

this halloween i was convinced by a coworker to be part of an "under the sea" theme. we've been dressing up for the past few years, and as usual, i wanted to be the exact same thing as i was the year before (last year i was a mushroom). however, i was immediately won over when she showed me the picture of a jellyfish costume in her family fun magazine (complete with instructions): http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/jellyfish-costume-785313/.

yes, i am aware that this is a costume for a child.

they usually are the best ones. i more or less made up my own instructions, but still used the picture as a guide. i wanted to be more realistic looking, so i chose all white and iridescent fabrics and ribbons. i also very much wanted to glow. yep, that's right- GLOW. in order to accomplish this, i hand-stitched on little elastic loops approx 3 inches apart around the rim of the straw hat as the very first step, before gluing on the felt base:


i bought a few packages of glow bracelets (see first image) which i planned to loop through the elastic the morning before i showed off my costume at work. i was able to recycle last year's outfit since i was a mushroom (mushroom hat-same concept as the jellyfish- also from the same magazine), a white dress i got from express for $10 and footless tights.
a picture of it partly complete (before the top layer of iridescent fabric):



and finally:

see how i glow? on friday i glowed blue and saturday i glowed pink. jealous much? want to be a jellyfish next halloween? mmhmm i thought so...

badge id

i am a firm believer that everyday objects should be both functional and pretty. this is especially true at work. whether it’s a colorful assortment of file folders, a funky memo board, or a stylish looking white out pen, the effects on my mental health are extra positive. for me, the details really do matter.

my day job requires everyone to wear a badge on the premises. most people either wear their badges on a lanyard or a badge reel. personally, i have always worn mine on an ugly black lanyard that also conveniently holds my keys. the biggest problem with this lanyard, as i just mentioned, is that it’s ugly. the other problem is somehow my badge id always falls off, despite my attempts to keep it securely attached. this makes me unhappy, since i basically have these items on my person for over 40 hours a week. that is a lot of time to be wearing something ugly.

i have been toying with some time with different ideas on how to wear my id and carry my keys around without using that hideous lanyard. while i haven’t completely sorted out how i want to carry my keys (should it be a key fob or a prettier lanyard?!), this weekend i decided a badge reel would suffice for my badge after i beautified it a little. i did this by adding a fabric covered button over the top.

before: boring badge id reel (although i do like gray) with the materials to make a covered button.

after: totally cute and acceptable!

i am ALMOST excited about going to work on monday just because i can wear it…and that makes the effort all the worth while.

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on an unrelated note, do you like free things? check out michelle's blog at http://michellem-spontaneousdots.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-giveaway.html for details on how to win. she is giving away a cute hedgehog pendant!

marimekko fabric wall panels tutorial

the walls in our home are pretty bare. i think it's partially due to the frequent moving we have done, but mostly it's because i'm overly picky. our bedroom walls have always been exceptionally naked, and last weekend we finally decided to do something about it.

if you know me personally, or have taken a peek into my shop, you probably have noticed that i'm a fan of marimekko, a finnish design company. already possessing many marimekko home and personal items, we thought making some fabric panels would be a great addition to our home. plus, i always enjoy adding hand made touches.

our supplies:
2 art canvas (16"x20" and 20" x24" - could have also used wooden pieces for stretching canvas, but i was too lazy to look for them)
marimekko samovaari fabric (available in my shop)

light weight staple gun

the project didn't take very long. the hardest part was trying to decide how to place the pattern.

i cut the fabric and then overlocked the edges:

unfortunately i don't have a serger, but my sewing machine does have a basic overlocking stitch that's a bit fancier than the zigzag. an unnecessary step, but i wanted the back to stay tidy and not fray everywhere.

i ironed the fabric with a bit of starch before stretching it onto the canvas. i first secured the fabric to the board with some pushpins so that the design would fall exactly where i wanted it. i began stapling from one side, then alternated sides as the fabric stretched (taking care to tuck in the edges so they looked neat). shockingly, i did not hurt myself.

voila. my husband put on the necessary components and then hung them on the wall (not pictured).

the spots in that last picture are from my camera, not the wall. i think i'll have to add staples later, as some of the fabric is a little too loose. but overall, we're pretty happy with the results.

what kind of wall art do you have in YOUR home?