MissAmy |

I had this idea for while (even before I saw Atlantis Home’s version – loves it!) before I actually did anything about it.  My husband had gotten a package & I couldn’t bear to throw away all the sheets of packing paper they included around the item.  They’ve been in a large bag just waiting for me to use them for my “vision”.

I finally got to it – I was supposed to be cleaning my office (yes, I’m a little ADD).  [That's why I suck at cleaning - I get sidetracked & start organizing a single drawer or some other detail.]  Anyway, this is what that accomplished:

Just a quick, fun project.  I’ll have to think about what else I can do with that paper – there’s so much of it.

My second drawing in my purse sequence.  This one has none of that crazy crosshatch.  I almost like the simplicity of this better while still wishing it had more depth.  I am impossible to please.

This bag is an awesome flesh tone Claudia Firenze tote.  It is pieced together with fuchsiasuede and is lined in floral liberty print.  It totally rocks for carrying all my crap around.  I think I paid around $30 for it a loooong time ago.

I may have to get a fancier water color palette since I really can’t make fuchsia from red LOL.  Flesh-tone was a little hard to mix as well.

Till next time…

I got inspired to start painting again recently so I went & bought two canvasses & some fresh mineral spirits.  I was all ready to dive in so I started sketching.  Ugh…  It’s been a while & any talent I may have had has pretty much leaked out over the years.  My figures, which used to be my specialty, are particularly pathetic.  At first it was very discouraging & I almost returned the canvasses to Joann’s.  But I figured I need to start small again & practice on a regular basis to get back to feeling like I can draw. 

Well, I’m going to practice by drawing a purse every week or two (or really when I can manage it).  Here’s my first try – please don’t be harsh.  I’m basically relearning how to use my hands LOL.

Juicy Couture orange leather handbag, found on Ebay – I paid around $40.

Hey, it’s a start, right?

A tutorial for making your own tortillas was requested so a tutorial you get:

Gather ingredients: Maseca corn flour (I found mine in Walmart), oil, water plus non-stick pan, spatula & a wide, flat dish & a small bowl

Pour a bit of the corn flour into a small bowl – I just put in a handful or so – that usually makes 3 tortillas

Add just enough water to get a play-doh consistency.  Keep dipping your hands in the flour to prevent the dough sticking to your hands.

Form a ball & smoosh flat.

Add some corn flour to the flat bowl/plate & start flattening the dough more, keeping a circular shape.  There are actually presses you can get online for this step but I don’t have one yet.

Add a tiny bit of oil to the pan & then keep flipping the tortilla (over medium heat) until it is cooked.  If you use too much oil they turn out crispy, which might be what you want.

This is what mine came out like.  I use these as a substitute for breads with meals.  They aren’t very flexible so I don’t recommend using them for enchiladas.

Close up of texture:

They really are easy.  They take a bit more time than just opening a bag of store bought tortillas, but man, are they good! 

You can also dust them with sugar & cinnamon for a dessert twist.

I have been crushing on Annie Spandex’s awesome Silence & Noise vest for a while now.  While I was tempted to track it down & buy it – which is not my style – I also came across a similar vest on The Coveted that Jennine stumbled across & bought regardless of how weird it looked before she put it on.  (I cannot find the actual entry so I just linked to her blog – one of my faves!)  She showed a picture of it laid out flat & I thought, like I always do, “I can make that!”

I had this organic blue t-shirt material in my fabric stash for a while now & it turned out to be super perfect for this lil project:

Steps: Lay flat, fold in half, cut circle in the middle – this is where your arms go through.  I guessed as I cut but you may want to use a template of some sort to make sure it turns out circular.  Then, put on.  Ta-da!  For different fits, vary the size of the rectangle you start with.  I just left mine as it was so I got lots of drape in my vest.

I can also picture it similar to below & belted.  I think it’s a great shape! 

I’ve been inspired by the bullet jewelry I’ve been seeing around (here at botticellisniece.com & here at pipeline refinery, but most of all this bracelet.  (If you know what blog this came from please let me know so I can credit them.  I stupidly only linked to the image instead of the blog post & can’t tell from the URL.) 

Anyway, whoever you are, you & your bracelet inspired the DIY tutorial to follow.  Enjoy!

First thanks to my dear Dad for the supplies.  He was awesome to share his stash with me!  Pictured below is the final product:

My supplies: bullet casings, leather cord:

I lined them up in the pattern I wanted.  I wove the leather cord in the small hole end, out the big hole end & then into the small hole end of the next one in line in an S pattern.  I left some extra length at the beginning so I had something to attach to in the end.  It really doesn’t show well in the pictures.  If you need clarification, let me know & I will do a diagram.  That might be a simpler way to see it.  It took me a little while to figure out how to make this work.

Once I threaded my cord all the way to the end I started threading my way back to the start.  Above & below, you can see (I was on the third casing).

 
Here is after finishing the threading.  You can see that by tying the cords when they re-meet at the beginning, you end up with a handy loop on each end of the bracelet.
 

I thought about just tying it together on the wrist or adding a toggle but decided to do an elastic closure with snaps.  I only ended up using one.  I just cut it the length I needed & added snaps to form a loop.

This is what it looks like on with the elastic closure.  I suppose you could finish it even better by attaching the elasic to the loops somehow.  I ran out of patience by then.  That’s me, the ADD crafter!

I found this truly gigantic dress at the thrift.  It’s obviously homemade & ahem, obviously not my size.  I figured I could cut it down to make something useful eventually since I am really diggin’ the fabric.  In the meantime I got artistic on your asses.  Check out the angsty photos LOL.  Enjoy:

As an apology that I haven’t been up to any new DIY projects to share with you, I’ve dug this post out of the archives.  This was useful for me when I made a simple curtain for my bathroom window, but I’m sure there are endless uses for this technique.  Enjoy!

Here is how to make nice & neat mitered corners:

2. Iron your hemlines to create a corner, using your manilla folder as a guide. Fold one hem, iron, fold the opposing hem, iron. Now you have a point but with overlapping fabric. How can we make this neater? Note: If you want to double fold your hem you would do that here. The rest of the tutorial would work the same. I just did a single fold for simplicity.

3. Mark your corner with your pins as shown – they go through only the top part of the fold so you can open them up in the next step. You want them to cross & to mark the edges of you hemlines.
4. Open your fold and then turn it inside out so that the pins line up. Your landmarks for sewing are where your pins line up & the corner mark that shows on the fabric from your pressing.

5. Position the corner on your machine. I usually start at the corner since it’s a little harder to see than the pins. Line it up & sew a straight line from corner to where the pins line up.

6. Turn it inside right now & check to be sure it looks great! Then, if it looks good, turn it inside out again, snip off the extra fabric & turn it inside right again for the last time. Note: I will make an excuse at this time that I was working with a looser woven fabric grabbed from the scrap bin. If you’re working with a tighter cotton, you shouldn’t get the waves that are showing on mine LOL. It should be nice & flat & straight. Good luck!

Continuing with the DIY theme for today, here is an amazing piece by The Glamorai.  Not only is she my total girl crush but she has an amazing eye & imagination for how she can re-work something into something else to make it that much more fabulous.  Peruse her blog & you are sure to run into a fab coat she has switched out the lining on to make it even better than its original self or sunnies she had customized for hiding behind “on the subway, under unflattering florescent lighting, on bad dates, days and hangovers.” (She wrote, I quote.)

I’m gushing, aren’t I? OK, so anyway, today’s treat from the most stylish corner of the world is what she calls a Candied Crumbcatcher.  Whimsical, no?  I call it testament to stylish DIY at its best!

[Photo courtesy of The Glamorai]

Till next time, dahlinks!