DIY: Halloween Wreaths

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

So I wanted something new to decorate with within the house for the second best holiday to decorate for. I had the window gels up and the garland and jack-o-lanters, now with the wreath craze, I had to try something out!

Of course, I went to Target. I spent about $10 and got a loofa, bag of spiders, two foam wreath bases, pom-pom's, gem stickers a big foam spider and some skull erasers.

I randomly hot glued the loofa to one base. And to be honest for my non crafters, I randomly and evenly glued the spiders and pom-pom's around the entire thing. Placed my spider at the top and added a few embellishments. AND DONE!

Even easier: I hap-hazard hot glued the rest of the pom-pom's that I had. Then, you guessed it, glued the rest of the spiders to the wreath. They were already painted a perfect orange to look like a swarm. The only thing that could make this better is adding some fake spider webs in the middle and over some spiders.. CREEEPPYYY.

This probably took me about a half hour and the only dangerous part was the hot glue gun!

DIY: Fringe T-shirt scarf take two!

So Bella and I decided to make one for Jamie that was perfectly PINK! Here's the images we captured following the same steps as before in my DIY: Fringe T-shirt Scarf. 

PLEASE DO THIS WITH ADULT SUPERVISION. The rotary cutter is very sharp! But, she loved making something for mom!

 Cut!

 PULL!

I used about 3" circles from the last fringe scarf to make some "flower" decoration.

Needless to say, easy craft and fun for both of us. AND MOM LOVED IT!

WEAR!

Again, when final image is found I will post.

DIY: Cut up t-shirt

So this is one I did MONTHS ago and every time I wear it someone says something about it. Down to my grandmother wanting one- I have to share... 

I took a graphic tee from old navy and cut up the back and wear a bright yellow tank top of some kind under it when I wear it. I'm going to show you the step by step in photos on the one I made for my grandmothers for her birthday.  

Here's the one I made for myself:

(To be updated when I find the image)

Note: My grandmother is all of 90lbs and one hell of a southern belle and will only wear this in style- before you start to judge.

Since she's in Anderson SC, we went with Clemson orange. Simple $6 tee from target! I'm not going to cut out the neck since its pretty low already.  But the cut outs are perfect to make more of a lopsided diamond for her style. Subtle and not too revealing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbhC7hPFaLA

So here's the shirt I started with.

Folded in half with the back towards me.

I cut the strips into the shirt in my diamond shape about 3/4'' wide. 

 Lay it flat again. This is where I see if I want anything to be larger or straighter or longer down the shirt.

Pull it from either side to make the tshirt roll onto itself just like t-shirt yarn or the fringe scarf.

This is the weaving- more like loops (see the video).

This is the final product for the back of this shirt with one set down the back. I wanted to do a more braided look so I repeated it again in the middle.

Poof! And there it is. All ready to ship to Nan!

Adventure: Fells Point Fun Festival

This Sunday we made the most of it. Waking up "early" for me, I headed for an errand and off to Fells Point. I hemmed some pants for an old coworker (MAX) and took him some coffee before the adventure. 

I say adventure because I love to sit and watch people. He loves Ravens football. And the worst part: It was cold and rainy the whole time. 

The event is supposed to bring 700,00+ guests into historic Fells Point. This is one of my favorite areas to get lost in. I used to live within walking distance and took advantage of visiting my favorite places. Needless to say, it brought back some old memories and eye opening with the changes they are making.

Here's the map:

We parked waaay up Broadway and walked past the "amusements". They were like the kiddie park amusements with a ride called "Dizzy Dinos" that resembled the shape of someone we know. You got in their belly and spun apparently. Sounds like their life :]. 

Like I said, it was cold and wet... needless to say, there wasn't the turnout as expected.  I hope they had more of a turn out for the beer fest Friday and the Saturday that had sunshine for all the vendors. We walked the whole thing to see what was most interesting 

If registered by August 15th, I could have spent $200 and hoped to get my name out there with a booth in the bad weather. Note to self for next year!

We made it up to:

 This is above Silate and Maggie Moos. I can't remember what it used to be called but it has changed quite a bit. When we walked into The Green Turtle and Max's it was already packed for the game, plus it was hot. (I dressed appropriately for the cold weather and didn't want to remove all the layers so we sat outside.... only me.)

 While we were up there we watched two tug boats come in and take away this boat. The John W Brown. It is apparently now a museum boat restored by Baltimore and originally docked in NY. It was really cool to watch it being taken away. (And you can see how grey it was.)

 

So these are the bathroom symbols in Woody's. Threw me for a loop due to the other spray painted images on the walls leading to the bathrooms and on other doors in the halls.

 It had started to rain again and was close to 630 when we got up to go explore more of the harbor. We went down around Shuckers, which I'd like to visit again, and around to the other side where you can walk even further out into the water around all the buildings. I just wish it wasn't raining as much so we could have enjoyed more of a stroll around the harbor.

On the way back we wandered into the Sound Garden. This is a little shop of new and used music and movies. One person we know visits almost weekly and I decided to take him in for a little exploring- he said he was showing me good music... :] Of this journey I have a new list of movies to watch that are recommended by himself:

Red State
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
RocknRolla
City of God
Batman (the newest I haven't seen yet)
Band of Brothers
Beautiful
Inside Man
True Grit
Extract
Mo Betta Blues
Monsters Ball

Spartacus
Sopranos
The Wire

Any Guy Ritchie Movie

Any thoughts? There's two or three I'd like to see or wanted to see and never did, now on to netflix!

MY FAVORITE PIZZA PLACE: Brick Oven Pizza

And to finish the evening, it was time to eat. This woman has worked here for many years, and probably will long enough my kids will know her (whenever that may be). Mmmm, makes my mouth water thinking about being there recently. It was yummuy.

Our journey concluded by going home, watching comedy (Jeff Dunham is hilarious), a nap and some ball. GO O's!  Even though we lost Sunday, we won last night...

Can't wait for the next adventure!

DIY: T-shirt Fringe Scarf

There is this amazing woman named Jamie. I take care of her munchkin monsters. (A 2 and 4 year old.)  She is a fellow avid pinner and sends me images of things she wants. So I figured that I would try it. I had seen it on this website, and plan on trying a few others but this is the fringe Scarf tutorial that I used. 

http://myblessedlife.net/2011/10/t-shirt-scarf-tutorial.html

I have found that I love taking my old t-shirts (tie-dyed or not) and destroying them. If you know me, you know that I have tons of clothes, so I am slowly making it through and tearing them apart.

 I chose a neutral color to experiment with.

 Chop under the armpits where there's no image printed on it.

 I cut about inch strips most of the way up the shirt. (When I do it again I won't cut as far, I want the fringe shorter, but that's a personal preference.)

 Pull on each of the cut strips. Just like making t-shirt yarn. I tied knots in the end of each strip.

 This is worn doubled. I might try a smaller shirt. Shorter fringes. I might even add a bead or two before the knot. 

I'd say turned out well, as a gift for a friend, Jamie will love it. I'm going to add some fabric flowers in a silver or light grey color to make it more of a statement scarf than functional (obviously).

Stop Bullying

I was listening to the radio this morning z104.3 in Baltimore to the Kane Show. The beginning of the clip I missed and caught part of Jennifer's airing. I had to listen to it all because of the short amount that I had already heard and the passion in her voice.

She responds to a viewers post regarding her weight and effect on the community including bullying.

This woman has the strength and courage to stand up for herself and everyone that is bullied with a strong response that I feel everyone should take the time to listen to and share as much as possible.

CBS' WKBT News Anchor Responds To Viewer Email Calling Her Fat

Read more: http://www.z1043.com/go/blogs/the-kane-show.html?page=3#ixzz28FQI9EsD

If there is anything we can do, it is teaching our young about respect and being kind to everyone. You don't know who they are, the way they live or their hardships. If you have a problem with someone then don't be mean and talk about what you don't know.

This brings me to Honey Boo Boo Child. The show on TLC is called Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. My friends happened to fall in love with Alana on Toddlers and Tiaras before the show aired. Once viewing the show I have a lot to say to the people that don't watch it. 

Think of it this way:

- This family eats together.

- This family works hard for what they want.

- This family supports each other.

- This family gives back to the community.

- This family enjoys their life.

They may be rednecks, rude and different. But they are a family, fun and worth a try. They have no problem being laughed at for being themselves. They won't be showing up in tabloids because you know they are already up to something to start with! Take a good look and think a little bit longer before you judge the people you find different than you.

DIY: Scrap Fabric Circle Flowers

I first saw this through Pinterest on Ruffles and Stuff blog. She has an amazing tutorial with tons of pictures for this SUPER EASY flower. 

 I ended up using old tshirts I still loved and wanted to wear, but their lifespan was about over. On top of each of the fabric layers, I added some colorful tule for some dimension. Finally, I had all these jewels laying around in the craft room that made perfect centers! 

Some I attached to plain headbands. But after a while, I sewed them to the stretchy band headbands. This is one of those where I made one in most colors I wear and have them in different sizes too. No sewing involved- just some hot glue and scraps of fabric. 

One of my favorite "looks" is nautical themed. I love the navy, white and yellow look with rope, stripes, block colors or even polka dots. It just makes me feel like I'm glowing when I wear it because it reminds me of the beach. Well, this tank top I had was navy and white striped. I decided it was time to retire and now can wear it with my new nautical looks!

Two size circles folded up for layers of petals.

This purple one, I used two sizes of fabric and it turned out well. Below you can see there's a plaid flower that I fluffed up the center and didn't add a jewel or button for a center. This is what I did in two days while watching tv after work.  Like I said before, super easy gifts and everyone loves them.

I found that every time I wear a headband everyone asks me if I made it. So flattering! But I still buy some fancy ones - because sometimes, it's just easier to buy fancy headbands.

DIY: Cutting Glass

So I saw this tutorial on Pinterest for cutting glass bottles to use for a number of things. I was collecting some bottles i liked and decided to finally do something with them and clear some clutter. 

 Using cotton string and nail polish remover as instructed, and tried soaking it in the liquid.

 I tied it around the bottle and light it on fire. This didn't work the first time. What i ended up doing was wrapping the string around the bottle about three times and then pouring a light amount of nailpolish remover onto the string. I carefully wiped the bottle to make sure the rest of the liquid didn't catch on fire... I would recommend doing this entire project outside with safety glasses and no children.

 After a few attempts I finally was successful and got one of the smaller ones to break. The top ended up in a few pieces  where it was stressed too much from the fire and the cold water. But I finally got the hang of it.

 I was able to cut 5 out of the 7 bottles I had. The two colored ones seemed to need to be hotter to break. I'll venture into that another day.

 As you can see the edges were not even. I dont know how to make it perfect every time but I do know that by creating the variance in extreme temperatures, it stresses the glass and can cause it to crack in unwanted places. So I'm sure there are better ways or a way to perfect the cutting but I was impressed in how short of time I was able to accomplish the goal.

 Another as seen on pinterest, a makeup brush holder. After cutting the wine bottles, I sanded the edges of the largest one. Just added floral glass beads, and I'm finished! I think in the future I will jazz it up a bit with something that matches the bathroom and the brushes. Also, I think the smaller glass beads will work better for the size of my brushes. We shall see how this works to start with. But I'm pleased with the turnout! The others I'm currently painting and havent decided on their final outcome yet.. More to come soon.

 

Finally some nail stuff! I just used a light blue base coat by ulta. Added some sparkle and a stamp and called it a day. Without my super fake acrylics this manicure lasted less than 9 hours due to how active I am with my hands. (The rubber gloves from the bottle cutting didn't help exactly.)

Finally some me! I dyed my hair! A little red underneath, some on top a middle blonde and poof! new look. I'm loving it so far. One person asked me if I was supporting the Baltimore Ravens with my new look... I was confused by that one. (they're purple...) And another person told me they can appreciate a free spirit! All went well either way.