sometimes she sleeps

Projects to Movie By: Circle Vest

2011-09-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

My love for quick simple projects has brought me to several cutie-pie pieces that can be whipped up while just watching 1 or 2 fabulous movies and maybe while sipping one incredible drink (my love, the Pumpkin Spice Latte). I decided to feature these cute pieces along side mini movie recommendations in a series called Projects to Movie By.

Todays Piece:

Crochet Circle Vest (just about as easy as it sounds)

Today's Movie:

Funny Face

click above to watch trailer

I'm positive you can find a pattern for this or something similar almost anywhere. I have a little bit of ADD when it comes to pattern reading, so I just improvised. I simply crocheted a circle large enough to reach from armpit to armpit across my "model"'s back and then continued to crochet the circle leaving two armholes in the appropriate spots. What a quick and fun project! I foresee millions of these popping up in my future!

This movie is totally charming. For me, the combination of Audrey Hepburn (who I adore), and Fred Astaire (who I can't help but "crush" on), and Paris (swoon) is a sure recipe for fabulousness and this movie does not disappoint. My favorites: the bookstore kiss (total butterflies), how they pretend to be too tired to sightsee in Paris, and the wedding dress for the photoshoot (it's the kind of dress that makes me want a wedding do-over just so I could wear something like it!).

Pretty sure this movie sells for something like $7 at Walmart, you should totally check it out sometime! My girls even loved it! Y was totally into the opening music sequence "Think Pink" and here's A's apparent enchantment with a Fred Astaire dance scene:

haha, she's mamma's girl!

All in all my project took about the time of the movie, give or take a little bit!

hip hip

2011-09-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

hooray! guess what?! I've been featured as a Friday Fav over at Naptime Crafters! Hop over there and check out this very fun linky party to see what all the creative peeps have been up to this week! I'm so flattered that my "missoni" inspired skirt was picked as a Fav!

i'm gonna miss this: well cared for dollies

2011-09-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

Miss Laura of Housewife In Town is throwing a linky party where all the mamma's out there can share the things they're going to miss. My little Y is a super care-taker as of late. I am constantly stumbling across scenes like this:

That's "Lista" with a t, and she receives about 4-5 wardrobe changes a day (often with clothes stolen from my freshly folded laundry stacks or out of the formerly organized dresser drawers of little sister). As high maintenance as this little dolly and her caretaker can be, I can surely say I'm going to miss finding all these little makeshift beds with an adored friend just "taking a little rest."

my own "missoni"

2011-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

coming to terms with the fact that I am neither aggressive or wealthy enough to be the proud owner of any Missoni for Target items, I rummaged through my yarn stash with the mission to make my own missoni! haha Take that, ebay selling jerks that bought it all and marked it up a million percent!

Here's the inspiration skirt from the Missoni for Target line:

And here's my crocheted version:

I'm thrilled with the results!

Y looks fabulous enough in this that I might have to make a version for myself :)

I'll take one of everything, please and thanks

2011-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

So, you've probably seen this commercial:

Fun, right! So apparently the affordable and amazingly fabulous new line of Missoni for Target took Target.com down upon unveiling, and I'm not surprised. As I browsed the all "out of stock" items, I could barely find one I didn't like :) The colors and prints remind me so much of fabulous retro finds I used to snag at thrift stores and estate sales when I was in highschool . . . only with like mega chic volume Hop over there and check it out for some fun fashion and eye candy! I'm hoping they restock soon, the little girls pieces are SOOoooo incredible!

Between the home stuff, women's clothes and accessories, and children's line, it's really hard to narrow down some favorites, but i tried :)

Can you deal with the bike? I want that! Apparently all this stuff is on ebay for pretty big markup! Please come through for us, Target and get some more stuff!!!

In other news, I need a new job to transition all my fantasy shopping into reality ;)

freehand floral bleach jersey scarf

2011-09-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Today's project is somewhat sloppy/impromptu and performed using just random stuff I happened to have on hand, but I'm kinda stoked with the results and also ANYONE can do this!

I had this abnormally long strip of jersey, because one time I made a baby wrap and thought I'd make two, but I never did and after about 4 random trips through my laundry, I was fed up with this big purposeless piece of fabric.
It's actually a super soft and slinky knit fabric, that feels really nice, and also, I love jersey scarfs If I was a super good screen printer (or if I ever have even tried screen printing) I think I would make millions of awesome jersey scarves. . . . so I decided to make a scarf!
HOWEVER, since I'm not skilled in the art of screen printing, I fumbled around for a plan B, and found my clorox bleach pen. So that's your supply list folks: long strip of knit fabric and a bleach pen

My pattern inspiration was this Oh Joy! wallpaper that I have been more-than-in-love with ever since I saw it featured on Secrets of A Stylist.

My bleach pen was not full so I had to place my flowers fewer and far between. I thought it would bleach completely white, but it turned a really coral-ish color, which incidentally looks great and pretty fall-fabulous, which is a happy accident!

Directions:
1. freehand your design with the bleach pen and don't expect perfection ( it will glob and bubble, just go with it). 2. wait, (i tried to wait an hour but probably only made it about 40 minutes)
3. rinse off bleach, this was stressful to me, I did it in my sink with the hand sprayer and got some bleach spots on other parts of the scarf, but all in all, just roll with it, this is a bleach-spotty project!
4. wash and dry in machine

Here's the result:
oh and pssttt...my model is my always-gets-confused-for-my-sister-but-is-actually-my- mom mother, she was having a way cuter day than I was, so she gets to show off the goods ;) Love you, mamma!

Double Sided Flower Dish Scrubby Pattern

2011-09-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

Materials
100% Cotton Yarn
Nylon Netting (2" strip approx. 7 yds.)
J Hook
G Hook
Yarn Needle

For Nylon Scrubby (make first):
With larger hook and your long strip of nylon netting, ch 4 and join to make loop.
RND 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc) and dc 11Xs around (for 12 dc). Join with slip stitch in top of ch 3.

RND 2: Ch 3 (Counts as first dc) dc in same space, 2 dc in each space between dcs of rnd 1 (24 dc). End off, no tail required.

For Flower:
Using smaller hook and cotton yarn, chain 3 and join in first chain to make foundation loop.

Rnd 1:
Ch 2 (count as first sc), sc 7 times in center of loop, join in top of ch2 (8 sc).

Rnd 2: ch 2, sc in same stitch, 2 sc in each stitch around (16 total).

Rnd 3: ch 4, *skip 1 sc, sc in next sc (I go through both back and front part of the stitch), ch 3* Repeat from * around ending with a ch 3 which you will join with a slip stitch in the 2nd ch from the first ch 4. (you should have 8 loopies for your petals).

Rnd 4: in each loop around: sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc

Rnd 5: fold petals forward, 2 slip stitches down back to get to the base of the petals (rnd 2). sc in middle stitch (this is the one you skipped in between your ch 3s in rnd 3), and ch 3, then sc in the middle stitch of the next base, repeat around, joining your last ch 3 into the firs sc you did for this round. (You should have 8 new loopies for the back row of flower petals).

*here is how I slip down the back

*here is the view of the stitch I am going through from both the front and back of the flower:

*and here is the back side of the flower once all the loops made in this round are completed:

Rnd 6: in each petal loop around, sc, hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc,sc (8 times). Slip stitch in the sc of the first petal. Don't cut or bind off!

NOW you are going to sc around the perimeter of your nylon scrubby circle (24 sc.) When you are done with that, tie off leaving a tail long enough to sew the two together

using yarn needle and working along the crocheted perimeter of the nylon, sew the two pieces together, end off and weave in ends.

And there you have it: cute and functional dish scrubby!

psssssssst......

2011-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

i bought paint to paint my refrigerator and dishwasher...wait for it . . .

washing dishes can be cute

2011-09-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

so, I mastered the Irish Rose crocheted flower a couple of weeks ago. They're quick and fun and quite gratifying once finished. The only problem was that I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted to do with them. Then I remembered my dish scrubby phase. Thus was born this new hybrid: half awesome crochet flower/have baked on food scrubbing toughness! Super Dish Scrubby!! Available now in the shop

p.s. i'm sure most crocheters could figure this out, but I'm writing up a pattern for these so you can make your own . . . stay tuned!

Desk Transformation

2011-08-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

I live close to a college that will periodically throw out random furniture pieces with a big free sign. I had seen these desks several times and regretted not scooping them up for my kids. So, the last time I saw them I slammed on the breaks and stuffed two into my already full car and brought them back to my already full garage where they've been living for months now, untouched. Until today!

While A is still a long way off from school-ish activities, Y is just on the brink! I've been crafting up educational tools and lesson ideas in my head and home (stay tuned for a post about the pocket chart that killed my favorite sewing machine :( and why sometimes just 'cause you can make something doesn't mean it'll be easier than buying it). Today's project: The Desk.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I sanded the wood a little (like 2 seconds) and chipped off 2 chunks or nearly fossilized gum (yuk!). Then I primed and painted with all Rustoleum spray paints. The desktop is chalkboard, and I used my Cricut with the Cindy Lou cartridge to make the stencils for the name and little deery. Y is almost as thrilled with it as I am. I can't wait to do A's. And also, now I want to make tons of stencils and make graffiti-esque art on things :P haha spray painting is fun.

yummy yummy peach salsa

2011-08-27T07:58:00.001-07:00

So, I did some impromptu canning yesterday and made 4 pints of delicious peach salsa! Bonus: it's 17 day diet friendly :P Here's the recipe I used: Peach Salsa. You should try it!

Farmer's Markets and Shop Updates and a special treat!

2011-08-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, farmer's markets are significantly less successful after school has started. I learned this yesterday :P However, that just means I had a big batch of new owl hats to put up in my etsy shop :) Soooooooo if you find yourself needing a sweet owl hat or one for your kiddie then click on over and pick one out!!!

In fact, if you would like one, i've just added a sweet new back to school coupon code! Enter IHEARTFALL at checkout for 20% off anything in my shop!

Owl Infestation

2011-08-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hats, that is, lots and lots of owl hats for tomorrows farmer's market. Fall is right around the corner (can you fell/smell it?) and so these hats were actually a pretty good seller last week! Enough so, at least, to give it another try :) I'm dreaming of sewing lots of things, but for now, this is what is consuming all my creative energy.

this is love . . .

2011-07-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

What she wore . . . birthday edition

2011-07-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

photos by Laura of Housewife In Town

Miss A, the birthday princess wore the cutest outfit ever!! I stumbled across petti rompers whilst cruising through etsy pages and I'm so glad I did! I bought three for a deal ($49.95) at Posh Petti Designs. 2 Dusty rose (one for each girly, for a sisters and 1st birthday photo shoot I had scheduled) and 1 in ivory or cream to be the cutest birthday suit you ever saw!

These suits are ADORABLE on their own, but for her birthday, I wanted to make one even more spectacular. I created a halter-type neck tie by just hand sewing a V-shape of matching satin ribbon ($1.99) at the front top center. I then deconstructed a GORGEOUS fake peony ($2.99 w/coupon reg. $5.99) from Joann's and glued a jewely button ($3.00) in the center and hot glued that to a stiff piece of felt ($1.19) which I then sewed to the front. Voila' so so sewwwwww cute, I can hardly stand it! She only attempted total outfit destruction once during the photo shoot, but my sweet photographer had a glue gun handy, so we were all good :)

Project Runway Returns

2011-07-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

*spoiler alert*
I am positively giddy with excitement! I love this show so much! It's all I could do to not bust out my own sewing machine and make something fabulous right along with them :) I am a nerd, I know! This season already proves to be pretty fantastic! If you missed it, or you don't watch, this is how fun it was: Tim woke up the designers @ like 5:00 am and made them leave instantly to Parsons in whatever they were wearing PLUS one bed sheet. Come As You are! The challenge was to design a garment using only their pajamas that they're wearing and the sheet! I think they totally got it right with the win, and this 102 year old *hehe, that made me laugh out loud when he said it*, Bert, might already be one of my favorites!!! Look how he changed old man boxers and a tshirt into this totally chic little dress! I would have loved it if it hadn't been made from pajamas, the fact that it had, only makes it all the more impressive.They'll rerun this all week, I'm sure, so watch it if you haven't yet!
Oh and also, it's this fabulous man's Happy Birthday today! I <3 you, Tim Gunn!!

swoon

2011-07-27T10:14:00.001-07:00

oh how i love love love this dress! Wouldn't you feel like a starlet in an old paradise-y movie wearing this?? Problem: if I bought this, it might prompt a highly irrational desire to return to paradise . . . Hawaii that is . . . it's been too long! Better just keep admiring from afar ;)

12 Months Photo Tree

2011-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

When Y turned 1, I made a really cute banner using a picture of her at every month. This time around I wanted to do the same thing, only a little different.

I clean house for an amazing super-mamma with killer style (someday I'll have to see if she'll let me feature her house on my blog). Anyways, one day while I was cleaning I noticed the most fabulous new element in her TV room: a GIGANTIC tree branch painted all gloss white with a little white glossy bird on it! What an awesome idea, right?! Anyways, so that was how I got this idea!

I just had my dad save me a tree branch from his annual trimming spree and then fine tuned it to the shape I liked, leaving lots of little sprigs to hang photos on. I then spray painted it champagne (which turned out slightly more silver than I had hoped). The frames are from the dollar store and spray painted "ballet slipper" pink. I had to remove both the glass and the little kick stand thing because they were just too darn heavy. To hang them on the tree I just slipped little ribbon loops through the little hanging tabs on the back of the frames. I then adorned the branch with a couple silk flower blossoms and paper butterflies. I'm so pleased with the result! It was the perfect centerpiece for A's dessert table. You really could change this idea up to fit any party theme or age. I think it's really fun to use photos from the previous year to show how the birthday star or starlet has changed :)

Rosette Cake Smash Cake

2011-07-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

I think my favorite part of any 1st birthday party is watching the precious little star or starlet dig into their own cake! When thinking how to approach Miss A's cake, I remembered the adorable rosette cakes I'd seen here and here. Mine is somewhat sloppier, which is fine as long as no one finds out I used to decorate cakes as an actual job ;) don't tell! But I like to think of it as simply more freeform or kitsch-y fabulous! This would be a fantastic beginner cake, the impressive result is a lot more bang for the actual buck you put into it! In other words: this is EASY, try it!

Here's the scoop:

6" cakes seem perfect size and I used 1 cake mix, so it filled my cake pans full and then some! resulting in bonus would-otherwise-be-discarded-so-i-guess-i'll-eat-them giant cake tops You just cut off the heaping tops level with the top of the pans.
I used a cake mix and store bought strawberry frosting because well, sometimes you gotta pick where to cut your corners!
I crumb coat the first layer (which means just put a thin coat of frosting to secure all the crumbs and make sure no cake color is showing through) and then plop on the second layer and crumb coat the whole thing together.
Using a pastry bag and a larger star shaped decorating tip, you start from the center of the cake making little spiral rosettes. At the end of the rosette I found it looked nice if you just keep the tip moving along the outside of your circle rosette for a few seconds after you've quit squeezing your bag and applying frosting, that way your rosettes don't have little protruding peaks although that is not bad, and mine had several! This is super-forgiving decorating, you can make them all varying sizes, fill in wholes with little half-rosettes, put a better rosette on top of a failed one, whatever you want!
And just fyi I got that amazingly cute mini cake stand at Hobby Lobby for $11.99 but used my printable 40% OFF coupon! They had it in 3 different sizes, I might need the mother one to join it's baby :)

A loved it, she went to town for a glorious several minutes until this sleepy girl couldn't resist rubbing her tired eyes and caking them in frosting!

I'm slightly smitten with this cake and am thinking it will definitely make an appearance at many another occasion in many other colors. In fact, if you want some fun homework, google "rosette cake" or try to find them on pintrest: A-dorable! The 6" double-layered size makes me swoon! Wouldn't this make an adorable anniversary cake for a dinner for two?

Party Posts To Come

2011-07-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here sipping an Italian Cream Soda. We had a make-your-own soda station at A's birthday last night. Nobody really ventured for the "cupcake" flavored syrup so I thought I'd give it a whirl this morning. Y-U-M! It's delicious! If you ever come across Torani syrup in Cupcake, probably buy some and try it!

The party was a success! I'm exhausted. And my house looks like a small natural disaster took place in my kitchen/living room. I've got lots of posts to share, but now is not the time. . . stay tuned!

party photo booths always make it better :)

2011-07-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

I'm convinced! Plus, all you need is a sheet and a few props are your solid!

surprise ball

2011-07-12T13:30:00.001-07:00

This seemingly simple concept was totally unknown to me just a few weeks ago. When I stumbled across the idea over @ O Happy Day, I went nuts for it!!! What a fun idea!!! I love love love buying pointless unique little oddities as gifts and this added a whole new fantastic element! I made one for my hubby for our anniversary, and this one was for my baby brother's 21st birthday :)

They're super easy, and the fun part (although it's all pretty fun!) is finding all the little gifts to tuck inside!

I know you don't really need a tutorial for this, but just in case you wanted to see how it all comes together, then you can :)

What you need:

small-ish gifts, or at least flexible ones and at least 10, but it really doesn't matter
crepe paper streamers, the more colors the better!
a label or sticker to hold it all together

a tiny 3 year old helper! (not really, but this is the second one I made, and having her hold the roll of crepe paper while I pulled at it really made the WORLD of a difference in terms of getting twisted and tangled up!)

it only makes sense to me to have the main present in the inner most layer of the ball. in this case, it was a gift card. So you just start wrapping. I use one color per gift and just wrap wrap wrap and roll it some more :) Keep in mind you're ultimate goal is a ball-ish shape.

When you're done wrapping the first gift, just cut the paper and get ready for your next gift. You don't tape it down or anything, just hold it taught until you've wrapped your first layer or two of the next gift. Hold the wrapped and unwrapped gift close together and start wrapping! It's like a big colorful snowball that keeps eating up fun little presents!

Each time you add a gift, try and put it anywhere you might kind of need some extra volume to get your spherical shape.

Towards the end, you can start using big flatish gifts as long as their flexible (sticker sheets, small color books, etc.)

After my last gift, I cut some decorative strips of all the colors just to make the outside pretty and secured it with a name tag (because it was the biggest sticker I had).

Even funner than making these is watching someone unwrap them :) Miss Y was so excited to see uncle open his present that she made him do it right at the beginning of the party :)

Finish it off with a kiss for the helper :)

A Ponyo Party

2011-07-10T21:35:00.001-07:00

First and foremost, I want to stress that this was NOT my party, I took no part in this amazingly cute and creative celebration, but my AMAZINGLY creative and talented friend, Tami did and we were lucky enough to attend!

I haven't even seen Ponyo and I was going nuts for these amazing invitations!!! I'm a pretty big fan of googley eyes in general, so they sorta had me at hello.

can you deal with the cuteness?? Lemme show you the rest!

Adorable beachy decor including seashells and live fishy centerpieces (a big hit with the kiddos!):

Super yummy food including wham (fake ham) sandwiches, and delicious vegetarian sushi:

seriously cute cake with a marshmallow fondant Ponyo and candy rocks and seashells:

The favors were so great! Each child got their own green bucket and shovel and a handmade Ponyo puppet!

Don't you sorta with this chica was your mom? Overall a fabulous fabulous party! Well done, sweet friend and happy happy birthday to your little Miss!

my current love story

2011-07-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

image caroline tran

image sweet shop lulu

36" Round Balloons, they are amazing! I have a suspicion that they have the super power to improve almost everything, don't you agree?

Setting a table a la Antoinette

2011-07-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

I ordered the table dressings for Miss A's Baroque style garden party 1st Birthday! Did you know it is incredibly cheaper to BUY table linens online then to rent them locally?? Pretty crazy. The only thing is I will now be the proud owner of 6 sea foam table cloths and 6 champagne taffeta overlays that I will likely seldom use again :) Anyways, I was just so excited at how the vision is pulling together, and had to share!

*all pics are linked to where I purchased them in case you find yourself in dire need of replicating this party or some variation there of :)