Thursday, April 28, 2011

Oh Yelle!

The Masquerade in Atlanta showcased Yelle, on Monday April 25, 2011.
It was one awesome show! The lead singer of Yelle, Julie is very beautiful and very petite. I was very near the front row and was able to admire her from only a few feet away. She danced back and forth across the stage in a pair of worn, white keds. The constant steps of dance caused Julie's dice earrings to sway with the band's catchy beats.
I adore all of Yelle's songs, and although I can't always decipher the french lyrics, the upbeat tempos keep my interest strong.
After the show, there was a meet and greet with the band. Unfortunately, I was only able to meet one of the three due to some time constraints but in my opinion, the more handsome of the three, Tepr.
Once I got home, I was so inspired by Julie's dice earrings, that I decided to construct a pair of my own. I didn't have any dice so I molded some with poly clay and used seed beads as the number markers, drilled a hole thru the middle and placed some wire, and fashioned a hoop where an earring hook was placed.
If I can't be a rock star...I'm at least going to look like one.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Pin I Love

I have an obsession of making pins. I see them as little works of art one can wear to add a little something more to their outfit--like sprinkles on a cupcake. I'm including pics of few pins i've put together for fun.
This pin was for breast cancer awareness. This was not the first pin drafted, as the original was deemed, "too racy".
The Original, in all it's nippled glory.

The kiss design was made in homage to my favorite band of all time, The Cure. Lead singer Robert Smith is known for his signiture red lips, therefore; I thought it a great idea to represent them. On one set of lips (the pair on rob's mouth) you can note a small variation. These lips were molded to simliar artwork drawn on The Cure's, "Just Like Heaven" album single.



Last, the eye. A fellow Cure fan had mentioned she was looking for a necklace that had a "sort of third eye." This is my representation of her idea, in pin form. I added fine, red vein detail with fibers off a piece of red felt. I glossed the entire eye over with a clear embossing powder. *All items pictured are made from polymer clay.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Cool Cat Sweater

On my last visit to the thrift store, I came across this cool cat sweater. On the rack I was pleased and when I did a once over for holes/stains...I found the awesome!

A green cat on the back! I want to wear this sweater now and forever.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Layer It by Ear-Part 3

Fiskars' has an amazing array of craft supplies. Today, I've chosen to take their circle paper punch and try to do a little something out of the ordinary with it. Take a look.

Punching circles from various colors of cardstock, I then glued the circles one on top of another (*circle, glue, circle, glue, circle). After a stack of six circles, I applied a constant pressure and let dry. After drying, the tower is ready to cut in to. Designs are one of a kind and very tempermental to pressure, angle and slides of hand. After I got my desired look, I added varied embelishments to compliment the paper work. Earring hooks were added, the craft is very wearable.





*All cuts are made with the detail tool, and the partial holes were made using the craft hand drill.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Wearing School Spirit-Part 2

School spirit runs strong in the small town I live in. So, when I noticed my athletic wear was hardly communicating, "Number #1 Fan", I knew I had a problem. I could have gone and purchased another carbon copy tee, but that's no fun. I wanted something that conveyed MY spirit for the school. And, that is why I decided to fashion my own "trendy" headband.
The headband would need to cover the three elements: sass, spirit and SEQUINS. As I began to design, I realized I could add one more element- the switcheroo. Yep, at some point even the most dedicated fanatics return to their civilian lives. Hence, the creation of the school spirit handband...cover.
This project is a quick DIY and very kiddo friendly. You take your standard, plain headband and measure it from end to end. I used a 1/4 in. width headband, but you could make a cover for almost any width headband. Once you have your measurements, add your seam allowances (a quarter inch to the width, and a half inch to the length). Transfer new adjustmest to colored felt and use your Fiskars scissors to cut the pattern out.
You will notice from the pictures below that I included a small pocket at one end of the cover (this is to keep the headband in place during wear).

Glue remaining edges (excluding the pocket side). I used fabric paint to write with and my Fiskars fingertip tweezers made adding sequins a breeze.


The covers slip on and off easily. You can make matching covers for your friends and family or make covers to match your outfits, there are endless possibilities. One of the better options is wearing the cover alone! Once you cross the ends and safety pin the middle, you have a great spirit pin!

Friday, April 8, 2011

A Useful Mother's day card- Part 1

Cards are beautiful, but there comes a time when they get filed away with the rest. A solution; a card that functions both as a sentiment of your love and a useful, always essential coaster.

In felt, choose your two base colors ( I used blue and brown). Cut a 4x4 in. square from each color. Set brown square aside.
Using the zigzag stitch setting on your sewing machine, sew white craft ribbon on to blue base square.


Cut out felt shapes in the likeness of flowers, circles and leaves. (You can use the Fiskars XL poppy punch as a template for flower.)

Arrange felt shapes on to blue base.
Attach darning plate on to your sewing machine (or lower feed dogs).Thread your machine with multi colored metallic thread. *Using a darning plate allows you to move your fabric in any direction.
Sew around the edges of all felt shapes. The goal is to get all edges sewn down.
Use pinking shears to add a decorative edge.
Cut a 5.5 x 8in. rectangle from cardstock in a color that complements your coaster.
I added a text box, rounding edges with fiskars rounding punch. I placed the text box under coaster.
Use double stick tape to tack coaster and text box to cardstock. Write message and give to Mom!