My Dollar Store Challenge!!

As I mentioned a few days ago I am participating in a themed challenge going on over at Dollar Store Crafts.  I love making stuff from Dollar Store finds because everything is only a dollar (when I went last time they come on the loud speaker to remind us...), need I say more? So this week the challenge item was placemats. On Friday I headed out to the Dollar Tree and got two different placemats, I wasn't very impressed with the colors or the styles but I grabbed up this blue one.  I guess the real question is, what did I decide to make with it? 

A picture frame! I take an extreme amount of pictures and often I buy prints at street fair that are in non-standard sizes. Custom made frames are expensive so a dollar store revamp is a great money saver. 

Materials

• Placemat
• Matching needle and thread
• Hot glue
• Ribbon
• Add on's like sequins, beads, or thread for embroidery

First decide on the picture you want to use. You will want the opening on the inside of the frame to be slightly smaller than your picture, or you can make the opening bigger and create a mat for your picture. Since my placemat already had a border going on, I used that as my frame and chose a picture to fit. 

I cut a half inch border around the outside of three sides, the bottom and the two vertical sides. On the top I cut right along the pattern.  On the three edges, I folded the half inch over and sewed along the fold. Make sure you sew along the fold, it creates a pocket that you can slip the back into. Ironing might help create a sharp fold.

Once you sew all three sides you will have a a slot to slide the back of your frame into. Now, fold you frame in half and cut out the middle section, try and cut it out in a single piece, you can use the middle to create a mini frame, two for the price of one, dollar!

See the pocket?

For the back I used a cereal box that I cut open.  Trace the outside of the frame and then trim it down from there. Start big and slowly trim it down to the correct size. 

On the inside edges I bound the raw edges with ribbon.  Since I had no ribbon and thread that matched, and I was feeling super lazy, so I hot glued it. Measure inside edge to inside edge and cut some ribbon. Fray check the ends with a lighter really quickly.  Start with a short bead of hot glue near the edge and place the top half of the ribbon on in a straight line.  I placed the ribbon on top to check placement first then ran a thin bead of glue on the front and held the ribbon taught to ensure a straight line.  Flip the mat over and repeat on the backside, to encase the raw edge. Repeat for all four inside edges.  Once you are done it will look like this.

I added some table confetti I got a Pier One a couple years ago for the corners. For the top I added some yellow grosgrain ribbon tied in knots. Sadly I could not print the 8X10 I wanted to fill this frame but here is my finished frame.

The Sunday Five

Welcome to the Sunday Five! As I write this it is a gorgeous 76 degrees with pure blue sky and sunshine.  In fact I can't believe I am inside on my computer, but I love blogging too much! Today was a wonderful day spent with different friends and doing things I love.  Onto The Sunday Five

1.The Beautiful San Diego weather.  The constant warmth of the sun, got me out the door and to class this past week, and sitting in the sun made studying much more enjoyable.  I have to say, I am a bit of a tan-aholic.  

Can you tell how tan I am?

Note the UW shirt and the messy spot in the back corner- that's my bed...

2. New yarn!  Although I am poor, I went on a thrift store adventure with my friend and former roommate  today, and two of three were closed. But we were close to The Grove in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego. I bought two skeins each of a minty multi-colored Blue Sky Cotton and some slightly variegated blue silk and merino from Louisa Harding Yarns.  I know they look pretty similar, but this is what I am into right now.

   

3. Did I mention midterms are OVER!  I Cannot even express how happy I am that the tests are over. I still have a quiz and a paper on Tuesday, but doing your work in advance is for, well not me. 

This is what I was taking to the beach all last weekend. Ya.... Business Law, that book weighs almost twenty pounds, almost ripped the seams off my towel/beach bag. 

4. This weekends Harry Potter movie marathon.  Between yesterday and today my roommate and I have watch Harry Potter 1, and 4-6.  I love Harry and CANNOT wait for the last movie to come out. 

5. Working on a new pattern for the new accessories line.  Not many people know about this, but I am in an early early stage collaboration for a line that I hope to start on Etsy later this spring and hopefully into some local stores eventually. Here is a sneak peak...

Hummmm... the colors look similar to the yarn I had up top.  I am REALLY grooving on the teal, mint greens and blues.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for my take on the place mat for this weeks Dollar Store Challenge!

Happy Sunday!!!

So Much To Say...

   
      Well my midterms are over for the time being. In case you are interested out the the four I got A's on two and the other two I don't know the outcome yet.  But the good news is they are OVER. Now I can get back to what I like to do, blogging, crafting, and not doing homework.  But another reason I have not written is that I just haven't felt inspired to create much this past couple weeks.  Crafting just for the sake of crafting isn't really doing it for me anymore.  So in order to remedy this I have decided to focus my blog a little bit.  

     Since my aspiration within the realm of creativity is to build a successful line of accessories and maybe clothes in the future, I think gearing my entries towards fashion will unleash my creativity more.  Not that I am a fashion expert, by any means, but I will be sharing my thoughts on how we can all be a little more fashionable, without heading to the nearest deparment store or empty our wallets.  Part of what makes fashion so amazing, is that everyone can express themselves differently and still look great.  I think that when we customize the plain stuff from a store, or make something from scratch ourselves, it is much more a pure expression of our own style.  In this vein I will be adding a post called "...and Thursday" This post will be in addition to my Fashion Forward Wednesday post.  I will now be featuring two patterns or projects, per week that I think will make a stylish addition to any wardrobe.  In an aim to please every kind of crafter/DIYer I will try to feature a mix of projects for sewers, knitters, and beginners. 

      I will also be adding a post in conjunction with a very style minded friend, called "How do I style it?"  Here I will ask a close friend who works in the fashion industry to help me style an item of clothing each week.  My plan is to post the clothing in question a few days ahead and then have her write how she would style it, giving some helpful links to the clothes to pair with the item being styled. The post will end with me, or who ever is asking how the item will  be styled, pictured rocking the new style. And yes, if you have a styling question I encourage you to send me an e-mail with a picture of the piece you need help with. I would really love to have some readers be featured in these posts.

     Since I am a poor college student, I am always interested is saving money, and doing crafts on the cheap. I will be spending time on fashion and home dec crafts.  I will be moving in May and again hopefully in July, so look forward to some decorating tips and projects for those on a shoe string budget.  Other projects might include designer inspired jewelry and clothing tutorials, like the ones I feature on Wednesdays, but my own.

   

      Finally I am participating in the Dollar Store Challenge over at Dollar Store Crafts. This week the theme is place mats.  I am currently working on my project and will have it posted with a tutorial before the deadline of March 30th.  I think the challenges are going to be ongoing, one every two weeks, so I will keep going with the challenges for a while.

Oh... just a last thought, I am going to continue with The Sunday Five.  I just love it so much, remember to add your five every Sunday too!

 Lots to look forward to here, so please stop by as the future unfolds!
Hope you enjoy my new look/layout! 

Fashion Forward Wednesday

Most ladies out there often find themselves in the "Dressing Room of Doom". Where you pull something off the rack and drag yourself into the dressing room, even though you hate trying on clothes, or are not is a shopping mood, etc only to be slapped in the face. You really have to like something to even make it back to the dressing room and then once you get under the florescent lights your own image assaults you. Dang, you think to yourself, if only this were looser here, or shorter there, or the print wasn't hideous. Once I get through all the if, ands or buts, I usually leave the store empty handed, with slightly lower self-esteem and a bad mood. Do you need any more reasons to sew your own clothes? Have I painted a bad enough picture of shopping yet? But then you cut out a pattern, based on the same, often insane, sizing as retailers and what do you get a slightly less bad version of something you could have bought at a store. Well, dang, what is a girl to do?

The obvious answer to to design patterns and clothes ourselves. Perfect! Oh wait, you can barely thread a needle let alone design, and sew your own clothes? Enter the sewing blog I discovered a bit ago, Petit Main Sauvage. Heaven for the sewing obsessed, like me. Even better is the simple directions and inspiration to take on this crazy craft called sewing!

But I digress, a simple, and straight forward tutorial is what awaits you at Petit Main Sauvage. With the easy gored skirt pattern, you can have a pattern tailored to you specific measurements in no time, and a skirt pretty quickly after that! I know this is the second skirt I have featured, and I promise that I will diversify, but I implore you to click here to make your fit fantasies come true! Everyone can use another skirt in an fun print!

Come on ladies...Get Your Spring On!!

Here's that link again

Fashion Forward Wednesday

Today's Fashion Forward Wednesday is so simple that even non-crafters will want to break out the scissors. When I first came across this post I thought to myself, wow this has a lot of craft bang! You see craft bang is a project that is easy, fast, or cheap and produces great results. So things, like mittens on size zero double pointed needles are tedious, and while the result are often worth the effort, it is refreshing to start a project that will take very little time start to finish, and give you something amazing afterward. Hence today's choice...

The Leather Clutch

Head on over to EvaForeva and look at the simple and straight forward directions with pictures. While I am with the author, I like the look of leather alone, you could easily add some pretty extras, like embroidery, or beading. This is another great project that can be tailored to suit your taste and (growing?) wardrobe. Another way to make this clutch your own, add a simple pocket to the lining for your cellphone, or chap-stick. I think you all should make one and grab it when you head out on the town to your local farmers market, who needs a huge purse and a big bag of produce to carry around? While I don't have any leather to cut into here at school, I am on the look out and once I find some, I will definably be making this clutch! Break out that spring top and slip on your jeans and head out the door to enjoy the day, but don't forget your new leather clutch! Don't worry we won't tell how easy it was to make!


*Picture via EvaForeva: Leather Clutch Tutorial

Hey Hey Hey Its Monday

So far midterms aren't quite as bad as I made them out to be, but I haven't actually had one yet....

Another revelation today, spring has sprung here in San Diego. Tomorrow and Wednesday's high is supposed to be 78 degrees! I can't wait to soak up the rays! You can really tell I am feeling the happy...this is how I took my diet 7up today. I poured it out of the can and everything....

I have some amazing things to share this week, so remember to stop by!
Happy Monday!

Sunday 5

I am just going to cut to the chase... here is my Sunday Five
These are the top five songs that are making me happy RIGHT now! Make sure you add your own in the comments section!

1. Breathe Me- Sia
2. Cut- Plumb
3. Wait Til You See My Smile- Alicia Keys
4. One More Time- Daft Punk
5. Alice (From "Alice In Wonderland")-Avril Lavigne

Fair warning, these songs are addictive! Another note: I have midterms for the next couple weeks. I will still be posting fashion forward Wednesday and Food Friday but I am not sure how much time I am going to have after studying and going to class. Well see. But don't worry I will be crafting!

Happy Sunday!