Silk Dyed Eggs!

So, this past week, I've been looking up some different ways to decorate Easter Eggs. I came across this wonderful tutorial on ourbestbites.com. You take ugly silk ties (or any other ugly patterned silk) and wrap it around eggs, then boil them, and the pattern transfers onto the shell!

As A fun afternoon activity, my boyfriend and I decided to try it out!

But not before Cain tried to balance as many eggs as he could.

Now, since I pretty much suck at following, or even reading, instructions, I kinda just went ahead and did this project my own way, first, hollowing out two eggs, and wrapping them in fabric I was pretty sure wasn't silk, but I wanted to try it anyway.

What I hadn't planned on was that hollow egg shells float. So we conjured up this make-shift contraption to hold them under the water.

Those ones didn't turn out. They came out of the water just as white as they were, going in. I plan to paint them later.

So then we tried the silk ones!

Even before we unwrapped them, we were pretty sure something had happened, 'cause the water looked like this.

We waited for the eggs to cool and dry, and then...

TA- DAAA!!!

The eggs are so beautiful!! I was practically giggling, I was so pleased!

The tutorial was right; ugly ties make beautiful eggs!

I just wish they could've been hollowed out, so I could display them.

Brand New Bows!

A couple of years ago, for Christmas, I received a cute pair of black, satin slippers, with little bows on them.

A few months ago, on of those bows fell off, and I lost it.

So, I made new bows for my slippers.

I used scissors, a needle and thread, and 2 equal lengths of black satin ribbon.

The one slipper had already lost it's bow, but I had to take the bow off of the other.  

I tied ribbons into bows, and adjusted them until they looked the way I wanted them to; nice and full, and even.

Then, I sewed from the inside of the slipper, out,

I stuck the needle through the centre of the bow,

And I sewed the bow down with about 3 or 4 stitches, until I was satisfied that it was secure.

Then I did the same with the second slipper.

And VOILA!  I actually like these bows much better than the bows that the slippers came with.  These are much bigger and more feminine.

Finding A Use For The Useless

So, I don't know how many of my readers are aware of this, but here, in Canada, our penny will soon be worthless. Well, it's practically already worthless. But they're everywhere! We find pennies in between couch cushions, in pants pockets. If we can't pay for things with them, what do we do with them?

My inspiration came from this story about a Pittsburgh man who tiled the floor of his tattoo shop with pennies.

I wasn't about to re-tile my floor, but I figured I could find other ways to use the copper coins to decorate. The easiest, cheapest, and most versatile thing to do was to make penny wall art.

And here (Of course) is how I did it!

Such A Snazzy Sampler!

I finished my sampler guys!! I'm really proud of it!

I think it's quite pretty.

Happy Hand-Me Downs!

I wasn't kidding when I said that I'm always getting old clothes from friends. Just today I received 2 grocery bags filled with stuff! Like, a LOT of STUFF. And I can't wait to see what I can do with it all!

So I brought the bags inside, and Skyler and I went through them.

Skyler just dug straight to the bottom of the bag.

The verdict on what we found is pretty much half and half. Some of it is really cute. Some of it will definitely have to be recycled/upcycled. Some of it is headed straight for the trash.

It's Christmas Morning!

It's early Christmas morning, and I'm so proud that I managed to finish all the gifts in time.

Dad's scarf is a bit worse for wear, as I had begun to run out of white yarn, so I had to use a lot more black, and as I  was close to finishing I realised I didn't know how to properly cast off. So I improvised a crocheted casting off. It looks.... asymmetrical...

Painted Personalized Metallic Mugs

Continuing with the DIY Christmas gifts, I'm giving my parents personalized mugs.  My dad loves coffee and my mom loves hot chocolate. Mugs are perfect.

And here's a tutorial so you can make your own!

Materials:  -a plain mug (I'm using 2)   -2 different paints. One metallic and one non-metallic base colour 

                   -a paper plate      -a paintbrush        -scissors      -tape        -letter stencils      -hairspray

My dog kinda chewed the handle of my scissors 

I'm Knitting

This could be disastrous.

Thankfully, so far so good.

Since I'm broke, for Christmas, I'm making gifts. For my dad, I'm making a scarf. It will by mostly white but with a set of three stripes at each end.

I'm using 4 mm needles, and two different polyester yarns.  I started by casting on 40 stitches.

Tie-Dye T-Shirts Are Now a Dress!

This dress is so super cute! And it's so comfortable to wear! Maybe that's because it's made out of t-shirts.  T-shirts that I tie-dyed myself. I'm very proud of these t-shirts.  I dyed them in a crinkle pattern. That's exactly what it sounds like. I crinkled up the t-shirts and applied the dye in a random pattern. 

But then I realized, when am I going to wear these? The shirts I had were too big for me, and tie-dye t-shirts really aren't my style. 

But maybe a tie-dye dress would be.

Here's how I made it.

Home-made Mistletoe

Ho! Ho! The mistletoe, hung where you can see...

Mistletoe.  How many times have I heard of it in a Christmas song, and yet never used it in decorating my home, and never seen it in real life.  Really, my only reference of what it looks like is Google Images.

But, being the semi-traditionalist that I am, I decided to finally have mistletoe at Christmas. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to get mistletoe. I could look for florists and nurseries that sell it, or buy artificial mistletoe, but it's so much more fun to make it!

Bleach Splattered Tank Top

This is another "upcycled" piece.  This tank top is made from a pair of old, black sweatpants that I'd splashed bleach on.  I'd only bought the pants to wear to work, and with the bleach marks I couldn't use them for that any more. So they sat around in a bin until I figured out what do to with them.

I finally figured out what to do with them.

It's a DIY Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,  Heeere in Emma Kate's house! 

I promise, I will be singing Christmas carols all month.  Especially while I work on all the Christmas crafts I have planned.

So much craft supplies!!

Today shall be marked as Crafting Day 1. My first project?  Yarn and pom pom mini Christmas trees!

It's A Panda Dress!

I just love -love, love, love, love, love, LOVE - recyclying and "upcycling" old clothes.  I think it's the best way to keep my wardrobe up to date while being kind to the earth and my wallet.

I still get hand-me-downs from cousins and friends, and a lot of the time I'll receive clothes that are nice but don't quite fit.  Or, equally as common, I'll get pieces that are almost in style but just need to have features either added or removed.  This is the case with a white blouse I got from my friend, about a year ago.

Fall Coloured Mini Skirt

I don't remember what pattern I used to make this skirt.  *Calls over shoulder* Cain! What pattern did I use to make this skirt?

 He doesn't know. He wasn't there.

Patent Polka Dot Pumps!!

So, this story starts with me, finding a metallic Sharpie marker.  I felt the need to make something with it. Something. Anything! Preferably having to do with my wardrobe.

Rosie and Retro

So, a couple of summers ago, I learned to crochet. After making a baby blanket for a friend, I was looking for something more interesting to make.  I was looking through a crochet pattern book that my grandma gave  me.  This book is from the 1960's and there were a lot of cute, mod patterns.

A pattern I especially liked was one called "Chic Little Bolero", which is odd because it doesn't look at all like the modern definition of a "bolero".

What a Wonderful Waistcoat

Sorry. I kind of have a thing for alliteration.

But it is a wonderful waistcoat!

Another project from a couple years ago: I had finished everything else I was working on, and I was bored. 

White Eyelet Sundress

Another project from my 11th grade fashion class: an eyelet lace day dress. 

Inevitable

Am I the only one who finds this hilarious??  Like what is it that is “Inevitable”?

Is the idea “Mid-life crisis is inevitable”  Or “This is what inevitably happens to people who spend too much  time with Angelina Jolie (referring to the sad, scared, confused look on his face.”  Or “If you wear Chanel No 5, You will inevitably have sex with and/or become Brad Pitt”?  That last one sounds especially horrid, considering his recent mid-life crises that does not seem to be ending any time soon.

Upcycled T-Shirt Dress