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.

Blueberry Pancakes!

I'm becoming quite the cook, if I do say so myself.

Case in point: I made blueberry pancakes from scratch!

I DID follow a recipe. But even following a recipe I don't always succeed. So I'm still very proud of myself.

I used a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, and I used frozen blueberries.

I made enough for everyone to have a couple! And I served them with sliced almonds, and green grapes (and maple syrup, of course).

 

The best part of this recipe is that it's really healthy. These pancakes were filling, but didn't leave you feeling bloated or like you'd eaten a dessert. I can't wait to make them again!

I'm on Etsy!

So, I know I've been MIA the past few weeks. The reason is that I've been working hard on a lot of different things, including setting up a shop on etsy.

I'm going to be selling a variety of products; handmade accessories and clothing that are original designs and some refashioned/recycled pieces.

These cuffs are recycled denim.

As well as original art work and home decor pieces. Also, I'll be selling the occaissional vintage item, as I find them.

Here's the link to my shop. Any feed back would be great!

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.

Beautifying Blemishes

A stain is to a garment as a really bad pimple is to a face.  It's obvious, distracting, and sometimes just gross.

But, unlike pimples, not all stains go away.

Such was the case with one of my favourite summer dresses.

You can't really tell from this photo, but this dress has (had?) a few fairly visible ink stains on the skirt and the bodice.

Stains 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

I tried every different tip I could find on how to remove ink from fabric but the stains had dried and weren't going to budge. 

Then, I came across a tip, in a magazine at school, that suggested fixing holes and rips by covering them with embroidery.  I though that would work perfectly to cover up stains, as well!

So, sketched out some floral motifs; 

And finally decided on two that I liked.

Keep in mind, as I tell you about my project; 

So, I spread part of the skirt over my embroidery hoop, with the stain sitting dead in the centre.  I drew one of the motifs over top, and I began.

First, the stems and leaves, in a dark, olive green.

Then, some princess-pink blossoms.

And a white french knot in the centre.

I also started putting flowers elsewhere on the skirt.

For the bodice I decided I'd use multiple, tiny french knots.  So far, I've done three.

But the entire bodice WILL be covered in little dots. It WILL be!

This is how the dress looks now.

Not a HUGE difference, I know. I only added three tiny dots and a few small  flowers. And one of those flowers is hidden behind a pleat. But this is a work in progress. I plan on doing about an hour of embroidery each night and I should have it all ready in time for when the warm weather returns. 

I Just Saw Les Miserables!

Ok, so I knew of the story as a child, because my dad is, like, obsessed with it! But I never really understood the story; what it was about or how it went.  But tonight, with my mom and dad, I went to see it. And, in my opinion, it is a masterpiece!

The music is so heartfelt and beautiful. Unlike some musicals, where the musics distracts from the story, in Les Mis, the music really adds to it.

Scenes that I think are sheer perfection?

Well, this scene, of course:

Anne Hathaway singing "I Dreamed A Dream" after her character has had to resort to prostitution to support her beloved child that she never gets to see.  I cried.

Also, the scene after the battle at the barricade, where the bodies of the revolutionaries are lined up, and Javert pins his medal to that little boy's vest. Again, I cried.

Then, the next scene taking place in that horribly destroyed tavern; Marius singing about his friends and how he hopes their sacrifice was not in vain.

Who could NOT cry when seeing such a beautiful face in so much pain?

And, of course, I love the message of the movie; that everyone needs a second chance, and everyone needs mercy and grace, because no one's perfect and everyone has their struggles.  

All in all, I now understand my fathers obsession, and now I share it.

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!

I'm Back! And I'm Busy.

Wow. I've been gone a while.

I had first semester exams, and I was really busy with those. Thankfully they"re done now.

So NOW what's keeping me busy is my college applications. I'm applying to fashion design programs at various schools, and for the one I have to send in a supplemental package.

In that package I have to include some fashion illustrations. One evening wear design, a casual skirt and top combo, a casual pants and top combo and then a design of my choice.

So far, my ideas for the evening wear include these dresses.

That last one would be made of black and white Chinese brocade, and would have silver coloured frog closures at the back. And, yes, her arm looks like an alien tentacle.

Starting Another Sampler

I'm seriously loving embroidery right now. I find it so relaxing, and at the same time I'm creating something. something pretty!  I finished my first sampler already, as you saw, and now I'm already experimenting. This next sampler with be one really big spiral. I'm going to use all different stitches, in different shades of blue on light blue cotton.

I started with a backstitch

Then I did a running stitch, then a long backstitch

Unfortunately, with exams coming up I haven't been able to work on it much, because the majority of my time is spent studying and finishing assignments. 

I can't wait for exams to be through so I can get back to my sewing.

Such A Snazzy Sampler!

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

I think it's quite pretty.

Learning To Embroider!

I've always wanted to learn how to embroider. And now I am learning.

So I've learned 3 stitches so far; the running stitch, the backstitch, and the split stitch.

1- running stitch  2- backstitch  3- split stitch  

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.

They Like Them! They Really Like Them!

I'm so glad that my family liked the gifts I made for them. Cain's mittens fit him, mom thinks her scarf is beautiful, and dad's scarf made him want to sing (songs from Fiddler On The Roof.?).

Here they are, summarized in photos.

All the gifts, wrapped up.

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.