Independently Me

DIY: sugar scrub

It's been a while since I've done a do-it-yourself project. I've been itching for the perfect project, especially with the holiday season upon me.

The holiday season means it's time to get my girlies a little holiday cheer. And since I've recently discovered Burt's Bees Sugar Scrub, and I'm totally hooked, I'd love to get those girlies a pamper-yourself gift.  But at $13 a piece, I can't exactly go out and purchase 6 of them.

What's a girl to do?

MAKE a sugar scrub. Duh.

And with an excess of pint sized canning jars, it seemed the perfect thing.  I found these directions for an easy mix, made my own adjustments, and ta-da! An exfoliating, moisturizing, sugar scrub for the ladies in my life. Next time I'll experiment with other add-ins like peppermint oil, coffee, and cocoa powder. Because it just sounds wonderful! Also, I'd search a bit harder for coconut oil that does turn solid.

And, when I do it again I'll use the small jam jars.  Because these jars are taller, and harder to get your fingers all the way inside, I attached large popsicle sticks to scoop out the goodness.

Happy Holidays!

 

crafty?

It's been a long time since I've tackled the crafty projects with any type of consistency.  Which is too bad since I like to do it so much.  

There are a couple projects on the list, other than sewing on buttons and mending tears. The first of which is to start and of course finish scrapbooking my NYC trip.  Originally I had wanted to get it finished before I went to Boston.  But that didn't quite work out as planned.  So I'm still working on it.  With the weekend here I should be able to finish it and pack the mess away.  It's been a long time since I've done this scrapbook thing and I forget the mess it makes.  Sheesh!

After this project is wrapped up and completed, finally, I have plans for some screen printing, sewing, and a certain yarn shop.  I always feel more creative and motivated when it's warm and the sun is shining. I'm ready for summer!

In other news, it is Friday.  I'd like to say I'm glad it's the weekend, but it looks like it will be as busy as any other day.  I'll be working a few hours on Saturday and then again on Sunday.  Family party tonight, dropping Ellie off tomorrow, laundry and cleaning.  Grocery shopping is already done so at least I don't have to worry about that part.

M

funny hats

Of course, Elsie calls them snow day hats. Which maybe is a more sophisticated name for it.

But every time I see it, I laugh out loud.  Because they are funny.  So I call it a funny hat. And now Ellie and I have matching ones. Which makes me laugh harder.  

Isn't she just the cutest little Doxie dog ever?!?

Tutorial here.

Loves!

M

lessons learned

I'm back from Idaho Falls.  And it was an awesome trip.  

I sold 1 thing.  Only 1.  

And what an interesting experience the whole thing was.

We realized part way into the fair that this was not going to be well attended.  Which was disappointing.  

We were looking around at the people that did come to see what they were buying.  And it really wasn't much.  

I realized early on that this particular experience is not the one I should base my future on.  But we both came away from it with notes for next time, plans for revamping our individual talents, and pretty optimistic about the experience. 

And I was completely exhausted.

We met some fun people.  Gathered some good ideas. And made new plans.  There is a whole page in my notebook of ideas and plans.  It'll be a couple weeks before I can really tackle it and start on new stuff, but it's all there waiting for me.

A successful trip.

And in 4 days I'll be turning around to drive up spend Christmas there.  Can't wait.

Until then, I need to get some shopping done.

The girls in the booth behind us had these wonderful cupcakes and cookies.  We traded scarves for cupcakes at the end of the night.  And they were soooo yummy!

Loves!

M

The Story of the Train Cap & How I Wore It

If you recall from my Sunday post, I finished my train cap.  Yay!  It went a lot easier that I thought it would.  Maybe because I had never made a hat before.  And maybe because I had to alter to pattern to fit my head. 

You see, I saw a sew-along on this blog.  And I loved that hat!  Except it's for toddlers.  Hmmm.  But the pattern was only $6 so I went here and purchased it. Besides, I already had the perfect corduroy to use.  How difficult can it be to make a toddler hat fit an adult?  I printed it with the expectation of SOMEDAY getting around to altering it and sewing up one fabulous train cap for mui!  

School got rolling and the pattern hung up on the line for months. Literally.  There is a clothes line' in my office space with things to do. And it was staring at me.  The corduroy was calling my name.  I finally set aside the time, over the weekend, and started to work on it.

It moved along faster than I thought.  I remembered to read ahead in the instructions at least one step.  Well, read through the whole thing once, then keep ahead of myself so I don't sew something together and then have to rip it out to do the next step.  If that's one thing I've learned on this sewing journey, do NOT assume you know what the next step is.  Sheesh.

And wala!  Completed little train cap for mui!  (I lined mine with flannel)  I sported it around town while running errands the other day.  It was the perfect amount of spunk I needed to brighten up my gray Sunday.

See?  I don't even look like a toddler.  Ha!

White T: Target

Gray Skinnies: Forever 21

Gray Cardigan: ModCloth

Scarf: Citrine Cowl from my shop

Train Cap: Handmade by ME!

Houndstooth Brooch: Handmade by ME! Coming soon to the shop

Earrings: Handmade by ME! 

Shoes: Black Corduroy Toms

It has become increasingly more fun to wear things I've made.  Makes me want to make more things.  Yay!

Loves!

M

pumpkins!

Now that October is over I've decided I need a pumpkin.

Especially if it looks like these.

And let me remind you how much I love Twig & Thistle.  Love Love Love.

This week

In... life.  Uck.

I feel very far behind.  But I'm not sure what I'm behind.  Or how to catch up.  So this weekend is filled with to do lists.  And most likely a trip to my beloved park and shady spot to focus on the future and what it is that I NEED.  I'm kinda over the want stuff.  I want a lot of stuff.  I think it's about time to focus in on the need stuff.

By the way... HAPPY OCTOBER!

In the mean time.  I'm crocheting like crazy.  Or like a crazy person.  I can't decide. 

Also, I've picked up some yarn while it's on sale.  Yeah, I said some.  There was some self control exercised.

I have a handful of finished projects I need to get pictures of and post in the shop.  Despite what it looks like, I have been productive.  I promise.

I have a halloween costume to be working on.  Not mine, it belongs to a friend.  Mr. Incredible gets more muscles this year.  Kinda fun.

And in the mean time.  I need to clean this place up.  Good grief!  Who lives here anyway?  

Loves!

M

Last week

in crafting.  Since I took an involuntary week off I thought I'd catch you up on the makings going on over here!

 

 Remember this dress.  Well it is now two lovely pillows.  They adorn my cozy bed.  

 

There are enough scraps left over to make another.  So we'll see what happens with that.

    

 This is Ellie's new bag.  We fill it up with leash and food when she heads to Paula's every week.  It's a bit smaller than the two red ones I made before.  It's just the perfect size!

There was alot of crocheting going on too.  But alas, no pictures this time.  Maybe next week!

Happy crafting!

M

This week in ... crafting

I've been tackling my crochet projects as well as start, what feels like, a million sewing projects.  With the week I've had, it's amazing I've managed to get up in the morning.  Let alone get involved with the extracurricular.

So along with a finished project, you'll see a few in progress.

 

 This one has been alot of fun.  It's neck warmer.  I've wanted to get that yarn for a long time.  I finally bit the bullet at got it.  And I so love it.  I'll have it finished up in the next day or two and I'll show you what it looks like finished.  It has a button hole!

 

This was a Home Ec project, a zippered pencil case.  This is a bit of hand me down fabric that has glitter on it.  This one was fun because I made it to give it away.  Went out in the mail last Saturday with a little surprise inside.  It was so cute!

 

  I've started deconstructing this dress.  It's one my mom used to wear in the 70s.  I got to wear it for a short time in junior high.  But it hasn't fit me in a long while.  I've decided to make some pillows out of it.  Excited.

 

You can't really tell how long it is in this, but it used to be longer.  I've taken in the sides and shortened it.  It was a dress I got on clearance 2 years ago, still had the tags on it.  :)  I've never found the right place to wear the dress, and it was a little big.  Even when I bought it.  It still needs a bit of work, but it's well on it's way to becoming a wearable tunic.  Yay!

 

 My little dog goes to a little doggie sleep over every week while I'm at my late classes.  This week I used the heart bag I had made to cart her supplies.  It's a touch too big.  So I found this doggie fabric to make her a doggie bag.  It's sooo cute!  It has little wiener dogs on it! So excited to make a smaller bag that will be less cumbersome and super cute at the same time.  

And that's it!  Since this weekend is 3 days long, I'll be getting all this stuff finished and cleaned up.  With few other projects on the list, it'll be a busy weekend.  Since there's not money to spend, finishing the current projects is a good idea. :)

Happy crafting!

M

This week in sewing

It's been a dry week this time around as far as sewing goes.  Which means I am not keeping up the the projects like I maybe wanted to. 

But school started this week.  And I knew that sewing was going to take up space on the back burner.  But only until I find my new groove.  Which shouldn't take long.  I'll be right back into it soon enough.

But this is what I did accomplish this week:

 

 A custom order for Etsy.  Yay!  Off to the post office tomorrow.

 

 It's a roll up tool holder.  And since I don't have many tools (though now that I think about it I should make another for them too.  They always seem to be lost...) I put knitting needles in it instead.  Yay!

 

Of course the first time you make something you figure out the things you would do differently next time.  The trick is, will there be a next time?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

And that's it!  I'm kinda sad about it.  But I have been collecting ideas, fabric remnants, blogs, and of course the class isn't over yet.  We've finally reached the skirt, the pillow with piping, and dress alterations.  

Now all I need is jersey knit for the skirt (I saw some with stripes that I MUST have) and some piping.  With coupon in hand, I'll be headed into my new hangout to make a purchase.

Wish me luck!

M