Making ears

I've been on a bit of a crafting kick lately. It feels so good to be making stuff again.

I made some floral mouse ears for Kris and Veronica and me for Food and Wine last year. I decided to try making some again, I know some friends wanted to get some too.

So with my trip up to Epcot Food and Wine approaching, I decided to make some ears for myself and some to share too. made a few designs. And now I just have to decide which ones to wear for my Disney trip this weekend.

I think the Wine & Dine ears will definitely make an appearance.

I might even have to come up with a few new designs to go with my outfits for the weekend...

If you wanna grab your own ears, check out my shop.

Trying someting new

My latest project is something different, I've been knitting. I love sewing and it comes pretty easy to me, but every now and then I like to mix it up and try a new craft.

Trying a new craft always sounds exciting to me, but then begins the doubt. How to even start? Will it come out half decent looking? Will this be too much to take on? For me, the beginning of a project always seems worse than it is. Getting past all that doubt and just jumping into something is the hardest part. At least for me it is.

My friend Jenni is a knitting fool. I see her knitting tons of things, from hats to socks to monsters. She and found a Downton Abbey knit a long, and since we are currently Downton obsessed, we decided to go for it. I've attempted to knit many times before, but never really made it past dish cloths and a basic scarf. This project is way more that I've ever attempted to do in knitting before. I'm going with the beginner options, and so far it's coming along. I'm a few weeks behind, but I'm catching up slowly but surely. Can't wait to see my shawl all finished.

Are there any new crafts you want to try?

A rainy weekend

Thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal, it was a rainy weekend here in Miami. It may have been raining on and off, but I was able to get a little bit of everything done.

Saturday morning it wasn't raining yet, so I was able to get in my run. I'm officially training for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon now. I'm still in shock about it, but the run wasn't too bad this week. Later that afternoon, I got my nails done. Then Saturday night I headed out with some friends to see Despicable Me 2. Those minions are hilarious.

Sunday was making stuff day. I headed out to JoAnn's to get some fabric for a few projects I need to make for myself. And I also grabbed a few fabrics that were too cute to pass up and even a few for the shop. I'm starting to make new stock for the store, so that should be ready to go soon.

I also had an order from a co-worker to recreate the cupcakes I made last week. I gladly obliged and spent all afternoon baking and watching a marathon of The Newsroom.

It was a pretty busy weekend, but it was nice to be able to get so much done.

What did you do this weekend?

Gym bag redo

The bag I had been using to go to the gym (which was just a reusable tote bag) broke last week. I decided I should make myself a cute new gym bag that incorporated all the features I really wanted. I've been designing my heart away and adding so many little details that it's turning into a slightly bigger project than I anticipated. But I needed a new bag to go to the gym on Monday, so I grabbed one of the many drawstring bags that I have collected over time and made it a little cuter.

I grabbed my basic drawstring bag and some scraps of fabric and a little interfacing and got to work. I measured the logo (8 inches by 2 inches) and made it a little bigger so I could make sure it would all be covered. I also made it taller to be able to use it as a pocket. My final fabric size was 8 1/2" by 6 1/2". I cut two out of the fabric and one of interfacing, to give the pocket some body. 

I ironed the interfacing to one of the pocket pieces and then placed them wrong sides together. I sewed around one long side and both short sides using 1/4" seams. On the other long side, I also sewed with a 1/4" seam, but left a small part open, so I could turn the pocket right side out. I clipped the corners, turned the pocket right side out and ironed it flat. Then I topstitched the top edge of the pocket. I pinned the pocket in place to make sure it stayed centered and then sewed down the sides and bottom, leaving the top part open. Make sure you are only sewing on one side of the bag and not both, or you will sew your bag shut!

This was a little too plain, so I decided I needed to cover the top part of bag, where the drawstrings are. The drawstring pockets were about 1 inch wide, so I knew I had to make them a little wider to make sure the drawstring would still work. I cut 3 inch strips for each of the sides of the bag. I made them a little wider than the bag itself (I eyeballed it), so I could fold in each side to keep the seams clean. After sewing in the short sides, I ironed in a 1/4" seam allowance on each of the long sides.


I then folded these strips in half leaving one side slightly longer than the other (like in bias binding). I sandwiched the strips around the edge of the bag, and sewed them around the existing drawstring pockets on the bag.

There was one strip for each side of the bag and it really gave it the finishing touch it needed.

And voila! I took an old junky bag and gave it a makeover. And now I can show up to the gym without having a half broken bag.

I'm still working on my huge gym bag, and I hope to be able to start working on that one soon. I'll keep you updated on that one.

Have you ever revamped an old item to make an even better one?

Color bar blanket: Take 2

I'm glad to report that I finished my second color bar blanket. My first attempt too me years to complete, but luckily this time I was motivated and it only took me 6 weeks. And this blanket came out way better than the first one.

This attempt at the blanket came out way better than the first one. I attribute it to buying all of the yarn at one time (and all the same brand). I found a great deal on Vanna's Choice, and it was available in all of the colors I needed, so I bought them all at once. That way I wouldn't have to go searching for another color or brand to match what I had.

Another thing that really helped this time was crocheting all of the squares in a relatively short amount of time. I started the blanket a bit before Halloween (and took a break to make costumes) and finished after Thanksgiving. I think doing them so close together kept my stitched a bit more even. Plus, I've had some practice now, so my crocheting has improved overall.

The sewing together of all the pieces didn't get any easier though. Making 140 squares into one big blanket gets hard near the end cause the color blocks are are so big. But it's totally doable, it just takes a bit of muscle.

I love my new blanket at it was a total hit at the office. Those that actually realized it was color bars loved it even more. And the blanket is totally serving its purpose, it's keeping me warm in my office that is an icebox while still looking cute.