Fingerpainting for a wedding

Literally. Finger painting. 

Today, after church I spent a little time doing some crafty wedding prep. I think this will be the next new nail trend. (Any one got some good tips for getting paint off hands?)

I've been collecting cheap glassware at thrift stores for this project. These cute little tea cups were less than $.50 each. I plan to have some mints or something else munchy in them at the tables.

look how pretty the details are! Like a kaleidoscope!

Gotta have the right tools. Lowes had a nicer color selection than my friendly neighbor Menards. I love the darker teal valspar. Just perfect.

The candle stands are part of another project...

I love the way the glass details show when only the inside of the cups is painted. 

Wedding planning has been a unique experience. I never expected that I would ever claim the title "Bridezilla" but some days, I really feel like a horrible monster. Sure, I only have three months to put this whole shebang together, but I don't think it needs to make me crazy. I must do a better job of being nice. I do need my-boyfriend-turned fiancee to hang around long enough to become my husband, after all.

Let's Go Bowling! : DIY Record Bowl

Yeah, okay. Cheesy title. Deal with it, I'm punny. It's just I had a day full of bowls and I'm blogging about it. You know?

Found these great vintage mixing bowls at the Troy Goodwill. I passed up on a couple other pieces, trying to be money conscious. Now, I really regret not getting them, and there's no way they are still there. I should follow my gut more often, especially when it comes to adorable vintage things that are reasonably priced. Dang-it thrifty upbringing!

But bowls don't have to cost a cent if you've got an old warped record on hand. I have seen these record bowls at stores and online for the past few years. People are crazy about records these days. It's fun to have some company in the record stores. Normally, I wouldn't condone defacing an album, but this Beach Boys record skipped so much that one side played in about 20 seconds. It was doomed to warp further, I just helped it along. Now it's useful again!

The process was really easy and super quick. Now that I know just how simple it is, I may have to make some more. Guess I gotta stock up on some really desperately scratched 25 cent records at Omega.

I loosely followed instructions from a couple sites online. Like in cooking, I think you just need to feel it out, be patient and attentive.

• Preheat oven to 200
• Put a cookie tray with an oven safe bowl on it in the oven for 5 or so minutes (the size and depth of the bowl will help determine the shape of your final product)
• Place record on top of the preheated bowl 

• Watch as your record bends over the bowl! MAGIC! (it will smell dusty and hot like the first time you turn on your heat in the fall)

• In about 5-10 minutes, you will want to take the record out of the oven and quickly finish the next step. This step will vary depending on the record type and the oven heat. You can easily test the pliability of the record with a oven-mitted hand. It should bend easily in one place without moving the whole record about.
• When it seems pliable enough- carefully remove the tray 
• Quickly flip the record and HOT bowl into a larger bowl (again, the depth and size of this bowl will determine the size/shape of the final product)
• Remove the hot bowl and shape the record with your fingers (if things don't turn out the way you like, you can always reheat and re-shape)
• Press the middle sticker down into the bowl to ensure the record has a flat bottom to sit on.

And Voila! You've got a record bowl. Of course, this isn't food safe, and it can't hold wet things. Still, it's doing a great job holding the things that clutter the table near my door.

If you love records, you should check out this really awesome art exhibit which features The Beatles' "White Album". The track near the bottom is so interesting. 

Weddings (Take 2): A Crafter/Gamer Union

Weddings aren't quite as common around these parts as babies, but they aren't exactly infrequent. Facebook has been blowing up with engagement announcements this week. The holidays do this, I suppose. People get all mushy and sentimental during this time of year. 

Welp, another friend bit the bullet, tied a knot, strapped on a ball and chain- whatever. Nah, it's a good combo, there's nothing dire about their combination. I am excited for them, really. And in total agreement with the match. Emmy is an old college friend of mine. She took me out for my first sushi dinner. We sang in a band together. I remember one warm late summer night, when we sat in the grass telling our whole life stories. New friendship, like a new romance blossoms so quickly. The best thing about friendship is that it doesn't as often end in heartbreak. Our friendship struck up in college in 2003. It is long, but woven in and out- spread both near and far. She went away to nursing school and then returned, we lived together for a couple months in Minnesota when I first moved there, but mostly we've lived far apart.

Emmy and Tom met when she moved to Milwaukee in 2006. When I first met him, honestly, I thought them an unlikely pair. He was a beefy, guy's-guy bartender who spent hours a day on his computer playing games, while Emmy was a social butterfly with an infectious giggle and heart for social justice. But, after seeing them interact, I was quick to recognize that their odd match-up was a sure recipe for love. I look at it now as an example for my own relationship (as we're also somewhat of an odd couple). They both coexist and exist separately. Which sounds obvious - since no "two" actually DO become "one"- but it's not really all that spoken of. I've often made the mistake of letting my personal identity get wrapped up in my relationship. It's good to have examples of people who stand out as individuals within their healthy relationship.

So, all that said, Emmy and Tom needed a gift that would show their individual tastes and also, hopefully, tie them together into one cohesive idea. I was attempting to allude to a skull and crossbones. (Do you see it?)

I think it turned out pretty good. Emmy said her family all commented on it on Sunday brunch at their place after the wedding. I'm super excited they liked it and hope they can find a place for it in their home.

 

One more wedding to go in 2012. My dear cousin, Kate and her beau are getting hitched the weekend before Christmas. They're a traditional type couple with a not so traditional trajectory. I'm still unsure of my game plan. Back to the drawing board.

In Honor of a Winner Weekend

This weekend was amazing. I visited with college friends in Wisconsin for a wonderful wedding. I'll report on those festivities and the couple's gift in a future post. But- in honor of the awesomeness of the weekend's festivities- a quick picture post of a couple homemade trophies I threw together for a fundraiser at work a couple weekends ago.

I found the random plastic ware at a thrift store. I must have looked kinda funny stacking bowls and vases in the middle of the shopping aisle. But there were some really perfect gems for this project. Go go Troy Goodwill!

Three types of glue (epoxy, some kind of cement, and hot glue) and I'm still not sure of how secure the final product was. I'd stick to hot glue alone in the future. It seemed to have the surest hold. After it was glued, I just painted the sucker gold and slapped on a laminated "placard".

I know I would rather get a trophy like this than a stodgy old normal one.

Babies (Take 2) : T-Shirt to Onesie

So many babies! Seriously, they are everywhere. Like I said before, but it bears repeating, I have 10+ local friends who are expecting little ones right now. People are making jokes about the water at church. But I'm pretty sure that babies aren't a result of water-drinking. I believe there are a few more steps than that. :)

Anyways, I've made some little crochet thingys for the upcoming munchkins, I even tried my hand at a sweater. (I didn't take any pictures of that. It is yet to be seen if it will actually fit on a baby. I just kinda made the pattern as I went.) But no more relying on the old crochet hook for baby gifts. I've hit baby gift gold: I'm making sassy adult t-shirts into awesome baby onesies.

Some of the initial inspiration came from online and on Pinterest, but I didn't find a pattern I liked well enough to follow. (But, admittedly, I've never been too great at following directions. I like to make my own way.) So my pattern consisted of cutting apart a cheap onesie from the dollar store and using it as a template. 

I literally used a seam ripper to deconstruct the thing then cut the shirts using those pieces as a guide. Fortunately, the fit of baby wear is much more forgiving than women's wear. No darts or pleats in this get up.

 

Overall, it is about a 1.5 hour task per onesie (after I got the hang of it all). The particular challenges of making a onesie from a t-shirt? 

1. The bias tape takes time. I did all the cutting for several shirts and then set up my ironing station in front of a tv to make the tape. It's work intensive, but the final product looks so much more finished as a result. It isn't necessary to have a double fold tape as the inside raw edge is barely visible and you zig-zag stitch right over it. And also, I totally cheated and didn't cut the fabric on a bias. Because the t-shirt cotton material pretty much has a 4-way stretch, it works either way. But if you want to know how to do it properly you can find all kinds of online info.
2. T-shirt knit is kinda wonky. The more patient you are as you sew, the better.
3. Two words: neck hole. Babies have big heads on the tops of their little bodies, and so baby shirts have these wonderful layered necklines for easy in-and-outs. The trick is remembering which layer is on top and which is on the bottom as you sew. 
4. Snaps are a really awesome invention. They just take a bunch of banging, so make sure you do this step during waking hours so you don't bug your neighbors. Also, make sure you only put snaps on the bias tape. A single layer of t-shirt fabric can't withstand the constant tugging a snap will promote. Be sure to snap and un-snap them a whole lot to test their strength and wear them in before you give the onsie as a gift. 

It's now my plan to start collecting crazy t-shirts from my frequent thrift store hunts. Of course, the size of a baby limits how large the design can be. But I know there are some ridiculous onesies to be made from reject t-shirts. All my pregnant buddies had better prepare themselves for the awesome. Their babies are going to be the hippest ever in these suckers.

If there's some interest in more-detailed instructions, order of construction, or an attempt at a pattern- please comment to let me know and I'll see what I can come up with.

Fall's So Close I Can Smell It

My dad had his first day of school today. That means summer's almost over and the cooler winds are coming soon. There was something like a dewey frost on my car this morning when I left for work. My windows are open right now and a can smell hints of the coming harvest- a musty warm scent. Maybe I'm imagining it, maybe not. Either way, I'm excited for the change of seasons.

I love the way fall feels. smells and looks. I adore the crunch of leaves under my bike tires, the baled hay in the fields, jeans and sweaters. This evening, the setting sun dappled my walls through the lace curtains in my living room window. It is something that happens every season, but it felt like fall to me. 

A new season begs new decor. Out with the old pink wreath and in with some seasonal flair. Pinterest told me that foam tubing was cheaper to buy in the plumbing section. (True!) I twisted a length of that foam into an "O", wrapped and hot glued some upholstery fabric samples around the wreath in strips, fashioned a tidy accordian bow, and finished it up with a bit of matching yarn. Presto, wreath! Total time spent: 1 cheesy movie, give or take some snack and rest moments.

And now, a tune for the upcoming turn of the times. If you don't already love it, you should: Autumn In New York by Billie Holiday. 

How I Use My College Degree (a random post)

This afternoon brought about a brief, yet wonderful, lunch with a dear college friend. We reminisced about some hilarious college moments. Some less than instructional classes we took, and the moments and relationships that were the real learning experiences of our college years. 

I don't regret my education one bit. Sometimes, I wonder whether I should have avoided some of the debt I incurred by going to a private liberal arts school. But overall, I am a sum of the parts of my life decisions. Beloit College is a huge part of who I turned into. But was my creative writing major integral to the career choices I made there on out? Meh. I dunno. I still write some (See this blog? This is writing!) but I'm no "writer". I learned plenty in college that I use on a daily basis, but it's fun when I am surprised by a task where I get to use something I actually learned in class.

One thing I learned in college was how to pull off a project at the very last moment. Procrastination and I were best buddies back then. Lucky for me, I work in a job where last moment tasks abound. 

Check out this 3 hour set design I tossed together (with my team's help) for a worship night this week. The set pieces existed already, but we 1) covered it teacher-bulletin-board-style with brown painter's paper, 2) popped it with a giant cardboard picture frame, & 3) spray painted thanks in many languages. Add some candles and other random frames and - Boomski!- set designed. Thank you Set Design class from senior year.

And when I went to Big Stuf, knowing I would have to suffer the 15 hour bus ride there and back I sought out a travel pillow at the local pharmacy. No luck. (Turns out they only stock them at Christmas. Like that's the only time when people travel. Come on.) So I toss together this gem from a quick pattern of my own creation. Thank you Costume Shop Employment when I learned how to make patterns.

Each and every day on a regular basis I am editing and arranging and designing and calculating. Maybe I'm not a writer on the clock, but I'm sure using the skills I acquired during my early 20's. Of course, there are times when nothing could prepare me for what I would do on the job. Thank goodness I work in a place where my job is full of weird surprises. (Like this crazy video I made with my team. Seriously, my job is awesome.)

Anyways, it is good to take a moment sometimes and recognize the way my skills and talents are used. It's really satisfying to see years of training and hard work come to fruition, even if it is through little projects and moments of success and not grandiose finales. Just because I'm not a CEO of my own company, a famous performer or artist, or even a published author doesn't mean I haven't seen great success in my life. It's easy to overlook amazing accidental successes if you get caught up in the lofty goals you originally set for yourself. 

Visiting Amish Country

While in eastern Ohio for the Huff Family Reunion, I spent a good deal of time touring the rolling amish country hillsides with my Grammalo (my dad's mom), my parents and my aunts and uncles. 

Holmes county Ohio, the county adjacent to my grandma's hometown- Sugarcreek, has the largest Amish population in the world. My own grandma's father was Mennonite and so our family has some connection to the culture. Now, mostly, we enjoy purchasing Amish made baked goods and crafts. 

We hit up a few little stores here and there. Some were much littler than others. Our first stop was a little Amish general store, meant for the Amish to shop in themselves- as opposed to hoards of tourists. Leave it to us "shopping pros" (I learned how to shop from my grammalo and aunts.) to break into the untapped Amish stores. The store featured Dutch New Testaments, adorable canisters of school supplies for individual purchase, tiny tiny leather shoes for tiny Amish babies, and enormous stock pots. There was also a necessary aisle toward the back with a stash of white cross-your-heart brasseries and 40 styles of stiff black bonnets. I didn't venture towards the men's aisle of undergarments, I didn't think it proper.

The next shop was Miller's Bakery. This two room, clapboard store is hidden up a hill of a twisting road with hardly a sign to mark it's existence. But the place was packed with customers both Amish and  otherwise. Oh man, I wish I could have bottled the smell of this place for you. I had a raisin bar- which is really a chewy bread-y molasses cookie with raisins. My favorite. My mom and I got caught up in the back room, filled with local crafts. I love these clothespin bags. I don't have any clothespins, but what could I make one of these for? What other useful thing could it hold?

One larger store had built a business out of a petting farm in the parking lot. You could buy a waffle ice cream cone full of feed for a dollar and scatter the food amongst the goats, bunnies, horses and more. I snapped a couple shots of some cuddly animal families.

Often, when I am shopping on vacation, I focus on collecting craft ideas rather than filling my shopping basket. I hate to transport too much on the road. Besides, most things at crafty joints you could easily make for cheaper than retail. I love the felt details on this lampshade and the idea of making oversized buttons to hang as wall art. I'm not sure how I'd do it, but this plaid mirror has got to be possible to recreate in house. And how about those boot planters? Fun, right? Makes me want to find the tin man and decapitate him. (Okay, that was weird.)

Check out that beautiful lady above. That's my Grammalo. 82 years young and still climbing out onto her roof to sweep off the leaves. Sheesh. I hope I inherited a lot of her genes.

As we drove through the Amish farm country, it was notably quiet and peaceful. There were few electric posts to mar the horizon. As it was Monday, wash day, the yards were filled with lines of pastel dresses and shirts and dark pants and skirts, flapping in the wind. I admire the Amish life. They live simply and quietly always in community with others. Their "church" meets inside homes and shifts weekly. So open, so democratic. I know that even in their society there are faults and hiccups. Still, tonight, I envy their evening times. No screens to distract them from looking up at the night sky- no electric bulb in sight. The stars surely shine brighter in their country.

Cute as a Button Bunny (as promised)

As promised, here's some pictures of the present I made for my friend's newborn. I crocheted the bunny then made her a little dress because she seemed like a modest gal. No naked bunny boobies here. (Too far?) Her head is permanently cocked to one side- because I attached it crooked. But it's kinda cute, like she's giving you a coy little smirk.

I love to imagine a cuddly toy like this nestled under a sleeping arm, or dragged along behind a tumbling toddler. The button eyes are secured pretty tightly, but if you were a stickler or worried parent they could be replaced with embroidery like the nose.

Back when my little niece was a baby, I made her a similar bunny. She's now 2 years old. In January, I had a half hour phone conversation with her on her birthday. It's so hard to believe all this time has passed. She's so grown up already.

I miss my sister's little ones. I might be due for a visit. I'll see them in June for the Huff Family Reunion, but maybe before then I can sneak up to Ann Arbor for a fix.