On my desk... per se....

ok, so my desk is actually pretty empty now because it is still fairly clean from last week's revamp, yet my laptop has now migrated back to the couch- go figure. However, I wanted to share what was quite recently on that table my mom and I squeezed into the shower that I spoke of last week.


and the stamp - next to the sink actually, not on the table. Oh technicalities... ;)

Almost everything I used for this project was purchased in my shopping spree last week (which was more than paid for with the birthday money I got from my grandparents yesterday- hooray!), with the exception of my carving tools. The new speedy cut was such a pleasure to work with! (I used to cut all of my stamps from erasers) I was afraid it was a little crumbly during carving, but that did not seem to have a negative affect on my final outcome. I was also extremely pleased with my new brayer, which made inking so much easier, though I do sort of wish I had sprung the extra $6-$7 for the inking plate, which at the time of said shopping seemed so unnecessary. The fabric paint and fabric were also purchased on the same trip and I am really pleased with the colors.

The print is now hanging next to my desk waiting to be washed and cut up for jesse's swatch swap :)

see who else is playing on my desk here

Matryoshka's for my Travels

So, I have returned from Germany and had an absolutely wonderful time. I will, of course, soon have lots of goodies to show you from my trip, but first I'd like to show you the new wallet I made myself right before I left. I'm really pleased with it because of it's small size and the larger capacity it has than the last wallet I made, which is now ragged and falling apart.

It took a lot of trial and error, because while I loosely based it on a craftster tutorial, I was pretty much making it up as I went along, which makes me even more pleased with the results.

I used a discount print I found at Joanne's which I think is really charming, plus I had enough of it not to worry about wasting it with all my trial and error.

Anyway, without further ado, pictures:

front of the wallet:


opened:

3 card pockets, 1 clear ID pocket, two misc pockets (where the papers are sticking out) and of course, the cash money pocket.

inside the cash pocket:


and the part I'm proudest of (and what my last wallet was really lacking)- the zippered coin pocket on the back:

It proved quite useful in Berlin, especially since 1 and 2 euro are coins!

Since returning from my trip I've gotten right back on the crafting circuit.
Most recently I carved an "initial stamp" which I plan to be offering in craftster's SSS round 10. I'm so excited! :)


Anyway, goodies from my trip to follow soon, along with the final transformation of a WIP to a KIP which I know you've all been waiting for ;) haha

Back In Action

Yes, I know, it has been quite a long time. Well, now that my senior year is drawing to a close, my APs are over, and so are the band concert and the musical (which both went fabulously well), I finally have some time to craft again.

I'll start by sharing something that I made quite some time ago, but it's pretty exciting as I suppose you could call it my first commissioned work. A double sided stamp for someone who plans on using them in their jewelery:



More recently, inspired by the fact that I was unhappy with my summer wardrobe, and still had very little time to go shopping, I also started work on a dress using the fabric I got way back in San Franciso.



No pictures of the dress itself yet as I still need to add straps and hem or cut it to a length, but I think it's looking good so far, and I'm pretty proud as I just made it up as I went along.

However, I did complete the reconstruction of an old pair of jeans into some shorts. I wish I had a before picture, but these were jeans I had played with when I was younger, and entirely destroyed. I had ripped the side seams out to add big triangles of Asian inspired fabric that was now in a state of fray and decay. There were also some crude patches sprinkled over the lower half of the jeans. It's reasonable to say that after this job I never wore them, at least out of the house, again. Recently, I brought them back to life by cutting the pants, ripping the seams open again and removing the fabric, and then sewing them back up to a normal size. I then added the lace to polish them off.


Lastly, I spent memorial day weekend up in the Berkshire's with my Grandparents, and got a chance to pay a visit to Joanne's. I picked up some cute fabrics and discovered some Dritz cover button kits, which I picked up with very little confidence, thinking they wouldn't work well. However, I was elated to find out that I was wrong! I am in love with these little things and my only problem is that now I want more, more, more! However, it'll be a while before I can go to Joanne's again, so I settled for making 3 cute buttons which, no pin backs available, I sewed on to the messenger bag I am now using for school, as the end of senior year has rendered my Jansport obsolete.

the moo print fabric and the matreshkas are both new from Joanne's, while the giraffe is from something older from P&S.

This weekend I also finished up my prom shopping with some great shoes and a bag. Soon I'll be able to show you those fantastic dresses I raved about... prom is on Thursday!

Any the way, I can hardly wait for the move in to summer so I can start making more and more things! ...I'm also excited for my move to college in mid August!
Did I mention I'll be joining fellow crafter Avian Flight at Cornell University in the fall?


I apologize for how long overdue this post was, and for my lack of eloquence today. I hope I can bring you more frequent quality blogging in the future ;)

Busy bee.

It's been a while since my last post, I know, but things have gotten busy and in the way of crafting around here. The building's window project is finally underway, and so some of my craft supplies, along with furniture and whatever else was near the windows in our apartment, have had to go into temporary storage. No worries, they should be back next week- our new windows are supposed to be installed Monday and the movers should be bringing things back Wednesday.

I've also had rehearsals and tests- the usual busyness, and last week was the ARISTA (national honor society) induction ceremony- so that was a late night. I felt a little bit like I was being inducted into a cult- we marched down the isles of a dark auditorium holding lit candles and then said a pledge. Haha, but it was nice. Mary was home on spring break and came to visit that day. She's so cute, she brought me flowers!


Speaking of Mary, we also made Calculus cupcakes together on Thursday afternoon since I came home a bit early (no rehearsal after school). Nothing special compared to many of the delightful blogged cupcakes I see out there, but it was still fun- and they tasted great!


In slightly more crafty news, the Crafty Detective swap has drawn to a close and I believe my partner was very happy with what she received. I know I'm proud of it all as well.


I used some of that fabulous upholstery fabric for the outside of the tote and some cotton from P&S for the lining. I also gave it a hand-carved stamped craftster logo tag and a pocket with pen holders.


The notebooks were my first try at cellulose transferring (I believe that's what it's called), and I love how they turned out. I definitely want to try this technique again, but maybe a less toxic alternative can be found to paint thinner (someone on craftster suggested an orange cleaning solution that I may look into). I also hand stamped each page with one of my own creations.


The happy marshmallows, little felt bowl, and crafty apron were great fun to work on as well. It was nice to do some hand sewing for a change (on the mallows and the bowl).




You can also she the fabulous things I received from my partner/stalkee in the gallery.

My crafting/posting may be somewhat limited once again in the next few weeks as spring break is fast approaching. I am going to visit Mary at Bowdoin from the 30th to the 2nd and then am going to San Francisco with the usual crew from the 6th to the 10th. Hopefully the plain rides will give me some good crafting time, but I'm not sure about knitting needles on planes? Meanwhile, I hear from colleges from now until mid April! Busy, busy bee.

The magic of Goodwill

On the way home from rehearsal last night I stopped at Goodwill for a quick look around, to see if there was anything worth my while. There was! I got two pieces of 'fabric' and a lovely yellow, wool sweater.

When I got home, I set to work fixing a pencil case my friend gave me. She got it in China and loves it, but the zipper was pulling apart and one of the ends came apart as well. So I unpicked the whole thing, added a new pale pink zipper (it had a white one before, but I liked the pink) and sewed it back together:


you can see it on top of the first piece of 'fabric' I got at Goodwill, which turned out to be a shower curtain when I got home. I really liked it, and so contemplated putting it up, but instead made another pencil case for my friend (It's her birthday today):

I used the shower curtain fabric and covered it with clear vinyl so that it can be wiped off when it gets dirty in her bag. I made it in the same style as the one I fixed, but after I finished I realized my zipper isn't as nice because I didn't fold over the edges, ah well, I'm still quite happy with it, and it was my first time working with vinyl, so it was a little challenging, but not as scary as I expected ;)


Here is the other fabric, actually intended to be fabric, that I got at Goodwill:


I had also picked up a sweater, and when my Dad came in to tell me Guys and Dolls was on PBS, I turned it on, and started unravelling. I only did the front panel so far, but it's such a large sweater- I know I'm going to get a lot of nice things out of this!
Right after unravelling:


Drying in my bathroom this morning:


My partner for the owl swap also received, and so I have some things to show off from that:
group:

Bag lining and applique:

shirt:

key chain, mini-bag, and stamp:


This was my first two times carving stamps, and then stamping fabric (the lining and mini-bag) and also my first time doing applique. It was a great swap! :)
*Gallery*

anyway, I think that's all for now. Only a week until February break when I have so much to do, so many people to see, and so much to craft! <3