Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Switchin' Stitches- Round 2

This is a little swap that I participated in with the Switchin' Stitches group on Flickr.  This round I was paired up with Lolablueocean.  Knowing my love of gorgeous gals, she took inspiration from her grandfather- renowned pin-up artist, Ted Withers.  How cool is that?!

She stitched up this lovely for me.

One thing that I really love about his work is the layering of sketches and alternate poses.

Looking through her favorites, I was inspired by her love of Blythe Dolls.  So I stitched one up based on a photo I found online.  I just changed the colors to include the ones that appeared in her favorites the most.

Here she is!

Originally I just stitched it, but I thought it needed a little bit more, so I tinted it.

We both had agreed to surprise each other, so I think it's funny that we both stitched up girlie girls.

See you soon!  I'll be back to share more exciting things that have been happening around here.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Fun with Hats! Pt. 2

Want the inside scoop on how I made my hat?  Very few people have guessed correctly, but once you know it's pretty obvious.  It's an old lampshade that I had lying around forever.  I also used cardboard, fabric, felt, lace and wire.  Luckily, I had everything on hand to construct it.  But what's a silly hat without feathers....and a glittery bird??  So, of course, I had to go out and get those.  I figured a bit of indulgence is good when it comes to over the top hats.

I started out by making the little nest with steel and copper wire.  Then, using a tapestry needle, I threaded ribbon throughout it for a little extra something.  After some failed experiments I settled on the lampshade for the main part of the hat.

The stuff!
 
(Boy, this photo was awkward to take.  I had to crouch down with my hand through the shade.  I'm sure I looked crazy.)  I took apart the shade using an exacto knife, careful to maintain clean edges, since I would be reassembling it.

 

I kept the rings for putting it back together.  I traced the larger one to get the size of the brim and the top, which I ended up constructing out of cardboard.  However, with the smaller one, I took off the loops that would hold the bulb in place.  I used one of them later for the bird perch.

Once it was disassembled, I used spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the white part of the shade.  I left a little edge and folded it in, attaching with hot glue.  Hot glue was really to key to this project.  Well, that and a lot of patience.

This is my favorite section of the fabric.  She reminds me of Cinderella.  I attached some scalloped lace to cover the edge of where the top piece I constructed meets the shade part.


The bird!! I love it!  The color, the glitter, the tail.  Especially the tail, it's epic.

I stretched out the wire hoop I mentioned earlier so that it could be glued to the hat.  I wrapped it in hemp twine, threw on some beads and attached the bird.  To cover up the glue, I attached little bows made out of lace.
For me, it's all in the details.  So, I couldn't have a nest without some wee little eggs!  Can I confess just how obsessive I am?  These little plastic eggs I got had rough edges, probably from the mold used in the production process.  I used the heated tip of the glue gun to melt them down.  Yes, I know, I'm sort of crazy.

I used some scraps and my trusty sewing machine, Ol' Bessie to whip up some quick ruffles.

To keep it on my head, I sewed these long pieces of vintage lace to pieces of felt and attached the felt to the underside of the brim.  It was very secure and comfortable.

In addition to the ends of the straps, I threw a bit more of the green velvet ribbon on the side, in front of the feathers.  I think it helped to give the whole thing a bit more consistency.

I love, love, love my hat!!!  As you can see, I had way too much fun wearing it!

Hope that you enjoyed a nice weekend and that your week got off to a lovely start!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Fun with Hats! Pt. 1

Hi guys!  Hopefully everyone is having a wonderful 2011 so far.  I am, that's for sure.  I've been pretty productive so far and enjoyed every moment of it.  Despite the fact I'm already on to 2011 projects, I've got a bunch of oldies but goodies to share with you... from waaaay back in 2010.  Terrible, huh?

One of my favorite projects of 2010 was a crazy hat that I made for The Great Handcar RegattaOver the top and a bit ridiculous, it was absolutely perfect for me.  Best part about it?  It's completely handmade!

Check it out, isn't it silly?!
 Yes, that is a glittery bird on top.

It's even got a secret pocket?  Can you believe it?!

Everyone has fun trying on hats.  Trust me, try it.  You won't be able to help but smile when placing silly hats upon your head.  Buster, one of my favorite bartenders, is such a good sport.

You may have noticed that this listing is Part 1, however, there are two hats in the next photo.  Maybe, if we are lucky, I can convince the boy to blog about his experience in hat-making.  Yep, that's right!  My guy made that super fly Aviator's Helmet... all by himself.

Lots of little details went into these silly hats, so I'll have to comeback later to share them all with you.  I just wanted to give you a little hint of all of the great things to come.  Hope you are having a craftastic week, see you soon! xoxo
  

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

Hello, all!  Best wishes for a happy, creative, productive 2011.  May everyday get you a little closer to the person you want to be.

I know that everyday can't be spectacular.  However, I'm going to try to make it so....and by try, I mean really, really hard.  I think my new calendar will really help to get everyday off on the right foot.


Might be the best purchase I made of 2010, it was a great investment in my future.  I'm now guaranteed to have 365 days of smiles.

See you soon, with tons of fun stuff!