Paper Flowers Part 4

These aren't flowers, per say, but they are definitely flower like. Plus with holidays just around the corner, perhaps a neat way to display some eco-friendly decorations!

Picture borrowed from here

Custom Purse

I was going to wait to post this in the morning but I just couldn't wait!! I'm so excited about how this purse came out!!

I've been pretty busy here lately between classes picking up and a few custom orders for friends.

I just finished this purse for my friend, she plans on giving it to her mom for Christmas! She was telling me what her mom liked, fuschia and teal, oriental/Asian style, large purses, with good sturdy straps.

Just so happened that I acquired some fuschia pink oriental satin (from my grandma, like 5 years ago) that has some tiny cherry blossom trees/branches on it! Instant inspiration, its like I was meant to make her mom this purse!

Fun Stuff!

My crafting "area" if you will- is quite limited. A little while ago I saw this awesome idea from a fellow blogger (can't remember who...oops!) about taking foam board cutting it into rectangles and using it as tiny bolts, thus easily displaying fabric without forgetting what you have because it is folded up in a drawer, bin, or box some where.

I'm kinda ghetto in the sense that I "made" the second saggy shelf out of a card board box, duct tape, and some white paper. One day I'll find an actual white laminate board to fit there, but for now it works great to hold buttons, ribbon, beads, and hem tape!

Also those fabric boxes on the bottom I made here if you are interested in learning yourself!

I'm also very excited about this vintage sewing notions set I just bought from Etsy at Simply Suzula for $7.00 including shipping!! Couldn't even get all this stuff at Hobby lobby for $7 if I tried. Plus they just don't make hem tape(lace) in these fun colors anymore!!

Polo re-do

I have a few polo's (3 to be exact) that I bought from Old Navy, a while ago because they were cute, cheap, and seemed comfortable in the fitting room. So after a run through the wash, I throw one on and head to class....about 15 min after I get in the car my neck starts itching like crazy, and I'm convinced I was assaulted by some 6 legged creature with beady eyes....NOPE! Turns out the "ribbon" they used to cover up the inside seam from the shirt to the collar was the assaulting agent...thus never wore the shirts again.

I've redesigned a few t-shirts now, and I consider myself a semi-good t-shirt reconstructionist (yes it is a word now), here ya go, polo re-do tutorial!

Supplies:

• Polo shirt
• Scissors, seam ripper
• Sewing machine, matching thread
• A few buttons
• Knit scraps 
• Fabric "disappearing ink" marker
• Ruler

First take your Polo shirt and cut the collar and button on the front out, might as well pull out the "tag" too if you can (mine was also crazy itchy)

As most of you know, cats are drawn to new things on the floor and most definitely get in the way right as you take a picture!

Anthropologie Inspired

I love this tank from Anthropologie....but it is $58.00 which is definitely not in my grad student budget, and its "hand wash only" which I just don't do....so I'll just make my own! HA take that Anthropologie!

Picture borrowed from here

So I had planned for the T-shirt to come out similar to this....but I didn't have large enough scraps of fabric so I ended up having a similar version - but with smaller ruffles

Here is the finished product:

T-Shirt Quilt

I started this T-shirt quilt about a year and a half ago, by cutting up all my old high school T-shirts into 14" blocks.....then I didn't know what to do next and they sat in a storage bin. After some coaxing from some fellow crafty and quilty (yes its a word now) ladies, I hunkered down and got it all done in about 3 days, with many breaks in between.

I didn't know I was going to write a semi-tutorial on this...so bare with me, the pictures aren't all here, but I'll try my best to explain things as I go. This makes a T-shirt quilt that is about the size of a twin bed.

First up, Supplies:

• 24 T-shirts, too precious to throw away, yet taking up space in the closet
• 9 yards of 20" light/medium weight fuse-able interfacing with left overs
• 2 yards of 90" batting, mine is natural cotton (with left overs)
• 2.5 yards of 60" jersey knit material
• 1 yard of cotton blend material for the border
• 6 yards of 1 inch double fold bias tape (with left overs)
• Sewing machine
• Scissors (this would be a fantastic time to invest in a rotary cutter, ruler, and mat. Believe me your hand will thank you)
• Matching thread (or at least best you can, I primarily used white or grey thread).
• Cereal box to make 12.5" square template
• Ruler
• Fabric marker

Mystery Medical Mondays: Ears

Good Morning everyone!! I hope you have a wonderful Monday!!

This week on Mystery Medical Mondays I'm going to be discussing ears. It is swimming season, which means lots of swimmers ear!!

First lets review some anatomy of the ear canal. There is an External, Middle, and Inner portion of the ear. The external ear canal is the passage way between the outside to the tympanic membrane. The Middle ear is where the ossicles (or ear bones) are housed and it is enclosed by the tympanic membrane and the Eustachian tube. The Inner ear is the part that does the "hearing" and it is formed by the cochlea and the semicircular canals.

Pictured borrowed from here