Head Bangin Coasters

This was another Christmas present project...personalized man coasters for my big brother. I made 4 sets of coasters this year (will post other pics later). These were prob my favorite because I like the black tile as opposed to the white, which yellowed a bit after sealer was sprayed. So all I did was high jack some old CD jackets, cut them up, glue them on home Depot tile, sealed them with a coat of glue, put some cork backing on to keep them from sliding/scratching and lastly polyurethaned them to give a moisture proof seal. Super easy, super cheap and super fun to do as a present. I have many ideas for many more, including some regarding Taylor Swift :) Feel free to comment, this has been one of my fav. Projects :)

La A Note To Follow Sew

This is one of my many Christmas present projects. I pulled it off in about 3 days and for the most part I'm happy with the finished results. This Christmas I decided to make all my presents (kicked myself once I started ahhh so much work!). I was utterly stumped when it came to my moms, but then it just hit me one day (and only days before Christmas) that this project was perfect. So I made her a personalized board to hold all of her thread spools for sewing (she's a crafty chick too, I get it from my momma). At least this way she will have it for years and it won't break or fade. Plus side of something home made and not store bought, plus I'm sure this would have costed a pretty penny to have made...but how would I personalize it so it speaks to her?? Well one of our favorite musicals of course!  I grew up watching so many but The Sound of Music has a sewing reference, score!!! Although I did botch a few things (including the lyrics, but that's just always how I sang them), it didn't come out too bad. I did realize how much I hate wood burning and I do have a new found respect for people that do it by hand for a living (if that's such a thing). She loved it despite me being anal when it comes to my artistic imperfections (I need to think things through a bit better sometimes). So this is the result of just how deep my craftyness flows, hope you enjoy :)

I am so excited to announce, I have a TON of projects in the works. They are Christmas presents I am currently working on so I will not be able to post them until after the holiday. So sorry!
Just to give you a general idea: some sewing and some crafty/thoughtful things. I decided instead of buying this Christmas, I would make something from the heart by hand (get it...lol). However, it is A LOT of work, but worth every effort in the end. I may just post one craft project before the holidays because technically it's not a present ;) So until then...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours. Be Merry, Love often, laugh insanely, and most importantly don't forget about the Lord during this time and all he has done for you and those you love. God bless!

My Real Legs Are Fins

After much searching for mermaid inspired heels and not liking too many (mainly my bank account not liking the price ha), I decided to make my own and do it to my liking in order to mesh with my mermaid style bridesmaids dress. Now these are by no means what I had in mind, but I used what I had in my craft drawer and this is how they turned out. I posted a few different angles of them, me wearing them, and me wearing them in my awesome dress, with the gorgeous bride of course :) It's not my best work but I'm satisfied with the turnout. Just used glitter, glue, and seashells. Fun shoes and a fun night :)
Thanks for checking them out and feel free to comment :)

Zen-Tangled ♥

So this was a new art venture for me and I loved every minute. Its called zentangle drawing and it was introduced to me by a friend :) So its basically glorified doodling,  shapes inside if shapes, but you can get pretty creative with it, there are no limits. Its mostly done with different line markers. Some people make crazy 3-d ones, but this is my first so I kept it simple. I have so many ideas now I can't wait til the next one! Haha. Maybe even in color :)

I know its been a while since I've posted, sorry been busy with the besties wedding. Its almost over, thank god weddings can be nuts...

Well please enjoy and leave a comment!

Child's Play

I designed and painted this for my neices bedroom. She loves cartoons, especially Mickey Mouse Club House, but I wanted to capture more then just one favorite for her. Each character is a letter of her name, as I'm sure you have noticed, and painted with water color paints. Each letter/character took a couple hours, give or take a little. Some did not turn out as I would have liked but overall I am happy with the outcome. Next time I will have to be more careful about measuring and cutting when it comes to matting. I'm sure if you have young children then you know who these characters all are. The best part of this whole project was to get to hear my neice tell me all the characters as she points to them :) I love knowing even a two year old can appreciate my work :) I even added some unique touches to some of the characters. For example, Tinkerbell has glittery fairy dust and Doc McStuffins has a glittery headband and shoes, just like in the show. I love cartoon design, but I am very excited for some more grown up projects I am about to embark on. One being Detroit themed :) thank you for viewing this and I hope uou enjoyed. Please feel free to leave comments and/or questions. Thank you.

Many Yesterdays

After a long month in a half I FINALLY finished my very first quilt. It was arduous, but its the project I am most proud of.

So I promised my Dad over 3 years ago that I would make a quilt from my grandmas clothes. Actually, I was very adamant about the whole thing because he wanted to get rid of a lot. You know how it is after people physically leave us from this world, we need to let go and move on as we hope they do. Death is a hard thing for anyone, but its harder to have to look at the remnants of a loved one. So anyway, after I kept telling him for 3 years I was gonna do it, I finally found someone to help me and who knew what they were doin so I could learn the correct way. Now I've sewn before, but not in a very long time so naturally,  I was a bit nervous lol. Her name is Evelyn and I could not have finished or started this without her. She is a quilting mastermind :)

I'm most proud of this because I actually did it all by myself, the sewing and cutting. Ugh the cutting was the worst!! Evelyn warned me about that haha. But also because to put so much into making something from pieces of the woman that helped shape my life, I am most honored. She was an incredible person and I cherish every memory. Woman had a hilarious sense of humor too :)

...about the quilt

Originally my Dad wanted a queen size, I was like "no way its my first one and that's too much work," well it ended up being that size in the end anyway (your welcome Dad). So after all the painstaking cutting of each piece of clothing and pinning it all together then sewing each piece to each other to make one big square, the damn thing was too small! I was so mad, but my awesome instructor that she is, suggested just to do a thicker border and it would look just as good. I ended up doing a 3 inch dark denim border then a 7 inch lighter denim surrounding that. Although its not too noticable in the pictures, it really pulled together well. Evelyn saved my quilt with that suggestion :) thanks again :)
So after all that it was time to put the backing on (the print wasn't what I had in mind but it worked out really well in the end, sorry no picture), Evelyn quilted the front and back together on her rather impressive machine (this part can't be done by hand or on a reg sewing machine). It looked awesome! Oh yea! I also put photos of my grandma and other family on the quilt before sewing both sides together.  It was a nice touch. :) All that was left was the binding (the edge/trim).

I hand sewed the binding on xmas eve 2013 (I know the pictures tell a different date, my Dad needs to adjust his camers) and was up til 1am watching crime shows just to keep me awake to finish. See my heart was set to give it to him on xmas day and it was gettin real close lol. Anyway, I finished, he opened it xmas day (I tried to wrap it like an idiot so he didn't know what it was but he always knows so yea that didn't work) and he cried before he even unwrapped It all the way! I knew that would happen, my Dad cries when he opens a card haha. So naturally I laughed and said "told you so," outloud. I'm glad its over haha but now I have to make my neice one (doh!). So right now I'm on a little break to focus on her bday present (pics to come) and a few other projects.

Lastly, I do want to say Evelyn did sew the yellow tulip on for me, so that def saved me time. Its my grandmas favorite flower so it had to go on. And a huge thanks to her on the whole project. It means a lot to me that I had the help and insight I did and it will never go unoticed. You are an awesome lady and thank you for making the time for me :) I have a new respect for people that sew lol. So thanks again Evelyn!

Sorry but the pictures don't do this work of art justice. Hope my Grandma is astonished by letting me honor her memory and that you enjoyed this, please leave a comment. Good Night ;)