pretty penpal letter

During our last visit, my cousin, Jade, and I decided we were going to start writing letters to each other, kind of being each other's "penpal". I hate how writing real letters is going out of style and being replaced by email and text messaging. There's something special about getting a handwritten letter that someone took the time to send you. So Jade and I are going to work on reviving this "ancient" practice of writing letters.

So for my first letter to Jade, I wrote and made a mini collage. I figured it would  be prettier then just some writing on paper (unless of course, you can do beautiful calligrahpy, which would look lovely on a page all of its own).

 I cut up some old magzines, scraps of paper, and washi tape.

Instead of a boring, conventional, white envelope, I decided to make one. I sandwiched the letter between two layers of paper and sewed around the edges. Then I decorated the front, wrote the address on the back, added a stamp, and it's ready to mail! ♥

floral skirt

I started watching the new season of Project Runway on Friday (I know, I'm a couple weeks late) and it got me inspired to start sewing again (my last sewing project was making these for Christmas gifts). I had some fabric that I got on sale because it was the end of the bolt, so I got however much was left (I think it was a little over a yard and a half). I decided I needed a new skirt in my wardrobe, so I looked up some ideas online. I kind of followed this tutorial and kind of just made it up as I went along. I didn't have enough fabric to make it as gathered as I wanted, but it still turned out ok just using what I had.

The hardest part was the zipper. I don't have much experience with zippers, so I sat for a while trying to figure out how to place the zipper and sew it correctly. I used a metal zipper because I knew I wanted to have it exposed, and I like the look of metal rather than plastic. 

Another thing that made the skirt a little more difficult to sew was that I added a lining. I want to try making this skirt again, but with a fabric that is thicker and doesn't need a lining.

When I finished sewing, I was holding my breath as I tried  it on... and it fit! I plan on wearing it with a cream colored colored, vintage button-up shirt I found at a thrift store. (Bonus: it even has a lacy, peter pan collar, perfect!)

Can you tell I like floral patterns? ;)

DIY clay envelope necklace

I've been playing around with clay the past couple days, so here is a quick tutorial I came up with for making a clay envelope necklace!

Roll out a thin sheet of white clay.

 Cut a small rectangle out of paper and put it in the middle of the clay sheet. Using an exacto knife, cut triangles around each side. Don't cut out the rectangle. You want to make it an envelope shape. If you want to be exact, print out a tiny envelope template and cut it out of the clay.

 It should look something like this ^^^. Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect, it won't make a huge difference in the end.

Fold it up, poke holes in the top with a toothpick, and bake according to the directions on your package of clay. When it's done, glaze it (I used Triple Thick) and attach jump rings and a string.

 Here's how it looks all finished! I think this would be a perfect gift (especially if you need a quick, last-minute idea) if you put it on a piece of cardstock, wrap it up in tissue paper, and put it in a pretty box.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and great weekend! ♥

new hair, new me

So maybe I'm a bit enamoured by Zooey Deschanel right now (who isn't?) but I promise I wasn't trying to copy her look. I've been thinking about getting bangs for a loooong time and finally decided to just do it because it's just hair, right? Well it's easier said than done, and I was kind of freaking out right before I got my hair chopped off. I was seriously reconsidering my decision as soon as I saw the scissors about to make the first cut. You'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but my hair is really long, so getting bangs meant it would  be years before they grew out to their original length. But I went through with it, and in the end, I'm really happy with how they look! I'm still missing my long hair in the front, but I really really really love my bangs. I love how my hair will look so put-together now, even if I just pull it into a messy bun. If you know any cute hairstyles to do with bangs, let me know; I want to try them!

ribbon flowers DIY

Tomorrow I am off on a vacation for a week visiting family (including my favorite blogger cousin, also my only blogger cousin), surfing, hanging out at the beach everyday, and probably making and eating lots of delicous food (this is what we do when we all get together!). But I thought I'd leave you all with one more little crafty project; ribbon flowers!

 First gather together scrap ribbon. Make sure your ribbon is made of a synthetic material (like polyester), because cotton will not work for this project (you'll see why in a moment).

Cut lots of petals out of your ribbon. No need to use a template, just freehand a petal shape.

Using pliers, hold a petal over the flame of a candle. Don't touch the petal to the flame, and don't get it too close. Hold it a couple inches away until the ends melt slightly and the petal curls up. This is why you need a synthetic material. Cotton will burn, polyester will melt.

This is what the petals should look like. Don't they kind of resemble itty bitty seashells??? 

Stitch your petals together to form a flower. You can also use glue, but I found that sewing them makes the flower sturdier.

 Layer other pieces of ribbon and beads for the inside of the flower. Make lots of flowers and use them in all your crafts! I think they would be pretty for your hair if you attach them to a hair clip. Have fun making them!

See you all in a week or so! ♥

DIY pink-dyed cutoffs

I've seen colored jean shorts all over pinterest and I've been wanting to make some for the longest time, so I finally bought the supplies and did it! This was my inspiration picture.

ps. And a bonus, this whole project cost me less than $10, while ones you find in stores are $30+!!!

You will need:

♥fabric dye

♥an old pair of jeans

♥bleach

♥vinegar

♥water

♥a bucket

I used the Rit liquid dye. I was originally going to do a light aqua, but when I went to the store to buy the dye, they were out of a lot of the colors. So instead I chose "petal pink". 

I bought an inexpensive pair of jeans from the thrift store to use for this project. Check your closet first though and see if you have an old pair of jeans/jean shorts to use. I wanted to make shorts, so I cut the legs off, but this would also work if you left them as jeans.To keep the shorts from unraveling, I sewed around the legs, 1/2 inch above where I cut them. I wanted them to fray, so I didn't hem them.

Next, bleach the jeans. I did all of this outside on the driveway so I wouldn't stain anything. I followed these instructions for bleaching. Mix 2 parts water with 1 part bleach and soak the jeans until they are white. (Make sure you wear rubber gloves the entire time!) The website I followed said to leave them in for about 30 minutes, but mine took about an hour to get them to the white I wanted. Just keep checking on them as they soak. After they are done, wring them out and transfer to a new bucket to soak in a mixture of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar for 5 minutes to stop them from bleaching.

After that, I rinsed the shorts out really well with the hose because we have a septic system, which means we can't use bleach in the washer or let it go down the drain in the sink. Once I made sure they were rinsed well, I washed and dried them. I don't know if this is necessary, or if you can just go straight to dyeing them, but I didn't want to take any chances.

I almost kept them white, because I really liked how they looked, but I also really wanted to see them pink. I think I'll do this project again with a new pair of jeans and just bleach them white and not dye them.

***Note: As you can see in the picture, the threads did not bleach. I'm not sure if it is because of their material (maybe they're polyester?) or what, but it didn't make a huge difference in the end.

Then it was time to make them pink! I followed the directions on the bottle of dye, and mixed about 3 gallons of hot water with half the bottle of dye in a bucket. The only thing I didn't do was add a cup of salt. I'm not sure what exactly the salt does, but leaving it out didn't affect the dyeing process (that I know of). I wanted light pink jeans, so I put them in the dye for about 30 seconds. The bottle said to leave them for around 30 minutes, (I know! That's a big difference from 30 seconds!) but I wanted my jeans to look faded, not fully saturated with color. After dyeing, I washed and dried them again.

I'm pretty happy with the result. They turned a slightly different color pink then I wanted, (I was going for a soft, ballet pink, and they ended up being a bit brighter), but they are still cute. The only negative is they seemed to be bigger after the bleaching and dyeing process. They already were a bigger size than I wear (they were the smallest I could find at the thrift store), but now I have to wear a belt with them or they'll fall down. Other then that, I really like them!

I thought about adding studs to them (like in the inspiration picture), and I still might, but I kind of like them just plain. I definitely want to try this project again with other colors, so maybe I'll just save the studs for another pair of jeans.

Let me know if you make a pair, I'd like to see! ♥

fabric covered clothespins

 I know... I've made these before, you've seen them all over the web, there are tutorials everywhere, but I'm still posting about them. Today I was taking a break from cleaning (I never did any "spring" cleaning, and it's caught up to me, so now I guess I'm doing "summer" cleaning), reading blogs, looking for craft tutorials to do after I finished cleaning, but that lead to me making clothespins instead of getting back to work. I found the idea here, grabbed some scrap fabric and modpodge, and here is the result!

Now I'm going to make some iced coffee and get back to cleaning! (No more crafting breaks, sadly). I hope everyone is enjoying what's left of the weekend! ♥

paper medallions diy

 I feel like I've made these before and posted about them on my blog, but I can't find the post. Anyway, today I am showing you how to make these mini paper medallions!

So start with a strip of paper. This isn't the type of craft where you need measurements (it's not supposed to look perfect), but if you must be exact, make the strip about 1in. wide and 15in. long.

Now here's the tricky part to try to explain. Accordian fold it, but in a circle, if that makes sense. You need to curve it as you fold so it forms a  circle. If you get to the end of the strip of paper and need more, just glue on another piece.

 When you get  back to the begining of the circle, glue or staple it together.

 For the center of these medallions, just stack small, pretty pieces of paper on top of each other and attach with glue.

And your medallions are finished! Now what can you use them for, you ask?

Gift decorations!

Make a boring envelope pretty!

Or just stick them somewhere to bring a little color.

Here's a little look of the behind the scenes. This is what my desk usually looks like after crafting. No, it is not fun to clean up. But crafts are worth it!

Have fun crafting! ♥

strawberry-citrus cupcakes

I made these delicous strawberry-citrus cupcakes a few weeks ago and just never got around to posting about them until now. I wish I had taken photos while I was making them but I only have a picture of the result! My mom found the recipe here and I baked them for us. They are amazing. Light and fluffy and strawberry-y and orange-y and sweet and yummy, you can probably tell I love them. The recipe calls for orange juice but I think lemon juice would also be equally as delicous. ♥

national winners and a clay craft

So remember that business trip I told you about last week? Well, I'm not some CEO for a major corporation or anything (as I am only in high school), the trip was actually for a school organization I'm in called FBLA, or Future Buisiness Leaders of America (and I'm also the newly elected vice president for FBLA at my school!). I was competing in desktop publishing category and made it past the regional and state levels, so I got to attend this National Leadership Conference. Here, I had to attend workshops, meetings, socials, and my competition. I competed once more to try to place in the top ten in the nation, and I did it! (Well, me and my team member did it!) We made ninth place! I am beyond excited about it!

ps. Incase you don't know what desktop publishing is, it's basically like graphic design. You create documents, like fliers, brochures, advertisements, etc..., for companies.

So, to celebrate, I made a craft tutorial! It has absolutely nothing to do with FBLA/desktop publishing, it's just a fun craft to do!

You will need clay, a circle template, an exacto knife, and something to poke holes with (haha, I don't know what this tool is called). I used paperclay, which is air-dry clay, but you could use sculpey too and bake it instead.

Using your hands, press out the clay so it's a thin sheet (1/8th to 1/4th inch thickness if you must be exact). I didn't want mine perfectly smooth (I like the handmade look) but you could roll it out if you want it all even. Use your template to cut out circles from the clay. (Or another shape if you choose)

You can smooth out the edges or leave them if you want. I like the rough edges (again with the handmade look) so I left them.

If you want to make tags, poke a hole in only the top. If you want to make a bracelet, make two holes across from each other.

Make lots and let them dry. It's been so hot here (90°-100°!) that I set them outside for a couple hours while I was out by the pool and they dried really fast.

Then paint them!

Use them as tags to tie around a package to make it pretty!

I made this bracelet by painting them a light blue and writing quotes wth a pen. I put gold glitter on the edges. Tie each of the pieces together with elastic string.

Have fun! ♥