Tis the Season

Since this is my first Christmas as an adult (read has a B.A. but still wears footie pjs), I decided to make Christmas cards.  Obviously, I couldn't mail them to you all. So, I made you this lovely gif so you could see it for yourself:

Cheers!

Embroidered shoes

So, I might have mentioned this before, but I am not incredibly good at finishing projects. I absolutely love to dream them up and plan them and find all the bits and pieces for them but, then I lag behind in the actual assembly (it's just less interesting!).  About a year ago (okay over a year ago), my roommates and I bought fake TOMs shoes to personalize.  Two painted them but, because I lack that particular skill, I chose to embroider mine.

Dandelions are kind of a huge thing with me.  Not to sound super "omg I found them first so no one else can like them" but, I had quite the obsession with picking and wishing on dandelions in middle/high school.  Nary a dandelion in seed could I pass and not pick it.

I started these, got bored, then realized that it was going to rain for the next six months so even if I finished them I wouldn't be able to wear them.  I picked them up again this summer and finished them just in time for the rain to start up again.  Oh well...I guess I can wear them next year!

Fabulous fall

I don't know what it is like where you are but, I hope you are having as wonderful of a fall as we are here in the Northwest.  September started off terribly stormy but the last couple weeks have been absolutely perfect.  Crisply cold days with heavy fog in the morning that sinks down in the valleys and then lifts for sunny days.  Today is the first all-grey day in a while.

This morning I attended a breakfast/brunch for the women of my church and then Kirsten (of Kirsten's Cupcakes and Things) and I stopped at a nearby park to wander around and take pictures. (Side note: did you ever notice that the words wonder and wander are so close? I always wonder while I wander.) It was an adorable little park on the top of a hill.  Not creepy at all said Kirsten. (little did we know what awaited!).

Giant spiders! As we were leaving, we noticed this beautiful dew covered spider's web.. and then another ...and then another! We realized that the field was absolutely full of them. I'm sure that I saw at least 20.  They were very pretty but also a little creepy. Just in time for Halloween I guess.

As I was putting this outfit together last night, I was looking for a sweater/dress combo when I realized that my Capezio wrap is the perfect height for this dress with the tie in the back.  I love tie-back dressed but sometimes the bow in the back can make an unseemly bump and just be annoying.  The wrap fit perfectly with it and I don't know why I never thought of it before.  I can become so easily caught up in wanting to buy new clothing items all the time, when I need to remember that there are really hundreds of combinations of the clothes that I already have to wear, if I just get creative.

A quick note about this sweater.  I don't remember where I got it (Mom probably knows) but I remember pairing it with jeans and shoes of the matching color and little heart barrettes in middle school (definitely stole from my mom!).  It really is the first time that I remember intentionally putting together an outfit. I remember feeling cute and confident for about the first time (middle school is hard yo).  I didn't try terribly hard in high school, finding clothes that actually fit was really my only goal.  But I look back on that outfit as an important point for me, so this sweater is close to my heart.  I will have to start wearing it to the ballet class at the Y that I am starting soon.

New car had to get in on the photo action too!

Always,

Re-dyed jean shorts

I have been on a bit of a dyeing kick this summer (as you will see in the next couple posts). It can be a lot of work but if you are patient and do it right, you can get some really great results for very little money.

I finally bought a new pair of work pants, since I have been wearing the ones above for about two years.  They are ripped and stained with all sorts of lovely greases and oils. I really wanted to make something wearable from them instead of cutting them up for scrap so, I decided to bleach and dye them.  Here is how I did it:

Supplies:

old pair of jeans

bleach

bucket

dye

salt

gloves

dye fixer

1. Cut the legs off your pants quite a bit longer than you want the shorts. No use dyeing fabric you don't need.

2. Create a bleach bath of about 2 gal water to 2/3 cup bleach. Just don't use too much bleach or it will eat away the fabric.  Since the concentration is so low, it will take a while to bleach the blue out completely.  My pants were a pretty light color to start with but it still took about 3 days. I changed the bleach bath and rinsed the shorts about 4 times during the process.

3. Now you are ready to dye your shorts! I used a dark color because my pants were still stained after I bleached them but if yours are clean, you can bleach them pastel if you want.  The process here varies depending on what brand you use and what method  you choose. I like to use liquid dye because even though it costs more, it makes less of a mess because the powder tends to get everywhere (don't sneeze!).  I also always dye in a bucket inside of a utility sink.  I like to use a dye fixer after to help the dye stay bright after the upcoming washes.

4. Finish the legs of your shorts however you like. Roll 'em, hem 'em or just plain cut 'em off!

Note: I used kelly green dye first but the color just wasn't what I wanted so I re-dyed them dark green. Remember that dyeing isn't an exact science.

Second note: If you will notice, the stitching on the pants stayed the original color and was not bleached or dyed. This is because the thread is synthetic, not cotton, so you will keep the contrasting stitching.

Stay bright!

Afghan Update: August 12th

You might have forgotten about this project since I haven't posted about it since April, but I'm still chugging away making crochet squares for my afghan.  I've started adding purple around the edges, so that I can connect them all so that's a bit boring, but here are the new squares that I've made:

I wish that I could have crocheted during my trip to Spain (5 hour layovers are booooring) but it would have been just ridiculous to try to bring all that yarn with me around the country.  I hope to have the blanket done for when the cold weather sets in.  We have been having a bit of muggy overcast days here in the pnw but I have high hopes for a beautiful fall to come.

In case you forgot, all the patterns that I am using come from this book:

Stay stitchy!

Makin' do

With four people living in one apartment, the kitchen table can get...um disorganized.  I've been wanting an organizer for the table but just haven't been able to find what I wanted in stores.  Most desk organizers are one sided and I needed something that could be accessed from any angle and sit in the middle of the table. Piling everything at one end against the wall just wasn't working anymore.  You can get these really awesome wooden, spinning organizers at craft stores but, they are more than I wanted to pay. So in a moment of frustration last week, I just thought "fine then! I'll make it!" So, I did.

I went and pulled some cardboard from the complex recycling bin, cut it up, painted it purple just for kicks and glued it together with a hot glue gun.

It's literally a glorified cardboard box, but guys, IT'S PURPLE.  Much better than the actually shoebox that was sitting at the end of the table (okay maybe still is. step 1. make organizer step 2. organize).

For those of you who follow me on instagram, you might recognize the first photo in this post.  Follow me on instagram (user name: chickaddie) or click on the widget to the right to see more pics.

Cheers,

Life Lately: August 2nd, 2013

Good heavens! It's been over a month since I last posted. How did that happen? Summer always seems to go faster than any other time of year. After graduation, my other roommates moved out so it's just me and George (my cat).

I have to admit that I have not been doing much crafting.  I've been working a lot and my job takes so much energy out of me.  It's incredibly chaotic where I work and my brain just can't take much more by the time I get home. See what I have to deal with:

All that stuff belongs to individual people and must be catalogued, priced, entered into the computer, tagged and put away. *sigh* I won't bore you any more with complaining about my job. The good news is that I accepted an AmeriCorps position with the Boys & Girls Club that starts this September so, I only have one month left of this job! Yippee! 

When I am not working, it's almost impossible to not be outside enjoying the perfect Pacific Northwest summer.  We may get a lot of crap for having grey, rainy winters but, you can't beat our hot-but-not-too-hot-bugless-beautiful summers.  Here is some of the beauty that I've been traipsing through lately:

I've spent many an afternoon at Lake Padden

Teddy Bear Cove

Mt. Baker from Skyline Divide

someone brought their pet goats hiking!

I recently joined the incredibly addictive smartphone world (candy crush anyone?  I seriously cannot stop playing that game!).  I've been watching people Google things on their phones with envy for quite some time and now I too have joined the technology dependent ranks.  I'm going to have to work hard to not become one of those people who is glued to their phone all the time. Maybe the newness of it will wear off at some point but, right now, I am still simply in awe of all this little square of metal and plastic can do.  One of the things that I enjoy the most is being able to take pictures of my life without dragging around my ancient, battery sucking brick of a camera.

my little patio garden / chicken at the community garden where I volunteer
favorite color, favorite dress / mead and cake with good friends
you don't have to tell me twice! / teacups at my favorite antique mall

I haven't been completely negligent.  I do have a few craft projects that I have been working on (slowly) here is a sneak peek of one:

Stay summery,

A pink and black affair

Do you ever buy that perfect piece of clothing and then just have to put it on when you get home, even if you don't have anywhere to wear it to?  I bought this fun pink tulle skirt at Value Village last week (for a whopping $4) and couldn't resist twirling around in it for a while.  I almost passed it by because it was marked large but I remembered the advice of another blogger on thrifting (I believe it was delightfully tacky) who said to ignore sizing at thrift stores so, I turned myself around and grabbed it and I'm glad I did!

skirt: Forever 21 via Value Village/t-shirt: Target/shoes: Payless/watch: Fossil/bracelet: handmade/clutch: Target

I also picked up these nude wedges. They were $20 which was a bit excessive for a thrift find but I looked online when I got home and they seemed to retail for about $60 so, it was still a pretty good deal. Now I just need a sweet office job to wear them too!

I told you that George would find his way into the blog! He went with the theme this week too. My little man is all dressed up in his tuxedo and boots.

XOXO

House family photoshoot

Before I left for Spain, my roommate's sister, Amelia, graciously offered to do a photoshoot of our house family. I live with three other girls in a household that we call the Nook. Instead of just being a group of people who happen to be roommates, we strive to live like a chosen family.  This year three of us graduated and two are moving out so, having a photoshoot together was a great way to remember this time. It was also a good opportunity to take more professional photos and show off some of our favorite outfits. It was actually quite rainy and cold on the day off the shoot but fun was had by all anyway.

Here are some of my favorites:

Kaylin, Courtney, Emily and Me!

Besties since high school

Things got quite a bit silly!

Everyone has moved out for the summer so it's just me and I miss these girls so much already.  They make everything so much fun! Even going grocery shopping turns into meltdown status hilarity in the aisles and now I just...buy stuff. It's rather boring.  I guess I will just have to keep myself busy crafting.

Thanks again to Amelia for the photos.

Life Lately: Post graduation and back from Spain!

Goodness it's been a while!

I got back from Spain on the 13th and since then have been in a whirlwind of graduation,  my roommates moving out and starting up my job again. I've only just gotten back on a normal sleep schedule after being terribly jet lagged.  Now that things are settling down, I hope to return to regular programing soon. I have lots of projects in mind and I even have an empty room in the apartment that I might take over as a craft room for the summer. Here is a bit of what I have been up to:

Outstanding Graduate Awards ceremony. I love this new peplum top!

Second graduation together!

Out to dinner in my graduation outfit with the new Fossil watch my parents gave me.

Dinner at the Black Cat was perfect. Don't these just look delectable?

Speaking of black cats...I bought a cat today!!! I have been wanting a cat of my own since I moved away from home and I finally got one. Meet George:

I got him from the human society and he is bit scruffy because he came in with patches of fur burned off and it's just growing back but I'll have him fixed up in no time. I am sure he will be a regular feature on this blog if he is like most cats who enjoy pattern sitting and yarn chasing.

XOXO

+ George