Mass Effect Felt Wall Plaque DIY (Flashback)

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No, your memory is not failing you, nor is it that funny taste that may have been in your drink.  Although, if that actually happened, you may want to look into it.  You may have seen this post before.  In an attempt to make everything easier to navigate for everyone, I am working on transferring all of the old beauty and craft posts from the recipe blog to their appropriate homes on the newer wings.  Please bear with all the boring re-caps!

<3

-WW

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This is, obviously, a continuance of the mad-craft-a-thon I endeavored in while the Wookie was is still glued to his new game.  In the spirit of his new game and how much he has been enjoying it, I decided to make a few of these:

Cute, eh?  Also SUPER-DUPER fast and easy.  If you make more than one, I'd suggest saving your first cut-out negative as a template, it makes the second one go faster.  I made two, one for the Wookie, and one for our awesome zombie-drawing friend he's been spending hours playing the online co-op with.

You may have noticed at this point, that I only do very simple patterns.  This is due to the fact that a) I can't draw so I have to keep things kindergarten-level easy, and b) I don't have a printer either, so that limits me quite a bit.

Anywho, I looked up logos from Mass Effect 3 and saw this one and was delighted to find something easy enough that my drawing-impaired ass could actually pull off.  As an added bonus, this just happened to be the Wookie's favorite logo in the game, so YAY, go me.  Or rather, go video game designers who make logos easy enough for me to cut out.  Whatever.

Moving right along...

First, pick your background color and clamp it into an embroidery hoop.  This is just one of the small plastic ones with the rubbery-stretchy-top-part-thingy.  God, I'm so descriptive I just floor myself sometimes.

This one didn't have a hangy-thing at the top (look out world, there I go again), so I used a small cup hook and just screwed it in, then bent the hook a bit more with some pliers (read: the Leatherman I keep in my purse because using the actual pliers would have required me to walk a whole extra 20 feet and excavate them from the rubble that is our storage room) until it was more hook-y than before so it wouldn't fall off whatever we nail it up with so easily.

Then, I drew the pattern out on to the appropriate colors of felt using a yellow off-brand Sharpie because I'm awesome enough to rock off-brands and because I didn't want black to bleed through and somehow using white chalk just didn't seem like a great idea.  This simple pattern, for me, required a straight-edge, yes.  No, I can't even draw a straight-fucking-line.

I'll give you a moment to laugh at me.

...

...

We good?

K.

Glue the pieces on with hot glue and you're done.

No, really that's it.

Voila!

<3
The Wookie Wifey

DIY Slipper Socks! ^_^

This is such a cute, yet quick craft...If you don't count drying time, that is.

Non-skid slipper socks!  I tend to run around barefoot like the hippie I am in the summer time, but in the winter, my feet and hands are *constantly* cold and I tend to wear socks pretty much all the time unless I'm sleeping.  Socks + hard floors = busted asses...or at least a few close calls every winter.  Not anymore!

For this, you'll need some socks, some slick fabric paint (it dries sticky), and a flip flop or a cardboard cutout of your traced foot.

Super lazy cat is totally optional.  Mine would NOT move.

Stretch your socks over your flip flops or cardboard cutouts.  Make sure the bottom of the sock is on the bottom of the shoe and that it is fitted to it more or less the same way it would be on your foot.  If you're doing a more foot-shaped design instead of a flat one, this will help with that.

Take the puff paint and draw on your design.  Put it somewhere the cat can't wake up and pounce it and leave it there for about 24 hours.

Always test your design by poking it with a toothpick because REALLY big, complex designs that require a lot of paint can take more than 24 hours to dry if you try to goop it all on in one sitting.

There you go!  Cute socks and they really do put the brakes on sliding around on hard floors.  I have lots of designs in mind, so I think I'll definitely be making a few more pair!

Let me know if you try it out!!

<3 WW

Random Photo Post - Craft Edition (Flashback)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

No, your memory is not failing you, nor is it that funny taste that may have been in your drink.  Although, if that actually happened, you may want to look into it.  You may have seen this post before.  In an attempt to make everything easier to navigate for everyone, I am working on transferring all of the old beauty and craft posts from the recipe blog to their appropriate homes on the newer wings.  Please bear with all the boring re-caps!

<3

-WW

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Here's some crafting things I've been up to lately.  ^_^  I haven't done tutorials for most of these because none of them are my ideas, just things I've snagged off Pinterest and such and thought would be nice to make.  Enjoy!  <3

These are a few earring frames I made just for kicks...The one with the heart is my favorite, it turned out so cute!!

I macrame'd my Hello Kitty earphones...And I can not stress enough how well this works.  We tried to tangle them and couldn't.

I also made a few of these stretchy, button and lace bookmarks.  They work pretty well.  I shook the book and it didn't fall off, so I guess I did it right!  >.<

This is a funky necklace I made out of an old, scratched-up .45.  Sorry the picture sucks!  :)

Mario Mushroom plushie I made for the Wookie.  :)

My felt needle book.  Inside are magnets to hold the pins and needles in place so I don't have to worry with poking them in and out of the felt.

My Horde Ipod case.  LOVE this thing.  <3 <3 <3

My sweater ring box...This will get re-done as I'm not pleased with it...It looks okay, but I want the lines straighter and I have a few ideas on how to do that, I just haven't gotten around to it.  But for now, this works wonders and is the most organized way I've ever found to store my rings.  The box itself is just an old wooden cigar box.

This is a little Pac-Man wall hanging I made out of some old CDs.

...And last, but not least, I leave you with an entire horde of plush zombies...Both a group shot and they each got their own camera time!  ^_^

Hope you all are having a lovely time!  :)

<3
WW

DIY Tablet Case

Wow, so it has seriously been over a month?  I could have sworn I'd posted on here at least twice this month, but it must have been one of those "oh, I'm going to..." and then get distracted by something shiny moments.

Oh well!

This is one of my more involved projects, so hang in there!!

 First thing you'll need is some fabric of your choice.  I used some old PJs that were stained and torn and just no longer suited for PJ use.  The pockets came off of a really old pair of shorts and I thought one would look cute on the front.

 You're also going to need scissors and some felt to line the inside.  You want it nice and padded, but this isn't going to show, so if you buy multi-packs, like I do, then this is a great way to get rid of Those Ugly Colors That Never Get Used.

Of course, you'll need thread and needles and, if you choose, some cute patches, bows, buttons, beads, or other fun accessories to stitch onto it to customize it!

 Last but not least, you'll need some cardboard.  I cut a piece the size of the tablet to use when working with the case so that the tablet didn't get scratched when everything was all pinned up.

First, position the decorations onto the pocket and stitch them all in place.  This is way easier to do with the pocket off of the case than on it.

Now, I got really lucky in that these wide-leg capri pajama bottoms were the exact width of the tablet when stretched out, so I just lopped them off about two inches below the length of my tablet cardboard cutout.  I wanted to leave them a bit long to allow for the seam at the bottom and to be sure the top of the tablet would be covered when inserted.  I pinned the pocket where I wanted it to be, then flipped the leg inside-out once I had cut it off.

Once that was done, I pinned the bottom seam, then pinned the ugly felt to it to pad and protect the tablet once it was inside the case.  As you can see, I stitched the pinned pocket in place through both the leg of the pajamas and the felt to secure it all.  Once that was done, I popped a few stitches around the felt edges to hold it in place.  Repeat the pocket-and-felt-securing-process on the other side!  You will want to pop the cardboard tablet cutout in here a few times during the process to make sure you are leaving plenty of room for it to fit easily in the case.

All those scratchy beads and buttons are in there, so aren't you glad you have that silly cardboard cutout now?

Now that the stuffing is done, it is time to stitch up the bottom!  If you didn't have serendipity on your side with the width of the pajama leg, then you would also do the other two long sides at this point, as well.

I looped the fabric seam in over a large needle and then went around it once more for good measure to make sure the stitches were extra sturdy and the pouch could withstand a lot of abuse.  Just make a few stitches and move the needle up and wrap the seam as you go - it prevents tedious pinning and is much easier than I'm making it sound!  This will also help prevent dust and other things from having as many entry points into your case.

Flip that baby rightside-out and you're good!!

Here's the back...I chose to only decorate up one side of the pocket.

...and here is what it looks like with the tablet inside!

Pretty!

<3WW

DIY Cookie Cutter Yard Decor

What do you do when you buy some super cute vintage cookie cutters, but don't want to use them because you're about 99% sure that paint on them is lead?

Well, first you punch holes all around them.

They were rather thin, so I used a leather punch and it worked just fine.

Then, string some pretty beads and baubles onto something very strong.  Since it is crazy windy where we live, I used a very heavy test fishing line.

Then, tie the line to the holes.

Alternatively, you could use some cheap chain and then use jump rings to attach them!

These already had holes in the top on either side of the little handles, but if yours don't, that could be remedied with the leather punch or with an awl.  I used chain through the holes of the beaded one to hang...

...then I used a leather cord for this one since I'd used up all of my gold cheapie chains on it already.

Super quick craft that turned out very cute!  Bonus?  They hold up crazy well.  These have been hanging up for about 4 months now outside in the harsh summer heat and wind and withstood several bad storms and are none the worse for wear!

<3 WW

Listening to:  "The Lost Vikings" - Dethklok