Cooking in the Kitchen with Not Elton John

I saw a t-shirt with these phrases on it last year with a picture of a pan full of bacon on it and knew then that I had to have it on my kitchen wall. Naturally, I had to put my own twist on it as well. A year later, and after two semesters of grad school, here they are.

Easy French Manicure is Not

Last night I tried to do a funky new-style French manicure using tape and paper reinforcement circles, as per this popular internet tutorial;

http://www.popcosmo.com/2012/05/04/how-to-do-a-french-manicure-effortlessly/

Here is a picture of my fingers all covered in tape:

This doesn't look silly at all.

And here is the "finished" look.

Messy, messy, messy!

Part of my problem is that I HATE waiting for nail polish to dry.  And another problem is that the darker color was actually thicker than it should have been because it's a little old.  And the last problem is that I suck at doing my nails.

Let me know if you try this, and if you have better results!

Felt Ornaments

I sent some felt ornaments out with my holiday cards this year.  These can also double as car air fresheners... just dab a little fragrance or essential oil on it!

This is a nice little project if you have a ton of felt lying around.  Like so.

Supplies needed:
      Felt
      Thin cardboard
      Thread or embroidery floss
       Needle for above

Step 1:  Draw the shape you want on the thin cardboard, & cut out.  Make this shape a little smaller than you want your finished ornament to be.

Step 2:  Using the cardboard as a template, cut 2 pieces of felt.  One will be the front, and one will be the back.

Step 3:  If you have details to add, sew them on or stitch them in a contrasting color.  You can also glue things on, but I found that didn't work as well, probably because I didn't use felt glue.

Step 4:  Now it's time to sew the two big pieces together.  If you want your ornament to be stiff, sandwich your cardboard between the pieces of felt.  Carefully pin in place around the cardboard. Cut a nice long piece of thread.  Thread it on your needle, but don't knot it. Start at the top center of your ornament, and leave at least 4 inches of thread hanging loose.  Whip-stitch all the way around your ornament.  When you get back to the top, you can knot it with the beginning of the thread, then tie a knot up about 3 inches to create your hanging loop.  Trim so the ends are even.
And that's it.  Easy felt customized felt ornaments for your kooky friends!  :)

12.17.12 Scott Pilgrim WIP

We can check Gideon's right arm off the list!

Two things: I'm pretty sure that the top part of Gideon's hand is actually Envy's arm, but they were the same thread colors, so I stitched it anyway. Also, Gideon doesn't have an elbow there because it's behind Lucas Lee's head. It'll be a while before we get to Lucas, though.

Stocking: Finished!

Heirloom Christmas Stocking

My grandmother crocheted me this Christmas stocking when I was little.

This is my boyfriend's and my first Christmas together and he doesn't have a stocking of his own, so I'm going to make him one that coordinates with mine.

Since I don't have a pattern, the first step was figuring out the pattern. And I did! Now I just need to make 16 more squares...

All the Googly Eyes

IF YOU ARE MARRIED TO ME, THERE ARE CHRISTMAS SPOILERS BELOW.  

LOOK AWAY.

Guys, I'm a bit of a jerk.  But it turns out I'm not as big of a jerk as my friends.

The husband and I have been discussing procuring an iPad to replace our laptop which is showing its age and can't handle running more than a program at a time before showing the beach ball of OMIGOD COULD THIS TAKE ANY LONGER. I mentioned that I was thinking of buying the iPad as a Christmas surprise to two of my co-workers and one had a dastardly idea: put googly eyes on a feminine protection product.

I liked the idea, but modified it a bit so I'd feel like less of a total ass on Christmas morning. It seems like a lie to call this a project as it was ridiculously easy and I ended using it as stress relief after a bad sports day.

With two small children, there was no way that an iPad was going without protection.  That case I chose comes with a stand that will get little use.  Off I went to Walmart for the eyes: the pack with various sized eyes was under $3 and easily covered the back of the stand (so I have leftovers and a second pack with which to create later mayhem).

I can't wait to see his reaction when he opens the present.  And if you're having a bad day, I seriously recommend getting wild with the eyes: it's an instant high.

12.9.12 Scott Pilgrim WIP

When last we talked, I had just started to stitch Gideon's left hand. Now I've finished his entire left side.

You can see a small gap right at Gideon's waist. There's a small golden bird that's going to go there, and the bird's beak and the edge of the bird's head overlap Gideon.