Is It Summer Yet?

In 43 days I am moving back home to Texas for the summer. I can’t contain my excitement…

I am tired of wearing jackets, not having cell reception in my own house, and school. I just want a vacation. A really long vacation.

But it won’t just be fun and games… I am going to get down to business as well.

I am going to transform my room into a craft studio.

Make/transform one article of clothing a week.

Make needed things for college. 

Do tons of craft tutorials.

Have lots of adventures.

and warm my frozen bones.

It is so cold in my house that after I washed my hands the cold air in my house froze them. I had to breath warm air on to my hands in my house… Not cool.

Looking forward to this. Just looking at this picture makes me warmer. 

Through out the winter I often looked at my “summer” pictures to keep me going. Almost there.

Carli

Craft Day.

Today has just been… Amazing.

I slept in, ate a yummy brunch, did my hair (bad hair day anyway), went craft shopping, came home and started crafting!

The above picture is some of the things I bought and/or am transforming and/or making.

I have to admit that the projects that I have started today are pretty dang awesome. I am taking a dinner/ let the paint dry break. (I hate second coats… You paint it once and it looks great until it dries. Then you have to do it again…)

I’ll post some pictures and how-to’s of the finished projects… when I finish them that is.

Carli 

A Recovery Story: Chapter One

I am fulfilling a new years resolution by posting this. YES! 

One of my many hobbies is clothing revivals. I don’t get to do it as much as I want to… Sewing is not really one of my strong points… Things that would take an experienced sewer an hour take me like quadruple that… sewing and ripping and sewing again… and then ripping like fifteen more times. It is soothingly stressful. More stressful then soothing. I like to be creative with clothing. It feels amazing to wear something that you have created! but revivals are sooo very stressful for me. But I love it. These are the reasons why I don’t do it that often…

I do have a little secret… I tend to buy clothes from thrift stores that I want to revive (I do this a lot….) and throw them in a box in my closet. They sit there for months and months. Every so once in a while I open that box and see what I have… All those clothes are probably saying “Oh Carli! Please pick me pick me! I want to be worn!” I feel so bad…

I got this sweater for the Rooney concert. I wanted to wear something that would keep my warm outside but not be too hot inside. It sufficed. Then I never wore it again. Never had the occasion I guess. 

BEFORE: Just an oversized sweatshirt that does absolutely nothing for your figure.

Plus it was a little tight on the neck…

Work area.

AFTER:

Now it is an extremely comfy over-sized cardigan style sweater!!!! It is so warm and perfect for the grab and go!

Happy Restyling!

Carli

Craft Booth Experience.

Let me start off by saying that this weekend did not turn out as expected. Don’t get me wrong… I don’t regret it. I had a lot of fun and I think we got some really good exposure. First of all… It is hard to sell stuff. Very hard. Second… it doesn’t help that not that many people even came to the show! Courtney and I were both under the impression that this was a big event and that tons of people were going to come. That did not happen. 

Here is a list of things I did not like about the show.

Cons: 

We had to buy a carpet because it was “mandatory” (why you ask? I have absolutely no idea. The floor was concrete) and then come to find out that maybe 40 percent of the vendors did not have said carpets… 

We registered for a booth closer to the front but apparently they didn’t get our registration… So when we didn’t get our vendor package we called and asked about it they told us they didn’t get the registration but the got the money and they never cared to see where that mysterious money came from. So we got the second to last booth to the end because ours had been reserved later. 

They had these hideous red and white curtains for the back drop. Sooo sick.

It smelled like horse crap until the guy selling roasted nuts started mixing up a batch.

They played the same song like 50 times and each time the CD skipped at the exact same part. You would think they would learn. Actually… you would think they’d be past CDs…

We were under the impression that this was a craft fair. But it wasn’t. It was a commercial made product fair with some crafts… A lot of the other handmade vendors were pretty upset about this. One lady was particularly mad to the point that she did crazy things and yelled while customers walked by. She was insane…

We were also under the impression that tons of people were coming. Not that many people came.

It was cold in there.

90% of the stage performers were bad.

Pros:

We didn’t do that bad. We got back what we paid for the booth and then some. 

We met some really nice craft vendors. Who said that this was a crappy show and that they normally are not that slow.

We had fun decorating and manning our booth.

A bunch of our friends came by and saw us! Thanks everyone!

We got to try some incredible dip. I went back to this guy maybe 10 times.

We gave out a ton of business cards. 

People were in love with our stuff.

The guys in the booth next to us were so weird… but incredibly funny.

This little 5 year old boy did a performance. He played the drums and sang at the same time. 5 YEARS OLD! He was so precious. He had the sweetest little voice.

We will never do that craft show again… but we are looking forward to doing another one in the not very near future. Right now we are going to focus on our Etsy shop.

Bellow are some photos from our booth!

We love our business cards.

Thanks to Jana (book wreaths) and Melinda (Ornaments & Knitted Bows) for letting us sell some of your lovely handmade things things! 

Carli

Tea Parties, Dresses, & Craft Weekend.

Yes, this is a very very late post. We didn’t have internet for the week….  Last weekend was so busy. I felt as if I had no time to lay around and do nothing. Friday I helped Ben move into Courtney and Ben’s new apartment. I may or may not have backed into his roomates car. If I had actually done that I would have to explain that I did not see it. Also, I looked to see if it was there. Also, there was a dent. Then the dent popped out. There was not really any damage. So if that had really happened… Everything would have been ok because Ben’s roomate would not have been mad. Phew… Friday was a bad day for me… Was Friday the 13th? Because it totaly could have been, because just about everything that could have gone wrong did. Even my little keychain that Ashley got me from Barbados broke. His little body fell off his head. I seriously cried. It wasn’t really that my key chain broke, eventhough I love it, it was more the fact that my day continually got worse, and that little key chain was the breaking point. Now I have a decapatedted key chain. It kindof resembles those little shruken heads in that bus in Harry Potter. I think Ashley might like that refference.

Saturday I was awaken by a more then bubbly roomate. She jumped on top of me as I sleeped. Not cool man, not cool. She awoke me at 9:02!!!! Really? I needed to wake up though. I had a lot to do. I got ready and then Courtney and I went to run some earrands. We did some thrift shopping for a hutch for her new apartment bathroom. Not sucessful. Then went to Urban Outfitters to exchange some shoes.(about that. So a few weeks ago I decided to purchase these sneakers because I need some cute sneakers. I bought two pairs because they were two for $30. Good deal. I tried on a size nine in these awesome navajo triangle ones and loved them. Then I decided to go with the red ones too. I just grabbed a size nine and left. Later when I got home I put them on and they were way to small, so I thought I accidentaly got a size 6 and just misread the tag. So Saturday I take them back and get a size 9. Then I take them home and they were too small again. I was so confused. Apparently the patterened shoes are different then the solid ones. So I will be taking these back and actually taking time in finding the right size…. I am an idiot.) After Urban Outfitters we got a gourmet cookie at the local shop Ruby Snap. I think I will dedicate a later post to Ruby Snap. It is not only amazingly tasty, but so cute! After eating some grub cookies we picked up Courtney’s wedding dress. It’s gorgeous.

Then we went straight home to cook and clean. We didn’t have much time to make our home presentable before people began arriving for the Bridal Tea Party that I was hosting. This party was a success. I had a grand time setting up the display of food and beverages. The guests enjoyed the chicken pockets that Courtney made, and I think that everyone enjoyed the games. Courtney got some very nice gifts. I was jealous of some particular items.

(Aren’t these things amazing! Made by Courtney and Carli)

Sunday evening wwas dedicated to crafting. We assigned ourselves the heious task of making a bouquet, mini bouquets, center pieces, and bouteneers out of handmade felt flowers. My hands were in pain after constructing so many flowers, and we aren’t even close to being done… Pictures are to come. They are very cute.

By the way… Our latest obsession which is the Glee Project was really good last night. We are looking forward to the finale next Sunday!

Carli.

It's Kinda A Funny Story

While I was in Texas I was looking desperately for the book “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”. I have heard that it is quite an amazing book. So my mother and I went to Barnes and Noble because I couldn’t find it at Half Price Books… To show how much I wanted to read this book, I was actually willing to pay full price for it. Plus I didn’t want the movie poster cover (I just think those are so lame… I want to envision the characters how I create them in my mind. I don’t want to picture some actor. I want someone that I can’t recognize in magazines and movies.) So… Mom and I are at Barnes and Nobles and I find the book I am looking for. I was ecstatic! I was excited to be able to read it on the plane ride home (which baffles me because I should have already known that I get very sick on plane rides and can hardly stand to look at my ipod for more then a minute at a time. I had to buy some Dramamine to sooth my nausea.) I decided to browse around in the journal section to see if I found anything that I could get for my dear friends birthday. Then all of a sudden this book on the shelf across the way catches my eye. I walk swiftly to it so that I may pull it from it’s place on the shelf and read it with enthusiasm because that is the only way that you can read a book that looks this amazing. Once the book is safely in my hands I look at the amazingly beautiful cover… Here it is.

Handmade Weddings! I think to myself… “Courtney is getting married soon and I know that she wants to make most of her decor. I must get this for her!” Mind you, I hadn’t even opened the book yet. I look to the price tag. It reads “27.95”. I never buy books full price unless I feel like I need it. Even more so, I never buy books that cost more then $15.00. My opinion is that I can check it out at the library or buy it half price elsewhere. Before I had even opened the book I decided to buy the book, and not even as a present to Courtney, I was buying it for myself. I tell my mom and she says “Your not getting married any time soon I hope?” I reply “No mom, but I could use this for my future wedding, and help with Courtney’s wedding. Plus! I could make some of these things into non-wedding stuff and give them my own personal flair.” She agrees. I then open the book to find the most amazing craft ideas I’ve ever seen compiled together in one handy little book that weighs roughly a pound. That was it, I was walking out of the store with that book. Then my mother says “You could get it off Amazon cheaper.” Mom’s always ruin your plans by giving you advice that will ultimately help you out in the future.

Suffice to say, I walked out of the store with only one book “It’s Kind Of a Funny Story”….

Good News is that I found the very same book on Amazon for $14.95 and at my local library! So I have checked it out! I still plan to buy it in the near future, but for now I will take advantage of this loan. I have decided to start a project similar to that movie with Amy Adams where she makes all the recipies out of a cook book and then blogs about it. I will not be doing one a day, but I will be doing them all. I look forward to sharing this Handmade Wedding journey with you.

Also, Courtney and I are going to put up some new items very soon! The picture bellow is a sneak preview of what is to come! 

What do you think?

Carli

In The Making

I am so excited about my first craft post!!!! I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Having been too busy to actually make the things  I wanted too was so depressing. But I now have time which is awesome.

Since I now go to work at 7am and get off at 3pm, I get home and just want to craft! The problem is that I don’t like to craft alone. Well, thats not true…  i’d just rather craft with a buddy. Courtney Is my crafting buddy and she gets off work at 6. Thats a whole three hours that I have to wait!!!! Yesterday she finally gets home and gets me all excited about making these sweet yarn lanterns weve been talking about making, and then informs me that she is leaving to go boating with her friend stealer of a fiance Ben. These are the exact words that I said to her… “What!?! Don’t leave me! I’ve been waiting all day for you to come home to me!” After we laughed about my choice of words, she then discovered that Ben could not borrow his fathers car to transport the boat to the pond. So we then crafted!!!!!!!

We’ve seriously been slacking on our Etsy shop. We have several earrings that we have yet to put up, and tons of supplies to make others. While Courtney got the yarn lamp materials ready I made these bad boys! This is just a small glimpse of how ridiculously cool these are. 

 I think that these may just be my fav! Soon I will have these little guys up on my shop. Hopefully Saturday evening…. If you would like to purchase these or a similar pair please click HERE!

We have also been getting started on some decorations for the Wedding. Never having done this before, we were quite surprisedd by how difficult this was to do. Maybe we just havn’t gotten the hang of it… but it turned out being a three man job. Ben held the balloon and unrolled the yarn. I soaked the yarn in the paste and untangled it when it was tangled. Courtney wrapped the yarn around the balloon. In the process of doing so the paste flung everywhere. It was all over Courtney and I. Ben somehow doged the mess, but then again he wasn’t really into it. We made him participate (he was sitting quietly on the couch watching a netfllicks movie on his phone while we labored over his wedding decor).

Here are a few things we discovered about making these.

This is a great project for young and old! Kids who enjoy getting their hands messy would have the time of their lives! (Courtney’s 12 year old cousin Kevin told us they were the ugliest thing he had ever seen hanging over someones dining table, but I am sure he will change his mind once they are done. He just had no concept of what they could possibly be.)

 The Balloon should not be too big unless you have had enough practice to handle a large sized balloon. 

You should hang the balloon up instead of holding it (the balloon gets very heavy).

String that you have already wrapped around tends to fall off so be careful when wrapping.

Have fun! Don’t be afraid to get messy! Just make sure you prepare an area so that your house doesn’t become all slimy.

They are not finished drying yet, and look more like slimy dinosaur eggs then lamps that you would hang at your wedding, but I have a feeling they will turn out extremely awesome.

I’ll post some pictures of the finished product very soon!

Carli

Life Ambitions.

Growing up I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to be as an adult. The range of professions has been quite far reached. Here are a few of the professions I contemplated… and the reasons I gave up on those dreams.

Astronaut: I get motion sickness easily.

Veterinarian: I can barley stand watching the Animal Hospital shows on Animal Planet. Watching animals be sliced open gives me the heebie jeebies.

Lumberjack: The reason for this was because I liked their hats, plaid shirts and the plethora of opportunities they have to say “TIMBER!!”. But unfortunalty I don’t have much arm strength.

Actress: Simply, I am a horrible actress.

Scientist: I can hardly pay attention in biolgy.

Interior Deisgner: My family told me that I could’nt be this. I don’t remember the reason.

Day care owner: uh. no thanks. I can only handle so many kids at one time.

Pastry Chef: It would be so cool to own a little pastry shop! Except for the fact that I burn just about everything that I bake.

Foot Model: This is a recent one. I saw an opening on craigslist. I thought my feet were nice. But Craigslist doesn’t seem like the best place to get a foot modeling position.

Professional Scuba Diver: Depending on what I would be diving for… If it were dead bodies, Heck no. Treasure, Heck Yes! Bad thing is that I am terrified of sharks and such.

Professional Soccer Player: Fact is that I am not good at soccer.

Ok so the point of this blog post is that I have decided what I want to be! Although I am going to college for Speech Language Pathology, all I want to be is a crafter! I just want to make stuff all day long and then blog about it and be an extremely successful Etsy shop owner! I want a craft room with tons of crafting supplies and sweet home decor that I made myself. I also want to sell my stuff in a variety of craft fairs! I lately have become obessed with reading crafter blogs. So many projects that i want to embark on. Someday….In the mean time I will continue my schooling, and dreaming big.

This is an example of my dream craft room. I could live in that room and never leave.

Carli