Thanksgiving Creations!

Happy Thanksgiving Readers!

This year Moose and I decided to have a dinner at our house.  So of course that gave me the perfect opportunity to make some cute stuff.  I wanted to make a table runner, place mats, a center piece, and a center piece for our hallway table too.  This was a very ambitious project cause I only had a week to do it in.

Table set up

I went to JoAnn's to ge supplies and got started.  The table was first since most of it required sewing.  The place matts and table runner were made from fabric bought at JoAnn's.

Mayflower Center Piece

For the center piece I used a basket, apples and gourds, fake leaves, chopsticks and felt for the sails.







For the hallway center piece I used dead branches from our bushes outside.  Felt for the flowers, buttons for the jewels, and the iced coffee glass bottles for the base.  I also used red rafia to add some flair.

Hallway Decorations

Hope you like the decorations! -Jess out

Happy Birthday Leiah!

Goon Morning Readers!

Leiah is my al-time favorite person to make stuff for.  She is very good about pinning stuff that she likes and it is fairly easy to make!

I hope you liked your present.  I used ply wood, paint, nails and some yarn.

Thanks for reading! Jess out

Happy Birthday Leiah!

Diaper Cakes and Oh More Diaper Cakes!

Bonjour Les lecteurs!

One of my favorite all time projects is diaper cakes!  They are so fun to create and easy to make.  For some reason everyone I know is having a baby so the diaper cake business is booming!

Karla's Cake

I usually use 50-100 diapers depending on how big its going to be.  In addition to diapers I use clothes, blankets, bottles, and anything else I can use from the registry.  I also pay attention to the theme of the shower which will influence the ribbon choice and sticker choice.  The cake topper is always the hardest to choose.

Angela's Cake

Karla had a Mustache Bash for her shower theme.  It was super cute, mustaches everywhere!  For the cake topper I choose and "O" because the baby's name is Oliver.

The Winnie the Pooh diaper cake was for my cousin Angela, and she chose not to know what the gender of the baby was until the shower.  So I hid all the clothes and other goodies in the honey pot so she would be surprised.  This was probably my favorite cake because I love Winnie the Pooh!

Dee's Cake

Victoria's Cake

DeeDee and Victoria had a Noah's Arc theme, and a joint shower.  I hope Jonah and Nathan liked their cakes!

Canvas Art!

Howdy Readers!

So I know I haven't posted in a couple of months, but life is crazy busy.  I have still been keeping up with my projects though.  I have a lot to post, so just keep checking.  Also if you like anything please leave a comment!

Birds

So this post is about some of my art I have created using canvas.  I love to paint, and when I see a painting I like I try to duplicate it.  I also love to use pictures in my art.

This first painting I made for a friend for her birthday.  I heard she like birds and saw I painting I really wanted to try and create.  Its called Birds!  I hope you like it Desaray.

When my good friend Chelsie decided that she was going to move to Oklahoma (and by decided I mean she was forced by the Air force)  I decided she needed something to put in her house to let everyone know she comes from the great state of TEXAS, and she went to the greatest school ever UT.  I also wanted her to remember her friends she made while she was at UT.  Being apart of the Texas Women's Rugby team I met some great friends and I met Chelsie!  I miss you girl, and I hope you like your going away present!

UT Collage on Canvas

For both of these paintings I used regular acrylic paint on canvas.  For the collage I used the same Liquitex gloss as used in "Picture on Canvas" to hold the pictures to the canvas and then a layer on top to keep it glossy.

Thanks for reading!!

-Jess out

Photo Banner for Nathan!

Hi Readers!

Made a photo banner for Nathan's 1st birthday party!

Confetti Glasses!

Welcome Back Readers!!

A friend of mines birthday is coming up and I wanted to make her something.  So I looked around and thought painted wine glasses would be perfect!  It is so easy, all you need is acrylic paint and clear nail polish.  

Confetti Wine Glasses 

Chelsie's Wedding

Hello Readers,

Bride's Bouquet

Recently a good friend of mine asked me to be a Bridesmaid in her wedding and I was more then delighted to be in it and be her craft expert.  I ended up making lots of crafts for her.  I was given the privilege of making her veil, her bouquet, as well as the Bridesmaids bouquets, and some hair clips for her bridal party too.  I was amazing to be such a big part in her wedding.  If you like any of the creations let me know!

Bridesmaid Hair Clips

Bridesmaid Bouquet

Bride's Veil

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Good Evening Readers!

Front

I have another awesome project to share with you!!  My good friend Elva (thanks for all your business Elva) asked if I could make her a diaper cake for her sister-in-law's baby shower.  She wanted it big and Dallas Cowboy themed, and I said PERFECT!!!  Diaper cakes are pretty easy, this one was definitely a challenge, but I love a challenge!  I told her to buy what ever outfits, toys, and other baby things she wanted to include in the cake, and I would be glad to do it.

Things you will need:

• Diapers (depending on how big you want the cake will depend on how many diapers you will need, I used a box of 120)
• Outfits, toys, baby products, bottles, anything baby you want to be included in the cake
• Platform to hold diaper cake (thick poster board, cardboard, wood, anything sturdy)
• Ribbon
• Rubber bands (all sizes are good)
• Hot glue gun
• Stickers
• Other decorations

Right

Left

I always start with rolling the diapers.  You will want to roll the diapers tight, and tie them with the rubber bands.  Then you will need to arrange them in a circle (or a square) and use the ribbon to tie them together.  In this cake I used a pillow pet as the 4th tier, but that can always be replace with another layer of diapers.  Then I took all the onesies, shirts, and other outfits and rolled them as well.  I integrated the outfits with diapers too in the top two tiers.  

After all the layers are up I start decorating.  I take the stickers, stars and other little stuff and put them on the cake.  I hung some pacifiers, and lotions on the cake as well.  And your done, an awesome diaper cake in three hours.  Thank you Elva for helping me make this one, couldn't have done it with out you!

Thanks for reading, keeping checking back for more creations!!

Jess out!

Flowers for Elva!

Hello Readers!!!

Zebra Vase with Flowers

I'm back with some more awesome crafts!! My good friend Elva recently moved in to a new apartment and I immediately thought it was a perfect time to make her something for her new place.  Elva is obsessed with Zebra print so I knew for sure I had to incorporate that into the gift.  I decided to give her some flowers in a vase, but not just any flowers or any vase!

Things you will need:

• Clear vase (any size and shape you want)
• Assortment of Flowers
• Acrylic paint
• Flower tape
• Wire cutters

I went to Michael's to get all my supplies because they had the best deals and I had seen zebra print flowers their before.  The red flowers are peonies.  After you have gathered all your supplies, then I suggest starting to paint first.  I decided to paint Zebra stripes on the vase, I also decided to paint her name as well.  First, I painted the whole vase with a layer of white.  After it dried I went back over with black paint, making stripes.  Her name was the last thing I painted on.

As I let the paint dry, I arranged the flowers.  I gathered all 6 stems peonies in my hand.  Then I slid the 2 zebra print flowers on top.  When I felt like they were in a good position, I used the flower tape to hold them together.  With my wire cutters, I cut the stems the length of the vase.  And presto a custom made vase with flowers!!!  A very easy way to make a center piece or simply add some flare to any room!

Keep reading for more crafts...

-Jess out!

Love Birds for Love Birds

Hello Crafters!!

I started an awesome new job at a craft store and it has given me some awesome ideas.  The first being painting.  I decided to take it up.  I love to draw and why not use paint to draw.  So my next project was inspired by my favorite couple in the world LT and Leiah!  Their 3 year anniversary was February 28th and I wanted to give them a special gift, since I was the maid of honor at their wedding.

Leiah's original picture

When I need inspiration on gift ideas, I like to turn to Pinterest.  Leiah is always talking about how she wants things for her house and pins the stuff she really likes.  I remember a certain picture she really liked and decided that would be perfect.  Hope you like it, Happy Anniversary guys!

Things I used:

• Canvas 24 in x 36 in
• Acrylic paint (green, blue, white, peach, black, brown, yellow, turquoise)
• Paint brushes (I bought a variety pack of brushes)
• sponges 

I started with a base layer of blue and turquoise.  This is relatively my first time painting so I mixed colors and just started to paint.  I knew I wasn't going to get the colors right since I was using acrylic paint, and I'm sure they used a different kind of paint.  I decided I wanted it to have more of a green feel to it, so I went over it with a layer of green.  I mixed in colors like white, peach and different shades of other colors to get the shade I wanted. After I had a base layer of green and blue, I took the brown, yellow and some green used a sponge and just went crazy.  After, I was satisfied with all the colors, I let it dry for the night, and the next day I painted the birds and wire.  It was surprisingly hard to paint a straight line across the painting, that part took a while.  The birds were relatively easy. 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  As I get some more experience, I can give a little more detail on how I create some of these paintings.  But most of the time I just wing-it and hope for the best.  Remember you can always make requests and I will be happy to help/create something for you!

Thanks for reading, Jess out!

Finished painting, Happy Anniversary LT and Leiah!

Winged Shirt

Hello Again Readers!!

Original Wing Sweater

I'm back with some more posts, sorry for the temporary hiatus.  This past weekend I went to Las Vegas to  celebrate and watch some awesome rugby.  I decided that I would make some new clothes for this special event.  I went to my local Buffalo exchange to find some cool stuff that I could alter and add some flare too.

Recently I found myself in this feather stage, I love everything that has feathers or wings.  That is very weird, because if you know me you know I hate birds!  I found this picture on Pintrest of a shirt I really like and thought to myself "I can do that".  The following is my interpretation of that very shirt!


Supplies I used:

Felt Sheets

• Grey shirt (any shirt/sweater will do, the color is also your preference)
• Felt sheets, Light green, yellow, gold, purple, and red (you can also use regular fabric, I already had felt sheets so I used those, they are also super cheap)
• paper/card board (this is used to cut a stencil of the feather)
• scissors
• hot glue gun, or fabric glue
• fabric marker, or any kind of permanent maker
• Optional: needle and thread (this is used to reinforce the feathers, I was afraid that when I washed the shirt the feathers would come off with just glue connecting them to the shirt)

Grey Shirt

Ok lets get started, first you will need to cut out all the feathers.  I used the cardboard to cut a stencil of a single feather.  I made it the size and shape that I wanted all the feathers to be.  Then I took the felt sheet and traced the stencil using the fabric marker.  I traced them side by side, so that I wouldn't have to cut them individually, creating rows of feathers.  I used the original picture as my guide to estimate about how many feathers I needed in each row and how many rows I needed of each color.  

After I had all my feathers cut, I started to glue them on row by row.  After the first row the others went under the row before.  Be sure to only glue the top of the row.  After all rows were on, I went back and glued the whole row down.  I also cut out single feathers to add where I saw some blank spaces between rows.  After everything was glued I reinforced the feathers with thread, because I was afraid that in the wash the glue would not be enough to hold.  This is completely optional.  Presto! A once plain shirt now has some cool flare.

My new Wing Shirt!

Please continue to read, I have more clothes to post. 

Thanks! Jess out.

Pictures on Canvas

Hello Crafters!

Finished picture on canvas

I have a new project for you that you should definitively try, its easy and relatively inexpensive.  Moose and her friends were having a gift exchange and they invited me along, so I wanted to make them something special and not break the bank.  I kept seeing Groupons for putting a picture on canvas, but on a larger scale, and I thought I want to do that!  So I researched a bit and found some directions on how to do it.  Ok here we go...

Gel Medium

Things you will need:

• Canvas (any size, but the biggest would be 8" x 10", due to paper size, but if you can fine a bigger printer, go for it)
• Laser printer
• Liquitex Heavy gloss, gel medium  (it can be any brand, as long as it is a gel medium that will dry clear)
• paint brush
• spray water can
• towel

Desaray and Toby

 Now you should choose a picture you want to put on the canvas.  Special thanks you my friends Desaray, Toby, Al and Angela for allowing me to use you on my blog.  I took pictures of them and added some effects to them.  For Desaray and Toby's picture I made it black and white.  I thought it would look better on the canvas.  Al and Angela's photo had a lot of pretty colors in it, so black and white wasn't the way to go, instead I used a feature in iphoto called antique.  The picture had a kind of rustic look. Now you will need to print them on regular white printer paper, using the laser printer.  Make sure on the printer settings you match the size with the size of canvas you chose.

Angela and Al

Grab your blank canvas, gel, and paint brush. With the paint brush paint a thick layer of gel over the entire canvas, make sure the brush strokes are going in one direction.  After you have the layer of gel, place the printed photo on top, and smooth it out.  Now you should let it  dry for several hours, and if you have the time over night.  It should be completely dry before you start the next step.

Water taking off paper film

After you are sure it is completely dry its time for the fun part.  Place the towel underneath the canvas, because this part can get messy.  Then take your spray can filled with water and spray some onto a corner.  Spray enough so that when you run your fingers over it the paper film starts to come off and leaves the picture.  The more water the easier the paper will start to come off.  This part takes a while and is a bit time consuming.  Just keep spraying the water and peeling off the paper film until it is all off.  You might get some of the picture coming up, which I think gives the painting more character. 

When you are happy with the results, take your paint brush and gel again and paint another layer of gel on the painting, a thin layer will be fine.  Once it is dry you are ready to enjoy your creation!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, as always email if you have any questions!

Thanks! Jess, out.

Picture on Canvas

New Years Eve Project

Happy New Year Readers!

Original dress

So every year I go out shopping for the perfect NYE dress, and it takes forever and costs me a fortune, not the best way to start off the new year.  The greatest idea ever came to me while shopping at a thrift store in Austin, Buffalo Exchange.  I found a dress for $12, that for some reason was calling to me, "Make me beautiful Jess!" I snatched it up and began sketching some ideas out. 

While at the park with the dogs and Moose, sat with my pencil and Michael Jackson notebook, my favorite notebook that I put all my ideas.  I liked the choker style neck, so that was definitively staying, but the long skirt had to go.  I also wanted to add more flare to it, I usually like simple and use my accessories to jazz it up, but I wanted something else this time.

Sketch of NYE dress

I wanted to cut the back leaving a slit all the way down to the skirt and the front as well. I have also been on a flower kick, and everything with flowers seems to be beautiful to me.  I also did not want just any straight seem skirt so I wanted to have some pickups at the bottom.  I had the idea of lace or tulle on the skirt to add a little something extra, but I wasn't sure.  Later on I went to the fabric store, my favorite store ever JoAnn's.  I found the perfect lace to cover the skirt. I bought felt for my flowers, and black shiny buttons for the flowers and extra just in case I should be inspired to put them somewhere else.

Back of dress with added fabric

I only had a day in a half to produce a dress suitable for NYE in downtown Austin. First thing was to cut the skirt to the length I wanted it, just above my knee.  After I tried it on the skirt fit me kind of tight like a pencil skirt would and I really wanted it to be kind of loose "free flowing" if you will.  That was my first hurdle to get over.  Making the skirt about 6 inches wider was harder then I thought. Using the extra fabric left from shortening the dress, I added it to the skirt. I wasn't too concerned about the seams showing since I was going to add the lace over it. 

Added a slit in the back

After sewing in the extra fabric I made a hem at the bottom. Only about an inch thick.  Now it was time to sew on the lace.  That was also a hard and time consuming part of making this dress.  I had to hand sew it verses using my machine, because the fabric was too delicate. I also wanted the back to have a wow factor so I cut the back all the way down to the skirt.

Felt flowers

Now it was time to add the flowers to the top. I originally planned on cutting a slit in the front too but decided to 86 that idea and leave it.  I made the four flowers out of felt and all different sizes.  This part was the easiest to do.  My dress was finally complete and ready for me to wear!  I wore it with black tights and black ankle boots, it came out just the way I wanted it to.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year! Jess out.

NYE Dress

Close up of NYE Dress

An Apron for Leiah

Hola! Blog Followers!

Leiah's original picture

For my bff and cousin Leiah, I really wanted to make her something special, so I looked on her Pinterest account to give me some ideas.  I also recently learned that she likes to cook, even though I have never seen this. ;) On one of her boards she had a picture of an apron that I thought was beautiful and I was on a mission to make it for her! As you can see it is pretty awesome, but fairly simple to make it, at least I thought!

Things you will need:

• material, I chose linen (beige like the picture)
• sewing machine
• scissors, measuring tape, pins, thread (any color, I chose brown)

As you probably can tell without a pattern I kind of just made it up in my head of how I thought I should do this.  Due to the lack of formal instruction I decided to just give you a summery of how I did it.  If you have more questions you can always email me for further instructions.  

Square cut out of fabric

The hardest part I think was measuring.  My cousin Leiah is the tiniest person I know, and seeing as it was a surprise for Christmas I only had her Husband, LT, to help me figure out her measurements.  I took her waist measurements, using her pant size, and her chest measurements using her bra size.  Using those measurements I cut out a square of the fabric.

Cut out base design of apron

Then using the square I cut out the shape of the apron I would be working with. Of course you will need to cut out the same piece for the back as well.  I then began working on the skirt and sewing on the ruffles.  I found an online tutorial of how to sew ruffles without using a ruffler foot tool for your sewing machine.  Start by setting your stitch length to the longest length on your machine.  Increase the tension. This is where it becomes a little 'dependent on your machine'.  After I finished, I began sewing on the ruffles to the "base" cut out of the apron.

Next, It was time to sew the strings that she would use to tie the apron.  I wanted to create that criss-cross effect that the original picture had.  I knew two strings would suffice to keep the apron up, but I felt two wouldn't look right.  I decided to sew on more strings, but only long enough for looks.

After that I sewing the back piece, on the base cut to hide the seams on the back and I was finished. Special thanks to my cousin Kristina for letting me use her apartment and keeping me company while I finished the apron.  Leiah I hope you love it, Merry Christmas!

Thanks again! Jess, out!

Finished Apron

Art with crayons! Merry Christmas Dad!!

Crayon Art for Dad

Hello Readers!

As you probably can tell I like to make presents instead of buying them. I find it makes for a more personal gift!  When I was trying to figure out what to do for my dad, I immediately thought of the Dallas Cowboys! My dad is a die hard Cowboy fan and anything Cowboy related he loves!  Last year on Moose's birthday I made a crayon art painting, a picture is featured on the About Me section of my blog. Using that same technique I thought I would do the same for my dad, but Dallas Cowboy style.

Things you will need:

• a canvas board (whatever size you want it to be)
• crayons (if you want to use the colors featured in this project, I used and array of blue, silver, grey and white crayons)
• masking tape
• hot glue gun/super glue 
• blow dryer

First you will want to take your crayons and glue them to the side of canvas you want them to drip from.  I used a hot glue gun, but any strong adhesive will work.  Also I would like to thank my friend Natalie and Grandma's Daycare for helping me acquire all the crayons I needed. Gathering all the crayons can be quite a task, unless you want to go out and buy them.

After the crayons are glued into place, you will need to take your masking tape and start laying it out on the canvas board.  Since I was doing a Cowboy themed painting, I chose the iconic star of the Cowboys.  You are encourage to use any design you can think of.

Now comes the time consuming part.  I would suggest doing it outside or in a garage, but if it is cold or windy you will have to do it inside some where safe.  I will tell you that while you are melting the crayons it can get all over the place.  Special thanks to my cousin JD for letting me use his apartment! This part will take a while but the end result is worth it.  Take the blow dryer and start melting the crayons.  At this point it is up to you and your creative mind.  You can manipulate the streaks of crayons by tilting the board or changing directions of the board or air, anything you can do to steer the streaks where you want them to go.  Keep the blow dryer close to the crayons to heat them up faster.

When you are finished and happy with the result, let the crayons sit for a while to cool down, and then remove the tape.  Voila! Crayon art!

Thanks, for reading! Jess, out!

Pajama Pants ---> Infinity Scarf

Los lectores ¡Buenos días!

Infinity Scarf

The following project was inspired by my good friend Karla!  I wanted to make her a Christmas present and I came across some DIY (do it yourself) projects on the internet.  This particular site used old pajama pants to make other winter like clothes to wear.  I decided to make her an infinity scarf.


Things you will need:

• pair of old pajama pants
• scissors
• sewing machine/needle and thread

Old Pajama Pants

Grab your pants and lay them out.  You will want to cut them into four panels.  Try to make them as straight as possible. After you have your four panels cut out, grab your needle and thread or sewing machine because its time to put them together!

Cut out panels

Now, take two of the pieces and put them side by side.  You will need to decided which side is the "good" side, the part that will be showing when you are going to wear it.  Sew the two pieces side by side for both sets of panels.  

After you are finished, line up the sets connecting them at there ends, where the feet would be. This will create one long piece that will give the scarf the length to wrap around twice your neck.  Now you will need to connect the open side, and sew it together.  Make sure you sew the seam on the inside, so it will not be shown while wearing it.  

You are almost done!  Now just to connect the ends, and you will have your new infinity scarf.  With the scarf turned to the "good" side, the side you want to show, fold the ends in about 1/2 inch and slide one end into another.  Sew directly on top of both ends.  Now you are finished!  

Infinity Scarf

Like always if you have any questions feel free to email me!  Keep reading for new projects!


Thanks, Jess out!