As Seen on Pinterest - Valentine's Day

This is Ethan's first year to have Valentine's Day in an American school, and so the first year for him to exchange Valentines. The whole time we were preparing he kept asking what we were doing, why, and what would happen if he was the only one who showed up with anything! 

Since it was his first one I wanted it to be cool. So first thing was choosing the Valentines box. I wanted to do a German style mailbox, but he liked the monster box that's been floating around the internet. So here's his box:

I loved the way these cake pops were used as party favors. They're so pretty! So I decided to finally get on the cake pops bandwagon! Since it was pretty last minute I didn't have the candy coating you're supposed to use, so I used milk chocolate. The cake is strawberry with strawberry frosting. If you want to make your own, here's one of the most famous cake pop recipes.

I used a meat baller to make the balls uniform. For my friends who said they had never heard of a meat baller, here's a picture. This worked great!

I saw several "I love you Because" and "I love you more than" ideas for Valentine's Day. I decided to do the wipe off board so that we can change it and both get in on the fun! This is just an 8x10 frame with the design printed on cardstock. We use dry erase markers to make the note.

There are so many fun "I love you more than" ideas out there! One of the cute ones was "I love you more than SpongeBob loves jelly fishing." I've got to find some Star Wars quotes... Then he'll REALLY know I love him!

Beaded Wrap Bracelet

Did you know you can "Pin" videos? You can! 

We just got some new waxed cord in at the shop and this is what I was excited to make with it!

We also sell loose beads and have bead boards and tools at the "Bead Bar" where you can sit and work on your creation. No need to buy tons of stuff when you just want to make one of something.

This bracelet took 41 little beads, but I wish I had made it longer. I thought it would wrap three times, but it ended up only going around twice. It's pretty though! I can't wait to make another one!

Want to make your own? It was really easy! I watched this video tutorial to learn how.

I could have called this "As Seen on Pinterest, part 2." Maybe I should start a series... like every Friday or something. Of course that would require actually making something every week... we'll see!

Denim Skirt

I needed a basic denim skirt - so I made one! I pinned one from Land's End for inspiration, so I thought it would be fitting to take pictures out in nature!

If you can't tell on your screen, I AM wearing a t-shirt under the blouse. Yes, my skin is that pale that it blends in with a white shirt.

 The back pocket has some iron-on bling.

I used a blue jeans pattern but cut the legs straight down instead of curved for the crotch. Does that make sense? I had to make quite a few adjustments to the back to get it right, but it worked pretty well. 

As seen on Pinterest

Raise your hand if you're on Pinterest! How many of your family members asked you why you raised your hand? If you don't have a Pinterest account yet, what are you waiting for? Oh, you think it might be so addictive that it sucks all your free time and you'll never accomplish anything again ever? Well, there's that. BUT there's also stuff like THIS:

I saw a KNIT pattern for a scarf sweater, but I don't knit. So I filed it away in dream land. And then I found this tutorial for how the sweater is constructed, and the blogger crocheted hers. BINGO!

Now that I see my pictures I realize I should have done one more iteration of the pattern. It should have been wider. Here's a close-up of the chevron pattern. (The line in the middle is the back seam.)

This took me a little less than a week and was mostly done in the evenings watching TV with the hubby. Nice and relaxing! It's alpaca yarn. It's nice and snuggly, but due to my insane sensitivity to any fiber that came from an animal I have to wear it over a tightly woven shirt.

I really like the result but want to try again making it wider. The only drawback is you can't raise your arms very high. And you have to kind of adjust it all day so it stays where it should. Worth it though!

Anyway... so are you on Pinterest? If so, put a link to your boards in the comments! I would love to see what inspires you!

Proof of Crafting

Last weekend was a bit of a crafting flop. I sewed several things that did not work, and I started the process of learning to make bath bombs, but I used the wrong recipe. I actually used a recipe for bath snowballs, which did not work as balls at all! But in the heart and fish silicone molds they came out ok. And I have a jar of bath salts from the failed shapes.

This weekend I used the RIGHT recipe for bath bombs! Here are the trial ones. I'm waiting for our wholesaler to track down round molds so we can sell them at the store. These are made from plastic egg ornaments and the heart silicone mold.

Both recipes are from Martha Stewart and I found them through Pinterest. Snowballs and Fizzies. I'm planning to teach the fizzies in a class at the store, so if you are interested be on the lookout for that class!

Most of my crafting lately has been in the kitchen. In fact, I've spent A LOT of time in the kitchen the last two weeks. So much so that I had to buy a new blender because I burned up my old one! What have I been blending? Green smoothies!

Don't get all grossed out! They aren't for everyone. But they actually do taste good! I try to hide them in travel mugs and stuff so people don't get grossed out when I drink them, but they taste fine. My favorite so far is a version I made up based on mango salsa. Mmmm. Then I have one that is basil and tomato that I eat like a warm soup. They really can be good!

Why am I drinking green smoothies you ask? Because I have gained sooo much weight I can't stand it. I'm tired all the time and can barely climb the stairs to my apartment without feeling like my heart will explode! Don't worry - it's not some crazy crash/fad diet. I'm just trying to get healthy.

In other news: Haven's hair is blonde again. I'm listening to "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" on audio book. Rob is at the Willow Creek conference here in Germany. And Ethan is growing like crazy. I guess that pretty well covers everything!

Work Clothes Continued

This is the second shirt with I've made with this pattern and I really like it. This particular version was quite the puzzle to cut out! The fabric was striped on the diagonal and was stretch. In order to get the stripes to go in opposite directions I had to cut out each piece individually and half were with the straight grain and half with the cross grain. I did do one piece on the diagonal to get the stripes to go vertical. Did I lose you? Well, just know that it was kind of hard, but totally worth it!

Knit Lace Top

Fall 2011 seemed to have a lot of lace... Did you notice that? I saw a couple of lace tops in the spring offerings, so hopefully I'm not too late with this top. I was inspired by this top I pinned a while back. Here's how mine turned out.

It's not bad. It's wearable. I started with the Sorbetto pattern and completely changed it up. I took it in on the sides, raised the neckline in front and back, added the keyhole to the front, and drafted a peter pan collar. Oh, and I shortened the shoulders a lot. I had the knowledge to make a great collar, but forgot how important it is to make the underside of the collar piece a bit smaller than the outer side. See how it curls up on the sides? It's not supposed to do that.

BUT, since I intended it for a shell to wear under a blazer or cardigan, it's ok.

 And IF I get brave enough, I can flip the collar up and do a kind of Elizabethan ruffle thing!

The fabrics are cream pique knit and stretch lace.