Fantastical.

Last year I pinned/posted a lot of 'around the house' type things, home-improvement projects and the like, and that was cool and all (still is, I mean), but for some reason I just feel like this year of my life is going to be geared more towards fashion.

I think it's what I've always loved, but for some reason was too scared to really express. I don't know if that makes sense. Like, when I was younger, obviously my parents bought my clothes, and I wasn't that great at shopping. I read Lucky, and Teen Vogue, and would cut out stuff I liked and paste it onto printer paper and make 'inspirations sheets' (aka mood-boards, and now, pinterest), but my style has always been sort of eclectic, and a lot of times my interpretation didn't turn out the way I imagined it, and I'd get frustrated and just end up wearing jeans and t-shirts from ropa, and spending the majority of my shopping budget on nice purses and shoes.

In the past few years, though, my justification for not expressing my love for fashion has been more superficial: I've felt like I'm too fat to deserve to wear nice stuff. I know that's kind of ridiculous, but it's true. I justified it all sorts of ways, mostly by claiming it was a tactic to save money (which, if you know about my addiction to Marc Jacobs sunglasses, you would know is not in my character.) Now, of course, I realize that I've had it all backwards; wearing nice things at any size is what gives you confidence, because feeling like you look good really does make a huge difference. Of course I would figure that out after losing weight, and while on a shopping strike. Oh well...I guess the up side to it is that I don't have too many things that I'll be conflicted about having to get rid of, or worry about altering.

What really sucks, though, is that while I feel like I have finally identified my personal style, and come into my own, so to speak, I can't do anything about it at the moment, because I am still losing weight rather consistently, and should continue to do so for the next 8 - 10 months (ideally), so I don't need to spend money on really nice stuff that I won't be able to wear for very long. (Sunglasses don't count. Those will fit forever.)

Well, on a completely different note, do you like how I talked about things being weird, and the next few months being...unpredictable, and then proceeded to post nearly every day and not mention any of that again? Haha! Well, the two Situations are still looming, but the unpleasant one turned out to be a little less unpleasant than we first thought, and the second is still exciting, and still in the works, but...well, there's really nothing we can do about either of them now...other than cut back on our spending. Which we're bad at. Really bad at.

One thing you should never do, apparently, is type 'Marc Jacobs' into the search box on pinterest...because you will, inevitably, buy something. And even if it's on sale, it's still probably moderately expensive  absolutely necessary for life and a totally justified purchase.

Sorry, I think my dogs disgusting fart muddled my brain for a minute there.

Since Aaron was here the past few days, him and Josh have been joined at the hip so I've been doing my own thing (when I wasn't cooking food for two humans that can really put it away!), which has mostly consisted of dumping a lot of junk from my childhood, and designating even more stuff to be donated. I did, however, manage to pack away all my winter boots (ironic, since we're under a winter weather/ice accumulation advisory over the next couple of days) and vacuum approximately 2 square feet of my bedroom. It's progress. I did a lot of laundry and a lot of dishes, so don't judge me!

When I was in high school, I would let people write on my pants. It started with one boy (duhh) who drew a skull (♥) and then, in an effort to disguise my insanely obvious favoritism, I had to let other people write/draw too. And then it became my trademark, and everyone had to write on me. (I would like to say it never got weird, but it kind of did, and I kind of liked it.) Well, the point of all this is that I found the one pair of pants that managed to survive, and am conflicted on what to do with them. I'm pretty sure no one out there wants a pair of pants that says 'This leg belongs to Fred" on the back left thigh, or "I CRAP PURPLE!" in purple sharpie...on the butt. And yet I can't bring myself to throw them away...they're so much more valuable to me than the normal stuff like yearbooks or even pictures. I think I'm keeping them. Ugh. Now I just need to figure out how to fold them up tiny enough to fit into my memory box.

Ever since I opened up and talked about my past, I've slept better, and not had any more weird dreams about where I grew up. I'm glad I got it all off my chest; it really was about time, I guess. It's amazing how immediate the reaction was. Two weeks ago thinking about that place would have made me angry, scared, and probably given me an anxiety attack, but today I am indifferent; it's there, I know some people there, but it's just a place; it can't hurt me, it never could, and I am not defined by it.

Wow, it's almost 5 am. That really snuck up on me. I should probably get some sleep.

Random Adventure Wednesday!

Today I went to ReStore. And I bought a dress. Not on a whim, though, I had seen this dress the last two or three times we've been there, but I kept passing it over...and yet, I couldn't get it out of my mind! It was just so perfect, in all it's 90s glory...and so today, 10 minutes before they closed, I ran in, grabbed it, and left.

You may not find it as amazing, and this picture sure isn't doing it (or my figure) any favors (better ones tomorrow, promise!) but trust me - it's amazing. Perfect condition, black velvet maxi overall dress. (There's got to be a better name for that, than overall dress.) (and yes, I did try on it over all my clothes, before I even washed it. THAT'S HOW MUCH I LOVE IT.)

Maybe there's not, but I don't care, I love it. I'm having a hard time deciding between making one slit, slitting both sides, or just making it shorter. Because as much as I love it, it's a little too much 90s in one dress. It definitely needs a minor facelift. :)

After that we headed to a new bar that opened up downtown, Josh had talked to the owner a few days ago about playing there, and so we were going to kind of scope it out, talk to the other owner (or manager? I really don't know. They're brothers though.) and have a look at their set-up...long story short, he's going to play there on Friday night but he has to take his own decks because they have stuff set up for vinyl and Josh uses CDs. It's going to be awesome, though, the place is really cool, and everyone there was nice and friendly. Josh talked to another guy from Austin who's also DJing there this weekend. We had a great time, nice to finally find a place in this town where it's nice to just go hang out.

Joshs brother mentioned he wants to come stay here for a few days so that means I have to actually make an effort in my craft room tomorrow. It's horrible, and there's no way I'll finish it by the end of the day, but I'm hoping to at least find the VCR that I know is somewhere in the closet, and get that in the bag of stuff that's going to ReStore next time we make a trip, and then clear the bed off. If I can at least do that, then at least he'll have somewhere to sleep and the rest I can figure out later.

Oh, right, today is Valentine's Day, so...kiss your lovers? I'm really not good at mushy romance stuff - I gave Josh a hand-written card with a dead cricket taped to it. (I was going for a 'love-bug' theme, and it was the only bug handy.)

Even though neither Josh or I am Catholic, since we're already in the midst of eating better and working out, we decided to go ahead and give something up for Lent. I am giving up any processed food with more than 5 ingredients, and he is giving up added sugar. It's going to be a fun challenge for us, because we have our routines, and our go-to foods, and we so seldom take the time to read the ingredients...it'll be good, though, to take that step back and think more about exactly what we're putting in our bodies, and why.

My hair is all kinds of ridiculous right now. I'm trying to not cut it again until it's grown out some more, but it's long on one side, and it's just...annoying. Every time I wash it, it fluffs up and I can't do anything with it. I at least want to make it to March before I give in and cut it. I had a reason but I can't think of it right now.

Isn't this a cute little wallet? I think I may make one like it...if I ever have time to go sit and craft in my craft room, rather than clean it.

Weekend stuff.

I keep feeling like I have too much stuff, so I made a new rule: for everything I bring in, something has to go out. Last week we hauled a giant load of stuff (four boxes full!) to ReStore, and I only bought one thing. Yesterday I took one bag full (three pieces of clothing, and a never-worn pair of flip-flops) and again came out with just one thing. So I'm on a pretty good roll so far.

Most of the stuff I took in yesterday was stuff I got there this past fall. Josh says I rent clothes. It's kind of awesome though! I mean I buy stuff, wear it all season, then take it back and get stuff for the next season. (Or, in this case, a Lord & Taylor cashmere sweater I spotted!) Much cheaper than buying, and my wardrobe is always changing.

It helps with my sewing too. It's much easier to alter clothes than it is to make new ones from scratch - but if I do want to make new ones, I buy something similar to what I'm making, then rip it up and use it as a pattern! It's also the cheapest way to buy really nice fabrics that I might otherwise be scared to try working with - I know that if I screw something up, it's just a $2 loss. (Yes, $2. Part of ReStore's appeal is that, unlike Goodwill, they have standard prices for all their clothing - whether it's worn, brand new, high end, or from Walmart.)

After ReStore yesterday we drove around a bunch. We took this one road not really knowing exactly where it would go...it was crazy, coming down the backside of the mountain it had these awful switch-backs, and some dude in a Ford F-3000 was driving up it with a boat! We had to pull off the road for him...luckily we were on the inside, so no chance of falling off the cliff or anything. We ended up on the other side of town, and Josh wanted to go out to the lake, but I felt bad about leaving Orion for so long. Plus it was getting close to sundown, and it was cold and possibly going to rain.

Today I slept all day. Literally. I don't know why I was so tired, but I got up once, then went back to bed, got up again, then went back and sat in bed, and fell asleep sitting up. I hope it's not a sign that I'm getting sick - I haven't gotten hungry yet, either. I don't feel sick, just lazy. Oh well. I'm going to go watch the Grammy's, and not care too much about what is going on.

Coming up this week: more cleaning, and a hunt for a large amount of film-sized canisters. And maybe the crystal mining farm. Not sure.

Sunday stuff

Well, I promised pictures of the outfit I bought yesterday, so here they are!

The colors are so great! I think I may do shorts out of the skirt (because how awesomely 80s would high-waisted, pleated floral shorts be?!!), and then cut the top apart and use the bottom half of it to make a tank dress. Sort of like this:

But with buttons down the front, and shorter, since I'll be using shirt remnants. And a black shirt. Anyway, you get the idea.

And this is a sneak peek of the other project I'm hoping to get done this week! It's something Josh asked me to make for him. I'll elaborate more once it's done. (In other words, I'm not 100% sure of how I'm going to pull it off, but I'm determined.)

and just for good measure, here's a picture of Belle making a crazy face. She gets ridiculous when I have a camera. Such a vain little cat.

Anyway, not much else to report. Today we stayed home, did our kettle bell workout outside, then came in and watched the Super Bowl. Oh we did make a midnight (or 2 am, whatever) run to walmart. I had some money left on my gift card, and I needed chap stick...so of course I also got new eyeliner and mascara. I had to use up all the money! I got a really awesome three eyeliner pack from Physicians Formula - black, dark grey, and silver. They're sparkly and awesome.The end.

Weekend pt 1

We finally made it to Restore to donate all those old clothes! The guest bed is empty (and clean!), and I am slowly getting everything else in order back there. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you've all guessed, I couldn't just drop stuff off without a little walk-through...which led to buying something. I found this really awesome two-piece outfit...it's a long skirt and a button down shirt, but I'm thinking of putting it altogether and making a romper...or just making shorts out of the skirt, and making the top sleeveless. I don't know yet, it's very exciting. The fabric is gorgeous, it's black with big blue, green, pink, and orange flowers and leaves on it. I'm in the process of washing it right now, so I'll take a picture tomorrow.

Yesterday we went out because Josh and I both kind of felt like going somewhere, but neither of us had any idea of where to go, so we ended up at TJ Maxx. I found this really awesome aromatherapy set, and the smell reminded me of this lotion I used to have from Victoria's Secret, so today after Restore we stopped at the mall and got some of that. (Very proud of myself for going in through Dillard's but not getting distracted!)

Oh, remember how I couldn't resist that Marc Jacobs watch the other day? Well, last night I was might have ordered a bracelet so it wouldn't be lonely on my arm. I can't help it, everything Marc Jacobs does is perfection. Anyway, I told Josh that those two things can be my Valentine's Day gift. Mostly just so I'd have an excuse for having bought them, we normally don't celebrate Valentine's Day.

I discovered the magic of cooking with quinoa this past week. I made some with apples and cinnamon for breakfast the other day, and tonight I made fajitas and replaced the rice with quinoa cooked just like Mexican rice...so good! (I found both of those on Pinterest.)

Well, it's kind of early for me, we slept till 2:30 today (isn't it awful? I wish I could flip my schedule back to normal.) so I'll be up for a while, and I really want to go empty my cabinet space under the counter, and toss all the food that's expired or we're not planning on eating. I'll try to get the craft room clean, too, I have a project that needs to get done pretty soon so I really want to get stuff organized in there so I can get it done!

Here's a picture of an awesome car we spotted while on the way to Restore today. (It's a 1961 Studebaker Hawk, if you're curious.)

Fresh.

I know I talked a bit about goals yesterday, but since today is officially a new start, a fresh canvas on which to paint my twenty-seventh year of life, I'm going to elaborate a bit more on what I want to do this year, how, and why.

I don't normally make resolutions; they seem so trivial, and are so often being broken before they've even begun to take hold that I see no real point. But I do know that there are aspects of my life that need change, and a new year is as good a time as any to start the effort towards accomplishing that. So instead of taking all of those goals from yesterday, and breaking my brain by trying to get them all done in the next week, I'm going to focus on one or two each month, cultivate them into habits, and making sure that the change is permanent before moving on to the next thing. Make sense?

This month I have two large goals: not buy anything new, and get back into the habit of logging my food daily.

And while it might not look like it at first glance, they do actually compliment each other. If I can hold back on my shopping, and focus more on eating at home, watching what I eat, then perhaps by the time I do go shopping, it will be for a different size.

The shopping problem is kind of a new thing. (And really, it's not a problem, but I'd like to make sure I have it in check before it becomes one.) For a long time (five years, to be exact) I shopped very minimally. Only when it was absolutely necessary, or when my parents were visiting and my mom took me shopping. It had to do a lot with how broke we were for the first few years we lived in Austin.

Then, slowly, I realized how awesome thrift shopping was; it became an adventure to go to a thrift store, and find the treasures hidden amongst the piles of crap. After we moved here last year, I realized while going through a lot of my clothes just how rarely I splurged on myself and bought clothes new. It was a treat to go to the mall and get new things, and it kind of bugged me. I decided that I deserved nice things, and started buying what I wanted.

Which is good, I think people should buy what they want, and treat themselves nice, but then it became a thing, in which I bought stuff because it was nice, in my size, and/or on sale, and not really because they were something I would wear. And instead of balancing my thrifting with my regular shopping, I've just being on a spree for the past few months, which, along with not getting rid of too much, has resulted in my having two whole packed-to-the-max closets. And that's just being greedy.

I started last night, and am continuing today, to go through my closets and find things to donate that don't fit, or I don't wear. It's a slow process because the first time I went through I only came up with two pairs of pants. Then I thought about it a bunch, and went over again, and got out two more pairs of pants and a shirt I think I wore once. It may take a few times of going over it again (I can already think of another shirt I've only worn once) but I will make a dent in my collection before I allow myself to shop again.

Tucked in along with that goal is my intention to only buy things I really love, and intend to wear over and over. I've always favored very classic pieces, clean lines, and the most basic colors: black, grey, and white. For the past few years, though, especially when I was buying something used, and it was cheap, I've been trying to expand my taste, challenge myself to wear different colors, and honestly? It's useless. I like what I like, and I'm done trying to keep up with fashion trends, or force myself to wear things I don't really like.

It's also, in a way, teaching me a lesson. I feel bad having wasted money on things that I didn't love. Money I could have saved and put towards something I really want (uggh Prada rain boots). Definitely not making that mistake again this year.

As far as food goes, I plan to start by logging everything daily to get an idea of where I'm at, then incorporating changes to meet my nutritional goals. Being gluten-free definitely makes it trickier than before, but I know it can be done. Once I get that in check, then I'll move on to adding in work-outs next month. (That's not to say I'm not doing anything in the way of exercise now, only that it is minimal and mostly consists of walking/jogging, because I want to make my body is getting everything it needs before I start anything intense.) By the end of the year, I want to run a 10K.

I'm posting this all on here as a way to keep myself honest, and hopefully, get some encouragement along the way. So if you're planning anything similar, let me know!

Birthday weekend

I think I need to write something today before we get to a 10 day lull. I've had a busy past few days...

My parents got here last Thursday evening. I'd spent the day getting ready, cleaning and fixin' up the guest room for them, and had chili cooking in the crockpot. Friday we went out for lunch, then came home and dropped off Josh and my dad, and my mom and I went out. We hit up TJ Maxx, Restore, and the mall. I found a few things at Restore, and also tried to teach my mom a little bit about thrifting - how you can't put things down, and how you have to learn to browse with one arm, while you hold all your other finds on the other arm. It was interesting, and we both found a few good things. She was pleasantly surprised at my ability to spot higher quality things in the midst of all the crap.

Find of the day was this:

Anyway, by the end of our shopping spree my mom started feeling bad, so instead of going all the way downtown for my birthday dinner, we ate at a local pizza place that's just up the road.

Saturday my brother (Paul) and almost sister-in-law (Marla) came up with her kids. They brought me birthday flowers, a cute owl pot holder/towel set, a new grill (!!!!), and presents for my animals. (A new bed for Belle, that she absolutely loves, and a pack of rawhides for Orion, which he ate in one day.) They also brought food, and Josh lit up the grill immediately and cooked up the fajitas my parents had brought from HEB, and we feasted. Then we all loaded up (well, except my dad) and went to Garvan Gardens to see the lights. There were so. many. people. Luckily we left at like 4:45 and got there right at 5:00 so we got in before it was too bad, but walking through was insane. Plus I had taken Orion and I think that at least 80% of the people we passed had to touch him. I can't even count how many times we got asked, "What kind of dog is that?!" or "What's his name?" At first he enjoyed it because he loves people and attention, but by the end he was tired (it's like a mile walk, maybe a bit more, and he's really not a high-energy type) and pulling me, and ready to get back to the car. Bella (Marla's younger girl) fell asleep in the car on the way back to our house so they loaded up and left. I passed out at 8 because I hadn't gotten too much sleep the past few days, and I think my poor tired, sick parents did too. It was a great day, though, overall.

 Sunday we lazed around the house all day. My parents had already said they would buy us either a new bed or a couch for Christmas, and since no one felt like going couch shopping, (and I refuse to buy one I haven't sat in) we ordered a bed online. It'll be here next Monday, so last night I started prepping the room by moving our current bed into the craft/guest room, and putting the air mattress on the floor in our bedroom. It'll be easier for me to clear out the area, and move the air mattress around and clean under it and stuff over the next couple of days...plus it's a queen size (as opposed to the full size we've been sleeping on for the past 6 years) and the new one is a king, so it's a little easier to estimate the size of the space I need to have cleared out and ready. (Also, in case you're wondering, the air mattress is still set up because after my parents left Josh got sick so he's been sleeping on the air mattress so that I don't get sick too.)

Ok, well, we're about to go eat lunch/dinner and have a few drinks since my entire birthday weekend was a booze-free affair. :) Ciao for now!    

Plans

Well it's been a busy, fun, and exciting holiday weekend, and it's not looking like things are going to slow down anytime soon! My in-laws brought me the table and chairs I wanted (!!!) along with another chair (and ottoman) I completely forgot about asking for. They're both in great condition, but have been sitting in a warehouse for...a few years at least, and have more than their share of dust and mud wasp houses on them. I hope to have at least the table done by Christmas; cleaned, stripped, stained, and sealed. The chair I absolutely love (the style/size are perfect), but since I'm supposed to get a couch in a few weeks, I'm going to wait so that I can pick a similar fabric to re-upholster it with.  

Here's all the chairs in our carport immediately after they unloaded them from the truck:

And you can see part of the table (the leaf is upside down on top of it) in the background of this picture of me after I smashed my phone with a hammer.

It's really gorgeous, I'll take better pictures soon, it's got a lot of detail in it, and it's the perfect size, but for the moment I'm just enjoying spending time with Josh and my mother-in-law. (The men went home Friday.)

Today (which for me, is still Saturday) we went to restore (I KNOW.) where I got three sweaters for re-purposing, and one for wearing. (I have to say, though, I actually have plans to make gifts for everyone this year, and so all these sweater are going to be made into matching accessory sets for various loved ones.) We also went to Michael's, where I got a few more Christmas things (ugghh 50% off), and out to see the Christmas lights at Garvan Gardens. I came home inspired and put up some lights around our front window (on the inside.)

Well, I'm pretty tired from all the adventuring we did today (probably should have worn better shoes for walking at the Gardens, but oh well) so I'm going to leave a few pictures of the lights here and get to bed. I hope everyone has had a great holiday!

November musings

I think I need to set a goal for myself regarding November: make things using only materials I already have on hand! I mean, I have a few skirt ideas in mind that will obviously require me to buy elastic (I cannot install a zipper to save my life) but other than that, no more buying things from re-store! My fabric bins (yes, more than one) are overflowing, and my floor, desk, and coffee table are covered. As in you can barely see what color those things are through all the fabric that's spread out everywhere.

Belle doesn't complain though, she thinks that the craft room is her room and she is the Queen of the Fabric and gets to lay on whatever texture suits her mood at the moment.

I have so many materials already, so much fabric, and too-small or too-big items that need to be altered or just cut up and used as fabric, but I get distracted so easily. I think what I need to do is go through my 'Craft Ideas & Sewing Projects' board on pinterest, pick out some stuff, set up my laptop in the craft room with 5 or 6 project ideas open, and then cut off the wireless so I can't open up anything else!

I do have to make sure I put everything away for the week of Thanksgiving, though, because my in-laws will be here! So I guess minus the half week I've already wasted spent not doing much of anything (well except painting the Coolest Doll Ever) I've got three weeks to work with this month.

Anyway, here are a few pieces I'm wanting to wok on specifically this week:

Ivory/gold brocade skirt. It's a really nice skirt, but it's like one size too small, and I'm not sure whether I should hold out and hope I can fit into it soon, or just go ahead and make something out of it. If I do, I'm thinking a clutch.

This dress is also really nice, but it's an XS and I know I'll never be that tiny so it's destined for re-purposing. Just not too sure what it will turn into...

They're both gold (and sparkly!) which makes me think of winter and Christmas, which is kind of why I'm trying to work with them first.

I also have a black maxi that I grabbed at restore that I'm debating turning into asymmetrical hem skirt...I really don't know! I kind of want to just go ahead and do it because it's a $2 skirt so what's the harm? But at the same time nice flowy, not-faded-one-little-bit thrift store maxis are hard to come by!

Also this month: I'll be getting (and restoring!) a table and six chairs from my in-laws. That will definitely be a learning experience. I might even paint them. We'll see how it goes.

I'll probably also be baking and possibly sharing a few gluten-free ideas. I'm still getting used to this, and finding new things to eat can be hard. Partially because I'm picky, and partially because Josh doesn't have to eat gluten-free, so it can be difficult to find things for both of us to eat, and that still taste good to him. I'm still trying to not eat out the rest of this month, so hopefully embracing the eating at home thing will lead to us finding a balance.

And on a final note, I CANNOT BELIEVE IT IS ALREADY NOVEMBER.

Doll makeover: better than expected!

Have you ever started a project kind of mindlessly, thinking you'll just kind of see where it goes?

Last night I was itching to do something, but I didn't really feel like starting on something complicated. I wanted a simple project that I could work on while I was in the living room watching SNL. Then it came to me! Remember that creepy looking doll I picked up in Magnolia last month? I had been looking at pictures from all the Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico, so I figured I could dress her as a mourner. I cut off her dress, and painted her tiny face white, then realized her hair was getting in the way. I ripped the whole piece off, (which enabled me to paint her whole head) and then started drawing on the face details. It turned out way better than I expected. I had no idea that I had painting skills like that. Anyway, once I saw how well her makeup turned out I had to go all out on her dress.

I used a few scraps that were laying around, hand stitched everything onto her, and voilà! An adorably accurate, slightly creepy, really expensive looking doll.

(This one is to give you an idea of her size, compared to the spool of thread.)

I put her on the window so I could do a side-by-side before/after, and Belle wasn't sure whether she was a friend or foe!

This is one of the better ones that shows off her dress.

Oh, I also went to restore yesterday and got two more pieces to cut up. A sparkly black short-sleeve turtleneck, and a gold sparkly sweater dress. They're both too small for me to wear so they'll be getting re-purposed sometime this week. Maybe even later today, I am in a DO STUFF kind of mood. :)

31 Days Series: Another hat.

Alright, I know, I've made a lot of hats already. BUT! This one is different. And by different I mostly just mean more complicated. Part of this stems from the fact that it was made from the arms, and didn't have a nice, snug, trim around the bottom like the other hats I've made so far did. (Told you I wasn't going to let a single piece of that sweater go to waste!) This meant I had to come up with a way for it to fit my head without flying off into the wind. Because I started this late last night with no real objective, and without really knowing if it was going to work, I didn't take pictures. I did, however, draw an amazingly accurate picture to show you how to start off if you want to recreate this. (Which I only recommend doing if you have random sweater arms laying around and no other way to use them. Otherwise, just cut your hat pattern from the bottom; it's much easier.)

Like I said, this is constructed from sleeves. Two of them. If you're using a shirt with short sleeves you may be able to skip the second half of this, but in my case I was using the top half of sweater sleeves, so I had to pick my brain and figure out how to finish it off. But we'll get to that in a sec.

Eh, you like that? ...ok, sorry. I tried. Follow the diagram, if you can. First you want to cut the sleeves off, and then open up the seam that closes the arm together. You'll have two pieces that are shaped like the third picture. Cut about an inch off the top (keep in mind; my sleeve pieces were about 8 inches long before I cut that off, so if yours are shorter you may need to cut less. If they're longer, cut some off the bottom too.) Put them right sides together and sew up both sides. Then finish off the top the same way we've done before.

Now you should be left with something like this:

Alright. Here's where it gets hairy.

We're going to add elastic! If you've ever made a skirt with an exposed elastic waistband, then you know where I'm going with this. If not, good luck! (Just kidding. It's not hard, but it's definitely going to test your patience if this is your first go at it.)

Start by cutting a piece of elastic that will fit comfortably around your head; tight enough to stay on, but loose enough to wear for long periods of time without getting a headache. Once you have the elastic cut, measure it, and mark the quarter, half, and three-quarter points on it. Then, sew those points to the corresponding points inside your hat. (Fold the edge over about ¼ inch, and just sew a zig-zag line across the width to keep the elastic in place; see the top picture.)

Now you finish it up by sewing the elastic all the way around the inside of the hat. Use a large zig-zag, and sew the ¼ inch piece of the hat that folded over to the edge of the elastic. It's a little easier if you work in fourths, going from one of the points you already sewed to the next, while keeping the elastic stretched all the way out. (This is the hardest part, and it may take some trial and error, so if you're not comfortable with the process, practice on some scrap fabric first.)

And now you are the proud owner of a scrap hat, that can be worn pulled down over your ears on cold days, and pushed back like a head band inside. :) Woo!

Joining:

31 Days Series: Angora sweater accessories

I finished my sweater accessories!! One $3 thrifted angora sweater turned out a hat, a set of leg-warmers, and a pair of gloves! Ready for the breakdown?

Hat.

Again, this is a fairly simple project, but if you need some guidance, Kirsten has an easy to follow step-by-step here.

I was also inspired by her post here to make a few other things and not let a single piece of this gorgeous sweater go to waste! But I did want to change it up a bit. Instead of simple hand warmers, I went all out on gloves. But first, I made leg-warmers! (Which are even easier than the hat!)

For these I simply cut the sleeves off from about half-way down and then sewed the tiniest of hems (about ¼ inch) since it won't be seen anyway. The bottom part will be tucked into boots. :)

And last but certainly not least, the gloves! I really wanted them to be comfortable and easy to wear, but also to look nice. I chose to use my alpaca gloves as a pattern. I half traced/half free-handed a simple two-piece pattern based on those gloves.

I cut the thumb part out from the bottom of the sweater (next to wear the hat came from) and the hand piece from the top to cut down on the amount of seams I would have to sew. (I didn't take a picture of how I cut the hand part, so I used my super-professional photo-shop skills to draw it out for you.)

To make the gloves you put the pieces together right sides in, and sew the side that will be on the outside of your hand closed. Then, you sew the thumb part to the other side, starting about an inch below the top edge. Sew half of the thumb piece to one side, and the other half to the other side. Then, sew the rest of the front and back together. (You should have approximately one inch on top, which will be between your pointer finger and thumb when you wear these, and two to three inches below the thumb part, depending on how long your gloves are going to be.)

Repeat for the other glove and you're done! Cute matching accessories, all from one cheap sweater!

Personally I still have a little bit of sweater left so I might make something else...just not too sure what yet. :)
And if you have any trouble understanding anything, let me know and I'll try to clear it up! I'm not the best at explaining things in detail. I would make a horrible teacher.

Joining:

31 Days Series: Sweater hats

Today, I made hats. Two of them so far, one more in the works. They're pretty basic and easy to make if you have a sweater or two that don't fit, and depending on the size of the sweater, you can not only make multiples, but you can use the rest of it for other re-purposing purposes! (Pretty sure that's some kind of grammatical blasphemy, but I'm making it work.)

Anyway, here's a link to a tutorial if you need one.

My process came about after getting distracted while trying to finish up our Halloween costumes. (More on that tomorrow.) I was desperately searching for a skirt that I'd bought at Re-store before Joshs birthday party, and then packed away when I got to cleaning. I emptied my entire bin of fabric before remembering that I'd put it with the rest of the costume supplies, in a box on the shelf in the closet. Anyway, long story short, I needed something to do while the skirt (and other costume bits and pieces) washed since they had gotten that 'been in a box in the closet' smell to them, and after coming across two pieces of what used to be sweaters in my fabric bin, I decided to make us a couple of winter hats.

Sorry for the poor lighting, a storm rolled in on me and it got dark earlier than I expected. Brown one is mine, the patchwork one is Joshs.

Our attempts at taking a picture together with the hats were...a failure, I think is the best way to put it. I offer this as proof:

I'm going to make one more hat, considering that I managed to find a gorgeous grey angora sweater at Re-Store today. It's too small for me to wear, but I want to find a way to utilize as much of it as possible, then I'm going to work on making some soft, gorgeous matching accessories. :)

Here it is, in all it's soft, fluffy, grey glory:

(Yes, I did take that in the car immediately after buying it. I WAS EXCITED! And the light was great.)

Here's a close-up of the detailing.

This is taken back at home, obviously, but check out the buttons on the top; you could open it up for a more 'off-the-shoulder' look! I almost feel bad about cutting it up, but it only cost me $3.

That's all for now. Our Halloween costumes coming tomorrow! All three of them, including Orion. He's going to look hilariously adorable! So excited!!