Project 365: Week 7

This post is part of my Project 365 where I am taking one photo every day for a year. Click here to see all of my photos in the series-- and if you want to join, feel free to do so anytime! :)


41/365: ISO: 1600 f/1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/160

2-10-12 A photo from last Friday when I went back to DePauw to visit some friends. This photo was taken in a fraternity basement, so it was really dark. I was playing with ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to get good pictures in dark settings without using the flash. (I hate that darned flash.) The photo is really grainy because the ISO is so high.


42/365: ISO: 400 f/3.2 Shutter Speed: 1/100

2-11-12 Taking photos on the weekend. I've been really into wearing two scarves at a time... I just love chunkier scarves in the winter and wearing two gives an extra bit of texture and color. I'm also wearing my wolf belt from an Anthropologie in NYC... I got it for $20! Here's where you can find how to tie this scarf. :)


43/365: ISO: 400 f/1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/200

2-12-12 Close-up of my heart garland DIY.


44/365: (This photo has been cropped and filtered... settings don't matter as much for this one.)

2-13-12 Messing around. I love Elsie's tips for better self-portraits. :)


45/365: (Also digitally edited.)

2-14-12 A very merry Valentine's Day at work. I also made this little video for the Handbag Heaven blog... even though our possessed video camera was giving me some attitude. (WHY they make all these ridiculous file types that don't work on Macs or vice versa is beyond me... and infuriating. Sheesh.)


47/365: ISO: 800 f/1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/80

2-15-12 I almost forgot to take a photo yesterday. So I snapped a shot of my outfit for the next day. :) #closeCall


47/365: ISO: 200 f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/125

2-16-12 And finally, a very ridiculous sign I saw tonight when I was driving to the eye doctor. I'll give them a tip of the hat for brevity. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

For more photography tips, see this post on digital photography tips for beginners. You can also check out the rest of my photos from the year for my Project 365!

If you want, you can always join the project!

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Polaroid Post: Roy O. West Libary, DePauw University

Another Polaroid from the literary review when I was editor. The photo of the library at DePauw was taken with my Polaroid 103 Land Camera. While I miss DePauw, I do not miss the frustrated paper-writing nights that came with staring out of the windows of this building. :)

DIY Zipper Headband

I guess this is a week of headbands. ;) Have you ever stopped to think about what a cool gadget the zipper is? You can close things with one hand, they make a funny noise, they have "teeth"... Zippers are such a fun material to use in crafty things, and I can't believe that I never thought to wear one as a headband before. (I did make shoe flowers out of zippers a couple years ago, but then I've also tried to make everything into a flower.) :)

What you need to make a zipper headband:

- Zipper (I like the industrial-looking zippers, you can find them at sewing stores.)
- Bobby pins


You don't need much for this one.


Pin one side of the zipper underneath your hair in the back. I unzipped the zipper a bit so that it would fan out on the top of my head. You don't have to do that, but I kind of like the look of it open. After you have one side pinned, just tuck the other side under your hair and pin it as well. You might need more than two bobby pins to keep everything secure, but the zipper's teeth do a pretty good job of keeping the zipper in place on your head. Although most things stay on my head... because they get lost in the craziness.


That's it! Bright zippers would look really neat as well. :)

DIY Glitter Heart Headband

One of my favorite blogs and brands of all time is Ban.do-- I've always loved their styling, their headbands, and their funky videos. My friends from college and I used to designate rainy and cold Saturdays as "Ban.do Days" and we would sit on the carpet and make stuff like bows, headbands, pom pom corsages, and glittery girly things.

When I saw this glitter fabric at Hobby Lobby, I knew exactly what I wanted to make with the fabric... the Ban.do heart headband! I am very aware that my handmade headband looks nowhere near as good as those crafty ladies at Ban.do, but I tried. :)

To make a glittery heart headband you need:

- A headband (I love the huge packs of headbands at Forever21. Very good for crafting.)
- Hot glue gun
- Foam or something to be the base heart
- Scissors
- Glitter fabric or any fabric you want to use


Here is the glitter fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby. I found it in the foam section, you know the section where they have all those pieces of foam that look like paper? I couldn't believe that this stuff existed, so I bought three sheets. (Not pictured: red. It was in mid-craft at this point. :))


The first thing you need to do is cut out a heart from the foam. I was experimenting with different sizes. I ended up choosing the larger heart. Then you need to take your hot glue gun and glue the foam to the glitter fabric.


Cut a general heart shape around your foam and then cut some slits so that you can fold the fabric around the heart and it keeps its crisp heart shape. Start glueing all of the little slits down. I did this on both sides of the heart so that you can't see the foam when it is against my head.


To get the heart to stick on the headband, cut another little heart shape and make sure it is a bit smaller than the heart for the headband. Then test where you want the heart to go on the headband in the mirror, you might be surprised by how low it needs to be on the headband. Then put a little glue on the headband and secure the heart. With your little piece of heart fabric, drop some dollops of hot glue and place it on the back of the heart, making a little sandwich with the headband, the heart, and the heart fabric. Hold it in place until the glue is cool, and you've got it! :)



Who cares if it's Valentine's Day. I just love the hearts. ;)

♡❤♡❤♡❤♡❤♡❤♡ (But happy Valentine's Day, nonetheless.) ♡❤♡❤♡❤♡❤♡❤♡

DIY Heart Garland

This weekend I went back to my alma mater and sorority to visit my very-very-very-very-missed friends, sit on the navy blue carpet, and catch up on everything that has been happening. I forgot how nice it is to plop on the floor and chitchat about music, crafts, dance parties, dresses, and life. Sometimes you just need those days, you know? :) Living in that sorority for three years was the most fun ever. Dance parties, craft parties, pranks, running through the house, thrifting adventures, ice cream machines... life in a mansion with 60 other girls was definitely not what the media portrays it to be.



My friends have just been back to school a couple weeks and they also just moved in to a new room. In our sorority, every semester you switch rooms to meet new people and mix it up. So my friends had just redecorated their new room... with hearts! :)

My friend Amanda is a serious crafty and stitchy lady, the girl can sew stuff from patterns and her stitches are straight. Amanda had made this little heart garland and hung it over the window of the room. I woke up in the morning on Saturday staring at the thing, and after a few minutes of checking out her paper stitching skills, I decided I needed to make a garland of my own.




(Still Amanda's garland.)


Love the stitching.

My version:


To make a heart garland you need:

-Paper (I used some poems.)
-Watercolor paints (If you want your hearts colored.)
-Sewing Machine


First you need to cut out your hearts and get out your watercolors. I've had this watercolor set since I was a kid.


Color up those hearts! I am a fan of the messier painting... it takes less time and the white shows through as well. :)


After the paper has dried, you can iron them if they've curled up a bit. Plus I love how paper gets so stiff after you iron it. Then you need to start sewing the hearts together. Turn your sewing machine on a zigzag or decorative stitch and sew through the hearts. When you get to the edge of a heart, lift the needle and just pull the thread a bit and then start another heart. This will make all your hearts connected into a garland.

My version:







I am going to take these to the scarf office to decorate it up a bit more. I don't care that hearts are associated with Valentine's Day. Heart decor has no season for me--I'd still leave these up until Christmas. :)

Project 365: Week 6

This post is part of my Project 365 where I am taking one photo every day for a year. Click here to see all of my photos in the series-- and if you want to join, feel free to do so anytime! :)


34/365: ISO: 200 f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/800

2-3-12 This photo was for our weekly "Link Love" roundup over on the Scarves.net blog. My friend and coworker, Sarah, is wearing one of the famous Super Bowl "Super Scarves." Did you know those scarves are selling for more than $100 on Ebay right now? #crazy Last Friday I went downtown to see all the Super Bowl craziness in Indianapolis... and it. was. incredible. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm kind of sad the Super Bowl is over. :)

DIY Chevron Dress: My Burdastyle Sewing Project #1

I'll be honest-- even though I love to sew, I haven't sewn anything from a pattern since I was 12. Seriously, 12. Sure I've sewn dresses, flower dresses, fixed up formal dresses-- but patterns aren't really my thing. There's something about perfect organization that really freaks me out, I think it is because I know I am just going to mess everything up immediately after I put it in order. While I love to be tidy, I hate to slow myself down from my next task. My mom on the other hand, she's a serious detail and sewing expert. She used to own her own sewing shop and she even took pattern making in college. The lady pays attention to the little things like matching prints and everything she makes is pretty much perfect.

And this is why I haven't sewn a dress from a pattern since I was 12. See, the last dress I made was for my 4-H sewing project at the Johnson County Fair. As I sat at the sewing machine listening to my mom tell me to rip out the sloppy sleeve seam again, I don't remember disliking her more than in those moments. (I'm pretty sure the feeling was mutual.) The memory of my mom and I butting heads harder than horned sheep stuck with me for years... and I didn't want to touch a pattern ever again. (By the way, I also showed sheep in the fair. 10 years!) ;)

Here are my two dresses: (Next to my glittered lamp shade.)


The infamous dress is in the front. (It still fits. I was one tall 12 year old.)

But when my favorite sewing community, Burdastyle, sent out an email asking if anyone was interested in reviewing their new sewing handbook, I forgot all my previous sewing-with-mom experiences jumped at the chance. When I asked my mom if she would help me out a bit, she said, "Do you remember the last time we sewed something together?" ;)



While sewing with a pattern is really tricky for me (all that measuring!) and very time consuming, it is a lot more fun than I remember. (It helps to have old Don Draper and some Mad Men reruns going on Netflix while you are pinning a seam together, for sure.) I love the Burdastyle book, it helped me learn a lot and I can't wait to start my next project. (A skirt this time, I think.) The book is fun, colorful, and has pretty good directions. Advice for new seamstresses: Read the directions. Read the directions. Read the directions. There are some tricky parts to the Burda patterns in the book because you need to add seam allowances and other detail-oriented things.


The book.



One of the main principles of the book is that you take one of the 5 patterns and tweak and twiddle with them to get your own unique design. Since I wanted to use some crazy black and white chevron fabric from my favorite fabric store Fabric.com, I chose to create a simpler design.

Side note-- my favorite sewing blogger and the most hilarious curly haired bloggess around was IN THE BOOK. IN the Burdastyle BOOK. A lot of blogs I just look at the pictures and skim the words. On Oona's blog, I read ALL the words. The lady has a funny bone. Also, she makes shirts out of scarves.


Close-up of the front. I used a button I found in my mom's button bin.


The back. I chose to do an exposed gold zipper.


Front again with my blue tassel scarf and yellow crinkle scarf-- both from work.


Dress shadow. :)

Overall, I am so excited about my new dress. I am definitely learning that the details pay off in the end because this dress fits like it was made for me or something. It is incredible how much you can *gasp* learn from your mom. I have the best-fitting dress in the world to prove it. :)

Next up in my Burdastyle Handbook challenge-- a skirt! ♥

Polaroid Post: I-65 and I-70

Photo taken with my Polaroid Land Camera on Impossible Project film

The two most important highways in my life so far. One gets me home, one used to get me to school. I saw this sign when I was taking photos in Fountain Square and the sign just struck me. I've always liked the shape of the interstate signs-- the shield shape makes them seem so regal yet powerful. :)