Glitter tights!

I write this post while on the lovely Megabus to Nashville. I'm bored, so time to add a new craft. This is perhaps one of my favorites (although I say that about all of them). It made me exceedingly happy to be completely covered in glitter. I made these for a tacky Christmas party, and haven't quite gotten around to perfecting them yet.

The key point here is LET THEM DRY. Make sure you do these at least a day in advance of your event to prevent the sticking of glitter to every item of clothing you put on and every spot you sit in. I didn't remember to do mine early enough, and I legitimately left glitter footprints in my apartment.
Which brings me to another point, use cheap pantyhose. I don't know if letting them dry will allow you to use them again or not. Mine were so sticky I just threw them away. Next, I recommend putting them on before you start. Measure and mark where your shoes start and where your skirt or shorts you plan on wearing with it end. Don't glitter these spots. Hence the glitter footprints when I did.
I used regular spray adhesive, but I think spray mod podge or photo mounting spray would do the trick. I don't know if those would be better or not, I've only tried them once. The trick is to spray the tights, shake the glitter on real fast, and then once that's dry spray another coat on. The tutorial I used said to put your hand into them in between coats to keep it from sticking together, but I ha no issues with my cheap Walmart tights sticking to themselves. Do both sides, and then hang on a skirt hanger to dry. The best way is to clip the skirt hanger clips to each foot and hang it that way.
Don't let it touch anything else! It will leave glitter spots! But here are mine:

The Cutest Bid Day favors of All Time

So, every now and then I realize that I greatly regret not taking pictures of my work before I get overly excited about giving it to the recipient. I often completely forget that I'll want to share my ideas, and commence the excitement of gift giving at its finest. So since I'm lacking on photos at the moment, I'm totally going to string my bid day posts out in sections. I'm starting with the tiny favors I made to go with our bids. First of all, our rush theme was nautical everything, since I can't ever get enough of that stuff. Guess that comes from growing up with grandparents that loved to sail. Well anyway, for our bids I hand drew the design and we had them copied on cardstock. This way they were gorgeous, sturdy, and awesome enough to frame or scrapbook for the memories. I looked at wedding invitations for hours before I drew this one up:

My best advice is that if you're going to hand design, find what you want and lay it down on your computer screen to trace it. If you turn your brightness setting up, it will come through clear as daylight. It's a whole lot easier than freehanding it. Also, don't try to hand draw all of them. Just get them copied. Take it from me, you don't have the time to do all of them AND complete the rest of your bid day obligations.

To accompany these, I had balloons tied to yellow daisies (daisies are one of our symbols) and the little memory jar pictured below. These jars are sold at places like Hobby Lobby, but I was working at a vet clinic at the time so I got to wash out those and take them home for free. I also had tinier versions of the same thing, minus the rope knot, to give to executive council members in a goodie bag for helping out.

The key on these is to get a hold of a pack of small shells, like the craft shells sold at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. I layered craft sand, the little shells, and beach glass in there. I did happen to find a pack that included all three of those items at Walmart in with the glass vases and stuff for flower arrangements. To get the glass the right size: slip a few chunks of it in a double layer of plastic sandwich bags, take it outside on a porch or something, and smash it with a hammer.

Again I will emphasize that hammer safety is extremely important.

Also watch out for the glass powder that results from this smashing, and make sure not to smash it up TOO tiny, otherwise you can't see it in the jar. I found that the blue or green beach glass looks best. (My mom pointed out long afterward that you could probably heat the aforementioned glass up in the oven and then dump it in cold water to break it without the powdery issues and hammer safety precautions. But heck, I couldn't have done the easy method, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to seriously injure myself. And that is just a key ingredient in the final product of my crafts.)

After you've layered all of these together, the lid can be put on. If you have a jar that comes with a cork lid, you don't have to screw with it. Mine was rubber, so I hot glued some cork I had laying around to the top of it. I then had my grandma show me how to do a nautical knot to tie on the front, which I can't really explain because I don't really understand how I do it. I do know, however, that there are a bunch of online tutorials and videos on tying knots, so it'll be easy to find one you like. Once that was on there, I threw a couple dots of superglue on top of the knot and around it to keep it together and in place.

Next came the little message. On this I put the time and place, as well as required attire, since I didn't want to put that stuff on the formal bid. It was something along the lines of:

"Should you choose to accept this bid, please meet in 

*insert room name here*

on *date* at *time*

in your business casual attire"

Then I rolled it up really tight, and tied it to the top of the bottle with my red striped ribbon. The ribbon has a wedge shape cut out of it to make it just a little bit cuter. No superglue this time, since I wanted them to be able to read it. Then I wrote "Read me" reaaaalllll tiny so they'd know it wasn't just for show. 

And that was it! They were a real hit, and some of my pledge children still have them on their shelves or bookcases. They didn't take me a whole lot of time, and they were super cute. Note: for the even tinier ones I didn't have room for beach glass or the knot. So I just put sand and shells with the red ribbon. As well, instead of the cork on the top I just put a gold star sticker, just like the ones that you got in kindergarten for tying your shoe right or something. 

More nautical bid day crafts/ food to come! Including how to have a nautical themed bid day without  serving seafood...imagine that!

Baby Pichu Costume

Well, the clock has struck midnight, so it's officially Throwback Thursday. To celebrate, I'm posting an adorable Pokemon costume that I made for my baby sister two Halloweens ago. It was super easy to do, and I think you could probably use the same concept for an adult version as well. (Note, I did make a Pikachu costume for my pledge class lipsync. However, while I was the cutest Pikachu out there, it was thrown together in a rush and not exactly the caliber I would have liked to post for you guys)

So, here it is:

Now, for this I basically just altered a yellow onesie that was getting small on her (so mom approved sacrificing it). I cut the neck fringe out of felt, but I did not completely sew it to the outfit. She wasn't too mobile, so it didn't need to be very tough. Sewing it only along the neckline saved me time and heartache since that section was done by hand. (The seam of the onesie neck was too thick for our sewing machine)

Next, I cut the shape of the ears out of yellow felt, with the black accent cut out only for one side of each ear. I ended up with four pieces of yellow felt, and two pieces of black felt. Make sure through this section, and for the tail, that you leave a little extra room for a seam allowance on these. I first sewed the black pieces to the tips of the ears. This leaves you with two yellow pieces of felt and two yellow pieces with black accents on them. After that, the side with the black is laid on top of the other yellow piece, forming two pairs. You should not see the black when you lay them this way. Then sew all but the bottom of the "ears". You need this hole for stuffing. Try to get as close to the edge with your stitch as possible. This is hard on a sewing machine, but you can do it. I believe in you. Then you simply flip it inside out, stuff it pretty full, and then stitch it to the baby headband. Make sure you stick the headband on their head first and mark exactly where the ears need to lay.

I followed the same exact method for the tail. Just use a picture off the internet as your guide for the shape, freehand it, and cut. Remember your seam allowance! For the tail, I didn't stuff it. She had to go in a car seat, so I thought it would be too poofy. I did sew the base to the pants, and once she was in the outfit I did a quick hand stitch to secure the top of the tail to the correct spot on the onesie. Make sure that it's loose so you can get it out when necessary. A safety pin might be a better option if they're going to be in it for a long time. It's always good to be able to change that smelly diaper. Since this craft was a looong time ago, I can't remember if I made any more alterations. However, she did keep the headband on and was darn adorable. Here's a closeup. :-)

Cute, right? 

Melty Crayon Art- Alternate Techniques

So, I've been slacking on the updating lately, and for my one and only follower I'm sure this is disappointing.

This tutorial is a continuation of my melty crayon pointillism. I'm going to cover two other techniques I've used to create some awesome artworks. Two for sorority purposes (big/little gift and a gift for a beautiful Zeta Tau Alpha friend of mine), and one for my own decorative purposes.

The first technique I learned, and probably the easiest to do, is to line the crayons up on canvas and use a blow dryer to melt them down.

First, pick out your colors and peel the crayons. If they're off-brand, test the color on a piece of paper first. I once had a "gold" crayon melt into a nasty chartreuse sludge that ruined a Chi Omega design I'd worked hard on. I've never had a problem with Crayola crayons doing this, but God help you if you use a cheaper brand. Still works, just check the colors. From there, I snapped each crayon in half. You're using less crayons this way, and you don't have an overflow of color.

Now the trick is to secure the crayons to the very top of the canvas. (I've never tried this on a different medium, but the wax sticks very well on the canvas and looks great) I tried a LOT of methods to getting them to stay where they belong instead of blowing away and sticking crayon to your wall. So far, the best was a line of hot glue to secure them in an orderly fashion. I tried simply melting them slowly first so they would stick to the canvas, but that was a disaster. Don't even try that method, I promise its not worth having to peel twenty more crayons. After that, I tried tying a string around them. That sorta worked but it still wasn't great. And then again I tried tape around them, which didn't work at all. The hot glue really is the best way to go.

Space the crayons out a bit. They don't need to be all together in a line. I probably left a half inch between each 'pair' of crayon point and top. This also keeps from too much wax being in one spot.

If you're adding a monogram or design:
Tape your design out with masking tape. Any non-geometric/ non-letter designs should be drawn out on the canvas, and then taped over. For the monogram and fox, I taped the letter with no underlying outline because I wanted it to be completely white underneath. Then I drew my fox out in pencil, went over my final design with a fine point marker, and covered it in small pieces of tape to conform to the design as closely as possible.

This is my finished product for the monogram. As you can see, some of the top left crayons left their posts so I just tossed them out instead of trying to stick them back on.

For a complicated design, such as my ZTA crown and words, I used tiny shreds of tape to create the design. This took a lot of time and a heck of a lot of patience, but it turned out great. I did the words in colored pencil, then covered them with masking tape. After most of the melting was done, I removed the tape and did some slow speed-careful melting around the words to make it look not so square. I then went back over the words in colored pencil again to ensure that you could read them.

Now comes the fun part. Set your canvas upright, crayons right side up, with a garbage bag or plastic bag underneath/behind it. I set my fox one in the sink because it created a nice nest for it. Then start by using the blow dryer on a low speed setting to melt the crayons together a bit. Point your air stream so that drips fall down onto the canvas and are propelled down towards the ground. Don't get too close or it will go sideways instead of down! Once the crayons have melted a bit, you can switch to a higher setting and finish it up. Should you want to keep part of your design right where it is, or keep your crayon line from drifting downward (this does happen occasionally if not secured properly, they start to sink down) just switch your blow dryer to cool setting real quick and go over it until it cools, keeping enough distance so as not to blow the drop any farther down the canvas.

If you added a tape design, when you're done blow drying you can remove the masking tape. Start by laying the canvas flat on its back, and remove the tape while it is still soft. Otherwise, it can come up in chunks and ruin the shape under the tape.

Here is my simple one, no taping required:

The tag on the corner says "Sisters come in all different colors"

There you have it! I may re-read this and clarify any spots I feel need it after I finish my ridiculous amount of Chemistry homework for the week. :-)

Melty Crayon Pointillism

So, one of my favorite things on the planet is to melt crayons onto canvas. I know it sounds childish, but it turns out a product that is more artistic than you would ever expect it to be. I've done several of these now, and I'm still perfecting them. When I get time to find the photos, I'll post the Chi Omega one that I gave to my last roommate. For now, I'm going to show you one of the more unique ones I have done, which included the use of pointillism.

I started out by drawing out the letters that I wanted to stay "clean", as it were, of crayon. I did my sorority's letters since it was to become a gift for someone else's little. I made it monogram style, with the letters in the correct order but the middle letter bigger than the other two. Use a pencil to sketch this out, and do it VERY LIGHTLY. You can't erase efficiently off of a canvas, it will leave a smear. To cover up my pencil marks I later traced over it with orange marker. If you want it to be completely white underneath, tape it off with masking tape. I suggest using this since you can peel it off and move around your design to make sure you like what you get.

Next, I picked out the colors that I wanted to use. I chose two shades of purple and two shades of green. For this particular crayon melt, you do want variety in your shades so that you can actually see the end design. After you pick your colors, you must peel the crayons! You're going to be sticking them into open flame, and that wrapper on fire is not something you want to deal with.

Before you start melting, get an idea of the pattern you want to put on the canvas. Sketch it out if you need to. I picked a bunch of intersecting spirals of different shades. How I picked that particular one, I'm not sure, but it was probably a mental conglomeration of sixty different Pinterest projects.

Now it's time for the fiery goodness. Light yourself a candle that you don't particularly care for (the crayon drips will probably get on it and make it ugly). Now, this takes practice. Hold the crayon right above or beside the flame until a drop forms on the tip or it is running into a drop. This doesn't take very long at all, and the first few times you'll probably just drip it right into the flame. Once you get the hang of it, it'll be pretty simple from that point onward. Just take the crayon and drop, put it over the canvas in the spot you want it, and gently touch the canvas with it. It should form a nice roundy drop on the canvas when you pull the crayon away. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the pattern is finished. Yes, it is tedious, but it looks great in the end and makes a fantastic gift for anyone. Here's a picture of my final product!

Sea Glass Candy

So, here's a tutorial for something I loooove to make. It's not as hard as I thought it would be. I initially picked it out for our nautical themed Bid Day Dinner, but made it several times after because it tasted so good.

This is a link to the recipe that I used, and I followed it very closely:
http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/diy-wedding-favors-make-your-own-sea-glass-candy/

The only thing I didn't follow was to sprinkle it in the confectioner's sugar after it's all said and done. In hindsight, this would've helped keep the candy from sticking together.

Both times I made it, I used vanilla flavoring because that's all I had, and lo and behold...it came out tasting like cotton candy. This was a great surprise to me, and my sisters and I enjoyed it greatly. The first batch looked like this:

This was a few drops each of blue and green food coloring.

And the next time, I put sprinkles in it! I just put them into my hand, spread them evenly across, and then tapped them in with the back of a spoon (gently). This was done right after I poured it in the pan and it achieved a smooth state.

To break it into pieces, I have this adorable tiny hammer (pictured top right of the sprinkles photo) that I used. But I assume you could use any hard object; a vase, a coffee cup, a brick, or even a very large hammer at a gentler tap.
Note: Big hammers are for adults. When using your big hammer, do not place it on the top of a door frame and forget about it. Candy will not be the only thing it crushes. I know this from experience.

  Hammer safety is extremely important, guys.

Anyway, this candy is delicious. As in the recipe, you can use any color or flavor you want. You do have to stir the sugary goodness really fast once you put the food coloring in. If it hardens on your pot, just throw the pot in the sink and let hot water run over the area. The hot water will dissolve the sugar and make it a lot easier to clean up. The cookie sheet probably won't have any stuck on it when you're done, mine didn't. Another word to the wise, watch the candy thermometer well. Once it reaches close to the right point it can climb past hard tack really quickly, which makes the candy extremely hard to deal with.
All in all, this is a super easy intro to candy making. It really doesn't need any prowess other than the ability to mix, boil, and pour quickly. If you need something to give out as gifts, or to bring to an event, I highly recommend it. It's relatively cheap for the amount of enjoyment you get out of it.

 Make it your own and enjoy!