Christmas Gifts for My Nieces

My nieces live across the pond and that makes me sad.. But at least I can give them cool presents every year. Usually I buy them Barbie because Barbie rocks, but this year I am doing something different. I be making gifts yo. Their mom, my sister, is a fabulous cook and I have no doubt the kids can already make souffle. So to encourage their culinary skills, I am making them personalised aprons, chef hats, and recipe boxes. Lest anyone think I be sexist, the boy child will be learning to cook as soon as possible. I wish I had known how to cook back in the day, I would have been thinner..

Anyways, here's how to make cute recipe boxes for little girls who will treasure them until something cooler comes along..

Go to a shop and buy plain wooden boxes. In the pic here I've already started painting.. That's supposed to be orange, my camera would disagree.

Then keep painting.

Then add crystals for their initials. We all love bling.. I would assume.. And add a shiny glue at the end to make the boxes shiny and stuff..

And then write out a couple of recipes- your own or stolen from the internet and make extra blank cards with the title "Bob's Recipe" but use the child's name..  Bob is not my niece.. But if he were I would love him just the same..

So there you have it. Easy and pretty recipe boxes. Fun for everyone!!

Pinterest and Leg Warmers and I am in Love

A few weeks ago I heard about Pinterest and it piqued my interest (see what I did there?). This is an amazing site and I could spend days just going through all of the images. Already I have been inspired and have a whole lot of projects ahead of me. Plus Christmas gifts to make because we're on a budget.. It has been a very very expensive year. Why am I talking about Pinterest? You'll see.

A friend pm'd me yesterday with a fashion question. She shall remain anonymous but I was super excited by her question. She asked if it was fashion fine to wear leg warmers inside of ankle boots. I said yes.. And it is true because leg warmers kick ass! For years I have coveted them and I am not sure why I didn't buy any.. Ok last year my calves would have been too large, and maybe I couldn't find them in stores in previous years, but after receiving that pm yesterday I am seeing them everywhere! She bought them at H&M and I ended buying some from Bipa yesterday. I wore them and went outside and I never knew that my calves do get cold.. But not anymore, thank you legwarmers!! I sent my friend this link; it shows different ways to wear these awesome objects of leg art. http://www.thebudgetbabe.com/archives/393-How-to-Wear-Leg-Warmers.html
Super cute!

Now, when I read her (anonymous friend's) first pm I was feeding the kid his bottle of gin (did you catch that? Just testing) and it was about 5:30 in the morning. I wanted leg warmers asap and so I went to Pinterest (I brought you back like I promised) and looked up legwarmers and ended up with this link.. http://www.madebylex.com/2011/10/how-to-make-leg-warmers-or-boot-socks.html SQUEAL! (totally awesome site, too) This lead to me asking the Husband which sweaters he didn't like anymore and him snatching the scissors away from me.. We still have the passion..Now that he is at work I have free range! There are arm sleeves everwhere! Stay tuned for pictures..

I am super super excited and thank you anonymous friend for reminding me about this fun fashion accessory.. My winter is looking even better! Leg warmers for everybody!!!

Gifts for the Father

Last night we went to Roxette and it was truly a blast. I've never been to a concert because I was brought up to believe I would be crushed to death.. I felt the safest bet would be Roxette for my virginal visit. Ah, the atmosphere was great. The crowd was dorky and I loved it. I also have to say that the singer has some pipes. Mama mia! She had a brain tumour and she's back and amazing. I also have a soft spot for any band that reminds me of a time when my boobs were perky and the lines on my face were caused by falling asleep on a shoe.. Ahh. youth!

Now here's a little somethin somethin that could make a great gift for a father of a boy child. Simple to make and a little funny and pretty practical.

I present to you: the The target pee apron!

If you have ever changed a baby boy you'll know that you and your clothing are not safe. Ape arms would be practical. So to protect yourself from a golden shower and to make it a little bit fun, make one of these.

First take a plain white apron. ooh... aaahh..

Then get some washing machine safe red paint and paint targets. If I had time, I would have made a template for easy application of said targets. But you get the idea.. If you're super duper, add points to the rings.

And there you have it. It's safe to change the boychik..

Projects in the Works

I've been hit with insomnia and it's led me to make up awesome stories in my head.. One included hanging out with Christoph Waltz at a post Oscar party. I wore an awesome dress. I love Waltzy (it's cool, I can call him that, we're friends) and there are a few films coming out with him. I think he is perfectly cast in about anything and everything. Heck, I could see him play Eliza Doolittle and I would still think he was the perfect person for that role. I need help.

The last few days I have been sewing and I keep bouncing around on projects. Here is one thing I actually finished a couple of months ago.. This is for Spring 2011 for the child. A sleeping bag thing for the carriage. Big Pimpin is all I can say..

Bear added for realism...

It's satin lined. It has buttons that I took from one of the Husband's ugly blazers. He doesn't know yet. The next thing I have to finish is a top for my Mad Men baby shower next week. What started out as a top will have to be converted into a jacket (will cut straight through the middle) as it seems I have grown (expanded, whatever). 

Crafts are fun, yo.

Happy Sunday!



Projects in the Works

Hola! It's the 5th of May and that means margaritas and Mexican food and sombreros.. Ole! It's another gray day here and grr.. I'm becoming a recluse but that is a-ok. If I stop shaving, someone call a doctor. I have a day planned of sewing and working out.. wow.. sweat shop.. get it? Oh hahahaha! I'm soo witty. Tomorrow I have my first "client" and I cannot wait.. Business cards are being printed next week and I'm launching the "site" when I'm back from Vegas.. Oh yeah. Here is a ring I made a couple of weeks ago. I haven't worn it yet but since I'm going for Mexican food tonight, I figure I can rock it.. That and a new dress I plan to start and finish today. Just. need. the. energy. to. set. up. the. sewing. machine. Seriously, it's like half a meter from the dining room table. This seems pathetic. I need a coffee. So here is the ring..

It's pink.. It's a pink shell.. It clashes with my nail polish.

Happy Wednesday!

Projects in the Works

I took a picture of more of the shell jewelery I made a couple of weeks ago. And it's painted gold and then I got a horrible craving for Golden Grahams. I haven't had cereal in about 7 years. It's weird in that we were a cereal family growing up. The standard morning fare provided by my dad was cereal, glass o juice and a Flinstones vitamin. When I got to drinking age the Flinstones were replaced by aspirin. Awesome, Dad! My mother was and is not a morning person- she actually had a nightgown saying "Perky Morning People Should be Shot." I'm not exaggerating. She'd sit in another room and eat her cereal in the dark. I love you Mommy! It's a fond memory.. I obviously inherited my morningness from my dad. Back to cereal.. Growing up in Europe, we missed out a lot on the sugar packed cereals that every other child from North America had access to. Total child abuse. But once in a while my dad would score those mini packs that had things like Allbran, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Coco Puffs. Then the carnage would begin. It was messy. The kids (my sister vs. me in the 80's- but then she was shipped off to boarding school! HA! Victory! Followed by my brother vs. me in the 90's) would fight to the death for the crap stuff that would turn our bowls of milk to a brown sweet mess. Ah. Memories.

I remember when I was 9 and we moved back to the Great White North and I got to meet Golden Grahams. Eu Mah Gawd. I was hooked. Once a month my dad would buy a box. Within a day they were gone. I could have eaten them 4 eva and then 3 years later we were shipped out again only to be served Frosted Mini Wheats which still gross me out when I think of those half assed pillows waterlogged with milk and only one side was coated in sugar.. AAAH! Shudder. Gah! So my love affair with cereal slowly ended. I vowed that one day as an adult I would have a shelf of Golden Grahams. I too would live the dream. But it's funny how one forgets these awesome childhood dreams. But today I remembered. I hang my head in defeat as I realise that I can't get Golden Grahams here. Sigh. It's probably for the best at this point as I'm watching my carbs but come pregnancy or depression, no holding back. If it means I'll have to stand outside a US Military Base somewhere in Germany and hold a sign "Will makeover your uniforms for Golden Grahams" by golly I will! Live the dream kids! Live it.

Wow, I went off track. So anyway, here is the pendant I made. It's a shell, with natural holes. I painted only one side since the inside is pretty. Using a piece gold wire I made a little hook and twisted it. Voila, gold shell necklace.

I like it and it was fast and easy to make. Go forth! Paint some shells! I'll show the hot pink ones I painted with nail polish.. they can only be described as awesome!

Happy Thursday!

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?

Hola peeps! It's Wednesday and I am leaving work early today to see a man about a horse. I jest about the horse and the man. As I mentioned last week, the white shoes with the ribbons didn't fit the little girl so I did a new pair. These are awesome and I wish they came in my size. To attach the ribbon I used the things in the picture below. One half of the clip was sewn to the shoe (pain in the ass) and the other half to the ribbon.. So they are detachabelalele. To seal the string ends I dabbed craft glue on the knots. And here they are, shoes that are sweet beyond belief- the only thing I altered was adding a little crystal on the front bow and adding the ballerina ribbons of course...

AWWWW! Cute huh? So in exchange for the shoes my friend Natalie (mother of the girls) is bringing me back No.7 cream from Boots. As I have mentioned before I am a soap (thank you Debra), face brush, and Nivea cream kind a girl but much like most females my age, I got sucked into the mass hysteria of this wundercream. I'm so going to do a before and after thing on it. Wearing make up, of course. Watch this space...

Happy Wednesday!!

Projects in the Works

I've been on the hunt for a dressmaker's doll that doesn't cost a bazillion Euros. Still no luck.. But then my lovely friend Heather suggested I Google "dress form duct tape" and by golly she's a genius. I found this site that lead me to be duct taped on the weekend. http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3659/clone-yourself-a-fitting-assistant

Me: So honey, I need to buy duct tape and then you have to tape my upper half.
The Husband: OK.
Me: You know what duct tape is, right?
The Husband: Oh yeah, I'll get the cocktails ready. (cue porno music in his head)

So anyway, I bought 20 meters of duct tape and found an old t-shirt (my husband's) and went to the toilet (trust me on this one, you won't be peeing for a while). Then the taping began. Now here are my tips:
1) Wear a bra if you have boobs
2) Keep all things like remote controls, cell phones, laptops, water, lip gloss at at least waist level
3) Buy a lot of tape or else you will be forced to wait while taped while the Husband goes running out for more (I needed 40 meters).
4) If you like breathing deeply you will hate this
5) Use sharp scissors when cutting off the tape from the body but try not to cut the person inside the tape.. ahem.
6) Stuff the body with garbage bags and think "This is what I would look like if I had been dismembered by a serial killer".

It really is a great idea but a lot of work.. I see potential for Halloween projects as well! If you do it, let me know how it turns out! I still want a dressmaker's dall but this thing will work for now.

Happy Tuesday!!

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?

It's Monday. Crap. But in other news- just 15 more days! The weekend was chillaxed and I almost finished a dress. The Husband duct taped me but not in the kinky way. We made a dressmaker's doll thing- I'll write about that in another post. I also finally finally finished the other pair of kids' shoes. Finally. I think they are kind of cute. These are the before:

And after:

The idea was to add ribbons so that they could be tied up like a ballerina shoe. They are removable but I would not recommend that on this pair.. Let me tell you, these were a pain to make. But I'm a martyr so I loved every minute of it. Add more firewood! YES! I also added little crystals allover to bling them up. I hope the little girl likes them. If she doesn't, don't tell me.

So those are done and I'm glad I finally was able to finish them! More crafts coming up!

Happy Monday!

Projects in the Works

Hola. It's fuhreezing outside and the Husband turned off the heat so he believes that I am constantly happy to see him. Ugh. It's Wednesday which means it's practically the weekend which means happy Tova. As I mentioned yesterday, over the weekend I made a whole bunch of things. Here's a picture of a ring I made. I made it the same way I made that paper flower ring for the competition but I used little crystals instead of paper and it's not very stable but meh.

I like it. It kind of was in the shape of a swastika, which unless you are the debil, is a bad thing. Or unless you are that Jesse James mistress (look at me with my celeb gossip). So I changed it and now it's a flower or something.

We watched the German Biggest Loser last night. I like that show. It's pretty inspiring and while watching it and eating, you can't help but feel a tad sluggish. Guilt TV. Awesome. Oh, and I'm blonde. Yup. I technically have a degree in chemistry after the amount of crap I have put in my hair. It's very trashy. It'll be perfect for Vegas. I am sorry Mother.

Happy Wednesday!

Projects in the Works

What a relaxing weekend. Seriously. I sewed, I crafted, I watched a few horrible films, I played Mario Kart. Yes. Awesome. I cannot believe that Easter has come and gone and now it's straight/smooth sailing into Summer. I have 19 more days at this job.. The excitement is building. Anyway, one thing I worked on was shell jewelery. I have lots of shells from a sea themed baby shower I threw a few years ago and that I reused for the toga bday. I bought a bag of them for about 2 Euros and since I don't live in Florida and don't have a lamp with a lampshade that I could glue the suckers on to, I had no use for shells. Until I went a little crazy with the gold paint. Check out mah hairclip thing.

It'll be useful when I'm in Vegas and asked to play Ariel in the Little Mermaid. Shell bra? Perhaps. The shell on the left gave me a heart attack. I picked it up and my finger was in the wrong place and I thought is was a crab coming out. I'm so special.

So over the next few days I will post more of my gold shell stuff I made. I also painted a couple shells bright pink. I'm so zany.

Happy Tuesday!

Projects in the Works

Wow. I was incapacitated by some weird flu yesterday. It started Thursday night and then yesterday I was a living zombie and unable to turn away from Higschool Musical 2. It was a scary 40 minutes until I could switch to reruns of Jersey Shore. Close call. By the evening I started feeling human again and decided to be creative and oh boy was I. I have lots of things in the works right now and I am pumped. Dare I say, fist pumped? Oh, I'm so witty. Anyway, last week I mentioned blowing eggs. I finally painted them. They are such crap but I blame it on the fever.

I introduce half assed Easter eggs.

Yup. They look better from afar. Way far. But whatever. Now that I have my super human strength back, I will be working on other things that I painted gold last night. Let's just say, I think they are going to rock. Another task in the upcoming week is to locate a tailor's doll thing so that I can pin material to it and dream of dresses that I will sew and then Gene Kelly will dance with it. That man danced with everything....

Anyway, it's sunny outside and it's time for me to put on a bra and something without an elastic waistband. Life is so hard.

Happy Saturday!

Sidenote: they are doing construction around the corner and either I am hallucinating or there is a Kebap stand right infront of our apartment. I'm not sure when to wake the Husband to tell him this. It might all be an illusion. If it isn't, we'll be having Kebap quite often now. Win?

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?

First of all... WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS! OMG! OMG! I am stoked and all I want to do is lie by the pool all day, reading trashy novels and drinking cheap drinks and then party at night and and and.. I'm so excited! Obviously this post is about a craft for kids and I like that I ruined it all by posting about Vegas and excessive drinking. Shine on you crazy diamond!

As I mentioned a while ago, I planned to work on childrens' shoes and boy did I. My friend Natalie has two girl children. I've met them a couple of times and I like them. That's saying a lot. Seriously. I actually like all of my friends' kids. I guess that's normal? I have this horrible habit of shaking hands with kids when I meet them. I need to stop that.

Anywho. Here is the first pair that I finished. These are for Katja. She likes green, so she gets green. Here is the before pic.And here is the after! POLKA DOTS!

A close up!

These were very very simple to make. I just holepunched different pieces of green paper and glued them onto the shoe. The ribbon is loose but held in place by the velcro strap. The top picture looks like the green leather is a different colour than the after pictures but that is just the light! Stay tuned for the other daughter's shoes.

Happy Tuesday!

Random Thoughts

Well, I had a pretty awesome and busy weekend. It all started Friday evening with a couple of drinks in a tent for St. Paddy's. Then an all you can eat Asian buffet. Saturday morning I biked for the first time this year and then partook in a parade. Then there was Mariokart in the afternoon and then drinks for a friend's bday at a bar. Sunday I crafted (it's a word in my world) and planted flowers, tomatoes, basil, and more flowers on the balcony (if you have read my post about planting stuff on our balcony you'll be shaking your head with pity after reading the above). It was a pretty awesome weekend. High Five!

Here is a picture from the parade. You can see my shame on the left.

It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. But I admit it grudgingly. There were Irish Setters and Irish Wolfhounds and Irish pipe bands and I wish I had had time to shave my legs before donning leggings. But B+ for effort!

I have a lot to do today and a lot of thinking to do today. I'm really toying with the idea of starting as a personal stylist. Starting small and then turning into a global empire. Yes. Hello Jackie Collins novel.. or is that Joan? I never remember. I've been working on a business plan and different "offers" that I could, well, offer. We'll see how it goes and I am grateful for the Husband as he listens to me and pets my head "Yes, dear. You can do that, I'm sure." Stay tuned for the outcome.

Happy Monday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Argh! We be celebrating the Emerald Isle today Lassy.. Ok, in my head I sound like a pirate. I love St. Paddy's day and all things green. I'm wearing a green pashmina like a sash that I've fastened with a gold pin. I'm sooo Irish. According to my mother I am 1/8th Irish! Hi Mom! This must explain my love of alcohol.

Here's a video I taped last night. It's about a caftan I made. As I say in the video, you take a piece of material about 1 meter by 1.5 and lay it out on the ground. In the middle cut out a hole that your head can fit through. You're done. You're wearing a caftan.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Random Thoughts

I promise promise promise that I will be posting something interesting soon. Last night I blew eggs.. There, that's something to talk about. Member when you were a kid and your biggest worry was whether or not SheRa would find true love? I wonder if she ever did. I have visions of SheRa settling down in the burbs with a minivan and kids. She'd be one scary soccer mom I tell you what. And then SheRa gets invited to her 20 year reunion and she tries to squeeze into that white bathing suit and it doesn't fit and she breaks down into tears. She finally settles on a simple white shift dress and goes and like Mermista and Flutterina are there and they too have aged and SheRa starts to feel a little better about herself until Frosta walks in and she's all New York Botoxed Glam...And why am I talking about THIS?!! Anywho. Blowing eggs.

I'm blowing eggs for an upcoming project for Easter eggs. I forgot what a pain it was to blow these damn things. You take a raw egg, you poke the top and bottom with a pin and then blow. You might have to make the exit hole slightly larger to make it easier and I believe this is the most perverted sentence I have ever written. I'll paint them and bling them and post pictures. Jewish Easter Eggs. Awesome.

I'm going to be in a Saint Patrick's Parade this Saturday. Why? No clue. The only Irish in me is when I go through an identity crisis and dye my hair red.

Happy Tuesday!

News

Just a quick update! I won the internal marketing competition at my company.. Oh irony! How I love you! I'm getting a camera as the prize.

Sunday was a great day: watched the race, bumped into two friends randomly, and ate take out. It was the perfect end to a long time off work. The job search is continuing as well as other creative endeavours. There's a world of opportunity out there and I am ready to face it. Whatever comes in the future I will deal with it and one day something amazing will come out of all this crap.

I'm currently reorganizing my huge and random jewellery collection in order to make it easier to access. I can't wait to go all Liberace soon. Stay tuned for upcoming projects in the next few weeks which will include:
recipes
a vest
a dress
children's shoes
bedazzled Easter eggs

Happy Monday!

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?!

Hey all! I was going to write something yesterday but I felt like death. I'm not sure why and today I'm still a leetle tired.. I call it post traumatic firing. Anywho. A while ago I mentioned I would start a series about crafts for the little ones and here is one thing I worked on.

A tutu for the child.

This was super easy and fast and I wish it fit me because I would so rock this... Take some tulle, ribbon and a Vogue Enfants that came with the French Vogue I bought (magazine not necessary to this craft)

Take a rectanglar piece of tulle, fold it over in half. For the waist band, fold over a 4 inch section and sew to secure it. Once done, pull a ribbon through the waist band and there you have it, a tutu. This one's black so your precious will be the black swan in Swan Lake.

Apropos Swan Lake.. I think I am ready to see it again. 1o years have passed and the memory of having to see it 4 times in Russia in one season still haunts me. By performance number 4 I felt like screaming "Just shoot the effing swan damnit!". I heart culture.

Happy Friday!!

Projects in the Works- Video

Ok ok. Two friends who shall remain nameless, Alix and Lucy, said that I come across very different in my videos.. Duh! I'm being all professional like. Bar-me is very different. Geez guys. But I'll walk it off and expect an awesome present from New York from Alix when she returns in just over a week. Lucy, I'll see you on Saturday....

So anyway, I watched the tail end of the ice skating this morning as I contemplated plucking my eyebrows. Now let me take a second and mention Joannie Rochette. She's a Canadian figure skater and her mother just passed away on SUNDAY suddenly. Joannie skated her heart out this morning (last night Vancouver time). I salute you Joannie. You make me proud to be Canadian. I cannot imagine what you are going through but the fact that you went out there is amazing. You're a much stronger person than I could ever be. Hugs and the highest respect...

And now for something completely different, I filmed this video yesterday morning.. It's about fascinators.. Enjoy..

Also, in the next couple of weeks I am going to introduce some stuff you can make for kids. You know those people that are smaller than adults? Every couple of weeks I will make something that little ones will enjoy or say "Crap. I wanted an Xbox."

Happy Wednesday!

Projects in the Works

Hello Monday. You're back. Awesome. The Husband and I had a great Sunday hanging out at the City Park watching ducks and giving them personalities. We humanize everything. We went for a beer at the Sports Bar in the Marriot- we like to keep it cool. And for dinner ordered Chinese and watched Twister. It was a pretty perfect Sunday. I also avoided doing stuff that I had to do. Procrastination rocks. Der Sigh.

Anywho, this is what I made on Saturday. I had gone to the fabric store on Friday, and based on their prices, emperors shop there too. I stick to the end bits of material which is cheaper. I spied this awesome material named "Empress Gardens". Not a porn. The material is quite stiff but gorgeous. It's Japanese style which is right up my alley. When I was about 6 I became completely obsessed with all things Japanese. I wore kimonos and sandles and ate with chopsticks. I was even convinced that I could speak Japanese. I would come home and speak "Japanese" (read: offensive gibberish) to my parents. They would smile and nod and when I would leave the room they would look up child psychologists in the phone book. I was an awesome kid. I grew out of it after a few months and focused my attention on being the youngest Goth ever. So this is what I made:

This is the material, pretty right?

I folded it inside out and sewed along the long part to seal it.

Turned it right side out and sewed the smaller ends together. And there you have it. That's my wig head. I like her. I've named her Beryl. The great thing about this neck cuff is that the material is quite stiff and you can "mold" it into a stiff collar.

Tonight I am going to try and film a video for the blog. We'll see if it works. If it does then a whole new world will open up! Sing it Prince Ali and Jasmin. Yeah.

Happy Monday!