windsor knots

Look Mom, I can make ties now!

thanks, purl bee!

the whole world (in my hands)

What to do with an outdated globe? (I'm pretty sure the U.S.S.R. is no longer in existence, right?) Turn it into a chalkboard, duh! I think I've finally given myself the butt-whooping I needed to start getting crafty again.

The interweb wows me again with its infinite wisdom and guidance, with a few tweaks.


Covering round things with flat things is pretty impossible, involving five parts headache and one part genius.


It's like picking off that scab you've had on your knee for a week!









All done. Now I can write stupid notes to myself like "Do your laundry." and "Don't be an idiot." Mission accomplished.

Note to those who care: if you ever intend on doing this yourself (DTY, heh), don't do what I did. Forget the contact paper. Forget the chalkboard spraypaint. Don't get impatient and instead wait for the paintable stuff to be in the store, it will make your life so much easier, I promise!

partyin' partyin'

this weekend i helped throw my sister a surprise birfday party. she's old.
a party is an excuse to order all of your favorite foods and craft. mini-craft.

tissue paper + string = streamers for days.





i ordered the tastiest marble cake (with chocolate chip surprises inside)!



did i mention i also got her a pinata?

darling embroidery

probably the best thing i ever made. proof of how crafty i once was... and maybe can one day become again? high school kim wasn't the only kim who could mindlessly stitch away, right? right.



i'm pretty sure this bag earned me my college job more so than any skills i may have (or not) had, and i am not ashamed at all.



my boyfriend embroiders too. i win, he's the best.

one million stitches (in progress)

i've been working on this cross stitch for the past five years, not that it should take anybody that long, but because i tend to forget about every project i start or want to start. follow through is something i greatly lack.

i found it tucked away in my closet a few days ago, and decided that instead of mindlessly staring at the netflix tube all day, i would keep my fingers moving making little tiny xxxxxxxxxxxxxx's until i got bored. or finished. whichever comes first.

i think i like the underside just as much as the front.

eventually i'll finish, maybe in another five years, five months, or, hell, five days?!

cross stitching is hours of pleasure, interrupted by years of sheer monotony.

trick or treat, smell my feet...

oh, s'more. best costume idea ever.


hooray for homemade costumes! i'm pretty pleased with how my owl costume came out... take that martha stewart (and thank you!).

la calabaza más triste en el mundo

the world's saddest pumpkin:





inspired by this:

october sewing party

so i guess halloween is this holiday where people dress up like other people. like, ahem, hooter's girls and pirates, and doughnuts and ostriches. or something.

emily wanted to be a french doll for halloween, so...
any excuse to sew!

look what we made into the wee hours of the night while watching ridiculous amounts of 30 rock. "we" being my sewing and emily's endless tap-tap-tapping of 56 eyelets into fabric.


not bad for a first try at corset-making. not that i'll ever have another reason to make one, but, whatevs. i'm getting to know my new sewing machine friend better.

today's undertaking

it's been awhile since i've crafted anything... but birthdays will spur me into action! i was a wee bit worried my un-crafty spell would never end. apparently long bouts between crafts leads to over-exertion and over-enthusiasm once you start again. i forgot how obsessive and anal i get about making things.

anyways, inspired by this Instructable, i decided to make a shag rug for matt's 23rd birthday.

i used flannel instead of t-shirt material... cutting strips is such a pain! i've got blisters on my fingers...


one day later and halfway done!


the finished product. does it look like plaid, or did i fail?


soft on the toes!



i hope he likes it. my back hurts. ouchie!

the itsy bitsy spider

for one of my very last classes of my college life. i made something that i like, for once.
plaster, eucalyptus, tracing paper, crochet thread, embroidery thread, yarn, and most importantly, poop.

yarn and hook.

broomstick lace.

my new crochet obsession.
that, and making spidey webs.

soldering 101

look mom, i made some glasses out of copper wire and soldering paste.
holding torches makes me feel like a man.

cue to my tim taylor home improvement grunt. "ruh ruh ruh!"