He did it!

My man did it! All the hard work finally payed off and Christian was the winner of Project Runway, as it should be. I can't wait to see all the amazing things he will do in the future. I'm really hoping that Season 5 will be as entertaining as this season was.

Vacation Baking

I'm really enjoying my vacation. My body is healing from everything that it has been through in the past 2 weeks and I'm starting to really feel better. I just got back from a lovely visit with the rents. We talked about the wedding plans, watched Project Runway, and did some shopping. Getting back to my own place made me want to make some cookies...plus I was craving chocolate in a major way. These Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my favorite recipes and I have brought them to many pot lucks and got nothing but good feedback.

The recipe can be found at the Post Punk Kitchen. I found the website a few years ago and there are so many great recipes to try out. The creator of the site also has some cookbooks available. The newest one is Veganomicon. I've been wanting this for quite some time but when I buy cookbooks, I never use them.

I'm actually hoping that we are snowed in tomorrow. Theres something about not being able to leave the house when you don't have to that makes me feel really relaxed.

Happy Valentine's Day

This was waiting for my man when he came home from work today. 'My Bloody Valentine', a horror flick we had watched together years ago and a simple homemade card. I would have loved to baked cookies or some yummy cupcakes but this was another day spent in bed. I'm hoping to get back to work for Saturday and then next week is vacation. Mark has been the best with taking care of me and making sure I have everything I need for a smooth recovery. As for my gift, I got the 3rd season of Project Runway. Now my collection is complete until the next installment. Go Team Fierce!

Wisdom Teeth and Wedding Invitations

It finally happened. After 3 1/2 days of being in complete pain, I get to be in even more pain. My impacted wisdom tooth came out yesterday and I cried the whole way home. Since it was done at my regular dentists office, they didnt have the capabilities of being me under so instead tried to numb me. Key word is tried...after about an hour of 'letting the novocaine soak in' I realized it probably wasn't going to work and what the hell is wrong with me! So after sitting there for that long, my dentist just started going at it and in no time the tooth was out but the pain I had felt was 10 times worse than what I was going through before...I swear I could feel everything. Luckily the pain pills he gave me work wonders and hopefully in a few days I will be back to normal again. It's funny how something so small could put you in so much pain. Now I'm trying to figure out something fun to do with it. Maybe a necklace, put it in a small keepsake jar, or frame it?

I'm also hoping that all this bed rest will let me decide on the paper I want to use for my wedding invitations. One thing I never really did much of is paper crafting but I have a pretty clear vision of how I want to make them. I want to stitch everything together...no glue or boring ribbons but maybe a nice zigzag stitch to hold the different papers together. My colors are aqua, red, and yellow so for the borders of the invitations I found these:

One of these papers would be cut as a border and a yellow card stock would be the center where the words go. I also found these really cute bird rubber stampers that I want to incorporate:

Decisions, decisions.

Homemade Necktie

I really didn't think I was going to get anything done this weekend. I've been having major issues with my wisdom tooth. The pain I'm going through is the worst I could ever imagine. The right bottom side of my mouth is infected and swollen. I'm hoping that my dentist can get it out sometime this week because I don't think I can last much longer.

I stopped taking the pain pills that completely knock me out so that I could function for a little while. One of my favorite managers that I work with is getting a promotion and leaving for another location. He had always asked me to make him a necktie and I could never find a decent pattern that I wanted to use for it. I finally found one and some nice brown corduroy fabric to use for it. A few nights ago I embroidered his initials in it and today I finished the rest. I hope he likes it!

Back on Etsy

I haven't posted any of my things for sale on Etsy in awhile, but with some motivation and the day off, I was able to make some new tote bags and I even reposted some older items. I was experimenting with vinyl a while back (its a bitch to sew!) and got really frustrated but I picked it back up and decided to give it another go. I was much more pleased with my results this time around.

I am however keeping the green bag because it didn't turn out as nice as the others and I'm way too attached to it mainly because I designed it for myself with the obvious colors and the polkadots....

For a closer look at the other bags: ladytscosmicthings.etsy.com

I've a list of things to do in my brain in Project Runway is on in 20 minutes!

Wrap Skirt

Right now I feel like I'm in the middle of way too many projects...thats the way it usually goes. Too many trips for supplies, too many ideas, too many patterns and how-to-guides. I bring it upon myself though; I wouldn't have it any other way. My plan for the weekend is to get as many of these projects as I can done. First of which is this super cute wrap skirt like the ones popular in the 70's. I used to buy them from thrift stores and they always had the little strawberries or kites or something like that on them. I decided to make my own with the help from 2 patterns. I know this makes things more complicated but I was determined to have it reversible so I had to end up using 2. I used a red cotton floral fabric and denim...kinda like 2 skirts in one! I look forward to getting some wear out of it.

I'm always looking at the new crafting/sewing books that come into the store (B&N) whenever I get the chance. Before Christmas, we got this really cool book in called 'SEW:Sew Everything Workshop'. I didn't pick it up until a few days ago and I'm really glad I did. Not only is the author Diana really cute and knowledgeable but she provides us with 10! pull out patterns like the kind you have to buy separately for at least $6 a piece. At something like $25 for a book and patterns, I think that is the bees knees.

Embroidered 'Tea' Towel

Last night I busted out Jenny Hart's Stitch It Kit (which I found a few months back on the clearance rack for $5!!!). If you are a hardcore crafter and haven't heard of Jenny Hart, what rock did you crawl out from under?? She makes super cute embroidery patterns to stitch on just about anything. Not only is she crafty but really sweet, too (I met her at the Bust Holiday Craftacular a few years ago). I decided to spruce up my kitchen by embroidering a tea towel for my stove. I only really used split stitchs and french knots but I''m really pleased with how it turned out. I think I wanna make one for my mom now. What a nice Valentine's Day gift!

Subversive Cross Stitch

I bought this great little book last year from B&N and was instantly amused. If you've ever wanted to cross stitch some curse words, this is the book for you. My goal was to make as many of these, frame them and stick them in random spots all over my house. So far, I've only done two. 'Bitch in Kitchen' hangs on the wall leading into my kitchen (obviously) and I just finished up 'Bite Me' which doesn't quite have a home yet. I'm still wondering where 'Fuck the Dumb Shit' would be most appropriate.

I love projects like this because they are finished in a snap and I'm all about the instant gratification plus you can do them while you watch TV. The patterns are super easy to follow and really all you need to know how to do is stitch an x.

I just dropped $50 at Joannes Fabric and I have a few gifts I need to make for people. Maybe it's a good thing that Project Runway won't be on tonight; I might be able to get stuff done...

Necktie Fabric Brooches & Clutch

I decided to start a craft blog to help motivate myself to do what I like to do best; craft. I'm hoping that by posting all my projects and documenting them, I can try tons of things that I haven't tried before and maybe get new ideas from others. Last year I made things and sold them on Etsy.com but now I want to craft for my own enjoyment and pass my creations along to friends. Lets hope my crazy work schedule and a fresh subscription to Netflix wont slow me down.

My plan for today was to clean the house and relax; thats what usually happens on Sundays. I remembered that a friend of mine gave me a bag full of necktie fabric to play with. She asked me to make her some flower pins and a clutch bag. I busted out all my sewing supplies and after a cup of coffee, this was my final result...







I love working with old buttons and any type of vintage fabric in general. For the brooches, I back the flowers with felt and sew the pieces together with a tight zig zag stitch. After that everything gets layered to the way I like it and I hot glue everything together and stick a pin backing on it. The clutch is lined in corduroy with an extra layer of interfacing between it to keep it sturdier. A little elastic loop is tight around the button to keep it closed. This is truly the easiest bag to make...I have tons to match different outfits.

The new issue of Craft magazine just came out and I have already picked out all the stuff I plan to make. If you haven't looked into this magazine yet, you really need to. It's pretty much like a book and is full of craft projects and fun craft related articles to read. They are now selling a boxed set of all the issues they have had so far. Pretty cool.