Moving...

Hi! I'm joining my two blogs together...
Come visit me at http://www.therubybelle.blogspot.com/.

Not Until the Cowls Come Home

This past Christmas I bought two cowls as gifts.  I wanted to keep them both.  I already have one in gray that I purchased two years ago before they were popular.  So... true to form I decided to make my own.

I used one skein of super soft yarn.  I used a 5.50mm crochet hook.  It only took me one night to do. While watching The Bachelor. Yum.

Next time I make one I will do it shorter, so that it's fatter. And I will use a looser stitch.  This yarn was textured and curly, so it made it a little harder to crotchet with because I couldn't always so the holes to pull through. Oh well. It's cute.  And cheap.

I'm working on a ton of projects right now.  I just finished up some super cute burp cloths for my sissy who is due in the next month, so I can't show those until she receives them.  I'm also working on a blanket for a neice. 

And something I'm very excited about and still experimenting with... printing on fabric via my regular inkjet printer.  I'm figuring out how to make it waterproof so that my creativity doesn't go down the drain (literally) when that said fabric gets wet (ie, washed, drooled on, etc.).  I heard Bubble Jet Set 2000 is the way to go. Anybody know?

Valetines & Felt

I like felt. I like projects that I can do myself to save me some green.  Momma's got save for Puerto Rico after all...  That's a story for another time.

I saw this super cute felt heart wreath on a blog and for the life of me, once again, I can't remember which blog I saw it on. WOW, I sound like a broken record.  See, this is what happens. I see great ideas, write them down but don't note the blog I saw them on. OOPS.  Note taken.

I started this wreath with cotton flannel actually. And then I ran out before the wreath was done.  JoAnn's didn't have the exact red to match. So I took out every little circle and put it on a 3" ball instead. LOOK HOW CUTE! 

The wreath is being done with felt.  The other balls I'm going to make will be done with felt.

SO... Steps.

• 1 yard felt (each ball takes about 1/2 yrd and heart takes 1 yrd)
• Cut out at least 150 3" circles (100 for the balls).  After cutting 100 using a glass I got smart and made a circle out of cardstock and used that to trace. easier. And the first time around I tried tracing with a soap pencil so that I could easily erase the mark. Didn't work so well.  After that I used a pen and then just cut inside the circle so no pen marks showed.

• Fold circle in half and then in half again

• Put pin through bottom like this

•  For heart wreath cover back and sides with felt.  Simply trace wreath on to felt and then hot glue.  that way you don't have to cover the sides of the wreath with the little felt flowers. Trust me, your hands will thank you for not having to cut out 100 more circles.


 
• Now pin on to foam heart or foam ball

I love being creative.

I linked up to...

Me. Wood. Spraypaint.

I admit it. I save every Pottery Barn catalog that comes my way. I love their classic style. But alas, this gal's bank account doesn't love their prices.  So I dream.  And then I met Ann White.

Materials:
2- 1x4 6ft board ($ depends on what kind you buy)
1- 1x2 6ft board
10 screws ($1.79 for a pack of 20)
white paint (free... found in garage)
2 L brackets ($1 each @ IKEA!)
old frames (free)
white spray paint (free, hello... leftover from house remodel)

I kind of cheated worked smarter not harder and bought already primed white MDF instead of unfinished wood, so that I only had to paint white the ends of the boards.  And then I screwed them together. Then screwed the L brackets to studs in the wall and screwed the shelf on to the L brackets.  The "official" instructions don't use L brackets.  But I wasn't sure if I'm 100% commited to a white shelf. I might want to change it to black in a few months. So due to my commitment issues I used L brackets.

Then I spraypainted all my old frames that I've had in a box for years.

Oh, and I added that really cute Love decoration. I got the wood letters from my girlfriend as a housewarming gift. I spraypainted it black and then mod podged the  "O".

Easy, cute and definitely within my budget.

Click here to visit the DIY on Ann White for this awesome, easy shelf.

Call me Pottery Barn. I know how to hammer.

Sweatshirt Re-do

I love sweatshirts.

I buy too many sweatshirts.

I hang on to sweatshirts after they shrink.

What's a girl to do?

Re-fashion it!

My current favorite sweatshirt is this JAZZ beauty.

So... a simple snip of the sleeves.  A simple snip of the hood. And HELLO new sweatshirt!  I've done this to a few of them now.  Even a few have retained their hoods.

This Soggy Dollar sweatshirt has special meaning to me.  I got this when Honeybee and I went on our first trip as a couple to the Virgin Islands.  Soggy Dollar is a incredibly popular beach bar on an island in the middle of the ocean.  You dock your boat out off shore and swim in.  It's like you see in magazines.  

Now I can keep hoarding sweatshirts without any guilt.

Ignore the dirty mirror.  My maid hadn't come to clean in a few days. Oh wait, I'm the maid.

inspiring

Kelly Rae Roberts inspires me.  her paintings and written word are beautiful and poignant.


embrace change
take the journey back to your self

love with abandon

speak of your gratitude

wear yellow shoes

unleash your creative spirit

dance in the moonlight

be positive

believe in healing

share your inner light

surprise yourself and do the thing you didn't think you could do

live as if you've only been given one chance

those are the words on a painting I have in my office.  it is my solice.