A Great Weekend Deserves a Great Thank-You Card

First, let's make fun of men.

I was invited to a fancy dinner called Winter Fest because my friend's girlfriend was unable to go. 

I inquired as to what kind of dress I should get because "fancy" can mean so many things.

Me: So what kind of fancy, like prom-dress fancy?

C: Yeeeeaaaah... sorta

Me: like an evening gown?

C: You mean like lingerie? No, put the girls away.

Me: that's not what an evening gown is. Is it Black Tie?

C: No, you can wear any color you want.

Me: You're so not helping.

Second, let me tell you about the dinner.

It was one of the best times I've ever had. I met this awesome older lady, Sabine, and she was hilarious and wonderful. She & her husband are originally from France. I complimented her on her ring, and she says, "That's 3.5 karats of pure diamond right there! You know in France, it is customary for the in-laws to buy the ring." I told her that was a really neat tradition, and she replies with, "Yeah, AND you get a bigger ring that way!!"

A woman after my own heart ♥

The dinner was AMAZING [prime rib!] and drinking happens, and the waitress (who was otherwise excellent) seriously slacks in removing my empties. Seriously. At one point in the night, I had 6 glasses in front of me, and only one was water. And of course, Mrs. M noticed & made fun. I explained my predicament, everyone had just as many drinks as I had, but it was the waitress's fault! They continued to make fun.

(Sabine only drinks wine, and prefers red to white. She has two glasses of red wine every day, one with lunch and one with dinner.)

We were also treated to a glorious sunset:

Third, let me [finally] tell you about the card.

So, again, if you're my Facebook friend, you've probably already seen the cheeseburger card I sent the M family after treating me so well during Caseville's Cheeseburger fest. If you haven't, here it is:

So I had big shoes to fill

It took me awhile to think of a card that could be just as good, if not better. I realized I couldn't make one funnier. So here's what I did:

These are the 6 things the 4 of us drank in an accordion-fold card.

Last, I'll compare my roommate, Fancy, to a toddler.

Me: Look at this Thank-you I made for the M family

Fancy: I WANT ONE!!!!

So, by request:

Thanks for reading :)

I'm Not Gonna Lie... These are Pretty Neat!

If you are my Facebook friend, [which, if you're one of my four followers, you are] then you'll recognize the first series of things I'm posting. But you haven't seen the second, so keep reading!

It all started with a doodle. I doodled an octopus, and then I gave him these big eyes on the side of his head. They looked funny, so I gave him regular eyes. Then I had to disguise the mistake... with headphones! So then I had a clever little octopus grooving to some jams. I doodled him on a few other things... class notes, worksheets, whatever, and finally I had to make him official:

And the rest followed:

I actually have these sunglasses.... wish I had the tiger!

This one is my favorite :)

Kangaroos lick their forearms to wick away heat in the Australian sun. Or, they just enjoy an ice cream cone.

I almost did a Hippo in a Tutu, but that was a little too Fantasia for me.

Skiing Moose... but surfing would have been funnier.

Upon seeing this, my Dad says, "What's this obsession you have with guns??"
I think he's worried about me...

Think he's going to make it with that?

"You see things and you say 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and say, 'Why Not?'"

Sly & Classy

This one was done for a "thanks for the invite" to a Chicken dinner....
Where different kinds of chicken were served....
And ONLY chicken was served.

Secondly:

this is a "series" of ads/notices/info signs I did for some people over at The Central Review. They thought of the sign... I did the pictures. 

The editor said, "I want them to be so cool they get stolen."

So that's that. A bunch of silly things I've been up to lately. Hope you liked it :)

I Can't Borrow a Headband for Forever...

I borrowed my roommate's headband.
                                          I fell in love with it.
                                                            I wanted it.
                                                                            I needed it. 
                                                                                        But she wanted it back.

SO I MADE MY OWN!

Step 1: Find a cool fabric.
I used an old plaid button up that has been in the "mend" pile for quite some time... I had a photo, but I accidentally deleted it. My bad.
Step 2: Cut into 6 strips, about half an inch wide, and at least 12" long, and two additional pieces about 1" x 3".

Step 3: Braid. Make two braids, obviously... since there are 6 strips.
    If you don't know how to braid, ask a middle school girl. I'm sure she'd be able to teach you.
       Helpful hint: I safety pinned the 3 strips together, and then taped the safety pin to my desk so it couldn't go anywhere.

Step 4: Cut two hair elastics on the seam.

Step 5: Hot glue one end of a hair elastic to each braid, securing all three strips.

Don't Forget: Hot glue is [not surprisingly] HOT. And it is capable of burning your fingers through the fabric. Use caution. And a long stick, if necessary.

Step 6: MEASURE. [After the hot glue has cooled] make sure it will fit comfortably around your head. Depending on the length of your strips and the size of your head, you may need to trim the hair elastic, but remember, they need to stretch a little bit!

Step 7: Hot glue the other end to the other end of the same braid, it'll almost be like having two headbands. You can stop here, actually, and really just wear them as one or two, but I prefer to continue to the next step, it makes a much more secure headband.

Step 8: Wrap the extra small piece of fabric around both braids where the braid meets the elastic. Repeat on the other side.

And it's finished!!

And, now to model it in its awesomeness:

Oooooh yeah!

So not only is this a no-sew headband, it's also a no-cost headband. It's a very good rainy day project... don't be afraid to experiment with different fabrics... maybe even a bow or flower!!

This Pattern Deserves Better.

I made something out of something. Like I do.

I wasn't happy with it. Which sometimes happens. 

So I gave it away. Because it's still cute. 

But I have big plans for this pattern. So you're gonna see it again. 

But first: The before. Just a regular, plain t-shirt that I've had for ages.

I cut up the middle, and then I cut off the neck.

Then I turned it inside out and pinned the new hem about an inch wide.

Remember when pinning that the back needs to be turned to the inside of the shirt,
which is now the outside. 

So after I stitched the new hem, I inch-wormed a thin, organdy ribbon through the new "tube hem" (I just made that term up) with a safety pin. I thought I took a photo at this point, but I guess not. 

I didn't like it simply because it didn't fit me. The T-shirt is too small and my... well... you know. It wasn't flattering, to say the least.

So here's the completed project, modeled by (and given to) my lovely roommate turned assistant, Fancy.

She looks so happy when I give her presents.

What I'm envisioning for this pattern is a cable knit sweater, super soft, with a coordinating silk ribbon. So that's gonna happen... as soon as I thrift the right sweater!

This project: $0. 

I Have an Ugly Apron.

Yes, I wear an apron.

Why an apron? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, I fry things in olive oil a lot, and it spatters, and I'm sick of tiny oil splotches on my clothes. Second, when I make bread or pizza dough, I wipe my flour-y hands all over my jeans. Gross. Third, I have a painting class and to prevent ALL my clothes from being permanently oil-paint-stained, an apron is a must. Fourth, I'm pretty sure I was a 50's housewife in a past life. But the problem...

This apron is ugly.

Can't you see how unhappy I am?

So, the last time I was at Goodwill, I bought this to turn into an apron.

I also love these socks.

Things I love about the smock: 

These Buttons ♥

-The Girl Scout-esque color palette

-The large pockets

-The buttons

Things I hate about the smock:

-It's a tent

-The extremely high front

-The back is exactly the same as the front, minus the pockets.

-It's not an apron.

This is how I fixed it:

First, I cut straight up the back. I wished I had my seam rippers, but they are currently in hiding. 

There are those socks again!

I also removed some fabric to battle the tentness. 14 inches of it, actually...

I put these aside, as they will come in handy later.

This is after both of the sides have been hemmed. I chose a fushia-colored thread because I liked the way it looked, and I didn't have a brown that matched.

Remember that extra fabric I cut out? Well, here it is again!

I folded the extra strips in half inside out and pinned and stitched it to make the ties... a very important part of any apron! The top one is completed, the bottom one is just pinned.

I attached the new ties to the back of the apron with a couple of cute x's.
just because.

So that leaves just the one problem left: The awkwardly high neck. It was an easy fix: I made a cut straight down the middle and folded the extra fabric back:

Then I hemmed it and trimmed off the access fabric underneath.

Annnnnnnnndddddd

Here's my new Apron!!

This project: $3.50

Why I've Been Ignoring You (aka "A Good Way to Show Off)

Hello.

Remember Me? I'm that girl you know that has that decent blog that is sometimes funny. Right, this one. This terribly out of date one.

Well, I have a good reason. It's called an Art Minor. And it takes up so. much. time. So I'm going to show you some of the things that have been occupying my time in hopes that you will no longer be sad that I've been gone. 

Here are two of the projects from my Sculpture class. I don't have the third back yet, but I'll be getting it soon and will share it, too!

This gun is made out of quarter inch steel bar, handshaped and welded.
I covered the frame with AriZona Green Tea cans, and added some decoration.
It measures about 27"x16"x4". It's meant to hang on the wall, "discharging" the bird bullets, pictured below.

These measure about 2.5" in diameter.

This next one is a cupboard inspired by Lewis Carroll & Sir John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland (Probably my biggest obsession)

It's supposed to be the White Rabbit's Vest :)

This piece measures about 15"x13"x7"

Last semester I also had a drawing class... Here are a few of the bigger projects.

This project is based on a Bob Dylan song, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
The Lyrics I picked out of a hat were, "I met a young child beside a dead pony"

Morphing Project

Still Life

This semester, I have another two art classes, oil painting & 3-D design. I'll keep putting pictures up as I get things back :)