The Third Installment of the Insanity Saga

This is the third (of what will probably be countless, not because of any real reason, just because I will get lazy and stop counting) installment of the Insanity Quilt Saga

So, as of March 8th, this is what my quilt looked like:





There's a lot more on it now, it's looking a bit more like a quilt these days. I will upload a picture tonight.


But I'm working hard!
See?



Lol, I carry it everywhere and bring it out when I have time/dont have the attention span for anything else.
I'm probably the only one on the planet who quilts in school.
But whatever.
Haters.

No Tears!

When my mom used to buy the "no tears" shampoo when I was a kid, I would have called bullshit if I knew the word at the tender age of 4.

But I didn't, so I just sorta whimpered a bit and looked bloodshot for hours afterwards.

But there were no tears this time!
(Though there were a few choice words...)


So, I don't really drink milk, and it seemed silly and gluttonous to go by one for a trial-run. So i figured I would use some old cardboard to first make a box shape and then go from there.
So here's that process:



I measured out at cut up the box, creasing it on folds so that I could form it to the box.




Once I was finished making the box, I drew the X on the sides like the pictures indicated. Once I got into it, I started to forget to take photos.
You can see the X pretty well in this picture.
Additionally, you can see that I had hole-punched the sides, on all 4 corners, and between the X lines on three sides.



and here it is all closed up!



I like the bright colors of the Fruit By The Foot box, but I think the lines look icky.
Next time, I would use something bigger, because the folding would be easier.

Hope you enjoyed!

I don't know what I'm going to put in it, but a bigger one is BEGGING to be a cupcake box.

This will all end in tears...I just know it.

I found this really cool tutorial for a small gift box made out of a milk carton.
I think the original site it was posted from is in another language, so I'm going to try to recreate it tonight without any help from written directions (this is new for me). I'm excited to see how this will turn out. (read: slightly worried).



You can find the tutorial here.


I'll see you tonight with mine!

Insanity Saga Part 2

So i wanted to show you what goes into me cutting out every.single.square. out of the fabric.

Pieces needed:
Fabric
Rotary Cutter
Cutting mat




cut everything into 5'5" squares, like so:



and then sew everything into tiny. little. hexagons.



oh hell. there are so many.
So. Many.
-shudders-

I will post that next time folks!

Art Journaling? Maybe?

Okay, so ive been thinking about starting an art journal.
I really like the idea of collecting quotes and photos and clippings and all sorts of stuff and putting my random musings in it.

I found this awesome post with a TON of information on it: Daisy Yellow

This might be one of those projects I start, and then never pick up again.
So well see how this goes?





I want to apologize for not posting this week, it's my spring break and I have been away from the interwebs.
Never fear! I was making things!
I will post those later this week when my friend gets back to me with her photos.
Yes, the project was so big I needed someone else to take photos!

Enough is Enough!

"I usually don't do things like this" is a phrase which is almost always a lie.

But seriously, I really do try not to do things like this.
This morning, however, it couldn't be helped.

Saturday morning, wake up, get coffee, and then hit Pinterest.
You know how I feel about Pinterest.

What do I see?



Look, people, I get it. It's hard coming up with fun, original craft ideas. Thats why I hardly ever have any! Anything I come up with is usually some cracked-out amalgamation of 3-7 other crafts I see.

But this chalkboard thing has got to stop.

Has no one thought about the idea of having MORE opportunities to make that "nails on a chalkboard" sound that everyone HATES? I grew up with an old school chalkboard in my house, I know how useful these things are. But think about it. Do you like that sound?

I know that it's retro because everyone uses white boards now.
I know that it's helpful to families because you can label and re-write over and over.
I know...and its going to be okay.
Put down the chalk and come in for a hug. I am here to support you.

There are so many OTHER wonderful ways to decorate, that we don't need everything to be a varying shade of slate. Gray is not a spring color.

A simple Google search for "chalkboard paint crafts" yielded 269,000 results, according to Google.
269,000! ENOUGH PEOPLE!

Chalkboard menu boards, not in a restaurant:


Chalkboard dresser:


"I'll hang some shelves, paint everything the darkest color, and spruce it up with some doodles around the sides"


These two are the ones that get to me. Mostly because I find the texture of chalkboards so tactility offensive.

Why would you want this near your bed?!
The last thing I would ever think is "Gee, these cotton sheets are too soft, I think I'll add some chalk dust to the mix!"

You would erase the bottom in less than a minute. I hated making my bed as a child, I don't want to have to draw it every day too.

I have the biggest problem with this one. I really get grossed out by the idea of this stuff near my food.
Like on a glass:

or, ready for this? I wasn't either so brace yourself.
ITS TOUCHING THE CHEESE.

That's not cool dude.
Not cool at all.

So, to any more chalkboard projects, I have one more image for you.
It's meant to be a reflection on your actions.


Now stop it.
Stop it right now.

I'm Insane: A Saga

I have a propensity of getting involved in a project without thinking about how much time it will actually take to accomplish.

This is the Saga of the Quilt.

I love quilting. I really do. It has a rich history, and it's also one of the only things you can make that you can wrap yourself up in. There's nothing quite like a nice, warm blanket on a cold winters day.

More on that later.

So when I saw the newest season of Doctor who, I saw a quilt on one of the characters beds. I wanted it. I knew I could make it. And it would.

Two pictures, screenshots, from the episode can be found here and here.

Little did I know what a production I was getting myself into.

After some careful (read:lucky)Googling, I found out that this quilt was unsurprisingly called a "hexagon quilt."

I found a tutorial online that was wonderful at ThimbleBlossoms.com, here

I was beginning to realize how much of a project this would be. But at the time, I was working an overnight shift, and had NOTHING to do from the hours of 12pm to 5am.
And when I say nothing, I mean my job was to stare at a lobby and make sure raccoons didn't bother the first floor resident's porches.

Because of the nature of the quilt pieces, I was able to use a bunch of fabric I bought 1 yard at a time simply because it was pretty.

So this is what I have so far...


Yeah. That's like 1/7th of a quilt.
I know.
But I'm going to keep at it.



This is the back, if you were wondering. Not as neat and tidy as ThimbleBlosoms, but neither am I.

The saga will continue...

It's bigger on the inside!

thats what she said?

Okay, I have a confession to make.
I am a Whovian.

A 3D glasses wearing, "Bad Wolf" graffiti writing, Friend of the Ood.
(50 points if you get the references)

Something about the story has always resonated with me.

And because I practice healthy life habits, I display my love by watching Doctor Who episodes on Netflix ad nauseum.

Oh, that and making everything in my life look like a TARDIS.

What is a TARDIS you ask?
Why, Time and Relative Dimension In Space of course!


and THIS is what it looks like on the inside:

Yes, it's bigger on the inside.

Anyways, here is my new TARDIS Sewing Kit!

I bought two different sewing kits at Target. They were about $3 a piece. One had really good scissors (always very important), the other had a thimble and better thread.


I cleaned out an Altoids case to use as the new sewing kit.



My biggest issue with sewing is that I am always sitting on a couch or my bed. I have lost a fair few needles into the upholstery. They always come back and stab me later on.
They Boyfriend, however, has no experience with how painful this could be. And I have several stab wounds from him brushing needles off the coffee table accidentally for me to step on later. Joy.
So I need that to stop and never happen again. Ow.
Magnets are like, really good at keeping metal stuff together.
Or so I hear.
My friends got married last spring, and they had a ton of extra save the date magnets. I grabbed some.



Don't get upset, those are stock photos. And I have 4 more of these on my fridge

It's like MAGIC!!!



Heres the TARDIS part:

Don't laugh, I spent a lot of time cutting out foam squares...


Okay, you can laugh.

Sometimes you need a pick-me-up

Usually, when I say the word "pick-me-up" I am making fun of how my aunt refers to her Manhattans.
[blech, whiskey and I make horrible decisions]
but today, I needed one.
(A pick me up, not a Manhattan.)

So I spent some time on

Tumblr: nothing
Pinterest? Meh.
Facebook? Made it worse.

and then I remembered a blog I used to follow religiously.

I present to you, Craftastrophe.
the most hilarious play on words with the best results.

this, my dears. is the pinnacle of craftastrophes, and it is the first thing that greets you when you get to the site. Shocking I know, but that baby-pede is really just a primer for whats coming up next.

(This stuff is NSFL, let alone NSFW. So...you know...keep it at home people.)

This is one of those "I wish I had thought of this first!" kind of sites. But the comments after all of these pictures make me laugh. Especially when she lists the prices people are charging for what they have made.

Now, I'm a holder of the belief that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
but sometimes the beholder is blind, and the results make me laugh.
A lot.
I mean, if you want to say that baby-pede is a metaphor for the human condition, go right ahead. The human condition is fucking weird though.


The baby-pede will always be my absolute favorite, but it loses its shock value after page 19 or so. So here are some of my other favorites:

From Russia, For Love, Probably


A moose poop necklace (I shit you not. har.har.)


and this wonderful ensemble:


So, how many clothespins died for your boobtube?

That hot new thing everyone is doing.

According to cnbc.com, its been beneficial to small businesses just starting out.
Wikipedia calls it a "pin-board styled social photo sharing website."
They themselves call it a "virtual pinboard."

I am, of course talking about Pinterest.
(where you can pin what interests you! har har!)

my particular favorite quote might have to be from ThoughtCatelog:

"Pinterest is not Pinteresting. It’s not Pinjoyable or Pintillating, and honestly, I have no idea how it’s even Pinpassable as Pintertainment. It’s literally the least amount of information that can be put in front of you and still make you feel like you’re looking at something."

Not only for their accuracy, but for their bitter way of presenting what is essentially tumblr.

and yet,
IM HOOKED.
Yes, I'm Pinterested.


the pure irony of this picture is overwhelming


I seriously spend way too much of my life on this website. Its a sick cycle really.
"Oh! Look at that! I want to make that!" *PIN!*
"Huh, I didnt know you could clean that with baking soda!' *PIN!*
"Essie makes that color nail polish!?" *PIN!*

The worst part is that all these things I want to do because I see them on Pinterest, I will NEVER have time for, because I'll be pinning shit on Pinterest.

you can link it to your twitter, you can link it to your facebook (but for the love of god, please don't!)

Like tumblr.com, you follow people. You see what they post,or "pin" onto their boards. The best part about this is that you can follow their boards, not the whole account.
Do my friends and I both craft? Yes.
Do I love all of their tastes in clothing? Not at all.
The beauty of this site is that I don't have to see their clothing posts because I just don't follow what they post to their clothing board. Awesome.
It's a self filtering feed where you only see what parts of people that you like; the stuff you have in common.

So, you can find me here.
Join us. @_@