birdfriend

Summer Lovin'

I just wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know that I am now selling my friendship bracelets on etsy!

And here are a couple of sneak peeks into what I've been up to lately....

 

Fashion Notebook DIY

I love pretty things. And who doesn't? So if I find anything, ANYTHING within my reach that is plain or boring, I find myself with an urge to decorate it. Luckily that's easy to achieve with this cheap and simple DIY!

You will need:

• an old/boring notebook (or any other flat surface that needs decorating!)
• a bunch of magazines to cut up
• Mod Podge brand glue
• scissors & paintbrush

This is the notebook that I started out with. Black and white stripes? Egad!

I spent the next couple of hours leisurely paging through some old copies of Marie Claire and Vogue, cutting out pictures that I liked.

Take a little bit of time planning your arrangement on the notebook, and when you're ready, give the entire cover a good coating of Mod Podge. Use an old paint brush so you don't ruin a good one in the glue!

Next you're going to add picture after picture onto the cover. After each clipping is glued down, paint some more Mod Podge on top. Don't be stingy!

When all of your pictures have been glued down, lay down another coat of Mod Podge and then allow it to dry. Create the back cover in the same way.

And voila! A colorful, fashion-y, patterned book. These pages are finally worthy of holding my thoughts!!

Lacey Shorts DIY

I've been wanting to do this foreeeeever, considering I have so many shorts that I don't wear. I finally got around to it and thought I would share this easy DIY with you!

You'll need:

• shorts
• enough lace to wrap around both legs
• matching thread
• pins & needles
• FrayCheck

1. So you start with your boring, blah shorts...

2. Pin the lace down where you want it to go. Or not, you can always just hold it down when you get there. Make sure you leave enough extra lace at both ends to finish them!

3. As you can see, I made small stitches using the pattern in the lace as my guide. I didn't really care how my stitches looked-- no one will notice if they are huge!

Here's what the shorts look like on the inside. It's hard to hand-sew through the folded hems, so I stitched a little bit higher.

4. When you've sewn the lace all the way around one leg, it's time to think about how you want to make a smooth finish. I ended up overlapping the edges in a diamond shape. Then trim the extra lace, add some FrayCheck so the cuts don't unravel, and you're set!

You can honestly never have too much lace!! I wore my new shorts with a white eyelet blazer from Loft to pump up the lacey factor :)

Kitschy & Classy BFF Bracelets: GIVEAWAY!

I've been seeing modern takes on the classic friendship bracelet everywhere from Urban Outfitters to J. Crew... so I decided to make my own!

The Kitschy:

These bracelets are made of 100% cotton thread in neon colors & retro plastic Lisa Frank beads!

The Classy:

These are made of 100% cotton thread in bright colors & real glass crystals.

And did somebody say giveaway?............

The winner will receive their choice of 1 Kitschy Bracelet AND 1 Classy Bracelet! That's 2 bracelets.... FO FREE!!

There are 4 ways to enter. You can try one of each, meaning you are 4 times more likely to win!

• COMMENT on my blog (on ANY post-- not just this one!)
• REBLOG this post on tumblr (likes do not count!)
• SHARE my facebook page on your wall!
• TWEET a message using the hashtag #50craftsofsummer 

Winner will be chosen WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 at 10:00 PM using a random number generator. At that point the rest of the bracelets will be up for sale on my Etsy store!

Good luck, have fun, and STAY CLASSY/KITSCHY!!

 

Rose Stencil DIY

It's a few weeks into the summer, but I'm finally caught up with taking pictures so I'm ready to start my new series...

Like (500) Days of Summer. Get it? Get it???
(I've actually never seen that movie because I thought it would make me cry.)

Anyways, here is my Craft #1, and it's coming up roses!

 I've been interested in creating surface patterns for a while now and decided to do something floral. I was inspired by this Amy Butler fabric that I have a swatch of:

image from fabric.com

I decided to do a simpler version of the graphic rose. I started with a photo and manipulated it on Photoshop so I had only a couple of different colors.

I printed off a couple of versions in the size I wanted (around 6"x6") and taped each one to a sheet of freezer paper. I am obsessed with freezer paper! I use it for stencils (especially fabric stencils, because the shiny side can be temporarily ironed onto fabric) and as a makeshift paint palette (paint globs won't dry out for ages!). 

After the print-out is securely taped, I used an X-acto knife and a cutting board to slice the rose pattern into the freezer paper, making sure to cut through both layers! I simplified a few of the complicated details as I cut to make things easier on myself. I made one stencil for each color of the rose. Here are my finished stencils:

As you can see, I made three layers of colors: light, medium, and dark. The medium stencil fills up the entire outline of the rose, while the light is layered on top, followed by the dark. I had to mark the TOP of each stencil so I could align them properly!

In order to paint the stencils, I had to tape them into my sketchbook-- but I used masking tape that I had stuck onto my jeans to get rid of some of the stickiness first. That way the paper didn't rip when I pulled the stencil off!

After painting each color, I allowed it to dry for a few minutes with the stencil still attached, and then carefully peeled the stencil off to let the paint dry completely before starting the next layer.

Here is my first attempt:

pink = light stencil; red = medium stencil; purple = dark stencil

Unfortunately there were more white spaces than I intended, which was why I made the medium stencil take up the entire background of the rose (as seen in the stencils above).

My second attempt:

light pink = light stencil; pink = medium stencil; red = dark stencil

This time my stencils worked better, but I am kicking myself over that color combination! It didn't quite work out as planned.

I am hoping to improve even more on my design, and then eventually cover an entire canvas with perfect, stenciled roses. I've even bought my paint for the background: it's a beautiful, pale, almost Tiffany greenish-blue. I can't wait to start!

RU2: Bikinis Bloomington & Books

Well once again I'm doing a roundup. I feel kind of silly because I meant to do these every week! So either I haven't been doing anything worth writing, or I've been doing so much that I don't have time to write one. You decide.

First off, I have something really exciting!! I am on SEVENTEEN.COM!!! 

You can read the whole article here. A while back, all the ladies of HerCampus IU were asked to identify the part of their body that we had come to peace with. We drew peace signs on our bodies with lipstick and had a lot of fun posing! It was an awesome experience and I'm so glad I got to share my experience with the world!

Meanwhile, spring is just happening everywhere here in Bloomington, Indiana. The weather alternates between gorgeous and terrifying, but I can't help being excited about all the flowers!!

my sister darby!

As summer break draws closer, all I can think about is books, books, books! I can't wait to get back to scrapbooking and want to work some more on my altered book. And do some more bookbinding!!

My favorite page so far in my altered book/scrapbook thing:

But I've been spending a good part of this week looking at book-themed tutorials and inspiration online, and here's a sampling of my favorites!

This tutorial, from Honestly WTF, shows how to decorate the cover of a Moleskine notebook by sewing on a fabric scrap.

A little hand-bound notebook with a cover made of silicone-coated book pages! Tutorial at design*sponge!

I am just crazy about Michelle Clements' art journal! I honestly want nothing more than to create a lovely journal like this, but I can never seem to get it started.

Finally, my friend Mike Ferris has finished his artist book! It's hand-build and hand-printed, and so inspirational. I wish I could do something like this!

lounge craftin!

After a long week of working on manufacturing and textiles projects, I've finally been able to relax with some real CRAFTS! My dorm had a highlighter party with free T-shirts and paint, so we had lots to do.

My friends Marg and Sota got an XL T-shirt and decorated it, and so of course we had to alter it to make it cute!

Marg modeling

"Chad Sigma Chad-- Little 500-- Twenty-twelve"

Sota modeling

We cut off the sleeves and gathered them, cut out the collar to make a scoop neck, and gathered it in the back.

I also highlighted a shirt and gave it to my friend Curly Dan.

I then spent the rest of the night making friendship bracelet- style jewelry. At some point, they decided to put a box over me, and then our huge cardboard top hat.

I made all kinds of mess! But it's all good, because soon I'll be able to update my etsy store! So keep on eye out for what I'm selling, it'll be super cute :) And I'm thinking of doing a giveaway!

An explanation about the hat: One day as I was leaving my drawing class in the Fine Arts building, I passed by a dumpster filled with SO MANY cardboard art projects. I saw this huge top hat and grabbed it, and it has lived in our lounge ever since!!

modeled by brown alex

 

RU1: Sequins Snow & Sheets

I've decided to do weekly roundups of little things that I've done or discovered that don't deserve a full post, but that I still want to share! Ideally I'd like to do these on Sundays, but of course here I am starting on a Monday. Hopefully I can get into a good routine for this!

First off: 

A quick interveiw with my friend and classmate Valerie!

From my original article on HerCampus: 

"Valerie Detwiler, a freshman at IU and a Bloomington native, is rocking this eclectic and chic outfit! Her favorite piece is obviously the fox sweater. Her best friend bought it for her at Urban Outfitters, knowing how much she loves sequins. Plus it has so much character! She kept the rest of her outfit simple and inexpensive with a denim jacket and purple flats from Old Navy, pants from Forever 21, and a structured bag from Target."

I'm so jealous of her....

Look guys! I made a gif! (You might have to click on it to see, but I promise it's worth it!)

 

Some cool trees with little hanging stems. Reminds me a lot of the short films that went along with the album Let England Shake by PJ Harvey... Speaking of which, I'm really hoping to do a kind of pattern series based off these beautiful videos. The music is lovely but also very, very sad.

 

(still from Bitter Branches)

Speaking of patterns, here's a bit of a swirly pattern I made a few nights ago. It kind of started looking like an octopus and now I can't unsee it!

 

 

And from a sudden sprinkling of snow we had a few nights ago....

I haven't decided yet if I want to do a full post about the snow. I was really surprised how the camera captured the snowflakes, but all the pictures turned out looking very much the same!

And from other websites.....

I love these plushies from LokiCoki! The mixture of crochet and felt is right up my alley. She has cute little creatures of all kinds for sale in her etsy!

My favorite newly-discovered blog: In Color Order. Just look at that header! I came across this blog when I was looking at patterns on tumblr and discovered Jeni's amazing collection of vintage sheets. The colors and floral patterns are just gorgeuous, and she makes such beautiful quilts out of them! I am just itching to take her advice on thrifting to find my own unique fabrics!

That's all for this week! I know this all seemed a bit disorganized, so I'll probably keep working on the format in coming weeks. But I hope you enjoyed it!

heart day

I know it's a bit late, but here is my Valentine's Day in pictures:

Pink doily nails!

Style With Heart-- a photoblog I wrote for HerCampus featuring heart-themed products from our local College Mall!

Some printable PDF vday cards I'm selling on etsy. Victorian-themed valentines featuring the romantic lyrics of today's rappers. 

 

"Girl, you know I love it when you shake it in them jeans!"

"You gon back that thing up or should I push up on it?"

 

My lovely friend Stephanie modeling the cards :)

My friend Dan and I all dressed up for the Chocolate Ball!

In other news....

Adventure Time valentine by my BFF Kylie!

Have a Kick Ass Valentine's Day from my BFF Guin!

peachy pink hair!

Over the weekend I finally decided to dye my hair! I used pink lemonade kool aid, so it only lasts a few days and is super easy to do.

The dye is a mixture of kool aid, water, and conditioner. After I mixed it up, it looked so much like yogurt, I wanted to eat it!

I got some help applying it from my roommate Misha!

After leaving the dye in all night, I took a shower to wash it out and then curled it!

I'm so happy with how it turned out! It's fun but subtle!