Dishtowels

I have a dishtowel problem - I want to buy every single cute one I see. There is one at JoAnns right now that has an owl on it and I just keep STARING AT IT each time I'm there. I don't need it!

Here is why: We have a drawer next to our oven that is full of dishtowels, and there's a dishtowel annex in the linen closet. Yet I still selfishly desire them ALL for myself! ALL OF THEM!

Another thing about dishtowels - Nick has a few (I'm thinking that you can probably tell which one is his here) and I feel like there should always be a dishtowel to represent each of us out. I don't know why, but ... it just feels right?

Work has been bonkers! I'm training to do custom framing and the work is very different - the materials are heavy and expensive and possibly fragile. People pay a lot of money and leave their precious precious artwork with you! It can be very stressful, but also really interesting. So, that's what I've been up to. I will attempt to post more regularly, but I'm not making promises!

Etsy Shop Update - Steampunk Pins & Red Beans & Rice

I've been working on new stuff for my Etsy Shop. Don't worry, there's more Game of Thrones and Discworld jewelry coming up, but for now, I'm adding some steampunk pins that I'd been building for awhile.


Aeon Steampunk Pin / Pendant - Clock with Eternal Time - Clock Gears
The secret with this design is that I used purse grommets from Joanns for the cool round window.


This Too Shall Pass Steampunk Pin / Pendant
I've found this phrase to be very useful as a reminder that everything changes. For the better and for the worse, just try not to be too mired down in what's going on right now. Also, I'm into hourglasses!


Red Beans and Rice Necklace feat. St. Lawrence
Now that I type it like that, it makes it sound like an awesome rap song out of New Orleans. All you DJ's and spinnas, this is Saint Lawrence! Saint of chefs and librarians! He's about to blow your minds!

Also, last, but definitely not least, here's Nick modeling the Timelord design shirt:

He's decided to reclaim the shirt for sure - which I think of as a success in experimentation! I'm going to have to try some interesting techniques out on other shirts.

Speaking of food jewelry (which I was a paragraph or two ago) - there were these ceramic life-sized peanut beads at the bead store in Panama City and I didn't get them. I can't decide if I regret this or not yet.

Dr. Who Dress Shirt

There were shirts Nick was getting rid of and I kept them in order to experiment on them. I did a combination of different modifications on this one:
- Bleach pen for the white circle
- Wintergreen transfer for the initial Timelord design
- Fabric pen for the larger Timelord design


I meant to get Nick to model this shirt before he went to work this morning, but I forgot. I might start doing stuff like this to dress shirts and selling them. I think that Nick might be reclaiming this one though :).

Does anyone have a request? I'm thinking of doing some more Dr. Who Timelord designs as well as some Valar Morghulis/Game of Thrones dress shirts (there really aren't that many cool dress shirts that are also geeky, what the heck?)

Bleach pens are Awesome!

Drawing Begins with Bleach Pen
Yesterday I broke out my Clorox Bleach Pen (from Target) and got to work finally doing some bleach drawing. I had a lot of fun doing this, and it was so easy that I worry for all the rest of my tshirts now.


Letting the Bleach Sit and Bleach
Essentially, I just put some wax paper in the shirt (to keep the bleach from bleeding through) then I drew whatever I wanted on the shirt (in this case, circuitboard design). I kept watch over it while it developed/bleached/verbed. It only took about 15 minutes total for this shirt, since I've washed and worn it several times. I checked the development by looking on the inside of the shirt and seeing how the inside of the bleachening looked.

Once it got to the point where I was happy with the color, I just rinsed it out in the sink, then washed it in the washer. I dried it and it's done. It doesn't even smell like bleach, and I don't have to worry about it getting washed with other things, since I rinsed and washed it.


Unbleached and Bleached
The pink color was a happy accident - I had no idea what color this would bleach to. For me, it's not the design that's an issue, but finding tshirts that I actually like and fit. I bought two of these at H&M so I could do a design on one of them, and then be okay if I messed it up and have a bonus shirt. Planning!

So, this is so dang easy! I actually checked a few tutorials online, just to make sure I wasn't doing something crazy, and here's my favorite (in case this isn't enough to nudge you into experimenting):
- I am Momma, Hear me Roar Bleach Pen Tutorial

Crappy Closeup!

I encourage you to try it out! Or not, you know, whatever. I'm working on some more shirts and combining a few different techniques, so we'll see how that turns out (hopefully tomorrow). Until then, <3!

CBLDF Tshirt Modification

My first pass at re-sewing a tshirt that was too big but had a cool design on it turned out okay.
Parts I liked:
- Pattern directions were relatively simple and made sense
- The overall shirt I made it kind of cool

Parts I didn't like:
- I used two different shirts to make the front and it shows
- The neckline is behaving oddly, and I think it's because I finished it with a zig-zag stitch, which stretched it out
- I only took REALLY crappy pictures of the entire project - sorry!

Here's the Large CBLDF tshirt beforehand, with the pattern:


I really wanted to take that centered design and have it going down the left side of the shirt, which mean that instead of one large front piece, I had to make two smaller front pieces and sew them together. Which I did out of this shirt, and another black tshirt, that doesn't *exactly* match up. It's probably not too obvious to other people. I did it *on purpose*, right?

Finished project:


For a first shirt, this isn't so bad. Especially since I instantly begin modifying things to fit my own liking (splitting the front piece). I can't wait to make the next one out of some more tshirts I have (some are Nick's old shirts). I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of black tops in the near future!

Today, though, I'm going to be playing with bleach pens, so I'll be posting the results of that tomorrow!

Five Things I Hate In the Morning:

1. Chewing - I clench my jaw in my sleep, plus crunchy stuff is LOUD
2. Talking on the Phone - I'm kind of bleary/moronic until an hour or so after I've been awake
3. Talk Radio - I can't talk back and tell them to BE QUIET or SMARTER
4. Heavy Perfume / Cologne - Barf
5. Dehydration - The first thing I want when I wake up - two glasses of water

Oddly enough, I like Nyan Cat in the morning, which you would think would be too much - but it's not. It's just enough.

IKEA and New Job

I'm adjusting to the hours at my new job that I spend every day. Currently, the job is biting into my crafting and making stuff time, but not my watching Wizard of Waverly Place and eatinh-half-a-cake-in-one-go time. This needs to change! Otherwise, this blog is just going to turn into pictures of half eaten cakes. EXAMPLE:

Hey everybody! This is what I did last night!


Over the weekend I went to IKEA and it's still just like a magical place to me. Everything is so neat looking and low-priced! Here's some magical pictures:

FLOATING BOXES!


MAGIC INVISIBLE WINE!


FOOD GARAGE!


NARNIA!!


New job details: I work part-time at Jerry's Artarama, an awesome local art supply store.