Exciting Times

I have some fun news! In fact, lots of fun news!
First of all, I am now a college graduate! Yeah! Four years and no debt, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Now if I could only get that B.S. degree to turn its self into a job....

In the meantime, to supplement my retail career, I'm pushing my brand of accessories, Alchemy Tea! And I'm extremely excited to announce that a selection of Alchemy Tea accessories are now available at the Red Square Boutique in San Mateo!

If you live in the CA bay area, you should definitely go check this place out. Red Square has a marvelous collection of fashionable pieces all produced and designed by local artists that you can't find anywhere else. I'm extremely honored and excited to have the opportunity to sell my products here!

The Alchemy Tea Shop is slowly filling back up! Soon to be added are belts and fascinators! http://www.etsy.com/shop/alchemytea


Alchemy Tea also has an official facebook page now:  https://www.facebook.com/alchenyteaaccessories

To celebrate the new page, we'll be doing a small earring give-away when we reach 50 fans! So help spread the word!

Fanime 2012

For most Americans, Memorial Day weekend is for family, barbeques, and remembering those we've lost at war. For me and many others though, it's mainly associated with the long-held tradition of geeking out about our favorite fandoms by dressing up as our favorite characters and fraternizing with like-minded people at Fanime.

Fanime is a fan-organized anime convention held at the San Jose convention center every Memorial Day weekend. I have been going to Fanime ever since I moves to Santa Cruz four years ago, and for me, it's an un-missable event. It's not just about anime for me anymore. Not only are lots of other non-animated and non-Japanese shows represented alongside my favorite animes, but it's also a warm reunion between me and my friends that I don't get to see very often for many reasons. Fanime for me is about letting my geek-flag fly and catching up with my friends.

And this year, Fanime held a partner Steampunk convention called Clockwork Alchemy at a nearby hotel, which made it even better. Of course, I made a bunch of items, not knowing what I would feel like wearing, and only managed to wear a fraction of it, but for now, here are some notable outfits I wore:

Day One: Steampunk Lolita.

Day Two: Captain America Lolita

 

 

 

 

 

Day Three: Steampunk Lolita

What a whirlwind! And now, back to reality, sadly. I wanted to point out that I made that last skirt with fabric from Rouge Aerie Designs. I got a million compliments on it, but all the hard work was done by the talented Kate, who designed the fabric. Sadly, the fabric is no longer available, but Kate's making a line with it that is just stunningly gorgeous. And if you go like her facebook page and help her reach 1,000 likes, she'll be doing a give-away that will be drool-inducing for sure.

Inspired

I know, I know, it's been a while! And even after promising myself that I would make a blog schedule for myself. It's shameful really, but I'm back now, making an effort.

During my last post I mentioned the "Inspiration" challenge for my quilt guild. Well the challenge is over (it was due in April! Golly, it HAS been a while!) and I love the results!

It was so exciting to see this quilt top come together pretty much exactly how I wanted it. Not all of my points match up, but it reads like I wanted. I chose a litho print of Alphonse Mucha's Zodiac and made rows of wonky star blocks in colors to coordinate. I used mostly cotton couture colors from Michael Miller (so, so, so yummy!!!!). As of now, its still just a top since I had no idea how to quilt it. But I recently purchased a free motion foot for my machine, so once I get the hang of it to my satisfaction, I think I'll quilt in a wonky star pattern. Until then.... coasters, coasters, coasters!!!
 

Since my last post, I've also fallen love with asterisk blocks and granny squares! So much fun! I love taking blocks and blowing them up. I think next I'm going to have to do a giant asterisk, because that block is a cutie!

Additionally, I was given the honor of being given a Liebster award from Anne and Gillian over at Play Crafts! The Liebster award goes to great blogs with fewer than 200 followers (I know, I fit one of those categories for sure!). Once awarded the Liebster, the blog owner chooses 5 other qualifying blogs to receive it.

Or, in bullet format:
1. Thank my Liebster Blog Award presenters.
2. Link back to my presenters’ blogs.
3. Copy & paste the blog award on my blog.
4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to five blogs with 200 or fewer followers that I feel deserve to be noticed and post links to their blogs on my blog.
5. Let the recipients know they have been given the Liebster Blog Award by posting a comment on their blog.

This is so cool! Love to baby blogs! However, since my circle of blog friends is pretty small, step 4 is going to be an ongoing process for me. Most of the blogs I follow were awarded already by the Play Crafts ladies, but this will encourage me to make more friends :p

I will award my first blog though!

Megan, AKA Dinomeg has a totally "stitchin'" blog that chronicles all of her fiber arts love. She is a crafty crazy cat lady with mega talent, and a quirky personality. Plus you can spot me once or twice over there ;) She is wayyyyyy better about documenting her craft-ventures than I am!

 She also made me this scarf!

So thanks again Play Crafts! And I promise to share more amazing blogs as I discover them!

Meanwhile, you should check out the South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild blog, and the Harts Fabric blog where I've been making posts (along with my co-workers and other guild officers). You'd think that since I'm responsible for some "real" blogs that I'd actually be able to update my own once in a while... ha! Oh well.

Next up... Fanime costumes and graduation! (from college!!!! GASP!!!!)

Inspiration

It's no secret that I have somewhat eclectic tastes. So when it was announced that our first guild challenge for the South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild would be to draw inspiration from a photograph or painting, I was instantly overwhelmed with inspiration. Now I am stuck in the predicament of choosing just one image. I may just have to do multiple quilts!

Clockwise from top right: A water color by Naomi Ito, Horoscope by Alphonse Mucha, Maru in a box, and a random gorgeous image that I found on Tumblr ages ago (I would love the source/creator)

There's a little bit of everything that makes me happy here. I think that the Mucha could be the most challenging, but perhaps the most interesting, while I have good ideas for all of the others that I know I could execute. 

This challenge certainly has me thinking about my inspiration, where I find inspiration from and the way that it manifests its self in the things I create. It's also got me thinking about what kinds of images that I find beautiful and comforting, and how I want that to be represented in what I make and present to the world. There is more to think about on this subject for sure. 

I can't wait to see what I choose (Ha!) and I can't wait to see what other members do!

Holiday Wrap Up (heh)

Happy 2012 blog followers! 2011 went by so fast that it's just now sinking in that a new year is starting in.

2012 is going to be a huge year for me, I'll finally be graduating college and entering the "real world". WHile I should be appropriately terrified of that notion, I'm actually excited to have a little extra crafting time (priorities anyone?).

My resolutions for the new year can be summed up as: Craft more, eat less. Lol, although that's not the entire story. For 2012 I would really like to push the boundaries of my crafting abilities by tackling more challenging projects and work on refining my techniques. I also want to go back to eating healthier (not just less) and being smarter about meal planning and calorie intake. Easy, right? We'll see!!!

Here's a round up (or wrap-up, get it?) of presents and projects I made for my Handmade Holidays of 2011.

Last year I made my boyfriend a quilt for Christmas, and my dad was touched by the idea. So this year, I decided that my father (who is an avid vegetable gardener) would be the recipient of a quilt. I spent all year gathering the fabrics (my usual shop was out of many of the prints in this series by the time I decided on the theme) and the pattern is a modified version of "A Wedding Quilt" from the Purl Bee. I'm happy to say that he was thrilled and moved by the gift.

I made these easy leather pouches super last minute for a white elephant gift exchange. I wanted something useful and not gender exclusive. The large one is sized for a phone or bills (or cosmetics etc.) and the small one is perfect for business cards or coins.

While I had grand plans for some adorable crocheted cat toys, that plan never came to fruition. Thus, the wool felt cat toys were born, and they were a huge hit. I honestly think that the cats in my life were the most pleased with their home made holiday gifts this year (although if I had filled all of my other gifts with "drugs" then the story might have been different. haha, I kid, I kid).
These little guys are simply stuffed with some polyfil and a generous amount of catnip and used wool felt that I had laying around the house. I get my wool/rayon crafting felt here.

I also rounded the gift list off with several silk scarves by using about 1/3 of a yard of silk, and then finished the edges with a rolled hem on my serger. Fast, easy, fun.


And as a reward to myself, I finally started on a quilt that I have been promising myself that I would make for ages now: My Heather Ross Quilt.

Photo taken at SueDee's in Scotts Valley at January's South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting.

Heather Ross is easily my favorite fabric designer, and over the years I have amassed large scraps of her fabric from other projects that I have made, and decided that this project needed to be done. The center panel is from one of her banner kits, and today I am adding a large aqua border to make it "sofa sized". The back will have a scrappy stripe with large blocks of tangerine and snow, and the binding will be just a little bit scrappy. I'm so excited about this project! And it will be the first ever quilt that I have made for myself and not as a gift.

So far I'm satisfied with my productivity over Winter Break, but I still have a few more things I want to work on before school starts up again next week. Eek!

"Last Minute" Party and Gift Ideas

I don't know about you, but once posts in the blogosphere start having titles with "last minute" in them, I begin to get a little bit nervous...

But this year, after learning from last year, I came armed for the holidays with a few easy gifts to whip up at the last minute for both the men and women in my life, as well as a few fun party ideas.

For Him:

 

Bottle Cap Magnets: For the beer fan.

I live in a house with four young adult "dudes", so it stands to reason that at any given time, there are a lot of beer bottle caps laying around, which inspired this project. 

                               

All it takes is some of your favorite bottle caps, craft foam, magnets, and E6000.

~ To get nice bottle caps, either use twist-off caps, or open them slowly with the flat kind of opener.

~ Glue your magnets to the craft foam, then glue the foam to your bottle caps. (If your magnets are thicker than your caps, then just glue the magnet straight to the cap)

~That's it! I made a simple pouch to put them in. This project could be made more cutesy with craft bottle caps that you can find at large craft stores.

Webbing Belt: For the Fashionable Male.

This project takes about five minutes, and is so satisfying! And it can be personalized easily (this pictured belt is actually for me! The man in my life is getting one with skulls)

~ Purchase webbing and a buckle to match (make sure that the buckle is size-appropriate for the webbing you choose) I got this webbing and buckle at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco

~ If your webbing is made of a synthetic material, you can melt the edge of the webbing with a lighter to finish the seams. If you use cotton webbing, finish the edges with fray-check or clear nail polish. 

~ Sew the webbing to the buckle with a heavy denim needle (size 16 or 18)

~ You're done! In terms of how much webbing to buy, a yard and a half is about right for huskier men. You can always buy more and then cut it down (remember to finish the edges!) if you need to.

For Her:

 




Tote Bag With Pocket: For on-the-go moms or busy students.

I made up this pattern with a simple concept, but The Purl Bee has a great 20 minute tote tutorial as well.

~ Purchase 1/2 - 3/4 of a yard of a cotton or cotton/linen canvas. This one is from Echino and I got it from Harts Fabric.
~ Also purchase 3-3 1/2 yards of cotton webbing. The webbing is also from Harts.
~ Cut two pieces of fabric about 24" x 18", and one about 18" x 6" for the pocket (these dimensions can be tweaked based on the proportions you want)
~ Press tops of tote and pocket over 1/2", then again 1 1/2". Stitch hems down, then pin pocket to front side of tote, making sure to center it on the bottom.
~ We're going to make French Seams! WRONG sides together, stitch side and bottom seams with a 1/4" seam allowance. (making sure to get the pocket in there).  Trim these seams a bit if needed.
~ Then flip inside out with RIGHT sides together, and stitch around the side and bottom seams with a 1/2" seam allowance, making sure to enclose all raw edges.
~ Now stitch ends of webbing together making one big loop. Pin to your bag making sure that it goes down and under each side of your tote evenly and encases raw sides of your pocket.
~ Stitch all the way down and around each side of the webbing making sure to catch the edges of your pocket (the webbing should frame the pocket on the sides).
* If you want, you can be done here, or you can flip up the points of the bottom of your tote and stitch to make a flat bottom!

Pearl and Wire Bird's Nest Pendant: For the Jewelry Lover

This project is so fun and easy! I used this tutorial Sarah Ortega, and learned a few things along the way.
*Memory wire is easy to find ad craft stores, but do NOT use memory wire. Go to a real bead shop and purchase a nice malleable wire, it will make your life easier. I used gold-filled wire, for the pictured pendant. I paid a little bit more for it, but I only needed a yard, and the final product was so much nicer than when I used other wires.
* Make sure that your pearls have large enough holes! This seems obvious, but it could ruin your day if you don't double check.
* Using round-nose pliers also works better because they won't leave marks in your wire.

~ String 3-4 pearls onto your wire and arrange in a circle
~ Secure your circle by looping the start of your wire onto the wire immediately after your last pearl.
~ Start winding and winding around your cluster of pearls in imperfect circles until your nest is the right density, then loop remaining wire around nest to secure.
~ Attach to a jump ring and then to a chain. Voila!

For Your Last Minute Party:

Dressing up Dollar Store Cups:

I am a college student, and am on a college student budget. So for my holiday party I shopped for supplies at the Target dollar section (where I found this awesome glitter tree decoration), and the Dollar Tree. Unfortunately the Dollar Tree was out of X-mas themed cups, so I bought black cups and red and green tissue paper. Cut small strips of tissue paper, layer, twist into bows and hot-glue your festive bow-ties to your cups. How fancy!

Glitter Snowflake Bobby Pin Party Favors:

I took some glitter snowflake table scatter (Again, from Target's dollar section) and E6000'd (can I verb that?) them to some thick bobby pins. These not only make cute favors, but are fun last-minute gifts as well

Whether you're feeling the pressure, or are as cool as a cucumber this holiday season, I hope this has given you some good gift ideas as it gets closer to the holidays!

XOXO

Simple Ten-Minute Tee Tutorial

I LOVE the sense of accomplishment that you get you finish that perfect structured garment. However, sometimes I want sewing to be more like shopping, that is to say that I want to spend a little bit of time and walk away from the whole experience with a new outfit.

So here's my solution: The Ten-Minute Tee.

This project was born one laundry day when this indecisive dresser found herself about a half an hour before work and all of my clean shirts were in the laundry! ARG! So I whipped one of these up and have made several of them since.

This simple and quick project is also great for people who are a little intimidated by sewing with knits. It can be done entirely on a regular sewing machine with straight stitches!

Materials you'll need:
~ 3/4 - 1 yard of a jersey or interlock knit fabric
~ A Tee-shirt that fits well
~ A regular ol' sewing machine (with matching, or complimentary thread)
~ A pair of scissors
~ Pins


Step One:
Turn on your TV, or play some Netflix. This project can be completed in less time than it takes to watch an episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" but you might as well multi-task eh?

The REAL Step One:
Measure your torso and determine how long you want your top to be. Cut your piece of fabric to that length. At this point your piece of fabric should be have the dimensions of the width of your fabric (probably 60" or so) by your desired length (I like 'em around 27").

Step Two:
Fold your piece of fabric selvage to selvage, and cut along this fold. Remove selvages (I don't always do this if they're not obvious). You should now have two square-ish pieces of jersey fabric. These are all of your pieces! Yay! The sides that you just cut, will be the sides of your tee.

Step Three:
Place your two pieces right-sides together, and determine how wide you want your neck hole to be (this top also looks cute with a wider, off-shoulder collar). Use pins to mark where you want your neck hole to be making sure that it's centered.
Now sew your shoulder seams by sewing from the edge of your neck hole to the sides of your top.

Step Four:
Now flip that puppy right side out. You can pull it over your head to make sure that your neck hole is big enough. You may also pretend that you are a poncho-wearing cowboy at this point. No one will judge you.
Lay your top out flat, and then lay a top that you like the fit of on top of it. Pin around the edge of your old top to mark the beginning and general shape of side-seams (it will be more flattering if your side seams are a little curved).

Step Five (Last Step!!!):
Sew along the lines you made with your pins (yes! With your fabric right-side out!). At this point your basically done, but now you can shape your collar if you want. You can cut a round or scoop or v-shaped neckline. Mostly I like to keep it simple by cutting a straight slit a few inches down the front to make a v-neck with cute little "lapels".

Now go wear that puppy and make all of your friends jealous!!!

Stay tuned for: Easy and Fun Holiday Gifts for Ladies AND Gentlemen!