Crafting funk

Posted: September 1, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Crafts and the human experience | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hey there Sunday Projecteers.

It has recently come to my attention that I am feeling myself getting into a crafting funk. And it sucks, a lot. It could possibly be that there has been much buzz recently in life. I started a new job here in my new home of Seattle, not to mention the constant adjustment that has been my life for the last 30 days given the fact that we relocated at the beginning of August. Then there is the fact that I am training 3-4 days a week for the Seattle Iron Girl  which takes place next weekend. I have to shower, read, eat and maintain life, my hair and my sanity. So, my creative mind has decided to go kaput.

Have no fear, it hasn’t gone completely awry. I did complete a project (95%) that I have wanted to for a while which was re-painting my furniture. The end table I painted came out awesome, now I am just waiting to get the right hardware for the awesome pull knobs that are being added. I plan on posting this once I finish the other piece of furniture that will be painted. We also just recently got permission to paint our apartment, and this makes me one happy camper. Chevron pattern anyone? Hell yes fantastic accent wall, here we come! So, that’s in the works. The crochet bug bit me once more a couple of weeks ago and I spent a weekend hooking my fingers off. I made an awesome doily for my new end table, started a pair of slippers, and have been working on some very special crocheted flower fascinators for a very good friends wedding in March. Oh, and I took a two-day sewing class. That was cool. It has been a long long time since I touched a sewing machine so it was fun to attempt a new craft. I made an apron. It was pretty neat. There are more classes offered at the location I signed up at, Stitches, and think I just might try my hand at another class coming up. There was an attempt at some awesome newspaper flags, however, I need to figure out a better method, last Sunday and I think that is what has me a little discouraged.

Crafty brain I summons you to come back and flourish! I need you! Let’s hope it comes back soon friends.

In the meantime, here are some of the projects I did while in this little funk….

 

A Fancy Fascinator

Posted: June 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Just is... | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hi Sunday Projecteers!

So, sad to report, but not surprised one bit, my craft bin  is still in shambles. And of course, rather than searching through and organizing, I made a new craft and bought more fun craft stuff to add to the bin. But as one of my favorite characters of all time, Miss Scarlett O’Hara says, “Tomorrow I’ll think of some way, after all, tomorrow is another day.” There will be only so many times I can repeat that, because tomorrow will just keep coming.

A good friend of mine has been meticulously planning a fancy tea party for next weekend. She is requesting everyone in their Sunday best, complete with sun dresses, parasols, and of course no fancy tea party is complete without a fancy fascinator. If I had lots of money to spend on one accessory I would totally buy a designer fascinator from London. The British do fascinators best, from royal weddings, to the polo fields, no public outing is complete without the most outrageous and most elegant of fascinators. For me, I wanted to do something simple, yet fun and something that I may just wear again. I have the best dress for this tea party so I needed a great hair piece. While, hair pieces may not be your thing, this is a fun project and is sure to create some buzz.

For this Sunday Project you will need:

  • newspaper or craft paper to cover your workspace
  • glue gun and glue
  • stiffened felt (you can do this yourself like in the Coffee Coozie post. Or you can purchase pre-stiffened felt)
  • barrettes
  • fun feathers
  • flower sprays (I found them in the bridal aisle of the craft store)
  • scissors
  • a fun pendant or “center piece” for your fascinator
  • ribbon

You can see it all here

Now, I did start out with some Tulle Veil and thought it would be a good idea. Proven wrong. Terrible idea and I burnt my fingers badly trying to get it in the right place. Again I say, “Tomorrow I’ll think of something, after all, tomorrow is another day.” But I feel it turned out great without the veil.

The first step is to cut out the base of the fascinator. Using the scissors, cut the stiffened felt into a “tear drop” shape. This can be as small or as big as you would like. For mine I made it fairly large because I want my fascinator to be big. 

If the felt you have is juts a little too stiff, as was the case for mine, you can roll it like a burrito to loosen it up.

The next step is to cover the felt with the feathers you chose. I chose to use green, yellow and orange as those are the colors of the dress I will be wearing. Starting at the largest part of the felt glue down feathers in layers, to cover every inch. 

Once you have the entire felt covered, then glue in some floral sprays. What I chose to do was to put three of them together and wrap them in ribbon. I then found a spot in between the feathers and put a crazy amount of hot glue there and pushed the sprays in. Then I held it till the glue dried. I should mention that this project uses ALOT of hot glue and I did get myself a couple times because of the “thinness” of the materials used. Be prepared and be as cautious as you can. You can see how I inserted the sprays here.

After the sprays, I went ahead and glued on the pendant I chose. Again, I had to use a lot of glue as it is a big piece and I didn’t want to take any chances. I then cut a few pieces of ribbon and put them together, and glued them to the bottom of the fascinator.

Once the ribbon was glued down, I then glued the barrette piece over it. Here is where you have to use a lot of glue again. HOlding down the fascinate against the barrette helps, as it will shape the curve you will need to put it in your hair. 

Viola! You are done! I am so very excited about my fascinator and can’t wait to show it off. Now, I know it doesn’t look anything like the real ones worn by those across the pond, but it is still fun and creative. Have fun with your fascinators! I would love to see them. What did you use? Did something work for you that I didn’t try? Let me know! And as always, Happy Sunday Projecting!

(You can’t see the ribbon in this picture, but it hangs just slightly behind my ear in with my hair.)