DIY Fabric Pouch

I am so excited to share my latest endeavor! Awhile back my mom sent me a gigantic package of Sharpies and I had the idea of making a bag for them. I finally have found the time to do it and I am SO excited how it turned out. I did it completely by hand, though it would have been 100% easier if I had a sewing machine. Here is my creation and a rough guideline for how I produced it. 

What'd you'll need:

Fabric 

Embroidery floss

Thead

Ric rac

Zipper (I used a 9")

Needles

I wanted to double line my pouch with of course a bunch of different fabrics because, ya know, I live in a rainbow.

Iron all the fabric so there's no wrinkles in the bag. This is the first time I've ironed in years. In the process, I broke the ironing board. It won't go back down. :( Clear sign I shouldn't be burdened by ironing.

Put "wrong" sides together (i.e. sides that won't be showing.) I wanted the blue and green fabrics to be on the outside, and the brown and the coral to be on the inside.

With wrong sides together, line the fabrics up to the zipper.

Make a hem all the way around the fabrics. Since the coral will be on the inside of the bag fold the fabric onto the fabric that will not be shown on the outside. Wow, that was a confusing sentence. I don't know how else to explain it :)

After you have created a hem around the two sides, pin it to the zipper to get ready for stitching.

I have no idea what this type of stitching is called. Basically, you go over and under. I wish I would have made my stitches smaller, but I was impatient. I think it would have looked nicer.

This is the flip side of the picture above.

Then, stitch the other side onto the zipper in the same manner. I have more fabric than I need on the right side. I cut about n inch off so the fabric hits at the end of the zipper.

This is the inside of the bag. All edges are hemmed and all layers are sewed to the zipper.

This is where I got so excited I forgot to take any pictures of the sewing together process. Never fear, it was very easy! You can see the stitching I used in the close up in the picture below. I basically just stitched all the way around the bag. Make sure the ends of the zippers are tucked in.

To make it a little fancier I hot glued some ric rac to the outside. (I think I need to invest in various forms of glue. It seems I use hot glue for everything.)

Insert Sharpies! I know this isn't the most glamorous bag in the world and it definitely needs some improvements (i.e. me taking my time!) but I taught myself how to do it and I made it completely by hand from scratch. It suits its purpose for holding my beloved Sharpies. I love how colorful it is and I think it has a nice little vintage look to it.
The best part of being able to make things myself is I can make it look however I want it to. I could never find a bag like this in a store. I love having an idea in my head, and instead of searching store after store for it, I can just make it.

Cheesecake Pudding Stuffed Strawberries

Mmmm!!! I have been wanting to make this for awhile. I saw it on Pinterest! I don't want to show my inspiration photo because it of course looks way better than my end product :)

Here's what you need:

2 cups milk
1 graham cracker
Strawberries (I used 1.5 lbs)
Cheesecake pudding
Vanilla pudding

1.  Follow the directions on the pudding. I used 1 pkg cheesecake and 1 pkg vanilla, mixed together. NOTE: MAKE SURE BOTH PUDDINGS ARE TO BE PREPARED THE SAME WAY!!! (Andrea, that's for you!) :) Last semester I made a dessert with pudding and both times I bought one instant pudding and one cook and serve pudding. Let's just say nobody was eating my dessert. I did it right this time.
2. I had A LOT of pudding leftover, so really you could get by with only one box or you could use half of each box. Or use both boxes and eat the pudding plain!
3. Cut the tops of the strawberries and then hollow them out. It's a lot EASIER than it looks. I used a pairing knife and just cut around the middle. It came out easily in a little cone.
4. Put the pudding in a zip lock bag and seal it tight. Cut a tiny corner off. Squeeze the pudding into the strawberries.
5. Smash up the graham cracker in a zip lock bag. Cut off a tiny corner, sprinkle on the strawberries.

They were soooo yummy! Like a little bit sized cheesecake.

New Traditions

This weekend Kevin and I went antiquing, which is becoming a new tradition for us. We have done this one other weekend and we had a lot of fun. We're both into vintage, rustic looking things. We're also both pretty cheap and love finding a good deal. I'm environmentally conscious and like to repurpose things when I can.

On the way to our destination, we found a flea market! I know that flea market/thrift store type places are always less expensive than your traditional antique store. You just have to dig a little more to find those gems.

As some of you know, I have been "planning" my wedding in my head and gathering ideas on Pinterest just in case that day comes. I have been hoarding ideas of how to use mason jars. I have seen great ideas but one of my favorites is having all the guests drinking from mason jars at the reception. I know mason jars are hard to come by because they are becoming a hot commodity. While perusing the flea market, I saw it! A WHOLE giant display case full of mason jars--only $1.25 each!!

I never tell Kevin my wedding ideas because I'm holding out for a certain special moment in time to occur first. However, I knew we needed to get those mason jars. I ran to find him (He was looking at beer signs. Go figure.) I pitched my idea to him and he loved it. A lot. More than I ever expected him to love it. So, we bought the store out of mason jars. All 18 of them.

Now they are decorating random places throughout our home until we need them. We even used them as our own drinking glasses last night. Kevin and Brian found out the hard way the bigger mason jars hold about 3 beers. And it also makes you drink faster than normal. They didn't last long.

Here is my pretty drink. Mango margarita!

To get sugar and salt around the rim, just rub a lemon or lime around the edge. Dip in sugar or salt. Voila! Doesn't it just look delicious? It's much more fun drinking out of a mason jar.

Hope you're looking forward to my eventual wedding :)

Burlap Picture Frames

I had some leftover paint and burlap from this DIY so I found another project to do. We don't have a headboard and our wall needed something so I had a place in mind for this one.

Here are the materials you need:
Frames-- I got mine from Goodwill for $2 each. I got rid of the glass since I didn't need it for this.
Fabric-- I got mine from JoAnn Fabric for $2 for a quarter yard, it comes pre-cut
Wooden Letters-- I got them at Hobby Lobby for $1 each
Mod Podge-- any craft store, Wal Mart, etc.
Burlap-- Hobby Lobby, $3/yd, I probably used 1/5 of a yard for this project

I started out by cutting my fabric into random strips and mod-podgeing them around the letters. I found this was taking forever and the glue wasn't sticking. Instead, I traced the letter onto the fabric, cut it out, and mod-podged it to the front. I decided I didn't need the fabric to be all along the letter for my purposes.

See picture below-- just put fabric on the front. You can't even tell when it's hanging on the wall.

To mod podge: I used a foam paint brush and brushed the glue onto the letter, then I put the fabric over it and glued over the top.

I didn't take a picture of how I got the burlap on the picture frame. See this DIY if you really are struggling. Essentially, you just cut out a piece of burlap that is slightly bigger than your frame. Glue the burlap to the back of the frame and cut off the excess. Very easy.

Ta-Da! Here's a closeup on the wall.

After I got it hung up I was thinking it needed a little something extra. I made burlap bunting to hang over it. I'm not sold on it yet. I might Just leave the frames plain. (This is where it would help to have some females around to five me their opinion!) What do you think?

Here is how I made the bunting. Again, very easy.

Cut out triangles out of your bunting, or whatever shape you want for that matter.

Using hot glue, glue it to a piece of yarn. Continue until you have the length of bunting you want.

What do you think? Here's how I left it. I kind of like this.

Yarn-Wrapped Glass Bottles

I was inspired by this pin I found on Pinterest and decided to give it my own take. It doesn't require a tutorial because it was super easy, but here it is anyway!

What you need:

Glass bottles-- I used 2 wine bottles and an olive oil bottle but I'm planning on adding bottles of different shapes and sizes once Kevin drinks some beer for me

Yarn-- I used yarn but the picture above used twine

Hot glue gun

Twigs

Glue a ring around the bottom of the bottle to start the yarn wrapping. There's no need to glue all the way up, one ring will get it started.

 Start wrapping!

I found it was easier to wrap if you hold the bottle horizontal while twisting it and holding the yarn in place. I wrapped and then pushed all the yarn down to make it tighter periodically. The "body" of the bottle was easy, but the curve of the bottle up to the neck was a little more tedious. I glued many rings around the curve because the yarn kept slipping.

Ta-Da! Final product on the table. I have mustard, grey/brown, and dark purple so far. I'm going to add a green and blue once I have more bottles. On my run tonight I collected some dead tree branches to put in the new "vases". I used this method to make the pom pom flowers. I glued the pom poms to the sticks with hot glue. Very simple.

I had a lot of burlap left over so I made cute it to make a table runner. I'm going to add lace to the ends, just haven't done it yet!

Very fall. Enjoy!

I Love Love!

This is such a sweet proposal I found today on Green Wedding Shoes :) I've watched it a few times. Her reaction is priceless.



Cara + Micah [Proposal] from David Mendoza III on Vimeo.

Teacher Salaries

I found this posted on facebook and thought it was interesting.

"Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put thing in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That ...would b...e $19.50 a day (7:45... to............ 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE.... That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here! There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!! Heaven forbid we take into account highly qualified teachers or NCLB... Make a teacher smile; re-post this to show appreciation"


It made this teacher smile!

Weekly Feature: What I Wore

I have been waiting for fall weather since winter started last year. Mostly, I love the clothing associated with fall--tights, boots, cardigans, scarves, and berets! So wonderful. The past year or so my style has really come together. It all started with my purple Vans. I have been taking more "risks" and branching outside of my comfort zone. I used to think I could never "pull off" certain things, but now I just don't care. Mostly I want to show my readers anyone can "pull off" something they love.

Anyway, here's a recent outfit I put together when the weather started becoming PERFECT. It was inspired by the fall weather, of course.

Beret: Forever 21

Dress: Forever 21

Boots: Forever 21

Cardigan: Target 

Tights: Target

Haha, notice a pattern? It's true, 97% of my clothes are either from Forever 21 or Target. I shop cheap. My face looks funny in this picture but it was the best one I could get of the outfit and I felt ridiculous taking timed photos of myself and I was over it by the 3rd take. I guess I should get used to it if I'm going to do outfit posts. I am also bothered by my straight hair and beret combination in the picture. I should probably stop picking it apart and just put it out there. YAY FOR FALL FASHIONS!

A lot of the blogs I read have "What I wore" weekly posts that I am a fan of. I love seeing how other people put outfits together in ways I wouldn't have thought of. I'm considering sharing my "wears" on my blog. Don't get me wrong, I know my style is nothing spectacular or trendsetting. I just wear what I like. I think others may like it, too. I think I may try it out and see what the response is. Here are a few of the bloggers I follow and their "weekly wear" posts:

 {via: katie @ Skunkboy Creatures}

 {via: Kaleah @ Little Chief Honeybee}

 {via: Elycia @ Love Elycia}

{via: Sherri @ Me: A Work In Progress Since 1983}

Yay or nay on the outfit posts?

No Heat Curls #2!

I have been growing my hair out for a long time, and it's finally at a length I would consider "long." I finally have my bangs grown out, but they're not long enough to look good straight. I always have to pin them back. I've been experimenting with some different things with my hair lately. Maybe you've noticed I've been wearing berets a lot lately (Kevin calls them my potato sack hats). I don't have time to mess with my hair in the morning and getting up any earlier than 5:30am is out of the question. Here is what I did to my hair last night that saved me some sleep!

Last night I did this tutorial from Love, Maegan (tutorial also posted at bottom of this post). I read her blog daily. She has great ideas and is sarcastic and honest in her blogging. Though we don't necessarily have the same style, it's fun to see the outfits she puts together daily. She has beautiful hair and I enjoy her tutorials. That is where I found this no-heat curl tutorial using a headband I tried a while back. That headband wrap method is hit and miss for me. Sometimes it looks great but other times it gives me a ring around my head where you can see where the headband was. I thought I'd try a new one.

This technique is called "Bantu Knots." I remember doing a few times in high school but I never remember it turning out so well. I like that it's NO HEAT. My hair is very thin and I don't have much of it, so I am conscious about protecting my hair from damaging heat. Here's what I did:

I showered and washed my hair the night before I wanted my hair curly with plans to sleep with it wrapped overnight (sorry about the no-makeup!) A lot of people will recommend NOT washing your hair before doing this, as it will hold better. I like to wash my hair daily otherwise I feel gross. I let it air dry (hence the "no-heat" emphasis). It was a little damp when I wrapped it and a little damp when I woke up. I had to blow dry the wraps a little bit this morning, so if possible, I'd recommend it be mostly dry. I didn't use any product other than Humectress which I use daily. If I don't use it, my hair is ALWAYS static-y, it never fails. I also put a little hairspray in to give it a little extra hold.

 I didn't take pictures of the actual wrapping process, but if you click here (same like as above and video can be viewed below) you can follow Maegan's tutorial. Basically, you twist your hair and then wrap it around itself. Very simple and easy. The smaller sections you twist, the tighter your curls will be. I'd say I used small to medium sections. My hair doesn't curl very well so I used smaller sections, knowing it would fall out as the day went on. I think I had between 8-10 buns in my hair, secured with a pin, and hairsprayed. I tried to put them in a way that wouldn't drive me nuts to sleep on, but it actually wasn't that bad. In her video, she uses a curling iron to fix some of the sections that didn't curl as well. I didn't figure my kiddos would notice, so I skipped that step.

Ta-da! This is the end result. This was at 6am so my eyes are clearly sleepy. Doing this no-heat curl method actually saved me more time in the morning. I have to leave my house by 6:30 to get to pre-k by 7, so if I can shower at night I can sleep in an extra 20 minutes. The taking-out process is very simple and then I just hairspray a little and I'm set. Much quicker than showering, blow-drying, and teasing because my hair has a ridiculous lack of volume when it's straight. Maegan's taking-out process is also posted below and linked here. She spent much more time than I did. Just take out the pins and shake your head! The curls are very natural-looking which I like.

Here it is at 7pm after a 10 hour day with 4 and 5 year olds! It held up surprisingly well. I can't believe it still actually looks good! I will be doing this a lot more often! Let me know if you give it a go.

Wrapping tutorial:

Taking-out tutorial:

Life Update & A Cute Puppy

Here are some life updates for you:

• I haven't found any more spiders in my bed since the last episode. *Knock on wood* Kevin hardly remembered me waking him up. Go figure.
• I have made many crafts over the weekend that I need to post. However, pictures always turn out better when I take them in daylight. However, I haven't been home to take pictures during daylight. Stay tuned for pictures later this week.
• Our apartment is looking fantastic. I can't wait to show pictures.
• I TURNED IN MY TEACHER WORK SAMPLE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! All 60 pages. It was a great accomplishment and huge weight off. Last paper of my college career :) (until grad school...)
• I started my second student teaching placement this week. I'm in Pre-K at a Child Development Center in Ankeny. It is so much easier than my last placement. The kids are much more well-behaved. That being said, it is so much less fulfilling than my placement in Des Moines Public. Instead of having conversations of why dad is in jail or mom didn't have enough money to do laundry this week, I'm having conversations about playing the DS on the trip to Disney World and what they're going to be for Halloween. I hope that illustrates the difference. Granted, these kids are about 3 years younger so the conversations are of course going to be different. However, I feel much more valued at a diversely populated school. I feel like my efforts go further and kids are appreciative for that solid figure. I knew I would have this feeling. I'm glad that I found my "niche" and I'm thankful to be pursuing a career that fulfills me.
• My "work" (I say "work" because I don't get paid. In fact, I am paying to be there) day starts at 7am. This means I have to leave my house at 6:30, which means I have to get up at 5:30. I really don't need to get up so early because it doesn't take that long to get ready. However, I don't like to feel rushed and I like to watch the news, check my e-mail, etc. I think I'll start showering at night because 5:30 comes so early. I get done at 5pm. If you're doing the math at home, that's a 10 hour work day. However, I get a day off! You give a little, you get a little. I'll take a day off. This week my day off is Thursday. I'll get my DIYs updated then.
• Kevin is in St. Louis all this week. Boo to that. I miss him. Hmph.

This is my [mom's] puppy Shiloh. She is a Shi-Poo (I'm totally spelling that wrong. I call her a "shit-poo" and never cared to know her real breed.) I miss her. She is the best dog. Except sometimes she barks and it startles me and she won't stop. I'm not a dog person and I love this dog to the point where I miss it. :) Mom and Macey have taught her some pretty sweet tricks. 

• She can clap 
• She can walk on 2 legs
• If you say, "Who's a good puppy?" she will raise her hand
• If you say, "Who let the dogs out?" she will bark twice
• If you say, "Bang!" and point your finger at her she will fall to the ground

I'll work on getting videos of all this. Isn't she cute??