I Made This! Bag From Pants

You did indeed hear me correctly - I made myself a bag out of a pair of Shawn's old pants. I got the idea from this bag that I pinned months ago. This is actually my second attempt; my first one yielded not-so-delightful results using some cargo shorts. At least the first bag was a good practice round.



I used fabric from a pair of khaki pants for the outside and fabric from a green polo shirt for the inside. (I wouldn't recommend using polo material though... it gave me a really hard time with the sewing machine; the fabric stretches and bunches and kept getting caught in the machine.) The khakis were the perfect material for the outside though - sturdy and thick.




Since I didn't actually like the look of the cargo pocket on the outside, I decided to use one of the pants' back pockets and put it under the flap instead of using it as the flap. I'm really happy with the result - a hidden but useful pocket!




There wasn't enough fabric for me to do one long strap, and since I wanted a bag I could wear messenger-style I made two separate ones instead. Now I can tie the straps to whatever length I want! It adds an element of cuteness, too, since bows are always cute :)




I didn't take a lot of in-progress pictures, since I wasn't sure how well it was going to turn out. This is the only 'before' picture I snapped - all the fabric pieces after cutting them to size but before sewing them together. I sewed the lining (green fabric) pieces together, then sewed the exterior (khaki fabric) pieces together. I didn't actually sew the straps until afterwards, so the pieces for those aren't pictured. For those, I just cut up one leg of the pants and cut two wide strips that I sewed up into tubes with one end closed off, then turned them right side out.




Here's a shot of my wonderful handiwork. Seriously, not to brag or anything, but I'm really proud of this one. I actually finished a sewing project that I set out to do! Alright, the sewing machine did most of the work, but that doesn't mean it's any less of a job well done. I did hit some snafus (mostly with the pesky liner) but the whole project turned out much better than I expected. It also took way longer than I expected... I ended up spending most of my Wednesday off putting this bag together. Next time though, it should be a breeze!




One last photo of the finished product, just to end this post on good note. I will definitely be making more bags this year (...if I say it, I'm more likely to do it! :P) and I'd love to play around with different fabrics, and maybe put a pocket or two on the inside of the next one. Stay tuned!

I Made This! The Bracelet Edition.

Like many others out there in Internet-Land, I'm a huge fan of Pinterest. Specifically, I'm a fan of pinning things like delicious food, snappy outfits, and things I can make myself.

A few weeks ago I came across these bracelets and thought to myself - they look so easy to make!, so why not make them? So I went to Michaels (which recently opened up about two miles down the road from us! yay!) and picked up some supplies: suede cord, small findings, and clasps.




I roughly used the tutorial here, opting to tie off my ends instead of gluing them. The whole thing is actually very simple, you make a braid and just slide a finding onto each of the outer strands as you go.

The grey bracelet was the first one I made and I found the findings I bought were too big, so I went back and bought smaller ones for the brown bracelet. The other two bracelets are just braided ribbon.




I wouldn't actually wear these all at the same time... it's a bit much, especially for a not-much-jewelry-wearing gal such as myself. But making them all is so incredibly easy - now go make your own!

That's So 2011...

A lot of bloggers I follow are doing 2011 recaps that feature their best/favorite posts/photos... but I'm not going to do that. Well, not exactly... Truth be told, I didn't blog as much last year as I would have hoped. When there's not much to say, well, there's not much to say (especially when you're being redundant). Overall 2011 was a good year; lots of things happened, just nothing incredibly significant.

As far as the blog goes:

- We added the walk log in June to keep track of our monthly mileage. Still going strong with our goal to walk an average of 1 mile per day!

- I kind of fell off the recipe bandwagon; I was doing well at the beginning of the year but now I can't honestly remember when I last posted a recipe. Which is strange, because we've been cooking/baking more than ever these last few months. A lot of times I don't post about it because I can't capture any attractive photos of the food!

- We changed the layout a few times, each time striving for a cleaner, simpler look.


And what about us?

- We renewed our lease in June, choosing to stay in our humble apartment for another year to put off having to search for something new.

- After endless months of unemployment, Shawn got a job at the deli/restaurant a few doors down from the coffeeshop I work at. If you know our history at all, this is ironic considering we first met while we were working in a similar strip-mall: me at a coffeeshop, him at the video store a few doors down...

- I really blossomed at work, adding more and more recipes to my repertoire. I took on two actual days of baking per week, instead of just fitting it in when I could during my barista shifts. And! I haven't actually shared this with anyone other than Shawn and my co-workers yet but my scones were photographed alongside a delicious cappuccino to appear in the February 2012 issue of Main Line Today for an article about the best places to get breakfast in the Main Line! (PS. I've been in a local magazine before.)

- I got crafty and made a few things out of fabric, paper, and various odds and ends. I started putting together a book of my own recipes, my sewing machine got more use than ever before, I spent countless hours sitting on the floor, and I learned that making things yourself is not only satisfying, but also not nearly as hard as it appears!


Which brings me to my next point. My last sewing project of 2011:



I forgot to take a 'before' picture prior to sewing, but these are a pair of salmon pink corduroy pants that I got for $3 at the local Salvation Army Thrift store after months of looking for well fitting colorful pants. The only problem? They had a flared leg that hit right above my foot - too wide and too short, whilst the rest of the pants fit nicely. Since the pants didn't cost me much I wasn't too worried about taking a pair of scissors to them, so I took it upon myself to take in the pant legs a bit. Thusly taking them from flared to straight-leg - much more wearable!


Just for kicks, here's a photo of me actually wearing them:



Quiet! I don't know how to pose. At all. Oh and, silly picture #1 & silly picture #2.


For future reference, this is what I looked like on the first day of 2012.
(Happy-faced and ready for another year!)



...not much different than on the last day of 2011.

That is all.

October Comes to an End

I apologize for my absence from the blog lately... I've just been feeling more crafty than chatty these days. I've been keeping myself busy with various little crafts here and there. I always forget how satisfying it is to create things!


Cupcake craftery.
My mother bought this awesome cupcake wrapping paper just for me! I have two big squares of it from the last gifts I received, and I really wanted to find some way to re-use it. I have a few ideas for these cute little cupcakes, but so far I've only done one thing with them: turned them into magnets! I bought some card stock, glued the cupcakes on, cut around them, and stuck a small magnet on the back - easy fridge bling!


Can you find the cupcakes?



A-ha! There they are, those sneaky cupcakes!



How about food crafts? Does making chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies count as a craft? I believe it does. A girl's gotta eat while she crafts, don't you agree?



Headbands are cool, right? Either way, I've been making a bunch of them lately out of t-shirt scraps. What I'm most proud of on this one is the stitch work; I've been having fun trying out different hand-stitches on each headband.



I also made a skirt out of a hand-me-down dress, just in time to wear for my birthday!
A friend gave me this pretty dress over the summer; I loved the colors and the pattern but I was not a fan of the top half... the spaghetti straps and the cross-front style just weren't doing it for me, and I knew I would never wear it as a dress. So I turned it into a skirt!


It was a really simple re-fashion; I just cut the skirt part off and folded the cut end of the fabric down and sewed a straight line, making sure to leave enough room for my elastic. Then I just messed with the bunching a bit to make sure all the fabric was easily distributed, and voila! A much more wearable item for me.


Here are some other awesome/noteworthy things:


A pumpkin themed dinner with old (& new!) friends.
These two ladies and I had been trying to plan a dinner gathering for at least two months before it finally happened this past weekend. All the boyfriends were in attendance too, except for Shawn, who was unfortunately stuck at work during the festivities :(

The menu consisted of butternut squash, bacon & onion soup, with a side of parsley chicken, beef bacon, honey butter cornbread, and spiced pumpkin cupcakes for dessert. It was delicious, to say the least, and time spent with good friends made it all the better. Also, I have to admit it's really pretty fun playing hostess!



Death By Chocolate Cupcakes
I know I said I wasn't going to make myself a cake for my birthday (after making Shawn's and my mom's recently) but I just couldn't resist these cupcakes. Is there anything better than chocolate? How about more chocolate? Chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, and more chocolate ganache... too much chocolate? Blasphemy! They only kill you if you don't eat them.



I think that's enough for now. Crafts, friends, family, food, (snow!)... October was a busy month. I felt so much love this October, and I'd like to thank everyone who made me smile - I love all of you!

A Tuesday Off

Shawn and I haven't had a single day off together since the mini vacation we took almost three weeks ago. (Our stay-cation consisted of three requested days off in a row together - it rained all of that week so instead of semi-planned activities around the city we ended up staying in the apartment and watched a bunch of movies and old tv shows. We took that trip to Longwood Gardens on the only day the sun came out.) Since then, we've seen each other briefly in the mornings and for a few hours in the evening when we each get back from our respective work places. It's pretty lame, I'll be honest, but I guess that's just how 'being an adult' goes. We gotta pay those bills, yo.


On my lonesome days off I'm always itching to find things to do, something to help pass the time. I'm not really much of a tv watcher - the computer/internet is my vice and if I'm not careful I can get sucked into the computer screen for a few hours. So to give my eyes a much needed break I'll usually go shopping for an hour or two. Shawn always shakes his head at me because he knows I have a tendency to go browse Target or Gap and inevitably I always come home with something. (Usually a highly discounted something, might I add...)

Well, while I did indeed go to a few different stores today, I didn't come home with anything other than groceries (my #1 vice is and always will be FOOD). And- I came home $1 richer! While I was browsing the sales at J.Crew, I opened up a greatly discounted purse only to find a crumpled dollar bill in the inside pocket! I don't think I'm going to spend it though; I think I may hide it somewhere discreet for some other lucky person to find.


I made a quick stop into Trader Joe's to find something I could easily fix myself for lunch. I left with a mini frozen broccoli and cheddar quiche, a bag of mixed lettuce, and a box of Joe Joe's. The quiche and salad made for an easy filling lunch; I always forget how good a simple salad can be. And the cookies. Oh, the cookies. Lets just say I won't be buying Oreos any time soon. Joe Joe's taste real, and have ingredients you can pronounce, and vanilla bean filling you can see. Not to rub it in, but you are seriously missing out if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you.


And I made something today! I came across this tutorial earlier in the day and decided to give it a try. I'm always a fan of anything that keeps my hair out of my face, but for some reason I only own one headband. Well, now I own two! I also have a bunch of t-shirts I can't wear as t-shirts anymore so perhaps I'll be making a few more of these in various colors.

Ciao!