Dabbling in Jewelry

Recently, I started dabbling in jewelry design/construction.  Before school got totally out of hand, I had a weekend where I just needed something repetitive to do with my hands, and hours to kill.  Here is the result!  This is being posted on my Etsy site.  Check it out, the link is in the top left of this blog!
Enjoy!

Hundreds of beads!  All done by hand!

I loved this large white bead!  I found it in Charlottesville, VA and had to have it!

The chain is adjustable.  The necklace hangs front the tip of the white bead to the end of the chain  between 12' and 13'.

Quilt Teaser

AHHHHH!  So many sorority t-shirts!  What's a girl to do with them all?!?  When I graduated and became an alumni of my sorority I gave away close to 20 pairs of letters!  I thought I was only keeping two pairs for myself. Then when I moved I found more in hiding places!  And I purposefully kept all my "party shirts" because a) those are my pajamas b) those are my "workout" shirts (yea, right) c) they are my everyday wear and d) I wanted to make a t-shirt quilt out of them one day.  Well, that quilt day has come.  It is time for me to grow up a little.  Since starting my practicum placement, I have found that these well-loved and cherished shirts have less and less of a place in my wardrobe.  The tipping point, when I realized it was time to make the leap and cut the shirts, was when a lady came into the fabric shop I work at and bought almost the entire bolt of fabric I had been eyeing, thinking "hey, that would be perfect in my ADPi quilt."  Massive panic set in as I rolled out yard after yard for this lady.  Luckily, she left just enough!  As soon as she left I cut the rest of the fabric for my self and set to work pulling the rest of the colors I needed.  Still on a panicky high from almost losing out on the perfect fabric, I went home and started sewing.  A record fourteen hours later the entire front of my quilt was pieced (sewn together)!  Now, nothing I do can be normal or just follow a simple pattern.  No.  So this quilt is of course not your typical, grided t-shirt quilt.  Have I piqued your interest yet?  Well, I wont show you what it looks like til it is totally finished and quilted (I am mean to ya'll, I know)!  But below is a photo of all my shirts scrunched together!

Love Your Toms Longer!

I don't know about you, but I love my Toms!  I have the silver, glittery Toms, and Oh!  They are just sparkly, fancy, fun!  They have formed to my feet and are super comfy.  Plus they make me feel good with the One-For-One social movement behind each pair sold.  The thing about Toms, though, is that everyone has them!  Now, its quite common to see people embellishing their Toms and giving them a bit of personality.
Not too long ago the amazing Katie Marshall asked me if I would take on her well-loved Toms and breath a little life back into them.  Below are the 'Before' and 'After' photos!  Thanks Katie for giving me free reign, and being so trusting with your Toms!

Before

A common problem with Toms...holes form in the toes over time

There was a small hole in the back heel of one of the shoes

One for One

After!  Katie wanted something a little neutral, but still fun.  I think this color yellow goes with lots of things!  And it didn't hurt that Blue and Gold are the colors of her alma mater, UNCG!

Loved the lace.  Where I could, I hand sewed, though sewing in the toes of shoes it tricky!

I stitched up the hole in the back and reinforced it with some sturdy fabric glue.

Thanks for the great photo Katie!  Enjoy!

Massive C.I.A. Cover-Up (Crafter. In. Action)

Woah!  How long as it been since I last blogged!?  It's not that I haven't been sewing, because I certainly have.  Life in grad school has just been THAT crazy!  A full course load, working a practicum placement and working at the fabric store on the weekends leaves little time or energy to blog at the end of the day.  Soooo...since coming home from England I have had a lot of requests for covers--hence the title.  I have made a hand full of e-reader covers and an iPad cover for various customers.  Check out the pictures below!  Each cover is made with neoprene.  This is the soft, squishy material that a lot of drink coozies are made out of.  It gives your devices a little padding and some shock resistance.  The iPad cover does fit over the whole iPad, including the apple smart-cover that protects your screen.  The e-reader covers shown below are made for Kindles, specifically, but can be made in different sizes depending on the dimensions of your device.  Notice, too, that covers have little corners so you can slip your reader into the cover while you read it as well....added bonus!  The cost of a cover is $20.
Stick around and keep checking back in with me! I have a bunch of new things, including some clothes, to upload soon!

Custom monogrammed iPad cover for one of my very best friend's graduation!

Handpainted

I LOVE wacky prints!

Check out the honeycomb detail stitching!

Here's a demonstration of  the added corners that hold the e-reader in place while in use!

Kindle covers for boys (not as fun, in my opinion....but I guess boys wouldn't appreciate hot pink??)