Do It Yourself Coffin Jewelry Box // Hinged Box Jewelry Holder

Hi everyone! In case you missed it (because you all know that I'm such a bad blogger!) this is my new tutorial video. It is a jewelry box. For this craft you can use any type of hinged box or box in general. It's really easy and makes a great jewelry storage solution for cheap!

What I Love Wednesday 5.21.13

I think I'm starting to get back on track here. Now all I have to do is keep up with Twitter and Tumblr and I can take over the world!

I don't actually know which other stores carry these aloe drinks, but I know that Target has them. These are not only tasty but if you are a texture-eater/drinker and you like pulp, this comes in many flavors (I believe Target carries 4 of them) then I do suggest you try one of these!

I saw these on Etsy and really just wanted to slap myself. I have a set of these sitting around doing nothing and this is the perfect thing to do with them! I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep them, upcycle them or give them away. I was hoping to upcycle them by painting them, but it's usually windy where I live and I didn't want to try to spray paint in the wind. So I'm going to be trying this again.

This is the book I am currently reading and have just found out will be a Tim Burton Film shortly. I'm so excited for it. I love it so much already. I love odd and mysterious and it has been a fun and easy read so far.

My YouTube recommendation for the month has got to be Good Mythical Morning by Rhett and Link. It's fun, entertaining, informative and if you leave before the Wheel of Mythicality we cannot be friends. I would recommend this to anyone who's looking to watch news that's not really news or anyone who's just looking for a laugh or a smile.

The art of Valfre. Need I say more? Go. Go right now to her website and look at all hear beautiful pieces. I found her on instagram and have been seeing her all over storenvy and tumblr lately. I cannot pick a favorite piece. She really does just get me.

See you next week! Stay weird.

Cupcake Burlap and DecoMesh Wreath

So, this is the wreath that I had made for the Spring / Summer season at work. I am usually asked to make wreaths around different seasons and I had been thinking about a cupcake concept for a while. I was somewhat worried at first, but once I drew it out, I knew how I was going to make it. Sadly, I did not take pictures of it's process, but I would like to make one for September around my boyfriend's and my birthday.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

xx 20 inch box style wreath frame

xx 5.5 inch roll of burlap ribbon

xx 1 roll of 21 inch roll of decomesh ribbon in your choice of color

xx bag of assorted pom pom balls

xx lg fuzzy metallic pom pom balls

xx glitter spiral picks, flowers, or anything else you'd like to include

xx wire ribbon to tie a bow in a corresponding color

xx wire or chinelle stems in corresponding icing colors

xx scissors and wire cutters

xx glue gun

xx first xx on a flat surface, lay out your wreath frame and your decomesh. open your chinelle stems and take a few and cut them into thirds. tie them randomly over about 1/2 of the wreath frame and start tying down about 6 inches of decomesh at a time running back and forth over the same part of the top half of the wreath you are working on.

xx second xx once half of the wreath frame is nice and full like icing and you are happy with how it looks, trim off or secure any of the excess mesh. unroll your burlap ribbon and while laying it over the wreath frame, measure off pieces of it that measure just a little longer than your frame. cut 4-5 of these sections and begin laying them down, tying them, then overlapping them. it should start looking like a plain cupcake at this point.

xx third xx plug in your hot glue gun and once it is ready to glue, get out your pom pom balls of all sizes / colors and place them randomly around your wreath. glue them down when you are happy with the placing of them. these will mimic sprinkles. do the same with any other pompoms you are using. i used a big metallic red one to mimic a cherry on top.

xx fourth xx take any wire picks (check stores around christmas time too for fun looking picks!) and tie their wires through the deco mesh and to the back of the frame. glue if unstable but that is unnecessary.

xx fifth xx take your wire ribbon and tie any kind of bow to your choosing with it around the center. i chose red to bring out the red in the 'cherry'. make sure everything is secure then your wreath is ready to hang and enjoy!

I hope that was easy to understand as I didn't have any pictures of my process this time around. If I do end up making another one, I will be sure to take pictures of do a video tutorial of it. Just study my picture and try to copy it if you need any pointers or leave me a comment! 

What I Love Wednesday 5/7/13

Yes, we are going to completely ignore the fact that I keep disappearing for extended periods of time. Here are my weekly favorites instead.

I have been collecting Disney Trading Pins for almost a year now and I'm still in love with them. They are a really fun collectible and I just keep them on a cork-board in our 'game/craft room'. I have won quite a few off of Ebay and even purchased a few from some Disney enthusiasts on Instagram. It's so magical every time I get to add a new pin to my collection.

I keep somehow finding this German Rapunzel Fairytale plate on Etsy and I think it is starting to become a 'want' for me. She's so beautiful and I love how it looks. I just need to figure out where to put it. This same shop also has a Hansel and Gretel plate but I'm not sure if I would snag that one up too as I don't want it to become a 'collection'. I already collect too much.

I purchased one of the mason jar mugs a few weeks ago at work (although mine has a mug handle on it) and it has become my preferred beverage container. For some reason these make drinks taste so cold on a hot day. I can't explain the wizardry behind them, but I'm really loving the look and purpose of them.

Nirvana has to be my third favorite band of all time (placing after Led Zeppelin and Coheed and Cambria) and I can listen to them all day. Their music still sounds modern and interesting even after all these years and I have been playing the heck out of them since Ryder Burgin (FootOfAFerret) included them (and Foo Fighters) in his 'A Brief History' series. I also think sometimes that if I were in the music industry (different time/ different place) that Dave Grohl would be my husband because I love his drive to make music, his inspiration, and his strength. Also his rugged look is a bonus.

Guys, guys! I got a tattoo this weekend. I'm both thrilled and in pain. I got this little beauty on my left shoulder and as cute as it is, it hurt like a b****. As I was expecting some pain, the outline didn't hurt at all, the shading hurt a little but by the time we got to the color, I was dying. I got this from a guy I've known since the 7th grade (Mikey Ortiz) and he's been back and forth between tattoo shops but now operates from home. That made me a little skeptical, but looking at his previous work and knowing that he worked under one of my co-workers/friend's cousin, I was confident with him. We were about halfway done with my outline and he asks how many tattoos I have... 'None'. He kind of stops, a little surprised, 'Why didn't you tell me?! Most people only get something small as their first tattoo!' We laughed about it and I told him that I wanted my first tattoo to be something I actually liked and not something silly like stars or an infinity symbol (not that there is anything wrong with those tattoos!) and how I have a very specific vision in my mind when it comes to tattoos.

That's all for this week, guys. How 'bout a little Nirvana-themed playlist with my favorite songs?

Lithium

In Bloom

All Apologies

Breed

Come as You Are

Dumb

The Baby Food Challenge

I did the baby food challenge with my brother and sister-in-law and the results are in! (Rather, the video is finally uploaded and edited!)

What I Love Wednesday 3.26.14

What? A WILW post? Your eyes do not deceive you! As I said, I wanted to bring this back and start blogging again at least once a week even if it is just this post (or even if it is Saturday...), so let's go!

I've been spouting some seeds and bulbs in my kitchen as we're still expecting one more snow fall and I'm really excited about these flowers! They look very similar to Orchids, but are called Mexican Shellflowers. With Orchids being my favorite flower, I'm hoping that these will be an easier to maintain substitute. (Note: I do have an orchid plant but they are so picky about watering and soil, that this may be easier. I have heard that they grow well in coconut shell enhanced soil. I fell as if I am one who does not have time for that.)

This is a find that I could not help but favorite on Etsy. This is a paper mache pink bat. The details on this are so beautifully done and all of the art from this shop is just so perfect and fitting to my taste.

Sit there and tell me that you DON'T love Lil' Bub. Because how could you not? She is so cute with that little tongue! I really want to get this super hipster-y sticker I found of her.

This is so realistic that I can almost feel this bengal kitten! This is made from wool roving done by needle felting. I don't have a lot of experience with needle felting, but I can tell you that it is one craft you can NOT do while watching TV or YouTube because you will stab yourself. I can tell there was so much work put into this and the details are purrfect.

My absolute favorite YouTuber this month has been BayleeCreations / Bumble Baylee. She's so creative and she's got the ideal job as an animator. She's just silly and I feel like I really relate to her after I watch any one of her vlogs or videos because we have the same personality types. She's fun and I'd truly like to meet her.

Knitting Knowledge Episode 1: Tools and Basic Knowledge

Hi friends. I am very excited to announce my new knitting series on YouTube! It's called Knitting Knowledge and the first episode is all about tools and other things that beginner knitters and knitter-wanna-bes should know. 

There should be a new episode out fairly soon. I'm thinking maybe around March 22 (next weekend) and it will be all about the next steps one would need to take to begin their knitting journey!

(SSS) Stylish Smithereens Shop Update #1 , 2014

I was kind of really torn on whether or not to call this shop update number 3 or start again at 1 for the new year, because I kind of want to do these updates as a quarterly thing for the year. Kind of like a newsletter, you know?

First of all, I have been cranking out bows like crazy. Which is weird because that's what all my friends are making as well. I feel almost bad as if I have copied them, but I know I did not. But I have been trying to use different and unique fabrics and am even expecting some kawaii fabric from Japan in the next couple of weeks. So after I receive that, I think I'll take a break from bows and work on something else.

 

These sweater clips / lapel pins are something I have had pre-made for a while but never got around to listing. And I do still have a few of the ones I listed before (the bows with rhinestones), they are tangled and some have even come un-glued. So I'll need to re-work those for fall. These were one of those items that were probably better off being listed in the fall, but we'll see what happens. I may let the expire then re-list when that time comes. But who even knows, as people who work desk jobs get to wear fun stuff like this all the time. It's one of those items...

This duo chain ring is another one of those items that I have recently re-listed. I found it in my business cards thinking it was busted, but it was in perfect condition. It's a really fun ring and looks great when you move your hands a lot and such. So it's a re-list as well.

 There are also some new cell phone charms showing up. I know that not a lot of people have a place for the charms on their phones anymore so I am now including dust plugs will all cell phone charm orders. But these are also great for cameras, bags, purses and wherever else you want to tether them. I have literally thousands of the cell phone straps and even have listings up for purchase in quantities of 10 at a time. I know I will never use that many myself.

Fleece dog toys are another one of our new items. I made one for my Shar-Pei for Christmas and she loved it so I started buying remnants of fleece and making more of these. And although I haven't had any purchased on Etsy (just a few orders at work) they are getting a lot of attention. Someone want to put some in something like the Bark Box (monthly subscription box for dogs), but this will go to shelter dogs based off of donations, and I'm going to have a featurette in an article on SheKnows.com and I am waiting for the girl to get back to me on that one with the link as it's still being written.

These are the crafts that I want to finish within the next 2 weeks:

• finish knitting teddy bear for Chelsea (she's having a baby and it will be part of my gift for him)
• possibly make / list another teddy bear for the shop
• create clay cabochons to list (I want to create my own design)
• make crayons to sell in the shop (I have some really cool molds for that)
• finish knitting the grey cowl I am working on (have been working on it since day after Christmas)
• work on knitting knowledge tutorial for YouTube (now for this I actually kind of have a legitimate excuse for not having done this yet. I was going to on Saturday, but my brother ended up in hospital and it was really bad. It still kind of is, but we'll know for sure tomorrow. I don't really want to go into details. But please don't think I'm a horrible person for coming online and updating my shop or IG accounts. I didn't do ANYTHING the first day. I couldn't handle it. I was so overwhelmed and depressed and now I just figure since we're all just waiting... I need somewhere to vent and something to do. So I am here, albeit a little less.)

So that's all for this now quarterly update (I think I'll do them in the middle of the quarter, or more often if I find it fitting). Please be patient with me as I am coping with some hard stuff right now and just understand that I can't talk about it yet.

February Playlist

So this is just going to be a different sort of post. I can't believe I haven't done WILW in such a long time and will be sure to start scheduling that back into my weeks, but for now here is my playlist. I am always looking for inspiring music to play while I craft and I believe it is a big part of my creative process. So I'll be posting these more often, whether in a post alone or in my WILW once they return.

1. Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage

2. Grouplove - Shark Attack

3. Bad Suns - Cardiac Arrest

4. Sunderland - Right This Way

5. Strange Talk - Climbing Walls

6. J. Roddy Walston & The Business - Heavy Bells

& bonus throwback track

ONYX - Slam

I hope that you blast all these jams on repeat and are and inspired as I am while listening to them and other great music. It's an art form I could not stick with after middle school.

Contributing to HitRECord with Joseph Gordon Levitt

There are many times when I look back and could almost kick myself for passing up artistic opportunities. I'm thrilled to announce that this time will not be one of them.

For the past two months I have been feeling like my artistic abilities have not been flaunted or utilized in the ways that I had hoped. By age 25 I was really hoping that I'd have my life figured out and here I am 24, 25 is happening in September and I'm still doing what I always do.

Lately though, I have been really inspired. I'll come online and read a few of my favorite blogs or watch my favorite YouTubers while I literally whip out drawings like they are nothing. I find myself sifting through YouTube and eHows trying to teach myself new things. Heck, I even purchased professional umbrella lighting tonight which I do plan to utilize in my own YouTube videos and photos for my shop.

So, of course, being an artist, I follow many other artists and I've seen so many people talking about Hit Record that I had to go see what it was about. I'm excited to say that I've signed up to contribute and have already submitted a few of my more artistic photographs from our vacation a while back. I'm also hoping to submit something at least bi-weekly whether it be more photography or character doodles or complete drawings.

I am also just really in love with the thought of this whole project. Joseph Gordon Levitt reaching out to all artists out there to collaborate and contribute art to make a show to get the arts out there. It's exciting. I hope that I can one day be a part of it and I hope it does really well even if my art isn't good enough.

Here is the first episode for anyone interested:

How To: How to Make Boutique Style Ribbon Bows

Hi friends, I've been super busy lately and that would explain partially, my lack of posts. The other part is that I'm really lazy. Anyway, enough about slacking and further slacking. I have a bow tutorial for you all today!

Supplies Needed:
- grosgrain ribbon that measures 1.5 inches
- smaller ribbon to wrap around the middle (I used one that measures 3/8 inch)
- a glue gun & glue sticks
- any kind of hair barrette you want (I used a long metal barrette these long barrettes.)
- a lighter

LET'S GET STARTED!

First of all measure out and cut two 8 inch segments from your larger 1.5 inch ribbon. Heat seal your ends then fold this ribbon directly in half (do for both edges on both pieces of ribbon).

Leave a small crease in the ribbon with your nail if you are able. Then fold each end of the ribbon in to meet that middle crease.

Add a thin line of glue from your flue gun and glue and secure those ends to the middle. Do this twice with the two separate pieces of ribbon. One will be for the top of the bow and one for the bottom.

Next, fold your glued ribbon in half 'hot dog style' and hold with your fingers to create a small crease, add a small dot of glue directly in the middle of your crease and hold until dry and cool.

Next, fold the top part of the ribbon you just glued back from the dried glue and glue that portion of the ribbon to the back (on top of) the glue you just allowed to dry. Repeat for the bottom. See images if this makes no sense.

Now you are going to want to make sure everything is fluffed out the way you want the bows to look and line up the ribbons so that they are stacked upon each other. Once you are satisfied glue them into place.

Place these ribbons aside to dry and measure out your 3/8 into one 4 inch segment and one segment that is long enough to cover and slightly overlap your barrette. Heat seal all of these ends. Go ahead and glue down your shorter segment of ribbon to cover your barrette and overlap and glue your edges down to the bottom of the barrette.

Once the glue has dried, line up your barrette to the back of your bow and glue the middle and ends down to the ribbon. Now you can align the other piece of 3/8 ribbon and begin to wrap and glue it around as you go. Mainly glue down the backs and sides as necessary.

And that's it! Fluff them out and slap them on your head as a last minute accessory! Play around with different ribbons and cabochons if you are feeling adventurous. My tribal / aztec bow actually has 3 eight inch segments of ribbon and a really cute cabochon glued to the front of it.

My Disney / YouTube Project

Hello friends. It's been such a long time since I have blogged anything (I do have a bow tutorial in the works and would also like to get a few wreath tutorials posted as well before Valentine's Day). But here is a microscopic peek into my current YouTube project.

Without giving it all away, I am working on something Disney related that will hopefully be appearing on YouTube within the next month. I seriously wish I had better means of editing videos, but I am a firm believer that content wins over the amount of slaving away that editing can provide. And I can just use the editor that YouTube provides until I am able to purchase better video editing software (assuming my craptop laptop could handle it).

Here are a few Disney pictures I am using for inspiration:

How cute are these chibi like drawings of Disney's female characters, Male characters and female antagonists as busts? I saw them and saved them to the computer immediately! I am in love with the style.

And how about these Female Disney-Inspired Chibi pinups?

Here is also a photo of Disney characters if they had to participate in the Hunger Games. I snagged this picture from a Huffington post article. I kind of hate the way they divided them into the districts that mirror the actual books and think it would be really interesting if they would have come up with their own special exports for their districts. I dunno...

That's all I can reveal at this time. I'll be sure to keep you all updated once the videos/ drawings start appearing. I've finally finished planning it out on paper and can get around to my draft drawings.