The Cover
How it's usually set up - a little neat but still a little messy (AKA me)
Hot glued these straps on
February is here! (well... has been...)
Thanks for reading!
A few of the finished cards
What should I write on this one?
I found this fun rubber stamp at Michaels while shopping with my mom. Michaels has always been a usual destination for us as we are both very crafty and enjoy finding good deals! The ink I used can also be found at Michaels (as well has half of the things I own...) The blank cards themselves came from Target from the discount section (where the other half of the things I own come from!)
Mason Jar Stamp - Perfect Size!
The setup
I guess one of the perks of being single is that I don't need to worry about a box of chocolates waiting for me! Ha - instead I can just enjoy Valentines Day for the love that it brings!
Thanks for reading!
Big ol' pommy!
With New Jersey being in the dead of winter, there's only two things that are always on my mind. 1. SPRING. 2. Knit hats. Unfortunately, not too much I can do about Spring, but I decided to knit myself a cute hat instead. I haven't been knitting too often, I think the last project I knit was a cowl - in the fall. It feels like its been so long!
Lion Brand Yarn - Wool Ease in Fisherman
The hat was a quick knit with a simple 2x2 rib and a plain stockinette body. The hat decreasing was a new method for me - usually I prefer to have 4 main points of decrease but since I knew I wanted to add a pom pom, I put in 8 varying decreases. This made it a little flatter on top. Overall the hat turned out nice! I wish I had made the ribbing a bit longer (3-4 rows more!) but otherwise it does a good job at keeping my head warm.
Pretty in Pink
To make the pom I used a large Clover pom pom maker. You could definitely use cardboard/DIY the pom pom another way, but I really wanted to try using the pom maker. It was so easy and the result was a beautiful BIG round pom pom!
In all its glory - my new hat
I hope that I will try to knit more this year. Its tough for me to just sit down and relax, but sometimes it needs to be done!
Thanks for reading!
Something I admire when I look at other blogger's (or even buzzfeed posts,) is ORGANIZATION!
Come on in!
Being organized is certainly not a skill I am too good at. My bedroom at home is a classic example of this - for yeeeeaaaarrrsss now it has been a mess. It was pretty common for me to just throw whatever on the ground and just leave it to future Caroline to take care of it. (Thank you, Future Caroline ☆)
WELL NO LONGER! (well... maybe sometimes...) I am now living by the rule: if it takes 5 seconds to do it - just do it. Its amazing how many little things add up over time and by practicing this helps the list stay low. This extends to more than just my room of course, but those things don't photograph as nicely as my new set up.
I have a desk again - and STORAGE!
Here's a few highlights of my room's transformation. It was really an experience going through all the little nooks and crannies within my room (...and I didn't even go through everything...) I saw things that I thought I had thrown out long ago and also plenty of things that I was happy to "re" dispose of. Cleaning my room was more than just tidying up my workspace, it was an emotional purge. I donated several bags and boxes filled with old clothes and toys that I hope will suit someone better than myself.
Me + PUG PILLOWS!
I don't have too many photos of the before - it was all pretty embarrassing. All this being said, there are reasons for the messiness. I notice that when I am going through a depressive period my room gets to peak disaster and that I really just don't care. For years now I wouldn't let anyone enter my room just for fear of what they may think of me. (If she can't even keep her bedroom clean - is she really able to take care of herself?)
The truth is, I'm starting to accept parts of me that I can't really change and that includes my depression. We'll talk about that later!
Thanks for reading!
On my bed
While browsing Pinterest (as always,) I saw the cutest cactus pillow! So I starting thinking... I love cacti... I love pillows... why not buy it? Well, unfortunately... it was sold out! However, this just pushed me to design and sew my own! Here's the steps below.
Used some green corduroy from my fabric hoard
#1. Fabric Selection
I have had this piece of 3 yd green corduroy for over a year now, just waiting for the right project to use it. Honestly I mostly bought it in the first place just because I love corduroy! Bought from JoAnn Fabric. Its a good idea to use a fabric with a bit more structure to it.
Simple paper base/design
#2. Design the Base
First I drafted a base design for my pillow and I kept it pretty simple. Just the base, two arms, and then the middle/side part (a long strip, ~2.5" wide). Next I cut out 2x of each piece.
The arms! They look cute now, but a real pain to sew if you aren't careful
#3. Cut out the pieces
Pin the paper pieces to your fabric and cut them out (be mindful of inside vs outside of fabric!) I am not a very experienced sewer, but I have sewed projects like dresses and skirts over the years. In a past post, I sewed a shirt! So this was a bit of a challenge, but a fun one!
I used white thread to sew on all of the details, just using my machine. No hand embroidering!
#4. Pick your threads
#4. Pick your threads
Pick a contrasting color to your fabric. I chose white so it resembles the needles and because it really shows up against the green. Thread your machine. I decided to machine sew and I don't regret it at all. Its a more finished look, and I really had fun playing with the sewing machine.
The most important thing I found was to test before you sew
#5. Test Sew(!!!)
Before I start sewing, I always test my gauge on a scrap piece of the same fabric I'm using. Doing this would help me correct it, as well as give me an idea of how the thread would show up on the fabric.
First stripe on the body!
#6. Seeing Stripes
To make the stripes show up more, I sewed three straight lines in a row. Using the machine's different needle placements helped a great deal, and it was pretty cool to figure that out! My lines were nowhere near straight but its a little quirky and cute.
Five stripes total for the body
While it took me a while to finish just ONE side of the body, it was worth it. I really like the look of it, and decided to not put the X's on. Instead I used....
Fringe!
#7. Fringe
FRINGE! That's right. Fringe. I have never used fringe for a project before, so it was definitely a learning experience. I bought 3 yds thinking that would be enough for my pillow, but it turned out that it could only really cover one side. I sewed the fringe in between the front and the middle strip. While it was reeeeally annoying at first, the effect was really sweet and emulates the needles.
Final Product! Woohoo!
So thats it! Well, to finish you gotta sew the rest of it all together (front + middle strip + back,) but then its done. I really love my pillow and have received tons of compliments on it. Its a perfect decorative pillow to add a quirky statement to the bedroom or where ever it is put!
Thanks for reading!
Goodbye 2017!
2017 was a year of many exciting things, from graduating with my associates, working at Disney World for 3 months, all the way to traveling across the country for the first time - but it also had some down parts to it. I don't want to get into the bad as much, but 2017 certainly wasn't cheerful all the time. But, I want to thank you 2017 for allowing me to meet new people and have such great experiences.
2018 has been here for a few weeks now and it has already been a rollercoaster of sorts. I have already experienced bouts of depression and smiles that made my jaw hurt. With that, I decided to make a list of all the things I really want to accomplish this year:
1. Maintain weight loss
2. Draw More
3. Take more photos
4. Do well in school
5. Be more organized
6. Explore/ Travel more
7. Do more things that make me feel "weird"
Within these past few weeks I've been trying to stick to these goals. I have a few daily mantras but my most used one, "Do Well, Be Well," rings in my head whenever I think about my challenges that lay ahead.
Another goal I really want to accomplish this year is to be better at posting on here. I like the idea of keeping records of things and this is perfect for that - so expect more posts! My current goal is 1 post a week - content will vary to whatever I'm feeling like writing about. I may also change my current blog layout, we'll see!
Thanks for reading and I hope you are having a great 2018 so far!
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