Lately...

Welp school started today and I'm slowly, and reluctantly, getting back into the swing of things. I always feel so overwhelmed the first day back when my professors go over all of the projects, assignments, quizzes, etc for the semester. However, I am looking forward to spending some time in the field (an elementary school in the area) working with a class two days a week. Posting may or may not be a little slow around here as I get adjusted. 

I did want to pop in and share some of the things I've been up to lately. Brandon, my boyfriend, just transferred over to University of North Texas, which means we'll be doing the long distance thing for a while. He's got a whole new apartment and a whole new roommate so I wanted to help him out by making some pillows for his place. 

We found this great ship print linen-y fabric at Ikea. He's kind of got a worldly traveler theme so it fit in perfectly with his room. 

I used this great tutorial over at Running With Scissors. I love that the inserts can be easily removed when the covers need to be washed. 

I also finally got around to making scrapbook tile magnets. This is one of those projects that has taken me FOREVER to get done. I purchased the tiles a year or two ago and then just recently ordered these super strong magnets from Amazon. Of course now I can't find the original source of the magnets. This isn't where I first saw it but I like how in this post she uses them to write a message on a metal tray. 

I know I already mentioned this cutting board...but seriously I love it! I have very little working space in this tiny kitchen of mine and the board gives me so much more surface area. 

It fits perfectly over the sink and can hold a lot of vegetables. 

and I do mean a lot! 

Anyways, I looked into conditioning treatments for it and came upon this awesome mineral oil and beeswax recipe. Of course I got it all over my hands in the process of slathering the board, and I couldn't believe how soft it made them. It really conditioned the dry, peely areas I tend to get around my nail beds. 

I added a little sugar to help exfoliate. With mineral oil and beeswax selling fairly inexpensively, I think this could be a good replacement for expensive hand scrubs. 

It's like a manicure in a jar!

I realize there is some controversy on whether or not mineral oil is okay for skin. The argument is usually more focused on infant use (mineral oil is what is used for baby oil). Personally, I think it's okay  especially in small doses on hands, but you may want to decide for yourself after reading up. It's just a little discovery that I thought I'd pass on to you. 

Here are some articles I referenced in my research:

Beauty Myth or Fact: Mineral Oil is Bad for Your Skin

Mineral Oil: The Good, The Bad, and The Fact

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Glitter Bow Tie Flats: a tutorial

I saw these shoes (below) on Pinterest over a year ago. Like so many other Pinterest finds I had trouble finding the original source of the shoes. I never "pinned" them, but for some reason the idea kept coming back to me. I loved the simple idea to dress up some flats with a little bow tie. Then I saw this post from Ashely at Lil Blue Boo where she turns her daughter's plain TOMS into pink glitter shoes, and the idea came full circle. I love the glamour of the champagne gold glitter and it's just an added bonus that goes with almost everything. 

With school fast approaching, I've really made an effort to purchase some more teacher-appropriate clothes (I'll be in an elementary school two days a week). I love the skinny pants + ballet flats look. I can really see pairing these flats with any of the number of skinny pants I've purchased lately. 

via

Materials

 Fine Glitter

Mod Podge

Paint Brush

Scrap Fabric (mine is polyester lining)

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This would be a great project to upcycle some old worn shoes, but I bought these at Ross on sale for $15.

Because my flats were made of a shiny, slick leather-like material, I was afraid my paint would peel right off. I decided to sand the shoes down with some 60 grit sandpaper to give the paint a little more grip. 

Post-sanding:

Per Ashley's instructions I  mixed about 3 parts glue to 1 part glitter (I skipped the water that she used in her mixture).

It's important to use a fine glitter to get the best look. I love Martha Stewart glitter for this reason. 

Paint the shoes all over, and let dry. Paint one to two more coats and let dry.

While you're waiting for your shoes to dry, you can start working on the bows!  Cut your material as shown, 4 of each rectangle. 

Pair the rectangles and pin.

And sew with a 1/4" inseam.

For the two fatter rectangles sew as shown below. Be sure to leave a small gap to turn out the shape.

Sew the skinnier rectangles as shown:

Clip out the corners.

Turn inside out and press on a low setting.

Hand or machine sew the gap closed with a matching thread.

Line up a small and a big rectangle.

Sew in place.

Fold the tie in half (long ways) and wrap around the fabric.

Hand or machine sew the tie in place.

A strong glue like E-6000 is best for attaching the bow, but hot glue would work in a pinch. 

And done!

Quite the transformation I'd say. 

I love them! What do you think? So many possibilities here with different colored glitter and printed fabric. Maybe even channel Dorothy and go with a red glitter. Could be cute (:

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Moving + Lou's Growing Up

I'm kind of in that awkward time again between school starting and summer ending. For me it means I've been doing a lot of not-sewing. Between back-to-school shopping, wedding planning/ parties for my sister, and working as a nanny, I just haven't found much time to sew. 

This weekend I moved apartments again. When I got the keys Friday night, I found some not so welcomed guests in the couch (it's a furnished apartment). A spider and a beetle were just hanging out under the cushions, and a cricket was chilling in my bathtub. Needless to say it took a lot of work to get the apartment clean, and liveable. A couple cans of bug bomber from Home Depot killed all the bugs (I hope!), and some sweeping, mopping, and lysol-ing cleaned up the place quite nicely. 

This is what I'll call home this Fall: 

Isn't this cutting board great? I found it for less than $10 at Ikea. 

I may have gone a little overboard in the kitchen with the over the cabinet decorations.

Most of my decor are things I've picked up at thrift stores or craft projects from the past (birds on a wire here, and paper hearts here).

This little nook is shaping up to be my sewing area. Soon I'll be back doing what I do. 

While in College Station, I decided to take some new "glamour shots" of Louie. I tried to mimic the pictures from this post.

To the left Lou's about 3 months, and to the right he's 8 months. I tried to get him to sit up like in the original picture, but this poor puppy was so tired that this is the best I could get. He looking more and more fox-like with all that long hair. 

You can really see the difference in size here. I miss that tiny little fluff ball from March. 

I think moving day was rougher on him than me. I couldn't get him to keep his eyes open. 

Oh and I've found that Louie HATES the singing cats in the Meow Mix commercial, which is odd since he used to live with a kitty. Something about the tune I guess..

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I just learned that there was a shooting in College Station today (I left yesterday) that has killed 3, including an officer. The gunman is in custody and others are injured. Please pray for the victims and their families. More information here. 

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