Saturday, November 24, 2012

DIY Kitschy Christmas Wreath

When it comes to Christmas decorations, I can't have enough kitsch. If it isn't kitschy and just a little bit frightening, then it isn't Christmas. Today I threw together a super kitschy wreath for the holidays. It's so bad, it's good. It makes me happy. Ahh...the holidays are finally here. (please excuse the low-light & poor quality of these photos. I couldn't wait for daylight.)



WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
-a styrofoam or straw wreath from the craft store
-wide fabric ribbon (the busier the better! I found mine at the thrift store)
-a stapler, scissors, hot glue gun
-pipe cleaners (or pipe-cleaner-esque ribbon! which is what I used)
-cardstock
-watercolor (or whatever paint you wanna use)
-a focal piece (you can use an old ornament!)


This isn't really much of a tutorial. Just a little peek at some of the steps. You'll wanna wrap the wide fabric ribbon around the styrofoam wreath, so it's completely covered. (I secured it with a couple of staples in the back!) Then, make a scalloped edge using pipe cleaners, bending and stapling every couple of inches. I made a little watercolor banner out of cardstock that I attached with hot glue. The part that really pushes it over the edge with kitsch is that slightly disturbing santa figurine that I scored at a local antique shop (also attached with hot glue). Whenever I go into antique shops this time of year, they're BURSTING with horrifyingly kitschy christmas figurines. So, if you wanna find a good focal piece for your wreath, this is the best time to find something!


Happy kitschy crafting!

-Elizabeth

PS: Use coupon code SBS2012 to get 20% off your purchase in the shop, for small business saturday!

Liebster Award, huzzah!

Howdy, folks! Trish from jellybonesblog.blogspot.com nominated me for a Liebster Award, and I feel all honored and stuff :) Thank you, Trish!


THE DETAILS:
-Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
-They must also answer the 11 questions the tagger has set for them.
-They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
-They must then choose 11 special bloggers to tag & award with the Liebster award with less than 200 followers.
-These lucky bloggers must be told in a comment on their blog






1.
Food is my biggest weakness. I wouldn't be broke all the time if it weren't for Thai food.

2. I'm married to my best friend! I met him on livejournal about 8 years ago, and he was my best blog friend ever! We just happened to live in the same small town, but we're both a couple of social weirdos so we didn't work up the courage to hang out in person until about two years ago, haha. and now we're married! and we're still livejournal friends :)

3. I'm really into signs and coincidences and numerology and stuff.

4. When I was a little kid, I had an imaginary friend named Cool Cat. I met him in a dream. He was a cartoon cat (kind of drawn in the style of Oliver & Co.) and he wore blue overalls. We would meet between the window and the curtain (where cats live!). Yeah. He was cool.

5. I haven't been to the dentist in like, 6 years. I hate going to the dentist, and the longer I go without seeing one, the more scared I am of going.

6. My favorite colors are: mustard yellow, burnt orange & kelly green.

7. I'm really into the idea of meditating, and I try to stay conscious of my thoughts and actions, but I'm not very good at it.

8. I have a tendency to be kind of a hermit. I'm socially awkward and sometimes the thought of hanging out with people freaks me out. I've been trying to break out of that, though.

9. Franklin & I have a dream to buy some land and build a stick-built yurt on it. First we're workin' on paying off all our credit cards, and then, we shall begin the process of saving!

10. My dream is to write and illustrate children's books. I'm working on one right now, and my goal is to finish it before I turn 25 (I've got 3 months left, yikes!)

11. I used to be really obsessed with keyboards and synthesizers, and the sight of a moog liberation would nearly bring me to tears. I still want one. Some day…






1. Why did you get into blogging?
I first started this blog to document every sort of creative project that Franklin & I worked on. We figured it would motivate us to stay busy with projects, and it has! It's become much more than that, now, though :)

2. What is your favorite season? Oh man. Fall is my favorite. I just love it when the sky is clear and the sun is out, but it's ridiculously cold and my windshield is frozen over. It confuses and delights me.

3. Elvis or the Beatles? The Beatles!

4. What is your favorite November food? Does custard pie count as a November food? I feel like it's hard to find a custard pie until November rolls around. Mmmm. I love custard pie.

5. What is your perfect Saturday afternoon? Thai food, iced coffee, a visit to the library, and antique shopping with Franklin.

6. Are you young at heart, or an old soul? (or both.) Maybe a little bit of both. Young at heart, in the sense that I'm still confused and frustrated by the way the world works? but an old soul in the sense that I seem to worry a lot about self-realization and consciousness and things. but I don't know if that's even an indication of an old soul, haha.

7. Do you have an idol?  If so, who? I really dig Charlyne Yi. Her art and her music and her comedy. She's so creative in so many different ways, and everything she makes is so full of innocence and honesty. "I never know what I’m doing.  I just like doing it. " ahh, love her.

8. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? If I could travel anywhere, with the promise of NO PLANE CRASHES (I'm terribly afraid of planes, and so is Franklin, and his fear makes mine even worse) then I'd like to revisit Greece and Hawaii. I've been to both places, but I'd really like to go enjoy it with Franklin.

9. City or country gal? I definitely prefer living in the country. The sights & the smells: trees galore, and the smell of wood fireplaces in the morning. We usually only go down into Seattle for shows - the driving and parking stresses me out!

10. Are you a hopeless romantic? Yes, for sure!

11. Any words of encouragement from one small-blog blogger to another? Um, let's see...don't feel bad to take breaks! Sometimes you get a lot on your plate and the blog just has to be put on the backburner for a little bit, but it's okay! We'll still be here when you get back :)






Well. Not quite 11. Not even close. But here are my nominations!

Alyssa from http://butterfliesonmars.blogspot.com/
Elana from http://room-334.blogspot.com/
Amanda from http://salvagedstrawberry.blogspot.com/

(and I would have picked Erica from caughtonawhim.blogspot.com, but Trish beat me to it!)







1.
What's your favorite album (or band, or song) to listen to in the winter?
2. If you won 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
3. What's your favorite section in the thrift store?
4. Do you have any weird collections?
5. What's your favorite childhood memory?
6. If you had to lose one of your senses (taste, smell, sight, sound, touch), which would you rather go without?
7. What's your favorite candy?
8. If you were forced to sing karaoke right now, what song would you sing?
9. What is your all-time favorite movie?
10. What do you hope to be doing 5 years from now?
11. What's your favorite swear word?

Well that was fun! I'm excited to see your answers!
Thanks again to Trish for the nomination! 'twas an honor & a delight, madam.

-Elizabeth






Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Staying Home Sick & Making New Brooches

I stayed home sick today with a really nasty cold. (Take your vitamins, kids!) I still feel as awful as I did when I woke up, but guilt is probably going to make me drag myself into work tomorrow. I hate calling in. Even if it's completely legitimate, I feel so guilty knowing that someone has to pick up extra slack because I'm not there. Blah. I spent the day in front of the heater, watching netflix and working on some new brooches for the shop.

Check 'em out:

Winter Is Coming Brooch // Cat Lady Brooch // Twin Peaks Series: Log Lady Brooch

Franklin & I started reading Game of Thrones, which my cousin recommended to us, and it's so good! She actually requested a custom brooch a little while ago that fits the same "Winter is coming" theme, so she was the direct inspiration for that first brooch. I've taken so long on the brooch she requested, though, so I'm probably just going to send it to her as a christmas present, haha. Hopefully she doesn't read this, or it won't be much of a surprise!

What I'm listening to:
Manta Ray by Pixies on Grooveshark

-Elizabeth

PS: What should I have for dinner?

Monday, November 12, 2012

Brooch the Subject: My Metallic Armadillo


I found this beauty at the goodwill for 3 bucks. Huzzah! It is shiny and rad, and I love it. I wish I knew a thing or two about working with metal. It would be sweet to add some metal brooches to the shop. Have any of you ever used metallic clay? I've always been curious about it, but too poor to give it a go, haha. Anyway, I was due for a "brooch the subject" post, so, there ya go!

In other news: I just discovered my new favorite coffee.

It is cheap. It is strong. It is tasty.

-Elizabeth

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Beehives and Handmade Clothes

I made a dress last night - wanna see? It's more like a top and a skirt, but that's the closest I can get to making a dress, it seems. It reminds me of an old clown costume my mom made for me when I was like three years old, haha. It just so happened to pair nicely with my golden mickey mouse ears:
Franklin and I planned a really big adventure for today, but we ended up being too sleepy to follow through, haha. Tomorrow! (maybe). Instead, we went for a drive down some leaf-strewn country roads and hit up an ice cream parlor on the way home. I attempted a beehive but failed, 'cause my hair's too short. So it's like part beehive, part pigtails?

1. my awesomely huge bow from ANYKIND (and my failed beehive/messy pigtails)
2.
thrifted shoes & a sweet little suitcase I recently found at the goodwill
3. new stoic & pariah brooch! I call it the lefty high five (click here for the listing)
4.
a better shot of the top - and the fun ice cream parlor we found on the way home (I had black licorice ice cream and it was lovely)

Hopefully tomorrow we can go on that crazy adventure. In the mean time, tonight will be spent playing dungeons and dragons (the board game) and drinking some two buck chuck. Huzzah!

-Elizabeth


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