2015 Resolutions

Hello! Happy 2015 everyone! I'm going to write a short post about what my 2015 resolutions are going to be. Hopefully, I can stick to these or actually accomplish them by the end of this year!

1. Exercise consistently - I have a terrible habit of exercising for about 2-3 weeks and then quit for months. After feeling bad about myself, I pick it back up and then quit again. You know the endless cycle. This year, I want to exercise at least 3 times a week and just keep it up! I've actually be working out for 12 days straight since December 23 (only took a break on Christmas Day) so I can look good for my cosplays for PAX South on January 23-25th!

2. Finish projects/cosplays I start - Yes, I am a procrastinator. I admit it. I love to start projects, but I never finish them. This year, I REALLY want to try hard and get the top priority projects and cosplays done!

3. Blog more often - This blog has had ups and downs of activity and inactivity. I need to keep it going and keep it interesting while trying to build up my audience.

4. Draw more - Art is the one thing that got me started in the creative world. I haven't drawn consistently since 2006 so it's about time I pick it back up.

Well, that's all my 2015 resolutions! They're bound to change or I may come up with even more along the way. What's y'alls resolutions for the new year? Feel free to share in the comments below! Thanks for reading! :)

Plus Sized Skirt to Cute Paper Bag Skirt

Things suddenly became a little busier in our house. With the last semester of school coming to an end for my husband, we are suddenly faced with decisions regarding our future. Some of you may know that my husband is a Machinima Youtube commentator. This means that he makes money from sponsors and video views on his video game commentary videos. 

Recently, we sat down and had a long chat. He revealed that he wanted to continue his Youtube career instead of pursuing a job in mechanical engineering. It may seem like a waste of a bachelor's and master's in business degrees, but the income he currently brings in is no small amount of pocket change. Since I've technically been unemployed, we've been living off his income alone for the past 5 months. I'm happy for him too! I'm glad that he's found something that he truly enjoys doing and while making some hard earned money.

Before Brad told me that he was taking on an internet career, I had hoped that we would move wherever he got an engineering job. Now that he'll be working from home, I actually get to choose where we move. 

So, I chose the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area in Texas. My big brother's family lives there and the state is faring quite well in this down economy. Jobs are aplenty and the healthcare industry is bustling in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This means I can expand my horizons in my nursing career. Along with applying for jobs and searching for houses, I've been cleaning and preparing for a visit from my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew this weekend. I'm so excited!

Since I've been too busy to craft new things I decided to post about something I made awhile back... a chambray skirt!

New Jewelry!

I have been slacking at posting..... very badly. I apologize. I would say that I've been busy, but that hasn't really been the case. Fiberluxe and I have signed up to share a booth to be vendors at the Starkville Holiday Bazaar in November so I've been making lots of jewelry. If you saw one of my older posts, you'll probably remember I was working on some swag for my husband's fans.

But I finally finished them! 

DIY Dryer Hose Pumpkins

The autumn themed crafts continue! I did not make my own tutorial for this post, but I will provide links to the two blogs where I found the tutorials. The good thing is that these are pretty cheap and quick to make! I made 2 pumpkins from 5 feet (4 inch diameter) of dryer hose and it cost about $7 total for the hose and spray paint.

Aren't they cute? I'm currently obsessed with white pumpkins. I really don't like the color orange in general, so I chose ivory! Plus, ivory pumpkins are really unique! I know they exist, but I've never seen one in real life. The stick for the "stem" was found in my backyard and I had some leftover gold organza ribbon from an old project that I tied around the stems.

Here's how they look before painting and after hot gluing together.

Winter Shorts (And How To Wear Them)

Ahh... the approach of fall... one of my favorite seasons of the year! Except, it's not coming fast enough. In the South, fall and spring only exist about 3 weeks out of the year. Right now, it's 98°F with a heat index of 105°F with no drop of temperature in sight. Oh don't worry, this isn't a heat wave. This is normal. It's just Mississippi. :P

Most of you probably think it's ridiculous to wear shorts in the winter. Since it rarely drops below 40°F during the winter in the South, I think shorts (with tights or leggings) is a fabulous idea although the trend hasn't really sparked down here. Then again, Mississippi doesn't catch onto trends as quickly as the rest of the nation. :/

Although I get strange looks from strangers wearing shorts in the dead of winter, I don't really care. For one, I don't get cold very easily. Ever since my wool pants to shorts tutorial, I have been looking for wool pants of every color to convert into shorts. This week, I've made a pair of brown, navy, and black leather shorts!

Feast your eyes!

I can't wait to wear these! I was sweating just trying on these outfits! Let me break down on how to wear these babies.

I've been a busy bee...

Crafting! Phew. If you follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or even Etsy, you've probably been flooded by my posts of new items I've stocked in my store today. It started with a commission from a friend of mine who wanted a Dr. Who Tardis pendant.

Cuttin Up... T-Shirts!

I love weekends. Besides the laziness and no work aspect, mostly everyone is off work and they have time to hang out and do things. Since I'm currently unemployed, I occasionally feel disconnected from the rest of society since most of my friends work or go to school during the week and I don't see them as often.

This past Saturday, Ashlei of Fiberluxe and I got together to make cutout t-shirts! Ashlei wanted a hardcore skull cutout tee like this one at Hurley. If you follow me on Pinterest (or known me for a few years) you'd know that I love anything with wings. I found this shirt at Bershka and decided to copy it.

Fishy Fishtail Skirts

You guys. It's freaking HOT! So my air conditioning has been broken for over 24 hours now and our landlord won't send anyone to fix it till Monday morning! UGGGH... I know I grew up without A/C, but I'm now spoiled by it's goodness. I would like it back, plz. :(

My craft room is sweltering but I shall keep on crafting!!!! I have managed to make one using Morning by Morning's maxi skirt tutorial.

I didn't want one maxi length so I made a shorter version above the knee length that tapered to right above my calves in the back

Tattoo Your Heart On My Shoulder

Today's post is a little different from most that I do. This one is a little more on the personal side of things. I saw a post on Twitter from a friend of mine asking for opinions on a tattoo she wanted to get. So I tweeted back with a few suggestions. She popped up online and we ran through a few things and I took out a 3x5 index card and started sketching away...

DIY Sweetheart Bandeau Top [with link to tutorial]

Strapless tops were never one of my favorite pieces of apparel. I was a bit self conscious about my shoulders and since most of them were tight fitting, it made me dread my lower stomach pooch.

This summer, I've been looking for new pieces to wear and I found this tutorial by fake-leather via Pinterest. It looked pretty simple and I tried it out on a spaghetti strap tank I already owned but never wore.

The verdict?

I LOVE it! I've made 5 of them in different colors! The tops look especially cute with skirts and a big belt so it hides my stomach pooch quite well.

There are a few steps not covered in the tutorial that I'm going to run through.

I started with this coral colored tank:

In fake-leather's tutorial, it doesn't seem like her top had a built-in shelf bra. I really hate shelf bras with a passion and despite looking high and low for a tank that DID NOT have one, all I found were ones WITH shelf bras.

So, I'm going to show you how to cut out that shelf bra and take off the straps! All you need is a pair of sharp scissors, a steady hand, and patience. 

First, find the side seams and pick which ever side to start cutting.

Next, start cutting from the bottom where the elastic is. Cut along the seam and then veer off either left or right. Your preference.

From here, just cut carefully around the upper part near the top elastic all the way around. Be careful and try not to cut the fabric on the back side or you'll have holes show up when you wear it. A good way to prevent is to take it slow and keep your hand under the bra to make sure the scissors are between the shelf bra and tank fabric. 

After you've finished that, you can cut straight across on the front of the tank (see fake-leather's tutorial) but don't cut the back straps yet! I've found if you just cut it off, it's left with these irritating "nubs" that will dig into your backside when you wear it and makes it 100x hard to sew through on your machine or by hand.

So, take your seam ripper or your scissors and carefully find the threads that hold down your straps and snip them ONE AT A TIME. 

Do this for both straps and now you're just left with the strapless tank body to finish! Follow the rest of fake-leather's [tutorial] and you're on your way to a cute sweetheart bandeau top for summer!!!

Here's how mine turned out! (Disregard the dusty mirror and stomach pooch.)