DIY Skirt

I'm quite proud of my DIY skirt .  Its not fancy but I love it.  The blue with white polka dot fabric I bought a while back for another project that I never got around to doing.  I started out following instructions for a DIY paperbag skirt, but I didn't follow them exactly when cutting the material so I ended up adding pleats in the front and back to make the shape less boxy.  I think it turned out pretty well for my first non-costume wearable sewing project.

I went to Burlington Coat Factory for the first time since high school.  There is one close to the grocery store I like to shop at so it may become my new favorite quickly.  Before we bought our house I loved Ross, and it was next door to a grocery store too!  I got this mustard yellow sweater at Burlington last week for $12.  They seem to have a lot of good deals and I had an amazing cashier who was too lazy/in too much of a hurry to look up prices for unmarked or items not scanning properly and rang up a skirt and shirt for me as $7.99!

Sweater: Burlington Coat Factory-Mustard yellow in weave striped sweater-$12 (cute mustard top here, or here)
Skirt-DIY-Polka dot skirt by Me-Don't remember price of material.... (polka dot skirt here)
Tights: Kmart-Nude Scallop shaped net tights-$5
Shoes: Mervyn's- Black wedge square toe heels- Oh how I miss that store $12 (similar here)
Approximate Total Cost-$29

What to do with all those wedding cards...

Make an scrapbook album of course!

WARNING: I am NOT a "scrapbooker". I did not buy fancy stickers and stuff to put in it however,I may have indulged in a book of pretty paper that was on sale. I simply cut up the cards cause they had their own pretty designs, cartoons and decorations and glued them to pages. Sometimes I needed to photo copy the notes from guests to include as they were written on the backside of the pretty stuff. Other times it required careful deconstruction of the card by taking apart different layers. I tried to pair up similar looking designs or buy type of guests...grouping together related family members or close friends. Anyway, here is the result.

The cover is actually a card sent by my relatives in England. The card came in its own box and actually had several large pages inside and confetti!  I just love the art deco style of the card and the little details like the lace print down the left side and embedded rhinestones. 

The first page has a card signed by many of our friends at a picnic we had before the wedding.  The picnic was to celebrate my recent graduation and our upcoming wedding.

I just loved this peacock! I hate birds but make exceptions for peacock designs and penguin everything.

Love all the pale pink on this page and the contrasting green background!

One of my favorite card designs.

Just love the flowers going down this card.

Just thought I'd share what I did with my box of wedding cards!  Maybe it'll inspire someone to dig out their box and re-purpose them into something new. I had thought about adding photos to the scrapbook but decided my bright colorful Indian wedding clashed with the white and light colored designs of most wedding cards, but I imagine it could go quite well with a traditional American wedding.

DIY Rakhi

Rakhi Day, as my sister calls it, or Raksha Bandhan is an Indian occasion that celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.  The ceremony involves tying a rakhi (decorated tread/bracelet) around your brother's wrist, feeding him a few sweets and applying a tika (vermilion or saffron dot) to his forehead.  These gestures symbolize her love and a promise to care for him.  In return, the brother offers his sisters a gift as a promise to look after and care for her(in my family's case usually money :D).  See wikipedia article for a more complete description.

In my immediate family I have only one sister, but my cousin brother lives locally so we tie rakhis for him.  Also, my dad and uncle's sisters live half way across the country and half way across the world,  so we 3 sisters ( me, my sister and older cousin sister) tie rakhis for our dads on their behalf.

My mom makes a rakhi every year to send to her brother.  You can buy them in Indian grocery stores, but she's a craft savvy and creative person and enjoys the extra gesture of sending something homemade.  I've picked up on her tradition and make my rakhis as well.

MATERIALS:

•  Ribbon
• Craft Glue
• Decorative Lace
• Gift Wrap
• Left over material from altering my sister's lengha

Really, I just looked around the house for pretty, shiny, sparkly items.  So the main materials you really need are ribbon, craft glue and some creativity.

FINISHED PRODUCT:

 This Rakhi was super simple to make, no gluing or sewing required.  I simply wove the ribbon through the middle of the lace which conveniently had little elastic bands running through it.  If your going to make a rakhi, be sure to cut the ribbon long enough to go around your brother's wrist and tie easily.

This Rakhi required some gluing.  I cut out around the peppermint candy design on the wrapping paper and glued it to the gold ribbon.  I then glued the gold flower bootie (I swear that's what they call them in Hindi).  Next I cut out the gem stone and sequin circle from my sister's scrap lengha piece and glued it on top.

Taj Modge Podge

Last week my husband and I completed a puzzle of the Taj Mahal, the Indian icon of everlasting love. The Taj brought my husband and I a little closer together. We worked together to complete a shared goal and accomplished it. After trying so hard to buy house and failing numerous times it helped to do something together and finish it. It also kept us from our usual evening activity of catching up on DVR'ed shows or the netflix queue.

Once we finished the puzzle, I wanted to frame it to place over the mantel of our future home. I did some research on the internet and decided to try using Mod Podge glue to affix the puzzle pieces to one another. First, I used a foam sponge to spread a thin layer of glue on the front of the puzzle. After it dried I repeated the process on the front and back twice. It worked really well and I could flip it over after the first application without worrying about it coming undone. Next I used spray glue to affix it to a black mat board and then the mat board to the picture frame backing. The finished product turned out great!

So, now since I've bought Mod Podge glue I figured I may as well try a craft type use. I decided to finally to do something with all the floral photographs I take. Some people stop and smell the roses. I stop and take photos of every flower in my path. A hobby of mine that tends to annoy those walking beside me cause of the frequent stopping.

What you'll need to decoupage photographs:

1. Photos, not on photo paper. You can either photocopy existing prints or just print out photos on normal printer paper.
2. Canvas, I picked up mine on sale at Jo Anns
3. Mod Podge glue, or I here diluted Elmers works well
4. Acrylic Paint
5. Sponge Brushes

1. Paint the canvas a color of your choosing. I chose lime green because its my favorite color and accent color in my apartment.
2. Cut or tear photographs and experiment with different layouts till you find one you like.
3. Use sponge brush to apply a thin layer of glue to the back of a photo and place on the canvas. Apply pressure and smooth out the edges. Repeat for all the photos and let the glue dry, approximately 25-30 minutes.
4. Next apply glue to the entire canvas. Be sure to brush in the same direction, being careful of photo corners. Repeat 3-4 times allowing the canvas to dry between applications.

And, Viola! Your finished original and cheap art piece!

Of course, instead of creating art for the new place I should be packing. But hey, at least i scored free boxes off of craigslist!