Superhero Gift: Green Lantern Apron

On Facebook, I often see friends posting pictures of things that are funny or interesting. I usually acknowledge this in passing, but, before a birthday, everything holds new significance.

Naturally, when I saw her "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing over some superhero and video game themed aprons by "Bethany Sew and Sew," I was inspired. Already interested in expanding my sewing skills, I decided to try my hand at making one. So, after fishing for as many pictures and free patterns online as I could find, I "Frankensteined" them together into this:

Excuse the Quality... Old Camera Photo.

I'm still really proud of this project. Cute skirt, cute pockets. Relatively clean edges on the logo. Not to mention the difficulty of sewing a circle without raw edges. (This is all speaking from the perspective of a relative newbie.) There are straps which tie around the back and neck, which was my preference since I wanted it to be as adjustable as possible. 

If I get a chance to take a newer photo, I will post one. It went over really well and she seemed impressed that I made it. I was too! 

(Don't you always find that you end up giving your best projects away?) 

Source: Bethany Sew and Sew

Holiday Crafts: Gift Wrapping, Cookies, and a Floral Centerpiece

I have taken forever to update this, but there was a lot of creativity to be had during the holidays. I was "employed" to be the family gift wrapper and, when I was not dying from being hunched over for so long, I was able to really get in there and have some fun.

You'd better appreciate this, Dad...

This was one of my favorite packages. I had a lot of small strips of ribbon that I had collected over the course of many Christmases, so I used them to create interesting bows.

There are some other designs that I would like to try in coming years that involve using a lot more uncut ribbon at once. But, I think this turned out well enough that maybe those who are used to throwing the piles of beautiful ribbon away, or who pass over it for the cheaper stuff, might consider picking up and saving or buying a bit in the future. It can be reused as long as you care to keep it and makes for the most beautiful packages, which may imply a lot more effort than you actually put forth!

Cookies and flowers after the cut!

Inspired By RobinMosesNailArt: Painted Hummingbird and Flowers

Ahhhhh! I love this cute hummingbird:

A little bird and my new top coat. <3 <3 <3

It was fun and not difficult to paint. I refer anyone interested to go to her blog, http://robinmosesnailart.blogspot.com/, or search for her on YouTube. She is incredibly talented and encouraging to those who attempt her designs. Seriously, she seems like a super nice person and that's just what I gather from her comments on the internet.

Update
Someone made a comment about liking the pink color on facebook and I thought I'd also mention here too what the colors are! The pink is a bubble gum color from Elf and I went over it with a sheer pink with pink and blue glitter from Sinful Colors. I thought it'd look cute since the hummingbird would be more matte. The colors of the hummingbird are just a mix of different blues and greens that I had, plus a little white and yellow.

Courtesy of CutePolish: Starry Night Nail Art

After watching some nail art videos on youtube, I ran across this one by Cutepolish, who I had already subscribed to, and, inspired, decided to try my luck at mimicking Van Gogh in miniature.
For those interested, here's the video:






And here's my end result:

My attempt at Starry Night... Holding film to look hip.

I really had fun doing this, and I think it turned out pretty well, aside from some messiness and UFS (Ugly Finger Syndrome). And, after receiving some new dotting tools and a bottle of Opi base/top coat for my birthday, expect more of this kind of thing in the future. All I have to do now is pick up a cheap acrylic paintbrush and my tool set will be pretty complete.

And, because I can't leave this without letting the artist speak for himself:

The Starry Night (1889) - Vincent Van Gogh

Something Old, Something New: Banana Cream Pie and Chocolate Roll

I did some baking recently so I am going to post pictures of both things at once. If there is any interest in recipes, I may add them later.

First, my attempt at a banana cream pie:

It wasn't so bad, but meringue is something I will be practicing with more in the future, as I haven't quite figured it out yet. Also, braiding pie crust is a pain, but it looks beautiful when you're done.

Next, an old classic for my family, a  chocolate roll... I am eternally grateful to my Austrian grandmother, who picked up this recipe somewhere on the way in life and has made them since as long as I can remember. I made this one half because of my birthday and half because I had some whipping cream that was going to be thrown out if it wasn't used. I don't think I have to convince anyone that it didn't go to waste:

That is and will probably remain one of my favorite desserts. It is so light... best holiday "cake" ever.

New Beginning...

This is just an introductory post for now.

I'm planning on using this blog mainly as a place to post pictures of things I've made or am working on, and maybe to share some of my thoughts. I've started these before, but don't usually keep up with them. Hopefully, I'll manage to stick with this one.

Until later!