DIY Holiday Gifts

For the holiday season, or for birthdays, I always enjoy making handmade gifts for friends. I decided to make a Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman for a Secret Santa gift, and a stuffed elephant ornament for my housemate who loves elephants.

Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman

To make these snowmen, I got 2 small Mason Jars and filled one with hot cocoa mix and the other with marshmallows and chocolate chips. I glued the jars together. Using velvet cloth and a piece of cardboard paper that I rolled into a tube (you could also use half of a toilet paper roll), I formed a hat. I sewed fabric to the round metal piece of the Mason Jar lid so that it would look more like a hat. I used small circles of velvet to make buttons, made an orange triangle nose, and wrapped him in a striped scarf. I also glued on two googly eyes.
 

Twin Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowmen

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Stuffed Elephant Ornament

 I sketched a rough elephant shape onto cardboard to make a template, and then cut out the following pieces:
-2 light pink body
-2 light pink ears
-1 dark pink H for underside of legs
-1 light pink tail

I sewed the pieces together and filled the elephant with stuffing. I also embroidered 2 little ball eyes. 

 

Kissing Elephant  Twins

<3 Mandy

More Retro Fashion: Socks

I've been really into retro fashion, hence the tattoo chokers I made recently. While I normally wear ankle socks with my Converse, I thought it'd be fun to jazz up some crew socks I hardly wear, as well as more frequently wear knee socks.

For a little bit of fun, I took these hot pink crew socks I wore in elementary school (amazing quality -- the elastic is still in tact!) and embroidered the words "PIZZA PUNK" on the outer ankle and an image of a pepperoni pizza slice onto the inner ankle.

When I was little, I used to wear white lace roll-down socks (apparently they sell them at American Apparel now), so I sewed some white lace to the edge of a pair of plain white socks.

u rox my sox
<3 Mandy

Halloween Costume: Mrs. White from Clue Boardgame

For Halloween this year, my housemates and I decided to dress up as characters from the boardgame "Clue" one night. I thought it'd be fun to be Mrs. White, the maid, as I had an idea of how I wanted to make my own costume. Seeing as how I love lace, I was excited about the idea of crocheting and sewing lace onto an elegant black dress.

To make this costume, I took on making the following pieces:
-black dress
-lace collar
-lace apron
-lace headpiece

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I bought a size XXL plain black T-shirt, which fit baggily enough on me to wear as a dress, and restyled it so it would fit more elegantly. I cuffed the sleeves to make them fit more regularly on my body, so they'd be less long and droopy. I sewed on a lace collar I crocheted (shown below), and also crocheted a leaf motif chain for each cuff. To prevent curling when worn or after washing, I secured all of the lace in place with lots of tiny stitches.
Though the shirt is pretty long, it's not quite long enough to wear alone as a dress. I plan to wear a white lace skirt or slip underneath to add some length and to have some pretty lace peeking out of the bottom.

The quaint collar I made a couple of years ago wasn't quite right for this project, so I wanted to make another one using lace. Referencing this video, I crocheted a white lace collar that more appropriately fit a maid costume.

My mom helped my dad to shorten his pant legs one time, and I decided the leftover cuff of one leg was the perfect size for an apron. I sewed around the edges to make them neat so they wouldn't fray, and I sewed a length of lace around the edges, ruffling it slightly. I left the top part open so it could act as a small pocket (perfectly sized to fit my phone and keys and other small accessories) while being worn. With the other pant leg, I unraveled the stitches and cut it into two thin strips, which I sewed on to act as strings to tie the apron around my waist.

  
Using a scrap of dark green velvet cloth and some lengths of black yarn, I crocheted little black flowers to top a barrette. I made 5 flowers in total: the center one adorned with little silver seed beads, the 2 surrounding it with white thread crocheted in, and the outer 2 plain black. I cut little velvet leaves and also wrapped my barrette with the green velvet. As a finishing touch, I added a bit of spotted white mesh tulle to make the barrette more maid-like.

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Worn with a pair of black knee-high socks and a pair of black shoes (either all-black Vans for a more casual and comfortable look, or heels for a fancier occasion), and a white lace skirt worn under the dress, my Mrs. White costume is complete! The dress I made can also be worn, not as a costume, but as a lovely shift dress.

Happy Halloween!
<3 Mandy

T-Shirt Upcycling

I had a couple of old plain shirts I wanted to add a bit of pizzazz to. With some leftover colored floss from making friendship bracelets, I sewed a little geometric design onto a piece of paper, which I glued onto a piece of colored paper to put into my sketchbook. I liked the design so much that I thought it'd make a perfect addition to the edge of a plain white shirt.

 

I thought the shirt still looked a little plain after embroidering it, so I decided to add a pocket.

First, I made a stencil of the pocket shape I wanted, and using leftover fabric scraps, ironed and sewed them into the proper shape. The two blue pockets were recycled from a blue linen dress that my mom cut and shortened, and I embroidered little designs on them. The floral pocket was made using a scrap from a kitchen curtain.

pocket stencil

I sewed 255 little red squares onto one of the blue pockets, which I added to the embroidered white v-neck.

I sewed a few little yellow x's to the other blue square, which I added to a green and white striped shirt.

I love how little changes to clothes I already have can make a big difference in my wardrobe. I'll be looking for more ways to add a little something to my plainer articles of clothing.

<3 Mandy

Green Smoothie

This green drink has been a health food trend for a little while, and I decided to try to make one of these smoothies for myself. It's a great way to put together and get your daily fill of a bunch of fruits and vegetables!

For my recipe, I blended together:
 - 3 handfuls of spinach
 - 1 apple
 - 1/2 avocado
 - 1 banana
 - 2 tablespoons chia seeds
 - 2 tablespoons flax seeds
 - 15 ice cubes
 - 1 cup water

 

You could always add more or less of each ingredient, or even try it out with different fruit or vegetable substitutions, but this is just the recipe I tried out, based on what I had in the kitchen. The drink is not very sweet but still tastes pretty good. It also makes a LOT of smoothie -- this recipe completely filled my blender, so I could only drink about half of it myself. It took about 30 minutes to make (including cleaning the blender afterwards), and it probably would turn brown if kept in the refrigerator. This is definitely a drink to make to share, and to drink fresh right away, so make sure someone is around to share it with! 

 

While this would make a nutritious breakfast, it isn't the most speedy food to make while in a rush in the morning... so I would recommend this drink for a post-workout thirst quencher for the late morning or early afternoon.

 

<3 Mandy

DIY '90s Tattoo Choker

 

Since being a little kid, I've always loved the look of wearing chokers. I've decided to recreate this retro look of American 1990s fashion with just some thin black plastic-coated wire, a pair of pliers, and some mini copper seed beads.

With 0.38mm Beadalon stringing wire, I measured out 3 feet for a bracelet and 6 feet for a choker. I folded the string in half and began looping it, and placed one seed bead at the end of each loop. After a couple hours of looping, I added a crimp bead to the end of my string. For the choker, I also added a lobster clasp to the end since my wire string is not very stretchy (this type of jewelry is usually made with stretchy magic string, but I used plastic-coated wire). The choker I used to wear when I was little has gotten pretty stretched out from being worn so much, so adding a clasp helps to prevent the jewelry from being stretched out as well.

I love the look the little beads add -- they help make the chokers look slightly more elegant, while still a little bit edgy.

<3 Mandy