Shop up!

Be sure to check out my Etsy shop and blog!

http://carecam.etsy.com

http://bycarrie.blogspot.com

And THEN go "Like" my shop on Facebook!

"Drumming Pants"

My boyfriend, Cody, requested some "drumming pants" from me. Basically they're not all that different from a typical trouser. Except for lighter fabric, "pirate" buttons, and a lime green zipper. The "pirate" buttons are buttons he chose that happen to be gold and have an anchor on them. He also decided it must have a zipper that absolutely did not match the pants fabric, but I think it works. They aren't quite finished yet but I do have a few sample photos of my current progress.

His Pirate Buttons:

Baguette Tray Love

Pretty sure I'm going to need one of these in the immediate future...

Its from PorterHouseCrafts.com. It's about $20. Pretty good deal, I guess. The price definitely won't stop me from getting it as soon as possible. I'm a frequent purchaser of baguettes so it will be a frequently used item. I know this makes me kind of a kitchen geek, but I loooove random partially unnecessary cooking items. Yeah, I can go old school with my baguettes and whip out a plain ol' cutting board, but where is the fun in that?!

Setting Up Shop

I'm going to be setting up my Etsy show very soon to sell some of my wonderful projects. As I add things to my shop I'll be sure to post about it here. So stay tuned!

Typing this post has been the hardest thing in the world to do right now because I think my kitten, Rue, thinks I'm unjustly attacking my keyboard and she is trying her hardest to stop me. I may need a couple bandaids...

Pillow Shams

Finally finished my pillow sham/covers today. Made them two-sided because I like to change my mind a lot, so any chance to give myself a variety is a good thing. I took two 24"x24" filler pillows for my "shams". Since I have a massively tall headboard, I wanted something that could withstand its height and not look dwarfed next to it. I'm thinking I could have gone bigger but I'm happy with the results. Sorry about the crappy iphone photos. My digital camera battery was dead at the time.

Side One (my favorite): Side Two:

My dog, Jack-Jack, was kind enough to pose for both photos.

Here's a close up of the fabric:

Wedding Centerpiece Tutorial

There's a contest next month on Craftster.org for the best craft tutorial. I've never made a tutorial before because I'm not the best at explaining things sometimes so bare with me on this.

I made these centerpieces last month for my brothers wedding and luckily enough I took several pictures during the processes. Here's an example of the final product:

Things you will need:

• Terra Cotta Tiles
• A whole lot of skinny twigs, Approx. 5-8 inches long
• Spray paint for the tiles (If you don't want the terra cotta natural color.)
• Hot glue gun
• Electric drill w/ masonry bit
• Fresh flowers
• Candle for center
• Assorted beads(optional)

Steps:

1. Drill holes into the tiles. I kind of just randomly went about the border of the tile and drilled in sort of a zigzag line. But You can make a straight line of wholes if you like. Its really however you prefer. Drill only about 3/4 of the way into the tile. No biggy if you go all the way through though.(But try at least not to.) Note: If you're going to paint the tiles, be sure to do this AFTER drilling the holes. Otherwise, you'll find yourself repainting them like I had to because the paint chipped off around the drilled holes.

2. Dust off the tiles and wipe down with a wet rag. Let dry.

3. Paint! Be sure to do so in a well ventilated area. If using spray paint, it's best to apply two coats as per the cans instructions. I used Krylon Brushed Metallic in Champange.

4. Use the Hot Glue Gun to glue the twigs into your drilled holes. I apologize for not having a photo of this step but this part is a two handed kinda deal. Put the glue directly into the hole then place one twig into the hole and hold it there for a about 10 to 15 seconds to let the glue set. It the twig is a little too large for the whole, carefully widdle down the bottom a bit with a knife until it fits.

5. Once all the twigs are in place, take a fresh(or fake) flower of your choice and weave the stem gently through the twigs. Obviously, if you're using fresh flowers you wouldn't want to do this step until you're actually going to use the centerpiece.

6. Once you have the centerpiece place in its desired location, place your candle in the center of the tile. I then sprinkled brown glass beads around the candle for a little extra sparkle. I didn't use anything to stick the beads to the tile so after this step, moving the centerpiece isn't much of an option unless you scoop up the beads first.

So now your centerpiece is complete! Yay!! I made about 10 of these and it took a total of about 6 hours to complete. Probably would have gone quicker if I was making them outside in 104 degree weather. Yuck. Here's a final look at the centerpiece outside at night...

Boring box, fixed.

I got a really super awesome amazing exciting metal stamping kit. Which I plan on using for a billion different projects, but first things first...

I only had one problem with the kit which was the top isn't so pretty. In all fairness, it tools. Sadly, tools aren't obligated to arrive in decorative boxes.

Luckily for me, I had some cute scrapbook paper laying around which I remember purchasing for a bank breaking .49 cents. So I took my nifty scrapbook paper and some modpodge and made it pretty!

Upgrade, yes?