Different Title

I have just changed my title from Yummy Crafts to Sweet LemoNAYde (get it? Nay? Naomi... ok, I'll stop now for your sake), just because Yummy Crafts seems so plain and simple. I don't know. What do you think? My sister suggested calling the blog Craft Cheddar Cheese, and I thought of calling it MayoNAYse... I guess punny humor runs through the family. Here's my sister's joke:

Q. Why did Frodo like to take pictures of himself?

A. Because he was Frodo-genic! Ha-ha... (you know? photogenic?)

Okay, I'm really sorry about that...

Lovely Loose Fitting Dress

Isn't this dress so pretty? Made by NewExtrave on etsy. I love it... [drools]

I think I could make this with some linen, elastic, and ribbon for the neckline--the ribbon was originally wrapped around a Nordstrom's gift box :) I'd make bigger pockets, though, for extra snacks and stuff.

Rosette Jersey Headband

This headband doubles as a neck and ear warmer. I'm making it for my sister for Christmas. Unfortunately, I don't have any of that colored jersey (well I do, but it's very thin). So I used some periwinkle colored jersey.

Materials: jersey, scissors, needle and thread

I love that casual look about it. It's nice and soft. It keeps my ears warm.

***I have decided to give a basic how-to for those interested . The headband is very easy. It is a strip of 5.5" x (your head measurement) piece of jersey. Sew the ends together, and then sew a running/basting stitch along the seam. Pull to ruche, and go back over it with a line of stitching to keep it secure. The flowers are 1.5" x 5" strips with a running/basting stitch along one 5" edge. Pull tight to ruche into a circle shape and sew the ends together. Make another flower and sew along the seam of your headband.***

Christmas...

Is almost here. I can't wait! I have no idea what I'm getting for presents, though. For my sister, I think I might give her my orange juice carton wallet (if I can find it) and some jewelry or an ear warmer or something. For mommy, giving her the movie Eat, Pray, Love, and maybe knit some slippers. No idea what I'll get for Daddy. But for Grandma, I want to give her a sweatshirt jacket. What are you making people for Christmas?

Off the Shoulder Top Tutorial

Sorry I haven't written in a while, but the last week of school is busy. I'm going to start testing out some methods of making off the shoulder tops, just because I really like that artsy, I-made-this-for-an-art-gallery look. No pics, sorry. :/

Materials: t-shirt, scissors

Cut out the neckband. Widen the neck hole as needed, until you get it to hang off the shoulder at a proper angle. I suppose if you cut the hole too big, you could add a band of fabric, like so:

(I know, I said no pictures, but I guess I meant none of my own images)

How was your week?

Wire and Glass Bead Rings

Over the summer, my sister and I made these rings for our summer school, where you do art and building and writing classes and stuff. One of the classes was jewelry, and you were able to sell the things you make. So we made these rings. I saw the project in a book in the library. I memorized the directions, but now I can't find the book. Oh well.

This is my very first ring:

And this is a plain wire rosette ring:

The rings were a success. We earned about $60. For some odd reason, people didn't want to do custom orders. They'd just choose the prettiest ring, force it onto their finger, and leave, even when I offered to do it to accommodate their horizontally challenged fingers. Some of the rings were pretty small, but for others we modeled them after a giant yellow highlighter, and this seemed to be more popular among customers. This one porky girl came up, grabbed the most elegant ring, jammed it onto her pinkie finger, paid, and left. She came back, and I was worried she'd want to return it or something. I noticed her finger was slightly purple. But instead she just said, "I am a very satisfied customer," and she left. Whatever. Whatever floats your boat, right?

Tutorial

(Sorry the x" is backwards. The camera on the computer takes pics backwards. So that's why the numbers are all wonky, cuz I drew them backwards)

Materials: wire, needle nose pliers, at least five beads (well the weird wired orange peanut-looking one only had one bead, but it was a slightly different design.)

1. Cut a piece of wire, about 18"- 24" long. Measure the circumference of your finger, and mark the measurement on your wire.

2. At the mark, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle. You will have what looks like a straight 7.

3. Now take the long end of the wire and make it into a loop.

4. With the rest of the wire, tightly wrap around the part where you marked the ring. When you're done, bend the wrapped wire around your finger, and tuck the two little ends into the loop and twist together.

5. Cut a piece of wire 10-12" long. Place it through the loop on your ring base and slide a bead on. Weave the wire into the loop.

6. Take the other end of the wire and put a bead on. Weave it through the ring.

7. Repeat till you've run out of beads, or until your finger can't take the weight and you think it may fall off. Wrap any remaining wire around the base of the bobble. Wear. When people ask you where you bought it, tell them you made it. Or that it was $80 at Anthropologie. Either way.

Anthropologie Knock-Off: Curtain Call Top Tutorial

Edit: more pics are in this post.

Remember the Anthropologie Curtain Call top that I posted about? Well I finally got around to hand-sewing it, and I think it was worth it. I plan on wearing it to a play we're going to on Wednesday. We're supposed to wear sort of fancy clothes. My inspiration:

The result:

So, tutorial:

Materials: one t-shirt that fits you, one XL t-shirt, scissors, needle and thread/sewing machine, tape measure, pencil

1. Cut off sleeve hems, hem, and neckband.

2. Mark the front of the neck evenly, making six sections and five marks. With your tape measure, measure between the marks. This will be x.

3. Take your XL t-shirt and cut six strips, x" wide.

4. Use a basting stitch and baste each side of the strip. Pull it to gather the strip.

5. Place your gathered strip, matching it up with the lines, and backstitch it to the shirt on both sides.

6. Repeat with remaining strips.

7. Wear proudly. I added ties to the sides so it could tie in the back, because the shirt was wide, and I also added a band to the bottom so it was longer.