On my way to the fair

I've got my fair flowers in my hair.

I have the shop closed until I go through my things tomorrow.  Happy Saturday!

Feather Flair DIY

Hi friends! Today I shall teach you how to create fun feather accessories for your hair or ears. I don't have a super fabulous picture of the finished product as I am on day 2 post shower, which isn't a good day for loose hair shots.



Materials needed:

Alligator clips and/or earring hooks
Feathers- I got mine in a bag at hobby lobby, but I heard fly fishing places are where the good feathers are at. I'll be checking one out next time I'm able to do so.
Wire- I used Craft Wire from Walmart
Embroidery floss- I used brown so it would blend in with my fur
Needle Nosed Pliers
Wire cutters- I'm using my Dad's here, but I don't have any at home. I just used my junk scissors.



Step One: Cut a hole in the box. Just kidding. :D I cut a piece of wire about 6 inches long, but sometimes that's too short. I'd go a couple inches longer. You can always cut off the extra.



This picture sucks, but it was hard to focus on the wire. I took the pliers and bent it over about half an inch.



I gave this a couple twists to secure a loop on the top.





If your feather has furry stuff on the bottom, rip it off. Just do it, it's easy! You need room on the end to wrap the wire, so if your whole feather is furry, just do between half an inch to an inch.



Then I lined up the end of the feather with the bottom of the loop.



Then I pulled the extra wire down a bit and started twisting it on.



Start wrapping the wire up to the top.



I like to make sure the wrap covers the first end of the wire on the loop (does that make sense?) to secure it. I used the pliers to bend the end down, and then I used them to gently squeeze up and down the wire coil to make sure it's clamped onto the feather. We don't want that feather coming out!



Looks good, right?



Cut a piece of your embroidery floss.



Tie the floss onto the alligator clip. I tied it in 4 or 5 knots just to make sure it's secure. You could probably use a dab of glue.



Tie the floss onto the feather loop using the same method. If your feather is really long, don't make the string to long. Hold it up to your hair to measure if you like, but I've learned that keeping the string short is key.

You can also skip the floss and attach the loop to an earring hook. They look super cute as earrings too!



I like to tie 2 or 3 small feathers on one clip. You can wear these one the top of your head or underneath to hang down by your neck. I'll have to get more action shots on another day when my hair is more fresh.

I'm no pro at this feather and wire business, but I just thought I'd share. My friend Brooke asked me to make her some hair feathers like this for her birthday, and this is what I came up with. If you use this tutorial please share so I can see how awesome yours turned out!

Hair Flair

So I have clean hair today AND I made a couple more silk hair pieces.



This one is lavender and has a pretty white and gold vintage button center.



This one is all mine! It's buttery yellow, and the center is part of a vintage clip on earring I got from Grandma Mary Ann's collection that my stepmom Kris is the executor of these days. It looks so snazzy, and, even though we never met, I think Grandma Mary Ann would approve if she were here!



This cutie is the hem of a tie dye dress I cut up for another project. I absentmindedly crocheted it one day, and it now resides on this hair clip. It has triplet sisters that joined forces into a braided rope I wear as a necklace from time to time.

This is my Upcycled Embroidered Camera Bag for Style School.



I think it turned out super cute! The hardest part was threading the needle with yarn, but I got it worked out eventually. The project was to turn a bag into a camera bag, but I don't think I'll use it for that. I'm not sure if I'm using it for good or evil yet.

Happy Monday!

I skipped out on posting last weekend because I was pretty boring all weekend. Nothing to see here folks! Actually, that's not true.

I made this pretty pink silk rose hair piece.





Isn't it glamorous? No action shots because it's quarter past hair wash day around here. I know, gross, right? :D



Here's the pretty pin cushion Sara Kate made me for Leigh Ann's swap.



This is the one I made for her. This is her photo. I was going to the post office right after I finished this, so I packed it up and sent it before I remembered to take a few photos. Oops! So special thanks to Sara Kate for taking a lovely photo.

Chainsaw bought me this gorgeous ring for Valentine's Day.



I know it kind of looks like I lost all my fingers in a factory accident, but it's just hard to take a picture of a ring that is on your finger and hold the camera still to get a clear shot. I really like how cool it's eyes look in this photo, but they are actually citrines and look yellow in real life. It's from etsy shop Western Mountain, and they have tons of cute stuff! I think the owl eyes are supposed to be birthstones, but I liked the citrines best.

I followed a bit of Pioneer Woman's advice and made Linguini and Shrimp for special VD dinner. It was super easy and extra delicious. I couldn't find already peeled shrimp and enlisted Chainsaw's help for that part, but it tasted like a million bucks. I'm also pleased with the knowledge that I have an extra pound of shrimp in my freezer waiting for me to eat them. They're shaking in their shells, which they're lucky they have!

New pouches

I've been spending my couch time working on felt hair pieces. I'm a little addicted and thinking about adding some to the shop because I can't stop making them and don't need 15 for myself.



Smaller guys.



Medium ladies with "pearls."

There are a couple more on my flickr page if you're interested. :D

I've spent the past two days working on these pouches.





I know what you're thinking. "Two days on two pouches? That's too much time!" You're right. It is too much time. Yesterday was one of those days where everything I touched turned to shit. Wrong strap sewed onto a pouch. Bottom of lining sewed into zipper topstitching by accident. Pin demolition in my sewing machine. Get the picture? Geesh. I'm just glad they're done and cute and in the shop.

Now- dinner time and off to clean for one of my jobs. Someone drink some wine for me now please. Happy Tuesday night!

Felty goodness

I finished this super cute felt hair piece last night.







I think it turned out super pretty and nice.

One of my style goals for Style School was to make cute new accessories for my hair and wardrobe. I have a few other hair prizes I've made but haven't photographed like crochet bows and felt flowers, but this is my favorite so far!

My Dad lost his iPod case a while ago at a gig (cause he's cool and in a BAND). So of course he asked me to make him a new one. I came up with this without any guidance from him except that his favorite colors are grey and black (until they come up with something darker, he says).





I think it's so awesome that I can't wait to make one for myself. Mine is going to have a device on it to connect it to my pants or belt for when I'm cleaning. I hope he likes it!

I'm also finding myself drawn to felt. I totally want to go get some higher quality felt. I'm trying to decide between wool and eco felt, but I'm definitely leaning toward eco felt because of my love for Mother Nature. :D