Sweater Scarf

No clever title, just a scarf.

With a little inspiration from Jennifer at Peas and Crayons and her shredded jersey scarf, I made this:

oh how I wish I could take decent self-portraits

Let me preface by saying that using a knit sweater was a poor choice, not because it looks bad, but it was a total mess. Little pieces of yarn that resembled Ramen noodles were all over my floor after creating this. I didn't have energy to look for a shirt, but I did have this sweater. There you have it.

I started with a sweater (thank you Capt Obvious)



Cut the front pocket off and then the arms and neck.

Fold her in half (although in the future I'll probably skip the fold. You'll see what I mean in a minute) and cut.



Then stretch. This is when the Ramen noodle flecks came with a furry. Once it's laying flat, the Ramen stop. So I think I'll be good wearing it around...if not, it'll be a good scarf to wear if I'm ever lost. I can just following the path of Ramen back to my home.

This is what you're left with. And this is when I decided that folding it in half wasn't going to work.

So I snipped those folds right off. I obviously left the other fold in tact.

 And there you have it.

<3 dani

Check out all the creativity where I LINK UP



Master Closet Clean-Up

Calling this closet a 'master' is almost laughable. Not large. At all. But I'm not complaining because it forces me to keep it organized and to make tough decisions about clothes I'm not actively wearing.

The Finished Product

The befores:

 okay, please note how each side is kept.

 his

hers

Nuff said.

Here are my rules for the ol' closet clean-up:

1. Empty it. It's way too easy to leave clothes in there when they're so conveniently hung. But when you pull everything out, it forces you to look through each piece individually, make a tough decisions and ask "does this really need to go back in."

I'm boring my assistant

2. Don't keep anything in the closet that isn't in season. This means summer clothes gotta go.

3. Pull anything that hasn't been worn in 3 months. Decide if those pieces are simply outdated or whether you just don't have anything to wear with them. If they're outdated, get rid of them. If you have an amazing shirt, but no pants to wear them with, decide if you're going to make that outfit a priority. If yes, keep the item in there. If no, pull it.

4. Be Honest. If you can't be truthful about the items you aren't wearing, then you're no better off. I know it's sad to see some things go, but it's better than wasting space on the stuff you actually wear.

5. Keep like items together. There are a couple of ways to do this. My side of the closet is sorted by color (i.e. all black shirts together, casual and formal). The Hubs side is separated by item (i.e. all work shirts together, etc)

6. Donate or Repurpose. Not everything should be donated. Some of The Hubs old shirts aren't donate-able, but they make good garage towels. Some old sweaters, though donate-able, I'm too sentimental about to get rid of, so I move those to my fabric bin (which also gets an overhaul often) and try to come up with a project. -- I'll have a sweater repurpose post shortly!

Okay, so those are the rules I live by. Simple, right?

In the end, you'll feel a little less overwhelmed every time you open those doors.

Happy organizing!

<3 dani



Check out all the creativity where I LINK UP



Little Bit of Valentine's Spirit & Lucky # 30

First, a big huge thanks to my 30th follower! Brooke at Girl Boy Girl Inspired. (ah yes, the perks of being my 30th follower...just imagine what I'll do if I ever hit 50)

I know, thirty isn't huge, but for someone who created a blog with simple intentions and without even understanding the concept of 'following,' I think it's huge!
_____________________________________________

On to the meat of this post. ;-)

Valentine's Day isn't my favorite holiday. Sure, let's be romantic and remind each other that we have undying love burning at the base of our soul for each other, but seriously folks do we have to spend over 15 billion dollars to do that? And all for a holiday who's story is cloudy, to say the least.

That's probably why I don't put much effort into decorating for good ol' St. Valentine. In fact, this is the one time that you could walk into my home and have no idea what time of year it is...the lack of seasonally themed decor is almost embarrassing for a hardcore decorator like myself.

Maybe that's why I created this little number.

Subtle right?

and simple.

I took an old frame, hot glued a few strings of hemp to back, rummaged through my craft supplies, grabbed some dried roses The Hubby got me for landing a new job (see! that's the kind of romantic gesture I'm talkin' about) and clipped everything on with mini-clothespins.

Free, quick, purdy. Annnd versatile. If I want to keep it up after VD (ha, still laugh at that one) I'll just remove the red hearts. High five!

What are your feelings on the ol' V day?

<3 dani

Check out all the creativity where I LINK UP

Not Your Old Home-Ec Apron

In 7th grade, my mom took me to JoAnn Fabrics to pick out material for my very first sewing project; an apron. Not my best work. I've made more aprons since then -- because, let's be honest, they are super simple -- but none as awesome as this one!

First, huge shout out to Mychel at Trendy Accentz! She created this easy-to-follow tutorial and is the reason I was able to create this pretty apron for my sis-in-law.

You'll need:

Scissors
Coordinating Thread (which I never have)
Sewing Machine
Iron
1 1/2 yards of Main Fabric
1 yard of Accent Fabric *(or more, read below)
Patience

I started by washing and drying and gently ironing my fabric. I know you might want to skip this part, but take it from me, you gotta' do it.

Then I folded my main fabric down the middle, laid it on the floor and put an actual apron over the top, also folded down the middle. This'll serve as your pattern.

Of course my plain Jane apron doesn't have the flair of my finished project, so I had to improvise. I grabbed an a-line skirt and added it to the mix.

I cut around all of this leaving a solid two inches for a double hem.

Cut small slits, about 1/4 inch deep and 1 inch apart, in the curved edge of the fabric. These slits will help the curved edge of the fabric lie flat when you fold it. Thank you eHow!

After cutting the apron out, I cut out the ties. Two for the neck, two for the waist. I only show two total here, but you'll need four. The neck ties are were about 2-3 inches wide (honestly, just eyeballed it) and the waist ties are about four inches wide.

  

Then I went straight to the ironing machine. Again, I know some of you want to skip this part, but I promise you this will save you effort in the end. I ironed a double hem (twice folded edges) so that my sewing would take less time (no pinning). Iron everything that will have a visible edge.

I sewed the hem around the entire apron, then I cinched and attached my ruffles.

Here's where my plan falters a little. *I should have purchased more accent fabric than I did. I could have made my ruffles along the bottom edge better if I had more length to work with. To make those cut little ruffles, I simply hand basted the top edge (the edge that will connect with the apron) and cinched the fabric up adding ruffles and being sure to keep the fabric long enough to still match the width of the apron. You can tell I wasn't too aware of this making my top ruffle. PS - if you need help with the ruffles go here. Her tutorial is far more comprehensive than mine.

For the ties, all you have to do is fold the fabric in half, wrong sides together and sew down the open edges. Leave  yourself a little bit of room to pull the fabric through to the right side. Attach them with a straight stitch.

Notice I'm not giving you a lot of measurements? That's because I didn't use any. I used my 'real' apron (i put real in quotes because it kinda suggests this new apron isn't real, but that's not the case at all) for guidance and I looked at Mychel's pictures often too. As long as your edges look nice, you can make this little thing any way you'd like.

Here's the finished beauty. At one point I wished I wasn't giving this away!

<3 dani

Check out the creative places where I LINK UP

Stylish Blogger Award

Oh Snap!

Krafty Kat rocks my world. She's so stinkin' crafty -- it's not just a clever blog title -- and she's always leaving me sweet comments. But this time, she did more than comment, she gave me the Stylish Blogger Award!

Woot! I saw this award a few weeks ago wandering around a linky party and was so super envious. Weird considering I hadn't heard of it five minutes before, yet was dying to have one five minutes after. Funny how our little brains work, right!?

Anyway, being a new blogger with only twenty-one followers, sometimes I wonder how many people are really reading this. When it comes down to it, 'how many' doesn't really matter, it's the 'who' that matters. I'm glad that other creative bloggers, like Kat, are reading and I'm thankful for family and close friends that continue to support and encourage this little endeavor.

So, on to the Award.

There are four duties to perform in order to accept this award:

1.Thank and link back to the blogger who awarded you.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Award fifteen more recently discovered bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and let 'em know they won!

Here goes...

1. I'm obsessively neat and organized. So much so, that the #1 gag to play in college was "rearrange Danielle's room to see how freaked out she'll get."

2. I've wanted a baby for two years now and the stork still hasn't visited us.

3. Even at  5'10" I still wear heels almost everyday to work!

4. I'm twenty-eight and still play dance party with my girlfriends in the basement.

5. It usually takes me an hour (or more) to fall asleep once I get into bed.

6. 90% of my wardrobe is black, grey or white.

7. Being an only child has caused me to be stingy, arrogant, stubborn, demanding, and incredibly sensitive.

ah, that was therapeutic.

on to the New Winners!!

1. It's a Lunsford Thing
2. Free Stylin'
3. Dandelions and Dust Bunnies
4. Domestic Goodness
5. Trendy Accentz
6. One Thrifty Chick
7. Muse Lodge
8. Nitty Gritty Pretty
9. Inspired by You
10. Krystal-Kreations
11. Day by Day
12. Type A

Okay, okay. I realize I'm breaking the rules by only choosing twelve blogs, but let me explain. I didn't want to pick blogs that I wasn't familiar with just for the sake of filling a spot. I can vouch for these blogs; they are all worthy of a visit (or several hours of lurking!).

Thanks so much Kat.

<3 dani

__________________________________________

Follow on Facebook
or
Follow on Google

Rub a Dub Dub...

...Vanilla Lemon Sugar Scrub!

I made this for all the ladies in the fam. It's pretty aswesome.

I used a combination of recipes. This one from Brandy at Gluesticks. And this one from Maggie at It's a Lunsford Thing.

I didn't take notes while I was altering the recipes, but luckily it isn't an exact science. Wing it.

I was making enough to fill the six jars above. I guesstimated the amount I'd need.

2 Cups(ish) White Sugar
2 Cups(ish) Brown Sugar
1 Cup(ish) Oil (I used olive oil)
1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla (or a drop of Vanilla Oil)
Mini Drop of Rosemary

I mixed the sugars first, then added the oil, lemon juice, vanilla and rosemary.

It looked a little runny at first, so I continued adding stuff until it looked 'right.' I wasn't really sure what 'right' was, but eventually it resembled something someone might use as body scrub.

Gluesticks linked me to Mean Mommy Academy, where I found the great labels I used. I added some hemp twine and a tongue depresser thingymajiggy.

They turned out pretty swell, I think.

**I used the leftovers in the shower and that taught me a few things...first I found that a lot of the sugar settles. Even after mixing it up a bit, it still helps to drain a little oil off the top. Which probably means I used too much oil to begin with. I also learned that pouring the oil out on the shower floor could make a serious slippery hazard. But, it works wonders for the skin. So super soft.

Try it.

<3 dani

Linkin' Up

The Office 0 Me 1

Remember this post from way back when? It was the beginning of my accidental office redo. Perhaps it's the fact that we're hosting a New Year's Eve party or maybe it was the consistent nagging from The Hubs, but I finally finished and I dig it.

Here's the finished product.

and the befores...

my oops...

I created the corner shelves with the old shelves from the broken bookcase. All ya need is a few $.78 brackets from Menard's, a power screwdriver, a level and loads of patience.

A hand-me-down sewing machine, which a friend tells me is probably nicer than the sewing machine I use, works as my printing station.

and below serves as my filing station (which I purged biiiig time). These are the tips I used. This approach cut my files down by about 2/3s. So refreshing. Do it!



and it all came together to create this, ahh yay!



Totally high-five worthy, right?

By repurposing my old bookcase and purchasing a few cheap brackets, the look and feel of the room has changed completely. Fancy.

<3 dani

Linkin' Up

Jewelry Intervention

When Granny passed, I got a ton of her costume jewelry. Granted this stuff has no monetary worth, but the sentimental value is through the roof. Unfortunately, I keep it all in a box in the basement and only wear a few of the pieces that aren't completely dated.

Instead of leaving all of her stuff boxed up and unused, I grabbed a few pieces that had potential and went to work.

I'm no jewelry maker, in fact, I think this may be the first piece I've made from start to finish.

Check her out!

I disassembled the original green necklace.

Added the beads to a new wire.

Bought some chain and a clasp.

Connected the beads to the chain.

Added the matching clip-on earring and a ribbon with hot glue.

Done!

Purdy, right?

I gave it to The Momma for a Christmas Gift. 

Don't be afraid to break old jewelry. You might actually wear it!

<3 dani

Linkin' Up



Tiny Bathroom, Storage Necessary

Eventually I'll get the go-ahead to demolish our miniature bathroom, but until then I gotta make this one work.

So you have a good idea of the space (or lack of) I'm dealing with, here's the best photo I could get. Tight squeeze.

Two tiny drawers and one cabinet. Make-up, jewelry, hair stuff...I hide everything in that little vanity. But lately, I've really let it go and searching for my jewelry was driving me crazy. So, I pulled up the bootstraps and got to work.

Disaster, right?

Here's the after. No more jewelry lingering, no more overflowing bins. Just the stuff I use daily (or close to it) separated into hair stuff on the left and body stuff on the right.

I used a plastic hook on the inside wall of the cabinet for my hair dryer. She's all outta the way.

Now, I have to find a home for the jewelry that came out of the bins.



Whathuh? The cabinet door? Fo sho.

I used:

an old towel rack (maybe, I seriously have no clue where or how I got this, but I've been hanging on to it for years)

adhesive felt
ribbon
hot glue gun

(I added more felt, but forgot the photo)

I started by figuring out where I could glue my rack. Being sure to leave space for the door to close completely. Then I covered with self-adhesive felt. I'm sure you could use regular felt and just glue it on. I used the felt for a couple of reasons. I needed something to put my earrings into annnnd I wanted to muffle the sound of the swinging and slapping necklaces every time I open the door.


I added a piece of ribbon with the hot glue gun to hold down the long necklaces, so I can swing open the door without fearing flying necklaces.

I rarely wear different earrings. My plain silver hoops and diamond studs have been in my ears for years now, but I do have a few pair and I just shoved them into the felt.

Out of necessity comes the most novel ideas. And lack of space forces us to make tough decisions about what we need and what we want. Making a small spot functional seems to maximize the space. It's like magic.

<3 dani

Linkin' Up