Original Order

I've picked up my old photo albums again, in order to transfer everything from acidic photo albums...

... to a acid-free album.

This project started a while ago, but to this day, I haven't figured a few things out. One of the biggest debates in organizing an archive is the question of original order. The way my family has organized their photos makes little sense to me. For example, the last few pages of my parents Hawaiian honeymoon album contains the most random pictures of birthdays, sears portrait sessions, and pictures that just don't seem to fit. On the other hand, their honeymoon album contains pages like this:

I'm not sure I can transfer this flower, card, and the page itself. It just does not seem right altering this page. On the other hand, if I don't, the colors will fade and acid will eat it up! There's something about pictures that represent memory and memory fades, just like pictures do (and maybe should). This situation is all so confusing to me right now. Another trend I found in a lot of the older albums was the reoccurring Mary stickers:

I know if I were to transfer these images, I would bring the Mary with me, but somehow I feel bad messing with this. The more I dwell on it, the more I want to scan each page, make a book out of that, and call it a day.

Beehive Librarian

Just a sneak preview of what I've been working on...

There's a lot more, but I'm trying to keep it all a secret until I release a little pattern kit. The small details are taking a lot longer than I expected, I can't decide whether to make this an iron-on kit or a tracing kit... or maybe make it both? The problem with iron-ons is washing them out. I might make a few of each, put them on etsy and see what goes first. Anyone have a preference when it comes to embroidery patterns?

Not Weekly

I'm still here! I took a quick holiday/school break from blogging, but I'm back and hopefully daily again. Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! I didn't cook as much as last year this holiday, I actually didn't cook at all for Thanksgiving. I might have to plan a post-Thanksgiving-Thanksgiving dinner soon, but that may have to wait until mid December, when I'm finished with school. I have been doing lots of embroidery lately, trying to get the librarian patterns out, but I took a little break to make Brian and I some Christmas stockings.

I'm proud to say that I have finished 90% of my Christmas shopping at this point, and did not enter one shop during black Friday.

Girly Gift Bag

I have had a busy weekend of writing papers, embroidery, and last minute Christmas shopping (my goal is to get it all done before Thanksgiving - and 80% is done now). Lots of craft shopping was done at Michael's, thanks to the wonderful coupons they include in Sunday's paper.

I got a few types of Martha Stewart wrapping paper and a nice pair of scalloped scissors (pictured above). I also got a huge Martha Stewart scrapbook for my family's old portraits (which are now in horrible acidic, adhesive photo albums), some Mod Podge, and super cute cupcake liners. Before I went cupcake, photo album crazy, it was my brother's birthday (Happy Birthday George) and I was looking for a cute way to wrap a gift card. I use some of my Martha wrapping paper and made a little bag.

I cut the edges into flaps and taped them together from the inside.

After putting the gift card in the bag, I started to sew the top...


..until it was shut. I sewed on a bow and somehow turned a boy-ish Frys gift card into a girly surprise.

I Am An Embroidery Robot

I have been embroidering away at home, in the bus, during breaks from class and work, and I have made lots of progress. I probably should be writing papers, but instead I really want to embroider all day long. I'm trying to finish up a few samples and get some patterns up on etsy.

Happy (Belated) One Year Anniversary Daily-Craft!

How did I miss this one? It's actually not that surprising, I'm pretty bad at remembering anniversaries and birthdays. Instead of celebrating on November 8, I was posting about Fabric Covered Cork Board

Around November 14th of last year, I was planning my first Thanksgiving, constructing my first batch of album cover gift boxes, and baking No-Knead Bread. It has been a great, productive year of crafts. Highlights include: Making my first real quilt and having it blogged about in Craftzine and at Casa Sugar. My hard boiled egg saga, getting around to cleaning and redecorating my room (which is still in progress), getting accepted to UCLA for my masters in information and library science, getting on board with Etsy, and most importantly, all of the great crafty friends I've met through this blogging process. It's been a great first year, so thanks for those who visit and keep me going on this silly blog!

Librarian Embroidery

I finally got around to finishing this one up. I've been taking my time with it so that I can draw new ideas and put librarian-esque patterns up in my etsy shop. I have a set all planned out and drawn, I just have to finish with all the little details. I think I'd like to embroider the set before I put it up for sale too. So, more librarian style embroidery coming soon! Hopefully, I'll have things done a few weeks before Christmas!

A Cupcake Complaint

Considering I had a paper due and lots of reading (pictured above) to finish, this weekend was full of fun stuff. I went to 2 shows: Of Montreal and Jens Lekman, both were fantastic. Cupcakes were had at Dot's, in Pasadena which was a let down, actually. Cupcake shops are opening all around LA and one of the most important thing that separates them apart for me is the happy and cheerful experience you get while in one. Dot's did not have this at all. I would have had a picture, but they snapped at me for taking out my camera. They also told me they didn't have boxes for my cupcakes so I had to take them in a bag, while cupcakes were getting boxed left and right in front of me. Maybe I would be a little more understanding if they had a line out the door, like Sprinkles usually does (although, Sprinkles staff is always friendly), but they weren't that busy, so there was no excuse for being rude. The cupcakes weren't worth the attitude I got. The first time a cupcake made me feel sad.

How To Make Custom Gift Wrap

It's almost that time of year when our living rooms become non-living rooms and giftwrap central. This time around, I am wrapping two other very special gifts. One is for one of my best friends, Tom, who is leaving the Getty for a shiney new librarian job in the medical field. Although I am sad, I'm very happy for him and his new opportunity! So, I wanted to make his going away gifts special. A long time ago, Tom showed me his high school portrait from the 70s. Since then, I have photocopied this picture and kept one for my records, for a moment just like this one. Using the wonderful free downloadable wrapping paper from Blueprint, I chose to use a nice stripe pattern.

I then scotch taped a million of the little Tom heads to it, in a random pattern.

After this, I photocopied it again, making quite a few copies. I taped the copies together, then used it like it was regular wrapping paper.

Add some ribbon.

Custom Tom wrapping paper! I am also meeting my good friend Nicole for her birthday this weekend. As a fellow fashion lover, I used my old fashion magazines to wrap her gift.

I think the wrapping goes especially well with this one, considering what the gift is (which I can not disclose just yet)!
As far as Tom's gift, I got him this and this based on the music I've got him into over the past year.

Framed Fabric Covered Cork Board

Ta-da! The blue frame turned into my new fabric covered cork board!

I constantly have way too many papers lying around and now I have a way to manage them! Please note: as a library student, saying that a cork board is my strategy to manage papers is a really bad thing.

In order to redeem that thought, this is not my way to "manage" my papers, but a quick solution to keeping my desk paper free for brief moments, until I have them properly archived. Also note, that I will not actually be pinning holes in my documents, but pinning around the paper, not to damage my original material. There, that should do it. But before I pin around anything, I need to find or make the perfect push pins. I think I want something with little black balls on the tips, to match the flowers on the fabric. Until then, it will just be a pretty piece of fabric art.

And The Blue Goes On

I'm at it again. Oh yes my friends, it did not stop at just this and this, I'm actually at the point now where I go shopping at flea markets looking for things to spray paint. I got this frame (16" x 20") over the weekend at the Pasadena Flea Market for $4. I've been looking for a fun new project and I think I know just what to do with this one (more to come with that, soon).

I kind of liked the brown it was before, but I do like it better in blue for my room.

Wait until you all see what I do with it!

FIDM

This weekend, I was lucky to get the chance to visit the FIDM library and get a peak into their archives and services. It was a great tour! The patron's oozed with creativity, I love seeing design students looking for inspiration at the library! I loved it there. There textile room was my favorite. It had fabrics, buttons, and trims galore with dress forms ready for students to practice draping onto.

Speaking of fabrics, the FIDM Scholarship store was also pretty exciting. I got fabric for $1 per yard! The selection wasn't huge, but it was for $1 per yard! I managed to get a few fabrics for possible curtains, bags, and who knows what else? I don't think I have ever paid that little for fabric, even in downtown's garment district.

My First Etsy Order

I got my first Etsy order yesterday! I was so excited; I spent all day trying to figure out how to package. First, I wanted to make a little baggy with a cardboard fold top, stapled to the bag. Only trouble was the bags I got had a huge ugly square on them. So I went to The Paper Source, in Pasadena to try to give me ideas. I decided to buy big round stickers and make a rubber stamp to stamp them with. Well, I haven't made a rubber stamp in a really long time, so I accidentally made it backwards! Well, frontward, which stamped backwards! (Not pictured to protect some of my pride). So, I just took out some of my letter stamp sets and got to work.

I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out! The plastic was made from a plastic bag, and taped together with much love.

Moo Cozy

I finished my craft for Jek and it's in the mail.


Sometimes I feel bad giving crafts I sew to people I like, because I'm such a messy sewer. That's why I never sell anything I sew, I just feel like it's not the right quality. Perhaps, one day I will take a class or get motivated to measure, but for now, it's just me sewing messy. I hope she likes it.