Thursday, May 31, 2012

Blog Makeover!

Hi Everyone!

Peachy-pink was really starting to hurt my eyes.

Thus, the blog got a makeover

What do you guys think?  I really like the new background and colors!  And I also (finally) figured out how to add reactions to my posts!  So now you can tell me if you thought a post was "funny", "interesting", or "cool" in just a click! 

...in other news, I finished taking pics for the leaf-necklace tutorial, so I'll get that up this weekend if not sooner!

Have an awesome day! :) 

Sunday, May 27, 2012

The Jedi Elf Queen

Hi Everyone!

Ok, I linked to the Jedi Elf Queen in my last post, but I decided that she needed a post of her own. 

Julia McGee is an absoulute genius.

Well, that pretty much sums up everything else I was going to say, but I'll add a bit more. 

I discovered Julia's website via Alley Cat Scratch costuming (which is also extremely awesome, but I think it too will require a post of it's own!) and I am SO glad that I did!

Thanks to The Jedi Elf Queen, I was introduced to the idea of faux leather (see last post) as well as the idea of painting embroidery instead of actually embroidering (it looks just as good and is WAY easier!)  And you should see the things she can do with paper mache!

She also has some printable templates, tutorials and loads of other useful ideas. 

So check out The Realm of the Jedielfqueen when you have a chance!

Have an awesome day!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Faux Leather Purse

Hi Everyone!

Ok, I have another new obsession:
Craft Foam.

Don't laugh!  I know, it sounds pretty silly, but you would be AMAZED what you can do with that stuff!  (At least I was surprised...)

So, I've found here that there are ways to make craft foam look like leather and metal.  I know, crazy!  :)
I love the look of leather, and the idea of turning something as cheap as craft foam into it is just totally awesome!

So here is the result of my effort to create faux leather....






I cut the pieces out and crocheted them together, then added designs.  Isn't it neat?!  You can actually put designs on it like leather... the secret to the leather look? 

Shoe polish.

The ideas some people have truly amaze me. 

Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

LOTR Leaf Necklace

Hi Everyone!

Let me just warn you: I am on a LOTR crafting kick right now.  So prepare yourselves to see many more LOTR crafts. 
There are SO many amazingly awesome things in LOTR that I just have to try my hand at making!
For instance, those beautiful leaf pins from Lothlorien.  They look really neat, so I decided to try making a few. 
Here is my final result:



 
Isn't it cute?!  I made it as a necklace instead of a pin, and I really like how it turned out.  This is one of my favorite projects that I've done, so I'm planning on doing a tutorial.  I'll try to work on that sometime next week. 

Until then, have an awesome week! :)

Monday, May 21, 2012

LOTR Knife Replica

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it has (again!) been a while since I posted!
 But, thankfully I have something new to show you all. 
I recently watched the Lord of the Rings movies (which, I totally LOVE) and I've been trying to recreate some props.  Legolas, one of the elves, has a really awesome knife that I thought I could try to make a replica of.

Here is the knife I made, using this tutorial for a starting point.







 I made the little sheath to match as well.  No worries--the knife is really, really dull and thin metal. 
The designs on the blade and handle were painted on with some gold stencil paint I had on hand.  The paint is beautiful, however I ran into quite a few problems with it.  I painted it on one morning and then left it to dry.  Next morning:  Still wet.  It refused to dry, it rubbed off if anything touched it--it was SUCH a pain!  Thankfully, mod podge came to the rescue.  A thin layer over everything and it was fine!  Phew! 

I think I'm finally going to have more time for posting these next few weeks--YAY! 

Have a great day! :)


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

SUPER cute scarf!

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I am still alive.  SO sorry I haven't been posting...and I forgot about last month's pattern!  I will have some new things up soon.

In other news, one of my awesome new followers Andromeda has this SUPER cute scarf pattern up on her blog that I just had to share!


I think there is still enough chill in some areas for scarves, right?  I think I would be willing to deal with the added warmth for this one.  I really love this scarf--mainly because it reminds me of something Pippin (from Lord of the Rings) would wear.  I will be making one (or 2!) for sure! 

Find the Indiana Memory Scarf pattern here

Have an awesome day!