12.29.2009

strapped.

So I just found out that I scored a great new job, but I know I won't have as much time to get crafty. I'm trying to do as much as I can this week so I can knock out a couple of projects I've been wanting to work on. The first came today while I was working on a mountain of laundry. I got a super sweet camera for Christmas so I decided to make a camera strap cover to go over the boring black and yellow one it came with.

I used fabric I got on sale at my last (4 hour) trip to Joann's. I used a few tutorials (mainly this one) from the internet to get the best idea of how make it and then went for it. I made one and it just wasn't right. It fit a little too tight and just looked really strange. Honestly, I rushed through it..but that's just me. I have to do pretty much everything twice in order to get it right. What can I say, I'm used to it.

Here's the fabric.


And the final product!! Totally meep, right?


p.s. notice the new hair color? any thoughts? I really like it, but blonde will be back.

12.28.2009

moon river.

One of my very favorite scenes from Breakfast at Tiffany's...and I really do love the song. I wish I took the time to watch it more often. I'm going to work on bulking up my collection of old movies. (they just don't make 'em like they used to) I think Casablanca is first on my purchase list.

At Christmas this year I played a board game called Battle of the Sexes with my family and it was really fun. (i totally recommend it) One of the female-oriented questions asked "What author wrote the book Breakfast at Tiffany's?". I was the only one there who knew it and it made me feel great, but it also made me realize that I hadn't seen the movie in a really long time. I haven't made time to watch it yet, but I had to look up this scene!

By the way, the book was written by Truman Capote. It's a great, easy read so pick it up!



mondaymeep.

I found some really cute stuff at Fred Flare and they are having a giant sale. Check out the website to find your own cute, these are prices you just can't pass up.









12.27.2009

loot.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their families and friends. I thought I'd share with you the wonderful things my generous family gave me this year. I have to say I really lucked out and got even more that I bargained for. Enjoy the meep!

My adorable little piggy bank given to me by my boyfriend. WARNING: This is a cash only piggy!

The most amazing gift! My new camera (hooray) a Nikon D3000. You know what this means...no more horrible iphone photos and so so many outfit updates to come once I get a tripod and figure out the self timer.

Gold TOMS via my wonderful sister and brother-in-law. I've worn them constantly since getting them and they pretty much go with everything. love.

Turquoise fingerless gloves....a must for anyone with an iphone.

BEAUTIFUL leather and rabbit fur gloves from my boyfriend's family. These are so nice and so fancy and so me. I've actually been looking at thrift stores for something like this. perfect gift.

Cancer mug from my parents. As you can see I've already had hot cocoa out of it. The best part is the it is GIANT, which I love. Plus, I sort of think the description is spot on.

I love to read even though I don't have a ton of time to dedicate to it but, if I find a good book I usually have a hard time putting it down. I have a few authors that I read religiously, but I usually look for suggestions online or ask for recommendations. My sister gave me this and I read the first 30 pages in about 15 minutes which usually means good things.

towels from my grandmother. She has a great embroidery machine and does some really beautiful stuff. The gray towel is a wrap with hello kitty ribbion...so cute!

A friend from Las Vegas sent this to Chris and me for the holidays. I'm really excited to eat all of the wonderful things Chris creates using this. Zucchini bread is my favorite...hint, hint.

This scarf was given to me by my grandmother and she put my initials on it. I absolutely love it.

Smashbox makeup kit from my sister and brother-in-law. This is A-MAZZ-ING. I'm boring when it comes to make up and rarely shop for it. I've been wearing the same color pallet for years and red lipstick is about as exciting as it gets. Well, that's all history thanks to this. I'm going to have to start carving out more than 10 minutes to do my makeup.

12.20.2009

look.

so, a few posts ago I told you about the red, white, and blue outfit contest I entered over at adoredaustin.com. I didn't win, but she did write a post about all the contest entries and you have to check it out. My picture AND a link to my blog made it onto a blog that I lovelovelove and I got really, really excited. Now, this may seem silly to some, but as a blogger...HUGE!

Welcome! to anyone who here thanks to the link! I hope you follow the cuteness!

Go over and check out the post featuring me and all the other lovely outfits from the contest.

12.17.2009

meepversary.


Well, would you look at that. 100th post. Wow. It seems like just yesterday...well you know. I've put a lot of hard work into this project and, while, it is mostly just a selfish catalog of beautiful things I adore, I hope that someone out there has been encouraged to try something new or simply found something really cute online they could not resist. I will continue to blog about my favorite meep and I hope you continue to read. In the meantime, I found the perfect gift to congratulate myself with....in my imagination of course. 200th post, here I come.

12.15.2009

adore.

Thank you God. My life has meaning again. "Coming Soon" means not coming soon enough.

12.14.2009

ornamental.

I'm trying to be crafty this holiday season. While low funds is part of the reason, I've found that I really enjoy making things. They may not always be perfect or useful, but crafting/sewing can be very rewarding. The sense of accomplishment once the project is done is intoxicating and giving personally made items brings so much more joy than handing off a gift card.

While wrapping up my first christmas gifts, I got this rad idea to hand make all the gift tags. Well this idea went from gift tags (notice the plural) to one ornament. It took some time, but I was just free handing this, without instructions or a pattern. Here's how to make this project, as well as pictures of my final product. I hope you like it and feel the crafty drive to make some for your loved ones this holiday season.

Supplies:
needle and thread
old t-shirt/jersey material
cute buttons
thicker thread in a contrasting color
ribbon

First, I used an old red t-shirt (left over from the previous project) and doubled it over. I traced a heart onto the fabric and then cut it out. I pinned the fabric together for exact cutting.

Next, I used the thicker thread in pink to hand sew my sister's name onto one side of the t-shirt fabric. You have to be sort of delicate with this part...pull the thread too hard or make a stitch too big and your letters might not look right. My sister's name is Tabitha, but I went for the shortened version. If you or your friend has a long name, you could always go with the person's initials.


The next step is optional. I picked out a few buttons I had laying around to sew onto the fabric. I sewed these on by hand with the same thread I used to make the name. Be careful not to sew these too close to the edges or you'll be stuck hand sewing a lot more than you'd probably like to.


Next, layer the two fabric pieces together and sew around edges with sewing machine. Start at the top of the heart and work your way down. Leave a space open at the top for the ribbon and also a space near the bottom to stuff the heart before hand sewing it closed. I used scraps of the same t-shirt to stuff the heart to give it shape. This is optional but I think filling it makes it look so much better. Next, loop ribbon and stuff loose ends into top space. Hand sew into place.


And done!

This project is a great way to jazz up your gifts and can be used as an ornament or a door hanger. You can also stuff it with lavender so it can be used as a drawer sachet.

(still surviving on iphone photos. sorry.)

heaven.

so one of my favorite bloggers, whose site I check religiously, is having a fun giveaway that requires you to submit your best red, white, and blue outfit. The best one wins a whole bunch of cute prizes, and I really hope I get it. If you have a submission click the link above and get in on it, but hurry the deadline is quickly approaching.

so getting to the main part of my story....I love Indiana's style, sense of humor,...pretty much everything. Her blog deserves a bookmark so go do that immediately. I was excited to enter the contest and spent some time deciding if I should put a new outfit together or just use the outfit I actually wore on independence day. I finally decided to enter the contest using my actual outfit and sent her an e-mail with the link and my info. Less than a day later I received this:

Lindy,
Thank you so much for your RWB submission! I love how you tied up the
hem of your maxi. I'll have to try that this summer! And hahaha- your
PBR shot is awesome! :0)

-Indiana

When I read this I about had a heart attack. She sent me an e-mail!! wow!!! I know that maybe this is borderline crazy.....almost as bad as a girl crying at a 98 Degrees concert, but not quite. I realize that she's just a cool girl I happen to stalk through the internet, but I thought it was AWESOME of her to take the time to send a reply.

Now's the time to go to her website, Adored Austin, and enter to win! The prizes are fabulous and maybe you'll even get a personal shout out from the blogger herself.

12.11.2009

sweet tee.

I've been taking a beginner's sewing class and now that I have control of the sewing machine I feel empowered to take on as many projects as possible. Here's my latest creation. I hope you meep it!

Supplies:

plain (yep, in my) white tee (v-neck, my favorite)
old t-shirts in cute colors
needle and thread
sewing machine




Sorry for the horrible photos. My iphone is the only way I can share this cuteness even if the pictures look like crap. (hopefully, in a few weeks, that won't be a problem anymore. wink,wink mom.) I used an online tutorial, as well as an instructional video to help me make the flowers. When starting this project I really didn't think it would be that challenging....but oh how I was wrong. The flowers are a lot harder than you might think and quite time consuming. It takes some practice, but I'm not a perfectionist and sort of enjoyed that my flowers weren't perfect. The good news is, once the flowers were formed (finally) sewing them on and sewing the back heart detail was a easy-peasy.

I used a pair of my boyfriend's old scrubs in green to make the leaves and I sewed those on with my machine first. Next I used the needle and thread to first sew the flowers together and then to the shirt. (Make sure you measure this out before actually sewing. You want your leaves and flowers to overlap a bit. I used an ink pen to make the placement and was sure to cover it while sewing.) There's no reason to be exact here...making sure they stay is really all that matters. I recommend using a pretty thin needle if you're using old t-shirt material. Next I cut out the heart and sewed it on the back of the tee with my machine. I added this because I thought it needed something extra, but you can choose whatever shapes, colors, styles to go with. If you do take time to tackle this project, please send me a picture!



12.10.2009

girlie guide.

we have officially entered into the double digits of december and I know a lot of you are worried about what to get your girlfriend/sister/mother/best friend, etc. You could carve out seconds of your day to grab a gift card or hit up the mall, but a gift should be personal and thought out. I know what your thinking..."but that takes so much time and effort". Don't fret because i've put together an etsy/papersnitch gift guide with items for all price ranges and most styles. Take a look at this list and you'll definitely find something for that hard to buy for girlfriend or a mother who seemingly has everything. Any of these gifts would also work for an all girl gift exchange or friend who replies "I don't know!" to the infamous "what do you want for chirstmas?" question. I hope you enjoy my selections and, more importantly, I hope it solves a looming gift dilemma.

$27.00

$38.00

$40.00

$10.00

$25.00

$15.00

Hurry, these are buy one get one free right now and the shop sells a number of super cute prints. perfect for on a headband, on your purse, belt, and even shoes!

$22.00

$74.00

$49.99

Persephone Vintage is one of my favorite Etsy shops! They have lots of great stuff.

$29.00

You get to choose your print from the images! I like the ferris wheel and the birdie the best.

$55.00

$69.00

$8.50

$22.00

$125.00

This is an acceptable version of the snuggie. doesn't it look so comfy!?

$49.00

$90.00

If you really want to splurge grab the top below and the tights above and you're on your way to a great outfit!

$29.99

$32.00

$170.00

I totally give you permission to buy yourself a lovely gift from the list. Go ahead, you deserve it!