ZARKANA

We welcome you to Las Vegas!! Come see the show I am working on at the Aria hotel.  It ROCKS!!  I have been slammed at work; and, so no usual DIY post.  I wish I could show you pics of what I do at work, but it's not allowed.  Lets just say that I build, sew, paint, glue, bondo, cast molds, and use lots of tools.  If you come to see the show look for the organ in the house and try to find Elvis' head on it. (I specifically made that part, but a huge team helped to make the organs what they are now :)  If you see his head let me know where he is and I'll ship you a prize :) 

PIRATE PATCH DIY

My little girl's school held pirate day. Of course, I didn't have a pirate patch laying around. Here is how you can make your own that looks better than black construction paper and lies off the eye.

ITEMS NEEDED: milk jug, black marker, scissors, paper, tape, black fabric, hot glue gun, sewing machine and back elastic.

Milk jug with a large circle drawn around the bottom corner.  Cut it out.

Draw a pirate patch on paper and cut out.

Make a slit to the center, overlap and tape.

Place over milk jug corner, trace and cut.

Paper and milk jug eye patch. Sorry no photo of cutting out fabric.  Lay the paper pattern, flattened again by removing the tape, on the black fabric. Cut the fabric 1/4" from the edge of the paper pattern.  You need the extra fabric to flip over the edge of the plastic patch. No pics for this...sorry I was in a hurry.

Use your hot glue gun to glue the edges of the fabric to the underside of the plastic eye patch.  Next measure the head and cut elastic.  I then sewed the elastic to the eye patch. If you don't want to sew you could punch holes and tie. 

 Our last minute pirate costume. ARRGHH!



TIPS FOR A PERFECT CLASSIC SHIRT POCKET

Unfortunately I do not always sew fun things.  I try to turn sewing down for other people, but every once in awhile I help someone out in a bind.  A friend called, and said their seamstress dropped out at the last minute.They needed shirt pockets put on the right breast.  Here are my tips of how to make a classic shirt pocket not look home sewn.

Tip number one.  Most important TIP!!!  Make a cardboard cutout of the finished pocket size.  To create mine, I pulled a left breast pocket off for a pattern.  You should be able to pull this off your pattern if you are making a shirt from scratch.

Next use your iron and press down the edges around the cardboard.  Let it cool for a few seconds before pulling out the cardboard.

This pocket was made from a knit, and so it needed stabilizing to keep the top of the pocket from stretching. I added whisper weft. If you are using a woven you need to double fold and press the top edge under to prevent fraying.

Next step is to sew across the top of the pocket before pining. Next use markings from the pattern to place pocket.  Pin or you can glue stick the pocket in place to prevent shifting.  Gluing it will prevent shifting on knits and on stripped fabric. If you don't have a pattern like me, I used the exsiting pocket for placement.  I measured how far from CF and the shoulder seam.

The finished project....60 shirts later.  Sewing is fun...Right? If you come to Vegas and see my shirts on a vallet, well you can get the satisfaction of knowing how much work went into those little pockets :)



DIY ICE CREAM BIRTHDAY CAKE

 I AM A PICKY CAKE EATER!! Anyone else fit this category?  I hate cake that looks beautiful, but tastes disgusting (too much frosting, dry cake, etc.).  I like ice cream cakes, but despise the cost for a little cake. 

My easy yummy messy ice cream cake.

First I need a base.  I cut up my trusty cereal box, two layers thick for sturdiness.

Wrap in aluminum.

The ingredients bought at Walmarts, with the exception of the Trader Joe chocolate covered potato chips. (Don't get these, I bought them on a whim; because, the birthday girl loves potato chips and chocolate.  Not so great.)  Buy boxed ice cream as this is the key to making your ice cream cake easy.  Pick your own toppings, cake flavors, and candy bar. I use chocolate shell's to create a fun texture on the top and side of the cake.

Baked cake cut to match the size of your ice cream box.

Place first layer of cake on tray, and shave the top till level.

Crush your candy bar.

Put your caramel sauce and crashed butterfinger on top of the cake.

Now the fun part. After your first layer of cake is ready take your ice cream out of the fridge, unwrap, and cut into three lengthwise pieces.  Don't take out your ice cream too early as it melts fast! Add the ice cream, and then the next cake layer repeating all the steps.  You can make it 6 levels high or just 4.  On the top layer of ice cream I put more caramel, butterfinger, and then the hard shell.  I then put it back in the freezer to set up again before serving. I added the chocolate covered potatoe chips that I'll nix next time.

ORGANIC FARMCATION

I truly am blessed to have parents who own a farm.  I have an earlier post about this farm, but every time we go it is a new adventure and we do different things.  Here is the latest adventure at the LEWIS FARM.

One of the many loaded apple trees.  

Trays loaded with apples for drying.  The dryer holds 12 trays. The trays are 2' x 4'.

Sliced apples that are going to be used to make canned apple pie filling.

DRIED FRUIT!! YUM! APPLES, NECTARINES, and APRICOTS.

Dried apples.

Apple sauce.

Putting the sliced apples in jars. Later the caramel sauce is added for pie filling. Sorry no finished picture of the canned pie filling.

Even the horse loves apple season.

My youngest said, "I didn't know horses eat spaghetti too!" We couldn't convince her that it was apple skin.

Homemade apple juice.



To top off a perfect farmcation stay, my mom saved the last of the fresh peaches and made peach tort pie!  TO DIE FOR!!!

Last but not least homemade salsa.  It was a packed weekend of organic goodness!!!

Slash Your T-Shirt

I can't seem to get enough of the slash n' braid method.  Here is another t-shirt remake.

 I lined the top part of the sleeves, with black velvet.

I lined the back with black velvet too, and slashed in the words.

Ironically this is not my all time favorite t-shirt remake, but it had the most compliments and requests.  It would be cool to line the words with another color under it, but I have to wear all black at work :)  If I made it again I would slash all the way up to the neck above the sleeves.

T-Shirt to Tank Top



My t-shirt I recieved from running 6 tunnels to hoover dam. http://www.mountainmanevents.com/sixtunnels.htm  It's a fun race! I ran the half in a team relay and finished 2nd in my division, even though I am SLOW.

I made a straight cut in the front right under the neck band.  Then I cut the sleeves out following the exhisting armhole. I cut the back straight across from the bottom of the armhole.  I used the slash and braiding technique I used in earlier tutorials to finish the cut edge.  

http://www.hernewleaf.com/2011/07/21/diy-banana-republic-braided-neck-tee-shirt/  I cut the sleeve into 6 strips to make two braids for the straps.

 Finished slash n braid edging.

 The finished product.  I sewed the straps where I wanted them :0



Now I am ready to run it next year with my green tank.

NO SEW MAXI DRESS GIVEAWAY!

My awesome Aunt, who gave me the flower hooks, gave me a bizillion yards of a purple knit fabric. I decided to try a new to me NO sew technique I have seen floating around the internet. salinabear tutorial  Course I modified it a bit or a lot to make the technique do what I wanted it too.

The first two dresses I made.  One is a box cut with side slit, the other with no slit and added fullness at the bottom.

 I went wild and crazy with this one. Twist over the CF, high low hem, empire waistline.

 I decided to make my family look a complete one. The bowtie did require sewing!

 I love this GUY!  I also love it when men wear bowties.  Who can resist a bowtie?

Here is my little YODA.  I later hemed her dress higher.  This is the look I am going to giveaway, because I still have leftover fabric.  All you have to do is comment on this post by next Sunday Sept 23, 2012 at midnight.  I will make the YODA MAXI dress to fit whomever you want adult or child.  The winner will need to send me some measurements, that will get worked out later.  The winner will be selected by putting a name in a hat, and announced Monday Sept 24. Good luck everyone! If people are interested in a tutorial let me know, and perhaps I will make a video since there are a lot of steps.