new things!

So this weekend, I originally intended to copy this $200 bag that I've been drooling over:

However, I quickly realized how F#%*&@)ing hard it is to work with leather. Especially since I don't have the proper foot presser so it kept sticking and warping the leather :/ whoops. So this project quickly devolved into this:

Again, sorry for the crappy camera, I'll fix that eventually... I absolutely adore this leather though, it's super soft and this amazing warm ivory color (very much unlike the weird yellow color in the picture...). Maybe I'll work my way up to that beautiful inspiration piece, but for now it's just nice to have a small clutch to throw all my stuff in :) p.s. that red lining is the bombdiggity.

In other news, I'm back to being a brunette again!! Not sure I'm loving the color, but it was time for a change. haha I wonder if I'll keep doing this dark brunette/blonde alternating hair dye for the rest of my life... Maaaaaybe! Pictures later if I can summon the courage to take them!

DIY heaven

Recently I've found that more and more, what I'm waste time doing on the internet is looking up how to make things, inspiration to make things, and what things other people have made. Here's a sample from this past week or so. Unfortunately, I didn't save where I got the images, so only some are credited :( Note to self.

White button down plus neon fabric = designer dress that probably costs more than I make in a month (or two). (via ???)

Bolt bracelets from my favorite DIY/fashion blogger EVER, A Pair and a Spare.

Super duper easy front pleat skirt that I'm drooling over, again from A Pair and a Spare

One of the many leather projects I have coming up - leather feather keychain! tee hee (via ...love Maegan, I think)

This technically was a tutorial for this awesome hairstyle, but I'm in LOVE with that necklace and want to try and recreate it! (via ...love Maegan)

and in the beginning

...there was a sewing machine!

Okay, so this post technically isn't about my sewing machine, but since I finally got it up here in Boston now, I've been just bursting at the seams (pun intended) with arts and craftsy ideas so I figured I might as well document my mad sewing/artsing/craftsing bursts somehow. As my first submission to the internets audience, I present my hand-crocheted (as opposed to hook-crocheted) doily rug! It's made out of some kind of cotton rope that I got on a HUGE discount at my fabric store.

The inspiration rug:

SOOOO adorable, I'm crazy in love with lace and doilys and the flower design! My dorm room next year is linoleum (yuck), so I've been looking for creative ways to make it nicer. I wanted this the second I found it. However. This rug is going for $600 bucks, plus shipping on Etsy (here). Eek.

My version:

Sorry for the crappy picture, it kind of looks yellow/shiny in this picture, but I promise it's a nice cotton-y white in real life! I'll get around to taking a better picture eventually... Slightly thinner rope, and it's a tad smaller, but hey! For 15 bucks, I'll take it! Took me about a weekend to make. Don't know why, but I've always found crocheting oddly relaxing, so it was a good weekend, with a pretty cool outcome!

I've got a couple projects in the works this week... And there's leather involved!! ;) Stay tuned.