Consumer Crafts

All of you crafters out there are going to love this!  Watch the video to find out all about ConsumerCrafts.com.  It's a fabulous website were you can order almost anything you need for crafting...at great prices.

Click HERE for the rest of the post~

Beaded Headbands

Party season is coming up soon and today's project is the perfect way to add just a bit of sparkle and pizzazz to your outfit without blinding your dance partner.

Here's what you need to make your own:

Materials:
-headband
-small gauge wire (make sure your beads will fit onto it)
-beads
Optional: Round nose pliers

Steps:
1) Cut a piece of wire at least 1 metre (39") long.

2) Using your pliers wrap one end of the wire to make a small ball.  If your wire is soft enough you can probably  just bend it with your fingers.  There is no technique to this, you just want something that will stop the beads from sliding right off the end.

3) Start loading up your wire with various beads.  Use different sizes, some matte some sparkly, etc.  This will give it more variation and create more interest.

4) Once you've filled up your entire metre of wire with beads create another 'knot' at the end, again this is just so that the beads won't fall off.

5) Wrap your beaded wire around your headband.

6) You should have enough wire to circle back to create a criss-cross pattern.

7) Tuck the end in and bend it so that it's secure and that's it!  You're ready for the party!

I had another headband that I never wear so I created another bead mix out of these beads:

and made this one!

I added a little beaded bouquet of flowers to this one too.

As you can see, I don't really wear my headbands the traditional way with hair pushed back.  I wear them more like little crowns or tiara's.  They feel more special that way~

I know someone will ask, so I'll just say now, that they don't hurt when you put them on, at least not any more than any other headband does.

What do you think?  Are headbands just for little girls or would your wear something pretty like this yourself?  Leave a comment~

This project was featured here:

Tell a Tale: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

“I try not to live in the past...but...sometimes the past lives in me”
― Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

 

Summary (from Goodreads):

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship - and innocent love - that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel's dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Review:
The backdrop of Japanese internment camps is heart breaking but I felt like this story was told from a very simplisitic point of view. Perhaps that's the point because the main character is a young child throughout much of the book but even the scenes that take place later in time, in the 1980's, were just too cut and dry, problems and mysteries too easily solved, and characters just a little too perfect.

Other reviewers have pointed out several anachronisms in the scenes from the 80's, maybe these deviations from history are why it never really felt like the 80's while that part of the story was being told.

This is a love story, and the reader should be focused on the relationship between Henry and Keiko. However, I found myself much more interested in Henry's friendship with Sheldon. I loved their reactions to others when they travelled to find Keiko. They were two outcasts united in a place where their usual day to day threats no longer existed. I wish this had been explored much more.

I found the ending quite disappointing, like I had invested and committed to reading the whole entire book just so that I could make up my own ending. I'm not a big fan of books that do this. If I'm being told a story, tell it to me, don't leave me to wonder what becomes of it all. You can only do this with a book if you've given your readers enough content throughout so that they can fully create an alternate universe in their mind, then they can imagine the outcomes. This book just didn't have enough meat in it for me to completely immerse myself in the lives of the characters.

If you're a sucker for a love story then pick this one up, but overall, this was just OK for me~

A Galaxy Far, Far Away

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you already know I took a little trip this past weekend...to a galaxy far, far away.

It's been awhile since I've visited with some old friends so we all got together for a reunion.  Take a peek at just a few of my buddies who turned up!

My old study partner: C3PO

Sorority President: Leah

Party Animal: Jabba

My old mentor: Yoda

My good buddy: Chewbacca

Last but certainly not least...

The ex: Darth

Actually, I was in Edmonton visiting a friend.  When she told me the Star Wars Identity Exhibit was playing at the Telus World of Science I almost fell off my chair.  The underlying lessons to learn were all about how different factors in life help to create individual identities within each of us (even the clones).  The fascinating thing was that it was all done through the stories of Anakin and Luke Skywalker.

There were real costumes, props, and original George Lucas concept drawings.  At the beginning we were each given these bracelets,

and as we walked through the exhibit we swiped them, answered questions, and in the end, depending on our choices were were presented with our very own character from the Star Wars universe!!!!!

Here I am:

And here's my story:
Tamara
Female Kaminoan
I was raised on the forest planet Kashyyyk, where members of my community made their living in tree house real estate. On holidays my friends and I would traditionally go for a long peaceful walk through the forest.

My parents raised me with a mix of independence and support, and I inherited my strong set of creative abilities from them. Later on I spent some time with Yoda, the greatest of all the Jedi, whose guidance left me with knowledge I still use every day in my job as a senator.

I remember this one time when I was captured by a crime lord and chained to his belly. I didn't let this affect me too much, though; instead I used my chains to throttle the crime lord to death and escaped.

People often tell me I’m a generally altruistic and accommodating person, I also tend to be organised and prepared. But the most important thing to me is achievement: I believe that excellence deserves recognition and respect.

The Force is very strong with me, so I wasn't surprised when the Emperor tracked me down. When he offered me limitless power in exchange for my allegiance, I fought the urge to join him and his evil minions and rejected his offer.

You can find out more about the exhibit here.  Unfortunately (for everyone else), this was only one of two stops in North America.  The good news is that it'll be there until April 2013, so you have lots of time to come on over to Canada for a visit.

May the Force be with you!

Button Cards

I still have loads of buttons left over from last years Christmas Shirts project, so I decided to start putting them to use!

These are both easy peasy cards to make and come together quickly.

Whenever you add just a bit of texture, layering, and of course BLING, it makes a nice impression.

You can see the silver ink better in this shot.

Now, you know I didn't come up with these designs all by myself...here are the inspiration cards.

Source: etsy.com via Etcetorize on Pinterest

Source: splitcoaststampers.com via Etcetorize on Pinterest

I have loads more cards to come but you can check out my Christmas and Make to Made boards on Pinterest if you want a sneak preview~

This project was featured here:

Winter Maxi Skirt

Well, I think I've already complained enough about the weather, but for those of you who are new to Etcetorize...it's winter here in Canada.

The problem is, I still like to wear a nice skirt sometimes.  How do you wear a skirt in freezing cold temps???  With nice thick leggings underneath!  And a maxi skirt is the perfect solution.  No one has to see your woolen legs and you still get to be stylish and toasty warm.

Here's what you need for today's project:

Materials:
-60" wide stretch knit fabric
-thread, scissors, pins, measuring tape/yard stick
-wide elastic for waist
-chalk marker/wheel

Steps:
1) I'm going to take the first couple of steps to show you how I folded my fabric.  Folding it this way will ensure the minimum number of cuts.

First, lay your fabric out, bringing the selvedges together in the middle.  Each outside edge should have a fold.

2) Now, fold under the right side so that the left side of your fabric consists of two folded edges and the right side has one selvedge, one fold, and then one selvedge.

Get it?

3) To get the measurement that we need to cut the waist follow this formula:

waist measurement divided by 4 +1 inch.

So, for easy math we'll say that your waist is 32" around...divide by 4 = 8".  Add 1" = 9"

This is how long you will draw a line along one end of your fabric using your chalk.

Personally, the last thing I need is lots of bulk and gathering around my waist, but if that's the look you want, add more inches and you can gather it later.

4) Now measure your hips and divide by 4.  Mark this measurement approximately 8" down from the end of the  waist measurement.

5) Decide how long you want your skirt to be.  Make sure to add 1/2" inch to attach to the waistband and a hem allowance.  Don't forget to add extra if you plan on wearing your skirt with heels!

You should have a shape that looks something like the picture above.  Now, go ahead and cut through all layers of fabric.

You'll end up with two trapezoidish shapes.

6) With right sides together, sew and finish your side seams.  Serge or zigzag along the top edge while you're at it.

7) Set your fabric aside and pick up your elastic.  Measure it around your waist so that it's comfortable, making sure to add a bit of overlap.  Cut and stitch together so that you end up with a circle.

8) Quarter off both the skirt top edge and the elastic.  Just keep marking the middle of your folds with pins until you've marked off 8 points.

9) Before you stitch your elastic on, on the inside edge, mark 1/2" up from the bottom.  When attaching your fabric use this as a guideline and don't let your fabric edge go above it.

10) Stitch the elastic and fabric together, stretching as you go.

11) Hem the bottom and that's it!  So easy, right?!?

I need to find/make a better top to go with it, but I really like how it turned out.

I was actually going to make this skirt from Morning by Morning Productions  but got sidetracked when I pulled the plaid fabric out of my stash.

                                                      Source: morningbymorningproductions.blogspot.ca via Etcetorize on Pinterest

I'll still make the lace one someday~

Is it winter where you are or do you still get to wear only one layer of pretty things?  Leave a comment~

This project was featured here: