Scrunchies

 Today I worked on these. I really like them because it is the perfect way to change a sloppy "I just got off work" bun into a nice hair style. They are easy to make and perfect for girls of any age. They are an accessory that can compliment any outfit no matter the occasion or complete lack there of.

 

 These are the tools you will need. It can be hand stitched but that is time consuming. A bead spinner is also not necessary, it just saves time.
Start by cutting the cloth of choice into strips that are 4+ inches wide by 18+ inches long. If you want it to be more ruffly, make it longer.
 




 Next fold the long ends in. I shoot for at least 1/4 of an inch when I work with this material. It is silk I brought back with me from China and it frays like nobody's business!







Again, because of the material type, I iron it down so that it has a distinct crease. This is certainly not necessary for all types of fabric but with things that have a mind of their own, I find a little extra direction saves me a lot of trouble.

*Here's a tip: ironing small bits of fabric does not require a full sized iron. I prefer to use my straightener as often as I can!




Pin the ends together around the ponytail holder. I like to exercise the ponytail holder so that I can make sure it wont do that thing where the elastic looses its connection and stretches out. Why put all this work into something that isn't going to last at least a while?
 
Sew these bits together and start on the bead work. Use any pattern you like, I haven't found one that looks bad yet. Fringe looks nice but keep in mind its tenancy to get tangled up in hair.

Opals

        As I mentioned before, I am in the process of moving. Consequently, all of my craft stuff is EVERYWHERE! So I have taken some time to work on other projects (I have soooo many) that have been neglected for a little while for favor of better work space. I picked up this hobby some time ago and to date it is probably my favorite. The short of it... I take rough opals and turn them into wearable jewelry. Let me show you the process.



It really begins with finding good rocks and ordering them. That in itself is an adventure. Sometimes the process takes weeks. Then there is the anxiously awaiting their arrival. When shipped from all around the world, then going through customs, most of the time, that part alone takes about a month. By the time they come, the suspense has built to a paramount level.

These first 4 pictures are of one rock. This is what it looked like when I started. I took several to show different angles so you can fully appreciate the time and work that goes into it. It truly is a journey with many road blocks and few freeways.


The first step is to work on the shape and remove as much of the debris as possible. I try to retain as much of the natural shape as possible so I don't try and make perfect squares or diamonds or anything typical. My goal is to smooth our rough edges and make at least one face flat, though sometimes I end up with nothing flat at all. These two pictures were taken after I removed as much debris as possible and made the shape more smooth and agreeable.


These final 3 pictures are the product of the polish. I have not been able to take good pictures of Opals, it is unbelievably challenging and never to my satisfaction. But you can see this rock has an amazing color range! It literally houses every color on the planet

Opals, a Breif Introduction. Part I

Opals are amazing and truly unique! Every Opal is different than every other Opal even though they are molecularly similar. So what makes that brilliant flash? In a word, Silica. When light penetrates the rock and hits silica orbs infused with water, they act like a prism and bend and separate the light into all the colors of the rainbow. That is the secret to the amazing play of colors we see in these rocks!

Even though Opals posses the same light manipulating properties, no two opals look alike. However it is very interesting to compare Opals from different mines. Maybe I have spent way too much time looking at Opals but I can see some distinct characteristics that are unique to particular mines. Let me show you what I mean. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/118993615130836647/

 

To the left, you see Mexican Fire opals. They are a yellow to amber color with flashes of color all through out. Mexico is known or these types! I'm sure there are other places that have opals that resemble these but I haven't seen them yet.

https://www.opalauctions.com/learn/opal-information/australian-opal-fields

 
To the right you see an Australian Opal. It is blue and green and orange. Australia has a massive diversity when it comes to Opals. They have black, white, boulder and crystal opals. And each of those genera has a massive amount of diversity within it.

https://www.opalauctions.com/learn/how-to039s/how-to-identify-

 

This is an Ethiopian opal. The only way I can really explain the difference of this type of opal is the way it reflects color. It seems like it is on the surface of the Opal. And I usually get a lot of green and red when I order from there.




Because the radiance of the Opal depends on the amount of light that is able to penetrate it, domes are preferable and most common. Sometimes I see them faceted but I wouldn't say that adds anything to the stone at all, they simply aren't that kind of rock. Because Opals by nature are entirely unique, each and every one, that is why my preference for cut is free form. I feel it enables a rock to retain its individuality.
Something else to keep in mind is the level of diversity. These rocks are examples of what I commonly see from a particular mine. That does not mean that all rocks that come from these places look like this. Sometimes opals from Australia look like those from Ethiopia etc.

This is a topic I am passionate about so if you have any questions or comments feel free to message, comment, email whatever strikes your fancy!

Houma Louisiana

In addition to moving this weekend, I am on a  short trip to Houma Louisiana. Why the heck would I leave the comfort of Dallas and drive 7 hours to Houma you ask? That's a good question,  I started feeling stagnate and loosing patience and inspiration so it was time to shake shit up and go on a mini-trip. I found this going out of business sale at a Hancock Fabric's, 60-80% off, SCORE!!!! I couldn't help myself!











I also sampled some of the local cousine. I was told I couldn't go wrong with Cracklin and Boo-Dam-Balls. Deep fried deliciousness in cajn !

I also had the privilege of visiting the local court house where I saw something interesting...  Does every court house have multiple fall out shelters, or does Louisiana know something we don't??? I wasn't sure if I should feel safe or scared ha ha.

Drinking with Scissors

My mom used to get onto me for running with sicissors, I wish she had warned me about drinking with scissors... The result may not have been detrimental to my health but it was certainly fatal to my hair style. My bangs went from down to my waist to my cheek!  

The Sea-glass Ring

I have a friend who had this beautiful piece of sea glass she wanted set into a ring. Naturally I offered to do it for her. I think it turned out really nice! It is simple and elegant. The ring is silver and was purchased from etsy. It is a 20 gauge, which is pretty soft and malleable. A larger gauge would have suited just fine. I think next time I will go with 12-16.

Day 1- The Spiral Base

Today I made the chain. I have never made this kind before but it is really simple, just time consuming and repetitive. It is basically a 3D peyote stitch. If the rest of it is this easy, I have my work cut out for me!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/212021094933935942/

This, again, in another language, is basically how it is done. I wanted uniformity so all my beads are the same size and color. It's pretty easy once you get it started. Getting it started is a little tricky but once you have about 6-10 levels of it started it gets much easier. I recommend pulling the string tight so that you don't get loose levels and gaps.

Challenge #1

How Beautiful is This!?!?

http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/4148732/post364701892/

The reason I chose this piece this week is evident, I mean look at it! Well balanced color scheme, A-symmetrical structure, and it looks pretty challenging. I have no idea how to make any of those components. To top it all off, there are no real instructions, and if you click on the link you will notice the post is in Russian... I think... GREAT! Challenge accepted!

One of My Favorites!

Today, I would like to show you one of my favorite projects of all time. I made this right after I got divorced and was really depressed. I often find my most impressive and beautiful projects are born of most intense and deep depression.

This necklace has 4 stars, 3 pockets, and 2 flowers. Every bead was individually stitched. Including planning, this necklace took me around 300 hours to make. It is totally unique and one of a kind. There are not instructions for it anywhere. It still makes me happy every time I see it! 

The Black Corset
I forgot to mention that the green corset nightmare adventure was embarked on because I need something to go under the black corset. That one I completed, with ease, today. The green was important because I was going to cut through the leather and have a design that showed the green through the black. I abandoned that after realizing that if they werent stitched together parts of the black would curl and diminish the effect.

LOVE it!!!

Design I added

Today I finished with the bones and put some trim around the top and bottom. The inside of this corset is pretty hideous as you can see. Most of the corset is done now, save the ends where it will be laced up. I am out of caps for my bones so that will have to wait. For now, lets reflect on what we have learned not to do.
Do NOT

• Cut your pieces too small!
• Remove the pattern from the cloth until you are ready to use it - then place it somewhere where you are able to see the pieces lined up.
• Exaggerate your channels - too large results in sloppy work while too small results in unusable channels.
• Sew the wrong ends together! - With corsets it is amazingly easy to do as so many of the pieces look alike.
• Cut your boning with scissors - you will need man tools for this.
• You can not sew through boning - don't even try.

 All of these, save the last one, I have done.

This is the inside, My, what weird channels I have!

This is the outside.

The outside isn't too bad, it will suffice. The lines could certainly use some work. Since there is so little forgiveness with corsets, every step must be done with care and preperation.

Days 2-3 of this Corset Story

Today I got up and picked back up where I left off with the channels for the boning. I had cut several bones yesterday and today my hands were killing me, glad I split it up. Several of the channels were too narrow so I had to take them out and restitch them, fun fun fun. I learned several things today. First, heavy duty wire clippers are an absolute necessity for clipping boning, and pliers are necessary for the caps. Secondly, don't under estimate the power of plumbers tape, it makes the bones and caps much more flush. Finally plan channel intersections carefully! I have made the most incredible mess on the inside so far with all this sewing and resewing and will have to do the channels very differently as they are quite strong but the opposite of aesthetic.

One of my poorly planned intersections!

Corsets, who knew?

I decided I needed to shake shit up and I needed a challenge so I decided to make my first corset. Seems easy enough right? Bunch of panels,and channels, add some boning and grommets and voula! Not so much... as it turns out, not only is wearing them akin to an archaic form of self flagellation, making them isn't any easier. First of all, be prepared to measure, sew, and resew a LOT! Secondly steel boning is a force to be reckoned with. Finally, forget margin for error because by the time I was done, excessive seam allowance that usually allows for that margin, was but a fond and distant memory.
I did pick up a few helpful tips along the way. First of all, allow for a wider seam allowance than you think it will take. The pieces that will face the outside, should face each other when you are cutting so fold so that you can cut both identical and opposite pieces at one time. Keep the piece that tells you which piece it is attached to it until you are ready to use it. It is unbelievably easy to mix them up! I found that tacking them to a board even when I was done with the pattern really helped me see how they were supposed to be sewn together.