FOUR EYES

before my mom's amazing health insurance runs out (because i turn 26) i'm trying to get all my appointments in so last week i went to the eye dr to get some new readers. i actually have 20/20 vision but my eyes get sleepy when staring as a computer all day so the glassese help them relax and keep my ocular migraines at bay.

and which ones did i get...

ta dah!

DIY BLING SOCKS

DIY VELVET TOP

i've been wanting this jcrew velvet top for awhile but it's too expensive so i decided to make my own. i waited until fabric depot had 30% off all fabric and then snatched up this pretty dark blue color. 

i used another tee as a pattern and cut out the pieces. i have a sleeve i took off of another tee that i keep near my sewing to use as a pattern. i had to make a few adjustments of the velvet top on myself like mark where i wanted the neck and take in the sleeves a bit. i didn't finish the edges on the neck and sleeves but for now i love it. i wore this to work last week and i got a lot of complements and i even got petted.

SALTED CARAMEL PRETZEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH CHIA SEEDS

i've been hearing great things about chia seeds so i finally bought some. they are uberly nutritious and can help you feel full. i google chia seeds and i found 40 uses for chair seeds...

#1 is an eggs substitute for cookies and cake so i thought heck why not i try it.

i was already planning on making some delicious salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies so i added the chia seeds instead of an egg. i had to add some water too because the batter was a little dry.

here's my version.

the original salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookie recipe is from the diary of daves wife.

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1. Soak 1 level tablespoon of chia seeds with a quarter cup of water to make an egg substitute for baking cakes and cookies.

2. Add chia seeds to apple juice to make “sago”.

3. Grind seeds and add to hot milk to make a “porridge”

4. Mix seeds through yogurt.

5. Add seeds to soup to thicken and add nutrition.

find more at chai seed recipes.

WEEKEND IN KIRKLAND

last weekend (mlk weekend) jason and i drove up to kirkland washington to hang out with my brother in law and his fiance hannah. our first night up there we went a little crazy with hanna's bosses...

we went to an irish pub and did some dancing and clapping.

jason drinking some randoms beer as he amped up the whole bar.

mid clap.

and when dancing the irish you have to go really fast and try over your own feet.

we end our trip with being very hungover and we stopped in seattle to see mama (molly) and her beau. it was nice to catch up even if it was for a short amount of time.

oh and i can't forget tonger....

DIY CAMERA CHAIN

its sassy and classy...

this is really easy to make. all you need is chain, lace (you can buy it already pretty in the ribbon section) and leather lace (i prefer faux to save the cute little animals).

thread the leather lace through the chain and hand stitch the lace to the chain (or leather lace). 

then to finish it off i attached the leather lace to my camera and knotted it ( you don't want this to be flimsy or else it could break and that would not be good for your camera.)

GARLAND

my lovely handmade garland.

i made the chain originally as a count down to europe but i never took any of the links off. the yellow circles are just felt that i sewed and the sparkly one i made form nye but can't bring myself to throw it away.

PAPA'S 60TH!

the best dad in the whole world turned 60 on december 18th. we did something  a little different for his birthday this year. he never wants anything for his birthday, christmas, or even father's day. a hug will do. well we know how special our dad is and so i came across an idea on pinterest (i know shocking right). well a girl sent letters out to everyone her dad knew with a request to send back memories and get 60 to share with her dad on his birthday. well we changed it up a bit. we sent out emails and facebook messages. we live in the digital world so we might as well embrace it. we didn't get back 60 but 49, not bad! i ordered some airmail envelopes to stuff the letters in and my sis designed a letter head. 

we decided to go out to desert at papa haydens on his birthday because we all worked (except dad) and i had ballet until 730.

and of course he loved them!! we only got through one of the 3 stacks during desert but he finished up the rest at home. the stories were amazing! we got so many different people from his life and it was great to read all the memories! papa i love you more then anything, you are my role model.

and he even loved his cherry chocolate chocolate cake. silly.

.....

but it didn't stop there....we had a little surprise birthday party for him a few days later! we had our closest friends and some family over and ate dinner and hung out.

ENTOMOLOGY PINS

sorry no diy today but i did get in the mail entomology pins from merchant & mills in england. i came across these on pinterest but they have amazing products. i wanted everything but couldn't justify buying it all so i went with these for sewing purposes. and of course the packaging is great! which reminds me; i need to make some stamps soon.

DIY ANIMAL EARS

i've been going through an animal phase...

...

i made wire cat ears awhile back and have worn them a couple times but they are kinda crappy. this past week i finally got my metal head bands in the mail!! it took over a month, ridiculous. but they are great. i finally made proper cat ears and bear ears. see below.

it's really easy all you need is a head band, wire, pliers, and clear glue to hold them in place. i cut a piece of wire; leaving enough room to wrap it around the head band a couple times, i formed it to the shape before i attached it to the head band and then finished it up with some glue to hold it and hide any sharp edges.

bear ears 

cat ears


...

<3

DIY: SEQUIN HIGH WAISTED SKIRT

if you know me at all you probably know that i have a little problem with shiny things and leopard. i came across this skirt awhile back and wanted it so badly. but sadly they are crazy expensive! so i decided to make my own.

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i don't have a tutorial but.... 

get a pattern. 

buy material, thread, and zipper. 

cut out pattern and material.

and sew together (sewing machine with jean needle suggested). 

sequined material is pretty expensive and it's not easy to find good material. i went to joann's and mill end and found nothing i liked so i made the trip out to fabric depot. i would recommend watching for sales or coupons. this was one of the cheaper sequined material and it was over $30 a yard.

and i finished it by nye!

here's pictures from our night.

DIY: BUTTERFLY FRIENDLY TAXIDERMY

i'm not sure why but i really like taxidermy'd things. i know very bad bad vegetarian. but i like faux taxidermy even more. i already have a cardboard deer and a blow head of a tiger but i'm also looking to add more to my collection. i've always liked butterflies but in paris we went to deyrolle and they had such amazing butterfly displays!!! after that i knew i had to have one. i almost considered buying a real butterfly one but thankfully they are too spendy.

tiffanypete paris

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then i came across this esty site kate's cottage. this shop has handmade silk butterfly accessories. they are supposed to be hair clips but i took off the clip part, I hope kate doesn't mind. and then i pinned them in a shadow box frame.

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this picture below doesn't do it justice. the glass is took reflective, it's hard to get a good picture. but i love it and i made one for my sissy for christmas.