Sewing Projects

A quick round up of several sewing projects over the years

 Abby's fitted dress

 Abby's sack dress

 Abby's twirly skirt

 Baby Burp cloths

 Joker feltie

 Pink monster feltie

Wrap conversion ring sling

Teaching myself to sew, by cheating.

   Thank god for Pinterest and craft blogs! I recently told my horder father that I was thinking about getting a sewing machine and finally learn to sew. "I have one of those!" he exclaimed. "Your mother gave you one for your birthday or Christmas a thousand (approximately) years ago and it's still here." The next time I traveled to to Minneapolis, I picked it up and brought it home.

   I'd be lying if I said I did anything other than head straight to Youtube for step by steps on how to thread a damn sewing machine, and then I took my sweet time scouring craft blogs for the beginneringly beginnerest of sewing tutorials.

   My first attempt was to turn one of my big, baggy t-shirts into a dress for my soon-to-be 5 year old daughter. It was a successful first try, in that my t-shirt was converted into a dress for my daughter; if only on the most rudimentary level. I won't bother sharing that one, as it was MOSTLY a project to get me acquainted with my machine. My next attempt, however, turned out pretty well (If I may say so myself thankyouverymuch). I followed a very well written how-to posted at Make it and Love it, the Front Tie Spring Dress.

(Note to self: Have sister-in-law teach you to work a camera that didn't come on your phone)

   Upon second viewing of my version, I clearly need to lengthen the front tie part. Look at the bow; it's all wonky and sad. I chose to lengthen the hem and add a little extra fabric in the gathering at the waist, so the dress might survive my daughter's next epic growth spurt.

   Meh, I'll post an updated pic when I fix the length on the bow.

   I also attempted to make a pattern from a pair of her leggings to make jeggings with a cute stretchy denim with a zebra print. They would have been really cute too, if they weren't waaay too slim in the thighs. Sometime, I'll get some more of that fabric and try again. Reverse-engineering clothing has a learning curve, but I'm determined.

   Next attempt will be a skirt for her, I think. And then MAYBE a skirt for me. We'll see about that, though. Not sure I feel confident enough to ruin that much material while I'm still getting the basics of my machine down.

-=CaseyCannolis

I bought a new ugly hat :)

Prologue: I look bad in hats. I have a small head, flat hair and even at my slimmest, very broad shoulders and when you add a hat to the mix, it is pretty ridiculous. This kind of information is what we writers refer to as foreshadowing....


   So I have a few personality... let's call them quirks... that can sometimes hinder success in my personal and professional life. I won't make a list here, because that would be redundant as I fully intend on getting to them each in their own time through regular blog posts.

   The quirk I'm write about today is the fact that I hate being flirted with/ getting hit-on. I've noticed that even when most people are flirted with/ hit-on, in the best of circumstances, even when they're in a happy relationship, can be, to some degree, flattered. In the best of circumstances, in a relationship or out of one, I greet flirtation with the aggression and hostility I think it deserves.

   I don't think I'm some hot stuff, who couldn't be bothered with the plebs trying to grace themselves with my presence or anything. This isn't born of ego or entitlement or anything natural like that. More than anything, it makes me feel tricked. Please: allow me to explain.

   I remember back when I was pregnant, I used to go down to a coffee shop a mile or so from my house that was just a block or two away from an expensive arts college in Minneapolis, and I would work on writing short stories. I'd get a black coffee, and after occasionally arguing with the cashier that it was actually none of their business if I consumed caffeine when I was pregnant and they're not my doctor, just the person who pours my coffee, I'd sit down and begin to write (or read, if I was not inspired).

   On several occasions, a stranger would sit down near me, or across the lounge area from me and eventually ask me what I was reading or writing. I would answer politely and smile, make a little chit chat, but usually be pre-occupied by my task and go back to it. Then the stranger would continue to make small talk and, since I'm pretty slow on the uptake, I'd EVENTUALLY realize they weren't really huge fans of zombies, or of course care at all about what I was writing, but were actually hitting-on me.

   The rage would bubble inside of me, as I processed what was going on. To this person, I wasn't reading a great book, I wasn't writing a masterpiece and was so interesting: I was someone they wanted to stick their penis into for a while. Compounded by the fact that I was hormonal and visibly pregnant, this bothered me to no end.

   The above was just one of the examples I could list, (but is my most frequently mentioned because seriously, what the fuck. Please don't hit on the pregnant woman who is consumed by her work. SHE IS SOOOOO BUSY!) and shouldn't be read as the only times I got hit on.

   The times I have consumed with rage/ frustration/ hostility with just being out in society and afraid I was going to be hit on was when I was A) Under-aged and living in a scary neighborhood where pimps would literally grab me while I was walking down the street and spin me around and try to bully me into being their girlfriend (e.g. working for them) to which I would respond with physical violence and foul language, earning me a reputation around the neighborhood as a crazy bitch that was not to be approached, with a lifestyle that I fortunately grew out of; and B) When I was living off of 1 meal a day of ramen noodles and butter and was the slimmest I had been since my pre-teen years, which I unfortunately grew out of by gaining pregnancy weight and then adding to that a mix of fad diets and untreated, lethargy-laced depression.

   Even though I am now much heavier than I want to be (mostly for health and energy reasons, but also because my awesome husband Chris married a nice-looking person and wound up with more than he bargained for and I'd really like HIM to be attracted to me), I am still kind of comforted that I rarely am getting hit-on right now. Mix the aging with the weight gain, and I am far less appealing to the majority of the people who would be hitting on me otherwise. I like that I'm not staring at the ground when I walk because I'm afraid that if I make eye-contact with someone walking down the street, that they'll smarmy-smile at me and/or touch me and/or try to get me to go home with them.

   My feelings about my weight gain are therefor quite ambivalent. I want to lose weight and be healthy and attractive to my husband, BUT I also like that the weight gain seems to have made me less appealing to everyone else, so I'm finding myself lacking vital motivation to lose weight.

   Enter Chris - for (mostly) better or (sometimes) worse, Chris is an ULTRA logical and bluntly honest person, and he's awesome at coming up with helpful suggestions when I'm suffering from one of my illogical, existential crises. So when I was crying after a long discussion about my weight and fertility concerns and feelings of being unattractive, both good and bad, Chris had an epiphany: Buy an ugly hat that I can wear when I go out, that will look ridiculous and unflattering, and that will dissuade people from hitting on me, no matter how slim I may get. -- This is a brilliant idea for a lot of reasons, but I think mostly because it suits my crazy logic and ensures that Chris will get what he wants too. Win-win.

   Which means I will most likely start shedding pounds, now that the road block of not wanting to be hit on has been removed, or at least pushed into the ditch, in the metaphor of my journey to weight loss being a road. It's a grey (terrible color on me) conductors cap that I got on super-sale at Target, that fits firmly above my ears, so it makes me pinhead look even narrower, with my ears sticking out underneath brim, and the bill sits low, right above my glasses, so it gives the illusion of my face being shorter than it is and I look stupid. So yeah.  I am so excited to wear it, all the time. If anyone even reads this or cares, I'd be willing to post a pic upon request. :)

-=CaseyCannolis

C25K

    One of my ongoing DIY projects is to progress through the Couch-to-5K program. I have fitness goals that I want to meet, and I'm utilizing this accessible, free program as a tool. My long-term goals are to gain strength, endurance, maintain a healthy weight for my height and BMI, and be able to keep up with my young daughter. My short-term goals are to shed excess weight in a healthy, responsible way so I can be healthy when my husband and I try to get pregnant later in the year.

    Don't worry, I'm not turning this into a weight loss blog! But this is a project that is important to me, and I'm pleased with C25K so far. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in running but either lives a sedentary lifestyle (like me, when I started. Damn College!) or isn't quite sure how to start. If you don't know, C25K's goal is to eventually get people to a point where they are physically able to run in a 5K Marathon. The workouts increase in intensity on a weekly basis, but you can take it as slowly as you need to. You can do Week 2 as many times as you need to until you're able to move on, or try skipping from Week 1 to Week 3, if you think you're ready. The whole point is to get off the couch and get active.

    After today's workout, I'm excited to have another run. Maybe next time, I'll take my daughter with me. :)

-=CaseyCannolis

Decoupage Newspaper Artwork

New Blog. A quick hello.

    Hi. I'm Casey Cannolis and I am entering the world of crafts in a half hazardly fashion. I have never been particularly artistic (can't draw  stick figure to save my life) but I have seen so many beautiful DIYs on Pinterest and wonderful blog sites that I have caught the fever.

    I have found myself dying to learn how to sew, decoupage, make felt animals, craft with paper, paint, you name it, so I imagine this blog will be a bit schizo at first, if not forever. 

    This will be my first DIY blog post, and I'm a little nervous about it. I can be a bit of a perfectionist; to the point where I might avoid doing something completely if I'm convinced I won't be able to get the results I want. But one of the best things about creating something yourself, is even if things don't work out perfectly, you can chalk it up to first-time-gaffes and pride-protecting fibs, such as "Oh, that huge gash? That's what I was totally going for all along!". Terms like "Shabby chic" and "Rustic" are my new best friends.

    So join me, won't you, on my new adventures in the crafting world. I'll be spending a lot of time on Pinterest, looking for inspiration (or Pinspiration, as it were), and I will ALWAYS try to link to the original idea that led me to my craft, because you have to give credit where it's due. Another thing I love about DIY is the openness of the community to try new things and share their ideas and how-tos with each other. As that goes, if you see something on my blog that inspires you to try a project, whether you do something exactly the way I did or change it up to suit your own tastes / needs, please link back to my original post and share the love. Pinning any project I work on would flatter me beyond belief, just please remember to make sure it leads back to my original post. Thanks so much!

-=CaseyCannolis

Newspaper Decoupage Artwork

    First off, I must link to the inpiration artwork that prompted this project: Allison Kaye @ Craftedlove, whose end result was monochrometastic. As much as I wanted to replicate this artwork, I found myself anxious about painting even a few lines and some bird shapes. So I opted instead to use all newspaper and photos for more of a collage. I'm excited to frame and hang this.

    This was an easy project especially if you've ever done decoupage before. Very few materials were needed, and most of it was found laying around the house. To do this (or something similar), you'll need:

• Mod Podge or in gloss or matte to suit your taste. If you don't have Mod Podge laying around, I've heard Elmer's glue mixed with some water in a cup at a 3:1 ratio is a very good plan B.
• Sharp scissors
• Newspaper with a lot of articles for tearing, for that monochrome look. Colorful ads will yield a different result.
• Sponge brush for applying the Mod Podge or glue.
• Cardboard / canvas / wood plank / hard plastic sheet... really anything you want to use as a backing that won't get destroyed or warped terribly by being wet for a couple hours. ( I used cardboard from a discarded furniture box).

    First, I started by cutting a piece of cardboard into a rectangle roughly, knowing that I'd want to trim it down once it was finished. Starting with an ad-heavy inferior newspaper out of lack of options of what was laying around, I tore some pages into varying shapes and sizes to patch and layer over the cardboard. 

    I've found when it comes to Decoupage, there is a huge margin for error and this step is particularly fun, especially if you have kids around who want to help.

Hey, an article on Grimes, IA. I can't believe I tore it up without reading it first. I'm sure it was fascinating.

    Next, I mixed my Mod Podge in a paper cup with water using a 3:1 ratio MP to water, with a narrow sponge brush. I mix the MP with water, so the paper won't get too bumpy or bubbly as it dries. If you have another method for decoupaging newspaper by all means use whatever works.

    I applied the mixture directly onto the back of the piece of newspaper and splorted it (technical term) down onto the cardboard. I covered one of my fingers with glue and used it to smooth over the newspaper until it looked flat and shiny. Do this part delicately and with a lot of glue, so the print won't get stuck on your finger, or rub off on a sticky finger.

 See what I mean about ad-heavy? So not what I was going for, if you saw the original inspiration piece I linked to.










Repeat this step to continue covering the surface of the cardboard.

    Once the first layer of newspaper is down and slathered in MP, I allowed to dry for an hour or so before beginning with the next layer. This is a good chance to fix dinner or run errands, like I did. On my errand run I got a smoothie for my daughter and bought a Wall Street Journal, for tearing. I lucked out when the insert in theWSJ had the gorgeous cityscape I nabbed as my image for this project. Happy accidents are the best.

    After some dry time, I started another layer of newspaper pieces, utilizing this opportunity to cover up flubs and unsightly pieces I encountered during your first layer.

 Covered the edges and colorful ads.












    Again, I let this dry for another hour or so while I attended to other things. We put up a shelf and I took a nap, for instance.

    After the second layer had dried, I did another small layer or flub-covers and got my focal point image, the cityscape, all glued-up on the back and laid it flat as possible. I coated my fingertips with glue too, trying not to lift too much of the dark image off the paper and on to my fingers. I found fingers worked best for smoothing out the image and getting the excess glue out from under the image, so it didn't bubble too much, since it consisted of two big pieces, instead of many smaller ones, like the newspaper bits. Then I trimmed the extra off the sides and bottoms to clean it up a bit.

    This was my end result:

Sorry for the glare in the pic, I used the high gloss kind of MP and I don't have a great camera so there was little I could do about the shine.

    As I mentioned, it differs quite a bit from the inspiration piece, but I really like how it turned out. I can't wait to frame this and hang it. Maybe in the dining room? Not sure yet. I have MANY more projects to do, so I may get back to this later and update, when I do.

    So, if you find yourself doing a project like this (or have in the past), I would love to hear how you did it, especially if you did it differently, and feel free to link to pics or your blog to share.

    I'll be back soon for another project, one of many waiting to be done. Paper flowers? Maybe a project my daughter and I are conspiring to do for my husband. We shall see.

-=CaseyCannolis