Flower Hair Bobby Pins: Or Why I Wanna Dress Like a Fairy Princess

Is there anything wrong with wanting to dress like I'm straight out of a fantasy novel? Because some days, I try and do just that. I wish I had more sheer, flowing, romantic clothes in my closet for those days. And, of course, accessories covered in flowers.

Luckily, that last wish was easy to accomplish. I had a big strand of fake flowers in my room that I'd been meaning to use for a while; I just didn't know what for. After buying a new package of bobby pins, they finally had a purpose.

This was so easy to do; I just hotglued the flower to the top of the pin and waited for it to dry. The one thing I wish I could change is how much glue it took to adhere the flowers; I feel like it's kind of noticeable when I'm wearing them. They kept falling off if I used less, though, so I guess I'll live with it.

I've mostly been using these to secure up a simple bun- my go-to hair style when I'm working or just need my hair out of my face. I'd like to pin them throughout a braid, but I'm a little worried they'd fall out throughout the day. Overall, I love how they turned out, and how easy and quick it was to put them together. And I like how they've been making my outfits just a tad more fairy princess-y :)

Sorry for the blatant laptop photo.... Getting real photos in a dorm room can be a challenge.

A Ravenclaw Scarf.

How are you guys? Today I had to deliver my first speech in Speech class. That was rather nerve-wracking. I've also been working a lot and my last few shifts have been what can only be described at retail hell. Here's hoping next week brings less stress!

I really love making Harry Potter scarves. I think this is around the 8th one I've made (but only the second Ravenclaw! Normally people want Gryffindor). After making a set of all four for one of my good guy friends, a lot more people I knew started wanting them. They're the perfect nerdy winter accessory, really. And guys, I don't care that the series has concluded, I'll never lose my Harry Potter fan pride.

Knitting in the summer has always been kind of weird to me. It's so hot outside that working on anything wintery seems just wrong. But  thinking about it logically, it's a pretty good idea: if I can get a few projects under my belt now, they'll be ready as soon as it starts to get chilly again! And knitted stuff makes awesome presents (I'm thinking of Mrs. Weasley and her gorgeously ugly homemade sweaters), so I could get some of my Christmas gift list knocked out several months in advance.

 

Anyway, back to this particular Ravenclaw scarf. Super easy to do; it's just a 1x1 rib knit. I worked on it mainly while watching episodes of The Bachelorette (judge if you will, but it's quite addicting). The finishing touch was fringe, and lots of it; I don't think a Harry Potter scarf is complete without it. I can never get tired of making these.

Glittered Ballet Flats!

This is a DIY I've been wanting to try for a while. I got the idea from this blog post a few months ago, and it slipped my mind for a long time. But when I moved out of my dorm room I found this pair of basic ballet flats (Target brand!) that I hadn't worn in forever, and suddenly I had a purpose for them!

It was super simple to do; I used tacky glue which I painted on with a foam brush, and then I just dumped glitter on over the glue-y areas. In hindsight, I could have picked a stronger glue; that's what I'd do differently next time. Even though I laid newspaper down, glitter still, inevitably, got everywhere. It's the price you pay to make sparkly things. I let them dry overnight. 

Of course, I just had to wear the shoes today, so they got shown off for the first time to the customers of American Eagle. I actually got several compliments over the course of my shift!

 The one downside to this project is its durability. The shoes looked absolutely gorgeous for most of the day, but glitter has already come off in several chunks (mostly on the heel and toe). To be fair, I did wear them for a fairly long work shift; I should probably save them for special occasions. It's easy enough to fix the patches that de-glittered during my day; it's more a matter of wether I want to have to re-touch the shoes every time I wear them.

I think it could be worth it, though. Next, I'd really like to glitter a plain pair of canvas sneakers; the only reason I didn't do that first was because I'm trying not to spend so much money at the moment. 

I definitely shouldn't be allowed into Target too often, because I always manage to find cool things that  I NEED and end up spending way too much money. This pastel flower kit is the newest example (I also picked up a giant crayon and a jar of licorice scottie dogs.... But those aren't blog worthy).

First of all, can we talk about the packaging? The adorable patterned cardboard box? I am a sucker for anything packaged beautifully. I wonder what I should do with the box once I use up my flower supplies.

It only gets better on the inside. The kit comes with needles, embroidery thread (I ended up using my own thread and needles, though, as I found they worked better), hundreds of felt pieces, little spangly things, beads, and pom poms. It also comes with a small instruction sheet, although I mostly just winged it (since everything was pretty much self-explanatory). If you have a Target anywhere near you, you must go buy one of these. They are in the craft aisle. It is necessary to your life, I promise.

After making a few flowers, and having a nerdily awesome time, I realized I didn't have a legitimate use for them. I wanted to make them into something for my next door neighbor's daughter, who's little and girly and adorable; I just didn't know what. Then I found some checked barrettes and knew it was meant to be. 

I sewed up four flowers and hot-glued them to the barrettes; then, since I had two extras, I hot-glued a fake flower and a butterfly to the remaining. Easy peasy, and six seemed like a good number to give. 

This is one of my favorites that I did; I don't really know why, since it didn't turn out quite as neat as some. I like how the leaf ended up, and the size of the flower (small in comparison to the others) is pleasing to me.

I really hope my little recipient enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them; I really love small, cute projects like this. They're nice fill-ins while I'm working on something bigger (like my blanket!) that I need a break from.

And how perfect is this box?! It was such a stroke of luck that I found it; it was at the bottom of one of our drawers of wrapping paper. I love how this little project came together, all the way down to the packaging. I need more things to work out this way!

I wanted to sew 5 garments this month, since summer classes start in June. And.... that goal was totally not met. I envisioned camping out in my house all of May and being a complete sewing hobo, when in reality I've been working far more than I planned, and spending a lot of time with friends. But I'm not complaining: despite not making as many things as I wanted to, I've still done quite a bit.  I've finished 1 top and I'm almost done with another, I'm one color away from finishing the world's ugliest crocheted blanket, and now I have an altered pair of shorts.

They're vintage Levi's, and they're the definition of mom pants. I've had them for a long time; I probably got them at a Salvation Army, since that's my go-to thrift store, but I really don't remember. I'm not sure what prompted me to buy them, but I'm glad I re-discovered them a few days ago. Anyway, since these bad boys could only be improved, I thought I'd use up some of my huge (and ever-expanding) lace collection and add a back pocket detail. I got the idea from this Chictopia page. The only thing I did differently from their explanation was to turn the edges of the lace under for a cleaner finish, since lace tends to ravel. Honestly, though, this was such a simple alteration that it doesn't really need a how-to to figure out.

Regardless of how awkward my butt looks in them, these shorts will definitely be getting a lot more use now. I'm a sucker for anything girly. Also, if the lace looks familiar, it's because I used it on this project too: