FINISHED PROJECT: Belly Dance Veil Headpiece

I made my very own veil headpiece for a Bollywood dance we are doing for my dance troupe! I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, especially since I had absolutely no plan. Here are the details I had to include: one, it had to be wide enough for me to hold onto it at arm's length; two, it had to be long enough to tuck into a skirt; and three, it had to stay on my head the entire dance (which is long and very active). Oh, and I wanted it to be cute.

Here is what I used:

• 3 yards of pretty, flowy fabric. (It was on sale at Joann's -- just $4.50!)
• Strands of ribbon - white, red, and gold sparkly
• A fake flower
• Hot Glue
• Plain headband
• Felt

The steps I took, which, uuhhh, may or may not have been the best:

• Found the middle of the fabric and hot glued my dang headband at the very edge
• After that, I tried it on and the headband slipped right off, thanks to the weight of all the extra fabric
• I cut the bottom of the fabric - it was at least a foot high - to make my veil shorter and lighter
• Then I glued on the ribbon pieces to cover the hot glue showing through the fabric
• Lastly, I hot glued the flower onto the edge - this was a little hard, since the flower was so huge, but I just ended up gluing it little by little for at least three or four layers of petals to make sure it was on there securely
• My headband was still pretty slippery, so I cut a piece of black felt to fit the inside of the headband and glued it in there, too. That helped 100%. 
• That's it!

I wore it last night at practice and it worked perfectly! It didn't even slip once. However..

Here are some things I would do differently or add:

• Add a ribbon on the top edges of the fabric. That way, I would be able to see where I am supposed to grab hold of it during the dance more easily.
• Glue more on the top! Flowers on the other side, coins or pearls on the top, chains hanging from the sides.. just more embellishments. 
• Cut the bottom of the fabric BEFORE I glued the headband in. I'd get a straighter edge that way... 
• Glitter spray!

We have a performance this Saturday, and we are doing the dance this headpiece is used for. I will definitely try to get an outfit picture so you can see the prop in action, and not just makeup-less in my jammies. Wish me luck!

New Favorite Photo App: Mr. Chiizu

I have a lot of photo apps on my phone. A lot. Yes, there's Instagram and PicFrame, but I've accumulated many - mostly foreign - cute programs that edit my pictures. A lot of them are in the purikura vein, with little stamps and fun borders and silly sayings. I'm always on the lookout for the best one. I might have found it.

My current favorite photo-editing app is Mr. Chiizu.

Mr. Chiizu is $.99 in the iTunes app store and well worth it. It comes with a ton of free themes - all which include a bunch of borders, cartoon stamps and talk bubbles. Mr. Chiizu also has some themes available for purchase for another dollar. I bought one! It's all kitties!

(screenshot taken from the iTunes site)

This app is for fans of deco, TokiDoki, purikura in general, Japan, Kid Robot, cats, monsters, food, sweets, hearts, words, funny, things, dot, com. Mr. Chiizu also allows you to share directly to like 100 social media sites. The only thing I would change, though, is the Instagram part - it doesn't let you resize while you crop to that dang square. That means all the little details of the cute little monsters won't all fit in. However, that's nothing a simple screenshot-then-edit-in-Instagram won't fix.

Here are some more of the pictures I've done so far!

From the Gothic Lolita theme - lots of treats, sparkles, pearls & ribbons!

Featuring my brand new Rilakkuma case! It's cute!

What photo apps do you have to use?! I'm planning on making a master-list type of post of all the applications I've tried and what I like about each.

FINISHED PROJECT: Crochet Lacy Gloves

Tomorrow night, RakStar is getting professional photos taken! I'm so excited -- I knew I wanted to whip up some pieces to add to my costume for the pictures. I made a pretty cool belt which I can't wait to show you, but I also decided to make some fingerless gloves to add in. I found this awesome pattern and got going. They don't take long at all! The middle part works up really fast; it'd be cool to do a full sleeve with the pattern or legwarmers. I didn't like the cuff as much, though, so I took that out and added a little scallop.

I used Patons Kroy Socks yarn (Ragg Shades) in "Brown Rose Marl," and an F hook. I'd say that, if I didn't break for spaghetti in the middle, each glove maybe took about two hours total. And I'm not a fast crocheter. However, I did run into one problem at the very end, though..

I think I really did yell "no" out loud as the little tip flew across the room. This matched up with some weird Native American curse episode of X-Files, too - it broke off just as Scully was getting her face torn up by some cat. It was really intense and I'm really mad and I KNOW I should be using better needles than the little plastic blue ones, because, well - that was the third I broke. BUT, now that little pack is all used up and I can graduate onto the super slippery metal needle.

So the pictures are tomorrow. I have no needles left. And I have, like, seven ends to weave in. Maybe I can do a Jo-Ann run on my break tomorrow at lunchtime and quickly weave those in. Maybe these gloves were not meant to be.. Either way, I really liked the pattern and will probably make some more. This also taught me I love this yarn color, so that is a good point, too?

I'm so mad.

Free Crochet Pattern Friday

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday. For some (totally fine by me!) reason, my job gave me the weekend off - so, even in my retail life, this Friday is actually, well, my Friday! To celebrate, here are some of my favorite free crochet patterns that I've come across recently that my hooking fingers are itching to try.

Daisy Granny Square from Bunny Mummy

While my poor granny square blanket has come to a sort of standstill for the time being, that doesn't mean that I can't drool over other motif ideas. Just imagine how sweet a little throw of these square would be - white daisies in the center and an array of greens as the border.

Ups-A-Daisy Measuring Tape from Simply Notable

Another flower-themed pattern. Quelle surprise! These little guys are so sweet, and I've been really meaning to buy a retractable measuring tape...

Slippers from CANDYPOW

I've tried to make a pair of slippers like these before when I had just started crocheting. They didn't turn out the greatest, but I wasn't as sure about counting stitches, using stitch markers, and general construction. I'd love to try it again with this sweet pattern! The best part is her outfit at the end - so cute.

Moon Water Clutch by Lion Brand

Is chevron still in? Yes? This little clutch is adorable - and doesn't seem too difficult? Be sure to look at the Ravelry page for the project to get inspiration for different color combinations and embellishments. That's where I found the above picture with the polka dot lining. Cute!

Cozy Crochet Socks by Lion Brand

I still have never made socks. Admittedly, I think knitted socks are about a hundred times cuter than a crochet version, but this pattern caught my eye. They don't look clunky! The socks look fitted and sleek and cute! I do love that cuff, too. Maybe this is the weekend where I use up some of my sock weight yarn and try this out for once and for all. Now, if I could only find a cute crochet yoga sock pattern.

What I Wore & New Cosmetics

I just want to talk about how much I love these shoes. (No, they are not TOMS, sorry!) They are so cute and comfy, and they go with so many outfits. I love them with my little leggings folded over like the picture, but I also love wearing them with my new, dark blue skinnies, with the hem cuffed up. Another article of note: those black lacy SHORTS. Amazing, right? The shoes are Soda brand, and if you are in MN, you can find them at heartbreaker.

And some new goodies!

♥ Top left is the cutest little blush compact that I've seen going around the blog/Instagram world from Physician's Formula. It's the kind of blush that seems to go on super light, but then all of a sudden, I have the rosiest & pinkiest cheeks. It's too cute not to use.

♥ Bottom left is Lemony Flutter - a cuticle cream - from LUSH. It smells so yummy, and I like to use it on the dry spots of my face before I go to bed. It goes on pretty thick and greasy, but before you know it, it's all melted into your skin and you're 100% softer because of it.

♥ And last, on the right, is Liquid Gold Shine Therapy from Tresemme. I was drawn to this because I'm forever on the lookout for a more budget-friendly alternative to the It's a 10! Miracle leave-in spray. I got home, and - whoops! This was conditioner, not a leave-in product. I used it, though, and I really do love it. I went back to Target and picked up the actual leave-in gel, I think it's called cashmere something!, and paired with the conditioner, it makes my hair super soft, but not flat or boring. It doesn't seem too shiny, but that's not a big deal to me. It smells way yummy, too.

What products have you been using in your beauty routine? Tell me in the comments! I'm always on the lookout for a new drug-store (or LUSH store!) purchase.

Friday Loves: Tea Edition

Now that I'm back to retail life, Fridays aren't as meaningful as the feeling of freedom you feel on the day when you work at an office. However, it still means the start to the weekend, even if I'll be at work anyway. Today I want to show you some of the things I've been digitally circling with hearts - and they all have to do with tea!

My Friday morning tea! I'm currently drinking Teavana's Cocao Black Mint; after it steeps in my super handy loose leaf strainer, it doubles as a delicious room infuser. This is hands down the best smelling tea I've had - the smell is so strong, but in the best way ever.

Another reason why I am so sad I don't have an actual teapot: this free pattern for an adorable crochet teapot cosy! Looks so easy and the flowers make it so cute. I want a collection of these.

This May, I'm a proud sponsor of one sheepish girl, a great blog that you should really be reading daily! The other day she posted this great print here, which she found from Little Doodles. How cuute!

And lastly - this tea print fabric! Oh, I would love a skirt or dress or little bag or even kitchen curtains made of this!

Pastel Pictures

I've been unconsciously into pastel colors lately, I guess! I like to look through my Instagram feed and see what is catching my eye - are there any color trends? Or textures or anything? When I looked today, I noticed a lot of pastel. And I liked it!

Some very cute colored cake pops at Channa's baby shower. My first cake pop!

The ever-blogged about Revlon Lip Butter in cotton candy.

Does this count? I'm not huge into ice cream, but this was calling my name..

My mermaid nails - some Sally Hansen pink and purple covered with Essie's Shine of the Times.

Fluffy marshmallow clouds after a storm.

FINISHED PROJECT: Chain Loop Scarf

pattern found here

In another effort to create a one-night crochet project, I stumbled upon the Chain Loop Circle Scarf on Ravelry. Chains! With Hometown USA! I was in love and I was in luck. Seriously, about an hour and five minutes later, I fastened off the yarn handle and I was done. The pattern is this: Use an N-hook to create 12 125-chain loops, and then slip stitch together. After you make them all, take some yarn and wrap it around all the loops to create the handle. Weave that yarn into itself once you have a handle of the size you want. The end!

I used Washington Denim in the Hometown USA, because for some reason, I had two skeins of the color at home. Not my favorite shade, but it's cute with a white top or maybe light grey. I used an entire skein for the loops and then a strand from the second skein for the handle.

Pretty simple, hm? I'd love to make another one in a different color - maybe a dark red or even a sage green? I think I want to be more into sage green from now on. Also, I think I'd make the loops at least ten chains longer next time. I like how it fits now, but its a little snug on my neck when I double wrap it. A few more chains would help it hang a little more loosely after I put it around twice. 

Have you added me on Ravelry yet? Find me on there!