DIY Glitter and Paint Chip Notecards

Last weekend, thanks to the enabling of my mother and some pretty sweet Michael's coupons, I ended up buying a whole lot of glitter:

That darn Martha Stewart.  Her craft supplies are so annoyingly irresistible.

I also accidentally picked up a bunch of paint chip samples from the hardware store, even though I have no intentions of painting any rooms any time soon.  (I'm sorry, Ace Hardware. My bad.  I saw the colors and went a little crazy.)

I was itching to use the new glitter in some way, so I decided to make a notecard to send to a friend.  One of my goals for this year is to send more letters to friends--because who doesn't like getting unexpected mail?

Using ALL OF THE GLITTER

I decided to make the theme of the notecard "Happy Spring!" because I am indeed incredibly happy that spring has made its appearance.

A little paint chip grass and paint chip flower, et voila!  Instant spring notecard.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go glitter everything I can get my hands on.

Etsy Shop Update

I've been sewing like a madwoman, and am proud to introduce a new addition to Fits of Wanderlust Accessories--clutches!

They come in several different fabric designs, and are made mostly out of flannel and woven cotton.  I'm a little bit obsessed with big bows, so I figured I'd make that bow functional by pairing it with a grommet to secure the flap!

I think I had the most fun pairing up fabric and lining combinations, and went for pops of color in many of the clutches.  Who doesn't love opening your bag to find a hot pink surprise?

Check out all of the designs here!

Throw some glitter, make it rain

File this under things that WILL happen in a future home of mine:

My favorite part is that the best technique to ensure even placement of the glitter is to throw it up in the air as you apply it.  An excuse to throw glitter, AND a sparkly floor as the reward for your efforts?  Sign. Me. Up.

Check out the directions here.

A Belated Weekend Recap

This past weekend was one of those weekends that was crazy busy and full.  Tons of fun, but also a little bit exhausting!  On Saturday I had the honor of attending one of my best friend from high school's brother's wedding.  The ceremony was at the Sheraton downtown, and was so incredibly beautiful and interesting, as it included a traditional Hindu ceremony.  I really appreciated that the priest performed the different sections of the rituals in the native language, but then paused frequently to explain what was happening and why it was significant.  The ceremony started off with the Baraat, in which the groom's side danced into the ceremony to meet the bride.  There were even fireworks and a white horse involved!

The reception was also gorgeous, and filled with dancing. So. Much. Dancing.  My friend's entire family knows how to bust a move, and aren't afraid to get out on the dance floor!  I've already requested that she send me a video of her dad dancing to Twist and Shout, to watch on those days when an anti-cranky serum is needed.  Overall, an incredibly beautiful way to spend my Saturday!

On Monday a few friends and I attempted some Labor Day deals shopping at the outlet mall. As one of my bffl's put it, it was like Disneyland at spring break.  So many people, in every direction you looked.  However, we did manage to score some deals!  We combined our items into one transaction at the Gap Outlet, as I had an coupon with a minimum spending of $75, and we managed to save over $100.  I purchased a gray cardigan, and promptly realized that I have a slight addiction to cardigans.  But I was so excited that we are finally reaching the type of weather that is conducive to cardigan-wearing that I had to celebrate with another purchase!  *cough cough *shifty eyes.  I swear I'm done with cardigan purchasing...mainly because I've pretty much purchased one in every possible color.

In between dancing my nights away and shoving my way through bargain hunting crowds, I did manage to finish up new necklace designs for my Etsy shop.  I'm really happy with how these necklaces turned out!  

Several of the photos I used were taken throughout the summer, so they have bright colors and a summer-y feel.  I also found a new 3-dimensional glue to apply to the backs of the pendants, that gives them a resin-like quality and a more durable finish.  Check them out here!  I'm finishing up a few more designs, so also be on the lookout in the next few days for more jewelry goodness!

It's not stealing if it was already on the ground, right?

The scene: Saturday night, on the red line.  My biffle (that's what we cool kids call our best friends) and I had just waited 20 minutes to transfer to a blue line train to head off to Wicker Park for a concert, only to have the train finally arrive filled to the brim with Sox fans.  No room for you here, North Sider.  So we tucked our tails and headed back on the red line to regroup before heading to another show in Wrigleyville.  (Thank goodness for knowing about lots of shows!)  I was feeling a little down about the CTA (may have tweeted some disparaging things about the blue line) when we got on the red line to see that someone (perhaps a someone just as frustrated as me with getting from point A to point B) had ripped down the El map hung in the car above the door.  After a few stops of watching people trample the map and debating, I decided that it had to be mine, fear of contracting diseases pushed aside.  So I picked it up, rolled it up, and a day later framed it to hang in my apartment!

I'm really excited to have a part of my city all to myself.  And don't worry, I windex-ed it before framing it to ensure that all of the El germs were gone.  Also, my trip to Michael's was quite a happy one, as all frames were buy one, get one for 1 cent!  I took that opportunity to get a few more frames and frame some show posters I've been meaning to hang up for awhile.  The results of that:

Eventually they will be added to the wall above my bed, which currently looks like this:

Heh, you probably think I make my bed all the time.  That would be false.

So in conclusion, $2.25 can buy you a cranky wait for a train, 20 minutes amongst Sox fans, and an El map!  Also, Michael's is the coolest.

Crafting Yarn Globe Decorations

I've looking for something to hang from under my fireplace mantel, after decorating like this for Christmas and liking how it looked:

The answer came to me, as it usually does, while surfing the internetz and finding directions for how to make globes out of yarn.  I decided to give it a shot!  Here's how to make it happen:


What You Will Need:

Yarn, white glue, balloons, and spray paint

How to Make it Happen:

1. Cut many, many, MANY strips of yarn.  The lengths of the strips will vary depending on how big of a globe you are making, but I made my strips long enough to wrap around the balloons at least twice.  (It helps if you force your brother to cut the strips because you get bored easily, but I guess that's an optional step.)

2. Blow up a balloon to the size you'd like the finished globe to be.  

3. Make a mixture of 1 part glue to 1 part water.  I put the glue mixture into an old paint tray, which I found to be helpful in covering the yarn in the mixture.

4. Cover a strip of yarn in the glue mixture, and then wrap it around the balloon.  For the first few strips I found it best to start at the tied portion of the balloon, and then go from there.  Repeat with many strips of yarn!  Be sure to wrap some horizontal pieces as well as vertical, and always tuck the end of the strip of yarn into pieces that are already on the balloon.  

5. Tie one long strip of yarn to the top of the yarn-wrapped balloon.  Then hang the balloon in a spot to dry for 24 hours.  This is the improvisational solution I came up with:

Why yes, that IS a broom balanced precariously between the first aid container and a bookshelf.  Classy.

6. After the yarn has completely dried, pop the balloon and remove it from the center of the globe.  A word of advice!  Before popping, slide something between the yarn and the balloon to unstick the two surfaces, because the glue has stuck the two together.  I used a pair of scissors, but anything like a pencil would work as well.  If you don't do this step, you run the risk of the yarn collapsing with the balloon and leaving you with a deflated yarn mess.  Not that I learned this firsthand or anything....

7.  If you chose yarn that you already like, you're completely finished at this point!  I wanted a painted look, and also went for the cheap boring white yarn, so I completed the additional step of spray painting the globes.

Spray painting outside

Using a tree branch worked out well...and made me realize that these would look really cool as an outdoor decoration too!

Once you're all done painting them, hang them up and then marvel at the beauty!  A pretty simple and inexpensive way to spruce up a space...

Crafting a Windowsill Garden

I love living in the city, and often tell my family that I moved to the city so other people can take care of the greenery I see and enjoy in parks. (Lazy, lazy, lazy.)  But I've recently found myself wishing for a bit more greenery inside my own apartment.  After a bit of reflection on my green thumb skills (which peaked around age 12 and have gone significantly downhill since then) I decided that grass and forget-me-nots were my best bet.  I also didn't want boring or outdoor-looking pots, so off I went to my local thrift stores for answers.  One thrift store, one Goodwill, and $12 later, I ended up with these in my possession:





A few of the containers I picked up were clear glass, which would have looked less than beautiful with dirt inside them.  So, I broke out some acrylic paint and covered the inside of the glass in shades of blue. I also giggled upon seeing the name of this paint color, from a bottle of paint I purchased at age 12.  I sincerely hope 12 year old me did not pick that shade based on its name!





After letting the paint dry, I headed outside with supplies and a cranky brother in tow.  We first added gravel to the bottoms of the containers for drainage:





...and then got to work filling the containers with dirt and seed.





I'd be lying if I told you a large portion of dirt didn't end up in places outside the containers--but that's what you get for hiring a brother to be your helper!  A week of watering later, and here is the result in my windowsill:





The forget-me-nots haven't sprouted yet, but I remain hopeful.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the result!  The pop of greens and blues in my living room is very summer-y and refreshing, and I like the unexpected touch of grass growing out of china and dishware.  If I had to change one thing, I would pick containers from the thrift store with more variance in height.  I thought there was enough of a difference, but one last lining up of my items before heading to the cash register would have helped!  But for under $20, I was able to bring a bit of color and the outdoors into my apartment.  Which is great, because this week's heat wave has kept me apartment-bound!