DIY Camera Strap Tutorial

[What You'll Need] 

-- Fabric pieces cut to 24" x 5.5"

one solid for inside, one pattern for outside

-- Coordinating thread

-- Sewing machine and supplies

scissors, pins, tape measure, iron, etc

-- Fusible fleece, felt pieces, extra fabric

optional

1. Cut and iron fabric pieces.
2. Place right sides together, pin and sew along 24" edge leaving the short end open.
3. Turn fabric tube so right sides are now facing out.
4. Iron both side seams.
5. Turn raw edges in on short ends (approximately 0.25") pin and sew. Repeat for both ends. Iron.
6. Fold entire strap in half long ways, pin and sew along one 24" side.

Optional: I mentioned above that you can add felt/fusible fleece into your strap if you should desire a little padding. Option #1: sew a piece of felt (cut to 23" x 2") onto one half of the solid piece of fabric. This would be done after step 1. Proceed with the rest of the steps as usual. Option #2: complete step 2 then iron on fusible fleece (cut to 23" x 5") onto the solid piece before moving on to step 3.

Slide your new strap onto your camera's existing standard strap and ta-da! This project was so easy that I ended up making 2 of them for myself in a matter of a few days. Now I have options! My navy polka-dot strap has no padding since I don't really wear my camera for extended periods of time and just wanted something pretty. I added some felt Option #1 from above to the green floral strap to add a little comfort for longer wear should I need it.

Happy Friday all and happy crafting over the weekend!

Also, don't forget to follow on Bloglovin'! There's a link over here --------->

My Creations- Picking It Up Again

It's been quite a while since I pulled out my sketchbook and had some creative time with it. Well a few weeks ago when I was home sick, I figured it was the best thing to do. So while watching many episodes of many different shows while laying on the couch drinking tea, I filled up some pages.

Picking it up again really felt great. There's something very soothing about creating something from a blank sheet of paper. 

The Countdown Has Really Begun!

Jeff and I drove from San Diego to Littleton on Wednesday. 18 hours in the car is always an adventure and we were very thankful that the roads weren't as bad (snow/ice/poor visibility/etc) as they were predicted to be because driving through the Rocky Mountains at 10pm in a blizzard is never fun. Trust me, I've done it. 

And over the last few days we've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get everything finished for both Christmas and the wedding. I cannot believe that Christmas is in 3 days and our wedding is ONE WEEK from today!

Jeff is off in the woods having "mountain man time" with his groomsmen and some other awesome guys for his bachelor party this weekend and I'm here in town constantly working on something. Here's a bit of what the last few days have consisted of. 

+ Instagram hashtag for the wedding!

+ Middle of nowhere Utah and a gorgeous sunset

+ Our monogramed aisle runner I made last night

+ A Christmas tradition of chocolate dipped pretzels

We've also:

+ Ordered our cutting cake

+ Picked up tons of vases and glassware for our centerpieces

+ Got our marriage license

+ Had my final dress fitting with all the accessories

+ Made decorations for the aisle chairs at the ceremony

+ Finished all our Christmas shopping

+ Wrapped all wedding party gifts

+ Sent in our final wedding counts to the caterer

+ Made the final seating chart that Jeff just needs to approve

There are still tons of other smaller things to take care of at some point between now and either Christmas or the wedding but I'm very happy with all we've been able to get done so far. Plus the week after Christmas is going to be filled with festivities like my bachelorette party, trial hair appointment and rehearsal. I apologize if there's not much updating going on around here in the next week or so but I'm sure you understand! 

And you can always follow me on Instagram @jaymeeryn and search our hashtag too!

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Tying the Knot: Our Formal Invites

Here is a the final product of our wedding invitations! They are 100% made by me (with J's help of course) and I couldn't be happier with them. Simplicity, streamline and to the point was exactly what I wanted for our invites and that is exactly what they are. 

Now onto some details about how they were made and what I used. The layout was created using PicMonkey and the fonts are Veranda and Coneria Script. Once the design was set I used Microsoft Word to print on A6 size paper. Both sets of card stock (white and navy) were purchased from Paper Source. The white is A6 (4x6) and the navy is A7 (5x7). I used my HP Photosmart Printer at our house to print all the invites and details cards.

J helped me mount the wording card on the navy card stock using rubber cement and I tied navy ribbon around each. Our details card was printed on white card stock as well and cut to 3x4 inch size. These were slipped underneath the ribbon on the back of the invite. I designed our monogram, seen below, using PicMonkey as well and it was placed on the top of the details card as well as our ceremony program for some consistency. 

They were mailed in white A7 envelopes also from Paper Source. I used Powerpoint to print out all guests' addresses (approximately 1x3 inches in size) and used my Xyron machine to create stickers out of each address. These were centered on the outside of the envelopes and finally they were stamped with our return address on the back flap.

If you would like more details about how I actually made them (like a step by step tutorial) I would be happy to do that, just leave a comment or send me an email! Once I figured out what I was doing and what my vision was for our invites the process was really very simple.

Tying the Knot: DIY Garters

STOP! If your name starts with a J and you are my fiance, do not read any further! 

J wants to know nothing about what I will be wearing/look like/have on me the day of our wedding and that includes my garters. But I wanted to share the project anyways! 

When it comes to garters I have mixed feelings. I like the goofy, party side of them. The new husband retrieving it from under layers of dress. The superstition that who ever catches it is next in line down the aisle. But on the other hand it's not something that I feel the need to spend a bunch of money on or quite frankly, keep as a memento after the wedding is over. So basically I knew I wanted one, knew I wanted it to somehow reflect either our wedding or our style but knew that I wasn't going to spend a significant amount of money just to put in a box somewhere later. All these things meant it was the DIY route for this girl again.

I picked up some pretty lace, one thinner than the other to serve as our toss garter. I got 2 yards of each because it was on sale and I didn't have a plan for it quite yet as I wandered around the store. I also picked up some elastic and some pretty embellishments that I figured I would incorporate somehow.

Once I got home I decided on a plan. I cut the lace 4 inches shorter than how much I needed to go around my whole leg. This would allow for the elastic to be added and make it tight enough. Since I was going to embellish it I decided to make each garter double layered with lace to make it more sturdy.

Using scrap pieces of fabric I already had at home I hot glued some rosettes and added in my bits of sparkle and pearls. Then I got sewing. Again for stability purposes I took a small square of plain white cotton, folded it in half, and then in half again and slid it between the two layers of lace. Even though I was zig-zag stitching I wanted to make sure there was enough to "grab onto" for the stitches to hold.

Each end of both types of lace got a similar treatment and then I attached the elastic. I stitched it back and forth quite a few times on one end first. Then I took the "very meticulous" route and slid it up my leg to determine how much elastic I'd need for it to fit right. I apologize there's not a better explanation for this step but I was sort of making it up as I went along. Once I figured out how much elastic I needed I repeated the sewing on the other side.

Now I had a circle of lace that needed some pretties. Using the same plain cotton I cut a strip just slightly narrower (is that a word?) and placed it between the two pieces of lace. Since I was hot gluing my rosettes to the lace I wanted to make sure they stuck completely and avoid hot glue burns from it seeping between the lace. Then I placed the rosettes where I wanted them, added extra sparkle and ta-da!

Custom bridal garters. And yes, our wedding colors are ivory, white and navy so I threw in the touch of orange for J's love of the Denver Broncos. I'm sure he'll appreciate finding some navy and orange under there!

Another item checked off the list with under 60 days to go! 

Tying the Knot: Wedding Dress Hanger

I'm sure you've all seen the hangers floating around Pinterest and the webs in general that are custom made to hold your wedding dress or to give as gifts to your bridal party. Whether it be curved wire or painted wood the options seemed to be endless and quite frankly, something I didn't feel like spending a bunch of money on. So I decided to DIY my own version.

 

After a quick trip to IKEA for a set of white wood hangers that cost me less than $1 each the process was super simple and super easy. Not to mention the perfect afternoon activity to go along with trashy TV that the fiance wouldn't watch with me :-) 

[1] Gather all supplies: hanger, printer paper, pencil, permanent marker, bobby-pin/credit card/something with an edge. I printed my lettering in the font and size that would fit the hanger the right way and cut it down to size.
[2] On the wrong/back side of the paper, trace your letters in pencil making sure to completely cover all areas and use enough lead.
[3] Tape the paper right side up so the pencil markings are touching the wood.
[4] Gently but throughly rub over the letters to transfer the pencil marks onto the wood. This is where I used a bobby-pin (only because I had one sitting on the table where I was working) but anything will work for this step. Carefully lift one edge to make sure all letters have transfered.

[5] This is how it should look. Tough to see I know but you can tell that the pencil marks have stayed on the wood.
[6] Carefully trace over the pencil with your permanent marker making sure to avoid smudges.

And it's as easy as that! The other side of my hanger says "Mrs. New-last-name" and then obviously this is our wedding date. I love how it turned out and the fact that it was cheap. Sure the professional ones might have the edge of well... professionalism but hey, I much prefer to do these types of things myself.

 

Another item crossed off the check-list! What have you accomplished this week?

[DIY] Summer Slouch Bag

Once upon a time I decided I needed a new bag. 

A summer bag. 

That could fit my stuff 

and completely zip so said-stuff wouldn't fall out

and lay in the sand/by the pool without worry

Etc etc etc....

So I made one. 

It all started with hand-painted fabric you may have seen me Instagram (jaymeeryn). Half painted bolder with lots of paint and the other half more mild from the bleed through of the first.
Should bold & mild adjectives be reserved for salsas and the like... Oh well.

Once dried, washed and dried again I cut it all up.
Until I had lots and lots of pieces.
I wanted random, patchy, hobo-ish.

Then I started piecing them together.

1/4" seam allowances just like you would for a quilt top.

Bold with bold. Blue with green. Any way I thought it looked good.

I pieced and pieced and pieced.

Until I had used up most of the fabric.

Minus the pieces that didn't turn out right

To give it some extra strength

(and take away the unsightly seams on the wrong side)

I quilted it to a plain piece of cotton.

Going with the random look I didn't follow any lines or seams or pattern.

Just back and forth over the top whichever way seemed best.

I paired my newly handmade fabric with some simple gray cotton for the lining,

a bright blue zipper, some D-rings and webbing for the strap.

Followed this tutorial by Bev at Flamingo Totes

and Ta-Da!!!

I'd say it was a success.

Perfect? Heck no!

You should see those strap connectors, a mess!

Handmade from mostly things I already had? Definitely!

What have you DIY-ed lately? Share a link if you have one because I love to see what people can do!

Amazing Savings at Goodwill

When it comes to spending money I'm on the fence. You can't really call me a thrift-er because I only buy new clothes, there are certain beauty related products that I have to use and sometimes certain things just have to be more expensive than name-brand. But then on the other hand I don't go on shopping sprees really ever, I'm all for finding sales and I won't turn down a deal for something that saves me a bunch of moneys! (But then again, who wouldn't!)

Because I am part thrift-er I make occasional stops at Goodwill to see if there is anything to snatch up. I typically stay away from the clothes (unless it's to cut up and use as a craft project!) and shoes and sports equipment and our location doesn't have much furniture at all but I have found some pretty sweet deals and I wanted to show you how a little searching can save you so much. 

Counter-top Wine Rack: 

We typically don't buy wine if we're not planning on drinking it soon but occasionally we do have a few bottles and I wanted a way to show them off. 

Price for a similar @ Target: $20

Price from GW: $3

Savings: $17

Large Wicker Basket: 

When we built our shelving unit in the family room we had an awkward space between the bottom shelf and the floor that we didn't know what to do with but I didn't want it to be a big hole either. This basket is the perfect size to fit with our speaker and holds our spare blankets when we're not using them. 

Price for a similar @ Michael's: $40+

Price from GW: $6

Savings: $34

Paperback Books: 

Even though I have a Nook from Barne's & Noble as well as an iPad with a reader app I still love having actual books for a good price. And at our Goodwill, all large paperback books are the same price regardless of the title. 

Price on back of 3 books: $41

Price from GW: $6 ($1.99 each)

Savings: $35

Fiskers Paper Cutter:

I am planning on doing a lot of the stationary for our wedding myself and if I wanted to try to accomplish Save the Dates, invites, place cards, menus, thank yous, etc etc etc I knew I would have to get a big, fancy paper cutter to make everything crisp. I'm still in awe of the savings from this one!

Price for similar @ Michael's: $60+

Price from GW: $8

Savings: $52

Blue Ceramic Vases/Bowls: 

Now that we have an office/craft space in our house I have accumulated a lot more supplies and have the space to keep them accessible at all times. Gone are the days of keeping things in boxes unless I need them. The decor in this room is still in the process but I knew I wanted blues and I use these two jars almost every time I'm in that room. 

Price for similar @ IKEA: $16

Price from GW: $5

Savings: $11

Totals

Price I could have paid: $177

Price I actually paid: $28

That's a grand total savings of $149!!!

I might even make a trip there this afternoon after work just because I'm motivated to save more awesome money! 

Tying The Knot: Asking My Maids

One of the first things that came to mind about planning our wedding was who our wedding party was going to be. We both agreed that we wanted a wedding party that wasn't too big which lead us to deciding that each of us would have four people stand up for us. J has a group of guy friends who've all been together since high school and he knew which of them he would pick almost right away. I've always had more of a select, smaller group of best friends as opposed to having a posse of 20 always around so my choices were relatively easy as well. 

But that's it for us. There will be 10 people, J and I included, standing in the front of the room during our ceremony. We don't really have anyone younger that's close to us so junior bridesmaids, flower girls and ring bearers are out (unless J convinces me to let Ollie participate, ha!). I have a very small family, J doesn't have any young cousins, nieces or nephews, no friends with kids (yet), and we didn't feel like we should place people in our wedding just for the sake of doing so. 

When we returned to SD after the holidays I was immediately checking out Pinterest, drafting ideas and trying to find the perfect way to ask my Maids to be part of our wedding day. There are so many creative options out there but I knew I wanted something a little more minimal since they were going to be sent through the mail as opposed to hand delivered. I loved the idea of giving a bottle of wine or something like that but when it came down to shipping cost I removed those ideas from my inspiration. After many amazing options I decided on this as my final inspiration....

                                                                       Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jayme on Pinterest

After a trip to Michael's to pick up some card stock I pulled out my watercolors (remember how I made them?) and got to work. The process is simple and outlined completely in the post I linked to through Pinterest but just to give you an overview.... Write or trace over a print out using a white colored pencil, watercolor over your designs, let dry mostly, wipe off excess paint and dry completely. I absolutely love how they turned out so I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

They are all similar but all unique. I chose cooler colors and used the same 3 colors on all the cards but in a different layout for each. I love that they're personalized and handmade and I think the ladies did too. 

For the insides I printed out two different sets, one for my Maid of Honor and one for my three Bridesmaids. I cut the paper so that it would cover the whole inside of the card because the watercoloring left the paper slightly wavy. I glued them in, signed them and let them sit between a bio-chem and a physiology text book overnight. (I knew those books would come in handy again!)

While my paints were drying I also made custom envelopes with pretty scrapbook paper. The details for these are found in the same Pinterest link as well but again they're super easy. Just measuring, cutting small triangles, folding and gluing. They're amazingly unique and again I loved how they came out. I chose paper that was bold enough to be different but was still reasonable to address without causing confusion for the postman.

I finished off the cards by sliding them in their envelops along with a photo of me and each girl respectively and off they went. Three to Colorado and one a couple hours away in San Diego. I couldn't think of four better ladies to share in this journey with me and I am honored they all want to have a place in such a memorable day for J and I. 

One maid of honor, three bridesmaids and one extra happy bride-to-be!

(all of the ladies have already gotten their cards which is why I can finally share this with you)

Getting in the Spirit

Now that Thanksgiving is over...
And by no means am I forgetting about how nice it was to have family in town and celebrate all that we have with them but....

I will always be more excited for Christmas.

J thinks I'm crazy for my excitement but now at least I'm justified for...

Knowing that it's only 26 days away. 

Hitting up Michael's and Jo Ann's a ton recently.

Turning my craft room into my hoarding place for all things red & green. 

Leaving flecks of glitter through the house as the decorations begin to go up.

I'm especially excited this year because this will be our first holiday season in our new house. That means lots of decorating, lots of Christmas cheer and hopefully a non-Scrooge boyfriend sooner or later. ;-) I've been compiling some of my favorite inspirations, crafts to try and ways to make our house beautiful so take a look!

Source: etsy.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: funkybear.wordpress.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: curbly.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: budgetwisehome.com via Jayme on Pinterest

DIY Braided Scarf for Fall

I have been absolutely loving Pinterest lately. Haven't you?

Well I'm here again to show you something else that I've made using a pin as the inspiration. I've made no-bake cookies, taco soup and taquitos, custom art for our guest bedroom, lace shorts, and the most recent hummingbird clutch.

Exhibit A: The Ultimate Goal: sold for over $44

Exhibit B: The Tutorial and Sample: from Put Up Your Dukes

And finally....

Exhibit C: My Take

Used:

Two tees from Goodwill: around $8

Thread, scissors, and sewing machine

Time in my craft room one evening listening to my James Taylor station on Pandora

I love the way that this turned out. I specifically bought tees in colors that were fall-ish and could coordinate with my wardrobe the most. Isn't it the worst when you buy or make something that you have nothing to wear it with? Maybe that's just me. In hindsight I would actually buy some jersey fabric to make another one because the shirts I used didn't give quite the 60" length that fabric would have. I love the way that this scarf sits but it would be nice to have another that I can wear doubled. 

It's a little hard to tell because the next picture was taken on my phone in the evening (with only big over-head lights) but the scarf coordinates perfectly with an army-green colored jacket that I've started wearing a lot lately. I wore it when J, Ollie and I walked to the park and watched some softball one evening this week. 

Thank you Pinterest for giving me something else fabulous!