What's on my mind?

Halloween, of course! See all these surfaces and supplies? Well, I plan on doing something with them...the question is what?!? Ugh, I tend to get a lot of ideas in my head about what I want to do; however I want them to really be good and original! I see all kinds of ideas that I see that have already been done, but I really want to give my own original twist on what I see. I want it to be a new, fresh idea!

It is very hard to have an original idea these days! Everything is a spinoff or hybrid of something else you've seen. When I actually see a new idea or invention that is actually REALLY clever, I am super impressed. It's so hard to stand out from the crowd and to make something totally unique! I hope to create a few projects this Halloween that are unique and different...things that will make you excited and things that you'll actually want to do!

Just a little FYI...now that September is here, my posts may be a little shorter. I have a lot of accomplish in the next month and to successfully do that, I think the blog is going to have to suffer a bit. I hate that, but I don't want to wear myself thin. It's important that I accomplish what I set out to do for October!

In the next few days, I'm revamping and going to launch the plans for Terrorific Tuesdays, so keep your eyes peeled!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Thrifting with PattieWack!

Today PattieWack and I went thrifting and we found a bevy of cool things...a few of which I thought I'd share. Pattie bought the camera above for only $3.50! A cute little accent to display! Fun, huh?

I spotted a few things that caught my eye (and hers) as well:


These were fun and colorful.


Love the good design on this old packaging. I love that people really made design interesting and eye catching back then.


These Davy Crockett Iron-ons were pretty fab!


And one of the shops always has a different colored display each month. This month it is red!

If you look in my Twitter sidebar you can see a few more things of what I saw!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

5 totally random and cool things

– Had dinner with my Etsy team, Crafty Chica, and Pattie Wack last night. We talked for hours about any and everything and by everything I mean everything crafty. Lots of great ideas and insight was shared. Truly awesome and I know everyone had a great, great time :) At one point, we got shooshed by another patron at Red Robin. Come on! It's Red Robin! Anyway, I think I was responsible for part of that. Sometimes I talk WAY TO LOUD. A lot of times my friends have to tell me to quiet down. I don't realize how loud I'm talking!

– Really love this post by Elsie Flannigan and her 70's doe-eyed children artwork. This girl is on the trends. Love it (esp. the buttons in the hair illustration)

– Wanna see where I work? Well, Cathy of California features the very colorful facade of the building I work in on her blog. Check it out here and here and here. A must see!

– OK, so I can't say the last two designers on Project Runway have had awesome outfits, but I feel they keep kicking off designers who have strong conceptual designs. I feel this is necessary on this show to keep it fresh and different. Is that just me. Come on Heidi...sometimes those people can come up with some really COOL bizarro stuff that's also beautiful if you give them the chance.

– I just did a list of finished projects (not yet photographed) for my 24 craft projects in 24 hours. I have 6 finished! I really could add 2 or 3 more into that mix that I'm not quite sure about and may feature them if I run out of time, but I'm chugging along. I think I'm doing well so far. I'm enjoying making the projects. It's hard to come up with all the ideas (well, ok, not THAT hard), but I'm trying to come up with a variety that covers all the Halloween bases from jewelry to costumes to home decor to party planning. I have a lot of ideas I'm planning on sharing! I can't believe I'm going to keep them secret for close to a month. It's so unlike me not to share (though, I will say, I can keep secrets if I'm asked to, I really can, I just get exciting sharing my projects). Oh, if you have anything you would like to see, please do share. I will try to incorporate any suggestions you have into my planning!

Well, off to bed. It's late and I don't feel so great! Well, no not really. I feel fine. Just tired and need to get some rest!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links

Check out what the crafty bloggers are up to this week! I can't believe I almost forgot to post this week's links!

About Family Crafts
Find out how to can make a story sack for the book, and soon to be movie, Cloudy With a Change of Meatballs.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen's created a quirky copper bird pin,,,,stop by and check it.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Alexa revisits and reconnects with a craft from her childhood

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside has a sneak peek into the soon to be released book; Who's Your Dada? Redefining The Doll Through Mixed Media, free graphics of good angel/bad angel birds with a tutorial for using them as T-shirt iron-ons, how-to's on bleaching and cutting photos to create windows, and a mosaic chicken project. The book and bobbin winder contest continues, leave a question on any topic and you are entered to win!

Crafty Princess Diaries
You'll find some big crochet fun in these new little books published by Leisure Arts and written by Drew, The Crochet Dude!

CraftyPod
Sister Diane's new podcast compares two ways to publish a craft book: the traditional print and publisher method, and the ebook method. If you dream of writing a craft book, this is useful information.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Sometimes, you've just gotta go against the grain. Find out when and share your comments about stitching against the grain.

Mixed Media Artist
Have you ever tried using heavy watercolor paper to make a peeled paper collage?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Relax! A Toilet Paper Cozy never looked cuter then when embellished by embroidering with ribbons to make a plaid square on a recycled sweater using a tutorial from the book Ribbon Embroidery by Natalie Bellanger-Clement

The Artful Crafter
A reader asks, "What are the pros and cons of selling crafts online?" Eileen answers.

The Crochet Dude
Drew gives good advice on how to handle the non-crafty people (muggles) in your world.

The Impatient Crafter
It's time for back to school fashions and Madge has whipped up a fab tiny Moulin Rouge inspired top hat headband project for your discerning teen...or any gal who likes a little splash of whimsy in her accessories!

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love
Make cute-as-a-button frames to match with your favorite picture!

Play Doh Memories

Today I connected with my inner child and relived a fond memory. I have a few jars of Play Doh at my desk at work (something used for a photography prop, packaging idea or the like) and when I opened it up and smelled that Play Doh smell it took me back. I can fondly recall the days of sitting on the brown carpet in my Grandmother's den, playing with the Play Doh factory tool and making strings of spaghetti. In fact, I just remembered that I have a pic doing just that (with some of my 3rd or 4th cousins...random, I know)!



It's funny how powerful smell is that way and how it triggers your memory. While it makes me very happy to think of the good times I had rolling out the doh and shaping it in my Grandmother's den, it also makes me very sad to know that those days are officially gone. She is gone and her house is sold and it will never be again like the picture you see above. I wouldn't trade those memories for the world and the happiness that I had there, so if you ever catch me huffing Play Doh (ha ha), you know why. I'm not one to dwell or live in the past, but I do like revisiting it.It just feels good to reconnect with that girl in that picture (who still feels like that same girl in a lot of ways and always will).

Until next time Swellions!

Queen of Halloween Open for business!

Well, I finally got some of my Halloween projects up on my Etsy shop and I'm a bit relieved. I have several more things to sell that I plan on adding to my shop, but I'll get to that when I can do the photography and input the info. Having an Etsy shop isn't a quick, simple easy thing to do...saying that, I don't mean it is hard to run or anything...it's something that takes time and attention and thought...everything from writing your description to the photographs to deciding your pricing.

My goal with my Etsy shop is more as a promotional tool in addition to my Terrorific Tuesdays and my 24 projects in 24 hours. I plan to sell a lot of the blog projects I make in my Etsy shop. If you are a crafter (and an perhaps an avid blogger who does projects), you have a lot of projects that you make that just sit in a baggie or bin waiting to be sold or given away. This is why I tend to sell earrings for only $5 a pair. If it's sitting in my craft room gathering dust, I figure I might as well get a little something out of it...atleast my materials back. Some people feel differently about selling your work for so cheap, but putting them on Etsy doesn't guarantee that it will sell and if you do plan on getting a higher price for them, you have to do the legwork to scout out locations to sell your work at. I don't really have time for that.

Anyway, now that I've gone on a while, please hop on over and visit my shop and let me know your thoughts or maybe something you would like to see! Oh and stop back by from time to time...I'll be updating this month and next. I'm going to add a little sidebar button eventually on my blog to make it accessible! Thanks so much in advance for stopping by!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

San Francisco Zine Fest

This past weekend, I went on a spur of the moment trip with my friend Silvia to the San Francisco Zine Fest!

I will admit it, I'm not really all that zine savvy...I knew what they were, but I hadn't been exposed to the culture and I'm so glad I was.

For those of you who don't know about Zines, here's an explanation here. There weren't just zines at the fair, there were actually illustrations, books, stickers, buttons, and other crafts being sold. The thing about zines is that, in general, only a few are created by the artist (usually they are self-published) and they are either very cheap or given away for free. I saw many zines that were raunchy in nature, some that were political, some that were goofy, and some that were fact-based. The following people at the Fest caught my eye :)


Andrew's work caught my eye (of course)! His Ogner Stump zines, books, and stickers were reminded me of old movie poster art. I love the simplicity of color and personality of his characters. Also stopped by the Giant Robot store and saw his work in there as well.





Stopped by the Fun Chicken booth and purchased one of these great Hero Land zines. I am going to send this to a friend who will really enjoy it. It's so funny...kinda the behind the scenes of what super heroes do in their daily life. This zine is by Esther Pearl Watson...her illustrations are always on the last page of Bust. So cool to see the connection!



Loved Marisa Falco's work of Miss Sequential. She had a cute, retro style. Definitely girly and witty! She was doing drawings for only a dollar, so I had her draw me as Betty Draper of Mad Men.





Finally, I stopped by Everybody Get Up's booth. They were so nice and had a lot of cool street + pop culture art. They were doing portraits for 25¢. Can you believe that? That's one of their things...they love art and want to make it accessible for everyone. I had an illustration made for a friend, so I can't share it just yet. They were fun...I enjoyed talking to them!

Hope this gives you a little more clue into the Zine scene and that world. It was a really great and unexpected day and I had a great time with Silvia! We have a lot in common and had so much fun chatting!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Details on making a finger loom bracelet

Someone asked me how to make the loop bracelet I showed last week on my blog. Honestly, it kinda came naturally me when I made it and I could do all the step by steps, but I found a tutorial (just one...I thought there would be more) on how to Make a homeade jump rope. This is the process you go by to make the bracelet, necklace, belt, etc. The nylon loops are all different sizes, so the thickness of the bracelet is a bit wonky throughout. I tried to stretch the nylon loops to what I thought was the same tautness (sp?), but it didn't really make a difference when I weaved them.

Perhaps this could be a cool idea with a different type of fabric (something of the stretchable variety), so if you make something I'd love to see the results. I had fun making it, but I don't really plan on doing any more, but it is a cool technique that could be finessed!

Until next time Swellions!

Revisiting my crafty past

Tonight I went to Hancock Fabrics and while there I spotted a bag of neon nylon loops like these:



and I created this neon looped bracelet using my fingers as a loom!



I think it was third or fourth grade when I learned how to do this. We were given the craft to do as a part of Vacation Bible School at Beulah Cumberland Presbyterian Church (the church I attended growing up). Anyway, I became a little addicted with making these finger loom bracelets that summer. I remember taking the loops with me and working on them on my way to swim meets. I rode with another family to the meets and one of the little girls I rode with totally stole them from me and then lied saying she didn't! At the time it totally burned me up!

I find that my young crafty self is a lot like myself now. I go through phases in my crafting. After I made these loom bracelets, I made macrame friendship bracelets and hair bows. I made them while watching television and I made this little bracelet tonight while watching Project Runway (shout out to an old friend Cody Critcheloe who I saw wearing an outfit in one of the designer's portfolios).

I do want to mention that I still struggled with finishing the bracelet off tonight. Ha. Weaving, knitting, crochet has never been my thing so the fine tuning throws me for a loop (pun intended).

I don't know that I'll actually wear this, but it was fun to make and revisit. It's the type of thing I think my niece would love, so I might send her a baggie full of loops and instructions, so that she can discover a new craft just like I did back in the day!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links

Check out what the Crafty Bloggers are up to this week!

About Family Crafts
Do you paper mache? Share your projects and stories!

Aileen's Musings
This week Aileen's been busy altering cabinet cards. Check out her newest funky cabinet cards and download more freebie images for you to alter yourself.

Cathie Filian
Cathie and Steve spoof their love of Mod Podge in their latest video.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside has a fun mixed-media cupcake jar topper project, a how-to on making bottle cap bookmarks, a tutorial on painting over a photo to create a multi frame effect, and a fun beaded fan design. And the tables are turned, leave a question and you are entered to not only win a free book but also a Wrights SideWinder bobbin winder!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Re-purposing crafting materials is a great way to make sure you don't waste your wonderful stash of supplies.

CraftyPod
Sister Diane shows you how to embroider on a perforated metal beading disc!

Cross Stitch at About.com
A saying from the Bard inspired Connie's latest free pattern. Stitch the saying alone or combine it with floral motifs for a larger sampler.

Mixed Media Artist
Sometimes a jolt of new-ness is just what vintage imagery calls for. Learn how to combine cartoons with vintage pictures, digitally!

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen takes everything from a vintage clock to an Etch a Sketch and coverts it into a funky picture frame.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
The scissors are set aside this week and a vintage green marble gets re-purposed into a cool modern necklace with a technique from the book Contemporary Copper Jewelry by Sharilyn Miller

The Artful Crafter
Read some suggestions for preventing your polymer clay projects from cracking.

The Impatient Crafter
Madge transforms a Kraft paper lampshade from Target into a sophisticated accent piece for a teen's room in this post for I Love to Create.

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love
A no fuss, no muss t-shirt project for the kiddos!

I work hard or for the money

Or lack thereof when I speak of my new Etsy shop. Tonight I worked on my Queen of Halloween Etsy banner and photographed some photos of me wearing my creations for my shop. My banner took me an hour or so...I was going to add a pumpkin, spider, and my Pixie cat to it, but in the end I just wanted to keep it simple, sparkly, and girly with a vintage touch. That's my favorite kind of Halloween style! Hmm, though, I kinda wonder if I messed up centering the title...need to go back and check that!





I hope you don't get sick of me and my Halloween talk between now and then! It's just a lot of preparation and since I do the whole 9-5 thing, my spare time is spent working on it, so I don't have much other time to focus on creating anything non-Halloween related!

Just a quick note...in a couple of weeks, I may have to take a little blog hiatus in order to knock out more of my projects. I've set my sights on doing 24 Halloween projects and ideas in 24 hours, so I have to make sure I have time to deliver!

Oh, and seriously, some of my best ideas/coolest inspirations are found while doing google image searches! Check out this amazing bath mirror. How amazing. Love all the elements combined and the modern chandelier! Totally fab!



Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Dollar Bin Love and news :)

Aren't these the most adorable orange frames the best? I got them tonight at Michaels in the dollar bin. They also had turquoise and red as well, but there weren't that many of them. I just love how vibrant they are. They are really little and so perfect. I plan on making some cute Halloween crafts with them and I may even make something super cute to sell in my Etsy shop.

A couple cool things going on:

I'm going to be on the Inspired at Home radio show on September 24th. I'll be sure to remind you of it as the date approaches!



Also, I got contacted by a PBS documentary to include one of my photos in their documentary. It's not a shoe in, because editing may occur, but I could be in the credits! Cool, eh? I think so. Anyway, I'll let you know if that happens too!

Having a bit off week sharing wise. Not my crafty mojo self...I think it's pretty normal to go through phases. I'll be back to my bad crafty self soon!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My weekend in a nutshell

I pretty much spent my weekend making these:



And watching Mad Men:



Admittedly, I'm obsessed with it. I love the way they dress, the secretive drama, the mystique. It's very interesting and refreshing. Very cool to see a world before all our crazy technologies and of course I love that it's set in an advertising agency and they use real brands like Kodak, American Airlines, and Clearasil. Oh, and I totally love Don Draper...super dreamy (I don't think I've ever used dreamy in reference to anyone...ever!) If you haven't checked it out, you can get it from NetFlix and the Second Season is currently online through AMC OnDemand through cable.

I also forgot my camera charger at work so I went 2 days without it...oh, the agony! I wanted to take better pics of my rosettes, but I'll have to get on that this week. I have a lot to do in the upcoming month to prepare for my October blog goodness. It will be here before I know it!

Sorry for such a short post, but I have to get to bed!

Alexa

Until next time Swellions.

Back to School Time

Does this image bring back memories or what? Found this photo via this site (I really didn't want to type that name out on my blog).

Anyway, yeah, today was the first day for my nephew and niece today. I'm sure a lot of kiddos started back this week as well!

You know, I don't miss being in school (having been out for 9 or so years), but there was a lot of excitement and stress I always felt about starting back. I remember not being able to sleep much the night before. I was very worried about looking good and who I was going to sit with when I arrived at school. That was always a nervewracking experience!

I also remember setting out all my clothes for the week ahead. Growing up I was a lot better about it than I am now. I would have about a week's worth of new clothes my mom bought or made for me...I especially loved skorts, skirts, and dresses! I remember one such outfit being a red gingham jumpsuit that I wore in 9th grade (made by the same pattern as . I wore it with little Sam and Libby flats that had jangly seashell silver charms on them. I loved those things.

I loved going back to school because it meant you got new supplies! I loved getting the new box of crayons, glue, lunchbox (mind was a Popples one like this...I also had one that had a radio inside). And as I went to college, it was so much fun to buy stuff for the dorm. For several years after college, I went through withdrawals when I walked through Target at Back to School time (the cheap plastic stuff doesn't appeal to me quite as much these days, though I do like some of it). There's was always a fresh start to be had and I liked starting with a clean slate to the year.

I hope everyone has a great year back and if you have kids, a stress-free as possible return. I know all the paperwork, permission slips, and price tags can be pretty daunting! So now you guys know why I don't have kids! ha ha.

Oh, and by the way, I would absolutely love to get my own pics of random school lunches. That would make such a great series. We never had a pretzel with our lunch, but we had the combo of pizza, corn, and applesauce. I will admit, even though it looks disgusting, it was somewhat tasty. I remember kids always running back for 50¢ second helpings!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Make your own doodled buttons!

So, if you've been seeing my little headbands, you will notice that I had some cute little striped buttons on there. I wish I could find buttons that cute, but in actuality, I had to make my own.

I would offer you a really great tutorial, but there's nothing to it! You simply doodle on buttons with permanent markers. Easy.as.pie.

Now I don't recommend you buying expensive buttons (and if you do, draw at your own risk). I've messed several buttons up doing this...but if you find yourself doodling anyway, it may be something fun and new to try to add a little extra spice to a scrapbook page, shirt, or embellishment for shoes, earrings, button bouquets, etc.



Go crazy with it. I did a checkerboard design, stripes, polka dots, plaid, circles and more. Also experiment making hearts, peace signs, clovers, or other shapes. If you are getting a head start on your holiday crafting, make some Halloween buttons with bats or pumpkins on them or make some swirls and create lollipops or candy cane stripes for Christmas embellishments.

Of course, the smaller tip you will use will yield finer detail. As you prob. can see, they aren't perfect, but that can add handmade charm and a nice personalized touch!

Make sure to let them dry fully and you will prob. want to keep them from water (just in case). Also, I just started making these, so I can't guarantee that they will hold up over the test of time. The more wear and tear you do on the button, the more likely it will rub off over time. So keep this in mind!

Hope you enjoyed this fun and easy project!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links

Check out what the Crafty Bloggers are up to this week!

About Family Crafts
Hurry on over and submit your photos and ideas! Sherri is now accepting Halloween submissions. Share your costumes, haunted house ideas, more and browse through the photos everyone else has submitted.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is offering a book giveaway! See how many ways you can get your name entered in her drawing to win a Ties That Bind Collaboration of Love book...

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Alexa shares 3 great photography tips for taking better photos of your crafts. You don't even have to have an expensive camera!

Cathie Filian
Join Cathie Filian on HSN August 17th where she will be showcasin the new formulas of Mod Podge, Chalkboard Paint and Texture Paint.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside has a how-to on making a Traveling Mail Art Kit from the soon to be released book-Good Mail Day, a tutorial on how to line a flap and step by step directions to make a painted fusible web postcard. Be sure to answer the week's questions to be entered to win free books while your getting your fill of crafty goodness.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has a bag full of fun crafting ideas for the crafter with a birthday.

CraftyPod
SisterDiane interviews a top Etsy seller who decided to downsize her business.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Help Connie decide a caption for her free Bat Cross Stitch pattern.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has an imaginary friend named Jim...from 100 years ago!

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen dishes up a recipe for making a pin cushion out of vintage tin.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Earrings made with something old, something new and a how-to from the new book- Simply Gemstones by Nancy Alden

The Artful Crafter
Eileen blogs about learning photography - one frame at a time.

The Crochet Dude
Drew is giving away all his latest designs that are included in his new line of patterns that just launched nationwide! To enter you just leave a comment on his blog!

The Impatient Crafter
Make a super cute pair of flip flops with your kid or teen for your end of summer vacation! Madge shares the 411 in this post for I Love to Create

I WILL get on a Jones Soda bottle!

I can be pretty persistent about some things. Sometimes if I want to get in a magazine or be featured on web site, I will try and try again to get noticed. It's just how I roll.

So when I realized that your photo could be selected to be on a Jones Soda bottle, I was all about it. I submitted a design several months ago and kept checking back to check out the press sheets for the labels, but I realized mine wasn't selected. It's ok...it just makes me want to try harder to be featured!

But even if it doesn't, I won't be too bummed! Below you can see that you can make your own customized labels! They aren't too expensive either. You can get a six pack for under $20. I think this is the perfect idea for a hard-to-buy-for person.



So, hop on over, upload your photos and wait to see if your photo is featured. How exciting would it be to see your photo on a label? I would be SOOOOOO excited!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Halloween crafting starts early in the house of swell!

Tonight I spent 3 hours or so doing Halloween crafting...wanna see what I made?

I made 2 tulle/felt/button headbands and several ring stacks ready for their blanks!







So what does this really mean? Well, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve I want to share:

– I plan on once again doing Terrorific Tuesday. I'll be sharing details in the next couple of weeks how you can get in on the action and share in the love of Halloween Crafting! I want to give you a bit of a headstart. I know holidays can be hectic!

– I plan on opening an Etsy site exclusively selling my Halloween goods. I have a couple of weeks to get it up and going...I plan on selling the goods above on there, so stay tuned. I'll let you know when it's prepared to launch.

– And finally, I'm taking on a big endeavor...early to mid October, I will be posting 24 Halloween craft ideas in 24 hours! More than likely it will be on a Wednesday or Thursday, but I will keep you informed. And don't worry, I can set my blog up so that I can save posts ahead of time and for them to be launched at a certain time. I used to think that you had to physically go in and post a blog every hour. Man, that wouldn't be any fun!

Hope you are excited about these future Halloween crafts I plan on sharing. Are you busy working on any of your own, or am I the only nut out here doing stuff ahead of time?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

I met Candace Cameron!

This past Friday, I went to Hollywood for work. You may think that doesn't really sound like "work", but it was. I was very busy taking photos and twittering the day away. We (my friends and co-workers Allee and Mandy were there too) were there to create t-shirts using Tulip Fashion Spray Paint. There were a lot of kid celebrities from TV shows on Disney and Nickelodeon, as well as a lot of kid stars of current feature films. Also, there were other random people like Fred Willard, Andy Dick, Niecy Nash, and Scott Baio that were there just to name a few. I'm not a very "starstruck" person and after being on our feet for several hours, the stars seemed like anyone else who wanted to try out a make and take. They all got really excited, were appreciative, and kept singing the praises of the Spray Paint. We got a lot of great photos, comments, and positive feedback!

So, I was a little chicken to ask Candace Cameron for a photo, but my friend Allee said I should just go for it...so I did. Anytime I've ever had a chance to get an autograph or photo before, I've chickened out. I feel like it's a bit invasive, and after all, I was working, but honestly, Candace Cameron was sooooo much a figure in my childhood. Full House was my favorite show and I loved watching her storyline and evolving style. She's also around my age and she is more beautiful now than she was when she was younger! I wish I could say I've aged that gracefully!

Anyway, check out the pics of the event here.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

How I turned a Craft Fail around!

Naturally, as a graphic designer for iLoveToCreate, I am constantly surrounded by wonderful designs that are awesomely executed using various Tulip® Paint products. It's astounding the designs that the craft designers execute! They have a lot of experience and technical skill that I truly admire.

So being a somewhat experienced crafter myself, I'd like to think that I'm at their level; however, there are times like yesterday when I realize I have A LOT to learn. Ha ha.

This is how it went down. Tomorrow, I'm attending a gift boutique honoring the Teen Choice Awards and we are going to be featuring Tulip® Fabric Spray Paints in our make and take. We were told that it would be nice if we wore something we wore using the Sprays and I was all about it! My friend picked up a top for me at Target and I got started...

First, I wetted my shirt and dried it for a bit. The next step was to pleat the design (I wanted the cool Shibori pleats that are really popular right now).



After that I started spraying it with various bright colors.



Pretty soon, it was starting to look pretty awesome!



This is what it looked done after all my spraying was done and before I threw it in the wash...looks pretty cool, right?



Well, I threw it in the wash and this is when things go sour. It came out a much paler shade of color and almost muddy. Thinking I could correct the problem, I went over it again with yellow spray. It still looked pretty dingy.



The first think both Pattie Donham and Cheryl Ball asked me was, "Is the shirt 100% cotton?". Hmmm...needless to say it wasn't. It is 60% cotton/ 40% polyester. That was the kicker. If I had more experience I would have known that the spray doesn't work on cotton blends!

So now you have a little insight that I didn't realize! For the record if you dye or spray a shirt with Tulip® products, ALWAYS make sure it is washed beforehand to remove sizing, ALWAYS make sure to make sure the material is 100% cotton, and ALWAYS make sure to wash and dry it afterward. You can find a lot of this information if you follow the instructions on the box or the label of the product. Go figure, huh?

Well, not all was lost in the end! My friend Allee told me that I should cut the shirt up and make a bracelet and I took her advice! Here is the result:



It turned out super cute. By the way, I did spray the fabric just a bit more with the Tulip Fabric Spray, so it's a bit more colorful than the drab shirt it started out as! So what do you think? If you are interested, I could show you how to do this project next week on my blog!

Oh, and by the way, I did make a new shirt! I will try to show it as well sometime soon. Maybe I'll take a pic tomorrow to share. This time it was 100% cotton. I made sure! Check out my updates tomorrow on the iLoveToCreate twitter or facebook page!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

3 crafty photography tips

I occasionally get compliments from my crafty friends about my photos and what I do to make my photos look so good. I guess a lot of it comes very naturally to me, but I think a lot of it is a) experience and b) knowing the tricks of the game to get a good photo. I thought I would share today some tips for how I take my photos (illustrated with photos I take, of course).

First off, before I get started, I want to say that while my photos have improved vastly because I upgraded my camera (to a Nikon D40), it doesn't mean you still can't get great pics with your point and shoot. It's just knowing how far you can push your little handheld camera and a little photo editing that did the trick for me back in the day! And with that in mind, all the photos taken in this post are with my old digital camera (similar to the kind you probably have). So here's the goods :)

Come to the light
If you are taking your photo in poor lighting, you are setting yourself for a bad photo from the get go. Go next to a window with light streaming in or set up the photo next to a lamp (or two). Even though it's not "professional" studio lighting, it creates a much warmer glow. Now, here's the kicker...DON'T USE THE FLASH. People are soooooo addicted to flash and in certain circumstances it is neccessary, but if you have sufficient lighting, then most times you can get a good photo just from the light you are using and it's much crisper and more vibrant an image. There are some exceptions to this rule, but if you do find that you need flash, check to see if there is a flash setting on your camera. Sometimes the flash setting will adjust to the light better and diffuse the flash in a less harsh way than the automatic flash setting.

This photo was shot using my craft light. I think the light is a bit intense, but in a way, it brought out some unique qualities like the glitter on the bangle and the shininess of the tape. This was taken with my old point and shoot camera.


Backgrounds, Backgrounds, Backgrounds!
I can't stress enough how much difference a background can make! Just setting up some Walmart $1 fabric in the background or a simple/clean sheet of scrapbook paper that doesn't distract from your piece will make your piece pop to the extreme. I love finding backgrounds with a little shimmer/texture/additional interest. I've seen many photos of crafts taken on your carpet or dirty kitchen table. This isn't a good way to present your work (esp. if you're trying to sell it on Etsy or the sort). If it comes down to it, and you have limited resources, shoot in on a plain surface like a posterboard. It's much better than a cluttered backdrop!

In this photo (again taken with my point and shoot), I simply shot it on my red couch. Furniture and clothing make great photo surfaces!


Photoshop is your best friend
I will admit that I have more Photoshop experience being a graphic designer and all; however, with the availabity of it (you can get Photoshop Elements for under $100) and the vast amount of tutorials on the web, there are plenty of ways that you can learn the art of photo editing. And by photo editing, I'm not talking about wild and crazy stuff...most of my edits are simple things like brightening up my image (in Photoshop I like to create a duplicate layer of my background layer and set it's layer style to screen effect as well as boost the brightness, contrast, and saturation). Another way to enhance your photos is to create a soft and natural vignette (using my airbrush tool) around the image to give the photo more moodiness. This can be seen here (also notice the scrapbook paper background).


Hope you found this post helpful. I have a few more photo tips up my sleeve that I'll share at a later point!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A Tulle tale

Can't really say this is a great tale. I went last night and bought some tulle at Joann's. I first picked up the tulle with the larger openings, then I found it on spools and thought it would be a better value. Come to find out, I would have been happier with the tulle on the yard. Oh well, you live, you learn. I made some little tulle rosettes tonight. This is the result. I guess I could make a brooche or hair pin out of it, but honestly, I'm not super excited about it. Eh, maybe need a bit more practice. Sewing (hand sewing) has never been one of my strengths. I think it's just a bit too detailed for my sensibilities. Doesn't mean I won't try it. I really want to make a lot of these rosettes, but seriously, I'm thinking about getting someone to do them for me on Etsy Alchemy (you can go on there and request services and people bid on it). We'll see.

I did enjoy using one of my new favorite possessions: My grandmother's scissors:



My mom packed them in a package of her things for me. I totally forgot to tell her to keep them for me. I'm glad she remembered to send them to me, knowing I would appreciate them. I remember these always being in her little junk drawer and I remember watching her use them. I think this is when crafting becomes a very personal experience...how it is passed down and how things you touch and make are created with love for others. I love that I have a pair of her scissors that she kept for many years. They are super sturdy too...unlike the various plastic handled ones I own. I will really cherish them!

Well, have a couple of things to do before I turn in. Hope you have a great Tuesday!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Short and Sweet Sunday

Hello all. Not much new in the world of Swell. I did accomplish some much needed errands today (oil change and car wash, two necessary evils). I also went to Joann's where I made a few purchases:



I didn't know Jennifer's book was sold there and when I saw it, I had to take advantage of my 40% off coupon. I can't believe I actually had on me (so many times I forget them at home or they expire before I can use them!). Back to the book, I like a lot of the techniques and step by steps and I'm sure I will find a lot of inspiration! I also picked up the BH&G "Do it Yourself" mag. There are so many amazing ideas in there! I love BH&G special publications. They always have the best projects and prettiest photos! While I was there, I tried to see if there were any Halloween pubs out yet, but I'm thinking they will be out in the next few weeks or so. The Halloween stuff is already in stores and it's making me really excited. I have been wanting to get a head start on my crafting and I'm debating on opening a little Halloween Etsy shop since it is my favorite holiday and I think where I do my best crafting. Anyway, I'll have to get on it if that happens. I did start on some Halloween button rings. See? Not quite done. I'm going to seek out some buttons on Etsy as well. I had a hard time finding unique Halloween-colored ones for my rings.



I also went today to see Funny People. I love Judd Apatow films. They are funny (and incredibly crude), but also have a realness to them that pull at your heartstrings. For me, it's a nice balance I totally recommend it.

Well, going to settle in for the night...read a bit in my "Saved by the Bell" People magazine, and focus on the day ahead!

Until next time Swellions!