DIY Raven — a maker of pretty things + a vagabond at heart.

personal cards are priceless….well, almost

April 28, 2013

Front image of custom birthday card

Custom inner greeting message. She’s really turning 29, hehe.

Back of card

Cookie cake!

In my humble opinion, greeting cards just don’t get the proper press they deserve. I don’t send many out myself, but I definitely admire those few individuals who always take the time + care to still send you a card in the mail for special days. Who doesn’t love to get REAL mail? Those friends of mine that sent me notes + presents when I lived briefly in California absolutely made my holidays. Even if a greeting card is just exchanging hands instead of skipping states, the intentions are exactly the same. You just want to express how much you care, but sometimes a store-bought card doesn’t exactly SAY it.

This card cost $1.99 (tax not included), I was able to upload my image from my computer via Walgreens.com, and it was printed + ready on nice semi-gloss card stock in less than an hour! I made my own custom image to fill the card, but they have plenty of templates ready for your pictures to be uploaded into. And of course you customize the messages inside the card and on the back if you’d like.

Believe me, I’m not cool enough yet to have sponsors on this blog, so I am in NO way affiliated with Walgreens the company. I’m merely suggesting that if you have a location in your area and interested in a personalized gift or note for pretty reasonable price, it’s worth looking into. My friend Nancy + all of the friends that signed the card absolutely loved it! I’m definitely doing this again for sure. And don’t forget that Mother’s Day is coming up soon too!

Invisible zipper work + boning on the final peplum top fabric

Oh, and this? Yeah. This is the reason I haven’t updated in a while. I just haven’t gotten around to finishing, but here’s proof of progress. I’ve never sewed in boning before, but it wasn’t at all difficult. I’m actually almost finished! For better or for worse, I can’t wait to show you the final results!

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all thumbs. green ones at that.

April 12, 2013

My garden. Starting top row from left to right: cilantro, cherry tomato, various annuals (petunias, marigold, etc.), and strawberry. Bottom row: green onion, green bell peppers, petunias, and another bell pepper. I just bought a really pretty geranium yesterday (not pictured) with pink petals…couldn’t resist!

It began innocently enough. Strawberry, cherry tomato, green bell peppers, cilantro + green onion seed packets. Of course a bag of soil + a few pots. I guess I was really hungry that day.

Potting after my plant haul.

Cilantro + green onions sprouting. Didn’t take long!

Bell peppers. Strawberries about to turn red. Tomato plant needing a stake + a new pot very soon.

Round 2. Shopping for bigger pots, but somehow came home with more plants ?

All together now. I scored these small (18″x18″ ?) pallets for free from Lowe’s since they just throw them out anyways. Keeps the plants off of the hot concrete, which helps the soil + roots remain cool/moist on the bottom during the sunny summer days. I learned that from a passenger I sat next to on a flight who is an avid gardener!

You should know that these hands of mine have committed many murders in my past. Of the plant kind only. Well a few bugs too. But I tell you this first to say that if you’ve ever for a second considered gardening or thought it would be fun to try, but you feel that you only “kill” things, realize that there is hope. This is a worthwhile hobby that is a greatly rewarding, gets you outdoors, and is an awesome de-stresser of sorts. Besides, how cool would it be to cook tacos at home and then casually say, “oh let me just grab some cilantro from my garden…” Coolest. moment. ever.

I am no expert on the subject, but we all at least know that plants need sun (at least most), dirt, and water. So some casualties are inevitable and some of your seeds may not sprout (my lavender didn’t do squat), but don’t give up. Get more dirt and try again. I just bought another packet of lavender seeds. They were $1.28. Did I mention that this is an incredibly cheap hobby to start?

Yeah. I’m preaching a little. But with the springtime in full force + organic food the way to go these days, this is a hobby worth trying out if you have a skosh of an interest. It has also given me something to say when other flight attendants I fly with ask me about my hobbies or what I’ve been up to. I’m surprised at the folks that carry an interest really, and one of the last gals I flew with updated on Facebook that she’s just started a garden!! *patting myself on the back*

A few things I’ve learned that I can share:

Like I mentioned above, if you are container gardening make sure that your pots are not sitting directly on the bare concrete. If you live in Texas or another hot hot place, you already KNOW how hot the concrete can be! Place a plywood or other cooler barrier to keep the roots + soil moist on the bottom. If not, you may be cooking your plants!!
If your plant will eventually need a stake to keep it upright, stake early. This way you don’t damage the already well-developed root structure by the time you decide to give your plant that extra support.
If you are container gardening, it may be really tempting to buy those really cute pots on the market, but make sure first that there are holes on the bottom of the container. This is extremely important for draining excess water off of the soil.
If, like me, you are scared of over-watering your plants, buy a self-watering plant pot. They work basically by having a reservoir on the bottom of the container that you fill with water, and the plant/roots are consistently kept moist by only soaking up the water it needs. It’s been awesome for me since I can be gone for up to 4-5 days at a time. You can find them pretty reasonable in price, but this easy + crafty tutorial will show you how to make your own out of plastic coke bottles!
Not wanting to get your hands all dirty or don’t think you have the space to start a garden? Fine. How about re-growing store bought green onions in a drinking glass or maybe creating an easy hanging garden with cheap shoe organizer, you diva you. Mmmmhmm. That’s what I thought.

So I’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, I’m going to pick a ripe strawberry from my GARDEN and see what it tastes like!

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some serious progress meets a bit of inspiration

April 9, 2013

Got the peplum piece worked out nicely.

This progress update is real proof that rearranging my space has worked wonders thus far. I’ll be all the way convinced once I produce the finished project. But I dare say if I didn’t have to work the last five days, I would’ve had this project done already. Absolutely baffling, since I am a professional procrastinator in my personal life.

I’ve also been meaning to finally earn my green thumb + grow a few plants on my balcony, and I have! It’s been over a month and my green onions and cilantro have sprouted, my cherry tomato plant is getting so tall I desperately need to stake it, and my bell peppers + strawberries are doing great! It’s mostly her fault though. She’s a young lawyer 9-5 and a green thumb technician on her own time, sharing both the triumphs + troubles in her limited gardening spaces. If you take a gander at her blog, you’ll be inspired too.

A few other points of ideas + inspiration –

I’ve been brainstorming a way to set up my plants better on my balcony. I want to do something like this.

Of course I already believe sewing is incredibly awesome, but SHE makes sewing look SO FREAKING COOL. And I absolutely adore her style. Swag. Overload.

Do you like yogurt? Greek yogurt? How about cream cheese? Well you can make your own so easily + super cheaply. I tell you no lie.

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not winning any awards on apartment therapy

April 3, 2013

New workspace setup in my living room.

It’s almost amazing what a little rearranging will do. I originally had these two tables set up in my bedroom side by side linearly with both sewing machines. It looked slick, yet highly inefficient for me. I HATED going in my bedroom to sew. I didn’t have as much natural light + having the tables longways didn’t make for a helpful fabric-laying surface. I was still cutting and laying my fabrics + patterns on the floor. It’s such an annoyance to crawl around on the floor, hunch over to cut pieces, and it absolutely KILLS my knees!

I was trying really hard to keep my living room space a pure living room space. Just couch, coffee table, tv, a few books on the shelves so when people come over they know I be readin’. People over? I hardly ever have people over. And secondly, it’s MY living room space and I was doing a horrible job living up to the room’s name.

I’ll admit, it’s a bit of an eyesore in the room. But me actually feeling motivated and happy to work on a sewing project is absolutely priceless. Not like I’m ever really excited about going to work ever, but I am so extremely sad that I will be leaving my awesome home workspace for the next few days….I just enjoy working away now so much more!

Peplum top drafting. Using Vogue Easy Options pattern #8184 for the top + creating my own pattern for the peplum lower half.

Good thing I made a practice first. The top will fit perfect, but that flared “peplum” bottom obviously needs work!

I’m really super obsessed with this neon yellow trend going around. I wanted to make a fabulous tube style dress with a flared bottom in the color for the summer, but when I went to the fabric store the only had one bolt of a loud (not neon) yellow. AND it was only 1 3/8 yards left on the bolt. Down, but not out, I gladly took it home and decided that although I couldn’t make an entire dress, I could probably pull off a peplum tube top. (The yellow fabric is shown on the table in the first two photos)

I gotta stop here. I have to wake up super early for work + unfortunately I’ll have to wait 4 whole days until I can tackle this project again *shaking fist*

Till next time kids.

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i kinda love this

March 28, 2013

Button + tufting detail. Pier One Imports, eat your heart out.

This pillow is huge! 26″ x 26″.

One side of pillow.

Other side of pillow.

It could eat my couch.

I almost have no words. I was up til 3:30am last night. I’m just so happy to be finally all finished with this project + that it turned out as nicely as it did!! I think I actually like it better as a floor cushion than an ordinary throw pillow for the couch? Ahh details, details. Who cares. It’s so purdy. That is all.

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i mean. i’m just sayin….

March 9, 2013

Money. Having it, or simply having the lack of is a subject that no one likes to talk about. If I had an elephant that constantly followed me into every room, it would be an elephant that wore a skin with a repeated pattern of the one dollar bill. He’d be chilling while I’m in my apartment. He’d be there looking over my shoulder when I’m checking the mail for bills and snicker when I decline any 1-866 numbers that I make roll straight to voicemail. He’d be in my basket when I’m getting groceries from the store. He’d even start break-dancing on the table when I get my split of the check during a dinner out or a happy-hour with friends. I’m pretty sure he did the Dougie yesterday while I called and put my school loan on forbearance.

Passion. Oh you know. Do what you love and never work a day in your life? I mean, I hear you, but what if you just like lots o’ stuff and carry a torch for nothing? When I visit my tax lady every year she is absolutely EXCITED about doing my taxes, crunching numbers, yada yada. She loves accounting!! My fellow ex-flight attendant friend Amy Jo runs a beautiful photography blog that she updates on the regular because she has such a passion for taking pictures every. single. day. I’m super jealous of these monogamous types. My interests vary so far and so wide and if I’m being truly honest with myself, I have no idea what I could find fulfillment in doing everyday while making a comfortable living in the process. I love me some travel, but I’m so not cut out to be a “career” flight attendant. I sat next to a young lady, exactly half my age, on a flight back to Houston the other night while I was deadheading from Denver after a 5-day trip. She asked me so many questions of interest about my job and then shared something about her personal experience on a flight coming back from Italy. I kept a straight face, but my heart got a bit sad. I haven’t even been farther than Canada yet. I constantly hear the it-gets-better stories about the pay + seniority with this job, but I think I can only thank people for their trash for so long.

Love + relationships. Ahhh matters of the heart. Some people kick rocks. Other people kick hearts.

Lol, okay. So it’s not that serious, but let’s just say my most recent relations situation wasn’t so hot. I never talk about this and frankly I used to not worry about it. But when you’ve attended nearly 10 weddings over your brief lifespan, you’re about to top off your third decade of existence, and a Facebook pal of yours (already in an awesome relationship herself of course) posts a pic about even Honey Boo Boo’s mom has a boyfriend…..ONE STARTS TO PANIC. Which is probably why I went solo to San Francisco this past February for their annual Valentine’s Day Pillow Fight because I figured if you can’t join them, BEAT them.

Footage of opening carnage.

Mind you I only lasted about a solid 12 minutes and then I politely excused myself (meaning I fought my way out). There were some fools with those well soiled I’ve-had-this-on-my-bed-for-years type of pillows that sank like bricks in the cases so they were inevitably straight up Homie the Clowning folks. My new fluffy pillow couldn’t compete. Plus there were these obvious veterans out there that had bandanas over their mouths WHICH WAS BRILLIANT because when someone dropped a bomb of feathers, that ish would get into your eyes + all down into your throat. I don’t know how many times I heard people yell “I can’t breathe” after that. But the BEST was when this guy in a very I Am Sparta voice yelled out “Fight. For. Your. FREEDOMMMMM!!!!!!” Lol. This is the video I took at beginning of the fight when the bell tolled. I hung back a sec to make sure it wasn’t too much carnage going on because ultimately I’m not losing an eye over a pillow fight. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Such. good. times.

So. Sometimes you just have to keep it real. And I feel I write my best when I do. These truly are issues that do give me great stress sometimes, but they also serve as great reminders that it ain’t all bad, I’ll totally (hopefully) figure it all out someday, and it’s really kind of funny when you think about it. *wink*

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random bits

January 30, 2013

1. Good news? My curtain came in from UO! Bad news? The color is much darker than I expected…..which would be O.K. if the material wasn’t so incredibly cheap :/ The fabric is thinner than an inexpensive bed sheet you would purchase from Walmart. Loved the print, but it’s going back! TODAY.
2. Had two layovers in Detroit this week (within the past seven days). This was taken outside of my room window before I had to head back to Houston. Snow is a beautiful thing….in small doses.
3. I started my online class this week! And my nephew came over to help me with some of the homework. He definitely has a different approach to learning. It doesn’t seem to be all that effective, but he’s much too cute not to keep around.

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how do you eat an elephant

January 22, 2013

I just ordered this beauty last night. Papercut Medallion Curtain (Urban Outfitters, $39.00)

Cute side table + gold border mirror purchased from Home Goods.

The answer is, one bite at a time. It’s worth mentioning because it’s a reminder to myself to just breathe sometimes. I got myself so worked up yesterday because I got a to-do + want-to-do list miles long, and sometimes you just need to remember that you just do what you can and get over it. I won’t bore you with the to-dos, but a want-to-do is definitely getting this living space in order. Believe it or not, focusing on making this gigantic throw pillow is helping! It’s giving me inspiration and a definite place to start.

Other want-tos include learning another language. Man I want to learn Spanish like YESTERDAY. For one, living in Texas I feel like I should already know it by now, and for another I get tired of pantomiming “wheelchair” or “put your carry-on luggage underneath the seat” to non-English speakers on the plane. I forked over big money for Rosetta Stone Spanish last year and disappointingly dropped off after completing only the first unit in the level 1 series. This year I’m at it again, but this time starting with the Duolingo app on my phone (available for Android users too) + it’s FREE forever, it says. I’ve seen its review ratings no lower that 4 out of 5 stars, you can learn Portuguese, Spanish, French, and German, AND they send you reminder emails everyday!! For me, that’s helpful. Another plus is that it’s always with me, so I can do this in the airport with some headphones without the need to yell phrases back into my phone.

Also, I decided to enroll online and take an Intro to Finance course through the University of Michigan….again for FREE through Coursera. It’s 15 weeks long, and it begins on January 28 if you were interested. If not, they have plenty of other courses to choose from with various dates, and many offer certificates upon successful completion. I just want to get a better grasp of the overall subject and my personal finances. They have the instructors upload videos to introduce themselves and the course. Also, the syllabus is available online. I love to learn, but since I don’t have the time to actually attend a class and since I just REFUSE to take out another loan for school, this is an awesome way to go about life-long learning.

I’m starting up another 4-day trip tomorrow to more awesomely cold destinations, so I’m going to see if I can get some more work done on that pillow on these layovers. I must! I made a pact with my sewing buddy Jeana that we WILL finish the projects we start this year.

Man, this elephant of mine is a monster.

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in living color

January 18, 2013

At Pier One Imports for inspiration. I just love these colorful tufted floor cushions.

Using some stashed fabric + new fabrics to pattern-mix.

Plan to use this embroidery thread to add a repeated running-stitch detail.

Bringing one side of the unfinished pillow cover to work. A big ziplock bag keeps everything together + fits nicely into an overnight bag.

Not gonna lie here – pattern mixing kind of scares me. I’m so minimalist at times. I love bright bold colors, but I work best with neutrals with that one or two choice pops of strong colors. But I am SO very drawn to the “global” styles that Pier One Imports or even Target at times offer. The utter chaos of these fabric patterns just placed next to the other can just come together to be a strong + simple statement piece to add flair to a space. I’ve been lacking “flair” for the longest in my apartment. I can’t decide on a color scheme, nor can I afford most of the pillows that I really want at Pier One.

So since a big throw pillow is such a good start for the new year (not to mention one of my many unfinished projects I need to finish) I am determined to see this through…..regardless of how un-cute this could turn out. It’s a big 26″ x 26″ square pillow, so it’s going to definitely do SOMETHING in this all-white space.

Laying over in Salt Lake City tomorrow. It’s going to be ridiculously cold + I’m staying inside my hotel room to work on the hand-sewing. I cannot wait to show you how the finished product. Regardless of how it turns out – I’m posting it AND putting it on my couch! So stay tuned, haha.

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best laid plans

January 10, 2013

McCalls 6173 leggings, Vogue 8688 top

This was originally supposed to be my NYE outfit. I went to the Neon Indian concert in Austin, TX that night. Glitzy black leggings, black (Target) wedges, and a simply relaxed extra-off-the-shoulder plain heather gray batwing top with a black cami underneath. You will be happy to know that I actually finished this outfit on time! But it was really rainy, and we knew it was going to be impossible to park close to the venue that night, so I ended up keeping the top, exchanging the leggings for black skinny jeans and sporting my grey + hot pink Puma sneaks. So. Much. Fun.

Making edits to the original pattern to achieve that extra off-the-shoulder goodness!

Dolman sleeves + super relaxed jersey fabric are just incredible.

The neckline is actually a bit more exaggerated than I had planned, because the pattern called for a bias-taped neckline. I chose a metallic gold bias tape which laid HORRIBLY. So at the last minute I just took my shears and cut off my hard work. It definitely made for an even wider neck line, but luckily it was okay since this jersey fabric was so forgiving it didn’t need a finished edge on it. Loved it!

Sadly, you don’t get the glitz effect as much in this pic :/

Whoomp. There it is.

Both of these are easy-level patterns, so they were pretty quick projects to complete for the most part. I did have to whittle down the leggings though so they could be a bit more form-fitting. At first they were hanging on me like loose skin. I chose pattern option C so they gathered beautifully at the ankles. I didn’t want to risk them being too short at the bottom.

It’s a late post for sure, but I had a couple Canada overnights the day after New Years so I didn’t get time to post as early as I wanted. But Hey! This is an awesome start for me! Happy Belated New Year friends

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