embroidered trucker hat

We're taking the family camping later this month and I'm super excited.  I love camping, but I do not love how greasy my hair gets while camping (bangs don't help).  I normally wouldn't mind looking abhorrent in nature, but we'll be near a quaint little town that I adore for day excursions, so appearance counts.  I discovered that a hat would help, which is something that I oddly haven't owned up to this point. 

Our old tent finally bit the dust on our last trip, so we had to buy a replacement at Cabela's.  It was there that I saw this trucker hat for the low price of $5.  But it said Cabela's, which is lame.  I didn't want a Cabela's hat, but I DID want a hat that only cost $5.  I figured I could do something with it once I got rid of the Cabela's logo.

Admittedly, ripping the old lettering from the hat would have been much faster and easier with a seam ripper.  But I don't have one of those so I just used small scissors and a lot of patience.  If I ever do this again, I need to get a seam ripper.  I think they cost a whopping $3 or so.

After all evidence of the Cabela's logo was removed, I drew a design in pencil in its place.  I kinda doodled, but I was careful to make sure the design covered all the old lettering so nothing would show through.  A floral pattern lends itself well to this, because petals and leaves can go wherever you want them to.  Whereas a rainbow would have been rather limiting, for example.

I grabbed the strongest needle I owned and just went to town in colors that looked good with my red mesh and bill.  I used all six strands of embroidery floss, hoping that would mean fewer stitches.  I gotta say hats are STRONG, and I actually broke two needles while stitching.  Just snapped in half in my fingers.  I've never had that happen to me.

Turned out pretty good!  I'm glad I did this, but it SUUUUUCKED.  I developed some hard core callouses on my fingertips getting that big ass needle through the hat.  It had a mesh backing that would often catch the needle and spring it off to the side of where I wanted.  And the seam running vertically down the center was THICK, so the going was slow and tough.  But look!  So pretty!

 Rockin' it.  Imma be the prettiest old lady at the camp ground.

embroidered pendant necklace

 

Admittedly, my embroidery skills are slightly less than on point, but apart from that little foible this darling necklace turned out just as I'd hoped.  A little bit grandma, a little bit spunky.  I used a vintage hankie as my fabric for this, which sounds nice ("vintage" is a good buzz word), but it also provided a simple template to follow with the needle.  I have a bunch of these hankies that are gathering dust anyway, and I liked the flower pattern on this one.  I honestly just didn't trust myself to come up with my own pattern.

This necklace was whipped up in a relative jiffy.  The needlepoint was the most time consuming part, and you're really limited there anyway because of size.  I spent about an hour sewing, and the rest took 20 minutes. 

I followed the hankie's pretty flower pattern with embroidery floss (two strands only) and cut it out in a circle shape with about 1/4-inch+ of extra fabric around the edges of the image.  

I had an antique bronze pendant circle frame that I got from the craft store, but I needed something sturdy and not too thick to wrap my fabric around.  I ended up flexing my super-resourceful muscles and used the plastic base from a reusable grocery tote.  I've used this stuff before to make brims on knit hats, and it works really well.  It's bendable but makes a good form.  I'm sure there's a product out there designed specifically for this type of purpose but this was free.

I cut the plastic stuff into a circle that fit inside the pendant with a thin gap around the edges.  That will allow the fabric to fold around and still fit within the metal frame.

Unfortunately my form is black and my fabric is white.  I didn't want the black to show through, and I also kinda wanted to give it a pincushion look.  So I used a bit of thicker white fabric to stick between the two.  I cut it slightly smaller than the plastic form.

Here's a picture of my assembly line.  I decided to try hot glue, with a Plan B of gorilla glue.  The hot glue worked, so I never had to try Plan B.  I glued the white fabric to the plastic base, then put a drop of glue on top and centered my needlepoint over it.  I flipped it over and carefully pulled it taut around the edges and glued it down.  

The hard apple cider was my helper.

Then I put a glurg of hot glue inside the metal frame and stuck the fabric circle inside. It fit perfectly and so far has stayed put just fine.

Ta-da!

Another shot for art.  Lookit the hankie I destroyed!

And the finished necklace.  I harvested the chain from an old ugly necklace, stuck a few jump rings on one end and a lobster clamp on the other.  And it's beautiful!

I can't stop!

I guess I'm addicted to embellished cardigans.  Maybe I need professional help, but I'm having too much fun.  This time I did two, but they look strikingly similar, like they could be one in the same in a certain light.  But I swear they are actually two different cardigans in two different colors.  One is for my sister, because her birthday is on Saturday.  The other is for me, because I wanted one.

This one is my sister's.  The cardigan is black, and the lace applique is gray.  Oddly, I found two very different shirts from the thrift store that both had essentially the same lace pattern cut out in the back.  It was sort of a v-shaped cut out detail just below the neckline.  One was in gray and the other in ivory.  So I bought them both, cut out the cool lace design part and tossed the rest of the shirt.  They were ugly anyway.  

As a birthday spoiler, I let my sister pick which one she wanted (she picked gray) and the color cardigan she wanted (she picked black).  Then, as in before I laid out the pieces and sewed them on.  This was a little tougher than the last ones I did, simply because the symmetry was so much more pronounced on the appliques.  If it was messed up at all, it would be easier to tell at a glance, and then (I assume) that would be all anyone would see every time the sweater is worn.  ...At least, the OCD people, myself included.

So that's my sister's birthday present above.  Pretty standard, black cardigan with a nice little gray embellishment.  Happy frickin' birthday, sister!  (I also made her some jitterbug perfume, shhh...future post, maybe)

That left the ivory lace for me.  And I had the darndest time deciding which cardigan to use.  I tried a beige, which did have a decent contrast but the cowl neckline was a challenge:

I tried an ivory cardigan, which I was expecting to look much better than this but you can hardly even see it:

I tried a nice soft blue, which also looked pretty good but also had the cowl thing going on:

And finally I tried a charcoal gray, which I decided I liked the best:

And here it is all finished.  I brought the design up a little more toward the shoulders on this one.  Again with the symmetry issues, but any inconsistencies are actually due to irregularities in the lace itself (it's not my fault, I tried you guys!!).  They don't really bother me too much, and it looks really nice on. 

diy embellished cardigan...again!

It worked out so well last time I embellished my own cardigan that I decided to give it another go.  But this time all my materials came from the thrift store.  Huzzah for frugality!  I visited on a day that all apparel was 50% off, so there's another financial bonus.  This ended up costing me a whopping $8, plus several hours of labor.

The cardigan is a wonderful mustard color, which I love.  The embroidered appliques came from an unbelievably fugly camisole thingy, with sequins and brown tulle and all kinds of dreadful things.  I cut out the embroidered bits as carefully as I could and trashed the rest.  

As with the last embellished cardigan project, I laid out the appliques and pinned them into place, then started sewing.  This time I used thread that matches the cardigan, so you can see the stitching if you look closely.  Again, I used an overcast stitch, and again, I worked slowly and carefully to avoid skewing the knit fabric.  Last time I did this, there were a total of six separate applique pieces.  This time there were 24.  So it took quite a bit longer.  But worth it!

honey & orange blossom chapstick

Chapstick is critically important to my happiness and well-being.  I have tubes of chapstick strategically located in various places where I might find myself: in my desk at work, in the car, my purse, my nightstand, next to "my spot" on the sofa, etc.  I cannot be without chapstick.  But I started wondering what exactly was in my Dr. Pepper flavored Lip Smackers.  Odds are pretty good that some of the ingredients might not be what I'd want to ingest.  

Since I already make a lot of essential oil salves and lotions, homemade chapstick with natural ingredients seems like a logical thing to do.  I've been working on my recipe over the last several weeks and I finally came up with the right ingredient ratios.

Before I get into that I must say that I have standards for my chapstick.  It needs to go on smooth, and not too "wet" or melty.  It needs to stay on for a long time so I don't have to reapply constantly.  It needs to taste good.  And it also has to smell nice, since this stuff lives right under my nose.

I went through several trial and error experiments with the recipe, sometimes using other recipes I found on pinterest, other times just going on my own whim.  One batch felt really wet going on and looked oily.  I overcompensated with beeswax on the next batch and it was too stiff.  It felt like it was flaking off my lips, which was very unpleasant.  Then I accidentally overheated the mix and the texture was gritty.  I also tried adding color a few times which ended in miserable failure.  I'm not giving up on that because I really like the idea of homemade lipstick (using beetroot powder would be rad).  Once I get that worked out I'll post about it.

Here's the recipe I finally ended up with for homemade honey and orange blossom chapstick.  This recipe makes 8 full tubes of chapstick.

My ingredients.  You can get the shea butter, beeswax bars and chapstick tubes from Amazon.  Trader Joe's is a great source for cheap coconut oil and vitamin E oil.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce beeswax (1/2 bar)
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 1 Tbs shea butter
• 1 tsp vitamin E oil
• squirt of honey (about 1/2 tsp)
• 6 drops blood orange essential oil
• 5 drops pink grapefruit essential oil
• 3 drops neroli essential oil

Heating the mixture in the double boiler

Before filling the chapstick tubes

Prep your chapstick tubes ahead of time by making sure they're clean, the caps are off and stored, and the twist mechanism is in the very bottom position.  I wasn't sure how much this would make so I grabbed a handful.  Bind them together with a rubber band to keep them all upright and place over a paper towel.  This made it a lot easier to pour the mix in.

Grate the beeswax using a cheese grater, food processor, or microplane.  I used a microplane and it worked really well without making too much of a mess.  As a bonus it also came out very fine so it melted more quickly.  Add the beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter, and vitamin E oil to a heavy glass container.  You can use a mason jar for this, but I found it easier to use a Pyrex container (with a pour spout).  Stick it in a pot of simmering water to melt.  I used a chop stick to stir it around and keep it moving.

Add the honey and essential oils once the coconut oil and shea butter start to break up, and keep stirring so it doesn't overheat.  You can also do this in the microwave on short blasts of about 30 seconds, but it can easily overheat so be careful.  I did this once and got a nasty, gritty texture.

Once the mixture is completely melted and liquefied, take it out of the water and give it a final stir.  Pour it carefully into the chapstick containers.  Don't go all the way to the tippy-top, but as close as you can without overfilling.  Pouring directly into the tubes is not that hard if you have a fairly steady hand.  I saw some people use an eye dropper but that seems like you're asking for more of a mess.

This recipe ended up making 8 tubes.  Once they're all filled, let them sit at room temperature until they're mostly solid.  Then put the caps on and set them aside.  But keep them rubber banded together until they're completely solid.  Resist the temptation to put them in the fridge.  They will sweat and get a weird texture.

To clean up, just crank the heat on your pot of water until it boils, then pour it into the Pyrex (or jar or whatever) to melt the remaining mix, swirl it around until it's all liquefied again, and pour it down the drain with the hot water running.  Bam, done.  Clean.

Now I have a lovely chapstick made of natural ingredients that feels silky smooth on my lips, moisturizes like nobody's business, and leaves a pleasant tingle when first applied.  It also tastes and smells heavenly.  I can now confidently ditch the Lip Smackers.

homemade laundry soap

I haven't bought laundry detergent for several years.  By making my own, I have more control over scent, quantity, and concentration, and I know exactly what my clothes are being soaked in (I also get a feeling of homesteading self-sustenance that's pretty gratifying).  Homemade detergent is also cheaper and lasts longer than the store-bought stuff. 

There are tons of different recipes out there, and I've tried a few of them over the years.  One used grated Fels Naptha soap bars, but frankly that's a pain in the ass, and I didn't especially like the texture of the product (I had to use my food processor to grate the soap, then an immersion blender to smooth the detergent out the following day).  I don't like using powdered laundry detergent, so I never even tried those ones.  Another used quite a lot of hot water and a 5-gallon bucket, but that was also pretty cumbersome, and storage was an issue.  I finally refined it to my liking and thought I'd share.  This one is pretty concentrated, so you only need to use 2 ounces per load.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup Borax
• 1-1/2 cup Super Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer)
• 1/3 cup liquid castille soap (I use Dr. Bronner)
• Essential oils (optional, but nice)
• Large stock pot   

Fill the stock pot about 3/4 full of hot tap water and put on the stove.  Once it starts to heat through, stir in the Borax and Washing Soda and allow to dissolve.  Just before it comes to a boil add the liquid castille soap and stir.  It'll start getting bubbly at this point.  If you're using essential oils, add them now.

A quick word about the oils.  I'm a firm believer in essential oils.  I used to think they were voodoo, but they seriously work.  My son has issues with hyperactivity that affect his sleep. When I rub his chest with a coconut oil/vetiver mixture before bed he sleeps through the night like magic.  A similar mixture with tea tree oil, eucalyptus, and thyme keeps athlete's foot at bay. 

Anyway, I usually play with the oil mix a little bit but I always use vetiver as the base oil because it really seems to help my son.  This time I used the following (and it smells divine; I will use this mix again):

• 5 drops blood orange
• 6 drops jasmine
• 3 drops vetiver (it's strong)
• 6 drops pink grapefruit
• 5 drops sandalwood
• 3 drops lime

Top left: just after the Borax/Washing Soda dissolved; Top right: adding the castille soap; Bottom left: just after castille soap; Bottom right: after essential oils, giving it a quick stir before adding the last bit of water.

Let this mixture come to an almost boil.  Top off with more water; enough to fill the stock pot almost all the way, then take it off the heat and let it cool.  I found a dandy little container from the thrift store that I use to store my soap, but I've found that the nozzle you see at the bottom can be problematic, so I use a 2-ounce ladle to dispense the soap.  I just leave the ladle in the container.

Be warned that the soap gets a little chunky.  This is the Borax crystallizing, I think.  Hence the nozzle issues.  This doesn't bother me though, and it doesn't affect the performance of the washing machine or how clean the clothes get.  I have a front loading High Efficiency washer and it still works great.  Just be prepared for some white crystals to build up if you spill anywhere.  Give it a stir before dispensing to distribute the soap.  You could probably give it a whirl with an immersion blender to see if that helps.

This is what it looks like when it's all cooled off.  Just a little chunky.

My clothes are fresh and clean, without any perfumey smells.  Even with all those essential oils (it might seem like a lot but it's not), it doesn't make a heavy smell.  I do about 5 loads of laundry every week.  One batch of this stuff lasts me about 4 months or so.