N is for Noodles - Crafting Through The Alphabet

N is for... Noodles

This was one of the first projects that I was certain I would do. My mom suggested it when we first started brainstorming what crafts I could do. This was another of those that looked so easy... but did not turn out quite as I expected. I used this recipe to make my pasta. The first part of it was easy enough. Until I got to the part where I had to actually form the noodles and roll them into thinner pieces. The pictures made it look so simple! But, as much as I thought I had put enough flour on the counter and on the rolling pin, the dough continued to stick to the pin and stick to itself. It didn't pull apart easily and when I rolled it, all of the noodles were knobby and weird-looking. I took no pictures. But! I did eat them with freshly made pesto - I'll link to the recipe here. It was scrumptious but not exactly photogenic.

M is for Macrame - Crafting Through The Alphabet

M is for... Macrame

This was not my most successful project. I'm not terrifically good at knotting so an entire craft revolving around knotting clearly wasn't going to bode well for me. But, this project has always been about learning new things and working outside my comfort zone. So, I went for it. I combed through Pinterest for good macrame ideas. There are tons of them, of course. I eventually decided on this one for a macrame planter. I love succulent plants so the prospect of having a cool planter to put them was appealing. The directions looked so easy when I read them! Stretch out the jersey fabric, roll it up, knot it? Piece of cake! Actually doing this, however, was something else entirely. Stretching the fabric was perfectly doable but I was clearly doing it wrong because it didn't roll up, it was stretched too thin. So, instead, I leave the strips as they were and used those. My planter was, as a result, a lot bulkier than what was pictured. So, macrame was not my best project but at least I tried!

L is for Liquor - Crafting Through The Alphabet

L is for... Liquor

I agonized over what to do for my L project. I waffled back and forth about what to make. The answer came to me at work, of all places. My manager had, amazingly, remembered that I was doing this project and asked me how it was going (it's amazing because I genuinely don't remember telling him about it). As usual with that kind of conversation, people started making suggestions. One of my friends randomly turned around and said, "liquor." I'm pretty sure he was joking, actually. But, it was a great idea and I promptly started looking up infused liquors. I found this great chart and used that to make grapefruit vodka for my mom and blackberry vodka for me!

Sadly, for some reason, I took no pictures of this process. I had some friends over for drinks and we had vodka tonics with my blackberry vodka. I don't love vodka so I actually still haven't finished the bottle. But, it was a really cool project! I've done it again with earl grey steeped in vodka - now that vodka I could drink all the time. Mixed with some sparkling white wine and a lemon twist... mmmm.

K is for Kite - Crafting Through the Alphabet

K is for... Kite

I've wanted to make a kite for years. Ever since I saw that the Banks children made their own kite in Mary Poppins, I wanted to make one myself. I read the Sherman brothers' autobiography and they talked about how their father used to make kites all the time. So, when Kat first got me into this project, I knew immediately what my K project would be.

The only downside is that the kite is a little heavy and probably too fragile for use as an actual kite. But, it does make for a nice decoration next to my Mary Poppins poster!

I used this tutorial to make it.

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J is for Jam - Crafting through the Alphabet

J is for... Jam

My mom has long told me that jam is super easy to make. After reading a whole slew of Pinterest articles suggesting otherwise, however, I'll admit that I was a little dubious. My mom insisted that all jam requires is fruit, sugar, and pectin. Funnily enough, my mom makes jam without pectin. 

My mom is one of those amazing people who makes things without recipes. It's amazing but difficult to learn from. You ask them how to make such and such thing and they say "oh, you know, a little bit of this and some of that, enough of that." With jam, my mom said "you know, some sugar and some fruit."

I am not one of these amazing people so I looked up a recipe on Pinterest and found this recipe that uses fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. It has no pectin in it but I feel that the consistency is just fine without it. Here is the recipe: 

http://m.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/ufmcewm/articles/91254/Quick-and-Easy-Strawberry-Jam-Recipe-without-pectin-

Now, the recipe says to have 16 oz. of strawberries. I had a carton of overripe strawberries, some of which looked pretty rough so I tossed them out. End result? I had no idea how many ounces of strawberries I was using. Thus, I lessened the sugar amount to 1/2 cup just in case. 

So, having never made jam before, I was a little nervous. But, I have to say, it's kind of magical. The strawberries pretty much melt into gooey goodness and your whole kitchen smells like dessert. 

Conclusion: I'm never buying jam again. The homemade version takes about twenty minutes to cook, plus some cooling down time. It's fresh, it's much more flavorful, and you know exactly what went into it.  #thatsmyjam 

I is for Ice Cream - Crafting through the Alphabet

I is for... Ice Cream

Ice cream! (And peppermint hot fudge sauce)

The recipes were taken from the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book!

Ok, at this point, you've probably figured that I went pretty broad with the term "crafting." I sewed, I cooked, I baked. At this point, my idea had been to learn as much as possible and to learn things that I was genuinely interested in. After starting my Sewing through the Alphabet project, it has occurred to me that I could keep up with this whole theme and do a Baking through the Alphabet and Cooking through the Alphabet. Will I actually do these projects? Maybe. Maybe not. If I do, I'll cross the bridge of repeating already done projects when I get there. In the meantime, I've really enjoyed learning as much as I can. And I'm going to keep doing that!

Attachments are

H is for Hair Clips - Crafting through the Alphabet

H is for... Hair Clips

I found a cool project on Pinterest: http://www.prettylifegirls.com/2013/07/pla-diy-patterned-hair-clips.html?m=1

I got a set of clips at the grocery store. 

And then I went to Michael's and found out that scrap booking paper was on sale. So, naturally, I bought way more than I needed. 

And then I followed the directions.

 

 

G is for Glasses - Crafting through the Alphabet

G is for... Glasses

I had planned to do a gown, but it was kind of beyond my ability level. And then I planned to make an herb garden for my kitchen window. But the more I thought about getting the starter for an herb garden, the more stressed I got about how much it would cost. 

Then I found this awesome project on Pinterest: http://palmspringsstyle.com/art-entertainment/diy-project-mid-century-modern-cocktail-glasses/

But when I actually looked into the project, I realized it required all sorts of things that I didn't have. None of these things were expensive on their own, but buying everything at once would have cost me a good $30. That isn't too expensive for a custom set of glassware but I was still unsure. 

So, then I browsed through Michael's and saw a gold paint pen. It's non toxic and water resistant. Considering the project above requires liquid gold leaf and you have to paint everything lower, I decided to go with the pen. I figured I would make my own stencil but that didn't work so I decided to take a risk and free hand the stars. 

Here's the result:

Ok so they're not quite as nice as the Pinterest project. I won't be making a set anytime soon. If I do, I'll do it right and follow the directions. In the meantime, my glasses aren't too shabby!

F is for Fudge - Crafting through the Alphabet

F is for... Fudge

So, I tried several f projects before turning to fudge. I tried flower pins after falling in love with the nail polish flowers on Pinterest. But mine turned out like this: 

Not exactly Pinterest-worthy. 

So then, I moved on to what I was sure would be a sure fire craft: making flower hair pins out of fabric flowers. The truth is, I love the flower department in any craft store, so it didn't take much to get me to browse through it. I was so sure of myself, I took a before shot of all the materials so I could send them to Kat to post!

Sadly, it didn't go quite as planned. The flowers looked lovely when I stuck the pins in my hair... But as soon as I pulled the pins out, they fell off. And I was left with bobby pins covered in dried, nobby-looking hot glue. So that was a wash. 

But it was ok! Because then I turned to fudge. And all was well with the world!

I used this recipe: http://flavorthemoments.com/salted-dark-chocolate-toffee-fudge/

The only difference that I found in practice was that she specified to take the mixture off the heat when adding the chocolate. It made a lot of sense until I tried it and nothing melted. So then I just stuck it back on low heat and it worked just fine. Next time is possibly add a touch less salt. But overall, it was a delightful recipe that I will definitely make again!

E is for Embroidery - Crafting through the Alphabet

E is for...Embroidery

Supplies:
Muslin
Tailor's Marker/Pencil
Embroidery Thread
Embroidery Needle
Scissors
Hoop
Inspiration Image
Clothes pin






I bought plain white muslin (it's usually about $2/yard); three different colors of embroidery floss, one for each character and one for the words; a blue water soluble marker; an embroidery hoop; and eventually I invested in a nice pair of embroidery scissors.

I used a clothes pin to pin the fabric to my computer and traced the image onto the fabric with the marker. Being a cautious person, I tested this process on the screen corner but it didn't bleed through the fabric. 

Because the marker comes off easily, I didn't stress about mistakes and so I ended up with multiple lines at certain points. When I was actually stitching, I chose the line that looked best! Doing the words forced me to break out my cursive skills. Those haven't been put to the test in years!

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D is for Diffuser - Crafting through the Alphabet

D is for... Diffuser 

I was going to make a dress. But that didn't pan out. So then I made a diffuser! I have yet to discover how well it works. It was my first time trying it. Here are the directions I followed:

http://sugarandcloth.com/2011/12/5-minute-diy-reed-diffuser/

Differences in her project and mine are mostly the fact that I went to several stores and was unable to locate essential oils. Likely reason: I went to the wrong stores. No matter. I did find some diffuser oil, which smacked of cheating, but I used it anyway. I went ahead and used her idea to mix it with baby oil, so we'll see how well it carries the scent. If it doesn't, I'll add more diffuser oil. I'm all about experimenting!

Side note: it took me a good 5-10 minutes to decide on a bundle of fabric tape. It's all so pretty!!

C is for Cookie Butter - Crafting through the Alphabet

C is for... Cookie Butter

This one took me a while. I had wanted to make a collar. In fact, I did make a collar. But the collar turned out to be too small. So, after several months of it hanging over my head, I finally used Girl Scout cookies to make some scrumptious cookie butter!

I followed this recipe on Pinterest.

B is for Belt - Crafting through the Alphabet

B is for... Belt 

Here's the pattern I followed!
Here's a close up:

A is for Apron - Crafting Through the Alphabet

This project very nearly brought me to an emotional breakdown. I was trying to get it done in the prescribed week but I chose a slightly more complicated apron than was strictly necessary.

(Oh, introduction to me: I do that A LOT)

So, what was supposed to be a 1 week project turned into a 2-3 week project. In the end, I made a super cute apron so, in the end, it really didn't matter how long it took.

I'm going to simply paste my posts from Kat's page where applicable.

A is for... Apron

Supplies:
Fabric
Ribbon
Eyelet Lace Trim
Pattern

I pretty much followed the instructions of the pattern except in two instances: 

• because the edging was pre-gathered, I didn't gather it (if you buy edging for the ruffle, a yard will do; whereas if you buy ungathered edging or use fabric for the edging, you'll need about two yards) 

• (This my moms idea) Instead of attaching the straps to the waist band, we sewed the straps with loops at the end and then we pulled the tie ends through the loop. We did that to make the straps adjustable and, potentially, tighter. 

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Crafting Through the Alphabet

These two projects will be posted simultaneously/intermittently. I'm over halfway done on the Crafting project but I'm too eager to work on the Sewing project to wait. My game = my rules so I'm going to do both at once! But, I am going to try and avoid overlapping projects if I can.

Now, my friend Kat already has a website devoted to the Crafting Through the Alphabet project so I'll be taking my posts from there and posting them here as well. You can see Kat's page by going here. You can see Kat and her mom's crafts as well! The best laid plans often go awry, so what was supposed to be a 26 week project has stretched to almost a year - and neither of us have completed it. But, in my opinion, the joy of this project was to learn and expand and try new things. Who cares how long it takes? So, I'm still working on it, albeit slowly. I'm hoping to finish the Crafting project by the end of the year, but goodness knows if that will actually happen. We'll see!

Sewing Through The Alphabet

I will start logging the wonderful project that got me to this one later but I'm so fired up about this upcoming project that I really want to just jump right in! I had it all planned out (sort of) and then I took a mini-road trip (2 hours - does 2 hours count as a mini road trip?) with my mom and she helped me hone the details.

First off, I'd like to explain that Crafting Through The Alphabet is still a work in progress and I still intend to finish. But I have a new bee in my bonnet with Sewing Through The Alphabet and I'm too excited to wait!

So, I've been sewing bits and pieces of things (see above link to view some of my previous projects) but sewing often winds up intimidating me and I don't do it. I love buying fabric and adore buying patterns but when I open the patterns and start reading the instructions, I get totally freaked out and I don't do anything. I need to push past that. There are way too many things I want to make and I don't have time to hunker down, away from my sewing machine, afraid to screw up. One thing I know about myself is that I really like structure. I do a lot of fairy tale adaptations because there's a limit and a freedom in that, all in one. Restricting myself to the alphabet gives me a tangible goal: 26 projects; definite parameters: each project has to represent a different letter of the alphabet; but a freedom within those very parameters, given my own taste and preferences.

I had originally planned to mix styles with basic sewing techniques in order to teach myself basic sewing (A for A-Line Skirt and Z for Zipper, for instance). But,  then it got confusing really quickly. I don't mind repetition but even doing the items listed above, A-Line Skirt and Zippers, could easily be one project. And in discussing the whole thing with my mom, she argued that the techniques are something I should be learning anyhow, and I can use the A-Z parameters to explore different styles and different pieces. I still don't know what I'll do for Z but we'll get there.

Today, we made a list of all of the potential techniques I could/should learn. I titled this list Sewing 101. To be honest, some of these techniques are more Sewing 102 but I'll figure that out when the time comes. 

Here are the project goals:

• I will sew one project for each letter of the alphabet. These projects will not, however, be completed in alphabetical order.
• There is no deadline for each project and no deadline for the project as a whole. This is a learning experience and there's no sense (as far as I'm concerned) adding undue stress to something I'm learning for fun.
• Each project will include at least one of the techniques listed below.

Techniques to be learn:

• Buttons
• Collars
• Darts
• Flounces
• French seams
• Gathers
• Hems
• Invisible Zippers
• Lining
• Patch Pockets
• Pin tuck
• Pleats
• Princess seams
• Quilting
• Reversible pieces
• Ruching
• Ruffles
• Scallops
• Sleeves
• Stripes
• Welled Pockets
• Working with stretchy fabrics (i.e. lycra)
• Zippers

• Pants - these are both a style and a technique but they're a very specific and potentially challenging piece in and of themselves so I'm adding this to the list of techniques - this may change and become its own project.

If anyone reading this has any techniques they think I should add, please feel free to comment below! I've already started working on my first project: W is for Wrap Skirt! I will keep you posted on when I finish it!

If anyone is interested in joining me on this adventure, let me know and I'll link to your progress!