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Ride Like the Wind, Tonto!

by Melissa on 28. Aug, 2010 in crafts, design, homemade, sewing

It’s my dad’s birthday today! Happy birthday, DAD!!

For Father’s Day I made him a black bicycle hat. I have a few childhood memories seeing my dad wear hats like that, so I thought he might like one. It was a complete shot in the dark.

You’ve got to understand that my dad is impossible to buy/make gifts for. He only ever says he wants happy children. Of course he means it, but we’re a pretty happy bunch so it doesn’t seem like we’re giving him much of anything. Personally, I think he doesn’t believe we’d ever pool our money/assets together to buy him what he really wants: a 40 acre ranch in Kolob canyon. He’s right. We’d never do that.

As luck would have it, my dad was very excited to receive the black hat for Father’s day & it fit him perfectly. He asked me if I could a decal on there. Of course! With my Silhouette, I’m unstoppable! He gave the hat back & requested that I put a decal of a cyclist & “Ride like the wind, Tonto!” wrapping around the side.

It’s taken me nearly 2 1/2 months to get around to doing it! The cyclist took some effort & patience to apply, but the quote was impossible. Maybe I should’ve taken apart the hat to apply the decal. Round shapes are not fun to iron. Admittedly, I was more than bummed to see that it wasn’t going to work out. Blerg. On the positive side, the hat looks pretty rad with just the biker on it.

Hope my dad likes it!

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Boats & Stripes

by Melissa on 19. Aug, 2010 in crafts, design, homemade

Thanks to Susan I’m seeing stripes everywhere.

I saw this little yellow & white striped shirt at the thrift store the other day & couldn’t pass it up. It’s so cute & in awesome condition for being somewhere around 15-20 years old (based on the tags). My neighbor’s son just had his first birthday so I wanted to do something thoughtful & possibly handmade. There’s something so foreign to me about making gifts for boys, maybe it’s because I have a girl & I am a girl. Maybe.

I had a bunch of black heat transfer material that I got with my Silhouette, so when I saw this shirt in the thrift store I knew exactly what I needed to do. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a robot or rocket ship, but when I started thinking about the stripes on the shirt I knew it had to be nautical.

It took me less than 5 minutes to cut out the design and iron it on! I love how slick this is! I think I need to get more colors of this heat transfer stuff. It’s rad. It almost looks & feels like dried silkscreen paint. I’m a huge fan.

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Fashionable Bike Safety Before & After

by Melissa on 14. Jul, 2010 in crafts, homemade

Bike safety is no joke. I see SO MANY hipsters around Salt Lake cruising on their uber hip fixies sans helmet. It may look better to cruise without the helmet, but it’s stupid.

Don’t mind me & my soapbox, I’ll get down eventually. ;)

My senior year of college, Chris and I rode our bikes all over the place and never wore helmets. The last day of class, Chris got on his bike to ride to campus, the chain detached and threw Chris off his bike. In slow motion he fell and knocked the back of his head on the asphalt. It was a slow speed accident with pretty low impact, but Chris’s head was hurting for days. NOT cool. I was worried he had a concussion, but thankfully he didn’t.

After that, Chris took wearing a helmet seriously. It took me another 6 months before I unwillingly complied to buy a helmet and wear one – and I only agreed to wear one if it matched my bike. You think I would’ve taken wearing a helmet more seriously, because my brother (bicycle daredevil) has broken a helmet in half before from his crazy awesome bike tricks.

Long story short, the bike helmet I bought to match my cruiser doesn’t match my fixie, the bike I ride most often. It’s also seen better days. I felt like it was time for a facelift.

I used Krylon Fusion spray paint in yellow. Krylon’s fusion brand is awesome. It’s made to adhere to any smooth surface, especially plastic. It went on my helmet so easily & the finish looks beautiful. After I painted the helmet yellow, I made the decals for the sides to add a little more flair. This helmet is SO much hipper than it was before &  matches my bike perfectly. I need to go on a ride soon!

If you’re looking for some hip helmets to wear, try NutCase helmets (found via Kitsune Noir), they’ve got some rad designs. Stylishly protecting your head for $40-$50 isn’t a bad deal, either.

Do you wear a helmet? What kind of helmet do you prefer?

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Everything Will Be Better. . .

by Melissa on 13. Jul, 2010 in crafts, homemade

I completely despise the attitude that warrants the everything-will-be-better-when mentality. I feel like it’s such a waste for enjoying the little things in the now. You know? I’ve fallen victim to this mentality this month. I keep saying things like: Next month will be SO much better, next month I’ll be craftier, next month I’ll take a nap, or two (Gasp!). I’m so annoyed with myself right now.

Things are nothing short of crazy around here. Penelope is napping less & less (what am I going to do without 4 continuous hours of naptime?!?!), I’m working on several projects in preparation for BlogHer and I’m working on this blog.

I’m tired and I feel like my creative juices are evaporating in this heat.

I found this gorgeous teal felt ric rac at the craft store a while back. I’m in love with it, but too intimidated to do anything with it. Isn’t it lovely? What would you do with something like this? Sew it onto a pillow? Use it to decorate a wrapped gift?

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Loopy-Loo Garland Tutorial

by Melissa on 03. Jun, 2010 in crafts, tutorials

A few of you asked if I would share my methods on the garland I made for Penelope’s birthday party last month and I think it’s time I share. This garland is quick and easy and has a slightly different look from the ones you’ll see around the web. I love how fast this method is: from start to finish it’ll take less than 20 minutes for an 8ft. garland. You’ll be amazed. I sure do hope you give it a go!

• • • • •

Materials:
Sewing Machine
Coordinating thread
Ribbon: desired length + 16-20 in.
Quality Paper: cut to 1 x 6 in. strips

Set up your paper strips next to your machine, decorative side down. Insert your ribbon into the machine  with am 8-10 in. tail and place your first strip under the presser foot. Sew a straight, long stitch across the paper & ribbon.

Once you’re finished with the first end of the paper strip, curl (no creases) the paper up to show the decorative side and slip the edge in front of presser foot & sew to ribbon.

Repeat steps 2 & 3.
If you’re uncomfortable with adding paper as you sew, you can pin paper to the ribbon prior to sewing.

Keep adding loops until you’ve reached your desired length, making sure that you have at least 8 inches of extra ribbon at each end. Use ends to affix garland to walls, ceilings, window treatments, trees, etc. Hang garland ribbon-side out. Enjoy! Click the button below to download the printer-friendly PDF version.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this commercially, please email me. Thanks!

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