Top 10 Posts of 2014

It's the last day of 2014 and like the majority of the world I am feeling a tad nostalgic. Bloggers exhibit this by looking back through our archives and finding out which of our posts did the best for the year. 

...I am no different. I already waxed poetic about my hopes and goals for the new year and reviewed this past one yesterday so before the year turns over at midnight I wanted to see what you, my readers, enjoyed the most about our year together. Here they are!

Talk About It Tuesday: New Years Review

So normally I don't make resolutions or do very well with keeping up with whatever ones I manage to make, last year, though, I made a post about New Years and wrote out my resolutions for everyone to see. Later in this post we're gonna look at how I did (*spoiler* Ohhhhhh we're halfway there!)

Before we begin I'd like to thank you reader, whether you're new or old, for checking out my blog and taking the time to read the words I write. This year, my first blogging, has been more amazing than any other year of my life and the main difference is this blog. I love doing what I'm doing and it's because of people like you I can do it, so as the picture says, thank you. Read below about this year and my resolutions for the next one!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Merry Belated Christmas everyone! If you were hanging around The Cwafty Blog last year you know that I didn't have a very traditional holiday. I was finally moving into my first apartment come January and I was working my butt off at my job full time so I didn't put up a tree or do anything festive but make this stocking.

This year I decorated a little and exchanged gifts with my room mates. On Christmas day I went to see the final Hobbit movie and cried, I totally did. I couldn't help it. I'm not one for traditional Christmases now that I'm an adult I think, but I still enjoy them in my own way. I hope you all had a great day and got to do whatever makes you happy! I also hope you got and gave some great presents!

Tutorial Tuesday: Harley-Quinn Santa Hat

I hope your holiday season is going well! I'm just enjoying my time off from school mostly; trying to be crafty, getting some products done, doing some blog design. It's been a pretty relaxing time, in fact, I can't believe it's almost over. That's alright though, I'm taking some fun art classes this semester and I can continue to pick up my monthly comic from the shop down the street. Segue into...

This hat is so easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes to sew together, which is great because its only 2 days til Christmas! You can whip one of these up as a last minute present for a friend or make one for yourself to wear for the holiday.

Love Potion Necklace @ DaLB

 I got a little ahead of myself with this project, I clearly fast-forwarded a few holidays. Can you blame me though? Doesn't that concoction look awesome?

 Cast a spell of jealousy over everyone who sees your awesome glittery necklace!

If you want to learn how to make your own Love Potion-or really whatever potion you want- necklace, check out the tutorial over at Dream A Little Bigger!

Til Next Time!

Aniwave Photo-splosion

On December 7th I had a very important "first time", my first time ever selling my merchandise at a convention! Aniwave #5, I believe. Aniwave is a young local convention that is held right up the street from my college annually. I have some friends one the staff and actually hosted a panel about starting your own business there two years ago.  The day is a blur in my mind, but I did manage to snap some pictures between chatting up potential customers.

This dude and his starmie were breathtakingly awesome!

 I meant to get these pictures up last week, but I actually caught the black plague and was indisposed. Just kidding, I caught the didn't-sleep-more-than-25-hours-in-two-weeks-due-to-con-and-finals flu.
The good news is that I both made a profit and a reasonable wage from selling at Aniwave and I made all A's for the semester! I'm just paying for it now. Anyway, here are some of my favorite cosplays from the convention to start us off!

Talk About It Tuesday: The Portal Series

Sorry about not getting up those pictures from the convention I promised you guys! I caught the black plague and have been deathly ill the last week. Not really, I caught the didn't-get-more-than-25-hours-of-sleep-in-two-weeks-due-to-con-and-finals virus. I'm doing reasonably better now though.

If you're a regular reader of the blog, or even if you've just looked around a little bit, you've probably seen one of my Portal projects or heard me mention the series in passing; and that is because they easily rank in my top 5 Video Games. Portal sits at #5 and Portal 2 is easily #2 favorite of all time.

A Lemon-grenade, popularized by Portal 2.

Portal is a vastly popular game with tons of rabid fans. Today I'm going to talk about the series a bit and some of the many things I have made to show my love for it, maybe hint at some things I hope to make in the future, and show you other people's inspired creations that make my heart happy.

Tutorial Tuesday: Leather Watchband

Hey guys!  I have returned from my little break, I'll be telling you all about how the convention went and sharing some pictures on Thursday. Today I am back with another leather tutorial brought to you by EndlessLeather. 

I think this is an accessory I never thought I'd get to "make." Like most everything else you can put on your body, it hard for me to find a watch I like in stores, so when I was presented the opportunity to make some leather crafts I knew this had to go on the list. Once I found the perfect face, we were good to go! Learn how to make your own below!

Would You Rather? @ Zauberbear

Hey friends! I had an awesome day at Aniwave today. I was preparing for the con at 6 am (all night really) and got home around 8. I plan on writing about Aniwave and posting all my pictures for Thursday, so check that out!

 In all the hustle I totally forgot to tell you guys about a little collaboration I did with my friend Carly from Zauberbear. Carly recently started a series on her blog called, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, Would You Rather? (WYR).

Via

Basically she gives you two choices and you have to explain your choice as "thoughtfully and meaningfully as you can". Carly's brain is a magical place bursting with creativity and oddness so I knew I wanted to get a chance to answer one of her questions. Here was the one I received:

         "Would you rather be unable to look up at the sky or see everything in black and white?"

If you want to hear what I had to say in response, click here!

I loved that it made me think. To be honest I am in an awful Intro to Lit. class this semester and I am horribly tired of writing trite papers. This was a refreshing brain exercise; Carly probably saved some of my brain muscles from atrophy.

 Anyway check back on Tuesday for a new craft tutorial!

Til Next Time!

Pokeball Christmas Ornament @ Dream A Little Bigger

Hi! Guys I have been swamped up to my ears in work. It's finals week(s) and the last day before my convention and I am in full RaChil Robot mode working on pumping out products that I should have finished weeks ago. Hail the procrasti-nation!

Today we are getting festive and geeky with this Pokeball Christmas Ornament.

I'm love to make nerdy holiday stuff; exhibit a, exhibit b. This upcoming year I may try to create a nerdy decoration for every holiday that could be a really fun challenge.

Seriously, I loved me some Pokemon as a kid. I still do, but the obsession is lessened. (I used to be able to name them all by heart, now there are over 500. That's toooooo many for me) This project is great for Pokefans of all ages and would make a great gift for a nerd you love. Get the tutorial over at Dream a Little Bigger!

(Side note: I got Pokemon Art Academy for my birthday and I looove it. I have like zero experience with digital art aside from basic adobe Illustrator and Photoshop lessons so it was really fun to learn all the tools. I may do a video game review who knows? No, I don't have the new ruby or sapphire games...yet)

Til Next Time!

Cwafty Update #6: Selling Stuff and Whimseybox Recall

Hey guys!  Its been a while since I've done an update so I thought I would fill you guys in on some important stuff:

1. I am going to be taking the next two weeks off to prepare and sell at my first convention; Aniwave in Wilmington, NC on December 7th. Be there if you can! I will most probably be in some form of Harley Quinn costume. I'll be back with new content on December 9th.
2. I ordered some new business cards! Here is a preview:
   
   
   
   
   
3. For new year's I think I am going to be redesigning the blog. I want to change the overall design scheme a little bit and I still think there are a few places that need perfected (Some need updated too). As of this moment I am unsure of how long that's going to take or what it may entail, I'm just warning you guys.
4.  I need to do a major recall on all of my Whimseybox reviews. That company has gone completely radio silent and is basically preforming grand larceny. They are still to this date accepting payments and have not been supplying any products since August/September. I plan on doing a single post about this later, possibly tonight or tomorrow morning. But, I want to let anyone who reads this to know; Don't give these people your money. I am sorry for any part I may have played in you possibly signing up for Whimseybox, they seemed like a genuinely good company and I was very shocked to find out they just stopped...working, like this.

If you guys want to see me prepare for Aniwave / see tidbits from my daily life follow me on instagram @cwaftycreations if you haven't already. I am seriously addicted to instagram...like it's bad. I'll see you guys next month, so I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Til Next Time!

Tutorial Tuesday: Recycled Pen Jar

I love burning candles because I, like most sane people, like good smells. Some candles come in really nice jars, for instance this one that started life as a Febreeze Apple Pie candle. I would feel just awful throwing such a nice glass jar away, I knew I had to find something crafty to do with this.

Here's what I came up with: a quirky colorful jar to hold some of my plethora of pens on my desk. You could easily use this same project for makeup brushes, paint brushes, pencils or pens. Learn how to make your own below!

Speech Bubble Patch @ DALB

I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday, I hope to as well. Doubly so because today is my birthday! Before I go stuff my face full of free Red Robins burger and cheesecake though I remembered I had to share my tutorial for Dream A Little Bigger with you guys.

Isn't this a bummer? Your washing machine eats one of your best shirts and now it has a giant hole in it?

Fear not good crafters! I have the solution!

Make and embroider your own speech bubble patch for your holey shirts! Get the full tutorial here!
I am off to go celebrate being alive for 21 years, I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far. Not in a negative way or anything, just as a kid I remember not being able to imagine far past 18. Jeeze, I'm getting old. Anyway I'm rambling, bye!

Til Next Time!

Venture Visits #1: Carly and Silkworm from Zauberbear

I am happy to finally debut the first part in this long awaited series, Venture Visits! Venture went off to visit a good blogger friend of mine, Carly and her pet magical bear Silkworm (from the infamous site, Zauberbear) Venture had  a bumpy start getting his adventures started (due to a caffeine-lacking me and strange postal computers.) I finally got him on his way about August 21st. I wanted to build up a few posts so that I would have guaranteed content for this segment, every month for a few months.So every post you see is going to be from the past. 

I'm about to turn things over to Carly, but I wanted to remind you guys that Venture is always on the look out for hosts, so just check out this post for info and if you're interested email me at cwaftycreations(at)gmail(dot)com or comment below.

Currently Obsessed: Harley Quinn

So, this is probably going to be the subtitle of many Talk About It Tuesdays: Currently Obsessed. I am a fangirl, I just can't help it. I have great love for many different things and most of them are geeky. Right now I'm currently obsessed with Harley Quinn.

This isn't really a new obsession, since I mostly cycle though my obsessions. Being really into something for a bit until I move on to something else, repeat with X number of awesome things.

If you want to read about my mad love for the clown queen of crime, click below!

Shared Roll of Film with Carly from Zauberbear

If you didn't already know, I have a passion for film photography. It was incubated in a class I took during my first year of college, Black and White Photography 1. It was a magical experience of having 3 hours every Tuesday and Thursday to listen to music and create photos in the dark room. I wish I could go back, I might even this upcoming semester if it could miraculously fit into my schedule.

 Since there isn't a local darkroom and my college only allows you to use ours if you're currently paying for a photography class, my camera has sat collecting dust until my friend Carly from Zauberbear emailed me with an idea.

Tutorial Tuesday: Leather Wrap Bracelet with EndlessLeather

Today is an exciting day everyone! Not that the majority of my days are not exciting with my special brand of cynical-optimism but this one is especially exciting! I am proud to announce that today's post was brought to you by EndlessLeather.

You can make this simple modern bracelet in about 3 minutes! (not counting drying time) More leather tutorials to come later, read more of this one below.

Spool Business Card Holder @ DALB

As many of you know, earlier this year I reopened my etsy shop, Cwafty Creations, and business has been decent. It's only going to pick up from here and I also picked this year to sell at my first convention. I've been thinking about products and displays a lot lately and in a bolt of inspiration I came up with the perfect way to display my business cards whenever I sell at fairs or conventions!

Behold the spool! My brand's logo was literally begging to display little card stock rectangles printed with images of itself. I couldn't be happier with the final product.

This is a very simple craft that I is sure to make a great impact on my display at my upcoming and any future conventions!

Find out how to make your own over at Dream A Little Bigger!

Til Next Time!

Cemetery Field Trip Photo Dump

I have been exhaustively busy with work lately but I did get to take a field trip to a local historic cemetery the other day. It's called Oakdale Cemetery and I learned fun facts like confederate soldiers we're buried there and so we're many mass-grave yellow fever victims!

It was facilitating but I didn't get to stay long, I had to jet to work.

 I did manage to take a whole bunch of pictures though, so enjoy the spooky atmosphere of this ancient cemetery!

Sewing Superstar!!

Good news everyone! For real good, not Farnsworth-ian good too. A few months back I got an email from Cat Morley, asking me to be a Sewing Superstar over at the craft community site Cut Out + Keep! I got interviewed and submitted a few of my projects to the community and a new one will be debuting each day. You can find my feature here and make sure to check back every day for a new project.

Til Next Time!

Jack-o'-lantern Candle Holder @ Dream A Little Bigger

Can you guys believe October is already half way over?! I am devastated, I feel like there is still so much to do to make the most of my favorite month, I haven't even carved pumpkins yet! I did make one of these adorable candle holders though!

These little cuties whip up really quickly and would be a great activity for kids! Check out the tutorial here at Dream A Little Bigger.

Til Next Time!

Halloween Table 2014

I've recently been breaking out my decorations and have been getting freaky and creepy both at home and here at The Cwafty Blog! As you may or may not know, Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday of the year and last year when my blog was a wee-site I did my best to go as all out as I could for the big day. It's feels like I've been doing it forever but I made my first Halloween Table last year, and I was inspired to do so by one of my favorite bloggers, Mad Matt, here's his example.

It really brightens up the entrance to my living/dining/office area. If you want a close up of the creepy elements read more below!

Tutorial Tuesday: Bat Choker + Coffin Giftbox DIY

I believe this shall be the second installment in what I hope becomes a Halloween tradition for years to come, a creepy jewelry tutorial! Last year I made this bloody-ax tutorial when I was inspired by a charm I found at Hobby Lobby. This year my palace of inspiration was Joanne's, where they had both that adorable bat pendent and that coffin box. The tutorial pretty much wrote itself after that.

This necklace could be a great costume accessory or is great for everyday wear in my opinion, and if you have a friend who happens to have a penchant for the unusual, you can package them a handmade necklace in this spooky gift box! Find out how to make both of those items below.

Skull Striped Tee @ Dream A Little Bigger

Getting into the Halloween spirit around here! I am officially off of hiatus and you can expect a wonderful plethora of spooky, creepy, haunting posts around here for the whole month!

Starting off we've got this lovely shirt I DIY'd when I realized how many of my skull adorned clothes I'd recently outgrown- late growth spurt? Anyway, if you need something festive to wear that's not a costume you can always just add a little creepy to a normal outfit and this project is perfect for that!

Too cute right? It's such an easy look to achieve.You can find the full tutorial over at my other home- Dream a Little Bigger.

Need an accessory to go with your new skull top? Check out my tutorial for this bloody ax necklace here!

Til Next Time!

Tutorial Tuesday: Bow Ear-Warmer

Whoo hoo guys! I was so excited when about two months ago I got an email from Havalah, blogger at Sisters, What!, asking me if I'd be interested in participating in a handmade-gift blog hop.
Was I?! I was! It's my first hop and I and I am pleased to see my project in such beautiful crafty-company! If you want to make your loved ones some great gifts this holiday season hop around at the end of the post for inspiration!

These crocheted bows take about two hours to make and keep your ears nice and toasty when the air is chilly. I was so excited the first day I got to wear mine and needed it. I got a bunch of compliments! Beautiful and functional, I love it! Fully photographed step by step instructions and pattern below!

Funky Lamp Refashion @ Dream A Little Bigger

Howdy Ya'll! (Sorry, some days my 6ish years of being a Texan show through more than others)
I've been doing a bunch of school and work while I've been away from the blog. I aced my first tests for all of my classes and I have already started on my final projects for most of them too. Well...coming up with my topic/thesis is the first step so I have technically "started".

Today I am over at my pal Allison's blog sharing this really odd lamp I refashioned.

You have to admit, it looks 100x better now right? Well, it fits my colorful taste!

Head on over and check out the how to: here.

Til Next Time!

September Hiatus

Hey friends!

As you can probably guess from the title of this post I am going to be taking the rest of September off here on the blog. I still have a blog hop I'm participating in soon, another post already scheduled for Dream a Little Bigger, and a guest post from Venture's first host coming sometime this month as well. The blog won't go completely stale but I unfortunately do not have enough time to devote to the blog this month and get all my other obligations done.

I am partially prepared for October/Halloween though (remember when I said I was getting a lot of content ready in advance? I got a little more excited for the Halloween stuff than I did regular content) so I will be back on the very 1st for a thrilling, exciting, and DIYlightful month.

I'll miss you guys! If you want to keep up with me this busy month be sure to follow me on my (new) Instagram.

Til Next Time!

Crafty Catch-All @ Dream A Little Bigger

So this week I am very excited to be sharing my newest office organization project! I have been lax on this year's goal of getting my office organized so it's nice to get back to that!

I made this little tray to keep all of my sewing stuff organized. So I thought giving it a button motif would be adorable, and I was right!

Art Adventure Time #4: Castles in the Sand

This adventure is from the distant past, mid-July I believe. I'm not sure why I haven't gotten it up before but it's here now. It was part mini-vacation, part architecture-undertaking, all fun!

Thats right, I went to the beach. Me. Oh, and Venture of course!

Glitter Tape Notebook @ Dream A Little Bigger

If by some chance you haven't already heard, I went back to school a few weeks ago! This has been super exciting and I wanted to get prepared for school in a familiar way. I decided to continue my longstanding tradition of decorating my school supplies only now I'm sharing the results with you!

Happy (belated) Blog Birthday! 1 Year of Cwafty

(My actual blog birthday was Aug. 22, but last week there were complications)

 Let me start off this post with a big WOW! It's been a year already? It flew by, let me tell you. It was one of the busiest years of my short life and I loved every minute of it. Seriously, it's been a level of awesome I didn't know was possible to achieve.

July Whimseybox Review: Losing My Marbles

 **This company is no longer in business**

This box was sent late due to Whimseybox switching over to a new HQ so that's why this review is so late in the month.

Also I've got another friend enjoying the whimsey with me this month! But you'll get to meet her and check out what we did below.

Tutorial Tuesday: Batman Notebook

Nananananananana BATMAN! Batman is my all time favorite super hero. He pretty much kicks butt in all of his incarnations and I have a special place in my heart for the 1960's-Adam-West version all the way to the Dark-Knight-Christian-Bale trilogy. I have a thing for crazy guys and so the joker also has a whole chamber of my heart to himself (his girlfriend Harley Quinn as well!)

Since I started school last week I decided to give some of my little moleskin notebooks a facelift. There will be two more notebook tutorials coming up, a bonus post at DALB this saturday, then my next tutorial. This project is super simple and quick, plus you get to play with gold-leaf which is very fun.

Cwafty Update #5

Hi guys! Long time, no blog. Well it's been about a week or so, so I thought I should give you guys a little explanation and tell you some other stuff I've been meaning to get to.

Traditional visit to the local cafe for first day of school! Normally I don't indulge this much.

Read all the updates below!