Style Saturday: The Cat's Meow

Hey everyone! I know I haven't done a style shoot in almost exactly a year... But I promise, a lot more will be forth coming.

Last weekend the weather was surprisingly nice and a couple of friends and I went downtown to explore, this is what I wore! I got waaaaay too many looks and a lot of compliments on this outfit.

Style Saturday: Purple Haze

Style Saturday's have mostly been outfit themed so far but I want branch out a little bit. Today we're going to talk about the only other beauty aspect I enjoy besides clothes, since I don't wear makeup; I love coloring my hair.

I lost my "dye-ginity" when I was 12. My best friend helped me change my super long, super plain brown hair for the first time since I had tried to cut my own bangs when I was 5 or 6. I was one of those children who was born with features that changed when I grew; I was born with blue eyes and red hair but they both settled on brown about a year or so in. I remember being so confused as a kid looking at my baby pictures and thinking, 'That clearly isn't me." I wanted to see what I would have looked like if my hair had stayed so I chose a warm auburn. I loved it and have been a dye-hard ever since.

Button-up Shirt Refashion @DALB

Our streak of foul weather in NC broke for a few glorious days of shorts, tank tops and flip flops. My spring break isn't until next month and my whole school is getting a bad case of spring fever. I am no different and wanted to start adding some new items to my warm weather wardrobe so I dug into my handy dandy refashioning bag to create this skirt!

It was pretty simple and creates an interesting shaped skirt that is longer on the front and back and slightly shorter on the sides.

Find the full tutorial over at Dream A Little Bigger!


Til Next Time!

Doughnut Ring @ DALB

I cannot get enough doughnuts lately! My favorite local cafe has been carrying delicious specialty doughnuts from a local bakery and they have my favorite flavor ever; Maple Bacon. I had one every school day for 2-3 weeks before I had to stop myself.

That and the fact that I have been using Sculpey almost constantly in my crafting lately totally comes to the logical conclusion of this tutorial. It's also so simple to make I can't believe I haven't done it before.

Check out the full tutorial over at Dream A Little Bigger!

Til Next Time!

Style Saturday: All (Black and) Red Everything

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Since this style Saturday falls on the big day I thought I'd pay a little homage to the color of love, red...and black. I really really like black.

Check out the rest of the shoot below!

Winged Heart Pin @ DALB

As it is now February everything is red-pink-white color schemes and loads of hearts. The Cwafty Blog will not be lacking in that regard this year and the first Valentines project we're bringing you is this super adorable Winged Heart Pin.

The winged heart idea actually came from a doodle I did during class. Inspiration usually strikes me there.

This pin only takes a few minutes to make plus baking and glue drying time. You can get the full tutorial over at Dream A Little Bigger!

Til Next Time!

Style Saturday: Leather and Lace

Alright! My style series is back this week with some killer shots. Alright, maybe that is an overstatement but I really loved this photo shoot.

For the details of the outfit and more photos from the shoot read below!

Style Saturday: First Day of School

Welcome to the first style Saturday here at The Cwafty Blog! I've been wanting to start this section since my blog started, but it's been put on the backburner so that other things, like starting Venture Visits, could get off the ground. It's a new year though and since I'm going to college 5 days a week (and thus have reasons to wear clothes that aren't just my work uniform or pj's) I knew I couldn't put it off any longer!

I hope to use this series to show off my odd, cobbled together fashion sense and hopefully some of my own handmade pieces in my outfits. I'll try to post at least two of these a month, every other Saturday, or the Saturdays I don't have a post for Dream A Little Bigger. So if you like this one, come back in two weeks for more!

Tutorial Tuesday: Leather Headband 2 Ways

Here's a confession for ya: for as much of a tomboy as I was in high school I had a guilty pleasure of trashy girly books. For example the Gossip Girl Series. I read them all and then watched the show religiously until the end of season 3. I was head over hills in love with Chuck Bass and all the outfits in the show coupled with Jenny's desire to be a fashion designer probably contributed to my late-blooming fashion appreciation.

Blair, one of the main females, had a kick-butt collection of headbands and was totally who I was channeling when I came up with this final tutorial for my leather from EndlessLeather. If you want to add a simple sophisticated headband to your arsenal read more below!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

Abstract Tie-Dye Button Up @ DALB

Whooo hoooo! Celebrating the end of summer with some tie-dye awesomeness! I picked up this cute but very in need of some pizazz shirt while thrifting with my Aunts the other weekend.

Great color scheme! You know how I am with purple and green.

Head on over to Dream A Little Bigger for the full tutorial for this rocking shirt.

Til Next Time!

Cutting Up: Hair Update!

So I once again have become bored with my hair and since I am going to be going back to school soon, I thought it was time for a new look. I am super cheap though. Well lets call it frugal, that sounds better. You guys know I'm a DIY over BUY kinda gal, so I did this whole thing as cost effectually as possible.

Here's the most recent shot of how my hair has been looking recently:

I went red about two months ago, but as you can see red washes out so quickly. Unless you like cold showers, which I am not a fan of.  Clearly my roots have grown out though, so that also contributes to the problem. I needed a new color and a style change quick!Read more below to find out exactly what I did to it!

Tutorial Tuesday: Kimono Top DIY

So the week before last week I hit a creative wall that I not only overcame, I burst through like the Kool-Aid Man. Oh Yea! I was worried about getting all my ducks in a row for going back to college in the fall(less then a month!) and worrying about trying to juggle school, work, blogging(2nd/ job now, woot!)when the time came. So that kind of drained all my creativity, but then I cleaned up my workshop and sat down for a big de-cluttered brainstorming session. The results were the next 10 weeks of tutorials planned out and the next two full months of posts. Then over the next few days I proceeded to finish 5 of the tutorials on my list. Let me tell you, its about to be a great two months at The Cwafty Blog.

Here is the second of those tutorials, the first can be found over at Dream A Little Bigger.

I've been noticing lots of kimono inspired pieces in the DIY and fashion worlds lately, and let me tell you, I'm loving it! I had a huge obsession with Orential culture growing up and always loved the beauty of kimonos and desperately wanted my own. One day I will make myself a full-fledged kimono, but until then I made this snazzy top! Find out below how you can make your own, with only one yard of fabric!

Sweet Treat Tote @ Dream A Little Bigger

Guess what?!?!
Its my first day posting over at DALB. Is that news to you? If so, check out my post about it here!

Summer is just not my season, but can you guess what my favorite thing about it is?

Thats right! Popsicles and Ice Cream! Mmmmmm I may need to go grab a bomb pop, I have been surrounded by popsicle shapes and talking about ice cream for too long now!