Headbands-A-Plenty

Happy Mother's Day!

I was surfing the web of my favorite websites and blogs for some inspiration and I found some on P.S.-I Made This.  Today's project idea came from the braided headband all the way down the bottom of the page.

It is making headbands with covered elastic hair ties, scraps of fabric and odds and ends.  I not only braided some headbands but also made some from a bag of old neck ties I bought at a yard sale for a buck.

My odds and ends

Here is my collection of odds and ends: it includes neck ties, ribbon, yarn, lace and strips of fabric.  Yes, there is some feather boa in there, but it ended up being a bit too elaborate for a headband this time around.  I know, I'm no fun!

Good ol' Goody

First, I did the neck tie headbands first.  I used the skinny portion of the tie and cut a length that fit my head.

Making use of ugly neck ties

I knew these ties would come in handy!  I sewed one end around the elastic and pinned the other end to the elastic so I could fit it to my head perfectly.  I have a small head, so many elastic headbands slip off because they are too big.

Half done already

Once I got it where it fit the best, I sewed that end down.  Viola!  I'm done!

Ugly ties = chic headband

I made a few neck tie headbands, because they took no time to whip up.  I then made a few braided ones.  For the first one, I took a strip of denim, a green and white polka dot ribbon and a strip of black lace.  I sewed them around the elastic like I did the ties.

Neon is back!  Really!

That one had a very retro 80's feeling to it.  Very Debbie Gibson.  The second braided one, I took some brown chenille yarn, navy blue nylon cord and baby blue cotton yarn.

Skinny headbands are cool, too

That one is very skinny.  The chenille gives it texture that holds to your hair a bit.  The blue and brown together reminds me of Holly Hobby with her brown field boots and blue bonnet.

Love Holly Hobby! <3

So, all-in-all I made six headbands in the course of about an hour.  This was an easy project and you really don't even need a sewing machine.  You can just needle and thread the neck tie ones and then knot the braided ones.

Busy bee, I was

Show me some blog love and send me some pics or comments to let me know what your thinking!  I would love to see your WIPs or finished projects!

Seafoam Lace Scarf - Part 2

It's been awhile, but I have been working on my Seafoam Lace Scarf bit by bit over the weeks.  I started the scarf back in March.  I have finished the main scarf today and I'm loving it!  But, I'm not done yet though.  Here is what I have so far:

Scarf before the edging

The next step is to crochet an edging around the entire perimeter of the scarf with hemp yarn, Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold. 

Light and airy

The hemp yarn feels like a thin cotton yarn.  I'm curious how this is going to work out because the weight of the hemp is a lot heavier than the mohair that the scarf is knitted with.

Hemp blended yarn

Mixing textures in knitting is always fun and adds interesting texture.  Stay tuned for Part 3.

The 'Do Rag

Yesterday, I attended a company sporting event on St. Pete Beach, FL.  It was called the America II Corporate Sports Fest 2012.  It was a blast!!

Normally, when I workout,  I just wear my hair in a ponytail and bobby pin my bangs up.  That, however, does not control the whispies that I get from the wind and general movement.  I hate the whispies!

For Sports Fest, I knew there would be cameras and people taking pictures, so I wanted to ensure that those whispies don't even get an appearance.  I decided to wear a bandana on my head, in a 'do-rag fashion.

Rockin' the 'Do Rag!!

It worked like a charm!  It stayed in place all day.

Now, you may also want to don the 'do rag when you are at home doing housework, working in the yard or going for a neighborhood jog but may not have a cool bandana at home.

You can easily make one with an old t-shirt and a pair or scissors:

Here is the bandana I used, I folded it so it really is just a triangle:

Half a square, is all you need

I took an old t-shirt that had a cool design on it:

Eh, cool enough.

Then I placed the folded bandana on top of the design and did a rough cut through both layers of the t-shirt, following the edge of the bandana:

Step 1: Lay on top

Step 2: Cut

Well, guess what?  You're done!  It's that simple.  The best thing about this too, is that when you cut through both layers of the t-shirt, you have just made yourself two 'do rags!  A two-fer!  It doesn't get much better than that!

If you do not have a bandana, then just cut a large triangle.  Really, your cut lines don't even have to be that straight or perfect.

To put it on your head: Hold the long side ends so that the middle of the long side is against your forehead, having the design facing outwards.  Flip your head over so that your hair is hanging down and bring the ends that are in your hands to the nape of your neck.  All of your hair should be within the 'do rag at this point.  Then pull tight and make a tight knot at the nape of your neck.  Flip your head back over and pull the 'do rag back to about the start of your hairline.  Untuck your ears.

Ah, no more whispies!

Here is me with my two-fer 'do rags:

Two-fers, come and get your Two-fers!

Now, go out and rock that 'do rag!!

Razzy Socks - Complete!

Yes, finally, I have completed my Razzy Socks!  I first featured these socks in January (original post).  I really did not think that it would take me this long to finish them. 

This is what they looked like before:

I had the pair pretty much done.  I could have kept knitting the ribbon part up my calf, but I really did not want to continue anymore.  So, they sat with the ribbon about an inch high for 3 months.

My sister is my resident expert on socks, so she instructed me to bind off with a needle size that is 4 sizes larger than the original needle size.  I knit these on a size 1, so that means I needed a size 5 to bind off.  That seemed strange but hey, she's knitted over a dozen pairs already.  Who am I to argue?

I bound off with the size 5, keeping it loose.  The goal is to have the sock fit over your heel.  If bound off too tight, then it won't fit.

Here is my loose bind off.  I then slipped them on to get a feel for them....

Viola!  I'm finally done.  They fit a bit loose, with the bind off loose as well.  Well, this is my first pair of socks and I forgot all of the techniques my sister has taught me.

If (I did say if) I make socks again, I will have to do it when I'm with my sister again.  She will have to get me started again.  The next time I do a pair, I will use a size 0 to knit them.  I like my socks tight, these are too loose for my liking.

These may not be perfect, but they were created with my own two hands.  I love 'em!

Black Denim Dress & Bow Earrings

I have a par-tay that I will be attending soon, so I wanted to get something new for it.  I've recently lost a few pounds, so some of my cute clothes do not fit right anymore.  This is the perfect time to get something new or new-to-me.  Which in this case, it was new-to-me.  Don't knock Goodwill, it really has some great stuff!

Anyway, I bought this blackish/steel gray denim strappy dress that is a mix between casual and dressy.  I like the top: it is fitted to the waist with adjustable straps; then it is full in the skirt.  I don't mind the fullness, it is just too long.  I will be hemming this.

Bad hair morning...look at the dress not my hair!!

I'm simply going to cut about 6 inches off the bottom.  The rest fits fine.

Major chop-off

I calculated that the hem will be 1" so I will need a 3/4" fold and then another fold that is 1".  This is so the raw edge is folded away.  Subtract those lengths from 6", I will actually cut 4 1/4" off the bottom.  I used chalk to mark my cut line.

Time to fold and press

Once pressed and pinned, I sewed around the edge with black thread.  That's it for the dress.  I told you it was easy.

Now, I wanted to make matching earrings.  I found this pic in a magazine of bow earrings that I pinned to my Pintrest board so I could do a designer knockoff on it someday.

Source: rubymarrow.com via Nancy on Pinterest

These earrings are from Delfina Delettrez  and they retail for $1300 - way out of my price range (c'mon, $1300??) so I will have to improvise.  I gathered some jewelry supplies and I was off.

Black ribbon & pearls

I had thin black ribbon, a strand of pearls (that was me practicing my bending wire technique), a few flat-head pins and a pair of fishhooks.  My idea is to make bows with the ribbon and place them in line with pearls.

First, I had to learn how to tie a bow prettily.  Eh, just a minor obstacle.  I Googled "tying a bow" and I found a tutorial from It's in the Details blog from Lisa Pace that made it a snap.

Second, I tied four bows; I took a flat-head pin and placed a pearl on it and poked the other end through the bow from the bottom.

Nancy's way of beading

I'm sure there could've been a better way of doing this, but I don't know enough about beading to care.  After the bow was threaded on it, I trimmed the pin down and made a loop for the link.  This will be the bottom segment of the earring.  From the bottom, I linked one of the pearls, a link to thread another bow on, then another pearl.  I then finished it off with the fishhook.

Black bow earrings: Priceless!

I think they came out cute!  To make sure my bow stays tied, I dotted glue on the backs of each of the knots.  Vince then wielded his mini torch to sear the ribbon edges to prevent fraying.

Much better (dress, not the hair) lol

The dress does look much better as a short dress.  I have the earrings on too, but it's sort of hard to see in the pic.  I will post a pic or two when I'm at the party, so you can see the dress and earrings in action.

Have a great week!

UPDATE: Here is Vince and  I at the party on Friday night.  We were supposed to have our mean face on...oh well. 

Ribbons and pearls

You can see I am wearing the earrings and I added a necklace that I used the same black ribbon but I took a pearl bracelet and tied the ribbon at the ends so it hung in the middle.  Accessories made easy!

Blueberry Oatcakes

Happy Easter!

For Easter breakfast, we made up some healthy oatcakes.  Now, oatcakes are not the first thing that comes to mind when you think Easter, but it was a recipe that I wanted to try out.

Vince's daughter gave me a few old Self magazines from last year and while I was thumbing through one of them, I came across a few yummy, albeit healthy, recipes.  I don't mind healthy recipes, but I feel bad subjecting others to it (only sometimes, some recipes are so good that you can't tell they are healthy).

I will share the recipe, so everyone can eat healthy in the morning, too!  

Yummy!  (Really!!)

The recipe is from the September 2011 issue.  They are called Blueberry Oatcakes.  This is a gluten-free recipe, and they were really good.  Here it is:

Blueberry Oatcakes

Yields: 4 oatcakes

Calories: 341 for all 4 

(does not include the optional ingredients)

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned oats)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp water
• 1/3 cup blueberries (or more, if you like)
• 1 tbsp sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup fat-free greek yogurt (optional)
• 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

1. In a bowl, combine the egg whites, oats, cinnamon and water; whisk for 1 min.
2. Stir in the blueberries and almonds.
3. Heat a skillet to medium heat.  Spray skillet with cooking spray.
4. Spoon the batter onto hot skillet and cook until the egg is set on the bottom (~2 min).
5. Flip the oatcakes over and cook for another min.
6. Optional: Spread the greek yogurt over the oatcakes and top with the syrup.

At first I did not think the yogurt would be very good on these, but it actually was.  The syrup is needed, but everyone uses a different amount, so I did not include that ingredient in the calorie total.  I just put the syrup in a small cup and dipped my cut up pieces in it.  The oatcakes soak up the syrup like crazy, so this way you control the amount of syrup to a decent portion size.

Really, these were good!  The recipe makes about 3-4 oatcakes, and this really is one serving size.  But because it has oats and almonds, it will keep you going in the morning.

You can always substitute any diced up fruit in these oatcakes.   

If you don't have time in during the week to whip these up, try them on the weekend.  Let me know what you think!! 

Thank you Self magazine, I never would have come up with this recipe!

Birthday - 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm so lucky, where I am celebrating my birthday all weekend long.  Let me go over what I've been doing so far. 

First, there was a Friday night Happy Hour at a marina bar called Rick's on the River in Tampa on the Hillsborough River.  We celebrated my friend Cathy's birthday which was last weekend and my birthday, which is Monday.  Unfortunately, I did not bring out my camera until after Cathy had gone home already.  Here are a few snapshots of some funny moments:

A few of the Ladies from the group

Hey, I'm supposed to be giving Vince a smooch!

Can't have a B-Day HH without doing a shot or two!

Even Elvis came to the HH!

Second, Vince took me out for dinner on Saturday night to Roy's Restaurant: Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine in Tampa.  He had made reservations and the menu had a nice birthday message in it.

A nice pic before we left

Birthday message with confetti

Ahi tuna for my app

Tiger shrimp with mixed veggie and rice

Another nice couple pic

Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle

The dinner was delicious.  Vince's appetizer was baked calamari and his entree was macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi.  Roy's has a gluten-free menu, which I had no problem choosing items from.  The dessert was so delicious, that between the two of us, it was gone faster than it took me to blow out my candle!

Tonight, Sunday, we are having Vince's family over for cornish game hens and gluten-free banana cupcakes.  Stay tuned for those yummy pictures.