Wednesday Weigh In: Good Bye Diet Pepsi

*sniff*

I broke up with Diet Pepsi 3 weeks ago.

It's been the roughest 3 weeks of this weight loss challenge.

Now you may be thinking, why on earth would she break up with Diet Pepsi? It doesn't have any calories.

When I didn't have a Diet Pepsi at 1:00 in the afternoon while the kids had their quiet time, I would have a massive headache by 3:00.  The kind of headache that pounded my brains so much that I could barely see.

Yeah.... I was addicted to aspartame.

So I said goodbye. 

*cry*

And it hurt.  A LOT!!!!

I had headaches everyday at 3:00 lasting until I went to bed and slept it off.  A lot of Tylenol was consumed. 

But I'm finally free of it.

I still have cravings every afternoon at 1:00, but I've been filling the void with extra water.

Wanna know the best part?

Check out my waist measurement from 3 weeks ago (before I broke up with Diet Pepsi):

It was a whopping 38 inches!  Eeeeshhh.

Today I'm still the same weight as I was 3 weeks ago: 158 lbs.  But my waist measures in at 35.5 inches!

Yay!

The soda bloat is going away! :D :D :D

So goodbye Diet Pepsi - it's been swell. 

Macrame Monday: The Beaded Chinese Braid Bracelet

For today's Macrame Monday I decided to take the Chinese Braid to the next level.

What do you think?



To make this bracelet:


Step One: Cut 8 long strands of threads 2 of the middle colour, 2 of another colour and 4 of the middle colour.  Fold them in half and anchor them with an overhand knot onto a dowel (or pencil like I do).

Step Two: Place beads on each of the 16 strands for about 8-10 inches in length.

Step Three: Follow the Chinese Braid instructions that I linked to in this post.

Step Four: When you get to desired length of project, secure the braid with another overhand knot.

Step 5: Add jewelry closures if you like.  Or you can tie it to your wrist by making two braided tails and securing them through the loop that you made around your dowel (like my traditional friendship bracelets).

Sounds a lot more simple that it really is!

It took me hours to bead all 16 strands.  And then it took me hours to figure out how to braid them together.  The beads make the whole project rather slippery and difficult to keep straight.

I ended up shoving threads under my knees, into my mouth and into various nooks and crannies of my fingers to keep everything straight.  And then I had to unbraid it several times and try again.  Oy!



But it turned out so pretty!

I've never added Jewelry Findings to my projects before.  In fact, I didn't even know they were called Jewelry Findings until I went to Michael's to find a closure to this bracelet.  It took me awhile to figure out how to clamp the threads down, so it's not as good as I would like.  But not bad for the first try!

If I decide to make this bracelet again, I will definitely try to make it on some bendable wire.  That way I can bend it when I'm working on another section of the braid so the beads don't slide off. It might help keep the strands straight while braiding.  And it'll make the bracelet itself a little more stiff.

What do you think?  Should I make another one?  Should I sell them in shop?

I don't really know anything about jewelry selling. I only sell those micro-macrame friendship bracelets (which do really well).  I would have no idea what price point I would have to consider for something like this.  Maybe it wouldn't be worth all the work?

__________

Lil' Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna
The More The Merrier Monday - DIY Home Sweet Home
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice - Seven Thirty Three
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Hoo's Got Talent? - Night Owl Crafting

Secet Mommyhood Confession Saturday #20

I turned my womb on "clone" instead of "develop from scratch" when pregnant with both my kids.

Me Age 2 1/2

Logan Age 2 1/2

Lane Age 2 1/2

When I asked both kids who was in the photo below they answered:

Logan: "Logan and Mommy."

Lane: "Lane and Mommy."

 Correct Answer: "Mommy and her mommy" or "Tawny and granny Star." (circa 1978)  I think my mom might have put her womb on "clone" for me as well.

 Wasn't my house fabulous by the way? Look at that yellow shag carpeting and the plaid chair! EEEEE! I would kill to have that orange foot stool back.  From what I remember, it had white paint splattered on it by accident.

Thank goodness I only cloned my looks (and my intelligence of course!) and not my heart troubles. 

_______

Sharing this confession with some lovely people over at All Work and No Play Makes Mommy Go Something Something.

Play along too?

Project Project Runway: Fashion Face Off

This week's challenge started with the designers choosing a handbag.  Inside that handbag was a season that was to inspire their look.

"This week you are creating sportswear for a weekend getaway. Tell us who your girl is, where she is going  and what season it is. Your budget is $25." (Courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

I really liked Mondo's orange stripey handbag, so I chose summer so that my girl could walk down the runway with it :)

I went with a tie dyed stripey look for Pencil.

I actually don't really like how this turned out compared to what I imagined in my head.

I really like the top ruffly bit.

 

But the skirt was much more fun and flirty in my head.  Couldn't get it to hang the way I wanted.

Still it's looks OK.  And Pencil's hair is perfect for summer :)

As I mentioned above, I would accessorize it with the same bag that Mondo had:

It's stripey as well but only the orange is matchy matchy. 

So what do you think?  Summery enough?

I love bright Tie Dye!

You can follow along with all the Fashion Face Off Project Project Runway designers on the Flickr Group.

Wednesday Weigh In: Supreme Humiliation

Let me tell you about the day I had yesterday.

And let me just preface this little rant with: Valentine's Day sucks donkey balls.

OK... so I'm in a wedding in my hometown this coming summer.

I faithfully emailed my measurements for the dress I'm going to have to shell out $400 for (ummm did I mention that my entire wedding dress cost $55?)

Anyway, the bride phoned me and told me that my measurements must be wrong because the lady in the dress shop said that she'd never seen measurements like those in ALL HER 4 YEARS working there.

(ummm... did I mention that I've been sewing my own clothes since I was 12? That's 23 years.)

I assured the bride that those measurements were indeed the proper ones and reminded her that I'm an experienced seamstress who knows how to take measurements.

Isn't that the first thing you learn how to do when learning how to tailor?

I realize that I'm a square.  There's nothing I can do about that.  I also realize that if you look at the charts, they will say that my hips put me in at a size 8 while my waist will put me in at size 18.  My bust coming in at size 16.

That is why all of my designs are 2 pieces (even my wedding dress). 

I calmly told the dress shop lady that with the particular cut of the dress in question, I would need a size 16.  There's no way I'm getting that dress over my boobs if it isn't that size.

Courtesy of Liana's Paper Doll Blog

This is the cut of the dress and almost the exact colour.  Empire cut.  So we all know that the most important measurements for fit on this dress are under the bust ( high waist) and the bust itself.  Everything else kinda hangs and has room for whatever junk you got in your trunk. 

But, bride decided that my experience didn't amount to much and let the dress shop lady order me a SIZE 20!!!

I have never in my life worn a size 20!  I'm only 158 lbs!

Yup, and so there is going to be a heckuva lot of fixing on this dress. 

And the best part? She doesn't even trust me enough to fix it.  No, she knows a seamstress who will have to fix it the morning of the wedding (I guess, because I can only fly into Calgary the night before and I have to drive down to my hometown after that).  She's not even going to send it to me ahead of time to make sure it fits.  Good luck to her!  I have a feeling that my boobs will be popping out of that dress during the ceremony.  I hope bride likes nip shots in her wedding photos. :P

__________

The bride obviously is a good friend who I would do anything for, so I forgive her bridezilla goggles and hope everything works out - or she replaces me with someone who can be present for a perfect fitting. I won't be offended if she goes that route. (And she doesn't read this blog, so no worries.)

___________

And to top that off, I gave up Diet Pepsi two weeks ago and I'm CRANKY.

I spent yesterday on the couch eating cookies and crying.  Then I had a Slurpee and ate more cookies.  Yeah - those weight loss gurus are correct - eating is linked with emotions.  But hey, if I'm going to fit a size 20 dress by August, I guess I better eat more cookies!

Iron Craft 3 - Warm Up

It's been a funny winter this year.  Up and down with the temps. I never quite know what to put on the kids when taking them out.

So when I got the latest Iron Craft challenge, I knew I would have to make something cute that would keep Logan warm and yet would make him want to wear them when it gets super cold.

Here was the challenge:
I don’t know about where you live, but here in Minneapolis February feels like the coldest month of the year, the time when we get the week or so of temps below zero. (Ok, this has been the mildest winter ever this year, but it’s still cold.) With that in mind I’m challenging all the Iron Crafters to make something for the theme Warm Up.

(courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)


So here's what I came up with:

Dragon mittens!

I made the mittens out of orange and red fleece.

Then I cut flame-ish scales out of red and yellow felt and pressed them downthe middle to sew them onto the mittens.

Then I cut a dragon tongue out of red felt and sewed that on.

Lastly I sewed on green buttons for eyes.  Logan wanted googly eyes, but the only ones I had were the glue on kind and I know that I'll be washing these mitts a lot and wanted something that would survive the wash.  And I stitched some nostrils onto each mitten as well.

This is Logan's "Why do you always have to take so many pictures of the things you sew for me?" face.

"Really mom?  Why don't you just let me play already. I'm tired of posing for your silly blog."

So I caught him unawares while daddy was buckling him into the car.

And this is his "I caught you sneaking more pictures mom.  You're so lame" face.

Lane really wanted her picture taken though after she figured out what all the commotion was about.  She's a good sport!


As always, follow along with the Iron Craft theme in the Flickr group.


_______

Sharing this project with:
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe 
Lil' Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna 
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters 
Tickled Pink - 504 Main 
What are Little Boys Make Of? - Seven Thirty Three

Lane's Curtains!

I finally got up the nerve to sew Lane's curtains.

I know... I know... I've had the fabric for them since last summer.

I just couldn't get enough courage to cut into it.

But I finally took a deep breathe, thought good thoughts and felt a certain curtains sewing vibe yesterday.  I cut it up and voila! New curtains :D





You may remember that I bought this cute strawberry fabric to make these curtains.  The accent is a white on red damask pattern.

Here is Lane pretending to wake up on a bright sunny morning in her big girl bed with her cool new curtains.



I attached the valance right to the curtains and used those handy snap on grommet to thread the curtain onto the rod.  I actually got the grommets from the thrift store - brand new in package for $1.99!



I apologize for the miserable photos.  I still have no idea how to photograph in front of a bright window.



We really need to paint Lane's walls a brighter colour.  That beige is so boring and awful for a little girl.  That is on my list to do this summer!



I bought the tie backs with all the assembly tools at the fabric store for $2.50 and then just sewed the red fabric accent right onto them to make them match the curtains.



I have plans to take that change table that you see in front of the window in some of the photos and turn it into a dresser.  I'll put white baskets lined with the curtains fabric into the bottom two shelves for drawers and use the top shelf for a lamp.

And these curtains let in just enough light so that it can be dark in there during the day when they are shut.  Nice!  I was worried about that and didn't really want to make a lining for them.  The fabric is already thick enough as it is.

 Much nicer than the before eh?

I'm pretty pleased with them.  And Lane loves them which is what really matters.

______

Sharing this project with:
The More The Merrier Monday - DIY Home Sweet Home
Sugar and Spice - Seven Thirty Three