Make banana muffins.

I've been trying to eat a more balanced diet lately. Usually, I just consume ice cream, peanut butter, back to nature cookies, and cupcakes. So I'm on the fast track to diabetes. I was trying to look up vegetarian meal plans and I found something amazing:

http://www.vegcooking.com/veganMenus-1.asp

I think it was developed by PETA but they have meals for each day for two whole weeks. I think I might try to loosely follow it. I started by making their banana oatmeal muffins using whole wheat flour. And they are so perfect and delicious!


Gators also like banana oatmeal muffins. "Nom om om."

Make ceramics.

There's a little ceramics shop in Downtown where you can paint just about anything. A guy from the Real World (MTV) actually worked there at one point. Needless to say, they bring in a lot of celebrities. I became addicted at one point. I cut myself off. If I didn't, I would end up with a lot more plates than I would ever need.


This thing is so neat. It's mug so it's perfect for drinks but it's large enough to be a bowl!

Make another gator dress.

As a member of the Gator Nation, I need clothes to wear on game day! That's how I justify my compulsive sewing habit...


This dress is a deconstruction piece The white parts were once a forever 21 babydoll dress. There was a hole in it and it was near the end of its life. The orange part is a men's XL polo I found at Goodwill. The gator is also a Goodwill find. Never underestimate your neighborhood Goodwill. Those recovering drug addicts can be your best friends or your worst enemies. Did I also mention that college students get a 10% discount?

Make floor cushion

Dorm life is cramped. There's limited space...especially at the University of Florida. So a logical solution would be floor cushions! I would like to thank Amy Butler for the idea. She has the most beautiful fabrics and patterns I've ever seen. Imagine Vera Bradley x 100 translated into a pattern and you get Amy Butler.

Make almond butter.

I ran out of peanut butter which is sad because now I don't have anything to dip my Back to Nature imitation oreos in... I really like the white chocolate peanut butter by Peanut Butter & Co. but the closest place they sell it is at the New Symrna Publix.

The truth is...I hate peanuts, but I love peanut butter. I actually like almonds so maybe that means I'll love love almond butter?...Here's another problem, almond butter is $20 a jar. That is an expensive habit.


So I tried to make it! I just grinded 9 oz of whole unsalted almonds with agave nectar to taste. It is delicious!


I think I need a food processor to make it more creamy but it still tastes good, even with my limited appliances.

Make shaye's dorm room.

My friend Shaye is going to a different college next year :( but that's okay because we'll still see each other...sometimes... She's in a triple dorm and her roomies decided on a black and white color scheme with accents. Each room mate gets an accent. Shaye=purple.


I offered to make her dorm stuff because I love her and because school is starting soon and she's been backpacking through Europe all summer. She found this beautiful fabric at Urban Outfitters and a purple jersey sheet set. She thinks I'm only making her a duvet cover...silly Shaye.


I made the duvet cover, which was a bit of a challenge because I don't usually sew with stretchy material. I can't even find the zig zag attachment to my sewing machine! I just kept hearing Tim Gunn's voice in my head, "Make it work, Wendy." Yesss siiirrr!

The duvet cover cute, then I sewed on some buttons and button holes. Then, I cut her jersey pillows in half and made two pillows with the extra UO fabric. Her guests will never have to go without.


This is one of my favorite things in the world! I went to the sewing studio in Maitland and they had this all these amazing books. I found one about printing on fabric. Coolest thing I've ever heard of! I remember printing clothes on my Barbie Fashion Designer game when I was little. I went to JoAnn's armed with a 40% off coupon and got some printable fabric.

This owl was so easy to make and he is so precious. I hope takes good care of him.


There was a little bit more fabric left so I made a floor pillow. I love you Shaye!

Make gator dress.

I went to JoAnn's this week and found Gator fabric for $3.50 in the fabric bin!...but I didn't know what the heck to do with it. So I was looking on Urban Outfitters and saw this adorable simple dress and I decided to make it.

To make something, I usually look at it pretty thoroughly then get to work. I just started snipping and sewing and in a few hours, I was done! This is the result!


I've honestly never really made a dress by myself before this one. I've deconstructed existing clothes and I've made dresses with my mom, but never by myself. I took a break from sewing for years. I would alter some items because nothing ever fits right, but I never created anything. Recently, I just started making stuff again. I don't even know how I do it, because I've never done some of the things I do. I guess I'm just observant...

Make hoodie dress.

I was at the annual Florida State v.s. Florida game a while back and it was FREEZZIINNGGG! My boyfriend left and got me a hoodie at the giftshop...an XL HOODIE... Nice gesture, but I don't know who he intended to wear it, him or me. Either way, I was keeping it. I usually figure something out.
Genius struck me. I decided to make it into a dress. The black lines in the diagram above show where I cut. I just cut a good silhouette of my body out then stitched everything up. (I don't really use patterns) I cut the sleeves off and in half for extra fabric so my coochie didn't pop out.


Success!

Make bows.

Gator ribbon finally came back in stock at Wally World and I had to make headbands and bows. My friend Natalie introduced me to the concept of headbands and bows with her Lilly Pulitzer head piece and I fell in lovvveeeee.

I also like to make bows and hot glue them onto bobby pins. Then I make a side poof which is the new poof. :)



What could be a better way to get your hair out of your face? You can make one to go with every outfit.

Make cornell box

This mixed media piece was inspired by Joseph Cornell and Sylvia Ji. It's a self portrait painted on wood with a gradated acrylic wash. The box is painted with a red acrylic wash. The bottom acts as a planter. I cut various sized holes in the box to allow create organic shadows on the piece. It is meant to be viewed outdoors. Real ivy is planted in the piece, then weaved in and out of the holes.

Make bedding

I made a bunch of stuff for my bedroom. My roommate and I decided on the color scheme pink and green with accents of white and blue (turquoise). Once I started sewing...I just could not stop. These are all the products of a single summer.

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1. I quilted the largest pillow. It slips on the back. I just used leftover fabric from my quilt. The small square pillow was made from an old dress and leftover material from the duvet cover. The cylinder pillow was handsewn. I love making pillows. I don't want to overdo it though, I still need room to sleep on.


2. This was inspired by PB teens. They have these adorable foam boards for posting pictures, etc., but they're insanely overpriced. I just glued foam (they sell it in rolls at the crafts section) onto cardboard from my old science fair tri-folds. Then, I stretched fabric over top and hotglued it on. I made six small foam squares so I could rearrange them around my room. (Emily is my room mate in case you're wondering)


3. I have never quilted before. I mean...I made a baby blanket in 7th grade Home Economics class but other than that. Quilting is a bit foreign. It's an investment. Cutting boards are expensive, then you need a good ruler and rotary cutter. I started off buying a quilt from Anthropologie but it was too yellow for my room so I returned it and made this.

First, I watched a you tube video on quilting to figure out how it worked. Then, two days later, I was finished. I am a really quick sewer. I mixed a lot of patterns because I didn't want a boring, old cat lady quilt. I used embroidery thread to make a flower on the corner. Overall, I'm satified with my first quilt!


4. My quilt is kind of thin, so I figured I should make a duvet cover as well. I love this collection they have at Target with peonies. I'm obsessed with peonies. They sold fabric (non-vinyl) shower curtains of this fabric so I bought a couple of them. I make this duvet cover out of the shower curtain. I added pillow cases to the bottom because it wasn't long enough. The other side is a flat sheet. The shower curtain is convenient because it already had slits at the top so I could use them as button holes. They actually sell this comforter set for $70+ but I only spend about $30 and I can remove remove the cover and wash it.


I love my room! :)

Make round chairs.

I was looking at seating for my future dorm room. I needed something small, portable and still cute. I found the perfect chairs on pottery barn kids. Well, kind of perfect. There were minor issues. The first issue being...$110!! And that's not including shipping. They want $40 just for the slipcover. And the chair is intended for small children meaning my butt would probably not fit in it. So the design seemed simple enough, it was a cylinder with another cylinder on top.


I found some ottomans around the house and just made slip covers for them. Total cost= less than $10. The pink/white stripe fabric was on sale at Wal-mart for $2 a yard. The white chair was made entirely out of old clothes. The arm rest is a free people skirt, the bottom is an Abercrombie mini skirt, and the seat is a Democracy dress. I used the rest of the dress to make an apron.