Credit card crafting

Usually for me the phrase "credit card crafting" means going to a craft store and buying whatever catches my eye to toss on the craft pile to use when inspiration strikes.  But this project uses actual credit cards!

I got the general idea from a picture I saw on pinterest a while back.  And now that my son has started preschool, I have a bunch of free time I have no clue what to do with.  Sure, I could be scrubbing floors or doing laundry, but those things suck.  I think I'd rather cut up a bunch of old credit and store cards that happened to be in coordinating tones and glue them to a mirror frame I fished out of a clearance bin.

Lately, our family has been in a bit of a money crunch, so this project felt oddly cathartic.  Nothing major, just a little good ol' amurikan living beyond our means and not watching the bottom line.  We're going to fix this.  And I know some of my spending was more about alleviating my depression than actually needing stuff.  Now that that's being treated, keeping to a budget doesn't bother me the way it used to.

So anyway, I've been hanging on to old cards for a while, looking for the perfect project.  This ikea clearance mirror seemed to be the perfect base to glue shit on, so I grabbed it.  I just chopped up six cards and mixed the little squares up at random, after picking out the logos and printing I wanted as details.

The little kinda apple shaped G comes from a Genuardi's store card.  Genuardi's was a local supermarket chain until a bigger supermarket chain bought them out and totally fucked shit up.  They went under earlier this year.  I miss their soups.

I get a ton of bullshit credit card come ons in the mail, and I'm always amused by the ones that go to the trouble to include a fake card with their pitch.  I especially love it when the fake cards say "YOUR NAME HERE".  The cheezier and faker, the better.  Although, Amex has some nice fake cards:

Looks almost like a real one, doesn't it?

I cut the best part out of one and cast it in resin.

I'm still thinking of how I want to finish this.  Pendant? Or riff on the classic I.D. bracelet?  I'm sure one of these days I'll figure it out.

Anyone else get creative with crap they'd otherwise throw out?

yep, I'm still here

So posting's been kinda dead around here for a while.  I'll do an update with plenty of kickass stuff I've sewed lately in a bit, but first I want to get serious for a minute.

I have chronic depression, and I've decided to talk about it.  Part of what kept me from getting help for so long was the shame and stigma that gets attached to mental illness.  Shame turned that negative voice in my head from a whisper to a deafening roar.  Shame made me feel like I deserved it when I got treated badly.  Fuck shame.  If talking candidly about depression convinces someone else to get help, then it's totally worth it.  I wish I'd started taking medication YEARS ago.  Even though I still have depressive episodes at times, it's like the difference between a tropical storm and a category 5 hurricane. 

Things have changed so much for me since the spring, when I finally broke down and went looking for help.  So much is different.  The urge to stuff myself with salty snacks and drink to excess is almost gone.  I have so much more energy for my kid and the things I enjoy.  The best thing is that I no longer feel hopeless all the time anymore. 

One last thing, I feel like this is an illness, and it's being treated, like any other chronic condition.  Anyone that wants to judge me or act like I'm defective or something because of this, well, that's their problem, not mine.

Okay, I'm stashing my soapbox now.  Time to go photograph some of my latest projects.

Subversive stitchery.

I'm back!  Last night I was whining to my husband about feeling desperate for some adult conversation.  I love my three year old, but it's not like I can debate politics or say the f-word around him.  This morning the obvious occurred to me-my blog!  I've been neglecting it pretty badly, but it's a perfect little grown up oasis in my world of sippy cups and potty training accidents.

And sometimes, a mommy just needs to say "fuck it"!!

Lately, I've been working on a cross stitch sampler.  I'm a huge fan of Julie Jackson's Subversive Cross Stitch.  It's cross stitch patterns with saucy language.  I've made several in the past, but since moving two years ago, I've let my embroidery floss and aida cloth gather dust.

A couple days ago, I saw a phrase on facebook that really resonated with me, so I decided to bust out the cross stitch supplies and sew it up!

Please ignore my crappy attempt at a fabric frame.

 

I made it a whole year!

I  can't believe it.  I actually managed to keep up with this blog semi-regularly for a whole year!  I just want to tell my readers how much I appreciate you.  There are people and things in my real life that suck, and it's nice to be able to come here and to pinterest and share stuff I made and stuff I like.  That, and nobody here clutches pearls when I say "fuck".

I've got a couple new things I've been working on.  I hope to show them off soon.  March in our house came in like rabid lion on steroids.  My son and I got some kind of a super cold, then a truly awful houseguest showed up.  It has just been a rotten month so far, but things are finally starting to look up. 

Mama's got a brand new bag (Simplicity 4391)

Today I finished this messenger bag from Simplicity pattern #4391:

Yes, I cut out the flap upside down, but I learned a valuable lesson-double check your grainlines!!  I found this fabric at a Jomar during their big half off fabric sale.  It's canvas printed all over with the logo for Trader Joe's.  I wonder how it ended up in a fabric clearance pile.  Since it's canvas, I thought it would make a good bag.  It's lined in this funky fabric, another Jomar find:

HAPPY Y2K!!!

I'm feeling pretty good about the interior double pocket-with my first ever zipper!

For the most part, the pattern was easy to follow.  I omitted the padding the pattern said to put in, because I don't plan to carry anything super fragile in here and I don't mind if a messenger type bag is a little slouchy.  This pattern also comes with pieces for all manner of electronic toy cozies, so I can see using this again in the future.  Maybe next time I'll lay the damn pattern out right side up! :-)

Sewing fun!

Remember back around new years' when I said I was going to sew more in 2012?  Well, I got a project done!  I sewed a blouse from this pattern:

Butterick 5722

This is how my version looked:

Belt not included.  I got it from Torrid.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow.  I used a polyester fabric with a little sheen I found on special at my local Joann's.  The only real difficulty I encountered doing this top happened when my sewing machine died.  It could probably be fixed, but at this point in time I just want to sew, dammit!!  I might take it to the shop in the future, since it was my mom's, and I did learn to sew on it.  But since I had a half-finished blouse, and a function to which I wanted to wear the blouse coming up in three days I bought one of these:

Singer 2263, a.k.a pain in my ass

I needed that damn blouse finished, and didn't have time to wait for something to come in the mail.  So, I got one of these.  It's a pain in the ass to use.  It's loud, cheap, and shakes like an alcoholic right before payday when it goes fast.  In fact, I've decided to give my new machine a nickname.  Snooki!

I guess she's alright for small jobs like hemming slacks.  I don't dare hem jeans with her.  She'll be downgraded to a travel machine when this baby comes in the mail:

Say hello to the Slant-O-Matic!!  Bought from ebay user hulagirl1!

Oh yeah!  Just look at this baby!  Singer advertised it as "The best sewing machine ever made!"  Just look at the specs on this thing.  I could get off on a massive rant on how this is a shining example of how as a society Americans no longer value quality workmanship or want quality items built to last, but I'll just let the pictures of Snooki and the Slant-o-matic speak for themselves.  Which machine do you think I'll still be using in 30 years?

Okay, soapbox stashed.  I'm currently working on a little clutch purse.  I'm using some random fabric yardage I found at a thrift store plus scraps from the blouse pictured above.  I'll post a few pics once I'm further along, assuming I don't toss Snooki out a 3rd story window first.

Am I the only one who remembers 7up Gold?

For a brief moment in 1988, this was available.  I was ten, and loved it as much as a ten year old could love a soda.  Soda was a rare treat in our household.  Because we were broke, the grocery money had to stretch as far as possible.  But on some lucky days, there would be a sale on 7up products, or a little extra overtime.  Paydays are magical things when living broke.  Frozen pizza and soda tasted like ambrosia after a week of rice and beans.  7up gold tasted unlike any other soda on the wall o' beverages.  It was like apple ginger ale, with a dash of sweet spices.  And it had caffiene!  Buzz, buzz, buzz!!

But then as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.  And I have been just a little sad when I walk down the soda aisle ever since. 

Maybe 7up will jump on the retro/throwback bandwagon and re-release it as a special edition.  Look how well Pepsi Throwback did.  And Salsa Rio Doritos, another childhood fave I thought I'd never taste again just came back.  I emailed 7up.  Maybe if enough junk food nerds did the same.....I can dream, can't I?