Confetti System Garland DIY

I made this knock-off Confetti system christmas tree garland on Thanksgiving eve. On one hand I feel bad for stealing someone's idea and showing how you can make it for less money, but on the other hand, I went on Martha and sold out on my big idea so it happens to the best of us. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no?

The other part of seeing it in the catalog and making it myself at a break-neck pace was also simply to have it in my hands right now. It's so cute!


But it's always sweet to make something yourself. When your sewing machine gives birth to something beautiful... well, it's a beautiful thing.

It was seriously one of the simplest, fastest sewing craft projects I've ever done.
I texted a photo to my home-ec teacher-friend immediately.



Directions: 
1. Cut up a bunch of same-size (I eye-balled it per usual) squares of tissue paper.
I used metallic silver and different shades of pink and translucent. 

2. Get your sewing machine threaded in matchy threads.

3. Fold a few pieces of tissue paper together.

4. Stitch those bitches together.

5. When one square is done, get another one ready.


Note: Once I had about six feet, I would start a new garland because I fear that if these guys get tangled up, since they're made of paper, they will be doomed.

Also, having 6' increments was easier to work with in decorating my tree.

If you want a more rustic look and have absolutely no money for this non-sense project, you could use kraft paper or cut-up grocery paper bags. I'm lucky that my husband is on-board for me to make everything look like teenage girls were behind it. 

Vintage Matchbook Art

We have our first official guest room ever! Matt and I have lived together for about ten years. We've had spare space and a blow-up mattress, but now we have a whole special room with a real bed for our guests.

I'm pulling this room together.

I've had this pile of vintage matchbooks for a few years now. I never knew what to do with them.
Today I figured it out.


I took two sheets of kraft paper - the size of my frames, and masking taped them to the table and marked off 2" border all around with pencil dots.


Then I used double-stick tape to tape down matchbook covers on the 4 corners...


Then I eyeballed it the rest of the way.


I laid them out and did re-arrangements until I was pleased with the colors and composition, then I just used double-stick tape to commit to the layout.

Getting there.


I love how this one is flipped open to show the matches.




Bonnie is never impressed.


Notes: I used my exacto knife to cut some of them because they were cute on both sides and I wanted to use both sides but maintain the look of the matchbooks.

Here's a Flickr set with more photos and details. This project was pretty fast and easy and I know there are tons of bags of vintage matchbooks at thrift/antique/flea markets.

Most of the matchbooks in the frames have the actual matches removed.

Technical Ingenuity

Our last computer we bought, we decided to be mature and not put bootleg software or boosted music on it. Everything on this computer is pure and legal. That's why I have Photoshop (elements) and I do not have Dreamweaver, I make my website with a free outfit called Kompozer (a free HTML editor) I do like Kompozer, it's like Dreamweaver lite. I use filezilla for FTP.

Since my fundraiser is over, and I have brand new, awesome professional photos, I took this rainy Sunday to re-do my website - JPHardee.com

I wanted this navigation menu, and I did some slicing to get the desired result.


I literally wrote up what I was going to call/name my slices so I could basically go data-entry style on setting them up. Sometimes I jot down HTML color codes. 


And it turned out like this:


It all came together pretty quickly, so I'm happy. This is a new, simple design to last at least through the summer.

Yesterday we had a daytime drinking birthday party, so we got drunk super early, rode bikes up the West Side Greenway to stay away from cars, passed out before 10pm and woke up so early today.
I've had a most productive day.

After I made-over my website, I remembered that someone asked for a photo of my necklace on a pure white background. I had researched how to make a DIY light box but had no supplies.

I was sitting on my bedroom floor and noticed this Ikea storage container in my wardrobe. I dumped out the contents and turned it into my light box.


If I had not grown-up as a poor, only-child in Arkansas, I do not think I would have the ingenuity to think of stuff like this.



I got my necklace photo so clean, I was able to isolate it and put it on a transparent background.

This felt like a huge personal triumph in photoshop.

My Littlest Customer

Meet Jane! She's my adorable neighbor puppy. I made her a teeny tiny necklace with wittle bitty beads.

Jane's necklace helped me meet my fundraising goal, but I'm going to leave my shop open.

THANK YOU to all of you who donated directly to Planned Parenthood and THANK YOU to those of you who bought necklaces.

Have a great weekend! 

Sewing is satisfying

I love the satisfaction of going from a plain piece of fabric to an accessory you can wear and be proud of.

It feels crazy-good to make something from scratch. With your own two hands.

I want to beat my chest like a gorilla.

Fundraising Update

How's my fundraising going for the 5 Boro Bike Tour you ask? Remember, I'm riding as a charity team rider benefitting Planned Parenthood. The ride is May 6th and the tour is 40 miles but my transport to and from the start-line should put me at riding about 60 miles on that day. My daily commute is like... seven miles round-trip. I need to train a little bit. Even though it's not a speedy competition race, I'm going to be socializing through it, I think/hope.

I'm at about 40% of my goal of $750. I heard I got a donation directly to the PP website and that was such sweet news. I'm selling the necklaces I was on Martha Stewart presenting to raise the monies. Shop here if you want a really useful accessory that will get tons of compliments and inquiries. I seriously end up telling my whole life story when I wear one. "Where'd you get that?" Leads to "Oh my goodness you made that?" 
I support Planned Parenthood and I've been a volunteer on the PPNYC Activist Council for a little over a year. Mainly, I am a volunteer escort at the Manhattan clinic on a Saturday or two a month. That generally means I put on a smock and help the patients get past the protesters. (I went through training and there are guidelines and an awareness of rights,  and post-shift reports but generally, you get the idea.)

I'm actually blogging about this tonight because one of the prettiest, most popular patterns is selling out and I can't get more of this fabric. This is a heads-up if you have your eye on the Southwest Print.


But this one is gorgeous too. It's about the shade that Martha chose to keep for herself.


It was the best day ever. 

The necklace colors are kinda weird in this photo. I'm wearing Raspberry and she's wearing Plum. She totally loved me to deaf tho. 

Sewin' & Choppin'

This photo illustrates what I've been up to lately:  Sewin' necklaces & choppin' bangs. 

I'm also currently enjoying allergy-medicine googles. Sunglasses saved me from pollen bombs flying through the air on my commute this morning. Pedestrians and bicycle riders listen up and wear sunglasses or fakie clears. Pollen balls are whizzing around out there! 

That's what I've been up to! Check out my fundraising for 5 Boro Bike Tour necklace shop here. 

Tomorrow I'm going to post my notes and thoughts on the Upper East Side neighborhood bike share meeting I attended tonight. Right after I package and ship some orders!

I do feel qualified to discuss the bike share now, and I even sat on one of the beasts.

Fundraising with a Twist

A few clicks of fate and I signed up for the 5 Boro Bike Tour as a charity team rider for Planned Parenthood of NYC. A few signs led to me the conclusion that I should make the craft necklaces that I appeared on Martha Stewart to teach. I just finished building my online store. If you want to donate, but don't want a necklace, you can go to the Planned Parenthood donation page.

My fundraising goal is $750 and the event is on Sunday, May 6th. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from New York City!
This is our Christmas Card that we mailed out this year.  I really don't like when people show the photo of the card you're going to get on their blog or facebook before they mail it. If you are going to use postage, I think you need to give your mailing list a surprise. Otherwise, it's like Oh, thanks for mailing me this picture I already saw online.

Back in August on that night me and Bonnie walked around the Met and saw the Red Tailed Hawk, I saw the sidewalk portrait artists and I knew Bonnie's card had to be one of those portraits.

My first sketch-


I took her to Times Square and I had two different street artists draw her.


They were Chinese dudes who were uncertain of "Christmas Man" and I had to perform Google image searches on my phone. That was a red flag. 

I went home with these 2 funny, but disappointing drawings.


I knew I had to draw this myself. 

I sketched out how I wanted Bonnie to look but ran out of paper so I just pieced these scrap pieces together.


I scanned-in the 3 parts then stitched it together in Photoshop. Then I turned the levels/curves way up/down to make it really black and contrasty.


Passion for the project helped me prepare the whole thing and upload to WinkFlash with cards ordered in about 2 hours.


Even though we didn't use the street artists drawings, we had fun going to Times Square and checking out the windows on the way!

Here's her card from last year


And yes, someday I will photoshop my human baby.  :)
When I have one.

Gift I'm Giving: Sushi Ornaments

My friend Kimberly/Kimbroly- I forced her into this funky spelling years ago- makes cute sets of Sushi ornaments and I bought some for a gift on this most festive Cyber Monday. I'm also trying to be more conscious of being small/er business minded and loving things actually made in USA. It's heartbreaking and rare to see "Made in USA" on a label.

Sushi Ornaments! Glitter sushi ornaments. Hello!

I'm also really proud of the cute graphic design I did on her Etsy shop banner :)

Crafting in the Name of College Pride

We are going to an all you can eat and drink (Abita Beer!!!) Crawfish Boil this weekend at a pretty cool restaurant venue on the Hudson. I don't know if we'll ride bikes, but wander our drunk asses across Central Park back to our apartment.

It will not be the first time I've peed in Central Park either!

It's an LSU Alumni Assoc. sponsored event so I wanted to represent in some Henderson State University gear as my husband and I are proud alumni of this teeny-tiny public liberal arts college in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

But I can't just wear a normal-cut t-shirt!

This is an animated gif. but I bet it doesn't work. Where do animated gifs even work anymore! Why did I even go to college other than to learn how to make animated gifs?!

The Craftiest Time of the Year

Saturday I went to the Martha Stewart Craft Sale at MSLO HQ and then I went to see Amy Sedaris again- this time at SpaceCraft in Brooklyn. Amy said she's seen me "Three times already" this week but this was only two. She's bad at math, or I have an imposter.

Sidenote:  I made a new friend and saved her from going to a dreaded basketball game in the ultra-dreaded Dirty Jerz with my husband, her boyfriend and other Duke alumni. New lovely friend is along for this whole crafty Saturday ride... She is a dermatologist and she blew my doors off by reminding me to use SPF on the backs of my hands! They're gonna show my age, so I need to put SPF on the hands. I often find myself hanging out with doctors but never the kind that tell me anything remotely useful. I love this girl!

OK- Now were at Martha's- I fall hard for Mixed-Media Christmas Trees. I like spice.
So cutest use of puff balls and screws on this tiny baby Christmas tree-

Those sharp, silver ornaments are freaking screws - I guess they are hotglued together. So cute! But sharp as shit. Moving on.

This flat tree is a great idea for New York City crazies just like me who live in teeny-tiny apartments and can't spare the space for a 3-D tree.


Martha Stewart's Head Quarter is really sleek and pretty and I've been there and written about it before but it's still fun special to go where she goes. To be in her space and try to sneak a peek at the work areas and her old modeling photos. Martha was a fashion/beauty model before she took over the world. It's true.

This is really bad to say, but my friend and I weren't tempted enough by the offerings to purchase anything, but we both stepped out of there with some fantastic ideas. There's a necklace that I can't wait to try to make myself. By myself. For myself.

Ooh! I also saw the make-up artist who did my make-up that time I was on Martha and I told my friend - because this was day 2 of her knowing me, "I'm about to possibly have a strange interaction with this woman" and then I went up to the make-up lady and geeked out! Like "You did my make-up when I was on Martha and it was one of the best experiences of my whole life. Not just being on Martha, I mean- just the make-up part was one of the best times of my life." And she did not remember me at all, and she was honest about that, but she was happy that I had such a good time and she wrote down her number in case I need her freelance services. Could happen.

And this is her from that day in 2007. I told her she explained her whole spread to me, and that I have a picture of it.


I realized it was getting close to time to get ourselves to Brooklyn to post up for the Amy Sedaris event at SpaceCraft. We took the train and showed up around 4:30 and they told us we couldn't come in til' 5. Dang! So we went across the street and ate kick-ass sandwiches at Papa Lima. OMG.



Emily joined us and we got in line but after sammich time, the line was a little scary because SpaceCraft is small, but we were behind a gang and a NY1 camera. Amy stood on a chair and did a quick demo.


During the Q & A - the questions from the audience weren't that great, in my opinion. It was more exciting when I asked her what she plans to sell at the BUST Craftacular Sunday and she busted me out for stalking her, listed what she's going to sell, then said I can only buy 1 thing. Liar!

Oh! She also said she wore a diff. dress because she knew I'd be there.

The Q & A wasn't going anywhere so she asked Paul Dinello a question about what he dressed up as for Halloween and he joined her in standing on a chair. He was beyond adorable/precious and that's the NY1 camera that's filming her for an upcoming special.


I have horrible photos because I want to be discrete and not be an asshole.

That NY1 Special better be an hour long, and they should have interviewed me.

My gang didn't buy books. Amy was signing at the other end of the big SpaceCraft craft table and they had a glitter-toothpick-marshmallow ornament crafting station set-up opposite Amy. We sat down and worked some magic.


We tricked Amy into posing with Emily. Har har!


The basketball slumber-party broke up and I had this hot new glitter marshmallow ornament from the Amy event so I was hot to put my my tree. My massive 3' tall tree with trashy but festive, fiber-optic tips.



I love these plastic flower light covers.


Oohs & Aaahhhhs!