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. 

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. 

Obama Fabric Crafts

Huge bow attached to backpack of life:

It's the backpack of life, because I'll be living out of it for about 2 days.



And I'm going to see if my partner in crime wants to wear one of these too. If she doesn't want to wear hers, I'll give it away or sell it when we get there. I've sold crazy ribbons right off my head before.


I hope she'll wear it and we can be "Team Rally Cats" and maybe even paint our faces! Eeek! I'm so excited!
I think the guy at the fabric store gave me the hook-up and I can't WAIT to show him what I made! He has an Obama tattoo from his wonderful experience at Obama's Inauguration.

*Do you ever wonder where my husband is? Some of you know he's a medical resident and you might suspect that I'm always home alone because he must work all the time, and that couldn't be further from the truth. He almost always beats me home, and he's on the couch playing PS3 or watching Southpark and telling me I'm dumb for making Obama bows, but secretly he's totally impressed.

Martha Stewart Stitch Fest

I saw Queen Martha again at Stich Fest for her new book - The sewing craft encyclopedia. I thumbed through it quickly and do not think my bead necklace craft is in there. So unfortunate!

This is Martha's 71st book and the 4th Martha Stewart book to belong to my household. Nothing saves me as much as The Homekeeping Handbook. I'm going to have to buy another copy because mine is signed. I need to save the signed one for my bestest grand-daughter.

So the event was $30 and you got the book (retail $35) with the price of admission, plus a goody bag a the end.
It was open bar and I went straight from work. I was starving. I don't remember but I think I got pretty drunk.


There were so many older ladies I was worried about all of them boozing. It was reckless for me too because I was so hungry. Empty-stomach wasted is a bad form of school-night drunk. We were accosting the hors dourves girls as soon as they would appear from behind the curtain. One adorable elderly lady had her wine in one hand and her cane in the other.

There were vendor stations - people showing fancy sewing machines and crafts. None of it was too much my bag. Like, who will actually buy this? I think the appeal of this display was finding out how much this beast costs:


I did like the Gutermann thread display:





The space was really neat. It was in Chelsea. There's this event hall in the middle and offices/cubicles on the sides separated by a sheer curtain. We could see the worker bees working:


Back in the inner-working of offices and show-room type space, I spotted these old modeling photos of Martha.


She breezed through the event pretty early on- I was actually getting a drink at the bar, and she was really close, taking photos of the cute bar-tenders. She is so tall and strikingly beautiful. Her dope diamond studs were sparkling. Dazzling me.

This Craft was the most impressive thing:


Even cynical Matt should be impressed. I feel like I haven't seen him in a few days. I went to this Martha party, then last night I went to a birthday dinner and this morning I'm actually on a bus riding to Baltimore to see my cousins.

Here was my outfit:

I'm happy that my new job allows me to wear pretty much whatever I want. I'll keep it cute. Some of my boss-ladies dress very "White-woman chic" - I like.

I wish I had gotten a friend to go to the Martha event with me. I was a little lonely, but I did get approached by some staff. They were serving as little hostesses and they asked how I heard about the event (Martha's twitter) and I told some of them I had appeared on the show.

I saw Darcy Miller the Editor of Martha Stewart Weddings. She is beyond a little person. I thought I could kill Nicky Hilton with my bare hands because of her tininess but Darcy is that tiny but much shorter. You could put her in a duffle and steal her. Scary! Sometimes I'm glad I'm a "big person" as PF called me once.

I am very happy that I was able to tell her my feeling that Martha loves her "The Most" I didn't go on to say "She loves you more than she loves her own daughter, Alexis." But Darcy responded really cute and made me repeat it to a group of her co-workers nearby like a little parrot. I was happy to oblige.

This is them - I wasn't cool enough to ask Darcy to take a pic with me. That's my regret of the evening.

If Martha is my mother, Darcy is my sister.

Here's the loot of my goody-bag spread out on the bed... I was so drunk because I was STARVING at the end of the event that I was ravenously searching for a snack.

No snacks.

Look at what my animal/child has been doing during the day while we are at work- I swear to you I make the bed every day. Small spaces require it. And I have to walk on the bed to get my clothes out of the wardrobe and I trip if it's not loosely made.

Stitch Fest!

Martha Stewart on Twitter is boss. I just found out about this Stitch Fest book-launch party next Thursday.
Not this Thursday, because I'm checking out a potential co-ed volleyball team, but April 1st.

What if my craft is in this book? It could be! Cross your fingers and pet your voo-doo dolls! When I went on her show, I literally signed my craft's entire life away. I signed off that they could put it in print, magazine, books, t.v., cartoons, or what the hell ever Martha ever wanted to do with my craft. I signed my signature big and proud and I'm still happy about everything that happened to me surrounding my special time with Martha.

I puke a little in my mouth thinking about wearing my craft necklaces, but I think it's going to be like a little reunion so I'm going to wear one. And Sarah Foster told me Martha remembers absolutely everything, so maybe she'll see me and I'll tell her how she can be the maternal grandmother to my baby when we have one.

So I'm happily taking myself to this party. I hope I meet some radical crafty ladies. I know these cocktails are going to be deee-lish! $30 grants entry and a copy of the book. Done and done!