Kitchen wall covered with wine corks

Anal retentive or wine-o? Little of both.

Luckily, most of my friends like-a the grappa and share the corks with me.

Lots and lots of winecorks. Lots of glue gun sticks. Lots of fun.

Demented Dolls

Baby sister Rikki Tikki Tavi used these demented dolls for Halloween party decorations. Random dolls were hung from rafters and a special chandelier was crafted of dolls and doll parts.

• 2 hula hoops, painted black
• Halloween twinkle lights
• thrift store dolls, deconstructed

Good thing: we can use the decorations again for the next baby shower!

Cigar box valet for men

Kay gave me a bunch of cigar boxes so I decoupaged a few and made valet boxes for men. If you look closely, you will spot gold tone metal fish from Metalliferous.

Bamboo Handle Handbag

Found a sample sale of upholstery fabrics for $1 each and combined it with Mom's quilting fabric stash along with a freebie Ultra Suede sample. Embroidered a fleur-de-lis outline on the Ultra Suede for an easy-no-turned-edges inside pocket.

People give me stuff, part 4

My buddy Dori invited me to peruse the goodies before being shipped to the local charity thrift store. WooHoo! Thanks, Dori!

• Gold ribbon braid
• Gold floss thread
• Multi-color braided trim
• Assorted grosgrain ribbons
• Sequin adhesive stickers on a roll
• "Rat tail" ribbon in pink and fuschia
• a whole mess of beads plus the bead box!

Lorraine's silk scarf

Made another scarf from the highly coveted silk stash. Check out the pompom fringe!

Mudflap girls

Several months back when I was on the brand new embroidery kick, I asked my buddy Chuck if he would like to request his very own stitched tea towel and he specified, oddly enough, mud flap girls. You heard me.

Here ya are, Chuck! Wipe your counters with these nude silhouette girls that I stitched for ya!

Burp Cloths

Don't really dig cross stitch crap but think it is cute for baby stuff like bibs and burp cloths.
Here baby, please burp and throw up on this nice cotton towel that I stitched and personalized with your name.

Silk skirt

Whipped up a skirt out the fabulous Eileen silk tie fabric stash. Considered cropping the photo so you wouldn't see my unfinished hem shame but hey, this a blog of truth, right? Confession: I still don't know how to hem.
However COMMA as a beginner to sewing, I consider myself to be a genius because I didn't even consider that the silk stripes should match at not only the front and back seams but the side seams as well. The photo does not show the perfectly placed stripes but I assure, they are there. How did I do it? I don't know! I just kept playing with pattern and fabric until it looked right and held my breath as I finally cut the silk.

• Bad news: Don't remember how to match stripes so probably will not attempt to make another.
• Bad news: The skirt is too short to be flattering on me.
• Good news: Faux niece wants it!
• Bad news: Now I need to hem it for her.

Silk fabric stash again

That silk stash that my good buddy Eileen sent me? It is taking over my life. In a good way, I think.

Take a look at this wall hanging and pair of pillow shams. I made them all by myself. WooHoo!

Holiday market booth

Got a wild hair and placed a deposit for a booth in my small town holiday market. It was a whim to see if people liked the stuff I made and if they would purchase said stuff. With a piece of chalk I mapped out a 10' X 10' space in my garage. Then I started making stuff like galvanized aluminum magnetic boards (shiny stuff!), cigar box valet boxes and handbags. Mom painted watercolor fleur-de-lis and Dawn fabricated tons of glass magnets.
My fabulous aunt offered use of her modular "walls" and Kay loaned me her ill-begotten table skirts (don't ask). The decor was kept simple and shiny! Caw, caw!

Here are some before and after photos:

Here are some holiday or craft fair pointers:

• Arrive early to claim your spot. Even if previously assigned, an early bird may be able to trade or upgrade space. I overhead a trade conversation with the phrase "don't tell anyone but I'll move you to their space".



• Bring more electrical cords than you think you need.



• Lighting is key.



• Decide ahead of time if you will accept checks. I accepted from personal acquaintances and folks that appeared to be good risks. Yes, I profiled but I have years of retail experience.



• Don't even think about keeping a cash box. Stash that money in your apron or deep pockets.



• Bring your boombox for ambient music.



• Let your product explain itself. Some folks are shy and just want to browse.



• Hangtags denote quality.



• Mark each item with price. Some folks will not ask price because they are afraid that the price will embarrass them. I know it sounds stoopid but hey, some folks are stoopid.



• Market coordinators may ask you for a door prize to promote the show. Luckily I thought to write a gift certificate on some of my logo paper. You want to draw folks to your booth.

My new favorite thing to make - fabric cuffs!

This is my new favorite thing to sew - fabric cuffs made of stray bits of ribbon, trim, vintage buttons, etc.

• These two khaki cuffs are made with waistband from an old pair of pants.


• The short edges are cut and sewn with exposed topstitching.


• Some crochet bits and lace were tea stained.


• Tattered edges are desirable.


• Closure made with existing buttonhole, vintage button and pony tail elastic.


• Velcro type hook and loop tape also used for closure

Thinking that future cuffs could also include a secret cash pocket!

Repurposed scraps, SkitzoLeezra style!

Silk headbands

Kay doesn't like the way her office co-workers look so she commissioned me to sew a dozen silk headbands for them. (In her perfect world, she would be in charge of styling and accessorizing everyone.)

Anywho, here are the headbands made of that fabulous silk tie fabric stash provided by the ever generous Eileen. The pattern was found on Heather Bailey's site. Thanks Heather!

Pajama pant revamp

Love these pajama pants from Old Navy but purchased the wrong size. While I like roomy lounge pants, the waist band was too large and even if I rolled the band down, still too large.
Had a moment of creativity and decided to revamp the pants with a buttonhole on the elastic band. Rolled waist band over and stitched down. Inserted a ribbon to cinch waist size.

Then I couldn't help myself and tried a iron-on number embroidery monogram by Dimensional Divine Style, using multiple rows of split stitch.

Christmas Decor, according to SkitzoLeezra

You gotta know the rules to break the rules.

White lights everywhere for Christmas decor - it is nice, it is tasteful. And kinda dull. Sometimes good taste can be boring.

• Big retro color bulbs - good.


• New pastel twinkle lights - a nice change.


• Chaser lights - HORRORS! Stop that! Don't you know those things can send some folks into an epileptic seizure? For shame!


• Inflatable yard decorations - yuck. They look like giant discarded condoms when not inflated.


• Snowman themed decor in the South - just plain ol' stoopid.



YUCK


• Wired ribbon cascading down the tree - unless placed by a gay man, don't even bother because you will never get it right. Instead drape ribbon around the tree, tucking ribbon in tree branches for less rigid look. Nah, call your gay man friend for that too.


• Light projected Christmas images - rarely look good.


• Green garland - always a yes. Even better when placed in an unexpected area, like tree houses, dog houses, etc.


• Red pre-tied velvet bows sold at Walgreen's, WalMart - so cheap looking.


• Smocked clothing on a boy older than 6 months - sissified.


• Fiber optic - why?


• Your collection of Santas or Christmas tree figurines or nutcrackers or ONE theme - neat.


• Your collection of every damn holiday thing ever on every surface - disturbed.

Here are some break-the-rules ideas. Just make sure you ask a trusted friend if your version works or if you should just stick to tasteful and safe. OR send in your photos! The Skitzo community will tell ya what we think.

• One strand of color lights wrapped around the trunk of the tree with white lights on branches.


• Shiny stuff hanging from your outdoor trees.


• Updated color combination. Red and green is just so predictable. How about bright pink and lime green? Copper and verdigris? Red and orange?


• Funny holiday clothing on your dog(s).


• Themed ornaments hanging from your chandelier.


• Cookie cutters on garland/wreath in the kitchen.



• Little trees in the children's bedrooms.


• Black Christmas tree - why not?


• Tinsel tree - shiny stuff!! Caw caw!! Me like-y!


• Your decor should represent you.


• More is more!

People give me stuff, part 3

Dawn gave me a box of earring parts consisting of big 1980's style earrings like pageant girls are wont to wear. I knew I would eventually find some use for them and finally did. WooHoo! It is a double People Give Me Stuff! Mom gave me the big ma'am-a jamma crystals and I combined them with the Dawn earring parts for fabulous suncatchers, Feng Shui crystals or Christmas tree ornaments.

Reduce, reuse, recycle - repurpose in the SkitzozLeezra way!

Tree skirt repurposed into a cute skirt!

Found this small tree skirt with rickrack trim in the box of estate sale fabric and wondered what to do with it. Held it up and thought: instead of a tree skirt, how's about a little girl circle skirt?
Called a little girl mama and obtained a little girl waist size. Before cutting, I luckily remembered that a circle skirt waist is cut by folding fabric into quarters and cutting top in SMALL increments or else you snip too much and have a huge hole. Nobody wants a huge hole.

1. Anyhow, cut top of skirt and laid it flat to measure with tape. Repeated steps until desired measurement was complete.
2. Finished cut edges of skirt seam by serging (you can zigzag also).
   
3. Sewed edges together for side seam.
   
4. Turned under the raw pinked hem edge and ironed with that magic tape stuff then hand stitched the hem. The hand stitching took longer than all the other steps combined.


5. Applied stretch elastic to waist although a sewn casing and drawstring would work well too.

It is a Cee-ute skirt, I tell ya!
Repurposed in the SkitzoLeezra way!
I may have just made myself some craft karma.

After the holidays when you look at all of those 50% off tree skirts at the stores, look again, you might see cute skirt potential!

(Tried to wait for a photo with the petite model in her skirt but want to show the technique to you NOW! Will post action photo when available.)

Hold up, here's cute little girl in her twirly skirt!

Dance on, Miss G!

Shabby Chic Ornament Wreath

Y'know those nasty scratched up ornaments that folks toss when they purchase new ones? Well, I love 'em! And I have been collecting them for the last 7 years.
Here is my wreath made of vintage ornaments on a straw wreath wrapped in silver tinsel garland.

Pointers to make your own:

• purchase sharp end metal floral pins
• wrap straw wreath with silver tinsel garland and secure ends
• for hanger, wrap wire around wreath several times and twist to bind strands together
• begin at top and work around
• place larger ornaments first and fill in with smaller
• you may work on a flat surface to complete the bulk of the wreath but for completion, transfer to a sturdy nail on the wall. You will want to see empty spots and how ornaments dangle.
• place a rug, mat or folded towel below wreath while it is hanging on wall because some ornaments will fall and break
• reserve several ornaments for replacement
• wreath is not recommended for a door. hang in stationary area.
• store wreath in sturdy box

Tiffany & Co. giftbox cakes

My friend Chrysanthemum and her sis-in-law created these awesome cakes to simulate giftboxes from Tiffany & Co.

Chrysanthemum tells me that ordinary kitchen shears cut the fondant and an envelope aided her to attain straight edges. Imagine what they could do with REAL tools!

They are proud of their be-yoo-ti-ful achievement but are still nursing carpal tunnel aches and pains from constant fondant massaging.

Impressive!

More wallets!

Wallets for days!

Some of cotton broadcloth - easy.

Some of upholstery sample remnants - not so easy.

Idea: add grommet or eyelet for earbud wire and tuck an Ipod in that wallet!