DIY : CAT EYE MASK

I started this DIY earlier this week and was super excited about it….. and then that same day, A Beautiful Mess posted their own eye mask DIY. Bollocks. Why are they always so good? But whatever, mine has cat ears. So I’m sticking to it.  Read on after the jump to see how I made my version!

supplies:

- front fabric

- back fabric (this will be up against your face. so the softer and silkier, the better.)

-felt or batting (the darker the better. remember, this is to help block out light!)

- elastic

-scissors, pins, needle and thread, and access to a sewing machine

1. You’ll need a pattern for your eye mask. If you have an old one on hand, you could simply trace it, add the ears, and then add 1/2” seam allowance around the entire thing. Or you can draw one from scratch. It’s not hard, since it’s a pretty simple shape. I provided aprox. measurements above. It includes the seam allowance. 

2. Use your pattern to cut out your pieces out of all three fabrics. 

3. Also cut a piece of elastic aprox. 13 1/2” long. 

4. Place your front and back fabrics right side together, with the elastic sandwiched in between. Place this on top of your felt. 

5. Pin all layers in place, making sure to pin the elastic securely on both sides. The rest of the elastic will be tucked in and sandwiched in between the fabrics. 

6. Sew 1/2” from the edge, leaving a small opening. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end. 

7. Make triangular notches around the rounded edges, clipping as close you can (but not through) the stitching. Clip in the bottom middle, as well as the inner corners of the ears. And then trim the seam allowance in half around the entire mask. 

8. Flip right side out through the hole that you left. Use a point turner/tweezers/whatever you have handy to get those ears nice and pointy.

9. Using an invisible stitch, hand stitch that opening closed. Smooth and press. 

That’s it! It’s super easy, right? I had it completely done in under an hour, at most. And now I’ll be sleeping’ pretty :)

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSAY SHOOT, PART TWO

So I had originally planned for a super snowy, winter wonderland setting for this shoot. And it seemed it was going to happen - Buffalo had gotten sooo much snow in the week leading up to our date. And then the day before…. it warmed up to 60 degrees and all melted away. So instead of a winter wonderland, we were instead left with a few small patches of wet snow and some left over snow banks. But we made the most of it, pretending those snow banks were real mountains of snow, instead :). I actually think it still came out nicely. 

Of course, it snowed again right after the shoot. Typical. 

To see the first half of the shoot, see yesterdays post. 

all photos by Dawn M. Gibson Photography

*** all photos by Dawn M. Gibson Photography ***

my outfit:

cardigan: handmade (pattern and fabric)

snood: ASOS

hat: Urban Outfitters

glasses: Warby Parker

belt: Target

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Lulu’s

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOOT // PART ONE

We took these photos just a couple of days before Christmas, while we were home for the holidays. Yeah, our anniversary is in July. But I am so determined to have yearly anniversary photos taken, that I’m just going to go ahead and call this the one year shoot. Even if it was 5 months late. 

Our photographer, Dawn, did such an amazing job! And I’m horrible at narrowing photos down for a post, especially when I have almost 200 awesome ones. So I’m just going to go ahead and split this into two posts. Because I can. Check back tomorrow for the second half!

This first set was taken around town in East Aurora, NY, which is so quaint and cute. Even though we had to change plans at last minute (oh, mother nature), this urban setting was a perfect substitute to the winter wonderland we originally had planned. 

all photos by Dawn M. Gibson Photography

*** all photos by Dawn M. Gibson Photography***

My outfit:

coat: Target

dress: Target

glasses: Warby Parker

hat: Anthropologie

gloves: Target

booties: borrowed from my Mom’s closet. Ralph Lauren, I think?

WINTER WEAR

coat: Max Studio

hat: Urban Outfitters

bow: shopHollyDolly

scarf: H&M

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Lulu’s

IN MY LIFE

» In case you missed it, I made a coat. And I’m pretty proud of it. Up next- more leggings, and a dress covered in giraffes.

» Usually I love a good valentines themed outfit. Unfortunately, this year I am unprepared. Wishing I had either this dress or this sweater.  

» A few favorite Etsy treasuries featuring shopHollyDolly : one, two, three, four. 

» I was so excited when Megan announced that some of her patterns are being licensed and sold through Simplicity patterns. That is SUCH a big deal! Go Meg! :)

» Is anybody else obsessed with these Valentino butterfly dresses from their pre-fall collection as I am?

» I will click on anything that involves cats, and this collection of cats taking selfies had me laughing. 

» It took me awhile to get it set up and working, but I’ve been loving the Eye-Fi SD card that I got for Christmas. Photos I take on my DSLR can be instantly sent to my phone right after I take them. It’s so fantastic.

» Are you on Instagram? Follow along! My username is : hollyjollydolly

I MADE A COAT

My coat obsession is so severe, I’m now making them to add to my collection. 

It’s officially gotten out of hand. 

But really, I’m pretty proud of this one. It’s colorful, has some crazy closures, and is fully lined. And not just lined - the lining is quilted and super thick. BAM. I plan on staying nice and cozy in this one. 

It wen’t together fairly quickly, too. Although I do have some issues with the pattern. It’s labeled ‘easy’, and because of that, the way they instruct you to construct the coat is not the best. It’s just not how a lined coat is properly put together. Or anything lined, for that matter. I made up for it, though, ignoring the instructions. And it also meant NO POCKETS. But with that - by the time I thought to add them, it was way too late. Ooooooh the horror. A coat with no pockets :/. But seeing as it’s just one of nine (9?!) coats now in my collection, I think I can do without pockets on one.

coat: handmade (pattern- V8860, fabric and lining- Mood, buckles - M&J)

skirt: handmade

glasses: Warby Parker

hat: Urban Outfitters

fleece lined tights: H&M

shoes: Shoemint

ALMOST SUNSET

You know, there are good outfit shoots, and then there are freakin awesome I-love-how-these-turned-out outfit shoots. 

Yeah, this was a good one. A pretty dress helps :)

dress: Modcloth

jacket: c/o SheInside

glasses: Warby Parker

bracelet: gift

tights: Target

scarf: Jack Wills

booties: Boutique 9

ETSY FAVORITES : VOLUME NINE

1. You Make Me Smile by Islay’s Terrace 2. Heartbeat Necklace by Delphine Leymarie 3. Whale Dish by Pottery Lodge

4. XO Temporary Tattoos by Pepper Ink 5. Gold Flats by Quiero June 6. Polka Dot Clutch by Two Tickets

APARTMENT LIVING // BEDROOM TOUR

Since living in this small attic apartment for almost a year and a half now, I’ve changed up the decor in the bedroom so many times. It just never felt quite right. A lot of that has to do with the fact that we rent and there are a lot of things we can’t do or change. Like the baby blue wall color - not my first choice.

But after hanging up the arrow from yesterday’s DIY, I realized that I think I’m actually kind of happy with where it’s at right now. No, it’s not perfect. I daydream about how I would decorate if we actually owned a house, and all the new things I would buy. But for what we have, I’m happy with it.

P.S - I first gave a glimpse of the bed area back in this post, where I told you the story of those seagulls. Head on over there to find out what they’re all about!

comforter: Urban Outfitters (but super old)

'for like ever' sign: Oh Dier

'to the moon' print: Sophie Brown Handmade

large vintage globe: Crompton Collective

arrow: yesterday’s DIY

Boba Fett print: The Concepcion Studios

ampersand: Edie’s Lab

DIY YARN WRAPPED WIRE ARROW

Have you guys seen those yarn wrapped wire words all over pinterest? Well, those were obviously the inspiration for this little project, but I was envisioning something a little different for our bedroom. So I played around with a few shapes and landed on an arrow. I actually thought this project would be a bit tedious. I was picturing myself wrapping wire with yarn forever. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that it went super fast! I had that baby wrapped in under an hour. BAM. Maybe I should make more of these. 

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what you’ll need:

- wire. I picked up the thickest gauge craft wire I could find at Michaels. It’s still a bit flimsy, so if you can get your hands on something thicker, it would be better. I’ve seen people use wire re-enforced clothesline. But I don’t think it’s easy to find. 

- a nice, thick and bulky yarn. Your run of the mill, regular yarn is too thin and will just add to the flimsiness. 

- super glue

- needle nose pliers (optional)

- scissors

………………………………………………..

Now continue reading after the jump to see how to do it!

1. Cut a 26” piece of wire. Do your best to make it as straight as possible. Get out all of those kinks! Don’t worry if it’s not completely perfect, though. You’ll most likely have to adjust throughout anyway. 

2. Measure and bend into your arrow shape, following the diagram I included above. You can use a pair of needle nose pliers, or just your fingers. It works just as well, to be honest. 

3. Take that extra 1/2” left at both the beginning and end points, and wrap them around the main part of the arrow to secure. 

4. Time to start wrapping! Heres how to hide your yarn ends -start by placing your yarn alongside the length of the wire, right near where you joined the wire together in the middle. Make sure it is going in the opposite direction to which you are going to wrap. Glue down. Once dry, bring the yarn behind, up, and around the middle, covering the joint. Start wrapping, so that you end up covering that glued tail end. 

5. Keep wrapping around the wire. Place a dab of glue every couple of inches, and at every corner. 

6. When you get all the way around the “triangle”, just continue right onto the “stick”. Continue wrapping and glueing. 

7. When you want to change colors, theres no need to stop and cut your original yarn. First, glue your original yarn where you stop and want to switch. 

8. While pulling / holding the original yarn alongside the length of the wire, start your next color by hiding the end just like you did in the beginning. Glue down along the length of the wire, going in the wrong direction. Once dry, start wrapping back along the right way, covering both that glued end and the original yarn. 

9. When you are done with your color, glue down and leave a small tail. Pick up your original yarn and continue wrapping on, covering that tail. 

10. Repeat this for as many different times and colors you want to add!

11. Continue on wrapping around the last part of the “stick” and onto the “feather”. You’re in the home stretch now! When you get all the way done, glue and snip. 

And that’s it! Admire your handiwork. Comment on how that didn’t take much time at all. Make another one! Hang them up. 

Tip - because it is so lightweight, try using sewing pins to hang your arrow instead of nails. They’ll be nearly invisible because they’re so small, and they will leave a lot smaller holes in your wall. Yay!