CompletelyUnfinished.net

T-shirt Patchwork Pillow // +tutorial

January 11th, 2012

I realized that over the years I’ve aquired lots of shirts from Threadless. I found myself not wearing them–for some reason graphic tees don’t really leave my closet. I really like the designs on my old shirts, so I wanted to put them to good use & decided on making some pillows!

Pick out a couple different fabrics. I used 4 pieces of vintage fabric that weren’t big enough for a project, you can use more than four if you want it extra patch-y. This is super great for using up fabric scraps.

Lay your shirt flat & cut off the sleeves and a straight line under the neckline. Then figure out how big you can/want to make your pillow image. Pin & cut a square around your t-shirt image, use the same width and height. Mine was 11.5 inches–leave 1/2″ for seam allowance.

Cut strips of fabric that are 3 inches tall, at varying lengths. Use less than 3 inches if you want a smaller border/pillow, or more for larger. Lay out the strips so that each side has that 3 inches overhanging on one end–Except for one side.

I messed this part up at first! Arrange the strips something like this, I made my pattern reversed on opposite sides. **One side needs to be just the same size as the t-shirt side, with no extra–this is #1. Trim extra fabric that’s on each side.

Once you have it all figured out, sew or serge the patches to each other making a strip for each side. Sew to the t-shirt starting at #1–the strip with a bit less fabric. Then sew strip #2 and so on. Hopefully that wasn’t too confusing :)

Now that the front of your pillow is all done, use it to trace around some fabric or t-shirt material for the back. My finished pillow front was about 17″. Sew the front to the back right sides together, leaving a few inch gap on one side. Turn right side out & stuff or use a pillow form. Admire your pretty pillow!

The shirt I used is called, ‘A day in the life of a decadent designer.’ Isn’t the design rad? This is what my mother had to say about the image–”It’s like a mess, just like you!” Uhh..thanks Mom? Hah. I prefer to call my messes ‘Hodgepodges of creativity.’ ♥

Posted in crafty • 13 Comments

twenty-five before twenty-five

January 5th, 2012

With the new year & my 24th birthday next month, I thought it was a good time for some new focuses. These are my bigger-than-to-do-list goals i’m aiming to accomplish before next year. I started this list a couple months ago, so I already completed a few!

1– visit a new state
2– finish my personal zine
3– table at a craft fair
4– ~~try roller derby~~ DONE
5– volunteer somewhere
6– learn to surf
7– record a demo & design it
8– eat only raw food for a week
9– become financially independent
10– ~~lose 5 pounds~~ DONE / lose 10 pounds
11– list 50 things on ebay
12– ~~start a savings account~~ DONE
13– giveaway on my blog
14– ~~reach 100 blog followers~~ DONE
15– provide custom blog designs
16– host a potluck
17– sell prints on etsy
18– take a yoga class again
19– move!
20– start a vintage clothes wardrobe
21– take a knitting class
22– ~~design and print business cards~~ DONE
23– plant a garden
24– start saving a trip fund
25– adopt a cat

Also, it’s been a whole year since I started full-force blogging. Since then, this little blog has gotten more than 100 followers…i’m so stoked & thankful! I have lots planned this year, and definitely more frequent posts. I’m beyond excited for 2012 ♥

Posted in adventures • 3 Comments

New Year = New planner

January 1st, 2012

Hello 2012! It’s that time of the year again…time for a fresh new planner to fill up with tons of words, lists, doodles, & ideas. The Slingshot Organizer is hands down my favorite planner. This is my 3rd or 4th year [I lost track!] using one, I was feelin’ turquoise this time.

It’s a hand drawn, punky, radical, unique, and incredibly useful little organizer. They also make one in a smaller pocket size, but I personally prefer more room to write. I like a lot of the calendar and to-do list apps out there but I always find myself going back to just writing things down.

What’s your favorite planner?

Posted in uncategorized • 9 Comments

handmade cards & gift wrapping

December 26th, 2011

This year I designed my own simple holiday cards..I wanted to share :) These I made for my brother and parents. I wanted my brother’s to say ‘Happy Christmas’ because of this song by John Lennon we play on guitar together every year. He and my dad gave me a good idea for next years card based on the song, too!

I was set on wrapping my gifts differently this year, and I really wanted to use brown wrapping paper after seeing so many pretty wrapped gifts on the internet. Plus, last year I used newspaper & I thought i’d do something a bit more classy ;) I used two different stamps, and made a couple pompoms. I really wanted to use green yarn but I used what I had–black & green/yellow/red/orange.

I also made and printed my gift tags..my mom loved them!

Another thing I included on the gifts were a couple marble magnets I whipped up. I put them in a tiny baggie, folded & stapled some cardstock over the top, and punched a hole through all the layers. I really like how it turned out!

How did you wrap your gifts this year? Did you do something different? ♥

Posted in crafty, design • 3 Comments

twinkle twinkle // christmas part 1

December 25th, 2011

Hope everyone had a rad holiday weekend! Sitting at the table after dinner on Christmas Eve, I was thinking about how the night felt like it was in fast forward motion..it didn’t feel like I got to really take it all in! Maybe it’s partially because I can’t get out of the habit of always wrapping all of my gifts on Xmas eve..haha. Yep, I am a major procrastinator.

A couple weeks ago I put some twinkle lights up in my room. I just draped them over my curtain rods, &– BAM! instant pretty. I love them so much I might end up leaving them up all winter..it brightens up the room so much & lots of lights make me really happy during the blue winter months.

My brother and I used to make sugar cookies every year around the holidays with my mom..we haven’t in the last couple years & I definitely miss it. The first and only time I made vegan sugar cookies the results were less than yummy. The boyfriend and I found a much better recipe and made some super good ones this time around!