Monday, July 15, 2013

Saw That Made This - A DIY collection

I'm sure every single person who reads this can relate to that moment when you find something on pinterest and you think to yourself "I MUST have that!!" only to find that the pinterest link leads you no where or the thing you find is crazy expensive. Well since I'm full of free time these last few weeks (besides obsessing over job applications) Ive spent several hours on pinterest mostly looking for things I want in my new apartment, that I don't have and plan on paying for with monopoly money, along with some DIY stuff to keep me busy. So while searching the craft section the idea of a "saw that made this" regular type posting came up. Now I have a ton of ideas that I would like to do a weekly posting of a "Saw this made this" type posting.

So for this week I'm gonna share the project I'm most excited for: DIY Steering Wheel Cover! I know sounds kinda silly to be excited for right? Well I saw this picture on pinterest and just feel in love with it, only to find out the picture led to someone's instagram. Well I had bookmarked a link on my computer a while ago for a steering wheel cover. It wasn't the most detailed or helpful set of instructions so I followed it to the best of my ability making some minor changes. I made the changes after I attempted this project once and it didn't come out well at all. But the best thing is this project is incredibly inexpensive, the cost was maybe $4 for fabric and elastic (including tax). I already had the ribbon I used and the thread.

~What You Will Need~
*1/4 of a yard of fabric. - Note: Make Sure its at least 44in
*2 yards of elastic
*Scissors
*Tape Measure
*Needle & Matching thread ( if you want )
*Ribbon ( for bow )
* 2 Safety pins ( any size )
*Sewing Machine
*Iron
*About an hour of your time & basic sewing skills

Lets get started!!
Lay your fabric out and fold it in half (taco or hotdog style) and measure it out to be 44 inches long. Mine was 45 inches so I left it.
Note: when I attempted this the first time I never measured my steering wheel because the instructions I was following didn't say to, the second time I still didn't measure my steering wheel (don't ask me why) so my suggestion to y'all; measure your steering wheel and give 1.5 inch for seam allowance.


Next measure the width to 5 inches across. The original instructions said 4 inches and it was too small for my steering wheel. the 5 inches gave me enough with seam allowance.


Give it a good iron while it is still folded so you get a good solid line. Next your going to cut the fabric in half length wise so you you should now have something that looks like this, 2 pieces of 5 inches across and 44 inches in length.



Now take the two pieces and place them right side together and sew the edges together, do this for both sides so you end up with a giant circle. I used 3/4 inch seam for this. I cut the extra off and ironed the seam on the wrong side of fabric.




Now that you have a huge circle take the wrong sides of the fabric and iron the sides so its easier to sew the casing for the elastic. I used 1/2 inch seam on this part. Sew the entire length of the circle leaving about a 3/4 inch space on either side to thread the elastic through. I left mine on the seams so it would be less noticeable. After you sew all the way around iron the whole thing again.






Now grab your safety pin and pin the elastic so the safety pin works like a needle. Pin the other end of the elastic the same way and then pin it to something sturdy like the arm of a couch. Then start threading the elastic through the space you had left.


This part take the longest but once youve got the elastic all the way around gather the two ends (carefully you don't want to loose all your work) and pin them together so you can sew them together.


 Sew the two ends together, making sure they are secure, you don't want them coming apart! It doesn't have to be pretty just sturdy!

 Now repeat that same process with threading the elastic on the other side! Make sure you sew up both the spaces after you have the elastic secured and inside. After your done you should have something that looks like this: a scrunchy circle



 Now go ahead and make your bow however you like (I know there are a zillion variations on bows so pick your favorite one) Once you've made your bow go ahead and pick where you would like it on your steering wheel. I decided to put it on a seam so you wouldn't see the seam. Take your needle and sew it securely onto your cover, I used matching thread so you can't see where I sewed it.

 Now take it out to your car and enjoy it!!! Okay so I went out to my car the next day and put it on the steering wheel.....it was WAY too big. I was so disappointed that it didn't fit but I had errands to run so I left it alone and went about my day. During the day the wheels in my brain turned and I figured it should be a quick fix. When I got home I realized I had a hair tie in my car so I pulled the extra fabric up until I liked the fit on the wheel, I used the hair tie to tie off the extra fabric. I took it inside turned it wrong side out and sewed the two sides together right below the hair tie. I cut the extra off and ironed it again. I went back out to the car and IT FIT! My no direction plan worked! This is why I said earlier to measure because I got rid of a lot of fabric so I'm pretty sure I did not need 44 inches. I hope this works for you guys and you can create an awesome steering wheel cover !I love mine!!!


                               So I saw this on Pinterest
                          

                                      and I made this one!



Monday, July 1, 2013

25 things you might not have guessed about me.

I saw a post similar to this done by Emily at BeautyBroadcast.net, she also has a Vlog channel, and it was a tag video. You can watch her's here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpfHuvdoYdY. I thought this was such a cool idea since most of the people who read my blog knows I went to nursing school, I earned by BSN, I want to be an NCLEX nurse, ect but unless you know me personally or met me in person you probably wouldn't have guessed half of the stuff on the list. I loved watching Emily's video and it was funny we had a few similarities I didn't know about nor what I have guessed. So here is my list of 25 things you may not know about me and may never have guessed!

1. I was born in a small little town in New Mexico and I have spent my entire life in New Mexico, I moved 6 hours south of my home town to attend college. 

2. When I was younger maybe like 3 I couldn't say my Ls so when I would say my name I would call myself Eddie not Ellie so the boys on the playground would play really rough with me. 

3. My mom never let me watch the TV show cops when I was younger but I was allowed to watch the theme song and I would sing along with it.

4. I have a sister that is 4 years younger than me. We don't look much but she lives in Florida. 
 
5. When I was little we had a hammock in our backyard, I used to put curlers in my hair tie a towel around my neck and swing in the hammock like it was a regular swing and pretend I was "Super Ellie"

6. I love make up and nail polish. Nursing school wouldn't let me paint my nails but I taught myself how to do nail art and I use youtube to learn make up (I'd love to take a professional make up course) I actually found Emily's channel on youtube when looking for make up tips.

7. I HATE bugs, spiders, snakes, frogs, lizards, anything like that. There was a frog outside my walkway in my complex a few weeks ago and it freaked me out! Just not a fan of creepy crawlies. 

8. I hate being hot when I sleep (Emily had this one too) I blast the AC and turn a fan on when I sleep and I still sleep with only a light sheet. I do not like being hot when I sleep. 

9. I love coffee and I am not a morning person, the only word I can think of is just ugh, I hate waking up really super early, I would so much rather stay up late. Starbucks in my savor, no really.

10. I can sew.....well kind of. Nothing crazy or extensive but I can sew to a certain extent. 

11. I'm crafty, I LOVE pinterest for getting craft project ideas and finding fun new projects to work on. I can't free hand draw to save my life though, I can't even draw a strait line without a guide. 

12. I hate unpainted toe nails, I know I'm weird, but I think a coat of polish on your toes makes a world of difference.

13. I love the sun and the heat (except when I'm sleeping). I'm not sure if there is a medical or scientific name for it but I love being in the sun and the heat. 

14. Bad drivers are my huge pet peeve, those people who you think did wal mart give you your license? yeah those are the drivers I really can't stand.

15. I dislocated my elbow when I was 17 during a wrestling match in my senior year in high school. I spent several weeks in a brace and competed in cheer competitions with my brace. 

16. Going off the last one, I cheered and wrestled when I was in high school and yes at the same time. I also played soccer in middle school and gymnastic when I was younger. And because of sports I can do a handstand push up

17. I've almost always had a job with kids, from a nanny to an after school teacher I think only 2 of my jobs weren't kid related. 

18. I love pregnant women, I know its weird, but babies and pregnant women are so exciting, I love pregnant bellies and feeling baby move, just the whole thing, and no I have never been pregnant. I also really love weddings!

19. My stethascope is a pearl pink and I spent the extra money and waited extra long to get it. It is my favorite part of my nursing (school) uniform. 

20. My very first crush was Aaron Carter, I think that was 13 or 14 years ago and yes I still find him attractive. 

21. I love everything southern, from sweet tea to country men (Dustin Lynch). I am very much hoping to get a job over near Tennessee or Kentucky.  

22. I am probably the only person my age to have seen Jerry Garcia perform while he was still alive, this is one of my dad's favorite bragging rights of me.

23. I have three tattoos and my belly button pierced. two elephants on my wrists and a leopard heart with a quote on my foot and my belly button Ive has since I was maybe 16 or so. I also have three holes in each ear but I only wear one set of earrings. I also pierced the top of my ear (cartilage) by myself when I was maybe 14 (don't ask me why) it got infected nearly a year later and closed.

24. I traveled to Europe when I was 14 and Australia/New Zealand when I was 12 as part of an ambassador program for the state of New Mexico

25. I had really long bright blonde hair till maybe 15 months ago, I chopped it off into an angled bob and died it caramel blonde. I hated dealing with long hair in nursing school so off it came.

I'd love to hear your 25 things about me post so if you do this tag on your blog I would love to read it so please post a link in the comments below so I can check it out! Thanks for reading everyone!!! Enjoy <3