The Craftastrophe: I know I said I was going to be better with posting more often

Progress Report:

Hello, everyone. When I first started this blog, I was adamant about many different goals. The first of which was to post something in The Eventless Planner blog once a month. After the first post in October, I failed to post for the month of November already. ALREADY! Well, if at first you don't succeed...and all that jazz. I've completed another post for December just in the nick of time! Here's the link: Backpacking at Pt. Reyes, Day 1

As for my other goals, I've actually made good progress on some of them. I did fail to meet the deadline, though... But I'm still proud of myself.

Goal #2: Finish MIL's throw by Xmas. Did not happen, but you know what? It will be finished by the end of this week (post coming soon).

Goal #4: I'm legally married. Yay! My maid of honor actually "did the honors," which was really special. Completed.

Goal #5: Finish thank you cards. I've completed them, but I can't write off this goal yet because I've only distributed about 50% of the remaining. I'll keep you posted. =P

Goal #6: Finish my mother's scarf. I've restarted this project and have a better pattern. So far, probably 10% done. Still didn't make deadline of Xmas...boo... New deadline: Before I leave for Chicago in a week. Wish me luck!

Goal #8: Steamer Trunk Bar. As you can see from a previous post, I've made some progress with it, but I will still keep the status at 5% completed. No deadline has been set, though, thank goodness.

Goal #10: Origami flower ball thingy: I've made more progress at work. I'd say I'm about 33% completed. Again, no deadline. I'd brought the origami paper home, thinking I'd have time to work on it, but this year's celebrations were a lot more busy than I expected. Hence, lack of success with my Xmas deadlines, and I didn't even touch this project. EEKS!

Goals #3 and #7: Didn't even touch. =(

Goal #9: Embroidery hoop earring holder. COMPLETED!

This goal was inspired by a Pinterest pin that I found. It involves an embroidery hoop, cross stich fabric, and paint. =P It sounded simple--and it was--but I still ended up taking longer than expected to complete it (~3 hrs).

The Materials: Newspaper, 14 count cross stitch fabric (I used Aida Stardust 15" x 18" Gold Dust fabric), black acrylic paint, a paintbrush, and an embroidery hoop. Not pictured is Terrifically Tacky Tape.

Step 1: Prep the embroidery hoop to be painted. Use the newspaper as a liner. Remove the stickers and the screw from the outer hoop.

The screw is on...aaaaaaand the screw is off.

Step 2: Paint the outer hoop. I used acrylic paint because I love how fast this paint dries! I did two coats, because although the first coat had great coverage already, it wasn't glossy. I also didn't care about whether or not I painted the brass part, because you can scratch off the paint with your nail after the paint dries. The fact that the wood of the embroidery hoop is unfinished helped a lot because it is very absorbent of the paint.

I started by squirting the paint onto the hoop, but found later on, it works better to apply the paint to the brush first. No matter which technique works better for you, you end up with same results anyway. =P Note: I also painted the inside of the hoop, although I'm not sure if it was necessary.

This is Julius in his holiday wear, waiting for my attention.

Step 3: After the paint on the outer hoop has dried, overlay the inner hoop with the cross stitch fabric. Trust me and use 14 count fabric. The holes are bigger, so it's easier to hook your earrings through.

See how pretty the gold is??? In the right picture, note how the hoop is under the fabric. Lol.

Step 4: Re-thread the screw through the brass fixtures on the outer hoop until it is just barely larger than the inner hoop.

Step 5: Trying to keep the fabric as taut as possible, squeeze the outer hoop around the inner hoop, then tighten the screw tightly. Make sure that the edges of the inner and outer hoops are flush for a clean look.

Step 6: Flip the embroidery hoop over and trim the fabric, leaving a thin border in the fabric.

Step 7: For a really clean look, I applied the Terrifically Tacky Tape to the exposed surface of the inner hoop so that I could fold the extra fabric around the inner hoop. This was an added step that was probably not necessary, but it served two purposes: the small border left from the trimming ensures that the fabric won't slip out as you put in your earrings, and the tape ensures the fabric won't loosen.

I applied about 4 inch strips at a time because it was easier to attempt to put it on cleanly. The Terrifically Tacky Tape is double sided, so after I applied it to the whole hoop, I had to remove the red plastic layer. This takes time and longer fingernails. =P