Project Runway Season 16 Episode 2 Recap - An Unconventional Recycling (16x02)

Project Runway season 16's second episode brought us the first team and first unconventional challenge.   I LOVE unconventional challenges.  They show us how creative and resourceful designers can be.  In this unconventional challenge, most of the designers show resourcefulness but unfortunately, creativity is lacking.

As with other Project Runway designers from previous seasons (I'm looking at you, Casanova), it really DOES feel like they haven't watched the show before auditioning.  It's the same mistakes over and over.  They seem to forget to transform the unconventional material.  It's SO annoying. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

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Project Runway Season 16 Episode 1 Recap - One Size Does Not Fit All (16x01)

Project Runway season 16 is here and YAAAY!!!  So far with only one episode down and it's better than  season 15.  I did no recaps for season 15 because...frankly, it bored me.  Couldn't deal, so no recaps for Project Runway season 15.  (＾ᗨ＾✿) 

But THIS season?  Changes, changes, changes.  Not only are there more designers that are interesting compared to last season, but Project Runway has made some changes production-wise that I am hoping they keep.

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Metal Stamped Geometric Brass Earrings Tutorial

I told my partner I loved my new earrings.  He said he noticed because I haven't taken them off.  (＾ᗨ＾✿)  What can I say?  They're big, they're different, they're fun.  It was a simple design I've been wanting to do for a while, especially since it gave me more practice not only with metal stamping but with my jeweler's saw as well. 

DISCLOSURE: This post "Beaded Metal Stamped Coordinates Bracelet Tutorial" contains affiliate links because...you know, I'm a blogging stay-at-home-mom. (◠ᴗ◕✿) If you like, you can read the full disclosure on my disclosure and privacy policy page here.

The words I stamped on these brass earrings are an excerpt from the poem "A Julia de Burgos" by Julia de Burgos: 

...en mí manda mi solo corazón,
mi solo pensamiento; quien manda en mí soy yo.

Here's a video tutorial of the earrings.  You can watch it or you can go to the written instructions below.

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Beaded Metal Stamped Coordinates Bracelet Tutorial

It's been a minute since I've written for the blog, although I've been a little more active on my YouTube channel. (Btw, have you subscribed, yet? Go ahead. I'll wait. (＾ᗨ＾✿) )

DISCLOSURE: This post "Beaded Metal Stamped Coordinates Bracelet Tutorial" contains affiliate links because...you know, I'm a blogging stay-at-home-mom. (◠ᴗ◕✿) If you like, you can read the full disclosure on my disclosure and privacy policy page here.

I wanted my first post back to be a tutorial and because I'm in a metal stamping way lately, I though I'd share this tutorial for a beaded metal stamped coordinates bracelet.

I looked up coordinates for The Heartbeat but I realized I didn't have a quotation marks stamp (reminder: get punctuation marks stamp set). What I could use to replace it didn't look good, so I changed from Lat/Long N/W coordinates to decimal coordinates. (Just in case you're not sure where to find coordinates, I used the site What's My GPS to help me out.)

You can check out the tutorial in this video or you can skip down to see the written instructions.

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National Craft Month - Day 31

National Craft Month 2016 is over. (◕︵◕✿) I can't believe I made it. I knew I wasn't going to be able to craft as much as I wanted for this month because of projects I'm working on, but I really did want to share some sort of tutorial with you all for each day, and I did. Go me! February basically sucked when it came to meeting my goals for the month. Yeah, there were a couple of days this month I missed because I unplugged and didn't prepare for it, but I made up for those. March monthly goals? ✔ Done.(◕ᴗ◕✿)

The last National Craft Month video I'll be sharing with you is a tasty one...or so it seems. It's definitely a project to take on in the kitchen. Especially for those with a sweet tooth. The video is from Cupcakes Cookies and Cardio and it teaches you how to make a Coca-Cola shaped cake. The recipe for the cake itself includes Coke, but I think this can work with any flavored cake. The trick is getting a cake that isn't so soft you won't be able to transfer inside to your chocolate soda bottle. not sure what I mean? Check out the video:

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National Craft Month - Day 30

Shoes. Love them. Basically all kinds. Mostly Chris Donovan, Irregular Choice kind. Chris Donovan might be described as artistic but Irregular Choice might be described as something else. It's been a thing with me. I remember in high school I was at the shoe store with my mom who was going to buy me a pair for school. I fell in love with some shoes and she just had a face: 'You like THOSE?' "Yeah. They're so ugly, they're cute." And those kind of weird, "ugly" shoes are the ones I like. (＾ᗨ＾✿) But I also like "normal" pretty ones sometimes. I like bling. I have a pair of clear "stripper" heels. I just love shoes. I'm just more drawn to those that aren't..."normal" looking. (Although, to be honest...different is what I love.)

Anyway, YouTube recommended a DIY Cinderella glass slipper video. I'm not really much Cinderella anything, but her heels were awesome so I decided to give it a look. So cute. I need to show my sister because I'm sure she will hunt down that tape and find everything else to make a pair for herself. I like the video because of the effect the tape gives the shoes. Other Cinderella shoes I've seen are just blinged out making them look like diamond shoes not glass, so NOT Cinderella shoes.

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National Craft Month - Day 29

I mostly work with polymer clay but I have also worked with resin to make small items like jewelry. I know some cosplayers use resin to make props but that's at some serious skill level that I'm not even going to try. (◠ᴗ◕✿) I hadn't thought of making other types of large items with resin until today's video.

CraftKlatch is a channel I've shared videos from before and today's video deserves to be shared too. It's mixed media, it's resin, it's lighted, and it's mermaid. How could I NOT share? Mermaids? (＾ᗨ＾✿)

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National Craft Month - Day 27 & 28

Hope you had a fun Easter! My king and I went to our usual Sunday breakfast with his dad who had the day off. We gave him his Easter basket there and he flipped. He had been counting down the days to Easter wanting to do an egg hunt (he saw me buy the eggs) but I don't think he expected an Easter basket. He flipped not so much for the basket but because inside it had a Thomas Rollers 3 pack and some M&Ms. It also had a bag of Thomas Minis which made him flip again. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

We went home were he found a giant Easter egg I made out of a balloon and newspaper. THAT he really didn't expect and he absolutely loved.  Especially since it had more Thomas Minis hiding inside. After his aunt and cousin arrived, we went down to the park and had our Easter egg hunt. It had rained earlier in the morning but the sun was out. At least long enough for the kids to find their eggs. As we were sitting opening them to see their goodies, a heavy rain started to fall. We ran for the one of the baseball dugouts but by the time we got there, it stopped raining. We decided to just head on home to play and grill some burgers and hot dogs for lunch. My king fell asleep as soon as they left a few hours later. He had a great time. That means I was happy. (◠ᴗ◠✿)

Anyway, that is why today I will be sharing two videos. One for National Craft Month Day 27 and the other for Day 28. I love making fun stuff for my king and I love it even more when he joins in on the fun. These two videos are something you and your little one can do using cardboard boxes. The tutorials are fun to watch and it seems like a fun process. They're from Box Yourself which is a channel dedicated to just that: boxes.

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National Craft Month - Day 26

Okay, so I know I said I was done with the notebook tutorials, but technically this isn't one of those...kind of. This is a shopping list cover similar to the notepad tutorial I shared earlier.

This lyriclover810 video is definitely something I want to try out later on because I am always carrying some sort of list. The top of the pad usually gets crumpled as I'm shoving it in and out of my bag so I think this would help. Plus, I think I can make it cute.

I've already done some shopping and I couldn't find any paper I like for the notepad cover, but I found some folders that were nice enough to work. You know, pretty enough to look nice if it comes out right, but not so pretty that I'd be upset if it doesn't come out right. (◠ᴗ◕✿)

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National Craft Month - Day 25

Okay, like the Barbie videos, I may have overdone it a little with the notebook tutorials. I promise this will be the last notebook tutorial I'll share with you guys. The thing is that this video tutorial shows you how to make a Nutella-shaped notebook which isn't really "Wow" but it gives you the basics which you can use to shape the notebook into whatever you want.

HelloMaphie shows you how to shape your notebook and basically all you need (besides the notebook of course) is an image of the shape/form you'll glue to the front, a very good cutting blade, and a nail file. (Yes, nail file. You'll see why.)

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National Craft Month - Day 24

I have now words for today's National Craft Month video tutorial. Okay, maybe SOME words: ridikulus.

It's another step-by-step for "school stuff". It's a pencil holder this time. Or it can be a brush holder. Crochet needle holder. Doesn't matter. It's just so cute. And actually, no. Maybe "cute" is not the word for it. Fun. Definitely the word for it is fun. At least I think so. Btw, this video is also from FimoKawaiiEmotions which I recommend you subscribe to because it has some really cool videos.

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National Craft Month - Day 23

I mentioned being a notebook hoarder the other day and the video for Day 23 of National Craft Month is about revamping...notebooks. I wouldn't do this to any of my cute notebooks because...well, they're cute, BUT I can see this being done to some of those other boring notebooks. (◠ᴗ◕✿)

Today's video comes from FimoKawaiiEmotions. It's a quick video tutorial which shows you how to turn your boring notebook into a neat "liquid" notebook. I think this is something that older kids would enjoy doing (with adult supervision due to the use of cutting tools and iron).

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National Craft Month - Day 22

What is this obsession with Barbies? (＾ᗨ＾✿) OMG. I need to get a handle on it. For National Craft Month I have shared a video for each day and two of them were related to Barbies (or any similar fashion doll really). There was a craft room tutorial and another tute on how to re-root hair. I really wanted to not share any more Barbie videos...but I have one more.

Again from MyFroggyStuff (seriously, subscribe to her channel), this video tutorial shows you how to easily make a gown for your fashion doll. For those non-sewers out there, don't worry this is a no-sew gown. I love it because she shows you how she does it, but with some creativity and folding you can really get that dress to look however you (or your child) want.

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National Craft Month - Day 21

My dad passed on his crafting genes to me and I have passed them on to my king. He loves helping mommy any time she is making something and part of our "therapy" sessions (it's what we call our homeschooling) involves crafting. That's why for Day 21 of National Craft Month I wanted to share a video tutorial you can do with your younger loved ones.

This video by ThreadBanger is one of Rob's Man vs Pin(terest) videos, except he uses his niece (so it's a Kid vs Pin video). They take on the challenge of making a glowing bouncy ball. They do a couple of attempts and it really doesn't come out (Pinterest Fail), BUT Rob does the challenge later in the video and he gets something not exactly as at least I thought it would be, but close enough. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

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National Craft Month - Day 20

Confession: I'm a craft supply hoarder. Although, you probably already knew that. So again...confession: I'm an office supply hoarder. (＾ᗨ＾✿) Specifically notebooks. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe because I like writing? I have no idea, but usually if my partner needs a notebook for whatever reason, he knows I could pull one out of thin air. (Okay, so not technically but you get it.)

And it's not the pretty notebooks either. You know, those cute notebook that catch your eye in the store and you just buy because...because you may need it someday? Sometimes, just regular notebooks. Honestly, I have no clue why and as I'm writing I'm questioning myself: WHY? Anyway, notepads are a whole other thing. I get those when I need them. Maybe buy a pack, use one, and save the rest for whenever. Not really into those because they're just not cute. Until now.

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National Craft Month - Day 19

Today's National Craft Month video is a weekend project. At least, if I were to do it it'd be a weekend project. To be honest, I'm not going to even try it though. No way. I just would not be able to get something even one fourth similar to this done. It's just not possible and I'm okay with it. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

It's so good we're going straight to it. It's from Carol Held and it's a tile which she has painted with alcohol inks and taken some of it off to form birch trees. I know, right? Sounds like "wha-?" but yeah. I warn you: She has a Bob Ross feel. I don't know about you, but I'm a Bob Ross fan. My king and I still catch him on PBS once in a while. I will never tire of Bob Ross. As soon as this video started, he came to mind. I don't know if that's a good thing or not for you, but it's why I kept watching. Well, that and curiosity. Another warning: this is a step-by-step which is lengthy and a two-parter. But, it's still pretty freaking cool.

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National Craft Month - Day 18

The National Craft Month video I shared with you the other day was a step-by-step video on how to make a craft room for a Barbie (or any similar sized fashion doll). It's a cute room which doesn't seem to hard to make. For today's video, I'm sharing something that you can also use with your Barbie. Or correctly said, do to your Barbie.

Again from MyFroggyStuff (btw, you may want to check out the channel and subscribe. I did), this video shows you how you can change your doll's hair. Ok. This is so cool. IF I had seen this when I was little I probably would have done this to all my dolls. (＾ᗨ＾✿) I mean, I cut the hair of some of those dolls anyway so yeah, I definitely would have done this. I like customization and I think this is why I like this, and the other, videos so much. No need to keep using that "factory-multiple" stuff. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

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National Craft Month - Day 17

Very recently I found out about yupo paper. Honestly although I like crafting, "artsy-art" stuff isn't really something I know about so i hadn't heard about this kind of paper until recently from a YouTube video. As I was looking around YouTube for other yupo paper videos I stumbled upon today's National Craft Month video.

Day 17's video is from Scrapitydoodah. She calls it "playing" and "doodling" but I call it "IDEAS! IDEAS!". (＾ᗨ＾✿) For scrapbookers, cardmakers, this is a great video. It starts of with alcohol ink blobs but the final result is so different. I just didn't see that result when she started.

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National Craft Month - Day 16

In a previous National Craft Month post I mentioned mixed media and shared a video tutorial for a whimsical flower canvas. For Day 16 I have another mixed media video tutorial which shows using different medium, but STILL a pretty cool looking result.

In this video, Gabrielle Pollacco makes a mixed media ATC. She doesn't use an actual card as the canvas but instead makes one out of polymer clay. Then adding beads, chipboard elements, among other things she turns out an awesome Steampunk butterfly ATC.

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National Craft Month - Day 15

I love crafting. I always have. But back when I was little I don't think I did much other than crochet and sew. Then, one day my dad made me a loom and I started using that, too. (Yes, "made". My crafty genes are definitely from my dad). (◕ᴗ◕✿)

Another thing that I loved when I was a little girl, and still do actually, are Barbies. I may be a grown woman but I still like playing with them. And, while I'm mentioning it, I also like Monster High and I am a HUGE Brony. (＾ᗨ＾✿)

Anyway, the video for National Craft Month Day 15 is from MyFroggyStuff. I mentioned before that I like to create with stuff I have around the house, well this video uses a lot of those things to make a fashion doll-sized craft room. I may make one of these just for the sake of making it.

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