Accidentally Crafty: 2014

There is nothing better than getting mail. Especially when it is a box of 5 cute items, picked especially for you, for you to try on and decide what to keep. What is this service? Stitch Fix!

If you haven't heard of it before, Stitch Fix is basically a styling service that sends a box, or fix, of things picked out for you based on a styling profile you fill out online. It's only $20 for them to pull the items and it goes toward whatever you want to keep. You can keep all or none! I just got my first box last Monday and you can schedule your box to arrive as often (or not) as you'd like.

All in all, it was really fun to try the things on at home so you see how to pair it with things you already have. How many times have you tried things on at the store and wondered, "Do I have anything to go with this"? I also tend to find myself buying the same styles and colors, so I'm hoping this will get me to branch out a bit and prevent a style rut.

If you think this is something you'd like to try out as well, follow this link! It's a referral code, so if you sign up with it, I get $25 towards my next fix!

Here's what was inside my first fix:

41Hawthorn Stacey Lightweight Leopard Print Infinity Scarf - $32

This was the first thing I saw in the box. How cute is that print! I usually don't wear animal print, but I have to admit that I really like it. Being that it's starting to get warm out, I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it. Also, I don't know how many things I have to wear it with. However, I couldn't stop picking it up and didn't know if I could forgive myself if I let it go. Result - KEEP

41Hawthorn Cassandra Tailored Button-Up Shirt - $28

My initial thought was, "ugh, black." I have three white furry animals, so I tend to shy away from black and other dark colors. Let's be honest, I'm not fond of black. I LOVE color. That said, the fit and cut were nice. Aside from it being too tight in the shoulders, it fit perfectly. It's not often a button up shirt doesn't gap at the chest. Result - RETURN

Tart Burrowes Solid & Striped Short Sleeve Shirt - $54

Stripes! Love them. This shirt is super soft and comfy. With spring coming, I could really use a short sleeved shirt to wear. Bonus - machine wash. I always check these things nowadays. While it's a little more than I would usually spend on a shirt, it was too comfortable to pass up. Result - KEEP

Sanctuary Rizzo Skinny Ponte Pants - $88

Skinny pants. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Also, black. Again. These run more like jeggings so they have stitched on "pockets" and are actually quite thick. Fake pockets! Argh, so frustrating. BUT -- they were actually really comfortable and they looked great on me. I just can't justify spending that much money on fancy leggings. Result - RETURN

41Hawthorn Wrenn V-Neck Jersey Top - $48

I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this top. I LOVE the color. I need some more tops like this to go with skirts. And it was sooo soft. But the neck. Is it a v-neck? Cowl neck? How do you have both? If it doesn't lay right or it looks funny, I don't even bother. Result - RETURN

Overall, I was satisfied for my first fix. I'd like to see more color, patterns or even a skirt or dress in my next box. That's the nice thing about Stitch Fix. When you check out, there is ample space for leaving them feedback on the items and box that they sent. My next fix has already been scheduled, just in time for my 4th Anniversary and 31st Birthday! Can't wait to see what they send next!

Be Crafty,

Kris

It's been a while! And I got older!

2013 was the year of my 30th birthday and I wanted to go big. I was pretty excited to turn 30 and I figured it would be fun to have a Super Mario Bro. themed party. Not just any party, but a costume party! I love dressing up! We asked people to come as their favorite game character, Mario or any other game. And of course, I wanted to be Princess Peach. Instead of getting an actual costume, I was all for dressing similarly so I could wear a dress for than once. Add some Star earrings, a turquoise necklace, and a crown and I was all set! I have to admit, the crown didn't last long. Find the crown on etsy here: Princess Peach Crown We had board game characters, Link from Zelda, a gangster from Grand Theft Auto, Codex from The Guild, another Princess, Luigi and others!

Unfortunately I lost the photos of creating the decorations, but I do have a few of the finished projects. I will reference all the sights I used for the ideas that I found. Thank you Pinterest!

My Pinterest Super Mario birthday board

First things, first: The invitation:

If you've seen my Pinterest board or researched a Mario party, you have probably noticed how many different invitations you can do! I wanted something really specific, not too childish, and a little retro and finally found this etsy seller for my invitation. I love it!!

Secondly: The decorations!

The best thing I made was a Piranha Plant coming out of the tube. I looked at a few sights for inspiration and made this. The tube is just a cement tube you can get from Lowes or Home Depot. I cut it to the size I wanted and covered it with green duct tape. I think it turned out nicely! The stalk is a wrapping paper tube covered with the duct tape again and I also added duct tape leaves. For the Piranha Plant, instead of paper mâché or other ways I saw to make it, I actually found a plastic planter pot shaped closely enough and painted it! Fill with atomic fireballs and done!

This was the inspiration for craft idea, done much differently but great!

The other item was a pixellated mushroom to hang on the wall. Obviously, the size depends on how big you cut the square pieces. I just googled mushroom, found the one I wanted, and counted the number of squares for each color. I'm sure there could have been a better/easier way to do it, but I taped all the pieces together and then hung it with the tape on the back.

I also found a gold star piñata at Party City and filled with gold coins, rolos, and Reece's mini peanut butter cups. Sadly, we never got to breaking the piñata, so I just had to eat all that candy myself! :) It took me a while.

Not pictured - a few balloon ghosts and a chain chomp ball that I painted. Found the ball and chain at Dollar Tree! I made the fire flower shown here, but the page is no longer there. Just found a silk Gerber daisy at Michael's and glued a white circle with the colored eyes on top. Simple!

Lastly: (And most importantly!) The Food and Drink:

This is where I had a lot of fun with Pinterest and being creative. I really wanted a punch to serve, along with some soft drinks. Other than that, it was BYOB. So I made a Princess Peach punch. I looked up a lot of recipes, but I didn't like having to do too much to it, but I ended up with this: 2 liter Sierra Mist, 2 bottles Simply Orange with Mango, and a little can of peach nectar. I mixed it to taste, not using all of the two bottles of orange juice. It tasted good, but it was very sweet.

One of the things I found on Pinterest and really wanted to do was the Fire Flower veggie tray. The original veggie tray is here. I don't like tomatoes or radishes, but I LOVE bell peppers. Red, orange and yellow placed around the ranch. Also, I like the dip ability of strips instead of chunks. We had hummus on the side because bell peppers and hummus is delicious!

Also, these Piranha plant fruit skewers! Quite fun and tasty! I have the pin on my board, but there is no page reference. I may have pinned it from a google search... They were easy to make, albeit messy and sticky. But definitely a fan favorite.

I also made some easy Toad pops with marshmallows dipped in red melting chocolate. I saw more finished ideas on a few sites, but I went for simple and delicious. This is the site for those. They are super cute but I ran out of time. Definitely take a look at their toad pops for decoration style.

We had quite a bit of candy and I tried to match it all to something within the world of Mario. So we had Caramels stacked to look like blocks, "Princess" peach rings, Milk duds acting as Goombas, Whoppers standing in for B-Bombs, and hard fish candies for Cheep Cheeps.

While shopping for food for the party, we also came across some Super Mario gummy fruit snacks! I couldn't help myself.

Not shown: Goldfish (Cheep Cheeps, again), cheese blocks, and a tray of nuggets (because we needed some protein!).

Bear (my husband) did a wonderful job on getting the cake from a local bakery. It was delicious.

We had two Wii systems set up for games with Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Mario Bros. Wii. We love board games, too, so we had a few fun group games to play. All in all, it was a great 30th birthday with awesome friends!