Tie Dye Test Day

     Today I decided to play with more old and new tie dye techniques. I will be teaching a class this Saturday at a really awesome shop in Norfolk called Kitsch. Handmade in Virginia products from soaps to pillows is what they sell. Along with goods to buy, they offer crafting classes. I am excited to teach in general and I hope this goes well. In prep for Saturday I did this dye session and I took pictures to share on the blog.  

    This first series of photos are a sample of some "tied" shirts.

Spiral

Fan Fold

I'm calling it the "Carrot"

   These next photos are of dye application. Seriously my favorite part and the most fun. 

Next post I will show case the results of today's work. To set the dye properly, a full 24 hours should be waited to undo the rubber bands. Being a results oriented crafter this is the hardest part. WAITING! God forbid I practice a little patients :-)

****Maybe next time I will wear gloves

Now You're In New York!

This past weekend I had the privilege to embark with the family on a road trip to New York. We were all invited to two big Puerto Rican events. My Mom's best friend growing up invited us to her and her husband's 25th wedding anniversary. Our other engagement was my cousin's wedding. This meant that we were dancing, dinning, and dressed to the nines all weekend in the Big Apple. For those of you who don't really know me all that well don't know that I spent pretty much half of my childhood in NYC. When my Dad joined the Navy he and my Mom landed in Virginia Beach. This being the case, we drove up and down route 13 many, many, many times. In a big way this trip was nostalgic. Pictured first is Dad and I on the way up. My sister Lindsey, my nephew Drake, my Mom, and Grandma didn't make it into this cut but they were in the van.

The drive up began on Thursday and ended on Friday in the AM. Not really a big surprise with a two year old passenger. Our Friday consisted of primping for the 25th anniversary. My sister and I initially thought it was going to be like a cocktail party or something. BUT we were wrong! When we Arrived at the Saint Ephraim's in Brooklyn, NY we knew it was going to be a long service and a long night to follow. To keep Drake occupied my mom made these post it notes.(we ended up playing instead of him, of course.) 

Saturday was our day in NYC!! Our cousins from Virginia Beach met up with us in Staten Island, from there we caught a Ferry to the Big City. The sun was already going down when we got there so our trip was short but sweet. I enjoy being in the city even just to be surrounded by giant buildings!!
Lindsey and Drake are featured here waiting for the Ferry. 

 It seemed like as soon as we got there we had to turn around a make a dash back to catch the next ride home.Don't you just love the New York Sky line at night?

Couch Love

Our wardrobe is not the only thing that deserves a make over every once and a while. Today I created several different looks with the same banana leaf sofa by adding/subtracting a few pillows and a throw. For the first look I took away the large back support pillows and added an array of smaller multi-colored pillows. To make the look cohesive, I made sure the colors in the pillows all stayed in the same color scheme (blues, tans, dark brown). The second look I tried added the back support pillows and made a monochromatic statement with one large oat colored pillow. By placing the pillow in the middle, a more minimalistic look is achieved. The next look is slightly traditional with a twist. The placement of the pillows is traditional in the sense that they are symmetrical, but the twist comes into play by using two contrasting pillows (one is dark, one is light). The last look was created with a simple light blue quilted throw. When placed in the middle of the couch, the throw becomes part of the couches' decoration instead of an after thought. I added a throw pillow in a similar shade of blue to emphasize a blue theme.
I hope these few looks can inspire some new looks in your apartment. Happy Redecorating!

Sweet Tea

Nothing that I love more than Sweet Tea and warmer sunny days.

Step 1. choose your tea, make it three tea bags. For this edition I used Duchess Earl Gray and Pomegranate White.
Step 2.Arrange bags so that they can reach the water when it fills the pitcher. Mine are attached to the handle so they don't fall in.
Step 3.Add Agave sweetener to taste
Step 4.Add hot water
Step 5.Stir! (don't get too crazy)
Step 6.I added lemons to this tea because I like the tang it adds.
Step 7. Bask in tea glory: chill, serve, sip, enjoy.