DIY Fail: Yarn Ball

via Wednesday

Bloggers are always showing you their beyond perfect crafty creations, but you rarely see any missteps. And you know there are missteps.

I happen to think that you can learn just as much from my DIY failures as you can from my successes, so I thought I’d chronicle one of my recent mishaps.

Have you seen the seriously adorable hanging yarn balls that are all over Pinterest (the picture at left is just one of seemingly endless examples)? I thought a couple of pink ones would be absolutely perfect for the “About to Pop” baby shower I threw for my sister. Since I had all of the supplies on hand anyway, I figured I’d give it a whirl.

First, I gathered my supplies.

I collected a balloon, scissors, yarn, Mod Podge and a sponge brush and was ready for action (or so I thought). Since I knew it would get messy, I laid out some newspaper– although I’m not really sure why. The table I was using is already full of crafting war wounds. I’m hoping to tackle that in a future DIY, but I digress!

I took my (blown up) balloon and smeared Mod Podge all over it. Next I started wrapping my yarn all over it. As I was doing this, I started to wonder if I should have checked out some tutorial beforehand. Would there be enough Mod Podge to make the yarn good and stiff? What about the layer of Mod Podge on the balloon? How would that work?

I had a feeling I knew how it was going to work out, but I charged ahead anyway. Next time, I’ll look around for some tutorials or go with my gut instead of wasting time on something I was pretty sure wouldn’t turn out right.

When I was satisfied with the amount of yarn on the balloon, I tried to put another layer of Mod Podge on top (mostly because I was concerned the yarn wasn’t saturated enough).

I left it to dry over night and was greeted with this when I popped the balloon in the morning:

FAIL. Of course, my first layer of Mod Podge made a little skin underneath the yarn.

So what did I learn from this blonde moment?

If something seems wrong, it probably is.

Take a step back from whatever you’re doing and try to think about it from a different angle. If that doesn’t work, look for help from others. I hopped back on Pinterest and quickly saw that other people soaked their yarn in a mixture of water and glue (and sometimes corn starch). That makes much more sense, since you want the yarn to get good and stiff so that it keeps the shape of the balloon once you pop it.

Next time I go with my gut.

Girl Crush: Michelle Williams

I have a huge girl crush on Michelle Williams. She’s so adorable and stylish and sweet. I kind of just want to scoop her up and put her in my pocket. And when I saw pictures of her and Jason Segel (one of my biggest WTF Crushes) canoodling recently, my love for her grew even bigger.

Whether she’s on the red carpet or taking on the streets of NY with her daughter, I always love her style. On the red carpet she’s generally very classic and feminine and demure. On the street she’s comfortable and casual, not unlike any other mom on the go.

sources: black bow, red, black, striped, sparkle

sources: chambray, shorts, play date, boots, flats

Aside from her style and taste in men, I love that her daughter always seems to be at the top of her priority list. While this is something that seems like a given it’s not always the case in Hollywood, where nannies seem to be with kids more than their parents.

Now I’ve said over and over again that I’m a huge awards show junkie and a big baby who is known to cry during acceptance speeches. Well, Michelle speech at the 2012 Golden Globes really got me (fast forward to the 1:30 mark if you want to skip the build up):

I think that pretty much says it all.

I Don’t Get It: Floral Pants

I know I’ll get some flack for this one, but I’m not really on board with this whole floral pants trend. I don’t want to plaster something that looks like the pattern of my grandmother’s couch across my butt.

Also, there’s nothing about this trend that screams destined to be a classic to me. I understand that that’s not something that’s important to everyone. But if I’m going to invest in something, I want to be able to wear it for more than a season or two. I don’t see floral legs as having much staying power.

Granted, I may very well eat my words. I’ve been known to loathe a trend hardcore and then suddenly, magically fall in love with it (hello, oxfords!).

Are you on board with floral pants?

Love It or Hate It: Plastic Metallic Cowboy Boots

I usually love Marc Jacobs. But as I was flipping through Vogue last night, I was stopped in my tracks (and not in a good way) by these plastic metallic cowboy boots.

I have to tell ya. I’m not feeling them. I’m not so into cowboy boots in the first place, probably because I hate horses (don’t judge me!) and they automatically make me think of horses.

Add some clear plastic to the equation and you have boggled my mind, Marc Jacobs.

First of all, these are obviously not meant to be cowboy boots in the traditional sense. They’re city girl cowboy boots. And really, what’s the point in that?

Second of all they look like they’re trying to be a cowboy boot, bootie and rain boot all in one and it just isn’t coming together for me.

I want to know what you think. Maybe you can change my mind. But I think these are preeeeetty terrible.

Let’s Throw a Tea Party

utensils, table, spinach brie puff, kale ceasar salad, french onion soup stuffed mushrooms, rose cupcakes, bite-sized banana splits, BBQ chicken bites, outfit, Nutella cheesecake bars, hair, shoes

And you can bring your favorite tea for everyone to try (we’ll drink it out of adorable tea cups, of course).

What do you say? Are you in?

An Ode to Heidi and Seal

OK, is anyone else as irrationally upset about the Heidi Klum/Seal split as I am?!

I think my sadness about it comes from a couple of places. First, I love her. She’s feisty and fun and never appears to take herself too seriously. She’s the host of one of my favorite guilty pleasures, has four (!) kids, and takes some pretty awesome fashion risks.

Then there’s the fact that they seemed to be (I guess that’s the key phrase here) the perfect couple. He adopted her daughter. They renewed their vows every year. They dressed up in crazy, elaborate Halloween costumes together. They seemed to be really, truly in love.

How could they do this to me (and yes, it is all about me right now)?

Let’s take a look at the fairy tale before the spell was broken:

sources (clockwise from top left): Mardi Gras, white trash, hair, Garden of Eden, Hindu goddess, monkeys, Transformers

Sigh. Are there any famous couples that you have an inexplicable attachment to?

Happy Holidays!

(For those of you who read about my photo taking trials and tribulations, this was our final result!)

WTF Crush: Ben Wyatt

Yes. That’s right. I’m taking my WTF crushes to a whole new level. Today I’m loving on a fictional TV character from NBC’s Parks and Recreation (which, as I’ve mentioned before, is awesome sauce).

Now, don’t get me wrong. Adam Scott (the man behind the crush, if you will) is pretty darn loveable in his own right. He brings his boyish good looks and charm to the part and he always makes me laugh (he was in Step Brothers and also starred in Party Down, a short-lived comedy on Starz that my husband and I were kind of obsessed with). But while Adam Scott is adorable and everything, it’s Ben Wyatt, the geektastic assistant city manager of Pawnee, who has stolen my heart.

Here’s why:

He embraces his inner geek.

Don’t suppress the geek, fellas. Some of us ladies are into that sort of thing. And I am most definitely one of them.

Ben makes a lot of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references. He’d rather crunch numbers than go out drinking and he’s very serious (unlike most of his coworkers).

Still, it doesn’t matter how much everyone makes fun of him. Ben is still Ben and you have to respect that.

He’s in love with a strong, opinionated, neurotic woman.

Leslie Knope (played by the hilarious Amy Poehler) is a lot to handle. She’s strong and motivated to a fault. If she gets an idea in her head, she will see it through to the end–no matter how ridiculous it may turn out to be and no matter who tries to talk her out of it. She’s very serious and tries to do everything by the book, but she’s also a wee bit nutso.

Ben finds her quirks adorable and stands by her side no matter what. How can you not love a guy who loves his lady for who she is (however high maintenance and crazy that may be)?

He dresses like a hot college professor.

We’re not talking coffee and tobacco stains. But we are talking about a rather large collection of plaid shirts and skinny ties (or is the same skinny tie over and over again?).

His look is the male equivalent of the sexy librarian–or geek chic, as I like to call it.

He moved in with April and Andy.

April and Andy are the department’s young and clueless newly-married couple. They’re a little out there and like to do things spur of the moment (like taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon or say… getting married).

These two couldn’t be any different from Ben. But when he decided to stay in Pawnee, he moved out of the motel room he had been living in and into the newlyweds’ house, where he could sort of take them under his wing. Swoon!

He dresses up as Batman.

Enough said.

While You’re Out…

Since you’re going to be shopping your socks off all weekend anyway, feel free to pick up a thing or two for yours truly

1 The Photo Zoo print :: 2 Amy Cornwell stackable ring :: 3 Rctees sweatshirt
4 Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling :: 5 Old Navy infinity scarf :: 6 Forever21 knit hat :: 7 Burt’s Bees hand creme :: 8 Full Circle compost bin :: 9 Zoku pop maker :: 10 Xenotees shirt :: 11 Midwest Finds soap dispenser 12 Thirty Six Ten ring

While I’m just kidding (kinda), I know that a lot of people go wild this weekend. So I’ve rounded up some Black Friday deals for you to squeal over. Check them out:

Old Navy, Best Buy, Amazon (smart phones for a penny!), Macys, Barnes and Noble (30% off coupon), Jo-Ann Fabric, Zales, Kohls, Shopbop, Asos, Target

Let me know if you get anything good! And don’t forget to support Small Business Saturday!

Movember

I’ve never been a big fan of the moustache. I don’t mind it so much in combination with other facial hair (I do enjoy a bit of scruff), but when worn alone mustaches make most men look like creepy pedophiles.

Unless you’re hanging on real hard to the eighties, they’re just not attractive. Case in point:

sources (left to right from top left): Tom Selleck, Charlie Chaplin, Mario, Geraldo, Borat, Clark Gable, Hulk, Groucho Marx, Burt Reynolds

I can, however, get behind it in Movember (yeah. That’s right. Movember). Starting November 1st Mo Bros (yeah, that’s right too) begin the long, arduous task of growing a month-long mustache.

Why would anyone voluntarily grow a gross animal-looking thing above their lip? To raise both funds and awareness for prostate cancer.

It’s kind of a brilliant idea. As the website says, “Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.”

But what if you want to support the cause but… uh… can’t grow a moustache (at least that fast)?

Luckily there are plenty of goods out there with moustaches plastered all over them:

1 Rae Gun :: 2 Paisley Magic :: 3 UrbanWalls :: 4 Aubreyplays
5 Babes to Grandmas :: 6 Buttonlandia

If your guy is growing a little ‘stache, send me a photo: jennifergarrydesigns@gmail.com and I’ll feature it here at the end of the month!