| before | after |
 |
 |
| before | after |
 |
 |
2.27.2008
2008.02.27.thing.a.day
today i practiced some more in photoshop... first i tried the gold tutorial that i tried earlier this month on a photo that i took last week. the gold doesn't look so much like gold, but the matte edge looks better than my first golden egg attempt. also, i think i like the original photo better, but that's ok...
* i have edited the gold look from earlier today based on feedback and the fact that i didn't like what i made earlier... i think it definitely works better but still doesn't look quite gold-like...
next i composited a pink cocktail umbrella into a photo that was taken of a friend of mine:
he just loves pink. i might even add a cherry/pineapple to the drink if i have time...
2.26.2008
2008.02.26.thing.a.day
i'm really bad about finishing things like weaving in loose ends for knitting and hemming for sewing (that's why tshirts are ideal for me---because they will just roll, don't have to be hemmed). today, i finished 2 scarves that i made last year and have been wearing, but never weaved in the loose ends. i also added fringe to the blue one.
both scarves were knitted using a combination of lion brand fun fur and moda dea dream (both are available at michael's). they were knitted in garter stitch and every 3-4 rows, i wrapped one to so that some rows are longer/have more space.
both scarves were knitted using a combination of lion brand fun fur and moda dea dream (both are available at michael's). they were knitted in garter stitch and every 3-4 rows, i wrapped one to so that some rows are longer/have more space.
2.25.2008
2008.02.25.thing.a.day
my friends gave me a tshirt that has a bunch of pandas in various tai chi poses. the sleeves were a little too long and bunched up a little under my arms, so i altered the sleeves to be capsleeves. i matched the sleeves to another tshirt of mine that fit well. i thought that i could just sew under the arms to make the sleeves tighter, but i ended up having to cut off the sleeves and re-sew them onto the shirt because they were angled too high before. it's probably not that noticeable a difference (besides the fact that they are shorter) but i'm happier with the fit, and the shirt/sleeves are more comfortable as a result (doesn't pull across the shoulders or bunch up under my arms as much).
| before | after |
 |
 |
2.24.2008
2008.02.24.thing.a.day
i reconstructed another oversized tshirt today:
i got the idea from 99 ways to cut, sew, trim, and tie your t-shirt into something special (#15, mimi) but had to modify the sleeves to make them fit better and also made the belt significantly shorter.
i got the idea from 99 ways to cut, sew, trim, and tie your t-shirt into something special (#15, mimi) but had to modify the sleeves to make them fit better and also made the belt significantly shorter.
2.23.2008
2008.02.23.thing.a.day
tonight i made brazilian cheese rolls:
i used a yoki mix but you can also find recipes online to make them from scratch. here are the directions (the instructions are in portuguese): add 1/2 cup water, 2 eggs to the mix; bake for 40 min at 350 degrees. i normally add an additional 1/4 cup of shredded cheese mix (mozzarella, romano, asiago, parmesan work well) but didn 't have any tonight---i have to say, they taste much better with the extra cheese... also, i usually bake for less time---somewhere between 20-30 min so they are chewier and less dry.
i used a yoki mix but you can also find recipes online to make them from scratch. here are the directions (the instructions are in portuguese): add 1/2 cup water, 2 eggs to the mix; bake for 40 min at 350 degrees. i normally add an additional 1/4 cup of shredded cheese mix (mozzarella, romano, asiago, parmesan work well) but didn 't have any tonight---i have to say, they taste much better with the extra cheese... also, i usually bake for less time---somewhere between 20-30 min so they are chewier and less dry.
2.22.2008
2008.02.22.thing.a.day
originally, i wanted to make a crochet hyperbolic plane for today, but i attempted to do some crochet and found that i need to re-learn it a little better before tackling something more ambitious. i ended up taking a photo of a pig lighter that was given to me as a gift:
and also made a mii of george washington for this week's nintendo mii contest:
and also made a mii of george washington for this week's nintendo mii contest:
2.21.2008
2008.02.21.thing.a.day
i tried out the same tutorial that annie_22 posted about and tried yesterday:
there are some issues---like the fact that the border is jagged and there is a hard black edge. i would've worked on it more, but it's late, and i need to get some sleep. i might try to tweak it some more later though... i learned some p-shop tricks that i didn't know either, so that was cool... thanks for the tutorial, annie_22!
there are some issues---like the fact that the border is jagged and there is a hard black edge. i would've worked on it more, but it's late, and i need to get some sleep. i might try to tweak it some more later though... i learned some p-shop tricks that i didn't know either, so that was cool... thanks for the tutorial, annie_22!
2.20.2008
2008.02.20.thing.a.day
today i attempted to complete the origami stag model that i tried/failed to make the other day:
it's kind of a sad stag, i know... i got further this time, but there are still some very wrong portions, and by the end, i was just mushing things all together which you can see if you look closely... i'm pretty sure it is all wrong. but it's late, so i decided that's going to have to be my attempted thing for today. maybe i'll try to see if i can get an origami expert to help me correct my mistakes later...
it's kind of a sad stag, i know... i got further this time, but there are still some very wrong portions, and by the end, i was just mushing things all together which you can see if you look closely... i'm pretty sure it is all wrong. but it's late, so i decided that's going to have to be my attempted thing for today. maybe i'll try to see if i can get an origami expert to help me correct my mistakes later...
2.19.2008
2008.02.19.thing.a.day
today i steamed an artichoke for dinner:
i got it from the farmer's market the other day. i know it doesn't sound that significant, but i'm not much of a cook, so it was a big deal for me...
i got it from the farmer's market the other day. i know it doesn't sound that significant, but i'm not much of a cook, so it was a big deal for me...
2.18.2008
2008.02.18.thing.a.day
i remade a american apparel men's XL tshirt today:
i got the idea from save this shirt (fit to be thai'd) but didn't realize until afterwards that the part that is woven through the back is supposed to remain connected to the rest of the shirt. i don't think it matters all that much though. if i were doing it over again, i would have made the length a little bit longer, but otherwise, i'm happy with it.
i got the idea from save this shirt (fit to be thai'd) but didn't realize until afterwards that the part that is woven through the back is supposed to remain connected to the rest of the shirt. i don't think it matters all that much though. if i were doing it over again, i would have made the length a little bit longer, but otherwise, i'm happy with it.
2.17.2008
2.16.2008
2008.02.16.thing.a.day
i baked another kahlua chocolate for my husband's birthday. i was going to bake it last week but postponed it because i was sick. i photographed some eggs before i baked them:
2.15.2008
2008.02.15.thing.a.day
tonight i dyed a turtleneck from a creme color to gray. i know that's totally boring, but it had to be done, and it probably wouldn't've happened for another month or more (past turtleneck-wearing season), had it not been for thing.a.day...
why not just buy a gray turtleneck, you ask? that's a good question! i did look for one, but i couldn't find one that i liked and that didn't tickle my neck... you see, i have this thing about turtlenecks and can't usually wear them---in fact, i haven't worn them since high school until this year... because they tickle my neck, and i used end up having to pull them down off my neck all day whenever i would wear them... but i found a kind that i like... it's thin and good for layering and the neck is loose enough (but not too loose!) so it doesn't tickle my neck. i bought a bunch of them in multiple colors, but they were out of gray. so i bought a creme-colored one thinking that i could dye it if i needed to... and i even continued to look for another gray turtleneck, but couldn't find one... this was like 3 months ago.... and i tend to procrastinate about stuff like this... so it didn't look like i would actually get a gray turtleneck anytime soon, but today, because i hadn't made a thing yet, i decided that would be my thing today, and i actually dragged myself to the store after work, bought some dye, and dyed/dried the whole thing when i got home. thank you, thing.a.day! my other clothes thank you too, for now they will have a gray turtleneck companion to keep them company!
why not just buy a gray turtleneck, you ask? that's a good question! i did look for one, but i couldn't find one that i liked and that didn't tickle my neck... you see, i have this thing about turtlenecks and can't usually wear them---in fact, i haven't worn them since high school until this year... because they tickle my neck, and i used end up having to pull them down off my neck all day whenever i would wear them... but i found a kind that i like... it's thin and good for layering and the neck is loose enough (but not too loose!) so it doesn't tickle my neck. i bought a bunch of them in multiple colors, but they were out of gray. so i bought a creme-colored one thinking that i could dye it if i needed to... and i even continued to look for another gray turtleneck, but couldn't find one... this was like 3 months ago.... and i tend to procrastinate about stuff like this... so it didn't look like i would actually get a gray turtleneck anytime soon, but today, because i hadn't made a thing yet, i decided that would be my thing today, and i actually dragged myself to the store after work, bought some dye, and dyed/dried the whole thing when i got home. thank you, thing.a.day! my other clothes thank you too, for now they will have a gray turtleneck companion to keep them company!
also, here is a picture of a scorpion that i took the other day but forgot to upload:
2.14.2008
2008.02.14.thing.a.day
i took a picture of some glass hearts in honor of valentine's day:
and i finally finished my jarful of olives!
for more pictures of hearts and olives (including one of the olives actually in a jar) please see my flickr page.
and i finally finished my jarful of olives!
for more pictures of hearts and olives (including one of the olives actually in a jar) please see my flickr page.
2.13.2008
2008.02.13.thing.a.day
experimenting with an ir filter:
i don't think i entirely know what i'm doing, so i'll probably read up on ir filters a little more, ask around, and practice some more. but i thought it was kind of cool/funky-looking... the photo came out too dark, so i adjusted it a little and added a little bit of a vignette that i thought helped with the overall composition of the image.
i don't think i entirely know what i'm doing, so i'll probably read up on ir filters a little more, ask around, and practice some more. but i thought it was kind of cool/funky-looking... the photo came out too dark, so i adjusted it a little and added a little bit of a vignette that i thought helped with the overall composition of the image.
2.12.2008
2008.02.12.thing.a.day
today i made clones of myself:
i have made these before and find them to be fascinating to look at, as well as fun to make. the idea is to take a portrait, preferably one that is shot from the front and evenly lit---you might have to rotate the picture a little if the head is tilted. then split the photo in half and flip each side horizontally and match to the corresponding side---so 2 right halves to form one face and 2 left halves to form another. most people will have a dominant side that has stronger, bigger features, and a less dominant side that will look more sensitive. here are some more clones that i have made of myself in the past.
i have made these before and find them to be fascinating to look at, as well as fun to make. the idea is to take a portrait, preferably one that is shot from the front and evenly lit---you might have to rotate the picture a little if the head is tilted. then split the photo in half and flip each side horizontally and match to the corresponding side---so 2 right halves to form one face and 2 left halves to form another. most people will have a dominant side that has stronger, bigger features, and a less dominant side that will look more sensitive. here are some more clones that i have made of myself in the past.
2.11.2008
2008.02.11.thing.a.day
after my failed attempts to make an origami model yesterday, i decided to try again, but picked a much simpler model:
i got the instructions from here. you're supposed to use a new dollar bill, but i didn't have one, so mine is a little bit wrinkled. i made it in the waiting room of a doctor's office because, sadly, i'm still sick today.
i got the instructions from here. you're supposed to use a new dollar bill, but i didn't have one, so mine is a little bit wrinkled. i made it in the waiting room of a doctor's office because, sadly, i'm still sick today.
2.10.2008
2008.02.10.thing.a.day
i'm still sick today and wasn't feeling so inspired. i used to enjoy folding origami, so in keeping with the 'paper' theme, i thought i'd try it again... after 3 failed attempts to make an armadillo by joseph wu, a stag from a dollar bill by fred rohm, and a rose by bloom4ever, i gave up. next, i knit yet another olive---now i have 5, but i figure people are probably tired of seeing photos of single olives, so i'll wait until i have my jarful to post the result. then i decided to make another mii---this week's nintendo's check mii out contest is themed 'abraham lincoln' in honor of his birthday. here was my attempt:
i was trying to capture his strong eyes, high forehead, stern expression, and narrow, long, and chiseled face.
finally, i took a picture of some bamboo outside my window:
i was trying to capture his strong eyes, high forehead, stern expression, and narrow, long, and chiseled face.
finally, i took a picture of some bamboo outside my window:
2.09.2008
2008.02.09.thing.a.day
this is kinda lame, but i'm sick today... and the only energy i could muster was to knit another olive:
i have 4 right now, so i'm well on my way to making a jarful...
i have 4 right now, so i'm well on my way to making a jarful...
2.08.2008
2008.02.08.thing.a.day
i baked a kahlua chocolate cake for my boss---it's his birthday today:
it's my mother's recipe---it's super easy to make, but tastes great---everytime i bake it, people ask for the recipe. unfortunately, i ran out of kahlua so i had to improvise a little---added some espresso powder and bailey's. we'll see how it turned out (i haven't tried it yet...)
it's my mother's recipe---it's super easy to make, but tastes great---everytime i bake it, people ask for the recipe. unfortunately, i ran out of kahlua so i had to improvise a little---added some espresso powder and bailey's. we'll see how it turned out (i haven't tried it yet...)
2.07.2008
2008.02.07.thing.a.day
today i wanted to wish everyone a happy chinese new year!
the rat is somewhat similar to a bunny that i designed awhile ago... i'm hoping to be able to learn illustrator this month so that i can reproduce both of these and other designs...
i'd hoped to be able to email my family and friends with my message, and although it is technically still chinese new year right now, most of them won't see it till tomorrow...
the rat is somewhat similar to a bunny that i designed awhile ago... i'm hoping to be able to learn illustrator this month so that i can reproduce both of these and other designs...
i'd hoped to be able to email my family and friends with my message, and although it is technically still chinese new year right now, most of them won't see it till tomorrow...
2.06.2008
2008.02.06.thing.a.day
i saw lola's post from yesterday about altering photographs to make them look like they were taken with a lomo camera and decided to try my hand. this is the original tutorial that she posted and that i tried to follow, but i don't have photoshop, so i tried to approximate the best i could using photoshop elements:
there are more examples on my flickr page. i would be curious to get some feedback---what people think works/doesn't work, etc. thanks!
| processed | original |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2.05.2008
2.04.2008
2008.02.04.thing.a.day
today i made a fingerless glove... i don't like it all that much and hope to improve on it the next time i make one and/or make its partner...
2.03.2008
2.02.2008
2008.02.02.thing.a.day
today, i made a mii and submitted it to nintendo's check mii out channel's weekly contest:
here are some other mii's that i've made... (including myself, past contests, and pippo, my favorite sanrio character)...
here are some other mii's that i've made... (including myself, past contests, and pippo, my favorite sanrio character)...
2.01.2008
2008.02.01.thing.a.day
i am participating in the 2008 thing-a-day, and today is the first day. the idea is that you make something every day, and it should only take you 20-60 minutes to make. also, you should complete it, or at least complete some aspect of a larger project, i think.
for my first thing-a-day, i took a couple of self-portraits. they were lit using refrigerator lighting, and i got the idea to do this because my friend started a flickr group dedicated to portraits like these.
here are my results:
if you click on the photos, they will take you to my flickr page, and you can click to see more detail. the first photo was taken by placing the camera on a step ladder next to the fridge so that i was lit from the side. i touched it up because i couldn't get the depth of field that i wanted from my camera---i blurred the background more and also made the fridge brighter and wall darker. there are some matte line issues that i may try to fix at some point (see lower left part of the image where the hair is layered over the fridge; also, along the right edge, there is kind of a halo between my hair and the wall behind me...)
the second photo has some subtle color and level adjustments and was also cropped, but is otherwise untouched. the camera was placed inside the fridge on the top shelf.
i haven't updated my blog in over a year now, so i thought thing-a-day would be a good way for me to get back into it.7.16.2006
more crochet and an altered dress
i made another scarf from stitch 'n bitch crochet: the happy hooker, by debbie stoller:
the waist was too big so i sewed a couple of darts at the side to take it in, but you could see through the fabric because it's sheer. next, i tried to sew some strips of elastic to take it in a little. however, the fabric was kind of stretchy and wrinkled, so i'm not sure that i ended up taking it in as much as i wanted, and i'm not sure if i'm happy with the result. i've tried wearing the dress both forwards and backwards, i think it could work either way, but i'm looking for suggestions about how to make it fit better. any ideas?
it's the garden scarf pattern, and i used a debbie bliss cotton angora that i used for this sweater. the yarn seemed nice when i bought it but was a little disappointing because it sheds like crazy! everywhere i wore the sweater, i'd leave behind little balls of fuzzy angora. but i figured this would a good way to use up the yarn and am hoping the scarf won't shed as much as the hoodie (but maybe i'm wrong about this). because it's way too hot right now, i won't be able to wear it to see. so far, crochet seems to be a good way for me to use up my knitting stash though...
i also have a dress that is a work in progress:
| before | after: zipper back | after: zipper front |
 |
 |
 |
7.04.2006
my first crochet and a jeans2skirt
this week, i learned to crochet! it had been my goal this summer to learn to crochet---i am a knitter and thought that crocheting would be useful to know so that i could add and embellish to my knitting projects and also because i like the look of crocheted flowers and hats. i bought stitch 'n bitch crochet: the happy hooker, by debbie stoller, and with a little help from someone in a yarn store, i learned the single crochet stitch and made a scarf:
i used rowan calmer (a gorgeous cotton blend yarn that's soooo soft) in blush and powder puff. i like the book---it has some great patterns and the instructions and illustrations are very clear for a beginner like me.
i also took some men's jeans and converted them into a skirt:
the waist was way too big (even for a low waisted skirt) so i sewed a couple of darts in the back to take it in a little.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
