Pikachu Plushies!

It's hard for me to believe that I haven't done a pikachu plushie yet!!
So here we go!

♥Pikachu Plushies♥

As usual, the first thing I do is make a stencil and cut out the pieces of felt I need for the project.  I needed two body pieces and a tail.  Pikachu's tail has a brown stripe, so I needed to cut some brown felt to size.

 This is my stencil/inspiration/cutest thing I've ever drawn.

 Cut out some cheeks using red felt! Traced around a pen cap for more perfect circles than I could come up with.

Also, You need two feet and two hands/arms. 

 By now we should have this and be ready to sew! [Note: Use more brown felt to make the stripes Pikachu has on his back, I forgot and things got more difficult!]

Attaching the brown piece to his tail, as well as the whole tail to the body in one fell swoop.  As you can see I did this with black embroidery floss.  It's so near to the color you can hardly tell it's there. 

Attach the feets!! :] They're so cute.  I used white 10g DMC embroidery floss for the feet.  As you can tell, I used a very different stitch than on my Hayah Hijabi dolls [http://milkpolka.blogspot.com/2013/07/hayah-hijabi-dolls.html].  I'm evolving! :] (Pokémon pun intended)

 Next, sew the black tips onto the ears!  I would probably do this another way the next time I made them.  

This is what the backside of the body looked like at this step in the process.

 To give the tail more stability I did three little stitches along it.  This makes it much more stable and they're almost invisible.

 What the stitches looked like on the back side.

This is what I had at this point.

 Sewing on the cheeks ^-^

 Time to sew it all together!

Finished product!! I stuffed mine A LOT.  I think we can all agree that a fat Pikachu is a favorite Pikachu, right? 

    





Well, I love my Pikachus fat. 

 The back of my finished Pikachu Plushie.

I couldn't bring myself to paint the rest of a mouth on him.  I loved it too much this way!

Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog post,
♥Riley

My Sorority: Discovering IΔ

I never thought I would actually be part of a sorority.  I always wanted to be, but I didn't think it would happen.  I'm nerdy, lack self-confidence, and don't normally have too many friends.  I've never really been a "popular" type kid.  Never the prettiest or the best at anything.  But I have always been me. 

Last fall I transferred from Mt. San Antonio College, which is a junior college, to the University of La Verne, my dream school.  ULV is a tiny little college in a tiny little city.  Even though it is small, it has four different sororities on campus.  All four of them are very different.  I attended three out of the four's recruitments hoping to find my place at ULV.  I found that I really didn't fit in at two of the sororities and almost had given up when I found the third.  Iota Delta had some of the prettiest girls I had seen around campus, but more importantly, I had seen them.  It seemed like the I-Delts were everywhere on campus, always smiling and having fun as they ran the school.  

Everyone in their organization was so nice to me I thought, "Oh man, they must all hate me."  But it turns out it wasn't that way at all.  I looked around the room and saw uniqueness.  They were all so different, but similar at the same time.  They were quiet and loud, tall and short, outspoken and shy.  I figured something great had to have brought such differences together.  

I couldn't believe it when I got my bid.  My heart wouldn't let me.  I couldn't believe that they actually wanted me.  I said yes in a heartbeat. 

It was once I began my new membership process that I realized what brought all these amazingly unique girls together: their core values.  Seven in number, they define each of us equally.  We're a local sorority, and we have such high standards because we prefer quality over quantity.

I am so glad that I met all of these wonderful women.  They are all amazing, each and every one of them.

 Beautiful ladies at our annual Bowl for Breath philanthropy event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

 A more recent picture of our entire sorority.

Me in my letters! In Iota Delta, we earn our letters, and we are more proud of them than any others.

My pledge class after our initiation. Love each and every one of these girls to pieces.

 A picture of my Tiny family!

 Another Tiny Fam picture.

I love IΔ.

Even though I have only been a member a little while, I have learned so much.

There is so much love and support carried with those two little letters.

Alpha Psi Pledge Class

Each and everyone of these girls has my back, and I have theirs.

Δ♥,

Riley

P.S. I'm thinking about making this a series of posts about my sorority. Thoughts? Are you in greek life?

New Obsession: Birchbox!

I am completely obsessed with samples, the freer the better!  

I have been able to score tons of free samples for about a year now.  Free face cream, ring sizers, diapers [as a joke], deodorant, business cards, lotions, etc.  

I love them soooo much, but sometimes they are not the best quality, so I started looking into boxes of samples with a subscription fee.  [Glossybox, Birchbox, BeautyBar, etc.]  

After doing my research I decided to go with a subscription for Birchbox.  I chose to do the $10 /month and cancel anytime option.  

I now have received two Birchboxes [July and August] and I LOVE THEM.  It's so exciting to see the box in the mail.  You never know what you're going to get!

First, you apply to the website and if you're accepted you fill out a profile about yourself.  This includes skin and hair type, what you'd like to receive in your box, and things like that.  I was approved within the same day of applying.  

The exciting little pink box!

 Inside the pink little box! A little brown box.

Inside my first box:  bobby pins, Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream for a sensitive face, pedicure packets, party proof lipstick, and I.C.O.N. India Oil for hair.

The bobby pins are adorable. They're kind of tough to put in but stay in place well.  The cream did not bother my face so it truly is for sensitive skin, I haven't tried the pedicure packets yet.  I love the lipstick, it's surprisingly bright!! It's not the most stay proof but it does stay pretty well!  The India Oil smells amazing! It makes my hair very soft and even though it has such a strong smell it is not over powering to wear.  

Overall: I love my first box!!

Inside my second box:  Eau Flirt perfume sample, Juice Beauty Oil-Free moisturizer, Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect, Tan Towels, and a Coastal Scents eyeshadow sample set.

The perfume smells very nice but I haven't used it yet [my mom will probably steal it!].  The moisturizer goes on very nicely.  It feels oily at first but once it's rubbed in it makes skin very soft.  The Number 4 spray has a very odd smell.  I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. [Do NOT use it with the I.C.O.N. India oil, the combined smell is awful.]  I haven't used the tan towels or eye shadow yet but I am excited to use both.

Overall: Very pleased with my second box as well!

I highly recommend getting a subscription to this service if it sounds appealing! It's only $10 for a month and you get amazing samples.  You also get points for reviewing products that can be used in the store to purchase full size products.  They also have men's boxes! 

If you are interested in purchasing a subscription: http://birch.ly/1d5nsT2 

[This blog page is not sponsored, I just really love the service!]

As always, thank you for reading!
♥Riley

P.S. If you would like me to post on how to get free samples, please let me know!

Oreo Pops!

Here's another very easy DIY that's perfect as a little gift or if you're hosting an event.  

Oreo Pops! 

All you need are:  

• Oreos
• Sticks
• Wilton's Candy Melts in any color

You can buy candy melts here or at Michael's : http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts

I followed the instructions on the candy melts to melt them in the microwave.  I couldn't figure out the defrost setting so instead I put them in the microwave for a minute on half power.  Then I microwaved them twice for 30 seconds on half power and they seemed perfect.  Stirring between each microwave heating seems essential.

I then put the oreos on the sticks.  This was really simple and doesn't require explanation, but I took pictures anyways.

Ta-Da! Now all they need is to be frosted.

I found that the knife was easier to put candy on the flat sides of the oreo but that the spoon was easier to put it on the round edges.  They look the best when the whole thing is covered, and it keeps it together better.  

Then I held them for a couple seconds [probably half a minute] to help them harden and stuck them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.  When I was finished with all the oreos [I had to melt and remelt the candy melts several times] I put the whole tray in the fridge to help it harden.

Then I assembled them in a cute fashion and wrote on them with icing.

[See puff painting blog]

I didn't have a tray available, but paper plates did the trick! My mom had some leftover cellophane too so we tied that around it with a ribbon.

These are DELICIOUS. The vanilla flavor of the candy melts goes soooo well with the oreos.  I think they might be easier  to "frost" with a double boiler instead of the microwave method.  Using  that method you may just be able to dip the whole oreo into it.

Also you can decorate these a million ways! Sprinkles, different colors of candy melts, different designs, the possibilities are endless! They cost me about $6 to make and I was able to make I think about 24 oreos out of the 30 pack.  I didn't buy real oreos either, because you can't really tell with the candy coating anyways.  Buying fake oreos saved me about $2. 

As always, thank you so much for reading and take care!

♥Riley

Baby Shower Gift Ideas

Had another baby shower to go to this past weekend and only gave myself a tiny window of time to make two presents for it.  

I made these much more simple than my previous two, and used only one decoration on the sides. 

First I painted two canvas two different colors.  They both took two coats.

Finished paint.

Then I cut out scrapbook paper in a design, and put mod podge on the canvas.  Then I set down the scrapbook paper and smoothed out the bubbles.  Once this had dried I went over the whole thing with mod podge again.  It makes the paper adhere to the canvas as well as adding a gloss to the whole project. 

Then I used E-6000 to adhere the wooden pieces I got at Hobby Lobby and Michael's to the canvas and puff painted on the words.

I'll admit it wasn't my best work, but I made this at 4 in the morning!! I hadn't gone to bed yet and was exhausted, but this project is soooo simple that you could do it in no time with no sleep.

I put their names, middle names, date of birth, length, weight, and the day of the week they were born on the canvas.

Here are two others I've made. These are sooo easy to customize.  Most of the shapes are from Michael's. I had also planned to paint things on them but ran out of time. 

Thanks for reading! ♥

Puffy Painting Tips

How to Puff Paint like a Champ!

As a proud member of a sorority, granddaughter of a tole painter, and daughter of a certified sign painter, I pride myself on my puffy painting skills.  And I do mean skills.  I grew up with one of the worst, illegible hand-writing styles imaginable.  It took years for teachers to finally understand what I was writing, and learn that I actually had something to say.  

But enough about that, let's get to puff painting! Read the BOLD letters to cut down on length!

1. Always shake the bottle.  Shake it so that the tip is facing downward [with the cap on].  Try to get all the paint down to the tip so that no air will be in the tip and cause it to make a mess of your paint.
2. Practice on something worthless/Made of plastic.  Things made of plastic will normally let you peel off the paint if you don't like your finished product.
3. Work top to bottom and left to right. This will help to make sure you don't drag your hand through your masterpiece.  It can be completely heart breaking.
4. Invest in some gold puffy paint.  This is a really specific tip, but I've found that when in doubt, use the gold puffy paint!  It looks good on almost anything and can really class items up. 
5. Outline what you want to do.  If working on plastic, practice on paper first.  If working on fabric, outline your work in marker, preferably a washable type.
6. Find the middle of what you are doing. Especially when dealing with words.  Count the letters and find what goes in the middle.  Then start with that letter and work your way out.
7. Learn the ideal amount of pressure you need to put on the bottle.  Squeezing too hard or too little will just mess things up.
8. Don't do everything in one movement. It'll work loads better if you take your time and make multiple strokes.   Below is a picture I found that kind of illustrates what I mean by multiple strokes.

I really do get compliments on my puff painting. The only reason I brag? It's a pretty useless skill outside of the world of crafting and sorority.

My grandma taught me how to paint letters with an actual paintbrush.  You can't just jump right in and use it like a pencil.  

Eid Day Plushies!

Eid Mubarak!!! If you celebrate!

I am not Muslim, but my best friend and her family are.  We celebrate Eid together every year, as well as have Iftars together during Ramadan.

If you are interested in seeing the DIY for this project, here is my link:

http://milkpolka.blogspot.com/2013/07/hayah-hijabi-dolls.html

 Here are the three plushies I made for my two favorite hijabis for Eid! I changed the style a bit for my second plush to see if I liked it better.  I like them both! I took two pictures so that it was easier to see the colors on these three! 

Hopefully you guys like them and that they like them too! Eid surprise that I'm giving them on Friday! :]

I don't have a tutorial for the crescent moon and star but if you would like to see one, please comment and let me know!

Please be aware that I am not trying to force any views on anyone, I'm just sharing gifts I have made for a very close friend of mine.