I'm trying to figure out what medium to use to decorate my plain Zippo lighter. I thought about stencils with spray paint, but I don't want to run the risk of my hand bursting into flames. Any suggestions? I'm open to any ideas at all, because all I want to do is make this personal. It's a blank canvas, and I just need to figure out where to start.

For his birthday I made him Snakes on a Plane boxers, so for mine he decided to try his hand at sewing too... I remember him IMing me a few days before asking, "if I go over the same spot enough, does it make up for bad sewing?"

It's really sweet, and took a lot of effort. It melted my non-sentimental heart!




(I've worn a claddagh since I was 7, which is why he was inspired.


(Monty loves the Claddagh Bear)

For a birthday present (for a guy) I'm buying a pair of cheap, plain boxers and plan to add two or three felt applique snakes. What I can't decide on is what phrase to use. Right now all I can think of is:

"Snakes on a Crotch"*
"That's IT! I've had it with these motherf***ing snakes on this motherfu***ing crotch!"

Any other ideas? And if not, which do you prefer?



*It would be in the style of the title in the logo. If you haven't seen it...

Senior prom this year, and I'm in love with the dress on the left in this promo pic for Firefly:

http://still-flying.net/images/promopics/index.php?p=group03.jpg&pg=0

Inara has the most fantastic dresses. This is the one she wore in Out of Gas.

Now, I'm nowhere near advanced enough to make it without a pattern. Soooo I found this:

http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/voguepatterns/shop.cgi?s.item.V2745=x&TI=20003&page=7

V2745. Lengthen the skirt, of course, and I'd make mine a deep red. Slightly more slimming.

Alright, I have two questions.

   1. How flattering is this going to be on my size 14 hourglass figure?

   2. Anybody have any clue what the back of Inara's dress looks like?

I'm counting on you, browncoats.

I'm really pale with dark hair, so I thought it would be cute to go as a porcelain doll. The thing is, I'm worried people will think I'm doing the EGL thing. As much as I love EGL, I want to make the costume clear, so I need some ideas.

I "borrowed" a dress, gauzy nightgown, and tan petticoat from the theater costume closet (I've made a few dozen pieces for them.. they owe me). The dress is a really thin, crinkled fabric with green stripes and orange flowers, puffy sleeves with cuffs, and loops for lacing up the front. It's adorable, but it's too tight on top (I'm a D cup), and the skirt is too narrow, so I'm going to add gauzy panels to the skirt and tan panels down the sides of the dress (Under the arms.. nobody I know will notice or care), then attach the bottom edge of the tan petticoat to the underside.

I'll probably add short ruffle socks (over pantyhose.. not THAT comfortable with my legs) and tan ballet flats. Then I'll do my makeup with extra blush and matching lipstick, false eyelashes, and lots of matte powder.

Any ideas to make the costume more doll-like?

I still need to find an advisor, but that shouldn't be a big problem.

I knit all the time in school and people always want me to show them how or make them stuff. Since I don't have time to give private lessons, I figure it would be a good way to bring together people that already know how (not that I know of anyone besides me...) and people who want to learn. Plus I want to do Craftster-inspired projects and swaps.

Any suggestions on how to run it? We would only meet in school once or twice a month. That gives plenty of time to work on projects, but doesn't allow for very many meetings.

I have a male friend out in California, and I really want to knit him something. He's a simple guy with simple tastes. Wrist cuffs wouldn't be his thing.

The temp rarely gets down to 40 degrees.

What should I try?

I need gift ideas. I knit, sew, and do general crafty things.

She has simple tastes, and I want to give her something that would be helpful and attractive. Don't know what though.

Any ideas would be fantastic!

My little sister, friend, and I went out to a Harry Potter release party and were interviewed by a (cute!) reporter from our local newspaper. We had no idea it was going to end up on the front page of the Sunday paper in color! The paper has 50,000 subscribers, so it's a pretty big deal.

Needless to say, we were psyched!

It's a pretty big scan, so I'll just link it:



I'm on the left (Ravenclaw), my sister is in the center is in the middle (Gryffendor), and my friend Kat is on the right (she's a shopkeeper). She won first place in the costume contest. We all had the best costumes, actually, but there were some damn cute kids that got second and third. We reworked house brooms (took the twine out that keeps it flat, and wrapped new cord around the straw to make it rounded) and fixed up wands. Our robes are just graduation robes. I added a lining to my sister's, and both of ours have accurate crests. I was disappointed that I couldn't find pleated skirts, but the ones that we got looked alright. I was really happy with the tie, too. Not perfect, but I don't expect perfection.

I know you girls can, but please be quick! I have to make whatever it is I'm going to wear tomorrow.

Here's the dress. The color is really bad here. It's actually darker red, and the beads are gorgeous glass. It's all silk. You can sort of see the detailing in the picture, but it doesn't do it justice.

    
 




I got it at Macy's for $12, when it was originally $155. I've been eyeing it for months now. With it I'm going to wear black tights and black ballet flats with ankle ties. That all looks really good, but it needs something else.

I'm going as a dog trainer to this circus themed party. You know.. fancy costume, stuffed dog, hoop, etc. Well, I need something to do with my hair. I want some sort of headdress, but I don't know what. Ideas?