Stitch Fix #3 - April 2016

It's time to talk about this month's Stitch Fix!  I requested a cargo jacket as well as dresses or top/skirt combos I could wear to an upcoming family rehearsal dinner and wedding.  My stylist this month was Melissa and she sent some fantastic options!  I was delighted when I opened my box and found every item was a dress.

Read on to see my breakdown:

Another DIY Shellac

I've been slacking in the craft department this week, so I decided to share the DIY shellac manicure I rocked the last two weeks (have I mentioned how much I love shellac lately?!).  I followed the instructions in this Youtube video by Fee Wallace and I have to say I'm really proud of how well my nails turned out.

It took about five hours from the start of removing my old shellac to finishing up painting these, but it was well worth it and I received so many compliments!  Who knew you could do something so neat with a few bottles of shellac and a striping brush?  Nail art is awesome.

Illini Teddy Bear

This week's project was made as a gift for a fellow Illini's baby shower.  I thought a teddy bear with a Block I t-shirt was a great idea since my 12th Fan teddy bear went over really well as a birthday present a few years ago.  I wasn't super happy with the pattern I used for the last bear, so I dug around on Ravelry for a different one and came up with the Cross Your Heart Teddy by Anne Shuler of Crochet Between Worlds.

This pattern is fantastic!  I love that it's almost no sew and it was really easy to follow (though I did have to do some fiddling because of my own mess ups... oops).  The only thing I had trouble with was creating a Block I applique for the shirt (you can find all my notes in my Ravelry project here).  Overall, this pattern made me really happy and I will definitely use it for any and all teddy bear needs in the future!

Jip The Amigurumi Owl

I was pretty bummed that Joann's was closed last Sunday since I needed some yarn for my next two projects.  I had recently found Tessa van Riet's pattern for Jip the owl on Ravelry and decided it would be really cute in some leftover purple yarn (which is impossible to photograph accurately!) I already had in my stash, so I set to work on it instead.  The only problem was choosing another stash yarn to go with it.  I ultimately decided on this camel color leftover from Miss Monkey and it came out nicely, but I think if I made it again I'd use two shades of the same color.  The only alterations I made to the pattern were the eyes since I refuse to use felt.  You can find all my notes on my project page on Ravelry.  I hope the (secret) recipient of my owl likes him... I sure do!