Sun Kissed Studio

February Craft O' The Month: A Hand-Painted Sign.

2012-02-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

Whew! I have been so swamped with my day job, that I wasn't able to post this when I promised. Please forgive. If you didn't get a chance, take a look at the projects from January's Craft O' the Month.

OK, so I decided--and by the way, if you have ideas for something that would be a good project for COTM, please do share! Lost train of thought--this month's COTM is going to be a Hand-Painted Sign. DON'T FREAK if you're not a painter, because what I'm talking about is super easy peasy. Here are a couple signs that I made for my daughter's room years ago:

Here's how I did them:

1. Grab yourself a plain old piece of pine wood. You can get it cheap at Home Depot or what have you. They'll even cut it to size for you.

2. Use plain old craft paint (Michael's) and paint one coat for the base coat. Note that for mine, I chose a bright yellow for the base coat so that it would show through when I distressed it with sand paper. Paint this coat on thick!

3. Then paint another coat on that will match whatever area you plan to hang it in. Paint on a simple little picture or use thick paint pens or a thin paintbrush, if you're tricky that way, to write a saying or a verse.

4. Add a border if you like (see mine in white).

5. Use fine sandpaper to distress it just enough for your underpainted layer to show through.

6. Staple on a ribbon, raffia, or something to hang it with, and hang. Cute, hu?

If you're lacking ideas for your sign, go here. Also you can check out Etsy.com and search for painted signs and find some really cute ones.

Your project photos are due back to me on or before February 29th. Hey, it's leap year!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with! Happy painting!

Craft O' The Month: Rag Wreath

2012-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

This month's Craft O' The Month is a rag wreath. There are so many fun variations to this project, and so many different ways to make it with various fabrics, etc., which made for a very fun project! My friends and neighbors were on fire!

For my wreath, I chose colors that are a little off the norm for Valentine's day. I'm not your traditional type, and I always want to defy and do something different. Think turquoise at Christmas time. I don't think you can tell by the picture, but my pink is sort of a melon, and I also had to add my favorite: blue. So here's a peek at my finished project:

I added some fabric roses with bling and some ribbon to the mix for an embellishment...

Best of all, though, are my friends who did this craft along side me, but in their own homes. You see, my Craft O' the Month "party" is a go-at-your-own-pace kind of thing.

Tamara at Flying Kitten made this gorgeous white version. I love the simplicity of the white fabric and the dainty beaded heart charm in the center.

Two of my friends from my neighborhood participated, too! They're not bloggers, so don't go lookin.'

This one was made by Kim. That purple she added and the heart dangling in the middle are definitely winners for this cutie:

And this one was made by Amy. An all-out traditional Valentine sweetheart wreath.

Sweetness on a door, I'd say.

Thank you once again to all who participated! I loved having you join me for my first Craft O' the Month project! This week I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make the fabric roses, and also how to make this wreath, so check back for all the fun! For more information on Craft O' the Month, go here. The craft for March will be posted this week!

Thanks for visiting, and happy crafting!

My Day Job as a Corporate Transcriptionist

2012-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Since I started my new job, I've had several people inquire about it and ask if I am liking it. I thought I would share some details about it here to answer some of those questions.

For those of you who don' t know this, I enrolled in an online Medical Transcription course at the end of 2010, which I had one year to complete at my own pace. In the beginning of that course, I was ripping through the material, thinking that I'd finish the whole thing in about 4 months. The school marketing materials said it was possible. NOT!

The deeper I got into it, the more I realized that this kind of work was never going to be for me. Many have asked me if it was difficult. Now, my answer to that is no, but it is very time-consuming. Learning medical terms is like learning a new language, but typing medical reports is more about being able to look these terms up in an effective way so that spellings, meanings and context are correct. I can look things up all day long with ease. So, no, it wasn't difficult in that sense, but looking things up all day was not the profession I wanted to be in. Having said that, I am told the more you do it, the less you have to look things up. In addition to looking things up, MANY of the reports were on the subject of people's gastrointestinal problems and the like, which wasn't something I wanted to type about for a living. Yuck.

After finishing a year of the medical transcription program, though not completing the course, I decided not to let that training go completely to waste, but, rather, look into "corporate" transcription or "general" transcription.

So I did some online research on companies that offer general transcription services and prepared my resume. I selected a couple of companies that I thought seemed interesting and "right up my alley" and sent out my resume. Lo and behold, I was hired as an independent contractor by both of them. Mind you, I do have a journalism degree, so I think that definitely helped. But a degree is not a requirement for a lot of these companies. My typing speed now is about 70 words a minute. It was around 63(ish) when I started, and I've been doing this for about 4 months. There are plenty of typing speed practice sites online to help get your speed up.

General transcription companies look for mainly two things from their transcriptionists: Accuracy, i.e. typo-free and punctuation perfect, speed, and preferably a little bit of experience, in that order. I was hired with no experience, mind you.

A Little About the Companies That I Work For

This is really the exciting part. When I was a journalism student, I was considering being a news reporter. My career path led me into public relations, which allowed me to work as a corporate contact for reporters, and, therefore, I worked with reporters rather than as a reporter.

For one company I work with, I am a news transcriber, which I love. The company sends me audio files, and I type the audio into a transcript. The company is located in suburban Washington D.C., and they attend and capture audio at many of the meetings, speeches, talks, and other things there that are related to politics, among other things. I've typed talks given by U.N. ambassadors, interviews with some pretty important people, meetings at "this very important council" and "that very important council," and things of the like. The company then sells these transcripts to news outlets such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and other companies as well.

Another company I work with captures audio from conference calls for corporations. These might be quarterly earnings disclosure calls, business meetings, strategic planning sessions, focus group interviews, etc. I even typed a phone conversation of a prison inmate convicted of murder, that was used as evidence. Again, I type the audio into a transcript, and then, these transcripts are purchased by the companies.

So that's it in a nutshell. I am really loving my new job(s) and the flexibility that comes with it. I work out of my home and take on as much (if it's available) or as little work as I want. I have the ability to work around my own schedule, take days off whenever I feel like it, and I even get to work in my jammies if I want, but you know I'd never do that. ; )

Companies are always looking for good transcriptionists, so if you are interested and you think you might want to pursue this career, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about it.

Thanks for visiting, and have a spectacular day!

Craft O' The Month "Party"

2012-01-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a party, but here in bloggerville, it seems there's a lot of partying going on. So for continuity's sake, we'll call it a party and get our creative partying wheels turning on a monthly basis.

So, here's how it works:

Each month I'll be posting a craft, usually around the 1st day of the month, to complete with step-by-step instructions. While I'm not much for deadlines, I'd like your project submissions by the last day of the month so that they can be shared and viewed all at once, and then enjoyed by your family and/or friends.

For the first project, and I'm cutting the month a little short, due to my blog being "under construction" (Thank you, Kendra, from Key Lime Digital Designs), we'll be making a Valentine Rag Wreath.

You will find the complete instructions at Roundy Rounds (thank you Roundy Rounds for the beautiful inspiration!). Get as creative as you can or want with it, add embellishments or your own personal pizzazz, and if you're not a blogger, please e-mail your photos to me at denisevakili-at-gmail-dot-com by the last day of the month . If you do have a blog, you can post your project there (by the last day of the month), link to this post, and I'll lift the photos and post them. Just let me know "You're In!" and please post the button below on your blog, so others can jump in as well.

Thanks for participating, and I can't wait to see what you come up with for the Valentine Rag Wreath project!

Have a beautiful sun-shiney day!

2012: New Beginnings

2012-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

What an interesting year 2011 was. I say interesting because it wasn't a great, bad, or specifically "anything" year; it was a combination of things for me. What I can say about 2011 is that I learned a lot and accomplished a lot.

Early in the year, I finally claimed a clear direction with A Charm For Charity, which is still going slow, but it is the little tank engine that could. I was able to help a few charities this year with their fundraising efforts and got an endorsement from Miss West Virginia for my Tour de Sight bracelet, so I feel like I at least achieved my mission.

Summer was a blast with lots of trips to Lake Havasu in the Arizona desert, and just hanging out, relaxing at home. I used the road trips as my creative time for my jewelry, mainly leather wrap bracelets, that I would be selling at my kids' school's holiday boutique (which I chaired). One of the greatest things about making jewelry in the car is that once we arrived at our destination, there were so many great landscapes available there to get some great product shots.

In the fall, a few of my great friends referred me for a sewing job for a local boutique. The place does cooking classes, and then they have a boutique to sell unique goods, all hand made, so I sewed some cute aprons for them. Also, the fall afforded me a new "day job." I somewhat completed a medical transcription course, well not completely completed it, but I did manage to get busy as an independent contractor, securing three large contracts for transcription work, though not in the medical field. Yes!

The holidays ~~uncovered~~ unleashed a new hobby, or shall I say dusted off an old hobby. I needed a family photo for our Christmas card and I didn't want to spend a fortune with a photographer for just a shot or two. So I attempted it myself, with the help of the nifty self-timer on my camera, with rather surprising results. My friends thought I hired somebody, which was the nudge that inspired me to explore photography a little bit further.

I am definitely still a hobbyist. However, I did manage to secure about 10 paid jobs following my family shot, develop a web portfolio and draft a quick pricing structure, which is yet to be adjusted. OMG, what have I done? My husband has this thing he says to me when I'm busy dappling in something new: Did you accidentally start another new business? It cracks me up because I'm kind of funny that way. I dapple in something, and just add it to the SunKissed Studio repertoire. What can I say? It's my thing. I just kind of go for it that way.

Speaking of going for it, I really want to encourage you to do the same in 2012. Do what makes you happy, and don't worry about what others are going to say or the challenges that may accompany it. Just do it. What have you got to lose? And with that, I bid you an awesome 2012. Who knows what lie ahead? I do know one thing... It's going to be really good. It's all in how you look at it.

Free Printable Holiday Tags

2011-12-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

I thought I would spread a little Holiday cheer (and some linky love) today! I thought you might enjoy these cute gift tags from some really great bloggers! Just click on the blog links to print.

Unsophisticook.com

Think neighbor gifts ...

Orange You Lucky

This sheet and more available!

Mushy

thecandytree.com

There are plenty of others on this blog that go along with this sheet!

Hoping these little goodies will get you in the holiday spirit (if you're not already!), I wish you the best of holidays!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2011-12-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe my baby girl is 10 today. I know you've heard this before about other kids, but she's the most awesome kid in the world, equal to her brother.

I was looking through some old photos of her when she was three, and I came across these pictures of her nursery. I had forgotten how cute it was, if I do say so myself. The wallpaper was adorable, and everyone who came over always commented on it, AND my daughter still remembers it. Probably because I have the pictures ;).

We also put up this cute white wainscoting, and it was a family effort including my then two-and-a-half-year-old, painting and preparing. We had so much fun, and we were all so excited for our new baby to be born.

I painted these little flower pictures using pieces of wood and craft paint. They're still in her room today.

I spent many a sleepless night in that room. I remember it like it was yesterday. Happy birthday, baby. I love you to infinity.

Felt Flower Headbands

2011-11-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite things to make are little girls' hair accessories, and ohhhhhh, I have such plans for my online shop for the holiday shopping season. Today I made these little girls' headbands. I hope you like them! (Think stocking stuffer ...)

You'll find these little headbands in my online shop under Kids Stuff! Happy shopping!

-Denise

Halloween Treats

2011-11-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Another Halloween has come and gone faster than a speeding bullet. This year, we kept it pretty low-key and just did some mild decorating and invited some of the neighborhood kids over for pre-trick-or-treat dinner. It's been a tradition in our family for me to make a big crock pot of chili on Halloween night before the kids hit the streets. It's my way of getting something somewhat healthy in my kids mouths before they start devouring candy.

I spent the day preparing the chili, some Halloween cake pops, and some take-home treats for the kids that were coming over. I used these cute Halloween tags to make these little jack-o-lantern candy corn jars. It's pretty self explanatory how I did it, so no tutorial necessary here. I just thought I would share.

I ran out of time with the cake pops so I decided on some basic black and white options. I'm not the best cake pop decorator, or shall I say "most practiced" cake pop decorator since this was my first go at them:

Not bad for my first try, hu? Did you make any cool treats for Halloween? Did you have a fun Halloween night? I'd love to see your pictures!

Free Printable Halloween Bottle Labels

2011-10-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

As we get closer to Halloween, the days are getting spookier and spookier! Here's another free treat from me to you because we all need a project this weekend, right? :) See (and print!) the whole library of spooky bottle lables like these:

If you're not familiar with Flickr, just select the label you want to print, go to Actions, and select View Sizes in the drop-down menu. Select the size you want, and then download. Enjoy!

Free Printable Halloween Tags

2011-10-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is gearing up for a fun Halloween! I sure am. I finally finished the Tinkerbell and woodland fairy costumes (pictures coming soon); so, now I'm in prep mode for my own trick-or-treaters. My kids have a small group of friends they're going house to house with. So I thought, since I didn't go overboard this year with any kind of party, crazy decorating, etc., I would make a cute treat for them. I think it may be some kind of creative jar of candy corn or something like that. But I will be using these cute little tags for my treats:

Aren't they cute? Thank you, Hello, Good Gravy! for the free download! (Just thought I'd share ...)

Happy Halloween, everyone! Be safe.

Tinkerbell Costume {Part 1}

2011-10-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

This week is a busy week here at my Sunkissed Studio. I've been hired to sew a couple of Halloween costumes for some tween-aged girls in my neighborhood. I always love sewing costumes, and much to my dissapointment, my kids aren't much for home-sewn costumes. They loved them when they were younger, but now they're much too cool for that kind of thing. ;)

So, I got started on the first costume, as I knew it would be the most difficult, since I pretty much have to sew it with a pattern that I am completely re-tailoring. This, for me, is the fun part. I always love a challenge. My friends kid me when they ask me, "Do you think you could come up with something for this?" And I say, "Of course." With a wink. Then I go home and panic. Nonetheless, I think my forte is really becoming "coming up with something."

So ... Tinkerbell. My challenge started with the pattern. Do you see Tinkerbell anywhere in this pattern? She's there, hiding within the gold dress. I had a vision. A blurred vision, but a vision nonetheless. Remember Tink is strapless, and here we have sleeves!

So, I used this pattern and cut the top portion of the dress off into a scallop shape to make it strapless (however there will be some very sheer flesh colored straps). I added some cotton interfacing to finish off the top edge and made a pocket for elastic across the back so it would fit snug.

Next, I made a skirt out of tulle. Lots and lots of tulle. I love that stuff. And here's where I'm at now:

The next step will be to scallop the bottom into a sort of "leafy shape" and then sew the scalloped satin skirt that will go over the tulle skirt. Stay tuned for {Part 2}. Meanwhile, I will be sewing my brains out here at the happiest place on earth, my SunKissed Studio, of course.

How Pumpkin Pie is Made

2011-10-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! I thought I'd leave you with a laugh today...

Photo credit-Sherri Young (found on Facebook)

Little Banty Chick Pin Cushion

2011-10-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Recently I was ~~shopping~~ dreaming of buying a new sewing machine in one of our local sewing machine stores when I happened upon an entire shelf of these (yes, this one is my creation):

I thought these little guys were as cute as could be, especially since they were all sewn with costumes on! The store was having a contest to see who could come up with the most creative Banty Chick Pin Cushion, since Halloween is approaching. There were chicks with fruit baskets on their heads, tennis playing chicks, rocker chicks, doctor chicks. Some serious creativity was going on there, and I wish I had my camera that day (darn!). Unfortunately I didn't, and it was before I had my new nifty iPhone.

This little chick keeps me company through all of my sewing projects, and she really does like being stuck with pins, so she's really happy.

Here's the back of her:

I made her in Hawaiian(ish) prints so she would be a beachy chicky. If you'd like to make your own creation, here is the pattern. Have fun, and please share your flock with me if you do make some!

A Memory Sealed in My Head

2011-10-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

As much as I try, sometimes it's impossible to describe the love I have for my kids. I have a different relationship with each of them, each just as special as the other. My son thrives on deep conversations and the mysteries of life, which is why last night, I had a surprise for him.

He came home from school, and I couldn't wait to tell him. I said, "B, tonight I have a surprise for you. We're going to bed late, so when I put you to bed at 9, just know that I'm coming back to get you at 10:30, and we're going for a ride. He looked at me with this big grin. Sister wasn't invited this time, since she had sleepovers and Disneyland all weekend, and she was exhausted. It was B's and my little secret.

At 10:30 B and I jumped in the car and headed for the beach. Right now in North San Diego, we're having red tide. In a nutshell and according to Wikipedia, red tide is a common name for a phenomenon also known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms), an event in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column and results in discoloration of the surface water. It is usually found in coastal areas.^[1] These algae, known as phytoplankton, are single-celled protists, plant-like organisms that can form dense, visible patches near the water's surface. Certain species of phytoplankton, usually dinoflagellates or diatoms, contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from green to brown to red.

Here's what it looks like during the day:

At night, it's an amazing, glowing luminescent light show where the waves literally light up as they break, and the beauty of it is just mesmerizing.

So we pulled up to the beach, and B was stunned by how it looked. Miles of lit up blue glowing waves. So amazing, it's actually a bit hard to process. He asked me if I brought my camera. For starters, I don't have the kind of equipment you would need to capture the real essence of this sight. I told him that sometimes, the best memories are the ones imbedded in our heads.

After walking up and down the beach and watching the sand light up beneath our feet as we walked, he said, "Mom, thanks for bringing me down here." And he gave me a big hug. God, I love that kid.

Check out this video of the night time version of Red Tide.

Craft Inspiration and Bead Shopping

2011-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was headed down to the Del Mar Racetrack for some bead shopping at the Gem Faire that was being held in one of the exhibit halls there. It's always a treat to go there and stock up on beads for my jewelry because there are what seem like miles of vendors with beads of every style, size, shape and color to choose from at ridiculous prices (on the inexpensive side of ridiculous). When you see the word Gem, you think of the expensive genuine gem, but they have glass, crystal and all sorts of cheap beads there, too.

In my excitement, I had my whole day planned out. Zip to the Gem Faire and then zip back to pick up kids, etc. When I got there, I was so bummed because I forgot to look closely at the fine print on my mailer from them saying that it didn't open until 12:00. I had an hour and a half to kill. :(

So, rather than sit there sulking, I went over to Pier 1 Imports which was very close by, and thought I'd have a look-see. It's so fun to see things in stores that inspire me to create. Pier 1 had inspiration at every corner. Take this for example.

Can I just tell you how much of this kind of fabric I have laying around my craft room just waiting to become one of these pillows? And then there was this pillow...

I love the fish scale design and the bright colors. Again, fabric laying around screaming "Make me into that pillow!" More and more inspiration just jumped out at me ...

A super cute owl painting that I think looks pretty simple to do in a similar design. And my house could use some cute artwork in a few places.

How cute are these spiders? And easy peasy to make, right?

A stenciled lampshade. What a cute idea for a thrift store lamp.

Beaded napkin rings. Could I make this? Yes. Will I? Absolutely not. Why? Because the detailing on this would take me hours to make a set, and these bad boys were $4 a piece. Clearly NOT made in America. Never in a million years ... I'm just sayin'.

This little guy is what I came home with:

How could this NOT start your morning out right? Instant happy mood. And the $8 price tag made me even happier.

Now I'm Gonna Shift Gears

2011-09-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hey bloggers ... and blog READERS. Welcome to my newborn blog. It's 11:15 p.m. The entire family is asleep. I've been fiddling with this blog all day to get it to look just right -- more about that in the "Me" section. I think I've settled on this design. It's not fancy, but I cheaped out and did the entire thing myself, and I think this is as good as it's gonna get. I'm sure you all know what I'm going through, because you've all been here, right? My eyes are all glazed over. Fonts are beginning to blend together. My neck hurts, and because I did a killer hike today, I'm all sore on top of it. So, yeah ... the template of this guy is done, and now I'm gonna shift gears and get some content in this puppy. I hope you'll come on back! You may know me from my other blog, "Charity Chatter." Well, I've recently grown bigger than that gig alone, and voila! The new me. Hope to see you soon!

This was the reward at the end of my hike at Torrey Pines State Reserve today. You can see the marine layer is just starting to burn off -- by 10:00 the clouds were gone. Well worth the sweaty hike.