Paths to Wonderland Design x Casetify: Phone Cases for All the Wonder-Lovers!

Image source: Casetify

Hey guys! Just a quick post today to update you on one of the most exciting projects to come to Wonderland yet!

Earlier this summer I was contacted by Casetify about designing phone cases for their artist’s collection and I am happy to report that my collection is up and ready to go on their website! Seeing my silly little designs come to life into a real line of products is unbelievably exciting, and gets me so psyched about all the design dreams dancing around my head.

Casetify as a brand has some super hip technology with their transparent/printed cases and interchangeable backs, and allows you to customize away if my designs alone don’t cut it for you. Plus, there is work from a ton of other artists up on their site, and Casetify does an amazing job of promoting these small designers, which is such a blessing for those like me trying to get their work out there!

As  for the designs themselves, the first handful of cases were directly inspired by the digital fruit salad party I held earlier this summer. (Did I mention all the free downloads that went up with that?) I took those designs, infused some watercolor, ombre, and transparency, and optimized those designs for the phone case dimensions.

Peach Pattern // Peach Pun
Strawberry Pattern // Strawberry Pun
Raspberry Pattern // Raspberry Pun
Kiwi Pattern // Kiwi Pun
Cherry Pattern // Cherry Pun
Blueberry Pattern // Blueberry Pun

Following that, I have 5 designs that I made exclusively for the phone case collection, and I really love these too! They are definitely in the sassy, sweet, slightly dorky, and totally pastel spirit of Wonderland. And I got to throw in a little bit of outdated slang on that “hella rad” case, so we are all winning here. (It’s my personal favorite!)

Hot Damn in Magenta + Peach // Hot Damn in Indigo + Lavender
Geometric in Pretty in Pink // Geometric in Oceanic Palette 
Hella Rad Multicolor (see first post image)

Image source: Casetify

Last but not least, I put one of my old favorite designs as a MacBook sleeve, or iPad Cover! I'm potentially looking at revamping a few other Monday in Wonderlands or printables into cases, so let me know what you would like to see!

I will definitely keep adding more designs to this collection as time goes on, but for now I am so so happy with the designs I put together. If you are interested in purchasing a phone case, or think a friend would love one of these designs, you can check out the whole online collection here! And while you are at it, peek around their site and take a gander at all the other gorgeous designs up there. Thanks y’all for all the support always, and I can’t wait to see what fun design projects are in store for Wonderland next!

Which of these designs is your favorite? Are there any of my old designs that you’d like to have on a  phone case of your very own?

Stay lovely,

**For full disclosure, I am paid a small artist’s fee for every one of my designs that is sold. I am insanely appreciative of this perk, but am sponsored by Casetify in no other way. As usual, I would never promote a product or service to you that I do not fully appreciate and intend to use.

Still a skeptic? Stay tuned for my review of the physical Casetify product in the near future! That is, once I decide what phone to replace my current, somewhat crippled one with…**

Throwback Thursday: DIY Natural Fiber Chokers

Hey there “home-skillets!” So according to my excess following of red carpet events (via Grace Helbig of course), it appears that chokers are back in style and I think that is “slammin.”  I can honestly say that I recently purchased jelly shoes and one particular top that is very much the Rachel Green aesthetic, and am officially feeling pretty damn “fly.” Ooh ooh, and all the 90’s inspired patches and pins I’m seeing lately? “Off the heezy” if I do say so myself.

Okay, enough at my lame attempts at slang (I can’t handle it from my generation or the last one). I really am here to talk about chokers. I feel like right now fashion is trying to take it back to the 90’s but only pull out the good stuff this time, and I couldn't be happier. Since learning they were a legit accessory once again, I have been dying to add a few chokers to my jewelry collection (which, ironically, consists of mostly really long necklaces). And in typical DIY-er fashion, I decided the best route for me was to make a few! I thought it would be super fun to share the techniques I used, so you can be as trendy as I pretend to be.

For each of the chokers, you will need:

Macramé rope, ribbon, or string-like material

Ribbon clamps

Industrial strength glue (I’m partial to E6000)

Some spare chain (to make an extender)

A lobster clasp

A couple of jump rings

Pliers

The process is also pretty similar for each necklace! Cut your material to a length slightly shorter than the circumference of your neck (about 12 1/2" for me). Drop a bit of glue onto the inside of the ribbon clamp, add the end of your material, & clamp down hard with the pliers, then repeat with the other end and let dry. With the help of your jump rings, attach a 1-3” extender chain to one ribbon clamp, and a lobster clasp to other. Then rock your necklace like the 90's babe you are!

For the first choker, I used some macramé trim purchased in the fabric section of my local craft store. I had to use a good amount glue and a large clamp because of the thickness of this material, but I love the subtle, earthy vibe this one give off. Also them front teeth, am I right?

Next, I thought it would be fun to channel the obsession with friendship bracelets that was my childhood and make a friendship bracelet-inspired choker--it's like 90's on 90's! Patience is definitely required for this style (and maybe a You-Tube tutorial), but I love how nostalgic it is. 

And lastly, I purchased some very fuchsia suede cording to make the last choker have an excellent color pop! Since I combined 3 individual pieces of cord, I glued it down side by side on the clamp and allowed it to dry before closing the clamp. I also took care to make sure the individual pieces of cord didn't end up twisted, so that the choker could lay flat when I was wearing it. You could also string some little gold beads onto the cord to make this style of choker even more fun!

Overall, I’d say the expansion of my choker collection was a huge success, and for very little effort. And fun fact, my wrist is about half the circumference of my neck, so these chokers double as wrapped bracelets for me! Now I just need some overalls and a scrunchie and we are good to go!

Are you as in love with chokers as I am? Actually, are you as in love with this revival of 90’s fashion as I am?

Stay lovely,

DIY Faux Beaded Clutch

I think we can all pretty much agree that a girl can never have too many simple clutches, right? They are perfect for anything from a laid-back brunch to a fancy dinner if you buy the right one, and can add so much interest to an outfit with considerably minimal effort. But how do we go about finding that perfect clutch you say? Well, why not make it our own!

Around Christmastime, I found this super fun product call Beads in a Bottle that is absolutely perfect for adding a little pizazz to your basic clutch! (Not sponsored, just awesome.) It is about as easy to use as paint, and, as you can see, can be used super elaborately or just as a simple, classy accent! It essentially creates round “beads” on the surface you apply it to by self-rounding, meaning you can stud/bedazzle the heck out of something without actually going through the work of studs. And unlike puffy fabric paint, the “beads” actually do round themselves out on top instead of creating a peak.

Now apart from the billion projects I still want to make with this stuff, I dressed up a couple clutches from Charming Charlie to show you how it works. The simple, white and gold one was for me (I like to keep my studding subtle), while the black, art-deco style one was created for my older sister as a Christmas present (she loves 20s style)!

I am all for an easy and unique accessory update, and this particular method is just about as easy as it gets!

For the white and gold clutch:

You will need a basic quilted clutch, and your choice of metallic shade of Beads in a Bottle (I bought this pack).

Simply add a dot of paint at each intersection of the quilting. Bigger dots will round a little better, and try not to get to close to the edges, or gravity will interfere with your hard work!

For the art-deco clutch:

You will need a flat-faced, preferably solid color clutch, 2 metallic shades of Beads in a Bottle, white sewing chalk, and a cotton swab or two.

Sketch your design on the surface of a clutch using a ruler and chalk, then “bead” onto the clutch as before! When the paint is fully dry (probably overnight), you can add a little water to the cotton swab to wash away the chalk residue.

Use different amounts of pressure to get beads of different sizes. It may help to practice a little before you go to work on the clutch itself. If you do make a mistake though, wait until the paint dries a bit, peel it off as best as possible, and clean up the area with a cotton swab soaked in isopropyl alcohol. And please remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect—it will still looks awesome and unique regardless! (If you are a perfectionist, like myself, I do suggest using a relatively inexpensive clutch to start with, and know that lighter colors will show errors less than darker colors!)

Because this embellishment is really just paint, it’s in the clutch’s best interest to not be sandwich in between your toiletries and t-shirts when you pack for Spring Break... I learned that the hard way! Never fear though. You can actually go over the “beads” again with the paint, just make sure that they are completely centered over the previous application and ever-so-slightly larger than the original. To avoid having to do this though, I would suggest at least 12 hours dry-time before you even flip the clutch over to paint the other side.

I’m looking forward to trying this product on a new wallet (mine is fraying after 5 years, go figure),  or the adorable pink cross-body that I recently thrifted for $4 (SCORE)! Anything you are interesting in fancying up with faux studs/beads?

Stay lovely, 

DIY Valentine's Day Inspired Sleep Masks!

When I shuttled myself up to Aggieland last August to start the whole college business, I gained an absolutely beautiful room! I’m slowly building up wall décor for this space, but lucky for me, I get to skip a whole wall! Why you ask? (And this is even luckier.) Absolutely giant windows!!! They are incredibly beautiful and make everything feel so airy and fun. The only problem then is that when it starts getting light outside, my brain goes, “time to wake up!” Early rising like this would be an awesome thing, except for the fact that I regularly stay up far too late! So as we blissfully glide into spring (yes, that it what the transition feels like to me), I decided to whip up some fun sleep masks for that rising sun in the early morn!

DIY sleep masks aren’t really new, a quick Pinterest search will show you that, but I’ve been dying to try out my own embellishments. And then a day full of hearts and pink and love and stuff comes barreling towards me so I said, “why not Valentine’s Day inspired sleep masks?” (Check out me and my dialogue tonight. Obviously, I am now a fiction author.) I mean talk about a fun and personalized gift!! AND I get to once again use the fabulously sparkly glitter fabric I purchased for my Bright Side/Monday Side Pillow—it comes in so many colors! Yayyyy!

You will need:

A sleep mask to use as a pattern or this nifty template I made ya

1/4 yard black satin fabric

Glitter fabric sheets in the desired color (You could probably also spray on glitter with a product like this one!)

Scissors of the craft and fabric persuasions

Scrap fleece

Fabric glue (I used this brand)

Needle ‘n thread

Sewing machine

Fold over elastic (also nifty for a DIY Elastic JournalClosure *shameless self-promotion* or hair ties)

Step 1

Click here to download a sleep mask template and print it on computer paper! Or if you don’t like my overall shape, use your own mask as a template (or in my case my sister’s mask)! A quick Pinterest search will also get you what you desire and you can create the embellishment templates in a word processing program! All those are 2.5” in height, just to give you all the options you could possibly want.

Step 2

Cut out the mask template from the computer paper. Fold the satin parallel to the selvage to the height of the pattern and pin on the template, then cut both layers at once! (You can trust me, it’s pretty easy.) The fleece will also be cut from the shape inside the seam allowance if you would like to do that at this step.

Step 3

Trace and cut your embellishment from the glitter fabric! It is actually easiest to cut with regular scissors, for the record. Make sure if you are using certain letters such as “L” or “C” that you trace and cut these face down, or they will come out backwards!

Step 4

Attach the glittery embellishments to the right side of one of the satin pieces. I put just a little glue in the center to tack them in place, then made a running stitch by hand around the perimeter of the shapes to be all fancy-like! I would also recommend tacking down the points of a letter such as the x with a needle and thread even if you decide to glue everything. Otherwise, these points tend to stick out and look awkward, especially when the mask goes with the curves of your face.

Step 5

Cut your fold over elastic so that it comfortably stretches around the back of your head from temple to temple. Mine ended up being 13.”

Step 6

Now you will stack and pin your pieces for sewing. Start with the unembellished satin piece, right side up, followed by the elastic, also right side up. Since the elastic will be wider than the mask, you can go ahead and pin the ends down straight across from one another. Place the embellished satin piece face down on top, and pin everything together, sandwiching the ends of the elastic between the two satin layers.

Step 7

Stitch it all up, leaving a 2” gap at the top for turning, and using a narrow seam allowance.

Step 8

Notch the curves of the sleep mask by cutting out little triangle shapes. This will make everything lay out more smoothly and beautifully at the end.

Step 9

Turn the mask right sides out and push out the curved edges, then iron them on a low setting from the unembellished side to get pretty, clean curves (without melting your glitter vinyl).

Step 10

Insert the fleece piece you cut earlier and smooth it out between the layers. If it is too bunchy, you may need to trim it down a little. Once its’s in place, slip stitch that gap closed.

Step 11

Now take a gosh darn nap, because you worked very hard and have something pretty to help you out!

One of these babies is soon to be on a trip to Ohio to wish my bestie a very Happy Valentine’s Day—sorry for the spoiler Theresa dear! Sweet dreams love!

I do have to say that this little guy is so SO comfy! Between the satin, fleece insert, and fold over elastic at the back, this is one of the comfiest sleep masks I have ever tried on. I mean I might be a little biased because I get to look a little like my favorite emoji now, but I’m not completely lying! And it is well suited for that very beautiful and very bright window.

Some other cute variations on this idea include animal masks, the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s eyes, or the addition of puns and other lovely words! What kind of sleep mask would you put together? Maybe one with emoji eyes?! (I mean, really, they’re emoji eyes.)

Stay lovely,

DIY Gold Textured Makeup Bag

This project, the first of many of its kind, was the result of the Christmas crafting chaos that ensues in our home every year! We can never just buy something. We have to make it and make it personalized and usually come up with our own difficult way to do it! But that does leave the opportunity to create DIY tutorials, so I can’t complain too much. Plus it turned out metallic and purple—so perf for my momma! And then I had to make one for me too :)

Before I begin, I have to give a lot of credit to my sister Samantha, because the pattern and sewing knowledge is all hers. Heck, she even did the stitching of this baby because sewing machines and I aren’t the best of friends. Like I seriously don’t know what I do, I just always mess it up and spend half my time ripping out seams!!! I digress.

You will need:

1/2 yard outer fabric

1/2 yard ling fabric

1/2 yard lightweight fusible interfacing

Press cloth (an old t-shirt works great)

7” zipper (NOT an “invisible” zipper)

Gold leaf flakes (available at most craft stores)

Tacky Glue

Mod Podge

Old brushes

(Also an iron, fabric scissors, thread, chalk/water soluble marker, and a sewing machine with a zipper foot. Just in case you need a checklist or are a sewing newbie!)

Step 1

Using this downloadable template printed on cardstock, trace and cut 2 pieces of the outer fabric, 2 of the lining fabric, and 2 of the fusible interfacing. The pieces of interfacing should be slightly smaller than the template piece.

Step 2

Work upward in horizontal strips as you add the gold flakes to the outer fabric. On each piece of the outer fabric, dab on a thin layer of tacky glue with an old brush. Let dry for 30 seconds or until tacky (as the name of the product implies, it doesn’t take long), then arrange flakes as desired. The flakes will stick to your finger, then you can place them on top of the area with glue and smooth them down. When the arrangement is sufficient, move upward to the next strip and repeat.

As I moved upward, I used smaller and fewer flakes to fade out. However, remember that the bottom rectangle of the pattern will be on the bottom, flat edge of the pouch, so you may have a larger section at the bottom that is mostly filled in. Additionally, even if you don’t include flakes all the way up the pouch, apply glue to every area so that the whole pouch is the same texture.

Step 3

When the glue is dry, use a clean, soft brush to remove any excess flakes that didn’t adhere.

Step 4

While that is drying, iron the interfacing to the wrong side of the lining fabric using package directions.

Step 5

Now we can get to sewing! Unzip your zipper partway, and pin the right side of one lining fabric to the wrong side of the zipper, lining up the edge of the zipper teeth to the edge of your 1/2” seam allowance. You will have to sew around the zipper pull, so for now, line up the pull with the last pin. 

Step 6

Using the zipper foot on your machine, stitch along the pinned side of the zipper tape, backstitching at both ends. You will want to leave a slight gap between the teeth and your stitching, as this will prevent your lining from catching in your zipper. When your machine reaches the zipper pull, lower your needle, raise the presser foot, and unzip the pouch past the back end of the foot so you can continue sewing.

Step 7

Press the lining away from the zipper teeth (using an iron… just clarifying, in case, like me, you are not an experienced seamstress).

Step 8

With your lining still folded back, pin the right side of the outer fabric to the right side of the zipper tape, once again lining up the seam allowance to the zipper teeth. To simplify this, you can mark the 1/2" seam allowance with a water erasable pen on the wrong side of the outer fabric, and, using a fingernail, press that line into the groove by the zipper teeth to feel when it is correctly lined up. Make sure that when you fold back the outer piece, the wrong sides of the outer and lining fabric meet.

Step 9

Still using the zipper foot, stitch your outer fabric to the zipper tape, this time pulling the zipper teeth more tightly into the edge of the zipper foot.

Step 10

Repeat steps 5-9 on the other side of the zipper tape. Switching the position of the zipper foot on the shank is helpful, so that you are always sewing toward the zipper pull. (This video link has a lot of nonsense, but I basically included it to show switching the position of the zipper foot on the shank, because that kinda sounds like Greek to me. Skip to 3:45 for that clarification!)

Step 11

Press open the outer fabric along the zipper. You may want to use a press cloth to guarantee no glue transfers to the iron.

Step 12

Unzip the zipper 3/4 of the way. Lay out the pouch so that the right sides of the lining are together, and the right sides of the outer fabric are together. Pin so that the seam allowances and zipper tape point towards your lining fabric.

Step 13

Using your zipper foot, stitch over the zipper tape at each end of the zipper, in accordance with the 1/2" seam allowance. This will anchor these edges so you don’t have to pin them later.

Step 14

Stitch the sides together, leaving a 3” opening in the bottom of the lining for turning. (Opening indicated in the pictures above.) You may have to taper up your stitching to meet the ends of the zipper.

Step 15

Trim the seams to 1/4”, leaving slightly more of an allowance at the bottom of the lining fabric where you will be turning the pouch.

Step 16

Create box corners by pinching each corner and diagonally stitching 3/4" from the corner, as is marked in the original template. Marking the distance from the corners is very helpful in this step. We also like to double-reinforce the corners by starting at the center and backstitching at the beginning and end. (Start center-back stitch to edge-forward stitch all the way across-backstitch to center.)

Step 17

Snip the corners with fabric scissors or pinking shears (if ya have that fancy sort of stuff). 

Step 17

Now go ahead and turn that pouch! It may shed a little gold as you turn it, but it should look pretty much done except for the gap at the bottom.

Step 18

Stitch that gap up now, sandwiching the extra seam allowance inside! You can use a slip stitch by hand if you would like, but since it is on the inside of the pouch, we usually just machine-stitch near the edge. (Lazy or efficient? You tell me!)

Step 19

Tuck the lining into the pouch.

Step 20

Apply a thin layer of ModPodge to the exterior of the pouch to seal down the edges of any gold flakes.

I hope you like this fun little gold-leafed pouch! The dimensions of this pattern can totally be adapted for different size cases, and my sister has made us pouches like this for pencil bags and so on. Plus, it stands up thanks to the box corners and stiffness from the glue!

Oh, and I can also gold leaf all the fabric things now, right? I was honestly surprised with just how easy gold flakes were to use, and I look forward to using them even more in the future! I had a lot left over! Any ideas from you folks?

Better yet, do y’all have any questions on this crazy-long tutorial? I am so grateful for my resident seamstress (#bestsistereverrrrr) for her help on this tutorial, and she is happy to help with questions where I cannot!

Stay lovely,