So I know this video looks loooong but I just wanted to share with you how I made the cutie lil felt EP covers for my EP ‘Leaving Our Bodies’.
It was a long process which is why the video had the be the length it is – and that’s without ALL of the footage haha! They all took around 3-4 hours each but I loved making them and I’m really proud of the end result. The DIY look of them (and of course they are very DIY) is part of their charm I think.
If you want one of these babies you can still get them HEEERE! Every one of them is slightly different so they’re all unique and very lovingly handmade.
If you want a little explanation of how I made them keep reading…
1. I bought a loooad of felt and ironed it all (carefully, with a towel over it) and then drew out a little ghostie and a heart and cut them out of the felt.
2. I used the CD itself to measure out how big the covers should be to make sure they would fit fine! I wanted you to actually be able to get the CD OUT and be able to put it back IN again. I then cut this out, pinned it and ironed it in half so that I could see exactly how big each side of the cover was for laying out the design.
3. Then I laid out where the lil ghost was gonna go and started drawing on the writing in pencil & sewing chalk. To embroider the writing I used black embroidery thread – I used 2 strands to get a good ole thickness.
4. To embroider the writing I used backstitch. Then to sew on the bits and sew it together I used a running stitch (please do correct me if I’m wrong about this – my sewing knowledge is not amazing haha).
That’s basically it! The writing was the part that took the longest, trying to get all those swirly letters all noice!
If you hadn’t already cottoned on (though I’m sure you have because you’re such a clever bean!) fear is a pretty hot topic in my universe. I’ve been tackling my Fran world fears for a while now and came across some footage from last summer that needs to be shared.
It all began when my dear pal Topher asked me to dance in public for his music video. Maybe that doesn’t seem scary to you. I would like to bring your awareness to the fact that I bear no resemblance to a professional dancer – I could go so far as to say that my “moves” cause some onlookers distress and/or concern as you will see in the video. (Watch the final music video HERE)
Anyhow, despite my terror I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to stretch myself, and the awkwardness of my dancing was part of the charm anyway – it wasn’t meant to be good (thank god)!
I found the filming quite challenging but really, really fun. I just had to force myself to just go for it and revel in my goofiness and y’know what? It felt pretty empowering! Fuck y’all bitches that don’t like what I’m doing, this feels good to me for whatever reason!
Something very comforting (and amusing) that I found as well was that people barely looked at me anyway. There I was in the middle of the city centre at midday, surrounded by people having their lunch in the sunshine, practically all of them either not taking any notice of me whatsoever or doing their utmost to NOT LOOK AT ME (I’m talking to you, dog outside the Corn Exchange). I was at least expecting some heckling or snickering but nothing of the sort happened.
So the lesson I take from this is: go be your magical, goofy/classy/whatever self because maybe the world isn’t as scary and mean as it can seem sometimes. Or something like that. Either way go be you because it feels good! Also side note: anyone who tries to bring you down is probably (or definitely, I feel like probably definitely) only doing it because they have their own shit they aren’t dealing with. So do your best not to waste your energy on worrying about those people. We all do it, it’s ok, just the more we can focus on love rather than fear, the better 🙂
Hello lady-babes, sir-babes, and everyone in between.
Fear plays such a HUOOOGE part in my life (and in all of our lives!) that I just felt I had to write a little something about it.
I believe that all of our choices and feelings are either rooted in fear or love. I know that sounds very simplistic, but hear me out. Every time I feel bad about something in some way, when I analyze it it’s easy to see that the “badness” is coming from a place of fear, or a lack of love. I’ll decide not to do something that I felt motivated to do and don’t know why at first. Then I have a closer and look and realize OH HEY I just got too scared gosh darnit. For example: writing this blog. I often feel like writing but then get demotivated, and when I sit down and listen to my mind I realize it’s because I’m scared of what people will think or say. Well I’m on a mission to stop being a lil bitch and start DOING! Even if it’s just a little bit at a time.
I get scared about lots of stuff – I would go so far as to say OODLES of things. Yes, OODLES! I get scared, normal things like whether I’m making the right life choices and more unusual things like being in crowds sometimes or spending time with other people in general… Or being alone… Or you know, most things at some point or another! Oops.
What I want to say to you though, and say to myself, is that that is ok. I go out and try and face my fears; I do my best and I am finally learning that that is ENOUGH. That is more than enough. We’re all just doing the best we can and when we try and face our fears we are brave motherfuckers. Even if those fears seem unusual or small to other people. If you’re scared and you face it in some way or another, you are BRAVE! Remember that! Give yourself a good old pat on the back or a lollipop or something you glorious human being!
Bravery isn’t fearlessness. Bravery is feeling the fear and the scary thing anyway. I don’t know where I first heard that but I love that quote (my botched version of it, anyway).
So I want you to know that if you’re scared of lots of things like me, that you’re not alone. And no matter how many things you’re scared of or what they are, if you’re doing something about it – ANYTHING – you should be proud of yourself.
KittiesAnchorsandHappyStuff 