Lifestyle Crafts is at it again with their new line for the new year: Countdown! They sent me their new drink dies and alphabet dies to try out. As you can see, I had some fun. The very first thing I did was cut out letters to spell "Happy New Year 2012" and strung them all on a string! It will be so cute hanging on the wall or Christmas tree maybe. Then I used the drink punches to cut out circles and stars. That's not really what they are for, they really make cute little wine glass charm things. But instead I used the little stars for ...Continue Reading
the little janie skirt
Isn't that the cutest name? It fits the skirt pretty well, too! And my model is a doll. In person: even cuter! I had a really fun time trying out this pattern from Hadley Grace Designs! I love it when sewing projects turn out to be so fun. I think it was the way it came together. It was simple enough, but the design and little details, like the top casing and ruffle trim made it really exciting to put together. I've reviewed another Hadley Grace pattern in this post: little boy vest. These patterns are alway simply worded with great photos! I ...Continue Reading
the short dress fixer slip
Oh my knees! Oh whew. Good thing I have that slip on. I have a few personal rules about what I will wear and what I won't wear. I only wear clothes I feel totally confident in, because who wants to wear their insecurities around all day? Not me! I typically wear skirts and dresses that go to my knees. I don't want to be doing this all day: I mentioned on Monday that I washed this black dress and it shrunk in length! I also have lots of "dresses" that I wear with skinny jeans as "shirts." But sometimes I want to be able to wear those cute ...Continue Reading
how much fabric?
Don't you hate it when you find the perfect fabric but you're not sure how much to buy? Most of the time when I'm buying fabric I don't have a specific pattern in mind, I just know I want to make something. So if I go into the store to buy fabric for a dress I would generally walk out without enough! Never fear, Gwyn Hug's How Much Fabric? Reference Cards are here! These handy little card sets come in 5 versions, women's, plus size, men's, infant-6 and children's 7+!The fronts feature cute little diagrams with length and style of what you're ...Continue Reading
sweet scallops tote round-up
Oops...I realized a few days ago that I totally spaced it and never featured any totes from the Sweet Scallops sew-a-long! Oh no! First of all, thank you to everyone for participating! I was so impressed with everything that was linked up. I was also really fun to see final products from a tutorial I've made. I'm already planning the next sew-a-long for the new year! I hope you'll join! So here are a few of the totes that were linked up:Occasionally Crafty made this pretty tote. I love turquoise and red! Tara from Sew Tara made this with ...Continue Reading
DIY polka dot tights!
Polka dot tight obsession going on over here. If you saw my Christmas list, modcloth has these super cute tights for sale. I couldn't stop thinking about them. They're $35, which I totally think is worth it. But I made these for 5 bucks, so umm...definitely worth it!! I'm pretty sure it's a new closet staple. You want? Go to Target and pick up some $5 tights. You'll also need black puffy paint. I made two pairs. The first one failed. I used two strips of cardboard to stretch out the tight legs. Then painted on the polka dot pattern. The funny ...Continue Reading
lolita in the fall
skirt: The Lolita Skirt pattern c/o Paradiso Designs; blouse: old navy; tights: target; felted necklace: c/o Good Natured Besides my coats, my wardrobe pretty much stays the same all year round, give or take some layering tights and shirts. I really love this skirt! Obviously, I can't keep my hands off of it. I think the fabric (an old sheet) is perfect for the fall, against a little mustard. Why is mustard yellow so awesome? I have a men's shirt redo to show you tomorrow. I'm putting the tutorial together as we speak! Uh, type! Oh yeah ...Continue Reading
acorn garland + guy gift scarf + a sale!
On Tuesday I was a guest at The Southern Institute! Go here to check out my acorn wreath tutorial, perfect for Thanksgiving! And today I'm at Kojo Designs for Gifts for Guys! An easy plaid scarf for your boys! And if you want to get a head start on your Christmas shopping, there's a Thanksgiving sale going on over in the shop. Use code GIVETHANKS for 25% off all week! There are some pretty new things and lots of fabric! Have a happy Sunday! ...Continue Reading
just for you
Lifestyle Crafts released this line, Just For You, this week! There are some seriously useful things in the line, like these little boxes. It's called the Bakery Box Die and I think it's my favorite die. You just put the box die through your epic and fold it up. It couldn't be easier! I used double-sided paper so the inside is exciting! The letters in "dad" are from the High Rise alphabet die.I also made a new wreath with recycled magazines using the rosettes die. These dies make decorating for holidays so easy! I might just fill my Christmas ...Continue Reading
before i blogged: houndstooth jacket
Before I blogged I made this houndstooth jacket. Outfit: Jacket: constructed by me (yay!); jeans: boutiqued in California; shoes: hand-me-downs; blouse: urban I used a pattern for this jacket but took out a lot of the fullness and completely redesigned the collar. The collar is my favorite part. You can wear it up or down, it's so fun! The black and white houndstooth fabric was a no-brainer. Right? Buy it! I made this three years ago and that is when my love for houndstooth started. I don't know that I'll ever not like it. It's ...Continue Reading
gift idea: mini car playmat
This was originally posted at Positively Splendid for the Swell Noel series! In case you missed it, this would make a great gift a for a little guy! It's already wrapped up for my little guy. Shh, don't tell! I've been so excited to make a car playmat for my little boy- since before he was born! Now that he is over a year I feel like he might be excited about it soon. I collected a few shiny new cars and made a mini car playmat that rolls up and ties. Perfect for on the go. My biggest concern when thinking about the design of this car mat ...Continue Reading