ruffles 2012 guest: googiemomma

Today’s guest is googiemomma! Shannon is a buddy from my SYTYC days, check out her projects here. She is pretty hilarious and has 5 kids, including 4 girls. You have to check out this Girl’s Room Transformation! She’s an excellent seamstress and her designs always look so fun!

when i got the invitation to be a part of RUFFLES 2012 i was honored, excited, and nervous. i was thinking ruffles. i was pinning ruffles. i was literally dreaming about ruffles.


but you know…i quickly realized that–short of decorating one of my husband’s suits with a ruffley cascade of fabric (my mom’s suggestion…which i’m sure the hubs is thankful i didn’t follow up on)—there’s pretty much nothing new under the sun in the world of ruffles.


i mean—what haven’t we seen? ruffled dresses, shirts, pants, shoes. ruffles on lamps, on pillows, on tablecloths and runners. bags with ruffles, clutches with ruffles, wallets with ruffles, comforters and duvets alike.
(i know, i’m starting to sound like a dr. seuss book)


and they’re all so pretty. my mind started to get muddled and confused by all the different ideas. i couldn’t settle on anything. i couldn’t come up with anything new! and exciting! and, truth be told, i started to get a little discouraged. when i receive an invitation to share something on someone’s blog i like to challenge myself. i like to make sure that i’m giving them something that represents the best i can offer. but with ruffles…i felt i was coming up short.


so i sat down and had a discussion with myself: maybe you can’t reinvent the wheel. but if you’re going to make a wheel—be sure it’s the best stinkin’ wheel you can make.



in all the different dresses and tops and ruffled things i saw, i found that i was consistently drawn to the ones with big dramatic ruffles.

so i made a basic dress: sleeveless lined bodice, full skirt, back zipper closure. but i used a gorgeous greyish-blue silk.

and added a big dramatic ruffle around the neckline and down the front.

and if there’s one thing this dress doesn’t lack—it’s the drama.

over the top? maybe. but this gap-toothed, blue-eyed, freckle-nosed princess loves it.

want to add some ruffle drama to your next project? here’s how i did it:
 

kate—thank you so much for letting me be a part of RUFFLES 2012! i loved being here—and i can’t wait to see the other awesome stuff coming up!




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Shannon emailed me this last night, saying she busted it out in 2 1/2 hours. What!?! That’s it: I’m nominating her for Project Runway.


Thanks so much Shannon! Also check out Shannon’s ruffled leather clutches, ruffled tank tutorial,  and ruffled girl’s dress! You can also follow her on Pinterest and Twitter.