labor of love

as previously mentioned, i've been taking a sewing class. learning new things everyday like how to make alterations, read patterns and create a piece from scratch has been very eye-opening and addictive. there's still a lot to learn, but if i can walk away from this class with a strong grasp of the fundamentals, i should be okay. this has been the best hobby yet!

after weeks of laboring over this piece, i introduce to you my first DIY dress ever!
DIY olive green poplin dress
looking for the pattern? check out simplicity's pattern for cynthia rowley.

Time Flies

Has it really been over a month since my last entry? If you're still following this blog, I'm glad you haven't given up on me! Things have gotten kind of busy in the real world and now I find myself back in school for an MBA. On top of all the textbook reading, amazingly, I've been keeping up with all the blog reading in my Google Reader, drooling over your latest looks/finds/projects! Just haven't been able to comment as much because after the mental strain of reading a million pages for school, I can only articulate very simple words like "ooh" or "wow". And let's face it, comments like that are not fun to read.

In addition to the not-so-exciting stuff, I'm taking a sewing class! I was gifted with a brand new sewing machine awhile back and decided that I should finally retire my lame hand-stitching technique and get with the program! So I signed up for a semester of sewing/tailoring/alterations just for fun. Ironically, I'm finding this new hobby to be very therapeutic and a nice break from the books, even though it adds an additional 8 hours of classroom time to my schedule. I'm wrapping up my first project and after some professional alterations (by me!), I'll hopefully get a picture up soon!

Till then, just take a look at our furbabies on our new sofa. Cutie wooties!

I Spy Gold Hardware

clockwise from top left: unknown label denim band vest, jeffrey campbell fleur de lis flats, h&m velvet band jacket, tory burch reva flats
Fortunately, this month has been good to me so far and what better way to keep up the good mood than to indulge in a little bit of shopping? So I trekked on over to my local Buffalo Exchange to explore the treasures of resale. And without realizing it, I began picking out items that all fall under one theme: gold hardware. It's ironic that I stumbled across all these items at once because I have been hunting for the perfect band jacket and flats for a very long time and just when I start forgetting about them, they appear out of the blue... in twos! So greedy me bought everything and will stash away the jackets until the weather cools off. And in Texas terms, that means oh gosh, like, December? I'm just ahead of myself here.

I'll be in LA next month so I'll be sure to sport the velvet jacket because the picture does it no justice! (And yes, the left shoulder gold button is missing. Just haven't had time to sew on the extra button that came along with it.)

DIY Sequined Strong Shoulder Sweater

DIY Sequined Sweater | F21 denim cutoffs | F21 heels
There's something about those obnoxious, overly sequined 80s sweaters that drive me crazy...so crazy that I go out and make my own. Inspired by Style Scrapbook, who was inspired by Sienna Miller's Twenty8Twelve sequined knit top, I decided to give this look a try.

[via www.style.com]
To begin, I picked up a black crew neck sweater at a Goodwill for 6 bucks. I was afraid to ruin a sweater that I actually own so I decided thrifting was the best route for this project.




Supplies:
- 4 yards of different color threaded sequin (about $1/yard)
- shoulder pads (~$5)
- solid color knit top or sweater with a crew neck

1) You'll need about a yard of threaded sequin for each color. Since it will be sewn onto the shoulder in the form of a rainbow, choose your first color and start with the inner rainbow and move outward.

2) If you are hand sewing, you can go in and out after every 3 or 4 sequins (as pictured). Make sure you secure both edges of the threaded sequin by double or triple looping the thread around the first two and last two sequins. If you're doing this by machine, then consider yourself lucky!

3) The inside of the knit top should appear like a rainbow of thread. I suggest using thread of either the same color as your knit top or the same color as the sequin. Or you could just use clear thread. In this project, I didn't really care that my black thread was visible on the sequin.

4) Straighten out your knit top on a flat sureface, line up the shoulder pads and stitch them into place.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Elle Spain features DIY Fashion

I randomly stumbled across Elle Spain one day, and they had a special feature on popular DIY fashion ideas. Being in the DIY mood as of late, I clicked through the links which led me to a plethora of projects that I have either seen before or was seeing for the first time. Although the website is in Spanish, the pictures speak for themselves. I really love how Elle explained the projects using few pictures and words. It leaves the rest up to your imagination, and lets you decide on your own specifications.

Let's take a gander, shall we?

















[All images via Elle.es]

Which one is your favorite??

scarf-making machine

this is what i've been up to. ever since i learned how to make these recycled t-shirt scarves, it's been non-stop! i'm making them to give away as gifts and have no plans to sell them. check out cucumbersome's tutorial for instructions on how to make them!