Friday, March 16, 2012

I spy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope that these things get you in the Irish state of mind...

Images clockwise from top left are from: asos, Beer of the Day, Gina's Skinny Recipes, Embellish, SeptemberHouse

Midi Dress in Watercolour Print from asos

Smithwicks Beer spotted on Beer of the Day

Baked Potato Soup from Gina's Skinny Recipes

The recipe uses cauliflower as well as potatoes to make it a bit healthier. I was quite skeptical about how it would taste because I do not care for cauliflower, but it was delicious! I will definitely make this again.

Rice Crispy Shamrock Treats from Embellish

Shamrock Necklace from SeptemberHouse on Etsy

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Baby's Crinkle Skirt

Front view

One of my friends has a little girl named Molly that is six months old. (I previously made her a matching onesie and bootie set that you can see here.) I do not know much about babies so I was very entertained to learn that babies love toys that make crinkly noises when they touch them. Armed with this knowledge, I thought it would be very cute to make a skirt for Molly that crinkles. Then she can play even if she doesn't have a toy in front of her.

Back view

\Once, I had a plan, the skirt was fairly easy to construct. I knew that I wanted individual pieces that Molly could grab and crinkle and I knew that I wanted it to be super cute and I knew that I wanted the back to be plain. Maybe a tutorial later...

Inside of the front

I bought way too much material at the craft store because it is hard to comprehend just how tiny baby clothes actually are. But it was nice to have extra for the trial and error of designing from scratch.

I was very pleased with how the skirt turned out. Some of my stitching is crooked, but I think that the overall concept works well. I really love the pink tulle hidden under the crinkle panels, but next time, I would add more!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

I spy sailboats

Images clockwise from center are from: Old Navy, mengseldesign on Etsy, cotton & curls, Frank & Gertrude on Etsy, Modcloth

I saw the adorable sailboat blouse from Old Navy (center of collage) and was inspired to see what other interesting boat related apparel, accessories, crafts, and decor that I could find...

Sailboat Print 3/4 Sleeve Top from Old Navy

Bigger Boat throw pillow from mengseldesign on Etsy

Ok, so this one doesn't have any boats on it, but it is a boat neck top and it is a great way to refashion a shirt, so I couldn't resist:

Refashion a regular neckline into a boat neck shirt on cotton & curls

Foldover Springtime Clutch from Frank & Gertrude on Etsy

An Open Coloring Book top from Modcloth

Friday, March 2, 2012

Coffee Cozy

Perhaps I am crazy, but I don't drink coffee. However, when I saw this tutorial for a Coffee Cozy posted by Jeni from In Color Order on Skip to my Lou, I had to find someone that frequents the coffee shop for which to make it.

My friend Emily was the lucky winner! (I wonder if my friends like it when I give them homemade stuff or inwardly roll their eyes...) Emily requested a "jewel-tone" color palette. I always have a hard time matching fabrics because I will find one or two that I love and then have to find others that compliment it. Emily didn't complain so I must have done okay. (Side note: I do not know how to quilt, but I love looking at In Color Order because Jeni always uses such beautiful fabric combinations. I will have to use her pictures for ideas.)

This was one of the few tutorials where I followed the instructions exactly as written. The tutorial was really clear and easy to follow. I am very pleased with how it turned out!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ideas and Inspiration: Ava Dress

Images clockwise from top left are from: Questhaven Fashions, Victory Patterns, Fabric.com images atop image from Victory Patterns, Modcloth

I stumbled upon the Ava pattern from Victory Patterns and fell in love! So I started looking around for the perfect fabric and accessories to compliment the dress. Here are my ideas and inspiration:

Pattern: Ava from Victory Patterns

Main fabric for the dress: Valori Wells Karavan Kashmir Bone from Fabric.com

(This is cotton fabric, so I don't know if the drape is really suitable for this style of dress, but I love the design. I have a hard time buying fabric on-line because I want to feel it first.)

Fabric for the top of the dress: Scalloped Lace Fabric in Ivory from Fabric.com

Ring: Oversized Stone Bead Ring in Purple from Questhaven Fashions

Shoes: T-strap Time Heel from Modcloth

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Rainbow Thread Organizer

Hello! Sorry for the gap between posts. I was on a little vacation...

Recently, my father and I collaborated to create an awesome rainbow thread organizer. This project was inspired by this beautiful Rainbow Spool Rack from Robidou:

I think that the colored pencils are a great idea, but I wanted to be able to store bobbins as well as thread, so I needed to use something thinner. I used plain wooden dowels instead. My father did all of the constructing. I just painted everything. I painted the frame black to match my desk and chair.

Long before I actually started sewing, my grandmother gave me her sewing machine along with some thread. The blue thread that is on the wooden bobbin is one from her. I wish I knew how old it is.

I hung my ladybug pin cushion on a couple extra pegs for easy access. I made it using the Bitty Bug Pincushion tutorial from goody-goody. I just added an elastic band to the bottom so that I can wear it on my wrist while I sew.