labor day weekend labor part 3

Here are some pictures of the grey dress modeled. It is a very versatile dress, and could probably even be worn as a tunic with leggings and flats.


It has wonderful drape - I believe it's made of rayon.


H thinks it looks best bunched up with lots of drape around the middle (also very forgiving this way!)


It looks almost Grecian - it would be great with gladiator sandals.

Here it is with a bit more flash - it's amazing what different shoes can do to the look of the dress.

Definitely a new favorite in my wardrobe - shamefully easy to sew, and extremely comfortable to wear.

Here is the puff skirt with the white ruffle shirt - not bad together.

This skirt is very light and floaty, making it susceptible to Marilyn Monroe moments - must remember to wear something nice underneath - ha!

FYI - Poppy Boutonniere Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Poppy Boutonniere Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

labor day weekend labor part 2

As promised, here is the white flower tee modeled. It looks quite different on a body than on a bed. I'm very pleased with how this came out - I definitely plan to make more (I have lots of H's old undershirts to play with). I'm considering adding a few more ruffly flowers to the neckline to thicken it up a bit.

Among other things, I got necklace happy this past weekend. There are some hits and misses, but all fun :) This red one is my favorite, and really the reason I started messing about with beads. I had this in my head for a few days, begging to be made. The beads are super cheap glass which I had for some reason or other, but they do look rather nice and modern done up this way.


This next one is what I'm wearing right now - it's super simple and (I think) chic. Just a champagne-clear glass bead on a gold chain. I paired it the other day with freshwater pearls.


For this one, I painted little wooden beads with red nail polish and strung them on the same gold chain. Fantastically light weight, and reminds me of cranberries and Christmas!


This next one is clear glass beads on a blue ribbon. Probably the least versatile, but I still like it. It was inspired by the jewelry on this wiksten post.


Following the same simple modern idea, I tried a few large wooden beads on my gold chain - I've already worn this to work, and I like it so far.

It is rdiculously late to show this, but here is the "after" photo of the jacket refashion I began in June of 2008 (here's the "before" picture) - good heavens, that took a while to get posted.

Here you can see the original idea I found online on the left, and the final result of my refashion on the right. Not too far off the mark.


Anyway, I love it and wear it a ton.


I had to rig a diamond shaped patch on the back to cover up where I took in the back - I am no expert after all :)

More pictures to come soon...

labor day weekend labor

For some reason, I got the sewing bug over the weekend and managed to refashion and sew three garments! Here is the first one - a shirt modeled after one of my favorites from anthropologie:

I made it out of one of H's old undershirts - cool huh? This next one is a dress modeled after this one from american apparel:


It is very soft, and very versatile. I made it from one of those old nineties skirts with slits up both sides. And finally this puff skirt was very simple to make. I just took a loop of fabric from a dress my sister threw out and sewed a tunnel for an elastic band (from the nineties skirt which is now a dress), then hemmed the bottom edge. Easy peasy :)


I have a ton of pictures of me modeling these to post soon. It's hard to get an idea of how it's supposed to look on a hanger or laying on a bed.

I also got into framing and hanging. The picture below shows a spectacular watercolor from my painting teacher that he gave me as a wedding gift. I have finally gotten on the wall!


I used a frame which used to have a strange portrait of H and I which neither of us loved a ton, and I cut the mat using my dad's old mat-cutter. I have since moved it to hang right over our bed. It is simple and magical - I absolutely love it.


I painted these three canvases while I was studying art in Italy. They are quite unlike any of my other student work - I had to keep them small and mobile for traveling back to the U.S., and two of them were painted outside in plein air. There is a certain lightness and carelessness about them which is refreshing. My other stuff can be a bit heavy and dramatic.


This was the first time I had ever worked from a nude model. Tons of fun and thrilling! I went to a very conservative christian school that didn't allow nude models (they had to wear swimsuits - ha!)


This was a passage way I used to get to class every day. It was secluded and peaceful - perfect for setting up an easel.

And this was a closeup of that garden wall. Some of those leaves are just shameful - I ran out of steam on this one. It was a very valuable exercise though.

More pictures to come of my surprisingly productive weekend!