I Made This (aka I Made A Dress)

Obviously I can’t pull myself away from the “ I made a _____” title.  I tried in the above title… baby steps right?

So I ordered this great fabric from Mood.

You know Mood, it’s where they shop on Project Runway.  I wanted some stripes, couldn’t find what I wanted locally, so I searched online.  I came across Mood, found what I liked (was happy with the price) and a few days later this arrived in the mail!

I had plans with this fabric.  I wanted a striped dress to wear with my Hunter Boots.  I had a look in mind, so I thought “why not just make it?”

And so I did.

Like my shirt, I just used an existing dress to make my pattern.  I always make it a bit bigger for my seam allowance as well as some extra room to work with.

After getting it cut out, I sewed it together.  I always just try it on and make adjustments from there.  I’ll have to show you this process sometime, cause it can be funny…

I decided the sleeves weren’t going to work so off they went.  I was a little bummed cause I wanted some flowy sleeves but I didn’t allow enough fabric for that.  Boo.  But next time I’ll know.  I also decided on a V neck since the last shirt I made was rounded.  Just for something different.   And I wish I would have gotten a pic of this.  To make the V neck I put the dress on and used blue painters tape (which has become a sewing staple for me, remember I used it here?) to mock up the neck.  Then I knew exactly where to make my cuts.  Worked beautifully.

I had to keep putting the dress on, make adjustments on length, etc and I was finished!

I can’t really say how long this took to make.  No more than a few hours.  But this is how I work…

I cut my pattern, sew it together.  Next I try it on and take some mental notes.  Then I leave it for a while and go do something else like laundry, TV, whatever.  I then put the dress back on and sew some of the adjustments.  Take it off, leave it, do something else.  I repeat this step a few more times until I am happy with the result.  Even when I’m finished I keep trying it to make sure I’m happy with it.  I think this keeps me from making mistakes.

Oh and the best news, it rained like crazy here today so I got to wear the new dress and my Hunter Boots!  Good Day!

What title would you have given this post today?  (Although I realize it’s hard to beat “I made this.”)

 

 

 

 

May Birchbox

I received my latest Birchbox and wanted to share it with you!  I love to see what other bloggers get in their Birchbox, so I guess I am assuming you all want to see what I got in mine!

First of all, the box this month was inspired by Gossip Girl.  I don’t watch Gossip Girl, but it doesn’t matter, my loot was good!

Here you have Bvlgari Eau de Toilette Spray.  Smells pretty good, and with all my perfume samples I’ll never have to buy perfume again.

Fresh Tinted Lip Treatment.  I actually already have this and I love it!  I was happy to receive another to throw in my purse!  It’s seriously good.  Feels like chap stick with a tint!

Kiehl’s Abyssine Cream.  I’m excited to try this.  It’s an anti-aging moisturizer, and as a 30ish something, I need to pay more attention to these types of products.  (Although I did recently get carded twice in one weekend…)

Miracle Skin Transformer.  This is a tinted treatment that erases blemishes and scars on arms, and legs.  Also excited to see how much I can erase on my body…

And a cute notecard.  (Birchbox extra)

So I added my empty box to the stack I have in my bathroom cabinets (great storage cause they are all the same size) and set all my products out to get ready to use.

If you don’t have Birchbox you’re missing out.  It’s so much fun and only $10.00 a month!  Now they have Birchbox Man, which you can read about here.  Kevin enjoyed getting it and likes his products.

In other mail related news, along with my Birchbox I also received my InStyle mag!  And then UPS came and delivered my new fabric from Mood!  Good mail day!  (Stay tuned for what I’m making with the fabric…)

Happy Friday!!