marceline's song

So, I am absolutely obsessed with the new show on Cartoon Network called "Adventure Time". The characters are incredibly adorable, they live in an enchanted world of 'house people', a candy kingdom and awesome adventures. The writing is absolutely brilliant, as well as the music! It's definitely something that has captured my attention. Who doesn't love little people made of candy?

I am very fond of the vampire charater Marceline, who plays an axe bass and is always up to mischief. She played a song in the episode "Nightosphere" about her dad eating her fries that I could not get out of my head. I found out the original version was played on the ukulele and I jumped at the chance to try it out myself.

Here's my version of "Marceline's song". The vocal range was a bit too low for me so I had some trouble, and this was a first cut...so bear with me.

Bernina competition entry finally done!

Last night I finished my submission for the Bernina Presents the Show Us, Don't Tell Us Brand Ambassador Competition. I have to admit, I struggled for ideas. I had some really good ones, but my lack of a decent video camera sort of made them impossible. So I turned to stop animation and I'm sure the Blythe girls were truly excited to be a part of this. I think it turned out pretty cute for being in a bit of a jam for time! I made this after watching Adventure Time last night (hence the music). The dresses the dolls wear at the end I made myself from an altered 1950s Barbie doll Simplicity pattern. This was also the debut of my newest girl, Hazel.

my sewing space

blouse with petal collar

I instantly fell in love with this sewing pattern that I bought from Lanetz Living this past summer. That website has the best selection of vintage sewing patterns in absolutely perfect condition for cheap! I've bought a few patterns from there, but the Butterick #3721 was definitely my favorite. It's very mod, very cute and was much easier to make than I first thought (the collar looked a little challenging at first glance).

I made a few modifications to the original sewing pattern. I turned it from a long sleeve dress into a short sleeve blouse. I think it works out quite well as a blouse. Although, I did use a knit fabric and I think the collar would hold up quite better if it wasn't so stretchy and floppy. But I love the softness of the fabrics. This was essentially a wearable muslin. I wanted to do a blouse to try out making the collar. And since it was insanely easy to make, I'm definitely going to make a short sleeved dress version next. I just need to decide on what fabric to use first. I'm definitely going to be wearing this blouse for spring though, it's so retro!

(I just noticed I forgot to make the cute little bow that ties in the front. I think I may need to add that in!)

You can see my Burda Style submission for this project here

vintage simplicity 6882 muslin

I found this vintage sewing pattern at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with it. It's a 1970s dress with a really neat, pleated neckline. I used the front of the bodice pattern, but made my own unique pattern for the back. I made the muslin for the bodice out of recycled pillowcases!

burda knee length dress pattern

I downloaded this pattern from Burda Style and this was my second dress I made from it in the past two days (the other will show up on here soon). The very first one I made came out AWESOME. I used a nice yellow vintage table cloth as the fabric and attached little bows at the ends of the straps and the skirt is an a-line and looks quite nice.

I made this dress from a giant bolt of Ikea fabric I scored for only $12. This fabric was probably meant for window treatments, but I have a million yards of it and I really needed something to do with it. I'm not sure I like it so much though. The waist is much too high for this type of dress, So I'm thinking of cutting it all up and changing the skirt to something more subtle that doesn't make me look like a raging cupcake Betty Draper monster. Someone suggested cutting the skirt down to a shorter length. That's probably my best and easiest option. You can see my Burda Style project here

Also, I have issues taking normal photographs.

curtains!

I finally finished making the kitchen curtains with the amazing Michael Miller fabric I found on ebay. They actually tone down the minty minty green walls a bit. :)

dreaming in red

1940s dress progress

I've been hard at work recreating a vintage 1940s sewing pattern from vintage inspired fabric I found on ebay. The pattern called for lots of things that I ended up getting rid of such as a button front and strange, pleated sleeves. I ended up making it into a sort of wrap dress and modified the sleeves a little. Progress is going well! I really hope to have it all finished by tomorrow...But you never know.

wear more hats.

I made this wool pill box hat last season from vintage black upcycled wool and a vintage beaded decal. I'm thinking of approaching this project again for various Etsy/craft fair reasons...Thoughts?

closet explosion

Pretty much my entire closet has been taken over by my Etsy shop. And with spring approaching...I need to find homes for all the vintage winter items! So check out the AMAZING (or not so amazing) $10 SALE!

featured at long last!

BurdaStyle.com was kind enough to choose me not too long ago as a featured member! I am very honored! I even got to do a cute little interview and share photos and everything. I've been dying to get featured for a year now, so this was very awesome. You can read the full article here.

apartment therapy

I've been working on decorating my apartment...it's very...'aqua'? And retro. But mostly aqua.

shine on

Shiny is the new EVERYTHING.

silhouette study

I've been very inspired by dress styles from the 1930s lately. I want to create a very light, sheer gown with influence from some of these amazing pieces.

I really like the long, figure gracing silhouettes. It just oozes elegance. The back on the top middle photograph is my absolute favorite.

sweet stuff

I was really bored today, and I just got a vintage 1970s handheld mixer (NWT!) so I decided to be creative and make something ultra sweet because I've been watching WAY too much of The Martha Stewart Show. They have been  making so many cakes and I've been wanting to get back into cake making again.  But I mean, who is going to eat all the cakes I make and decorate?

I actually lost my cake decorating supplies during my various moves this summer, so I had to improvise with this cake. I actually recycled the plastic bag that the powdered sugar came in that I made the frosting with. I cut off a tiny bit off one of the corners, filled the bag with frosting and piped away! Not exactly the greatest technique, but it works when you're in a pinch.