Dead of Summer

 

 

Outfit Details: Sweater, Shorts, Shoes- Goodwill; Shirt- gift from my Bro and Sis-in-law; Tights- We Love Colors; Cape- thrifted and altered.

After a long time of not finding a cape that me and my bank account could both agree on, I got this great idea to make one out of an old jacket. In this case I used a rain coat that I got at Goodwill. I loved the jacket, but it was way too long for me, and didn’t have a belt. It offered to be the guinea pig in my experiment. And I have to say that it came out pretty darn well.

 

Spring is on it’s way. I’m being told that I should expect another freeze however. I’m not damning it. I know I’ll be dreaming of a winter freeze in the dead of summer.

A few weeks back Robyn of Twitch Vintage said that she was going to try to collect a pair of shorts in every color for spring and summer. I took that idea and ran with it at Goodwill the other day. Six pairs later, I’m ready for the warmer months.

 

Bryce

Valumtimes

 

It’s a been a while friends. And I can’t really promise that there will never be another break this long again. But I’ll try to get back on the horse in these next few weeks.

In the meantime, Happy Valentines day.

 

 

 

And a little peak at what I made Sean for this special day.

It’s a twine crocheted heart.

He got me a grown your own flowers kit.

 

 

Hope you are all having a lovely day with your lovelies.

Bryce!!!

 

 

Outfit Details: Dress, Shirt- Goodwill; Tights- We Love Colors; Jacket- Urban Outfitters.

Late to the Party

Outfit Details: Jacket- Dear Creatures; Dress- Handmade (Built by Wendy pattern); Tights- We Love Colors; Shoes- Vintage

This is my first dress from the Built by Wendy Dresses book. And I love it! Technically, it’s not done. The pattern calls for toggle closures on the front. But I’m unsure if I even want to add them. I rather like it just like this.

I’m pretty proud of this one. It’s the first dress that I have made that’s (nearly) perfect. I even did the Peter Pan collar pretty well.

I apologize for the lame indoor photos. We had another long day of overcast rain. It led to something good though! Snow! I think I’m still in the honeymoon stage with the snow. I’m not expecting to be this excited for very much longer.

A while back I won a giveaway on the lovely Maria’s blog, Lulu Letty. It was a $25 store credit to the Etsy shop Sew Shoe Me. I ended up getting these beauties with my winnings! they are vintage Evan Picones.  My feet are abnormally wide, so it took a little bit of stretching and wearing around the house till they would fit comfortably. But I really like them.

 

Have a great Friday everyone! Anyone have any amazing plans that I can live vicariously through?

Bryce!!!

History Thursday

Sorry for the late history lesson. I slacked hard yesterday, and forgot all about this little thing called a blog.

I decided that I would do a little history on based on something that I have been loving the last few days. Built By Wendy. As you may or may not know, I recently bought the Built By Wendy Dresses book, and love it! It is a great resource for the aspiring seamstress.

I’m going to tell you right off the bat that the “history” lesson involved in today’s post is straight off of the website. I’m sorry for my lack of ingenuity.

“Originally from Chicago, IL Wendy founded her company in 1991 during her college years in Kansas. In 1992 she moved to New York and continued developing her brand while working as a costume designer, stylist and freelance designer for Kim Gordon’s X-Girl collection. In 1995 she began wholesaling her own Built by Wendy collection and was a founding designer in the Steven Alan showroom.

In 1998 Wendy opened her first flagship retail store on Centre Market Place in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City. Her successful online shop launched soon after, and in 2005 she opened her second retail store in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Her line is carried in boutiques and specialty stores throughout the country and around the world.”

But more to my point:

“2006 also saw the release of the popular Built by Wendy “Sew U” book, published by Bullfinch Press, along with a line of sewing patterns for Simplicity Pattern Co., called “Built By YOU.” A second sewing book called “Sew U Home Stretch” published by Little, Brown and Company, was released in May 2008. Wendy is currently writing her third sewing book, which is scheduled to hit bookstores in March 2010.”

Now, I don’t have either of the first two books, although I am considering acquiring them. But I can tell you that her latest is pure perfection.

The book comes with three patterns. I know your probably thinking that you can’t do much with that, and that you need a pattern for every project.Don’t fret. Wendy clearly explains how to alter the pattern in order to fit each project uniquely.

I will tell you that, while this book is for beginners, I don’t recommend it as your first leap into sewing. Due to space confinements, each step is not as detailed as it would be with a traditional pattern. I am working on my first dress from the book currently, and am having no problems following along. I have also tried my hand at multiple other dress and clothing patterns already, and definitely have to use my prior knowledge to guide me through.

That being said. I really think that this book will expand my craftsmanship further and faster than the same use of traditional patterns ever could have. It leaves a lot of the details up to you. Letting you think for yourself and decide how you really want your clothing to look.

There are 25 patterns of the more traditional setup. The patterns tell you what fabric and embellishments to buy, and how much of each (I want to make every dress she presents). But each dress also features one alternate way of designing with a few easy changes that you can make to the patterns or to the material choices to make a completely different dress. This is the section that really gets my brain bubbling. I love creating a dress from a pattern. But there is nothing like creating your own dress from scratch.

Here is a little peak inside the book.

 

I’ll do another quick review of a finished pattern when I finish the dress I’m working on. Meanwhile, I suggest going out and buying this book! If you enjoy sewing, and you enjoy dresses, then this is a must have!

I paid $27.99 at Barnes and Noble (it’s only $19 online). But you can probably find it anywhere online for a bit cheaper. At first glance it seems expensive. But when you take into account the 50 some-odd patterns that the book includes, not to mention the limitless possibilities, the $27 seems like a steal.

 

The next best thing coming from Wendy? Built by Wendy Coats and Jackets: The Sew U Guide to Making Outerwear Easy. Available February 22, 2011! I can’t wait!

Bryce!!!

 

pictures taken from http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2010/02/built-by-wendy-dresses-book-review.html

Wendy Mullin information taken from http://www.builtbywendy.com/about.htm

Sure Thing

Outfit Details: Dress- H&M; Shirt- thrift; Tights- We Love Colors; Shoes- Target

This past weekend I got the Built By Wendy Dresses book. Let me tell you! It is all kinds of amazing! I already am starting projects from it. I used my day off to sew sew sew. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mix up on my part, and my first dress didn’t turn out so well. oh well. I’m on to my next project. Which, so far, is looking good!

I opted for comfort today. I had internet installed early this morning, so I had to roll out of bed appropriate for the whole day. I knew I would be too distracted with my new book, and new laptop (!), to want to change. I’m afraid I wear this dress too often. But it is just so versatile! And not to mention warm! The fabric is super thick.

It rained all day today. And while I was waiting for the sun to come out so I could take pictures, the day turned to night. My bad! I do really like our fireplace though. I just recently got around to cleaning up all the Christmas decorations and wrappers, and candy, so I’m especially fond of it right now. We opted to keep some cards up for good measure.

 

You can’t really tell. But I’m actually wearing makeup today. This is a big feat for me, I’m usually running too far behind to take the time to put it on.

Bryce!!!

Music Monday

I’ve decided that counting is not working for me.

A list of some of my favorites by album and song: Foo Fighters- Foo Fighters, The Colour and The Shape, There is Nothing Left to Lose. Breeders- Title TK, Pod, Last Splash. Hot Snakes- Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice. At The Drive-In- In Casino Out. The Beach Boys- Don’t Worry Baby, God Only Knows. The Blood Brothers- …Burn Piano Island, Burn. Deerhoof- Friend Opportunity. Fugazi- The Argument. Rilo Kiley- Under the Blacklight. Hole- Live Through This. The Kills- Black Balloon, Cat Claw, Wait. Man… Or Astro Man?- A Spectrum of Infinite Scale. Nirvana- Nirvana, Nevermind, In Utero. She and Him- Volume 1, Volume 2. Pixies- Surfer Rosa, Come On Pilgrim. Refused- The Shape of Punk to Come. Sleater-Kinney-  Dig Me Out, Modern Girl, Oh!. Tegan and Sara- So Jealous. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Masters Ep, Fever to Tell.

This may be a perfectly crafted song.

Radiohead- Reckoner

 

Bryce!!!

 

Also, Happy Birthday to Zooey Deschanel! And Sean’s sister Bronwyn!

What a Beaut

Outfit Details: Sweater- Goodwill; Jacket- H&M; Skirt- prom dress

The story goes: I liked this guy in class. He liked me. He wasn’t going to go to Senior Prom, but agreed that if I asked him he would go. I bought a prom dress. I asked him. He said he was already going with his ex. I didn’t go to prom. I still have the dress, and wear it whenever possible. Including Halloween,, and blog posts.

Welcome to the last installment of my off season Halloween series. Today, I bring you Belle. She was always my favorite princess, and her dress was always my favorite. When I was shopping for prom dresses, and spotted this one, I knew it was the one. I also really love the cut. Which I, unfortunately, forgot to show off. This is my attempt at wearing this dress on a normal day. I didn’t actually go out and about like this. Although, I was tempted.

In hindsight, I wish that I would have worn something a little more form fitting on top in order to balance out the skirt. But I guess that’s what trial and error are all about.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Beauty and The Beast (it’s now on my Netflix cue), so I’m not sure if she actually wears any red, or if it’s just blue and gold. I just like the two colors together. And I felt the need to toughen in up a bit with a masculine jacket.

 

Thanks for following along in my mini-series. It was a lot of fun, and I will definitely be doing another one at some point.

Bryce!!!

Film Friday

The Fifth Element:

Starring: Bruce Willies, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker

Plot: Two hundred and fifty years in the future, life as we know it is threatened by the arrival of a “Great Evil.” Only the fifth element (Milla Jovovich), an alien being who, using the power of four ancient elemental stones, can stop the Evil from extinguishing life. She is helped by ex-soldier, current-cab-driver, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), who is, in turn, helped by a Prince/Arsenio looking radio personality, Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker) and a holy man in charge of the stones protection, Priest Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm). Unfortunately, Evil is being assisted by Mr. Zorg (Gary Oldman) and his alien mercenaries, who seek to profit from the chaos that Evil will bring. What ensues is a fantastically rich action film filled with gunfights, aliens, space ships, far away worlds and an amazingly colorful cast.   http://www.everythingaction.com/2010/01/09/action-adventure-classic-the-fifth-element/

 

It’s hard to admit that I waited so long to see this movie. I mean, I love space, I love aliens, and I love action movies. Especially when it includes an awesome chick kicking major ass! This film is beautifully shot, and has amazing special effects. From hover cars, to futuristic guns, to shape-shifting aliens, you hardly even recognize that these things are not real.

And of course, there’s Milla Jovovich as the “perfect being”. Well, Luc Besson (director) you sure got that one right. She is obviously beautiful, but she gives a surprisingly convincing role as a naive, over powerful, alien being. Who said models can’t do anything but look pretty?

    

 

 

 

Action, adventure, and crazy wardrobe? Sounds like an appetite for success to me! And p.s. Who doesn’t want to have a “perfect being” tattoo  like Milla sports on her right wrist in the film. I know one person who has this in real life and it makes me insanely jealous. (I already asked if they would be mad if I got it too. They were cool about it.)

 

Really.. you should watch this movie. It’s really good. And if the storyline doesn’t get you, then Chris Tucker’s and Milla Jovovich’s costumes will!

Bryce!!!