How to Whimsify Your Boring, Old Hallway👼💫

Step 1: Forget everything you know about crafts

The art and act of crafting is not at all what most people think.

You could be a fool with your hands. Your cutting skills could be seriously lacking. Your gluing abilities might not be so hot and you may have little-to-no- spare time. That’s okay, gurrrl—turning a dark, horrible hallway into a whimsy wonderland requires none of these things! There’s only one thing you absolutely need to create another world, that is, an idea that excites you.

This will not be your typical how-to.

Step 2: The Vision

When I’m feelin’ crafty but don’t have a project in mind, its hard for me to relax. I always have to be doing something with my hands, but I always remind myself that it’s never good to force something. In the end, the vision and the feeling has to come first.  

After 12 + hours a day pattern drafting and knitting at Eckburg, coming home and opening the door to a long, treacherous, empty, barren, dark, quite, scary hallway was kinda the icing on top of the workaholic cake. So. I decided to remind myself of one of my favorite feelings, whimsy💫

Once you know what feeling you want to create, hone in on that vision, beebee! If you have a strong mind’s eye, this may be easy, but for others, focus on that feeling; search online and look for inspiration. Create a mood board if you have to.

For me, I thought about friendly clusters of butterflies guiding me kindly, safely, to my bed so I may promptly pass out in peace. Motivation! 👏

Step 3: Choosing your elements

Now, I'm not going to lie to you all. I really broke the bank for this one, guys. I used some pretty high tech stuff (printing paper, masking tape). Which leads me to Bonus Tip number one:

Stay within your budget. And know that there’s almost always a much cheaper version of the material you’re envisioning. For me, construction paper was tempting, but in the end, borrowing copious amounts of paper from the printers at my school just made sense. 😊 ✌😋

TIP 2: Keep it consistent! More important than the materials themselves is consistency. Stolen sheets of computer paper may be paired well with masking tape found in a drawer! When creating a new world, the components need to create harmony.

Step 4: Execution

It’s all in the details on this one, son. 😎  The subtleties. The little stuff. Let the experience be organic. Don’t make every element a piece from a cookie cutter. Don’t feel limited to the designs you find online. Vary them in size and shape a little. Make some mistakes. I certainly didn’t cut all of these little butterflies perfectly. Some of them really suck. They aren’t clustered together into perfect crescendos or anything like that, and I didn’t have the principles of design floating around in my head constantly when placing them. I just had fun and cut away and taped and relaxed. Don’t worry if you mess up. You’ll be surprised: an imperfection up close can seem so horrible and ugly, but when you step back and look at your finished project as a whole, its these imperfections that makes it all beautiful.  

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

Tutorial: Vintage Inspired Fur Wrap

Here it finally is - the fur wrap tutorial!  Fur lapels are really fun, whimsical pieces to add to a jacket or coat and is perfect for this fall season.  This tutorial is a fairly simple and quick project to make.  Below are the steps showing how to make your own!

Materials:

3/4 yard of fur (faux or real, whichever is your preference)

Lining (roughly around the same color as fur)

Step 1.  Cut out your pattern piece.  This will take some experimenting and problem solving depending on the length and width that you want your wrap to be.  I based mine off of the shape of blazer lapel.  Make a few tests from scrap fabric or muslin until you get the shape that you want.

 Your pattern should look roughly like the shape of the below photo.  Remember to add 1/2 inch for your seam allowance on all sides.

Step 2.  Once your paper pattern is cut, place it on the wrong side of your fabric and only cut one piece at a time.  Take a marker and trace around your pattern directly onto the fabric.  It's ok to use a marker for this, because it's not going to be seen.

Side note:  Ignore the lines on the below pattern paper.  I was using old paper that had already been marked on.

Step 3.  Carefully cut the pattern out using the very tips of your scissors.  When cutting fur you want to use the tips so that it doesn't cut the fur short.    This part can go relatively slow, but you want to make sure that you're cutting as little amount of fur as possible.  We're not giving it a hair cut at this point!  Another method is to take a sharp razor/exacto knife and cut into the pattern. This way of cutting is quicker, but make sure that you're still carefully following your marker line.

Once the first piece is cut out flip your pattern over and cut a second piece.  Cut the two lining pieces as well.

Step 4.  Once the fabric is cut out, pin the center back neck seams together.  You want to make sure that the fur is going inward when pinning.  This is because we want as much of the fur as possible to be showing on the outside so that the seam is as invisible as possible.

The easiest way to do this is to lay your pattern seams flat side by side, and then one inch at a time pinch both sides together and pin so that the fur is going inside the pinch.

Step 5.  Using a small stitch length sew the two pieces together.  Sew the two lining pieces together at this point as well.

Step 6.  After sewing, your seam should look like the below photo - all of the fur is going towards the right side of the seam.

Step 7.  Now pin the lining to the fur and sew around the whole wrap leaving a 5-6 inch opening at the top.  This is so we can turn it inside out later.  Remember to keep the fur at the seam going towards the inside all the way around.

Step 8.  After sewing cut several snips into the seams that curve.  This will allow it to lay flat.

Step 9.  Through the opening turn the wrap inside out.

Step 10.  Pin and hand sew the top opening shut using a whipstitch (link to a youtube tutorial on whip stitches).

Tada!  You now have a new fall accessory to add to any jacket!

If you make one, post a photo and share the link!  I've loved seeing all of the lovely variations of the kaftan tutorial that y'all created.  Also, if you have any questions about any of the steps feel free to add a comment, and I'll try to get to it as soon as I can!

Enjoy!

Announcment: The Sewing Party

I'm so thrilled to announce today a very exciting, first one-of-a-kind upcoming event called The Sewing Party!

What is The Sewing Party?  Well it's basically an online craft fair!  It's the first of its kind and will be hosted for one day.  This all day event will include:  instructional sewing/DIY classes, product demos, and connecting with other seamstresses like yourself!  How cool is that?  Here's some more detailed info from The Sewing Party:

The Sewing Party is the first ever online-all-day DIY event in history!

On November 8, 2014, thousands of DIY-ers will gather for a fun-filled day of sewing and crafting classes taught online by leading bloggers and educational experts. It’s all about Connecting. Crafting. And Creating.

Attendees will have access to more than 30 online classes available on the day of the event and for an additional 90 days. There is truly something for everyone! Classes include home décor, fashion sewing, quilting and upcycling, crafting, costume design, techniques for turning your craft into an entrepreneurial venture, and more!

Space is limited and likely to fill up fast! For just $40, “The Sewing Party” participants can attend classes; chat with participants from across the country; interact with top bloggers and educational experts who are teaching; and explore the latest crafting and sewing tips, techniques and products in our marketplace.

I'm also very excited to announce that I'm going to be one of the teachers at the event!  

My class is going to be instructing how to sew curved seams.  I'll walk you through the techniques of drafting curves into patterns, sewing, and finishing the raw, curved edges.  There are also some other really talented teachers and incredible looking classes at the event as well!  If you'd like to attend click the button below to register!

Hopefully I'll see you there! 

Tutorial: Kaftan Throwover

Good afternoon!  Today I'm going to share with you how to make your own kaftan throw-over.  A kaftan is such an easy garment to make, and you don't even need a lot of sewing experience to make one.  If you can sew a few inches, then this will be such a fun, short project to make!

Step 1.  

First you'll want to choose a fabric that's lightweight and has good drape.  Some awesome choices would be chiffon, silk, or a jersey knit.  Also, be sure to check out the scarf section at thrift stores!  Sometimes you can find some beautiful vintage silk scarves that are wide enough for this project.

Once you've chosen your fabric, cut it into a rectangle.  My fabric measured 38x45inches.

Step 2.

Find the center of the top edge of your fabric.  This will be your neckline.  With a piece of chalk or something you can see, mark the center.  Measure 5 inches down from the center and mark again.

Step 3.

With chalk, mark 4.5inches into the side of the top edge of the fabric.

Step 4. 

Now connect the two marks so that it makes a neckline that looks like a boat.

Step 5.

If you're using a fabric that frays easily finish the raw edges by either sewing a 1/4 inch hem, or take a cigarette lighter and burn the edges.

 or

Step 6.

Now make a new mark that is 22inches down from the top side.  Next line up the top mark (4.5in at the top) with the side mark (22inches down). 

Pin and sew a line that is 1 inch in length to connect the two pieces together.

And look at that, you're finished!

Try experimenting in different fabrics like jersey knit, or for the chillier months, try using a lightweight wool with a good drape.  Maybe add some lace or fringe trims to the bottom edges.  Experiment and make it completely your own vision!  And if you do, be sure to post photos somewhere and send the link to me.  I'd love to see what you come up with!

Process: Cardboard Room Divider

I thought that I'd share some process photos of a prop that I'm making for a photo shoot that I have planned later this week.  A lot of time goes into the props that I make for my shoots so I thought that I'd start sharing how I make them.

I made an oriental room divider from a cut up cardboard box.  I cut the box up into four pieces, then I primed them all with white paint.  Once it dried I went over the pieces again with a few layers of watered down acrylic.  Then I added the bamboo foliage using a blue ink.

Here are some photos as I was painting:

^My younger brother came to hang with me in the garage as I painted.  We were quite the sight together in our garage at 12pm at night. 

 

Instagram

 Once everything dried I went on the backside with package tape and connected the pieces together.  Above is an Instagram photo of the final piece.  I can't wait to share the final photos with you!

Also, thank you to everyone who suggested an artist to my previous post.  I did more research with the suggestions and they were all so good!

Metal Beaded Necklace

I made a new variation a few weeks back of the Multi-Colored Beaded Necklace (the link goes to the tutorial).  I played around with some different beads, and I used a chain instead of ribbon as the neck tie.  I'm really enjoying making these necklaces, because they're something that I easily pick up at anytime.  Whenever I need a short creative break from drawing or painting for my classes, I'll work on a necklace. 

 

^Inspiration journal page. 

I'm currently working on sewing a new dress whenever I have a bit of free time between school and work.  I'm really excited to share the finished piece with you!  I'm making it for a photo shoot idea which is going to be carnival inspired.

Happy Valentines Day!

DIY Tutorial: Multi-Colored Beaded Necklace

Hello everyone, I hope the start of your New Year has been everything that you've hoped so far! Today I'm posting the tutorial on how to make the Multi-Colored Beaded Necklace that I made in my previous post.  Here are the steps on how to make one yourself!

Step 1. 

Collect/find your items. This is the most fun part in my opinion.  If you've ever been a crafter you know what I mean when I say the notorious, "random bobble box."  It's that box (or boxes) where you keep all your random, pretty, things that you've found over the years and think you might use one day.  Well now's your time to go through it!  Take out whatever looks visually interesting to you.  

If you don't have a random bobble box - no worries!  Wal-Mart has an incredible $1 bead bin that has all sort of things you can use.  You can also take apart old costume jewelry, or go to the clearance jewelry section and buy a cheap necklace to deconstruct and use for parts.  For this necklace I used a plethora of random beads, old necklaces I took apart, and a few of those glass stones that are put in outside gardens.  You can use anything! 

Step 2. 

Now's your time to start laying out your pattern on a piece of felt and choose where you want your items to go.  There's no right or wrong way to do this, just play around with what looks pleasing to you.  

 Step 3:  

Once you have a basic, solid idea of what you want your necklace to look like, outline the shape with a chalk pencil.  

Step 4.  

Next start gluing down your objects using a strong fabric glue. 

 Step 5.  

Once your bead are glued down into place you can cut out your design (leave a few extra centimeters around all the edges).  Now if you'd like, you can outline your design with a row of fun colored seedbeds for a finished look. You can make as many rows as you want (I did two).

Tip:  Instead of sewing each bead one by one, I put a bunch of them onto the thread so there's already a long strand of beads.  Then I sewed that string of beads onto the edges.  This makes the process go much faster and it looks more polished than sewing each bead one by one. 

Step 6,  

Now carefully cut off the extra felt.

Step 7.

The very last thing to do is attach a ribbon or chain to the backside of the necklace.  If you already have a necklace that you took apart and it has a chain with a clasp already attached that makes it even easier for you!  I decided to use ribbon so I'll be sewing that onto the back.  If your ribbon is the kind that frays take a lighter or clear finger nail polish and go over the cut edges so it won't unravel.  

Tada!  It took some time, but you now have your very own handmade necklace!  You can makes these in variations of sizes and styles.  I think it's fun to make the design look random, but you can make it more symmetrical and organized if you like.  It's whatever comes out of your imagination now!  If you make a necklace be sure to send me the link - I'd love to see your own creation!