I can finally (and proudly) say that our living room is complete. As complete as it's going to get in this house. Would you like a tour? Here we go. First of all, I HATE the color of our walls. Seriously, what genius picks out a slightly pinkish, yellowish off-white? It's got to be either true white in my opinion or something completely different. In my dream home, I'd love to have glossy white everything. Okay, continuing on. . . We upgraded our couch from our last place (the Urban Outfitters One). It was cute, but hardly comfortable as a living room/family room couch. I was 4 1/2 months pregnant at the time, so I was NOT going to tolerate an uncomfortable couch. THIS, my friends, was a huge splurge for us. It's a Notuzzi limited edition, top-grain leather couch in mushroom. We thought about black, but ultimately the mushroom was a more interesting color. This was our Christmas present last year & we love it. It's the perfect kind of soft leather so you're not slipping around all over the place - it's soft, cool & not sticky. The shape was something that took us a LONG time to find. How come it's nearly impossible to find a leather couch with straight lines? I can't stand the overstuffed look (sure it's comfy), and I'm not into the rounded tight '90s contemporary look that was the only other option. After looking for a couch for over a month, it was between this one & Ikea's Karlstad. This one was a little more expensive, but we liked the leather a lot more than the Ikea one. We bought it at Sofa Mart in Draper. The TV was another splurge. Until last October we'd survived our entire marriage without a TV. We had a projector, which was perfect in our small 1 bedroom San Francisco apartment, but not very ideal for a little girl that wanted to watch her shows right now (it was a 5-10 minute process to set up the projector & get it going). Chris & I debated back and forth about what size TV we should get. He wanted a 60", I wanted a 40". We compromised at 55". We got this 780p Plasma LG TV brand new (never been opened) for $500 off of craigslist. We saw it in stores for $1300. Along with the TV, we needed a console. We didn't want to spend an arm & a leg for it & we wanted it to fit our speakers neatly in there. Ideally I would've found a beautiful sideboard with cabinets that were the perfect dimensions, but that was out of our budget. We used the Tryde plans from knock-off-wood to make our own custom console. Chris built it, I stained it, all for just over $100. I'd love to add doors to the console to hide the cords & electronics, but that's a project for another day. In the mean time, we've trained Penelope to avoid those electronics. The rug we had at our previous place & inherited from my parents when they relocated to Charlotte. The coffee table we had previously, too. The coffee table previously had a chest that nested inside the frame. We found it was muffling the audio from the speakers so we picked up some wood planks & nested them in the chest's place. This was the compromise between Chris shoving it to the wall (or tossing it out). Chris seriously questions the need for a coffee table. Am I the only one who needs one? That modern chair you see in the background was from the thrift store & the pillow was hand made. Lamp was thrifted & DIYed. Originally I stained the planks the same color as the console, but it was looking too dark & monotone for me. Also, Penelope had her way with the surface, so I sanded it down a bit to show more of the wood grain. I like it much better now.The natural wood grain is really pretty & has sort of an industrial look about it. I found these blocks at House 8810 & had to buy them for Penelope. They're adorable toys & look fancy & fun on our coffee table. The peace sign we've had for a while - we got at a white elephant exchange. The succulent I found at Lowe's as well as the cork round. The Giraffe was a thrifty & chic find. I found two of these matching stool table thingies at the thrift store. They had disgusting laminate on top, so I turned the wood over, sanded & painted a cheery orange. They're really low profile & very minimal in our small living room. The bowl was found at a thrift store, too. I love my Studio on Fire print! The above print is a father & son letterpress collaboration. It's sweet & a steal at $30. This is artwork done by me. The square frame and matte on the bottom were passed down from my great grandmother. It's so old you can tell the glass was hand blown. This is our engagement photo - my mother-in-law shot for us & I cross processed. I love this picture. The above drawing is a Sunday doodle of mine & the clock I found at a housewares swap several months ago. These pieces are mine. I framed them in my framing class in college. The large frame was found at a thrift store. The embroidered pillow cover I scored years ago at Ikea for 99¢, the fish scale pillow I made & the yellow ikat pillow I purchased from Moxie Mandie. The Ikea pillow is looking a bit worn, I plan on replacing it with another handmade pillow with a graphic print. I've got my eye on a few Ikea fabrics. The shoe basket I scored at a thrift store, the pillow I made from Proud Mary fabric, the chair was scored at Ikea's as is section & the lamp & curtain were also ikea. The mirror was scored at a thrift store. This is the entry way; also part of our living room. The bench I scored a while ago at a thrift store (I still need to get it reupholstered) the shoes & jacket were thrifted & purses were either thrifted or won on giveaways. I spray painted the hooks white & the artwork is this year's Seesaw designs letterpressed calendar. Here are the totals (including the cost of things I had on hand before moving here):

• couch - $1400
• tv - $500
• console - $110
• coffee table - $45
• poang chair - $75
• arthur umanoff chair - $8
• pillows - $40
• tufted bench - $15
• artwork & frames - $150
• side tables - $4
• lamps - $30
• tchotchkes & plants - $50

Grand Total: $2427 Looking at this list makes me feel like I've spent a TON of money on this room, but a lot of these things we've collected over the last 5+ years. Mostly the artwork. Honestly if we were to have paid full price for everything, this would be a $4000+ room. Good artwork adds up so does good/unique furniture. I consider myself pretty proud of this space. I'm definitely proud to show this off as the first room people see. Well, besides the awful paint. I guess I should be thankful it's not lavender or lime green.

I scored these jeans a couple of Saturdays ago for $4. The tag said $6, but come on - the button was missing. I knew these would be a great pair of pants to refashion since they fit really well in the waist & thighs, they just had an outdated cut in the legs. I've been looking for denim that has more give in the thighs, because my pre-Felix skinnies don't fit. Sure I can pull them on, but I'm the wicked witch of the west whenever I wear them because feeling like a stuffed sausage makes me angry. It's time to move on from those pants. Like I said - the cut in the leg was just outdated. they were too short to be cool bell bottoms & MUCH too wide to be worn with flats. I felt like I had stubby legs when I tried them on. Do you ever feel that way with pants? Hello, missing button! I love these slanted pockets & the cheery blue stitching. Not necessarily anything that's on trend, but I like those little details. I didn't do much besides take in the bottoms. I took my super skinnies & laid them wrong side out on top of these pants & marked lines just outside of the super skinnies to mark the tapering. I took in about 4 inches on the bottoms. YIKES. I feel like the skinny really lengthens my leg. One of the many reasons why the skinny jean trend can never go out. After I was done adjusting the bottom & adding the button, I noticed that the back felt a little loose & a bit too low for me. So I added two darts (the denim was thin enough) on either side of the back seam. That made all the difference in the world! The fit of these jeans is perfect. They're my new go-to pant. Now I don't feel bad that I don't fit into my pre-Felix skinnies.

To view more photos & the outfit details, click here

Thorough tutorials on how to skinnify your pants can be found here:

Freshly Picked • I'm Topsy Turvy • Cotton & Curls

These are quite possibly my new favorite skinnies.

• top: Modbod + refashioned, c/o ModBod
• denim: thrifted + refashioned, $4
• watch: soft slap, c/o soft slap
• shoes: Brazil, $10

TOTAL: $14

Over the weekend I got a tattoo. Just kidding. I've always wanted one, though! In church we talked about respecting & taking care of our bodies so I sent all the little kiddos (I teach about 30 kids once a month) home with their very own temporary tattoo as a fun reminder. The kids LOVED it. SCORE! I designed this little tat using Tattoo ink font & my own hand-lettering. It was super fun & didn't take nearly as long to print & finish as I thought it would. This paper is some super fun stuff. I love temporary tattoos! Speaking of which, you familiar with Tattly? It's a rad online store full of some killer designerly temporary tattoos. The Tantone one kills me. So does the Type Nerd one. Click the link below to download my design! Hope someone else gets a kick out of it as much as I did.

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks! Tattoo paper provided by Silhouette.

When my friend, Karisa, was pregnant with her first, we went to the Jonathan Adler store in San Francisco (we were living just a few minutes south at the time). This was my first time ever being in one of his stores & ultimately my very first exposure to his designs. I. LOVE. Jonathan Adler. Karisa showed me the sweet giraffe lamp, I'm pretty sure both of us went comatose just day dreaming about how adorable that would be in a little boy's nursery. Fast forward almost 3 years & I'm still haunted by all that ceramic Giraffe loveliness. Truly, I wish I could decorate my entire house from top to bottom with Jonathan Adler, but that's not going to happen in the foreseeable future.  I have yet to discover my "money tree". While out & about last Saturday I found this flat white ceramic giraffe staring me down at the thrift store. It was $3. I had to have it & I think it looks absolutely adorable on our coffee table next to the peace sign (which we got as a white elephant gift - but I love it!). Have you found any good deals lately? My aunt scored some adorable red cowgirl boots for my cousin - the tassles just kill me! Ellen found a killer window for $10 - the top is just gorgeous. Holli found an adorable '60s dress - those flowers! And Kalleen practically thrifted her kids' entire back-to-school wardrobe - most outfits under $10! Please share links to your thrifty finds in the comments! Happy weekend.

This top was actually bought for Chris. Turns out I ordered him an XL girlie tee from threadless. WOOPS. Guess it's going in my closet now. I never would've considered ordering an XL, but I absolutely LOVE the fit. Size means nothing, fit is everything.

• necklace: handmade by dad
• top: Threadless, $5
• skirt: thrifted + refashioned, $6
• sash: from an old shirt
• shoes: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $14

• top: thrifted Wrangler, $4
• belt: thrifted, $2
• skirt: thrifted, $4
• shoes: swapped (but previously thrifted)

TOTAL: $10

Why haven't I done this sooner? I've genericized Penelope's Dino Brunch invitations & design elements for you to download. So if you have a little girl who loves dinos or a boy who loves both pink and dinos, you've got pretty much most of the party already done for you. Penelope LOVED her dino party and I loved planning it. We kept things super simple, but I got a little creative with the invites and favors. The download includes a fill-in-the-blank invitation. Instead of "Pen is turning THREE!", I changed it to "it's a dino PARTY!" in the same style. The bottom half has areas for date, time, place, rsvp, etc. I included the dino sticker - ganged up for Avery's 2 1/2 inch diameter labels. The #3 was taken off. I included the dino eggs sticker - again compatable with the above Avery labels and the pouch printable. I would suggest printing on a light-weight (ideally 24lb laser) paper & cutting out by hand. For the pinked edges, use pinking shears or decorative scissors. Also, not pictured, I included a Thank You postcard for easy, matching thank yous! There you have it! I hope someone will find this useful for an upcoming party! Click the button below to download the suite.

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   P A R T Y   D E T A I L S •

• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   F A V O R S   •

• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   I N V I T A T I O N S   •

 

I'm thrilled to part of Sewing Summit's Travel Handmade series! Today's theme is all about tags, & other misc travelling accessories. While brainstorming last night I had a hard time deviating from the typical suitcase tag, but then it hit me this morning (I'm a last-minute kinda gal). The last 3-4 times I've traveled, I've completely forgotten to bring headphones or earbuds! That's miserable on a plane. Every single time I think - how did I let this happen again?! I surely hope I'm not the only one that finds herself without headphones when headphones would certainly come in handy. This morning I whipped up a fringed pouch, using my fringed pouch pattern & tutorial I developed for N.E.E.T.'s July magazine. It's the perfect size for a pair of minimal earbuds. I followed my instructions exactly, but this time using a thinner, more sewable leather. It took about 20 minutes to make from start to finish. I found the ball chain attached to my new Erin Templeton purse, so I just punched a hole in my pouch & attached the little chain. Alternatively you could attach the pouch with ribbon, jewelry chain or even just let the pouch roam aimlessly in the confines of your purse. These leather pouches wear really well with age. I'm teaching at Sewing Summit in October! I'll be teaching about refashioning & bringing old clothes to life. You should really come. ALSO, I won an Erin Templeton purse on a giveaway! Can you believe it? It came in the mail & I can't stop stroking it. It's gorgeous.

I've had no idea what to do with the corner of our living room from the first second we moved in. The previous lamp was too big & my attempt to modernize it was just as much of a failure as wee wee pads on Project Runway. I finally got clarity after chucking the darned thing & getting a little pinterest inspiration. Before I chucked the lamp, I had bought a new shade for it from DI for $2 in hopes that it would fit. Alas, it did not! It was too short & wide for the lamp's tall & skinny profile. Once the lamp was gone, though, I still had a great shade, but no lamp. I thought about buying a table lamp, but it just seemed that the room would be lacking some height in the corner. It was then I realized that I wanted to do a ceiling lamp. I still wanted to incorporate some orange in there somehow, so when we got to dyeing a few weeks ago, it only seemed natural that I dye my tan shade orange. I opted for an ombre because it's gorgeous & takes very little effort & dye bath in order to make it work. See, you need a bath as wide in diameter as your shade, & as tall as your shade. Since I didn't need it to go all the way up, that saved me a lot of time & boiled water. Finding the  right fixture for making this shade a ceiling lamp was tricky. At least I thought. I planned on going to Lowe's & following an expert around while they imparted their complicated electrical knowledge. That didn't happen, or need to happen. I was able to find all the right stuff on one aisle & in about 3 minutes. I made Chris put it all together, though. I'm becoming DIY lazy in my old age. As soon as we hung the lamp, my problem was fixed! I feel so much more resolved about our living room decor! I have a couple more things to do before it's finished, finished, but I'll be sharing the rest of the details with you soon. What do you think? Would you have dyed your lamp shade? I'll surely be doing it again!!

• • •

This is pam. Pam shares her transformed outfits here. She also shares pictures from the party here.

This project was one of the few things I finished during our Rit Dye party. We had so much fun! It was only a couple of us that ended up able to do it, but we had a great time chatting & mixing colors. What creative gal wouldn't want to spend her saturday afternoon talking about everything under the sun while doing crafty things & eating delicious cupcakes?!? I loved working with Rit Dye. It was a lot easier working with it than I previously thought! We didn't need giant tubs for dyeing like I thought we did. The only toughie was transporting hot water down the stairs to our garage - next time I dye I'm doing it on our back porch, just outside the kitchen. Having hot water near would be a lot better. The colors turned out fantastic & the dye ended up giving new life to SO many garments! Here are a few things I've learned:

• no matter how annoying gloves are, I need to wear them when dyeing
• make sure I have plenty of plastic bags around to separate colors - I accidentally stained a few shirts with one project
• keep hot water near
• buy more salt
• dyeing with friends is awesome
• liquid dye is king

  I'm going to do more dyeing projects in the future & try some new techniques. It's fun how similar dyeing clothes is to watercolor. Batik - you're up next!! Dye provided by Rit Dye.

I found this granny shirt at D.I. on Saturday (along with a million other goodies you'll probably see later). I thought the pattern & color was great, just not the shape. It was about 5 sizes too big for me, but at $2 I couldn't pass it up. I can't quite decide if this pattern is kitschy or cool. We'll go for cool for now. This kind of refashion is super easy & takes very little time to do.

• grab a tee-shirt that has similar fit to what you want to achieve flip it inside out
• lay it flat on top of your garment that you want to adjust
• fold the sleeves in along the shoulder seam
• mark your cut lines - mark slightly larger than the tee - with tailors chalk or washable marker
• match up the fold of the tee sleeves to the fold of the garment sleeves & make sure the hem of the garment sleeve is at your desired length
• trace carefully just outside the shoulder seam & side seam

• turn the garment & sleeves inside out & sew the side seams
• then turn the sleeves right side out
• nest the sleeve inside the garment & pin the sleeves to the shirt
• make sure fold matches up with the shoulder & side seams match up
• sew using 1/4 seam allowance  (or so)
• turn right side out
• iron if needed
• wear!

After I was done, the sleeves were still a bit too wide, so I made those minor adjustments & then wore immediately. I did this all while Chris & I caught up on the latest season of Top Shot. It took me less than 30 minutes to refashion, but I made frequent stops along the way to watch our show. If you're into survival-style reality shows that involve a real skill (and guns), you'll love Top Shot. After we caught up on our shows, we went for a drive in the crazy, crazy rain. We had a lot of fun stalking homes on Zillow & discovering some new-to-me, let's-live-here neighborhoods. What did you do this weekend?

To see more photos & details about this $24 outfit, click here.

• top: thrifted + refashioned, $2
• belt: thrifted, $1
• bracelets: gift, handmade by dad, handmade by me
• pants: thrifted editor denim, $4
• shoes: Ross, $17

TOTAL: $24  

Here's the wedding invitation I designed for my brother-in-law & his new wife. They were both so easy to work with! I think Rebecca might have picked the easiest wedding colors to work with ever: steel blue & a subdued kelly green. Not the colors I would've chosen, but they were absolutely beautiful. Yesterday at the reception all of the family members wore boutonnieres made from wild flowers & rosemary. They smelled amazing & were so adorable. Next time I put on a fancy party, I'm TOTALLY going to decorate with herbs. Rebecca wanted something simple and traditional with some handmade touches. I designed some simple scrolling, hand-lettered their names & set the text with a go-to font of mine: Glypha. Rebecca & Scott liked this picture, but it didn't make the final cut to be in the invite, so we opted to incorporate this pic in the thank you postcard. I've mentioned this before: thank you post cards are the SHIZZZZ. They're simple, take little organization to send out (no envelopes, etc) & require very little postage. It makes sending out a thank you SO easy - that it actually happens. I like using a picture with the thank you card, it puts those wedding/engagement photos to use.

It was my brother-in-law's wedding yesterday. His wife chose the easiest colors for us to coordinate with: steel blue & olive green.

• earrings: gift
• necklace: handmade
• top: Ruche, $40
• skirt: ModBod, c/o ModBod
• shoes: thrifted DV, $4

TOTAL: $44

My brother-in-law is getting married today! We're all really excited about it. So nothing new around here today. Although, I did manage to whip this up this morning while getting ready. I've had these beads forever (I'll be sharing the petina technique soon). Took about 10 minutes. I'll be back tomorrow sharing the invitations I designed for Scott & Rebecca.

Click here for outfit details.

I've been doing a lot of calligraphy recently - lots of gifts for people. It's been loads of fun! I thought I'd share these with you. I took my sweet time lettering this one, but I love how it turned out. Typically I center all of my text, but due to the length of the quote, I decided to left justify it. This baby is en route to Australia. It's rather sweet. I might have to copy this for Felix & Penelope's room. I love this quote. This was commissioned by Alma, for her husband who loves all things Jimmy Stewart. She wanted to surprise him with something for the anniversary of getting engaged. Isn't that so thoughtful? He was truly surprised. I didn't use any guides for this quote since it was rather short, but I did practice it a few times. In fact, the plain white version on rough watercolor paper is at home with me. I'm tempted to paint it & hang it in our kitchen or something. Our kitchen needs serious decor help. If you're interested in calligraphy (digital or analog), feel free to shoot me an email! I'd be happy to do something for you. ALSO, there's one more spot left for next month's calligraphy class!! Hurry & register if you've been thinking about it.

I found these shoes at the thrift store last week for $5. They're sort of old granny shoes, but their leather details & comfiness were just screaming at me to buy them. I've worn them so many times since!! Funny, while losing myself in Pinterest last night, I stumbled across some seychelles pinned by Joy. They look oh so similar. I do wish these babies had the dainty heel, but you won't hear me complaining. I only paid 7% of what the Seychelles are going for. Laura found Marimekko look-a-like pillow cases for $1.50, Abby found a Thomas the train set for $10, and Shaela found a hardbound Value Tale set for $8! What great deals have you found lately? Please share in the comments below! (links welcome)

Here are a couple more projects that I dyed with Rit Dye. I still need to post details about our little party, but I have to finish one more thing before I do that; la pièce de résistance. Can't wait.

outfit details here

There's no before of this top, but the yellow background was originally white & it was HUGE. I dyed it yellow & took it in using one of my favorite tees as a template. The yellow is a big improvement. I feel like it makes the top look 30 years younger. I LOVE this length of sleeve & I want to ask y'all - WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND?!? Cap sleeved stuff is everywhere, 3/4 length sleeve is everywhere, but where the hell is the half sleeve? It's way more flattering than the cap & not nearly as stuffy in summer as the 3/4 sleeve. I might feel a little passionate about the subject. Asos knows where it's at.

outfit details here

I did it. I dyed my swim cover-up. A few of you told me not to, but I feel like this looks more like a professionally made article of clothing now that it's not white. Also, I'm not nearly as afraid of wearing it now that it's not bright white. I'm notoriously horrible with white. For more pictures of each item & outfit details, check out the fashion blog. Dye courtesy of Rit Dye.

I can't wait for fall. It rained last night so I'm already busting out the fall color tones.

• earrings: Payless, won from a giveaway
• necklace: Vintage Oddity, $18
• cardigan: some boutique, $15
• tank: handmade + hand-dyed, $2
• belt: Ruche, $15
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• shoes: thrifted, $5

TOTAL: $70 I can't believe I can actually braid my hair now. It's getting really long, but I still have about 4 inches until I'm at my goal length. It's a little nuts that 4 years ago I buzzed it all off.

Wore this number to church yesterday. We blessed Felix. What a great day.

• earrings: thrifted, $.50
• necklace: handmade by my dad
• top: thrifted + refashioned, $4
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: Tulle, $20
• shoes: Payless, $5

TOTAL: $30.50 This pendant is diorite: A gem that the egyptians used in a lot of sarcophagi embellishment. It symbolized the eternity of the heavens with the dark blue color & the natural gold flecks. I love this symbolism.

I've had these earrings for 4 years. Seriously, why have I never worn them until now?!?

• earrings: Brazil, $1
• necklace: handmade, $.50
• dress: Forever 21, $15
• bracelet: Wet Seal (nearly 10 years ago)
• shoes: thrifted, $5
• TOTAL: $21.50

I'm mad that my hair is falling out. Not at you.

I've had this sweater in my closet for about a year & a half now. It's the only patterned sweater I have (surprisingly). I keep reminding myself every time I wear it that I need to get more patterned cardigans! The sparkly buttons really drew me in in the first place. I don't really own a lot of items like this, but I love it! For some reason, I feel like the proportions on this cardigan are slightly off for my body. I want the cardi to be either 4 inches longer or 4 inches shorter. Same with the sleeves. They're just about 2 inches shy of being a full sleeve, but they're too long to be considered a 3/4. The cardi tends to stretch a little bit during the day, so pushing up the sleeves is something I'm constantly doing through out the day. You'd think it was a nervous tick. This morning while getting ready to go out to lunch with my parents & sisters, I tried on a bunch of cardigans with this tank, but I wasn't really liking anything. This cardigan was the best, but didn't quite go with its proportions. It was just slightly shorter than the tank, so it hit at a funny spot where it made me look bulky in funny places. It was time to re-think this cardigan. I spent about 20 minutes pinning (5 of that 20 was photographing my steps) and sewing to shorten the cardi. I like the length SOOOOO much better now! Here's how I did it: I didn't want to make a new hem, so I measured out how much I wanted to shorten the sleeve & waistband by, then halfed it. with the cardi right side out, I folded the sleeve up until the end of the cuff & the fold read 3 inches. I pinned my fold in place & sewed along the hemmed line. From there, I folded the cuff back over & ironed the seam down - use the highest setting your garment will allow. Then I cut off the excess & ironed again. Looks pretty flawless, no? Isn't that easy peasy? I've seen some tutorials online use this same technique for hemming denim. It's a pretty quick way to shorten something & keep it looking professional. I love these results. These proportions look so much better in my opinion. I think I'll be getting a lot more use out of this cardigan now. What do you think? Do you have cardigans that hit at awkward spots? For outfit details & info, check out the fashion blog.

I altered this sweater before going out to lunch with my sisters & parents. We went to Vinto - an amazing (and fairly cheap) Italian restaurant. LOVED it.

• cardigan: DownEast Basics, $15
• necklace: Vintage oddity, c/o Vintage Oddity
• tank: swapped
• bracelet: handmade by my dad
• denim: Walmart, $12
• shoes: Ross, $17

TOTAL: $44  

I’ve had a few requests from readers to see if I’d be teaching a calligraphy class any time soon. You interested? Next month, September 17th, I’ll be holding a calligraphy workshop at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah. Come join me from 2pm – 4pm for an artsy afternoon & learn how to take your hand-lettering to the next level! If you can't come, no worries! We'll be filming for the online class that I'll be launching later in the year. Can't wait!!

Click the “buy now” button below to sign up for the local class.

The $47 fee includes all the materials you need to get started and the cost of the workshop. All you have to do is show up! No returns or refunds. Here’s what a few people thought of my class:

• Simple Lovely
• Padgett Hoke
• Oh Hello Friend

I hope to see you next month! Feel free to comment/contact me if you have any questions.   I haven't yet worked out the logistics for the online curriculum, but tentatively it'll be very similar to my workshop with video a PDF and the option to purchase materials. Sign up for the online calligraphy course updates for more information as it becomes available!

Last weekend I got together with a couple of creative ladies & got my hands messy in a bunch of dye baths! I'll be recapping my experience as a whole with Rit Dye later this week, but I couldn't wait to share with you this little update. I've had the above button-up since before Chris & I were officially dating. Chris, a bunch of his super-hip buddies & I ventured up to Salt Lake (we were living 40 miles south at the time) and went thrift shopping. We had a great time. It was during this excursion that I scored this button up and this funky jacket - all in the boy's department. I've had this fabulous oxford for over 6 years. It's been through a lot. It started out with the pocket on the left side and long sleeves. The color has been looking a bit ratty recently, so when the ladies came over for a little dyeing fun, I added this one to the pile of things to dye. With everyone riding the ombre train, a big part of me wants to steer clear from it entirely. It's beautiful, but I don't want to be the kind of person to put a bird on something just because it's the hip thing to do. I thought I'd do a different take on the ombre & do a few things differently. Most ombre dyes are light to dark. This is dark to light. Also, most ombre dyes are different saturations of the same tone. I kept within the same color family & gradated the yellow to a sunset orange. I love how the ombre effect woke up my shirt from its deep sleep. Liz & Susan both have great tutorials on ombre dyeing, but I took a different approach on the method. I've never dyed before Saturday, but having a lot of experience with watercolor (and watercolor gradients), I took more of a watercolor approach. Here's how I did it:

1. start out with a weak dye bath (using liquid Rit Dye for the bath - powder wouldn't work as well for this technique)
2. dip the garment all the way in the bath for 10-30 seconds getting it completely wet and creating a base layer
3. ring it out
4. add more yellow dye to the bath & mix thoroughly
5. place the garment in about half way through - Susan & Liz both measured their steps out, which is a good idea
6. let the garment soak for 10 or so minutes bobbing the garment in and out of the bath to see how the color is coming along
7. add tangerine dye to change the color of the saturated end
8. take the garment out more. I clamped my shirt to the wall of the bath to keep it from sliding down
9. soak the edges of the garment for another 10-15 minutes bobbing it in and out
10. add dye as needed and lift the garment out even further
11. keep repeating steps 8 & 9 until you've reached your desired result

I did this technique with a few other items & I can't wait to share the rest with you later this week! Click here to see more pictures & outfit details. Dye courtesy of Rit Dye.

Dyeing clothes isn't nearly as intimidating as I had once thought.

• top: thrifted + refashioned, $4
• chambray top: swapped
• belt: hand-me-down
• skirt: Ruche, c/o ShopRuche.com
• shoes: thrifted, $5

TOTAL: $9 ($46)

Last week I had fabulous luck at the thrift store. I found a bunch of things, among them: a Tommy Hilfiger 2T denim shirt dress. Thankfully, Penelope was there with me, so I could confirm that the shirt dress did in fact fit her. It fit her more like a shirt/jacket than a dress. The only downside to the $2 score? The embroidery along the bottom of the dress. I subscribe to the philosophy that clothing shouldn't have labels (like #1 slugger, princess, etc); in fact, I feel like many perfectly adorable clothes are ruined by kitschy embroidery and cartoons. These stars aren't Penelope's style at all (I totally project all of my interests & snobbery onto her). The linen table cloth that I bought recently from DownEast home had a brown P embroidered on it that I successfully unpicked without any damage to the linen. I figured since this embroidery was smaller and on a thicker material, removing the stitching wouldn't be a problem at all. I was right. Removing the cheesy stars makes all the difference in the world to me. I do this a lot to hand me downs & thrifted items. It's the perfect way to give something new life & style. Doing this is practically brainless - I just grab my seam ripper, an embroidery hoop, my computer & cuddle on the bed with Felix while I catch up on shows. The little stars were the most time consuming because the stitching was so tight, so I ended up getting my tweezers to help get those out of the way. No big deal, though. I love the final result & this outfit is just so adorable. She's such a little hipster with her little man dress shoes, cut off jean shorts & jean jacket. I didn't think it was terribly necessary to remove the Tommy Hilfiger embroidery on the pocket - that's pretty subtle. Click here for more adorable photos & the breakdown of her outfit.

Isn't this girl just adorable?!?

• top: H&M, $12
• jacket: thrifted + refashioned, $2
• shorts: thrifted, $2
• socks: dunno
• shoes: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $19

I'm feeling happy. Today's a rainbow kinda day.

• earrings: Brazil, $1
• top: Walmart, $4
• sash: from an old shirt
• skirt: H&M, $5
• shoes: swapped

TOTAL: $10

I'm over at Speckless sharing a visual list (not exhaustive by any means) of what makes me happy. Click here to see the full list.

 

Last Saturday I decided I needed something new in my wardrobe. I've had about two yards of this wood grain fabric in my stash for the last couple of months & have been meaning to do something with it, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to make a top or a skirt. So I basically made both: a sheath dress. This fabric is light-weight, stretchy, but with a surprising amount of "body" to it. The rolled details add a lot of visual interest as well as wiggle room. Wiggle room for imperfect seams. Jersey can sure be a pain in the neck to sew if you don't have a surger. Which I obviously don't have. Here's how I made this little number and how you can make one of your own:

1. Fold the fabric in half right sides together. Smooth out.
2. Lay down a dress (or fitted tee & pencil skirt) that has the cut you want. Be sure to lay the garment(s) & fabric perfectly flat. Wrinkles will mess you up.
3. Cut out the fabric including seam allowances. I did a 1/2 inch seam allowance all the way around & 3 inches at the bottom. You can always cut it if it's too long.
4. If you're adding a sleeve, make the transition from the body of the dress to the sleeve a curve.
5. Cut the back & front necklines to be the same. You'll adjust the neckline at the end.
6. My template dress was more of an a-line, so I trimmed down the fabric to go straight down instead - for more of a sheath look.
7. Sew the shoulders, and sides using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
8. Try the garment on. Make adjustments in the fit & mark the center point of where you want your front neckline to hit.
9. Take garment off & line up seams together (basically fold the front half of the dress in half). Find your marking & cut out the neckline
10. Hem the bottom, sleeves and neck as desired.
11. See the above illustration for additional info

This fabric doesn't fray so you don't need to hem it; but I did, because I liked the look better. I'll soon be hand-hemming the neckline to mimic the rolled woodgrain texture for a more finished look. I love how this fabric hides everything I want concealed but shows off my curves (I know they're little - so they need to be accentuated!). I LOVE my new dress! I think it'll make the perfect transition into fall, too. Oh yeah, I had two yards of the woodgrain fabric (it's $17 per yard), but it took just about a yard to make the dress. If you want a longer dress than 36 inches from the shoulder, you'll need more yardage. fabric courtesy of rufflefabric.com

I wore this dress just last Sunday to church. It's super flattering & took less than 30 minutes to make!

• earrings: gift
• dress: handmade, fabric c/o Ruffled Fabric
• bracelet: handmade by my dad
• skinny belt: thrifted, $1
• wide belt: handmade
• shoes: thrifted BCBG, $9

TOTAL: $10

I think this might be my favorite summer outfit!

• chambray top: swapped
• tank: DownEast basics, $3
• necklace: In Honor of Design, c/o IHOD
• purse: thrifted, $2
• belt: thrifted, $2
• skirt: Ruche, c/o Ruche
• shoes: thrifted, $5

TOTAL: $12

I'm doing double duty today! I'm over at the Rhodes blog sharing my new favorite go-to sandwich! Did you know you can use Rhodes frozen dough to make flatbread? It's absolutely delicious. Like a party in the mouth. I can't get enough basil, tomato & mozzarella in my life. Also, cucumber makes a great addition to the caprese trifecta.

Click here for the full recipe & step-by-step pictures.

I've been so flattered with your sweet words about including my sketches in my refashion/sewing posts. Seriously, every time I read your comments I get a big smile on my face. Often times I share them with Chris and say, "Look, Chris!! People like what I do!" It never surprises him, but it surprises and delights me every time. Selena commented: "I need to learn to draw those fashion-y sketches… do you recommend a book or tutorial? Or perhaps you want to do a tutorial just for me? Pretty please?" That made me think that she might not be the only one wanting to know how. Or hope at least. I'm excited to share with you my method for figure drawing. This method is a bit more on the traditional side, what I'm showing you is sort of a caricature of what I learned in figure drawing in college. With these instructions I hope you'll be able to translate this into your own style fashion figure drawings. If you'd like to learn additional information on how to draw the body, I'd suggest Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist. It's what we studied from at BYU, so it's fairly conservative, but it's still an anatomy book. Now let's get started!  

• S K E T C H I N G • T H E • F E M A L E • F I G U R E •

• T O O L S  •

• pencil
• eraser
• paper
• a model or mirror

I draw the figure from my head most of the time, but I've practiced drawing the figure loads of times. If you're serious about figure drawing, check out your local museum to see if they do figure drawing sessions - keep in mind, most are nude. So, either that or get yourself a sister or close friend to model for you (a fitted shirt & shorts would would do just fine). First, you want to mark down your reference points. Where's the jugular notch (or pit of the neck)? Draw a circle there, then document the angle of the shoulders. Next, draw the linea alba (center line) from the jugular notch to the base of the pelvis. Draw the angle of the hips. Many poses kink the hips in the opposite angle of the shoulders, so keep that in mind.

Now that you have the angles down, sketch in all of the joints with lines & circles. Use full circles for parts that face straight on & ovals for parts that are 3/4 or profile. The line of the hip to the knee goes from the outside of the hip to the inside of the knee. Same with the shin. The shin makes sort of a lazy S shape.

 

Now that the figure is starting to take more shape, connect the circles. Literally flesh out the form with the contours of fat & muscle. Take note that the angles in the leg with the fat & muscle is very similar to your previous skeletal rendering. Erase the circles & lines from step 2.

Remember in art class in 7th grade how you were taught to start drawing the figure with the head & make the body 7-8 heads tall? Forget that. At least the starting with the head part. Now in step 4, you'll want to draw the neck, it's height and width is typically about 1/4th the breadth of the shoulder. The head is more of an oval-bottomed square than an exact oval. Draw the head. You can add hair & facial features if you'd like. Next you'll attack the hands.

I leave the hands for last because they're pretty tricky. Sometimes I'll leave them as circles or mitts, but if I want to do something different, it's in these last steps that I add them. The palm is a rounded pentagon with fries coming out of it. (maybe I'm hungry?) Again, if you're serious about sketching the body, this is something that you'll want to study & practice. Flesh out the feet by just adding their basic shape. I usually leave finishing them for last as they're sort of tricky & I usually draw shoes on them anyway.

Now your drawing is ready to accessorize. Draw clothing on top of your figure & erase the under-drawing.

When it comes to the fashion sketches that I include with my refashions, I typically hurry to document my idea that I wing it & don't do the whole under-drawing. I also often draw with a pen - so no erasing, either. I prefer to draw on paper with a pen or pencil over sketching my ideas with my Wacom. Maybe because I like the organic feel of paper & pen(cil) or maybe because I'm not as good with the Wacom as I could be!

As step 6 suggests, you can also download my drawing. I've included a front & a back for your convenience in planning refashions, sewing projects, etc! Click the button below to download.

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

We were going to go to the zoo, but then I realized I left my keys in the car. The locked car. Oh yeah & I did it again today. POOP.

• earrings: thrifted, $1
• necklace: handmade by my Dad
• top: Walmart, $4
• cardi: hand-me-down
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• shoes: H&M, $10

TOTAL: $30  

• top: DownEast Basics, $3
• necklace: Tai Pan, c/o Tai Pan Trading
• belt: hand-me-down from grandma Newton
• skirt: handmade, $2
• shoes: swapped

TOTAL: $5

I made two of these skirts a couple months ago. The first one was for my sister's birthday present and after I made hers; I was a bit envious. I had to make one for me! The hem (unpictured) was just a satin stitch all the way around. I had to be pretty careful sewing the satin stitch, but I think it still was faster than if I had done a traditional hem. Also, the fabric is completely sheer, so I doubled it up. I like how the stripes move & play with each other since the fabric is so transparent. I made this skirt exactly how I made my Easter skirt. It was super simple & took about 30 minutes to make from beginning to end. This skirt is a very unexpected color pallette for my wardrobe. I'm not entirely sure what drew me to the fabric, perhaps it was my subconscious telling me that I needed something different in my wardrobe. I bought the  fabric on clearance at Walmart (gasp) for $1 a yard. I made two skirts for $2. Not including my time, I can't even find skirts at my local DI for that little.

This outfit cost under $10, see outfit details here.

This weekend we partied in Provo & listened to my cousin perform. He's fantastic. Their band is fantastic. I was impressed by James's percussive skills on the Ableton pads & the lead singer's vocals. Here's a little clip of some video I took at the show. And, yes, I'm totally having a blast playing around with my new camera.

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