2016 Compilations + Explanations

I’m going to risk sounding incredibly cliché and say that I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by! What?! We’re already halfway through December?!!!

Time really does fly when you’re busy (and having fun). I’ve been up to quite a lot this year and have not (regretfully) been keeping up my promise to myself to document it all. So, in the spirit of celebrating the past year and preparing for the new, I’ve put together a compilation of my crafting and creating endeavors from 2016. Enjoy!

iPad Lap Pillows

(technically 2015, but somehow it was never posted)

You’ve seen those weird triangular-shaped pillows in Sky Mall magazine or at Bed Bath & Beyond that claim to hoist up your iPad while you’re lounging around in your Forever Lazy on the couch, with no plans for your day…. Well I took that idea and made it WAY cuter, and personalized it for my Mom and Grandmother last year for Christmas. They both have larger iPads and love to sit in bed or on the couch reading, playing Candy Crush, shopping on JewelryTelevision.com, etc. Not only was this a fun project, but a great gift. It was also an easy way to break into pattern making (yep, this was a custom pattern). 

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Succulent Babies!

Succulent Satisfaction

Several months later, they are still thriving! This is not surprising for those who work with succulents on the regs. But for this Florida girl, who often forgets to water, these amazing desert plants make me feel like ALL my fingers are green. The donkey tails have grown to double their length, and the Perle von Nurnbergs are as pink as ever! 

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Our Gallery Wall

This was fun, but definitely took a while. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to permanent design, so you can imagine how long it took me to get the wall placement just right. I think the final product is fantastic though. Some of those pieces are mine, too! 

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Viking Beard

I made this at the request of a friend of mine…. It turned out pretty cool! I made that hat, too (2015). Thanks to my model, Kevin! 

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Silver 3-Tiered Cupcake Stand

This was something I crafted up for work, since I worked with several clients who requested a sweets table but we didn’t have anything cute to put the sweets on. I picked up a couple glass candlesticks from a thrift store and spray painted them silver. The three silver trays were already in our inventory but weren’t being used anymore so I repurposed them. We use this lovely stand ALL the time now!

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Ballet Wrap Skirts

Watercolors Ballet Skirt

Navy, Pink, and Tan Ballet Skirt

Pretty ballerinas!

That’s A Wrap!

I plan to make more of these, in varying lengths. They’re up in my etsy shop. I’m happy to whip up a custom skirt for you, just ask! 😉

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Crop Top

I found this Nicole Miller fabric (very stretchy, like a scuba knit) @ Joann’s randomly and had to do something with it. This is actually the top half of a dress pattern I had that I altered slightly. This was a crazy project, because the pattern itself is WAY off and was so big the first time around, I had to go back into it (literally take it apart) and make it about 4 sizes smaller!

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ReUp’d Ottoman

This Girl is Upholstering!

Y’all remember this one, right?! Freaking LOVE the pattern of this fabric. 

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Hilaree’s Headpiece, Wristlets, and Bridesmaids’ Combs

As I did for my girl friend Megan, I do for Hilaree. She asked me to make her a bridal headpiece to match her 1920’s themed wedding and her gorgeous wedding dress. We shopped for the materials downtown and decided that we couldn’t stop with just the headpiece. I ended up making her wristlets (to add the illusion of long sleeves to her dress) and 6 coordinating combs for each of her bridesmaids (myself included). Stay tuned for the pro’s pictures….

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Geometric MCM Dresser (WIP)

This is by far the most involved project I’ve taken on, probably EVER. Had I known it would be this intense… Nah, I still would’ve done it! 

We live on a street where folks constantly put their unwanted furniture on the curb for the garbage collectors (or me) to take. I went out one morning to take Otis for a walk and found this guy on the curb and couldn’t say no.

It. Was. Disgusting. So gross, I couldn’t even take a picture of it in the condition we brought it inside in. While I was at work that day, Kevin took it upon himself to clean it because he couldn’t stand to have such a dirty piece of *$%! in the house. This pic is what it looked like when I got home and took a soapy sponge to the first large drawer. Yeah, just soap and water did ALL that. Gross. 

I decided on a dark blue-gray color for the frame, and a fun, bright yellow-green for the geometric shape down the drawers. I sanded and stained the drawers a darker mahogany color (which was a pain in the A$$ and I probably won’t be doing that again to pre-treated furniture). Also, I don’t recommend doing this kind of project in an apartment. Yeah, definitely not a good idea *coughs on fumes*.

It’s still a WIP (work in progress) at this point. I need to clear-coat the entire piece, which needs to be done outside. I’m procrastinating on this step because, being a vintage piece, this beast is HEAVY. Once the clear-coat has set, I’ll plug in the new drawer pulls and post it up on etsy. 

Anyone interested? Teeheehee…

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Marble Glasses + Mugs

Most likely my last project for 2016, and *spoiler alert* to my friends and family who haven’t received their Christmas gifts from me yet!!!!! Maybe skip this part…

I had SO much fun with these!!! I will definitely do more of them and will post them up on etsy. Can anyone guess what media I used?!

Nail polish. WHAAAATT?!?!?

It’s no secret folks; any fellow Pinterest-er has most likely seen this. But while it’s been done before, I have to say I love the direction I went with it. I had only seen this technique on ceramic mugs prior to my attempts. I found these stemless wine glasses + all-purpose beverage glasses at the dollar store and had to try those out, too. I actually like the effect on the clear glasses much better than on the mugs, since you can see the design from both sides.

Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll make some for you 😉

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Clearly, I had a good year! I found inspiration every where, and challenged myself with new and exciting projects (some of which are still in progress). I had success on etsy (someone in Australia is wearing one of my hats!) and hope to continue to grow my store and add new items. And most of all, I had fun creating and sharing my craft with my family and friends.

I can’t wait to get started on my next project and see what 2017 has in store for me. Happy New Year everyone!

 

This Girl is Upholstering!

If you’re keeping up with my goings-on (which hopefully you are), you’ll know that I am now sewing on a new machine: the Brother “Project Runway Limited Edition” Digital sewing machine (which has been amazing so far).

My first night with the new machine. It was a Friday, can you tell?! 😉

I’ve just completed my first project using this machine, and (as with any newly finished project) I also excited to share it with you!

We recently purchased an ottoman at Ross, which was incredibly useful but terribly ugly.

Please don’t be offended if you don’t think this is ugly: I’m sure it would have looked great in the right home. But ours is not a blue-and-brown kinda place.

Let me just start out here by saying that I have never re-upholstered anything before. So of course I was really excited to teach myself how to do this. Ultimately it ended up being quite easy, and self-explanatory. All you have to understand is that it’s like a puzzle, and each old fabric piece that comes off must be replaced with an identical new fabric piece. If you’re interested in learning more about the method I used, you should check out this article. It really helped me when I was first researching re-upholstery.

After only a couple of hours (and unfortunately for my new sewing machine, only a couple of stitches) I had a brand-new, bright and cheery ottoman! Voila!

I found this fabric in downtown LA in our fabulous Fashion District (you know, crafter heaven?) for only $5/yard. I have plenty left over, so the next project will most likely be using this fabric: I’m thinking matching cushions for our bar stools….

It looks great in front of our Raspberry Lounge Chair, don’t you think?!

This Girl Is Selling Her Singer…

That’s right, I’m selling my sewing machine. I had the opportunity to purchase a [discounted] Brother digital machine with 100 stitches and automatic everything. It’s like switching from a stick shift to an automatic. Weeeehooo!

But sadly, that means that my very first sewing machine, my Singer Tradition 2277, is now obsolete in my sewing studio and must find a new home. Could that home be yours?!

Here are the specs:

-Automatic Needle Threader
-Adjustable Stitch Length and Width
-Fully Automatic 1-Step Buttonhole
-Easy Stitch Selection dial
-23 Built-In Stitches — 6 Essential, 11 Stretch, 5 Decorative, 1 Fully Automatic 1-Step Buttonhole
-Automatic Tension

Included Accessories:
All-Purpose Foot, Buttonhole Foot, Button Sewing Foot, Pack of Needles, Thread Spool Cap, Darning Plate, L-Screwdriver, Seam Ripper/Lint Brush, Machine Intro DVD, Quick Start Guide, Instruction Manual with Stitch Guide, Foot Control, Power Cord, Carrying Case

It’s posted on Craigslist now too. If you’re interested in it, let me know ASAP!

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/art/5683689281.html

That’s A Wrap!

I recently started taking ballet classes again, and it’s absolutely wonderful! I love dancing, and ballet is a fantastic way to improve my balance, muscle tone, and overall fitness. I’m no stranger to ballet, and definitely not a pro, but it’s really been kicking my butt back into shape. I love every second of it!

For me, the best way to really feel like a ballerina is to look like one. However, as I quickly discovered, looking like a real ballerina can get real expensive real quick. Luckily for me, I have a stash of some really great sheer fabric that turned out to be no less than perfect for flowy ballet wrap skirts.

I found a really simple pattern here and whipped up these two lovely wrap skirts in just a couple hours. Hilaree and I have already tested them out in class this past week and they were a hit! I will definitely be making more, and they’re available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Watercolors Ballet Wrap Skirt

Navy, Pink, and Tan Ballet Wrap Skirt

Pretty ballerinas!

This Girl LOVES Christmas!

In celebration of the season (and my new domain name) I’m sending you this very special Christmas post and mini-tutorial.

I’ve been busy over here lately, but have had the opportunity to slow things down a bit and decorate. One of my most exciting accomplishments so far is my tree. This is the very first tree I’ve bought and decorated myself, outside of my family’s tree. And I’m so impressed 😉

I’m dreaming of a white [and gold] Christmas.

My favorite ornament: My “L” globe from Target!

I’ve been making little handmade ornaments all week and adding them to the tree. You can see the crocheted stars in the photo surrounding my “L” globe. I’ve also made a few little yarn pom-poms. It’s so easy to do and they look great on any themed tree, in any color.

Since I love my little pom-poms so much, I decided to make a mini-tutorial on how to make them. Now you can make your own!

To start out, you’ll need a pom-pom maker which you can make yourself. Yes, you can buy one. But you can buy ornaments, too, and where’s the fun in that?!

Materials: I’ve made several of these for different sized pom-poms and have used different materials. So far, the best material I’ve found is bendable, cuttable plastic. You can find this at hardware stores, craft stores, online, etc. But cardboard works really well too. You can even use the cardboard from a cereal box.

Making your pom-pom maker…..

Step 1: Cut out 2 identical circles from the material of your choosing. The size of these circles will be the size of your pom-pom. For large pom-poms, I trace an upended pint glass. For small pom-poms, I’ll trace a mason jar lid, the base of a champagne flute, or wine glass.

Step 2: Draw a smaller circle inside both large circles.                          Larger circle = Denser pom-pom. I personally like to leave half the diameter of the circle for wrapping. Let me explain: Say the diameter of your circle is 4″. Find the center point of your circle and measure out 1″. This distance from the center point will be where you draw your inner circle. It should look something like this:

As you can see, I have two sets of pom-pom makers started. My inner circles are half the diameter of my outer circles.

Step 3: Cut out the center circle. Draw a narrow “V” from the edge down to the inner circle (you can see this in the top left of the first pic below). Cut out this “V” and the entire inner circle. The “V” should meet at a point right where the circle begins. Now your pom-pom makers are ready to do their life’s work.

Cut. It. Out.

This is what your new pom-pom makers will look like.

Making your pom-pom ornament….

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• Pom-Pom Maker
• Yarn
• Scissors

Step 4: Wrap the yarn. Place your two pom-pom makers together so they match up. You’ll be wrapping the yarn evenly around the donut you’ve created. The key word here is EVENLY. Start at the middle bottom of your pom-pom maker and wrap up to the “V” on one side. Then wrap back down towards the middle bottom, and then back up the other side to the “V”. Wrap back down to the middle bottom one more time, and this will give you your first layer. The more layers you wrap, the denser and fuller your pom-pom will be. Depending on the size of yarn I’m using, I’ll wrap anywhere between 3 -6 (or more) times.

Starting the first layer…

This finished pom-pom was wrapper 3 times. Now it looks like a fluffy donut!

Step 5: Cut out your pom-pom. Once you’ve wrapped to the thickness you prefer, cut the yarn leaving a small tail. Starting at one side of the “V” opening, separate the two pom-pom maker circles and insert the blade of your scissors. Cut through the yarn along the edge of the pom-pom maker all the way around the outside. This is when your pom-pom actually starts looking like a pom-pom!

Step 6: Tie your pom-pom. Cut a long piece of yarn, about 10 inches (if you have thin, dark green yarn, I’d use it here). Hold each end of the yarn and place the center of the strand in between the two pom-pom maker circles.  Push the yarn down to the center of the pom-pom, and wrap both pieces around to the other side (keeping the yarn in between the circles). Tie them together in a very tight knot, them wrap them back up to the top and tie another tight, double knot. This secures the pom-pom yarns together and keeps your pom-pom from falling apart.

Yarn goes in the top…

…and wraps around the bottom. Tie it tight!

Step 7: Pull out your pom-pom. Carefully remove your new pom-pom from the pom-pom maker. Do NOT push it out through the center circle! Instead, bend the pom-pom maker and pop the pom-pom out through the  widened “V” opening.

 

I’m holding one side of the circle back, and I’m popping the pom-pom out through that larger opening.

Step 8: Fluff, shape, and trim your pom-pom. At this point, you might see some yarns that are longer than others. Just snip those ends off. Keep the strings that you tied around the center of your pom-pom long, as that is what you’ll use to attach it to your tree. Fluff your pom-pom by mussing it up with your fingertips, combing it with a fine-tooth comb, or rolling it around on the carpet (whatever works best for your yarn).

Step 9: Enjoy your pom-pom! Look what you did, how pretty! Make as many as you want for your tree, one is never enough. You can also make smaller ones for additional flare on your wrapped presents.

I hope you’ll make some lovely pom-pom ornaments for your tree this year. And when you hang them up, I hope you’ll be inspired to hand-make even more decorations for your tree and your home.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

This Girl is on FIRE!

I had to do it eventually. Love that song….

Anyway, I kinda was on fire last night! Check out my 2015 Halloween costume, handmade by me (with a little help from my friend Hilaree- she’s the tits!).

Dark Phoenix, from the X-Men!

Yeah, we made that, NBD.

For those of you who are not so familiar with the X-Men comic series, here’ s look at my inspiration.

Hilaree cut and sewed the Phoenix logo on my chest, and also made the “boots” for my legs. I made the gloves, sash, and shoe covers. The unitard is actually two pieces: leggings from American Apparel (my go-to shop for all my basic costume needs) and a long-sleeve leotard from Danny’s Warehouse (discount dance store in LA; it’s fabulous!). The yellow material was from Joann’s and is a super stretchy lycra blend. This was my first time sewing with this type of material, and it was actually fairly simple.

Hilaree’s fantastic seam-stressing!

It was also my first time making gloves, and that was SURPRISINGLY easy to do! I found this fantastic tutorial that changed my life and I am forever grateful to have learned this technique.

A quick shot of me making the gloves, using freezer paper to make the fabric more “sturdy”. Genius.

The X-Men! (from left to right) Laura as Phoenix, Jacob as Wolverine, and Hilaree as Rogue. Complete with Super-Vision eyes 😉

In case you were wondering, Phoenix has telekinetic powers. That’s why all my shots from last night are of that pose.

And we even ran into a few fellow X-Men!

Wolverine, Phoenix, Storm, Mystique, Wolverine, and Rogue. And Justine- as kitty lady (not an X-Men character, but still cool).

This Girl Opens Etsy Shops!

After years of work and procrastination, I have finally gathered enough handmade merchandise to set-up shop on Etsy. As of October 5, 2015 I am now a bona-fide shop owner. Now you can own your own piece of This Girl’s handmade swag!

This Girl Makes Things on Etsy

Here’s a little preview of what you can purchase right now…

The Earth Day Beanie; inspired by a sunny day.

Navy, Orange, and Cream Slouchy Beanie. Preppy, classic, and fun!

Did someone say Hipster?

Black & White is as chic as ever this season! A nod to Valentino, Emilio Pucci, and Charlotte Simone.

EXTRA long infinity scarf made with a Marc-Jacobs-esque fabric I found downtown! It can be wrapped up to three times for extra warmth.

The Secretary Scarf (aka Pussy Bow) will come in lots of colors and patterns very soon.

The Blush Pink Birdie sheer infinity scarf! Love this one…

Click on any of these photos to go straight to it’s corresponding Etsy page.

Like I’ve posted on each beanies’ page, you can always ask for a custom made hat in any color combo you desire! Message me on Etsy or right here on this blog post with your request.

As far as the scarves go, those will be mostly One Of A Kind, so if you see one you like don’t sleep on it, because once its sold its gone forever.

Thanks for your support! And stay tuned for new items: I’ll be adding several each week!

Meet the Twins!

Slowly but surely, our home is coming together. I’ve been carefully and craftily curating our collection of furniture and home decor, and today I’d love to share with you all the newest additions to our family of furnishings! Friends, meet the twins! Our dresser now has a baby brother and sister! We’ve been in dire need of nightstands since we moved in, and the time has finally come.

I’m not ashamed to share that we’ve been using cardboard boxes as nightstands, since I can now share the awesome upgrade that has taken place! Yet another craigslist furniture find that I upcycled into MCM-style works of love.

The “before” shot. Ignore the blue painter’s tape. Always the eager beaver, I can never remember to take a picture before I get to work!

I am still looking to replace the drawer pulls, since they are a little to bulky for my taste, but that is yet another journey into DIY crafting to encounter on yet another day. The current pulls give these lovely units a file-cabinet-esque look, which I do not prefer. Does any one have any tips on replacing an inset/flush drawer pull with a standard pull/knob?

And in other exciting news, my studio has also adopted a new piece of furniture!

Hooray I have shelves! Lucky me, we found this Ikea Expedit just hanging out on the curb down the street from our house! Left out like yesterday’s garbage! I guess it’s really true, that old saying about trash and treasure…

Don’t mind the tower of cardboard in the background. A “bright” future is in store for all that…

Something new in the works….

Happy Friday, y’all!

I’ve been busy over here working on some new ideas and projects! I had a late-night, half-asleep epiphany a couple weeks back and decided to start producing some flowy, summery scarves and open up a shop on Etsy! It’s been a lot of fun going out to fabric shops and bringing home some gorgeous yardage to play with. I’ve even purchased a few vintage yards off Etsy to turn into wearable art! Recently I took a trip downtown to the Fashion District and scored 20 yards of two different fabrics for $20! Those will make a lot of scarves and other accessories. I’m working on a pattern for pocket squares and bowties, too. Maybe one day, I won’t even have to work anymore, and I can just make awesome accessories and clothes for people! Oh the possibilities….

One of my Fashion District purchases. If all goes according to plan, this lovely material will become 10 fabulous scarves!

My other Fashion District purchase. This one is a little heavier so I anticipate turning it into a few flowy tops or rompers.

And my fun vintage Etsy find, circa 1960! Maybe this will be a men’s scarf?

Here are the three prototype materials I purchased originally to test out my scarf pattern. And my adorable Peep pin cushion! Poor guy… he’s a trooper!

And the resulting delicious scarves! I can’t wait to crank out more of these for my shop. Stay tuned for the link!

Fabulous Fit N’ Flare Dress!

Oh my god I made a DRESS!

That was my exact reaction when I put it on for the first time. I am SO excited to share this accomplishment today, because this was my first EVER garment and it turned out great! I learned a lot about garment design and sewing with a pattern (two things totally new to me). Thankfully I had a great teacher, Professor Pincushion! She has her own sewing blog and posts tutorial videos for anything you could think of related to sewing. I found this full length video online and decided to make this dress too. It was so helpful, and I couldn’t have done it without her help. So, super huge thanks to Prof P! Everyone go check out her site here!

Yeah these are a little blurry, but you get the idea.

Now, on to the dress and the process!

Love this pattern! It’s so versatile, I can’t wait to make customized adjustments!

This dress is made from Simplicity pattern 2444, from the inspired by Project Runway line. I chose the very simple but very cute basic version: sleeveless, no front tie or special collar. The dress has pockets and a fitted bodice with a full skirt (no lining, which makes it easy for the first-timers like me). After watching the entire video one night (yeah, I’ve got that much time on my hands right now), I ordered the pattern online. Once it arrived, I rushed off to Joann’s for fabric. I ended up getting a quilting fabric, 100% cotton, with a really fun blue and coral retro floral pattern. I opted for the quilting fabric over an apparel fabric because I felt it would be a good place to start, and easy to work with (I was right).

The lovely material!

After pre-treating (washing and air-drying) the fabric, I cut out my pattern pieces for the size 12 (which I thought would be about equal to a US size 4/6, and most closely matched my measurements). I really felt that this was the most tedious part of the whole process, but I totally understand how important it is to be accurate here! I accidentally cut off some of the “notches” but found out later on that it was ok. I made sure to tape them back on the actual pattern for next time.

The tedious but necessary painstaking pattern and fabric cutting process.

All throughout the sewing process I was marking my 5/8″ seam allowance with a fabric marker, because I didn’t quite trust myself to be able to eyeball it. I’m really glad I did that! And until I am comfortable, I will continue to do that for other pieces I make. I also will make sure to mark darts and dots on the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric. I didn’t think twice and marked on the right sides, and now I’ve got little marks on the front of the dress where the darts and pleats are, but those will come out when I wash it.

I accidentally sewed the pockets on inside-out! Whoops! I didn’t even realize it until I attached the first back piece of the dress to the front and sewed all the way around the reversed pocket pieces! I was really frustrated at myself for not noticing until that point, but I was able to easily fix it. I ripped out the seam from the bottom up just past the top of the pocket, detached both pocket pieces from that side and the other two sides (that weren’t sewn together yet), swapped them out so they’d face the correct way, and reattached. Sewing the two pieces back on the side of the dress I had already sewn was a little tricky, but I managed. Lesson learned: PAY ATTENTION!

The zipper was actually easy to attach! When I made the cover for my blue throw pillow, I used an invisible zipper, so I already had experience with that whole process.

Zipper in!

I ended up taking the bottom hem up 3.25″, because I wanted the dress to hit right above my knee. I will always make this dress that length, so before I start my next one (which I already have material for, teehee) I will adjust the pattern so I don’t waste fabric. I’ll make sure to include how I do that on that particular post.

Once I finally completed my dress and put it on, I noticed some gaping at the front collar and around the back of the dress at the top. After doing some research online, I discovered that this is relatively common if you have a larger bust but “narrow” shoulders. I never realized that my shoulders were “narrow” until this happened, but now I understand what that means. Basically, because I am a C cup but otherwise thin up top, the width of my upper body above my bust apex (from back to front) is not proportionately smaller than the width of my bust, according to the pattern (my actual “high bust” is smaller than what the pattern says it should be- go figure) and thus I have extra material and space in that area of the dress. There are ways to adjust your pattern to fix this problem, which I will utilize next time. However, I couldn’t find any help in fixing my DRESS. So I had to improvise. Here’s what I did…

Oh no! What’s all this gaping?!

I didn’t want to experiment on my lovely new dress, so I make a mock-up of the back shoulder area, with the interfacing and lining of the collar included. Once I figured out a way to remove the excess fabric without ruining my dress, I set to work on the real thing. While wearing the dress, I marked two spots where I would insert a small dart, equidistant from the zipper on both sides. Then I sewed in the dart, and cut out the extra fabric. After that I cut through the collar lining down to the dart, ironed the dart flat towards to zipper, and sewed the collar lining back together, slightly overlapping itself to decrease it’s size.

This process was just slightly more involved than these pictures show, but you get the idea.

Based on the way the back of the dress looks now, I have decided to leave the front as-is. The darts I created left tiny “bumps” of fabric in the back, so it’s not as smooth as it was. I don’t want that to happen in the front, so I am not going to do anything. The gaping is still there, but I’ll deal with it.

As you can see, I accidentally did both darts in the same direction, so they don’t actually mirror each other. I can fix it, but will I?

It’s a little difficult to see here, but I promise there is no more gaping in the back!

Overall, I am really very happy with my first dress! I have already purchased fabric for my next rendition of this pattern, but before I start on that one, I am going to make some adjustments to the pattern so the dress fits better at my neckline and waist. I am also going to add a border along the bottom of the skirt! Get excited!!