Weekend Recap

I know, I know. It's a 3-day weekend but since I'm actually working today and getting emails for more work, then I'm gonna say my 3-day weekend is over. Sigh.

Anyway, this weekend was dark and gloomy and rainy and we even had the rain freeze over last night/this morning. Utah isn't really giving me many reasons to stay much longer...
We watched the rain one evening for a bit and the next day was nice for about 5 hours so I took advantage of that and took my book and a blanket outside. I also finally finished Cold Mountain and it's definitely one of those books that leaves an impression. I recommend it.

Off to work!

Victorian Seahorses

I used more of the samples I ordered from Spoonflower to make this little wristlet. I think "wristlet" is a dumb word but that's what these things are called so I just have to fall in line again. Anyway, I really like this seahorse fabric and I like it even more when paired with gray and...

Is that houndstooth?! Yes, yes it is. Classy.

I also messed around with some paint, pearl pens, and a stencil I made.

It's just cute. Hopefully it can hang above my desk soon.

Have a good weekend!

May Giveaway Day Winner!

Thanks to everyone who posted lovely comments about the elephant!

The winner of the giveaway is Rachael from Cut Sew and Repeat.

Rachael, I'm emailing you shortly for your details.

Hooray! Let's have another giveaway soon :)

Totally Totes Tote

Looking for my giveaway?? Here it is.

My latest project was a tote bag. I used a fat quarter of the geometric fabric I designed and made a pattern for a bag with two pockets inside. This is probably the most well-made item I've made to date. I took a lot of extra care with it and was thrilled that it came out so clean and nice.

I'm excited to get my fabric designs out into the internet world and see what people think.

Also, I wanted to share with you the outfit I made up yesterday. I loved Kristen Wiig's pairing of a blazer with a dress in Bridesmaids and I've read a few blogs that noted it as well. I'm pretty new to accessorizing and dressing up and making an effort so I'm still really amped when I come up with something I think goes really well together but wouldn't be my first choice. AND since I work at home and don't see anyone, I must share.

Necklace: Forever 21
Jacket: Thrifted (Ann Taylor)
Dress: Ross
Shoes: Payless

AND I thought I'd show the true functionality of this outfit by posting a picture of how good it looks even when I'm fixing my hair.

May Giveaway Day!

It's finally May Giveaway Day!
I worked long and hard on my giveaway prize. I tried some new techniques and I used two fabric combinations that I'd been saving in my back pocket for a while.

An elephant! With a trunk and ears and blue flowers all over it. She's about a foot tall and VERY soft and plushy. I loved the gray plaid with the yellow floral print the second I saw it together in the discount bin at my local fabric store. When I thought of the elephant, I knew it would be perfect.

I wanted to create an animal with a sectioned body to give it more personality. For reference, I turned to the only stuffed animal I own that I didn't create - Patches, a silly bear I've had since I was a baby. He looks pretty worn now but I remember when he was brand new. His nose has had to be stitched on again and my mom likes to tell the story of when I took him in the bath with me. Patches has been very well-loved. The stuffing has settled and uneven in some places and he's more like a pillow now than a doll and I love that about him.

So this elephant is brand new, created just for a lucky winner - but it's also very well-loved. She can sit up on her own but has floppy ears and arms/legs. She goes perfectly on a shelf but also fits nicely in the crook of a tiny little arm. As soon as I finished her, she felt like an old friend. Instead of passing along to you a friend to break in, I thought I'd share one that felt like it had experience being a special companion.

All you have to do is comment below between today, May 23rd, and Wednesday, May 25th, telling me what you would name your new old friend. Please leave me an email address or a way to contact you if you win in your comment! The winner will be picked randomly and announced on May 26th. I will ship to international participants as well.

The giveaway ends on May 25th.

I can't wait to see what names you all come up with!

Oh Blessed Friday

I'm not sure why I care so much about Friday today. I haven't worked very hard this week on anything besides staying sane. I won't really be kicking back this Friday because I've sort of done that all week.

Truth is, I haven't felt too creative this week outside of my freelance work. I'm hoping I had a good break to start in and get a few projects done this weekend.

I did bake though. I made these Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits and served my husband breakfast for dinner. Huzzah!

Don't forget about my giveaway either...

I also turned one of my husband's old shirts into a cute tank top that I then promptly wore out to meet friends. But not before I also whipped up a prototype for a wallet. (photo of shirt "before" is after I cut the neckline. oops.)

Simple, not super great but I love the stripes.

Have a great weekend!!!

Pleats Plz

I'm sorry to say that the above photo is, in fact, a shirt I'm working on. Those pleats have been murder for me. They are tiny and need to be pressed and I'm actually in the process of seam-ripping all of them to start again. SIGH. Big, internal, frustrated sigh. I'm just not a perfectionist when it comes to making clothes. But this time, I really want to do these pleats nicely and neatly. I have no idea when this shirt will be finished.

On another note, I did do some thrifting last week and had two great finds. About 4-5 yards each of nice woven fabrics - super silky with a nice drape but not stretchy. I'm going to plan some high-waisted shorts for the red fabric that has a semi-chevron pattern on it.

Oh, yeah. I couldn't get a picture of them because as soon as I laid them out, Fernando jumped on top. Yes, that's a sweater. And no, I couldn't bear to make him move.

I also snapped a picture of the special project I've been working on for the May Giveaway Day. I'm excited to finish it!

Rocket Dress to Skirt

I know, it probably seems like I just got done with a giveaway but I just found out about May Giveaway Day on Sew, Mama, Sew and since I'm working on a lil something special, I decided I had to participate. So be ready - Monday, May 23 to Wednesday, May 25 - win something special. Something special that might be wearing a skirt.

Now, on to business. I have a pile of clothes that I want to refashion into wearable pieces since various parts seem to be falling apart. This "rocket" red dress (below) was just a little too big/low cut/not really my thing anymore. Since the red color is still fun, I decided to take some of the leftover knit fabric from my latest creation and change it into a skirt. And what a skirt it is.

Simple project but I'm happy to lengthen the life of this dress even if it's just for sitting on the patio all summer.

Winner!

My first giveaway and the winner is actually someone I've chatted with a few times, so I'm even more excited to send her a little gift.

Congrats, Alicia, and thanks to The Tootsie Wootsie for hosting my giveaway!

Weekend Recap

I can't say this weekend wasn't amazing. Friday, we finished work early and saw Bridesmaids. I really suggest you watch it. We laughed the entire time even though everyone else in theater, I think, was either offended or clueless. But I promise, if you're into humor, you'll like it.

Saturday, I went to Salt Lake and hung out with friends. Then Sunday was back to Salt Lake for six hours of BBQing, slip-n-sliding (my idea), live music, and fun times.

I also made Jake whole wheat pancakes from scratch on Saturday. Because I'm super wife. I definitely feel like super wife as I type this in my PJs at 11:38 AM.

Oh, and Jake mowed our lawn that was full of dandelions. Because he's super husband.

New STUFF!!!

(Looking for my giveaway? Here it is.)

I'm not much of a runner or exerciser at all. I like to get my exercise by doing things I already like to do rather than putting myself on a schedule.

With that said, I'd like to relate my little experience this morning. Today was a self-proclaimed vacation day. I woke up, read, bugged my husband to wake up, woke up the dog to bug my husband to wake up, and decided I'd go for a jog with my little friend.

I put on my shiny new Puma shoes that I inherited from my sister-in-law due to some sizing misunderstandings, put on my little black workout top with a built-in bra, and some black shorts. I stood in the mirror and was already jazzed about how fit I was. I looked at myself, posed a few poses, and decided I'd make running an every day thing for sure; It already felt so good.

Finally, I'm outside with my dog, quickly running behind his little Chihuahua butt that can run at speeds I wasn't anticipating. About 2 minutes later, I'm running through the baseball field behind our house thinking to myself "This little SOB can run. Forever. WHY?!"

After about 20 minutes of recovery with a glass of water on the floor of our living room, I was decidedly against fitness, sweat, and feeling like my head is going to implode and that the lights may be dimming - are they even turned on? Where am I?

So there you have it. I'm Lorena, I'm 24, and I am not going to try to pretend that I'm some sort of crazy exercise person EVER again.

There's some new stuff in my shop! A cowboy bear with a vest and leather details, a silly floppy-eared bunny (fabric I designed on the ears), and...could it be?! Yes, the boyfriend with a removable beard is BACK! And I'm very excited.

I also got some more proofs of my designs from Spoonflower! Very happy with these - expect to see some fabric in my shop soon! Well..like in a month because it takes forever to get it.

Also, did any of you watch the Office, episode 23 recently? Did you see Erin's AWESOME shirt? If not, here it is:

Is there anywhere I can buy this? No, is there any way I can make this? I'm going to ponder the last question and get back to you. Any ideas? Seems simple enough - like you could just sew a little piece of fabric there to hold the top down and the bottom up. But it does look like it goes through the front of the shirt..hmmm

I love Erin and Angela's style on that show. They're always wearing something really feminine and making great color combos.

Two Shirts, No Pattern

Don't forget about my giveaway...

So I hear there's an H&M coming to Utah. Not so excited now that I know how cheaply made their clothes are. And especially now that I sew. But I probably will browse the store for ideas. Same goes for Forever 21. Or XXI or whatever they're calling it now.

On Friday, I wore a top that I really do like from Forever 21, only I realized that it was REALLY simple to make. About 20 minutes later, my sister-in-law asked me if I had sewn it; a question which reminded me that my mom asked me the same about the same shirt over Christmas break; a memory which set the wheels in motion...(semicolons?)

All I did was fold the original in half, trace, cut, sew, measure some knit for the waistband, sew, and add bias tape to the arm holes and neckline. So easy.
Here is the fabric. Pretty wacky, right? Love it. It's a slightly stretchy, thin knit.

Here's me sporting it with big hoop earrings: (btw, you'll notice a lil white piece on the shoulder in the second picture...yeah..that was the edge of the fabric where the name and the artist are printed...yeah..I'm not much of a perfectionist.)

I also took this picture, but there was just something a little off about it. Oh, that's right. I look dumb.

Elloh Handmade Giveaway!

That's right! It's a giveaway: $15 to use in my shop.

See the official rules at The Tootsie Wootsie.

Weekend Recap

Last Friday it snowed all night, this Friday - not so much. Saturday we woke up to what I felt like was the warmest weather I'd experienced in ages. It went from cold to BLAZING no problem. It was a beautiful day with lots of activity in our neighborhood. And then, of course, it rained all day Sunday. But Saturday was amazing. I sewed an original top (will blog later) and turned another shirt and a dress into two new items of clothing (will also blog later). I also finished a little guy who MIGHT look like a cowboy. All this while an announcer was booming from the skate park behind our house due to a Volcom skate competition being held.

This weekend was perfect. And might I add that I also made enchiladas and these Sweet Tea Bourbon cocktails from Joy the Baker?

YUM.

Hooray!

Well guess what? I'm Burdastyle's Featured Member this week! It was pretty exciting to get to my computer and see myself on Burdastyle's blog. So go and read it and let me know what you think!

Mother's Day Gift

I think it's ok if my mom chooses to read this post since she does know what she's getting and she even picked out the fabric herself. BUT if she chooses not to read any further, I'll understand. I pieced together two different fabrics and made these simple placemats for her. The back is a linen muslin that goes nicely with the colorful front. I made some quick napkins as well. (hello, rolled hem)

Sending them today!

And here's a lil (yes, lil) sneak peek of my next project.

Weekend Recap

This weekend happened to be pretty eventful for us. Aside from reading most of the day in bed with our pooch, we went up to Salt Lake for dinner and a show with some friends. And after it got done snowing Friday night, it was a little sunny on Sunday. I also made a silly lace headband that I had a good time wearing yesterday.

Oh and...don't mind the weeds in our grass :/