The Laughing Princess Sewing Diary

Painted Journal Project

2010-11-17T11:02:00.002-06:00

Hello Friends!

I'm back from my glorious honeymoon and have access again to my crafty supplies! Yea! While Mark and I are waiting for the details of our house to come together, we're staying with my mom. I have taken over the back room and turned it into my sewing-craft-and-psychic-bidness room. Frankly, it's a mess right now. Or at least it looks like one to the untrained eye :)

The other day I was really craving something to paint, so I started digging around in my mom's garage. I found a journal I'd gotten years and years ago but never used and decided to give it a face-lift. Here's the before:

It's just not my style. First, I coated it with blobs of color...

Doesn't look like much at this point, I grant you. By the way, I found this tray in our cabinet years ago and started using it to mix all my colors on. I LOVE it! It has plenty of space, it's super easy to clean, and it's bright and colorful. The old spaghetti jar is filled with water for my brushes. Makes me feel more like a real painter to use things like old spaghetti jars :) Then I decided to write positive messages all over the cover. I used quotes from my Spirit Guides, Rumi, and other positive quotes from my My Magical Journey newsletters.

Kitty Cosmo decided to drop by and say hello...

Doesn't she look like a sweet little kitty there? Secretly, I think she might be a little bi-polar. One minute she'll be sweet as pie, looking like a little sophisticated lady, and the next she gets possessed by demons and has to be tip-toed around. It also makes sense because she has one green eye and one blue eye, half black fur and half white fur. She practically screams bi-polar kitty. Not that there's anything wrong with that (as long as you keep your fingers out of reach), it's just her unique personality. One time (at band camp) I was telling a lady about how traumatic it was when I first moved in and Cosmo was attacking me all the time. You know what this lady did? She laughed! Can you believe it?! I couldn't believe it. Although I just realized I laugh my way through weddings and funerals and any other event that I'm not supposed to laugh at. But I digress...

After writing all over it, I decided it needed some splatter paint!

Splatter painting is super easy and a lot of fun. Add a small amount of water to your acrylic paint, wet your brush, saturate your brush in the paint, and fling or tap your brush over the surface you're painting. (I know I said fling, but you still hold onto the brush the entire time). At this point I realized I'm heading toward the grunge look, and I suddenly get the idea that I can finish this and give it to my sister-in-love, Elle, who appreciates the bold, energetic, grunge style. I decided to add brightly colored vines, leaves, and roses as a nod toward Romeo & Juliet, which for some reason had popped into my head at this point. I was thinking of the rose vines leading up toward the balcony.

My roses changed into hearts (easy to paint), and I added her name and some dots in metallic bronze paint. You may wonder why I went though the trouble of writing all over it if I was just going to cover it with splatter paint. I feel that the energy of the quotes will come through the journal, whether or not she can actually read them. There are short phrases that still show through, though. I found out that Elle in Greek means shining light, and there's a quote at the very top that didn't get fully covered up that says, "You are a bright, shining light in the world." Which, of course, is true for all of us.

I am pretty excited that this is a personalized, unique, and totally free Christmas present. I wonder if I can be uber creative this year and make gifts for everyone that they will enjoy and be totally free. Hmm...what a fun challenge that could be.

By the way, I realize these pics are slightly blurry, even though I sharpened them on picnik. My camera has been funky blurry for several weeks now and I couldn't figure out why. Just before I looked it up online, I turned my camera around and saw a huge fingerprint right over the lens! Hello obvious! Hopefully you won't have to strain your eyes in the future.

Love,

Melanie Jade

Halloween in Granbury

2010-11-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends!

Back from our wonderful wedding and honeymoon, and now we're...still going with the flow. My sewing machine is still in storage, so the crafts in my head (I'm skipping Christmas and moving right onto Valentine's Day) are staying in my head for now. However, I do have some photos to share with you from our recent visit to Granbury, TX. I had never been there before, but they have a super cute historic downtown. Come window shopping with me!

This was the cutest, most colorful store. They had brightly colored Christmas trees (hot pink, sky blue, etc.) that were so wild and happy. Unfortunately, none of my photos turned out well : (

I love "The Witch Is In". My mom said I could get this and put it outside our home if I was in a bad mood. Ha. Ha. Very funny. :-b

I LOVE this little witch. There were several different ones, and they have the most animated faces.

As we were leaving, all the shop owners came outside in their costumes and had a trick-or-treating party for the children. It was so cute! I really loved that all the shops decorated outside with natural materials. Most of them had hay bales, pumpkins, and cornstalks, along with colorful fabric and cloth Halloween characters.

And check out this cool sign:

I would hang this on my wall if I had it. Maybe I'll make something like this when we get our home. Love the 20s look.

I was also inspired by some of the cute crafts in the stores, many of which were made by local artists, like this little tack board (or whatever you call it). Just a cork board covered with burlap and painted. Cute. I would make a more colorful version, but it's still a cute and easy idea.

I'm pretty sure the same artist made these painted burlap pillows

The burlap was a little rough for my taste, but I like the idea of painting on fabric because I love to paint. There's also something peaceful and elegant about the monochromatic silhouettes of the birds and letters. They remind me of another pillow I saw recently in the Pottery Barn catalog...

I was so inspired by this pillow. I love the typewriter print and the happy message. I could think of lots of different words to copy the same idea with, and then I'd have a super happy couch. Actually, I loved all sorts of things from the Pottery Barn holiday catalog. I could just picture decorating our future house. If you're wondering whether I would go on a shopping spree at Pottery Barn if we had our house now, I'd say that just isn't my style. I would find what I like and then figure out how to make it myself : - ) I used to drive my mom nuts in stores because she would pick out something pretty, and I'd say, "I could make that."

Thank you for coming along with me on my tour of Granbury! I hope you had a happy Halloween!

Love,

Melanie Jade

Wedding Photos!

2010-07-09T14:42:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends!

Our wedding was everything we dreamed of and more! Every aspect of it was so wonderful and perfect! I have a few photos to share with you!

13 of 25 family members arrived in Newport Thursday night. We had an amazing drive down the coast from Portland. We took the scenic route through Cannon Beach and down highway 101. Beautiful drive! Oh My GOSH! Towering evergreen trees, mountains, ocean...simply incredible. We even stopped at a roadside stand to get some cherries. Yummy! I loved how the farms were so varied. In Texas, farmers strip a huge plot of land and plant one crop. Not so pretty. Most of the farms we drove by and flew over in Oregon were planted with different vegetables, grapevines, had cute roadside signs, and looked so natural and earthy. Wonderful! They blended in with the landscape.

Thursday night we went to Cafe Mundo for dinner, which had rave reviews on TripAdvisor.com. I was not a fan of the food. We had fun anyway, just because that's how we roll :)

Friday dinner was at Bay 839, right on the water, and it was FABULOUS! I can't say enough how great the food was, the view of the water, and the owners are. Danielle, Ian, and Arlene were fabulous!

Mark and I are on the left.

My mother-in-love, Aunt Alaire, and cutie Evie practiced their act for the talent show on the Bay 839 patio.

While waiting for her food, Evie browses the Toys R Us catalog.

After having a fabulous dinner, we went back to Ocean House Bed & Breakfast (DIVINE!) for the talent show! That's right! We convinced all our wonderful family members to participate, and we had an awesome time

Saturday morning, my grandmother surprised me in the spot where our ceremony was to take place in a Glenda the Good Witch/Fairy Godmother costume. I was so thrilled! When we first started talking about our wedding, I had asked if she would wear that costume to perform the ceremony. Later, we decided against that, but she still made my costume wish come true, magic wand and all! I don't have the photos from that initial meeting yet, but I do have one of Grandma Petey, Me, and My Mom at breakfast:

At one o'clock, my mom and I were ready to come down the stairs and walk to the garden. However, several members of Mark's family (who shall remain anonymous) were not ready yet, so my mom harassed them until they took their seats :)

Mark and I walked with our parents to the back of the ceremony site, walked a short distance by ourselves, and then walked to my Grandma Petey (officiating the ceremony) together. We wanted to symbolize that our parents guided us through the first part of our lives, then we had many years as single adults, and finally enjoyed the past several years as a couple. It was very important to us to recognize the beautiful journey we've been on for the past two years. (By the way, my top is from the etsy dealer Plum Pretty Sugar and was a gift from my mom).

The necklace was worn by Mark's grandmother (MamaMama) at her wedding and cousin Kelly at her and Ethan's wedding. It matched my dress perfectly.

We had so many moments of laughter in our ceremony, which I loved :)

Mark and I stood next to each other during the ceremony, which was just perfect.

Beautiful photo of saying our vows that shows the back of my dress. At this point in the ceremony I looked over and saw Evie, the beautiful girl in the photo. She sprinkled her magic and fairy dust and we continued. It is one of my favorite memories from the ceremony.

Here's a photo from our reception. We left our beautiful homemade streamers up from the talent show the night before. So lively!

After the reception, my Grandma Petey, Jim, my mom, and my brother provided our getaway car to go to town and enjoy the Newport Seafood BBQ and Clam Bake, which is an annual food, crafts, and music festival in Newport. We had a fabulous time!

Saturday night we had a bonfire at the beach and watched the sunset. It was the perfect fun, romantic, and relaxing end to the day.

Mark and I are wearing our Bride and Groom hats from Mark's mom. My mom's in red in the middle, and Petey and Jim are on the right. I'm enjoying leftovers from the cheese tray at the reception, and Mark's enjoying even more champagne :)

We had a wonderful day Sunday, relaxing, hiking to the lighthouse and tidepools, and enjoying the rest of the time with our family. We drove back to Portland on Monday and headed home to 90 degree Texas weather. Ha! What a difference!

So what's next?

Mark and I bought tickets to Dublin last night to start our tour of Europe. We don't have anything planned except our one-way plane ticket, but everything in due time, right? We bought hiking backpacks and boots last night, and we're going exploring!

I hope you've enjoyed our wedding adventure!

Love,

Melanie Rummel (!)

Homemade Streamers from Junk Mail

2010-06-30T19:37:00.001-05:00

Hello Friends!

I think I mentioned before that we're having a talent show the night before our wedding. We think this will be a great time for our family members to get to know each other, share laughter, and have fun. We're having the talent show in the living room of the bed & breakfast we're getting married at, and we decided to decorate the room with fun streamers, twinkle lights, and a table of yummy candies and treats. Mark and I are making our wedding as eco-friendly as possible, so I was thrilled when I saw Alisa Burke's tutorial about how to make bunting flags from junk mail. I just LOVE Alisa's website, and I read it all the time. I decided to modify her idea a bit to make streamers for our talent show.

First, I dug through our paper bin in the office (where we keep paper to be recycled) for sturdy paper. Then, I spread them out in the living room, turned on some Netflix, and started painting! I painted both sides of the paper. Now, I think Alisa's version is so super cute and fun, and she cut hers into triangles. Well, after I'd spent DAYS painting (which I loved, but it did take much longer than I thought it would), I loved all our artwork (I say "our" because Mark joined me for several hours) so much that I didn't want to cut any of it up. I left the paintings in their original shapes (various sized rectangles), used a hole puncher to put holes along the top, and strung them on ribbon. Alisa sewed hers together, which looks great, but Mark and I thought thick ribbon would hold up better. Plus, we decided we would keep our streamers and use them at parties for years to come. Here are the pics:

This is a small example of the 66 pieces we painted and strung. We have SO many streamers now! We'll take pics once we decorate for the talent show, and you'll be able to see them in all their glory.

Love,

Melanie

Handmade Thank You Cards

2010-06-27T12:43:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends!

I have a new project to show you! Mark and I are sending out lots of thank you cards lately (what a blessing!), and I was scrounging around looking to see what our stash looked like. Slim pickins, lemme tell ya. However, we did have a box of fortune cookie cards. It sounds like a neat idea, but when I opened them up to look at the cards, I was not impressed. Plus, Mark reminded me that I threw out all the fortunes long ago because I thought they were crappy. Although this sounded like something I would do, I didn't remember this at all, so I looked on the box to see what the fortunes were. There were two options. The first read, "Those who have wealth attract love beyond measure." The second read, "Those who have love have wealth beyond measure." Yeah, I still think those are crappy fortunes. I considered creating new fortunes for the cards, but I didn't care for the design anyway, so what did I do??? I spread out my paint supplies on the living room floor, turned on a fun movie, and went to town! (As a side note, one of the reasons I may be subconsciously coming up with a lot of fun projects to do is because they create a great excuse to watch Netflix for hours).

Without further ado, here are the pics:

Before painting...

and after...

and painted envelopes too!

Wedding Update

2010-06-26T12:43:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends!

It's getting so much closer --- 8 days until Mark and I get married!!! We're both really looking forward to it (obviously), and we're still having so much fun in the planning process. I finished painting my dress, and spent over 12 hours beading it last weekend on the way to and from Lubbock. Mark and I decided to take a road trip to see his father's side of our family before the wedding, and it was the perfect opportunity to finish beading my dress. We had such a wonderful time! Mark and I listened to the first Harry Potter audio book while we were in the car - great choice by my honey! We had a marvelous time in Lubbock, and Mark's aunt, Phyllis, gave us a beautiful card she made to congratulate us on our wedding. It was so thoughtful and beautiful, I cried! I love handmade treasures. I can feel the love that goes into them. Thank you Phyllis!

Then, a few days ago I went shopping with my mommy. We had such a great time! We found my wedding shoes, had a wonderful lunch together (and a much needed pina colada - hehe), and spent hours lounging and watching Monarch of the Glen together on Netflix. Monarch of the Glen is a BBC show that my mom used to watch when she was a teenager (she's British). I asked if she ever thought then that someday she would be watching it with her daughter. It was really nice to have the mother/daughter time. I have the best mom. We have always been best friends.

What other news??? Oh yeah, back to my dress. So, today I am going to work on the bodice of my dress and sew a bra into it. Everything else is done! Well, except the hem. Technically the hem is done now, but I think I'll have to shorten it a bit because my shoes are flats, and although it seems very princess-y to lift up my dress when I walk, it's not practical. Plus, I'd probably end up with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other, and then I'd trip on my hem and fall flat on my face. Not so graceful.

I have to apologize for my writing. I start writing a sentence, and then my thoughts just float away on something else, and finishing each sentence feels like trying to hammer a round peg in a square hole. I've just got a lot on my mind. That's why I haven't been blogging on any of my blogs much. I haven't even done my monthly newsletter for My Magical Journey yet. Doh! I have the idea of what I'm going to write about, got great inspiration for it, but the actual writing bit is sludgy. I would rather convey my ideas telepathically for the moment. Sometimes when I get messages from my guides, it's like a gentle wave of information comes into my body. I feel it and know the entire message all at once, rather than it being delivered in a stream of words, like writing. What if you picked up a book in the library, and you instantly felt the entire story? After this happens (the wave message - not the library book thing) sometimes my conscious, logical mind pauses and rewinds the message, then replays slowly, breaking it into frames of meaning and dissecting each frame. Sometimes I wonder why the knowing isn't enough? Why does it need to be dissected and inspected if the message has already seeped into every cell? You know why? Because then I usually have to put it in verbal form to communicate it to someone else. I usually find that it's easier to do if I sit and feel the message, rather than think about it, before communicating verbally. Anyhoo...

Okay, so what's next? I'm going to write a blog right now about my handmade thank you cards! I found a box of cards I didn't like in our cabinet, so instead of buying new ones, I painted over them! Now they look great! I've taken lots of photos, so I'll show you all of them and post it for tomorrow.

Also, Mark and I have spent days painting streamers to decorate for the talent show we're having the day before our wedding. That's right, we've suckered all our family members into performing for us to kick off our wedding weekend. It's going to be so much fun! Anyhoo, I'll post photos of that project in a few days, too! I'm going to use the handy dandy feature of blogger where I can write a bunch of posts one day and schedule them to go online several days later. I love technology!

Thanks for reading!

Melanie

Painting

2010-06-11T16:22:00.000-05:00

For about a week, I've been painting my wedding dress. I'm planning on being finished painting today! Yea! It looks awesome! And this time I'm keeping it a secret until I walk out on my wedding day to marry Mark. I know I said that last time, but I'm serious this time! No previews, and no peeking!

Okay, back to work...

Love,

Melanie

Alisa Burke's Altered Flip Flop Tutorial

2010-05-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

Wanna make your flip flops look original AND use up your fabric scraps at the same time? Head on over to Alisa Burke's tutorial, Altered Flip Flops. They are simple, fun, and easy, and a great way to refashion an ordinary pair of flip flops.

Alisa has so many fun tutorials on her site. I am currently addicted to her site and am reading all her articles from the beginning - 2006! If you like fun, artsy fartsy, creative blog reading, you'll love her website.

Happy Crafting!

Melanie

T-Shirt Refashion

2010-05-25T17:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a shirt I worked on last week. I had a pink shirt that had begun to look boring to me and a blue shirt that was too small. Both are made of cotton with a touch of lycra for stretch. I cut up the blue shirt into random shapes. Slightly inspired by coral shapes, I appliquéd the shapes onto the pink shirt using 3 different colors of embroidery thread I had already. It took many hours of hand sewing, but I needed the relaxing monotony of it and enjoyed the process.

Before

After

Letter to Etha ("MamaMama")

2010-05-15T09:30:00.001-05:00

I have just started working again on the refashioned top this morning (the one from Mark’s dress shirt), and I wanted to stop and write a thank you note to Mark’s grandmother.

Mark’s grandmother (Etha a.k.a. “MamaMama”) was an avid seamstress. She passed into Spirit about two years ago. Although I never met her in the flesh, she did communicate with me several months ago. I was sitting with Mark and she came through for him. First, I smelled buttery bread. Then, I saw her pulling a pan of rolls out of the oven. I told Mark, and he said she was known for her buttery dinner rolls that she would make all the time. I told Mark what she was wearing, what the kitchen looked like, and then she led me on a tour of the house she and her husband (MamaPapa) used to live in. I told Mark everything I was seeing in this house I’d never been to or seen photos of, and he confirmed everything. I felt so much love and sense of welcome from her. I told Mark I felt like she was the kind of person who would make someone feel instantly comfortable, welcome, and at home. My family is British, so I related it to just meeting someone and immediately inviting them for tea. Mark said she was known for starting conversations with complete strangers, learning all about their lives, and swapping stories.

When I decided to start sewing a few months ago, Mark and I bought a sewing machine. I didn’t have any other supplies and wondered how I could build a collection of all the tools and notions I would need without spending a lot of money. Then, Mark suggested we look in the family storage unit for MamaMama’s sewing supplies. The other family members agreed that I could use what I found, and I found a treasure! First, I had been wanting a variety of fabric napkins and dish towels for the kitchen so we could stop using paper towels (because it’s more eco-friendly to use cloth). I found a bounty of both in the storage, all with beautiful patterned fabric. Mark and I had also wanted fabric to make cloth produce bags out of so we didn’t have to use the plastic bags at the grocery store. There were so many linen dish towels in storage that we were able to use some of them to make beautiful bags. We get complimented every time we use them! You can learn how we made ours here and find other patterns for making your own here.

In other boxes I found thread, fabric, scissors, interfacing, stacks of old (and super cool) sewing instruction books, needles, elastic, ribbons, bias tape…a true sewing abundance. Boxes and boxes of exactly what I needed. I cried because I was so happy and thankful, and I know she led me right to her stash.

A few weeks later, I started thinking about machine oil to take care of our sewing machine, which I hadn’t seen in the stash from storage. Mark and I had already begun our No New Plastic campaign, and all the new machine oil is packaged in plastic, so I had no idea how I was going to get some. That dilemma was on my mind for several weeks. Then, Mark suggested that there may be sewing supplies at the apartment where his grandfather (MamaPapa) lives. The next time we went over there, I asked MamaPapa about that possibility, and he led me to some more goodies. At the time, I had also been questioning how I would buy thread that’s not wrapped in plastic. The first box we opened contained fifty spools of thread. Some old, some more recently purchased, in a rainbow of colors. At this point, I just said a silent thank you to MamaMama in my head, because I knew she’d answered my thoughts yet again. Guess what was in the next box? Right on top, a brand new tube of machine lubricant, still in the package. Thank you, thank you, thank you MamaMama!!!

This morning is yet another example. I’m making the top from Mark’s dress shirt, and I need to find a way to take fabric from the back while still being able to pull it over my head (because I didn’t put in a zipper and sewed up the button area. I thought about possibly using elastic somehow and maybe shirring it, which I’ve only recently read about. I decided I would read again online how to do it. First, I wondered if somewhere in MamaMama’s stash she had some elastic thread. I opened the box with other elastics in it, and there it was! A big roll of elastic thread. Then I thought, “This is awesome, but how do I use it?” Then I noticed corner of paper sticking out from the center of the tube of thread. I pulled on it and realized it was a carefully folded page of instructions on how to use elastic thread. I just had to stop again and say thank you.

Etha, I thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me and continue to give me. I hope you continue to make your presence known to me and the rest of the family.

Love,

Melanie

As if I Can Keep a Secret

2010-05-14T10:51:00.000-05:00

Of course, this is still a work in progress. I've been thinking about what I want to do next, but haven't settled on anything yet. Why does it make my boobs look so enormous? I may need to do something about that.

I've finally figured out how to insert a bra and bone the midriff! Yea! No, I haven't started working on it, but at least I know how. I've been busying myself with refashioning other items of clothing. I'm having a lot of fun and will post the results when they are actually finished.

Love,

Melanie

It dyed!

2010-05-07T14:23:00.000-05:00

I DID IT! I dyed my white dress a beautiful color, and now I can't post any photos of it or blog about it anymore because I want to keep the color a surprise. I still haven't figured out what to do about bare shoulders in 65 degree weather (that's cold to me). I'll figure it out though, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'm working on refashioning one of Mark's dress shirts that he didn't want anymore into a cute dress for moi.

Love,
Melanie

Skirt Before and After

2010-05-02T20:49:00.002-05:00

Last week I dyed a skirt I've had for years but only worn a couple of times. It was white eyelet lace cotton and had several stains on it. I found some dye in Mark's grandmother's sewing stash and went to town. Here is the before & after:

I like it so much better, especially next to this salmon pinky-orangy color. Yummy! This is the skirt that I might "happy-up" with some multi-colored buttons randomly placed near the hem.

Love,

Mel

May update

2010-05-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

I've decided to wait on the zipper until I dye my dress. I was really inspired by all the bright, beautiful colors on Anna Maria Horner's website. She designs fabric, sewing patterns, paints, and so many other artsy things. I also requested a book from the library on fabric printing, dying, stamping, etc. for more ideas. I want bright, happy, and colorful! I feel like my dress is already beautiful, but it's a long way from being finished. Thank goodness I have 62 days to get it together!

Love,
Melanie

Zipper today?

2010-04-28T11:28:00.001-05:00

Maybe you're wondering, "Melanie, when are you going to get to that zipper?" Well, I think I'll do it today. It's not even noon, though, and I've already made 2 loaves of bread. Yes, I'm having a domestic goddess day today. :)

One thing I did do was dye some clothes to make them wearable again. I had a super cute shirt my mother-in-love gave me that was white and then was accidentally washed with something red and turned that funky MaryKay pink. The other item was a really cute skirt, also white, that had little yellow stains on it, as if someone dropped spaghetti sauce on it or something (don't know who that could have been). I used a box of Rit Dye I found in Mark's Grandmother's sewing stash. It was called Peacock Blue. I dyed both items the same color, but the skirt was left in longer and is much darker than the shirt. They both turned out nicely. I'll post photos of them both soon. I haven't decided if I want to sew different colored buttons near the bottom of the skirt just for funsies.

Okay, back to business!

Love,

Melanie

P.S. I am amazed at how tan I look in the previous post's photos of me in my dress. Trick of the camera or something, but I like it! Where was that camera trick yesterday when I took photos and looked pasty?

2010-04-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I sewed the gathers on the skirt and sewed the skirt to the midriff. Right now they're basted together, which is convenient because one of the seams didn't line up, and I'm going to have to undo everything and sew it again. I'm not really as short as I look in the pic, but this was taken by my honey, who is quite a bit taller than me. I still need to hem it, put the zipper in, dye it, and embellish. I'm really happy with how it looks so far. Plus, I put some cups in the top to test it, and they stayed! I think it will actually work! Yea! Here are the pics, and I'm going back to work on it!

Putting it Together

2010-04-19T23:56:00.002-05:00

Tonight I began sewing again after a few days of thinking things through. I've decided not to build in one of my bras. Instead, I'm just going to sew it and figure out what to do after it's finished. I'm a creative girl, and I'm sure I can think of something.

I sewed the lining on the midriff and graded the seams. Oh yeah, I know what grading is now. I'm a big girl sewer. I've moved up a grade. Sure, all the seams look like a drunk person cut them, but let's not be picky. Speaking of wobbliness, I've realized it's quite the challenge to sew straight. I read in a sewing book that it was important to practice sewing straight lines. I thought, "What kind of dodo doesn't know how to sew in a straight line." Since then I've realized....me. :) Oh well, I'm practicing on my wedding dress. Ha!

I also sewed the right side seam on the skirt and skirt lining. We're getting close, folks. There is that zipper to contend with though. And I think the midriff is too big and needs to be taken in over an inch in order to be more form-fitting. If I wasn't worried about my boobs popping out, it wouldn't matter.

So all I have left is

sew left side seams of the skirt

sew skirt lining to skirt

insert zipper

hem dress

figure out boob situation

dye dress

add embellishments

celebrate!

But now it's time to dance with my honey. I've been giving him private dancing lessons in our living room. So nice :)

Love,

Melanie

Another Triumph!

2010-04-14T15:36:00.000-05:00

You know how I thought I was going to totally ditch my idea for a top and use another pattern? After talking with my honey, Mark, I decided to give it another go. My previous work on the top was too pretty to totally toss away. So, after some more tweaking, the cups and halter tie are done. Check out the results:

I am thrilled with how it is turning out. Now I'm working on the sides and back. I need to add more fabric above the midriff under my arms and around the back to cover up the band of my bra. I came up with a criss-cross idea that I've just made a muslin for, so I'm going to go ahead and cut it out of my main fabric. Yea! I have a tiny part of me wondering if I will need to put in some boning in the midriff to make the fabric more sturdy. I really hope I don't have to do that (because I have no clue how to), so for now I'm going to push that voice aside.

Back to work!

Love,

Melanie

Color Choices

2010-04-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

I found out that Rit Dye is eco-safe. Let's ponder colors for my wedding dress, shall we?

Apple Green anyone? This would look fresh with a tan and some sunshine. This one says, "AHHHHH!!!! HERE COMES THE BRIDE!!"

Crimson? This one says, "Is this a wedding or a saloon?" But I like it.

Super fresh and pretty blue?

Those are the colors calling to me at the moment.

Love,

Melanie

Decision Made with the Help of the Groom

2010-04-12T08:06:00.002-05:00

Last night I felt very frustrated with how the bodice of my dress was going, so I asked Mark for his creative input. Everything is easier and better when we work on it together. So, after going over several different options with him, he suggested I go with one of the bodices on the dress pattern I am making my skirt from, and I agreed. It is a V-neck and allows me to wear a bra (yea yea yea!). I looked at the instructions this morning, and they look pretty easy to follow. I'm going to make my muslin for it today and see how it goes. I would put a pic of the pattern here, but it's kinda hard to see which bodice I'm doing by looking at it.

While I was thinking about it this morning, I found this super cute dress:

M5382
Can you say cute? Can you say easy? I'm talking about the pattern, people, not myself! HA! I read the reviews and everyone said this was easy to sew. Pah ha ha ha. My initial sewing confidence is waning slightly, but I'm sure it will bolster back up soon. Anyhoo, isn't her hair cute too? I've really liked the white hair look for a while, but I haven't brought myself to actually doing it yet. Picture me with white spunky hair and a dark red dress on my wedding day....drama drama drama! Makes my mouth water (that happens when I think of vibrant colors).

In other news, Mark and I are working on our wedding website and hoping to have everything done this week so we can send out invitations. We've just decided on an afternoon ceremony time. Yea! Things are going very smoothly.

Love,

Melanie

Decisions, Decisions

2010-04-12T00:15:00.001-05:00

I'm considering several different options to fix the top:

1. Complete the dress without a bra insert and buy a low-back or backless and strapless bra or bustier to go under it. Also could do a stick-on bra (for a D cup? I'm not so sure about that).

2. Continue to try to figure out a bra insert that is supportive and works. I can attach bra cups, but they aren't being supportive at all or even staying in place at the moment.

3. Redesign the top.

I haven't decided which way is the best at this moment. I'm wondering why I had to like and design a top that didn't allow for a bra.

Seriously, Melanie, what were you thinking?

---I was thinking I wanted to look pretty, summery and fresh.

And now?

---I just want to finish my dress!

Okay, let's look at the alternate top idea.

Another consideration is the weather. My original design was based on thinking we were getting married in a hot climate. Our new plan is Oregon, which will be a high of 65F. So, here are tops that might work from patterns I already have:

V1086
Has a flattering V neck and maintains the look of gathering in the original pattern. Plus, it has the midriff that is already in the original dress I've cut out.

Here's a cute adaptation from Julliams on PatternReview.com

I'm just not sure I like the cap sleeves. 'Cause they aren't really cap sleeves, they're kind of I'm-not-sure-if-I-want-to-be-cap-or-sleeveless sleeves. Like the sleeves are still indecisive and "in the closet". My inventive, creative self is thinking, "Oh, well I can just shorten the width a bit, easy peasy." The part of me that just wants the dress finished and has a heightened awareness of the first bodice that I created "easily" that still doesn't fit right is not a fan of my idea.

The second pattern top option is from sewserendipity.com. It was my original favorite dress design, but then I went in a different direction. You have to use a little imagination to picture a dress in a solid color with a long skirt. The major plus on this top option would be the sleeves, which would keep me warm. That's also the downside. I don't think I want sleeves on my dress. Who cares if I freeze and shiver for 20 minutes of a ceremony, right?

M5879
Check out this top. I bet I could adapt my top to this.

M5806
I could add spaghetti straps to this one:

So pretty and simple, right?

Tonight I was at my future brother and sister-in-love's home, and my sister-in-love was asking what they should wear for the ceremony. Earlier in the week I sent everyone pics of the costume (like gypsy, wizard, superman) they were going to wear, and because it came from me (known for being eccentric), they didn't know whether to take me seriously or not. So, my sister-in-love asked what they would really wear, and I said maybe all solid neutrals, but I wasn't sure yet. I said, "It depends what color my dress ends up being." She asked, "Do you mean between white and ivory? Or are you talking white or hot pink?" She had the funniest look on her face. I told her closer to the hot pink version, and her look - astonished horror/trying to be supportive/slightly intrigued was priceless!! Hahahah.

Okay, way past my bedtime. I'm going to meditate and hopefully have a better idea in the morning.

Love,

Melanie

Sewed Top

2010-04-11T02:36:00.000-05:00

Today, I sewed the top of my dress. The skirt and back of the bodice have yet to be attached, not to mention the lining and anything else I decide to do with it, but here's how it looks so far:

It's a little busty, ya think? Ha! It's actually a little big on the top, but I'm sure I can fix that pretty easily. Here's the top next to the inspiration dress:

After comparing it with my inspiration dress, from naturalbridals.com, I realize that the top of each side of the bodice should come to a point closer to my collar bone, and there needs to be a wider V in the front. There's no way I'm taking the gathering out at the bottom, so I'm going to find a way to make it look nicely finished without taking the entire thing apart.

Tomorrow, Mark and I are having brunch again with his grandfather and dinner with Mark's brother & Sister-in-love, but hopefully I'll be able to slip in some sewing time.

That's the latest!

Love,

Melanie

PS. We set a date!! July 3 in Oregon. Everything is going so smoothly! It's wonderful!

Oh! Another Note!

2010-04-05T07:48:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am still up from my all-night wedding obsession. I just remembered some more great news to tell you. Yesterday (Easter), Mark and I went to Mark's grandfather's house for brunch. While we were there, I sat down to look through Mark's grandmother's sewing supplies with Mark's grandfather (his grandmother passed into Spirit over a year ago). This week I've been wondering how I was going to get thread for my wedding dress and lubricating oil for my sewing machine without buying any new plastic (remember, Mark and I are going a year without buying plastic - NoNewPlastic.com). Mark said he would be very supportive if I decided to buy some thread and oil anyway, which I thought was sweet. Anyway, I opened up the cabinet with his grandmother's sewing items, and there were two tins full of different colors of thread. I thanked her in my mind, because I knew she'd led me to that stash. The second box I opened had an unopened package of sewing machine lubricant on top. I was teary at this point, feeling so much gratitude at yet another sign from the Universe that everything I needed was being provided for.

You know what else? I don't have sewing scissors. I've been using the paper cutting scissors that are so dull, only the very tip is sharp enough to cut my fabric. I've been cutting everything in 1/2 inch increments. I couldn't buy more because they are all packaged in plastic, and we haven't found someone who can sharpen the ones we have yet. Mark handed me 6 pairs of sharp, all-metal shears he found in his grandmother's case. Thank you Etha (that's his grandmother)! Miracles like this happen to me all the time. I think of something I'd like in my life, I don't know how it will happen, and it just shows up.

Here's another great blessing this week. I mean, I have so many, I could write forever, but here's just one of them. We had a temporary decrease in the amount of income we would bring in for this month and next month, and we had no idea how we were going to make up the difference, which was about $1500. Mark and I spoke daily about what our intuition was telling us, and we both felt very peaceful and that we should just continue to focus on the projects at hand. We did that for several weeks, and then this week I did my taxes and cashed out an account that I didn't even realize existed, and that made up for $1000. Then, Mark did some recalculating, we found more money we weren't expecting, and now everything is taken care of. Isn't that amazing?! I just love my life. Even though I write and speak about positive living and using your intuition to create your ideal life, it's always great when I continue to get confirmation that it works. Ha! I'm always pleasantly surprised.

Okay, I think I'll go snuggle in bed with my honey now.

Love,

Melanie

Early Morning Diary to Prevent Onset of a Nervous Breakdown

2010-04-05T07:04:00.000-05:00

Good early morning to you!

It's 6:30am, and I've been up all night obsessing about wedding plans. My hubby-to-be and I chose a date last night - July 3rd, but now we're talking about different location options. I immediately started researching all the different options. I don't know why I obsess so much. My mind asks a million questions. Not in the friendly, ho-hum way, but in the, "Oh my gosh, what about THIS!" way. Six hours later, I have a list of some options for my honey to consider, and I have finally decided to move on. Move on, Melanie! Ha! So, I figured I could work on my dress instead. Or sleep. Hmm...there's a thought. However, I'm procrastinating just a little longer and writing a blog :)

And now to properly introduce myself and my fiancé:

Here's a photo of my honey and me:

and our kitty cat Cosmo:

Mark and I met almost 2 years ago, and he is everything I've ever wanted in a man and more. He is definitely a dream come true. I knew I was going to marry him before I'd even met him! I saw his name on a website, and it glowed to me on the screen. Immediately I thought, "That's the man I'm going to marry." Of course, then my logical mind stepped in and said, "He could be 80 years old for all I know." My intuitive side replied, "I hope not, because that's the man for me."

When I first saw him, we were in a room with hundreds of other people, and even though I'd never seen him before, I walked right up to him and said, "Hi, you must be Mark!" As I was talking to him, I literally saw sparks between us. Big, quarter-sized white sparks that faded slowly in and out. I'd never seen those before, so I stumbled over my words a bit while I tried to decide whether I should ask if he could see them too. I figured it would sound like a cheesy pick-up line ("Hey, do you see the sparks between us?") or he'd think I was crazy. We became friends and started dating two months later. Three months after that we moved in together, and now everyday is filled with fun, adventure, and laughter with my best friend. I love him so much.

The sun is starting to rise outside my window. I don't know yet if I'm going to sleep or sew, but I'm just going to reassure myself that everything with our wedding is working out perfectly. Everything always does, whether I waste energy worrying about it or not. Plus, if a miracle like meeting Mark and having this wonderful love can happen, anything is possible, even a beautiful wedding and wedding dress in 3 months.

Many blessings to you,

Melanie

Want to feel inspired?

2010-04-02T03:17:00.000-05:00

Want to feel inspired and get in the springtime mood? Visit the Amy Butler website. I go to the products section and look at the fabric lines. She has slide shows of pictures with sunny skies, bright colors, fields, loveliness. So cheery and happy!

She even sells organic bedding, which I think is awesome! I just love green designers!

She has lots of beautiful designs and collections, so check it out and get inspired!

Love,

Melanie

Very Early Morning Pattern Scouting

2010-04-02T03:05:00.000-05:00

Good very early morning to you! It's 2:14AM, and I was lovingly awakened by a Spirit Guide this morning urging me to write an article on MyMagicalJourney.com. I complied, and now I'm up looking to see if there are new sewing patterns out. Here's what I've found so far:

Vogue 1176
I love the bodice on this dress. If I had this pattern, I would do it with a flouncier skirt with pockets. I saw a dress with pockets hidden in the flounces (that's what I'm calling them), and it looked so carefree and cute! This pattern shows it with a fitted skirt, which looks a little too stiff to me.

I mean, it's cute, it's flattering, but I'm wanting flirty and free....ahh! Springtime!

Vogue 1175
This dress would not look good on me at all, and it would totally hide my beautiful hourglass shape. However, it looks really cute in the picture, in my opinion. Some things are just fun to look at.

Vogue 8645
This one does suit hourglass shapes, and I think it would look great with more color. There are so many ways to mix up different colors and patterns with this design. What were they thinking with just white? Who knows. Just being conservative I guess. I'm in mega color mode. I also know I don't normally like tie things - like bows and waist ties. Maybe that would bug me. Oh well, another fun one to look at. Although, now I'm getting kinda bored looking at all that white, I'll nix this one.

Today, Mark and I ran many different errands and completed projects that have been in the works for some time. Thank goodness! I wasn't led to work on my dress today ---- err, I mean, yesterday---so I'll get to work on it today.

The other night (after receiving guidance on the bodice of my wedding dress in the shower), I was telling Mark about the Spirits helping me. I told him how thankful I am for his grandmother's help and my grandmother's help, and I saw and heard the voice of a third woman who claimed she is the one giving me most of my tips. My mom told me that she had been told years ago that she had a Spirit around her who sews, and that was before her mother passed on. I don't know who she is yet, but I'm so thankful for any help. I know I'm getting a lot of it. I'm really excited about trying the bodice idea that came to me the other day. People who choose not to talk to Spirits are really missing out, in my opinion.

My current sewing "HUH?" is facing. Facing, interfacing....what is going on there? I just don't know. Thank goodness my current dress doesn't need any of that. I was working on another dress, one that's going in the oopsy pile, that had a facing, interfacing, yoke, lining, interlining, megalining, potatofacing....all sorts of things I have no clue about. And the pattern instructions are written as if I should know what I'm doing. Riiiiight.

McCalls 5655
I don't think this one would look good on me either, but isn't it cute? It's the pockets in the skirt thing. I'm falling for it every time. What do you think about this model? It looks like she's saying, "Are you serious?" Maybe she's saying, "A bow across my boobs? Are you serious?" I just realized that look would only go well for small-chested women. Can you imagine some double D's with a huge bow? I wonder what the top right variation looks like though (the blue one). Back to patternreview.com to check it out.

Whoa. Some people made some super cute dresses with this one. I read that it doesn't have buttons, zippers, or anything tricky. A major plus. I also read that it runs big and has a tendency to make one look pregnant. Just as I suspected!

Wanna know what I've been picturing in my head lately? The weather is getting warmer, and I'm really feeling some....

McCalls 5813
Are these pants cute or what?! Everyone who sewed them on patternreview.com made awesome pants, and they look great. That's pretty good if everyone does a great job on them. That bodes well for me. Cause you know, sometimes....not so bueno. Sometimes I find a great pattern, read the reviews and look at the pictures and think, "Really?" Yikes. But not with this pattern, which is a pattern for the pants by the way.

These say to me, "I'm a funky fun gal, and I like expressing my personality." That's a good message I think. Yummy. These are CuTe!

That's all from me for tonight!

Love,
Melanie

Revelations in the Shower

2010-04-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

Last night, after writing the previous post, I got in the shower and was thinking about bodice solutions again. All of a sudden, the solution was given to me. I saw a picture of it in my head, and it was so cool. I'll try it out tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Since I had the spirits working with me there, I asked them several questions about the construction, and got clear answers. Today, Mark and I had so many other things to focus on, and it was a day of rest as far as dress making goes. I figure I'll be finished with the dress in the next few weeks. Yea!

Love,

Melanie

Fitting the Bodice

2010-03-31T19:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I created a pattern for the bodice of my dress. I'm very thankful that I've chosen a relatively simple style of dress. I've never created a pattern for any part of a dress before, so this was a fun opportunity. I measured and remeasured. Then, I created a pattern on a piece of junk mail newspaper. I cut it out of scrap fabric and pinned it to the parts of the dress I already have. After re-pinning and making minor changes to the pattern, I gave myself a big high 5 and called it a day. Here's a pic of 1/2 the bodice:

I'm really happy with how everything is going. I'm also very proud of my patience. I'm not known for that quality, so it's a nice surprise to have it now. I've still got to figure out how I am going to put cups in the bodice. I know that will take a little time to figure out, but I've done well so far, so I'm sure it will all be okay.

Today I cut out the lining (same fabric) of the skirt and midriff pieces. I still have SO much fabric left, which is awesome. That was another big step for me. I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to dye the dress or what colors I would dye it. If I do decide to dye it, I won't post info about that because I want it to be a total surprise for my family on my wedding day. I also want to keep doing what my inner voice wants to do, follow my creative yearnings, rather than try to please anyone else. I realized today that this is a piece of art, just like my paintings, and I certainly wouldn't ask someone else what they think about those. So, I'm just going to follow my heart with my dress as well. I'm sure it will turn out wonderfully.

Love,

Melanie

First Fitting of Wedding Dress

2010-03-27T22:36:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone,

My name is Melanie, and I'm a beginning sewer with high aspirations. I had a sewing class while I was in high school, and now, 10 years later, I've decided to sew my own wedding dress. Thankfully, I'm wanting a simple dress because we're going to get married on the beach. We haven't set a date yet, but it will be soon. So this blog is to document and journal about what is going on in my sewing world.

Last night I did my first fitting for my dress. I've been taking a very long time doing each step because I want to make sure it's going well before I sew it all together. I finally got the skirt and midriff cut out and basted together. I'm using Simplicity 2692 pattern for the skirt:

I have asked my mother's grandmother, Mark's (my fiance) grandmother, and any other ancentors who have passed into spirit who know how to sew to please help me on this project, and so far, everything has gone smoothly. One night I went to bed wondering how to make ruffles, and the next morning I saw a tutorial in my head of it just before I woke up. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time, so I'm expecting that they will continue to be guiding me or leading me to the right people to help me along the way. So, without further ado, here are the photos from the first fitting. Please disregard the top, which is just a camisole that I threw on. I haven't created the bodice yet, so this was just the fitting for the skirt and midriff.

I am really really thrilled with how it looks so far. My inspiration dress is Charlotte, from naturalbridals.com. I was so excited to find an eco-friendly wedding dress designer who made gorgeous gowns. I live an increasingly eco-friendly lifestyle, and having an eco-wedding is something that is really important to me. After researching lots of different fabrics and becoming overwhelmed, I realized one way I can be eco-friendly is to use used fabric. I went to goodwill and found a beautiful Egyptian cotton duvet cover that was still in the package for $15. I think I have enough fabric for the dress and the lining, which would be awesome. Anyhoo, here's a photo of my inspiration dress from naturalbridals.com:

Isn't it gorgeous?! I wrote to Morgan Boszilkov, the designer, and told her if my dress didn't work out, I'd buy hers. She wrote me back a super sweet e-mail. I love working with people who take time to respond. So thoughtful.

Sent by NaturalBridals on March 26, 2010:

Hi Melanie,
Thank you very much for your kind message. Congratulations on your engagement. I hope your dress turns out great, and if not, I'll be here for you! :)
Happy Sewing!
Morgan

You can check out more of her creations at her etsy store.

As for the bodice, I'm thinking of building it around a bra so I have built-in support.  I also think it will be easier for me to design that way.  My only concern about that is cutting up a bra I already have.  Mark and I have dedicated this year to not buying any new plastic, and we're writing about it at NoNewPlastic.com.  I think most bras have plastic parts, so I'm going to do more research in that.

Anyhoo, that's the latest from my sewing diary.

Love,


Melanie