Formal Banquet Dress - Inspiration

image from TimelessVixenVintage

 We have a formal banquet in my area every year in the spring. We have a big band and swing dance. It's very nice! Everybody wears a formal dress (or suit if you're a guy). Anyways, even though it's many many months away it's time to start thinking about what to wear. I found this beautiful polka dotted dress last year and thought it was amazing! It was listed for over $100, but it has sold now anyways. I was thinking about draping the pattern though...I wonder how hard it would be. It has a sweetheart neckline in the lining and the sheer top has a boat neckline (I think) that has two darts on each side. It also has a full gathered skirt. All-in-all it doesn't look too hard to draft. I'm mostly worried about the crinoline. It won't look right without one, but my luck with those has been less than spectacular. Perhaps I can buy one...or find a better pattern...

image from BellinaBridal

This dress is pretty as well. I like the bust gathering a lot. And the color is interesting. It seems to be a cream color with a sheer blue overlay. Very pretty.

Fabric Organizer from One Yard Wonders

Isn't that fabric pretty? I'm really glad I used this fabric. Unfortunately, I am not happy with how this turned out. I think the directions were terribly confusing...and it is HUGE! I thought that each square would be 2" or so across...instead they are about 4". I think that I could probably design my own that is smaller...but I am not wanting to make another one. Either way, it is definitely usable and much better than some plastic thing!

Fabric Folding & Craft Room Organization Part 1

image from turning turning

image from turning turning

image from craft blog

So one of my main goals before school starts is to get my room and my craft nook organized. I have never been very good at keeping said nook organized. It's time for a clean sweep though. The first thing I think I will tackle is organizing the fabric. I think it needs to be folded all the same and organized somehow. And all the small stringy bits need cut off.

I am going to decide on one single fabric folding strategy (click the pictures for links). I think that will help me to stay organized!

Pottery Bowl Inspiration

image from StudioElan

I am currently taking my second session of a pottery class. I took one last year before Christmas, but was unable to continue because of school. Anyways, I am really having a good time! These bowls were not made by me, but I plan on using the same color scheme next time I glaze. I think they are super lovely! They are for sale a their respective links. I will take a pic of my bowls once finished. I think that this glazing effect can be achieved by painting the outside of the bowl black, the inside a white of some sort, and a castille drip down. I think it will be super cute!!

image from StudioElan

image from StudioElan

Whoopie Pies

image from Bakerella

Don't those look good? My mouth is watering! I think I should definitly make some of these as soon as possible! She even gives the recipe! SWEETNESS! :D

Camper Awesomeness

image from Pink and Polka Dot

Super cool idea! If I had a camper I would do this. Nothing worse than being stuck in a tight space with hideous fabrics. Pretty stuff makes things so much nicer. :)

Coffee Table Inspiration

image from HappyThings

Aren't these cute? I would totally put some of these on my coffee table! My parents have a undo hatred towards coffee tables....so we don't have one. Which means I haven't made these yet. Rgh. Oh well...one day I will have at LEAST one coffee table. :)

Super Cute Notebooks!!

So I was in Barnes and Noble last night, and happened to look at their clearance section. They had some really cute spiral notebooks that were hardback! I think I might get one for school this semester. It would make things so much more fun. :)
On another school-related note...I am seriously considering (as in, I am about to buy) a pink laptop. :D Because...because....well why not?! You only live once! And I think it would be neat! I'll post a picture of it once I actually get it.

Desk Organizer Idea

image from Craftzine

I recently removed the huge hutch from the top of my desk. I was wanting more desk space in preparation for the school year. So now I am on the lookout for a great bulletin board as well as some sort of shelf to go on the back wall to display art. I am now completely enthraled with desk organizers. I found this one and thought it was super cute! Uses recyclable materials as well!

Dress Inspiration

 image from Anthropologie

 image from Anthropologie

So the Chantilly dress isn't going as well as I would like....I don't want to talk about it yet....it's kind of a sore subject...Anyways! Here are some dresses that I thought were cute! I highly recommend clicking through and checking out the super cute details! I would love to make that creamish one!!

Colette Patterns - Chantilly - Take 3

 So I bought this fabric for the Chantilly Dress. It's cotton gauze and I got it for $2/yd. However, I wasn't happy with the color at all. And my mom didn't like it very much either. So I got interested in discharging with bleach. There is a very helpful article: here.

So last night I decided to do a test strip of the plum fabric and another orange fabric someone gave me. I also tested another vibrant pinkish fabric that I had, but I knew wasn't cotton. The bleach had a wonderful effect on the plum cotton gauze and the orange fabric, but not on the pink cotton blend fabric. I'm not sure why. :P

So after digging through the tupperware cabinet I found an old glass jar with a metal lid that I could punch holes into. I poured the bleach into there and shook it out like a salt/pepper shaker. It worked really well. I know they say to not use full strength bleach, but I wasn't getting a response with it diluted. I stopped the reaction by dunking it in a bucket of water and peroxide. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then put both pieces of fabric into the washer machine.

 Here are the results! The purple fabric ended up with whitish/pinkish dots.

The orange fabric now has yellow spots! I am really pleased with how they both turned out. I cut out the dress today and have begun sewing. Hopefully I can get it done in time! Just 2 more days. :P ack! I am thinking about not lining the skirt...we'll see.

Some notes about the pattern: the different sizes are sometimes hard to determine with all the lines. The darts were next to impossible to figure out. Careful analyzing them helped. I had some more things I wanted to say about the pattern, but have forgotten them now. I'll try to remember before I post again.

Colette Patterns - Chantilly - Take 2

The pattern is here!! I'm so excited! Isn't the line drawing pretty? I am a little frustrated though. These patterns are designed for bigger busted women...so I will have to size it down...rgh. Sarai (creator of the patterns) says on the Flickr page that it is easy to size down, so that's good!!! Overall the pattern is VERY professional feeling. It makes me feel very pampered. :) Pampered=good feeling. I can't wait to get started!

Drop Waist Vintage Pattern

Isn't this gorgeous? I found this during a thrift store search. Apparently the shop owner has been throwing out old patterns!!! ACK! She only charged me 50 cents for this pattern, which is what it sold for back in the day. ;) It's a super cute drop waist full circle skirt dress. I am wanting to make the sleeveless version. The only problem is that it is a size to big, but I can definitely change that. It would be good practice.

Knit Dress Inspiration

image from Jcrew

     Isn't this dress pretty? I'd really like to make one just like this, but I can't find a pattern that is similar. So I'm thinking about draping it on my dress form. I don't think it would be too difficult. Looks like it's pretty much rectangular with three rows of rouching for waist definition. The back of this dress also has a V-neckline, but I think you could just as easily omit it.

     While looking for similar patterns I did run across a couple of other ones.

There are some great versions of this dress out there if you check google!!

There are some really neat versions of this dress out there as well, but they are harder to find. Checking patternreview.com turned up the most results for me! This pattern doesn't look that great on the pattern cover, but the ones that I have seen look really neat!

Colette Patterns - Chantilly

 image from Colette Patterns

Aren't these versions of Colette Patterns Chantilly dress amazing? I like all of them! I ordered this pattern the other day, and hopefully it will get here Tuesday. I think the post office is closed Tuesday for the holiday....bummer....

 image from Colette Patterns

  image from Colette Patterns

image from TinyHappy

My cousin is getting married, and while I COULD just wear something I already have...what's the fun in that?! ;) So I'm thinking about heading out to Joanns today, I think they might be open...will have to call first. Oh! And I still have gift cards to there as well!

I am planning to make this out of some lightweight cotton. Either cotton lawn, cotton gauze, or a chiffon of some sort. Or maybe I will make one in each of these! heehee! Cotton gauze is on sale right now at Hancocks for $2/yd which is really good! However, it is just solid colors, and I was really wanting a pattern....covers flaws better. But I might get some anyways for a later dress since it is such a good price. When I was there I did have the lady cut some fabric for me and I was prepared to buy it, but I told her 4 1/2 yards and somehow she only cut 4 yards. Very frustrating!

I think this pattern will look great though. I like the design of it. I might have to size down the bodice some, since it is designed for a C-cup. :P But I think it will pretty easy to do with this style.