15 Shorts

I'm going bonkers over shorts...

bubble shorts...

sailor shorts...

short shorts...

Hey, did you get your $10 Old Navy shorts? Shorts...

Yah... shorts.

Yes, I got me some bubble shorts, sailor shorts, no on the short shorts, yes on the Old Navy shorts and now... (*trumpet horns*) the Prefontaine shorts by Made With Moxie!

Oh God, when I saw these babies pop up all over the internet, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.  Having a good portion of my young existence in the eighties, I had my share of Dove shorts and to be able to bring it back is nothing short of RAD.

I have a bit of polka dot fabric from Lecien both in green and blue (which I used some HERE) and I thought it would be perfect to use here. Lala's doin' a bit of stretching in honor of these shorts and look... look at that yummy little belly. *gah* I just wanna give her zerberts on her belly all day.

One polka dot short down and one more to go...

I had left over fabric from the When We Were Young Series and some red piping. Aren't the buttons cute? The pattern is from Sweet Girls Clothes, pattern Z. A great book to have, btw. 

I can definitely see making some shorts in a wool blend for the fall/winter season. 

"Stella, where's the pockets?"

Cracks me up when she struggles to find her pockets. LOVE it! Gotta have pockets... where else can she put her half-eaten grapes and rocks?

Two more going into the Shorts On The Line, Flickr group! Have you entered? It's not too late!

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7 E&E Bubble Pocket Shorts

Ahoy!

Bonjour!

Finally made Lala some E&E Bubble Pocket Shorts and I'm in love. What a great design!

I happened to have leftover fabric of this fab paisley print. It sorta gives a Parisian feel, no? I just love paisley prints.

Red, white and blue... perfect for the 4th.

For this version, I used the Robert Kaufman Essex linen. The pattern came together easier than I expected. I would've loved to show you more pics, but Lala was not having a good day. I was lucky to have one good pic (out of a 100!).

I'm headin' over to Shorts On The Line Flickr group and hopefully enter the amazing giveaway. Have you heard? Oh my God... you gotta check it out! Rachael and Carla have done a fantastic job putting this all together.

Thanks gals!!!

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0 When We Were Young... My Turn!!!

Hey folks!

Are you feelin' a little nostalgic? 

I'm over at Suz's place, Sewpony for a little reminiscing of my fondest childhood memory. Come on over and hang out!

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11 Wrap Dress in Stretch

Alrighty...

are you ready for another outfit for moi?

I'm really late posting about this baby. Really late, like last Thanksgiving late. Is it the lack of proper equipment to take self portraits? Um, yah. Is it insecurities and just feeling, "blah" about self pics? Um, yah. Is it laziness and finding every excuse not do it? Yah and YAH.

I knew some day I had to share this and someday is now.

via Gaia Conceptions on Etsy

Look at this beauty. NO, not the lady! The dress. Yes...

that one. *sigh* I have been eyeing this for a looong time. I had to have it. One way or another, I had to have this dress, but the price... ouch.

What a mood killer.

So after many-MANY days (more like months) of oohing and aahing over the dress. I finally decided to replicate it. See my smile? Yesss... I am most pleased.

Oh, hi there.

This is as sexy as it gets, folks. HA! 

*blushing* 

I have a big butt... junk-in-the-trunk... bah-dunk-a-dunk... whatever you wanna call it, and wearing a wrap dress is a great fit to compliment my body type.

I used organic jersey cotton knit and the pattern itself was actually pretty easy to figure out. What's so special about this dress that made me swoon? The versatility and ease of wearing. I got two different ways of wearing it as a dress and one sweet cover-up...

all in one!

Guaranteed, this will NOT be the only one I'll make.

I am one happy woman.

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31 Washi Dress #3

My latest Washi dress... numero 3!

See my little peek-a-boo contrast fabric on the sleeve? I had originally wanted to make the sleeve fold up so that the contrast is more visible, but given my buff arms (don't be jelly) I need to alter the sleeve in order to do so properly.

Next time...

*darn!*

I guess I have to make another one.

I'm in love with the piping detail and the skirt band. 

Oh my gosh, have you seen Rae's collar tie on her latest Washi?!

Prerequisite for next dress:

1. folded cap sleeve

2. tie collar

MUST.MAKE.MORE.

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Have a lovely Monday, folks!

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31 Dear Ms. Rae, Thank You.

       Dear Ms. Rae,

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude and utmost appreciation for your Washi Dress pattern. I am beside myself due to the simplicity and beauty of this design. 

I have been sewing for many years and have great respect for good design but alas I am puzzled...

How were you able to design such a dress to tailor fit my body? How were you able to obtain my measurements? How did you know what design would work best for me? 

Honestly, you could have just made the dress to fit ALL women, but instead, you chose me as the foundation for your creation. I am at a loss for words.

So instead of running at the mouth, filling the sky with joy and reverence, allow me to show you my deepest thanks with these last few pictures...

Sending you much love,

Venus

p.s., I give you full permission to use my measurements for future designs. *wink*

10 Portrait Mug Custom Order

Every Christmas I like to give handmade gifts for several reasons. ONE: We is po'. TWO: NOTHING compares to handmade. THREE: I'm pretty crafty so why not exploit my talents. FOUR: My family is narcissistic. HA! Scratch the last reason- I kid!!! So when I decided to paint everyone's portrait and give it a Victorian feel, it was a big hit.

Since then I have been thinking about offering portrait mugs in the shop. I wasn't sure how the product would take, if anyone would be interested in something like this. Also the logistics of it all... the cost per ceramic, the paint, the firing and my time has to be accounted for and all priced accordingly.  Until I got an email from a web-friend and pattern tester to my Miss Jenny Apron pattern, Rebecca.

After seeing my mugs via Flickr and blog, she wanted one of her boyfriend for his birthday.

A dapper young man.

Special requests: Victorian style, he has a fondness for cycling and is a HUGE fan of the Boston Red Sox.

His family are big and I mean BIG fans, so much so the family built a 1/3rd scale Fenway Park on their property. Yes, you read it correctly.
Fenway Park.
1/3rd scale.
On property.
Check it out HERE.

You can see how I work my magic on creating these mugs HERE.
I have seen other ways of painting or transferring designs onto mugs or other ceramic pieces using sharpie pens and I have yet to try them out.
Have you tried it?
If so, does it really work?
I'm going to try this out myself and see if I can create such intricate designs. If it works, I'll let you know and perhaps another tutorial may be in order. We shall see...
SO the question still lies, should I sell custom portrait mugs? Thoughts? Ideas? I'd love to hear.
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P.S., Thanks Rebecca for letting me create something wonderful for you!!!