Dragon Phoenix Dress

It has been a while since I have made something for my Etsy shop. I have made many a custom garment and the shop has been full of alterations but i haven't designed anything just for me.

A while ago while fabric shopping I stumbled onto this great Asian brocade. It has great print and great colours and I can't waitto make something. It is a large print so i wanted to keep the sillouette quite simple.
I am the worst at sketching but I managed to kinda draw what I had in mind. Sketching is definately something I need to practice. Any book, article or websites anyone can recommend will be greatly appreciated.

Hanging Up My Yoga Mat

Since my shop is the most quiet and serene place in our house, not that its really all that quiet or serene but a girl does what she can, its the space I use to practice yoga. My yoga mat is stored in my shop, usually rolled up and shoved somewhere only for it to get in the way and moved elsewhere. I have yet to find a good place for it. In my attempt to be more organized, I decided to make a quick and easy bag for my yoga mat so I could hang it over my privacy screens.

First lets take a moment to discuss my privacy screens. They were gifted to me from my Mother in Law when I moved into the shop. One is used as a fitting room and the other is used to provide privacy from the shop to my home as there is no door. They are black lacquered Asian themed and I adore them. Many Asian themed or printed things catch my eye. Which beings us back to the yoga mat bag.

Fitting Room

I have a tote full of used clothing that I have been given or have thrifted to use for up-cycled projects. Years ago I had found this long handmade housecoat at a thrift store. I was drawn to it because it was made from this turquoise Asian brocade and I figured I could use it for something. Its a very “busy” print. A little too busy for me to make a garment from but I thought I was so cool so I scooped it up. Fast forward 10 years and I have finally found a project for it!

A couple of measurements and a few seams later my yoga mat has a stylish new home!

Jean Repair

There is an odd phenomenon that seems to happen in the shop.  If one person brings in a broken zipper I will get several more people bring in one that week as well. Same goes for hems, thing to be taken in and last month the trend was worn out jeans.

In a world where everything seems disposable I am always pleased when people bring in repairs. Sometimes seams will pop, zippers will break, knees will get a hole, buttons will go missing, etc....

With distressed denim being so popular I have a constant stream of boy jeans needing patches on the knees. I'm not talking about little boys, I mean the big boys. Boys of all sizes are hard on their jeans.

So with that here is a little tutorial on adding a patch.

Cut any hanging threads from the hole and measure the area that needs to be covered.

I just happened to have left over denim from making cut off shorts this summer. You can use whatever fabric you want for a patch. Cut a patch big enough to cover the hole with a ½ to ¾ in extra on each side.Serge the edges of the patch. If you don't have a serger you can zigzag along the edges.

Pin the patch to the WRONG side of the pants and stitch around the patch.

Then on the right side, zig zag around the hole so it won't get any bigger.

AND DONE!

Do you repair your clothing or do yo find it easier to buy new?

Resolution Nay, Goals Yay!

                                         Happy New Year!!! 
                                             

                                                 Cheers!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas holiday and a great New Year!

For the month of December I was thinking of what my resolution for 2013 should be. Last year's resolution was to keep up my blog and make one thing a week to add to my Etsy store. It's safe to say this was abandoned pretty early on. I was asking too much of myself when I had a ton of wedding and custom projects that needed to be completed before giving birth to my daughter in May. Yep, I admit it. I am not Superwoman. 

With all this in mind, I say resolutions are SO last year. Instead I am going to set some goals. A goal is something to work toward,  to try my best at and since that is my mantra, "try your best", it works out perfect for me. 

Ok , so here we go. My goals for 2013!!!

1. Blog! I enjoy writing blog posts, I just never take the time to do it. I start a post but never finish and publish it. I am hoping to break this bad habit and with these goals in place I will have plenty to blog about. 

2. Once a month make a creative project. It can be a craft, an upcycle, a design for my Etsy store or something for myself but it has to be something of my choosing and that is not for a client. My hope is to do this more than once a month and if I do I will just consider that a BONUS!

3. BE MORE ORGANIZED! This is a big one and relates to all areas in my life. Just do it.

4. Take better care of myself. This means eating 3 meals a day, keeping active, spending time with my family, getting enough sleep and taking a little time to decompress. Taking care of myself makes everything else that much easier to accomplish.

There. Goals set. Nothing too grand but enough to keep me busy and focused on making 2013 a great year! 

What are some of your goals for 2013?