Okay, so I didn't make the whole thing, just the prettiest part!!! 

I wanted a designer dress so badly, and after sadly slobbering over it for 6 months and not having nearly enough dough to get it, decided to recreate it myself... 

this is the link to THE ONE.
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?line=d&pageSize=100&style=RD1044

So I went to Davids Bridal, bought a similarly shaped and styled base for the gown (for $300 on clearance!!!), then went to JoAnn's for some white silk and spent countless hours on my bed creating silk roses of all shapes and sizes. The DB dress had some crappy flat bow and a crystal cluster attached to the underbust, so I ripped that off (the crystal piece became the closure for my bouquet ribbon) and sewed on 3 of the handmade roses. When it came to the strap part, I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if it was removable?!?"  So in order to make that happen, I took a length of white ribbon and randomly attached the rest of my roses to it. Then I added hook and eye closures in strategic places and to my own surprise, I had actually rigged it to work!!!

In the end, I LOVE it. Everything about it. I rocked it with and without the strap, and I love how distressed the roses came out. It turned out to be perfect for me. Along with my wonderful new husband...  Ya'll want to see it? 

here is a link to the before gown:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49997265&currentIdx=1&subCategory=-49998492|-49997958|-

and here are the silk flowers just laid out in an arrangement on my bed:


after I attached the first 3:


the strap (threads still hangin' loose...haha I'm lazy):


and in ACTION!!! 





c & c always welcome! much love...

soo... as a crafty little diva, i decided to take care of the details of my september wedding all by my self (including my dress! that will be another post coming up...)! it was absolutely spectacular and one of my favorite details were the peacock fascinators i made for my two bridesmaids/younger sissies! they were so much fun and i even made a modified version for my mom!
those of you who frequent michaels will probably recognize the materials used. I started with a 3" circle of brown felt (to match their hair) and stitched each feather down, starting with the outside and longest layer. then i layered the red flowers and purple petals on with hot glue to frame the pretty silver and jewel piece on top! then i stitched a small plastic comb with teeth to the back and voila!
they stayed in all night and let me tell ya, my girls were the life of the party!!! it was a beautiful night and i love love LOVE that almost everything was diy! more to come...
c & c much appreciated!

straight on

once i attached the comb

back shot of Carole Ann, my maid of honor. check out the badass party dress!!! and i handmade all of the flowers on my gown. the strap is actually removable!!! sorry about the dark shot. this was about an hour after the ceremony ended and it was crunch time before the sun went down! haha...

in this one you can kind of see the baby peacock on my mom. she rocked that mermaid dress all night long!!! and before you say anything, no, my father is not ted danson...

hope you all enjoy!!!

Crocheted from free patterns on crochetpatterncentr al.com

My fiancee' went as Jim Morrison (I found snakeskin pans for $15 at Goodwill!!!) and we had our picture taken so many times!!!  It was a blast.  

hey, everyone! i live in the french quarter of new orleans and decided to stay during hurricane gustav. maybe not the smartest thing, but i just didn't feel like anything bad was gonna happen. guess what? the worst of it was the fact that we lost power for -gasp- 8 WHOLE HOURS!!! soooooooo, for my entire week off (since the mandatory evacuation and curfew were strictly enforced for everyone - outside the quarter, of course - including my bosses and coworkers) I GOT TO SEW!!! i ended up making 3 new dresses, one skirt, a super cute and comfy top for my bf, and the outfit in this post! i think that's more than i have ever sewn in my lifetime so i got a lot of practice and learned a few new things, too.
on to my new outfit...
the top was copied off of one of my favorite comfy tops. it is just two pieces of fabric (super thin, soft and stretchy; $1 wal-mart) with - FUN NEW TOY - grommets along the neckline!!! i like to think it can be dressed up or down.
the pants were copied from a pair of well-fitting dress pants but i widened them and lengthened them for comfier wear. i also learned how to sew darts to fit curves better. these don't even need a drawstring!!! but they (still) need to be hemmed. yeah, i guess i'm pretty lazy.
ok, enough rambling!!! hope you enjoy and i also included a pic of my bf and kitten during the brutality of the storm!!! notice we had our main doors open and only the screen doors shut. seriously... it didn't even rain for very long!!!
oh, and as always, please excuse the shiny face and messy backgrounds. haha...

soooo... this took about 2 days. i got the top half of the pattern on crochetpatterncentr al.com. i created the bottoms myself (they are way to small, but hey, i made 'em!). anyway, on to the pics...

this can be worn with the skirt pulled to the knees, or up short (with stockings or boots if i leave the house, of course). it can also be worn upside down as a chunky cowlneck top. it is super stretchy and silky (and only a dollar a yard at wal-mart!!!)



i know i'm too excited about this... haha

hey, the title pretty much explains this. i just cut and hemmed the lining to work like the "infinity" dress and left the skirt, so i don't know if this would even count as a project, but it's wearable and it's mine, so... LOVE!!!

hey, this is my very first clothing post and the first item i have ever made that's wearable, so YAAAAAAAY!!! it was pretty basic and took about 4 hours to make (a decent seamstress could probably whip it out in about and hour). the top is kinda like an "infinity" top, too. you can tie the straps to make it a triangle top, bandeau, or the way i have it on in the pictures. i made the bottoms from a drafted pattern of a good pair of undies. well, i don't have much time, so on to the pics... and i apologize for the bad quality and lighting! hope you can see enough!

img]http://www.craftster.org/pictures/data/500/medium/DSCF13811.JPG[/img]

oooooohhhh, these are so GOOD!!! i actually made this up from a mixture of recipes i have found and a bunch of added goodness. i promise the recipe is not difficult and most of the ingredients can be substituted or even omitted.  these bars are loaded with feel-good energy carbs, packed full of protein and fiber, and they use honey in place of refined sugar (much more betta for ya!!!) you can also experiment around using all kinds of dried fruits and spices and/or adding nuts or even *gasp* candy! 

ok, so here it is...

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. uncooked oats
1/3 c. ground flax
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
3/4 c. raisins (i use golden)
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. skim milk
1/4 c. coconut oil (you can use vegetable oil or even canola)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. honey
3 ripe bananas, mashed (or chunked, like mine)


preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 13 x 9in. pan. mix all dry ingredients along with raisins and carrots in large mixing bowl. beat the rest of ingredients together with a fork. add to the dry ingredients combining just until moistened. press into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. 
you could try them with almonds, cranberries, and carob bits.
or try diced apples, walnuts and white chocolate chips.
peanut butter would probably be a good addition, too. oooh, i'll have to try that...
a good rule to stick by is to keep a little crunch and a little chewyness.

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY!!!

omg, i forgot to add the nutritional facts that took forever to put together... (haha, story of my life.)
ah, well, here they are per bar (12 in a batch)240 calories, 6.7g fat (11% dv), 33g carbohydrates (10%), 6g fiber (24%), 22g sugar, 7g protein

i really dont know how to describe what happens, but basically the top thread gets bunched up and caught in my machine. i have been covetously lurking on this site for long enough!!! i have tried everything i can think of, oiling the bobbin area and re-threading everything, changing stitch and fabric... please if you know anything about this, let me know! i will seriously make you something if you can help me!!!