Stars, Flamingos, and Bunnies!

The goal of this week is to have a more successful one than last! I feel like I'm off to a pleasant start. I've completed my pinstripe dress, it's quirky and cute. It's sure to be come my staple work dress. I plan on wearing it to the office Friday to finish the week off strong, I'll have my coworkers do a photo shoot with me!

I was having a hard time finding inspiration for the Constellations contest for Spoonflower. It's been a few months now that I've entered every single contest, and I was getting bummed at the thought of breaking that streak. FINALLY, an idea hit me and I was able to knock it out last night. Submitted it at the final second last night! Pshew!!! I think I get a little high when I finish a design and I'm proud of it. It's that extra boost of energy I need through the week.

On the cutting table... I got the most adorable fabric on sale the other week from Fabric.com. See! Adorable! 

My more adventurous little bunny, Rambo, tore up a few pillows on our couch months back. In reality, he just gave me a reason to replace those BLAH throw pillows. Thank you Rambo Bunny! It's also going to help make our apartment feel more like home, and add some color without having to paint. Hoping to have pictures to post tomorrow. But for now, I'll leave you with Rambo giving me the stink eye!

Adobe Kuler!!!

Life has certainly gotten a little out of control. Ever since the Friday before Labor Day, I feel like I've been going non-stop. Between work, skating, my boyfriend, and my side projects, well, very little sleep has been happening. Way to much has happened to write about it all, so quick post on my quick Kuler Project.

Spoonflower's contest this week is to use the Adobe Kuler App to choose a color theme. This is my new favorite app. I assume I will be using it ALL the time to pick colors!!! So much fun. I grabbed an old photo I took of Mayan Dancers at Lucha VaVoom a year ago. (If you live in one of the Cities where this happens, GO TO IT!) The colors were so vibrant I just couldn't resist. I kept the design simple, partially due to my own time constraints, and also to challenge myself to find balance with simple geometric shapes. Happy with the outcome! Let me know what you think.

Dino-mite!

The upcoming Dinosaur themed contest has turned into quite a nostalgic project for me! The dinos... the characters... the colors... makes me want to pop on Nickelodeon or something. If these rockin' little T-Rex's ever got their own show, I'd watch it... just sayin!

I'd say I'm about a quarter of the way through, still so much work to do! I sketched out all the characters on paper and am using my tablet to turn them into vectors in Illustrator. That's right! Figured out the basics of how to use my Splash!!! It's saving me piles of time, but I'm sure I have MUCH more to learn. Here's where I am currently...

(Apologies for the poor quality shot... snapped a pic with my phone on the way out the door this morning.)

Half the band is complete! Still a few more guys to go. I have a few different ideas for the background ranging from super simple to preeeeetttyyy complicated. Leaning towards the more complicated plan but not sure if there'll be time this week. I may have to give up sleep!

Designing on an empty stomach!

Putting together my Dim Sum design made my stomach growl!!! I really should have eaten before sitting down at my computer. I have a tendency to either completely lose track of time, or I'm too stubborn to step away from my work until it's done. Today was a subtle mix of both. ORDER UP ON THE DIM SUM!!! It's ready to go! 

Like with the hangers, I was trying to add in some retro elements, like the large repeating dots, shapes being slightly askew to add depth, and simple geometric shapes. I'm pretty sure it's successful in portraying Dim Sum... still haven't gone out to try it. Maybe next date night. 

Guess what came in this week!!! That's right! My Pixel Pinstripe and all my samples! SOOO VERY EXCITED! Looks great! Can't wait to wear it as a dress! 

I feel like it was a pretty smart move to pick up a color guide swatch. It's already proving itself useful for the upcoming Dino design. That's next on my to-do list! My handsome boyfriend bought me a Wacom Tablet way back at Christmas. I've fiddled around with it some, but really don't know the first thing about how to use it. Promised him that this time around, I'm gonna design with it. Fingers crossed! I'm nervous I'm gonna get frustrated again and go back to drawing with the mouse. Talk about tedious!!! If anyone out there has any advice, I'd love some right about now.

Nom Nom Pencil Case

Here's to hoping I did my math right and used my words right! Uploaded my design tonight. So tired... and want cookies so bad! NOM NOM NOM!!!

I will say though, it was a headache trying to get it to upload properly. It wasn't recognizing the background. I'm sure it's a simple solution that I just can't find due to fried brain issues. 

WELL! Still more work to be done tonight... and it's not fun stuff. BOOOOO!!! HISSSSSSS!!!

CRAFTERNOON

The Super Secret Craft Time Society was a huge success. We had our first Crafteroon brunch at my place this weekend. There were piles of Sublime Stitching patterns to choose from, all the colors of the rainbow in embroidery floss, and a starter hoop for everyone to add to their craft collection. 

There were several in the group that had never tried embroidery and were worried about the complexity of it. It didn't take long for all fears to subside. Almost everyone left with a completed design! 

So glad everyone was able to make it, and even happier they all had fun. While I was in charge of craft supplies, they were all instructed to bring snacks and drinks. They filled the table with pastries, pastas, and premixed bottles of Mimosas! I didn't even know that was a thing! Yes, lazy way out... but perfect for picnics and beach trips. VERY good to know. 

On a fabric/designing note... Finished my first cut and sew pattern! I found the hardest part writing the instructions. I could easily show someone how to do it, but words are hard! I don't know if it's simple enough or overly simple... am I missing steps... is it even going to work?! I guess time will tell! I'll have to try it out for sure!

Also, my order finally shipped with all my samples and my pixel pinstripe design! There's finally more than one design in my shop. YAY! It's not empty any more!!! So while I wait for the arrival of all my goodies, I'll cut out all my pattern pieces and set up my sewing area. Can't wait!

Simplicity 1803: My Own Modcloth!

A while back I found the website Make This Look and fell in love with the idea. I used to spend so much time lusting over the dresses I couldn't afford, never stopping to think... "Wait... I know how to sew. I could make that!." I was practically raised next to a sewing machine, sewing is in my blood! (My mom is an incredibly talented woman and has made some of the most gorgeous window treatments the world has ever seen.)

I found my first project to make about a month ago. I saw the Soft Serve dress on ModCloth, found the the SAME PRINT (whoa!) in purple on Fabric.com (it was on sale AND had a 30% off coupon!), and already had Simplicity 1803 sitting in my pattern bin at home! I knew I had to go for it!
The pattern came together pretty quickly. I learned my lesson from the last dress I made, as well as reviews from LLadybird's Post here, and took the time to test the ease with a muslin. I'm so glad I did, because this pattern also had 4" of ease built into my size. It would have been far too much! Made a few tiny changes in the bodice and it fits perfectly. This is probably the most comfortable dress in my closet now... aaaaand the cutest too! 


I ordered my Pin Stripe design from SpoonFlower and waiting for it to arrive. I think I'll do the same pattern but in View B with short sleeves. Anxiously waiting!!!

Side note: Has anyone out there ever used the paid app for SewingKit? Trying to find a way to keep my pattern info on my person, wondering if its worth it...

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!

This girl right here is having the most exciting morning of all time!!! While sitting in morning rush hour traffic, I received an email on my way to work informing me of the good news... an email titled...

You won our 8-Bit Fit Contest!

I should have pulled over to the side of the road, it would have been much safer than what followed! I only read the title and then proceeded to call all my favorite people. I hadn't read any of the details so all I could say was, I think I made top ten, I may have won, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON BUT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT!

 It wasn't until I powered up my computer at work that I actually read the email, quickly followed by Spoonflower's newsletter. I'm completely beside myself! My design is a real thing!!! I'm so making a dress in this!!!

 So what happens next?! I'm not 100% sure but it's gonna be good for sure. We popped a bottle of champagne at work had a few donuts and it's back to the grindstone. I'm hoping to parlay my good fortune into this Saturday's game. My team has our first bout of the season!!! Come on Brawlers! Let's start a winning streak!!!!

 PS. 

Sorry for all the !!!!. Really can't help myself right now!!!

Little Victory

I'm getting myself back in the habit of celebrating the little victories, and out of the habit of stressing over the little hiccups in life. Little victory... my Road Trippin' design placed 29th out of 150. Not bad! Onward and upward!

Starting from Scraps

 So this is in line with my current interests... Skillshare has a course on repeating designs and Spoonflower is hosting a giveaway! Worlds collide. Hell yeah, I'll put my name in the hat! You should enter too! 

On the slower project front, I started a garden from scrap... Literally! A post in Eddy & Rambo's Bunny Blog inspired this. I didn't realize how easy it would be or how fast it'd all come together. The basil and parsley I started from seeds but are thriving! With some tips from Ma, I learned how to pinch back the basil to get an even fuller plant. (The bunnies and I will have to share the basil!!!)

This one is by far the coolest. I save the bottom 2 inches of a Romaine Lettuce heart and soaked it in water. It's been about 2 weeks and look!!! I have a teenie tiny chunk of lettuce! Given the success I've had with it, I started soaking two more stumps. Can't wait til their ready for transplant. And the carrot tops just sprouted back yesterday! I think it's only been 3 days. So cool! The bunnies and I can't wait for the harvest.

TWO MORE! I'm on a roll!!!

It's stupid... Life has gotten busier and I've managed to stay just as productive, if not more so! Why can't I get this much done when I have oodles of free time?

Anywho! I took the step to actually link my SpoonFlower profile to this page (which by the way is here ), just another little thing to remind me to keep making things. I've gotten two more little designs done for the next two contests. Hopefully being a little ahead will give me sometime to brainstorm for the next themes.

First is the 8-Bit design. It's pretty simple but I'm really pleased with it. Someday I'll make myself a geek chic dress out of it!!!

Second is the Fireflies design. It looks like it's actually glowing! YAY! I'm so happy it worked! Plus, it was about time purple made an appearance into one of these. Took long enough.

Still haven't finished the dress for the wedding... I HAVE to do that tomorrow. It's just all the little finishings... in other words... the time consuming shit. Damn.

Road Trippin'

I had a decently productive weekend... Finished another contest design, this coming week's theme is Highways and By-ways. It still feels like a work in progress. Something just isn't there yet. I'm going to try it in a few different colors and maybe add a texture to it. Soooo very close!

Other teeny tiny accomplishment... Craft Day set! And I have a few weeks to clean the apartment for it! Yay no pressure! (I know I'm gonna procrastinate til the day before... who am I kidding?)

Less Talk... More Action!

So I haven't been posting... but I have been doing. I have a few irons in the fire and doing my best to stay motivated.

I've been sewing a cute polka dot dress for a wedding coming up in two weeks. As soon as it's done I will post pictures. There have been plenty of speed bumps... mostly my own fault. The bust is far to big... so either I must stuff or alter. I prefer to keep the boobage natural so I'll alter. Here's the fabric! Isn't it cute?! 

Also in the works... a Super Secret Craft Society has been formed! I invited a few friends to join me for themed craft nights. First night will be Bitches Get Stitches and setting a date is in it's final stages. It'll be nice to geek out with my crafty friends. My boyfriend, as loving as he is, can only carry on conversations about patterns and fabrics and whatnot for so long. I must find my own kind!

Lastly, I have made it a goal for myself to submit a design to Spoonflower's weekly contests.This week is Ditsy Crickets. I'm pretty pleased with how my design came out. I was surprised how fast it all came together. I was definitely in the zone for this!!! Got my fingers crossed to make top ten, but I won't be disappointed if I don't. There are so many experienced and talented people in that pool!

 

Next contest is Highway's and Byways. I keep going back and forth on what I want to do. I think I've finally narrowed it down!!! Have a sketch done up and my evening cleared to start working on it. I'm not sure if these other designers work way in advance. Maybe if I push myself I can get a bit ahead and a little more time to tweek the final design! Starting to brainstorm for the ones a little further out! Wish me luck.