wrap dressing

I’m gearing up to sew this summer. I literally have not sewn a complete dress for 12 years.  I sewed a Marilyn Monroe white dress for my cousin for Halloween back in 2000.  I clearly remember cursing through the whole process.  I also remember thinking — no wonder fine clothing is so expensive — this is hard!!!  I’m going to start by sewing a version of the Swirl wrap dress. Partly because I love this style of dress but also because there is no zipper or sleeves involved.

swirl-dress-on-etsy-swanee grace

Images via SwaneeGrace. Click on the image to be taken to her shop on Etsy.

I bought three vintage patterns from Etsy.  I will sew something very similar to the dress above.vintage-patterns-from-etsy

I am getting ahead of myself but I already did buy fabric.  I just had to.  I bought this fabric by Sarah Watts.

sarah-watss-timber-and-leaf-450

I initially thought that I could sew a dress using vintage sheets but when I shopped around I couldn’t find anything I liked.  I’ll keep looking.  The green dress below is made from a vintage sheet.  I found it on Flickr.  I love it.  I’d live in that dress.  Both the dresses below are made by Wendy Hill.

textured-leaf-two-dresses

Images via Wendy Hill. Click on the image to be taken to her shop on Etsy.

These dresses below are also made with vintage sheets.  I think they are absolutely stunning.   They would look especially fabulous if they were  worn by a gaggle of bridesmaids.  They were designed and created by Naughty Shorts.

naughtyshorts-450

Image via Naughty Shorts. Click on the image to be taken to her blog.

And if all that isn’t enough inspiration for you — I’m also thinking of trying to knock-off the tie-front Mociun dress.  It has the same ease as the Swirl wrap dress.

There are a lot of sewing ladies on the interwebs doing their best to make their own version of that dress.  My favorite version is made by Sarah over on I wish I were Nancy Drew.

mociun-tie-front-dress

One last thing.  Remember when I wrote about how Lynda.com is the best new thing in the world?  Well — it still is, BUT I have discovered another best new thing — Creativebug.  Creativebug is like Lynda.com but for crafters.  I’m pretty sure I’ll watch some instructional videos before I start sewing.

xo jam

rearranged flowers

My friend brought me flowers for my birthday.  The flowers were arranged very traditionally in a vertical arrangement.   I re-cut the flowers and put them in this fish bowl that I got from Goodwill.  Now they feel more casual and relaxed.

I took the photo with the ShakeItPhoto app.   It makes the pictures you take with your iPhone look like they were taken with a Polaroid.