D.I.M. The Tent Dress

In an effort to save money, make wearable clothes & tackle the DIY blogs on the Internet, I dove into the "Simple Cotton Top" project from the girls of A Beautiful Mess.   Their instructions were incredibly simple and easy to follow. The patternless-pattern called for simple width and height measurements and a couple yards of fabric.  I liked the fabric I chose for the projects so much that I just added length to the tops and created dresses for Spring. Super cheap.  Super easy.  My experience:

1.  The maxi dress. 

I used a fabric with a bit of stretch to it.   Although it is harder to work with than 100% cotton, the fabric hangs beautifully and feels so much softer.   I made the shorter dress first and discovered that I cut the fabric too wide (25 inches) so I made the maxi a little bit thinner.  Small mistake.  Once I completed the dress and tried to walk in it,  I had to do the Geisha-shuffle since the opening was too narrow.  I would follow ABM's instructions regarding the width (take half of hip measurement and add 5-8 inches) with the full-length version.  You could also add side slits.  Also, I lined the entire dress since it was a bit sheer.  This created a nice weight to it so the dress didn't move too much around the bust line.  I was able to leave the arm holes long to make the cut more interesting and sexy.   

2.  The short dress.

I used a stiff batik fabric for this dress.  As I previously mentioned,  I had a little too much fabric so I would aim for a more narrow cut.   This dress was so easy and simple to make since I didn't line it.   It was initially33.5 inches long but I ended up hemming it.   In the end, it was a cute short dress that was about 30 inches long (or shorter).   

Paired with cool sandals and a ton of bracelets, you can avoid the "pillow case dress" look that is really popular for toddlers.  I might try some different variations with ribbon as straps or perhaps a halter.  We shall see...

Cheap Friday: PictureShow App

$2.00

In an era of vanity & camera phones, Instagram singlehandedly popularized the self portrait.  With its dozen or so filters, it turned us into amateur Warhols & food photographers (what's with all the brunch pics?).   One of my favorite apps to make yourself look far more interesting than you do is the PictureShow app.  You have endless editing options like cropping, light leaks, and retro photo frames.   My favorite option is the random photo editor which uses pre-set combinations to transform your previously average photo.  You never know what you're going to get but they're all pretty rad.  Here are some examples.   

phish eye

After a good amount of stalking A Beautiful Mess Blog, I was inspired to use my Lomography Fisheye camera again. As 2009 impulse buy from Urban Outfitters, the thing was only used once and forgotten after I was only happy with a fraction of the photos. After reading her entry on toy cameras and the owner's manuel again, I feel like I have a better grip on its capabilities.

Here are a few of the photos from the first roll of film (i was having a bangs moment in 2009, forgive them) . I will update with a new post on this new roll. So excited

Hobbies

They save you from boredom. They save you from loneliness. They save you from those teeny tiny apps on your phone you check every 2.5 minutes to see if you have a notification, retweet or "like".

They make you independent. They make you creative. They turn into passions and maybe careers.

I started sewing classes in January because my grandma Maxine was the most amazing seamstress in her day and I inherited her old Kenmore sewing machine in 2010. I also chose sewing because it's productive, creative, cost-efficient, and has nothing to do with going to bars.