Dapper Day 2014 @ Disneyland

Ahh...Dapper Day has come and gone and I'm still dreaming about how much fun I had and all the wonderful outfits I've seen.  After spending so much time dreaming, planning, and working on my Dapper Day dress (some WIP photos found here) I can't believe the day has come and gone so quickly.  The park was crowded but I had a great time ooooing and awwwing over everyone's outfit.  The only thing I regret about Dapper Day was not waking up early enough to get into the park (parking was a nut house) and not being able to go with a big group.  Most of my photos are of my boyfriend and I so I apologize for the lack of variety in dapper outfits, but hopefully you'll enjoy my photos regardless.  :)  All photos are my own personal photos unless otherwise credited.

Wanted Flynn Rider for looking dashingly dapper.  (Fun fact, he actually put the outfit together himself!  The only thing I had a hand in was the bowtie that I had sewn for him as a gift for Christmas)

Oh look, I found a floating lantern at Disneyland!  

I'm really happy with the way my dress turned out considering it's the first full dress I've ever sewn.  I used the Retro Butterick B4790 pattern for the dress and had help altering it to fit.  Then I fussed with the dress until it was a design to my liking.  I also hand stenciled and painted out the design on the front of the dress.  It took forever but it was worth it!  Hat was purchased at the dollar store (thank goodness they're stocking for Easter already) along with some fake flowers and then I used some left over fabric to create the extra dapper touch.  

Dapper Day Dress WIP

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA after the Christmas season. Work started to pick up and I've also been busy planning my Dapper Day outfit. For those of you unfamiliar with Dapper Day check them out at www.dapperday.com. It's an unofficial event at Disneyland where guest attend in their finest 1950s attire. This event was inspired by the vintage Disneyland posters where you see all the guest attending the parks in their Sunday best.

I've been working with my friend and her mother in law to manipulate an already existing pattern into a dress of my size. Unfortunately I don't have a super skinny waist so there were a lot of inches to be added to the pattern.

Note to self, tracing paper is your friend when you don't fit a pattern exactly.

Yo-Yo Flower Christmas Tree

Have you ever made a yo-yo flower?  I learned how to make one earlier this year thanks to this pin here.  It's so simple to make and super cute!  And who would have thought you can turn a bunch of yo-yo flowers into a christmas tree?  My friend's mom had one on her fireplace mantel and I just couldn't get over how cute it looked!  She was gracious enough to make me a pattern as well as give me some green fabric to make my very own.  

Here's what you'll need:

• 12 in diameter circle pattern
• Scrap fabric in shades of green or solid colors
• Empty thread spool (that will be the tree stump)
• Wooden stick (You can pick one up at your local craft store.  I got mine at Hobby Lobby)
• Scissors/thread/needle
• Polyester filling (optional)

Start by cutting out your pattern on your fabric.  My pattern paper was a little short of 12 inches so I worked with what I had and then rotated the pattern on the fabric since that's the beauty of a circle! 

Once you finished cutting out your 12 in fabric circle you can now cut/trim your pattern to the 11 in circle pattern.

Repeat the process of cutting the circle pattern.

Continue these steps until you reach your 3 inch circle.

Next make a yo-yo flower out of each circle.

Make a little snip at the bottom center so that you can place it on top of the wooden stick.  Put the wooden stick in through the center of the spool so that the spool supports the stick standing.  Stack largest to smallest to create the tree shape.  You can also stuff the yo-yo flowers with polyester filling to make it extra fully, but that's optional. 

Make a little star or find a trinket to put on top and then done!  It's the perfect little center piece for your holiday party!

Don't have time to make a whole tree?  Try this alternative mini yo-yo tree ornament.  String a jingle bell to the center of the lace or string to act as your stopper and then stack the yo-yo flowers through to make your own mini tree.

New Curtains!

I have new curtains!! Huge thanks to my friend for hooking me up with really nice curtain fabric!  It makes a world of a difference now.  I can actually sleep in in the morning and I have a lot more privacy at night now.

Before.... 

After!

Here are a few photos of how I sewed the curtains.  I didn't have a pattern but I did take a look at my friend's curtain and tried to reverse engineer it in my head and I think it turned out okay.  :)

DIY Circle "Minnie" Skirt

This was my first time working with elastic where it turned out elastic!  Most of the time I end up sewing the elastic and having end up with zero slack to even put it on!  Now after finding this pin and reading through the tutorial and following it step by step I've successfully made my first elastic skirt!

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298826745/

Pin Rating: 5

Last month I posted this photo of the a circle mini skirt that I made for the Color Me Rad and mentioned I was going to do a tutorial of it on the blog.  One month later and I'm sitting her writing my blogpost and I still don't have a blog tutorial!  I started making a Vine video as I was making my 2nd skirt and then realized I had made a mistake in my fabric measurements therefore throwing the whole video out the window.  So instead of holding off on this blogpost I decided to just post some photos of the finished product.  The original pin I gave a 5/5 pin rating so be sure to check out the original tutorial by Dana Made It.  She has great step by step instructions and even tells you how to make measurements for a pattern.  I did manage to make a vine on the pattern though, so enjoy it below!

As seen on my Instagram account.

Here's a head to toe shot.  I didn't really put on a dressy top, but thought this T-shirt was fitting. :)

Don't you just love the way the skirt ruffles at the bottom??

My Trip to JoAnn and What Should Be My Next Project?

My trip to JoAnn last week was a short but exciting one. If any of you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed I posted the add for 50% off Fiskars products during the Joann Labor Day sale and saying I was going to get it. Well, I did! I had to leave for a camping trip that afternoon so I made sure to go to JoAnn in the morning.

As soon as I stepped through the doors I couldn't help but notice the new spot for the licensed fabrics. Up front and plainly in sight. It definitely got my attention! I strolled through the aisle and was pretty giddy about what I saw so I snapped some photos because I really wanted to share with everyone the new selection of fabric that they had. I'm sure some of you may have already seen it since I'm not sure when the last time I was in JoAnn's was but I'm sure you can be excited about it again with me. :)

SDCC Highlights: Day 4

After almost a month since SDCC I'm finally posting my Day 4 highlights.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't take that many photos this day.  It might have to do with the fact that we spent the morning taking our time, loading the car, checking out of the hotel and then heading to the convention.  It's a little unconventional to dress us on Sunday, but since I spent all day Friday & Saturday in panels it didn't make sense to dress up then.  So here is my recap experience of Sunday at SDCC 2013.

 

Collage of silly photos in the parking lot so that I could upload it to Instagram.  My boyfriend decided last minute (1-2 week before the con) that he would also be dressing up so we got some nice action shots together.

Grabbing some free 5 hour energy from the parking lot.  He also decided to wear the Infinity Gauntlet that I made him last Christmas! 

Not too many people recognized me except one family dressed up as X-men characters who asked me to take a photo with her son dressed up as Wolverine & a fellow Jean Grey cosplayer.  I saw her while I was walking the floor and asked for a photo with her.  She was super excited and said we were like pokemon and she was the evolution of me.  That made my day.  :)

Thanos is angry that Cyclops got his Infinity Gauntlet!

Saw these girls while walking through the Sails Pavilion.  Can you name all of them?

Later that day I squatted through the Hawken panel to make sure I had a good seat for the Mouse Guard panel and it was pretty cool!  I don't have time to pick up game playing right now, but if I did I think I would be playing this!  

Model that they brought with them to show off.

After the Mouse Guard panel we went down to the Exhibit Hall to purchase a Mouse Guard replica Gold Axe which was tooooo cute.  ^_^  Then we went to the opposite side of the convention hall to find Vampy again to take a photo with her.  Since she was speaking at a panel it was easy to track her down.  We came late to the panel so we waited outside until the panel was over to have our photos taken with Vampy.  I consider myself super fortunate to have run into my cosplay idol twice during the convention, while in costume too!  After that our SDCC 2013 experience came to an end.

One thing that I must rant about is that during the Mouse Guard panel I had a couple sit down next me and the first thing I hear out of the girl's mouth was.  "Why are there so many people in this room?  I don't understand, it's just a comic book."  My jaw dropped...you're at a comic book convention!  Please please please don't refer to anything as just a comic book.  More and more folks make the trek out to Comic-con for a chance to see movie stars and forget what Comic-con is really all about.  Granted I also go for the movie stars in Hall H but I also love everything else about SDCC too.  For the most part everyone at comic con are really friendly and understand that everyone around you is in the same boat. We're all waiting in long lines, sitting in huge crowded rooms, cranky and tired.  But we're all also there to have fun and appreciate and respect the works of everyone in the comic book industry   So please be mindful and respectful when you're out there.  :)

Until next time SDCC!

Sew Your Own Sash Tutorial

My sister's coworker birthday was yesterday and she had asked me to help her make a birthday sash.  She wanted to add some lace to glam it up so I decided that I was going to sew a double layered sash.  I started looking on Pintrest for some tutorials on how to sew a sash, but it seemed like everyone was posting No-sew Sash tutorials and sew tutorials for dress sashes.  So I decided to make my own Sew Your Own Sash Tutorial.

What you'll need:

• 1 yard of fabric (36-38 inches wide) in their favorite color
• 4 yards of ribbon*
• Iron-On Alphabet*
• Sewing (Machines, needles, scissors etc.)

*An alternative for the ribbon is to get just 1 yards to cover the front sides of the sash only.  No need to cover the whole sash if you don't want to purchase 4 yards of ribbon.  I was lucky enough to buy a whole bag full of ribbon at SCRAP-SF for 50 cents! :)

*If you don't want to purchase Iron-On Alphabets, an alternative is to use fabric glue and glitter or fabric puff paint.

DIY My Little Pony Plush - Part 2

Here's part 2 of the DIY My Little Pony Plush post.  (Click here for Part 1)  Don't forget that the full instructions/tutorial can be found at the original source here.

When we last left off I just completed the head of the pony.  Next step is to complete the body.

You want to start by attaching the hoof (circle) to the underbody.  You will start by attaching the circle hoof at two points.  I took a little short cut because I didn't want to attach 2 points.

I pinned a needled into the 2nd point to hold it in place and started sewing at the first point.  That way I can have more flexibility to the half circle.

DIY Off the shoulder T-shirt

Pinspired by: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298132064/ & http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343296961753/

This blog post is a little different because I didn't actually follow any step by step blog tutorial from a pin.  This project was actually inspired when I was shopping and there was a really expensive shirt that I wanted to buy and just couldn't afford.  I decided to try my luck at making it and I think it was a success!  I looked over the two DIY t-shirt modified pins on pintrest and got a feel for how they converted their shirts and kind of experimented with it until I was satisfied with the look.  I hope you like the final result as much as I do!  I don't have the picture of the final shirt being worn since this is a gift but I'll make sure to get a final photo and post it later.

• Sewing machine & sewing stuff (needles, thread, scissors, fabric pencil optional)
• Cotton T-shirt 1 size larger than what you typically wear
• Ribbon

DIY Scrabble Pillow Case

Pillow will spell out "HOME"

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298484042/

Pin Rating: 5

Level of difficulty: Medium (basic sewing experience required)

Duration: 1 hr for pillow case + 15 minutes for lettering (For initial pillow case)

It seems as if all of my friends are either looking to buy a new home or have just received the keys to their new place.  Hats off to them!  This gives me plenty of opportunities to make them gifts for their new home.  I have a few friends who love Scrabble so when I saw this pin I knew I had to make it for their new homes.  I was a little worried at first since I never really worked with a zipper before when sewing, but when I found out this pillow case didn't need a zipper I was excited to get started right away.  Also, this pin is a little different since it's really pinned "For the Home" instead of DIY but I always have a DIY mentality so that's how I approached this pin.  (Also, I apologize since photos were taken with my phone since I didn't have the camera handy.)

If you don't feel like trying to make this yourself, I plan to put this up for sale at my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyPinspirational) after I complete the current set I am working on.  So please do keep an eye out for the pillow cases.

UPDATE:  Pillow cases are finally listed on my Etsy shop.  You can purchase a set of 4 here.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560993/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16-set-of-4

• 16x16 pillow (Purchased from Hobby Lobby.  Other sizes also available but this process is for a 16x16)
• Fabric - I purchsed Calico 100% cotton, color: Kona.  I found out that the fabric is 38 inches long which is perfect to cut up 1 pillow case.  
• You need 1 18x18 square and 1 square with at least 18 x 20 (added 2 inches for sewing room and additional 2 to fold the flaps in for cleaner backing) square which will become your pillow back
• When you purchase the fabric keep in mind how many pillows you are making
• For this case I found this rule to be a good rule of thumb: 2 pillows = at least 36in (1 yard) 
• Sewing items (pins/needles, scissors, measuring tape)
• Fabric chalk pencil - something that you can mark for measurements with and will wash off
• Fabric marker - to color in the lettering and it won't wash off
• Optional - small blade/knife & paper binding clips

DIY Marble Necklace

Did you miss me?  My boyfriend took a pretty bad spill on the tennis courts on Sunday so I've been making sure to be available for him in case he needed anything.  He's no longer bed ridden so things are slowing going back to their normal routine.  Hopefully I can also get a blog post up for tomorrow.  If not let's just hope next week I'll be back to my MWF posting schedule.

So, there's only 1 week left until Thanksgiving and I haven't done a single Thanksgiving related post!  Can you believe it?  I can't.  Where has November gone?  Maybe it's because the stores go directly from Halloween to Christmas and Thanksgiving doesn't really get much love.  Since everyone is gearing up for Christmas I decided to as well.  I decided this year for Christmas, seeing that I'm on an unemployed budget, I'm going to make Christmas gifts for my friends.  Since I have quite a few gifts to make I decided I have to start early,  especially since some of my friends live out of town and are visiting in early December so xmas gifts need to be ready to go in a couple of weeks!  I'll probably post a Thanksgiving post later next week when I actually have Thanksgiving dinner and use a recipe from Pintrest, but for now, let the Christmas crafting begin!

Also, friends and family who do read/follow my post I hope you're still surprised to see your gift when you get them since the blog post won't reveal who the gift is for.  :)

(Original pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298624586/)

Pin Rating: 3.5 (Keep in mind this is a pin rating and not a rating or the final product b/c I love the way it turned out)

Level of difficulty: Medium (If you don't already have sewing experience this may be a bit difficult)

• Marbles or Accent Gems (I picked some up at the Dollar Tree)
• Tulle or some sort of transparent/see through fabric (I used Organza since I had A LOT laying around)
• Sewing items (Sewing machine, pins, measuring tape, scissors, needle, thread, safety pin)
• Cute accent button