Rainbows & Burdastyle Dresses

Good Afternoon. :)
I spent the weekend making two nifty projects. I had many colors of felt and i decided to turn them into a rainbow! and i decided to turn that rainbow into a Pillow!

Result:

it’s about 12 inches wide, by 6 inches tall. :) just a cute little pillow. i actually broke one of my sewing machine needles on the many layers of felt. :( i need to purchase more soon!

The second project was WAY more in depth. The website Burdastyle.com has easily become one of my more visited sites. it’s amazing. There are tons of Cheap & FREE Patterns posted by fellow Crafters! You need an account to download the patterns, but its 100% free to join, and you can browse hundreds of photos, patterns, and How-tos and the Burdastyle Forum. :)

After browsing the free patterns (hehe).. I downloaded this one from the site. Called Maryy #6042. the original Dress “Hot Hot Heat” was posted HERE by a girl named Mary From Finland. Her profile is HERE.. Isn’t hers beautiful?. :D I guess with the language barrier, someone else had to make the pattern, and i’m sure glad they did.
I had about 2 yards of midnight blue fabric with little white stars, and some white fabric as well. i decided to use both! I printed the pattern from home, so i had to piece it together. it was pretty easy, i just wish i had more floor space!

i had to line up the numbered triangles on each paper. :) and tape like crazy!
After cutting out the pattern:

After cutting out the fabric pieces. one big front panel folded over, 1 big back panel folded over. 4 front pieces (doubled), and two back bands. i didn’t know how i wanted the straps to look, so i didn’t cut them out yet…

i skipped some photos in here. This is the bust part. It was done by sewing together 2 of the top pieces, then squeezing them together to form the center ruffle type thing. :) it was a long process, but it is simplified HERE.

i pinned together the front and back panels, and sewed down the right side. Then i pinned the white top to the bottom “skirt-like piece to form the whole dress:
And again i skipped some photos…. i sewed the top to the bottom piece, and cut two pieces of the blue star fabric for straps. I sewed the straps to the front and back where i wanted… and POOF!

Hahaha, ignore my face. :)

And a close up of the bust…

And there you have it. i promise to take more photos. i just got really excited to sew that i didn’t grab my camera at each part! It was relatively easy, i would use the simple instructions for the bust portion next time. my mom says the bust part looks, “like something my grandmother would wear”. i guess its the pinching in the center. i dunno.. i like it!

i have a BIG project I’m starting soon… Super excited to see how it comes out. it’s going to be a Christmas present for Ian. :) I bought some fabric at JoAnn Etc last night… so tonight… it BEGINS!

Take Care,
D

Zombie photos

These were from the “photoshoot” the other day. :) It was a neat time. DEADsperate Housewives of Rockland County was the theme Alex Picked. i had a fun time. :) We look like ubber idiots and i <3 it.

ricotta cheese and food coloring!

still not sure if she knew i was back there...

All Photos were taken by Alexandra Somma and are her property! (mine too! DO NOT STEAL! :) thank you.

IF: Skinny

Hard to believe women were required to wear such uncomfortable contraptions! Doesn’t stop me from wanting one. :)

Bunch of Projects!

So i’ve had a couple odd projects here and there that i finally got around to posting photos of.

:)

Project #1!
Ian bought me these fantastic coat racks from an Antique store in Tarrytown, NY. Not sure if they are really antiques, but they look neat! got them for $10!

They had a really cheap looking wooden back to them, so i decided to paint them all white. my impatience got to me.. so i didn’t sand the finish off, nor did i use the highest quality paints or paint brush for that matter. So the white came out terrible. i used old acrylic paints, and some old watercolors. haha.

Since i already messed them up, i figured i’d play around before sanding the entire thing back down and starting over. i think the result is cute. not perfect… but i wasnt really trying too hard anyway. i thought they were goners! it reminds me of like a folky bird design with a heart and polka dots. :) Still not sure if i love it, or if i will sand down, and start over.

Project #2!

Ian and i bought some pumpkins a while ago, and we only got around to carving them recently! Guess which one is mine.

HAHA! i’m sure you guessed correct! Mine is the goofy silly dorky pumpkin with the dumb grin. :) we cooked up the pumpkin seeds and have been eating them all month! These were big pumpkins!

Project #3
Early this week on monday i got the chance to do a Halloween themed photo-shoot with my friend Alexandra D. (model) and Alexandra S. (photographer). It was ALOT of fun just fooling around. Alex D picked the theme DEAD-sperate Housewives of Rockland County. i went with it. :) she was a beaten and battered women, and i was a zombie with a head wound. PHOTO!

More Blood was added after this photo. :)

We modeled with cleavers, and machetes, and dressed up all “vintagey-ish” haha. Stockings, heels, pencil skirts, cardigans.. :) we made “Brains” out of fake blood and Ricotta cheese. yuck! when i get the photos from Alex S. i’ll try and post some up! :) it was fun. Definitely got me in the mood for Halloween!

Finally Project #4!
My job is having a halloween party. and i wanted to re-make the Apple Crisp thing i made a few weeks ago. But since 2 other people are bringing Apple Pies, i wanted to Jazz mine up. i made the Same recipe. added a little less sugar, and a little more cinnamon, and then instead of the crust being all one color (regular tan crust) i dyed it with food coloring, and put it on in sections. its not the most appetizing thing, but OH WELL! now its more halloween themed! it looks neat in person, and tastes great! (i snuck a bite!) :)

Before cooking!

After cooking for about 30 min on 350 degrees. i sprinkled some more cinnamon sugar on top, but it knocked most off after taking the photo. it made it look weird. Its pretty vibrant! i LOVE food coloring. :)

So those are my odd projects here and there. :) i have many more in my head.. but we’ll see. :)

IF: Fast

i always wanted a bike like this.

Love the color. :)

IF: Frozen

Frozen Friends. :)

I really really want the winter to be here. Sledding and snowmen! I love Fall, but winter activities are the best! Call me crazy, but i love driving in the snow. :)

Todays Outfit

I got bored and decided to illustrate what i am wearing today. :)

:)

Dress- H&M
Sweater – Forever 21
Hat – Target (of all places)
Boots- Walmart (ha!)

Apple Crisp Casserole?

Goodmorning.
This will be my first Recipe Post. i’m trying to bake more! So Friday night a decided to make an old fashioned Apple Crisp. The recipe is out of a cookbook from 1963 my boyfriend got for me on Vacation. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
4 cups apples
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
about 1/2 cup of butter

and i added about 1/4 cup of Apple Cranberry butter i got at a local Orchard. :) yummy!

i chopped up the apples (4 cups was about 3 medium sized apples). 2 Empire Apples, and 1 macintosh. :)

Put the VERY over-chopped (too small) apples in a large tray/glass dish (i wrote fish at first haha) about 10×6.
Added the 1/4 cup water to the bottom, and then i threw the Apple Cranberry butter on top.

Then i prepared the topping!

In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, cinnamon, sugar and butter.
“Mix until topping resembles coarse crumbles”.
(i mixed mine too much and it made the texture very much like a sticky dough… could’ve been too much butter too)

Sprinkle (or Spread in my case) the topping over the apples and top with more cinnamon or sugar if desired. i put on both! :) Then pop it in the oven for 40 min on 350 degrees (or until apples are tender). :) mine only went for about 25 minutes because i chopped up my apples really small, so they got softer faster.. just keep pokin’ at em!

WORST PICTURE EVER. sorry for the quality. camera died.. only had my cell phone.

When it came out of the oven it looked like apple pie casserole! SO GOOD! but not really a “crisp”. :)

Tips for myself next time… larger pieces of apples, and less butter and less mixing for the topping. :)

IF: Pattern

The ‘Corporate Robot’ Pattern of Life.

I have a desk job, though i wish i didnt! :)

Illustration for Rebecca. :)

i started working on this a couple weeks ago, but my friend Rebecca is sick, so i put it into overdrive and finished today!

Hope you like it, Rebecca, and it makes you feel better! even a little bit! :)

(click to enlarge)

I added all the jewelry i associate with you wearing. look at the earrings!

[JEFF ILLUSTRATION COMING SOON.. hehe)