NoteBook Pot Holders 2

Alright so I didn't realize it had been so long since I have posted anything. I don't want to do that again so I hope I can stay on top of things. I'll have a lot of Christmas presents to post in the next month :)

With that being said, I wanted to show more of a project I am continuously working on for a client/friend. If you take a look back at the Notebook Potholders post you'll see two styles of potholders I created for Miranda of Inner Circle Photography (http://innercirclephotography.com/). She is so creative and loves to do unique things for her clients. These are just some different looks I made.

Her "colors" (what she uses on her website, logos, etc) play into the fabrics I choose. I'm lucky that she gives me creative freedom and I get to use all kinds of different fabrics and bindings.  Brown, teal, navy, and even pink can be incorporated into the style.

The front is a bleached cotton fabric with rows of blue and pink stitching to imitate the lines of a notebook. The names are hand embroidered (for anyone familiar with my handwriting it's pretty obvious). The back fabric is the different fabrics I get to choose. It also has a thermal-fabric layer to help keep your hands from getting hot.

Ok now that I feel better about myself, we'll leave it at that. Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for all of the presents I made!!!!

~JV

Floral Yellow/White/Grey Dress with Belt

The beginning of Septmeber, two college friends got married (to each other) and their reception was on his grandparents beautiful farm.

I decided to make a dress out of some floral fabric I had bought on a whim a couple months ago (good thing I bought enough). I thought the colors and design were perfect for their theme of the wedding. Although I don't usually go for big prints, I was drawn to the colors and how it isn't a dramatic big print (at least not in my eyes). I think it was on sale too, so that helps.

That pattern I used is one of my favorites, a Cynthia Rowley. I love that pockets were incorporated into the design and that you had an option to use a zipper or just create a keyhole in the back.

Front View

Side View: Pockets at Hips

Back View: Hook & Eye Closures, Creates Keyhole Opening

With Belt



Cynthia Rowley 2406 View D

I figure I should add a picture of me wearing it, since my last post had one. Might as well show it as I wear it :)

~JV

Blue Vintage Dress

A few weeks ago my sister's best friend had a wonderful wine and cheese party. The theme was Mad Men (the show) so we were all encouraged to dress accordingly. Of course I needed to make something so I searched through my mom's old patterns and found the perfect one. How appropriate that it is a vintage pattern for a vintage themed party.

McCalls 5811 (Old) View A

I wanted to find two fabrics that went well together but also different so that you'd be able to see the contrast. I went with the Casa Collection of fabrics because it had a selection of different materials in the same color, but they have different textures. I chose a shiny satin and a muted crepe. I also shortened the dress (makes it a little more modern) so I could wear it again if I wanted to.

I don't normally like to post pictures of myself, but the dress wouldn't fit on my dress form.

Plus, she had a photobooth set up and the pictures turned out wonderfully.

Miranda is such a great photographer. Make sure you check out her blog about the party. Notice the black dress with the sheer flowing sleeves? I made that as well :)
 Also, don't hesitate to check out all of her other wonderful photos!!!

http://innercirclephotography.com/2012/09/wine-and-cheese-party-ii/

~JV

Black and Teal Swirl Shirt

Last night I meant to take pictures of all of my new projects, so that I can post them for your viewing pleasure. But of course my sewing machine kept calling my name. I couldn't just leave it to feel lonely, so there's one more project I will have to add to my list of pictures to take.

For now, I'll show you a shirt that I had made a couple years ago, and wear quite often. I altered the pattern by eliminating the elastic around the waist, that way I could interchange belts. It's a black and teal swirl design. If I remember correctly, it was a fabric that I saw and bought a couple yards of, not knowing what I would use it for (which I do quite often).

Front and Back Views- Loose fit

Front and Back View with Thin Belt



Butterick Pattern 5496 View C

This is a great shirt to wear on any occasion. To work, for play, or just to look cute as you run errands. It's a light fabric to so it is pretty comfortable (just have to wear the right cami underneath).

~JV

Purple "Express" Vest

This is a post I've been sitting on for a while, and I decided (since I have to urge to post something) to share this one. Especially since I'm wearing it today :)

This is a project I worked on when I was in school. One of my classes gave us a team assignment to design a line of clothing for Express. In teams of 5, we had to create a cohesive collection of 10 articles of clothing (2 per person). It was a long project that we had to put a lot of work into, but it all turned out beautiful. We also had an end of the semester fashion show in which all of the teams, from each class, showcased their collections.

I created a pair of pants (that I wore for the show, we ended up rolling up the bottom) and a purple, button down vest. The pants are a gray linen with a zipper closure, belt loops, with pockets. The vest is a pretty simple design that hits just below the hips, with four buttons to close in the front.



Front View of Collection
All the ladies, besides the girl in the gray dress on the left, were part of the group
The last member found a model to wear one of her outfits



Side View of Collection

View of Vest with Complete Outfit

This vest is what I am wearing today. I love the color and simple design. I wear it quite often and love how many things I can pair it with

Front View- Open



Front View- Buttoned



Back View



It was such a fun project to work on. It was a little stressful at times (especially since I was the group leader), but the final look of the collection was something we were all happy with. It's definitely a memory I'll have forever.

~JV

Bridal Shower Apron

A couple weekends ago, I went to another bridal shower, this time for my sister's best friend. Two bridal showers in one month can be overwhelming (especially on the wallet). But it's all worth it when you see how happy the couple is with your gift, and with each other, of course :).

This shower gift was the one my sister had suggested I make for the wonderful bride-to-be. And I took that suggestion to make the first shower gift (check it out here) which was earlier in the month.

This one I wanted to go with a vintage look and incorporate some of her favorite colors. My first idea on how to choose the colors was to look at the registry. I ended up buying some Moroccan style bowls that were blue, yellow, and red, and used that as my inspiration. But of course I started to second guess myself as I was fabric shopping, so I asked my sister what colors to use. Wouldn't you know it, she said to go with something like an aqua blue and mustard yellow. Of course that matched the look of the bowls :)

I didn't want to make it matchy-matchy with the bowls, so I stuck with the colors but went with this beautiful floral/bird print fabric.  The yellow fabric is a floral print, and the blue has a textured tiling look to it. The pattern is for the lower half of the apron so again I decided to add a top half, with an adjustable strap. It also has a tie strap that you can create a bow in the front, or leave it in the back. The lower scalloped edges have buttons to hold them in place. The top four buttons are blue, and the bottom four are yellow.



Front View with Top Added
Adjustable Straps & Bow



Close Up View of Front, with Bow



Closer View of Front with Buttons (Yellow and Blue)



Side View with Bow



Tied up and ready to be wrapped

Simplicity 0384 View A

I really love how this one turned out. My favorite color is blue and I'm in love with all of the prints of the fabrics. I was tempted to keep it myself, but I don't do much in the kitchen :)

I know she loved it and now she has the perfect accessory to wear while making delicious appetizers :)

~JV

P.S. Sorry for the phone pictures, the boyfriend took the camera when I needed it most :)

Bridal Shower Gift Basket

Today's post is a quick one with a picture of the gift basket. Sorry for the phone picture, bad lighting and mess surrounding it, but somehow I forgot to take a picture with my camera. You can see the two bags, the tote bag and zip up bag, beneath the assortment of travel toiletries.

I enjoyed putting it together, although I had to use a lot of newspaper and tissue to keep everything placed just right. The only bad thing was when I was driving, the basket happened to fall over, so a last minute fix up was necessary.

~JV

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Zip Up Bag

This post is the zip up bag I had mentioned in the previous post (here). It's another bag I had made for a class I taught (here), but I decided again to make it bigger, to hold more things. It's got a zipper closure on both the top and the side.

I used the same fabric from the tote bag as the inside liner, and I had some textured blue fabric, from a previous bag I had made, for the outside. The blue fabric and purple zippers match perfectly with the colors in the floral fabric.



Full View: Zippers Closed

 

Full View: Un-Zipped



View of Inside of Bag

Since this was part of a "travel" basket, I thought this was perfect for carrying small items. It fits great in the tote bag too.

I'll post some pictures of the basket put together once I upload them (hopefully ASAP)

~JV

Edit: Here's the post with the picture of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Tote Bag

I was meaning to post this last week, but as always, life gets in the way. This is a continuation of the bridal shower post. As a bridesmaid, we were given the task of creating a basket for a prize. Of course I knew I wanted to make something, so I had to think about it a little. I decided to create a few bags for travel purposes. One was a tote bag (this post) and the other was a smaller bag with some zipper closures (next post) that you'd be able to put in the tote. Then I bought some travel size toiletries and put it all in a basket (I'll post pictures of that too).

Since I didn't want to spend a great deal of money on this basket, I decided to use extra fabric and notions that I had laying around. The tote almost has a "vintage" feel, first because of the print (which I love), but also it basically is vintage because my mom had the fabric for looong time. It's a pretty simple bag, with two straps, two pockets on the inside, a Velcro closure, and it's squared off at the bottom for a little more support.



Full View of Tote Bag



Showing both straps



The inside has a Velcro closure and pockets near the top on both sides, matching the outside fabric.

This bag is from a pattern that I used for one of the classes that I taught, so I have one pretty similar to it, just not as big (I'll have to post a picture of it soon). I use it all the time, so I hope whoever won it will do the same!

Look for the next post with the zip up bag that goes inside of it!

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the zip up bag
Zip Up Bag
And the post of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Bridal Shower Gift

This weekend was a busy one. On Saturday I had a full day of events for one of my best friends. She is getting married in October, and since she lives out of state, we threw her bridal shower and bacherlorette party on the same day.

When it came to her shower gift, I knew I wanted to be creative with it. I bought her a serving tray, utensil holder, and towels for her kitchen. With a little suggestion from my sister, I decided to make her an apron to go with the kitchen stuff I bought her. She's a neutral kind of girl so I based the fabrics off of that, but added a little pop of color to keep it fun. The pattern also was just a design for the lower half, so I had to add fabric to cover the top, with an adjustable strap. It also has darts to fit better around the bust.

 

Full View with bow tied at the front

 

View of side pocket
Button is decorative, pocket opens behind ruffle

The button is made from recycled materials, which is perfect for her. She is very environmentally friendly and conscious of what she does in that aspect. So I thought that was a nice personal touch.


Closer View of Front




Simplicity 0384 View B
Lower Half View



I enjoyed putting this together for her, and I know she appreciates a homemade gift :)

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the apron I had made for my sister in April, View C without a bodice
Floral Apron

New Job!

So it looks like I'm just barely making it to post something in June. But there's good reason for my lack of posts. I was recently hired part time at a bridal salon and that mixed with everything else has kept me pretty busy (although the past week I've put a few things together- I'll post soon). So this is just informative- no pictures :/ (but please keep reading)

I had done some alterations for a prom dress and gotten a call from my client the day of prom. My first thought was "Shoot, something is wrong with the dress and I have no time to fix it." But I was wrong, and very happy to be wrong. She had called to inform me that a friend of hers owned a bridal shop and they were looking for a seamstress to help with the overload of bridal alterations, due to some of their seamstresses being unable to work. How could I pass that up? So I had an interview, the owner willingly took me on, and I started the next week.

It's been a great experience so far, especially the feeling of having a couple extra grandmas. The ladies are Italian with the heavy accents and all. They switch back and forth between English and Italian all the time. I'm going to have to look into learning so I can make sure they aren't talking about me :) One of the first days I worked, I was actually fed by one of them, because my salad was the reason "I'm too skinny" (imagine that in an Italian accent).

The way I figure, even if this is just for this summer, I am getting great experience, an idea of how the bridal business works, and I've got some great stories. It has almost felt like an apprenticeship, or internship, where I've had women with 40+ combined years of experience in that shop to teach me what they know. I am so grateful for this opportunity and it doesn't hurt to get to look at beautiful gowns all day (I am getting lots of ideas too)

~JV

Notebook Pot Holders

At the end of the past few months I think to myself "I'm so glad this month is over. Next month will be much more relaxing." Let me tell you how wrong that is. It would be nice to have a little break, but I'm living the life of a freelance designer; there's always something to work on. I'm not complaining though, because I am so grateful for the opportunities coming my way.

I've just finished with a few major projects I've been working on, so now it's time to move on. Today's post is about some potholders I've made, and now will be my next project to continue working on. If you remember, I had made some a while back for myself (Check it out here). Those were a test run for the ones I made for a client/friend. Miranda of Inner Circle Photography (http://innercirclephotography.com/) asked me to make "Notebook Potholders" for her clients (how cool is she?!?). I happily obliged and set to work for two clients.

The front is a bleached cotton fabric with rows of blue and pink stitching to imitate the lines of a notebook. The names are hand embroidered (for anyone familiar with my handwriting it's pretty obvious). The back fabric is where you can get creative with your fabric choice. We went with fabric that matches her colors on the website. It also has a thermal-fabric layer to help keep your hands from getting hot.

Lana + John: Striped Fabric
Front View

Lana + John: Striped Fabric
Back View

JoJo + Matt Paisley Fabric
Front View

JoJo + Matt Paisley Fabric
Back View

Front View of Both Styles

Back View of Both Styles

I love these! Miranda has given me more names so I'm excited to shop around and see what other fabrics we can use. They are such a unique gift and it shows just how much Miranda cares for her clients (and how creative she is). 

If you want some potholders you may just have to get your picture taken :)

~JV

Purple Paisley Scarf

Today's post is about another scarf. I meant to post about it this weekend. That's because it was a gift for my grandma for Mother's Day. I've made scarves for so many other people that she told my mom she wanted one for herself. Of course I had to make one and it was the perfect opportunity to give it to her for Mother's Day.

My grandma's favorite color is purple and I found the perfect fabric in a paisley silk. I used a purple posh lining for the other side.

Full View- Posh Lining and Purple Paisley

Scarf wrapped twice around the neck

I gave my grandma the scarf early (on one of the hottest days we've had so far, ha) and I must say she loved it. It was an unexpected surprise, which I love.

~JV

Pink Polka-Dot Scarf

 Today's scarf is one I made for my sister for her birthday, which was right before my mom's birthday. I really should have posted this one before the last scarf I did. But no harm no foul right?

My sister loves the color pink so I thought this pink polka-dot fabric was perfect for her. It has so many colors that she can work with (and even said so when I gave it to her). The solid pink fabric is a satin lining.



Full View of Scarf- Pink Lining and Pink Polka Dot



Scarf wrapped twice around neck.



She is a fashionista so I can't wait to see what she'll pair this with :)

~JV