Simplicity 2593 - done...

At least the first reincarnation is done. In pink seersucker.























Next time around, I'll lengthen the top just a bit, and make the version with fancy sleeves. Mainly, after weeks of not sewing or crafting I just needed to make something.

Wedding shrug

The wedding may be over, but the usefulness of this garment isn't (at least until summer is gone).

I made this shrug from Liberty Lawn fabric (such a splurge, but so worth it), and it ended up matching my bouquet. The lining is Egyptian cotton; I cobbled some scraps together that I had leftover from the 2nd tunic dress I made.

I used the Amy Butler Lotus Tunic pattern (I chose this one because after tweaking the pattern it fits well and close to the body), but changed the front. I combined the two front panels and redrew my own front, which brought the front piece up to the shoulder/neck.

And the shrug in action:

Wedding bouquet ruffle cuff

I got this idea from an old issue of Martha Stewart Weddings.

And here it is in execution by me:


I made my bouquet and my maid of honor's bouquet for $20 by buying two live hydrangea plants (so I can plant them now) and cutting off the blossoms. I taped the stems up with floral tape, slid my ruffle cuff over and tied some ribbon on there and voila!



Thank you to D.Ticonderoga for the pic!

Wedding crafts - boutonnieres

I ordered some vintage flowers from Blumchen & Co., which I saw mentioned somewhere on a blog. I can't recall where. oops. The labels on the flowers are pretty fascinating - especially the old tag that says, "Made in Germany - Soviet Occupied".

I didn't like the flowers as they were enough to use them 'as is' for the boutonnieres. However, I knew that I wanted to make something ahead of time so that I won't have to worry about them as the wedding approaches.



I took all of the flowers apart and put them together as shown. I also inserted a beading pin with a loop on the back of the boutonniere so that it will be very easy to slip the corsage pin through and then attach to the suit lapel.

Gocco Wedding Invitations

I gocco'ed my wedding invitations. I made two designs that I drew myself, so invitees got one of two designs.

It took a few mistake tries to get it right, but I was pleased with the results once I got a good burn. My recommendation to people buying used goccos is to check the sponge/print pad. If it is compressing too much (ie the sponge is old) you won't get a crisp burn or print. I made a new print pad out of foam that I found at Orchard hardware.

I got all of the supplies from paper Source and lined my envelopes with some paper I found at another art store.

First batch of paper flowers and how I used them.

little paper butterflies

Super K lent me her M.S. butterfly paper punch. It's super cool. I made all of these:



I might try to attach them to some organza ribbon as a decoration, or maybe to wire and put them with the paper flowers. Not sure yet. If only there were bigger butterfly punches out there - like 2 or 3 inches! That would be neat. I searched though, and couldn't find any. The punch was a great way to use the scraps from the petal paper.