Have you heard of Etsy.com yet?? If you haven't, you should go check it out asap!!! Etsy.com is an awesome website where people can go and sale handmade stuff and create online shops. It's easy, simple, and so fun to see what creative ideas other people have and what they've learned to make. Go check out Etsy.com and my shop "Ideality" and see what you can find!
The aprons that I posted below are being sold there, if you don't want to make them yourself, along with other peacock accessories that I have made for my wedding, but want others to see too!
Go to: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ideality?ref=si_shop
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
Fancy Schmancy Aprons
Alrighty, so for those of you who don't know, I am getting married in December... I know, it's a long ways away. Luckily, though, thanks to it being a long ways away, I have plenty of time to get all of the preparations made. My fiance and I are getting married at Timpanogos temple, woohoo! And then having a reception at our stake center.
Somehow our colors just kind of fell into place and I love them. We are doing a peacock "themed" wedding. Well, it's not really themed, but our colors are the turquoise and teal green of peacock feathers plus there will be some peacock feathers. Holy cow, I did not know how pretty these feathers were until I saw them in real life.
For the reception, we are going to have our neices be little bus girls and clear the tables as people leave. To make it more fun, we are making them each cute aprons in our colors... on an adult it might look like a french maid haha, but for little girls they are super cute!
LACEY APRONS:
FOR EACH APRON YOU WILL NEED:
- 1 Apron Skirt (25 X 13 1/2 inches)
- 1 Belt (4 X 15 inches)
- 2 Ties (2 3/4 X 22 inches)
#1: The first step is to make your own patterns. On a roll of newsprint, cut out your desired sized aprons. The apron size we used was 25 X 13 1/2 inches at the center. When you cut it, round the edges and make it like 1/2 an inch larger than you want it to look so that you can hem it later. About 1/3 of the way in from both sides on the top, gradually dip the pattern down about 1 1/2- 2 inches. This makes a spot for the belt which we will make later.
You also will need to make patterns for the belt and the ties using the measurements above.
#2: Once you have made your pattern, pin it onto your fabric and then cut around the pattern.
They should look like this when they're done.
#3: Next, you will want to hem the edges of all of your pieces of fabric so that they don't fray. Some sewing machines have an automatic pressure foot that can do this and it makes it way easier, or you can just do it normally with a sewing machine. Pull the hem in a few centimeters to hem, it doesn't need to be big. After all of your pieces are hemmed, pin the lace onto the skirt. Start at the top right, just after the dip where the belt goes. Pin it right along with the hem, making sure that there are no gaps to where it is pinned.
#4: Go ahead and sew all of the lace on.
#5: The Belt and ties need to be ironed before you sew them on, just to make sure that they are straight and crisp.
The belt, you will want to iron out flat, fold in half and then iron it again so that it stays folded in the "hotdog" form. Each tie you will want to iron out flat and then fold the tips in to make a point and iron those flat so that they stay. (In the final picture, you can see what the ties and belt look like).
You will want to sew the outside edge of the tie down first so that it doesn't poke out away from the belt (It's weird, but ironing just isn't enough to hold it down ;))
Sew the belt on first, having pinned it to the skirt. The lace edges should poke inside of the belt. DO NOT SEW THOSE EDGES CLOSED! Make sure that when the bottom edge of the belt is pinned on, the back side of it has been caught in the pin too.
After the belt has been sewed on, scrunch the end of the tie that does not have the point on it and sew it so that it is more narrow. These will then be slid inside of the belt on the two ends that you left open. (Aren't you glad you left them open now? haha). After you have slid the tie in, you will sew back and forth vertically across the belt, the tie is inside. Voila! You have a cute fancy schmancy apron!
Somehow our colors just kind of fell into place and I love them. We are doing a peacock "themed" wedding. Well, it's not really themed, but our colors are the turquoise and teal green of peacock feathers plus there will be some peacock feathers. Holy cow, I did not know how pretty these feathers were until I saw them in real life.
For the reception, we are going to have our neices be little bus girls and clear the tables as people leave. To make it more fun, we are making them each cute aprons in our colors... on an adult it might look like a french maid haha, but for little girls they are super cute!
LACEY APRONS:
FOR EACH APRON YOU WILL NEED:
- 1 Apron Skirt (25 X 13 1/2 inches)
- 1 Belt (4 X 15 inches)
- 2 Ties (2 3/4 X 22 inches)
#1: The first step is to make your own patterns. On a roll of newsprint, cut out your desired sized aprons. The apron size we used was 25 X 13 1/2 inches at the center. When you cut it, round the edges and make it like 1/2 an inch larger than you want it to look so that you can hem it later. About 1/3 of the way in from both sides on the top, gradually dip the pattern down about 1 1/2- 2 inches. This makes a spot for the belt which we will make later.
#2: Once you have made your pattern, pin it onto your fabric and then cut around the pattern.
They should look like this when they're done.
#3: Next, you will want to hem the edges of all of your pieces of fabric so that they don't fray. Some sewing machines have an automatic pressure foot that can do this and it makes it way easier, or you can just do it normally with a sewing machine. Pull the hem in a few centimeters to hem, it doesn't need to be big. After all of your pieces are hemmed, pin the lace onto the skirt. Start at the top right, just after the dip where the belt goes. Pin it right along with the hem, making sure that there are no gaps to where it is pinned.
#4: Go ahead and sew all of the lace on.
#5: The Belt and ties need to be ironed before you sew them on, just to make sure that they are straight and crisp.
The belt, you will want to iron out flat, fold in half and then iron it again so that it stays folded in the "hotdog" form. Each tie you will want to iron out flat and then fold the tips in to make a point and iron those flat so that they stay. (In the final picture, you can see what the ties and belt look like).
You will want to sew the outside edge of the tie down first so that it doesn't poke out away from the belt (It's weird, but ironing just isn't enough to hold it down ;))
Sew the belt on first, having pinned it to the skirt. The lace edges should poke inside of the belt. DO NOT SEW THOSE EDGES CLOSED! Make sure that when the bottom edge of the belt is pinned on, the back side of it has been caught in the pin too.
After the belt has been sewed on, scrunch the end of the tie that does not have the point on it and sew it so that it is more narrow. These will then be slid inside of the belt on the two ends that you left open. (Aren't you glad you left them open now? haha). After you have slid the tie in, you will sew back and forth vertically across the belt, the tie is inside. Voila! You have a cute fancy schmancy apron!
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Aspired Writing
On my way to forever, I will become a published author. This blog will actually focus a lot on my goals and things going on in my life as an author, a newlywed, and other things that come up in life. They all make up my "forever" and hopefully there will be good advice in here for you guys!
It has so far taken me about 5 years of writing, re-writing, editing, re-writing again, editing again ... and so on of my first novel. I began writing this 64,000 word novel when I was 16. It all started with a day dream of someone traveling through time that I just could not get out of my head. I decided that I should write the idea down and it flowed into a story on its own.
I have had a ton of people read this book and review it for me. I am really grateful to all of these people and you better believe that the book would not be the same without their comments and criticisms. (Can you believe that the first draft had cannibalism in it?! Haha, thank you to Alyssa, Kristy, and Sharon for kicking that part out early!). Those who have read it are a mixture of every group out there. I've had young adults read it, male and female, I have had women in their late 20's and early 30's read it. Women older than 65 have even read it and enjoyed it, although my grandma told me that it gave her nightmares... that could be good. At least that means that the story has the potential to really envelope the reader.
I am really psyched though! After attending many different writer's conferences, including Rhemalda Publishings "Got Stories?" conference in June 2012, I figured that I really need a published author to take a look at my work and give me an idea of how it stands compared to the work being published by actual companies. Either that or join a writers' group, but I have no idea how to find one so I am sticking with the first option.
Fortunately, networking is everything when it comes to selling yourself and ultimately selling your novel. My dentist happens to have published a novel recently and agreed to review my manuscript and give me feedback!!! I'm way stoked! Most companies who I have sent my manuscript to, which have declined me, don't bother to say why... not all that helpful.
I am not published yet, but for any future writers out there, let me share with you what I have learned:
1. Don't be fooled by self-publishing. They require that you pretty much do all of the work. You have to market, you pay them before you ever see a penny, you are betting on yourself to be the next best-seller. You definitely have to believe in yourself, but a self-publisher will publish your book even if they don't think it is going to sell very much because they are making money off of printing your book regardless.
2. Always be refining your writing skills. When you are in between writing projects, always be writing! Whether it is your journal, a blog, short stories, whatever-- don't stop writing.
3. Go to Writer's Conferences. Some people find them boring, but if you are serious about becoming a better writer, these are the most helpful aid out there. Most publishing companies hold these conferences for free. You get to learn tips and tricks from publishers & published authors. You get to meet these published authors as well as network with other aspiring writers. Plus, there is usually food... who can turn that down? ;) haha.
4. Let people read your writing. It was a long time before I actually let people read my novel. I was afraid that if I let everyone read it, then no one would want to buy it if I got published. The thing is, there is like 60 billion people in this world. The small group you let read it, isn't going to be the only ones who do. If people don't read it, then you're going to have a hard time making it better. Other people can catch mistakes and plot holes that you miss.
Any questions? Please leave comments!!!
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