Sew What: How I Learned to Sew

I've always considered myself to be fashion-forward.  One of my favorite things to do when I was a little girl was play dress-up.  I had like 394 Barbies with about a bajillion different outfits, shoes, and accessory combinations.  Don't even get me started on those fashion plate toys!  I was constantly running out of paper to put my designs and combinations on.

I was seven by the time my sister was born, so I had to force my brothers to be my mannequins while I fitted them with dresses, scarves, strands of pearls, even clip-on earrings!  I was always looking for new ways to style my clothes and I was never one to go to school with just a t-shirt and shorts.  I was constantly DIYing and upcycling items to make something different.  Some things were a hit, while others were a fail.  It was a learning process and I loved every bit of it.

It wasn't until high school when I got my first sewing machine.  It was an old machine on a wooden table that was too large and too heavy to fit anywhere besides the corner of our dining room.  I was so excited when I got it as it had belonged to one of my grandmother's best friends.  I planned to create a whole collection, sell it, and become the next Coco Chanel.

Unfortunately, I had no clue what I was doing.  There's a huge difference between putting two clothing items together and creating something entirely from scratch.  I had no time to take sewing lessons as I was already juggling school, paddling, and driving lessons.  And, unlike today, the internet didn't have as much information readily available back then.  So I gave up.

It wasn't until about March 2012 when I got a new machine and started sewing again.  I used it to sew a few hobby horse heads for Chloe's 4th birthday and then used it on and off for the next few years making simple little projects for the kids, mending holes, hemming, etc.  All that time I still had no idea what I was doing, didn't really know the terminology, and didn't even read through the whole manual of my machine.

This year, my goals were to learn more so I could do more, and do it better.  Thanks to Amber at Crazy Little Projects, I've pretty much accomplished that goal in just 6 weeks.  Through her Learn to Sew series, I learned and practiced and put those lessons to use in projects that I'm actually really proud to show off, unlike my older projects.  Never have I ever learned this much or had as much fun as going through this series.  All of the lessons and resources are in one place, from getting to know your machine to tips on how to buy fabric.

The past six weeks have been so fun and I've created so much thanks to the knowledge and confidence I've gained from learning things the right way.  I really cannot thank Amber enough for sharing these lessons and tips, and providing encouragement throughout!  I HIGHLY recommend that you start with her Learn to Sew series if you're interested in getting started.

Here's what I made thanks to Amber's series:

Lesson 1:  Sew a Straight Line.

Lesson 2:  Zig-zag Stitch.

Lesson 3:  Turning and Top Stitching.

Lesson 4:  Adding Elastic.

Lesson 5:  How to Sew a Zipper.

Lesson 6:  How to Sew Ruffles, Buttonholes, and Applique.

Not bad for 6 weeks, huh?  I'm extremely proud of myself about that last project since it is the first project I have ever done where I bought and followed an actual pattern with instructions.  It was very intimidating and tedious to follow it exactly the way it's supposed to be, but the outcome is pretty amazing.  Chloe absolutely loves it so I know that I'll be punching out more of those dresses in different colors and patterns soon.

And, in case you couldn't tell from the title, I'm going to do this little "Sew What" series to document all that I'm making (and hopefully, eventually selling) and to share tutorials, resources, and tips I've found helpful, just in case you're interested in all this sewing/crafting biz like I am.  If not, that's fine too, but thanks for reading and supporting anyway!

#learntosew Project No. 3 & 4

This is going up a couple weeks late, I know.  The past few weeks have been extremely hectic at work.  And when I mean extremely, I mean I've been working every single day, including several hours on the weekends.  I racked up a little over 92 hours last pay period.  Yeah.

I figured I might as well post my projects anyway, especially since a lot of you have expressed your interest in sewing so hopefully these posts inspire you to start learning how to sew as well!

Week 3's lesson was Turning and Top Stitching.  Basically, it's when you sew something inside out and then turn it the right way and go over the edges with a straight stitch.  Top stitching really makes a world of difference in the appearance of your finished product, trust me.

For the project, I decided to sew this linen bucket bag but used an old belt as the strap, since I couldn't find any leather supplies nearby.  Love how well it turned out and how simple it was to make.

Week 4 was How to Insert Elastic.  It's basically creating a hem and stringing your elastic through and then closing the hem.  I've used elastic in several projects already so this one was pretty simple for me.

I had more of the pineapple print fabric from the bucket bag so I made myself a pair of cute little tulip-style pom-pom shorts.  I made up the pattern myself so I ran into several bumps along the way and had to whip out my seam ripper a few times, but it turned out okay.  And I'm glad that I attempted it so I know what NOT to do for the next pair I make.

Oh, and here's another project I whipped together in the last couple weeks.  Figured I might as well give leggings and a sports bra a shot, especially since I'll be working out more this month.  It turned out pretty okay, my machine's tension was acting up so it was a bit wonky as the fabric started gathering a bit, but it really isn't noticeable at all so whatevs.

What have you been creating?  Have you decided to start sewing yet?  What are you waiting for?!

#learntosew Project No. 2

Last week's lesson from Crazy Little Projects was the Zigzag Stitch and I knew right away what I wanted to make for my project that week:  spandex shorts for my cross-country/volleyball/soccer/basketball player, Aniyah!  I used a 4-way-stretch spandex material and it was kind of difficult to work with but it was great practice for me, especially since I know I'll be making a lot more of these shorts in the very near future.

I learned a lot about how to adjust the stitch to make the zigzags wider, shorter, longer, narrower, etc. so I actually put together two more little projects this week using a zigzag stitch.

Not bad, huh?  Working with lace was a bitch, but these things were seriously so simple to put together so of course I want to make them in ALL THE COLORS.  I mean, it'd be wrong not to, right?  Maybe once I get a few more of these babies done, I'll post a tutorial?  Yes?  No?  Maybe so?

Anyway.

This week's lesson is Turning and Topstitching and I bought some reallllllllly cute pineapple print linen over the weekend that I want to use to make a variation of this linen bucket bag so I'm excited to get it put together.

We're almost to the end of January and I think I'm doing pretty good with my goals as far as learning and creating go.  I've also told myself that I'll start working out again but I haven't really gotten around to doing much of that.  I will note that I have been doing yoga every morning (read: every morning that isn't a weekend or holiday) for the past week and I'm so happy that I'm getting back into that.  Baby steps, right?

So what have you been up to for the past week?  How are you on your goals for this month?  Have you dropped any of those 2016 goals/resolutions yet?  Have you added new ones to your list?

#learntosew Project No. 1

I've always had a habit of taking on too much when it comes to things I'm passionate about.  When I plan a party, it's like I might as well be planning it for the President because it's so extravagant.  In my mind, of course.  When I take my big ideas and try to put them into action, they don't always work out the way I planned (too expensive, impractical, can't find a tiger for rent, etc.).  My hyper-motivation is the same for everything I get involved in.  I really just can't help myself when I get excited about something.

Last year, I had high hopes of creating my own handmade bikini line, good enough to sell to actual people for actual money, not just family members looking for a freebie.  Though it is still a goal of mine, I've learned a lot last year about what I am and am not capable of, and that I still have a lot of learning and practicing to do before I can reach that goal.

This year, I've decided to take up a few online courses and join in some challenges to learn, practice, and perfect my sewing skills to help me get comfortable and be confident enough to take on more complicated projects (like a super strappy bikini top) and complete them successfully.  One of the challenges I'm participating in is the Learn to Sew 2016 series by Crazy Little Projects.  The series is 7 weeks long, with a new lesson and project (you pick what you want to make) to complete each week.

Basically, this is me telling you that I'll be posting my completed projects on here for a while.  Deal with it.

Lesson 1 was How to Sew a Straight Line.  And while it may seem like a pretty basic thing to do, I actually learned a few things from it and was amazed at how well my lines on my project turned out.  I did make one mistake (the strap seams are facing out instead of in), but it's hardly noticeable (okay, it is noticeable in that picture) when it's used so I'm okay with it.

For my project, I chose to make a basic tote bag.  Obviously.  I used some leopard (fyi, I googled "leopard vs cheetah print" just to be sure) canvas fabric that I had purchased locally a couple months ago for the outside and made the hot pink lining from an old, unused pillowcase.  Note:  We buy those bed sets that come with everything BUT the fitted (mattress) sheet, and of course you can't get a fitted sheet unless you purchase the whole sheet set (fitted, flat, and two pillowcases) so I make as much use out of that extra fabric as I can.  This was a pretty simple project and didn't require a pattern so I finished it in about an hour or two (including girl scout cookie breaks, of course).

Lesson 2 is the Zigzag Stitch, which is another basic stitch that can be used in so many projects.  Luckily, I already have a project idea in mind and controlled my hyper-motivation so it's something that I'm confident I can accomplish.

What projects do you have planned this year?  Have you ever taken on a project that turned out to be too much for you?  Did you ever need to reset yourself and go back to the basics?

P.S.  There are still 6 more projects and lessons to go, so you can still join in on the series!

Get Creative with Creativebug! [one month free pass]

I've posted about Creativebug a few times here and there but I'm not sure how many of you have actually subscribed to it or even clicked over to check it out.  It's all good, no pressure.

I know most of you readers are cheap asses like me who try NOT to pay for something unless it's an absolute necessity and hopefully that's why we get along so well.  That being said, I'd like to offer you ONE MONTH FREE access to Creativebug!  Really, it's free.  Just click the link below to sign up and start creating!  No gimmicks.  Enjoy!

Getting Creative with Creativebug!

Okay, so I've been holding out on you guys for the past month or so.  Remember how I was complaining about being stuck in a creative rut because July was soooo crazy?  Anyway, the gang at Creativebug helped me out.

What is Creativebug, you ask?  Creativebug is your one-stop site for all things creative!  Okay, duh, right?

Let me put it this way:  You know how you see all those cool crafts and DIY projects on blogs and Pinterest and you say to yourself, "I want to do that!"  And then you realize that you don't know the first thing about paper crafts or crotchet or sewing and you don't have the time to go to some class to learn how to do it because you have a billion other things going on in your life.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  Good.  That's where Creativebug comes in.

Creativebug is a website full of lessons, tutorials, and work along projects for you to do at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home.  Pants are totally optional.  Paper crafts, sewing, knitting, painting, kids crafts, even jewelry making!  It's like the holy grail of crafting.

Here are a few photos of some of my favorite projects (that I'm also planning on doing):

Colorful Abstract Painting

Lazy Days Skirt

Paper Peony

Oh, and you see this:

Crochet Rag Rug

Yeah, I already started working on one of my own.  I had NO crochet experience at all and look what I was able to whip up in just a couple hours:

BOOM.

The best thing (in my opinion) about Creativebug and what sets them apart from random tutorials on YouTube or Pinterest is that all of their videos are broken down into chapters, the quality of the videos are very professional, they provide you with a full and complete list of materials needed, and the instructors are knowledgeable and accessible in case you have any questions regarding a project!

You can either choose a monthly subscription of $9.95 to get access to all of the different classes (best value, of course) or you can just purchase the classes you want.  In my opinion, you really can't go wrong with the monthly subscription.  I mean, $10 for a month's worth of creativity?  Fo' sho.

Now I know you want to check it out, so what are you waiting for?  They've got a bunch of free classes you can try out as well as a 14-day free trial!  Go on, you know you want to.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Splurge or Save?

It's no secret that I'm a stereotypical "cheap Asian".  Why spend money on something that you can make/do yourself?  I'm always looking for the best bargain when it comes to spending money - yes, I use different email accounts to get the "___% off your first purchase" deals as many times as I can.  Don't judge me.

I like to think of myself as a pretty legit DIYer - I usually scour Pinterest for inspiration and tutorials before I go out and purchase anything.  I even found a recipe for fabric softener that I'm going to put to the test today.  The only area of exception to my cheap-ass ways are beauty products and treatments.  Beauty DIY is pretty much hit or miss.  Some things you can cut corners on, and some things are better left to the professionals.

Brow Grooming: SAVE.  I've always done my own brow grooming ever since I can remember.  I’ve never paid anyone to do them for me – why spend $20 when you can just pull out a pair of tweezers and scissors and go at it?  I’ll admit that I’ve made my fair share of mistakes in the past, but nothing that didn’t grow back or was easily filled-in.

Brow Products:  SPLURGE.  When you groom your own brows, it’s important to find brow products to fulfill your needs.  My current splurge-worthy brow products are: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Express Kit, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Genius, and Makeup Forever Aqua Brow (review post here).

Eye Shadow: SAVE.  I used to be a MAC whore-der back in the day.  I was young and wild and free, so of course I fell for the glitz and glam of the MAC brand.  The colors were vibrant, the packaging was so chic, and going to the MAC store was like getting into some exclusive club.  As I got older and started having my own bills to pay, I realized that I was just feeding in to all the hype.  Thankfully, since going on a Coastal Scents binge a couple years back, I’ve not only made my inner “cheap Asian” happy, but I’ve also got my eyeshadow cravings covered for-like-EVER with the 252 Ultimate Palette.

Eye Lashes: SPLURGE.  My favorite product, in the whole wide world is mascara.  It is a miracle worker.  Long, full lashes make the world of difference on even the plainest of faces.  I’ve gotten eyelash extensions before and loved them.  I’ve even splurged a little on serums and primers to boost my lash growth and length.  If you splurge on nothing else, let it be your lashes.

Hair Care:  SAVE.  I’m not a big hair geek so I save lots by not buying all sorts of different products.  I wash my hair every other day and barely even bother to brush it most days.  As far as deep conditioning and all that goes, I DIY those every so often when the whim strikes me – which isn’t very often.

Hair Dye:  SPLURGE.  Once in a great while I’ll get the urge to dye my hair.  Last time was a few years ago when I got a full head of highlights – it cost me $200.  Yup.  And though I’ve tried to dye/bleach/highlight my own hair before, it still never turns out like that girl on the box.  So unless I’m going darker, I’ll spend the extra money and take this mass of hair to the salon.

Skin Care:  SPLURGE.  I don’t take my chances on DIY skin care products.  My skin can get pretty crazy and I’m not about to do some trial and error on my face.  I’ll stick with the store-bought products on this one.

Nails:  SAVE.  I’m a girly-girl at heart, but the one thing I haven’t done in a LONG time is go to the nail salon.  Sorry, but I’m not a fan of sitting in a chair getting high off of paint fumes while people talk about me in a foreign language.  Besides, the polish either chips off within 2 days or is a bitch to take off if it’s fake.  #aintnobodygottimeforthat

Hair Removal: ???  Okay, this one’s a biggie and pretty much the main reason I wrote this post today.  I’ve been wanting to try waxing for some time now.  I’ve tried sugaring before with pretty good results but I’ve wanted to try a real wax.  Last night, I did it.  I bought the Sally Hansen Spa Wax Hair Removal Kit.  I only did the bottom half of my legs just to try it out and while the first leg went well, the second leg was horrendous.  I did everything the same, according to the directions, but for some reason, one section of my leg did not want to cooperate.  Basically, I ripped my own skin off.  The whole process was very messy and I’m hesitant on trying it again.  Perhaps this is more of a professional thing.

What about you?  What do you splurge on?  What do you do yourself?  Have you ever waxed yourself?  Why are white people “frugal” but Asians are “cheap”?

A Little Love + #iknowican

Happy Valentine's day biatches!  Thanks for all your supportive comments on my Debbie-Downer post yesterday.  I love you all, but it's nice to know that you're all feeling as shitty as I am right now!

Anyway, after listing all the things that I couldn't bring myself to do, I decided to try and turn things around with some link love and a list of shit that #iknowican do this weekend.  Hopefully these positive vibes can carry on into next week as well...

This post about perception vs. reality really made my day.  >>

Amazing Hawai'i inspired wrapping paper designed by an awesome local Hawaiian artist.  >>

I dumped my stuff on another blog the other day.  >>

I'm whoring it up on every frikken post on this blog during February.  >>

My BBFF's birthday is coming up and she's caught the Debbie-Downer bug too.  Help me cheer her up!  >>

Tomorrow ends my whore parade on Kat's blog - if you don't already follow her, the fuck are you waiting for?!  >>

And now on to the #iknowican list for this weekend:

#iknowican get back on track with my fitness and running programs.

#iknowican organize the girls room and make it more functional for them.

#iknowican repaint the living room and make it more cheery.

#iknowican clean out my closet and list more things to sell on Poshmark.

#iknowican get some draft posts together in case I have another #icant moment.

#iknowican get my packages together to send out to some wonderful people.

#iknowican make the most out of my weekend by enjoying it with the people I love the most.

And speaking of people I love the most, this just came in for me:

I wasn't lying when I said we weren't "valentine's day" kinda people.  This is literally the FIRST time I've ever gotten flowers from Joey since our first v-day as a couple.  I'm not even gonna lie - our first valentine's day was the ONLY time Joey's ever given me flowers.  Like EVER.

I literally called the receptionist a liar when she told me there were flowers at the front for me.  That's how much I was NOT expecting anything - let alone a gigantic sculpture of flowers - on valentine's day.  I'm definitely not complaining though.

I hope you all have a wonderful valentine's day and an even better weekend - hopefully filled with lots of sex!  Annndddd...before I go, I've got ONE more card to share with you.  Just for shits and giggles.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT

Click, print, and share.  Have a great weekend biatches!

I Love Your... [free printable]

I warned you last time that it was only gonna get dirtier, so all you prudes can just leave right now.  I am the type of person who is completely comfortable talking about sex to anyone.  Everyone does it - even our parents (vom!) got down and dirty to create some pretty spectacular humans such as ourselves.  That's life people, deal with it!

Anyway, it's no secret that I love to joke around about everything and sex is just another topic in my joke book.  Because when you really think about it, sex is kinda gross.  And what's the best way to get over how gross/painful/weird something is?  Laugh about it.

With that said, here is today's free printable card:

 CLICK ME TO DOWNLOAD

See?  Laugh and get over it.  Easy, right?  Good.  Now doesn't that make you just wanna go out and get a bucket of chicken from KFC?  No?  Fine then.

A few notes on this one:  Google Drive is being a bitch and keeps flipping the images around so I had to use Dropbox to share this one.  Just click the link and hit download and you can either save or just open it and print.  And don't forget to print this double-sided!!

Enjoy!

Utensils [free printable]

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was a little more excited than usual about Valentine's Day this year.  Maybe it's because this is our first V-day since our engagement.  Maybe it's because we're both so busy working that we don't have much time for romance anymore.  Or maybe there's just no real reason at all and I should just stfu because it's about damn time I start getting into the season...

Anyway.

So all my Twitter followers got a heads up yesterday on the epic-ness that was about to go down around here.

Well guess what bitches?  Congratulations, you're getting one free printable card from me today!  And I've got a few more up my sleeve so make sure to check back later (maybe even tomorrow) to see what else I come up with.

CLICK ME TO PRINT

I'm hoping that link up there works for you guys.  The file is in Microsoft Word format so hopefully everyone can access it.  I wasn't really sure how to go about posting a file to share so if you come across any problems, please let me know and I can just email the file to you.  Or, if you can give me some tips on how to share a downloadable file on a webpage, please help me out!  And I'll try to convert it to PDF format later this evening so maybe that will be easier to just click and print??  Idk.  I'm new at this file sharing thing so please just deal with it for now.

Thanks so much and I hope you like the card!  Have fun forking around!

P.S. In case you haven't noticed, we take things lightly around here.  If you're offended by this card then please ignore the ones I'll be posting in the near future.  We're about to get raunchy up in hurr.

Christmas Craft: Salt Dough Ornaments

Alright, so it's starting to get a little more Christmas-y in the Duckie household.  We finally got a tree on Friday night and Aniyah and I got to put it up on Saturday.  Note: Joey got the tree Friday night and he and my brother put it in the tree stand, but apparently the two of them think that just because the tree isn't touching the ground it's okay if it's crooked - it was pretty much at a 45° angle, hanging on for dear life against the front windows.  No joke.

Once the tree was set up properly, we pulled out the ornaments and decorations but the kids started griping about it.  "Why do we have to use the same stuff as last year?", and "Ooh, can we go buy new decorations?  Pleeeeeeease??", to which I sweetly replied, "Okay, let's just spend all our money on new decorations and ornaments and lights and everything else so that we don't have any money left to buy presents!!"  They changed their minds.

But since I'm not a total bitch, I agreed to put away last year's ornaments and asked them what kind of "theme" they'd want for our Christmas tree this year.  After an hour of deliberation, the three of them finally agreed that they wanted a "Colorful Crafty Christmas Tree" and we all started brainstorming!  And in case you didn't know, my kind of brainstorming is also called scouring Pinterest for ideas.

I came across a pin of a handprint embedded in salt dough and thought it would be a great way for the kids to display their doodles and drawings on the tree without having to waste my paper.  Plus, they thought it was cool that they would be able to use cookie cutters to make different shapes.  Obviously we don't make many cookies around here...

See how simple it is?  I made three batches and we still have a ball of dough left to make more.  We used Crayola markers to decorate ours (because I couldn't find the paint) and they turned out just fine.  I think paint would have made them look more ornament-y rather than cookie-ish, but the kids like the cookie look so it's all gooooood.

I've got a couple more Christmas Craft posts up my sleeve since we made a bunch of different decorations/ornaments so be on the lookout for them in the days to come.

Have you done any Christmas crafts this year?  Got any good pins to share?  Let me know!

Oh, and P.S., DON'T EAT THEM!  I mean, it won't kill you, it just doesn't taste very good.  Ask my brother, he knows.  ; )

DIY Shoe Display

Remember my closet project that I started a few months back?  And how my shoe organization consisted of a dusty old cabinet?

Looks horrible, doesn't it?  I couldn't even fit all my shoes in there so whenever I took a pair out to wear, it ended up on the floor instead of back inside this mess of a shoe cabinet.

But thanks to a little creativity and inspiration from my niece, Kiana, AND an old bed frame I had lying around, I was able to transform that hot wooden mess up there into a spectacular shoe-stravaganza!

 

 Welcome to my shoe corner!  A lovely little place in my closet where my shoes can hang out without the worry of being cramped and neglected.  And you want to know how I did it?  I took the metal frame from a futon bed and stood it up in the corner.  Easy?  Yes.  Genius?  HELL YES!

 The bottom is where I keep my boots, flats, and sneakers.  I even hung some of my boots on pants hangers to reduce the clutter on the floor and to keep the shape of the boots nice and straight.  And you see those brown boots in the bottom right?  I got those for $5.00 (yes, $5!!) on Poshmark from @kskloset.  She is absolutely amazing and she's got a whole bunch of brand new boots that I highly suggest you check out!

All my sandals were originally on the floor but I had another genius idea to use the extra pants hangers to hang them on an extra curtain rod.  Eventually I'll get some wire hangers to do this idea and make it look a little prettier, but for now I'm fine with it.

In between is where the heels and wedges are kept.  I love how I can just hang my heels up and not have to worry about them scuffing or getting lost under each other since they're spaced out and able to fit neatly.  What a difference it makes when trying to get ready!

Isn't it awesome what you can do with old furniture?  I'm sure you have (or know someone who has) an old bed frame you can use to do this yourself.  Go get it and make your cluttered, dusty, shoe pile transform into a super chic shoe display.  You know, because display sounds much more fancy.