Awhile ago I posted about a new top I was working on. I have since updated the blouse so that it has a bit more ease added into the back, which makes it slightly more comfy than the first version. I am naming this one after my dear friend Cathy, because she loves gingham and when I was designing it, I had the late 60's, early '70s in mind. Cathy and I share a love for the '60s and '70s and we are always sharing ideas for clothing inspired by these eras. She is a true kindred spirit and although we have never met, I feel as though we have known each other our whole lives. If you haven't seen her blog yet, please do take a moment to check it out! She is an absolutely amazing artist and photographer. Cathy is a constant inspiration to me and I know you will love her blog as much as I do!
P.S. The holidays are fast approaching. Anyone else still Christmas shopping? What fun holiday things have you been up to? I'm looking forward to seeing one of my favorite Christmas films, Miracle on 34th Street at the theater this week. There is nothing quite like seeing an old classic on the big screen!
I need to write a proper blog post one of these days, but for now I thought I would drop by to share a new blouse I'm working on. To tell you the truth, I designed this blouse with the idea that I could use up some of the left over fabrics in my stash. I think it would look great made with two coordinating florals or plaids. The final blouse will look just a bit different as I feel it needed a tad more wearing ease. So I'm selling this one as is for $85. It fits nicely up to a size 33" bust. Let me know if you are interested.
I'm also considering selling my wool cape that I made a few years ago. I haven't really worn it much and I'm trying ever so hard to get rid of things I don't wear often. It fits size S/M and I'm asking $95. Please feel free to shoot me a line if you have any questions! gracefullady@gmail.com
P.S. Most of the items I'm getting rid of will probably show up for sale on my instagram, so feel free to check there if you are at all interested/curious! :)
I have been putting off cleaning out my bedroom closet ever since we moved here two years ago and I'm finally getting around to it. So far I have 4+ bags of stuff to sell and give away! Yep, it was that bad! I'm planning to go through the stuff I have bagged and find the nice things to sell here on my blog. If anyone is interested, shoot me an email so I can let you know when I have items ready and I'll add you to an email list just for this yardsale. Or you can simply check back here in the coming weeks.
While I was cleaning out the closet, I decided to part with my lovely FRYE boots. I really hate to let them go as they were a very expensive Christmas present. But sadly, I haven't worn them in years. I hope someone else will get more use out of them. They are fabulous shoes and made of the best quality leather. Here's the details if you are interested...
Name: FRYE Veronica Shortie
Color: Cognac
Material: Leather
Size: 8.5B (Or European size 39 - I wear 8.5 and they fit my feet perfectly)
Sold for: $250-$300 (depending on the color and where you purchase)
UPDATE: I decided to just go ahead and list them on eBay. SOLD :)
This dress is perfect for transitioning from summer to fall! I love this style because you can wear it with a sweater for when the days start to turn colder, but right now it's still so hot! It's an easy sleeveless pullover dress and I have just enough fabric for two dresses. But I LOVE custom orders and would be happy to make the dress (or any of my designs) with whatever fabric you have in mind. Just drop me a line!
Also, because it is the end of the summer, the dress is on sale this week only (until Sunday, August 23rd)! You can find the dress in my Big Cartel shop. :)
This past weekend Jed's family came for a visit and we pretty much spent the entire time hiking the beautiful trails here in Colorado. It was such a perfect weekend for hiking! I'm sure we wore Jed's family out! I still can't believe I live in a place where there are mountains just a short distance from my house!
For the whole month of August, my Denim Button-Up Skirt pattern is 50% off! So if you were thinking of sewing it up, this is the time to get it! Remember you can upload pictures of your finished skirt onto my Flickr sewing group!
This post contains affiliate links. Scroll down for coupon codes, updated 5/30/16
Today I thought I would try curling my hair into a really curly 1970's inspired hairstyle. But then when I put on this pretty white blouse, suddenly I felt I looked more from the Victorian/Edwardian period than the 1970's. What do you think, Victorian or 1970's?
I have tons of curling wand instructions on my blog, but this tutorial is the closest to the style shown here. The main difference is I curled all of my hair using only 1/4"-1/2" sections. For this style I used my 19mm curling wand, which makes really nice curly curls (it's my most used curling wand)! Then instead of shaking the curls out like I show in the tutorial, I took a comb and teased the curls as you can see in the first photo. It creates brilliantly poofy curls! I love it! Since I curled smaller sections of hair, this style did take me longer to do, but I think it was so worth it. Sometimes you just have to spend a little extra time on yourself! ;)
I'm providing some coupons for anyone interested in a curling wand. I really do like these wands, because in my experience they work better than those I've purchased from the drugstore and they cost about as much. But if you decide on one of these, DO use a coupon! Or email me if you need a coupon code. I have access to all the latest ones and I do update when I get a chance, but don't always have time to right away. :)
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage of sales if you make a purchase using these links. However, the item featured in this post was purchased by me and I was not paid to write this review/tutorial. All opinions are my own.
I know I'm a whole month late writing about this, but I didn't want time to slip by too long before writing a little something here! Jed and I have been together for about 6 (SIX!) years now and last month we celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already! I am just so so happy we met and decided to spend the rest of our lives together. Being with someone this long isn't always easy, but it sure is rewarding and it only gets better as time goes on. He is my best friend and I can honestly say that. I love spending time with him more than anyone. Life is pretty fantastic for the both of us these days. I can't wait to see where the future will lead us!
This is by far the most popular dress I've made. It's special to me because I created this during the spring/summer of my marriage in 2011. I have enough fabric for two, possibly three dresses from this linen striped fabric. I can, of course, always make this dress in any other fabric. Feel free to send me a message if you want a custom order! You can find this dress in both my Big Cartel shop and my Etsy shop. xx
This post contains affiliate links. Scroll down for coupon codes, updated 5/30/16
Summer is in full swing here and it's HOT! I keep thinking of wavy summery beach hair, not that we have beaches where I live. But no matter where you are, in the summer heat, easy casual hairstyles are usually your best bet! I thought it would be fun to throw together a quick wavy hair tutorial for you. It's so so easy and all you need is a curling wand. Also don't forget to heat treat your hair before using the curling wand. I really like using argan oil in my hair, especially in the summertime.
Step 1:
Like I mentioned above, apply heat protectant before you begin curling your hair. These curling wands get HOT!
Step 2:
No need to clip sections of your hair back, just take random pieces of hair, about 1/2"-1" wide, and wrap it around the curling wand so the hair twists as you wrap. Don't wrap the ends around the wand, but leave a couple of inches hanging off.
Step 3:
This step is hard to explain, but you will clearly see what I mean in the video. But basically you want to move the curling wand up and down while your hair heats up. This step is optional, but I like how natural it makes the curls look. Either way, test to see how long you want to wait for each curl. It depends on how thick your hair is and how much hair you pick up. I waited around 15 seconds or so for mine.
Step 4:
Each time you take a curl off the wand, use your fingers to separate the curls, essentially "teasing" the hair as you go. You can see in the video how I'm doing this!
Step 5:
Finish curling the rest of your hair. This time I curled my hair away from my face, but you can play around with what looks best and how you want to do it. I didn't use any hairspray for this look, because I wanted it to be easy and natural looking. Curls like these usually last me a few days. I also want to point out that freshly washed hair will make your curls last longer!
I hope you will try this hairstyle on your hair and let me know how you like it!
P.S. I'm kind of obsessed with this nude lipstick I picked up the other day (wearing in the photo). I want to try them all!
If you are thinking of getting a NuMe wand, take advantage of these coupon codes! Using a coupon, these wands are just as much (and many times cheaper) as a drugstore curling wand and in my experience, so much better! I keep the coupon codes updated, so check back if you want a great deal!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive 10% if you make a purchase using this link. However, the item featured in this post was purchased by me and I was not paid to write this review/tutorial. All opinions are my own.
