Free Tutorial: Reverse Applique Repost

As you all know, I used to have a blog called Meg's Ragged Edge but I needed a change and went to Cirque du Frock. Every once in a while, I do miss my old blog but I believe it's always better to keep moving forward. Still, there were good tutorials and blogs I was proud of on there, so I'd like to start a series where I post some of my old blogs - specifically my tutorials. While I do believe in moving forward, I believe some of my greatest inspiration has from from looking back, too.

This tutorials was originally posted in April of 2012, cringeworthy pictures and all. I got WAY better at writing tutorials, too! LOL. 

So you might remember this dress: HERE and HERE

I had this other dress, a purple Banana Republic number that I scored for $1 and felt a little plain in, and I had this bright idea to use a shirt that I'd put in the discard pile to make another wolf dress! Then - AND THEN!!!! - I had the great idea to share with you how I made it. So here you go.

1. Cut out the piece you want to show through. Example: I cut two wolf patches from a shirt. These are the pieces we will sew onto the dress.



2. Trace your patch, pin the four corners and turn inside out. So what I did: I laid the wolf patch onto the dress and traced a chalk outline. I then pinned 1 pin on each of the four corners of the outline. I did this so I would have a general idea when I turned it inside out where to pin the thing.





3. On the inside of the garment, pin your patch. This is pretty self explanatory- but just in case make sure the guideline pins are removed before sewing and that the side facing the fabric is the side you want to show. (I hope that isn't confusing)



4. Sew. Then look at the outside like this picture.



5. Carefully cut the outside layer of fabric away to reveal your picture under!



6. And this is the important one:







Take early morning outfit posts to show your friends your new DIY dress!

Giggle. I love my new dress. HUGS!! - Meghan


it looked like I got closer and closer and closer with each pic of the dress- so here you go! mega-close!

OOTD: All You Sinners, Stand Up

Okay so again with the whole "I'm broke and can't afford crap" approach to blogging- but it's so honestly true. I'm working on making it better, but it's going to be a long and bumpy road which means I've decided to make this current financial situation work in my favor.

The holidays were a little awesome and a little depressing at the same time. On one hand, it's the first time in ten years I've celebrated Christmas with my family and it was awesome. On the other hand, I'm broke and I'm in a new place, missing my old traditions and people. In an effort to cheer myself up, I did do a tiny bit of Black Friday splurging and got myself two 10$ tees from hottopic.com. One thing you've got to know by now is that I'm addicted to band merch. I love it. The problem is most band merchandise doesn't come in plus size unless you count men's shirts, and actually a lot of those are 'slim' cut for the skinny emo boys. So when I ordered my shirts, I knew that I was going to use one of my tutorials to refashion them.

This is the first one.

Cardi/Thrifted, Dress/Handmade, Leggings/Target, Shoes/Frye-Ebay

I was going through my breakup just a few months after discovering my love of Panic at the Disco. It was actually kind of appropriate timing since they'd just released Hallelujah and it kind of became my anthem to keep carrying on through the hard times. I tend to cling to music during any kind of difficulty. I remember when I first moved to Philadelphia, MCR's Famous Last Words was on repeat all the time (that's a different blog post altogether).

Anyway, when I saw this super pink shirt on sale at hottopic, I knew it'd be the perfect pick me up. It's rare with projects for me to immediately know what I'm going to do with something. I usually just mash things together and hope they work, but I had a bubble gum pink tee in my stash and a yard of thrifted pink striped knit and I just saw this in my head. I even knew which tutorial I wanted- the Calliope tunic since I seem to be living in that style right now.

I love how this project 1. Looks amazing on me but 2. Took a shirt which I knew even the biggest size would be too small and made it into a comfy garment I'll definitely wear all the time. I love it with my sparkly $5 necklace from Wal Mart (birthday present, thanks Mom!) and my tough-as-nails Frye boots.

There's a sneaky peak of an upcoming OOTD - This is from one of my favorite shops, Rainbow Alternative. She's a great Philly artist and I miss seeing her booth at the Punk Rock Flea (she's still there, but I'm obvs. in Maryland). Told you, I'm all about the Calliope this Winter/Spring.

So, as delicious as Hallelujah is, a few months after I was so into that song, my ex admitted that he had started listening to P!ATD on my recommendation and really clicked with that song. Which made me want to throw up a little because that was 'my' break-up song! But that's fine, because they also released Emporer's New Clothes, which might just be my favorite music video ever made.



I'm takin' back the Cirque, baby, one little blog post at a time. ;-)

PS: Guys, I can't even tell you how much I'm loving my new hair.

PPS: Special shout out to Sheila, Shawna, Megan and Trees. Without your encouragement, I don't know if I could even write these posts anymore. < 3 you guys give me life. 

Project Post: Recent Before and Afters

I've been hard at work making stuff lately, mostly for the store, but after that very bad day I decided I needed to make myself a treat!

I saw this neon striped, zipper-back top at Philly Aids Thrift and I just had to have it! I thought perhaps I'd make it into one of my Sideshow dresses, but the sleeves were too small and it was just too gorgeous to use as a panel! A few seconds later I found this neon yellow (it's like construction-worker yellow) top on the rack next to it, and I knew somehow they had to be married.

I cannot even tell you how much I love this piece. It's very unusual for me, and I tried something new by making the bottom portion smaller than the top so it's got a drop sleeve, bubble sort of outline. It's possibly my new favorite thing. I'm super excited to wear it (and it looks fab, if I may say so myself).

And about that lovely milky necklace with it - my grandmother bought me that for Christmas. She said that because I wore so much color, she didn't know what to buy me so she bought white so it would go with everything. I loved it because it had a very milk glass feel to it.

But it just needed something. I don't know, but something. So I decided to try out a pinterest idea and nail polish the center stone! Here is what I did: rubbed a little nail polish remover over the center piece to rough it up a bit, painted two coats of my favorite OPI gray shade, and then sealed with a clear coat of NYC brand polish.

I mean, look how elegant that is now! And I wear it all the time, because it really glams up an outfit. Seriously one of my favorite presents she's ever given me (next to my Fiestaware mug, of course).

Anyway, that's all I've been doing lately. Craftin' and working hard at the 9-5 and then coming home to do my online thing. I try to keep busy because I like being busy.

Project Post: New York, New York

In a more coherent post, I thought I'd like to show you some recent projects! I realized, unfortunately, that I didn't end up getting any pictures of my outfits over the weekend and I was super excited for them. So, even though I'm not wearing them in these pictures, here are some recent projects of mine that all involve my recent New York trip.

This adorable little black and red number is my new favorite. It's an XL black gathered shirt top with a tee shirt and vintage red tourist shirt for the bottom. For the first time ever, I had a person compliment me on my dress! I wore this up to NYC because it was very comfy and I knew would still look good by dinner time, and while Ally and I were being super chic shopping ladies one of the boutique people said they loved my dress! I was stunned! But I have a witness, y'all, it really happened!

I wish it weren't dirty, I want to wear it to work tomorrow.

The above dress is a new favorite of mine, too. It's got a vintage table cloth and concert tee bottom with a soft gap tee on top. This was me trying to make a bad memory better- I got the tee shirt at a Lindsay Stirling concert. I was very excited to see the show, but it was horrible. Miss Stirling herself sounded amazing and played very well, but the venue was waaaaay oversold and they turned off the big screen, so if you were under 6 foot and didn't arrive SUPER early to fight towards the front, you didn't see any of the performance. I spent the evening in tears that I paid that much money and still haven't actually 'seen' her in concert.

Still, I bought the shirt, and I do still love her music. Even though the concert was heartbreakingly disappointing. So I tried to make the memory a little better and make a dress! I wore this on the way home because it's very comfy and loose, so I was cozy for the train ride from New York to Philly. I love the floaty colors and blue/purple scheme.

Finally, because it's been getting cooler here, I've been WAY into sweater recons. This sweater was a men's purple crewneck from Philly Aids. I took the bottom and used it to re-trim the neck and make a band for a hem. I also sewed on some snaps for closure. It's supposed to be a loose, cropped, lagenlook-inspired sweater and it's also super warm. I loved the contrast of it with the red in the first dress, and then how it complimented the purple in the second dress, so I wore it all weekend.

I know I've been quiet on the blog. It's because sometimes the things I do IRL don't translate well to the internet so I've not had much to write about. I'm working on it, though. I've been sewing up a storm but most of the things I've been making were for myself or for friends lately. I've been concentrating hard on my writing and I really hope that I can reveal some of that to you soon. ;-) Until next time!

OOTD: Jeans and a Tee Shirt

holding

That's how I start draft posts.

holding

holding

holding

and then between the posts, I put pictures so later I can go back and add captions or whatever commentary I want. In an ootd post like today, it would read holding (photo) holding (photo) holding (photo) because sometimes the goal is just to get the pictures in and then write when I have the time. I used to just upload the pics but a few glitchy blog posts and several frustrated sighs later, I learned that just a word between the pics would 'hold' me until I was ready to talk.

I've just not really felt much like talking lately, thus, radio silence on the blog.

My life is kind of in a holding pattern right now, even at work where certain things are preventing me from doing my job properly. For someone like me, someone who prides themselves on working hard, that is difficult. Even my coworker yesterday said it - "So, you're like in a holding pattern right now". Yes, I really am.

I'm just sort of stuck. And haven't been very nice to be around.

Every minute of spare time has been spend dealing with a never ending string of dentist appointments which will probably continue well into the fall, as well as a lot of pain or being too drugged/tired from the dentist to even do anything productive with my spare time. It's been difficult.

But I know it will get better, and eventually I'll resume blogging like I never quit and I'll pick back up with writing (because I'm sooooooo close to finishing sooooo many things). I've even taken teeny steps towards my dreams of an online store. I've started making things that make me really feel like an artist again, and that's been kind of important because I lost that feeling for a long, long time.

Anyway, enough whinging. On to the outfit post.

Shirt: Recon/Me, Shoes: Target, Jeans: DIY/Me/American Eagle, Necklace: Target/Recon/Me

I got this cool as hell Cape Cod Whale Watching tee shirt from the 5 for 20$ bin that Captain Vintage always has at the Punk Rock Flea Market. I LOVE it, and it fits my travel tee collection. It was a little boring, though, so I made it into a skirty bottomed tee. I also reconstructed my gold-tone deer skull necklace from Target, putting it on a contrasting gunmetal chain.

It was a perfect outfit for one of the few Saturdays I've had lately without a dental appointment. Seriously, who knew one tooth could be so much trouble? And now, even with the root taken out, I'm still in pain. It's so strange. Hopefully a permanent crown will be the end of my misery and booked-up weekends.

I almost didn't put this picture in the post, but I feel like it sums up my mood so well. Sort of disenchanted, entirely uncomfortable and generally pessimistic. ;-) I'm a charmer, as my spouse would say.

I do really, really love this outfit and I have already started chopping up ALL of my tee shirts. I could also see this being a good layering piece in the fall, which can't get here soon enough in my opinion. I'm always miserable in the summer but happy in the winter. Come on, fall, I'm waiting for you.

Until next time. <3

Cookin' with (Drunk) Meghan: Pulled Chicken Sandwich

This post is dedicated to my mom, who I think will find this not as funny as I do.

Today I'm going to share a new recipe with you. I made it up! And did not use an exact measuring method. It's a pulled chicken sandwich recipe. You see, pulled pork is one of my favorite foods, but I really suck at making it. I had a kind of wretched week and I thought I'd make some comfort food to cheer myself up, only, I couldn't make what I really wanted, so I made this instead.

I might like it even better.

What you'll need:

* Half a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (I think it's Hickory Smoked?) I know this because it's all I had in my fridge.
* third of a stick of butter (dude, this is not healthy for you at all)
* Three tablespoons (or more) of Worcestershire sauce (I can't spell that. Auto correct did it for me)
* Half a cup to 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (Or less. I was aiming for super sour) 
* whole wheat rolls (I like the super cheap ones because they are bad for you and tasty)
* some sliced Provolone cheese
* spices. I don't know which ones.
* 3-4 boneless chicken breasts (I almost forgot to write this as an ingredient)

Directions:

Ok, so basically what you want to do is poach your chicken first. This is super important and really how I make so many of my chicken dishes because it's stringy chicken goodness. You put your chicken in a pot of water, sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder and pepper (I also add Cayenne and Cajun Chicken Spice). Bring it all to a boil-y-simmer-y-thing and let it cook through. Once it's cooked, pull it out and let it cool. You can expedite the cooling process by cutting it into thirds.

At this point, you should make yourself a drink. This is drunk cooking, after all. I can definitely recommend a gin and tonic with the following ingredients: grapefruit juice, peach gin, tonic and ice. Mmmmm.

Look, Ma, I'm Sandra Lee. 

Once your chicken is cooled and shredded (DO THAT BY HAND) move on to the sauce process.

In a sauce pot, pour your half bottle of store-bought BBQ sauce. Add to it the vinegar, butter, Worchest-wordces-WORCHESTI that other brown sauce, and your spices (same as the ones you seasoned your chicken water with). Add in the shredded chicken and turn the stove on low heat, letting it all mix up together. Once it's warm enough, remove the mixture from the heat.

At this point, you might be on your second drink. Depends on how hot it is outside.

So like, now onto the plating process. What you want to do is preheat your oven to about 400 degrees (maybe less, mine runs cool). Put some parchment on a cookie sheet and then put your bun on the parchment. On the bottom half, put as much chicken as you'd like. Then place a slice of provolone over it, so the cheese will melt all over the sandwich. Place the top half of the bun, rounded side down, on the sheet next to it so it can toast, and then put it all in the oven.

I've never written a recipe before, this is hard work. (Sips gin.)

Okay at this point in sandwich assembly you might need to put the drink aside as this is about the part where I almost burned my sandwich because I forgot I was cooking.

Only leave the sandwich in long enough to melt the cheese. Maybe two minutes. Then, pull it out and carefully put your top bun on the bottom bun, and put on a plate and eat!

***

I hope you've enjoyed this drunky cooking segment. I actually have a killer pancake recipe I can't wait to share with you, and now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a mess in the kitchen to clean up and a drink to finish. 

OOTD: Purple Arrows

I'm back!

For this outfit, I'm showing off a soft purple dress I made a while back with some fabric from JoAnn's. It's a very cool repeating arrow sort of print. Usually I try to spend about $5-6 a yard when I buy fabric for new dresses (unrealistic, but I try). This fabric was actually about $10. But every time I walked past it I just couldn't help but stop and look at the pretty color and the gorgeous pattern and I didn't have anything quite like it, so in the end, I decided it was worth the cost and I got enough to make this dress.

Dress: Handmade/Me, Cardi: Thrifted, Booties: DIY/Me/Roxy, Necklace: Philly Aids Thrift

This is actually my second attempt at taking outfit pictures in it. The first time I wore this dress, I got all excited and decided I was going to 'be pretty' for work that day and I wore the most uncomfortable Mary-Jane heels. I did not take pictures before I left, and by the time I got home my feet were screaming (and the Payless brand shoes that I hadn't worn in three years were flaking, so into the garbage they went).

That's alright, though, because my purple chucks are the same color as the dress, and thanks to Krista, I knew how to style them folded down.

I love those sneakers so much. Custom chucks - if I could, I'd make another pair. Also I love that belt I'm wearing- it's actually white and navy blue stripe and got it from Philly Aids Thrift. I had to take it in a bit, but I really do love it.

Anyway, that's all I've got to say for this post. Until next time!!

OOTD: Lancaster Picnic

And there I go, dropping off the radar again.

Not that I haven't been reading, I have, I've just not had a whole lot to say!

I've been trying to be productive, and that has taken a lot of energy. I'm trying really hard to keep my goals for myself while also trying to balance fun nights writing with my friend. Sometimes it works better than others, and I have to remind myself a lot that I am allowed to have fun. I forget that sometimes, when I'm so focused on trying to 'get things done' that I'm allowed to be, to quote my mother, 'frivolous'. I have a really hard time with allowing myself to be lazy or unproductive or just relaxed, and it's been really stressful inside my head lately. So, lack of blog posts.

Unfortunately I set a goal for myself that I would have one of my mini-books available at the end of May and while it is in the editing stages, it's also a week to the end of May and that's not happening, so I feel very disappointed in myself.

On a happier note, I'm here with a new dress that certainly puts a smile on my face.

Dress: Handmade/Me, Shoes: Chucks/Ross, Cardi: Thrifted, Owl Necklace: The Mister

As many of you who follow my blog know, I force my mother to take me to the Lancaster Goodwill every time I go to visit her. She tolerates this (lovingly so) because she knows it is the best Goodwill to me. I really scored the last time I went with her because I found all these handmade table cloths that were perfect for making dresses! There were three in each 'set' and just enough fabric for a dress out of each. This is a saturated soft blue with pink and yellow roses on it. It's so springy! I used my favorite dress pattern and I've already worn it twice. I'm rockin' the chucks here even though it's a work outfit because they are the only practical rain shoe I have (and that's not saying much). Also, chucks are super comfy and no one can really see my feet under the desk anyway.

I'm loving my new dress, my hair, and my owl necklace lately. Also, I've been experimenting with not smiling in photographs and I find I actually sort of like my face that way. It's always good to find things you like about yourself.

Well, I'm going to go try and edit a chapter or two before bed (even though it's already midnight here). Until next time!

OOTD: Princess Dress

Lately I've fallen in love with the Lagenlook/Mori Girl styles on Pinterest, but despite looking incredibly easy I'm finding it hard to recreate the looks. (For instance, my men's shirts into smocks...)

Here is my latest DIY attempt. I used my Radioactive dress pattern for the top (and a large men's button up) and a thrifted linen skirt for the bottom.

Dress: DIY/ME, Necklace: P.A.T., Sweater: NY&Co/Thrifted&DIY

I really love this one, and I feel like a princess when I wear it! I think that's one of the things that always separated me from the other girls when I was younger. Everyone considers a princess dress to be something covered in sparkles, but I usually wanted the peasant-y rags that they were wearing prior to fairy godmother transformations. This dress is very comfy, and the only downside is I do have some Marilyn Monroe Steam Vent moments.

It's not perfect, because it was whipped up at 1 AM when I couldn't sleep, but it's still one of my favorites.

Project Pictures: DIY Denim Hoodie Jacket

When I went to visit my grandparents a while back, I went thrifting with my mom and found this amazing mint green denim jacket for just a few dollars. It was new, XL and I didn't try it on before leaving the store.

Well, the body fits but the sleeves are too small.

I wanted to salvage it but I couldn't think of what to do. Then, in a rare moment of creativeness, I thought, why not sew on hoodie sleeves!! And a hood!! And I had JUST the perfect black hoodie!

But first, instead of messing up my gorgeous new jacket, I needed to try it on something I didn't mind losing. Backtrack to this other denim jacket I had waiting to be transformed from the last thrifting trip I had with my mom. Also, a tie-dye Ocean City hoodie from the first time we ever went to the New Jersey shore. (I bet you thought I donated that long ago, didn't you, Mom?)

It's not very well put together, I'm not entirely happy with the stitching and I did seam rip my finger in the making of this jacket, but I have to say I kind of love it. I would definitely wear it now, whereas before I wouldn't have (it was that weird light stretchy itchy plastic cheap denim).

I know I'm not done embellishing this jacket. I'm even toying with putting a little heart on the shoulder.

But as with all my jackets, it's a slow artistic process to get them looking 'just right'. I definitely like it a lot better now, and I can't wait to try it with my mint one.

An Unexpected Crossroads

Something has happened in my life that I can't talk about, but it's thrown me for a loop.

Everything is fine, I'm fine, but at the same time this major thing that's happened has shaken the very foundations of my small world. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me, like everything I know has been thrown into this whirlwind of confusion. The THING that has happened is definitely  a positive for a lot of reasons, but it involves lots of changes, and whether it's "good stress or bad stress, it's still stress" to quote  a new friend of mine.

At the same time that everything is shifting, so many things have become so very clear to me.

So I thought I would explain some things to you. About what is going on with me. 

When I first started blogging, I had an etsy store where I sold cameo necklaces and other jewelry. I closed it down after a while because I had a few too many things going on. In the upcoming year, I hope to re-open that store. Which brings me to a few points that I'd like to mention to you.

I've been looking for a dress pattern similar to the ones I'm wearing above for a long time and I just never found exactly what I wanted, so I finally drafted my own. I love these dresses and I love wearing them, and I think that they would look good on a wide range of body types. I would like to start putting some of them up in my etsy shop. I'm even working on making two more size ranges (s/m , l/xl , xxl) so I can offer them in lots of options.

I would also like to sell a bit of vintage in my etsy shop, so keep an eye out for that.

Which brings me to the stamped necklaces I posted photos of last week. I really, really enjoy stamping necklaces. It makes me feel like an artist again. I'm fairly certain I will also be offering up hand-stamped necklaces in my etsy shop, along with one of a kind jewelry made from found objects such as drawer pulls and keys.

Last but not least, my book. For two years I worked on my book series. I worked so hard, and not a thing has come of it. Something must be done about that. I took a long break from both writing my stories and blogging because life got in the way, but I can't continue ignoring something that made it possible for me to get through every day. As my hero Sherlock Holmes would say (loosely paraphrased), the work is what matters. Everything else is transport.

I had someone try and talk to me about publishing this book through a publisher, but I'm still not sure that is the way I want to go with it. I think I would like to self-publish. Independence and creative freedom is something I have always, always valued and I don't know how to hand the reigns over to someone else. So hopefully, without the imaginary pressures I've been putting on myself, I will have something to share with you soon.

I'm sorry to be such a bad blog friend. Believe me when I say it hasn't been easy to be in my shoes the last few weeks, but I will be alright. This blog will be alright. I'm a killjoy. We never go down without a fight.

OOTD: The Brenna Dress

Everyone has THAT FRIEND. You know, the person you're going to get tattoos with (or piercings). That person who will bail you out of the worst shit, sit on the phone with you when you're crying over absolutely nothing, and that person who will read seven copies of the same novel you wrote that no one will ever read just because they love you.

My friend is Brenna. And you, my blog buddies, have met her.

A few years ago I was in a rather .... bad place. I'd ended a toxic friendship and felt utterly alone, and you know, Brenna was there for me. And we became super close. So you'd think that I'd have made an outfit based on my buddy sooner - and I HAD. MONTHS AGO. I just never posted it because of my great blogging hiatus. So, here you go. My "Brenna" dress.

Dress: Handmade/Me, Dr Martens Triumphs

The reason I picked this fabric was similar to the Ally dress, I was just walking through JoAnn's and I heard it. THIS fabric. It screamed to me. The tie-dye raver-kid lookin' hearts reminded me of her (for some reason). Maybe just because it was bright and colorful and black all at the same time. Either way, she is the person I think of every time I see this dress and it makes me so happy.

I brag about my friend Brenna to strangers and my co-workers. She is super smart, ambitious, has a master's degree and has achieved every goal she's set for herself. She's funny and she tries to make time to see me whenever she comes to town. She's just the best. I'm very lucky to have a friend like her.

That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoy the dress.

OOTD: Buggin' Out

One of the coolest things about my job is learning new things. I get to spend large portions of the day researching vintage items, what they were used for and how we can re-use them into something else. It's a pretty sweet gig.

I always knew what a botanical print was, but I never knew  how common or varied the style was. All of them are beautiful. I love them because they remind me of medical illustrations- I love those kind of clearly labeled art pieces.

So when I found the most amazing insect fabric, with bees and moths and flies, I fell in love! I had to make a dress.

Sorry about the wrinkly front. Hate ironing!

Dress: Handmade/Me, Cardi: Thrifted, Boots: Dr Martens

What is even cooler is instead of insect names (well there are some of those) this fabric has printed quotes from authors and other people about bugs. It's really neat! Anyway, that's all for me on this dress. I love it, and I'm really loving this pattern. I like how I can get away with wearing the same thing, just in different colors.

(And by "get away with" I mean "doing it no matter what".)

Until next time!
-Meghan

OOTD: Keeping Warm

Good golly is it COLD here this week!

AND I LOVE IT!

Unfortunately, I'm the only one of my co-workers that would totally keep the door open and the heat off when it's 50 degrees outside. Even some of my consignors who know me well have been commenting on how they are miserable but they know I'm loving this weather.

Dress: Handmade/Me, Shirt: Goodwill, Belt: Philly Aids Thrift, Boots: Gift

More men's shirts!! I love these things- they are so soft and they keep me super warm! This one I got at the Goodwill in Lancaster when I went to visit my mom. Which reminds me, I do need to do a write up of this cute little town we visited.

Well, a shortie post from me today. I've been super tired this week- busy, as always, and then on top of that I'm thinking about some things. ;-D I'll tell you more later, if I get the chance. Until next time!

xoxo
-Meghan

OOTD: The Things That Make You Feel

So, I made a thing. And I love this thing tons and bunches. I thought perhaps that I would show you what I'm calling "The Bag Dress" (alternatively, "Radioactive Dress").

Dress: Handmade/Me, Boots: Target/Gift, Necklace: Thrifted, Jacket: DIY/Me

Sometimes, no matter what it is, you just slip something on and you feel like you. That's what this dress was. I put it on and I smiled. Then I got nervous and called my mister in, who also smiled. It passed the boots and the chucks test. It passed the jacket test. This dress is like me, if I could be a dress. The things that make you feel beautiful are just that. To make you feel beautiful. Not someone else, not something else, just you. This dress makes me feel beautiful.

And I'm about to make like six more. I'm not joking. Day of the Dead FABRIC, guys. As my mister says, I never do things in moderation. ;-)

I guess that is one of the reasons I've been sort of silent over here. I just haven't really been doing a lot, and I wear the same outfit every day (Lisette, jacket, shoes) and I feel bad! Like, you guys don't want to see the same damn dress every day! And you're all so fabulous! Of course, that being said, get ready because I'm not exaggerating - I'm making like twenty of these suckers.

I got a few questions about my jacket, too. Someone wanted to know what is on it, so I took a few close ups.

The Philly Aids Thrift button is because I love that place. I've had the I Need A Nap button since high school. The Broad Street Butchers is my friend Jill's favorite roller derby team (mine is the Philthy Britches) and I like to wear things that remind me of my friends. The Kangaroo patch is because it reminds me of Stacey and Desiree and my other Aussi pals. I used to have the Kiwi button Trees gave me on there but I  moved it to a different jacket. (Ditto for a certain purple bee pin.) The studs are off of my old belt. The American Flag ribbon pin came from a consignor that brings me pins. The eagle patch is from a military jacket I wore in a play back in 2006. The skull is my own design and the anatomical heart I got at the Punk Rock Flea. On the back is a doily from where I work and a Crash Bang Boom! patch that I bought when I was with Brenna on South Street.

Every time I start a jacket it becomes a scrapbook of the places I've been and the people I've seen. Every single one of them becomes something sacred. :-)

Well, that's it for me. Until next time!