New Home

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know from now one I will be publishing all my posts on Weebly instead of here at Blogspot. The new address can be found here, and I hope you all continue to read my blog :)

Pillow Pets

Remember the Facebook post from last week? Well, one of the pictures was from this project: owl pillows for our little cousins Katelyn and Aubrey. Katelyn is our new baby cousin - born about a month ago - and Aubrey is her big sister. Aren't they adorable? It took us more than an hour to pick out the fabric (typical behavior); it had to be the perfect mix of girly and colorful. Anya cut out the little felt hearts and embroidered the names on the owl bums (impressive, right?). These owls are so cute, I may just have to make one for myself! 

Sarah

xo

"Boppas" Day Present

My sister and I have a tradition for Father's Day (or Boppa's Day, as we call it, because we call our grandfather "Boppa") of making him a tee shirt every year. The tradition started when Anya was in preschool and her class decorated tee shirts by slathering a dead fish with paint and laying a tee shirt on top to make a print. As we've gotten older, we've continued the tradition by designing the tee with a theme from something significant that happened that year. In past years, we've decorated the tee with a cityscape of Jerusalem the year we visited Israel, bats and balls to represent the fact that he came to all of our softball games when Anya and I both played softball, our hand and footprints when we were little, a Union Jack and cityscape of London the year we visited the UK and, one of my all time favorites, when we printed a photo of Anya and I on fabric "paper."

About a year ago, we found out that my Boppa (who we had always thought was an only child) is actually one of four brothers. The past year has been pretty unbelievable and we've loved getting to know all our new relatives. Anyway, something else we found out is that my great great grandparents were world famous animal trainers and toured with their own circus act! So, for this year's tee shirt theme, we chose this silhouette of my great great grandfather Max Gruber standing atop his elephant, Eva. The picture was taken from a real photo from The Queenslander newspaper from Australia, on 4 February 1905. As you can imagine, it's now one of our favorites and our Boppa absolutely loves it (which is most important)!

Spring-y Attire

When I think of springtime, I immediately think of flowy dresses and pastel colors. Based on those ideas I have the perfect spring outfit. A few yards of pale pink linen and one dress pattern later, and I have the perfect outfit to wear to any spring-y semi-formal event.

This dress is a little Gatsby-esque, with it's v-shaped neckline and flouncy skirt. Although I accidentally made it a little too large, it can be mostly fixed by pairing the dress with a metallic skinny silver belt. To go along with the belt, I matched some silver ballet flats that work perfectly with the rest of the outfit. I think a nice silver necklace and an updo would like great with this outfit. Now I just need an event to go to so I can wear it!

Sarah xo

Bonus: you totally look like a princess while petting cats in this dress

Grab Bag Goodies

I don't know about you, but I love receiving packages in the mail, no matter what they are. That is why I was so excited when I found out that my mum had ordered for my sister and I two of Modcloth's Grab Bags. In case you don't know what they are, you can order from the clothing/accessories site Modcloth a "mystery package" for only $10, choose whether you want a dress/shirt/pants/jewelry etc, fill out what size clothing you usually wear, and receive a mystery package with your item just a few days later in the mail. Anya and I both received dresses :)

 The first dress we got is a simple white shift with crochet lace detail on the hem and sleeves. So sweet and sophisticated, this dress just screams tea party or some other formal event. Maybe even a graduation ceremony?

The second dress is described as a "prom dress", but I'm not so sure about that. It sure is beautiful though! It is a nice length, not too short or too long, and the gold abstract pattern gives the dress a very art deco feel. Maybe this would be more appropriate for a homecoming or semiformal :)

There you have it! If you want to buy one of these for yourself, here is the website :)

Sarah xo

White House Correspondents Dinner

Though it took place a week ago on May 3^rd, I thought the “nerd prom,” as the White House Correspondent’s Dinner is affectionately known, deserved a mention. The biggest names from the worlds of politics, sports and Hollywood seemed to be there and I’ve chosen what I think were the top fashions from the evening.

Of course, no best-dressed list is complete without Lupita Nyong’o, who is a literal goddess. I also love a good peplum, but what I especially love about this particular Oscar de la Renta dress is that it’s a more interesting, unconventional take on a plain old peplum. The polka dots make its pop against a backdrop of elegant but rather safe solid-colored dresses.

           

I also love Katharine McPhee’s Paule Ka gown because of the perfect salmon color. The shade is so pretty on her and it’s accented in just the right way with the color contrast at the top and by her slicked-back hair. I especially love the red clutch that she added to the outfit: who says pink and red don’t go together??

Freida Pinto’s Thakoon dress is so simple, which, in my opinion, makes it especially elegant. The pale pink color adds to the sophistication, but the center cutout makes it a little edgier.

The most beautiful dress of the evening, however, without a doubt, belonged to Michelle Obama, in an off the off the shoulder, grey and white Marchesa gown, featuring an embroidered bodice and full, flowing skirt. I think it was the perfect dress and definitely one of my all time favorites.

What was your favorite dress of the evening? Comment below!

Sarah xo

MOOD

Last week, while in NYC, I finally got to visit Mood Fabrics. Do you all know about this store?

Has anyone else ever been there before? It’s absolutely amazing! It’s three stories filled with

every single kind of fabric (including some absolutely gorgeous designer fabrics), trim, button

or accessory you would ever want or need. They have over 31 different kinds of fabrics, for

example, and 14 different types of buttons. As you can see, one entire wall is just buttons – floor

to ceiling! I have never seen so much fabric in one place. It was so hard to make a decision about

what I wanted because there were so many choices! I felt like I just walked around the store

endlessly touching just about every bolt of fabric in the store, thinking about what I could use it

for. I was so tempted to just buy a couple yards of random fabrics, just because I loved so many

of them. In the end, though, I restrained myself and found a really pretty, black and white plaid,

wool blend jersey. I’ve had a pattern for a cape/jacket for a while now and the fabric I chose

was just the right weight…I think it will be perfect! It’s the project next on my list – as soon as

I finish the lavender sundress I am currently working on. That should be done this week and,

hopefully, will be next weekend’s blog post.

From Free Bin to Fabulous

After not posting for a couple weeks in a row, I'm trying hard to get back into the habit of posting every weekend, which explains the new post so soon after the last one. Anyway, it finally seems as though spring has descended upon the Boston area. Yay!

This cardigan is so incredibly easy to make and is perfect for a chilly spring day. Did I tell you about the "free bin" at Smith College? It's a box in the lobby of Anya's house - what they call dorms at Smith - and students put in anything that they want to give away. Anya's found not only clothes, but linens, and shoes, too. She says things never last very long in there and it's really a great way to find things to upcycle!  Anyway, she found this long sleeved tee one day. It's a pretty color but ended up being just a little too small to be comfortable. As you should know about me by now, I'm a big fan of upcycling so, instead of just putting it back into the free box, she gave it to me to transform. All I did was make a simple cut up the front of the shirt, add some pretty vintage looking ribbon along the cut edges and it's a new cardigan! It's the perfect accessory for a chilly morning and looks really cute!
So, next time you're tempted to give away a long sleeved tee because it's too small, think about transforming it into a cardigan instead!

Darling Dolls

Sorry I've been a little behind in posting lately! Lots of homework in the past couple weeks took up all my time. Well, not quite ALL of my time since I did manage to make these three dolls. I have a new baby cousin who's now just three weeks old. We went to meet her and, since she has two older sisters, we decided to make a doll for each of them.

 Aren't they cute? They're our version of the Black Apple doll by Emily Martin.

 I love how each one is just a little different. I do need to give Anya some credit here - she is the one who painted the faces and made the little animals since we thought it would be fun for each doll to have a special friend. We just found out that the little girls love their dolls and sleep with them every night (yay!) but they fight over the little bunny. Oops! We'll be visiting them again in another couple weeks so my next project might just be making another little bunny and maybe a few more little animal friends. I have another little cousin (another girl!) who is due in June who also has a big sister. I just might have to make another couple dolls for them, too.

See you next week!

Sarah xo

(black apple doll photo credit: http://theblackapple.typepad.com/inside_a_black_apple/dolls/)

The Rad Hatters

 This season, I’ve been making hats out of polar fleece that are based on the adorable cloche hats of the 1920s. I made two – one for me, and one for Anya.

Peppy Miller from the movie The Artist rocks a cloche hat.

I tend to not wear hats very often, but I am really happy with this style because it’s extremely comfortable and warm in our especially snowy weather of late, and they’re not too tight so they don’t squash my hair.

I added flowers and buttons to the side as a decoration, which is very flapper-esque indeed.

The charcoal grey one is mine, and the white one is Anya’s.

I really like the contrasting green stitching on the leaves and flower of Anya’s hat.

These hats are a nice complement to the fox hat I made Anya for Christmas!

Schoolgirl Skirt

When you think of plaid skirts, what do you imagine? Catholic schoolgirl uniform, Scottish kilt, Merida from Pixar's Brave? I was never a huge fan of plaid patterns, but I saw this specific plaid and loved it! It wasn't too big or overpowering, so I knew it would work for a cute little skirt. I also happened to have the perfect pattern to use with it :)

(look at my beautiful face)

This skirt was super simple to make, just a few pieces and a zipper! The waistband took a little longer to make, but it still wasn't too difficult. For this photo, I just styled it with a simple cream sweater, hunter green tights (although they look grey in this photo), and my black leather boots that I wear almost every single day (sorry, but I love them!!). Really, you can wear any neutral color with this skirt, since it's blue, red, and green. 

I think I will be wearing this to school a lot!

Sarah xo

Oscars 2014

The Oscars have just barely started tonight, and it has already been an eventful evening. The Oscars is one of the biggest fashion events of the season, and it never ceases to disappoint. Here are a few of my favorite dresses of the evening



Per usual, Jennifer doesn't fall to dazzle with her classic Dior dress. It's usually a little unusual to see a red dress on the red carpet, but taking a risk is always a good thing. I absolutely love the peplums (I can't resist a good peplum!)



I had never heard of Sarah Paulson before this evening, but now I'll keep an eye out for her! As soon as I saw this dress I knew it was an Elie Saab, and it turns out I was right. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with an Elie Saab dress.



Emma Watson could wear a paper bag and still look adorable, but fortunately, she wore a beautiful Vera Wang dress instead. I love the modest high neck, and the clean and simple lines of the dress. Red lipstick is the perfect final touch!



Naomi Watts looks gorgeous in this classic Calvin Klein gown. I ADORE the capsleeves (of course), and think the statement necklace looks perfect against the clean, white backdrop.



and my favorite dress of the night HAS to go to Lupita Nyong'o.  Relatively new to the awards scene, Lupita has never not looked perfect on the red carpet. This might be my favorite so far, a custom Prada dress that she helped design. Is there anything this woman can't do?!

The awards season is almost over, but this has been a great one for fashion!
Sarah xo

Hip Animal Sweaters

Hello everyone!
So while it was 80+ degrees in El Salvador, it is, unfortunately, still freezing here in the Northeast. That means sweaters for at least a few more months! Fortunately, I have many cute sweaters, and many of them I have decorated myself.
You may remember a while back I did a tutorial on how to create an adorable animal sweater (http://ofcupcakesandcapsleeves.blogspot.com/2013/09/diy-animal-sweater.html) which I wear all the time and Anya got a little jealous that she didn't have one :)
Since I had already put a cat on mine, I decided to put another small creature on hers, a rabbit.
I used the same procedure as I used for the last sweater, just using a rabbit stencil instead of a cat stencil.
Here's how it turned out!

I love the color of this sweater, and the bunny is so cute!

Will any of you be trying this trick to liven up your old sweaters?

Sarah, xo

Return of the Peplum

On this snow-covered day, I present you with my newest creation: a cranberry colored peplum top with short sleeves. I made it with the same pattern as the no-sleeve peplum tops I made a few months ago in pink and blue.

 throwback

It has princess seams, which I think are always so pretty.

The fabric I used for this shirt has a very interesting provenance, actually. It came from the Boston Ballet Costume Shop Yard Sale, when the Boston Ballet costume shop sold bundles of scraps of old costumes in plastic grocery bags and sold them for a dollar. I found this lovely, slightly heavy, rich cranberry-colored fabric there.

What I love about this shirt is that it can easily be dressed up or down – with black pants and a nice necklace, it becomes the perfect outfit for going out somewhere dressy. Or, with jeans and a cardigan, I could wear it to school.

Yesterday I went on a Joanne’s run and got some grey stretch for a t-shirt peplum for Anya – I’ll post a picture of that one when I’m finished!

Guest Post

Hello everyone! I, Anya, am taking over today's blog post. 

This Christmas, I made little faces out of felt and made them in ornaments! They are each representative of a decade - two are '20s inspired, named Nell and Josephine, and one is '60s inspired, named Suzanne. I got the idea from Pinterest, but, of course, I put my own spin on it.

To make them, I started out with a face-shaped, face-colored piece of felt. I then used a white marking pencil to sketch out hair - I greatly enjoyed the sweeping, curled hairdos of Nell and Josephine. I made itty-bitty braids and a headband on Suzanne. Next, I sketched out hats for Nell and Jo - the bright, juicy colors were lovely atop their jaunty little faces. I embroidered their eyes and heart-shaped mouth, and attached a little loop on top so they could hang on the tree. 

Ta da! As easy and adorable as pie. 

Catch you on the flip side!

Anya xx

What Does the Fox Hat Say?

In my opinion, there is nothing cuter than a kitschy little hat to complete your winter outfit. Bonus points if your hat is an animal. This Christmas, I decided to make Anya a "fox hat", inspired by one of our favorite books "Looking for Alaska".

Since I couldn't find a pattern that fit my idea at the fabric store, I looked up a DIY on Google. I followed the instructions given on this Youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLyrbozHpwQ) to create the basic shape of the hat (it's basically two pieces of fleece that need to be sewn together). Using a pattern that I made, I created two ears out of orange and white fleece. I left to holes on either side of the hat so their was space for the ears to fit.

You could use this same pattern to make a cat hat if you used a black, white, or brown fabric.

Adorable, right?! And it's perfect for all this snow we've been getting recently. It's incredibly warm since it's made out of blizzard fleece.

What animal would you want to portray with a hat?

Sarah xo