Follow:

Style

Travel

Home and DIY

Browsing Tag:

Handmade

    Outfit

    Black and White Gingham Top

    March 23, 2015

    Photos by Sarah Veyna

    Outfit Details:
    Handmade Gingham Shell Top (Similar top with sleeves)
    ASOS Trousers (Similar)
    Madewell Loafers (Similar)
    MAC Lipstick in Russian Red
    With a great amount of help from my mom, this weekend I made a gingham top out of leftover fabric from when I made this skirt. I wore it with trousers in this set of photos, but I like that it also looks great with skirts and jeans. I even paired it with a blazer later in the day, since it was a bit chilly, and it made for a great “professional” outfit. I’m planning on making most of my clothes this spring/summer since I’m feeling uninspired by most clothes in stores, and the pieces I do like are out of my budget. I’m probably going fabric shopping next weekend and hitting the ground running from there, so be on the lookout for more handmade pieces on the blog.
    Aside from various sewing projects, there are other long-term creative projects that I want to work on in the next few months, such as improving my photography. For that reason, I’m only going to be posting on this blog once a week. Although I love documenting the process of making things for this blog, what I really enjoyed about making this top was that it was a project that felt more personal and I didn’t have to finish it by a certain time in order to post it on this blog. I’ll definitely keep posting DIY tutorials and recipes on this blog from time to time, I just don’t want to get into the habit of only making things for the sake of blogging. What I envision right now is that I’ll rotate between DIY tutorials, recipe and outfit posts from week to week, depending on my mood.
    Another reason that I want to dedicate less time to blogging is because, as I’ve mentioned a couple of times, lately I’ve feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. I slept for about 12 hours Saturday night, if that gives you any idea about how exhausted I’ve been feeling lately. Although my feeling of burnout does not necessarily stem from working on this blog, I realize that I’ve been treating it like another job instead of the creative outlet it’s meant to be; the added workload that I have created for myself hasn’t necessarily allowed me to rest. I feel that cutting back on this particular activity will enable me to make time for self-care and have more balance in my life.
    I really hope that I didn’t sound too moody in this post. I just wanted to discuss how I’ve been feeling lately. I’m also curious to know if any of you have ever dealt with burnout, and what steps you took in order to overcome it. Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.
    Have a great rest of the week!
    xoxo,
    Helen

    Food & DIY

    D.I.Y. Stamped Holiday Wrapping Paper

    December 17, 2014
    Today I’m going to teach you how to make your own stamp and wrapping paper, which is very fun and easy to do. If you like being crafty like I do, but don’t have enough time to make something for everybody on your list, this is a good way to add a personal touch to all of your holiday gifts. You might remember that I already did a tutorial on blockprinting if you’ve checked out my handmade Valentine’s Day card tutorial earlier this year. Even though I used the same concept in this tutorial, I ended up switching the materials a bit in order to make it easier for you to create a print, which is kind of necessary when you’re using a much larger area of paper. Instead of making a printing block, we’re going to make a rubber stamp that is more easy to transfer on paper. This method also allows you to use an ink pad instead of printing ink, which makes for a much quicker clean up.
    SUPPLIES:
    X-Acto Knife
    Pen or Marker
    Speedball Speedy-Cut Carving Block or any other rubber carving block
    Ink Pad
    Cookie Cutter (Optional)
    STEP 1: Start off by drawing and filling in your design on a rubber carving block by using a pen or marker. If you’re not artistically inclined, you can do what I did, and just trace a cookie cutter–there are plenty of festive molds that are less than a dollar during this time of year.
    STEP 2: Use a linoleum cutter to carve out the areas around your design on the block. Just trace out your design and don’t worry about carving out the entire block since you’ll be worrying about these areas in STEP 3.
    STEP 3: Use an X-Acto Knife to cut out your stamp. Doing this will help you see the outline of the shape that you’re printing, and better determine the placement of your stamp. When completing this step, make sure to cut at 1/4-1/2 inch away from your design in order to make sure that you have something to grip when you use your stamp.
    STEP 4: Place your stamp on an ink pad and then transfer it on to the postal paper. Your print does not have to be perfect, but if it isn’t dark enough for your liking, you can always re-ink your stamp and print over the area again. Continue to stamp until you’ve filled up the area of wrapping paper that you’ll be using, and then you’re done! You can space out your print as far apart as you’d like. However, I found that it was easiest to create a consistent design by printing out one row at a time.

     

    I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and that you put it to use if you haven’t already wrapped all of your holiday gifts. As I said before, this is super easy to do, so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time. In less than an hour, I managed to carve out my stamp and make enough wrapping paper to package 4-5 presents. If you do end up making your own paper, make sure to tag @SWEETHELENGRACE on Instagram so that I can see your projects.  Have a great rest of the week!
    xoxo,
    Helen

     

    Outfit

    Sewing Lessons

    November 3, 2014
    Photos by Sarah Veyna
    Outfit Details:
    Forever 21 Clutch/Wallet
    H&M Top
    Handmade Gingham Skirt
    White Mountain Loafers via DSW
    Some of you might remember that two months ago, I had set a goal to learn how to sew and start making my own clothes. When I first set that goal, I kind of underestimated how challenging it would be to learn a new craft. I just had this vision in my head that I was going to sit down in front of a sewing machine, and that I was going to magically crank out a whole new wardrobe in a month. Well, it’s been two months since I started learning how to sew, and I finally finished my first piece just last week. I made the gingham print midi skirt that I’m wearing in the picture–complete with pleats and everything–and I’m so happy of the way that it turned out. Of course, I have to say that I couldn’t have finished this skirt without the help of my Mom. She was very patient in teaching me how to do everything, and I have to give her credit for attaching the zipper. I bought an invisible zipper when I went to the fabric store, and didn’t realize that it would be much more challenging to attach.
     Another reason that I’m so happy to have finished this skirt is because I feel like I’m participating in a family tradition. Since my Grandmother was a seamstress for a living, and my Mom also has amazing sewing skills, I have always felt obligated to learn the craft so that I can pass it on to future generations. It’s actually kind of surprising that I don’t already possess the ability to sew, especially since I used to dream of being a “dressmaker” as a child. I even remember trying to make dresses for my Barbie dolls out of scraps of fabric that my grandmother would give to me. Although I still have so much to learn before I can say that I really know how to sew, I hope that eventually I’ll be able to make the jump from making clothes for dolls, to making clothes for real people.
    I hope you all had a fantastic Halloween. Even though it isn’t my favorite holiday, I made the effort to to be festive and ended up dressing up as Mary Poppins for work. Surprisingly, I actually ended up having a lot of fun, and I guess that sometimes it pays off to try out new things. I ended up staying in that night, though, because I was planning on taking my 11-year-old brother trick-or-treating, but he wasn’t in the mood to go out this year. That probably means that he’s getting too old to hangout with his older sister, which makes me kind of sad. But, I guess that he’s going to have to grow up at some point in time!
    Bloglovin | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter