On the last stop of my mini nail care series, I thought I'd just share with you some of my favorite polish colors and brands that you see on my regularly on my blog and Instagram, as well as colors that have made it into photos this week. Some of my favorite gel polish colors It's no secret I love a great, classic red polish, and that's what I wear at least 70% of the time. But I also love to switch it up to the ... Read more »
Nail care mini series: Couture Gel Nail Polish kit review
Today is day five of my mini series on nail care. I'm in Dublin right now, but today you'll get a very special review to cap off my series this week! I have been using my Sephora Gelshine kit for about two years, but I recently had the immense pleasure of being sent a new gel nail polish kit to review, courtesy of Couture Gel Nail Polish. New fun nail things to play with? Yes, please! Couture is a woman-owned ... Read more »
Nail care mini series: my 6 steps for happy nails
Today is day four in my mini series of nail care. Really, this is probably the shortest post in the whole series, but with some important tips! I get asked a lot what do I do to keep my nails looking good. Both using gel polish, and just in general. Some people who use gel polish regularly complain about peeling, but I haven't found this to be an issue. It can happen to me on occasion when I let my nails get really ... Read more »
Nail care mini series: how I apply and remove gel polish
Today is day three of my mini series on nail care. And I'm going to show you how to use a gel polish kit at home! There are lots of places you can buy gel polish and kits to get you started (I've even seen gel polish at Target). When I started using it a couple of years ago there weren't quite as many options readily available that I knew about, although you could still buy the individual supplies at places like like ... Read more »
Nail care mini series: why I love gel polish
Today is day two of my nail care mini series. Hoorah! I'm going to talk a little bit about why I love using gel nail polish. For the vintage gal who loves to look polished but don't want to fuss with her nails several times a week, gel nail polish is for you! I converted to using gel nail polish a couple of years ago. I seriously haven't looked back since! It's been kind of my little nail miracle for my previously ... Read more »
Mini series intro: a week of nail love from a vintage gal
In the last couple of years, I've gotten a lot of compliments on my nails. I am not one to keep a beauty secret, especially since I spent most of my life with nails that were decidedly not enviable! Any chance I get, I tell people that I use gel nail polish, and I do it myself at home! I personally think it's kind of the ideal solution for the vintage gal (or any gal!) who wants to keep her nails up but with minimum ... Read more »
The Birdcage Dirndl Skirt
On Wednesday, you got a sneaky peek at the pockets on my latest make, in my post on Crafty's creative closures class that inspired them. And now you get to see the whole skirt! And if you thought my Sew for Victory dress was more tame than normal, with plain ol' polka dots, how about polka dots with... birdcages? Yep, birdcages. The fabric is another Lecien print on a lovely lightweight cotton, from their Folk ... Read more »
My finished Sew for Victory dress
Sew for Victory, the 1940s-themed sew-along challenge that Rochelle is running for the second year, has been going strong! And I'm finished up with my project. (Speaking of which, did you see Rochelle's adorable Tula Pink meets Wearing History blouse yesterday??) A couple of weeks ago you got to see my Sew for Victory wearable muslin, and today I'm sharing my finished dress. Now, this is nowhere near as complicated ... Read more »
Fun with tab closures, plus a Craftsy class giveaway!
Hello everyone, I'm here with another post for my series with Craftsy, plus a fun little giveaway for you, too! Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a new class, Creative Closures: 8 Unique Techniques, taught by Marsha McClintock. I've learned over the last year or so that I absolutely adore the look of creative embellishment on clothing, but I tend not to like things too fussy as I'll just admire them in the ... Read more »
Stripes and denim
I think I say this a lot, but I feel like I don't do enough outfits posts around here that aren't just me-made reveals. What do think–would you like to see more? (Admittedly some might just be seeing me-made items accessorized in different manners.) Well whether you would or would not, you get one today! On Friday evening, we went out to dinner with my inlaws. I went casual in a striped knit tee from Pinup Girl ... Read more »
Antiquing, a huge pig, a garden party dress & Indie Untangled launch
First and foremost, I wanted to say a huge thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes I received last week here and across social media! ♥ ♥ I really did have a great birthday, and thank you all for helping with that. :) To cap off my birthday week, we headed up to Wisconsin on Saturday. One of the things we did was go to an antique mall. It's not necessarily the most amazing one (which we knew as we'd been ... Read more »
My birthday balloon dress (aka Sew for Victory wearable muslin)
Happy birthday to meeee! It's a pretty great day. Spring is finally here (omg, a few things are even blooming and the grass is slowly turning from brown back to green!). We're taking a trip to Dublin at the end of the month and I just can't wait. I have a fabulous gift from Mel waiting for me to open later (yes, I already know what it is). And I love birthdays! Last year, I sewed a wrap dress for my birthday. Ironically ... Read more »
Afternoon Blouse: Jennifer Lauren Vintage pattern testing
You may have heard last week that Jennifer Lauren Vintage released her first sewing pattern! It's a darling basic blouse with a vintage appeal, and is quick to sew together, hence the name 'afternoon' blouse. Now, why do I know this? Because I was one of her lucky pattern testers! The blouse really is a nice and easy make, and that was one of Jen's goals. It was based on an original 1950s blouse pattern but she ... Read more »
Easter Parade dress
I know, I know, back so soon and with another dress! If pirate treasure map prints aren't your thing, how about dancing bunnies? I've named this dress after the 1948 film Easter Parade, featuring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, because that just seemed like the right thing to do with fabric featuring dancing bunnies and carrots, right? It's another version of the same 40s pattern I've used for my last two dresses. Lots ... Read more »
The Cliffs of Insanity dress
First and foremost, I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone on all their kind comments about the release of my pattern, Nisse! It's done very well so far and I was a little bit floored to even see it on the top 20 "hot right now" patterns on Ravelry for over a day. Whoa. I don't really expect to design patterns all that often, although I say this having one design about 70% done (although honestly I don't intend to ... Read more »
Mastering zippers with the help of Craftsy
Today is my first collaboration with Craftsy! I revisited a class that I already had viewed, actually. It's the (free!) Mastering Zipper Techniques with Sunni Standing. The class covers invisible zippers, slot seam zippers and lapped zippers. The really nice part is that it also covers inserting a slot seam zipper with a lining, and an invisible zipper with a lining and facing. I think Sunni is The Woman for ... Read more »