DIY Dorm: Lamp

So I was trying to think of a way to make my desktop lamp unique so I did a collage on it!

Heres how I did it:

1. Start with a clean and cheap white lamp shade, a pile of old sewing patterns, a crappy paintbrush, and some gel medium or modge podge.
2. Cut out the pattern pieces that you like or things you find interesting in the pattern description.
3. Cover the lamp shade with modge podge using the paintbrush and start layering on the pattern pieces. Paint each layer of pattern paper with more modge podge. Make about 2-3 layers of pattern paper on the shade. Don't worry if the paper starts to crinkle that's what makes it unique. Top off the final layer with a little thicker coat of modge podge to secure it all in place.
4. Let the modge podge dry completely, about 24 hours, before placing the shade on the lamp base.
5. Ta-dah! Done!

You can also do this with a variety of tissue paper colors (or any other semi-transparent paper) and create and abstract pattern in the same manner. Or you could do the same thing with some feathers or lace. Endless possibilities really!

Pre-College Dress

So, I haven't been on here in a while. Sorry about that! I have been super busy getting ready for college with move-in day just 10 days away. Anyways, I am finally starting to make a few dresses for college. Here is one of the most recent ones I made

It's a coral, orange and gold print asymmetrical dress with pleated cap sleeves. I hope I can finish a few more before move-in day. Let the sewing marathons begin :)

Fall Premiers 2

So there are more things to add to the list of reasons to be excited for Fall 2011!

• Mad Fashion- Bravo TV show about Project Runway's most flamboyant contestant, Chris March, and his one-of-a-kind couture costumes

• Project Runway All Stars- 21 of the best designers that just missed the mark in previous Runway seasons are given a second chance to "make it work" for Lifetime. To premier mid-fall with new host Angela Lindvall.
• Project Accessory- Project Runway is starting a spin-off of their hit show on a smaller scale with just accessory designers taking over. Set to premier this fall

• America's Next Top Model All Stars- In its 17th season, ANTM is finally doing an all star season with 14 of the biggest drama queens from the show to premier Sept. 14

ALSO:

• Rachel Zoe Project- Bravo TV show about the "bananas" celeb stylist and her daily drama. Premiers Sept. 6
• Top Chef Just Desserts- One of Bravo's best known show, Top Chef, has a spin-off in its second season focusing on amazing pastry art. Premiers Aug. 26
• Mad Men for Banana Republic- 40's and 50's era clothing for men and women and women's accessories from the fashion drenched AMC show in a capsule collection sure to sell out fast. Out Aug. 10

Fall Premiers

I am getting super psyched for Fall fashions and all that and now I have two more reasons to be even more excited!

KARL LAGERFELD for Macy's!!!!!!

Not only is Lagerfeld one of my favorite fashion designers, he is a style icon himself and the epitome of luxury. He he is the creative director of Chanel, has his own fashion line, and is an amazing photographer too. The collection comes out on August 30th and has 45 pieces. Here are a few of the ones I love the most.

Missoni for Target is coming!!!!

The first ad has arrived and the collection hits stores September 13th and will have 4,000 plus items in the collection that ranges from clothing to accessories to home wears. Missoni is known for it's zig-zag knits and sexy haute hippie beauty as an Italian luxury brand.

Seamstress Love

Yea! Another descriptive post to get the creative juices flowing.

This is about how I feel when I go through the design/sewing process. To me there is a certain unspoken language that seamstresses and designers have with fabric that is very hard to explain. Although parts of this may be cheesy, they are true to how I feel :)

Standing in the room, surrounded by bolts of fabric and notions; this is bliss. Taking the fabric and rubbing it between her thumb and index finger she determines the weight, the flow and the texture of the fabric. This is the one; the dark navy blue with hints of metallic steel gray silk charmuse. It feels like liquid softly brushing her fingers in a silent romance that can only be felt by a seamstress and her vision. She stares at the fabric, contemplating her next move. She gently holds the bolt of fabric as she walks around the store waiting for the spine-tingling sensation if inspiration to come to her. The ideas come flying all at once and she is bombarded with flashes of designs racing though her mind. Letting her thoughts settle, she decides to make the bulky bolt of fabric into an elegantly draped gown cut on the bias so that it hangs beautifully on the female figure enveloping her in pure luxury. She goes back to her studio in the city and begins to work gingerly with the four yards of fabric that she bought. Her heart flutters as she pins the fabric to her dress form. The vision comes more clearly now. Not only will it be a bias draped dress but it will have pleats across the bodice creating an X and a long, flowing skirt that touches the floor with its train and hem gradually coming up to right below the knee. She pins and pins the fabric, marking it and taking notes as she goes so she will be able to decode her own language. She plays with fabric for hours; she is in a Zen like state, calm and at ease. Finally, she sews. The whirl and wiz of the sewing machine is a sweet song that she hums along with while she works. The fabric does as it is told while she guides the pinned seams under the presser foot watching the blur of the needle pierce the fabric and create a small stitch. She takes her time to make sure the garment is perfect. She adds detailed stitching to the dress straps and finally puts in a zipper. She puts on the dress and runs to the mirror to assess her diligent work. Pleased with how it looks, she takes it off and hangs it in her room as art, waiting for the perfect event to come along and inspire her to wear it. Whether it be to classes or a cocktail party. The passionate affair is complete for now. It is time for another visit to the fabric store to fall in love all over again.

DIY Dorm: Wall Art

As I prepare for moving into my dorm in just these next few weeks, I have been working on making my own wall art for my room. I love creating collages so that is where I have started. So far I have made five big collages; each one is fashion themed and all the clippings are from old magazines. I thought, hey if I'm saving these pictures and articles already, why not take them out the file folders I usually keep them in and then never look at and make them something I will see every day and get daily inspiration from it all? So these past few days I have gone through about 2,000 articles and pictures (and that is no even half of my "collection")! Since I get six fashion magazines regularly and usually end up picking up one or two different ones off the news stand every month, I have a lot of material to work with.

Now there are pros and cons to having so much fashion to go through.

Pro: lots to choose from, fun to look at different magazines take on the same trend or even the same piece of clothing, never ending supply of inspiration.

Cons: it takes a LONG time to look at each page, it takes a LONG time to cut out each piece you like, it takes a LONG time to sort through everything in the end.

Now if you don't get as many fashion magazines as I do, you can always look up spreads online at fashion-spread.com, fashioneditorials.com or fashiongonerouge.com and of course style.com

Still, I love creating interesting compositions and color schemes. I also love how free and flowing a well-made collage can be. I like how easy it is to change up the composition of the piece too to suite your mood. I like that the art tells not only what you think is aesthetically pleasing but also shows your passions and most loved items. It is a conversation piece too, great when starting a new chapter in life (I need all the ice-breaking help I can get for college). Another reason to make your own dorm art is that these collages can double as mood boards or tend boards in the future too. (A mood board is essentially the first visual step in creating a fashion collection since it is where the designer places images, text and fabric textures and colors together to create a picture of the style a designer wants to achieve in their own collection. ) Now that we have that cleared up, I thought I would share a few of my collage/ mood boards that I have made thus far.

Another tip: after I get a composition I like I take a picture of it and then remove each layer and put each layer in a pile. I then reference my photo and glue the bottom layer down and work my way up. To preserve the piece (especially if it is going to be hanging on a wall) I "laminate" it by wrapping strips of clear packaging tape over the top and around the edges as a protective barrier.

Hope you like it :)

Project Runway

The fiercest show on television has arrived again! Gracing the streets of Manhattan and taking place in my favorite school, Parsons New School of Design (where I hope to be next year). "Make it work!" is ringing in my ears again and my mind is racing with fashion ideas as the show plays out on TV. As most of you know, last Thursday Project Runway season 9 premiered on Lifetime. Now anyone who knows me knows that this is my favorite television show ever. I was not big on fashion in the first season but after I started taking sewing classes in 2005, I learned of this wondrous show and fell head over heels, madly in love with it. All of it. Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, even Nina and of course the kick-ass contestants and the most amazing challenges. I find that each time I watch this show, no matter what season, I fall in love with fashion design all over again. I love that the challenges are unconventional and that the time limit and pressure is so intense you can feel the anxiety of the contestants oozing out the screen. I love most to hear about the contestants stories, what inspires them, where they are from, where they went to school, what makes them love fashion and sewing as much as I do. I love to hear the rip of fabric, snipping of scissors, the whir of sewing machines, the whoosh of fabric being opened and aired out. I love it all. Sigh

So like I was saying, the new season of Project Runway looks quiet interesting. After last seasons biggest debate ever over the winner, this season has a lot to contend with in terms of the drama and backstabbing that goes on in the workroom. I was excited though to see such a variety of designers this season though. My top picks so far are:

• Bert Ketter. At 57 he is super on trend and has a great eye for cut and style. He has a way of making difficultly constructed garments look effortless. And he went to Parsons.
• Anthony Ryan Auld. He is a southern boy with major fierceness. I love his modern and edgy clothing that look timeless at the same time. I also love that he is color blind yet he pairs colors perfectly, which I find super amazing. Plus he has survived cancer so you know he has a never-give-up attitude.
• Oliver Green. I mean who doesn't like a cute Asian with a British accent. Oh and his clothes are nice too.

This girl though just makes me mad.

• Anya Ayoung Chee

Why? Because she has been sewing for only 4 (!!!!!!) months!!!! Wtf! How in the heck do you make a freaking perfect pair of pants, her first pair of pants she had ever made mind you, and then make a cute silk top, her first time working with silk too, and not make it look like crap with only 10 hours to make it all? I personally think that she has been sewing quite a bit more then she says. I mean there is only so much god-given talent one can have when it comes to sewing. The fabric usually has a mind of it's own and tends to like to mess with people who push their luck with it. So I hope the next piece of fabric she has is mean to her. Hehe, yes I know I am mean.

Anyway, I am SUPER excited for Thursday nights now.

Auf Wiedersehen