Giving Handmade

So my friend is going to have her baby very soon.  I finally put together a little package before their bundle of joy comes.  I went to her whale themed baby shower a month ago and I figured I wanted to go along with this theme, being that it's also the nursery theme.  I sewed up some whale softies: a dark blue and polka dotted one (which were on her baby shower invites too) and ordered other handmade goodies from Etsy.  Do you like giving handmade gifts to friends and family??

Polka dotty whale handmade by me.  

Dark blue whale...this one was a little trickier to sew compared to the other (for whatever reason).

Whales that color coordinate together, stick together.  Aww.

Mommy to be took a picture of the whales in the room.  So adorable!

Whale necklace made by Laonato. How perfect for the mom-to-be!

Custom made cassette band onesie by Little Atoms.   

Let's Go Brunching

Time to meet up with some friends.  One of my favorite times to meet is during the weekend for brunch.  Something with the time of the day, or being able to have some mimosas makes it a wonderful time to chat it up and make some new memories to talk about for the next time.  I thought I would make a little outfit with my mustard clutch that I made a few months ago.  Let me know what you think.  Do you like to brunch? 

Let's Go Brunching by delachic featuring snake jewelry

J.Crew three quarter sleeve dress / Luxury Rebel platform wedge / Maison Martin Margiela snake jewelry / Lauren Ralph Lauren ralph lauren jewelry

Look What I Got!!

In my previous post, I showed you all what I made for my Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange "giftee".  Now I get to show what I received in the mail from my "gifter".  Through Elfster, my gifter asked me questions to get to know me and my craft persona.  I also shared my blog site, etsy, and Pinterest.  This is what she came up with the information that I gave her!!! Isn't it great?!  She has some serious sewing skills that I wished that I had.  I can't wait to go and use my bag with matching key fob and coin purse. I love the color combination that she used!!  So me!

Bag with wooden handle, key fob, and coin purse made by my craft exchange gifter.

Polka dotty purse...too cute.  How did she know I like polka dots?!

Mustard fabric with blossom branches inside the bag.  I love mustard...the color and the condiment!

Key fob and coin purse.  Too cute to use....but I might have to ASAP!

A huge thanks to Linda of Craftaholics Anonymous for organizing a great gift exchange.  I hope that everyone who participated had as much fun as I did!  If you'd like to see what others made or received from their gifter please check out the Handmade Gift Exchange Linky Party!

My Lace Top

I've been meaning to post the lace top that I've made last month.  I found the very reasonably priced fabric at the store and I thought that it would be perfect to make a lace tee with it.  Nothing fancy, just straight and simple - perfect with some black denim jeans.

I took one of my boxy shirt and made a pattern on paper.

I cut the paper pattern. 

Took another piece of paper and made a pattern of the upper part (shoulder & neckline) to make the front 

neckline pattern of the shirt which is lower than the first pattern.

Fold the patterns lengthwise (top to bottom) to make sure the sides are even or symmetrical.

Cut the fabric making sure to leave about a half an inch seam allowance.  I stitched the pattern by hand just because 

I like to make sure to try it on before using the sewing machine. 

Sew the sides on the sewing machine.

Sew the shoulder part.  (I also stitched by hand first before using the sewing machine)

I stitched the hem on the neckline by hand with matching thread.  I didn't even sew it on the machine.

I did the same thing for the sleeves; stitched it up by hand and called it a day.

The "wrong" side of the shirt.

Luckily the bottom of the shirt didn't need to be hemmed.

Granny Wardrobe Challenge

I was asked by Tori of My Thrifty Chic to do a Wardrobe Challenge: Granny Re-do.  First and foremost, if you like to be stylish and budget friendly then you want to keep up with Tori's blog which is full of outfit and fashion posts that won't hurt your wallet at all.  One of my favorite features in her blog is her outfit posts where almost everything she wears comes from a second hand store or thrift shop.  I think that's amazing.  That takes a lot of time, patience, and an "eye" for key pieces.  I'd love to go shopping with her one day!
The granny re-do challenge: get something from your grandmother's closet (or something vintage and thrifted) and re-make it into something modern.  I do not consider myself a fashion blogger at all, however, I do love fashion; clothes, shoes, accessories, you name it.  Needless to say I accepted the challenge, and took the opportunity to use my newly discovered sewing skills to make a dress from two different vintage shirts that I bought from the Goodwill and Salvation Army.  You might recognize one of the shirts from my thrift tour post.  Please take the time to check out what my other fellow bloggers did for this wardrobe challenge!

I cut off the top part of the orange shirt and attached the bottom half to the bottom of the cream shirt.  I took in a few inches on both sides and then ended up with my very own color block dress that looks very similar to those seen in magazines.  I'm quite pleased with my end result.  Mission accomplished.

Franco Sarto leopard print pumps

Thrifted clutch / F21 feather necklace

L Chico's bracelet, thrifted mesh ring/ R Nordstrom BP owl ring, Target watch

Check out these fashionable ladies who participated in the Granny Re-Do Challenge:

Top Left: Katie from - Hems for Her

Top Center: [ME] Christine from - Dela Chic 

Top Right: Kari from - Style at a Steal 

Bottom Left: Melissa from - The Key to Chic 

Bottom Middle: Tori from - My Thrifty Chic 

Bottom Right: Megan from - The Frugalista Diaries


Thanks so much Tori for the opportunity to do the wardrobe challenge! I had a lot of fun with it.

Liking Leopard Print

  Now that I started sewing, I thought that the next perfect accessory project was making a leopard print clutch.  I found a new fabric store close by that's not the usual chain store.  It's the type of store that you have to look at every bolt of fabric since it's not quite organized.  That's ok because it's worth the affordable price!! So anyway, I bought some leopard print fabric and I happened to have some solid print canvas handy (yea I have canvas fabric handy, so what?).  I also thought that these would be perfect blogger meet up gifts for my girls: Lydia, Megan, and Courtney who've pretty much somehow influenced my liking to leopard print.

Just in case you want to know:

Shirt: F21

Skirt: thrifted

Plastic antler necklace: Grime

Bracelet: gift

Ring: thrifted

Clutch: My DIY

I've Been Busy

In my previous post, I just put together my Christmas present from my sister.  This was my first ever project, and it came out pretty good too!  Picked myself up some vinyl and a zipper, already had some extra fabric lying around, et voila!  I am impressed with myself as a novice sewer.  I think I will be adding more clutches to my collection.  Shhh... don't tell my husband.  I'm not sure if I want to embellish the clutch yet.  Might use it a few times, then I'll think of ideas.  Of course when I do, I'll be posting it up.

By the way, this was the first time I was in front of the camera.  I got to use my brand new wireless remote shutter release.  It took me a while to get used to it, but I wanted to show the clutch being "used".

My New Toy

To my surprise my sister gave me a sewing machine this past Christmas [thanks Marie!].  I was so excited and thrilled to get one.  For someone like me, this was a really great present.  It's been a few months since I got this beaut, and I just recently FINALLY used it.  

I've been using my Mama's vintage sewing machine.  You know, the one that is attached to a table, and has a leaf that opens and closes so you can actually hide the sewing machine [I'll have to take a picture of it one day].  After many years of using that one, this new one took a while to get used to.  Yes, I actually HAD TO read the manual.  There's still a few things to read about, but I'll get to it when I get to it.  So far this machine is simple and effective, and will get me to a new level of craftiness!  I can't wait to make things with it...maybe finally sewing over my hand sewn stitches on my curtains...or make some new products for my etsy shop...or refashion some thrift finds..or even make new fashion accessories similar to the ones that I drool over on magazines.  The possibilities are endless!!  I plan on making something with this new toy very soon.