Hobbit Female Costume

Female hobbit costume, Custom made for you! Includes lace up in back, two-tone, bodice with metal grommets [Or hand sewn eyelets upon request which will up the cost], a gathered, button closure at waistband, two layered skirt. [Under dress/under shirts not included, but can be ordered separately.]

Estimated cost: $90.00

Please contact me for details and ordering! Kerry.bond88@yahoo.com 

Adventures in Wedding Tripping + DIY Embroidery Hoop Wedding Gift

Once upon a time...

So, I had this friend. And she is pretty cool. We met once in Missouri and then she went back home to Northern Illinois and we wrote letters for four years before we met again.

Then I visited her. And she had a party, so I got to meet all her cool friends that she'd been writing to me about for the past four years. 

Then they became my friends, too! 

Then one day, two of those friends of my friend, got friendlier. ;^) Having known each other for, like, ever, they discovered that it was no accident that they were such good friends.

So, 'they knew that this was much more than a hunch', and he asked, and she said yes, and plans were made, and invitations sent. And this friend of a friend [me!] was invited to go [and bring a guest!]. 

So there I was, hum-druming, about who I could take with me... And I decided to take one of my awesome best friends, so these cool people could meet. 

We had a great adventure journeying to the north country and over came many obstacles [really, it's a long story]. And finally made it there the day of the wedding!  

We primped and drove through the snowy city-side to a beautiful church and witnessed a beautiful union of God joined love-birds. [The bride walked down the isle to the song "Life is Beautiful" by the afters; like my favorite part!]

Hearts were moved, lives joined, hearty laughter had by all and happy tears shed. 

They were pronounced Husband and Wife, there was a kiss, and a grand exit. There was a starbucks pit stop, and a quaint reception with adorable details, keurig coffee, tasty horderves, donuts and cupcakes. There were pin-wheels and mason jars, striped straws and baby cheese balls, there were old friends and new, precious flower girls and more cupcakes. And...

There was snow. More and more snow. It was magical. It softly glistened the whole day, covering anything that wasn't already hidden in snow. 

There were instagram moments and well wishes. There was speeches and tears, speeches and laughter, there were clinking glass and kisses, there was joy all around. And a proper send off in the snow on their way to a honeymoon destination. 

Then there were leaving guests, and guests who didn't want to leave. There were some goodbyes, and other-non-goodbyers. There were mentioned plans, and then sitting and soaking in the last moments of a glorious day. There was talking, and then no talking, but there was still a sort of communication. There was still snow as darkness fell, comfy clothes where exchanged for formal ones, people piling in cars to skid through the snow packed 'back-roads', and a stop at Oberwise where there was shared chocolate milk for all.

Then these Southern Missouri girls [Missour-ee, not Missour-a!!] where taken back to the train for another journey [thought less eventful!] with the memories of a whirlwind weekend still swirling in our heads. There was long talks, and no talk, and there was lots of snack eating. There was interesting train-rest-room-going, and lots of IL fields covered in snow. There were bridges and the Arch, there were parents waiting for us at the station, there was two more hours of sitting in a confined space, and then...

There was home. 

Happy Thursday,

Kerry

Muslin 1710 Shirt - Hope Purple is okay for a guy...

I've been commissioned to make a gentleman's costume from 1710-1720. It's very specific and I'm working on the pattern drafting and muslin fitting pieces.

The 'third hand' comes in handy for hand sewing work. 

It's just a brick, with a rice bag on top, covered in wool. :^) Doubles as a pin cushion. 

Hand sewn shirt hems. Wrong side view.

Right side view. 

The final version of this shirt will be made from beached linen. Not blue cotton. But I like to just use cheap-what-I-have-stuff for muslins. 

Done! It's a little clown-ish with the blue/purpleness, but, it was great practice!

Till next week!

Kerry

Ladies Leather Coat Redesigned

And for my next trick....

I'll take a boring ladies [fake] leather jacket and...

Cut the sleeves off and reshape sides so they aren't so much an hour-glass figure...

rework the front adding darts and pleats creating an asymmetrical closure...

And use the sleeves to make leather lace-up bracers...

And you've got one epic boy's costume. Ready for battle. 

Friendship Shirts - Tutorial

I'm going to put together a little tutorial of how to make friendship shirts. You've seen friendship bracelets, and necklaces, and rings, and bread, but have you ever seen friendship shirts???

So, I'm always impressed by the bloggers who do these REALLY amazing Step-by-step tutorials for DIY's and I can't even imagine the amount of time it took them to make their item with all the stoping and snapping they were doing; not to mention how long it would take to organize all the shots and directions in their 20 mile long blog post.

To you, fearsome tute-blogger, my hat is off.

But, honestly, I don't need that much direction. So I skip over the tiny steps and leap to the end where I go, 'Oh, yeah, like that', then I run off to the sewing room and whip it up. So, this tutorial is gonna be like that; highlights and bam, your done. :^) If you need more steps, or have questions, I'm MORE than willing to answer anything in the comments below!

What You'll Need:
2 shirts of the same exact brand, style, size, but different colors/patterns

That's pretty much it. Well, besides a sewing machine, pins, scissors and matching thread. But we all knew that!

First off, check the sizing. If it doesn't fit you right, you wont wear it right and it wont look as cute and you wont like it and you just might give up on your sewing skill and chuck the machine out the window... But before you do that! Find a shirt that DOES fit you nice and lay it on top of both shirts to for this project and start pinning. Like this! vv

 

Pin the first shirt, then the second shirt underneath, following the lines of the shirt you know fits and you love because of it. Then you will stitch along the inside of this pinning line [or right on the pin line].

Remember to follow on up into the sleeves if they are larger then the sleeves of your favorite shirt. Then let the line decrease as you near the end of the sleeve.

Above is my two shirts altered to fit me from using a shirt I already love the fit of. [After this I trimmed a 1/4 inch seam allowance and surged the edges to finish.

 

Then I shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length and simply surged them to finish; didn't mess with any fancy finishing and it rolls up cute!

 

Now, fold your shirt in half, making sure the seams line up and it is very smooth. Then cut it down the middle. I did one layer at a time, the first...

... then folded that layer back and cut the second layer. [that way if there was a weird fold on the underneath layer, I wont just cut right through it and mess up my nice straight line]

 

Your shirt should look about like this now. Go ahead and do the same thing to the other one!

 

I almost forgot! Remove the tags before you cut the shirts in two. It will be easier.

 

Now for the awesome part! Take the right side of one color/pattern of shirt, and pin it right-sides-together with the left side of the opposite shirt. {make sure you have fronts to fronts and backs to backs}

 

another shot of the fronts pinned right sides together.

 

 

Don't do this. Due to the slippery satin trim it liked to slip unevenly. This is tacky. Get out that seam ripper and make it right. Even Steven!

 

First shirt done! Still inside out, stitched and surged.

 

Do the same thing with the next shirt and you have a cute shirt and an extra to give to a friend!

 

 

From this...

 

 

...to this!

 

__________________________________

 

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Kerry

Spring Savings!

Hello everyone!! This post is to update you on what's happening this month at Simply Natural Designs. Two things, so keep reading...

#1. 10% off all items every weekend.
Every weekend this month [April 2013] you can get 10% off all items on the etsy store. Simply use the COUPON CODE : "SPRINGSAVINGS" to get 10% off your total purchase every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in April! Go to www.SimplyNaturalDesigns.etsy.com to start shopping!
[If you are local to Potosi area, let me know before you make your purchase and we can work out a pick-up so you don't have to pay for shipping!]

 

#2. 20% of every sale goes to Run For the Son.
Every day from April 1st until May 4th, 20% of every sale made on or off line will benefit the CMA [Christian Motorcyclist Association] yearly fundraiser, Run For the Son [RFS]. Of the funds raised, CMA gives away 60% of it to other Christian organizations dedicated to spreading the gospel. These organization include:



       The JESUS Film Project - This ministry takes the film about Jesus to countries all over the world, from remote jungles to inner cities, to share the Gospel in the peoples native language [or 'heart-language']. Then, they provide them with discipleship mentors and Biblical materials as well as an audio Bible in their heart-language.
        OpenDoors - This ministry, founded by Brother Andrew, smuggles Bibles into restricted nations, bring Truth and Hope to many lost in darkness, and serving persecuted Christians worldwide.
        Missionary Ventures International - This third ministry partner provides transportation to indigenous pastors so they can travel farther, faster, and reach more of their country men with the Gospel. They often receive motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, boats, horses and even donkeys; what ever is the most useful for them and their area.
        Christian Motorcyclist Association - This ministry is dedicated to 'Changing the world, one heart at a time'. They strive to reach out primarily to motorcyclists, but not exclusively, with the Gospel of Christ. They print and provide tracts, and training tools to equip members to reach out to their communities with love, truth and hope.

We are shown that through averages over the years [this fundraiser has been going strong since 1988!] each dollar that Run For the Son receives equals 10 people hearing the gospel and 1 person making a decision for Christ!

So, if you go to my website and purchase three tubes of lip balm for 9.00 [but you get 10% off! -.90 = 8.10] and 20% of that goes to missions that = $1.80. Nearly 20 people will hear the gospel in their native tongue and 2 will make a decision for follow Christ! Praise the Lord that He can use that for His glory!

I think I've covered everything, if you have any questions, let me know!!

Blessings

-Kerry-