style files: striped midi skirt

skirt: aerie, shirt: old navy, shoes: graceland, necklace: aerie, bracelets: aerie, lisa leonard, ae, sunglasses: ae 

as you are reading this i have once again packed our bags and hauled the kiddo across the country to be with dada. we are spending some time in chicago and looking forward to the end of the season (it's almost here) :) yay!

i have a few posts scheduled for the rest of the week and I'll be back early next week. 

if you think you're gonna miss me like crayzay you can follow via instagram ;) 

diy: leather sleeve shirt

i've been admiring leather detail shirts all over the place for a while now but the ones I like have either been sold out or way too expensive. so I figured why not make my own version using a $2 tee from goodwill and some of this leather imitation fabric I bought 2 whole yards of at wal mart a few months ago when it was on clearance... have I ever mentioned I'm a craft hoarder? 

here are a few inspiration pictures of leather trimmed shirts and shirts with leather sleeves I had saved: 

source I, source II

since my t-shirt's sleeves weren't long enough to do something like that second picture I ended up with a very similar but shorter version. i also thought about putting the pocket in but holding up a piece of leather it just didn't look quite right.

i did the actual sewing part when it was already dark so I didn't take any good pictures of my process but I'll try to describe it as best as I can.

what you'll need: 

a t-shirt

about 1/4 yard of leather 

(real would be great, make sure it's soft and thin, i used pleather) 

sewing machine

matching thread

a seam opener

scissors 

lay your shirt's sleeve flat like in the picture. open the seam (dotted line) several inches on each side of the shoulder seam. the size depends on your individual shirt and how large you'd like your leather piece to be. once your seam is open, cut out the fabric as you can see in the picture but leave about a 1/4 inch on each side, this is what you will sew the leather piece to. repeat on other side.

now cut out your two matching pieces of leather. make sure you leave extra on all 4 sides. 

turn your shirt inside out and place the leather piece right side down. using the extra t-shirt fabric you left earlier match up all 3 sides and sew a straight line down each. I recommend you start with the opened seam side and just sew right along where the seam used to be. then sew down the sides starting at the top. this may take a little bit of adjusting as you go. make sure to go slow! do this for the other sleeve as well.

now turn the shirt right side out again. all that's left to do is fold in the extra leather on the bottom of each sleeve and sew a straight line across. you can now also trim off any excess fabric/leather on the inside of the shirt. 

done :) 

i know this is probably not the "right way" a seamstress would do this but it worked for me. if you have any questions at all let me know!

find more inspiration here!

bits&pieces

just a few bits&pieces from life lately, including...

... getting down and dirty on hot days playing with sand and water. is there a better combo for a little boy?

... your own sandwich creation that turns out amazing, fresh vegetables from the garden and a sweet surprise from that wonderful husband, because parenting on your own for extended periods can get pretty though sometimes

... a box of free goodies from everlane and a few new things to wear for fall. labor day sales folks! 

... various shopping carts and rides

... play dates, big puppies and sunshine

... a date night, the first well baby visit without dada and some early morning book reading in bed with the sun coming through the window

happy friday and a great weekend :) 

win ad space on the forge!!

hey folks! the husband is off for the first time in 3 weeks today so he went out to get a massage and i am quickly popping in to let you know that you can currently win some ad space for this blog of mine right here, over at modern modest beauty's 1000 follower giveaway.

there are 15 different prizes and 15 winners so make sure to take a look and enter as many as you can. there are some great blogs involved and I would love to feature one of your lovely buttons here very soon :)

ok, now I gotta get back to enjoying having my man home for the rest of the day!

if you knew me... and an outfit

skirt: edc by esprit, top: zara, sunglasses: AE, branch earrings: lovestitched

so i thought i'd make this a weekly thing where i let you know all about the quite interesting things you'd possibly know if we were real life friends ;)

here we go...

• i am super afraid of unknown situations. i like to talk things through with someone who has done that thing before and make sure i am prepared for all possible outcomes. it's actually pretty crazy and sometimes i catch myself not doing something because i'm afraid i'll look like an idiot...
• i can't sing one bit! my poor baby boy still thinks my voice is lovely but i'm sure that won't last much longer
• i fell in love with hawaii on our honeymoon and can't wait to go back for our 10 year anniversary.
• i've never been to disney world, passed it on the highway but never actually went in. i hear the most amazing things and can't wait to go. 
• ok you've probably heard this one before but i actually get along better with men than women. i don't know what it is but i've been let down by a lot of girls i considered close friends, so i think i've got my guard up a little. 
• i did ballet for 5 years as a young girl and have always regretted that i quit. the darn tights were too itchy! apparently i was quite good also... 
• i have bad road rage ;) 
• when i'm stressed or bored i pick at my fingernails and peel off the layers that split. 
• i have refused to go to Paris (the french one) every time someone has tried to get me to go, which has been quite a few times. i know you probably think i am crazy! i've actually been on a bus ride through paris and the airport quite a few times. however, i have horrible memories of learning french in school and everything connected to france so i just stay away ;) i fear though that the next time we are visiting my family (in germany) my husband will convince me to take the 4 hour train ride on a little getaway... can't say no forever, can i? 

By the way, I'm going on a little trip to Chicago next week. Any locals with suggestions on what to do, where to eat, etc...? I've been there twice before but never with a toddler so any suggestions will be helpful. We are staying downtown and I will be mostly walking everywhere. Thanks :)  

diy: embroidered photo art

did you all have a great labor day? we had a little family cook out at my in-law's place and the weather actually turned out pretty nice too.

i know i still owe a t-shirt makeover tutorial for last week but i really wanted to share a little bit of a different project first. 

i've had this idea in my head for quite a while now, 9 months to be exact, and i just now finally got around to actually making these embroidered photos, ironed onto fabric and stretched in embroidery hoops. 

this is a fairly easy project that can be adapted whichever way you'd like. the embroidery part is definitely what takes the most time here but even that depends on how quickly you work and how intricate your design is.

to make one frame you will need:

full page, light fabric transfer paper for ink jet printers (i used avery brand item number 327, 6 sheets per package)

a embroidery hoop (make sure you don't go bigger than what you can print on a sheet of transfer paper, 8.5"x 11" and remember your printer can't print all the way to the edge of the paper)

white cotton muslin fabric

embroidery thread and needle

paint in case you want to paint your frames/hoops a different color

a photograph of your choice turned to black and white

first measure the diameter of your frame and size your picture accordingly using either photoshop or another photo editing program of your choice. most programs should be able to let you turn your image into a circular image. you also need to turn the image black and white. 

next check to see if your printer will automatically print the image in reverse (mirror image) when you select "print on photo transfer paper" in your print menu. mine did this after i had manually created a mirror image in photoshop and it really threw me off at first ;) make sure to print the trial image on regular paper first! 

if your printer doesn't automatically create a mirror image (maybe because you don't have the "print on photo transfer paper" option, make sure to create a mirror image before you print onto the transfer paper. once ironed onto the fabric your image will be right side up again. does that make sense? 

if you are using photoshop you can do this by going into the image drop down menu, selecting rotate canvas and then flip canvas horizontal. 

if you can't seem to get your picture round, you can always use a rectangular embroidery frame as well.

once you have printed your mirror image onto the transfer paper simply iron it onto the fabric according to the package directions. let the fabric cool completely before removing the backing paper. 

then stretch the fabric with the image in the embroidery hoop and tighten it well. 

now you are ready to embroider a design of your own or use the following ideas:

hearts

stars 

balloons

necklaces 

earrings

speech bubbles 

sun

moon

it is also fun to go with something that is already present in your image. maybe someone is holding something you embroidered into their hand. you could even take your image with that purpose. 

you don't have to use a picture of your child, anything is possible. just be creative with it. you can of course use a cross stitch or a straight stitch like i did, the possibilities are endless.

now all you have to do is make sure your fabric is stretched tightly (it may have given a little during embroidering) and trim the excess on the back. 

find the perfect spot to show off your work and hang them on the wall. 

mine balances fairly easily even though the hardware makes them heavier to one side. you can always use a little weight on the inside of the frame if you can't seem to get them to hang straight. 

let me know if you gave this a go and what embroidery ideas you came up with, i'd love to add them to this post. 

like to see more craft ideas? go here

would love it if you

 :) 

linking up here

currently...

...wearing 

1/2/3/4/5/6

or maybe i should say dreaming about wearing this since in reality it is still way too warm.

...listening to

blood - the middle east
in your light - gotye
fire and rain - birdy 

you and me - DMB

be my downfall - del amitri 

all over now - eric hutchinson

sort of - ingrid michaelson

the a team - ed sheeran 

the shape of us - ian britt 

a case of you - james blake

i'm on my way - rich prince

all things go - chiddy bang 

this ain't a love song - scouting for girls 

...watching

season 5 of rescue me on netflix

...cooking 

these delicious recipes

peach blackberry crisp (holy delicious and soooo easy!) 

crab rangoon (i could eat these every day) 

what about you?