Card Club: August

Here's this month's card for my card group!

It was inspired by this card, that I found on Pinterest.  I loved how simple it was and how fast it went together.

Vintage Fun

I've had a couple opportunities lately to visit some vintage shops. I really love vintage clothing. I love vintage style, whether it's new or old, of course. But, there's something about actual vintage dresses that you just can't beat. I love thinking about the history vintage dresses have seen.

Check out all those hats!  I think I need hats to make a comeback...

I loved this dress.  The sheer over-skirt is a little worse for the wear, but the style and the yellow rose fabric is great.

This one was taffeta.  There's a similar repro pattern out there--I may need to make this dress.  In a brighter fabric, though.  Maybe pink?

I've really been into border prints lately.  This isn't exactly a border print, of course, but it kind of has the same vibe.  How cute would this be with a red cardigan?

Totally a Mad Men dress.  In fact, the tag listed it as a 1960s "Secretary Dress."

How's this for a formal.  Anyone out there wear gold daisies to prom?  1970s dresses are kind of awesome.  :)

I love the simplicity of this 1940s formal.

This one's even better though.  If it'd been my size I totally would have bought it to wear to my next 1940s Winter Ball.  I love the flowers on the bottom.

I was really excited to find this 1930s dress.  I haven't come across many dresses that old.  I love the inverted, contrasted pleats and the scalloped button placket.  Very cool.

This brocade dress and matching coat were beautiful.  And heavy.  Very heavy.  I can't imagine wearing that out for the evening.  My shoulders would be killing me.

This one was actually my size. I was tempted to buy it.  I've often wanted a beautiful 1950s prom dress like this (with, of course, a full petticoat underneath to get that fun fluffy skirt).  But, really, where would I wear it?

Another 1940s formal.  Kind of storybook-esque, with that high collar and the laces on the skirt.

This shop had a bunch of 40s evening gowns.  I was having the afternoon of my life.  :)

Okay, and this one is a hoot.  It's covered in bees and beehives. It's a Utah dress.  It even had a matching belt, covered in the same fabric.

See the little scroll with "Utah" on it?  I'm kind of in love with this dress.  If it'd been my size, I might have bought it just for kitsch value alone!

Oh, what fun vintage shops are!  

Little Man Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower for a friend of mine last month. She's having a little boy, so I threw her a "Little Man" themed baby shower.

I designed these cute little invitations (and cut out a bunch of little neckties by hand!).

I also cut out neckties for garlands to decorate the party area with.

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

And, of course, we had a refreshment table.  Neckties, bowties, plaid, and mustaches were everywhere.

I served fruit, veggies and dip, and some necktie sugar cookies. 

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

 I didn't have a necktie-shaped cookie cutter, nor did I want to pay $12 for the one I found online.  So, I used this tutorial from Come on, Ilene to make my own cookie cutter from a soda can!

And, of course, there were cupcakes.  

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

I got the mustaches for the cups in the Dollar Spot at Target.  My kids had fun with the leftover cups, pretending to have mustaches.  :)

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

And, I ordered a mold from amazon.com to make the chocolate mustaches.  Those were a lot of fun, too.  

Photo by TiffanyB Photography

I had a lot of fun putting together this baby shower!  And, I've got two more coming up this fall--fun times! 

Black and White Polka Dot Dress

If it seems I've been a little MIA lately, it's because I've been traveling. Among those travels was my cousin's wedding. And, of course, a wedding is a perfect excuse to make a new dress! My cousin's colors were black, white, and red. So, I made this cute black and white dress (and a red headband to go with it!).

While looking for black-and-white-dress inspiration, I came across this lovely from ModCloth:

I loved the scallops on the neckline and hem, and decided it was the one to recreate.  Using my trusty Simplicity 2591 pattern (from which I also made this dress) and Michael Miller's Ta-Dot fabric, I set out to make a dress with a similar look.

Last time, I used view C.  This time, I used view A, but with a slightly altered neckline and different sleeves.  I lowered the neckline a bit and put on full sleeves rather than cap sleeves.  Cap sleeves and high necklines do me no favors!  :)

I also added scallops to the skirt hem, neckline, and sleeves.  I don't have a machine that will do the scalloped embroidery the way I wanted, and there was no way I was going to hand embroider all of that.  So, I got a little creative and used black piping instead of embroidery.

Front view:

Back view:

It's basically a simple dress, but I think the scalloped edges make it a little more unique than if I'd just done a plain polka-dot dress.  I really like my new dress.  :)