Hi there, I'm Suzannah!
I started this blog in 2009 when, after a couple months of post-grad-school underemployment and idle time, I found myself sewing and home dec and furniture re-doing
all the time. A friend suggested I start a blog and keep track of all
my projects on it, and it just stuck! It’s grown to reach a great community of inspired and inspiring DIY,
sewing, fashion, and décor enthusiasts, and I love how I can spread the
word through simple tutorials and sharing my projects. I love the
blog world--it's like a magazine with new content every day! I
love checking back on my favorite blogs and web magazines and being
inspired by what I see.
I learned to sew growing up--neither my mom nor I remember exactly how or when I got started. She has a home-based business making amazing historical replica clothing for re-enactors and museums and such, and has been doing it for more than 20 years now. So I've grown up with not only a talented seamstress to watch and shop with, but a historian who insists on doing things the right way rather than the fast way. When I started sewing a lot myself, during the summers during my college years, I got a little experimental and tried things new ways. Some of them worked, others didn't. I've made plenty of ugly things out of cheap fabric, but I've learned by doing! Now, I use a lot of my mom's quality techniques and some tricks and systems of my own.
I love making dresses and furniture projects, but I also do a lot of fun mending and repurposing—turning a dress into a shirt, turning a shirt into a purse, turning a dress into a cuter dress. I’m also a pro thrift store shopper and bargain-hunter, when I have time; I have been known to bring home amazing treasures from the Goodwill Outlet ("the bins," as they call it here in Oregon) for $0.99/lb, and I’m great at shopping clearance and sale racks for what I need. A lot of my clothes come from thrift stores, which makes me feel better about the planet and human community involved in the new clothing industry, and saves money. Most of what I buy fits me right away, but some of it requires some tweaking. I’ve perfected the flared-work-pants-to-skinny-cropped-work-pants transformation, since no way to spend a lot of money on the latest, trendiest things when I can make them myself out of something old. I thrive in opportunity, to create something awesome out of something “blah”!
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| Our living room featuring homemade pillows, made over table, and my crazy huge re-done art DIY |
One of my favorite features on my blog is my How to Wear DIY series: street-style photos of me wearing something I’ve made myself, showing the world that I’m proud of my creations and wear them just like I do anything else. Homemade clothes don’t have to look like tea cozies and printed pajama pants. You can make all kinds of stylish things that will impress your DIYer and non-DIYer friends alike!
I got married in August of 2011, so you'll see a lot of DIY wedding posts from the summer months leading up to the wedding! I am a DIY-er by nature and almost always want to do things myself. It's more meaningful that way, and I can get exactly what I want! I made my dress and the bridesmaid dresses and lots of decor for the wedding. You can read about all the projects here and see some more pics here.
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| My wedding. Photo by Studio 623 Photography |
After lots of saving and living in terribly uninspired apartments ;), my husband and I bought a brand new townhome just outside Portland and I have been in absolute heaven enjoying the extra space and fully-functioning appliances. ;) I've been doing tons and tons of DIY decorating, from custom slipcovers to loooong, lined curtains to a glue gun sunburst mirror, and I don't expect to stop any time soon. There's always new inspiration to be had! I work full time (in a totally unrelated field) so I have limited time to sew, blog, and re-decorate, but I check on my fave blogs every day and think about sewing all the time! And I tweet and share pics via Instagram. Check me out. And, see my FAQ page for more info about me and this blog!
Adventures in Dressmaking can been seen in many places around the (fabulous!) blog world... here are a few!
The Budget Fashionista
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