Rachael's Handmade Designs

I've never sewn a proper dress before. In my Junior year of high school in my Shakespeare class I made a shitty reproduction period gown on a half broken sewing machine, which surprisingly didn't turn out that poorly, minus the bright teal color and some minor gaposis, but overall, not a proper dress. So this Cheetah print 50's dress was really one of my first sewing projects of clothing that I intend to wear. I decided to use Butterick's B6055 Retro 50's pattern for starters. Its a pretty straightforward pattern and I washed and pressed the fabric before I began cutting out my items. Cutting out the various pieces The top cut out. The right hand side has been left open for the zipper. Working on the collar. The collar should not have been as much of a challenge as it was, but I got through it. :P Not sure how professional it is, but hey, works for me! Moving onto the skirt. Separate panels cut and sewn together. Flipped...

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I have a passion for anything pinup or vintage. I want to share that passion with you, so I'm expanding this blog from just papercrafts to my other creative endeavors as well such as sewing and vintage hunting/finding. Check out this adorable vintage-style apron I created the other week! I found the vintage pattern and cute fabric at Hobby Lobby. This is my second attempt at sewing an apron. The first one, which was about two years ago, I did not use a pattern and was a total disaster as a result (: Useful tip: use a pattern! :)  I'm so happy with how this little gem turned out. Now I can bake a cake without getting myself covered in flour and cake batter! I plan to sew the other aprons from this pattern set when I return from Hawaii. They are the full vintage apron style, and now that I have this apron under my belt, I'm confident that I can sew them! Super fun, super easy! Got to go fabric shopping! :...

Welcome back! Thanks for joining me! I haven't been creating very much lately because I my boyfriend was in town, and we were out and about doing other things like going to the lake and water park. So much fun! Now that his visit is over, I have a little more time on my hands. Tonight I completed a layout for our scrapbook and started and completed another! (Well, all but the title.) I was looking for inspiration to make a card and I came across a funny and cute little attribute that I've never seen before! Inchies!! Funny little one-inch squares. Usually it's a collage square that incorporates a background, image, or a word or letter. Julie O'Neil created these funny things as a way to integrate many works into one cohesive, quilt-like piece of art. I think they're great! They can be made of either paper or fabric and have become a viable form of art and format for card-makers specifically. Here are a couple that I love! photo courtesy of PhizzyChick on flickr...

Welcome Back. I have been working with my seamstress Dawn since August of 2010. She's made some wonderful items for me and I've been so happy with her work that I decided to interview her for my blog. So, here  we go. 1. What’s your name and shop name and what do you do? My name is Dawn and my shop is Eleen Fashions though I goofed and used my nickname when setting up my store. I create and or recreate dress from all eras. I am vintage inspired and most of my orders reflect that. 2. Where are you located? In the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon about 40 minutes from Portland. 3. What’s the favorite part of your craft? Good response from my customers. I love when they love their dresses! 4. How long have you been crafting? I’ve been an artist all my life. I have been selling seriously for the past 2 years. 5. What’s your favorite thing to make? Wedding gowns 6. What kind of camera do you use to shoot? Samsung L730 7. Who or what models your items? ...

Hi Again! Well, I did it. I finally replaced my old jammed up semi-pro with a brand spakin' new Nikon pro. YAY! Hooray for gorgeous photos! Now the pictures my cards (of which I have yet to make) will portray the true awsomeness as seen in person. lol, right?;) Therefore, stay tuned for some stellar photos! :D Also can be viewed here . I have a project I'm in the middle of, actually. I'm making a small handbag as just a simple sewing project. I'm about 3/4's of the way done, but I lost steam and need to bust out the rest. I should take out my craft table again and set up my sewing machine and just GET IT DONE! It's been so damn hot here in Seattle like the last two weeks. On top of not feeling very creative, it's been difficult to want to do anything but sit in front of the fan and drink a cold beer. HA! Stay cool, all!

Last week while I was house-sitting I made a funny little card/invitation. I tried a few new techniques and used a new Cricut cartridge (Songbird) for this card. Although I can't say that I'm *totally* stoked about how this card turned out, I think it was a more of a 'first draft' to make mistakes on and to learn and try out different things on. (Sewing, more layers, a different technique of inking, etc.) I've been trying to make this card work for WEEKS. It just. wouldn't. work. Maybe it doesn't even now, what do YOU think? (For more photos, you can see my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactionphotography/)