Elke in Fleece

The Elke Dress by My Childhood Treasures is my current favorite dress, this one being my third iteration. I made two in red interlock, one for Miki and one for a friend's daughter. This one I made in a polar fleece I had in my stash for my darling niece. She turns one in January, but is already outgrowing...

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Part Three: Eye Brightening with a Great GIMP Script

Mommy Studio has this amazing tutorial for her free script that enhances the eyes in a photo. It is based on the CoffeeShopBlog Eye Bright action, and is very easy to follow. Please follow her steps - I really love the clean, easy effect it gives. Here are my before and after pics from following...

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Part Two: Quick Tutorial for Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose script in GIMP

This is part two of the Interpreted Tutorial from TheCoffeeShopBlog.com, except that in this tutorial everything I describe is my own work. The original tutorial explains a Photoshop action which cannot be deployed in GIMP, so I found an alternate way to do things. This segment deals with just skin...

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Interpreted tutorial for fixing exposure and remove color cast and to fix blemishes

Rita, of TheCoffeeShopBlog has a brilliant, free tutorial on fixing exposure and removing color casts from a free photo of a lovely little model. Go see her tutorial here. I don't have Photoshop, which her tutorial is written for, but with a little patience and a lot of Google, I...

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GIMP High Pass tutorial using FX Foundry

Here's a before and after using this tutorial, and the referenced photo. Followed most of the steps, and the high pass filter I used was a part of the brilliant FX Foundry pack, since GIMP doesn't have one of its own. Mine is a little different from the final photo in the tutorial, but that is...

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GIMP: Increase vividness of photos

Often, I find my point-and-shoot nikon camera takes less than stellar photos. No doubt it is because I am not a skilled photographer, but hey, isn't that what post processing is for? While I can't fix a horrible photo yet, I can definitely increase the vividness of the picture, breathing some much needed...

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Photo Editing with GIMP for modeled photos

In my previous posts, I mentioned that I was looking to take better photographs. What is a better photo, you ask? In my opinion, a photo that shows great details of the subject, while putting the background where it belongs (in the background), is a better photo. In the context of modeled dresses, the...

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Jennuine Design's LOL Swing Top in Christmassy prints

A light, summery swing top in glittery Christmas fabric, is there any better way to make sure I reach for this dress all year round? For Christmas this year Miki will wear this cute top with leggings and a thermal undershirt, and maybe bloomers if I can swing them. When we visit India next year, I plan...

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Tester photos and review: HeidiandFinn's Bubble Dress!

Heidi and Finn  just re-released their super chic Bubble Dress, for which I was a tester. The dress, with FULL sizes, 12m-12y, is on sale for only $5 until Sunday, 12/7/14! It is only available in their craftsy store. Run to buy the pattern here! Here are Miki's photos - I just love how delicate...

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Tester Bliss!

After my lamenting about not being asked to test a couple of patterns, I got accepted to test THREE patterns! Two for Miki and one gorgeous one for me.The designers are pretty amazing, accepting our suggestions and helping us along. I am starting to understand just how hard it is to be a designer, having...

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A Cute Leopard Print Outfit!

I have been sewing Miki some new outfits, mostly making tunics and leggings. I love sewing Love Notions' free pattern, Leggins. I always make the yoga waistband, since we cloth diaper and Miki needs the extra room. The tunic was a variation on the ever popular Bimaa, where I shortened the sleeves and...

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Serger Love!

I bought a Brother 1034D in October, and promptly got to exploring the wonderful world of knits. While I still have trouble with slinky ITY knits, on the whole I love how quick and forgiving knits are. As long as you cut on the grain and are careful of the direction of stretch, it's a truly wonderful...

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Pro Pics!!

Pro pics are here of my work!! I loved the shoot soooo much! Pattern for this dress is Create Kids Couture, a mash-up of the CKC Paris and CKC Staceys. The tutu that I made - crochet band elastic and hand knotted tulle. ...

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One Hour Baby Leggings

I have been so busy these last few days that the laundry has been languishing, and the dishes piling up. So while I took the time to do the chores, I couldn't resist sewing up a quick and easy pair of leggings for Miki. From cutting to finishing, these took exactly 40 minutes. I know because that's...

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Finished: Dress for Miki's First Birthday

Et Voila! Presenting the tiny dress that drove me so very crazy with its cuteness! The dress is a pattern mash-up of Create Kids Couture's Paris bodice, and Stacy skirt.  Five tiers of ruffles in five different fabrics. Single shoulder bodice with a satin fabric flower accent. And...

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Thoughts on Being a Tester

I've recently applied to be a pattern tester for a few designers, which I really doubt I will be chosen for. My photo skills are rusty, since photographing jewelry is totally different from great clothing pictures with a very unwilling and fast model like Miki. My sewing skills are quite good but again,...

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