I'm Back!

So I have finally returned...
I left for vacation and never got around to making more posts. A lot has went down in the past month. I picked up a second job to save towards college, my boy friend found out some really bad news, and so on. That hasn't left much room for blog posts.

But, I am back and plan to put out some more posts :)
Let me update you on what I'm working on now!

I actually sold two of my miniature chihuahuas!

 I was so excited when I saw that someone was interested in buying them! And I learned a how the shipping process works on Etsy through that purchase (actually was rather simple!). Right after I shipped out that order, a SECOND person made a custom request for two mini dog sculptures! It's been a good week :) I'm looking forward to finishing that request today

I also am working on a completing a couple projects I have laying around. I am going to finish the second batch of snail magnets today and work on some hair ribbons for the shop

It took a very long time for me to find a spray paint that would dry fast and paint the snail shells evenly for the most part. I still want to make a couple DIY posts related to magnets for this blog.

I while back, a friend asked me to make her sock monkeys for her family. I used to sew sock monkeys all the time (it's how I started sewing). I have not sewn as much lately, but I have left over socks from that project. I would like to make a couple extra sock monkeys for the Etsy shop, but my only fear is that I may get some custom requests for sock monkeys.

Sock monkeys can take a couple hours to put together (if I do it all in one sitting). By the time I calculate the time, supplies, and tools put into making a sock monkey, I would have to charge at least $30 some dollars to make a profit (mainly because of the time put into it). I'm hoping that by sewing the remaining socks and putting them in the shop that I will make enough to cover what I paid for all the socks, including from the ones I made for my friend (sell for $20 per monkey x selling 4 sock monkeys = $80.00 revenue > $60.00 sock bill), if that makes some sense.

Even if I do lose money from all the time put into making 10 sock monkeys, I will be getting back the money I paid for the socks (and a bit extra). And I gain a bit more experience with sewing. I definitely need a steadier hand when it comes to sewing.

I really do like having my own little shop. Especially how I am my own boss, but that can have some downfalls at time too. As I have two jobs now, I'm not in it for the "money". It's more of something I enjoy doing in my free time to express myself and learn about the basics of business management. I am taking SO much in through opening a shop. How taxes work, how to calculate prices in order to make profit, basic customer service skills, how shipping works, and so on. There's only so much you can learn from a class room or a book. And I love doing this!

My favorite part of running an Etsy shop is decorating the packages and interacting with customers, especially if I make their day :) There are things I need to work as well, such as book keeping and setting prices that are profitable and still reasonable for customers. I really am thankful that I went through with opening my shop and I thankful that I am learning so much through it. I feel as though I could be worse off and that I should take time to realize how much God has blessed me in ways that skip my mind on a daily basis.

Even apart from the shop, I have some strong relationships with my friends. I may not have a thousand friends, but I would rather have those few, close friends that I love. I know a couple of my friends are going through some rough times right now. I have been spending more time with them lately and helping to take their minds off some of their troubles. When listening to them, it makes me sad that they feel they have no one else to turn to because their other friends, family and coworkers and just don't care to take a moment to listen or consider what they go through. I guess it is an eye opener and I hope that instead of letting my temper control my actions at work that I would stop to think what it is like in another person's shoes, even if they are strangers to me.

That summarizes what has been happening lately. It kind of turned into more of a mind dump, but I guess I needed to let that out.

I do plan on having a DIY post by the end of this week.
Thanks for your patience and I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny weather lately :)

Refashion and Tailor: Droopy Dress

Ever find a dress you really love, but it's just a bit too droopy. And when I say "droopy", I mean the cut is a bit too low for your liking. Depending on how the sleeves sit and how the dress is sewn, it can be an easy fix.

I purchased a pink dress the other day. It's darling and all, but a little too baggy for me at the bust. I have to hold it up so that it doesn't sit too low. I fished the dress out of the clearance rack for $10.00 and just couldn't pass it up, despite not fitting "perfectly". Plus at that price, I figured it wouldn't be the end of the world if I ruined the dress by trying to tailor it myself.

The dress fits fine everywhere else, so it's a simple fix: I just need to shorten the sleeve length a tad so the dress will sit at a more comfortable height

Sew, let's get started! (see what I did there? Sorry, that was a little cheesy....)

I am going to sew the sleeves at the back of the dress, as that will be less visible than if sewn in the front

I am taking a bit of the sleeve and folding it down on the inside of the dress. Then I am pinning it down so that the sleeve stays put as I sew it.

I will repeat with the other sleeve. If you're giving this a go yourself, just make that the sleeves are pinned at the same length (you would not want one sleeve being drastically long and the other rather short).

I am going to use a white thread that I have to sew the sleeves. I would recommend using a thread that matches the color of the dress you are sewing. But, as I do not have any pink, salmon, or coral colored thread, white will have to do. In a way, it will highlight where I have sewn the sleeve onto the dress

I am using the 5th setting on my sewing machine, one that stitches at shorter intervals.

And let the sewing begin!

I am sewing right at the edge of the dress, where the original stitch for the sleeve is

If you are pretty new to sewing, make sure to do a couple back stitches when you start sewing and when you get to the end of sewing the sleeve. I find that that helps to prevent the stitching from being pulled loose or coming undone

Once I have finished, I will snip the thread, freeing the dress and then I will remove the pins.

You may have to trim the loose hanging threads at the end of the sleeves if they are too long.

Don't jump to sniping off the little excess sleeve yet! I would recommend trying on the dress to ensure it fits (I have lost a couple dresses by cutting off too much). I actually won't cut the excess sleeve off in case I decide later on that I want to make an adjustment. It looks a bit silly to keep the excess sleeve on, but it won't be visible when I put the dress on and the excess does not bother/itch me when I wear it.

Voila! Not too bad. I don't have to hold the dress up and it fits rather comfortably.

I hope this was helpful to you too! Kind of an easy fix if you also have trouble with finding dresses that fit right. I wouldn't say this is the solution to fixing all baggy or droopy dresses though. It really depends on the dress style and how it fits.

Feel free to leave a comment or like this if you would like to see more on refashioning and tailor tutorials :)

I have a couple more dresses that I would like to take care of and planning to get a couple shirt tutorial posts up too! Happy Monday Everyone!