Inspired Brides

Eat, Love, Pray - Elizabeth Gilbert

2012-02-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

Well, not normally something I write about on my blog, as I tend to keep to my sewing subject. But I really had to share this book that I have just read.

I haven't read a book in quite a while, even though it is usually something I love to do, nothing seems to have piqued my interest. However, my friend gave me this to borrow and I read it in a week .

Its about a thirty something woman whose life goes awry and she decides to go off and 'find herself'', I suppose thats what you would call it.

It really is a great read and very uplifting.

I am not a religious person and was a bit concerned at the title, but it encompasses all religion in the nicest of ways , although not overly much.

She travels to Italy, India and Indonesia and tells the story of the people and places that she meets along the way who help and share her life and is written, in such a way, you feel like you are travelling with her.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book and just wanted to share that fact :)

Love Getting Pictures x

2012-01-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

I love getting pictures of dresses I have created.

I have just received some lovely photos. The photographer, whom I do not know, seems to have captured the group really well.

The bride came to me because, although they had found some lovely childrens dresses, there was not an adult dress in the same colour and also one of the young bridesmaids had measurements that were not standard for her age.
She wanted all three to match in colour, but have their own choice of style.

The bridesmaid, pictured next to the bride, wanted a long dress with a swag front and, at the time of the visit, I had a small dress out that had a ruffle on the strap and she liked it and wanted it on her dress.

The next bridesmaid wanted thicker straps and a shorter style with the swag front.

I did not meet with the adult bridesmaid until a later date and she was thinking of not having the swag front, just a princess line dress with a band under the bust and spaghetti straps, however, when I showed her how slimming the swag would be if it were added, she decided to have the swag too.

And to finish off I made three stoles , because the wedding was in October. I think it was actually the hottest day I have ever known in Britain in October !! It was perfect.

It is lovely to get emails with pics xx

My Fave, so far

2012-01-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

Well, havent looked at too many photos of The Golden Globes, but some of what I have seen didn't really impress, except this one. Angelina looks stunning , mind you, bit of a fan of Brads too :)

Just my opinion mind, will have a better look when I am not supposed to be busy altering wedding dresses.

Have a good day x

Fate and a ' Posh Frock '

2011-12-18T04:54:00.000-08:00

I have a friend, who always thought she would never need me to do any sewing for her, as she just did not get invited to an occasion where she would need a 'posh frock' .

This year however, quite by accident, she met a new man. You cant help but believe in fate sometimes !! She rang a phone number, twice, left messages, thinking it was someone that she knew. What are the odds on typing in a wrong number TWICE, the person rang her back to inform her of the mistake, not only does he live in the same town as her, but he was single . They started texting each other, met up and fell in love. How amazing is that !!

So, his boss had arranged an evening of fine dining and a casino, hence the need for the 'posh frock' .

I have not made the dress, it was ordered over the internet and although they ask you to measure for the sizes, this dress arrived 1-2 sizes bigger than we ordered, so extensive alterations were needed and the train was taken off the back.

The other thing I did was to make a black satin bolero and a matching clutch bag to finish off the outfit. The picture is a bit fuzzy because we were laughing :) But she was so pleased, and so was I. It is a lovely story and I am so pleased that she finally gets her very own 'posh frock ' x

Beautiful Bride xx

2011-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

Today I received an email with these gorgeous pictures. This is my bride that I have written about in two previous posts and I couldn't be prouder of the how lovely she looks when all dressed up .

Poppy Dress, For A Different Remembrance x

2011-11-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the year I met a Mother of the Bride and made three purple bridesmaids dressses, which are on a previous post. Whilest I was making the dresses, her sister, who had been ill for a short time, sadly passed away before the wedding took place.

On one occassion, whilest bringing a bridesmaid for a fitting she mentioned that there might be another project that she may want me to do.
Before her sister got ill, she had made up the lining for a dress which she had picked out this fabric for but unfortunately had been unable to finish it .

The fabric is just lovely with embroidery and some poppys are attached

She tried on the lining, I did a few alterations , used the lining as the pattern and made up the dress for her .

It was picked up today, and she loves it. It is obviously very special to her for her own reasons of

remembrance.I felt quite honoured to be asked to be asked to finish it for her

Transformation

2011-10-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I seem to be up really early, so rather than trying to get some more sleep , figured I would do something useful .LOL Have not blogged for a bit but thought I would show you what I have just completed.
I have a lady who I do alterations for , she raises money for a charity involved in helping people in the Air Force who have become injured through their work. Something she knows about personally.
Well, she sent her Mum to me because she too needed some work doing, as she is to receive an award in London for her fundraising. Fabulous, and well deserved. It always amazes me how much of a positive person she is when she visits too, even though she is no doubt, in constant discomfort.

Basically the job to do was to change a stole, into something easier to wear, now that the weather has taken a bit of a dip.

Luckily the stole was nice and wide, so it was no problem. Here is what the stole is now , along with the top of the dress it is to go with. She was very pleased, and a very proud Mum.
Here's wishing the family the best of luck on their trip to London and congratulations on a well deserved award xxx

Buyer Beware

2011-10-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

When making a dress in ivory only, you do always need to make sure that you use good quality fabrics, or you run the risk of being able to see through the dress !!!

However, I had a lady ring me up with a bit of an emegency. The bride had bought a bridesmaids dress from Debenhams and considered that it was rather indecent for the bridesmaid as you could see right through !!. The dress itself is lovely, however the skirt was made up of 2 layers of low cost lining fabric and 1 layer of tulle.

So I took the skirt away from the bodice, removed the tulle layer, inserted another lining and added 2 more layers of tulle , just to add a bit more body to the skirt.

I had a look on the Debenhams website and it has actually had nothing but good reviews. One of them even said the quality of the fabric was good !! Still, managed to improve it for my customer

Proper Bust Measuring, so easily explained !

2011-09-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Recently , whilest working with a patterns I had given to make a dress from, I decided to look on the internet for information about measuring .

Obviously I have been measuring people for quite a while and one of the areas I always have to remark about is getting the underwear right . This is actually a very important area because it needs to be the correct fit, and you do not want anything showing if you are having, for example, a strapless dress.

Whilest, browsing/wasting time !!! on the internet, I came across a site that explains the bust and cup size measurements with such ease .

In google search, type in www.amplebosom.com and go to the section underneath which says MEASURING GUIDE.

It really does explain very easily the size of bra you should be wearing and the cup size of it.

BTW, I am nothing to do with the Amplebosom website , just thought I would pass on the information

Paula x

Cant Wait Any Longer !!

2011-09-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

This post is connected to the previous post, which shows ideas and information I was given.

I do not have any official photographs because Emily only got married yesterday, but I do have some that we took on completion. I look forward to seeing some when she is all dressed up properly.

After our first talk, I knew she did not want anything too fussy. The main focus was to be the lace.
I ordered this from www.bridallaceandfabric.co.uk They very kindly sent me a sample and , after looking at several different types of laces we decided on the best one.

Here is the final dress.

I love this dress, and most importantly, the Bride and her Mum do too .

It was a pleasure to create Emily her dream dress .

The main body of the skirt is Satin, with a Chiffon overlay.

The buttons down the back are covered in the lace, because, for me , the back of a wedding dress is just as important as the front as this is what people are looking at throughout the ceremony.

Happy Birthday :)

2011-09-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo !! Tis my birthday today.
I hope the brides I have worked with have a great day and the weather is kind, its not been too bad where I am .

I love my birthday because you get random emails and texts from allsorts of people wishing you a Happy Birthday.
This year Next have been in touch with the offer of £5.00 off my next order of £25.00. Lovely, one of my favourite shops
Snow Patrol sent me an email and a text !!! Makes me feel VERY special LOL. They are one of my favourite bands, even before they were texting me.
Also, I had Best Wishes from a community I have slightly neglected of late. It is a fabulous craft forum and highly recommended . There are lots of lovely people on there.

www.thesewingforum.co.uk

If you sew, knit, crochet, craft, or like to chat, have a craft -related problem and need advice, thinking of starting in business etc . People are there to listen and try and help if you have any queries.
The people range from complete beginners to very competent and experienced. Most of all, this site is just lovely and very friendly, and anyone who cant be , is removed.

There are so many useful tips etc, and although its UK based, there are people from all over the world on there.
Ok , enough waffle, I think I have said enough !!! LOL But even as someone who has been sewing for quite a while, I still learn new tips/ techniques and I have passed on my own tips too.

Basically wanted to say www.thesewingforum.co.uk is a site worth looking at XX

Ooooh Excited !!

2011-09-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Cant wait !! Cant show you the proper dress yet, the bride is getting married tomorrow but I love the dress I have recently finished. As a bit of a pre-lim to the actual pictures I thought I would write a post on the ideas that she came to me with.
I often get people come to me with some pictures of dresses which the person likes a bit of one and some of another but has had no luck finding the RIGHT one .
My bride to be came to me with some pictures, and she had also been to see another dressmaker too, who had created a drawing for her based on what she thought the dress would look like. Our 2 ideas were totally different even though we had been told the same things.
So, the Bride to be went off and considered, and came back to me because she liked my idea. Which I consider very lucky, because my drawing is not especially good !!!! Something I really need to work on .
Here are some of the comments and pictures that I had to work with

I dont know if the writing might be a bit small to read, but it basically says everything I needed to know about the style she wanted. Top part of lace, with an asymmetrical ruched part, Aline skirt with a bit of volume and train. Quite simple but elegant , no jewels or crystals .

I just hope the weather is kind tomorrow !! I have been telling her it is always nice in September , its my birthday tomorrow and it usually is a nice day !!! I have a new rule now, never talk about the English weather !! Really, nothing is a given anymore !! The weather forecast is not too great !!

I just hope she has a lovely day.

My Sewing 'Bible'

2011-09-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share with you, what I consider to be my sewing 'Bible'.

When I went to college, back in ........ (Too long ago !!) I was told that the best book to get would be Readers Digest Complete Guide To Sewing. It has so much information that it really has been unnecessary for me to purchase any other sewing book for techniques of everything I need. Although that has not necessarily stopped me !! After all , I am a woman who likes to buy books even if I never open them again after I have bought them LOL

Every now and again I will get it out and go back to basics, it is surprising that even though I have been sewing for many years , that I can still learn a technique that saves me time.

I found the tutorial on invisible zips, that I had avoided for a long time, was actually very easy. I dont have the correct foot for an invisible zip, just a normal zip foot that came with my machine and once you get the hang of it, was so simple to fit that I was annoyed with myself that I had not tried sooner !!
You do not necessarily need to have loads of fancy gadgets and gizmos, just a bit of practice with what you already have .

People I have made dressses for say that I must be a very patient person !! But they are quite wrong, if I cant get something straight away, I tend to give in and go back to my own methods, but really, with a bit more patience !!! you can probably save yourself time in the long run . Think I might have to try my own advice on this one LOL . Happy sewing xx

By the way, if anyone who reads this has any other books they consider to be fabulous, please feel free to let me know. I love to nosey through a book, even if it is only once LOL I liked this books so much, I now have 2 because found one in a charity shop for a bargain £1 !!

A Big Thankyou, and New Look 6699

2011-09-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the dressmaking part of this blog. I would just like to thank those of you who take the time to read and comment . Unfortunately, due to being a more creative person, computers and their terminology baffle me still !! I used to be able to comment back to my readers, but for some reason its telling me I cant anymore !!!
So I would just like to say THANKYOU XXX
All those that I follow, I do read too, just so you know and dont think me rude :)

This post is connected to a previous post about purple satin and the pattern NEW LOOK 6699.
I made 3 bridesmaid dresses for a lady whom I never met ! Her Mum came to me with the idea of a style, so I suggested that she look at dressmaking patterns to see if there was something she liked, well, New Look 6699 it was.
All of the bridesmaids lived in different areas of the country, none of them, near me !!!
So I gave a list of all the measurements I needed and they were filled out by each lady and sent back. One of the ladys could get to me , so I started on hers first, made a sample garment to check the design was correct, this was photographed so that the bride could see and confirm she was happy, she was in London.
The other two lived in Liverpool and Chester, so I made sample garments in calico which were sent to them in the post . They got them, tried them on, photographed them at 4 different angles that I had asked for and sent me comments about the fit . Its always difficult relying on someone elses measuring, and also, as happened here, us women have an awful habit of changing size in the shortest of time !!
So, after all of the fit changes, I made the dresses and the Mother of the Bride picked them up. Well, I didnt hear anything for ages and I am a stickler for a proper fit so I was a bit worried !!! However, got a phonecall and the Mother of the Bride popped round with the wedding photos for me to look at, which I love doing, gave me some photos for my portfolio, and some more work.
The dresses had been fine and fitted well, there had been no need for me to panic LOL

And guess what, this is a photo of a photo, because I have 'misplaced, in a safe place' my disc for my printer/scanner so I can connect it to my laptop !!!! Ooooh technology :) Hope you like xx

Anything is possible , well , probably

2011-08-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

I quite often get asked about changing a zipped back dress into a laced up dress. There are several reasons, mainly because a dress doesnt fit anymore !!!
However, this time it was because a bride had bought her special dress but had always wanted a laced up wedding dress.
I normally forget to take a photograph !! However, I thought I would take one for my collection.
The dress is beautiful , and by Amanda Wyatt.
This is the before............

I removed part of the zip, leaving it in place up to the waist.
I had to remove some of the back of the bodice too, giving it the V shaped back, which meant I also had to take out the boning from the lining and move it over. I inserted loops, made the tie and a modesty panel for the underneath
And here is the after ......

Luckily, for this dress, I had a perfect match in my fabric stash to do this. The bride is very pleased, which is always the main thing xx

I love Purple x

2011-08-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

This year my sewing has been slightly different in that I have had some people bring me patterns that they have bought. Normally, I just get some magazine pictures which people like bits of different dresses !!

One of the patterns I have used and found to be a really nice dress was New Look 6699.

Unfortunately, I dont have a good picture of the three bridesmaid dresses, but I made the style on the model, in purple satin.

In fact, I liked the pattern so much, and the purple satin, that I made a dress for myself ! I had an 80th surprise birthday party and a wedding to go to this year, so thought it would be ideal. I changed the top part of the dress though and here is an actual picture of me wearing it

I have since read some reviews on the pattern, and they seem to be all good.

All Dressed Up for Prom Night

2011-07-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is my prom girl, in her dress, she looks gorgeous, her hair is fabulous and make up too. She lives across the road from me and so she popped over so that I could see everything together. Her belt and shoes are from Next. She hugged me again, and considering her age and the fact that she does not really know me, I thought that was lovely. I am so pleased to have made this, although, I do hope she doesnt cry in it , as she keeps saying she loves it so much she wants to cry !! LOL It would spoil her gorgeous makeup.

Grecian style Prom Dress

2011-06-22T09:12:00.001-07:00

Grecian style Prom Dress, a photo by Paula Goldstraw on Flickr. Aaah , there is usually a way around these things.
I wouldnt be able to wear it myself !!! LOL But for the 16 yr old , slim, lovely girl !!! Its perfect . Hopefully will actually get some pictures of her in it.

Prom Time !!

2011-06-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

Well, this year I have been working on several dresses, bridesmaids, proms and a wedding dress, which I cant show yet .
I have been a bit lax on taking photos and following up my clients for photos.
However, one of my favourite styles has to be the 'Grecian ' look and I had the chance to make a prom dress for a dot of a girl !.. Size 6-8 and very petite. I have actually taken a photo before she takes it away this week , just incase I dont get around to getting one of her in it. Its two layers of ivory chiffon over a lining of crepe de chine so that its not see through !!

Well, I know I have been away a while, but it wont let me upload a picture !! Anybody got any suggestions

New Monthly Make in Time for Valentines

2011-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Told you I was on another design for the Folksy Monthly Make.

I am loving making these bags. Unlike dressmaking, which can take quite a while. These are more instant and are satisfying my 'impatient' mode. A lot of my customers tell me I must be a patient person !!! If only they knew. LOL x

This bag has been finished just in time for Valentines and is in my Folksy shop http://folksy.com/shops/InspiredBrides

I love it, even got the royal seal of approval from my son ( a rare thing indeed !!)

Its made in Claret Satin ( seems to be a theme with colours, last one was Cappucino, wine and coffee, my two favourite drinks).
I made all of the petals individually and have stitched the flower onto the bag along with a diamante centre.

Here is a close up of the flower. I love the claret colour, its slightly darker than burgundy and is very rich looking, I think .

I can also make it in other colours, there are so many satin colours out there.

I have realised the pictures do not show that there are 2 straps, 1cm thick each. When they are pictured it is looking like one strap.

Well, I hope you like it as much as I do, and there is still time for a special Valentines gift to yourself xx LOL

Ooooh, what should I make next !!

Folksy Monthly Make !!

2011-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

Well, for Folksy, I was supposed to make one item a month as a monthly make.

But hey, I made two bags.

The first one is available to view on previous posts.

But here is my second, and, believe it or not, I now have a third design on the go !!!

I have decided to do a wedding fair/fayre (never know which way to spell it) on March 5th at Rode , Nr Frome. I thought that I needed some things for my table.

Its made from Silk Dupion and has an ivory satiny lining. The flowers are made in the same fabric and attached to the bag..

My idea is, in this recession !, to have something that can be made in any colour of fabric to match something that you might already have in your wardrobe, thereby saving you buying a whole new outfit for that special occasion, wedding etc.

There are to be matching corsages or jackets. If you were interested in looking, they are at http://www.folksy.com/shops/inspiredbrides or my website gives details of how to get in touch www.inspired-brides.co.uk There are so many colours available that these could be made in, please just ask .

Thanks for looking

Mirrors x

2011-01-26T05:09:00.000-08:00

I have been a bit naughty and spent some money, but couldn't resist !!!

I have a bit of a thing for butterflies , love their shapes and colours and having had the hallway re-decorated, I thought I would treat myself.

Took a bit of a while to put them up because I could not decide what sort of pattern to do with them .

Plenty of blue tack and the camera to take some photos , so that I could remember how I had put them up before !!

Have done it plenty of times, been working on a design, quite liked it the first time I did it, then start to mess around with it and can't remmeber how it was in the first place when I liked it best !! So, having learn't from that mistake I TRY not to make it again !!! Placed the mirrors in three different designs and, yes, went back to the first idea !!!!

I got them from http://www.sendmeamirror.com/ They had sooooo much choice. As a dressmaker I was tempted to get the bodice mirror !!! But did not have anywhere to put it !!

BTW, I am in no way connected to this company and I am sure you could probably get them elsewhere too. This is just where I got mine

Photo Tips Tried

2011-01-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

Well, my mission for today was to try and get a better photograph !!!

Here is the original. So , did I manage to get it to look better ? ?

First tip was outside. Cloudy day it is then, no sun in sight. However, no one warned me about the breeze factor !!! I put a covering on the floor first so that my fabric did not get damp, then had to hunt around for something to hold that down because it wanted to blow away into next doors garden !!! I had to wait until lunchtime too, because builders are next door blowing dust everywhere !!!

Tip two was to have a simple background, your item should be the star !! No problem to do that one, I have fabric everywhere !!

For some reason, one of the settings kept making the flash go off !! I did not want that, but it did not do it on all settings, so I just changed the setting I used , simples . LOL

Crisp and clear photos !!! I have had to delete several, they do not fall into that category !! LOL Thank goodness you can delete on digital cameras

This one is done indoors, and I quite like it, infact, I would have to say, I think they have all improved from the ones I took before.
Another of the tips that I read was to have things at an angle, this is to add depth. I like that too.

I uploaded my pictures onto my laptop , transfered them to Microsoft Office 2010 and then edited them. I have hopefully made them so that they will be the correct size and shape to fit in my Folksy shop. I shall be going off to do that now. If you have any feedback to give then it would be much appreciated.

Thankyou for looking, and reading. Hope the tips help

Taking Photos !!!! Tips to try !!!

2011-01-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I put my evening bag into my Folksy shop . I asked for some opinions and got feedback to say that (as usual ) the photography could be better so I have been reading and reading about tips on how to take a good photo !!! In fact my eyes hurt looking so long at the laptop !!! So, I am starting off with my original photo and I am on a mission to make it better.

First thing to do, weather permitting is go outside !!!!! It better be warm(ish !!), thats all I can say, I dont think frost is good for me LOL

The sources I have read from suggest natural light, early morning in the shade, or second best is a cloudy day. Both of which are very likely tomorrow ( Sources are previous tips saved from Etsy and some from Folksy x)

Another tip was to have a simple background, your item should be the star !!! Ok, so I think I can manage those two no problem.

The next tip was to make sure the photo is crisp and clear. Sometimes , if you go to close its going to blur your item so may be better to take from a little distance . This one I struggle with !!!

Anyway, I am going to try these tomorrow, and sign off now because, as I said , my eyes hurt and are a little bit tired !!!

Wish me luck !!!

Folksy Monthly Make - evening bag

2011-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

I have recently finished an evening bag which I have made to join in on a monthly make with the craft selling site Folksy. Set up by TheFeltFairy.

This is to make me finish my own projects, as well as my 'normal' sewing jobs.

I really like the shape of this bag.

Its made with black satin. The flower on the front has a brooch fastening so that it can be removed and the two pieces can be used seperately.

The flower is made up with chiffon, organza ribbon, satin and diamante.

Its the first time I have made the design .

I really like it, which is unusual for me . I normally have an idea and it sits in a cupboard on a piece of paper without getting made, so it was great to actually see one in 'real life'.

I think it may be the first item in my folksy shop, however, it might need to be photographed a bit better !! My photographty as per usual is not showing it at its best x

Hope you like it

Well, I did it again !!

2011-01-05T02:45:00.000-08:00

Well, as the title says, I did it again.
Yesterday I tidied the bathroom and my sons room !!

I am supposed to be trying to master the art of Getting Things Done as per the book !! But I just went ahead and did some stuff that, although needed doing, was not relevant to what I am trying to achieve. Habits are so hard to break , I am so used to not being that organised, that I am finding it hard to be organised LOL

However, I did manage to remind myself of some things that I wanted on my GTD list, for future reference, so I dont assume thats all bad . Sometimes, I guess you just have to go with whats good for you.

It might help if I got on with reading the book, because I havent got past the collecting information stage !!!!! So maybe thats why I am not getting it right LOL

I have however drafted a pattern for a wedding bag that I want to make for my new FOLKSY shop, which goes with a jacket that I am working on too. So I guess I am making progress.

Happy New Year - bit late, I know x

2011-01-04T04:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everybody.

I know its a bit late but now that son has gone back to school and normality has resumed after the festive season its sort of like a new year again.

I was unfortunately caught off guard by a bug the day before New Years Eve so had to cancel plans for NYE. My bestest friend has found 'love' and has decided that I now need to do the same !!! She had plans for me anad keeps trying to suggest a certain someone !!! She said that I " would do anything to get out of kissing ....... " LOL . It was a real illness , I promise !

Soz, I digress.

I dont make New Year resolutions, I hate to disappoint myself when I fail !

Last year I joined a Getting Things Done website and did not get to grips with the theory of it properly, although I initially did get things done !!

I have just bought the book and started reading. You are supposed to collate all information on anything that you would like to Get Done, then you have to process that information in different ways for future working towards any goals that you have.

Trouble is, you are not supposed to work on the wrong things at the wrong time. One of my items on my GTD list was to tidy my wardrobe !! Actually, just realised, it didnt even make it to the list. I just went ahead and did it !!!

That is not how its supposed to work !!! But I do now have a tidy wardrobe. However, I now have loads of things in my room that I have no idea what to do with !!!! LOL

This year I hope to stock a FOLKSY shop that I have just opened, with some of my own creations. Unfortunately I am a great procrastinator, and work better under pressure, which is why I generally have deadlines ie wedding dates, prom dates etc . ( My day job www.inspired-brides.co.uk ) . So we shall see how well I manage with GTD and FOLKSY.

Love to you all for the New Year xx

Bride who Twirled x

2010-12-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the year I had a Bride-to-be come to me with some pictures of styles and her only other requirement was that the skirt should swirl as she was dancing .

We chose a Champagne satin and burnt orange as an accent colour. I made waistcoats and ties, small bridesmaid dress to go with it. And it looks great when she twirls x

HO HO HO x

2010-12-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, as it is Christmas, I thought I would show you one of my latest creations !!!

A little bit unusual for me, but I could not refuse to help .

My sons old junior school was in need of some assistance for Santa, he needed some new clothes !!

I donated my time, and FABRIC MAGIC in TROWBRIDGE , generously gave a discount on the materials.

He arrived a little differently than he would normally !!

Just call me Santas Little Helper !!!! My good deed done x

Wedding Dress pictures

2010-11-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have not written for a while, I just don't know where the time goes.

Although , these days I have a job to get my hands on the laptop !!!

Earlier on in the year I was working on a wedding dress that meant I had to keep moving the furniture round. The skirt part was so long.

My customer based her idea on the Wedding Dress worn by Princess Margaret, designed by Norman Hartnell, in 1960.

However, she wanted tulle to be used , instead of organza. We had to change the style of the collar because the fabric was just too flimsy to stand up as high. It was quite a challenge but this is the result.

The tulle jacket was edged in ribbon , as was the skirt. I also had to make a cathedral length veil which was again, edged in ribbon. I bought some diamante buttons which were sewn on the front, the cuff and there were six at the back of the neck ( three on each side for decoration, it had hooks and eyes to fasten at the top)

The bodice underneath was ivory satin.

I still hope to receive some official photos, I dont know why I dont take more myself , but I just can't take good photos. I hope you like it xx

Something new

2010-09-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have recently made something new for my Misi shop.

I have worked with some gorgeous fabrics in my time and find it very hard to throw, even the smallest, leftovers away. So I decided to make this large brooch / corsage .

The first layer is red silk Dupion, left over from a Medieval style wedding ( shown in old posts if you want to scroll down).

The organza petals on top of that, fabric left over from the beaded bridesmaids earlier this year ( again in previous post).

I then added some seed beads and glass beads.

I also thought that it could be used to decorate a handbag or a dress.

My shop is www.misi.inspiredbrides.co.uk

I am pleased with the final brooch, thought I might make some more. I know just the fabric for my next one !!

Just wanted to share

2010-09-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

Found a blog when I was blog-hopping http://rag-mad.blogspot.com/ with a lovely Bob Marley quote. Just wanted to share..
I can't seem to add the quote myself without writing it all out !!! I really don't know what I am doing with computers, there must be a way of doing it. LOL . I just don't know what it is.
When my son was 5 and at primary school I used to help with the reading sessions. Once, a young boy asked me to do something on the computer, I looked at it but ...........
So, another 5 year old came over and sorted it right out !!!!!
I was sooooo embarrassed that I went and enrolled on a college course. Did all the Clait exams and even got a 'passport' (I think thats what it was) for a computer. And to think , that is supposed to mean I can 'competently' use any computer. Go figure !!!!!!! I just want it to do what I want it to do. Is that too much to ask :(

Bridesmaids

2010-09-03T01:48:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I have met and worked with some lovely people.

I met Caroline, she wanted 3 bridesmaid dresses and could not find the colour that she wanted in the shops.

Also, there was one little problem, one of the bridesmaids was in America and would not get her dress until a day or so before the wedding. Caroline was getting married abroad so there would have been no way to alter her dress if it did not fit properly.

Did not think of it before, but maybe I should have said that if she paid for me to go over with her I could have done the alterations abroad with them !!!! Ah, missed opportunity there !!

To overcome the American problem, we got her mum to measure her and we sent a sample dress over for her to try, just made in a lining fabric, her mum emailed me to say that it fit perfectly. Great, so I could just get on with making the dress.

Also, a couple of weeks later, Caroline rang me and asked if I could do another 2 bridesmaid dresses !!! Ofcourse, you can't say no can you, so I ended up making 5. I hand beaded all of the dresses and had to make them all look the same even though they were different sizes but it all looked very nice. I hope to receive some of the actual wedding photos when things have settled down for the newly weds but for now here is a picture of one.

The dress is in orchid satin with organza overlay and these pictures are takaen before the final press. I hope you like x

See , I have done some work, just been a bit lax in my blog posts, and I always wait until after the events have happened so that no-ones secrets are out the bag !!

Do you think its too soon to show pics from another break I had ??!! I went to Glastonbury too xx LOL

Back to sewing

2010-09-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I have chatted about my mini break but my blog was supposed to be for showing some of my work !!! Inbetween my little excursions I have done some work.

This one was for a Stepmother of the Bride. The lady in question had actually found a shop which stocked a line from http://www.linearaffaelli.com/ . Unfortunately they did not stock her size, she was told that if they ordered one she would have to have it. It is difficult to be sure of something if you can not try it on and they are costly if you decide that once it arrives it does not suit you ! However, their clothing is lovely.

She showed me a picture of the one she liked, however, she did not want a bodice so we changed the top completely. Also, we decided on a longer length skirt. It is made in tafetta, Chinese Red and Black. The red is lovely, it catches the light and looks purple/red. I had extreme difficulty in finding a lace motif that I liked. I ended up buying some Chantilly lace and cutting it up !!! Rather expensive to do, but it was the right thing to get. I added some black beads and sequins to it.

This is the end result. She was very pleased and enjoyed being able to make her changes to suit her own figure.

Last Day at Milan

2010-08-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

The final installment of my break :(

We only had the morning to spend in Milan, we had to be at the airport in the afternoon.

On the Saturday we were going to climb the roof of the Duomo but, due to security for the parade, it was closed off.

However, even though there were people inside for a service, we found out that we were allowed to go up on the Sunday so our disappointment was over. So worth the visit !! Beware, even though we used the lift, there were still lots of steps to go up.. Leg muscles !!! And so not the time to have worn a short skirt !!! But it was not planned.

The views were amazing . Apparantly every statue, of which there are loads, is different. It was lovely. Have I mentioned about the lovely weather !! (not in this post, ha ha ) Well worth the trip. Although the view from certain points, over the city, was not too spectacular. Unfortunately there seems to be lots of development going on, I am glad I got to visit when I did, I fear that they are spoiling bits of the city which is a great shame as there is some truly beautiful architecture.

After our Cathedral visit, we went for a last drink in a cafe beside the square. Watching the people go by and already missing the place. I had the biggest Mojito on the menu , full of crushed ice and absolutely gorgeous on that hot day.

Thank you Milan for a lovely time x

Just to finish, here is a pic of me, terrified at the airport. I hate flying, but I force myself to do it because I like to get to somewhere else x

Milan Trip

2010-08-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Continuing on from my previous post x

On the Saturday the weather was glorious again. We had found the Tourist Information and bought tickets to go on a bus tour which you can hop on and off whenever you like. It was lovely to hear a bit about the different places, we saw The Castello Sforzesco, which we had a look around .

Then, got back on the bus and were dropped off at the shops with a more reasonble price tag ! This was, for me, a bit disappointing, a lot of the shops are the same as ours and I was hoping for more special boutiques.

However, we did come across a couple of nice shops off the main drag which (unfortunately can't remember the road) were a little more individual. One shop inparticular stood out for me. Penny Black , feminine, beautiful , affordable clothing . Loved it and I understand its quite a new brand, doesn't have an internet base yet.

In amongst all the bus trip we had popped back to the main square
LOOK !!

A special parade was going on. How nice of them to treat us on our trip LOL

There were dignitaries . Lots of Police !! Definately the safest time to have visited Milan. Everyone was stood there for hours in absolutely baking heat. Old soldiers, forensics, firemen, etc. They really did look fine in all their uniforms. People were being called up to receive awards. Because it was hot, we went to a cafe for a drink. Next thing we know, the parade has finished and some of the people walked right past where we were sat.

Was very nice to see, Men in uniform !!! Lovely .

As promised, here is me in my new shoes, with my handbag, outside The Duomo. For some reason, this gentleman wanted to get in on my picture !!!

Catch Up

2010-08-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been so hectic that I have neglected my blog, in fact, at one stage I was on a limit of half an hour per day on the computer !!!! Just because time can wizz by on the darn thing .

I have been busy working on a wedding dress which caused me a few design issues and took rather longer than it should have. Also had several other jobs to do .

However, the last time I posted was back in May !!! That was to show you my new shoes which were going to be travelling to Milan with me.

I thought I would share some of it with you, but will have to do it in stages as there are so many nice pics . It was absolutely gorgeous weather. We stayed at Hotel De La Ville which turned out to be just a street away from the main square. Very Old English gentlemans Club type feel to the place. More English than a lot of our places in fact. Was great, would highly recommend it and the breakfast was gorgeous . Top Marks x

Well, of course, the first thing any self respecting woman would do on arrival in Milan on a Friday lunchtime, is to head to the shopping mall. Bit out of my price range !!! But was nice to look at the Prada, personally I am not a Louis Vuitton girl so was not too bothered about that. Gorgeous building thoughAnd here is the Italian Mr Bean, our lovely waiter that Friday evening . LOL . A street away from our hotel and next to the Ferrari showroom !! was a lovely restaurant, very reasonble prices, gorgeous food and wine, fantastic service. And here is a pic of my lovely Auntie who took me away for my birthday treat. Cant quite believe I am nearly 40, its creeping up very quickly now !!!! I have more pics but will leave it there for now. But it is certainly a lovely place to be and the fantastic weather certainly helped. I think the European lifestyle, eating and drinking out in the sunshine, certainly suits me xx LOL

Couldnt resist !!!

2010-05-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

I am just loving this year, becoming 40 is not as dull as I thought it might be and I still have a while to go yet !!!!

A couple of weeks ago I went to London for the weekend. I have family there and it was a pre-Milan shopping trip. I cant possibly turn up to one of the fashion capitals looking rubbish now, could I ???

Went to Westfield shopping centre and found some irresistible shoes, which 3 people commented on and I had not even left the shop !! They look sooo sexy on, but the picture only shows you how they look off. I think I will get a picture done with them when I am in Milan so that you can see where they get to.

I have even been getting them out of the box just to look at them. Who said shopping does not make you happy !!! I know they are lying xx

I also bought myself a Jasper Conran handbag. I do like it, but somehow it does not have the same effect as the shoes !!

I very rarely go shopping, and even more rarely , enjoy it. Me and my son had a lovely time with my Auntie and Uncle and I should really do it more often, but I am not sure if the purse strings can handle it !!!! Westfield shopping centre has soooooo much stuff.

Back View

2010-04-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, hope everyone who reads this is well. Just thought I would show the back of the wedding dress sash from a previous blog showing the front of it.

I like to do my bows in seperate pieces, because I like them to stay in place exactly as I make them, I do not think a sash that you tie into a bow looks as nice on a wedding dress.

First I made the pieces that hang down the back. I used chiffon and bound the top edge with some satin because its firmer, and I was stitching this to the dress on one side of the zip. Then I put a popper on the dress and the bound edge. This means it will not hang off anywhere.

Then I made my bow pieces in chiffon, with a satin in the middle bit. I did start to bead this but found that because of the design on the front being wavy, it did not look right with similar beads on the bow. I had to unpick all my hard work !!!!!!

Being a perfectionist is a blessing and a curse xxx

(he he he )

So I opted for the gorgeous sew on Swarovski and used the philosophy , less is more.

The dress is gone now, I am working on other projects at the moment . I hope you have enjoyed looking at my creation x

Is it just me ???

2010-03-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well, is is just me or does anyone else do this?

When I get flowers, on that rare occasion, I like to keep them for longer than most people would.

They are dying in fact. I still think they look beautiful, even in this state.

This is my last flowers I got and they were beatiful when I first got them.

But they are still beatiful when they look like this, dont you agree ????

Wedding Dress Sash

2010-03-11T03:26:00.000-08:00

Amongst other things, I have been working on creating a new sash for a wedding dress.

The dress started off fairly plain and my customer wanted something with a bit of sparkle.

This is what I started off with.

I had a bit of muslim, cut in a strip, so that she could give me the correct width of what she wanted. She also wanted a bow at the back.

I started off with a piece of organza that was the correct width ( + small top seam) and used some chiffon behind and over the top of it and pinned it into place (as picture).

There was a small strip of fabric on the dress and a bow that needed removing so I had to undo the stitching that held this in place, cut and remove it. I had to undo an area along the zip edge and open up the sides to put the sash into it!!!!

I find it difficult to 'create' beaded areas, purely on a design level. What one person would like is not necessarily the same as you might create and because it takes a long time to hand sew beads into place, I must admit to being a little nervous !! I showed her some beads that I was going to consider and she liked them, Swarovski crystals, whats not to like, truly my favourites, plus a few others. Bit too extravagant a budget would have been needed for it all to be Swarovski .

I also got sew on ones (because I like them and did not want to risk burning the chiffon with some hotfix ones) which I got from http://www.cheapfabrics.co.uk/

She came around the other day to check out the beading, just to make sure she was happy before I continued with the back and the bow, and she was really pleased.

So, thought I would show you it so far.

Re-styling a dress

2010-03-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

One project I have just done is a little unusual, and not at all easy.

A young lady comes to me every now and then with unusual requests, and this was no different, she brought me a dress

The problem was, she did not like the top of the dress, wanted it taken off and a new one put on.

I told you it was unusual.

Problem one; she wanted a top with floaty sleeves.

Problem two; dress has a side zip . A top with sleeves can not have a side zip !!!!

Oh yes, and there was no centre back seam on the skirt.!!!

I love problem solving and a challenge, just as well in my job.

I made a muslin top with floaty sleeves with a centre back seam. I found the centre back of the skirt, marked it and stitched a V shape around it because it was made of chiffon and would have frayed !!!

We had a fitting, just to make sure everything was to her liking and it was fine.

There was no way to find a matching colour, so we picked a contrasting one for the top.

Made the top and attached it to the skirt.

For the centre back I used the sash that had been around the waist, to surround the raw edges before inserting the zip.

I made a little flower, using a technique I found on a blog, to bring both colours together. Unfortunately I can't remember the blog, otherwise I would happily tell you where I got it from. I changed the technique because I could not find the blog again and repeat it !!!!! I was quite happy with the result though. Here is the finished dress

Christening Gown

2010-02-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

The date for the Christening has passed , so I feel that it is ok to show you my picture.
As usual, my photography is below par and does not show the detail of the skirt or bodice.
The lace was taken from a wedding dress, it was then placed onto the skirt and bodice (as shown in a previous post) and then re-beaded. The flowers were also taken off the dress.
It is the first one that I have ever made and, although it took longer than anticipated, it was a pleasure to do. She is a beautiful little girl.

I WON , yay !!!!

2010-02-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

I won a prize !!!!! I have never won anything before !.

Spratsie, one of the people on http://www.misi.co.uk/ had posted a thread to win one of her sculptures. you just had to pick your favourite one and say why.

I picked the one called Blowing Kisses Your Way . I really liked it, and as I am a wedding dressmaker, amongst other things, if it wasn't for love I would have no job !!!!! What a lovely name for a sculpture.

I am not giving it away either, its beside my TV , blowing kisses my way !!

Well, you can't possibly expect me to give away the only prize I have ever won, can you !

here, could you give this away x

She has other ones, and they are very reasonably priced, so if you are looking for a gift thats a bit special go to www.misi.co.uk and check out Spratsie store - The Seven Seas

Happy Valentines xx

Next Blogs

2010-01-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Do you ever just go to the top of the page and keep clicking Next Blog until it stops changing them.
I love doing that, you can find some lovely sites that you did not know existed. Do you think it's just because I am nosey, I like to think of myself as being curious.
Sometimes it is a shame that I do not know the different languages as I seem to come across lots of blogs not written in English, I really think it might be nice to learn a new language.

Time is my enemy. At the ripe old age of ' nearly 40' I find that it slips away so much quicker than it used to.
Perhaps I should spend less time 'browsing' the internet, and more time 'doing'.

I do not know why the writing has changed !! I have pressed the same button again and it did not go back to normal.

I am afraid computers are not a strong point for me. Probably why I 'waste' so much time, making mistakes. But there is soooo much on here.

I shall make a list. That seems to be my hobby lately, lists of everything. I have joined a yahoo group called Getting Things Done and although I have read some of it and tried to follow the rules, I still have not found the 'time' to do it properly. I have however found that I am much more productive than I used to be, and that is definately a good thing. So , maybe its not a bad thing that I am 'nosey/curious' (take your pick). I would, after all, not have made myself more productive by being this way.

Note to self; its ok to have the time to be curious, you might learn something useful. I think it should be on everybody's list

2010-01-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

On my twitter I have been writing about one of my sewing projects.
It is a Christening Gown.
The customer came to me with a pattern (McCalls M4865) and her wedding dress. She asked if it would be possible to make the Gown from the train of her dress. The wedding dress fabric was too thick for this, so I suggested a thinner satin.
I took the lace and beads from the train of the wedding dress, had to also make the wedding dress train shorter and finish the hem.

I positioned the lace onto the christening gown skirt, tried it in 3 different patterns before I decided that I liked this way best.

I have hand sewn it into place, added the beads, then attached a lining so that it hid all stitching.

I made up the gown, although, I sort of followed the instructions. I had lined the skirt, which was not in the instructions. I attached the skirt lining and skirt together, then continued, as one piece. I also made the sleeves longer, I needed to add elastic around the 'cuff ' part because they were quite wide. I found fiting the sleeves a bit tricky because they were so small. But got there in the end.

The little baby is beautiful, I cant wait to see the pictures . Valentines Day, what a lovely day for a Christening

Medieval Dress

2009-12-02T01:49:00.001-08:00

One of my ladies has sent me pictures for you to see.

I made this Medieval dress for August this year. Its my first one of this type, but it is a style I have always wanted to do.

She brought me a pattern for a costume dress because it was most similar to what she wanted. She had also bought the silk. I changed the neckline because I thought it would make it look nice, as its in a block of colour, it would be just a bit more interesting. I loved the sleeve design and it looks fabulous in the picture. She loved it and I was very pleased myself.

Hope you like

2009-11-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well, its been quite a while since my last posting. I have been working on a couple of my own designs, trying to get people to send me pictures of some of the dresses I have made, and I actually knitted myself a cardigan.

My own designs are not quite completed but as soon as they are I will post some pictures. The customers pictures I have requested still have not materialised. My cardigan is lovely and I will also take a picture of that .

I had a stall at a prom fair in Devizes at the beginning of November, it was not very busy, but I handed out plenty of information and had quite a bit of interest. It was nice to meet some lovely stall holders. One was from Devizes, she has a shop and she sources her items from Italy. Gorgeous bags. Another lady was from Pewsey, tiaras and hair decoration was her forte. I have tried to encourage her to visit www.misi.co.uk and get herself a shop.

I went to The Paintworks, Bristol , to visit the Misi Craft fair. Some lovely items on sale. I went to try and get some Xmas pressies, but came out with a bracelet for myself from Tollykit (on Misi) she also has a website on http://www.elainehillson.co.uk . I have not dared look at that yet, there is bound to be something else I want !!!

Finally, I am pleased to say, I have got around to having a new website done . I am so pleased with it. Feel free to look and leave me any comments that you might have, I love to hear what other people think. www.inspired-brides.co.uk It has taken me a while, and will hopefully be available on search engines soon, its only just gone live.

Bridesmaids summer 2009

2009-09-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

I got an email this morning from a bride. She looks lovely, but I did not make her dress. She had already sorted out her dress, however, she did keep telling me that she had wished she met me first.

I made her bridesmaid dresses for her though. Black and ivory satin. Made from a picture of something similar. Very pleased with the outcome, as was she . Always nice to receive pictures.

More work done

2009-09-24T06:47:00.001-07:00

Front and back view of a jacket I made. Fully lined, and covered buttons

Very pleased at the fit, did a lining sample first just to check. If I had made the jacket in the size it suggested it would have been huge. There was far too much wear ease, made it nearly two sizes smaller so that it was snug, as the customer wanted.

Photo of Bridesmaids

2009-09-08T05:43:00.001-07:00

I did some alterations on the bridal gown and older bridesmaids. The 4 young bridesmaid dresses are made completely by me.

The wedding dress was white and gold, so we had a gold satin bodice and white tulle skirt.
The older bridesmaid dresses came with stoles, I used these to make the sashes for the little dresses.

I think they look very complimentary.

look what I found

2009-09-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Was looking on http://www.misi.co.uk/ and found this. Love it . It is by cocorocco

2009-09-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

I do not normally make jackets .

I normally stick with wedding items, proms, anything dressy really.

However, this lady had been let down by some-one . She had been given the fabric, which a family member had brought back from his travels to the Orient, bought a pattern and needed some-one to make it.

We decided to line it in a gold lining because it would have been too difficult to match the red.

She also did not want long sleeves, so I made them shorter. Good job really, she would not have had enough fabric for a long sleeve version. As it was I only just managed to juggle the pattern pieces on the fabric and had to cut out each one individualy

The pattern was quite straight forward, except that the sleeves were not lined , so I lined them because this fabric frays badly.

I should have taken a picture on the lady herself, but this is what I took before giving it to her.

Hope you like.

Wedding Dress 2009

2009-09-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

This wedding dress is made of silk tafetta.
A lot of input came from the lady herself.
We started off with wedding dress pictures , and the dress evolved from there.

Because this was to be a non church wedding, the lady wanted a shorter, straight dress than the pictures that she brought, but the top part was similar to one of the pictures.
In order that we were both on the same wave-length , a sample dress was created and we went from there.

She sent me this photo and a lovely email to say how pleased she was , also that she had lovely comments from her guests.

Thank You Card

2009-05-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

This morning, in my post, I got something unexpected.

The dress I have put on the previous blog was for a girl I have done some work for. This morning she sent me a lovely hand drawn card. Inside was the following;

I just wanted to say a big thankyou for making me 3 wonderful dresses that I love very much.
Its amazing how you made exactly what I saw in my imagination. I'll definately come to you if I have any more ideas.
Annie.

Well, it made my day. Its lovely to receive comments that are totally unexpected.

Costume Dress

2009-05-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well, finally managed to get my old laptop on the go so that I can put some photos on line.

Cant really show too many until after the events they are for.

This dress is a similar dress to one that the lady saw in a museum. The lady in question seems to have money to spend on having dresses made, lucky her.I dont even know where she wears them. They are not for any other reason than she wants a dress and she loves old fashioned styles. She came to me with a picture taken in a museum in Bath , I think.

We could not find any fabric with a floral print that was the same so ended up making the base of the dress in a poly/cotton and I hand stitched the silkpetals onto it . She loves it.

She loves big girlie dresses and I love a challenge. Its not to everyones taste in todays world, but she was very happy with the end result. It has a hooped petticoat underneath to fill it out.

How time flies.

2009-05-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

I cant believe that I have not posted anything on my blog since February !!!!

I have been soooo busy.

I have been working on several different things and will have to get my photos sorted so that I can post some pictures.

I also took a trip to London, on my own, staying at relatives. We went all over the place. I actually got to go into the Tower of London and see those fabulous jewels of the Queens. Wow, wouldn't mind some of those. We were lucky enough to have a fabulous Yeoman Guard guiding us around and giving us a talk , it really made it much more interesting and he was most amusing. Highly recommend it.

Ate in lots of nice places, there is a new mall, largest in Europe I believe. Fabulous eating places. I tried not too look in the shops too much . However, clothes-wise , most of the shops that I looked in were not really that impressive. Too much stock I thought, with not much in the way statements , that stood out. Mind you, I am limited to a middle of the road price range.

One shop that did stand out , for me, had to be Karen Millen. Dresses to die for. And matching shoes !!!! Bliss
However, if its shoes you want, and you can walk in high heels . WOW, loads , everywhere and sooo gorgeous, in all of the shops I went into.

Also had a trip to Harrods, cant believe that, at my age, I have not been in there. Some fabulous things. I did tell my Uncle that I would like him to save up for my Xmas present. A beautiful bangle with diamonds. Only about £8000 , bargain, I thought. However , was pleasantly surprised in the cake dept. Very reasonable prices fro London. Cheaper than some of the cafes we went into.
I was nearly drooling in the chocolate shop !!!!! Wow.

Sorry, gonna have to go now. Cant see the letters, watching Philadephia, the movie !!!

Butterfly Bridesmaid Dress

2009-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well finally!!!!!

Have put pictures on my inspiredbrides.misi.me site. However, pictures are not that great because it looks sooo much nicer 'in the flesh'

It must be good, because I always ask my 13yr old son his opinion.

Normally he just grunts and says 'mmmmm' and then I know he really doesn't care and is not that impressed by girlie dresses . I have come to expect that , so was very surprised when he said it was pretty 'for a girlie dress'. I am truly honoured.

I LOVE Swarovski crystals, they just shine in the light sooo nicely.

Hope you like it. There are more pictures on the misi site

Swarovski on Misi

2009-02-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I have just posted some genuine Swarovski Crystal Butterfly beads on Misi. Look out for Tazbride shop.

I have finally, in amongst all other work, completed a little bridesmaid dress, influenced by my love of butterflies. However, tried to take some pictures to put it on Misi , but I must be the only person I know who can take rubbish photographs with a digital camera, so I will have to try again tomorrow.

Something New For Me

2009-02-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well, as a dressmaker, I am in my comfort zone. However, most people seem to think that because you can sew, you can make anything. Especially family members.

My sister asked me to make some seat covers for her two sofas. Aaah !!!. She has two dogs and cream sofas, I just wondered what took her soooo long to ask me, she was washing the covers several times a week in the bad weather.

So I got out my trusty sewing bible, Reader Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, wouldnt be without it xxxxx , and had a little look in the back . It has complete instructions for this task , thank goodness.

She had picked the fabric from a shop we visited in Trowbridge, Fabric Magic its called .
So, I got cracking , and here is the result.

Trouble is, we have enough left over for a couple of cushions too. She ordered extra fabric on top of what I said we needed, so I guess I should have seen this coming !

Schools Out !!

2009-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Well, first day of the holidays is nearly over.

Disrupted day, got hardly anything done.

Had to do housework because I had a customer coming over to try on her sample dress.

I have a small house so that involves cleaning virtually all rooms before any visit!!!

The sample is made in calico, she was pleased. A few changes are needed, but that is mostly style rather than fit, so I too, am pleased. Not a completely wasted day then.

I thought I would show some pics of some embellishment that I have just done.

The bride bought her dress, however she got some bargain party dresses for her bridesmaids and wanted a bit of sparkle added.

Basically I just used some beads I had and created something that looked similar around the top of the neck. Also a few large glass beads on the skirt.

INSPIRED BRIDES

2009-02-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Evening, hope everyone is not suffering tooo much with the weather.

My son tried to blag another day off school. Its only been raining !!!! But it has been continual, all day in fact, so there has been flooding in the area.

Still, I have retired to my blissful world of weddings and proms. No real world business for me. Weather , what weather !!!

Thought I would share with you some more photos of projects that I have done before.

I decided to call my business INSPIRED BRIDES .I wanted to work with people who wanted that something a little bit different. This one certainly fitted the bill. Although I do love all wedding related things, everyone is just so happy.

The lady in question had found her fabric in a curtain/cushion type fabric shop. She bought some and came to me with one metre of it, enough to make a bodice. Then wanted to know how we could incorporate this into her wedding. She just loved the colours.

After leaving it with me for a while, my brain ticked over , then I got back to her with some ideas.

We ended up putting a bronze silk with it , the colour was in the fabric, used it as a skirt colour.

The bridesmaids were all in different colours of silk, but they were all contained in the fabric also.

The young girl was lucky. She was a Liverpool supporter so I was told that red was a definate must for her. Thank goodness that it was the right red !!!!

Inspired Brides

2009-02-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

I thought I would show you a dress that I made last year , for a bride.

She came to me because a dressmaker, in her town , had already had her fabric and pattern for a month and had not started work on it. She only had 3 months left till her wedding and was getting slightly concerned , poor lady.

The fabric came from China , via a friends husband who goes over there for working trips !!!!! Yikes , would you trust a man to pick up some suitable wedding dress fabric!!!!

I made the sample up in the lining fabric first, the bust area needed some alteration because patterns are generally in a B cup and we needed a bit more in that area. Once the sample had been tried on we found it still came down a bit low on the bust so made a fresh top part. Luckily it had a seam underneath the bust so that I knew I would not be wasting much lining fabric if I did have to re-do it.

We only just had enough fabric to make the dress, it could have done with being fuller on the skirt but I had to work with what I had.

Normally the fabric is organized after I have seen the pattern, but this was a bit different.

The silk was a gorgeous grape colour which changed in the light and it was lovely and soft. She was very pleased with the end result, the counselling and the speed at which it was started.

There is always counselling involved in the making of wedding dresses you know !!!

Hope you like x

Should I be Fired !!!!

2009-02-05T04:27:00.000-08:00

Well,like a lot of people I did not make it to work today, my son is home from school, but I have not seen him since breakfast.

I was thinking, should I be fired for not attending!!

This is where I work,its at the bottom of my garden ,he he. Treacherous journey saved .

I am self employed , so a good talking to will do I think.

My sister popped round with her dogs, max and homer, who absolutely loved the snow. They are both now asleep because they wore themselves out. Max is the black dog and is getting on a bit now, but as you can see he was jumping about. My sister said he was like a puppy again.

Enjoy it while it lasts, I say. We dont normally get any that stays for this long.

More little bridesmaids

2009-02-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was going to write about a jacket that I altered, unfortunately I seem to have deleted the photographs, and now only have them in my photo album for people to see. I do that quite often, maybe one day I will see if they will scan and show you the change of collar style.

For now I have decided that I will show you two more bridesmaids that I made, from scratch.

I created the patterns myself.

The bride came to me with her dress to alter, which was white with gold on it. She then bought two adult burgundy dresses, with stoles.

She had four smaller bridesmaids which she wanted to match, somehow, with what she had already bought. The picture only shows two dresses. Also one of the girls was only , nearly , one yrs old

We bought white tulle and some gold satin to match her dress and then I used the stoles of the adult bridesmaids to create sashes for all of the dresses. Everything matched !!!!

My first little bridesmaid pic

2009-02-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

One of the first projects I did was for a friend of mine.

I cant seem to find the computer programme for most of the wedding party , but whilst going through a memory stick, I found this picture of her daughter who was aged one, at the time.

Finally !!!

2009-02-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally got around to posting my first official blog.

At the moment its lovely and white outside, I am writing this at my dining room table whilst my son is wrapped in his duvet , on the sofa, drinking hot chocolate.

I am a dressmaker by trade and, although at times, this can be stressful, its what I have always dreamed of doing.
I have a workshop, which , although only at the bottom of my garden, I am a bit loathe to go to because of the snow.
I have several projects on the go at the moment. A wedding dress, a prom dress, and a costume dress.
I have just finished beading two little bridesmaids dresses so that they are not quite so plain and it matches the brides dress, she is getting married abroad so I hope the weather is better for her.!!!!

I have a site on www.misi.me under the name tazbride and also a site on www.etsy.inspiredbrides.com which are quite new and really need to be added to more often but I find I work better with a deadline , which a wedding date definitely is .

Hope you find the time to have a little look. I believe in supporting small crafts people, I love the individuality and I know how much care and creativity go into these things.
Have just re-read that, it doesn't mean that they are small people , just meant, smaller businesses. Ha