In Memory of Bryson Ross

I was so saddened to hear that the son of a fellow mom blogger, Shellie Ross’s (@military_mom on twitter), drowned in her backyard pool. He was only 2.5 years old. That is the same age as my little Dan. I have no words except those that come from the Bible in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit..."

Please join me in praying for this mom and her family in this time of suffering.

New Sweatshirt Jackets in my Etsy Store

This is soooo long overdue! I apologize for not posting my new sweatshirt jacket pics. These are now up in my etsy store and have been getting some orders for them. Let me know what you think.

Sweatshirt jackets

I am so excited! Yesterday I started on my sweatshirt jacket collection. A lot of people have given me positive feedback on these and I really enjoyed making them. Last year I got a late start and only sold a couple before the warm weather arrived so when saw a great deal on sweatshirts last week, I grabbed them and ran (well, of course, I paid for them first!) . D took a long nap yesterday, so I decided to plow away. I am going to start by making multiples of one design and then go from there. Can't wait to list them on my shop. Will update you soon!

Ladies and Gentleman, Introducing Leather Cuffs!

I can't believe it has been almost two months since my last post. I like blogging about my projects but the irony is that if I don't sew, I have nothing to blog about. So I don't blog as often so I can give the time to sewing. So I think that until my youngest goes to school, I will always have this dance between sewing and blogging. I actually should be sewing right now! LOL! However, I felt compelled to tell you all about my newest addition to my shop, wallet leather cuffs featuring my customary cultural icons.

These were really fun to make. I first became interested in leather cuffs when I read about Bunny Lang in the January/February issue of Belle Armoire magazine (www.bunnylang.com). I filed the idea in my head for later use. Later on, I noticed my friend Shavon from church wearing leather cuffs all the time. This sweet girl was all of a sudden transformed into this tough chick. It really made any outfit mean business, she looked more serious in a rocker chic way. But again, I decided to file the idea. I didn’t have any leather and the thought of purchasing it didn't intrigue me.

It was months later, after tiring of constantly fixing the heel of my leather boots, that this idea once again popped in my head. The boots were too busted to give away so I decided to cut them up and begin on my first leather cuff.

I really liked it but how could I incorporate my passion for cultural icons on leather? This process made me realize that I really liked making cuffs and so perhaps, I thought, I could make fabric cuffs and include the icons there. I had been trying to find a craftier way to play with fabric and this was it!!! Thus, my fabric cuffs were born.

At first, these concentrated on family photos, I then incorporated the cultural icons. They were so much fun to make and I have sold quite a few. Then my friend Yesenia asked if I could make them more useful, like add a zipper, etc... I sat on this idea a while. I didn't know how the fabric would stand to yet another addition. I was already adding images, loop closures, buttons. Would they look too thick to wear? So again I simply pondered the idea while i continued to make the cuffs. Then Shavon showed me the inside of her leather cuff and I thought, "hey, with leather and snap closures, the zipper might work!" When part of my hubby' leather coat got ruined in the trunk of our car, I immediately asked him if I could keep the remaining good portion of it. he said yes (as long as i agree to make him a cuff) and I began snipping away.

Making the cuffs has been a tinkering process. I realized I had to buy thicker needles for my sewing machine as it would not sew through the leather at first. I also had to decide whether I wanted to leave the raw edges of the leather or bind them. At first I tried to bind the edges but it made some of the cuffs look bulkier. At the end I decided to leave the raw edge on most of the cuffs and sew around it. They look a bit rustic but I really like the way they came out. When using recycled materials you sometimes want the audience not to realize what it’s made of but in this instance it’s like I’m being true to where they came from. These are essentially strips of leather from a coat with snaps, a picture and a zipper. I like that. Hope you do too. Check them out at www.nelesc.etsy.com and tell me what you think. I love feedback!

　

I'm Back!

Wow! I have not blogged for over a month and a half! I do apologize. I have not been abducted by aliens or anything like that. I actually have been working really hard on my business, http://www.nelesc.etsy.com/. I have been printing, sewing, listing and promoting on Facebook and etsy.com. It does makes sense to also blog but I just couldn't keep up with it all and I do love the immediacy that Facebook offers. However, there is something so special about blogging and I don't want to let it go. I am definitely committed to posting more often.

A major change that I made the last couple of months was to hire a babysitter for my little D. I realized that I needed to give creating some importance in my life. I was continuously feeling frustrated by the lack of time to sew or print and making things piecemeal was just not cutting it for me so I decided to do something about it and hired a babysitter once a week. That day I would sew and print all day. It has been glorious and I have seen sales go up because of it. Summer sales have been slow, though, so D hasn't been at the sitter this past month. I am taking advantage of the time to think about my fall fashion line and sewing for moi.

I also started a fanpage on Facebook for Nelesc Designs where I offer promotions for just fans and share tidbits about the business. To become a fan go to http//www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Nelesc-Designs/96002340477?ref=ts I will be offering free shipping this month so stay tuned.

Here are some items which I posted this summer so far. Some have sold, others are still available.

This is how my summer is going so far, how about you?



Angela Davis reconstructed top. This sold to someone in England!

Julia De Burgos top.

Frida Kahlo top made from scratch from shirting material.

Frida Kahlo dress made from reconstructed t-shirts.

Billie Holiday top made from t-shirt scraps. This one sold.

I know it's been a while but I have not been sitting around idle. I joined a gym so that I could do something for YO on a regular basis and I also got babysitting once a week so that I can work on building up my etsy shop. That is precisely what I have been doing. I have a couple of new tops on there that I am excited about. This is one of my favorites. As you might know from my cuffs, I am a big fan of the repeated image so i decided to try it on a top using Angela Davis' image. What do you think? I think it makes a fashionable, powerful statement.

Monday's Muse

So what is inspiring me these days? I always like to join with http://www.maternalspark.com/ to discuss this very question. In her blog, Heather says, "one of the biggest lessons I’m trying to learn is that just because I don’t have all the time in the world, doesn’t mean I don’t have time to do something. If I have 10 minutes, I can do 10 minutes worth of something creative." Sound familiar? I am always complaining here about my lack of time, the fact that I hate creating without long stretches of time but I think I have embraced the 10 minute dilemma. My fabric cuffs were the start of this and now I have been having fun creating t-shirt shrugs/vests with some of my left over scrap pieces. After cutting the pieces it practically takes 45 minuters to an hour to complete. they are great little shoulder toppers or add a sense of color to a black ensemble. Here are some pics of one I made. I need these short-on-time projects to help me feel productive in between the larger ones.

Heather also recommends looking at http://www.onehourcraft.com/. I LOVED browsing around this site. I totally recommend it if you are creative and are short on time.