An unexpected accessory



Dan and I riding the train




On my recent vacation to the Jersey Shore, I stopped by a cute little carnival that I knew my little Dan would love, sensory seeker that he is! Little did I know that I would be offered this unexpected accessory, a bracelet, which indicated to the attendants at the rides that I was traveling with a special neeeds child.

Daniel is now 5 and I guess this is the magic age , at least for him, where it has become apparent to the world that Dan is different. He doesn't necessarily look like a special needs child, except that he is tall for his age and still does not talk, insists on throwing himself on the floor, makes sing songy noises, and occasionally sticks his hand in his butt and smells it! lol. Okay, perhaps he does look like a special needs child!  If you know my story, I don't necesarily scream to the world that Dan has autism. I don't want it to define us but lately, it seems, he has been screaming it for me.   

Daniel absolutely enjoyed the carousel ride so I decided to get on line again to give it another go. The attendant on the carousel, a sweet older gentleman that reminded me of my father in law, discreetly asked "can I ask you a question?" I could tell he was treading very carefully, "is your child special needs?" I don't know what was coming next. Were we getting kicked off the ride? Had Dan's noises bothered the other carousel riders? I have to admit, I was getting a little defensive. I said "yes he is, why do you ask?" "Because he could ride for free!" He said. Wow! That was awesome! Those rides are freakin' expensive so I was overjoyed. With the tickets I had bought I would probably only be able to ride one other ride but now we were able to go on two or three more, woot hoot! This is one instance where I didn't mind Dan standing out. lol.

So I went to the customer service booth and got my cute little orange paper bracelet that said to the world that yes, Dan is different, we were indeed special and we deserve a little slack. I wish the world were more like this sweet little carnival.

I told my mother in law the story. I mentioned earlier in this post, that the man that had asked the question looked like my father in law, Auggie who is now deceased.  I knew she was going to say it, "Auggie was always very compassionate, I wonder if that was him, through that man, watching out for Dan." Maybe it was.    

PELO BUENO Tops for Girls

I also have PELO BUENO shirts for little girls with big hair because we need to teach our little girls with big hair that all hair is PELO BUENO (good hair).

Although I love, love, love, my boys, this is when I wish I had girls; to model my clothes! So it's my cute little nieces to the rescue. I love these girls like they were my own.


SIZE 7/8 RED. I have more sizes and colors



SIZE: 10-12 BLUE. More sizes and colors available

New PELO BUENO (GOOD HAIR) T-Shirts at Nelesc Designs

Inspired by my natural kinky hair, I bring you my take on the natural hair t-shirt. We all need an icon that will proclaim that all hair is PELO BUENO (GOOD HAIR)!


This was a crew neck t shirt that I reconstructed. The neck is scooped out and the sleeves are shorter. Can be worn off the shoulder. All seams are professionally hemmed. Check them out at my shop.


As a kid, I believed the lie that I had pelo malo (bad hair) and tortured my hair with relaxers and bonnet dryers. I still straighten it in the winter as I love to experiment with different looks, but I am here to proclaim that my curly, kinky hair is indeed PELO BUENO!

Also available in GREY, BROWN, AND RED in S, M, L, XL. Only available in BLUE AND BROWN in XXL. NO MORE XL IN BROWN.

Here it is in red

Tell me what you think!

Romper-Redo #2

Here's another romper/jumpsuit re-do. I did the same thing I discussed in this post; took the top from a dress and attached it to pants.



This was a dress I sold in my shop with Frida Kahlo screenprinted on it.
I had another one just like it so I cut it up.

The pants I made from scratch but never used them alone so they were the perfect candidate for this project. I also cut the cape sleeves a bit to show off my arms more. I love it! Its so comfy and can be dressed up or down. Two pieces that I hardly wore, I wear all the time, now that they are sewn together.  I love when that happens.



I wore it to a reunion not too long ago





More Romper Love: A Semi-tutorial

Two years ago, I wrote about my love affair with rompers/jumpsuits and made about three; this one, this one and this one. I finally got the fit I wanted by the last one. 

This year, the love affair continued and I found a cool way not to have to sew them from scratch. I thought to myself, "why don't I just sew two pieces together, a top and a pair of pants? This was a great way to take another look at my wardrobe and see what I could recycle into a jumpsuit. This is what I came up with:

The left was a dress I cut into tunic length thinking I would actually wear it more with skinny jeans. I didn't. On the right, are harem-like pants that I like and wear a lot but didn't mind using for this experiment sine I have another pair just like it.  



I put the tunic on and measured where, on my waist, I wanted to attach the pants. I marked it and then cut. 



 



The pants band was a bit too high so I cut it as well.

Finished product!

I loved the way it came out! I liken the jumpsuit to a super hero uniform, if you will.  It's easy, you put it on in one swift pull over each leg and then shoulders, and you're ready to run to the post office, do grocery shopping, and pick up the kids in a single bound. You can even squeeze a sensory play session in there if you're really feeling adventurous!  

Rocker Mom T-Shirt Reconstruction

This is a t-shirt reconstruction I made a couple years ago from an Old Navy shirt.

When you are a mother to special needs kids, you need to feel like a rocker mom ever so often, lol.

It's All Good, and It's all Me

I know it has been a while. I go through these cycles where I either work on my blog or work on my shop. I am trying to find the balance so that I can do both. I think that I have a formula for this and hope that I can do both simultaneously as I do love writing and sharing my creations with you as well as  managing my shop, Nelesc Designs.

In that last couple months, since my last post, I have been doing some serious thinking about my blog and my shop, who I am in these endeavors and what these activities say about me. Lately, I have been feeling lead to share the journey that was the catalyst for Nelesc Designs and this blog, The Reconstructed Life.

The title, The Reconstructed Life, does not solely refer to my sewing projects of wardrobe transformations and t-shirt reconstructions. I had to literally reconstruct my life after I had children, two children with autism. Its not like I never mentioned this. I did not hide it from my readers as you can see from several of my previous posts, this one being one of them. But I never really wanted to put this fact at the forefront of my blog. I meant it as a "by the way" type of thing. I didn't want this to be another autism mommy blog. I felt incredibly overwhelmed with my new found special needs mommyhood. I had inadvertingly become the poster child for The Autism Mom in many of my circles and I resented this. I was losing myself and who I was a a person, an artist, a designer, a creative, intelligent being. I wanted this blog and my shop to give me a voice. The voice of a woman, an activist, a lover of fashion, a creative being, a designer, a mom. But not an autism mom.

I love this ad because it so beautifully captures how my fashion and autism life have merged. It also drives home a very important point. 

I have been living this autism mom journey for 10 years and I feel I have learned some really good lessons. Lessons I want to share with you as I continue blogging. My creative endeavors do not happen in a vacuum. My life with autism has informed my choices, from career to wardrobe. Fashion, sewing, art, these have empowered me. I hope I can be of service and empower you and also gain more insight from my readers
.  

So...coming up, you will see more posts about my wardrobe transformations, more tutorials, new items in my shop, posts about meanigful fashion, and yes... my journey, the journey of a Puerto Rican, fashion loving, Christian, Bronx-born and bred woman, living with two boys on the spectrum. Because it's all me and it's all good.