Belle's Vest Tutorial and Pictures

So I finished my Belle Dress quite a while ago and I've had some questions about how I did the vest.  The vest was the hardest part and I'm not completely satisfied with how mine turned out.  If I could do it again I'd probably make some changes to it. But for those who'd like to know how I made mine, here are some pictures. 

I did not use a pattern for the vest but if you want to use a pattern I'm sure there are plenty of vest patterns available that could be made to work for Belle's vest.  The biggest problem with the vest is that I wanted mine to be just like the movie one that didn't have a zipper or any openings on the back.  I spend so much time brainstorming ideas on how to make this vest without a zipper.   I ended up adding extra length to the side of the vest where it laces up. I added enough length that I could slip the vest on over my shoulders (or over my hips? but either would work).  

When the vest is laced up the excess fabric is cinched so that you can't tell that the vest is extra big.  

The back of the dress has two darts and I made the neckline higher up than most vest patterns are.  The front piece that goes over the red fabric is actually a table cloth I found and I used embroidery thread to add the decorative stitches.  It was very time consuming but those stitches are my favorite part of the whole vest. 

That's pretty much all I have to say for making the vest.  If have any questions let me know and I"ll do my best to answer them.  They say a picture is better than a thousand words so I hope the pictures will help. Below are a few more pictures of my vest and my finished costume. 

*NOTE TO READERS*  I am no longer writing on this blog.  I made this post to answer some questions about my Belle dress.  If you are still interested in following along with my life and in my writings, I have a new blog I've been at - https://cloudydaysandcoffeeshops.wordpress.com/

I'm Moving!

So, I have some exciting news to share with you all today!  Judging by the title of this post, you can probably guess what this news is.  Yes, it's true, I'm moving.  I'm not moving in the sense that I'm physically moving to a new location, or a new house. But my blog is going to be moving to a new website.

I have loved blogging here on this site but I feel like I need a fresh start. God has been doing so much in my life this past year and he has really been putting it on my heart to take this next step for my blog. 

This week I have been working on creating my own website for my blog on 'Wix' (Wix is a really neat website maker, and completely user friendly, only downside is the fee, but other than that, I would totally recommend it).   I really wanted my website to have the same feel as this blog so I incorporated many of the same design aspects to my new website.  

I have some exciting plans for my new blog and I don't want any of you to miss out.  You can find my new website at  Uniquely His. Please subscribe to my new blog so you can receive updates whenever I add a new blog post.  

God bless you all, and thank you so much for following me and supporting me here on my blog

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!

It's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas!  There truly is something so special about Christmas that makes you feel like a kid again no matter what age.  

Today we went on on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.

We knew perfect tree was out, it was just waiting to be found.

When it comes to finding a Christmas tree, my family can be very picky.  But we finally found one that everyone agreed was the one for us.

Our search was worth it!   We found one and it ended up being over twelve feet tall!

And the fun will soon continue once we take it home and decorate it.

It's finally is Christmastime!  Wishing a  very Merry Christmas to you!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a lovely day full of wonderful family time and delicious food.  I had such a blessed time today in the kitchen baking pies all morning and helping with the final touches of the meal.  I got creative in the kitchen and created some new designs for my pie crust. 

It was hard to cut into these pies because of all the hard work I put into them.  But they tasted oh so good!  

Eating all this yummy food today made me think of how much we need spiritual food.  The verse from Psalm 34:8 comes to mind; "Oh Taste and See that the Lord is Good." 

Today I am not only thankful for the physical food that was, I'll say it again, oh so delicious.  But I'm so thankful for the spiritual food I find each day I open up God's word.

I pray that you have been able to taste and see that the Lord is good today and everyday.  

Now it's off to bed for me and I can't wait to jam to Christmas Music all day tomorrow!

Someday...

Snuggling up with a good book, a warm blanket, and my favorite warm winter boots sounds so much more appealing than the long list of things I have planned for today.   When I say a long list, I mean long.  I also mean an actual physical list.  One you can pick up and take with you wherever you go. Each day I like to write down a list of the things I want to get accomplished.  I usually put more on the list than I know I can do because it motivates me to get as much done as I can (but then I'm always so bummed when I can't check that one last thing off, haha).  

Writing a blog post is one of the projects on my list for today. I've been running low on inspiration for this blog but we''ll see where this goes. 

So are you a list writer, or do you just go with whatever the day brings?  I've always been a lover of making list and writing things down.  I can't help it, it's a part of who I am.

As I each day goes by the items get checked off of my list, new list  are made, and progress is slowly being seen in each of my projects.  I keep this verse in mind as I work.

"Whatever you do Work at it with all your heart as if working for the lord."

Whether you make list, or you just go with the flow of whatever the day brings, if you work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord, you will go far.

And someday, hopefully soon, I will be able to finish everything on my list and actually have time to read a book with my cozy boots while enjoying my favorite hot drinks....someday

And someday maybe I'll be able to figure out this whole blog thing and actually be consistent in posting.

P.S. Stay tuned soon for the final update on my Belle dress!  I just need to finish working on the pictures and write up the post ;) 

Belle's Blouse and Bloomers

Ahh, it's been awhile since I've posted! I figured it was about time I posted the next step in making Belle's dress.  As you can see from the picture above I am actually already finished with my take on Belle's blue dress. I can't wait to show you all some more pictures!  The one above is just a teaser.  I have to finish catching you up on the progress first.

I am combining both the blouse and the bloomers into this post.  For the blouse I basically just used a pattern.  I don't trust my own pattern-making skills with blouses, hehe.  They are a bit harder than skirts.  Pictured below is the pattern I used.  I didn't buy it specifically for this project.  I'm sure there is a pattern that would be better for Belle, but I didn't want to buy a new pattern.  I've had this pattern for years and it worked out perfectly, I just needed to make a few adjustments.

The only adjustments I made was taking a few inches out so it was not as baggy around the waist and on the sleeves.  I also created a drawstring for the neckline instead of using elastic for the neckline. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the blouse. But you can kinda see how the blouse turned out in the picture above.

After making the blouse I used the same fabric to make the bloomers.  I was a little unsure of how to make the bloomers.  My plan was to paint the flourish pattern on the bloomers just like I did with the pockets.  Painting a flourish design is a lot harder than painting stripes.  I decided I needed some sort of stamp so I could make each flourish uniform.

Using styrofoam I cut out the little leaf shaped pieces and glued them to a piece of poster board. In other words, I simply created my own stamp.  Then I was able to paint my homemade stamp and stamp it onto the fabric.  It worked perfectly.

For making the bloomers I also used a pattern.  I used simplicity pattern 3677 (it's a pattern for a pirate costume).    I made just one simple adjustment;  instead of elastic at the end of the bloomers I made cuffs like belle has in the movie.

Now all that's left is the vest.  The vest was the trickiest part which is why the next post will be devoted to more detailed information about how I made mine.  

I'm so excited, and kinda sad, to see this project finally come to an end.  

A Lesson Learned From Art Class

I made a mistake!  Oh no!  And it's too late to fix it, what should I do?

I was loving how everything was turning out on my paper.  In art class the other day we all got to play around with watercolors. The flower I was painting was slowly taking shape as I added on each layer.  An idea came to my head.  My flower needed outer petals.  I dipped my brush into the red and mixed it with some white until I had the perfect shade of pink.  Without much thought I placed my brush on the paper and painted more petals.  

Let's just say the picture I had in my head is not what happened on the paper in front of me.  I tried to make it work.  I added more paint and  then I tried to get rid of the extra paint.  Nothing worked, I messed up. 

Refusing to just push aside this piece as a mistake and try again I took out my pens and attempted to save my work.  I blended the pink colors into a background wash and added pen to make the flower stand out.  It worked! 

The painting didn't end up how I had originally planned it to turn out, but overall, I love how this piece turned out.  I couldn't resist adding a simple quote with hand lettering!

My art teacher even came over and commented on my work.  But the first words that came out of my mouth as she looked at my piece was; "This was a mistake."

She quickly told me that it was not a mistake, nothing in art is a mistake.  It may not have turned out how I wanted it to turn out, but it wasn't a mistake.  She pointed out how I was able to use my creative mind to solve the problem and still create a beautiful piece of art.  She also said if I keep trying to get the desired effect I will only get better as I practice.

Encouraged, I went on to play some more with my watercolors.  I painted more flowers and landscapes remembering to keep in mind that as I explore with art I'm not messing up or making mistakes, I'm making art.

As I reflect on the dilemma I had with my flower painting, I can't help but see a life lesson to learn from this experience.  So often in my life I find myself in situations that are similar to my messed up piece of art.   

My life is like the painting on the paper in front of me.  As each day goes by a new layer is added to the painting.   I make choices for my life each day.  I have dreams and hopes.  I have an idea in my head of what I want the painting to look like whens it's done.  

But, let's face it, things happen and my life takes an unexpected turn.  Maybe it's a season of pain, or heartbreak.  Maybe it's a prolonged season of waiting.   Hard times come and I start to wonder what happened to the beautiful picture?  It was turning out just how I wanted it to, but now...  The brush suddenly slips, the paints spill on the canvas, the beautiful painting is no longer perfect, it's messed up.  I made a mistake.

What my teacher told me about my artwork is true of my life as well.  There is no such thing as a mistake.  Maybe my life isn't turning out how I want it to turn out, but I must never allow myself to forget Who holds the brush.

God is the painter, I am a the painting.  God doesn't make mistakes.  When God has me go through hard seasons in life I can trust that He knows what He is doing.  Even if the painting looks like one big mess right now, I'll just keep trusting God.  I know that in time God will turn it into something beautiful.