My goal this year is to start making things with my hands again and writing about it all. So here we are.

I haven’t written in 3 years. Most of that time was not very kind to me, mainly for health reasons. But the last year has been amazing. So I’m kicking off my 30th birthday by reflecting on my top 10 favorite things that happened from my 29th year (in chronological order).

It was a big year — I could write a standalone post about each of these things — so grab a cup of tea and let’s catch up.

1. We bought a house!

After 2 years of thinking about it, saving, and searching — we are homeowners. 

As someone who grew up dirt poor, this is definitely something I didn’t know I could accomplish. Every morning I lie in bed and watch our room grow brighter, look out over our backyard, and reflect on how thankful I am to have a blossoming homestead.

We have an endless list of projects queued up to make our house feel like a home and reflect who we are, and after an incredibly intense couple of years, I’m excited to spend time getting settled in.

2. I was promoted!

This was a good year professionally. I received my company’s Above and Beyonce award, I was promoted to team lead, I hired two incredible people, and now I manage a growing team focused on content.

For the first time since I left the baking/candy industry, I feel like I have a career and not a job. It’s honestly a really nice feeling.

Also, Nick switched jobs! I’m telling you, it was a big year. (Read: We are ready to chill.)

3. We took engagement photos!

I’ve never really understood engagement photos. But then we started wedding planning and quickly discovered multiple things we wanted to use professional, current photos for. Also, a couple’s or engagement session is the perfect opportunity to work with your photographer before the wedding.

And who are we kidding, I’ll take any excuse to have my photo taken by Ryan Green!

For this shoot, we did what we do best: Headed to our favorite antique shops, aka: our natural habitat.

4. We watched the total solar eclipse on a boat!

We took the day off, headed to the lake, and watched the eclipse from the water. The path of totality touched 14 states, and the rest of the U.S. had a partial eclipse. Seeing this with my closest friends was a magical, humbling experience. 

5. We got married!

Our wedding day was a whirlwind only made possible by our friends and family. Nayyirah Waheed said, “With the right people, a year is a lifetime. Find the people who want to live lives with you.”

I’m so excited to keep spending lifetimes with Nick. He makes me a better person, believes in all my wild ideas, and trusts me to help make our life’s dreams come true. I’m thankful everyday that I found my person.

Ryan Green captured the day flawlessly.

6. We honeymooned in Italy!

We took our first international trip. We flew into Rome and city hopped to Florence, Cinque Terre, and Milan.

It was breathtaking, stressful, and delicious.

The language barrier was challenging at times and we didn’t spend nearly enough time in each city. But we had glorious views, prosecco almost daily, and took a pizza and gelato making class! I would go back in a heartbeat, we made some of my favorite memories on that trip.

7. We added a puppy to our family!

I’ll save the full story for another post. All you need to know right now is that we have little hound mix named Pickle.

He’s cute, he’s energetic, and I am completely obsessed with him. He’s taught me so much patience and grace these last few months.

And no, Olive the cat is not his friend (YET — but we are determined to change that).

8. We had our first Christmas tree adventure!

We chopped it down ourselves! We made ice cream cone ornaments! It was all very magical and sticky and festive. In all our time together, this is the first year we’ve put up a tree. Maybe it was the house, or the wedding, but for some reason, it felt right for this to be the year we got a tree. I can’t wait to get an even taller one next Christmas!

9. I lost 30 pounds!

This is something I am really proud of. Most of my weight loss was intentional (simple portion control and healthier meals) . . .  but some of it can be attributed to wedding stress. Oops.

I’m just happy that I feel great. Now, if I could just replace my entire wardrobe with clothes that actually fit so I can look great, that’d be nice.

10. I stopped being in chronic pain!

It’s hard for me to cover this without writing a novel (which is exactly why I plan on writing a personal zine about it!).

Here’s the elevator version:

Basically, my jaw joint was misaligned and ruined my body and life for a long time. After a lot of searching, I found a knowledgeable doctor. I’ve been in treatment for 16 months and have about a year left until it’s complete, though I am feeling much better.

Here’s the detailed version:

I have a jaw joint disorder. For almost 2 years, I had daily headaches and weekly migraines, along with one or more of the following: jaw pain, jaw popping/cracking, jaw locking closed (two times, each for ~4 months back to back, so I was essentially locked closed for 8 months), neck/shoulder/back pain, ringing in ears, ear pain, nausea, difficulty swallowing/feeling of a foreign object in throat, numbness in fingers/hands, referred (phantom) toothaches, eye pain, light sensitivity, difficulty sleeping, fatigue/exhaustion, memory loss, short term memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, and brain fog.

Honestly, just typing that list puts a frog in my throat and tears in my eyes. It literally hurt me to be alive. I had to quit doing a lot of things I love, including hobbies and even just being a good friend.

I was in so much pain, that eventually I had to  give myself permission to hibernate from the world and focus on survival, even if that meant not making books or doing creative things.

When I finally started feeling better, I didn’t pressure myself about anything. I just did whatever I wanted, took life slow, and ended up having one of the best years of my life. None of the above would be possible if I didn’t find a doctor that helped me feel better. 

[Insert gratuitous photos of me on one of my first pain free days with a functioning mouth:]

I can’t wait to see what my 30th year brings! I know it won’t be a checklist of life milestones — and I am more than okay with that.

I just want to make things with my hands, keep training Pickle, settle in to our house, and be a better friend and all around person. I’ve felt really pressured in the past to only write about my art in order to grow my business, but from now on, I’m just gonna write about whatever I want and hope for the best. That seems to be what makes me happiest.

And if I’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s to do more of what makes you happy.

Until next time, J

Photos: #1-5 by Ryan Green of 30MilesWest, unless otherwise noted. All others by me or Nick.

When I was ten years old, I wrote, illustrated, and created my very first handmade book. In celebration of my birthday today, I thought it would be fun to share that book with you! 

Henry Graham Greene once wrote, "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." 

I should've realized long ago that I would be a bookbinder. All the warning signs were there. But hindsight's 20/20:

• During middle school, I was an avid reader and writer. In high school, I filled composition notebooks with angsty stanzas and by senior year had joined the literary magazine staff.
   
• Going into college, I became the poetry editor of the campus creative arts publication, and my final thesis project was a series of five small handbound books containing my original poetry.
   
• Almost one year ago, I opened by own bookbindery and these days, I'm currently working with a few writers to turn their own poetry collections into chapbooks. 

Though I was born a skeptic, even I can't deny that things always have a way of coming back full circle. 

The following poems and illustrations are both hilarious and nostalgic to me. I vividly remember drawing the picture below, but I don't really recall any of the writing. I believe we would learn about a type of poem, and then the assignment was to write one.

Looking back now, I have a sneaking suspicion that we were also learning about adjectives. 

Either that, or I simply enjoyed colorful language. 

I believe my elementary school was "The Mighty Oaks" or something, hence the stamp below and the foil embossed label above. Maybe we were learning about the full publishing process? I can't be sure.

But I do distinctly remember sitting next to the teacher, gazing out the classroom window, and happily gluing stacks of books together— transfixed by that magic moment when several pieces come together to form a whole. 

Sometimes things aren't as different as we like to think they are.

I'm still transfixed by those moments. Whether it's stitching a book together, watching live music, baking a cake from scratch, or realizing random bits of your past have aligned to let to the future in, those are the powerful moments I'm celebrating today.  

And what birthday post would be complete without a childhood picture?  This is me, age 10, the year I made my first book: 

Charming, no? Happy birthday to the adorable tiny skeptic who hates men telling her to smile. Thanks for reading my story— cheers to many more years of writing, learning, and making books! 

Life and Literature is possibly one of my favorite book arts projects to date. I'm even more excited to share it with you because I remembered to actively document the entire process, so I have tons of progress shots to share with you!

Now this definitely isn't a full tutorial, but I thought it would be fun if you could have a peek at what it's like to make one of my books. This book was made as a surprise birthday gift for one of my close friends, Sasha. Her mother secretly contacted me and requested an art piece for Sasha, who loves literature. 

Life and Literature is the gift we came up with. It's a series of miniature hand embroidered books collected inside a tattered and discarded copy of an actual book titled "Life and Literature."

(And yes, I just happened to have the perfect book on hand because I am a compulsive tattered book collector. . . ) 

The original book has been carved out to include 12 niches— one for each miniature handmade book. Every tiny book contains hand watercolored pages, vintage dictionary papers, and an inspirational quote written with a vintage Smith-Corona typewriter. All these pages are sewn together and an embroidered portrait of the author of each quote decorates the covers. 

But enough of the finished book— let's look at how it came to be. 
 

Step 1: Create the accordion book structure. 
 

I decided to use a simple accordion style binding for the miniature books— with signatures sewn in for extra fun. I knew the finished size needed to be about 2.75 x 2.25 inches in order to fit all 12 books inside the larger book. I worked backwards from that measurement to figure out what size to make my accordion structure and inner pages for the quotes.

But don't worry, I won't bore you with the math. 

However, I will bore you with bookmaking terminology! In this example, the watercolor background below is the "accordion' part; the pages that are folded and sewn in later (pictured in step 2) are the "signature" part. 

To make the accordion structure, I watercolored sheets of paper in colors that coordinate with the larger book. Then I cut, scored, and folded the larger sheets of paper into 12 small accordions. 

Step 2: Select and sew in vintage dictionary pages and hand-typed quotes. 

Next, I typed out each of the 12 quotes I selected on a pretty cream paper with subtle sparkly accents. I also cut down vintage dictionary pages to include in each book because they are beautiful and they fit with the literature theme. 

Now normally you would create a template and punch holes for sewing and make sure everything is very particular.

But I didn't do this.

Since all of my quotes were different and I didn't want the stitching to cover any of the words, I just eyeballed all the sewing and poked holes with my needle as I went along. 

(Hey, I never said I was a traditional bookbinder. . . ) 

Step 3: Marvel at the little army you've created and take way too many pictures. 

Okay, so I know this post is photo heavy. But I wanted to include enough pictures so you can see the different angles and how this type of binding works. I think the photos from above really help show how the pages are sewn in. 

Step 4: Create and attach the covers. 

For the covers, I decided to go with classic author portraits. But of course I couldn't leave it that simple— I had to embroider them to add a little whimsy to the seriousness of the black and white portraits. 

I cut, scored, and folded 12 green covers that wrap around to fit each accordion.  Then I added an author's portrait to each cover and embroidered it. Lastly, I attached each accordion to its cover by gluing the first and last accordion fold to the cover. 

Step 5: Create the hollowed out book structure. 

The final step was to hollow out 12 niches in the main book and check that each mini book fits inside the corresponding spot. Then I glued along the edges of the book so it became a solid piece with no individual pages. 

And there you have it.

Life and Literature: a book filled with inspirational quotes from a dozen different (mostly) classic authors. 

Whew. What an absolute joy this project was! 

I generally like to reflect on my artwork and think about what I would do differently if I remade a piece, but I am really pleased with how this turned out. 

However, since I'm all about pushing myself for growth and learning, if I had to change one thing, I suppose it would be the button and string that holds this book closed.

Overall, I don't hate it and I think it works just fine here. But in a broader sense, I can see that's an area I don't know much about and I can probably improve. So I think I'll try to explore different ways to fasten books and learn more about closures in the future!

If you'd like to see additional finished photos of Life and Literature or learn more about the backstory, just visit the portfolio page for this handmade artist's book. You'll even find a slideshow at the bottom so you can read each author's quote and see interior details of each book. 

Would you be interested in making or owning a book like this? What inspiring quotes would you choose to feature? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

I have a habit of collecting awful dresses with the intent of revamping them into actual wearable clothing. I'm not sure what it is but I always see things for what they could be instead of what they actually are. What can I say? I like a challenge.

I think that's what happened here. I found a crazy black dress for $7 at a thrift store and had to have it. I think I fell in love with the pleats. Although it resembled more of a graduation gown than anything, I apparently saw great potential and snatched it up.

Though the before and after is pretty exciting (and possibly made more drastic due to my haircut in between!), it was a pretty simple process. Bonus points because I actually remembered to photograph the dress refashion— check out each step below. 

1. Remove sleeves

This part was really easy. It's also pretty fun to see how much more modern the dress looks simply by cutting off the terrible bat sleeves. I mean, still not fit for a runway— but it's a definite improvement. 

2. Hem the dress to a modern length

I think hemming a dress or a skirt is the easiest way to update it. I still don't have a ton of experience on a sewing machine, but hemming is super easy— basically just a straight line. I just cut a few inches off, folded it over, pressed it with an iron, pinned it in place, and then stitch, stitch, stitch.

3. Add crochet details + buttons 

I probably would've stopped at this point if I didn't have the crocheted sweater pictured below. My mom is an avid thrifter (where did you think I got the habit?) and picks up neat things for me sometimes. I'm pretty fond of lacy clothes but the sweater didn't fit very well so it was in my fabric reuse stash. 

I somehow had the grand idea to use the sweater as trim for the dress. Though it was a huge pain to hand stitch the details on (it wasn't difficult, just time consuming!), I dare say it turned out better than I imagined! I used the corner pieces for the collar and then just pieced the rest together along the hemline. 

4. Enjoy $7 dress 

And that's it! Now if you can ignore the "50 shades of Jenna's hair" look (I swear it's fixed now, please don't judge me!) then I think it's pretty obvious that this is now my go-to little black dress.

Note: you can tell it's very sheer in the before photos, but with the *appropriate* slip it's perfectly fine. 

My favorite part of this dress might just be the fit. I generally go for "fit and flare" style dresses that are tighter on top, however, I really love how casual this dress feels even though it looks a bit dressy. 

So that's the story of my $7 dress transformation! I think my next sewing project might be a skirt with a zipper— though I am extremely intimidated by the thought of that. Or maybe a simple shirt. . . Uh dear, I think I have the sewing bug. . .  Have you sewn or refashioned anything lately? There is something so satisfying to me about turning nothing into something special.  

I am so proud to share some exciting news with y'all today: one of my handmade books is published in a magazine— squeeee! 

I recently collaborated with an amazing group of women to create a wildflower themed wedding. The styled shoot was not only featured in Smitten Magazine, but it made the cover, too!

Of course, there are tons of details to swoon over— perfect hair, lovely dress, awesome location, beautiful table settings, amazing florals, basically everything.

I had a blast creating the custom wedding guestbook you see here. It features floral embedded paper, hand watercolored pages, vintage flower illustrations, a variety of dictionary pages, and lined spaces for guests to leave a message to the happy couple. 

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day, shot by the amazing Alissa Saylor.

I wasn't there in person to see all the magic— but I'm sure you can imagine my delight when I got to see these images for the first time! I just love how perfect it all turned out.  More photos and information about my process can be found in my bookmaking portfolio.

Thanks for letting me gush! If you'd like to read the whole issue (and get a tutorial for that gorgeous hair!)-- it's available for free online at smitten-mag.com

Guestbook: Kitty Cat Stevens | Styling: Stockroom Vintage | Photography: Alissa Saylor Photography
Floral Design: SOULflowers | Model: Jenna Farro | Makeup: Jessie Glover | Hair: Lauren Bourgeois
Location: The Barn at Cedar Grove | Dresses: Whitney Deal from Hello Honey | Jewelry: Sisters of Nature | Veil + Headpiece: Eden by Zipporah & Mignonne Handmade | Ceramics: Handmade Studio TN 

Just a little peek at my current embroidery project! This is the first patch I've ever made, so I'm excited to see how it turns out. I try to have a main bookmaking project to work on and then a smaller embroidery piece for those times when I want something a little less involved.

Embroidery is a nice way to fill lazy evenings, the down time between bigger projects, or the distance during car rides. A stitch here, a stitch there, and then magically you're done! 

Since I already have a little growing list of pieces to stitch next, I thought it would be fun to share "what's on my hoop" each month. It's pretty obvious from these what it's going to be like finished, but it's still exciting!

Hello, friends and fellow book lovers! I'm excited to welcome you to my brand new website. Here you'll find an extensive portfolio of my handmade books and one-of-a-kind embroidery, a brand new about me page, a real contact page that works, my first FAQ, and this here blog. YAY— I'm glad you've found me! 

To get started, there are a few changes I'd like to point out. My blog is no longer my homepage— it now lives here, at kittycatstevens.com/blog. This has caused some issues, like figuring out how to update all the ways my amazing readers can find me or subscribe, losing all my old comments, and causing lots of links to change, but I am overall happy with the newness. 

Next up, you might notice that my archives are significantly shorter then they used to be. This is because I didn't import all of my old content to this new site. This was a hard decision, but there are a few reasons behind it:

• My blog has changed a lot since I started it 3+ years ago. Although I'm proud of how I've grown and where I am now, I have a very clear vision of how I want to move forward and what I want to focus on (hint: all books, all the time!). Part of me wanted to trash it all and just start fresh, but I decided to keep my best, most relevant, and helpful content instead. 
  
  
• Due to a really boring and technical story, I lost a lot of the pictures in my older posts. Since 90% of what I do and blog about is visual, most of my older content didn't make sense without images. And like I said above, since the content wasn't even relevant to what I write about now, I wasn't about to backtrack and add images to old posts that I don't care about. 
  
  
• I just needed a change! I feel so much more confident about my photography and writing these days, and I just wanted a space of my own that reflects who I am now. I consider my blog to be like my own little magazine. And I'm so happy that you're all here reading along!  

So, you're probably wondering what I will be blogging about! That's a good question— one I actually answered with a Venn diagram for you:

I've thought a lot about what I like to write about, what my readers enjoy, and how they overlap. Technically, I will only be blogging about two things—bookcraft + stitchery. But the beauty is that for me, books and sewing overlap in so many ways that it allows me to write about everything I love. 

This is getting long winded, so I am going to wrap it up! Basically, if you like books, embroidery, diy fashion, poetry, vintage + handmade goods, peeping into other people's sketchbooks, and all things paper or snail mail— then you're in the right place. 

If you're new to Kitty Cat Stevens, then:

Hi, I'm Jenna, it's nice to meet you!

I'd love for you to say hi in the comments below or get to know me better by clicking here. And if you're an old friend that's been wondering where my blog is or what the heck I've been up to, the answer is: I've been building this playground for modern day bibliophiles— welcome back!

If you've known me for any amount of time then you already know this coming weekend is a huge milestone for me! I mentioned here that I'll be attending my first market and the time has almost come.

I've spent many hot southern summers perusing craft fairs and art shows and now I'm finally going to be on the other side of all the action. I will be talking about my handmade books and selling them to complete strangers for the first time ever. This is a lot different from friends, family, and acquaintances of my friends/family asking me to make books for them after already seeing my work.

This is me going out there and literally putting it all on the table and seeing what the world thinks--- EEEEP! I am so excited / nervous / scared / proud that I almost don't know what to do with myself! 

Almost being the key word-- I've managed to spend every spare moment making as many books as possible. I've been waking up early, making books in cars, stitching pages together while watching Orphan Black, and folding paper until my fingers hurt and I can't find anymore podcasts to listen to.

It's actually been pretty wonderful-- despite all of the unknowns. I've made lots of mini books, reclaimed leather books, and other fun things. I'm trying to find ways to display my books using different items I already have around the house, though I am meeting with Elizabeth this week to paint some props and get my layout nailed down.

That's what I've been up to the last few weeks! It's big and exciting and I know that I have so much to learn-- I can't wait to share it all with you! And since I've been talking about opening my business and doing things like this for so long, I know I'm not the only one with this dream. So please, if you have ANY questions then ask them below. I would LOVE to pass on everything I learn— the good, the bad, the scary! I don't even know what I don't know yet, but once Saturday is over, it will be nice to have those "first show jitters" out of the way.

If you're in Nashville, stop by theSummer Solstice Party for handmade vendors, food trucks, music, and local brews on Saturday. Otherwise, give me all your wisdom and your questions and I will see you on the other side of this madness-- yay!

I remember browsing vintage shops when I was young and being drawn to everything floral and anything with embroidered details. Bonus points if the two were combined. I would meander up and down aisles of overstuffed bookshelves, wander through racks of outdated dresses, and admire every little petal on the plethora of dainty porcelain teacups.

Flash forward 15 years and nothing much has changed: I was born and raised to live a secondhand lifestyle. I could spend hours slowly flipping through old books (a habit that may drive Mr. Kitty Cat Stevens to insanity) and purposefully breathing deeper than normal to take in their musty bouquet. I've bonded with little old ladies at the flea market over delicate hand stitched details that are decades old. 

Handmade mug by Julia Walther

Sometimes I don't realize how much of my work can be dissected into minutiae and traced back through my life. When I think about the current piece I'm working on— a floral inspired and female empowering hand embroidery for a midwifery office, something just clicks. It's like a huge "duh" moment and it just feels so right. Like I'm exactly where I need to be. Like my entire life has led to this.

OF COURSE I would be sitting on a vintage sofa, drinking endless cups of tea, and stitching a pair of ovaries. Is there even another choice?? There is so much I want to learn, and do, and make happen. I know that having goals is important. But right now, I feel so content just taking everything one tiny stitch at a time, somehow certain that I'll end up where I need to be.

Discovering bookmaking in college was definitely a blessing for me. My love of sewing paper together to create a 3d form only intensified my love of all stitching. I pursued embroidery because of bookmaking. And because of embroidery, I finally decided to learn to use a sewing machine (to alter my vintage dresses, of course).

I never expected all of my passions to become so deeply intertwined. Books, paper, poetry. Florals, needle and thread. If I can one day make a living by the pages I fold and the thread I stitch, then I'm not sure there's much more I could ask for (besides a tiny cottage on the beach and a few more cats).

So, that's the end goal, in a nutshell. And while I'm on the journey to it, I often find myself sipping a cup of tea, with my grandmother's handmade quilt on my lap and a cat asleep beside me, as I realize how happy I am to be living a quiet life— one stitch at a time.

I'm so excited to share my most recent handmade book with you today! It was a custom order for a Mother's Day gift and I dare say that it turned out even better than I imagined. This journal was created for my friend's mom, who is a painter. This piece was fun because I don't actually know my friend's mother and I pretty much had free reign.

After a short Q & A session with my friend, I had a vision and just went for it. I started with a rich light brown leather cover. Bonus points because the cover is completely upcycled from *drumroll please* . . . a secondhand leather skirt!

The strap is actually the old waistband of the skirt— CAN YOU TELL??

This binding is called "longstitch" and allows a beautiful contrast of thread on the spine. The spine has an additional strip of leather sewn on for aesthetics, stability, and if we're being honest— because I totally messed up the original holes I punched and needed to cover them up. WHOOPS. Happy accident though, no? I kind of love it.

The leather is so soft and buttery— the perfect texture. It's also very thin, so it was challenging to sew. There are some wrinkles and a bit of bulging on parts of the spine, which is not ideal to the perfectionist in me, but the artist part of me appreciates that you can tell it wasn't made by a machine. And secondhand leather— come on! I totally saved some poor unfortunate soul from wearing this mid-shin length leather travesty.

The inside contains 160 hand-torn pages that create a lovely deckled edge. I am a complete and total sucker for a book with feathered edges. The cover sheet and signature protectors are all made from paper that I watercolored myself. I am so proud of that watercolor, too! It is a "technique" that I "mastered" a few weeks ago when I created my first wedding guestbook (oops-- secret's out!!).

I can't wait to share that guestbook, but it's totally one of those annoying "top secret projects" that I can't talk about yet [GROAN]. But I will tell you that it was in collaboration with Stockroom Vintage— so you should expect lots of dreamy goodness. If you're sleuth enough, you can lurk my instagram and find a sneak peak of it.

ANYWAY. Secondhand leather. Watercolor. Hand-torn edges. This book is very "Kitty Cat Stevens." It's a huge amalgamation of pretty much everything I've learned about bookmaking. Like when you think about it, this book took me 6 years to make. I'll just let that sink in . . .

Lastly, I would be much remiss if I didn't mention a few more things. Although this is the first time I have done this particular longstitch sewing pattern, it is actually the second time I've made a leather longstitch journal. The first time was in a class taught by Katie Gonzalez, a local bookbinder and owner of Linen Laid & Felt bindery. She's also the one who taught me a slightly easier version of how I was tearing down paper, too.

I never posted pictures of the journal I made in Katie's workshop because it didn't feel 100% like mine, ya know? I mean,  it was essentially me learning how to make her signature book. But that's the thing I love about bookbinding— you can teach a room of 20 people the same binding and still get 20 different books at the end. So that class gave me the confidence to go ahead and experiment with leather and really take what I learned and make it my own.

That's why I love learning. I can already see how my work has progressed from book to book. Like if I hadn't made this embroidered book (which I still haven't shared the final pics of, OOPS) then I wouldn't have the knowledge to make the guestbook I mentioned above. And then I couldn't have made THIS book. (Insert circle of life metaphor because it's getting too late for me to think straight anymore). And maybe it's just me being cheesy. It just feels like so much in my life is aligning and like everything I've ever done has been leading up to this moment. (Okay, I'm getting sentimental— time to wrap this up!)

(Also, here's the obligatory cat lady picture. Hundreds of places to sit in our new house and she decides to plop down on my photo setup— classic Olive!)

Whew. I think that's everything I wanted to say. Well, besides a few "housekeeping" things. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm doing my first handmade market next month— eeeeep! Which means even though I'll be making lots of things, I will be allotting nearly all of my free time to finishing up May commissions and creating inventory, so things might get quieter around here BECAUSE PRIORITIES. So if you'd like to see me more than once a week, let's hangout on Instagram.

Although I won't be on the blog as often, I swear I am so fired up about everything to come! Once the market's done, I'll be focusing on my new website/shop. So if you're reading this through Google Friend Connect then I recommend going ahead and following on Bloglovin instead. That's all the blog talk I have. I have more books to share but I'm still trying to find a balance so I don't overwhelm y'all with ME ME ME books books books.

Okay that's all I have to say— I hope you are doing wonderful! When my friend saw his mom's book he said, "That's so beautiful I want to cry." So basically I hope your life is so good you want to cry. But not really because then you'd be crying . . . but you know, I really hope you are doing well. Y'all are great for reading all the silly things I say and I am beyond lucky to have your support. OKAY TOO MANY FEELINGS, BYE NOW.

HALLELUJAH, Y'ALL— I HAVE A NEW HOUSE!

And what a whirlwind the last few weeks have been. After jumping through about a million hoops, we finally got the rental house we wanted. We packed up, I got a head cold, we moved all of our stuff, I gave my head cold to Nick, we cleaned up our old place, Nick got a terrible virus, and now we're settling in.

I tried really hard to get the moving part out of the way so I could get back to making things (and blogging about them!) as soon as possible, but it just seemed to drag out forever! And moving is so terrible that I didn't wanna bombard all of your wonderful lives with boxes and whiny details so I just stayed quiet (and busy! and sick!) for awhile.

I got so overwhelmed that I even took the amazing Sarah up on her offer to help us pack. Seriously though, it takes a different kind of human to volunteer to help somebody move. I could not have done it without her and a handful of others that graciously packed and carried all my books and shoes and mason jars and life up a terrible flight of outdoor stairs.

Throughout the madness, I also managed to apply to my first local handmade market! So now I have a handful of custom orders to wrap up and then *INVENTORY* begins. I am excited and nervous and overwhelmed and thankful and on the verge of ralphing when I think about it. I definitely have my work cut out for me, but I think it might just be the catalyst I needed to jump start my business. The market will sort of be the grand opening/launch of my business, so ya know— NO BIG DEAL.

Just kidding. It's obviously a huge deal. But we can talk about it later. My mind is going a million miles a minute and I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I will be selling my work to people so I'm focusing on other things (aka I'm just a little in denial).

So that's what I've been up to! Today we "officially" don't live in the old place anymore. I'm looking forward to waking up without being sore from carrying boxes of books up and down stairs all day. I'm looking forward to having a bike lane all the way to work. I'm looking forward to a new studio, a safer neighborhood, my best friend coming to visit, making new and exciting books, and getting back to blogging more regularly (whatever that means now that so much has changed for me!).

We only have a bit more to unpack and then I think we'll get into a routine so that things feel more normal. All these pictures are a few of my current favorite details from the new place. Olive is adjusting pretty well— she gets a little freaked out by sudden noises and movements, but I think she likes the extra space here. I have a pink + periwinkle bathroom, lots of pictures to hang, a charming dining room, beautiful natural light, and lots of books to unpack!

Right now, I'm completely worn out but totally optimistic. There's so much change and newness around me and I'm trying to channel it as inspiration instead of letting it overwhelm me. I hope spring is treating you well and that you have lots of things to celebrate— I'd love to hear about them all :)

Hello, everyone— and thank you for your wonderful comments and emails regarding my big 'ole life changes. Since the last post wasn't all glitter and sunshine, I thought today it would be fun to share something that is literally only glitter and sparkles— my most recent handmade book! For those curious, this is called a "buttonhole binding" and yes, it was extremely fun to make :-)

This custom glitter journal was a birthday present for my close friend, Haley. She's a really amazing person and feels very much like a sister to me. She is extremely talented and tons of fun to be around. She has amazing handwriting, makes really wonderful watercolor drawings, and is almost always writing a list of some sort. She had a Whoopi GOLDberg themed birthday party and is also obsessed with mermaids, so I used those facts as jumping off points to create the perfect surprise journal for her.

I found this awesome heavyweight sparkly paper that is perfect for creating softcover books. It's thick enough to protect but light enough to keep the book from weighing your purse or bag down. I had a vision of a glittery gold book with a detailed exposed spine, but I wasn't sure what other color I wanted (or what would "work" with the almost over the top gold). But then I found this dreamy teal paper with it's own, more subtle sparkle and just ran with the whole thing.

I had actually picked out some awesome jewel purple thread with sparkly accents to bind the book, but somewhere between the thread aisle and my house it completely disappeared. I didn't have time to go back to the store, so I just thought, "If you were making this for you, what color would you choose?" and then obviously decided to bind it with some peachy pink instead.

Since I know Haley likes to use watercolor, write with fun pens and markers, and make collages, I went with a nice and thick multimedia paper. It's not quite as heavy as watercolor paper, but it's hefty enough to really span a lot of different mediums. And as a fellow list-maker, I had my heart set on something high-quality because it's a huge bummer dealing with ghosting while you write. The paper is also hand-torn to size, which gives the book that dreamy deckled edge that I love so much. . . Anyway, I'm going to move along now because I could drone on about paper for far too long!

The last small detail I added was the heart button that helps keep the whole thing closed. Haley actually bought that little button while she lived in Africa, and she gave it to me months ago after deciding she didn't know what to make with it. I could just tell that it was special to her though, so as soon as I found out her birthday was coming up, I knew whatever I created had to incorporate it. I think I made the right call because there may have been a few happy tears shed over while receiving this book.

So there you have it— the goldest, most glitteriest book I have ever made. I hate to sound obnoxious by swooning over my own work, but honestly, I am in serious love with how this book turned out! It's something I never would have created for myself but now that it exists I kind of want one in every color, ya know? This glitter is just so much fun— I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I was making this book.

Ps. Here's a super secret I'm gonna let you in on: Haley and I have decided to collaborate on a zine together! I've always wanted to write one, and this random idea finally popped into my head that would be perfect, so we are gonna go with it and see where it takes us— I'm super excited! I've also finally convinced her to start a blog (coming soon) so can she share all the awesome lists she makes, so hopefully y'all will be able to meet her soon!

Today I'm excited to share a really special project I'm working on. I've been creating an extremely detailed custom book and I thought it'd be fun to give y'all a peek behind the scenes with some progress shots. 

The final pieces will be a book of poems/song lyrics bound "accordion" style. This means that all the pages are connected end to end and the owner will have the option of either reading it as a normal book or using it as an art piece by opening it up for display. So if you literally imagine an accordion- the covers would be like the keyboard/woodboxes and all these pages will expand and connect like the bellows. 

But don't worry your head off about the construction- let's focus on all the embroidery going on instead! My client wanted to create a gift for a songwriting friend. So she provided me with the lyrics to be made into a book and then I went to work. 

And by work I obviously mean lots of planning and obsessing over details. My concept behind this book was to create lots of intricate layers. The writer's poems + lyrics are very vulnerable and telling so I wanted layers of pattern, colors, words, and stitching to draw the reader in and move them along throughout the collection. The end goal was to create something that you can look at several times and find a new detail that you didn't notice before (the way you can fall in love with a different part of a song you've heard a million times).

I chose vintage inspired floral papers to embroider on for the bottom layer, which you see here. The second layer is a translucent vellum that the lyrics are printed on. Once the layers are attached, you get a dreamy effect of hand embroidered vines and words peeking out from under the lyrics. It's a lot of fun to look at in person. 

Since I knew the embroidery would be covered up, I wanted to get some really detailed shots for my portfolio. (And can we just talk about the word "portfolio" for a second? It  always makes me feel so weird. . . like overconfident or a corporate executive giving a boring report, ugh. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to have a gallery of my embroidery and handmade books when I re-do my website, but at the same time it still evokes weird feelings. . . )

All of the embroidered words are lyrics I hand lettered and then stitched. I included a time lapse GIF above of the process because it's always fun to see the evolution of an idea!

After all the embroidery was done, i used my sewing machine to attach the two layers. My desk then turned into a disaster area of string and paper that Olive was more than happy to frolic all over. The next step is to attach all the pages into a seven foot accordion and then give it some covers to live between! (And then more photographing and then shipping it off— but one step at a time!) 

I an honestly say that this will probably be one of the most beautiful books I've made yet. I'm also learning a ton along the way so it's been a rewarding and challenging experience. Yay for new things! I'm looking forward to wrapping this project up and making even more books. I have a lot of ideas floating around that I can't wait to get working on, so stay tuned for loads more books and handmade goodness!

I think it's really hard for a lot of people—especially women— to pat themselves on the back these days. It's way too easy to focus on the things we didn't do than to acknowledge what we've accomplished. Think about it—what have you been stressing about today?

The phone calls/emails you haven't returned? The laundry you didn't do? The yoga class you missed? Today I'd like to take away the self-inflicted criticism and focus on something way more valuable:

What things have you accomplished that your "former self" would be proud of you for?

I bet you've crossed something off your goals list, or learned a new skill, or picked up a positive habit recently that's worth giving yourself credit for! I'll start us off— in no particular order, here are some highly personal things I've done that I think "former Jenna" would be proud of.

1. Starting to run again

— even if I've missed some days (or weeks) here and there. I might not be as far along with training as I'd hoped to be BUT this post is about celebrating the good! And for me, just beginning a goal/project is about 75% of the battle. I feel a lot better mentally when I can get in a few runs per week and I think former seven-mile-a-day-Jenna would be on the sidelines cheering me on towards my goal.

2. Gaining the confidence to open my own (part time) business

(+being honest with others when they ask what I wanna do for a living). I've always thought the idea of being my own boss was ideal, but until recently I never thought it was actually an option for me. I've spent the last year working with two amazing female entrepreneurs and they've convinced me that I'm a strong, driven, talented individual. I've gained so much knowledge from my two mentors about what goes into creating a handmade business so now I'm brainstorming ways to use it to make my dreams a reality. I haven't told many people this, but I literally feel like the last year of my life has been preparing me to become a small business owner. I've finally found a way to combine my passions seamlessly together and I'm no longer keeping shy + quiet about my goals. I'm hoping to transition into opening my own shop filled with handmade books + papercrafts in the next few months (this is why it's been a bit quieter around here lately— I've been hiding away making items and business plans instead of blogging).

Whew— it actually just felt really good to type all that out! I've felt kinda secretive about it when really I should probably be screaming it from mountain tops! When I used to visit art + handmade markets and imagine myself selling at them I used to think "Oh that'd be nice" and sort of push it out of my mind. But these days I just keep saying "Heck yeah, that'll be me!" instead. This feels like a such a promising new season of my life and I only wish I had the confidence to begin it earlier.

3. Quitting a dead-end job that was making me miserable.

If you've read my blog for awhile then you know I moved to Nashville to work as the head baker at a local cupcakery a year after I graduated college. I really loved the actual work, my coworkers, and all the things I was learning. I didn't even mind getting up at 5 a.m. and biking to work— at the end of the day I was still mesmerized by the way cake ingredients mixed together and I loved watching 144 little cupcakes rise up in the oven all at once.

I made thousands of cupcakes a day and I learned a lot about the science of how different ingredients react to each other. But unfortunately there was just no upward movement for me. That plus the fact I was underpaid just made things incredibly daunting. I was constantly overwhelmed, never had energy, and was always on edge. When you're only able to go to work because you tell yourself "at least I have a job" then something needs to change. And soon. Now I will never make the mistake of staying at a job that's making me unhappy— life is just way too short for that.

4. Buying my own first car + paying in full for it

I bought my first car this year and it was a huge deal for me! I never had the desire or need for a car before now— I always biked everywhere. But once I switched jobs and started commuting I had to drive. So I did tons of research, test drove over a dozen cars, and finally bought myself a little vintage BMW. I'm currently paying off student loans so getting further into debt wasn't really an option for me. So I saved up and now I literally own my car. It's a great feeling and even though my car is older than me, I know it was the right decision! I don't know what my former self would think about me driving so much, but I'm sure we'd both agree it's good that I didn't incur more debt in order to do so.

5. Learning to use a sewing machine.

This was a goal of mine for at least the last 10 years. Dozens of people have offered to teach me over the years but I was always too timid to follow up and make it happen. Then Elizabeth suggested I take a local sewing class with her and seriously— a couple hours later and I had sewn a pillow! Since then I've made a shirt into a skirt, hemmed some stuff, and I even made my own skirt.

If there's something you've been wanting to learn then DO IT TOMORROW. I'm so happy I finally have this skill to explore. My only regret is that I never learned sooner. But we're not here to focus on the fact that it took me so long to get active about a goal. Just the fact that I am so happy I finally did it!

6. Continuing to learn new bookbinding methods after graduating college.

For the last few months I've been taking bookmaking workshops through the public library and local art co-ops— it's been such a blast! I've even taken a few classes on bookbinding techniques I "already knew" how to make and even learned a lot from them, too. Part of this is because it's just really fulfilling to pick up new skills and I never ever ever wanna stop learning BUT the more I know about bookmaking the bigger my chance of being able to create the perfect book for someone else— and that's really what I'm all about!

7. Learning to say no and to put my own priorities before others.

I know that sounds like a self-centered thing to be "proud of" but that's only because it completely is. Let me explain— I am a recovering people-pleaser. I felt incredibly guilty saying no to anyone or anything. I even feel guilty just talking about learning to say no to people.

But, as it turns out, every time you say "yes" to something, you are actually saying "no" to something else. For me, this was me saying no to sleep, to starting my own business, to running, to blogging, to spending time with Nick, and so on. Granted, most of the things I committed to doing are things I really enjoy doing or helping others with. But by refusing to say "no" I was overcommitting myself and unable to focus on what was really important to me.

So I started saying no more often, tied up all the outstanding commitments I had to other people, and started using my free time to focus on the things I really care about. I started running, eating breakfast, creating more things, learning new skills, taking fun classes, and sleeping better. And doing all of those things has made me actually want to say "yes" to other people now. Fancy how that cycle works, huh?

I know it seems selfish, but I highly recommend saying "yes" to yourself first. In my world, if I can't even take care of myself, then I'm not mentally or emotionally capable of helping or taking care of others.

8. Letting myself slow down and focus on mental health + well being.

When I realized I was overcommitted and stretching myself thin it was not a pretty picture. I could barely get out of bed in the morning, I was exhausted all day, I couldn't focus on singular tasks, I got overwhelmed with even the tiniest decisions (WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SOUP OR SALAD?!— JUST KILL ME NOW).

When you end the day by sprawling out on your bed and screaming into a pillow then it's probably time to uh, how you say— RELAX?! (I know some of you probably think I'm exaggerating but if you've ever found yourself nearing tears in the shampoo aisle for no "apparent" reason then just know you're not alone.) So I finally stopped treating myself like crap and started putting my mental health first. Spending time with Nick, running, making art, eating wholesome food, journaling— these things made me feel a lot better mentally so I put those first on my priorities list. And, this is important,

I stopped feeling guilty for it.  So in case nobody's told you: it's okay to take good care of yourself. Taking time for myself to evaluate and find a mental, physical, and emotional balance has made a very positive impact on my life. I know what I want, what my goals are, and what I should be doing to make them happen. Life has been a lot easier since I found some personal clarity and started focusing on where I want to be in life. Now I just ask "what is the most important thing I can be doing today?" .  . and then I do that thing.

— — — — — — — — — — — — 

So there you have it. Realizing all the goals I've made in the past and then actually accomplished helps put things into perspective for me. It's a lot more inspirational + encouraging to see how far you've come than to focus on what's missing. So, enough about me!

I wanna hear about what YOU have done that would make a former you proud. Leave it in the comments or make a list of your own and then send me the link! I hope you all have a great day and that you find a moment to pat yourself on the back— I think you all deserve it! Cheers, Jenna

Ps. Most of these photos are from my Instagram— let's be friends!

The Dos-á-dos binding, more often called the "Do-si-do" book here in America (yes— like the square dance!), is basically a way to create one book from two. The "two books" share a back cover so when you look at it from the top, the covers form the letter "N" (as pictured above). The translation is from French which literally means "back-to-back." You would open the front cover and begin writing in it as usual. Then, when you get to the end, you close the book and voilá — it's another blank book waiting for you to fill it up again. Pretty cool, huh?

Sidenote: There is a similar book form called the "Tête-bêche" where two texts are bound head-to-tail. This means that one of the books would actually be upside-down in relation to the other. BUT Tête-bêche bound books only have two covers so they look like a normal book except when you finish the text of the first book, the next page would be the upside-down last page of the second book.

If you think of Do-si-do books as "conjoined" and Tête-bêche as "two in one" then it helps to keep them straight and understandable. These two book forms were often created for complementary works such as the Bible's New and Old Testament.

So, now that the history lesson is over, the photos I'm sharing today are of a custom book that I was commissioned to make. I'm a problem solver by nature, and so making custom books that fit someone's specific needs is literally my favorite thing. My client* wanted me to create a blank book that she could give to a friend for her birthday. Her friend's husband had passed away and my client wanted the family to have a place to capture and record not only wonderful memories of previous birthdays and holidays, but also their future celebrations together. I suggested a do-si-do book and she loved the idea.

The other problem I had to solve was that my client already had a very specific idea for the covers. This is only a problem because if someone already has an idea of what they want in their head before you start the project then they have already created their own set of expectations for you. So the risk is that if you don't deliver exactly what they want then they will be disappointed with the end product no matter what it is.

Luckily, I realized this beforehand and was able to work it into the design of the book. So I used papers that she chose for the end pages (end pages are the papers that are glued onto the inside of the covers) and I created neutral covers that she could later adhere her own design onto.

The last design decision I made was the coptic style binding. This binding style is perfect not only because it's a very pretty exposed stitching, but it allows the book to lie flat when open so it's really convenient and pleasant to write in.

So after I addressed all those problems, this is the book I came up with. I'm so happy with the way this book turned out! I only broke two needles while sewing it together but at least I got lots of practice ;-) This book is unlike any other I've made before since it addresses some things I've never had to think about before. I learned so much from it and I love the fact that no one else in the world has this book besides one family. It's completely unique to my client's friend, just like her husband.

*I use the term client throughout this post but for the purpose of full disclosure I don't mind that anyone knows that this book was commissioned by my boss! I just didn't feel like saying "boss" or "friend" was quite right for this situation (though she is both to me!), so in the name of professionalism, I chose "client." She knows I'm preparing myself to open a bookmaking business so I'm so excited to have this opportunity to work through a real-life client situation and figure out some of the hiccups along the way now instead of when dealing with strangers. Also, I normally wouldn't create a book so minimal on the covers, but since I got to talk with her at great length about what she wanted, I was super comfortable and happy to accommodate her wish to create her own covers. I actually really like that it will end up being a collaboration between the two of us!

So there you have it— a little peek at my process and what goes into creating a custom handbound book for somebody. I also got to play around with potential packaging and product photography, though I'm not 100% satisfied with either of those yet.

Do y'all think these pictures are acceptable for product shots on a website/Etsy store?

I can't decide what I want to do. My heart wants something "real" like these indoor photos that I just snapped at my desk. But sometimes my brain wants "classic" photos taken on a plain white background. . .  Ugh, I don't know y'all! Do you find yourself drawn to one or the other when shopping online? Give me all your feedback because I am really indecisive and when I start to over-think things I get really anxious.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this and letting me share my passion with you! There's nothing quite like watching someone's eyes light up when you give them a handmade item. Honestly, it makes my spinster heart grow a size and lets me know I'm definitely on the right path to doing what I love for a living. Until next time, j.

I found this long plain cream skirt at a thrift store a few months ago for a few bucks and snatched it up. Since I finally learned to use a sewing machine, I thought I would just hem it up and then have a nice basic khaki skirt that I could wear a million ways.

But then I realized that was boooooring! And also when the heck do I ever wear khaki? So I started thinking about how I could refashion my new boring thrift find. I came across this skirt and fell in love with the beautiful golden mustard color + I'm a sucker for polka dots and I just knew I had to have my own.

I figured I could get a nice golden color using a natural, homemade dye instead of buying any. I thought turmeric would make a nice dye so I poked around on the internet, found this article for reference, and then dove right in.

I ended up boiling my skirt in 12 cups water + 3/4 c. salt for one hour. After it cooled, I made a fresh pot with 14 cups water + 1/2 cup turmeric + a splash of vinegar. I brought it to a boil, simmered for 15 minutes, added my still wet skirt, and simmered for 45 minutes— stirring occasionally to get an even dye job. When it was done, I removed it from heat and let it cool before rinsing it out.

Next, I machine washed it to make sure all the turmeric was rinsed out. Then I ironed it, hemmed it up, and added some oversized polka dots with big round sponge + some fabric paint. I had to go back and fill in the dots with a paint brush to get the coverage I wanted, but I kind of figured that would happen.

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out! The fabric paint dried a little stiffer than I thought it would but I also haven't washed the skirt since I added the polka dots so I'm not sure if that will make a difference . . . (And now y'all know that I'm one of those nasty people that wears things one million times before washing it. . . sorry not sorry— I don't have time for that!)

Anyway, I ended up learning a lot from this project and now I have a cute new skirt! This is actually what I wore to a Nashville blogger meetup we had awhile back— Nick was kind enough to snap a few photos of me before I headed out for fun.

Have you ever used plant based dyes for anything? I'm really curious to try more in the future— I feel like beets would make a gorgeous color?! I recently went through my closet and now I have a little pile of projects to work on so hopefully I will get my butt in gear and have more refashions to show you soon!

I hope you all have a great weekend! -j. 

Hello, hello— I just wanted to share a little sewing update with everyone! I mentioned here that I wanted to make a skirt from scratch now that I know how to use a sewing machine. So in case you don't read blog post titles, HERE IS THE SKIRT I MADE!

I got together with some of my favorite local bloggers a few weekends ago and we had a little sewing circle. I made this skirt using this video tutorial and some guidance from Miss Ladybird. I'm really glad I used a vintage sheet as the fabric— it's super unique and also a really cheap source of lots of fabric.

I also didn't want to ruin any "nice" fabric since I don't really know what I'm doing yet. I learned a lot from this project and I can't wait to make something a bit more fitted next time. I'm not too crazy about the cut of this skirt (it's A LOT of bulk in some places) AND I ended up making it a little shorter than I normally like. But I think it's a great beginner project— I definitely feel confident enough to take on some more complicated pieces now!

Also, I just want to say that hanging out with bloggers IRL is even cooler than you think it's going to be— I'm so thrilled to live near such talented and welcoming ladies! Lauren also recently learned to sew and she is making a badass dress right now. I was pretty impressed with the knitting project that Jen brought along— I have no skill in that arena so it was awesome to see in action. Janae worked on some sketches for a future sewing project and Aubrey came along to see what everyone else was up to + get inspired. And I believe Sarah was on her way out when I got there but judging from her blog she made something amazing, too!

Seriously though, I've wanted to sew since I was like 10 and I'm so glad I finally dove in! I'm excited to learn everything I can— AND to have such an awesome support group! I'm glad so many people came along to the meetup on such short notice— I can't wait for the next time! I think I'm going to try some aprons or a dress next— who knows?!

Also, here is a bonus picture of Lladybird's cat— she is a grump. And here is another picture of the shoes that I'm in love with. Lastly, does anyone have any tips on beginner sewing blogs or projects? I'm all ears!

dress worn as a top: thrifted (originally AA) / skirt: made by me / blazer, tights: target / shoes: thrifted

I'm not even going to try to explain why I had this shirt in my closet— I don't wear velvet, it's not flattering, it's not comfortable, I hate long sleeves, it has an elastic neckline?! . . . there's really no excuse for it. I know it's from a thrift store but I don't know how it made it home with me. So let's just skip over those sad, sad before photos and move on to the part where I transformed this ugly situation into something actually wearable!

I was purging my closet recently when I rediscovered this shirt. Given it's pitfalls, I decided it was very cruel to allow anyone else the opportunity to own it. So rather than donate it, I decided to see if I could do something—anything with it.

This was the first project I attempted with a sewing machine on my own without any help. It was literally the easiest thing ever— just two straight lines. I snipped off the weird bell sleeves, turned them inside out, and sewed them shut. So the neck of this shirt become the waist and the sleeves became the pockets. Seriously though, what's better than a skirt with comfy pockets?!

I'm still not really a velvet person but this skirt is perfect for springtime in Tennessee! Lately it's been really brisk in the morning and evenings but warm and sunny during the day. So this skirt just happens to be the perfect material to wear throughout the whole day without feeling like you jumped the gun on summer or that you're dressed too heavy for April. I can also see myself wearing it next winter with some bright red shoes around the holidays ;-)

So there ya have it! One less thing on my "to-sew" list. Next I hope to make a skirt completely from scratch and to keep on fixing items in my "to-mend" pile. Anyone else out there have a growing pile of clothes you plan on fixing or making into other things? I can't be the only one. . .

 glasses: Coastal / tights: Tabbisocks / everything else: thrifted + estate sales

Ps. How do y'all like that pattern mixing?! Stripes + floral + polka dots?! Yes, please!