Punkybabe Designs

My First Hollywood Project!!!!!!!

2018-10-03T20:15:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I've been keeping this project secret for a while, but it was finally shown on TV! One of my projects was featured on NBCs "The Good Place"!

The dress was worn by Jameela Jamil, she plays Tahani on the show. Its a really great series, and you guys should definitely check it out! I posted all the sketches and as much of the process as I could. If you want to check out the scene for yourself, the dress appears on the season premiere for season 3 of the show.

I posted pictures of the sketches I decided between for the dress below. Along with some videos and close-ups of the dress/fabric. I couldn't have done this without the costume designer of this show, Kirston Mann and the Costume Supervisor Alexis Jacks!

These are the close-ups of the dress and the fabric below!

I Got To Meet Extraordinary Costume Designer Colleen Atwood!!

2018-03-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! I got to meet and talk with extraordinary Costume Designer Colleen Atwood it was so out of this world!! I also met Nick Verreos who gave Colleen and I a tour of the FIDM costume museum!!! Colleen was featured as the flagship designer for winning the Oscar for her work on Fantastic Beasts!

It was a dream come true to meet her, and I will never forget that day!!!

Recent sketches!!!

2018-03-13T17:37:00.002-07:00

Hey guys! I wanted to show you some of my recent sketches! I think they have improved a ton since I took the sketching class at El Centro! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, there has been a lot of really amazing things happen that I'm hoping will propel my career in Costume Design forward!

I'll definitely continue to add more sketches on here, and I also posted a video below that shows exactly how I sketch!

Trip to LA and Fashion sketching!!!

2017-12-27T12:01:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone!! I know its been awhile since I've updated with you guys, I just wanted to give a update with what has been going on! I took a trip to LA this past November to visit the sets of Lethal Weapon and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and also met the costume designers for both shows! I wish I had more pictures from the trip and I didn't get to take any pictures from the lethal weapon set but the pictures below are of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine set and I got meet some of the cast and crew which was amazing! Down below are pictures of My boyfriend and me on set with Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz and Andre Braugher!! Everyone was so welcoming, I am so grateful for the experience!!! Also during the summer I took a fashion sketching class to improve my sketching it has really helped, I put some of my sketches down below for you guys to see!!! I have some amazing projects coming up that I can't tell you yet so stay tuned!!!

New Dress Form!!!!!

2017-05-10T19:13:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!!! I got a new Dress Form and I named her Drusilla (from Buffy the Vampire slayer)! I plan to get more dress forms in the future, but I'm starting with her! I figured an adjustable one was a good place to start!

Finally Finished!!!!

2017-04-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!! I finally finished this dress, I put the final touches on it yesterday by adding the zipper!!! I'm so happy with the way this dress turned out!! I took so many pictures while I was in the process of making this dress so I added the extras pictures below!!! Thank you guys so much for following my process as I finished this dress!!

The Maria Dress Update!!!!

2017-02-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!!!!! I know its been awhile since I've posted but I really need to update you guys with The Maria Dress!!!!

I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago and didn't get post them but here is the progress of how its been going so far, I'm still not quite done yet; there are still a few more things to do before its finally finished!!!!

Draping The Maria Dress!!!!

2016-12-17T12:57:00.004-08:00

Hey Guys!!! I wanted to share more pictures but the ones below are of me draping with my sewing teacher Carla!!! I'm calling this dress The Maria Dress, I cant wait to show you more updates of what I'm doing with this dress!

Starting On A New Dress!!!!

2016-12-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys! I Started draping today for a new dress I'm making! I took pictures of the process today and will continue to update all of you on the progress! I purchased my fabric from Etsy, where I get nearly all of my fabric! I sketched what I wanted the dress to look like, but I had to change some details because you have to take into account how you would get into the dress and how it will function while someone actually wears it! I will keep you all posted on my progress!!!

I did an Interview with WFAA!!!!

2016-11-06T18:53:00.003-08:00

Hey guys! I wanted to make another post. I was interviewed on WFAA with Shelly Slater! It was a really cool experience, I linked the video down below so that you can all watch it! I also wanted to take the time to thank the Adaptive Training Foundation, they have truly changed my life. David Vobora is the founder (to the right of me in the first group photo) and is an amazing person! He has changed the lives of so many people and is really a great person to know! They were featured in the interview showing me working out. I was becoming very discouraged with my walking before I met David and began attending the Adaptive Training Foundation. I attended a 9 week class to begin becoming more independent and getting more in shape, even afterward I have been working with an amazing personal trainer named Hunter that has continued these lessons even after the class! I've met so many amazing people through the ATF! They have been so nice and welcoming, and have made a huge difference in how I perceive disability, including my own. If you are ever in the Dallas area on a Friday, you should stop by and check it out. Fridays are when all of the Alumni come and work out all at once! Its an amazing thing to see! I'm going to link their website below! http://adaptivetrainingfoundation.org/

Outlander Inspired Red dress is Finally Done!

2016-11-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! So I finally finished this dress! I love how it turned out, I know I told you guys that I was going to pick from one of the sketches that I drew before. I will put that sketch below so you can see the idea I had and then how the dress came to life. I decided on a simple look in the front and a elegant look in the back. I wanted to add the bow in the back to include a cute touch to the dress! The fabric is Duchess Satin in Roja Red, I purchased it from Mood Fabrics online.

I mentioned before that I was inspired by the famous red dress from Outlander along with a strapless red dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie Sabrina the "Sabrina Dress". The top of this dress is very similar to hers.

I showcased this dress and two others I made before at the 10 year anniversary for the shop I make my dresses at. Dallas Designing Dreams is a great place that has taught a lot of people to make their own creations and has helped people pursue careers in design. The owners; Carla and Arthur are fantastic people and helped me every step of the way. Without them I probably would have never found this passion for design, I will always be grateful to them!

I will be starting another project soon! I will keep you posted! I will also add a link to Dallas Designing Dreams so you can check them out!

Here are the links: http://www.dallasdesigningdreams.org/

http://www.sewingforlife.net/

Sketches and Witchy Inspiration!!!!

2016-10-10T15:59:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!!!! I was up all last night and yesterday night sketching!! I was really inspired to sketch more designs!! I was on pinterest and was really inspired by all the costumes that you see below!! (Salem, Hocus Pocus, Star Wars, Penny Dreadful, Pirates of the Caribbean, Merlin.) I really want to make a witchy costume but I really want to combine all the different styles of the costumes!!

Work Still In Progress!!!!

2016-10-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!! I just wanted to give you an update on the recent dress I've been making!! I've been working on the skirt recently which still needs more work but I wanted to show a sneak peek, even though its not done yet!!

Quick Update!

2016-09-08T17:01:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you all a quick update on the Outlander inspired dress! I've noticed its starting to look like the dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie Sabrina. I don't know if you guys have seen the movie, but I put some pictures below from the movie! Anyway, this is how the top is looking so far! I'm really happy about how its turning out! I'll be starting on the skirt pretty soon, I can't wait to show all of you the finished dress!

(Here is the iconic dress she wore in the movie! I LOVE her wardrobe in this film!)

Getting started on the Outlander inspired dress!!!!

2016-08-18T16:35:00.003-07:00

Here we go! The first steps to my newest dress!!! I cut out the pattern today and began draping the top portion of the dress! Heres a sneak peek of the fabric and what I did today, I cant wait to show more as it progresses! I just wanted to thank all of the new subscribers for supporting my blog you guys are amazing!!!!!

Inspired by The Outlander Red Dress!!

2016-07-19T01:06:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!!! I just wanted to show four different variations of a dress that I'm going to make very soon!!! Right now I'm trying to decide which one I should make! I want to use Silk Duchesse Satin for the dress because it looks so beautiful, I saw a gorgeous red dress I've been inspired by on Outlander (TV show on Starz, check it out!) that was made of the same fabric and it looked amazing! I will post pictures of it below. I fell in love with the dress, the color of it was so beautiful!!! I really love the way it was pleated and cut of the neckline,Terry Dresbach did such an amazing job with the costumes!!! I was also inspired by a red velvet strapless dress by Dolce & Gabbana!! I started sketching last night and came up with these designs!! I will be posting more soon about the dress I will be currently making!! Thank you so much for the support!!

Sketch 1.

Sketch 2.

Sketch 3.

Sketch 4.

(Here is the Red Outlander Dress!)

(The Pleats look amazing!)

(The Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Strapless Red Dress!)

(Of course Inspiration from the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor!)

My Summer School Experience at Parsons.

2016-07-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!! It's been a month since I've updated, I wanted to share my experience of going to Parsons School of Design Summer Intensive in NYC! In November of last year I was looking for fashion and costume design programs since I am unable to do school due to physical therapy for learning to use my prosthesis. I wanted to take classes to get the experience learn more about fashion/costume design and also be able to get credits to add more to my portfolio. I came across Parsons summer Intensive, it is a program where they condense everything they teach at their school into three weeks, So I decided to take two classes at first, it started off as one in June for sewing and construction and one in July for fashion visuals, which meant six weeks in NYC!

I had to find some handicap accessible housing, I emailed the school and they responded saying they didn't have any handicap housing available for six weeks. I started looking around Manhattan because the school was located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan but of course the prices for staying in a hotel were outrageous!!! So I had to cancel the class in July before the deadline hit or it would of been too late to get a refund. ( I did get my refund back.) I canceled the July class instead because I felt that it was more important for me to learn construction, pattern making, draping and sewing on the industrial sewing machine and to also learn more and understand the technical side of it also. After I canceled the class they emailed me telling me they had a handicap accessible dorm room with a roll in shower that was available. I was really relieved.

Fast forward to June I arrived to get ready to get settled into my temporary dorm for three weeks, they gave me my ID card to be able to get into the school and another card to swipe for getting into the dorm. The first day of school I had to get all of the materials needed for class plus bedding, food and hygiene items for the dorm. over the three weeks of this course we had to find inspiration and figure out the kind of fabrics we wanted to use for our garment. All of our inspiration, swatches, sketches and pictures went into a "design journal" to show our process. We had to do five different variations of sketches of inspiration in our design journal. I picked one sketch that I really liked that was heavily influenced by "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Marie Antoinette". I really love both of those eras, and they are two of my favorite movies!

I had a very helpful scribe to do the tasks that I was unable to do, while also taking the notes for me. He had no fashion knowledge which made translating my ideas difficult at times. He was extremely nice and patient though! There was an extremely helpful and nice maintenance man that fixed a machine so I could use it, he was one of the best parts about the school! My boyfriend also helped when he could, but he also knows nothing abut fashion design. My scribe actually brings up my main complaint for the whole experience... the Teacher!

He and my Scribe got into it over a very small problem in the notes (A semi-colon!!!) which lead to two other girls with fashion experience who go to Parsons full time being brought in to help me (Allison and Lashun). My Teacher was incredibly difficult! He made mountains out of mole hills constantly and seemed to be trying to slow down my progress intentionally, he was an extreme Diva! Nitpicking things that he would later excuse on my classmates right after. He would make me re-pin all of my muslin back onto the dress-form for simple mistakes like the directions the pins were facing... I could go on, but this post is already quite long! He talked to all of us (Me and my helpers) in a very disrespectful way through the entire class. The experience was very stressful with him intentionally holding me back, it seemed like most of the time he wanted me to drop the class!

I did learn what I needed to know for this class. I got my moneys worth and learned more technical details that go into designing a garment. I finally got to design a costume! I had been wanting to do that for so long! I would say that my overall experience going to this class was positive, but teachers should be more willing to adjust their expectations of people with disabilities and better understand them. I didn't expect this work to be easy, but its a very discouraging experience when someone intentionally holds you back. I ended up getting an A- for the class, I'm not sure why points were deducted (It didn't say), but I'm glad I got a good grade, and got to make a very unique costume! The whole class also had to do a presentation explaining the costume and the process and inspiration that went into it. I ended up pinning a collage onto a dress form next to the garment of different inspiration of movies I love!

I purchased my fabrics from several different stores in the Garment District. Ive never seen so many different fabric stores with such beautiful fabrics! I found the tattered looking fabric at Elegance Fabrics along with the fish net mesh, the crinkled organza with the embroidered leafs, and the black silk for the skirt. The rose trim came from Daytona Fabrics. The skirt was not graded with the top, it was made to make the garment look more finished on the dress form (he would not let me make the skirt in class, Lashun and Allison helped me do that after hours.).

I would not have been able to do this class without the help of Sam, Allison, and Lashun. They were so nice and went above and beyond what most people in their positions would have! Thank you so much guys!!!

I'm thinking about making a video to describe my experience in the class and with the teacher in more detail!

Thanks so much to everyone supporting this blog! You guys are awesome!!!

On The Plane headed for NYC!!! ID cards on the right!

No shower chair, a bit odd...

My Five sketches!

Sketches and inspo in my design journal!

Muslin on the dress form, very early design process!

The finished product! With my team! (L to R Garrett, Me, Allison, Lashun)

Finally Finished The Betty Draper Dress!!!!

2016-06-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!! I finally finished this dress on Thursday! I added Bridal buttons and a pink hem at the bottom and put lining underneath the skirt so it looks more white, I really like how this dress turned out! I took some pictures of the detailing of the dress so that everyone could get a closer look! I decided that I do want to call this dress the Betty Draper Dress, I feel like its something I could see her wearing in Mad Men! I also wanted to ask you guys where you would wear this dress? Please comment below! Again, thank you so much for supporting this blog! I really enjoy sharing my progress with everyone!

Quick Update!!!

2016-05-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! Just a quick update on the dress! I'm working on the skirt right now so I'm not quite done yet, so this is how its looking so far! I'm super excited for you guys to actually see it when its fully done! I also wanted to say thank you guys so much for supporting my blog and subscribing!

♥ ♥

Breaking in my new shoes.

2016-05-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share with you all that I got my feet this past Tuesday! I have been walking on these flat kind of duck feet that are called stubbies, I started off with them in the beginning of walking in prosthesis. I had them for a while, and then I eventually got knees. Over the month and a half I have been at therapy, I have made a lot of progress. Actually getting to walk outside and getting to show my family the progress I've made. I decided that I wanted to try the feet, instead of the "duck feet" I had recently. I walked on my feet for the first time on Wednesday, I surprised my physical therapist with them, and with how quickly I adapted to the feet on my first try! It was unreal to look down and see shoes, especially going shoe shopping! Its been six years since I have gotten to wear shoes, and walking in my mom's house was an amazing feeling. She watched me take those first steps like when I walked for the first time when I was a baby, she was crying, but I knew they were tears of joy. It has been hard work so far, I've gotten some cuts and bruises, but I feel more motivated than i have felt in the last three years. It took me a while to get to this point in my life, and I feel like that's okay, it always takes time. You can take all the time you need, you will always find ways to compare yourself to others, but everyone's life and situations are different. You don't see what struggles they are going through. Even though I have my feet today, I still struggle with decisions I have made, and the situations that I am still dealing with. Below is the video of me walking on the feet for the first time!

(My really cute purple Nikes!)

(My mom and I)

(Me and My boyfriend Garrett)

(Sitting on the bench!)

(Walking on the "Duck Feet")

Update On the Betty Draper Dress!

2016-05-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update about this dress I'm still working on! I just finished the top part of my dress and this is how it turned out! There is a opening in the back but its hard to see on this mannequin. I'm going to add some bridal buttons in the back of the collar, so I will definitely show you how that looks when they are finally added! I'm going to be starting on the skirt soon, the pictures below I wanted give everyone a sneak peek of how the skirt is going to look! There is still more to add to this dress that I don't want to give away too much yet! I'm really excited for you guys to see how this dress will finally look, there will be more updates on this dress to come soon!

A Dress Fit For Betty Draper!!!

2016-04-23T04:02:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!! I hope your having a great weekend! I just started making another dress and this one is 60's inspired of course! I've always seen this neckline on many different dresses and especially dresses on pinterest! I found this really beautiful embroidered fabric on Etsy, they have many beautiful types of prints and fabric! So far its turning out just like I imagined! My boyfriend told me this looks like something Betty Draper would wear from Mad Men and I fell in love with the Costume Design in that show. Specifically Megan Draper & Betty Draper (Francis) styles! I love vintage style clothing and I definitely love the 60's aesthetic! I don't want to give to much away obviously! I can't wait to show you guys more as I finish this dress!

Walking on my Prosthesis.

2016-04-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!!! Its been awhile since I've updated and I just want to talk about relearning to walk with prosthetic legs! I stood up in my prosthetic's for the first time in my apartment which was an amazing feeling!! I have been really trying to encourage myself!! I started walking on my prosthetic's back in 2013, but in 2012 I had to have both my legs amputated again above the knee because my knees were contracted, I would not be able to walk unless they were amputated which was so frustrating because I had to go through another painful surgery plus the healing all over again. The doctors told me it would take more energy and it was going to be tough but I knew I could do it regardless. But truthfully I have been having a up hill battle with myself to walk on them. I have had many times where I would just stop and not do it for months because I was just so tired emotionally and physically and I still feel like that from time to time. I have a habit of comparing myself to others which I'm sure other people do to, but I will watch these videos where others like me are walking on their prosthesis and wonder, " I should be where they are right now." and "why is it taking me so long?"

Sometimes you can be your own worst critic, it took me a while to realize that I needed to stop comparing myself to others which I still have to remind myself. People seem to always try to tell you where you should be at in your life and telling you how you should feel about whatever situation you might be in or whatever your dealing with and at the end of the day it only matters about what you feel and what you think about yourself. Alot of times I have to remember to give myself a pat on back and know that what I'm doing in my life is whats right for me and their is no exact way to do things in your life and it takes times. I really wanted to share this with you guys because its something I'm still struggling with and that I have doubts and fears about but to let everyone know that you have to take it one day at a time. I will still be updating you guys about whats going on with walking on my prosthesis!

Inspired by Fairies!!

2016-02-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys!!! I wanted to update you about the dress I've been making recently, I'm finally done!! I think it looks exactly how I pictured it!! Its really amazing to see things that you have thought about or pictured come to life! I've been really inspired by vintage lace and the 70's bohemian vibe and fairies (as weird as that sounds.) also Stevie Nicks. I really love lace and this was my first time working with it. I have always loved the bat-wing sleeves on different dresses that I've seen, it looks so beautiful and flowy it kind of reminds me of fairy wings! The purple and lilac make it look more light and delicate, I'm glad I added the lilac underneath instead of the black! I especially love the color of this purple lace! I had a lot of fun making it, and I will definitely make more 70's inspired designs!

Coachella and Disability.

2016-01-26T01:37:00.001-08:00

Coachella is coming this April so I wanted to talk about my past experiences attending this festival! I have gone to Coachella twice, once in 2014 and once in 2015. Despite the amazing lineups I had a difficult, and sometimes really stressful experience. Disability seems to be, at any event, an afterthought. Something that is thrown together to meet the ADA requirements. I know that there are a very small amount of people that are disabled that attend these events, but there are very simple things that can be done to improve the experience for many people in situations like mine, or that might have a different type of disability. I cant speak for every disabled person, but I think sharing my experience may help someone who might want to go to an event like this.

I have had the VIP (Safari) both times I have been to Coachella, it's very expensive because of the amenities you get with it, which also help with wheelchair access. You get these wristbands that you have to wear the whole time, this is where things got a little ridiculous. Both years I have went, the first day we had a security guard trying to say we couldn't come into the festival because I wasn't wearing my wristband, which is funny to me for obvious reasons! I was thinking "Should I magically grow my hands back so this isn't a problem?" I was getting really upset about it, I was showing them that I had no arms and I didn't understand why they were making it so difficult. Their managers eventually cleared it up though. Nothing was quite as annoying as that until the second year, when a security guard said that we would not be able to stay in the VIP area and that we had to go to the wheelchair accessible viewing area, way in the back. I got extremely irritated and so did everyone else I was with. He of course didn't say this to me, he talked as if I wasn't there. I paid to be in the VIP section like everyone else, so I refused to leave. We told him to get his manager and that there was no way that he could make us leave. He came back with the manager, who understood our frustration and why it was so ridiculous. This situation was definitely discrimination, and I was glad that it was resolved, but I felt like it was really horrible that it happened at all.

There was also a problem with the handicap accessible shower. We stayed in the on-site tents the first year, so there was no plumbing. They didn't have one the first day, which was fine. I didn't expect them to have one, but my boyfriend asked them if there was one available. They said they would bring one the next morning and have it ready. They brought out the shower, but there wasn't any water. It ended up taking almost 3 days to fix it so that I could shower. You can imagine how gross it was to be at a festival for 3 days while dancing and sweating not being able to take a shower. When I finally took a shower, it was on the last day. Everyone else was able to shower but my boyfriend and I did everything we could to keep me clean, but it wasn't the same. We stayed in a hotel last year, to avoid any chance of that happening again.

The staff was good for the most part after that. The people at the festival however, are not looking out for people in wheelchairs! All of the big shows later in the evening where the headliners played were packed with tens of thousands of people. We wanted to see "Outkast" that year, they were one of the biggest headliners that year and they were absolutely packed. People were constantly falling over or onto my chair, or trying to push past me. There was definitely no way I could see, and the handicap area was way too far back from the stage. Since I had VIP I wanted to get my money's worth. We weren't able to get there early either, we had to rush there because we had seen a performance scheduled right before it, and underestimated how packed it would be at night. I definitely learned that you have to get to late night shows early! We finally worked our way out of the crowd with the help of my boyfriend's friend walking in front of us and pushing through the people. After we were out, I broke down crying. I kept thinking about peoples lack of empathy and how people were willing to trample over me just to see a show and how frustrating the situation had been.

I really did have a fun and incredible experience going to Coachella both years, I really loved the vibe and the energy of the whole festival. I will gladly go again next year. I just really wanted to make light of the situation and the reality of being in a wheelchair at these kinds of things, and the obstacles people with disabilities will run into. You should never let it scare you out of doing something you want to do though. It is a really overwhelming experience, in both good and bad ways. But if you have the chance to go to this festival I would definitely take it is a memorable experience!