HI DARLINGS! I am on the road this week but I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to photograph on this awesome road especially since I was wearing my new favorite jumpsuit. Before you ask YES I plan to do a step-by-step tutorial on this cuz it is awesome! The one I am wearing I got from Freepeople but you better bet I am about to knock it off DIY style lol. I wore my STEVE MADDEN sandals and TOM FORD sunnies. xx

HI DARLINGS! This post is Sponsored by Crocs. The summer isn’t even here yet and the kids have already set a very busy schedule for themselves, lol. We are back and forth all week long with our schedules but on the weekends we hit the city for some family fun. I hardly have time to shop for the family so I rely on Zappos.com when I need to get us all some cool kicks. Since I am avid Zappos.com shopper when they asked if I wanted to partner and check out some of the cool Crocs they have on the site I was in! We all love Crocs in this house and since Zappos.com has such a great range of styles it makes it super easy to get everyone what they want. We always get fast and free shipping and if I need to return something I can rely on their 365 return policy and great customer service. I know that on the weekends I want to be comfortable but still stylish so I always pair my crocs with some ripped jeans or even cute skirts and dresses. My son is a classic Croc sorta kid so he will wear them with everything! My daughter as you all know is my girly girl so of course, her Cros are pink and sparkly, lol. Even buttons tried to get in on the action 😉 I mean they are comfy and I can walk and stand in these all day. My Classic Crocs can be found on Zappos.com HERE, My sons can be found HERE and my daughters can be found HERE

HI DARLINGS! It’s almost Mother’s Day and thanks to Hallmark Signature I have mailed all the very special mothers in my life their beautiful cards. I think there is something so lovely about getting a card in the mail that someone picked out just for you. sponsored by Hallmark Signature I always enjoy picking out cards and since I am a DIY’er and love art, details and crafts I tend to pick cards that have those components. Hallmark Signature has some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen and the details make them an absolute keepsake. My mom is a missionary and is currently in Guerrero Mexico on a 6 month long mission so staying in touch is important for all of us. During the holidays it tends to be a little harder on her because she feels so far away. My mom and aunts are all very close and although I am all the way in Los Angeles and far from any of them they all show me so much love and support that there is no way I could not express to them how much they mean to me and why. Here are a few of the cards I picked out to celebrate them. Sponsored by Hallmark Signature

HI DARLINGS! I hope you had a great start to your week. I have a ton of work to do today for the June issue of SEW SEW DEF but also the SEWITACADEMY.COM course publishes in a few days so we are working on that too. The jumpsuit I have on here is from this month’s issue of SEW SEW DEF, it is one of the four freebie patterns in the issue. It’s super easy to make and is so comfy! I have already made one in a black velvet that I can’t wait to wear and post. You can get your issue of SEW SEW DEF MAGAZINE HERE STYLED IT: Prada Sunnies, TopShop Sandals FABRIC: Linen Print from Michael Levine

HI DARLINGS! As you can imagine I am always shopping for something. It can be something for the office, the studio, personal or for the family. And because I am a thrifty sorta girl, I always look to get the price I can. I partnered with eBay to try out the new eBay ShopBot, and I was all over it! So let me tell you what it is and how it works. eBay ShopBot is like your own personal shopping expert, right inside of your Facebook Messenger. Browse curated collections, or find something specific by texting what you are looking for or be even uploading a pic of something you have saved on your phone! What is so amazing is that it is really like I am texting someone who instantly responds to my request. I can upload a picture of a dress or a handbag and it will immediately start looking for similar items to show me, then as if that wasn’t the coolest, it will then ask me what color I am looking for or what my price range is. I love eBay, so having this at my fingertips is really convenient and makes me a smarter shopper. It is so easy to start using, let me show you. eBay ShopBot works best on your phone but I can do it from my laptop too. Follow these simple steps to get started: Get the Facebook Messenger app for iOS or Android Add “eBay ShopBot” as a Friend Click “Start Shopping” above to get a message from ShopBot In Facebook Messenger, take a picture of an item or type in a word to get started The best part is that you can text it a picture of what you’re looking for, and it will try to match it for you. I was looking up a sewing machine this morning so I typed “Sewing Machines” right in my Facebook messenger. eBay ShopBot then asks me what brand I was looking for, what my price range was and then sent me a ton of great options. If I want to check out one of the picks I can click on it and a new view comes up with details. I can’t even tell you how helpful this has been for all sorts of things, I even found some vintage patterns I had been hunting down! Do yourself a favor and start using ShopBot now and make sure to come back and tell me what you think! This post was sponsored by eBay

HI DARLINGS! in last month’s issue of SEW SEW DEF the men’s pattern was THE WESTBROOK. I loved it and couldn’t wait to modify it for myself, lol. The oversized tee is perfect to make into a dress and after seeing Norris modify the tee with side zippers I knew I was going to do something similar and add an exposed zipper to the center front seam. The pattern is super simple as we design all the patterns for SEW SEW DEF to be fast and easy to make up. I cut the large and added length. In this month’s issue, I share how I made my front fold neckband too! I want you to get the most of every pattern we provide as part of your magazine purchase so here is a great way to take his pattern and make it yours. Fabric: Double Knit from lowpricefabric.com Zipper: 30″ lowpricefabric.com

HI DARLINGS! You might recognize this pattern from last month’s issue of SEW SEW DEF MAGAZINE. This is The Saldana that was in that April issue. I decided to make it in a great lace fabric I picked up at Michael Levine some time ago. Since in this month’s issue (get it here) we designed some great swimwear for her and great trunks for him it just made sense to show another way you can use The Saldana! Head over to SEW SEW DEF MAG and get this months issue! It’s 104 pages of awesomeness and has 4 FREEBIE PATTERNS!

HI DARLINGS! I am so excited about this issue. We have really done an amazing job of putting this issue together and I know you are going to be BLOWN AWAY!! Not only is the issue full of great stuff (104 pages to be exact) but we have the amazing Ashley Nell Tipton Winner of Project Runway Season 14 on the cover. We have had such amazing feedback and so many people and brands that want to support us. They supported us so much that we have some freebies for you in this issue on top of the freebies you already get! LOL This issue has 104 pages, 4 Free PDF patterns and so many amazing articles and projects. Head over to SEW SEW DEF MAG to preview this month’s issue and subscribe to the best digital fashion sewing magazine EVER! You can also check out my full interview with Ashley on our YOUTUBE channel SEWSEW DEF TV

HI DARLINGS! I am wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday. I am sitting on the couch doing this write-up and catching up on the latest episode of Chicago Fire, lol. I have not been able to watch TV in so long because of the insane schedule we are on and let me tell you I LOVE TV! so let’s just say my DVR is on full. I am dying to watch the Henrietta Lacks story on HBO so let’s all hope that I get to take Sunday off so I can sit in my jammies all day and simply not have to think! Now, on to this #DIY I am wearing. This MCCALL PATTERN has been making the rounds and I see why it’s a super easy pattern with lots of sleeve variations and sews up really fast. Talk about a good instant gratification project. The skirt I am wearing is my SIMPLICITY PATTERN which I made again without the bib. When designing this pattern I wanted to make sure you could easily make it with or without the bib for two different looks. STYLED IT: Target Necklace / Celine Sunnies / Steve Madden Shoes HERE (on sale!!) / H&M Earrings

HI DARLINGS! I hope you’re having a great week. We are finalizing the May issue of SEW SEW DEF MAGAZINE and it looks amazing. There is just so much work that goes into every single issue that I am finding myself re-working our in-house editorial calendar just to make things work. Today’s #DIY barely made it, lol at first I hated them, then I loved them and then I thought well, I made them and I am going to rock them! These are from my Simplicity Pattern #8177. I wanted to make a pair of velvet pants after seeing some at H&M a few week back. I had this crushed velvet(ish) fabric in my stash. The fabric is actually not the best fabric for these pants because after starting to sew I realized they didn’t hang well to give me the look I wanted but at that point, I was committed, LOL! Overall they are fine but this is a great example that even now after so many years I still can make a bad fabric choice and still rock it, LOL!!

HI DARLINGS! Ok, today is an #OOTD sorta day. I bought this 7 for Mankind jumpsuit last summer and had not yet worn it, lol.  I went online to see if I could find it but no such luck, I did, however, find an awesome light denim one HERE. You could also get a similar look using New Look pattern 6446 HERE I wore my Steve Madden fringe heels which I happen to love, not just because they are cute but they are comfy too. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

HI DARLINGS, Today is a warm and fab day in LA and although I am headed to the office I plan to open all the windows and let the fresh air in. As you can imagine we are up to our eyeballs in magazine stuff for May but I managed to film a fabric haul video that will go up on Friday and I managed to sew a couple things too. This pattern has been in my stash for a LONG time and I have had it on my cutting table for months so I finally decided to make it after finding this super cute fabric at THE FABRIC STORE. The pattern review is below and although this pattern is discontinued you can probably still find it in the pattern drawers of Joann or online. STYLED IT: Jessica Simpson Heels (old) / Prada Sunnies / Kate Spade Jewelry Pattern Sizing: I cut the 8 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes Were the instructions easy to follow? Yeah, this was pretty straight forward. The Way they created the pleats was interesting. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love a good shirt dress and this one had cool details that I really liked. Fabric Used: Poly blend Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None Would you sew it again? I might, in a solid.