Threaded City

Exactly what I needed to hear.

2011-08-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

The sleepless night before an exciting journey.

2011-08-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of a cat fight, I promptly closed my window and rolled over expecting to fall back asleep. I didn't. So here I am, posting at 4:30 am realizing that this is the start of my day.

This is an interesting feeling you see... in my 23 years, the only reason why I could not sleep was the night before an exciting trip. I would pack late into the night, try to sleep, not be able to. I am blessed with the ability to fall asleep anywhere, at any time. My body will easily fall asleep at 8pm and not rise until 8am with no interruptions beyond hitting the snooze on the alarm.

So, I am awake and very excited for another amazing trip! I am finally motivated and have realized my dream of having Threaded City be my main source of income! As much as I have had the dream of becoming reliant upon my own business and having it be successful, I never truly believed that it was possible.

Yesterday, I had the appifany that it could actually be possible. With some number crunching, research, and some motivating blogs from friends and etsy, I'm running with it.

Awake, Excited, Nervous, and all words associated with the like... here we go!

Jumping in with both feet ready to be submerged.

WHY!!!

2011-02-05T15:55:00.001-08:00

Take a Look

2011-01-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have added new Gauges. Enjoy!

http://girlygauges.blogspot.com/

One Step at a Time

2011-01-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

This week I will be meeting with an attorney to get an LLC for my businesses. How exciting!

I'm working with Norther Indiana Innovation Center. Check them out and let me know if you are interested. They help students in High School and College working towards being an Entrepreneur.

http://www.niic.net/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Student-Venture-Lab

More gauges coming soon!

Girly Gauges

2011-01-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

Check out my new blog!

http://girlygauges.blogspot.com/

I make and sell gauges for women with gauges who want to accessorize.

Let me know what you think good or bad.

Here's to a new year the start of a new business!

Andrea

New Year, New Goals

2011-01-02T08:20:00.001-08:00

well kind of... when I say "new goals" I mean old ones that I will be officially working on. In Dave Ramsey's newsletter I found a basic, but inspirational article. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality! Micah and I are working on some life planning/goal setting today. I'm very excited about this and the direction it will give us.

Here's a few ideas I have: (not in order)
- Have a house with ROOM (more than 500 sqft)
- Start Threaded City, and have an online and brick and mortar store be a lucrative business
- Be able to go on Vacations (Hiking Trips, Extended Cycling Trips, Europe, Etc)
- Know the ins and outs of being a survivalist and have the land to be off the grid
- Live in other places (Alaska, Colorado, Europe)
- Have a family (Dog first, maybe a couple of kids)
- Graduate
- Learn a Language

Making Sheets

2010-12-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

After searching high and low for sheet sets that were around the $20 mark, I decided to make my own. Since it's getting a bit chilly out (i.e. 6-8 inches of snow by Tuesday) flannel seemed to be a good option. I decided to do a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 4 pillow shams.

Next was figuring out how much material was needed. Doing a quick google search gives standard dimensions to guesstimate from. http://interiordec.about.com/od/beds/a/bedsizes.htm

I waited till black Friday to go to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get Flannel on sale $1.29 compared to regular $5.49 a yard. I bought 17 yards but only needed 15. WOOHOO, so far under $20.

Ok.

Fitted Sheet.

1. Measure your mattress. Mine is a Full, so 54" wide x75" high x8" deep. I added 10" on both the width and hight to give enough for the depth of the mattress and hemming. (a little bit of guess work) Total Size 72"x96". Lay and cut out material. If material is not wide enough, sew pieces together.

2. Cut out corners and sew the edges. On all four corners measure a square the depth of your mattress, cut the square out. Put the two edges just cut (from each square) together and sew. This will start to give you the fitted box shape.

3. Hem edges. Fold 1/4" then again 1/4", sew.

4. Add elastic. Some tutorials I found suggested only 10" on each side of your sewn corner, however I ended up using about 20" on each side.... I'm not a still sleeper. Mark where you would like to start and stop your elastic along the hemed line. Sew a low to medium grade of elastic (let me know if you want the stuff I used, I have extra). Pull elastic tight while sewing.

5. Put new fitted sheet on mattress and roll around in the glory of your creativity!

Flat Sheet.

1. Get approximate sizes of sheets from the above link, include seem and hem allowances. Lay out and cut material. If material is not wide enough, sew pieces together.

2. Hem raw edges. Fold 1/4" then again 1/4", sew. (you can be more decorative with wider hems or decorative stitches)

3. Enjoy your new flat sheet!

Pillow Shams.

1. Measure your pillows or old pillow shams, include seem and hem allowances. Lay out and cut material.

2. Sew 2 long and 1 short sides, faces of material together.

3. Hem 2nd short side. Fold 1/4" then again 1/4", sew.

4. Flip right side out, push out corners. Put pillow in and rest your head on knowing you are a D.I.Y.er.

Unfortunately I was not able to include pictures tonight... I will have those up tomorrow... and do a run through of my instructions. Until then, I hope this was somewhat helpful and encouraging.

Sweet dreams.

Different Directions

2010-12-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers... I know I don't do much for you, but I'm finally out of my slump. It surprised me that the wedding was so draining creatively. Until last week, I have had zero desire for making, mending, or designing anything. Here's something I came up with, and wish someone would have told me the past few months...

If you're in a slump...

1. Breathe, know that it is normal to be still and lazy.

2. Work through the reasons why you are in a slump, external and internal. (Write them down if needed)

3. Process those reasons, and let yourself go through them. Figure out a way to get past them. (Friends and Family might help)

4. Finally through feeling slugish? YEAH!!! Now, if you have the slightest desire to do ______ (insert craft/chore/whatever here) DO IT! Don't wait for that feeling to pass.

Hope this helps in some little way. This is what worked for me, and I ended up with new flannel sheets.

PICTURES!!

2010-11-11T16:12:00.001-08:00

Wedding pictures are here and I am oh so happy with them! Dustin did an amazing job made everyone feel like a million bucks and then some. I would highly recomend him although you might have a tough time getting him, everyone else notices his talent too... he's booked all next summer! So much so, him and his fiance have to wait until 2012 to have a free weekend. Thank you DUSTIN!

clients.mckibbenphotography.com/rapp

Micah and I really had a wonderful wedding! It's hard to believe that all the plotting and planning is done.

3 Weeks Away!

2010-09-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'm in the final countdown and not freaking out too bad. I have 2 things to show off, the invitations and my guarder.

I used scraps from my dress and some other random materials, the band is made of muslin along with the biggest pinwheel. The other one is just a really dark purple to match my colors.

You'll just have to take my word that it looks better on!

The invitations where fairly interesting to come up with. My original vision for these was much more complex, so when I finally figured out to make them a little simpler I was very happy with the work it required. The cutting was a little tedious but well worth the effect. I spent about $50 on all of the paper and ribbon. I was able to get the crate paper for the envelopes from work for FREE, and the white was just computer paper that we already had. So all in all it was a pretty low expense for 60 invitations. PS. Sorry I'm lazy and don't want to reverse the image. The banner reads "You're Invited!"

Hmm... What else to tell weddings are an interesting event, if I didn't love them so much we probably would have decided to go to Europe with the money instead of having an official wedding. For the bride and groom deciding what kind of a wedding they want... seriously consider a elopement with a celebration cook out. BUT if you're convinced that a more traditional approach to matrimony is in your cards, I'd be more than happy to offer what sense I do have of making the big day personal, creative, and inexpensive.

Reduce Stress:
Andrea

LOVE this blog

2010-07-13T14:32:00.001-07:00

basically that's it for now... her entire blog site is great...

enjoy!

2000dollarwedding.com/

Thanks Dan

2010-07-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

"... I read on your blog that you haven't read my books yet because you're "chicken." Come on - if you're an entrepreneur at heart nothing can stop you. You might as well learn to do it well and knock it outta the park...."
-Dan Miller

Ok, I've decided to start posting things I've done for the wedding to show you all I'm not just being a stick in the mud with Threaded City. Just prioritizing a little differently.

This my friends is my wedding dress. It is made out of "Shell" Dupioni Silk from voguefabricsstore.com. I started out with a simplicity pattern and a vogue pattern, ended up completely making my own pattern. I ended up using 6 1/2 yards of material, that is mostly in the skirt. 6 panels at 1 yard each, lets just say that was a LOT of pleating.

I did not have a manikin while making the dress, and ended up stabbing myself with pins quite a few times. Never the less, it was an enjoyable experience with about 4 hours in pattern design, 4 in construction, and about 10 of patting myself on the back.

I also repurposed a crinoline full length a-line slip into a ballgown short style slip. That took about a half hour only because I had to try it on with the dress multiple times.

This was my first attempt at clothing.

Enjoy!

Quit Your Day Job

2010-07-07T20:00:00.001-07:00

Recently I have been racking my brain wishing that I could go to a less traditional job setting. Etsy has a great resource bank of interviews that they have done with some of their more popular artisans that have been quite inspirational.

http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/title/quit-your-day-job/

I have found these intverviews very helpful in making me more and more discontent with not doing what I love. I also have started to listen to Dan Miller's Podcast's, I'm not ready to read his book, "48 days to the work you love", either because I'm chicken, or I know that it will drive me crazy while I cant do anything about it.

http://48days.com/

Work, School, Wedding... that's the order of priorities right now. Once the wedding is done, I get to start with Threaded City. The goal is to drop my hours to 35 or 32 and be able to focus on becoming an entrepreneur. Would anyone have any insight to this? The idea still makes me nervous, mostly because I'll really have to get my ass in gear. Suggestions and Comments would be highly appreciated.

OH!! OH OH, class is over next week! Let's hang out? 5795826

Dress=Curtains

2010-04-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

For a while I've been without any kind of window covering for my loft-bedroom. It's a little uncomfortable since most anyone could see right in if i have my light on at night, or if it's daylight out. So, ALL THE TIME, a little awkward when you live by yourself in a neighborhood where you have to lock your doors. So I decided to make curtains, Becky gave me a dress that just wasn't going to work on anyone, I cut it up, und perfekt!

Autism and Thinking Differently

2010-04-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Great way to rethink our world and the people in it. The products I've helped design and make at work are used to help with the sensory deprivation needs. I also attend a program called The Student Venture Lab it's part of the BizWiz program at the NIIC. Every first Saturday of the month they have a meeting for student entrepreneurs to hear a key speaker and work on their business in a group setting. I work along side people with sever autism and see how completely non-verbals act and react to the world around them; on the other side I've been apart of a group that has young people sprouting with technical and brilliant dreams although some seem to have more technical skills than social.

It's interesting to see and hear and be apart of different learning styles. The differences really make a difference. I need to do more studying into how the Left side versus the Right sides of the brain really work. According to the video and the little research I have done I am definately a Right brain thinker. Leaning towards a Pattern mind primarily and a Photo mind second. Micah we know for sure is a Verbal.

Don't get me wrong, these three types are more for people with autism than to generalize all of society. It's still interesting to think about.

Enjoy

Tiny Texas Houses!

2010-04-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

This makes me feel more empowered about my 500 sq ft house. Tiny Texas Houses (http://www.tinytexashouses.com/index.html) 95% recycled materials to create one of a kind houses that range from 10'x16' to 12'x28'. I LOVE THESE! Check them out.

Not so interesting evening

2010-04-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

1. Teeth Cleaning
2. Burger King Whopper Wednesday
3. Psych Class
4. Surfing the Inter-webs
5. Budget Management
6. Green Wedding Blog Inspiration (image: http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/)

... thus my evening.

Earlier today though, I was able to work on my dress :) OOOOOOh I can't tell you how excited I am that it's almost finished. I'll be going in early tomorrow to finish it up. all that is needed is to connect bodice and skirt, zipper, hem the bottom, one final pleat in the bodice, and presto! Complete. I cannot wait to put pictures up. I'll have the veil done tomorrow as well. I'm entering into a contest May 8th, it's the Fort Wayne Chapter of the American Sewing Guild. I'll make sure to add info when I get it.

Happy Blogging
Andrea

Wedding Music?

2010-04-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Alright cuties, Micah and I have been struggling to find music to dance to for the reception. We have the traditional jams for the appropriate dances, however once the dance floor is open we haven't figured much out beyond the Electric Slide.

SO... we need help! Neither of us are really into clubbing music, however we want people to feel like dancing. Most weddings I've been to, people wont dance unless it's "booty-licious". Ideas would be great, although I would like to limit just randomness to a minimum, good solid ideas people!

Other news, I finally started my dress, more specifically the skirt. It cut and went together very smooth, I was a little nervous that the machine was too heavy for the silk, but once I played with the tension it was a-o-k.

Hopefully I will be able to scan the prototype for the invites soon.

Generally a good week once I got over death in my sinus'.

Enjoy this weather!!!

Disease, leave my body!

2010-03-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

When I get sick, I get sick, it'll start out slow just like a runny nose, I start taking C, and assume it's an allergy. No big deal right? WRONG! I've been a pain in the neck for the past 3 days to my family and fiance, mostly fiance.

Dear Micah, please forgive me for being a mess when I'm sick. Now I am not saying this to get sympathy, really, I am curious to see if I'm the only one who is like this. When I get sick or exhausted for that matter I become extremely frustrated that people cannot read my mind (in the moment my "subtleties"). Does anyone else experience this or is it just me?

On to things that do not bother me, such as things that make me happy.

This is not exactly what wedding dress will look like, but something similar with the full ball room skirt and the cinched waist. The bodice going to be the same shape, originally I wanted to give it a few pleats under the bust, but I am finding that more difficult to figure. I will be starting the skirt this week, hopefully no problems. FINGERS CROSSED!

The material I found is called Shell, it's dupioni silk. Oh so excited, a little nervous to start cutting, but I think it will work with my skin tone a lot better than anything with a yellow tone. Thank you www.voguefabricstore.com
good prices, good quality.

So that's what I'll be working on for the next month. I need to have it done before the end of April, so that means going in early to work and staying late. I am so excited to get this project started and finished.

Instead of working on a fun project I now get to study for an exam, and finish some homework, I'm so glad I decided to take a full class load this semester, oh so glad.

Andrea

Dear Friends, Family, Or Random Person Who Stumbled Upon This Blog

2009-11-22T09:51:00.000-08:00

My name is Andrea, I am interested in a wide variety of crafting and handmade products. This blog is a means for me to express new ideas, post what others have done, and keep myself at least a little sane while not having the time or energy to get what I want done. I'll start by sharing some of what I'm doing in life and maybe hope to find a little clarity through it.