I Just Might Explode

summer threads: bra straps.

I went through this phase when I was 14 where I pretended to be able to sew and it really only involved me making a blanket(which I still sleep with every night) and a few tote bags. I realized that I abhor following patterns and, really, I am much too lazy to be a sewing gal. But, I do like to alter clothes. I like to add pretty trims, or stitched detailing, or new buttons. Summer Threads is a feature I'll be running through the summer where I give new life to boring mall clothes, thrift store deals, or items I already own. 

They're not complicated. And like most of my DIYs involve me saying things like:

"now just add some trim. whoo-hoo! you're done!"

"you could use that one loopy hand stitch here if you wanna"

In some circles I'm known as the Betty Crocker of sewing. 

First up: Altered Bra Straps

In this fashion faux pas post from last summer, I shared my bra-strap lovins. I like wearing tank tops and strapless bras are annoying and basically I'm trashy, but who cares. 

My sweet aunt gave me a two boxes of trims she found at a garage sale:

I grabbed two bras that have been hanging out my secrets drawer for a long time and pinned the trim to the straps:

Be certain to try the bra on before you pin, so the bands are as tight as you want them to be.

I then ran the straps through my sewing machine with zig-zag switch and afterwards pinned on lace and rick-rack and ran it through again. 

And ta-da! Pretty straps to liven up your summer tanks and spaghetti strap dresses!

I also love this teal and red combo:

Hope to see your straps hanging out. ;)

bake a loaf of bread. done.

I haven't been doing a very good job on my fourty before twenty list list lately and I have decided that needs to change!

I decided to attack one of my easier items yesterday: bake a loaf of bread.

You lucky guys get a Kara How-to!

Step One: 

Put a headscarf on!

Step Two:

Get your ingredients out and play awesome music. Like, The Suburbs Arcade Fire album or Head and the Heart!

Step Three:

Pour a glass of raspbery iced tea to sip on while baking like a rockstar. 

Step Four: 

Follow and recipe and bake some bread. (I didn't say this was a thorough how-to). 

I halfed the recipe I used(from Steph's Mom. Thanks Mrs. Luke!) and made three small loaves and I could die of delicous homemade bread happiness.

a little diy for you...

I did a DIY guest post on A Beautiful Mess today while pretty Elsie is away on her honeymoon. Do stop by and say hi?

a closer look.

I've gotten some questions recently about my editing, so today I thought I would give you all a closer look at my post processing. I'm mostly self taught in Photoshop and still feel like I have a lot to learn... I got some Totally Rad Actions last summer and it's completely changed how I edit photographs. Photoshop Actions are awesome. They're quicker and easy to customize to get the look you want. Leigh-Ann has a good explanation here on how to use them.

I edit with Photoshop CS4. This photo was shot on my Canon 50d with the 50mm 1.4 lens. I always shoot in Manual.

And I have to say, editing never makes up for shitty settings. It's really important to start off editing with a properly exposed photo. I'm going to use a photograph from this post. 

Here is my straight out of the camera photo:

My settings for this photo- Aperture: 1.8. Shutter Speed: 2000. ISO: 200.

I always start off editing using Camera Raw  (a function in CS4-5) to adjust the exposure. (Click on the photo you want to open, and over on the bottom right there is something that say 'Format', and click 'Camera Raw', then click 'Open').  A dialog window will appear. For most shoots, I shoot JPEG, but want to start getting in the habit of shooting in RAW. When I shoot for clients, I use RAW. 

I eyeball minor exposure adjustments here. See that blue triangle in the corner by the histogram looking thing? If you click on that, it will make all the blown out highlights appear red. This is great for when I can't tell if I'm losing the data in those spots.

Camera Raw also has a quick function for making vignettes. Click on the Lens Corrections tab(I circled it in yellow) and play around with 'Lens Vignetting' arrows.

The after my Camera Raw adjustments:

Now I open the file in regular part of Photoshop and use my collection of Totally Rad Actions. (I also did some minor blemish airbrushing with the Healing Brush Tool).

This one is called 'Oh, Snap'. It's great for a little pop of contrast. I don't usually use it at 100%, but I liked it here. :)

Opacity: 100%. Layer Style: Normal.

Next action up is, Pool Party for a pop of color. Opacity: 22%. Layer Style: Normal. 

Next I used a free curve from photographer, Nirrimi's, awesome curve/actions store called The Color Shop. This curve is "Great Grandma".

Curves at 31%. Layer Style: Color Burn.

I wanted to make the photo a little darker, so I made another Curves layer and played around with it until I got a look I wanted.

I decided I wanted to bring out the purple is her dress and face, so I used one of the Get Faded layers. (I like Winter and Autumn the most).

Get Faded Autumn:18%. Layer Style: Normal.

And there you have it!

Final Before & After:

Overalls Tutorial!

Remember those overalls I sported a few months ago for that Faux Pas feature? Since summer hit, they've been a staple in my wardrobe. Also since summer hit,  I've been trying to convince people overalls are stylin'. Steph and I were driving in our neighborhood recently and I pointed out a girl wearing overalls.

"See! They are in style!".

"Kara, I wore that same outfit when I was 12".

Uh, uh. SO?

Now I'm thinking the only way to bring overalls back is to start with the internet. (Though, I do like being the only person I know wearing something...). The issue with overalls is that you can either buy them for $98 or you're stuck with a very unflattering thrift-store deal from the 80's.

So, I do what any unemployed hipster does, I DIY THEM!

It's time to get your hipster on! Put on some Vampire Weekend and buy that over-priced Starbucks drink.

You'll need:

A pair of thrift-store overalls I got those canvas pretties for 3 dollars. I typically wear size small and this pair was "medium". 

6 buttons Mismatched one works fine. Make sure they are big enough to snugly fit inside the button holes on the overalls.

Sewing machine

Seam ripper

Thread

Light marker

Scissors

Pins or safety pins

Step 1:

Use a seam ripper and scissors to rip the side seams off both pant legs.

Step 2:

Put on the overalls and adjust the suspenders to your desired length. Fiddle around with the pant legs to get an idea of how tight you want them against your leg.

Then use a light washable marker to draw lines where you want your new stitching to be. Due to the design of overalls, these lines will need to be on the butt part of the overalls.

(It may be helpful to have an assistant help you with this step if you're not that coordinated.)

Step 3:

Fold the front pant leg seam and lay it on top the back pant fabric. Pin. Try  them  on and make sure they are as tight as you want them to be.  Use your sewing machine and stitch up until the front overall bib.

Step 4.

Repeat Step 3 for the other pant leg. Then use your scissors and cut off the fabric where the back buttons are.

For these canvas overalls, I was able to simply cut that section of fabric off, right next to the seam that was already sewn on. With my jean overalls I had to hem the edges so they wouldn't fray. 

Put on the overalls again and poke a marker through the buttons holes where you want your new buttons to be. Stitch them on.

Step 5.

Roll the bottoms up a few rolls to get to your desired length.

And because I believe every tutorial should end with a ta-da, I give you a TA-DA!

I like to add fat belts to my overalls to make them a little more feminine or consider pairing your overalls with tights to make them more modest. Maybe stitch on some vintage trims, tacky doilies, or pretty embroidery patterns(I love Mollie's too!) to make them even more unique!

My finished outfit complete with an awkward looking photo of my feet cut off!