Over the Weekend

January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

Over the weekend I had my annual winter knits shoot with a couple of my favorite friends–who also just-so-happen to be an amazing photographer and hair/make up artist, respectively. I also got to work with one of my favorite models again. Looking forward to the final images! I’m always so impatient for those. I try really hard to not start asking “are they ready yet?” every few hours.

A behind-the-scenes sneak peek:

My inspiration this year had to be, ultimately, scaled waaaay down since I don’t have an old falling-down house, tons of money, or a snow machine. I started with this idea from a Vogue Korea shoot:

Yeah….that wasn’t going to happen this year. So, I scaled back and decided to do something similar to last years, with changes Last year’s looked like this:

That last knit shoot produced some of my favorite ever images. Britt of Underexposed Photography did this years shoot, too–so I can’t wait to see how amazing the images are!

Hair inspiration this year:

Make up inspiration this year–but without the crazy-creepy eyes. I wanted her to look beautiful, but slightly frozen, going further with the frozen idea than we did last year. (Amanda Bravender did hair and make up on my shoot–and she’s amazing, so it looked fabulous):

I can’t wait to start sharing the final images!

In the Studio

January 2, 2014 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

I’ll be shooting my winter knits session this weekend–extremely excited for that. While I had to scale down my original intention for the set, I’m happy with the current ideas bouncing around my head. I need to find a few crucial set pieces, which is today’s project.

Glitter

December 31, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

Happy New Year’s Eve!

I’m a little under the weather today, so go out and glitter for me tonight (since I’ll be home)!

Caged

December 30, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

I’m still trying to put things back together around here after Christmas (and a fabulous visit from my sister) festivities and a last-minute open-heart surgery for my grandfather (he’s doing well). In between orders, I’ve also gotten the end-of-the-year organization bug and have been re-doing my fabric stash, which (of course) has led to a more elaborate re-do (involving our guest room, new shelves, a new mailing station, and figuring out what to do with extra furniture).

So, rather than blather on too long about all that, I’ll just post some pretty for you. Cages being the theme. Enjoy!

**All images found via google image search**

Unraveled

December 18, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

This sweater. This sweater was never as cute on as it should have been. Maybe it was the kangaroo pouch, maybe it was the too-high-v-neck. Maybe it was just me. It’s been in my closet for about 3 or 4 years. I would put it on, possibly wear it for a little while, and then realize it looked terrible and rip it off, tossing it back into the closet in disgust.

When I did that this year, it suddenly occurred to me: I have never liked this sweater. I will continue to not like this sweater. The closet is not working any magic on this sweater year after year. I should get rid of this sweater.

Why it took me so long to come to this rather obvious conclusion, I don’t know.

Instead of donating it so that someone else could have the same experience, I decided to unravel it and re-use the yarn. I love the colors, and it’s a nice wool-cotton blend that is washable. Also: I love tedious projects that I can become obsessed with.

I started with the sweater, of course. I completely forgot to snap a photo of the complete sweater ahead of time, in my all-consuming desire to kill the sweater and make it into something pretty. So, just imagine a top-stitched kangaroo pouch on the lower front:

I then broke the sweater down into it’s pieces. This is the most tedious part of the project–squinting at the seams in the brightest light available, and trying to snip just the yarn that is holding the pieces together, rather than the yarn that is part of the sweater itself.

Here it is after that process:

Then you just sit back, grab a snuggly blanket, pop on your favorite movies or season of a show (my choice: the final season of “The Office”), grab some wine and start unraveling.

This took me a few evenings (and a few glasses of wine).

In the end, I have a bunch of new balls of yarn to play with–which I’ll most likely make into a few scarves.

No sweater is safe in my house right now. I’m already eye-ing them all and wondering……wouldn’t that sweater be a lot more fun unraveled?

I did this process once before and made 2 scarves from the result. One has sold, but one remains up in my shop:

You can find that scarf here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/110604988/sale-knit-scarf-long-scarf-ribbed-scarf?ref=shop_home_active

And, because I have to share the joy of a song on a continuous loop in my head–this (of course) has been playing pretty much non-stop in my brain-region since I started the process:

Holiday Decor–A Mini Tour

December 17, 2013December 18, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

Duality

December 16, 2013September 22, 2019 / trappedintimedesigns / 3 Comments

duality: The quality or character of being twofold; dichotomy.

*All images found online in google search engine

Bits and Bangs

December 13, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

Back to the everyday workload. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a hard time getting back to the regularly scheduled programming after our Thanksgiving festivities (and then getting sick for a week).

I have orders in, and am hoping to get a couple special dresses sewn up for my nieces in time for a special Birthday celebration–which means some overtime sewing this weekend.

This lovely tunic (technically one just like it in a different size–it was a made to order item) is on its way to the UK. I hope it has a happy owner in its future.

I have a ready-to-ship one up in the shop right now, and it’s marked down to $56.25 from $75 for my Winter Sale: http://www.etsy.com/listing/127712901/sale-black-tunic-top-velvet-tunic-velvet?ref=shop_home_active

New hair-cut yesterday–I’ve been sporting side-swept bangs for years, and just got the itch to go with the full-on blunt bang. So far I’m in love. The verdict is still out on how everything will look with my regular curls. I generally don’t have the stamina to straighten my hair daily, so the only time it’s done is at the stylists, after a cut.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. I’m hoping for colder temperatures, good sewing, and getting the guest room cleared out for my sister’s impending Christmas visit!

Christmas Sale!

December 11, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

Because I keep all my inventory in my guest room, and because I have a Christmas guest coming to visit next week, I need to clear out some inventory. That means–it’s SALE TIME!! I’ve marked most ready-made items down 25%–just look for the “SALE” in the listings title. It’s the perfect time to check off holiday gifts for family, friends or yourself! Come see what’s on sale: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TrappedInTimeDesigns

Finale

December 10, 2013 / trappedintimedesigns / Leave a comment

The final look for my mini RAWards collection was actually the second look I dreamed up, hot on the tail of the first look. I knew I wanted Mary Andrus to model it from the get-go, too.

Initially, I envisioned a brocade bust with an extremely full chiffon skirt. I even toyed with pockets.

Paired with the tattered lace collar and the (not-gonna-happen) spats, it looked really cute.

I think I design things that I would wear if I were tall and thin. Because I would so totally wear any of the things in my collection if I were. Sadly, being of the oompa loompa persuasion, I must live vicariously through my beautiful models.

I decided to make the closure for this dress lace-up to accommodate a closer fit that wouldn’t have to be hiked up every few minutes. I switched the chiffon idea over to a beautiful black lace with an attached black mini skirt lining. The back is bustled and the overskirt is longer than the lining.

First fitting:

Mary looked beautiful, OF COURSE. The top did need to be taken in quite a bit, so there was some deconstruction and re-construction in the dresses immediate future.

Walking the runway: