Preciously Paired

Custom Illustrated Portraits Now Available!

posted in family, printable, shop, Uncategorized by Sara on September 17, 2014

As some of you may remember from my colorblock skirt sketches, I’ve been testing my hand at illustration. I’ve always loved drawing. I guess you could say it’s my hidden talent, like all you shower singers. Drawing has always been a therapeutic outlet for me, and with custom portraits making a trendy comeback I feel like it is something I can share that others may appreciate and enjoy. It’s really a win win situation! Honestly the idea of sharing my drawings is super scary to me. I felt comfortable being a “closet artist” (a very novice artist at that), and I intended to keep it that way. However, Hanna is always seeing more potential in me than I ever see in myself and is constantly challenging me to push out of my comfort zones. So when we got a wedding announcement for one of our cousins not too long ago, Hanna thought it would be a great idea to put together a custom portrait for them… and so began me bursting out of my comfort zone.

Now we have decided to add custom illustrations as part of our little shop! Starting today you can order a custom portrait for yourself, or as the perfect personalized gift! I do the drawing, then send it over to Hanna to make into a beautiful image that can be printed right from your home computer in minutes! Frame it, have it printed on a canvas, or even uses it to create this year’s holiday greeting cards! Visit our shop for more information on how to order your custom illustration!

Here is the little look at the process of creating this lovely portrait we did for our cousin and his adorable new wife. And below is one we made of my little family. This picture is from a few years back, taken by Hanna. I always have her take our family pictures. I love her work!

Hard to believe that this is us isn’t it?! We were all trying out different hair dos then. Would you believe that my hair line completely receded after having my baby! I had two giant bald patches right in front for months… hence the bangs! You’ll be glad to know that they have since grown back.

Mint + Polka Dot Pleated Skirt Refashion

posted in diy, fall, sewing, sewing for women, thrifted, women's fashion by Sara on September 15, 2014

With all the sewing I did leading up to opening our shop and with the orders I have done since, I haven’t had any time to sew for myself. As much as I love sewing lovely things for others to enjoy, I also truly enjoy making lovely things to keep for myself.

Having recently quit my day job we seem to be getting by just fine, but our budget is tight… which is tough for a girl who ~~likes~~ loves clothes. I’ve been fighting every impulse in my body not to go out and buy some of the latest fall trends! But a tight budget does not hold me back from adding new pieces to my wardrobe. My solution: sew them myself.

This pretty little pleated skirt I refashioned from a dress I found at Goodwill for just $9! As I got halfway through ripping the dress apart I realized I forgot to take a “before” picture, but trust me when I say it was hideous. It was straight out of the 80’s with giant shoulder pads, lace trim, puff sleeves, and a very unflattering silhouette. Really, the only good thing about it was the fabric.

The dress had a very full skirt so that is the part I used. After separating the skirt from the bodice I pinned pleats in the fabric. Now if you want to get specific with this part you can but I just eyeballed the pleats to fit my waist. I then attached the skirt to my waistband, added the zipper, and then hemmed the bottom. One tip I will give about making a great skirt: use interfacing in the waistband! I’ve made plenty of skirts now to know you do not want to go without it, especially if you carry a little bit of weight in you mid-section like I do. Adding interfacing to the backside of you waistband with give it a cleaner look and sturdier feel. No wrinkling and bending.

I simply adore how it turned out! Don’t you?

In other news, since quitting my day job I’ve absolutely loved being home full-time with my 2 year old, but WOW has it been an adjustment! I forgot how completely tiring and (I’ll be honest) a little lonely it can be. I’ve come to really realize how important good friendships are; and being relatively new to my area, close friends are still quite few. My husband is quite honestly my best friend, but would I be wrong in saying that sometimes a girl just needs another girl? No! We women and mothers thrive on the support and friendship of other women. When I was first married I might not have agreed, but now I find it absolutely vital. However, sometimes it is hard for me to reach out to other women for help because it seems like a sign of weakness; or maybe they might actually find out that I’m not super woman like they appear to be. Sometimes I feel I may be rejected. Sometimes it just feels easier to stay at home and tell myself I can do it without them.

Am I the only one with these fears when it comes to making new friends?

Unfortunately this has been my attitude this week. There is something about being close to “that-time-of-the-month” that makes me a depressive recluse. Time to bust out of my shell and make some friends, ones that go beyond acquaintances. Any advice or tips?

Linked to: http://www.shoppingmycloset.com/switch-style-wednesday-13/, http://stylelixir.com/2014/09/face-serums-review.html; http://www.delineateyourdwelling.com/2014/09/link-it-or-lump-it-party-56.html; http://dcinstyle.com/stripes-denim-linkup/; http://elizabethjoandesigns.com/2014/09/designs-time-28/; http://www.mabeyshemadeit.com/tell-tuesday-42/

Office Shelves by Delineate Your Dwelling

Your Designs This Time – No. 26

posted in Uncategorized by Hanna on September 8, 2014

Welcome back to Your Designs This Time and happy Monday! I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to a new schedule aka waking up and getting ready before 10! On the flip side my daughter is having a hard time going to bed! With school and dance we have something almost every morning and after our first week at it I totally crashed this weekend. I’m hoping that this week we all settling into our new schedule. So let’s start this week off right and get inspired by all the fun projects and posts you’ve created!

Continue reading “Your Designs This Time – No. 26” →

Fall Wishlist | Stripes and Polka Dots - creating a versatile wardrobe

Friday Finds #18: Fall Wishlists

posted in fall, money saving tips, Wardrobe Basics, women's fashion by Sara on September 5, 2014

(Click on the images to view sources)

Ok, so now that it is September can we officially declare it fall?

I absolutely love fall fashion…particularly all the layering and all the boots (can’t forget the boots)! I just love the depth and interest layering and mixing-and-matching different pieces gives an outfit. I always feel so “blah” in the summer when all I wear is a tee shirt and jeans because it’s too hot to wear anything more. I try, but truly fall is my comfort zone.

As fall is my favorite season to dress for, it may not surprise you that my wardrobe weights heavily of sweaters, jackets, and blouses (which is also why you don’t see any on my fall wishlist). I like to keep a functioning wardrobe, so this year’s fall wishlist mainly contains “filler” pieces that I’ve been obsessing over, and can also be mixed-and-matched with much of what I already have in my closet. Just by themselves I could probably make 4 different outfits! Versatility is absolutely essential when it comes to my wardrobe.

After having my daughter several years ago, my body was completely different and a lot of my clothes just didn’t fit anymore. Becoming a mom brought me so much joy, but when it came to my wardrobe it was black hole of ill-fitted, old, and random pieces of clothing. It was a struggle every day to get dressed. Finally after several months of this, I cleaned out my closet and started basically from scratch. I did a lot of research on how to create an awesome wardrobe and compiled it in a series I wrote called, “Wardrobe Essentials“. If you feel like you’re in a style rut, definitely check it out- it has changed my life! It sounds cheesy to say, but it literally has!

What’s on your fall wishlist?

Linked to: http://stylelixir.com/2014/09/fall-fashion-2014.html; http://www.rachelthehat.com/2014/09/faux-leather-skirts-linkup.html; http://twothirtyfivedesigns.com/2014/09/casual-friday-link-5.html

{Tour Through Blogland} The Twins Behind the Blog

posted in blogging, lifestyle, shop by Hanna on September 2, 2014

We’ve been invited by the lovely and talented Amber Tsyl from the Restless Arrow to participant in the Tour Through Blogland series.. It’s been so fun reading some of our favorite blogger’s stories and meeting new bloggers through the process. Amber is one of those bloggers that we’ve loved getting to know more! Her and her little family are simply the cutest, and her home is gorgeous! Seriously go check it out!

Just look at her beautiful kitchen… built from scratch and on a budget!

As for us, we are thrill to be part of this series as it gives you (our readers) a glance at who we are, what we’re all about, why we blog, and what big ideas we’re working on next!

Why do we write and create what we do?

This blog was originally started when we moved over 800 miles away from each other and we wanted to have something to keep us close. Blogging was a way to share our projects and experiences with each other as well as with others. We came to realize that we want to let other mothers, women, wives and whoever else know that we’re just another couple of women out there going through the same struggles and experiences. We also decided that while we’re going through the ups and downs of life, there were things we could do to make it beautiful and inspiring!

How does our writing/creative process work?

Writing doesn’t seem to come easy for either one of us. In fact, we often call each other asking for help gathering our thoughts/feelings to make a post into something that others would want to read and could relate to. I guess you could say a lot of our creative process comes from each other, and the countless hours we talk on the phone each week. We push each other to step outside of our comfort zones, take some risks and try new things! The other part comes from our own life experiences, and also from things that have inspired us. We both live life with our eyes open to find inspiring and beautiful things that we then try to recreate and make it our own.

How does our work differ from others in its genre?

Honestly, we’re not really even sure what our genre is quite yet! Since we started our blog less than a year ago we’ve blogged about a number of things (mostly pertaining to diy projects and sewing) and now we have a shop selling skirts! What really sets our blog apart is our unique partnership. If you can’t tell from our picture in the top right hand corner of our blog, we’re twins. When we’re together the sky is the limit. We push and inspire each other to try our best and give each other courage to try things we’ve never done before. I guess that is why we’ve tried our hand at so many different things.

What are we working on?

As many of you know, we just opened our shop selling our first line of Colorblock Party skirts… eek! Since opening our shop just 3 weeks ago, that is where much of our attention and energy has been spent when it comes to our blog. Besides our Colorblock Party skirts, we have many more plans for growing and expanding our shop, some of which are in the works right now! While our shop is still quite new, it has helped us realize where our true passion lies. We love designing, creating, and sharing fun and useful ideas, and pushing ourselves and our talents by trying new things– our shop really allows us to do that. Because of this, we’ve decided to switch gears with our blog and focus more on our shop at the present time. There is no doubt that we love blogging and plan on continuing it, but it is now taking a “behind-the-scenes” role.

On the blog we will share our personal journeys as mother, wives, homemakers, and now shop owners. But don’t worry, you can still expect to see awesome diy projects and easy sewing tutorials as these are very much apart of our daily lives. Also be sure to keep an eye on our shop as there will be some new additions very soon!

Your Designs This Time – No. 25

posted in Uncategorized by Sara on September 2, 2014

Welcome back to Your Designs This Time! We’re off to a late start this week as we were gone for the long holiday weekend on a “girls getaway” with our mother and sister-in-law; no kids, no husbands, no computers. I know, no excuse! But I’ve got to tell you guys, it was absolute heaven! It’s really the first time I’ve had a long getaway from my kid… and she’s 2! Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter to pieces, but for those of you who are mother’s or spend a lot of time watching small children, you understand the necessity to have a break every once in while. Now we’re both back feeling refreshed and ready to go, so lets start the party!

Continue reading “Your Designs This Time – No. 25” →

Friday Finds #19: September

posted in Friday Finds by Hanna on August 29, 2014

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It seems as soon as school starts there is a sudden crispness in the air as school buses drive past the house and as the girls and I watch all the kids walking home from a day at school. The excitement and anticipation of starting a new year, with new clothes, new classes and reuniting with new and old friends is apparent on their faces. In the distant I can hear the whistles and the calling out of plays at a football practice nearby and while making a quick trip to the store I walk past isles full of fall colors, decorations and with the scent of cinnamon and apple cider. Through all of this I find myself reminiscing of past Septembers and how each one was a start of something new in my life. Even though I am no longer in school I still feel some kind of feeling of a fresh starts and excitement of watching my girls experience similar things. One of which being my oldest daughter starting Preschool on Tuesday. I’m so excited for her to learn new things and make new friends, but like most mothers out there I feel something pulling at my heart strings from it all. I can’t even imagine what I’m going to do when I have to send her off to Kindergarten or 1st grade!

So to celebrate the fast approaching fall and welcome in September with all it’s fun colors, activities and new beginnings we thought we’d do a Friday Finds around the month of September! I’m pretty excited about some of the finds myself!

First off I think this printable by Colette from “My Computer is a Canvas” sums up all the wonderful things about September perfectly!

Next, I think Lauren Conrad is a genius for her post on “10 September Style Tips“. She has some great tips on transitioning some of your summer clothing to work for fall!

Lastly, one of my most favorite and exciting finds is the start of all my TV shows including my absolute favorite, “Parenthood”! Season 6 premiers September 25th! Is anyone else as in love with this show as I am?! I’m so sad this will be the last season.

What’s your favorite thing about September?