DIY: What to Wear to a Wedding

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THIS is what you wear to a wedding!

I purchased this fabric about a year ago at Hancock Fabrics. It was approx. $10/yd and 60% off!  With lining, this dress came out to about $15!  And THIS is by far my favorite garment in my closet!

Although I’ve had this fabric for so long, I did not know what occasion I would be attending to be able to create something with this fabulous fabric.  I’m glad my beautiful friend was married this year, so a wedding was the perfect occasion.  The fabric is a very delicate brocade.  Serging is a must for this because it frays to easily.  As you can see, it is a beautiful metallic rose gold color with a hint of light pink.  This dress was definitely a showstopper at the wedding.  I seriously received so many compliments by men & women.  The reaction from people was even better when I told them that I made it. It was great!  I am so proud of this piece.

As for the pattern, I used Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 1873.  Check out my review over on http://www.Pretty Girls Sew.com  There, I give you detailed information on the difficulty of this pattern and it’s instructions.  (Link will be provided soon).

Pom Poms

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How fun is this midi skirt!? I love this freakin skirt! LOL! Some say it’s a party in a skirt. :) You can’t really tell from the photos, but the pink pom poms on the skirt stick out and gives the skirt a fun texture.  People always ask me “How long did it take you to sew all of those pom poms on there?” LOL!  I’ll never tell! ;)  This skirt is apart of my Limited Edition Collection from my line.  You can find it HERE.

I decided to go unexpected and pair this skirt with a light blue button up shirt.  And I loved playing with the contrasting print of the polka look of the skirt so I paired it with my favorite striped heels.  This is such a fun party look.  I definitely had fun wearing it.  Comment below and tell me what your ideal party look would be.

Q&A Part 1: Process of hiring a Seamstress, Purchasing Wholesale, Steps to Starting a Business

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In this video I talk about: Process of hiring a Seamstress, Making Patterns from Scratch, Etsy, Building my Website, Marketing, Steps to start a Business, Purchasing Wholesale, and Why Skirts??? If you have more questions list them below and I’ll answer them in a future video.

Sapphire Summer

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So it’s halfway through the year. Time went by so fast. My business is officially 8 months today!  Looking back, I’ve worked my ass off and have learned so much about this business. Although wishing I’d gone to fashion school, I feel like what I’m doing now is the path I’m supposed to be going down.  Everything is falling into place and God has literally sent the most amazing people in my life that I would have never seen myself even meeting.
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For several years, I prayed that God bless me with my dream job. I prayed for this but not knowing what I wanted my dream job to be.  I can truly say that the empire that I am building is the dream job that God dreamt for me.  I really wish that I could show you all everything that has happened from April 2013 until now.  To think that I’ve ONLY been sewing for 2 years and now own my clothing line that is already in a couple stores within the first year of my collection launching blows my mind.  I seriously cannot fathom all of this. I really wish I could take you all down memory lane to see all of the people that I’ve met that volunteered to help me because they believed in me and my brand.  These people aren’t just some airheads off the street either. These are some extremely smart people who I still cannot believe they were sent my way. God truly works in mysterious ways.  It makes me tear up just looking back at all that has happened and the things I know the future holds.  The project that I am working on now behind the scenes literally blows my mind. I cannot even believe that I’m even in the position to be doing it.  God is good. He is good to me.  If you want something bad enough, put in the work.  I hate reading, but I read about the business because I want to be successful.  I’m an introvert and hate being around a lot of people, but God has literally pushed me out there and I’ve have the most extraordinary people.  I hate public speaking, but with this business, that totally goes out the window. It’s all or nothing.  When you have to talk about yourself as a designer and talk about your collection, you have one shot. It’s all God though.  God made all of this possible. I give him all of the glory and all of the praise.

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Tank: Old Navy
Midi Skirt: TJ Sewer
Heels: Just Fab

Stripes on Stripes

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I am about that Midi Skirt life! My most favorite part about owning my own clothing label, (TJ Sewer, LLC) is that I own every single piece from each collection. Besides my black & white polka dot midi, this one is another favorite of mine.  Its so New York City Chic!  This is one of the skirts that I can definitely see Carrie Bradshaw wearing.  The stripes are so bold, yet classic.  And ofcourse, I had to top it off with my favorite striped heels. I have gotten so many compliments on my outfit today. It’s such an easy, put-together look that I love!

BTW, I am on a weight loss journey. I’m documenting my journey on snapchat.  I talk about my starting weight, my clothing size, and how many pounds I’ve lost so far.  Snapchat is RAW!  No makeup, no glamour. It’s just me being me. So far I’ve lost 8 pounds. Not only do I talk about weight loss, but you get a behind the scenes of my work that I do for YouTube, my blog, and my clothing label. I definteily do a lot and stay very busy.  If you are interested, come check me out on Snapchat: tjsewer

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Top (its actually a dress): HM// Skirt: TJ Sewer, LLC//  Earrings: TJ Maxx// Heels: Shoedazzle

Muave Midi

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Summer is here!  I’ve been extremely busy on my clothing line.  As some of you know, I started my business 6 months ago and things have been going quite well. It’s hard to be the main person in charge because everyone that works for you needs you all the time.  A lot of times its hard to sit down and get that moment to sew for myself or the new collection. When I don’t get the chance to sew for myself, I love to wear skirts from own line (@tjsewercollection). And this one gets a lot of use.

muaveSo you guys should already know this by now but black is my favorite color and its a must for me to wear with almost everything. So ofcourse I had to pair a basic black tee with my midi skirt.  I decided to add some pops of color with my shoes and necklace.

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I love the look of midi skirts because they are so lady like and classy.  You can never go wrong with looking classy!

muave3I personally think that midi skirts flatter everyone. What are your thoughts?  I always hear (majority from my beautiful plus size women) that midi skirts don’t look good on them.  I wholeheartedly disagree. Comment below and tell me what you think.

Follow me to Fashion School

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A few weeks ago I went to Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) to pick up my brother who attends the school.  The Seniors just finished their collections and it is now on display in the fashion building.  This was such an inspiring place to be.  The fashion students are so extremely talented and so blessed to be able to learn so much about fashion in school.  I wanted to share this trip with you and hope that you will fins a piece in the video that will inspire you. After this trip, I came home with a list of things I wanted to create.  You all know that I love to share my ideas with you so I’d love it if you shared with me. Comment below and let me know which was your favorite garment and why it inspired you.

From Small to Successful Handmade Business

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So a lot of you that follow my blog own a business where you actually hand make your products to sell to your customers.  Sometimes we all get into that slump where we need someone or something to inspire us.  A few weeks ago my friend and I decided to take a road trip to Richmond, VA and while there we found this store that was so inspiring. I decided to vlog the trip because I wanted you all to be inspired as well. The vlog that I filmed shows that we all are starting small now, but with hard work and determination we can eventually grow our business, hire employees, and open a store front. Wouldn’t that be a dream?!  It may be hard to believe it now, but the world is at our feet.  It sounds cliché, but we can have anything we want if we believe we can. How so?  If I believe I can own my own business, I will do my research, network, connect with small business owners, and do any and everything I can to get myself there.  You cannot go anywhere with just a thought. Have a plan. Take some action.  We can do it!  Let’s get inspired.

What inspires you?  Where do you go for inspiration?  Comment below and share your thoughts with all of us. We’d love to hear from you.

I Got my Nose Pierced!

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muave1I have always always always wanted my nose pierced, but being in the military for so many years, I wasn’t able to do so. But now that I’m fully out, I finally jumped the gun.  So my brother and I went to Richmond, VA in search for a nice, sanitary place to get my piercing done.  We first went into to Lucky 13 and they have the worst customer service ever.  The guy who was doing the piercing was so rude and pushy. He did not make me comfortable at all.  So naturally, I walked straight out of there. I walked across the street to Enigma Studios and the guy who pierced my nose was the best.  He was so nice and made me so comfortable that I am going back in a few months to get another piercing. His information is listed below just incase you are in the Richmond, VA area.

So a bit about me:
I have ZERO tattoos.
I hate needles
I feel the need to inspect the area to see how the needles are sanitized.
I have an extreme low tolerance to pain.
I ask a million and one questions about how they go about placing piercings
Piercings and tattoos are so out of my character
The whole time I was laying on the table, I was asking myself “Why am I here?”
I watched over 20 videos on YouTube about different experience people have had with their nose piercing

About my piercing:
From 1-10 for pain, it was a 2.
It felt like a tiny pinch
The entire process took 2 minutes
The piercer (what do you call the guy that does the piercing?) was so extremely nice
It feels slightly sore a few days after you get the piercing but it’s not bad at all
It takes 3-4 months to heal
And I love it!

Do you have any piercings?  If so where? Comment below and tell me about your experience. I’d love to hear all about it.

Enigma Studios
Ryan Norton aka Huey
1813 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
804-353-8161