Let me just begin by saying how painful it was writing today's title!! I can't believe this day has arrived. It literally seems like just a few short months ago that I began this journey and today it's coming to an end. More nostalgia in a bit, but let's just get to the piece. I've known for awhile what I wanted to do for my last piece but didn't have the right foundation to create it until I came across this skirt. Bigger at the waist...
...and a lovely navy complete with small red flowers that made up stripes.
Now, like I mentioned, this was the foundation of the piece. During my yearlong journey, I kept all the remnants from the creations leaving me with a whole lotta fabric! Joann, Michael's, Hancock Fabrics...you ain't got nothing on me!! I really wanted to incorporate the remnants into my final piece somehow - the blog is my virtual journal and the fabric is the physical one - so I decided to cut hearts from what I was left with from the year.
And this became a total family affair...my mom even joined in on the heart cutting! (We spent our little Santa Barbara road trip yesterday finishing them up in the back seat while listening to football and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" as the holiday stations were blaring loud and clear on the 101.
The fruits of our labor...
I began placing different shapes and checking out how different patterns worked out...
...and then began to make straight lines across and layer them up. It was turning into a little patchwork ensemble which I was totally enjoying but more for sentimental reasons. I kept thinking about the outfit the heart coincided with - what I did that day, how I felt, where I was, which made it a total nostalgic process.
After some stitching and some hot gluing the heart edges down (this piece will remain in the scrapbook for me, so I wasn't worried about the glue sitch) my new piece was ready to be unveiled!!
It was a celebratory day to spend with my family, amazing friends and the Nutcracker below.
We had a fabulous brunch complete with...
...unlimited champagne!!! Yes, that's right, unlimited champagne. We were poppin' bottles at the table :)
For my final after pic of the year, I just had to give props and high five all of you out there! From my amazing fam & friends, my photographers (mostly those who I just mentioned aside from a few random people in parking lots and at the movies), readers, commenters...this was a total collaboration and I couldn't be happier to share it with all of you.
And scene :)
When I started this blog I set out to do something for myself. I needed a creative constant in my life when everything else seemed to be a bit out of wack. To see how it grew into something that so many others gained inspiration from, a few chuckles, and a spark of creativity has completely blown my mind. I was dealing with a layoff, hitting an age bracket, and trying to figure things out all while not losing my mind when this came to fruition and I'm so grateful for the support and love that I've received. Let's say that I beat that triple threat and my 30th year was the best of my life.
So the question remains...this year has come to an end, but what happens next? Will I continue?? Heck yeah!! The idea of stopping something that has given me so much more than I could have possibly imagined is just not an option. I wake up seeing all of your comments and amazing emails each day which makes this girl overjoyed. If I ever feel down I know exactly where to look.
I'll be spending December posting, as per usual, however it won't be daily dresses and redos as it is right now. You'll still be getting some - the holidays are around the corner and plaid is in the air - but I'm going to mix it up with other fun stuff to keep everyone excited. And that means the shoulder pads will have their own spotlight this month!! The holidays are about giving, not taking away, right :) I'm going to take a little breather all while getting prepped and ready for New Dress A Day's redux, sequel, continuation, next chapter if you will.
I will be catching up on sleep (thank you to all my second mothers out there looking out for me and my rest - you are amazing and my real mother appreciates your care and concern), all your emails (yes, I will get to each and every one of them) and working on all the fun/fabulous new bits to welcome the new year with.
I'd like to look at this as just the beginning friends...I'm not going anywhere :)
xx Marisa
