Modest Homecoming Dress Giveaway

Note: If you don't want to read my random rambling, scroll down to the paragraph that begins "I have a brilliant idea."

Ok, so we're all depressed that school is starting again and summer is over (when I say we, read: I. I am depressed. I am pining away for scorching hot days and stifling nights. I know I am the only one who actually likes this. I am only partly deluding myself when I say we.), but there is a lot to look forward to (even for poor, little ol' depressed me).

First of all, football is back on. Maybe this is not good news for everyone, but for me it means a big fat bag of kettle corn, a feeling of camaraderie with the entire town of Provo and beyond, and up to four hours with my husband where he does not have his computer on his lap (he does not know this bugs me; mostly, I've accepted it as part of his identity, but it's still nice sometimes to get away from it). Ah, football.



But the point of this post is not football, it's what goes along with football: homecoming. Now, I did not know this, but homecoming is not technically about football - it's about welcoming back former residents and alumni; however, it's usually associated with a football game and of course, a dance. Now, that's what I've been getting at this whole time.

I have a brilliant idea. Yes, brilliant. Here's my idea: I am going to do a giveaway here on the blog (because I think it's so cool when other blogs do them, and I'm jealous of their coolness). Every week until homecoming I am going to go out and find a cheap(ish), probably used, probably d.i. dress and turn it into something amazing that would be appropriate to wear to a homecoming-type dance. I'll post pictures of the dress before; then, when it's ready (hopefully after a week), I'll post the picture of my beautiful creation. If you leave a comment on the blog requesting to be entered in the drawing, well, then you will be entered in the drawing and hopefully I will draw your name out. And you will have a cool dress made by me.

So, I went to d.i. today and got my first experiment. I am going to ask for some help on this one because, while I have some ideas of the direction I want it to go in, I'd like some suggestions on the particulars. Ok, so without further ado, here's the dress:

(Note: I put the little kitty in the corner mostly just because I could. Check out Picnik, it's way fun.)

Ok, so it has a little stain on the front that is hard to see, but I still want to do something about it. What I'm thinking (besides, of course, washing it) is that I want to dye it. Here is what I'm thinking: either black, dark chocolate brown, or possibly blue. What do you, as possible future owners of this dress, think? Please give me some ideas on this!

Also, please let others that you may know about this giveaway extravaganza. I really want this to be something useful to those out there who would like to wear a modest dress to homecoming (or any other dance, or date, or school, or out bowling, or you know, wherever you want to wear a moderately fancy dress). So please pass the word along.

Ok, this post is definitely long enough. Over and out!

Dreaming My Dreams

So, it's been another terrible week for blogging. Not that anything has really kept me from blogging, besides the lack of material, that is. I have lots of ideas to try, but just haven't gotten around to actually trying them. I blame our newest purchase here at the West home - our projector. All evenings are now employed in the serious task of watching movies. This is important work that takes our time from other, less worthy, endeavors. Please read the sarcasm intended.

Anyway, today I clicked on my own ad (whoops, not supposed to do that, but in my defense they are actually interesting! I want to see these sites too! anyway...) I found this fun little clothing vendor called Martin + Osa, which provides all sorts of layering options for creating modest outfits and actually has an application that lets you mix and match outfits that you have layered and created.

Unfortunately, it's a bit pricey. If you have the money, though, mmm, there is some nice stuff. I absolutely fell in love with this pair of pants (on sale for 45$)--I mean I actually gasped out loud when I saw them. Ah, love.

Go check it out, it's at least fun to make your own layered outfits. And dream. Always fun to dream.

Make Your Own Backpack

Shopping for a new backpack was always a bit of a struggle for me. I could never find anything that was both original AND cheap. Because I am cheap. Very cheap. If only Threadbanger had existed when I was in high school. This week, they posted an awesome video on how to make your own backpack out of an old men's jacket. This tutorial has so many amazing possibilities for originality, I would almost willingly go back to school just to carry my own home-made backpack. Almost.

Grr, for some reason I can't get the video to embed. I'm not so smart with the html, so I'm not sure what the problem is. So for now, just go here to watch the tutorial and get inspired.

If you make it, let me know! I would love to see the results.

Making Anything Out of Anything

Obscure Homestar Runner reference aside (if you go watch it, wait a little while after the end of the toon, you'll see the funniest part), this week's focus will be on back to school fashions you can make yourself. More specifically, things you can make yourself out of things you already have. Amazing, eh? The reasons why are as follows: a) back to school shopping can be fun, but it can really drain your account. b) do you really want to show up to school the first day (whether that's high school, college, or dropping your kids off for their first day of kindergarten) wearing the same thing as nine other people? ugh, no thanks. and, c) what better way to ensure that your wardrobe is modest than to have made it yourself?

First up, a pretty awesome crafter on crafster.org posted a tutorial on how to make this awesome skirt out of a pillow case. I am absolutely in love with it, and really want to make one myself. I imagine you could make it out of any random textile you have lying around your house: an old sheet, a curtain perhaps?

Here's a link to the tutorial: pillowcase skirt

Little Break

Hey everyone, thanks for continuing to check this blog. I am still working at it and will hopefully have some cool stuff for you guys soon. Today and tomorrow (and yes, yesterday too) I am celebrating my one-year anniversary of being married to the most amazing guy in the world, so I plan on being a little slackerish for the beginning of this week. But upon my return, there will be back-to-school ideas for all!

Window Shopping: Heavenly Couture

So, today I was visiting clothing sites via StumbleUpon and found this really cute vendor that is having a sale! (Yay for sales this week!) The company is called Heavenly Couture, and I was very impressed to find that a large portion of their merchandise is modest. There are some lovely shirts and some adorable skirts that I would love to add to my wardrobe. And everything in their online store is $18.00 or less (except denim, too bad, but some denim items are also on sale).

Here are a few of my favorites:









And here are the absolute favorites:

Sale!

Good news, Great Lengths Shorts is having a big sale at the moment. All their shorts are $6.99 or less from now until August 18th. They also have some great clearance items, some that are even under $5.00. They also have a pretty good shipping price, so if you buy a bunch it could end up being an incredible deal. Enjoy!

Skirt Tutorials

So, the week of incredible lameness is officially over. The search for a new banner is not, but that's ok. I'm on it. Sort of.

Actually, what I'm really up to more than anything is watching the Olympics. It's been a few years (say, four? no actually eight) since I really have gotten to watch the summer Olympics, so it's fun to be excited about the events again. I'm certainly jazzed about the gymnastics, and diving and swimming became new favorites during the 2000 summer Olympics (thanks to Ian Thorpe. Ah the Thorpedo. It's good to be cheering for the US this year though, instead of falling for that quick Aussie.) And look how cute the Beijing Mascots are: Oh, yeah, I do have something modesty-related for you today. I have to admit, I still have not done much legwork, but it's the beginning of a new week: I gotta build up slowly to daily blogging. Anyway, for today's treat, I will point you to ThreadBanger for what they call their weekly diy roundup. This week, it focuses on several web tutorials for awesome skirts - all very modest and some pretty simple and fun to make. Enjoy!

The Week of Incredible Lameness

So, this has been the week of incredible lameness as far as posting on modestify. I wanted to get a new banner for the site... you know, give it a unique, clean, crisp look, but then I just did nothing. Anybody want to make a banner for me? Well, if you do, just let me know.

I also intended to post some of the things I've been working on lately, but... I haven't. I'm going to blame this one on my husby because he's not here to defend himself. He's been working really hard on some computer science homework lately so he's also not here to take a picture of me showing off my new projects. But someday I'll show you those pictures you were on the edge of your seats waiting for.

The third and last reason I haven't posted on here is because I have been making these. They are really cute and fun to make. Maybe you could make some too! :)

Maybe the week of incredible lameness will be over tomorrow. Hopefully it will be. We'll make Friday great.

Two Ways to Sew Sleeves

I think the photo takes the place of any snappy intro to today's post. It also makes up for the fact that it's 10pm. That guy is awesome.

So yes, today's post is about sleeves. I found a site today (whatthecraft.com) with two tutorials on how to attach sleeves to existing or homemade shirts: the easy way and the harder way. I hope that these will be useful to you in your modestifying endeavors.

Tomorrow: Some of my recent projects. I know you're all on the edges of your seats.

Button-Down Shirt Save

Ok, this is less about modesty and more about avoiding embarrassing situations, but I think it comes in handy in both categories. I think button-down shirts are cute and often classy, but they have a sort of side effect that can cause awkward moments. What I'm talking about is the unintended peek at your bra they often give people because of the gaps between the buttons. Well, today I found this neat little product that you can use with any button-down shirt to eliminate this issue entirely. The No See 'Ems blouse front closures from Bug Catcherz. They also have handy adhesive strips for other slippery clothing issues. I used strips like these at my wedding and they really helped keep everything in place and made sure I was only showing what I wanted to show. Check it out, and have a good weekend. When we return on Monday, the blog may have a new look.