New Top Design - Not Sure What To Call It

* In November of 2014, I was Christmas gift shopping when I saw a picture of a doll in a dress that inspired this design. The dress was fit and flare and the bottom was 2-tiers: one floral and one solid pink. It got me thinking ... what if the bodice and first tier were a blouse that could be paired with any bottoms from skirts to shorts to pants to leggings? And while I'm thinking about it, how about a hi-low hemline?

** On Thanksgiving Day, I got Zi's measurements and brought my vision to life in kente print fabric. It worked!!! I was invited to a company's end-of-year dinner party and I made another version of the top in a lovely gold and black brocade that made me think of flames and paired it with the very first high-waist skirt I made. My version of a LBD dress :).
Enjoy the pictures below.

*** Check us out on Instagram: @zichie_designs

The Top in Black & Gold Flames paired with a Pencil Skirt

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 I like how the opening in the front resembles a flame too.

Added black tights, black sandals, gold hair flower and black & gold earrings to complete the night's look.

The Top in Kente Print Fabric

Spots & Stripes Dress: January's Make Of The Month

  * At the beginning of this year, I set a goal to have a #MakeOfTheMonth every month. This will be something I make because I want to - not because of a client's order, special request or for sale on the Etsy store.

** The #MakeOfTheMonth for January is a Spots & Stripes dress that I sketched on a post-it note sometime in 2014. The design was for a fit and flare dress with spots on the bodice and stripes on the skirt. I didn't get a chance to do anything about the sketch till now. I did change the original design by adding stripes to the bodice and I think that was a smart choice. Enjoy the pictures below :).

** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

I was going to get regular polka dots and a matching striped fabric but these 2 together caught my eye and won't let go.

The initial plan was to have an A-line skirt but I've recently been wanting to make box pleats so I did.

As I previously mentioned, I was going to make the entire bodice out of the spotted fabric but after I took a 2nd look, I decided to bring the stripes up into the bodice.

 

I wanted to do something different for the back so I added a cut-out but I made the band wide enough to cover any bra straps. :)

Final Look:

Lovely in White

* This post is a shout out to Zi for this lovely hi-low lace skirt that she started, stuck with and saw through to the end. I can tell you that this skirt is really a labor of love but it turned out so amazing. Enjoy the pictures below.
** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

Frozen Masquerade Party Dress

* As I mentioned in my last post, my employer had a holiday masquerade dinner party on 01/09/2015 and the theme was 'Frozen in Time'. The dress I wore to the party is the same one I wore to the Red Rose Banquet at my church last year (blog post here). I also made a shrug and matching mask for the event. Below are pictures of the outfit for the day ... Enjoy :) 
** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

I started with the dress from the Red Rose Banquet (bottom right above), raised the hem a little bit, adjusted the fit of the bodice and added a sequin trim to the waist.

The shrug was my answer to always feeling a bit cold at winter parties. It was made with velvet fabric and entirely using a serger, hand sewing and iron-on adhesive (to finish the edges). For the pattern, I traced the bodice of the blue and white and blue dress and the sleeves from another outfit.

I accessorized with a pair of silver sandals and a silver clutch in keeping with the bling at the waist of the dress.

'Frozen' appropriate if you ask me :)

Making Masks for the Masquerade Party

* My employer had a holiday masquerade dinner party on 01/09/2015 and the theme was 'Frozen in Time'. If you live in the NE part of the US like me, you've probably been experiencing the very, very, very cold temperatures, living in layers and think the word 'frozen' should not be in the same sentence as 'party'. But I've got to say that I had a lovely time thanks in a great part to my date and the friends we got to hang out with.
** I made the dress, shrug and masks for the event. I'll post the outfit details some other time but for now, here are the pictures of the masks that I made and a quick tutorial on making one like the blue one.
*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

His & Her Masks at the event. 

 

When I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in stores, I decided to look up DIY masks and I really liked the concept and designs of the masks from Sprinkles in Spring.
So I made a few:

I sent a picture to my date and he wanted to know how he was going to wear his mask. Sprinkles in Spring suggests a ribbon at both ends of the mask but I figured he wouldn't want that so I came up with the idea to use the tulle masks as an overlay on these $0.99 masks from Party City.
I like how they ended up and they made it to the party:

Now for the tutorial.

I decided that I would try to make a mask to match my dress and here's how I did that.

• Start with a plain white mask which you can get from party stores as well as arts & craft stores.
  Pick a mask made of a material that you can paint on; cloth and card stock work well.

• Remove the elastic on the mask (if any), paint the mask the desired color, let the paint dry completely and paint a second time to fill in any spaces that may remain. 

• Get enough trim to go around the outer edge of the mask plus 1 inch. If you can, don't cut the trim until you've glued it to the mask and determined that you have enough.

• Glue the trim to the edge of the mask following instructions on the glue. I used E6000 because so far, it has worked for anything I have had to glue (fabric, metal, paper). At the end of the trim, I folded it over a little and glued the folded edge for a clean finish.
  Tip: use paper clips to hold the trim in place while the glue dries.

• Ta-da!!!
  Re-attach the mask elastic (if included).

A Bow-Tie Welcome to 2015

* To end 2014, I started working on a Father and Son collection and the first part of that are these Father and Son bow ties. They are a quick way for dads and their little men to dress alike for Father's Day or just because. 
** They are available for purchase via the Etsy store (click here) and there's the option to request a custom order if you want the bow-ties in a different fabric or you just want part of the set.
*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^* Here's to a stylish start to the New Year!!! *^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*

Starting with the gifts:

Christmas gifts for Dr. H and his son, KC.
Both ties are half yellow and half red: makes for a couple interesting options, right?
The bow-tie for the boys comes as a pre-made bow with straps that can be adjusted via velcro.

Birthday gifts for Boss (I thought he would prefer neutral colors).

One to match my green ankara pants (post here):

Others: