For Starters

 To start off this blog, I'm sharing a dress I finished July 2010.  The picture above is me placing the final detail decorations to the dress.

 The dress consisted of two parts. A white under-dress, and a blue overcoat. Both patterns I altered slightly. On the white dress, I created the sleeves, and added a cross-backing.

 On the blue dress, I altered the snaps to come together on the left side of my body, instead of in the middle. I also altered the sleeves so I could have more movement for my arms.

 This shows the decoration on the back.

The final product! My dad is a photographer, so he took me out for a shoot to show off my creation. For this shoot, I made the dress, the jewelry, and learned how to do my hair in barrel rolls. I even learned to paint my toenails with rhinestones. 

This is probably my greatest sewing project so far! My favorite dress! I only hope that it will still fit after pregnancy!

The total time I put into making the dress: about 80 hours

The total cost: I didn't dare calculate. It was definitely above $50, maybe as much as $100

Hair time: I practiced the hair style three separate times before the shoot and it took me about 2 hours every time.

Jewelry cost: I used glass beads as a base. These, although more expensive, have more weight to them, so I like the feel better. I believe all the different beads I bought came close to $40. Definitely not cheaper than buying, but definitely more fun to make!