Kaoru Marie

1. I've started {and stopped} a bunch of blogs over the years. Of course none have ever gained any strong readership, but it's something I enjoy doing. Every single time I started a blog I had the most difficult time coming up with a name. I once re-branded a blog because I was so over the original name. I enlisted my brother for help and I think he eventually came up with the winning name. I've gone back and forth many times over what I want to call this blog. I don't want to pigeon-hole myself into one specific craft (sewing, photography, lettering, etc.), which is why I didn't create a pun on sewing or include 'photography' in my name. I also knew I most likely wasn't going to become a hardcore photographer anyway. I use my name because it's an easy option and I haven't met anyone else with the First-Middle name combo so I'm assuming I'm the only one with this name so I think it has some uniqueness. For awhile though I gave this bl...

I skipped a week because I haven't done much online reading recently. Here are 5 things that caught my eye the past two weeks, including some non-sewing links. 1. I've been very fascinated lately with how nail salons do some of the intricate nail art these days. The other weekend I got sucked into the nail art YouTube and Instagram blackhole for several hours. I was really into painting my nails and using nail decal art when I was around 12 years old. My mom was super strict when I was growing up, but she begrudgingly let me do this. Although, I distinctly remember her saying I looked like a prostitute one time because I used pearly/silver nail polish. LOLZ!! THE HORROR!!! {Buzzfeed// Nail Art Tutorials } 2. All you sewing bloggers talking about making your own lingerie has almost convinced me to try it too. I've always wondered whether I'm wearing the correct bra size and I was shocked, SHOCKED to find out my size based on this bra size calculator. { The Sophist...

Another week, another round-up. 1. Have you heard of ' Fashion Camp '? It's a business in Orange County, CA offering sewing/fashion classes, workshops, and private events to kids and adults (although I think it's primarily geared towards kids). I think it's funny that I learned about this business through an article in ' Inc ' magazine. According to the article I read, the owner is trying to decide whether to expand to Los Angeles or San Diego. It's an interesting business concept. Instead of a store that focuses on fabric, notions, and patterns with classes and events, Fashion Camp is strictly focused on the teaching part. { Fashion Camp // Inc Magazine } 2. I came across this tutorial for inserting in-seam pockets with french seams at just the right moment. The pockets in the photo above are the ones I'm using in my shirt dress for the Cat Lady Sewing Challenge; I definitely wanted to enclose those raw edges. { Deborah Moebes on Sew Mama Se...

Another week, another round-up. 1. As if we sewists need another reason to sew and avoid fast fashion. { Medium } 2. Mise-en-place. A phrase associated with chefs and their insane organizational efficiency. Can sewists take a page out of that set-up to become more efficient with our practice? I know I definitely could ( *goes looking for those shears and chalk pen and ruler I was JUST using* ) { Organize Like a Chef//NPR } 3. Charlotte's post this week had me re-thinking the term "handmade" among a handful of other topics. The discussion in the comments is equally good (and I discovered more great sewing blogs!) { Seam Ripped } 4. My head was spinning while reading about all of Brooke's freelance gigs. Costume design sounds so exciting! She also linked to a video " what's in a ballet shoe ". I did pointe for one summer when I was 9 or 10 just to get a taste for it. I never would have been able to hack it as a pro ballet dancer, but I've a...

Bias Binding and Piping from Momen+ I'm going to try something new here. A weekly round-up of sewing related blog posts, articles, and snippets from the internet. I know a lot of us subscribe to a ton (ok, hundreds....maybe thousands??) of blogs and we don't always have the chance to read through every single post. And some of us carefully curate our feed to a select few as not to be overwhelmed. I follow a bunch of blogs through Feedly and I like the "saved for later" feature because it allows me to easily select blog posts that I want to reference later. I know there are so many blogs out there that I haven't heard of so hopefully I link to something new that you may enjoy! 1. Ever seen Spool Blocks and thought, ' how the heck do you sew that ?' Well, check out Rita's tutorial on spool blocks and nine-patch blocks. Every single one of her posts, and especially her tutorials, always makes me want to dig into my stash and get quilting. { Rita//...