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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a home design lover and mom of two, with one more on the way in January 2027. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, design tips, occasional sewing and crafty projects, and de-stressing goals.

I show you how to create a beautiful home that still works with kids!

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11.25.2015

Special for my readers! DIY Wardrobe Makeovers personalized gifts

I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am!

I really want to share DIY Wardrobe Makeovers with as many people as are interested this holiday season, so if you like to sew and share your love of sewing with others... please consider giving a copy of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers to friends and family, and/or putting it on your wishlist!

As an added incentive... I'm going to write personalized holiday cards to anyone who orders the book between now and December 18! (I wish I could write personalized thank-yous to every single person who's bought the book, but I can't--so the best I could come up with is sending a little something extra to those who buy it this holiday season!)

If you want to give an even more personalized gift to someone, give a copy of my book plus a card from me with a holiday hello, or even an inspirational message if you want!

How do you do this, you ask??

  1. Buy the book (anywhere)
  2. Email me the following: 
    1. A PDF or photo of your receipt 
    2. Your name and the name of the recipient (or just your name, if it's for yourself!)
    3. A little bit about who the book is for--does the recipient need a little help mending or getting new sewing ideas? It it someone you taught to sew, or you want to teach you to sew? What would you like me to share? Maybe it's just Happy Holidays, but let me know!
    4. The address where you want the card sent (I can send to you, if you're delivering the book in person and want to wrap it together, or can send directly to the recipient)
  3. That's it! I'll ship the cards December 19. (International readers can participate, too, but cards may not arrive to you by Christmas unless you get requests to me early.)

Won't this be fun!!

Here are some of my fave photos from DIY Wardrobe Makeovers. There are projects in it for every season and skill level!

You can read more about the book, including the chapters and types of skills/projects you'll find, in this post and this post. I've heard from experienced sewists and folks who are brand new that it's helpful, fun, and inspiring, which is so awesome. I hope you agree!

Please check out DIY Wardrobe Makeovers and email me your receipt and the address of the person you want a card sent to (as described above)! Thanks so much for your support, and happy holidays!!

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8.14.2015

Win my book! DIY Wardrobe Makeovers giveaway - 3 copies! And reviews

Three copies of my book to give away, plus two very special raves to share!

I wrote a note to my grandma in her copy of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers. She's not known for being the sentimental type, but sometimes I am, and she's been sewing for most of her life and was part of my growing up surrounded by sewists. She and her mom taught my mom to sew. My mom is a professional seamstress, and taught me when I was very young to play around with a needle and thread, then a sewing machine, then patterns at the cutting table. It was so special to be able to sign a copy of my book for my grandma, and even more special when she called me on my cell phone (I forgot she had the number) when she got it in the mail to thank me for the kind words, and compliment my hard work!

My husband's grandma ordered a copy of the book. When she got it, she sent me the sweetest email (she's 90 and excellent at email) complimenting the photos, the projects, and my hard work. She's been in a book group for something like 30 years and every July members share their lists of recommendations with each other. This year she put my book on her list and was so proud to mention it was written by her grandson's wife! She said everyone at the book club looked at it a long time, passing it around. Of course I signed her copy when I saw her recently, too!

I'm so, so flattered by the positive attention DIY Wardrobe Makeovers has received from these, and other readers.

I'm excited to give away 3 copies to you!


If you haven't bought the book already, take this opportunity to enter the giveaway below!

Here are a few of my fave projects and photos from the book. These are all from the last chunk of the book, the DIY style projects.

The book is organized into 1) basic sewing techniques, tools, and inspiration ideas; 2) fit fix projects--hem, lengthen, take in, etc., and 3) DIY style projects--turn a garment into another type of garment. All based on my years of sewing, blogging, and working with friends, I've figured out what projects are super helpful to know! All the content is brand new, never seen on the blog before, except the bonus mending project in section 2 for my 2009 essential jeans-mending method tutorial (my most popular post ever).

This is the dress-into-peplum top makeover (the top on the cover is a variation!)...

Here's the contrast sleeve tee... (they painted over this wall not long after we took this shot!)

And here's the tuxedo stripe pants project! The chalk in the background was so fresh the guy doing it was just a few steps down from these stairs in the Park Blocks!

So if you haven't already, please check out DIY Wardrobe Makeovers on Amazon and add it to your wishlist--and enter the giveaway below! If you don't win, of course I'd love if you buy it, but you can also get it at the library or flip through it at a bookstore. =)


I do have one favor to ask--however you read the book, whether yours or borrowed, if you like it, it would be SO wonderful if you could leave a positive review on Amazon! Most craft/sewing books do not get a lot of reader-written reviews, so I'd love if you could help mine stand out with more positive words from readers! So far I have four great reviews. It makes me so happy to read each one. If you have or find a copy of the book and if you like it, PLEASE share it with the world in a review!

Thank you and good luck!!

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6.02.2015

DIY Wardrobe Makeovers GIVEAWAY! 3 copies!

What an honor it is to be able to give away copies of MY book!!! I seriously wish that I could give one away to each and every one of you - thank you for reading this blog and following along in my exciting publishing journey!! But, I can't.

I can, however... go this giveaway of 3 copies of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

And, if you're in the Portland area, please come to by book signing this Sunday, June 7 at Barnes & Noble! RSVP here. You don't have to buy the book or anything, just come say hi and chat about sewing, Portland, blogging, whatever you'd like! If you do have a copy of the book, I'll sign it!

Check out the options below to enter the giveaway! I truly appreciate every time you share the book or keep up to date on social media. Thank you so much!!

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5.21.2015

DIY Wardrobe Makeovers BOOK SIGNING announced!!!

I am SO excited to announce my book signing on June 7th at Barnes & Noble in Portland!

June 7 is the official release date of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers, and if you pre-ordered it (thank you!!) you should receive it by then. Bring a copy with you to the signing, and I'll sign it and thank you in person!!!

If not, you can buy a copy at the store!

Please RSVP on the EventBrite event here.

My box of books arrived this week and I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I'm so happy with how the book turned out and I love flipping through them and looking at the photos and sidebars and features! I can't wait to share them with you all and hear what you like about them!

I would LOVE to meet you or see you again at my book signing June 7, 1:00 to 3:00 PM (drop in any time) in Portland at Lloyd Center Mall Barnes & Noble! RSVP here! Thank you!!

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1.02.2015

Thanks for your support!! And, 2014 was a big year.

First of all, THANK YOU.

Last Monday I posted the big news about my book, DIY Wardrobe Makeovers. Writing it and working with my publisher(s) has been a long process, and I haven't been able to share much until now. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Massive thanks to all of you who have looked at it and pre-ordered! Pre-orders are SO important because they tell Amazon that the book will be popular (encouraging it to show up in search results) and as more people order, the price drops (and you are guaranteed the lowest price between now and when the book is delivered to your door). Already, thanks to your pre-orders, the book has jumped up in rank and the price has dropped by almost $1.50!

I can't thank you enough for your support and enthusiasm about my big project, and for reading this blog as often as you do. I wish I could give away copies to all of you, but I can't. So thank you so much for your mutual respect and participation!

Also. 2014 was a big year for this blog!

I looked through my pageviews and found several posts that were most-viewed and also favorites of mine. These tended to be simple sewing projects, easy sewing or crafty tutorials, and some big conversation posts. Here's a very brief rundown of some top posts!

Makes me wonder what you'll love most in 2015! I can't even imagine what all I'll share this year!

Winter:


Early last year, I shared this tutorial for three ways to embellish a grey sweatshirt. I still love these comfy grey knits!

Spring:


In spring, I shared 5 tips for getting into a sewing groove. That was a fun post to think about! And was a nice follow-up to my 2014 "sewing resolutions post"--7 goals I had to make my sewing better in 2014!


As the weather began to warm up, I shared this tutorial for how to make a cutout back dress from just about any dress pattern.

Then I had a lot of fun making a J.Crew knock-off: a tutorial for how to make a scallop-hem and -armhole dress out of a basic shift dress pattern. I see this one pinned a lot!

Summer:


Big change came in summer. On August 1st, I announced something I'd been thinking about since May: after almost 5 years of blogging here, I changed the name of this blog from Adventures in Dressmaking to Create/Enjoy. Not a strictly sewing blog anymore, now "A DIY Blog for a Happier Life"! You were all very encouraging about the new direction, and I really enjoy blogging here now more than ever.

Also in August, I made a fab bright floral print halter maxi dress for a friend's wedding. This was a top post, along with another maxi halter dress I made the month after for another wedding!

I also made a very cool DIY laundry bag delicates sorter tutorial. Well, I made two--one for a bridal shower gift and one for myself!

Fall:


We had a glorious long summer, with high temps into October, so I didn't get into the fall clothing vibe till November or December!

Late this fall I shared this super easy DIY blanket scarf tutorial.

Holiday (sure, it's a season. Winter-spring-summer-fall-Christmas, right?):


And then probably the biggest news (for me) of this year was announcing the pre-order info for my book!

On to 2015!

Now that I think about it, there were a lot of other big things in 2014 that aren't on this list. Maybe I didn't post about them, or maybe they just weren't the posts with the most hits. It was a great year, full of personal, family, professional (work), professional (blog), and interpersonal progress.

Hope you had a great year, too, and hope to see more of you in 2015! What do YOU think we should make together?!

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12.22.2014

MY BOOK! Title, cover, and pre-order! Announcing DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

You guys.
I've been waiting to share this with you for... more than 2 years? This is a big day!!

For ages now, I've been working away (some months more than others) on a sewing book very related to many of my favorite projects on this blog. Since I announced it in September 2012, I've kept things under wraps, but now the cat is out of the bag and I'm so excited to announce details about my book, which will be published in May of this year from C&T Publishing.

My book, DIY Wardrobe Makeovers: Alter, Refresh & Refashion Your Clothes Step-by-Step Sewing Tutorials is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

About My Book: DIY Wardrobe Makeovers


I write about a lot of sewing, crafty, and other projects on this blog, but one of my skills I'm most proud to share is repairing and refashioning existing garments. I'm practical and thrifty, as well as a little picky about fit and style of my clothes, so with my years of sewing skills I've created quite a library of fixes in my head.

So my book is about:

Unlock your closet’s potential with simple wardrobe fixes and refashions to express your style. These basic alterations and step-by-step restyling tutorials will help you fit and reassemble garments into newfound faves. No sloppy shortcuts here—learn how to alter sweaters, pants, and everything in your wardrobe for a more flattering fit. Take it in, take it up, or let it out—all on your home sewing machine. Spend less, look better!

It features basic sewing skills, some ideas and inspirations for how to remake your wardrobe, step-by-step instructions for how to modify garments for fit, and before/after style projects with step-by-step instructions. All the projects use basic and prototypical garments you may have in your closet, and many of them are classic projects you've probably wanted to try before! (One of my inspirations for this book was the sewing sessions I've had with friends going through their mending/tailoring piles!) The photos and instructions are more detailed than those in the projects on this blog because I wasn't limited as much by space and time. And the "after" styled photos for the re-style projects in the second half of the book were shot all over Portland in an amazing two-day shoot I did in September with the publisher's photographer and stylist.

The Cover


Excited to see the cover?!?! I was!! It is pretty much done at this point (may change slightly) but ready to be shared with you.

I won't give it any introduction other than that. Pretend you just saw it at the bookstore shelf on on your Amazon recommendations. Ta-da!!

I love these photos we took in a parking lot in downtown Portland. The look on the right features variations on two projects from the book: flared jeans-to-skinny jeans and shift dress-to-peplum top!

The before/after view was something our photographer came up with. I bought two of each the dress and the jeans and remade one of each. So we shot the first dress as the "before" and then showed the peplum top in an outfit as the "after." The dress-to-peplum top is a very fun project, and I love the basic grey knit of this one.

You're the first to know!


I'd love to hear what you think! As a reader of this blog, you're among the first to see or hear anything about the book and cover designs. Besides my mom and husband, you're practically the first!

What do you think of the cover, by the way? Do you "get" the before/after example images??

Also wanted to shout out to the pre-order process. If you think you'd like a copy of the book... (I hope you do!!), pre-order is a great way to do it.

  • Pre-orders are very important to show Amazon how popular the book is, make it show up on search results, lower the price, etc.
  • If you pre-order now, you will automatically pay the lowest price when the book is for sale. Hopefully it will go down as more folks pre-order it!

So, looking for a (very) last-minute holiday gift for someone who'd enjoy my book?? You can pre-order and print out the page! ;) Or if you want a copy yourself, drop a hint to someone who may still be looking for something to get you!

I am so grateful for your support and readership, and appreciate your following along with this big news! Thank you!

Pre-order on Amazon my book, DIY Wardrobe Makeovers: Alter, Refresh & Refashion Your Clothes Step-by-Step Sewing Tutorials!

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5.01.2013

BOOK MANUSCRIPT IN.

This is a big day. It's May 1, sure, but it's also the due date for my book manuscript, due to my editor at Potter Craft, the craft division of Random House. I submitted it just minutes past my bedtime last night. Woooooohooooo!!!

More than 9 months ago, I got the book deal (the same week we closed on our house, actually!) and was so, so excited but had months ahead of me and didn't get started until, well, a little past when I should have. I've spent the past 4 months in pretty hardcore book-writing mode, with at least some part of every weekend day devoted to taking photos on my porch or in the sewing room and writing the book itself. I submitted preliminary materials last fall, including most of the intro sections, but I still had a lot of writing to do!

I was also doing a lot of this. (Pics my husband took of me with the lovely Bernina I used in the book... sent these to my editor for placeholders!) Also been watching plenty of Modern Family and old James Bond movies while editing photos. ;)


Okay, so, now do I have time to breathe?! Or, work on sewing and crafty projects that I get to share with you!? I've been feeling very low on blogging and personal sewing time lately!

I've also saved up quite a few things to do "after May 1," as I kept telling myself... so, I have a pretty busy May and June coming up, too! And then there's all the fun summer weekend plans that always come up!

Wanted to share the exciting news, and can't wait to show you more as I find out more about the layout, etc. of the book. Until then, let's get back to our normal routine!! ;)

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1.11.2013

Photos, contracts, and buying happiness: This week in review

I don't normally do wrap-up update posts, but a bunch of little things have happened this week and I wanted to share them with you concisely! Exciting things are happening, and I'm trying to recognize that and be proud of myself, appreciative, and low-stress about it all. Tall order, actually. ;)

Photos!


First... new photos, always exciting. Over the weekend my dear friend (and our wedding photographer) Becky, Studio 623 Photography, snapped some headshots of me since it was seriously time for a new one. Here's the new one! You'll see it on my Twitter, Pinterest, etc., too.

Also in photo news this week... I was "interviewed" in the fabulous Dianne's Image-Only Interviews on CraftyPod. Check out my images in response to her questions about creativity, crafting, and keeping my sanity!! ;)

It's not a photo, really, but image-wise... my zigzag vs. chevron post from earlier this week generated some interesting comments! I see what some of you mean, but I dunno, I think a chevron is just one arrow thing, and a zigzag is multiple arrow shapes... I guess that's a little different than the graphic I found, but you got the idea. Have you weighed in yet? ;)

Contracts!


Okay, so, also super exciting this week... my book is coming along, but will pick up even more steam when I get my BERNINA delivered and get some training on it at my local BERNINA retailer. BERNINA is generously providing a machine for me to use in the book--their machines are fabulous, and far better than my plugging-along-vintage ones, so I'm very excited to use the loaner in my book projects and photos! This week, I signed my official contract with them and FedExed it back. I'll pick up the machine in a few days!!

Another exciting contract I got settled this week was one with Kollabora. (If you haven't joined yet, DO. It's an amazing resource for sewing, knitting, and crafting with projects and techniques from your favorite bloggers and Kollabora's pro team. Great for beginners and those of us who just love a little more inspiration!) Kollabora is providing a lot of the materials and tools I'll be using in the book. They sell a lot of stuff you might need on their site, so makes it really easy to get great tools without being overwhelmed by all the auxiliary options online and in craft stores!

Buying happiness...


Okay, it's safe to say this last piece of news is NOT as exciting as the other few. But it's kind of a revelation; that is, I'm working on some goals and ideas and I think a couple of this week's purchases help me with that. So, I've been reading and immensely enjoying The Happiness Project, a NYT bestseller from a couple years ago that I'm sure you've heard of... I had, too, but never paid much attention. Then at one point I put it on my library hold list and it popped up last month. Couldn't have been at a better time, either--I've been way too stressed lately and really could use a lesson in chilling out and being happier!

So I started reading the book and loved it right away. It's not the world's greatest book or anything, but it's speaking to me. I guess I have enough in common with the author that a lot of it really makes sense. Anyway, I geeked out a little and have been flagging tons of pages with memorable passages I want to come back to. So I bought the book for myself right after Christmas and now I won't have to remove the flags and return it!

The author made and wrote about her journey to achieve 12 resolutions, one for each month of the year, and I'm up to July: Buy Some Happiness. Obviously not in a shallow way, but thinking about how to spend money in a way that boosts happiness. I did the perfect example of this this week, and I am normally so bad about it! (She identifies overbuyers and underbuyers, and I'm the latter--I buy the smallest amount possible and then get stressed out when we're low on toilet paper or soap or whatever, when I should have just bought enough in the first place, or never want to replace things and then they break and I get upset...)

So, typically an underbuyer, I have put off buying matching lamp harps for the lamps in our bedroom for ages. It was a tough decision for me to buy matching lamps in the first place but I've always really appreciated them and I'm glad I did. But, I just had a mismatched collection of vintage lamp harps from Goodwill, and the ones in our bedroom were different sizes and too tall. Every time I looked at those lamp shades, I felt a little inadequate, like I ought to provide better for our house. Small thing, but still, it stressed me out a little!

Well, this week I did it. After work on Wednesday, husband was busy, I could take my time getting home, I went into Bed Bath and Beyond and bought two matching lamp harps. I hope I've emphasized the weight of this statement enough. This is ground-breaking. I never go to Bed Bath and Beyond. Everything is like three times the price it is at Marshall's, and there's too much As Seen on TV stuff, and there are too many choices. ;) But, I keep sort of half-heartedly looking for lamp harps at the big JoAnn or Target or whatever and not finding them, so I knew what I had to do. I used coupons, too, don't worry.

Now our lamps are the same height, and I put one of the gold lamp harps on a new lamp downstairs, whose shade was wobbling precariously down by the bulb and taunting me as well... now my house is a little more complete.

C'mon, do you know how I feel?? Are you an underbuyer or an overbuyer?


Well, as long as you don't think I'm too neurotic now after my lamp harp rant... ;) have a good weekend, and see you Monday!!

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Getting close to Christmas! Inspiration...

12.07.2012

Getting close to Christmas! Inspiration...

Phew, what a week! Last Friday I submitted my preliminary book materials--OMG. I haven't been talking about it much, but I am working on my book and am still a little in awe by the whole process.  But, turning in the beginning chapters and some projects was a big step! Yay! Now I just have to do the rest of them.......

So that was last week. Now, I've shifted gears momentarily to Christmas!! It's getting close--less than 20 days, and I still have plenty of names to cross off the gifting list. Boy, Christmas shopping takes a while, and then you realize you still have a lot to do although you've already been spending a lot... hm... I'm also doing some fun homemade gifts this season, can't wait to share those once they've been gifted. ;)

But, with the time I've had since Thanksgiving I have had a chance to do a little decorating and shopping... if you follow my Instagram you may have seen my attempts at decorating around the house, with my pink and red theme this year...

Got some of those pretty pink glittery baubles up on the tree, too, though it's still feeling a little unfinished. We don't have many unique ornaments yet, having only decorated a few Christmases together with our own tree.

Thursday night, blog buddy Megan and I went to one of the west elm holiday decorating events and admired all the holiday pretty things, and did some gift-wrapping and a crafty project. Learned some gift-wrapping tips! Some people are total pros at that kind of thing and me, I can fold a neat wrapping paper corner but beyond that, I am uninspired. I see all the pretty brown paper packages on Pinterest and am out of my element. Hope I can think of something pretty next time I wrap something! Anyway. How lovely are the decorations and gift ideas at west elm? Drool... just a little sample:

Next Thursday's event is about holiday entertaining--table settings, centerpieces, all that included. I could seriously use some help there, too. I got some pretty mercury glass candle holders recently, but now I don't know what to put around them... they look plain on their own, but have to be able to use the table, too... ah, decisions. (Check out the upcoming west elm holiday events for a good excuse to hang out in west elm with your friends for two hours and talk about gifting!)

Loved the gift ideas, too. These little animal guys are speakers. OMG.

So, this weekend I'm sure, I'll get some gift shopping and home dec stuff done, and hope to make a big dent in the Christmas-ey DIYs. And other DIYs I have going on... trust me, there are a lot of projects in the works around here that I can't wait to finish and share!!!!

Also gotta get my craftiness on with Christmas stuff. In addition to table and side table decor, I would love to get done the following holiday decor DIYs:

  • Stockings!!!! We don't really have any cute ones. Would love some to go with the red/pink theme. Hm.
  • Bunting or other banner for the mantel! Anyone seen any great inspirations for this lately?
  • Oh, Joy! had the cutest polka dot tree skirt and big bow on top of the tree. Not sure what I'd do for either of these, but love the idea.

Also fueling my holiday fire (figuratively...) is some outfit inspiration I saw this week on The Everygirl. Love love love these outfit ideas, worn by six fab bloggers for six different holiday season occasions! Because it's always fun to have new pretty looks in your back pocket when dressing for another Christmas party...



Or Christmas day...



Or New Year's Eve!
Source: theeverygirl.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

Fun ideas!

Now I just need to execute. What's keeping you going this holiday season???!
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9.11.2012

Really, really, really super big news.

I'm so excited to share this with you, everyone... I have some really, really, really big, AWESOME news! How should I say this...

(You may be thinking... last year I got married, this summer we bought a house...... no, I'm not pregnant. ;) It's other big, amazing news--for a blogger, anyway!)

I started this blog in 2009 and have grown and changed a lot with it. I started doing tutorials a few months after starting the blog and sharing finished projects, and while I've had to scale back on the tutorials recently since I'm working full-time now and doing all kinds of other things, I really, really enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion with you all. Which is why one of my goals for a long time has been writing a book. Blogs are great, but I love the lasting quality and portability of a craft/sewing book--and I'd love to be a paper-published author!

Thanks to this blog and all my work and ideas in the past few years, I was able to get in contact with a book agent and develop a book proposal. I'm SOOOOO excited to say that my really, really, really big news is that my proposal was well-received and I'm going to be writing a sewing book for a great craft book publisher!


I am so honored and amazed and proud and excited--and a little nervous about getting writer's block!--to get started and write an amazing book that I hope will be a great resource for readers and sewers like you and all kinds of folks! I actually found out a couple days before we closed on our house, so needless to say it has been a busy few weeks for me and I'm hoping the craziness and stress die down soon.

Can't wait to share more book details with you when it gets closer to done. A long time from now. Until then, let me know if you have ideas for what you'd like to see in a more in-depth look at the Adventures in Dressmaking perspective on DIYing your wardrobe!

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