(365 Chances) #2: Doing it myself.

Remember what I said about the catharsis of a new year? Well, it's really getting to me. Last night I spent the night watching How I Met Your Mother while cutting squares of scrap fabric for a quilt. Before that, I stopped at the resale shop near my house and bought some great sewing patterns for super cheap (unfortunately they're going out of business). I also considered buying an old suede jacket so I could cut it up and use the material (and am still considering it, apparently).

One of my 26 before 26 includes sewing my own dress, and since I got a brand spankin' new sewing machine for Christmas, I've decided to get jumping on my desire to make my own clothes. I feel like my style has taken the brunt of the hit from my low budget lifestyle, and I think making what I wear is a great practice in earning what I own. It's easy to stock up on cheap clothes when the urge strikes, but I'd rather have pieces I thought about, handpicked the materials, and spent time building piece by piece. But my history of self-teaching has proven that I make a lot of mistakes and go the longest possible way before getting it right, so I decided to take a little short cut this time. With the help of Red Velvet's D.I.Y. Dress Up e-course, I plan to whip up my own dresses, belts, hair accessories, and patterns within the span of this year. I'm pretty stoked, especially for all of the birthday and Christmas gifts I'll be able to fashion from it!

Who's with me?