NEW FROM BLEACHWEAR APPAREL!!!!

Calling all 2012 Graduates and Parents of 2012 Graduates.........
Now is the time to purchase a Graduation Tee for your senior! Choose from my collection of designs, or provide your own!

To place your order for Graduation shirts, or any other design, you can send me a message, leave a comment, or contact me on Facebook.
*Scroll to the bottom to see an example of my product!

**Keep Reading for Merchandise and price list**

PRICES

* Short sleeve unfitted - $15 (sizes XXL and up $17)

* Short sleeve fitted - $15

* Long sleeve - $17

* Tank - $12

* Hooded sweatshirt - $25

* Children’s short sleeve unfitted - $12

* One-zies - $17

* Baby shirts - $17

* Baby stretch pants - $15

* Baby hats - $9

EMBELLESHMENTS

* Just the front (or the back) - $5

* Front and back - $10

* Just the sleeves - $5

* Front (or back) and sleeves - $10

* Front and back and sleeves - $15

~The back~

Of school projects and surveys

So I am taking a Business math class this year, and, as part of the class, I have to make up a business plan, including a survey of information that will help me judge what I need to make my business successful.

That being said, I am putting my survey on this here blog, so you, my wonderful readers, can take it, and be my heroes forever and ever!!!!{please don't make me go door to door! I begging you!}

Don't worry, it's not hard, and there are only a couple of questions........

Above is an example of my product

What is your age range?
* 13-17
*18-25
*26-30
*35-40
*40-50
*50 and up

How do you prefer to shop?
-In store
-Online

What would you expect to pay for a custom shirt?
*$10-$15
*$16-$20
*$21 and up

Do you see a need for custom shirts?
-Yes
-No

Who do you expect will buy?
What style of design would you like to see on a custom shirt?{ex. sports, logos, etc.}
When are you most likely to buy?{Christmas, no preference, etc.}

Please give your answers in a comment below. Your responses are really appreciated, and much needed! Thank you so much ♥

~Erin

Working as a team

I'm not sure if I already told y'all this, so I'm gonna say it again. I am part of 4-H. If you don't know what that is, you'll have to google it, because I can't explain it.

ANYWHO. One of the activities one does in 4-H is something called "team invention". Basically, you and two of your closest 4-H pals get together to form a group. Then, said team is given a non-descript paper bag full of random stuff, a rectangle piece of cardboard, and a 45 minute timeline. Once you and your teammates area given the above supplies, an adult gives you one last thing. A theme, and guidelines. In this case, the only guidelines are to create something according to your theme, and you must use what is in the bag, and ONLY what's in the bag.

For this challenge, the theme was "Michigan Traditions". {the 4-H group I belong to is in Monroe}

So, for the first few of the 45 minutes allotted to us, my teammates{yup, you guessed it! Enter the infamous Zakk and Adam} brainstormed, and, after discarding several ideas, including a secret military base and something else I'd rather not mention, we decided on making a farm. For those of you who live in or have been to Michigan, you will know that Michigan is big farm country.

Exactly 40 minutes later, the three of us stepped back to admire our handy-work. So, enough chit-chat. Let's get to some pictures!!!

An overview of the whole thing

A close-up of Zakk's totally awesome Tractor/trailer, including hay bails.

My Grain silo, slightly less awesome.
You can't really see it, but inside the barn, there are two horses, in their own stalls. One eating hay, and the other peaking his head out from behind the wall. SWEET!!! That was totally Adam's idea. bravo, my friend.

Part of the requirement was that our project needed our team number and the name of each team member

Apparently, we named the farm "Grim Reaper Farms". Yeah. Zakk named the farm.

Well, now all that's left to do is wait to find out what the judges think of our farm. All I can say is, I'm really glad we decided not to make the Monroe county fair{which hosts the 4-H activities}, because when I was looking around at other projects, I noticed several dozen county fairs, and about three other farms, none as awesome as ours, if I do say so myself. :)

See you later, peeps! Wish us luck!

~Erin ♥

Rock on!

Some teens from the local homeschool "scene", including myself, started a band, and we had our second practice this past Saturday. before I show you a clip of one of the songs we're working on, let me introduce you to the group:

Adam- Lead keyboard

Zakk- Lead Guitar

Grace- Drums

Kara-Electric Guitar/vocals
Corey{that one buggy eye behind Kara}- Guitar

Along with myself, there is one other member, Katherine, who plays keyboard, but I didn't get a picture of her.

We're still a little rough around the edges, but we get better with each practice. And now, here's Kara singing "Forever" by Fireflight:

I think Kara got a video of me singing. I'll see if she'll send it to me, and I'll post it, if you'd like☺

I needed a little inspiration

I am preparing to start a new sewing project {see here}, and I felt I needed a little inspiration to keep me motivated. As it turns out, I was so inspired, I thought I'd share it with all of you!







Inspired yet?

Sewing project

Afternoon, all!

I am SUPER excited about my latest sewing project! So excited, in fact, that I have told you about it before I have even bought the pattern and supplies, ha, ha!

My inspiration picture:This is one of my favorite of Arwen's dresses. Arwen, for those few who don't already know, is one of the elves from "The Lord of the ring".


I'll be using this McCall's pattern:

Isn't this exciting?! I can't wait to get started! Wish me luck.

~Erin

The personality quiz

My friend Allison took this quiz, and I always find things of this nature to be highly interesting, so I decided to take the quiz as well. You can find it here.

Let's see how I did!

Your personality type: "Dynamic Thinker"

Assertive and outspoken - they are driven to lead. Excellent ability to understand difficult organizational problems and create solid solutions. Intelligent and well-informed, they usually excel at public speaking. They value knowledge and competence and usually have little patience with inefficiency or disorganization.

Careers that could fit you include:

Business executives, CEOs, organization founders, business administrators, managers, entrepreneurs, judges, lawyers, computer consultants, university professors, politicians, credit investigators, labor relations workers, marketing department managers, mortgage bankers, systems analysts, scientists.

Tip: Place the mouse cursor over the bars for explanations of the terms.

Renowned persons with similar personality types:

• Al Gore, former American vice president
• Bill Gates, Microsoft founder
• David Letterman, TV show host and comedian
• Edward Teller, theoretical physicist
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, American president
• Harrison Ford, actor
• Jim Carrey, actor and comedian
• Richard Nixon, American president
• Sigourney Weaver, actress
• Steve Martin, actor and comedian

I'm not 100% positive about my results. I agree with the general facts, but that list of people with similar personalities frankly makes me cry. I don't really like a great many of the people on that list for multiple reasons, mostly their life choices. I don't really enjoy being compared to, well, people of ill-repute. I also found it laughable that they said I would enjoy public speaking. HA! See? I laugh, cuz it's funny! I DESPISE public speaking. With a passion. Also, none of the suggested careers appeal to me AT ALL. Clearly, this survey is good with facts, but when they try to make assumptions based on those facts, the results are less than to be desired. But try it out for yourself! It was fun taking the test, and reading what these people think of my personality! LOL

The hobbit.......It's been a long time coming

Hello all! Yes, yes. It's been ages. And I know that I missed yet another Inspirational Monday, and I apologize. Long story short, I left the house Monday morning at 9:00 am, and did not return until around 8:30 in the evening, and did not feel much like doing anything.

And now, on to more interesting things! I'm sure you will remember the Lord of the Rig trilogy? I am not usually interested in films from that period{sort of medieval with a touch of the mystical} mostly because no one is EVER clean!!! :/ But I found the Lord of the ring to be highly entertaining, with a good story, great costumes, and fight scenes that at least stood up to my over-active imagination. And now, for all you Tolkien fans out there, "The Hobbit" has now begun filming! You'll excuse me while I fling my arms up to the sky and shout "Well, it's about TIME!!!"

O.K. All better. As a young child of about 11, I read "The Hobbit" for the first time, and have since read and re-read it another dozen times at least. A bit obsessive? Perhaps. highly enjoyable? Definitely.

And now, here is the very first vlog of the pre-production and first shooting days of "The Hobbit". Enjoy!




As one final note, For those of you who don't already know, but might be interested to discover, Richard Armitage has been cast to play one of the dwarfs, Thorin Oakenshield, I believe{If you don't already know the story and its characters, Thorin is king of the dwarfs}. All I can say is YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on, who's with me?

My latest project

Yo! Wazzup, homedawg?!

Hee, hee. Okay. Enough foolin'. I have decided on my next sewing project!!!! I'm super-de duper-de excited about this one, and now I'll show you why. :)



Aren't you psyched?! I know I am!!! I'll be making the one in the bottom right corner, with the wicked awesome sleeves. Though I have never been thrilled with the medieval time period as I have been with others, those fantasy sleeves just make me want to dance with joy! I'm so happy I finally get to make my own fairy dress! Before long, I'll be wearing flowers in my long, flowing hair as I stroll through the forest, filled with mythical creatures. Sounds fun, no?

A survey

I have created a survey here, asking simple questions regarding my blog. Please answer the questions, and then come back and comment on your opinion of the survey. Was it too hard? Do you think I asked relevant questions? Was there anything you wanted said that wasn't on the survey? I really appreciate your feedback!

~Erin

What's in the daily news?

I'll tell you what's in the daily news!!! A story about animals that can walk upright, like people! Interested? Then, by all means, watch to find out more!



O.K. So it's not a real story. Actually, this was last week's literature project on the book "Animal farm" by George Orwell. I found it to be very interesting and thought provoking. It's not a large book, only 10 chapters, and the wording isn't too hard to understand, which was a nice change to what we have previously been reading in that class{for example, we are currently reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis}

This video stars, well, me, and my two friends, Zakk and Adam.{Zakk is the "off-camera voice, and he was also our real camera man}

If you've never heard of Animal farm, here's a short summary:

Animal Farm is George Orwell's satire on equality, where all barnyard animals live free from their human masters' tyranny. Inspired to rebel by Major, an old boar, animals on Mr. Jones' Manor Farm embrace Animalism and stage a revolution to achieve an idealistic state of justice and progress. A power-hungry pig, Napoleon, becomes a totalitarian dictator who leads the Animal Farm into "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others" oppression.

To be perfectly honest, the story is more interesting than this summary leads you to believe. However, it does give an accurate picture of the plot.

dream sewing list

I have been thinking a lot lately of possible future sewing projects{Especially after successfully completing my Emma dress, I am all encouraged and inspired}

After scouring the pattern sites, I have compiled a list of things I would like to make this year. Obviously, due mostly to lack of skill and experience, this is an unrealistic list, but, hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!

Butterick patterns has a new line of retro patterns that I am completely in love with. These are my favorites:



I am ashamed to say that I am woefully behind on my apron collection. In fact, I don't have any. I'm in the process of making one, but I have been hand-sewing it in front of the tv{I like to do that sometimes, when I'm not drawing} and it's been a work in progress for going on two months now. I also really like it when one can buy multiple patterns in one. I'm really cheap, and so this concept appeals to my penny-pinching side. Plus, I think you can cover nearly every era in this one package.

Isn't this dress beautiful? When I make this one, I plan to make it the exact shade of blue as in the pattern picture. I'm not usually fond of the fabric choices of the pattern pictures. They look Halloween store products, which, let's face it, they're junk. But this one is different. Not only does it look professional, but it looks good on the model.

There's something about medieval dresses that just really inspires me. I see one and my mind instantly goes to fair maidens with long flowing hair adorned with wildflowers, strolling through a wood to meet her chivalrous prince charming on horseback{a white horse, of course!} I wait impatiently for the day when I can put this dress one, and reenact the scene I have just described, possibly while singing "Love story" by Taylor Swift, at the top of my voice!

All the above patterns have been for costumes, mostly because I only have a desire to sew things I cannot easily find in the store, and, as I have had a great deal of luck in clothing shopping, I have no real need to sew my own wardrobe. Now, well-made costumes are hard to come by, and costumes that are pretty and fit my body and taste perfectly are nearly impossible, so I have a much larger costume list than every day wardrobe list. however, I have always been overly fond of those apron-style skirts, which, oddly enough, are hard to find at a length that doesn't make one blush. I plan to make a couple, probably following a similar pattern to this, but lengthen the hemline to the knee. Sound like a good plan?


Do you have a dream sewing list? What is it? Is your list so drastically different from mine, or are they eerily similar? I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions, if you would be so kind as to comment below!

~Erin

There are no orphans of God

~~NEW ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL~~

"Orphans of God" as made popular by Avalon

To watch this and other karaoke videos, click here

B.O.L.O

In other words.....Be On the Look Out for appletree production's newest project, Alice. Based on the children's book by Lewis Carroll, we have put a modern twist on this classic tale.

It's not out yet, and I can't give you a precise date as to when it will, but I wanted to give y'all a head's up. Sort of a sneak peek, if you will. And, as with all sneak peeks, here is a tid-bit of useless, but very interesting and possibly entertaining information about the process:

The entire story is portrayed by only three people. And here they are:

From left to right: Zakk, Erin{Me!} and Adam
{don't worry. Adam does NOT wear those ridicules fake lip rings. He was just messing with me, because he knows I hate it when he wears those. LOL}

For those of you who don't already have it, here is a link to my youtube channel. If you click on it, it will take you straight there, and you can keep yourself updated on our projects!

~Erin

Emma dress completed

Do you remember that post not too long ago where I mentioned that I wanted a dress just like the one Romola Garai wore in BBC's 2009 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma? No? Oh, well, then. I'll give you a link to it so you can read it! Here you are!






Now that you're up to date, I wanted to announce that I started my dress, and finished it!!! And in only 5 days!!!! That's the fastest I have ever finished a sewing project.

This is the original from the movie:




And this is my version:




And the back:



Now that it's done, I can't wait to wear my new dress. But that's another post.......