NEW DIY | How To Make the Anthropologie AMOUR Sweater Tutorial

It's a two-edged sword--this impulse to recreate a version of something you see in a store. On the one hand, I'm always thinking, do I really want to spend the time it will take to make this rather than buying it? and on the other hand I'm all like, no way will I spend THAT much money when I can just do it myself! Hear me? Of course, when the price point is set at hundreds of dollars, it makes the decision a lot easier.

After spotting the gorgeous image of the Amour pullover on Anthropologie's IG account during the holidays, I was determined to have one for Valentine's this year. With a discount sweater and a bit of yarn I set out to create this diy version of Anthropologie's Amour Pullover. If I had to do it over, I'd probably try to spread my letters some more, but it's hard to gauge when you're in the middle of tacking the yarn to the top. 

--a black sweater or pullover
--one skein of white wool yarn
--embroidery needle
--white thread
--small piece of black jersey Pellon like this from Joann Fabrics

This technique allows you to have curving lines as opposed to block letters.

1.  With the sweater on, mark where you want the words to begin and end with pins.

2.  Form a knot in the thread and weave it through the tail of your yarn several times.

3.  Pull the yarn through from the inside to the outside, leaving extra yarn on the inside to form a knot that won't pull through the top to the outside.

4.  The technique you'll use to tack down the yarn is to come up on one side of the yarn and go down the other side into the same hole where you brought the thread up. This is an embroidery technique called couching. You can see a great illustration and example of couching on this DMC Threads blog post. This technique allows you to have curving lines as opposed to block letters.

5.  Lay the yarn out in the general shape of your lettering and begin couching every 1/4 inch or so. You'll need to tack the yarn closer together around small curves for it to stay in place.

6.  Continue with all the words until complete. If you run out of thread, start again with step 1.

7.  When you've completed the text, pull the thread to the inside and cut, leaving a good sized tail. Tie a large knot that won't pull through. The inside of your sweater will look something like this.

8.  Place Pellon over threads and yarn and lightly iron until fused. This will help unraveling when washing. 

9.  DONE. For $20 and 30 minutes, I have an AMOUR sweater that I, well...amour! Bam.

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7 Things I've Learned About Self Confidence Since I Graduated High School

Anthropologie Drifting By dress and belt |  J.Crew cardi |  Steve Madden flats |  DIY watch tutorial

1.  My Self-Worth is Not Determined by Other's Opinions 

Worrying about the opinion of others gave me panic attacks. I'd start analyzing what people thought of me, and then began to base my self-worth on those emotions rather than the truth. I lived in fear that if people really knew me, they wouldn't like me. 
The ironic thing is, it's actually a form of pride to think people are thinking about me at all, let alone bad things. Humanity is, in general, pretty selfish. Most of the time, others will be thinking about themselves and what I'm thinking about them. When I woke up this morning, I could have focused on the bags under my eyes, my frizzy hair or what you might thing of this post and naturally, I could have felt awful, but I chose instead to believe God's Truth that I am handcrafted by Him regardless of what I see or feel or what others think of me. (Eph.2:10)

2.  I'm NOT the Only Girl in the World Who Struggles with Self-Confidence

During my freshman year of college, I was sitting in class and the professor asked everyone to pull out a piece of paper and list ten things they liked about themselves...skills, physical features--anything. After a few minutes, she asked for discussion on what we'd listed. I sat in that class surrounded by the most beautiful, wildly talented people I'd ever known and discovered that not one of them had been able to list even two things they liked about themselves. Shocker! 
All my friends are likely as insecure as I am, but it's really easy to let the knowledge of my insecurities cripple me. Self-condemnation destroys healthy self esteem. When we focus on lies instead of the truth, eventually, the truth ceases to matter. It doesn't matter that we are beautiful women with the pages of our books waiting to be written. It doesn't matter that we aren't really unlovable...that we aren't really inadequate. What matters is that we believe we are. 
We are what we think. If we feed our mind with the noise of fear, we will be anxious all the time. If we feed our hearts with self-loathing, we will never dare to use our skills to do something extraordinary for God. If we feed our minds with lies, we will live ugly, defeated lives.

3.   Pretending to be Unaffected by Pain Weakens Confidence

When I was nineteen, my eighteen year old brother died in a drowning accident and in the weeks that followed I begged God to help me quit crying. I felt weak and pathetic. It's almost 15 years later and I'm still crying, but I no longer feel weak and pathetic. I feel strong. In 2011, I felt compelled to be real and true and chronicle that experience in my book, After Nathaniel. At the time, I wondered Why? Why must I lay the worst of myself open on pages that live on coffee tables and bookstore shelves and pillows and smartphones? Must I really let strangers into the deep sacred parts of my heart and how can I ever rise above after being this broken?
There is no such thing as a life without pain, though we may not particularly want it. A person with no tears or flesh or feeling is simply a robot. Choosing to be tender and broken releases me to embrace a stronger self and my tears are like tiny messengers...secret-bearers that deliver a most important message--Your heart beats strong. Listening to the message of loss and heartbreak wakes me up to who I am, where I come from, and what matters most (but only if I don't close myself off from the things that break my heart).

4.   Running from Your Dream Is Hard Work and Depressing

I'm not particularly comfortable with the criticism that can come from trying to offer a piece of myself through my personality or my art. It's tempting at times to think Living the dream is too much work. Why should I do anything more than lie on the couch and read a book? But really, informing my life with fear is even more difficult than getting into the studio and getting at it. 

In those moments, I remind myself of Steven Pressfield's advice in his bestselling book, The War of Art,  "Self-doubt can be an ally. This is because it serves as an indicator of aspiration. It reflects love, love of something we dream of doing, and desire, desire to do it. If you find yourself asking yourself...'Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?' Chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death." 
I can't let self-doubt silence me. I must force it to work for me. 

5.   Celebrating the Success of Others is a Back Door to Confidence
Egos are a waste of time and being intimidated by others is a waste of friendship and inspiration. Glory hogs are always afraid...trying to measure their impact, comparing themselves, fearing the success of others. I know because I was one. Denying the inspiration others can provide is a death clamp on creativity and confidence. We ALL have been asked to show up, to walk out onto the grand stage of our lives and make art. How do I know? Because we were born. There is nothing more inspiring to my own creativity than the life art of the musicians, the teachers, the illustrators, the waiters, the obstetricians, the mothers and even the back-ground singers. All our hands make different kinds of art and we are most influenced by individuals who are in touch with what makes them come alive.

6.   Confidence Doesn't Automatically Show Up When You Turn 20 or 30 or 40
This is a life-long journey that extends far beyond high school. No matter the stage of our lives, we continue to long to be chosen, to be looked at and noticed as a treasure. During the in-between moments when I feel like a cosmic boo-boo, I recite my warrior heart-cry.

I don't want my life to be ruled by the fear of failure, the fear of your opinion or the fear of my own inadequacies. I want to live a costly, fulfilled wealthy treasure of a life. I want the junk out of my heart. I want to be purified. I want God to fill the parts of my mind that are running dry. I want His power without barriers and His favor on my business, my home, my days. I want my life to be a gift back to God--a beautiful picture that ends up on His fridge. 

7.   Self Confidence isn't the Ultimate Goal 

Happiness is not more self confidence but rather, God confidence....
Life is not about becoming important or famous or promoted but about me allowing God to release his art into the world through me. While pursuing the things I'm passionate about isn't the goal, it can be a signpost, like a straight arrow pointing to my center, saying This is the path to the deepest part of who you are, how your are made and the poetry of your soul. 
We were made to soar...to break free from the confines of a small life. We don't have to be more beautiful than we are right now. We don't have to be more talented than we are right now. God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). His sacrifice bridged our ordinary life to the extraordinary. It doesn't get more epic or beautiful than that! 

Midi Skirt + Baseball Cap

Anthropologie Field Scout skirt (similar) |  Target popover (similar) | Sperry shoes |  J.Crew cap |  FOSSIL bag (similar) 

I just love how baseball caps and mid-length skirts don't go together at all...and still, when you put them together, they work. Plus, a baseball cap hides the effects of humid weather on my curly hair (and trust me, that isn't something you want to see). So win, win. I hope you all have a lovely Labor Day!

A T-shirt Kind of Dress-up Day

Boden Wow skirt |  J.Crew cardi (another) and tee |  UO pumps (similar) |  Anthropologie bag (similar) | Target watch

Some days the rain and wind just get ya. Like today, when my curly hair had been perfectly pressed (though not permanent pressed, as you can see by the fluffy ends). So of course, it had to rain and instantly the humidity and wetness clouded my images, curled my flat-ironed hair and chased me indoors. Sometimes, life is like a box of chocolates and then other times, it isn't. 

Design for Shabby Apple

I decided to enter a design for the Shabby Apple dresses contest this year. I love that they allow everyone try their hand at designing. I've entered this contest before and have never won, but I feel it's really important to continually put away your insecurities and extend yourself.

I wanted to enter a dress that I could imagine seeing on the Shabby Apple website....a design that is fun, with clean lines and wear-ability. Most of you are familiar with this dress....

I got my inspiration from the Anthropologie Sugar-Coated dress from last year,

but wanted my version to be the perfect spring/summer shirtdress,

so it's constructed with a breathable cotton fabric and a coral-hued polka-dot print.

Design for Shabby Apple

Anthropologizing Old Navy

One of my pregnant friend's bought this knit maternity

dress from Old Navy and asked me to embellish it a bit...

turn it into something a little special.

Anyone who's been pregnant knows it's

practically impossible to find great dresses

with cute detailing for less than the

monthly mortgage on your home.

When I was taking design classes a few years ago,

one of my assignments was to burn several types

of fabric and catalog how they reacted to heat.

A lot of fabrics just turn black or melt away,

but chiffon and satin react by curling at the

edges, which forms a really cool petal look.

Here's a step-by-step for making flowers

like I put together for Julie's dress.

1. I cut my circles two, three and four inches in diameter, using chiffon, satin and crafter's lace.

2. For each flower, cut one lace circle, one satin circle and two chiffon circles.

3. Hold circles over the heat of a flame (not actually in the fire, 'cuz it will turn black rather than curling).

4. I always curl at least two chiffon layers together since it's so thin, and I like the way it looks better.

When you're curling chiffon, make sure you don't hold it too close to the flame...just a little heat is all you need.

5. I hand-tacked the flowers down in the middle with a needle and thread.

Do any of you Pinterest?

I love that site!!

I used to store the images I wanted to keep all over my

computer only to find them in long-lost files years later,

so I L-O-V-E having one place to pin

all my favorite images.

These are some of my latest pins on a few of my boards.

Images I Like

DIY Pretties

My Style Pinboard

Favorite Places and Spaces

Let me know if you Pinterest, 'cuz

I wanna see all the cool stuff you like!