• Podcast Reviews

    Podcast Review: Side Hustle Pro

    Hey Lovesss!

    I hope you all are having a great start to the week! Sending you electronic hugs and positive energy today. I’m back with another podcast review and it just so happens to fit well with the theme of #Sewphotohop Day:24, which is “While sewing I ___” .

    While sewing, I do listen to music and randomly dance, but I most of the time while sewing I listen to podcasts! So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do another podcast review. Today I’m talking about the Side Hustle Pro Podcast, one of my favorites. Nicaila Matthews Okome is the host of this podcast, which launched in 2016. Since then the podcast and Nicaila’s following has grown tremendously with almost a million downloads and over 50,00 followers on IG. Side Hustle Pro is the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to profitable business. This podcast is one to you need to add to your library.

    Every time I listen to this podcast, I’m reminded that l’m not alone and that we all have ups and downs in our businesses, lives, and side hustles. These are real women who look just like me and are trying or have already conquered the road to successful full time entrepreneurship. Its beyond inspiring listening to these women tell their stories, and I’m just delighted this podcast provides a space for them to do so.

    I decided to go with a “PRO-LIST” when reviewing the podcasts because I feel its easier to digest if I just hit you with the bullets of pros about the podcast, instead of one loong paragraph.

    So scroll this list and see why you need to subscribe this podcast asap!

    • Tells our stories. It shines a light on the untold narratives of women of color. (that should be enough to make you click subscribe)
    • Voice– I like Nicaila’s voice. lol Its really chill, she’s not overly goofy or super serious either. I love when hosts have that perfect balance.
    • Guests- The guests are AMAZING. Seriously from billion dollar business owners, to stock traders, to barbie doll creators this podcast highlights some pretty dope women.
    • DMV GIRL BOSSES– Nicaila was born in Jamaica, raised in Bronx NY, and I believe she currently resides in DC. So she has interviewed some dope girl bosses in the DMV area. Angel Anderson the owner of The Spice Suite and Jerri Evans owner of Turning Natural have made appearances in the guest chair. It is so amazing to hear podcast from people and places who I already support!
    • Podcast flow– Most podcasts do a little music to introduce the podcast but her intro is a snippet o the podcast and i think that is brilliant and this podcast is the first one I ever heard do that.
    • She breaks it down– Nicaila asks her guests to talk to us like we know nothing about what they do. I love that, because sometimes I don’t know anything about trading stocks or the steps it takes to open a smoothie shop. If a guest is talking about something she think we may not understand she’ll ask “can you explain further, what does that process look like, or can you break it down for me please?”  Just asking those questions to gain clarity, allows me to really understand and put myself in their shoes.
    • Solo episodes- Every once in a while Nicaila will do a solo episode where she shares her journey to success and entrepreneurship.
    • If you have a side hustle, you want to start one, or you want to take your side hustle to the next level then this podcast is sure to inspire and empower you to become a side hustle Pro!

    Follow Nicaila, @sidehustlepro on IG, Facebook. and Twitter. You can also visit her website sidehustlepro.co and listen to episodes on Soundcloud.

    If you have already listened to this podcast. Let me know what you think about it!

    Comments Off on Podcast Review: Side Hustle Pro
  • Uncategorized

    #Sewphotohop Day 19: KNOWLEDGE HUB

    Hey Loves!

    Welcome back and thanks for stopping by! This post is one I’ve wanted to do for a while. If you follow me on IG you know I’m participating in the #sewphotohop sewing challenge. The theme for today is Knowledge Hub and for it I wanted to put all the resources I use as it pertains to sewing in one post. So I’m sharing with you my favorite websites, books, blogs, magazines, patterns, podcasts, people I follow on IG, and my favorite sewing youtubers! LOL It’s a lot I know, so to keep things simple I tried to only list 5 in each category. So 5 blogs, 5 websites, etc. If you’ve never sewn before there are some great resources on this list and you may want to print it out or pass it along to a friend. As self-taught sewist I want you to know there is A LOT OF FREE CONTENT OUT THERE! I also want to thank the people who put out these videos and teach us online for free. People, bloggers, and teachers, making videos and putting out free content has been a major part of my sewing and learning journey.

    Unfortunately I didn’t link to every resource because there are so many but like I said feel free to print this or write some of the resources down!

    So lets get started!

    PATTERNS: Were all familiar with commercial patterns but what about indie patterns? Indie pattern is short for an independently produced pattern. Although indie patterns have been around for ages, I think they really have gained popularity in the last few years and are changing the sewing pattern game. Commercial patterns like McCalls and Vogue are AMAZING don’t get me wrong, but I think us home sewers forget they aren’t the only ones making sewing patterns.

    Pros of buying indie patterns: You can log onto the internet and see exactly who created your pattern, even shoot them a dm or email.  You know exactly where your money is going. I think independent pattern designers are also gaining popularity because they can design whatever they want! Often times they design the items or garments we normally can’t find with commercial patterns, like stylish men’s patterns, plus size patterns, or cute patterns for boys. The fit is much better and directions are easier to understand than on commercial patterns also. If you sew you know the measurements on a commercial pattern are trash. lol If fit is something you struggle with using commercial patterns, try an indie pattern! Mybluprint.com compiled a great list of indie pattern designers, click here to check it out!

    A few other indie patterns to check out are:

    http://ckcpatterns.com/– sewing patterns for kids

    https://www.colettepatterns.com/

    https://closetcasepatterns.com/

    Stylesewmepatterns.com – indie pattern designer, and blogger @stylesewme on IG

    WEBSITESThreads.com Crafsty.com Pinterest.com

    Seamwork.com  (paid membership site but still great)

    Mybluprint.com (the new Craftsy Unlimited, paid membership site where you can stream online classes)

    BLOGS- Now this was the hardest category for sure. Because there are soo many sewing blogs I love and frequently visit. They are all so different too! Just know there are tons of other blogs you can check out and I’m happy you stopped past this one!

    Sewcanshe.com Free beginner friendly patterns and projects.

    Colette is a group of creative people who want to share their love for sewing. They have different brands under them, like Seamwork and Colette patterns. The blog is no longer active but you can still browse their 9 year archive. Seamwork also had a podcast you can check out.

    Malepatternboldness.blogspot.com– The worlds most popular men’s sewing blog. This blog is ran by Peter Lappin who is the Threads Magazine Digital Ambassador. Check this blog out for some sewing inspo if you are a man or woman. Peter makes some beautiful clothing.

    Thelaststitch.com – ran by Johanna Lou (@itchtostitch on ig) she is a sewing vlogger, she’s currently working on a book, and she makes a lot of activewear if you’re into that.

    Weallsew.com– Bernina’s official blog

    BeauteJadore.com-The Art of D.I.Y

    Moodfabrics.com/blog– Mood Fabrics Official Blog

    blog.mccalls.com– McCalls pattern company official blog

    PODCASTS- Sewing with Threads, Mimi G- Business Shet, Love To Sew Podcast,  Modern Sewciety, podcast, The Suuchi Podcast, and The Accidental Creative (has nothing to do with sewing but it great if you are a creative). I’ve listened to all of these podcasts and it was soo hard not to go into detail about each of them.

    MAGAZINES– I haven’t bought any sewing magazines in a while but don’t sleep on them! I have a stash I’ll prob never get rid of. The tips, tricks, and patterns in those magazines are so helpful. Sew News Magazine, Threads, Burdastyle, and Sewn Magazine ran by @thatblackchic are all great.

    BOOKSCouture Sewing Techniques by Claire Schaeffer, Complete Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen, The Sewing Book by Allison Smith, If you want to start a blog the book Blog Inc. by Joy Cho was good, any book by Jan Minnot, Sewing Shirts with a Perfect Fit by David Page Coffin. I could go on and on in this category, books have been instrumental.

    ON YOUTUBE– My first and fave two sewing teachers on Youtube will always be Mimi G. and Professor Pincushion. The amount of free, quality content these ladies have put out is unbelievable. They are a must subscribe.  Some other great channels to subscribe on youtube are

    Coolirpa– D.I.Y and thrifted transformations

    Madetosew– Sewing tutorials, plenty of beginner tutorials this channel

    Stylesewme– D.I.Y sewing and fashion tutorials, pattern drafting and sewalongs

    Tabitha Sewer– D.I.Y sewing tutorials

    Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness– If you’re into bag making, she is great.

    ON INSTAGRAM– A lot of the people/blogs/companies I’ve mentioned above I also follow on social media and I like searching hashtags. But @sewing_and_design_school is a must follow on the gram and so is @fashionbombdailymag. I also follow alot of other fashionistas like @missenocha, @scoutthecity, @rihanna, @freddieharrel @aureta and @khalanabarfield. 

    CLASSES! And finally if you’re local (in the DMV area) and you want to take a sewing class, I teach classes at Stitched With Style and we have several classes coming up this fall! I’ve added a classes tab here on the blog so you can see the flyers for upcoming classes. Upcoming events and classes include sewing for charity, mommy and me workshops, sip and sews, and kids classes.

    Sooo there you have it!!

    If I missed anything or you have a resource you would like to share please tell us about it in the comment section! I hope this post was helpful.

    Thanks again for stopping by.

     

     

  • D.I.Y with Nichelle B.

    D.I.Y Spray Paint Jeans (No Sewing)

    Hi Lovess!

    Back with possibly the easiest D.I.Y ever. I think this is actually my first No Sew D.I.Y. Anyway these jeans were inspired by a pair I saw in a New York and Company ad. Those jeans also said “Blessed” but the letters were in silver. I do realize there are other ways you could achieve this same effect like with screen printing or using iron on transfer paper but I went with the spray paint because I felt it was the easiest and would be the quickest. However it turned out this project isn’t exactly that quick. lol It took me about 2 hours to do this. The hardest or most tedious part is making sure everything else outside of your stencil is covered when you are spray painting. All my supplies for this project were purchased at Joanns Fabric and I bought the jeans from Marshalls for $14. This project is pretty easy and one may even say its self explanatory but still..

    For this project you will need:

    Tulip Fabric Spray Paint ( Get fabric spray paint! Regular spray paint will not work. I recommend using Gold, Silver or Rose Gold)

    Blank paper

    Tape (shipping or painters tape)

    Letter Stencils

    Grocery bag

    Ruler

    Pencil

    Something to cover your floor like a tarp or huge trash bag

    Directions:

    First cut the sides open on your trash bag and lay it out.

    Lay your denim on top of the bag.

    Decide which leg you are spray painting and ball the other leg up and place it inside the small grocery bag so it does not accidentally get spray paint on it.

    Once it is in there tape the edge of the grocery bag to the denim.

    Then fold your blank paper in half and insert it inside the leg of your denim jeans. This is so that while we are spray painting it wont seep through to the other side. I used about 7-8 sheets of paper.

    Then using your ruler and a pencil lightly make a dashed lines to give you a guide for a straight line.

    Place tape right on your straight dashed line this will be where you place your letters so that they stay in a straight line.

    At this point you should place your letters down just to make sure the spacing is correct.

    Then tape around all the other exposed denim.

    Once you are ready to spray paint you should follow the directions on the spray paint bottle.

    I know 2 coats would have made this denim pop but this is actually pretty tedious and once I finished the first coat I said to myself, no way I’m doing that all over again. lol

    So this is the finished result and when I get time I may still go back and do another coat of paint.

    *UPDATE* Another way to achieve this look is with heat transfer fabric. You basically cut the fabric out to any shape you want, iron it onto your fabric and thats it! It comes in tons of colors so thats great also! Of course you have to be really precise with your cutting to have it look neat and professional but that is another option!

    Comments Off on D.I.Y Spray Paint Jeans (No Sewing)