Hey darling!! Welcome back to my blog! If you follow me on IG I mentioned yesterday that I recently became obsessed with a new craft. That craft is… Macramae! I have been sewing for a long time and every once in a while I just get the itch to try my hand at something else creative! The last time I got this itch, I started embroidery and found it to be really cool.. I completed 1 project and my itch was scratched because I really dislike hand sewing, so I knew that wasn’t going to last long. lol

Now macrame is something I can get with because (there is no hand sewing involved) if you played with gimp as a kid or you know how to tie your shoes, you will most likely be good at Macramae. lol

Macramae is a technique or method of crafting a textile that uses several knots to form the basic shape and function of the piece. Each knot can be created with your hands, and there are no other tools required other than mounting rings or something similar to hold your project place while you work. Macramae is also an inexpensive hobby to start.

Since moving into my apartment I’ve become obsessed with D.I.Y home projects and videos. I’ve actually done a few D.I.Y’S I found on Pinterest. I installed a pegboard wall in my sewing area, I aded a wood frame around the mirror in my bathroom, and I also tried out those painted vases that you see all over Instagram and Pinterest. All of those projects turned out great, with the help of my mom and brother!

When it comes to decorating my walls I really like adding texture. So I loved the idea of macrame. I currently have wall with a raffia leaf, a wood picture frame and a straw basket on it, if that gives you an idea of what I mean when I say texture on the walls. lol I would say my interior style is like Afro- Boho. I think if I style my mini macrame hangings they right it will fit right in with the rest of the decor.

So these are “mini” macrame projects. That means they are small in size, don’t require much to get started, and most of the mini hangings I saw are made up of basic knots. I did 3 different projects and they all look different but use the same 3-4 basic knots. I got string for my project and the wooden dowel from Hobby Lobby. However you can find a wider variety of macrame string on Amazon, Etsy, or another online shop. The dowel I got was really long so I went to Home Depot and borrowed their saw and cut them to the size I wanted. lol You can also just buy 6-8 inch dowels so you won’t have to cut anything.

To complete this project I followed a tutorial by @madebyhandbyallison. Her tutorial can be found here. I really like this tutorial because it was easy to follow, quality was good, she didn’t talk, and she played peaceful music in the background. I love videos where the person doesn’t talk.. Of course it depends on the video, sometimes you watch it to actually hear the info but most times I don’t need the commentary and I end up skipping through the talking anyway. I know Im not the only one who does this. LOL

Anyway what do you think about this mini macrame wall hanging? Have you tried a macrame project before? Let me know.

Also this picture was taken at night so the lighting was very weird.

Thanks for visiting my blog! In this post I’m going to tell you 3 of the easiest houseplants to care for! It’s no doubt that people who love plants like REALLY love their plants. The same way some people adore their pets is the same way I feel about my plants. My plants may not be able to bark or lick me, but they still need love and attention, they keep me grounded, they need to be fed and cared for, they grow, they live, they die, and most importantly nature and animals show us the beauty of something bigger than ourselves.

If you don’t know I’m a quote lover. LOL I have a book of all my favorite quotes. I used to just jot down quotes and not put the name of the person who wrote the quote. Now that I don’t know who said what, it’s kind of annoying me so I’m starting my quote book over. I love it because whenever I’m feeling down or need a reminder of certain things I just look through this book and instantly feel uplifted. It’s not only quotes, its intentions, affirmations, and just any words that made me feel good. One page is literally just a page of words. Yes I’m geeky like that. Lol I love books, and words, the dictionary app is on the homescreen of my phone. Lol I digress, but, I said all that to say, the quote below best describes how I feel when I’m in nature, around pets, or caring for my plants at home. I feel closer to God.

It also doesn’t hurt that “Animals (and plants) are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions. They pass no criticisms.” -George Eliot

I started caring for houseplants about 2-3 years ago. I started with a Pothos, a Spider plant, and then a Snake plant. These are my top 3 plant choices for a total for a beginner. These plants are all really easy to care for, easy to find, inexpensive, and easy to propagate. There are of course other easy houseplant options, but I like these 3 because they are also air purifying plants! 

Spider Plant– I got mine about 2 years ago at a farmers market. I think I paid about $5 for it. It has grown and been through some things since I got her, including a 6 hour road trip in the blazing hot summer. She did not like that trip at all and was really sad after that. I almost thought she wasn’t going to make it. All the leaves turned pale yellow-brown and most of the leaves were wilted. But here she is a year later still thriving and surviving. Lol She used have a bunch of pups hanging from her but after that road trip she didn’t grow anymore except the one that is pictured beside her.

Pothos Plant– This is one of those plants of steel. Lol It’s a hardy plant that is super hard to kill and can last for years if cared for properly. I started my pothos from a cutting. This plant started with only 4 leaves! It is growing beautifully. I recently got a Queen Marble Pothos cutting that I’m currently propagating.

Snake Plant– Also called Mother- in- laws- Tongue. This is another hardy plant that is super hard to kill. Only thing I will say about this plant is watch how much you water it. I had my snake plant for about 2 years, it was doing good, but then my roommate severely overwatered it, it got all mushy and rotten and I had to throw it away. I was only able to save 1 healthy leaf from that plant and I’m currently trying to propagate it. My sister gave me the snake plant pictured below and it has been growing like crazy lately. Her name is Tamera. My sister has the same one named Tia. lol

So there you have it! These are the 3 Easiest Houseplants to care for! Let me know if you found this post useful! Drop a comment, follow me on IG, tell a friend! Thanks for stopping by!

Heyyy Boo,

I hope you are having an amazing week! I wanted to fit all I have to say about sewing, yoga, and essential oils into one blog post but I don’t think that is going to happen. So this post is about how I got into yoga and me showing you a quick yoga flow. The next post will be my review and all the details on this Kwik-Sew pattern! Then I’ll share my favorite DoTerra Essential oils with you.

So lets get into it.. If you watch my IG stories then you know I’m an Elementary School Art Teacher! In addition to teaching Art to the kiddies, I teach sewing on the weekends, and I’m a certified yoga instructor!

I used to not share that much about my yoga journey on here because I didn’t want to confuse you all with all the things I do. lol However, I’ve come to the conclusion that “all the things” is just what I do. I can’t hide any longer! Hair, sewing, yoga, hair accessories, art, jewelry it’s all apart of my everyday life. It’s just what I do. LMAO

As a child I was always into physical in activities like dance and gymnastics. As an adult I turned to yoga for my physical exercise. I never really had a consistent yoga practice I would just “stretch” whenever I felt like it. I started to get more serious and turn my stretching into a real yoga practice a couple years after graduating college. Post grad life was really hard and weird for me. I went through about 2 years of just feeling lost as far as my career. I hated my job so I quit, my car broke down shortly after, I had no clear path of what I was doing or where I was going. I felt so defeated during that time. Yoga and sewing is what saved me. Having those 2 outlets really helped me find myself and develop a creative career path that makes me happy!

After practicing yoga for years I decided to get certified, and in 2017 I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training.

So onto how I’m teaching yoga on the rooftop to a group of teachers. lol My company knows I teach yoga, they asked me to lead a class, I agreed. Boom! lol

I had already been working on an activewear outfit before they asked me to lead a class. This fabric was in my fabric haul video. So I figured why not try the outfit out during this yoga class. lol

I want to encourage you all to MOVE YOUR BODIES! Yoga has been so amazing to me. Having the opportunity to express myself, heal, meditate, reflect and teach other people to do the same is a blessing. Im still early in my yoga teaching journey but my goal is to encourage you to move your body EVERYDAY! Take a walk, do this quick yoga flow, run a mile, dance like no one is watching, just something to move it! Movement is therapy!

If you’ve been sitting down for a long time, need a warm up to your yoga practice, or you are a beginner wanting to get into yoga, the to yoga the sun salutations are a great place to start. I feel like this excerpt from a Yogajournal.com article sums up Sun Salutations perfectly.

“Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutation, is a series of postures that warms, strengthens, and aligns the entire body. It serves as an all-purpose yoga tool, kind of like a hammer that’s also a saw and a screwdriver, if you can imagine such a thing.

There are many variations and you can alter most Sun Salutations by playing with its pace or slightly modifying a pose. If you move through the sequence rapidly, you’ll warm up fairly quickly. Start with 5 or 6 repetitions and gradually build to 12 or more or set a timer starting with 3 minutes and gradually increase to 10 or more.

Or try moving slowly and deliberately, and you’ll feel how the sequence becomes a sort of moving meditation. As you practice this way, center your awareness at some point in your body (such as your third eye or your heart) and challenge yourself to keep focusing there for the duration of the practice.

Moving quickly is more stimulating, while moving slowly is more calming. Whichever way you do it, the sequence can serve as either a self-contained minipractice on days when your practice time is short or a warm-up for a longer session.” YogaJournal.com Article

As a teacher its soo important to take time out for yourself to fill up your own cup. Teaching is both physically and emotionally demanding so self care is essential!!! Take time out to just BE STILL. Don’t let “not being flexible enough” be the reason you don’t do yoga. Flexibility has nothing to do with it. Yoga is not about self -improvement, its about self- acceptance!

Let me know if you want to see more yoga videos, pics, tips, tricks. I’m totally down for helping you get into yoga and developing a healthy lifestyle! Scroll down to see the list of all the poses and modifications in this yoga flow.

1. Mountain Pose- Feet slightly apart, hands in namaste, this is a very grounding pose
2. Backbend- * Modification stay in Tadasana and list the hands towards the sky and lift the heels off the mat coming onto the toes
3. Forward Fold- Bend the knees slightly if you need to
4. High Lunge- *Modification Lower your knee to the ground and take low lunge
5. Plank
6. Knees, Chest, Chin or Chaturanga *Modification- From plank drop both knees to the mat, then slowly lower the upper body down flat onto the mat.
7. Cobra
8. Downward Dog
9. High Lunge (Other Side)
10. Plank
11. Downward Dog
12. Walk feet towards hands and come into rag-doll or forward fold.
13. Roll up slowly and take another backbend or go right into mountain pose. Hands heart center in NAMASTE!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS BLOG POST!

Please feel free to leave a comment or tell a friend!

Come back tomorrow I will be posting my review on this pattern!

XOXO, NAMASTE!

@Meetmakersofcolor is an online community that celebrates color and diversity in the maker community! If you aren’t following them, go ahead and do that now! They reached out to me and asked me the question “How has my heritage has influenced my maker journey??” I really had to reflect on that question and my journey thus far, before I could write an answer.

Sometimes when life is just happening you don’t realize the obstacles you overcame, or you don’t stop to congratulate yourself! I hope this brief summary gives you some insight into how my heritage has influenced me and my style!

I tried to write a response that would fit in an Instagram caption, that didn’t work.. So here we are. Lol! Before I get to answering that question, let me introduce myself. Hello, I’m Nichelle B, I’m from Maryland, a very short version is, I’m a maker, teacher, yogi, natural hair lover, sewing blogger and creative being.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been enamored with black people. I never wanted to be anything else. Growing up Diana Ross, Aaliyah, Domonique Dawse, my mom, and older sister were some of the women I admired most. Growing up they inspired me to pursue things like dance, gymnastics, piano, ballet and modeling. My mom swears this “creative bug” bit me when I was 10 and turned an old pair of jeans into a purse using needle, thread, and hot gluing on some rhinestones. lol I do remember that bag and as corny as it sounds, she may be right, because ever since then I’ve loved creating. As I got older I realized, I feel most alive I’m creating with my hands or moving my body.

I graduated from Clark Atlanta University and anyone else who has graduated from an HBCU knows that is the blackest edutainment experience you can get. College was a pivotal experience for me, educationally and personally. Being surrounded by so much culture, history, and friends who felt like family, gave me even more sense of pride for being black.

As it pertains to fashion and college, before attending I didn’t really think about things like the environmental impact of the garment industry, the things companies do to produce fashion FAST, or the lack of diversity among luxury fashion brands. It was all kind of disturbing to me, so during my junior year of college I started teaching myself how to sew. I got a job at a fabric store part time. I started going to the thrift store, revamping clothing, and slowly falling in love with sewing.

My love for my heritage definitely influences my style as a sewist. I use a lot of Ankara prints, make headwraps, and love vintage garments. I make it a priority to infuse my culture in my wardrobe and my handmade garments because I want people to know I’m proud of my roots!

In 2015 I started Blog.Nichelleb.com to share with the world everything I make. In 2016 started teaching at a local sewing studio.. The blog and teaching happened organically. I started the blog to inspire other people to learn how to sew and hopefully meet like-minded people. I never planned on teaching because being self-taught I struggled with self- doubt, but someone believed in my potential and here I am 3 years later, still growing and glowing with this teaching thing. Lol

Teaching sewing is my way to help be the change, give back to my community, and hopefully inspire them to keep pursuing creative arts.

My culture is a huge part of my makers journey because I realize how important it is for a little girl or even an adult to see someone who looks like them teaching in the sewing world. Diversity and representation matter as well as community and sisterhood.

One message I hope to convey to my blog readers and students is to be the change they wish to see in the world and to never give up on themselves, or their dream. Stop to congratulate yourself on your strength!

It takes courage to create.

Remember, it’s a slow process, but quitting wont speed it up.

Hold onto the vision, trust the process.

XOXOXO

Heyyy Thanks for stopping by! I’ve been fabric shopping in New York quite a few times and these are my top 5 tips! Have you been fabric shopping in New York? Let me know if you have anymore tips on how to have a great fabric shopping experience!

1. Bring Cash– Cash is KING. Some of the smaller fabric stores offer you better prices when you have cash. There is literally sooo much fabric in New York, I think some sellers are willing to negotiate prices because they have so much of it. I’m not saying walk around with a wad of cash but do have some cash on hand.
2. Do not try to be cute and wear fancy shoes. Do not wear Uggs. Uggs get soggy in wet weather and ew who wants to walk around in shoes that feel soggy. I don’t recommend you wear your fashion boots either. Like those cute over the knee boots you got from Macys. Nope. Lol Wear tennis shoes or shoes made for walking. Period. Trust me, your feet will thank you for allowing them the joy of comfort on this journey.
3. Mood is not the only fabric store in NY. I know Mood is AMAZING, it’s on Project Runway and everyone talks about it, but don’t let that be your only stop! There is a plethora of fabric stores in NY. Most times I go to Mood I end up buying 1 or 2 fabrics. Partly because fabric can add up quick in Mood and partly because the selection is insane, one could spend all day in there. The quality of fabric at Mood is always impeccable so it’s totally worth the price and the stop. I put a list of a few other stores I shop at while I’m there.
4. Go with a sewing plan! Check your fabric stash. Do you know you need knits? Are you making a red dress? Do you need swimwear fabric? Great write all of that down and don’t forget about the notions! Once you have what you are looking for in mind, write down everything you will need to complete it. It is so annoying getting home and start making your garment only to find out you don’t have a lining fabric, or a zipper, or some eyelets. Lol
5. Have a budget!!! This one is major. Now if you can fabric shop without a budget, then I’m jealous. Lol However, for the rest of us, if your budget is say $300 get some of that amount out in cash. It makes it way easier to stay on budget when you can actually see the cash. When you get to NY and see so many beautiful fabrics you might get excited and want to impulsively buy every cute fabric you see. Having a budget and writing down what you actually need will stop you from buying unnecessary items. Oh, and its ok to set a budget and then set another small emergency budget in case you see a fabric you ABSOLUTELY cannot leave without. No judgement here. LOL

*BONUS* I absolutely MUST go out to eat anytime I’m in New York. Pizza is cool but after all that walking around you will want to sit down and have a niice meal to bring you back to life. Lol Restaurant options in NY are endless even if you eat vegan like me I’m pretty sure there will be something near you.

*BONUS* About 3-4 years ago I did a fashion tour and that was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the particular person/company I used but if you research I’m sure you will find some options. I did a 3- hour walking tour, it was a small group of about 6 ladies, and I think I paid about $50. There are plenty of tours happening all the time in NY. I know going on a tour is such a “touristy” thing to do, but if you still feel a bit intimidated, or are going to NY for the first time, going on a tour is a great way to explore!

Other fabric Stores:

• Spandex House
• Fabrics and Fabrics
• Ebad Fabrics
• Diana Fabrics
• Fabrics Express
• Sil Thread
• B&J Fabrics
• New York Elegant Fabrics

Heyyy boos… As promised.. The post all about my locs, let’s get into it.

As I mentioned in my last post I have been natural for about 10 years now. I did have a relaxer at one point and it was in hair school that I decided to go natural. I actually had a hair disaster during my transition process. Lol I was going to transition and just slowly cut my relaxer off,  (mind you this was 10 years ago, I was not hair savvy at all) I had just took out a weave, and I didnt detangle my hair before I went to shampoo it. So all my relaxed hair got matted and tangled together to the point of no return, and I was forced to do my big chop from there. lol

So fast forward I’ve been natural for 10 years now and I’ve experimented with everything. The weaves, ponytails, Ive been through gallons of Ecostyler gel, cornrows, flat irons, flexi sets, protective styles, color, everything. I would say over the last 2 years I started to get frustrated with my hair. I have alot of hair, its super thick so any style besides a ponytail takes at least 2 hours. The time and money I had to spend on products, fake hair, and paying other stylists was just getting to be too much for me.

I had been thinking about locs for a looong time before I decided to go through with it. Some people would tell me things like “your hair is so pretty why would you wanna loc it” or “don’t do it, you gonna get bored” or simply “noo whyyyyy” but those were people with little to no hair saying things like that so (no shade) but they couldn’t relate to my struggle. lol You gotta know when to take peoples advice and when to smile and keep it moving..

So I started my locs on August 2nd, 2017. It is coming up on the 7 month mark in Feb! Exciting! I will tell you as most people with locs would say having patience is the hardest part of the journey. lol I have really thick hair and didn’t want it to take hours when I go to retwist my hair so that was the main reason I wanted my locs thick. I only have about 52 locs. I told myself I would wait a year before I put any jewelry in my hair and so far so good. I really cant wait to see what they look like a year from now, but I have to be patient. It’s so crazy to watch the transition before my eyes. I’m starting to feel buds and feel my hair locing in certain places and it so weird. I’ve had loose hair for soooo long it is so weird to feel my hair locing. I started my locs from 2 strand twists and so far I’ve only had 2 retwists.

I’m not gon lie I did have a tiny fear at first of how I would be perceived with my hair locd now. You know some people take one look at your clothes, or your hair, and they judge and make assumptions about you based solely on how you look. However, I got over that quickly, because its stupid. lol Why would I be concerned with what anyone thinks about me or my hair? What good is that going to do me? I remember getting sent home at my old job for wearing a headwrap! It was that day I knew I would be quitting soon, and I left a few months after that.

I hate how society and these corporate companies think they can control what I do to MY CROWN. If I want to wear a weave, a headwrap, a flat iron, faux locs or real locs THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO DO! I hate that in some places we have to wear our hair a certain way for it to be deemed acceptable. smh I love natural hair and I think its history and versatility is what makes it so special. I refuse to accept that society is in control of how I wear my hair or how I dress. I don’t know if I’ll wear my hair locd forever but right now this is what I’m doing and I’m loving it!!

If you have anymore questions about my loc journey or if you have locs and feel there is anything I should know along this journey, leave a comment!