Prom 2016

So happy to have attended prom this year! I’m only in 8th grade, but the online school I’m with allows 8th graders to attend so that’s what I did.

Let’s talk about my dress first: yes I did make it. Made it the night before we left for Ventura/LA, CA (where prom was held). In 4 hours. I don’t ever, ever suggest trying to make a prom dress in 4 hours. I was pretty tired by time I finished (it was like 1 am) so I didn’t bother trying it on before stuffing it into my suitcase. Wrong move. When I put it on before prom, one of the back straps was way too loose. Luckily, I knew myself well enough to bring matching thread and needle just in case. I fixed it last minute right before taking these pictures. If you’re wondering, the dress itself is just made from dance-wear knit, has a self-lined bodice, 6-gore skirt, and one pocket (didn’t have time to sew another one, haha). The pattern is self-drafted.

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Two pictures that I would have loved if they didn’t turn out blurry. Prom started at 8:00pm and we started shooting around 7:50, so not much time to get the camera to focus. And how pale am I?! I planned to get a tan and obviously that didn’t happen, as I was inside almost all of the time and the city is basically drowning in fog, no sun at all.

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Shoes. I wore these 5″ nude heels from Chinese Laundry. Absolutely love them and my feet didn’t hurt as much as I thought they would after 3 hours of standing/dancing, but I don’t think I’m going to do that again.

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More about the prom itself, it’s a 2 day event held in Ventura, southern California, about an hour away from LA. There’s a coffeehouse/open mic night during the first night, prom itself is held the following night, and the seniors have a graduation the afternoon of prom. I did speak at the coffeehouse event, which was super nerve racking (it was the most people I’ve ever spoken in front of, around 200), about my book and I think I did okay. We drove down there from the San Fransisco/San Jose area in the early morning and I stayed up the previous night making my dress, so I was tired by the end of that night and just glad to get a good night sleep to say the least.

The day of prom, I spend the morning and most of the afternoon helping out with decorations and setting up. The theme was “A Night at the Oscars,” which explain the red carpet and everything. It’s not easy as it sounds, with a blank room to turn into an oscar-themed party room, but so fun and satisfying! The girls and I built the following 10 feet arch from scratch, using poles and screws. It turned from a 4 person job to a 8 person job at one point because it was way harder than expected (the screws didn’t fit into the designated holes, like what?). The end result was beautiful though, with streamer-wrapped poles, life-sized cutouts of famous Hollywood stars, this gigantic movie scene clapperboard, amazing photobooth, string lights, metallic star streamers hanging from the ceiling, 3D light-up wire movie clapper, Hollywood themed glitter in star, film-reel, and movie maker shapes, and much more. I wish I had more pictures of the room to share!

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The night itself was a little awkward at first since no one really knew each other. For the first 2 minutes while people were still entering, those who were already in including me just stood there in a circle not saying anything at all, just the occasionally awkward laugh. That’s online school, but in the end everyone had a great time (at least I did) just talking, dancing, taking pictures, and having fun. Here are some more photos:

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How cute are these mini gold Oscar chocolates?

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The prom/decorating committee with my friends Alex and Lara and I!

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Lara and I! She’s like Cinderella (so pretty)!

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prom was amazing ??#lssconnect

A photo posted by Angela Lan (@lan_angela) on

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Well, I hope you found this post somewhat entertaining. I had an amazing weekend and met so many amazing people!

xx
Angela
PS: If I’ve put a picture of you in this post and you would like it to be removed, just let me know! So sorry, I’ll do that ASAP!


Spring International Quilt Market 2016 + Giveaway

Welcome to the last stop of my blog tour, where for the past week bloggers world-wide have been sharing thoughts on my newly released fashion design and sewing book for teens, #OOTD (Outfit of the Day) Sew & Style: Make Your Dream Wardrobe with Angela!

I’ve already done an introduction and story-telling at the beginning of the tour, which you can check that out HERE on C&T Publishing’s blog if you haven’t seen it yet. So for my blog, I thought I’d just share my trip this past weekend to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the Spring International Quilt Market to help promote my book. It’s an industry trade show full of any people you can imagine in the fabric/sewing related business, including manufactures, distributors, buyers, publishers, designers, and more.

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My experience at Quilt Market was simply amazing. I’m so so grateful for having the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and amazing people, including those from Babylock, Bernina, Brewers, C&T Publishing, Coats & Clark, Eddie’s Quilting Bee, Free Spirit, Hoffman Fabrics, R&J Fabrics, Riley Blake, Robert Kaufman, Up Craft Club, and also Alex Anderson, Annie Urien of byAnnie.com , and Tula Pink. Thank you all for taking the time to talk to me, show me the ropes of the business, and say kind words about my book. It really means a lot to me!

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I got to do 2 book signings at the show, both on Saturday, one at the Brewers booth and the other at the Babylock booth. All of the books (54 total) were gone within 20 minutes. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and Brewers and Babylock for having me!

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After the show, my mom and I got to walk though downtown Salt Lake, and we found City Center Mall next door (which is huge btw), so naturally I did some shopping and also picked out something to take home for my little sister, who’s 10 years old and wanted but couldn’t come on this trip with us because of school. We did FaceTime about 5 times a day though.

Speaking of my family and my mom, I just wanted to thank you, mom, for taking me on this trip and sticking by me throughout, helping me with the miscellaneous tasks like setting up, carrying items, taking pictures, and so much more. I love you!!

That’s about it for my experience at Spring Quilt Market. I had an incredible time that I’ll never forget and am extremely thankful I got the opportunity to go. It was a great learning experience that will certainly help me in future endeavors.

Just like all the other bloggers in this blog tour, I’ll be giving away a copy of my book to one lucky reader! You can enter here:

A copy of “#OOTD (Outfit of the Day) Sew & Style: Make Your Dream Wardrobe with Angela”

(click HERE if the entry form is not showing up)


If you’re based in the US, I’ll be sending you a hard copy of #OOTD Sew & Style with full size pattern pull-outs, while if you’re international, you’ll win the e-book version. Giveaway ends in one week, 6/1 and I’ll be announcing the winner here and be in touch with you via email.

I encourage you to visit all the other participating blogs on this tour for more chances to win! Here’s a list of all their posts:

5/17/2016 Kickoff! Angela Lan posting on ctpub.com/blog 
5/18/2016 Marte Lambin at compagnie-m.com
5/19/2016 Sasha Werner at secondopiano.space 
5/20/2016 Barbara Emodi at sewingontheedge.blogspot.com
5/23/2016 Shannon H at youngseamstress.blogspot.com
5/24/2016 Suzannah Stanley at create-enjoy.com

Good luck! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great day so far! :)


It’s Published!!!

Hey y’all! Long time no speak, or write should I say? I’ve been really busy lately (isn’t that always the excuse?), but wanted to drop by and say that my book, #OOTD (Outfit of the Day) Sew & Style: Make Your Dream Wardrobe with Angela, is officially out TODAY!! The book I’ve been talking about for months and keeping all the details to share “when the time is right.” I guess now is the “right time!”

I’ll be splitting this into 2 or 3 posts because I have so much to share, including the journey of writing, photo shoot mishaps, behind-the-scene photos, working with my lovely publisher, funny stories, peaks inside the book, and more. To kick off this series will be today’s introduction post. If you want to follow along this series and never miss a post, I suggest you follow me on Bloglovin’ HERE.

Now onto the fun stuff!

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In a Nutshell

#OOTD Sew & Style: Make Your Dream Wardrobe with Angela is a book I wrote starting from the age of 11 until now, at 14. In a nutshell, it’s a book teaching teens the basics of sewing while creating garments at the same time. My goal with this book in particular is to teach girls how to make store-bought looking clothes in the easiest way possible, step-by-step. After a making a couple of projects, they can learn how to modify basic patterns to create different looks of a “dream wardrobe.”

#OOTD Sew and Style is not only a sewing book for teens, it’s a complete guide on garment sewing basics. Dedicated to teaching beginning sewists how to sew their own clothes, it combines the best of kids’ sewing and professional garment-making books.

 

The Deets

(Images to come soon! For now, you can view a preview the book HERE on Amazon.)

The book starts off with the foundations of sewing, such as fabric types, types of stitches, basic sewing techniques, and then moves on into more garment-based techniques such as zippers and darts.

From cutting fabric to zippers to french seams, it’s a skill-building book that teaches the reader new techniques and helps her to practices these skills by making a new clothing item at the end of each chapter. There are 6 step-by-step designs , but I also included instructions on how to modify these projects to create a totally different look, such as turning a shorts pattern into a pair of pants for a total of 10 looks.

Full size patterns are included as a pullout at the back of the book!

The Story

When I first started making my own clothes, I was still a relatively beginning and young sewer. I was mostly teaching myself, reading books and watching Youtube videos. However, while I wanted to dive into the world of self-made fashion, there was no “go-to” book or resource that could teach me the basics of sewing while creating clothes at the same time. There were the kid sewing books that taught me how to make potholders and pillows, but I wanted to make, well, clothes. Something that I could wear on a daily basis and show off. Then there were the beginner garment sewing books that were geared towards adults, so none of the included patterns were in my size and the wording was too complicated for my 10 year old brain. A couple years after my experience, I realized that the huge market of sewing books still lacks a complete, from start to finish, “design and sew your own clothes while learning how to sew” kind of book targeted towards teens.

I started writing this book in the fall of 6th grade, even before I starting homeschooling and had my English teacher proofread parts for me. Though most of it is scrapped now, it was the start of something big for me. I got a book deal with a publisher in the following summer and spend the next 2 years (then to right now) pouring my heart into this book, whether it be writing or staying up late to sew. I can proudly say that I’m a published author at 14, but there are many people along the way whom I have to thank for their love, support, and encouragement.

I plan to do another post on the exact details/ timeline of my writing journey (ie how I got a book deal, the writing process, etc.) so be on the lookout for that if you’re interested! Also if you have any specific question about any part of writing a book, let me know in the comments below. I will be sure to include them in my “tell it all” post!

From Me to You

At the end of the day, whether you have an interest in fashion or a passion for something else, I hope to inspire teens to pursue their passion. Just go for it! You’ll never know if you don’t try, and if you do, you may end up with some amazing opportunities or accomplishments you can be proud of.

Buy the Book

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/OOTD-Outfit-Day-Sew-Style/dp/1617451363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457917750&sr=8-1&keywords=ootd+sewing

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ootd-sew-style-angela-lan/1122639259?ean=9781617451362

C&T Publishing: http://www.ctpub.com/ootd-outfit-of-the-day-sew-style/

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/ootd-outfit-of-the-day/9781617451362-item.html?ikwid=angela+lan&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0


ALSO!!

I’ll be at these events during the upcoming weeks!

Book Launch Party

Saturday, April 23
12:30- 2:00 pm
To thank everyone for all the support and the launch of my book, we’re having a party to celebrate. There will be a book signing, a Q&A session, $50 value giveaway, sewing demo, and more! Anyone is invited, no RSVP needed, just hope to see you there! I’d love to just talk and catch up with everyone! xx
Eddie’s Quilting Bee
480 S. Mathilda Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94086

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Book Signing and Talk

Saturday, May 7
1:30- 2:30 pm
Presentation on my journey of fashion design, writing the book, how to find your personal style, tips on pursing your passion, and more! (Limited seating, please arrive early!)
Campbell Library
77 Harrison Ave
Campbell, CA 95008

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Book Signing

Come hang out with me and get your copy of “#OOTD Sew & Style” signed!
Saturday, May 14
11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Barnes & Noble Almaden Plaza
5353 Almaden Expy
San Jose, CA 95118

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Bio

Angela Lan is a teen fashion designer and lifestyle blogger from Northern California. Self-taught, she is an artsy girl who wants to pursue a career in design and is the author of the teen sewing book “#OOTD Sew & Style- Make Your Dream Wardrobe with Angela”. At only 14, Angela has been featured in newspapers and on national television, sponsored by companies such as Fabric.com, and has had her designs and garments shown in exhibits country-wide.

Angela writes regularly at lovespunk.com, sharing fashion and style inspiration and DIYs, as well as a look into her personal life living in California. Reaching teens worldwide, she hopes to inspire others to follow their passion.