Stenciled Skirt

I bought this awesome gray t-shirt fabric skirt at a yard sale, even though it was two sizes too big. Wish I'd taken a before picture.
I cut the strips shorter, so it would fall just below my knee, tightened up the waist band, and decided to stencil black leaf patterns on the fabric folds.

Love, love it. It works with heels or knee-high black boots. I'm afraid I would look much too short wearing this style with flats.
Proof that you can stencil almost anything!

Yep, just wearing knee-high black flowered socks in this picture.
Pictures courtesy of my 9-year old NatureMan. Thanks, kid.

Modge Podge Shoes!

When I get serious about an evening refocus (from preoccupied, tired house-pick-up to BaBoom Craft Rejuvenation!) I don't waste much time. :-D

I saw modge podged SHOES here at Modge Podge Rocks, and dashed to my closet to find a suitable pair for experimentation. Flats might have worked better, but these were all I could come up with, on short notice.
Once upon a time, I wore these pumps with my navy sailor-type dress. As you can see, though, the toes were wearing out.


I simply grabbed some material, cut it slightly larger than I needed (semi-followed these steps at Make It & Love It, except that I had to cut separate pieces for the toes and heels) and thickly modge podged it on.

The shoes are a bit stiffer than I expected, but should wear in fairly soon (actually, in these pictures, the outside wasn't even completely dry-- should've waited just a bit longer, and I need to take my exacto knife around the edges, for a smoother finish.)


Best of all, I used OUTDOOR modge podge, so they'll be suitable for things like this...




Well, kinda suitable.

I do almost anything in a skirt and heels... remember the horseback riding pictures? ;-)



Yay! I feel the juices flowing again. Quick, hand me some paints! Send me some links, share some ideas! Get your craft on!

Turn tights into knee or thigh highs

I've been coming across the most adorable girl tights, but always in the wrong size for The Artist or my little niece.

Sooo, I decided to MAKE them work.
These were 12-month tights, but I was quite sure that the sock part would fit my 2-year old niece Scarlett, so I decided to simply turn them into thigh-highs. (Future Plan: If the sock part doesn't work, I'd just cut it off, and turn them into leg warmers. Same concept.)
(side notes: 1- you can click on any photo to enlarge it & 2- I'm quite sure there are other, more detailed and exact tutorials out there for this, so feel free to search around if the idea is new to you and you need more help!)
Step 1: Cut off the legs of the tights, straight across the top, as pictured.

Cut an even number of hearts, any size and shape, from the leftover top section.
None of my tutorials are exact. Deal with it. Get creative. Make it your own. Or go somewhere else for help. Just don't give up before exploring the possibilities! :-)
Step 2: Turn the stocking inside out. Now fold the top edge of the stocking down. Sew elastic (hand or machine) along the inside folded part of the stocking (which is now out facing you.) Try not to stretch the stocking at all, as you sew.

Turn stockings right-side-out. Next layer the hearts up the side of each stocking (the side that will be facing out to the world) and sew straight through the middle of them.

You're done!

It REALLY is that easy, the only part that might be tough at first is to make sure you're not stretching the sock while you stitch around the cuff. Also, a small zigzag stitch seems to work best since it has a bit of give to it.

Isn't she adorable??

Check out the other great ideas at...
The Persimmon Perch Made It Monday and

How to Sew a Winter Hat Out of an Old Sweater | eHow.com

C'mon, click the link. You know you want to. I wrote it! :-)

How to Sew a Winter Hat Out of an Old Sweater eHow.com

Two Repurposes in a Day: Fingerless Gloves and Yogurt Pops

Fingerless Gloves and Yogurt Pops

First, Buy yogurt and itty bitty paper cups.
Next, scoop yogurt into itty bitty cups.
Then put your popsicle handles or just plain popsicle sticks into the yogurt. Freeze.
While you wait for those yummies to freeze, grab an outgrown or outdated sweater. I bought this one for 25 cents at a yard sale. Turns out it's too big for The Artist, but too small for me. Soooo, I'm turning it into fingerless gloves and a pillow. The full tutorial for the gloves is on A Foothill Home Companion. Make a paper template of your hand (full or partial... this is to show you where and how to cut & sew the sleeve for your thumb. Cut off sleeves, and turn inside out. Using your template as a guide, sew, and then cut out the little middle triangle area. View the tutorial link for better pictures! ;-)Turn right-side-out and wear! You can roll the cuff, knit around the top, or embellish with buttons, which is my plan.

(The pictures are in black and white because the gloves so did NOT match my clothes,
and I didn't want to change. I'm all for setting style trends,
but this just wasn't going to cut it.)

See? Cute!!

Cozy!! I left my sleeves long. For the love of fashion.
(My dear sisters, you can bet you'll be getting fingerless gloves in your stockings this year!)

And, now that you're all cozy, go grab a yogurt pop.
Mmmm... yummy, healthy, cold.

Remember to share with the little people.

We spent the weekend in Springfield and Branson, MO, and then Huntsville, AR... pictures coming soon. :-)

Super easy, fast, shirt-saving fun!

Refashioned shirt

Liked the shirt. Didn't like the stains on the sleeves. And how many t-shirts does one girl need? Better question: how many things can one girl do with t-shirts?

I started by getting scissor happy. Sleeves, be gone! Then I haphazardly cut off the neckline as well. Who needs a neckline? Remember, I'm not going for perfection, I'm just going for "cute!"

This isn't the best tutorial, so just bear with me and fill in the blanks with mental pictures. You can do it!! (Hear me cheer you on?)

Turn the shirt inside-out and sew up the open sides, where the sleeves were. Just sew straight down from the top.

Next step has no pictures. Sorry, I get rollin' and forget about the camera.
Measure above your bust with a cord of elastic. Cut as much as you need. Now, with the shirt still inside out, just turn the fabric under slightly (baby hem, as I call it) and sew along that hem all the way around. Then stick your elastic on that, fold down again, and sew right under where the elastic is, to make a casing for it. Yeah, yeah, I know you technically should fold, fold, sew, and thread elastic through. But who has time for that, when shortcuts work just as well. Even great seamstresses, like my Mimi, will tell you that. (And when someone experienced suggests sewing tips, I never look back!)
What do you think? A cute 'lil "tube top," still very modest. I paired it with athletic shorts and my new jean apron. I'm setting new fashion trends. :-)

If you adore the front design of a shirt, but it's too large, just take in the sides first. Or, if the shirt is too small to start with, you could cut the sides apart & sew strips of coordinating fabric in between, to give it more width.
I'm not pinching my sides, really. I'm merely trying to hide my chipping red fingernail polish. ;-)

Imagine the possibilities!

THE polka dotted June Cleaver (Another blouse apron!)

The other day I made another blouse apron out of an adorable 50s polka dotted shirt. Yeah, I know I stay up too late.

Shirt before...

Apron after...

I like the way the first blouse conversion worked, but this time I decided to gather material under the bust, for a fancier, more feminine look. :-) It's a narrow apron, and I plan to adjust and make it wider next time. Still, I'm happy with the end result!

Happy sewing!

blouse apron tutorial

Okay, I've now discovered the joy in creating my own designs and patterns! I started pulling things out of the yard sale box, thinking,

"my, this could be the cutest apron/skirt/wrap if I only..."

Then the kids got in on it. They embroidered with me outside, and came up with some of the cutest designs!! I'll post those when they get done.

I came across this old blouse. Love it. But it didn't fit me right....as a blouse anyway.
So, I got my "plan" in place (visual picture, that is,) and I went to work.

Try it on and see how wide you want the upper "bib" part to be, when it's buttoned. Then cut two strips up the front.

Lucky me, I didn't have to measure, because my shirt has lines and pleats. So I just cut with four pleats on each side, straight down the line.

This is what it should look like now.

Set that aside, and pick up your back-sleeves part. Cut off a sleeve. These will be pockets. Just cut as much as you want, depending on the depth you desire for your pockets.

See where I'm going with this?

It's all laid out, ready to sew, but I need to do my laundry first! And I have a lot of laundry to fold, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish this tonight. I'd also like to put eyelet lace along the bottom, but that will have to wait for a store-run. I'll post this again when it's completely finished.

I think this would be especially nice if you have old blouses from a great-grandma that you can't wear. What better way to use them daily, remember someone you love, and give new memories to something special?

Go ahead-- check out the other Metamorphosis projects!

jean apron tutorial!

Fred took the older kids to a baseball game, with my aunt & uncle, cousins, dad, and grandpa while I stayed here with the little ones. While Little Lad napped, I sewed and Dash worked beside me on a painting.

I decided not to wing it so much today. I found this tutorial when I was looking for a simple, free apron pattern online.

Would you believe that I snapped pictures along the way to make my own tutorial? I know! I'm not usually so "with it." Heh heh

So, to make a Jean Apron, first get a pair of jeans to use. This will work best if it's a pair that will fit you around the waist. This pair was too big for me, so I knew I'd have to take it in a bit. More work, but it was worth it for the cute angel tag on the back.

Now cut it apart, so you are left with just the behind and the entire waistband (keep the button hole and button on the end!) You can use your judgment on whether of not to keep belt loops. I like mine.

If you want it rounded out, you can use a plate as a guide.

I did this with the first one apron, but not with the second.

See, all rounded.

Next, sew lace or bias tape around the bottom and sides. I didn't want to break a needle trying to sew this thick jean material, so I put my bias tape down by hand.

Ta-Da! New apron. Easy peasy. I had to take in the sides a bit but, if you picked jeans that fit you, then you just button it in back and you are good to go! In the tutorial I linked to, she sewed ties on.

See the pink tag? Cute, cute.

I like it like this, but I'm sure I'll add embellishments when I find the right buttons.

Next, I used a black pair of jeans, and I kept the bottom part straight, then made a small slit and sewed the parts overlapping, so it looks like a skirt in front. (dang, I did forget to take a picture of that step.)

And I added a bird. Just because. I cut a pocket-like shape, and sewed around it quickly, on the machine. Add one button for an eye and embroider on some legs, tail feathers, and a beak. Viola.

(yes, I change clothes often, when modeling aprons. I want them show up, so I have to wear contrasting colors, right??)

Remember my house philosophy?
It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!
Same goes for my sewing. :-)
With one of the legs of the black jeans, I made one more apron. No tutorial for this, because I decided to wing it again. Quickie version: cut leg material open. Cut up the front, so you like the way it looks when you hold it up. (heeheee) Sew loop for neck. Sew on ribbon or looped material for waist band. Sew on animal, if you please. I went with an owl this time. He does have a beak sewn on, you just can't see it well.

Three aprons in a day will send me to bed happy. :-)
Plus, I got to play in the sprinkler today with the kids.
Sunshine, oh glorious sunshine!!