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

When I was sick and lay a-bed...

Our week started out like any other, except for the SUN's glorious reappearance.
Oh my, I do miss the sun on dreary days.

On Monday we worked by the windows, with light streaming in and,
when we couldn't handle our home-coop anymore,
our books were brought outside. What a beautiful day that was!
We even squeezed a park playdate in that afternoon.By that evening, though, sickness had set in. Nature Man and I went first, with stiff joints, sore throats, and fevers. On Tuesday we tested positive for the flu. :-(

On Wednesday morning Nature Man's fever spiked to 105.5 and he was doing his scare-mom-half-to-death-wheezing-episodes. So we rushed back in again, to be told that it sounded/ looked like Nature Man was coming down with pneumonia. Geesh. So more meds, more breathing treatments, and more rest.
Today was better. Nature Man has kept his fever down, although the Artist started running a fever last night that has carried on throughout the day. So far Dash and Little Lad seem to be escaping the dreaded swine flu.
School has slowed WAY down this week. We've been doing history (mostly reading and drawing pictures for the time line,) some phonics & grammar when they feel up to it. Math has slowed... I think we only managed to get about half of our scheduled stuff done. The beauty of homeschooling, though... they were able to continue with some things, and they'll be able to sail right back in, without heavy make-up assignments to burden the recovery.
The Artist and I even managed a simple easy craft yesterday. The full directions for this easy fringe fleece scarf are here at Make and Takes.

Cut strips and align them. Sew down the middle.

Cut 1 inch wide slits up both sides, making sure not to cut through the sewn line.

Fluff.
Viola, new scarf!

Rest well and stay well! (and please pray that my little people get/stay well, too!)

The fun-time canopy!

Happy 4th of July!!! I am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN,
AND I FEEL SO BLESSED TO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY!

We'll celebrate tonight, with friends, food, and fireworks--you know, the American way! :-)
For our family daytime celebration, we made our own itty-bitty happy-country canopy!

Supplies: hula hoop, ribbon or twine, fabric and/or tulle, and embellishments
Tie lengths of ribbon or twine on the hula hoop, in 4-6 locations. Tie them all together in the middle, so it will hang. Mine weren't all quite the same length, so our canopy hangs a bit crooked...which just makes it more unique!
Use fabric for the topper. Get creative. I used two long rectangular strips of blue, with a hole in the middle of each, for the tied ribbons to go through. Tie or sew tulle or fabric around the hoop. I sewed mine by hand. Add embellishments. We did ribbons, fake leaves and felt ones, flowers. I may add some plastic butterflies and insects later, too.
Then just add a little rug or blanket and seat inside. Voila!

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!

new flower fairy skirt for the artist

First, I have to announce that my Mimi and Papaw are in town! YEAH!!

Mimi made The Artist the most darling dress, but the photos of her wearing it re on my Mom and Papaw's cameras (yes, we're just a family of camera-toters!) I'll post pics soon, because it's darling, just like all of Mimi's creations.

Yesterday evening (or maybe the one before; I lose track...?) I decided to repurpose an old prom dress. I bought this a year ago at a yard sale for a quarter. Yes, I said a QUARTER. Can you imagine how much it would have cost to buy all that fabric?? First, I volunteered to let our homeschool group use it for prom. There were no takers, so I finally worked up the courage to cut it apart.

Before

So I cut the top part clear off. Then cut the bottom section in two.

Take in the waist, so it is the right size for the little recipient. Or you can just measure her waist using elastic, and sew the skirt, gathered, to the elastic. That's what I did.

Then sew. Yep, just sew. Sew that bottom part under the upper part...over and over, around and around. (So, you will turn it inside out, bring the top of the bottom half to the elastic and start sewing around and around, layering up the skirt.) This skirt had three layers, so it was a lot to sew through each wrap around. Actually, I think it looks BEST to NOT measure, and just start cutting and sewing. After all, I've never met a perfectionist flower fairy. I think they prefer the rather unkempt, beautiful and romantic look. Let the layers be uneven!

The fun part is to let your little girl help chose and sew flowers all over the skirt!!
My artist chose white flowers and tiny purple ones.

Here's the skirt, just hanging out, waiting for more garden romping fun

I think she likes it. :-)

dress fix and a skirt apron

I got this dress used, cheap for the material. It's only about 3 sizes too big. But then I decided, HEY I like this. I want to wear it. Hmmmm....

Sleeveless shirts and dresses are the easiest thing in the world to take in.

Put dress/ shirt on. Pin along sides, to make it fit right. Now, good luck taking it off.
(Seriously, think about that. You will have to get this baby off and on!)

Turn it inside-out and sew up the sides, where you pinned. Cut off excess fabric. Voila! New dress that fits perfectly!
(Sorry for the crummy pics. The camera timer isn't always my friend.)

Before -formless and void ----> After- fitted and comfy!

Next, this is so easy that it doesn't even get it's own post.

The polka dotted skirt Apron

I took a skirt of mine that the Artist likes. It's too short for me, so I never wore it even though I hung on to those polka dots! Cut skirt along seams on sides (so there's not even a need to hem!) Sew ribbon on for ties. She chose her ribbons.
As an extra touch, we took a belt that was coming apart at one end. I trimmed it to the right size (belted it in front, and cut the ends off, so it would "fit" along the front of the half-skirt/ apron), then we tacky glued it in place and stitched around the edges.
From the front, it looks like she's wearing a cute belted skirt! She liked it. We created it together. Win, win.

I am making progress of the other apron. It needs a name. How about "classic blouse apron?" It's sewn together, but still needs the pockets and ties. And lace. I would like lace.

Hope you are happily crafting, sewing, or otherwise enjoying your summery days!

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!