Holy Moly!

I just realized how long it's been since I have posted something new. Yeah. It's been a while! For a while I was feeling uncrafty and uninspired. Then I found out I was pregnant and was SOOOO sick. And then I lost my job, and then Hubby found a new job in a new city and we relocated in a WEEK (he interviewed on a friday, accepted the job on monday and we moved into our new place that saturday)! It was nuts. At least now I live in a nice big city with lots of things to do and places to go. I have a few projets in the works, but I'm still working on unpacking. Ill try not to neglect the blog anymore.

How to make a mumu wearable

I love a good deal. I REALLY love a good deal. But sometimes the things I find on clearance are... not so good. So what do you do? You alter them, of course! Basic sewing skills are imperitive for the frugal fashionista.

Is it missing a button? Replace the buttons
Broken zipper? Replace the zipper
Too long? Hem it up
Gaudy excessive beading or embelishment? Remove it (I remember taking massive amounts of sequins off of a pink shrug once. My best friend loved it, but couldn't stand the sparkle. We ended up with sequins all over my apartment, but the shrug was much better after its alteration)

But what about those items that you love the fabric of, but the shape and style are really horrid?  That takes a little more effort to make work. 

I am a big time Ross shopper. I love getting great clothes and shoes at a discount. I'm not sure if everyones Ross has one, but mine always has a rack of Mumus near the dresses. Every time I go in, I peruse the mumu rack, oohing and aahing over the gorgeous fabrics, but frowning over the shapelessness of them.  On my last trip in, I caved and bought this little (giant) gem. It was on clearance for $6.49

Awesome, right? I especially love the giant sunburst centered on the tummy.  Very flattering. (please note the sarcasm).

But, I love the colors and the border, so I turned it into a cute belted top!

 



 

This was a pretty easy reconstruction.  Here's how it's done:

1. Buy awesome Mumu

 

2. Try on mumu, mark or pin where you want your waistline to end up.

 

3. Remove lines of stitching on sides of mumu that hold the two layers together.

 

4.Lay mumu flat on floor (or craft table if you are lucky enough to have one.)

 

5. Using chalk and a ruler, mark accross the mumu an inch or two below your waist mark. (the further below you cut, the more volume you will have on the top. You will need at the very minimum 1" seam allowance/ease. I recommend at least 2".)

 

6. Cut along the line you marked, being careful to not let the fabric shift around.

 

 7. Measure from the bottom, and mark a line at the length you want from waist to hem. I did 10", you can do more or less depending on the length you want. Don't forget to factor in 1/2" seam allowance.

 

8. Cut.  You should now have 2 pieces.

 

 

9. Using a serger or french seam, sew fronts together and backs together.  I used a french seam so I could add a drawstring tie to my top.

 

10.Sew sides back up leaving a few inches at  the bottom and generous armholes.

 

 

11. Add a  drawstring if you want, or a wide belt for  a chic look!

 

As always, feel free to ask me any questions!

 

 

Linking to Positively Splendid

and Blissful and Domestic

Straight Leg Jeans to Cropped Skinnies- A Tutorial

I'm not a slave to fashion trends, really, I'm not... And I'm a bigger girl, so I have to be careful with the trends I choose to represent.  I have been shunning the skinny jean trend since the beginning. They look amazing on thin people, but on curvy people? It's hit or miss.  I have been going through my clothes recently, in an attempt to put together some outfits for a trip to Reno NV in October.  The problem is, I'm pretty broke, so I have to work with what I have.

I had two pairs of these jeans. I think I bought them on clearance at Target. 

They are ok, but a little short for my taste. Anywho.
Start by trying on your jeans. pin them and tuck them to get a feel for how much fabric you want to remove. At this point you can mark with pins or chalk.  ** I used the inside seam since the outer seam had more distressing. use whichever seam of your jeans makes more sense to use. Some jeans have top stitched seams on the inside which would make it more difficult to recreate once you cut.**

Here is my pinned version. Pin and repin as often as you need to make it work. You only have to do one side, you can match the other side to the first.

Cut off the old hem to remove bulk. Now this next step with either make or break your jeans transformation. Flip your jeans inside out, and line up the seam that you are planning to cut. Using a long ruler, mark your cut line (don't forget to factor in a seam allowance!) start up higher than you think and blend down to the ankle. You want this seam to look natural and normal.

Mark- then cut. If you have a serger, this would be a great time to use it. otherwise, sew using a straight stitch on your regular machine and use some FrayCheck to keep the edges from fraying. Also surge the bottom hem so when you do hem the pants you won't have to fold over twice (this reduces bulk. If you do need to fold your hem up twice to hide the cut edge, you can use a hammer to pound the denim down before you sew.)

 

Hem your pants using a straight stitch and matching thread. As you can see in my pictures I used a light cream colored thread- I went back and colored the thread in with a blue fabric marker.

 

 

I'll try to post up some outfits using these jeans as a starting point. 

Dollar store finds

It's no secret folks, I love the dollar store. There is such a plethora of wonderful, weird, ugly, cool, awesome and sometimes useless stuff. And it's all $1. All of the fake flowers for my wedding came from the dollar store (used to decorate the pews in the church). And gift bags, bows, wrapping paper and ribbon I buy almost exclusively at dollar stores.  I even made a reuseable grocery bag from ugly tea towels I found at my local Dollar Tree.

This trip I was short on time so my finds are limited.

I found glitter!

 

Its fine and comes in a ton of colors. I don't use a lot of glitter, so this was a perfect amount for the small projects I do.

And I found this cute puppy... He was on clearance for 25cents!

 

He has a few paint imperfections, and I thought about repainting him, but from a distance you can't tell. I did take him off of his perch though.

And He has a new home on our TV stand next to a stack of vintage books!

Glasses Case- revamped!

I got new glasses yesterday. And by new glasses, I mean I have never worn glasses before, and they are COMPLETELY new to me.  I scored a great deal on frames online, and am totally thrilled with how my glasses look! I was not, however, thrilled with the case they sent with my glasses (honestly though, it was a free case, and I am not complaining!)

Here is the before: totally boring, plain blue plastic.

So I started by spray painting it silver:

And added some detail by covering it with a piece of lace, and spraypainting a coat of red.

Heres how it looks!



I thought it was still a little too plain, so using modpodge, I added some glitter to a few of the details and around the edge, once dry, add another layer of modpodge to seal.

So now the outside is pretty, how about the inside? using fabric, batting, thin cardboard and some hotglue, I made the inside both soft and pretty!

The bottom part also lifts up, leaving enough space to stash a cleaning cloth!

All finished, and ready for glasses!

Let's Go, Dodgers! A T-shirt quilt

I finally finished my most recent T-Shirt quilt!  I made it for a former boss, who is totally obsessed with the Dodgers! These are all shirts from her collection (no where near the whole collection though- that would have made a massive quilt!)

This is the first quilt I have ever finished with binding for the edge. It turned out ok, but not my favorite way to finish. I have another quilt in the works that requires a binding as well.

Gallery wall

Yesterday I posted a Decorated Cross that I made to add to my gallery wall. Well, here is the gallery wall!

This entire wall of art cost me less than $30!! Here's the breakdown:


1- clock, purchased at BigLots for $12
2-Picture of my in-siblings and niece, gift, $0
3- Painting by my husbands grandma, $0
4- Art my husband had $0
5- A framed card in a frame I had $0
6- A picture of my sister and I $-0
7- Signlanguage alphabet (made by me) in a frame purchased for $4
8- A drawing by my father, frame cost $6
9- Packaging from a Dickies shirt, frame cost $4
10- Decorated cross, $3
11- A drawing my husband had, $0
12- Wedding photo of my husbands parents, $0
13- Art from Thailand (souvenier from my uncle), $0
14- A painting by my best friend in a frame I had, $0
15- A painting I bought at goodwill for 50 cents!!! $.50

Here's a closeup of #7-

And a closeup of #5