Tank Dress

Hey you know what?

It's time to do someone else's tutorial for once, yanno??

I've made it no secret that I'm a huge fan of Mark Montano. I've been a fan of his since his appearances on While You Were Out on HGTV years and years ago. In fact, just yesterday I posted about the ATC's I got from his swap late last month. And if you follow me on Facebook, you'll see that I'm basically reposting his stuff fairly constantly.

So today I ran across this old video of his with a simple enough concept: attach some knit fabric to a tank top and BAM IT'S A DRESS. You can watch the video below if you want to know how I did it. I didn't include any instructions or anything, I just wanted to make something and I liked the result so much I decided to tell you all about it!

Click "Read More" to see my materials and results:

Skirt to PALAZZO PANT!!!

Hello lovelies!

Sorry I took the week off last week, but after the ULTIMATE OMG T-SHIRT RECONSTRUCTION TUTORIAL SERIES, I was absolutely wiped. I needed a few days to recover from all the making, and to get inspired to make some new things!

Like this thing, for example!

A quick between-errands stop to the thrift store resulted in this purchase:

It's a fabulous long crushed velvet elastic-waist skirt with some pretty awesome embroidery at the bottom. I've been seeing a lot of pins on Pinterest where women are taking skirts and turning them into palazzo pants, but painfully few tutorials on the matter. The ones that did have tutorials either weren't going to give me just what I wanted, or required the use of a pants pattern. PSH. PATTERNS. PUH.

So, click "Read More" to find out how I made this fabulous skirt into a pair of statement pants!

How to Make Your Own Artist Trading Cards

Fabulous Friday everyone!

A few weeks ago I was checking up on my favorite YouTube subscriptions, when crafting and interior design god Mark Montano posted this video.

I've always had an interest in artist trading cards, but frankly never considered myself an artist, so I never tried them. But you know what? Maybe I could be an artist! And Mark Montano was hosting a FABULOUS ATC swap. And of course I HAD to participate in THAT!

I made an even dozen cards to send along (well, I'll be sending 11 - one of them is going to my daughter because she fell in love with it!).

Click "Read More" for all of the ATC's I made plus some tips for making your own!

DIY Lunch Bag

Hello everybody! As you saw yesterday, I have returned from my extended absence - sorry about that. It wasn't so much that I wasn't inspired to create things, but rather that I wasn't feeling the blog. MY BAD. It won't happen again.

To make up for it, here is an easy, fun, and useful tutorial, complete with TONS of pictures! My daughter's lunch box broke so she's been clamoring for a new one. It took me a while to get around to it, but when I finally sat down and figured out how it was going to happen, I realized that it is actually a pretty simple project.

Click Read More to read more. :)

No-Sew Jacket Recon

Hello lovely crafty people! I know it's been a while since I posted up a clothing recon (or anything for that matter - sorry about that!), but I did something really fun that I wanted to share with you! Usually I like to really go for it with my recons, but sometimes simple is better. In this case, it was just a matter of choosing fabrics, cutting, and gluing to turn a plain and simple jean jacket into something I actually wanted to wear.

Click Read More for a few more photos. :)

How to Make Galaxy Dinner Plates

Happy New Year my lovelies! As promised, I still have some DIY's for you, although they will be coming a little slower as work and school have grown absolutely nuts lately!

I have been OBSESSED with galaxy prints lately. Also, I've been watching a lot of video tutorials on painting glass plates. I've also been looking for a cool craft to make for my kids so they can have as much special handmade stuff under the tree as possible. 

ALL OF THESE THINGS came together in one glorious project. :) And the verdict? They loved them. Click Read More for a full tutorial and more pics!

Bejeweled Clutch

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Over the weekend I made what I consider to be one of the most super-fun projects of all time: take a plain old thing (in this case, a leather wallet/clutch I picked up at Goodwill for fifty cents) and BEDAZZLE THE HELL OUT OF IT.

YAAAAYYY!!!!

Read more...

Necktie Purse Tutorial

Happy Impending Gift-Giving Holiday everyone!! ARE YOU READY YET???

Yeah me neither. Let's be procrastinators together!!!

Dear readers, I have a confession. I have a mild but growing fetish for...

Neckties. I just recently discovered that I can pick them up for a dollar apiece at my local Goodwill, and well...let's just say it's over. There's no turning back. I adore neckties. They're like little soft, silky jewels, just waiting to be turned into something magical.

So, I made them into something that I think is pretty magical. Click "Read More" to find out how I turned these:

Into this:

UPDATE: I happened to make this again, incorporating a lot of my "Lessons Learned" (which you can find at the bottom of this post), and made it into an Instructable! You can find it HERE!

Kids Go Handmade: Tank and Skirt

The other night my family sat down to watch the first episode of Project Runway's newest spinoff, Threads. If you're not familiar with it, a quick Google search will immediately identify and define it for you as the biggest piece of garbage that has ever been inflicted upon the world, and that everyone involved in it (except Christian Siriano, because we LOVE Christian Siriano) should be exposed as the phonies they are and banished from their homes and loved ones forever.

I thought it was pretty cute. I will continue to watch it until its (inevitable) cancellation.

My daughter loved it! It immediately came upon her that she would be a perfect contestant for that show, and I would be a perfect sewing assistant for her. After all, all she needs to do is learn how to sew clothes, and she'll be brilliant!

And I think she's right, but I could be biased.

We started our fashion sewing lessons immediately, and here is what happened.

DIY Sweater Leggings!

Happy Monday!!! Things are finally starting to cool off down here and- I'M JUST KIDDING IT'S STILL HOT.

Hot means I have the AC on a lot in the apartment. I love my AC. But that also means that sometimes it gets cold inside. I don't like being cold. I'm very particular about my temperatures.

My favorite thing is to be nicely bundled up, with a pair of warm pants, a comfy cardigan, and my fleece Bambi throw, a hot cup of coffee warming my hands, with the AC blasting.

Ahh, heaven. :)

I have a pair of yoga pants, as most of us do, for lounging in (not for yoga, psh). I have some paper thin and silky smooth pajama pants. But I don't have any leggings. And that's such a shame! I love a good, warm pair of leggings. I've often drooled over pictures of crazy quilted sweater leggings, wishing I had the cojones to try it myself.

And then, just a few days ago, I realized...that I do!!!

I also have this giant green sweater that's been scoffing at me, saying "Ha! See, I don't inspire you AT ALL! You've been trying to figure out what to do with me for weeks, and to no avail. Hahahahahahaaaaa!"

Well, can you blame me? Look at how shapeless and boring it is! Where would I even start? It's too short to be a sweater dress, and I don't want to make another cardigan right now (okay yes I do, but I promise I won't!).

Until I realized...oversized sleeves...might fit on my legs!

"NOOOOOOO!!!!" the sweater screamed in rage as I removed it from the stash box. "ALL OF MY PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION, FOILED!!!"

Click "Read More" to learn how this drama unfolded!

The Roaring 20's Dress Time Lapse Video!!

Remember last week when I made a 1920's-inspired dress for my friend Autumn?

Well, her incredibly talented husband Curtos Noir set up a video camera to film the process, edited it and added the PERFECT music, and posted it up for all to see!

Here it is below! I'm so excited - I feel like a movie star! But not as much as Autumn freaking LOOKS like one. :D




This was too much fun, and I can't wait to see more videos from Curtis!!

I Made A Thing: 20's Party Dress

Last week I got a text from my friend Autumn: "Can you make me a dress?"

I was thrilled and terrified. Thrilled because I have secretly always wanted a friend to ask me to make something for them. Terrified because I had never done it before. At least not from scratch. 

Click "Read More" to find out how I did it. I even included a tutorial!

90's Dress Refashion

Hidey-ho everyone!

It's Thursday as I write this, which is usually Thrifty Thursday here in my own personal hell. 

And a very Thrifty Thursday it has been!

I picked up this god-awful dress at the Goodwill for a mere $3.50. I love, love, love the pattern. Florals are really in this fall and I was immediately attracted to the autumnal colors. Especially exciting to me were the little splashes of white and fuchsia that dotted the large floral pattern. I snatched it up without hesitation, and only when I got home and tried it on did I see just. How. Bad. It. Was. 

Ewwwww. It looked like a nightgown. 

It was even worse from the profile:

I wasn't too happy. I like maxi dresses, but this was not working for me. It was too baggy and overall about twenty years behind, fashion-wise. And not in the good way!

Click "Read More" to find out how I wrangled this beast into submission.

10 Ways to Make October Special

HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYBODY!!!

It's October! It was the first thought when I opened my eyes this morning. I am so excited for fall! The weather is going to get cooler (or so the meteorologist tells me), and I am SO READY for this awesome season! My mind has been buzzing all morning with things I want to do to make it even more special than it already is, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas with you, complete with links to projects that are better than my ideas could ever be! Click "Read More" for the full list.

Inspirations: Sweater Hat!

Remember when I posted this unfinished hat in a WIP Wednesday post recently? Well, after much nagging from my kiddo (despite our fair city's continued 80-degree weather), I finally finished it while watching Captain America Winter Soldier. Which, by the way, was SO good! I'm ashamed it took me so long to watch it because I am a ginormous fan of the MCU. It was awesome!!!

Anyway, this is an Inspirations post because absolutely no part of this hat came from my own brain. I relied entirely on the inspiration I received from other wonderful crafty bloggers on the wild wonderful worldwide web. Click "Read More" to find out where the ideas for this adorable (if I do say so myself) hat came from!

I Made a Thing Monday! Sweatshirt to Precious Cardigan

Attack of the horrible sweatshirt!!

I don't even wear this around the house because of how bulky and unflattering it is. So, it's ripe for a refashion. 

I'm gonna detail below how I made this thing, but please, please forgive my awful pictures. One day I'm going to make this again, and I'll take better pictures and make a new blog post about it. Sorry!!!

Click "Read More" for the complete tutorial!

Inspirations: The 10-Minute Skirt

Happy Tuesday, baby!!

Lookit what I made:

That's a buncha skirts for my daughter, to whom I've been promising skirts for weeks now. Previous efforts include this awesome Hulk skirt:

(Sheesh, pardon the mess in the background there.)

It was fun and adorable but kind of a weird challenge. I got a little burned out on from-scratch skirts, frankly. That is, until I found this:

I Made a Thing Monday! Lace Tee and Skirt

I think I've just decided that my new wardrobe I'm planning is just going to be made out of my old wardrobe, but you know...fixed.

Remember this number I dropped last week?

Cool fabric, but a little frumpy. So, I fixed it. 

First I took that top, with its weird lining...

And I removed the lining. Well, actually, I had to cut the lining away, because it was sewed right into the seams with the lacy outer fabric. 

Here's that lining, all cut away...

Could be useful later? I'll hang onto it and see. 

Then I chopped the sleeves off from the remaining shirt (the sleeves were not lined, actually).

And I got this! A lacy short-sleeved top that I can now wear with pretty much everything:

Then it was time to tackle that skirt. It was long. Too long. It was a huge part of what made the whole look too frumpy. Plus, as beautiful as that lace fabric is, there was just so much of it. Less is more, right?

This one was pretty simple really. I tried it on and pinned it until it was the length I wanted, then cut and sewed a new hem. Et voila!

Now I think it's much cuter, and frankly I am much more likely to wear it now. 

Before?

After!

Turns out sometimes all you need is a little tweak here and there to make the unwearable wildly, wildly wearable.