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!

A Comprehensive Guide to T-Shirt Reconstruction, Part 5: Embellishment

Part 1: Materials and Tips

Part 2: Resizing

Part 3: Necklines

Part 4: Sleeves

Part 5: Embellishments (this)

Welcome to FRIDAY!!!! Try really hard not to get the Rebecca Black song stuck in your head, okay? :)

Today we discuss EMBELLISHMENTS! You can do these kinds of embellishments on virtually anything in your closet - you don't even have to resize a t-shirt first!

Click "Read More" for tutorials on four different embellishments...

A Comprehensive Guide to T-Shirt Reconstruction, Part 4: Sleeves

Part 1: Materials and Tips

Part 2: Resizing

Part 3: Necklines

Part 4: Sleeves (this)

Part 5: Embellishments

Welcome back to the Handmade Hell Guide to T-shirt Reconstruction!

Today we're going to talk about sleeves. Of course, you don't HAVE to do anything fancy with your sleeves when you're reconstructing a t-shirt. It's not NECESSARY. But it is probably the number one thing you can do to bring your t-shirt reconstruction from "oh that used to be a big t-shirt" to "I wonder where she bought that awesome shirt!"

Most of the tutorials covered below assume you have already Resized your t-shirt and also selected a desired Neckline. If you haven't done that yet, feel free to check out those posts and get started!

Click "Read More" for some simple (I promise!) sleeve alterations:

A Comprehensive Guide to T-Shirt Reconstruction, Part 3: Necklines

Part 1: Materials and Tips

Part 2: Resizing

Part 3: Necklines (this)

Part 4: Sleeves

Part 5: Embellishments

Happy Wednesday everybody! Hump day and all that. Welcome to Day 3 of the most comprehensive guide to t-shirt reconstruction that I could put together in a week! Ha! I'm exhausted. And yet? I'm REALLY happy about how this is going so far. I did a lot of work and I'm proud of myself!

So today we're going to go over necklines. Many of these already assume that you've resized, so if you haven't read that blog post, I recommend you go take a look at it. Otherwise, use your ideal resizing method (if you want) before moving on to necklines.

Click Read More to get started...

A Comprehensive Guide to T-Shirt Reconstruction, Part 2: Resizing

Part 1: Materials and Tips

Part 2: Resizing (this)

Part 3: Necklines

Part 4: Sleeves

Part 5: Embellishments

Hello darlings! Welcome back to my comprehensive crash-course in t-shirt reconstruction!

In Part 1, I gave you some tips and tricks for reconstructing t-shirts, from picking what kind of reconstruction you want to do, to what t-shirts you should choose, to how to sew the stuff. If you haven't looked at it yet, I would recommend you go back and read it real quick, just as a quick refresher on how to manipulate this knit material.

Now, in Part 2, I'm going to take you through six different methods for resizing a t-shirt.

Ready? Click "Read More"...

A Comprehensive Guide to T-Shirt Reconstruction, Part 1: Materials and Tips

Part 1: Materials and Tips (this)

Part 2: Resizing

Part 3: Necklines

Part 4: Sleeves

Part 5: Embellishments

Hello my lovelies!

IT IS TIME. I have put together as comprehensive a crash-course on t-shirt reconstruction as I possibly can given two and a half days to do it...

Today I am going to go over some tips and tricks for working with t-shirts. For the most part, it's extremely easy...but there are a few things to keep in mind if you haven't spent a lot of time with them on your sewing machine.

So, without further ado...click "Read More" to get started!

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!

Shibori Dyeing Practice!

OMG CRAFTERS LOOK AT THIS!!!!

I came across Shibori Dyeing on Pinterest and fell right in love. I've always loved tie-dye but Shibori...Shibori is like tie-dye on Adderall. SO PRETTY!!!

I was a bit intimidated, honestly, but then I thought, "What the hell?" Most of my best decisions start that way. :) And this? THIS, FOLKS?

SO. FUN.

I wanted to try as many different techniques as I possibly could, so this is a long and photo-heavy post. Ready?

Click Read More...

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. :)

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!

Color Block Heels Refashion

Hello all!

I recently tried something a little bit new for me - shoe recons! I love looking at some of the zany things people do with their shoes. I knew I would have to start small, and start with a pair of shoes I wasn't crazy about, so I hunted through my closet and found this pair of super-boring black low heels that I bought to wear at conferences to work:

They're really comfortable but I hate the way they look. They are. So. Boring.

After the jump I give a step-by-step photo tutorial of how I turned these from my most boring shoes to my favorite shoes!

Hat #10: The Bling Cloche

Hello all! I figured that since this is Hat #10, I ought to do something a little special. You're probably getting bored with all the knitted/crocheted hats I've been making lately, and frankly - so am I!

After about an hour scanning beautiful hats on Pinterest for inspiration, I felt sufficiently ready to do something a little crazy.

This cloche is pretty crazy. I'll be honest - it probably doesn't look that great on me. But if you look good in a 20's style cloche, this is the perfect project for you! It's simple, and the rhinestones add a pretty badass blingy effect.

And honestly? I can't remember when I've had so much fun posing for pictures in a handmade creation. I had some fun with filters too, to give it an old-fashioned look:

Super fun, right? This cloche is made out of plain old felt, a scrap of shiny fabric, and RHINESTONES!!! It covers the ears, so it's appropriate as a winter hat as well, but it doesn't have to. There are a million different ways you can make this hat. Click the jump for full instructions and MOAR PHOTOS!!

Hat #9: Steampunk Hat

Hello all! I'm back on hats now. :) Yay!!! I knew you were wondering about it.

I don't really know why I called this a Steampunk Hat, but I thought it had some qualities that might put it in that category. The color is an amazing dark green khaki color that would fit right into that genre, and I love the little corseted side bit.

Plus the brim I crocheted on the end made for a really neat newsboy style that I adore!

I love the way the ribbon jumps out and yells "HEY I AM RIGHT HERE DO YOU SEE ME I AM A BIG PINK RIBBON!!"

Pattern is below the jump - enjoy!!!

Basic Ribbed Scarf

Good morning all! It's a beautiful day here in SoTex - a little TOO beautiful for winter, but you won't see me complaining!

The other day my brother posted the following on his Facebook page:

"Give me your scarf."

I took that to mean he really wanted a hand-knit scarf from his talented, beautiful big sister. Right? I mean, that's pretty clear to you too, isn't it? That's definitely the subtext, yeah?

Anyway, I told him he'd have a scarf by Thanksgiving and he was all, "Score!" so I set to work.

Now, I love my brother. I think he's just about one of the coolest people I know. But he does not hang onto things very well. I'd wager I've made him about a half dozen hand-knit items in the past, and I would be pretty surprised if he still had any of them. It's cool. I don't get upset.

I just don't go nuts when I make him things. :)

That's why I went super simple with this scarf. He likes simple, I like simple, simple is good, simple is kind. Now for some reason I feel like writing down what I did, but you certainly don't need a pattern for this. It really is very, very basic. But it's warm and cushy and soft, so you know. Mission accomplished.

After the jump, you'll see more pictures and a full pattern.

Hat #8: Noro Spiral-ish

Hat #8 is ready for its close up!

I kinda sorta used a spiral effect but ended up sort of accidentally made it a "broken" spiral - about 2/3 up the hat the spiraling eyelets break off and start again a few rows later. I kinda liked it!

More pictures and a pattern after the jump!

Gap to No Gap Recon!

Last week I showed you this awesome shirt I got at Goodwill: 

I loved the pattern and the fit - and the silky smoothness of the fabric feels so luxurious! But those shoulder pads...

And that gap! Ugh - my fellow compatriots in the "huge tracts of land" club can relate. I have avoided button-up shirts like the plague because of this very issue. Sure, sure, you can "safety pin" the gap closed. But who wants to fuss with a safety pin every time you put on your shirt? I can tell you right now - if I had to attach a safety pin every time I wanted to wear this shirt? That would be a reason I'd give myself not to wear it.

Luckily, this shirt surprisingly provided me with everything I needed to fix this issue...click "Read More" to find out how!

Hat #2: Basic Ribbed Crochet Hat

Geez, I feel like I'm going to end up making 30 hats before Christmas.

THAT'S IT. I'M JUST GONNA MAKE 30 HATS BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

New challenge. That's good, I like challenges. And I have a WHOLE bunch of yarn scraps to use up. 

Click "Read More" to find out how I did this. It's not really a pattern, but more like a formula. This was fun and quick and I'll probably do more like this before the challenge is over. :)

Hat #1: Three-Hour Ribbed Knit Hat

Ahhh, November is here. I'll be honest - I kind of hate November. It's not so much that bad things happen in November. Thanksgiving is awesome, and I have some good friends who have birthdays during this month, but overall it just has always been kind of a blah month for me. Too far from Christmas to start getting excited, and Halloween and the excitement of fall starting have already passed. It's one of those awful "in between" months where it's just kind of cold and nasty outside.

Fortunately, cold and nasty outside means I get to knit!

I haven't actually picked up a pair of knitting needles in a long time. I used to knit feverishly, constantly, effortlessly, every day. I knit while watching TV. I knit before bed. I knit while stopped in traffic (not really because that's DANGEROUS). But lately? I don't know. I lost some of the fire. I wanted to get it back.

No better way than to get it back by knitting up my quick-and-easy almost-always-improvised knit hat - a perfect celebration of impending winter (eww) and my hopeful foray back into the world of the great and powerful fiber arts!

I wrote a (kind of) tutorial for this post. Click "Read More" for that tutorial and some other fun stuff!