Adventures in Tie Dye

Yesterday, DD and I tried our hands at tie dying.

Oh What Fun It Was!

Really!

We gathered a couple of old whitish shirts.

We mixed up three colors of dye (yellow, red, and blue) and we went to town.

We dunked,
we stirred,
we even syphoned with a straw.
See....look here....




Here's what DD's shirt looks like now:



And, here's mine (I didn't do the multi-color thing):



It's a very pretty blue. I love it! Only one problem. I accidently got a little tiny bit of red dye on it. DARN! I have to figure out how to hide it. Maybe a little bit of embroidery magic will do the trick....

Wardrobe Refashion

I've taken the pledge. The 2 month Wardrobe Refashion pledge that is.

What is "Wardrobe Refashion"?

Wardrobe Refashion was started by Nichola Prested after deciding to quit buying new manufactured clothing in a bid to do her part for the planet, save money and improve her sewing skills.

Those who take the pledge promise to not purchase new, manufactured clothing for the period of 2, 4, 6 months OR LIFE. They pledge to refashion, renovate, and recycle preloved items with their own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium or make their own from scratch.

Since I'm already doing this anyway because of my current financial situation due to the California budget crisis, I figured I'd take it one step further and take the pledge for 2 months to start. I can't afford to buy anything new anyway.

This round of the Wardrobe Refashion doesn't officially begin until September 1st, but I've already got my first project completed (I hope that's OK).

Remember my Thrifty Thursday post about the old white sheets? Click HERE.



You know I have zero money right now so when DD announced to me that she only had one shirt that still fit, I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do.

One white sheet, a little scrap fabric, a pattern from my collection, a few hours on the sewing machine and this is what we came up with.







I had to adapt the pattern a bit because the front was TOO low for Miss Modesty (aka DD) so I added the additional pink fabric at the top. I think it actually makes this top better by matching the band and ties. Oh, and I didn't have the right width elastic so I took apart a fitted sheet and used the elastic from that. Talk about a recycled and refashioned project!

DD loves it! I love it! It looks SO cute on her! I'd say this pattern is a keeper for us. It's adaptable with different types of sleeves from sleeveless to long sleeve and we can always do different lengths as well.

Thrifty Thursday - A New Slip

First, I just found out that the Salvation Army Thrift Store that I go to in the "city" has 50% off all clothing on every Wednesday and Friday. While that might not be exciting to some, I'm thrilled. Why? Because I love thrift stores ALMOST as much as I love libraries and craft/fabric stores. Also, this same store marks clothing down to 50% if it has been in the store for more than 7 days. The tags on the clothing are marked with the day they are received so it's pretty easy to figure out. Say, you find a wonderful skirt that is marked $3.30. The date is June 26 on the tag, and the date that you find this skirt is July 22. Well, that brings it to $1.15. Then, July 22 just happens to be a Wednesday so another 50% off that and your final purchase price for a new-to-you skirt is 0.58. That's right - 58 cents! Yippee for me! Now to convince DD that it's really alright to buy clothes at the thrift store again. (She's kind of burned out on the whole thrift store experience due to her mother's overzealousness during her younger years.)

On to the main "Thrifty Thursday" feature of the day:

I have a couple longer dresses and my "new-to-me" skirt from the above example. They are great for summer as they are flowy and cool. But, I have a problem. In the sunlight, you can see right through them.

Enter the half slip. The half slip solves the peep show problem...sort of. You see, my half-slip is above the knee so it looks really funky when you stand in the sun and can still see through the bottom half of the skirt. Plus, it's nylon (or some other equally synthetic fabric). Not a good fabric for summer comfort.

I have no money to buy a new slip so I think to myself, "How hard could it be to make one?" So that's what I did. I found some instructions online. I went to my beautifully organized fabric stash and pulled out an old, ivory-colored sheet (perfect for summer because it's cotton). I had some elastic in my sewing notions basket just waiting to be made into a waistband. Then, it was just a matter of a couple cuts with the rotary cutter, some pinning, a few runs through the sewing machine, and VOILA a new half slip perfect for my longer skirt/dresses and summer-time heat.


My favorite part is the lace trim. It's from my inheritance from one of my Grandmas. It's so pretty!

New half slip for FREE!!!!

AND, it was so easy I think I may make myself a skirt or two using these same instructions. Different fabric, of course! Maybe even a colorful sheet if I find one on my next thrift store scavenge.

Where Did She Go?!?!

HAWAII?

A CRUISE?

Or Maybe CAMPING?

NO, NO, and NO!

I have not gone anywhere so I have no really fun and exciting excuses for not posting anything here for over two weeks. Well, that's not exactly true. I did have my birthday, but it certainly didn't last TWO WEEKS! And, yes, DD did make that wonderful, yummy chocolate cake for me and YES, it was GOOD!

What I have been doing is sewing, sewing sewing. Go check out my latest creations on my crafting blog,Oh It's Sew Cute.

You Can Make This!

This is a duplicate post from my crafting blog "Oh It's Sew Cute". I usually wouldn't do the exact same posting on both blogs, but I LOVE THIS SITE! I visit it at least once a day (I think it's a sickness, really.....)

******

One of my absolute FAVORITE websites is YouCanMakeThis.com .

This site is chockful of patterns and instructions to make everything imaginable. They have sections for applique, cooking and baking, crafts, crochet and knitting, digital scrapbooking, tons of sewing items, embroidery, quilting, papercrafts, clay, and on and on.

From the "About Us" section of the website: "YouCanMakeThis.com was created by a stay-at-home mom who wanted to provide a place where women could learn how to make items for their homes and families. The site is unique because the eBooks and patterns are written by "everyday" women. The step-by-step format of the eBooks enables even the most craft-challenged person to experience the satisfaction of creating something beautiful.

YouCanMakeThis.com provides easy to follow how-to eBooks on a variety of projects. The eBooks feature detailed ste-by-step instrctions and photos that walk you through the creative process."

I LOVE that this site is written by and for "REAL" "EVERYDAY" people just like me!

They are adding new things all the time. There are blogs and free newsletters with loads of wonderful ideas to get your creativity flowing. And, PICTURES galore!

All of the patterns come to you via the web so you can start to work on your project as quickly as you download the instructions and/or pattern. No driving to the store! The patterns are fabulous and EASY to follow, even for beginners.

One of my favorite features of the site is the "I Made This" tab where others display pictures of what they have created using the patterns from this site. It is so fun to go in there to see what everyone has been up to and get some creative inspiration.

If you sign up for their fabulous FREE You Can Make This e-newsletter, you will get a FREE video and e-book bundle (valued at $75.) Just click on this box to take you there and sign up for your FREE goodies.


Did I mention it's FREE?!?!

This purse was made using one of the FREE e-books that I received when I signed up to receive the YCMT newsletter:



So Cute! So Easy! So Fun!

I just cannot say enough good things about this site! You just have to go and check it out for yourself!!!

Where Have I Been?

No, I didn't fall off the face of earth. No, I didn't get abducted by aliens. No, I'm not in the hospital. It's the end of the school year and I've been WORKING, WORKING, WORKING! The first four weeks and the last four weeks of the school year are BUSY TIMES. Oh, I'm not complaining. I know how lucky I am to be one of those teachers in California that still has a job. Plus, I'd much rather be busy than bored. Our last official day of school is June 18th, and my last work day will be the 19th. Then, I'll have so much time I won't know what to do. Just kidding....I'll be crafting and reading all summer long. And, tending to that darn money tree that has yet to bloom.

DD will be graduating from 8th grade next Monday. Then, it's off to high school. Actually, she won't be OFF anywhere. She's still going to be homeschooled. She just won't be an elementary school student any more so she won't be in my "official" class as I am only certified up to 8th grade. I'll still be her teacher though as all homeschool parents are their child's teacher, but she will have to answer to another teacher in addition to me for high school. Confusing enough for ya?

Here's a good one: DD absolutely LOVES playing with the Community Band. She LIVES for Monday nights when they practice. Now, her graduation ceremony is scheduled for Monday night. She asks me at least once a day if she can just skip graduation so that she won't have to miss band. OI! I'm all for enthusiastically pursuing your dreams and passions, but I'm drawing the line on this one and I say, "NO!" Band happens every week. Graduation is once in a lifetime!

I am the "official, certified" teacher for eight of the 40 8th graders who will be graduating on Monday night. I wanted to give them all a little something, but what can you do when you have no extra cash. Well, since I'm the queen of turning nothing into something right out of thin air....here's what I came up with:

At Dollar Tree, they had a package of 12 of these cute little handled boxes. They were plain white so I got out my trusty stamps and stamped a confetti pattern all over them with blue ink (our school color). Then, I designed a little tag on my computer that reads, "Reach for the Stars! Congratulations" That is tied to one of the handles with some skinny blue satin ribbon. Next, I cut blue tissue paper into squares. I put little bags of M&M's in the center of two tissue paper squares and tucked them inside the handled boxes. There you have it. Graduation favors for all 8 of my students. Total cost...$2!

A New Blog

I've decided to start a new blog for everything "cute" in honor of our Etsy shop "Oh It's Sew Cute." I hope to include what I'm working on creatively, crafting tips and ideas, and well, whatever I think of or run across that is "cute". That blog will be at www.ohitssewcute.blogspot.com. I will still have this personal blog at www.carolscorner1234.blogspot.com for all things personal so my family and friends can check in to see what we're up to and my various ramblings about life.

Oh, It's Sew Cute!

In addition to my regular crazy life, I've been busy sewing. Creating is what keeps me sane (although my sanity is sometimes questionable :) )

Sir Bearded Kitty, DD's precious cat, got ahold of my purse so I needed a new one. Look what I made:

Oh, It's Sew Cute!!!! (Yes, I know that's not the correct "sew". It's a play on words for our Etsy shop.) I got the pattern from one of my all-time favorite websites, youcanmakethis.com. LOVE that site!

I also made these placemats. They have a built in pocket to put your silverware in:




And, I did some embroidery:




All of my latest creations are now available in our etsy shop at http://ohitssewcute.etsy.com . Well, everything except for the purse - that's ALL MINE!

GRAND OPENING!

Our Etsy shop is now officially open. We our offering our handcrafted items for sale through our shop, "Oh, It's Sew Cute!" at http://ohitssewcute.etsy.com .

What's with the shop name? DD is always saying "It's so cute!" Well, since we both like to sew, we did the play on words and changed 'so' to 'sew'. And, that's how the name came to be.

DD and I will both have things listed in our shop. DD has her own section titled, "Dear Daughter" for all of her handmade creations. She has a few items listed already.

My designs will be in the shop within a few days.

Stop by and find something that will have you exclaiming, "Oh, It's Sew Cute!"

Paw Prints - A T-Shirt Blouse

Before we moved, DD picked out this fabric. Those "spots" are actually tiny little pawprints in pink, light tan, black, sky blue and sage green.

Yesterday, I gathered that fabric, one of DD's old bright pink t-shirts that had little holes near the hem and my trusty sewing machine. And, look what I made:



It's a babydoll-style blouse! I used the same pattern that I had for her band recital dress, shortened the skirt to blouse length and left off the bottom ruffle. Not too bad for about an hour of work, a piece of fabric and an old, holey t-shirt, huh?

Trash To Treasure: Easter Basket

I've turned another piece of trash into treasure.

A few weeks ago when we were driving through a parking lot, we heard a horrible sound coming from under the car. My thought....Oh Great! Just what I need, car trouble. It was very minor. I had ran into a little plastic bucket. You know those empty ice-cream type buckets. I didn't damage the car or the bucket. I told DD to throw it in the car having no idea what I would do with it.

Well, VIOLA.....I used some fabric left over from a pillow I made for DD's room and attached that to the bucket with spray adhesive. Then, I painted the top rim. (I should have painted the rim BEFORE attaching the fabric, but oh well....) I tore some strips of fabrics that coordinate with DD's room and tied them onto the handle. Looky here. Isn't it cute? And, all from a little bucket that I ran over. Truly Trash to Treasure....

A New Dress

What are two girls supposed to do on a cold Valentine's Day? Sew a new dress of course. DD and I spent the afternoon making a dress for her to wear to her upcoming band concert next month. We took a T-shirt with some smocking on the front bodice that she already had. We bought some print fabric a couple weeks ago - it has little music notes and instruments all over it - CUTE! She normally wouldn't pick black and white because she hates black, but for band concerts everyone must wear black and white so she had no choice in the matter.

Then, using a pattern from youcanmakethis.com (LOVE that site!), we put this dress together lickety split. (I have no idea why she has that strange look on her face like her lips are superglued together. Or, why the dress is looking sorta potato sackish. It's probably the way she is standing. I guess we need some modeling practice. The dress really is cute in person.)

Here's the fabric up close:

Now, we have to get some new shoes!