Shirt Refashion

Back from Reno. I'll post pictures soon. Hopefully a lot quicker than the last road trip pictures were posted. ;-)

The night before leaving, I took this man's shirt:


and made it into this cutey:


Very comfy and Very cool! AND....very easy! The hardest part was getting the straps to be the right length (and I'm still not sure I've got it right, but it's good enough for me).

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....

They Paid Me Again!

Today, Rite Aid paid me $1.03 to take home a birthday card, another tube of toothpaste and 2 single scoop ice cream cones!

Lovin' it!

Mini Freezer Cooking Session

Today I did a mini freezer cooking session. No, I didn't cook a mini freezer. It's cooking and preparing things ahead of time to keep in the freezer for easy meals on busy days.

I started doing this type of thing about 15 years ago when DD was a whiney, crying, demanding baby. Thankfully she's grown out of that!

My session today consisted of:
- Making burger patties for hamburgers (for the BBQ)
- Browning ground beef for various recipes
- Making meatballs (Yummy!)
- 2 packs of Tangy Orange Chicken (for the BBQ)
- 2 packs of Teriyaki Chicken (for the BBQ)
- 2 packs of plain chicken for seasoning later with Pappy's or to cook up in the crockpot with mexican seasoning for chicken tacos
- Double batch of spaghetti sauce cooking right now in the crock pot (some of that will be for tonight's dinner along with a few meatballs)

So much better than last summer's meals of rice and beans! What a difference a year makes!

Too Much Time........

OK, so I haven't been here in awhile to post. I've been busy. VERY BUSY.

But, I had to share this one. I'm all for creativity in all things, but this is just TOO much. I think someone has WAY too much time on their hands. She makes her own stencils to design the top of coffee and lattes. Oh My.......

Click here Do It Yourself Coffee Stencils to see how you can make some for yourself. And, if you have the time for that then please swing by this way to help me out. I'm buried in files.

Wordless Month????.......and Shirt Refashion

HA!HA!HA! Didn't mean for Wordless Wednesday to turn into Wordless MONTH! LOL

The beginning of the school year (what we call "launch") is super hectic with 10-12 hour work days, 7 days a week. It's been crazy!

But, today I said to heck with work and finished refashioning this shirt for DD.

I started with this:


It was an old man's shirt (not like an "old man with a cane", but an "old" shirt that a man would wear - LOL).

I first took off the collar which left me with a stand up band-collar (sorry I don't know what those are called - maybe a mandarian collar?).

I took the breast pocket off, added a stripe of solid turqouise to the top of the pocket for accent and repositioned it on the lower right front of the shirt.

I cut a couple inches off each side seam to make it a little more fitted and curvey. Can't make it TOO fitted though as DD is still growing.

Then, I took off the sleeves. I shortened those and added the solid turquoise band at the bottom to make them more girly. (There is a thin turqouise stripe which runs through the plaid on the shirt.) When I reattached them, I did a little gathering at the shoulders.

Finally, I added a slightly gathered stripe of the turqouise on each side of the button placket to give it more color. (Well, actually it's main purpose was to cover up a spot that I couldn't get out.) I wanted it to be more ruffled and puckered, but after I had attached it, I wasn't about to take it back off.

I would have liked to cut the bottom to make it straight, but DD wanted me to leave it curved.

Here is the final refashion:

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.

Thrifty Thursday - Taco Meat Seasoning

Since I'm one of those lucky California teachers that has a signed contract for the upcoming school year, I do not qualify for unemployment benefits despite the fact that I had to take 6 weeks of mandatory, unpaid time off. That has required me to do some very creative financing this summer. Our new pad came with a refrigerator, washer and dryer. I had ours from the old house which we purchased less than two years ago (the appliances not the house). So.... I sold the refrigerator and have people interested in buying the washer and dryer. That along with my birthday money MAY pay the rent for August. I'm selling my creative projects on Etsy, collecting plastic for recycling, and anything else that I can think of that is legal and ethical.

Which brings me to this post and the title "Thrifty Thursday". I've been in this predicament before so unfortunately I'm no stranger to this (although I kind of thought it was be over once I finished college - that was the point of going to college, right?)......OK, I got sidetracked there.....

One way that I save some money is by making whatever I can from scratch. DD loves beans, beans, beans (good thing cuz' they're cheap and sometimes FREE from our "secret source"). And, what goes good with beans? Tacos!

I usually buy ground beef when it is on a really good sale, brown it all up (yes, 10 lbs of it - sometimes more). Then, I put it in ziploc bags and freeze it. Makes for easy meal preparation. And, I (umm....DD) only has to wash the nasty pan once.

So, I take one pack of the already browned ground beef out of the freezer and thaw it in the microwave. Then, dump that into a skillet, add 1/2 cup of water and the following Taco Meat Seasoning mix. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. VIOLA! Yummy taco filling! (Thrifty too!)

It's much cheaper to make our own mix than buy those little packages at the supermarket, and it's easy! Get your spices in bulk at Costco, Sam's Club, Smart and Final, Dollar Tree, wherever you can find them (BUT not at the grocery store - TOO EXPENSIVE!)

TACO MEAT SEASONING

Makes enough mix for one pound of ground meat.

1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper (Ceyenne) (optional) (I actually only use 1/4 tsp because this stuff is HOT!)
1/2 teaspoon instant minced garlic or garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon drived oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend well.

I usually make about 10x this amount at once. I line up 10 little Tupperware midgies (you know the ones - those little cute, tiny ones) and I measure away into each container, put the lid on each and shake. That way, whenever we're in the mood for Mexican food, the seasoning mix is all ready to go. If you don't have the containers, you can use sandwich bags just as well (I've done that too).

Another easy way to use this which I'm doing right now is to place some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot, add enough chicken broth to cover the chicken and add the above taco meat seasoning. Cook on high for about 4 hours. Shred cooked chicken with two forks and roll it up in a tortilla with your other fixin's. Super easy, super good and best of all for HOT summer days like today - it doesn't heat up the kitchen.

A New Entry Table

Well, those who know me well have seen me make something from nothing (or at least from what I have on hand without spending any money) for years and this is no exeption.

I wanted a table for the entryway, but I didn't have any money to purchase anything. I also needed some additional storage for craft items.

Brainstorm, search the web and read some blogs for inspiration, shop the garage and find:

Canvas painter's dropcloth~



And my childhood desk~



Next step, get DD to help me carry the desk up the stairs which is quite a chore as neither of us are weightlifters or bodybuilders with muscles or anything like that.

Then, iron the dropcloth. (WOW! There is a LOT of fabric in a dropcloth and it's thick fabric at that!)

Drape the dropcloth over the desk, add a few accessories and this is how it looks



I LOVE IT! Perfect height, perfect size, perfect price! (And, look at all that hidden storage I have underneath it all.)

For more ideas on how to use a canvas painter's dropcloth for everything besides painting check out A Little Dropcloth at Ask Kari and Kijsa.