Hello Again!

I have more to share, as I just can't seem to get enough of re-styling and crafting lately. I'm still quite the novice with the sewing machine, but after this cut-out dress project, I feel a little prouder of my seamstress skills -- pitiful though they may be. Both of these projects, one old, one brand new, were ideas from the wonderful A Pair and a Spare, and apparently the theme of of the two is: cheap.

Old project: Rug Mini Skirt

I picked up two rugs from the dollar store, traced the outline of a stretchy skirt I own onto one, stacked them, sewed them together, and cut off the extra. Turns out, my rugs are not quite as stretchy as the ones featured on the original blog, so the lack of zipper makes for a shimmy-in kind of fit, but also for a slimming effect, as it sucks you in nicely. Being made from rugs, and quite snug, I found it's a warm garment, so I've saved it for cooler weather...

New project: Cut-Out Dress

This started as another amazing $0.50 thrift store find -- I was not about to invest money in a dress I was going to cut holes in without any promise of success. A somewhat boring Ann Taylor LBD that I shortened and took in with my first attempt at darts -- worked out alright. Then I followed the borrowed directions of cutting a T shape to create the triangle cut-out for the front. Pretty simple overall. Certainly changed up this would-be conservative dress to something a little edgier.

Combined cost of these projects: $2.50 (+ time & patience)

How crazy is that?

Thrifted Sweater Re-Vamps

Thanks to inspiration from amazing DIY blogs like apair-andaspare.blogspot.com and my own refusal to buy something when I could so obviously make it myself, I was able to give new life to a couple of homely old sweaters. These hot little numbers set me back a whopping $0.50 a piece, plus about a dollar in lace for the one (now that I have been introduced to the amazing Mill End fabrics!).

This sweater skirt was born from a men's wool sweater. To get an approximation of the size and shape I wanted, I laid a stretchy skirt I already had on top, lining up the hem with the bottom of the sweater, allowed room for seams, and cut. Then I sewed it together, tried it on, and unfortunately had to take it in a bit before I got it right. I used some leftover elastic for the top, just adding it into a tunnel I sewed, as you would for a drawstring, and then sewed it closed. Voila, a trendy and comfy sweater skirt on the cheap, and uniquely yours.

The grey sweater looked very granny-style to start with. It's super soft, but was rather shapeless, so I took it in along the sides to make it more fitted, and then added the lace along the side seams. Piece of cake.

Crafty Gifts & Such

Here's some stuff I recently made and/or recently rediscovered and got around to photographing. Overall, it can be summed up as the product of Forever 21 re-purposing, vintage pieces, and whatever can be found in my closet of crafty goodness all mashed together. I love when you can mash stuff together and it comes out all pretty. The earrings, pearl necklace, and headband with the sparkly button flower will all find new homes with some August birthday girls. The green headband with the black flowers (which I salvaged from a pair of baby sis's shoes by the way) is all mine.

Furlough Friday = Crafty Friday!

I put my Friday off of use and crafted away! Here's what I came up with:

For my first project I found a $0.

97 long sleeve

tee from

Old Navy, chopped off the sleeves, & made them into bows that I sewed onto the newly cut cap sleeves. I stole this idea (and even found the exact shirt) from http://caitscreates.blogspot.com/2011/03/feature-boring-to-wow-t-shirt-tutorial.html Super easy, and a fun nautically-inspired summer look.

The next project idea came from a blog called Dear Lizzy. The white shirt was a $1.97 ON number that started off XXL, but I cut down the sides and re-sewed it to my liking. With the extra I fabric I cut strips, pinned, and sewed on ruffles. I did the same with the grey shirt, though this was just a boring old thing from my closet that had been doomed to pajama wear. Voila! New life! Check out my $11 outfit with my custom new white tee and $9 BCBG pants ;)

Last of all, on this ruffle-theme, I took a chain I found on the $1 table at the Sac Antiques Fair, and some scrap fabric and finally completed a project I had bookmarked ages ago from http://lillyella.blogspot.com Pretty straightforward project, but I really like the combination of soft fabric with chunky chain.

Be on the lookout for ruffle shirt gifts next Christmas ;)