Jetson Flashback

Today's refashion feels Like I stepped right off the set of "That 70's show". It was a bit too Groovy baby. I don't know why I gravitate towards the strange and unusual it may be because I like a challenge or I wish I could have rocked this when it was in style or maybe a little bit of both.

I know I am strange for saying this, but isn't the pattern just awesome! I couldn't get over this gem when I came across it at the salvation army. I mean who would pass this up right? I know I know the "style" is a wee bit out of date, but other than that, overall it's completely salvageable :)

I'm looking pretty sharp eh?

After it was all said and done with I removed the sleeves, that was a MUST! Then I shortened it by a lot and then there was that dreaded 70's pointy collar **sigh** I was at a loss on how to make that thing look good and after much deliberation (with myself of coarse) I decided to cut it off and after I did that I hated it (typical) so back to the drawing board I went. I decided it needed the collar just not in the same way it was on there. I flipped it up side down and gave them a more Jane Jetson look..I always loved the Jetson's when I was a kid. Anyways I am happy with the overall look and it's more of a "going out" outfit not really appropriate for the workforce ;)

 Modern day Jane Jetson? I think so :)

For those of you who have no clue who or what I am talking about I will give you a little flashback to a cartoon I grew up watching. It's a true staple in cartoon history.

Like Mother like..

When I was a little girl I remember wanting to

dress up just like my momma. I have never really been able to wear her clothes and especially not her shoes.

On a recent visit to my parents house my mom was going through her things and pulled out this navy blue/black dress. It was really cute, a bit out of style, but overall it had potential. When she took the dress out she handed it to me and said "hear put it on I want to see if it fits you" me: "mom I won't fit in this" and after about a minute of us going back and forth I tried it on and well..it fit! My mom gave me the dress and said she hadn't worn it in about 10 years, but it was one of her favorite dresses so she could never get rid of it. She made me promise I would do something with it. 

After weeks and weeks of staring at the dress unsure what to do with it and kinda scared to possibly ruin a dress my mom treasured enough to keep for so long I finally got the guts to cut it up. My best friend Jenn had a great idea of raising the waist to make it more of a vintage 50's style dress rather than the droopy waist it had going on currently. I cannot tell you how many times I messed up this dress. I ended up walking away from it for a week before I finally finished it. Refashioning can be frustrating sometimes..grr.

So there you have it! A wearable updated dress that used to be my mothers and like her I can wear it and cherish it :)

Love you mom!

"PROM QUEEN"

There truly is nothing like finding a gem while thrifting. I was so exited when I came across this beauty that when I saw it I just had to have it. The best part about the dress was it was a whopping $15.00 and still had the original tags attached to it, which it so happened to be a genuine SAX dress :) Triple score!! I bought it in hopes to find a reason to wear it and for my cousin to wear it for homecoming next year, however there is always a silver lining. The dress was too small. Words do not express how heart broken I was. My husband was able to zip the back of it, but not one single breath could be taken. 

Say hello to my refashion model Jessie :)

She an walk, run and BREATH in this dress!

This dress is just adorable! I really hated to cut it up, but I also couldn't watch it sit and never be worn due to it not being "wearable" 

Isn't she the cutest!!

Okay so like I said I didn't want to do too much to change the overall style of the dress just a little "update". I think that it's important to not takeaway it's personality especially sine it is a vintage piece. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the dress is made of silk underneath and lace with gold hints on top. 

After...

I loved how this dress turned out. I know I say that about all my refashions but I literally almost fainted at goodwill when I saw the price on this dress, so it's kinda got a soft spot in my heart.

See the gold hints? Love it!

RAWR!! loving the blue nail polish..hehe

Okay so this dress is for sale. I usually do not sell any of my refashions but given the fact that I cannot wear the dress and breath at the same time is a bit of a problem, so if your interest just shoot me an email :)

Child Maxi

After a much needed 4 day weekend I am back to blogging. Today's post is a little out of the norm for me. I am typically what I consider a "fixer" but this weekend I really wanted to make my daughter a maxi dress from scratch. I got a lot of comments a week ago when out to dinner about her maxi she was wearing (it's rare to find Maxi's for children). The maxi was a dress that no longer fit me properly so I made it kid size and ultimately it became a child size maxi :)

So, I had a bunch of material left over from when I made my daughters  a table tent for Christmas. The material was old sheets I had purchased at a thrift store, but the print was just adorable. I really loved it and thought it would be perfect for a dress.

 In the first picture shows everything you will need to make this dress. I shirred the top so if you are not familiar with how to do that here is a tutorial on how to get started.

Second photo is after I held the material up to my daughter and cut it to the appropriate size. I will add that I do not measure anything I do (bad habit) I do not suggest this, however it's just my personal preference.

After measuring or choosing your length and width of your desire start sewing!

I used this stitch first, then I used a basic stitch after I was done just for extra security. I recommend this if your making it for a child because they are pretty rough on clothes.

I am terrible at "step by step" pictures, but honestly if you know the basics this is not that hard.

Here is the finished product!! The top is shirred and the "straps" are ribbon. I wanted this to be as simple as possible. It only took me an hour to make this entire dress and Lilly loved it.



The color purple

Can I just say how much I love the color purple. It's always been one of my favorite colors. I'm a fan of the movie too ;)

Today's refashion is an ode to the color purple. A friend of mine gave me this beautiful purple maxi style dress. It was such a cute dress and I couldn't wait to wear it. So what was the problem you may ask?

Well, zipping up the back was apparently not happening..major bummer!

See how cute it was? I really did like it, but with not being able to zip it up all the way I had no use for it as is.

I racked my brain on what to do with this beauty and came across a great idea here

I fell in love with what she did with the dress, so it was apparent what I should do. I have never shirred before and was a little apprehensive about it. It turned out to be the easiest thing ever and not time consuming..double win!

So here is how my shirred skirt turned out..

Not bad eh?

Oh I forgot to mention this is kinda like a "two for one" post. I forgot to take before pictures, but the shirt in the picture below I dyed with Rite dye a little ombre' affect to a boring T-shirt.







I love this outfit. It is super comfy and perfect for summer. I'm diggin' the brightness of this outfit too :)



Sunday best

When I was a little girl my momma always dressed me in the frilliest dresses for church. Well while thrifting I came across a dress that took me back in time to those days. If my mom had seen it she'd probably think it was the cutest dress ever..haha.

Looking pretty stylish right? HA

Reminds me of something you would see a grandma wearing at church.

This dress wasn't all that bad from a refashion stand point. The material was semi thick and all though it looked silky it wasn't, but had a great flow to it. I didn't have to take it in anywhere because it was already my size, so pretty much all I had to do was transform it's ugly parts aka:collar into something more attractive. easy

That's funny don't remember looking that pasty before? lol

I decided to go with a sundress style. This is definitely going to be apart of my summer wear and obviously will help me get some much needed sun.

Cost of this outfit:

Shoes: 7.00-Target

Dress: 1.00 thrifted

Total: $8.00!!

Neon, plaid and ruffles oh my!

I have been pining to refashion a men's button down for quite sometime. Every time I think of doing it though I don't have a shirt to work with. I could always steal one of lance's shirts, but he may not like that.

So while thrifting I came across this vintage style men's shirt it screamed Help me! I loved everything about it except that it was 2 sizes to large and well the fit was anything but flattering, even for a man. The best part about this shirt was that it had hints of neon like colors and the fact that it was plaid didn't hurt either.

Before I started to cut and sew away on this shirt I sat it down and really thought about what I was going to do with it. I had a few ideas in mind, but was at a loss what to do with the collar. Well that's when ruffles came to mind. Doesn't every girl need a little ruffle in their life :)

BEFORE

Don't you just love the expression on my face..BLAH! lol

After I finished the top I couldn't wait to wear it. Lance and I had planned a trip to Cleremont to take the girls to a pretty awesome playground so I thought what a better opportunity to wear my "new" shirt.

I was so pleased with how it turned out. Can you see the little hint of ruffle around the neck? This refashion consisted of removing the arms/neck, taking in the side and using the excess material to make ruffles around the neck and a tied belt for the waist. I just love the little pocket in the front I think it gives the top character.

On another note, the playground we took the girls too was a huge hit. It was a great day all around. Here's a few pictures from our day at the playground.

During our nature walk

Mommy had to join in the fun too:)