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:)

Rainy Days

 For the past few days the weather has been pretty dreary and it's looking less like the "sunshine state" and more like the rainy state. I can't complain too much though we need the rain. Lance's tomato's could use the extra rain too.

 Since its been so gloomy outside I thought I would brighten things up a bit with today's refashion. It kinda reminded me of a luau. The print is loud and bright maybe a little too bright for my usual toned down taste, but it was the perfect floral pattern for a rainy day.

 Have you ever had a piece of clothing you couldn't bare getting rid of, but refuse to wear? Well for me this rarely happens, however I had a skirt that was gifted to me about a year ago and for a year it hung in my closet unworn. For some reason I couldn't convince myself enough to get rid of it. I wasn't wearing it, had no plans on ever wearing it, but there it hung all sad and alone. The pattern is loud and frankly a bit obnoxious so what better reason to get rid of it right? Well the other day while I was on pinterest looking for inspiration for future refashions I came across this great tutorial. It was the perfect "how to" refashion for a discarded skirt.

Here's the link:

http://lisakisch.typepad.com/babies_paper_and_song/2011/05/silk-skirt-to-top-refashion.html

I immediately went to my closet and dug out that skirt and TA DA!! Here is what it looked like. I know I should have gotten rid of it long long ago, but now it will be put to some good use :)

See what I mean about the luau and not the good kind either! lol

I did do a few minor adjustments to the blouse that are different than the tutorial. Instead of overlapping the arms I took them in so it would give it clean lines. Just my personal preference.

I have to say not bad for a skirt that would otherwise be still hanging in my closet! I most definelty will be making more of these in the future. The style is is great and very flowy and the pattern isn't so bad afterall.

On the bright side of having so much rain look how green my grass is! I kinda blend in with it ;)

All in the family

 I realized that I have yet to introduce my family and with that being said I thought today's post would be a look into my life with my family.

This is us at Easter, yes I am one of those moms who makes my daughters match, not all the time though. I'm sure they will appreciate that when they are older, ha!

So we will start youngest to oldest :)

Meet Lilah Mae! This child is a character and most days I think she is going to be the death of me. She is stubborn, strong willed, kind and tender hearted. Barely 2 and she knows what she wants. Just seeing her face makes me melt though. I'm a softy.

 

Lillian Paige is my first born. Lilly has an imagination that never stops and very creative. She is also strong willed, but don't let that pretty face fool you she is a daddy's girl all the way and will out fish a boy any day!

I won't say who's older but you know what they say age before beauty..HA! My husband Lance and I have been married almost 6 years and together 7years. It's hard to believe we have been together that long can't wait to see what the future holds.

So that is us in a nut shell, hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about my family :)

 



Grandma Romper

What a great weekend I had I am so pleased to say that I have a running sewing machine! Thanks to my wonderful husband and his maw'maw, without there help this weeks outfits would have been hand sewn and well that would have sucked. The vintage sewing machine I bought at a yard sale a few weeks ago for $5.00 is what my refashion was sewn with.

So last month I bought this hideous romper from the salvation army. I couldn't walk away from it and the more I debated putting it back on the rack, the less I wanted to get rid of it. So typical me I took it home, but hey it was only $1.00.

Here is the before...

This thing was beyond ugly and needed a LOT of work, lets just say everything had to be either taken in, shortened or both. Sorry the picture is blurry.

So here is the after...

So as you can see I turned this former ugly romper into a vintage style dress. I shortened it, took in the sleeves, the waist, replaced the buttons and cut the legs out. It was a true labor of love, but I couldn't be happier with how this dress turned out.

The cost:

Dress: $1.00 Salvation army

Shoes: $7.00 Target 70% off

Earrings: passed down from my momma

Belt: $3.00 Ross

Total outfit cost: $11.00!!!

Hope this inspires you to get out there and be thrifty :)