Cardigan re-vamp

Since it's been WAY too long since I posted something new (we came home from a long weekend to water damage all through our house, it has taken over a month to rip it all apart and re-build---more to come soon!)... I thought I'd post a quick little cardigan re-vamp I did thanks to a post I remembered here at Homemade by Jill! I got a cute sweater/cardigan at a big Layers warehouse sale today, (i had no idea it was so similar to jills!) but when I got home- and actually got to try it on in front of a mirror I realized it was totally big, baggy, and not-flattering. So... I took in the sides, chopped off the sleeves, and voila! Problem solved.

This is the shirt inside out just so you can see how to do something similar. I just chopped off the sleeve, cuff, and pin them together, sew around and you're done. If you need to make it smaller just sew inside the original seam a bit. Half way done... lookin much better!
OK it is SO not perfect, and I am not a seamstress, I just pretend to know what I'm doing. But, I like it!
Good thing I got a scarf at the sale too.. since it IS winter, and I just chopped the sleeves off!

$2 Halloween Costume (nat)

Over at the DIYshowoff they are doing a halloween project show and tell party so I thought I'd link up and try this whole linking thing out! This is about all I've had time for this Halloween! In the past I have spent weeks thinking about what I want my little guy to wear for Halloween and this year, with everything I've had going on I totally procrastinated and didn't even THINK about what to do for Halloween until Sunday night and then I found out we had a party Tuesday morning. Ahhh no time to go buy something, nothing can be shipped that fast. So I had to once again get resourceful. Here is what I came up with. I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

This became...

This! With white cardstock, lots of staples, duct tape, and some felt on the inside for padding it turned out pretty well. Oh and there is a little mouse on the top, you can see in pics below.

Then this... (thanks to my neighbor that works at IKEA and gave me this because she gets tons for free!)

Became this! We've been watching Ratatouille a lot so that's what gave me the idea. I totally cheated and didn't want to finish the edges so I cut off the finished edges of the dish towel and just sewed them on. And thats what I used for the neck and waste ties too.I had fun with all the details. I made a pocket, sewed on the name that I just printed from my computer, bought a pack of mice from walmart for 2 bucks (the only money i spent!)and sewed the mouse on, and finally added a recipe card with the instructions for ratatouille here's the little mouse on the hat too

Once I padded the inside of the hat he loved it! Oh and I made the little candy bag out of a bag of sugar we had, glue, and mod podge. Halloween success!

And thats why sisters are great!

I love having a design dilemma and Amanda knows just how to help me out! I checked out several places online but wasn't loving anything-then she suggested this one and I loved these prints and REALLY love the prices wahoo!!! You are the best... now's the hard part, picking which ones! I'm leaning towards---

This for the kitchen
And down the line maybe some of these for pillows to go on my new (or new to me) bench!
(I'll post a pic of the bench soon)---and i know i obviously love floral- i just can't help it!

I'm still thinking I might like this to attach to the top of the white panels in the family room
Or this.... but color would be funOthers that were fun for who knows what but I'm sure I could find a place

Sick of my plain t-shirts! (nat)

Well being a stay at home mom and having boys with reflux means I have WAY too many plain, boring, spit-up proof shirts. I would love to have a totally new wardrobe but instead I just tried to find ways to vamp up my boring shirts! With just a little creativity and some digging through my scrap fabric here's what I've got so far. The possibilities are endless I began to realize. These ones are nothing special but at least I don't feel totally lame walking around in my sweats all day!

So this one looks a lot better on, the pleating on the shirt makes it cute which is why i got it originally but the white was fading and just wasn't lovin it anymore. I just traced over this area of the shirt with tissue paper, then cut it out and used it as a pattern. Cut the fabric and sewed it on. I didn't worry about finished edges and all that- too much work, and it's not like this is gonna be a date night shirt or anything

Here I just googled silouette of a bird, printed out a few and used those to trace onto a fabric I liked. I did use some interfacing under so it would be easier to sew it on and hold up a little better. Once again, no finished edges but I kinda like the frayed look. Although- word to the wise, adding birds to a shirt that doesn't fit well- doesn't make it fit any better!

Ok now we are getting a little fancier. This is probably one of those love it or hate it ones. After looking at a bunch of different images on etsy I just kinda threw this one together. I took one long piece of fabric, made pleates, ironed them in place then on that right side I just kinda rolled the pleates up until it made a flower. I just pinned everything on and used my machine to sew it on. I may have added a few stitches by hand to the flower part to make it extra secure. Final touch was a little ribbon to hide the stitches... hmm still kinda love it- still kinda hate it, I'm on the fence. Oh I did see a cute dress over at Make It and Love It and she shows you how to make a flower out of fabric similar to this.

OOh now this one I actually really like. Nothing fancy but it's so "me" And it was so easy. I just had a little flowery fabric left over from a diaper/wipe holder I made so I cut out some of the flowers, cut out interfacing to match, and sewed them on! You'd be surprised what you can come up with if you look at your fabric in a different light. Oh and of course I loved it when the lady behind me in costco said, I love your shirt where did you get that!? Ahhhh I made it!

Now this one I can totally give all the credit to Josey and our lovely little craft night. She found some pics of cute ruffly shirts and we gave it a try. Basically you cut a circle, and pinch it from the under side until it makes a little flowery shape. Then you just sew straight across the bottom to make the flower keep its shape. Later I happened upon this site which gives you a little tutorial and instead of sewing it straight on the shirt you sew it to a piece of fabric then attach with safety pins so you can take it off when you wash the shirt so you just have to use a glue gun- you can also move it from outfit to outfit- so smart! You can check out some other adorable flowers here!

After learning the technique I came home and tried it out. This is the only shirt I spent money on- I actually bought this shirt at target on clearance for 2 bucks! Then I used a purple shirt I already had to do the flowers/ruffles. I think I did 3 flowers then sewed them together, then sewed them on the shirt. I did handstitch these on in several places for extra security but if you have a decent machine I am sure it works great! Next time around I would totally go up higher to cover the whole collar (what was I thinking!) but I think I like it.

Oh and I made a little matching headband too. I already had one of these elastic headbands hanging around so I just added a group of 3 on here too- so easy!
Ok and I got really brave and even wore this to church.... and now I am getting REALLY brave and posting a totally cheesy picture for you to see too-consider yourself lucky!

Couch Slipcover (manda)

So I have spent the greater part of the last week working on making a custom slip cover for the small loveseat in my family room. After making my own pattern, creating a skirt that pleats on the ends and making 20 yrds. of piping for the skirt and seat cushions I must admit I am pretty happy with the result. The fit is great and no more tucking! All and all not a bad remake of a $50 Goodwill find. Now believe it or not I think I am ready to tackle the other one, although I might wait a week and paint a few things in the meantime. I am a sucker for projects!

Pottery Barn Pillow (nat)

Last Christmas I was out of town and actually got to go into Pottery Barn instead of just look through the catalog. I was thrilled to see that they actually had some stuff on clearance! I was even more excited when I saw this Serafina print in a cloth napkin! Of course there was only one but I scooped that thing up soo fast. So I got a different one that was on clearance to use on the back, it makes it fun that it's reversible. In case you aren't aware- cloth napkins are soooo perfect for pillows, pin them back to back, sew around, leave an opening to stuff or add a cushion and you're done. Totally cute, super easy to make, and only 4 bucks total- yahoo! Makes me want to actually buy more of this fabric for my kitchen but it only comes in 1 yard (25.00) or 5 yards (99.00) UGH

Pillow Talk (amanda)

Pillows have got the be the greatest practical accessory item ever invented. They work in a variety of spaces and can instantly take your decor between seasons and in and out of styles. I Make almost all of my pillows if I don't make them myself. I buy them cheap and I mean cheap. I never spend more than $5 generally. You can't make them for that price so that makes it a bargain.
This my living room couch and pillows. All of the black and white toile I bought for less than $2 a yard and have been saving it. It made great pillows and curtains for this room and helped tie the whole space together. The black pillow I scored at Target on clearance for like $2. The satin pillow was $5 at Big Lots. The afgan was handmade by my aunt as a wedding present.
This is a great demonstration of how simple changes can really change a space. I have had this ocuch for like ten years and would like to replace it but I like the style and the color so it just keeps being reinvented. This is how we have it now with fall complimentary pillows. The slipcovers on the cushions come off and I have washed them and restuffed the back pillows by emptying them out refluffing and putting it all back in. Well worth it to get more life out of my sofa.
This is the picture of the same sofa - sagging a little with a slipcover and different pillows after we painted the Family Room last fall.
This is the bed in my master bedroom in my old house. Very blue (my favorite color) and a bit more country- notice the same throw from my living room. I love repurposing and finding new homes for things. I kept this loo for several years, but when I redid my master bedroom in my new house it was time for a change. I wanted a more sophisticated style. So what better way than to change bedding and PILLOWS!
I made these shams- very easy to do.

PILLOW SHAM TUTORIAL

Step1 - Measure your pillow add however much extra you want as a flange on the edges. In this case I wanted two inches so I added 2" to the measurement all around plus another 1" for the seams. This is for the top side.

Step 2- for the bottom piece add another 4-5 inches just to the width this helps have an opening for inserting the pillow.

Step 3- Cut the back piece in half and hem the two side pieces. This creates an opening to insert your pillow.
Step 4- Sew the top and bottom to each other with right sides together.
Step5- Turn the sham inside out and than top stitch two inches from the outside edge all the way around. Insert pillow and viola! A do it yourself sham.

Just a word about fabric. I love to find fabric deals online. Often you can get really nice decorator fabric for great prices. I also search clearance areas at Jo-ann's You can get better deals. Also don't be afraid to use apparel fabric or quilting fabric on pillows just about anything works.
These shams were made from lined linen that I got on clearance for $2 a yard. It is heavy great stuff. These shame were a little different to make because they had side ties and are square pillows. Basically I measured the pillow and made one two pieces. One piece the length and width plus a seam allowance the other the same width but with a longer length to fit around the edge of the pillow like a case. This piece was folded in and sewn to the inside just on the edges, so that I could still insert the pillow. I added ties by sewing long strips together and attaching them to the edge and had two new shams!
A bolster is tricky. You have to measure the width plus the length all the way around the pillow. Then sew contrasting pieces cut in circles to the ends. I added buttons. I covered them with the contrasting fabric. Coverable buttons are easy to find at your local craft store. I cut the length of this pillow a little too short so it bulges just a bit. I suggest measuring with just a little give around your pillow insert.
My new bedding all put together with pillows. The colors worked great around the room and helped bring in the wall colors and the fabric I also used on the curtains.
Other handmade pillows. I love mixing pattern with pillows and especially love the result when it works in a room.
The red striped pillow was another example of clever pillow covering. It is two napkins sewn together. I like the pattern and the edges were ready finished I just sewed around the edge and left the bottom open to insert the pillow. This particular red pillow is actually a green and yellow floral one that came with the love seat redone and matching much better. The other three pillows were all $5 store finds. The toile one is actually Waverly for $5! Gotta have it!

Not so crazy about my carseat

Well before the arrival of baby #2 (back in April)-I wanted one final project to keep me busy before the baby so I decided to recover my carseat. Since I will be hauling it everywhere I go for the next year I wanted to like it. I've never been a big fan of what we got- so I thought at least I could enjoy the way it looks! I can't believe I actually pulled this one off though. It took a lot more brain power than I anticipated and I learned a ton. Thanks again to my good friend (josey) for helping me think through some things and inspiring a lot of ideas. I took the existing carseat cover and just made a pattern from that- after a lot of trial and error and a few mistakes it's done!

Before...
And here's the after...

The color on this first picture is really weird---it looks more like the bottom pic. Anyway---kinda bold. I made a little diaper/wipe holder out of this fabric and just couldn't find anything else that I liked as much so I used it for this too. Anyway... it was fun to do but I'm also happy it's done!

As far as a tutorial, yeah not a chance on this one- sorry! It was a lot of trial and error and making a mock-up with ugly fabric before hand. My best advice if you really want to do this is to buy a pattern or just take off your existing cover and try to think through how all the pieces come together.