$10 Maxi Dress Refashion

I apologize for the pictures...these are all taken on my phone because we ran out of batteries for the big camera. Anyhoo, there's a dress I picked up at Marshall's for $10 a couple weeks ago. It is a size too small, especially in the bust, and I hate the length. But when I tried it on, I could see its potential.

It also had a hole in the seam...probably after sooooo many people tried it on. Well! I knew I could fix that one! I got an extra amount off the already low price and brought it home to refashion.

I wanted to shorten it, so I measured where I wanted it to fit and cut off the excess from the holey middle.

I pinned the two pieces together and serged. Go, Go, Gadget Serger! Yay! Still can't get over how awesome this thing is... :)

Next, I tackled the bust. It will still be a bit low (might put something along the neckline...still looking for lace), but removing the eeny weeny pads helped free up some fabric. I just unpicked the seam, took out the cup, and stitched it back together by hand.

I did the best I could to keep the pattern somewhat together, but the bottom half was wider, so I just sorta made due, and plan to sash or belt it to cover that up. No problem!

Much more flattering and now it fits perfectly! And no, no on-the-body pictures this time...let's keep this blog a little modest.

I've also been gearing up for fall. Bow making!

And decorating! This is the first year we have a house to decorate, rather than a hall in a building, so I put this little web up in our front window, a wreath on the door, some little yard signs that say BOO! EEK! (cute, I'll post pics another day) and a few little things inside. I love Christmas Tree Shops! All that stuff for $30!

Oh, and I had to share this bow. :) I made it to go with my outfit I wore  this weekend. I love the mix of color and pattern. What do you think?



Ikea Love! And The Three Brothers

Yes, I am referencing Harry Potter...more on that later. First, let me give you a look at what we scored at Ikea today (before I left my bag among some lamps and had a heart attack...thank goodness a staff member found it and took it to lost and found!)

Here's a lamp we found in the as-is section for just $10! That's a $30 savings. Woot! We took forever finding the $10 shade (wherein I left my purse as I walked off to find an outlet to try said-awesome-cheapo-lamp to make sure it worked). when we came home, my boyfriend had the BRILLIANT idea of putting fake flowers in it (actually, I thought of putting ribbon flowers in it first, but shh! Don't tell him that). 

We had these in the closet because they're kind of awkwardly shaped. A pair of wire cutters later we had a few beautiful sprigs to stuff up the glass lamps open bottom and voila! A beautiful piece of artwork. I think. :)

And it has a dimmer on it! Love!

I've been spending a lot of time in my sewing room this week. The family I nanny for went on vacation so I had time to have my doctor's appointments, grad school errands and crafting. Yay! I made a couple things, but I'll show those later in the week when I can take decent pictures. Anyhow, I cleaned the room (you couldn't see the floor!) and thought I'd show you a couple new things in the room.

I got this great little cube ottoman at Target on sale for $17, which I am going to use when studying...I can kick my feet up and store my books when I'm not using them.

(Sorry for the wonkiness, I wanted to hide a messy area) My embroidery station with a little inspiration...

Love John Lennon! I've had Dig A Pony stuck in my head for days.

I got these three vases at Ikea...the big one was $10, the medium one $2, and the small one for $3. I love how it holds all my messy spools and buttons in a beautiful way, and I can find things easily.

Here's the sewing corner! There's Jel's finished organizer (FINALLY!!) that I can send this week, along with the "Third Brother"...my new serger! Got it wicked cheap on Amazon and I am LOVING it! :)

I love you baby brother! Now I just need to learn how to use the other stitches. I love how professional and fast the projects turn out.

I also made some hair pieces. I picked up some fall colors. This one is a hair clip.

And this is obviously a headband. I'll be adding these to Etsy soon.

What are you crafting this week?



My Charlotte York Dress



This is by far my favorite dress I've made so far. I took inspiration from the character Charlotte York on Sex & the City...I've always loved her preppy, chic and modestly flattering style. There was a particular blue dress with a square neckline that I had in mind when making this dress, but I can't seem to find a picture of it online. Here are a few others that I like.

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I wore mine today with a cream cardigan, pearls and leather accessories.

The square neckline got skewed into a slight sweetheart due to the fit...I think I need to make my darts a bit bigger. Anyway, I love how this turned out! I feel so elegant in it. :)

Again, I did the elastic back...I am going to attempt a zipper soon. Eek!

I used a different kind of elastic for this one, and actually got a bit of a looser fit. Still lovely and easy.

Now if I could only afford some Manolos to go with it...hehehe.

More Ribbon Flowers

The flomax really got the kidney stone moving, which meant I spent another day stuck at home. Between pain attacks, I made some more flowers. I'm making them into headbands and posting them on my Etsy shop. I also plan to make hair clips and pins. What do you think? Head over to the side bar and let me know with the poll. Until next time, enjoy some eye candy! :)



Tutorial: Ribbon Flowers

Ribbon Flowers!

I've been passing a kidney stone for about a week and a half and it is getting really intense. It has been in the same spot for four days and I can't seem to concentrate on anything. The one thing I did manage to do was add some ribbon flowers to Jel's organizer.

(these are cell phone picture, sorry!) I thought these would be a great surprise and add some place to put hair clips and whatnot. You can clip the hair clips to the vine or the petals. Cute?? Today I went to the emergency room because my stone hadn't moved and I was worried about a blockage. Luckily I don't have one, but I do have a small infection and my liver is functioning higher than normal, so I have to check back in with my doctor later in the week. To keep my mind off things, I made some more flowers...some for myself and some to put as new headbands in my Etsy shop, since I'm moving away from plushies. Here's a tutorial so you can make your own too!

Here's what you'll need:

ribbon

thread

needle

embellishment for center

scissors

candle

lighter

Cut your petal pieces and decide one a center embellishment.

If you want, you can add green leaves as well. Cut your ribbons at a length you like (you can make all kinds of sizes). I just eyeballed mine.  

Heat seal the ends of your ribbons so they don't fray. Simple hold the edges near, but not in the flame until the end melts slightly. This will dry quickly and act as a glue.  

All sealed! 

Start with your leaves. Fold your ends into the middle and thread your needles through.

Next add your petals. Here's a better description of how to fold the ribbon. Connect the ends and pinch them together with your fingers. 

Flatten your loop so you have two loops.

Thread your needle through the center, ends side first. 

Continue threading as many petals as you like.

Once you're satisfied with the petals, you can add your center.

I chose a sparkly embellishment that I could sew on.

Sew your embellishment in the center. 

Secure your embellishment several times.

Tie your thread.

And you're done!

They're super cute on their own, or you can secure them to a headband. 

I secured mine onto a piece of ribbon. 

Just a few stitches! 

Tie the thread and you have a very floral headband. :) 

Like my fashionable IV bandage? This was a fun project that I could do without concentrating much, which is exactly what I needed...something to distract me but that I couldn't mess up if I suddenly got bad pain. What do you think? I'm going to be adding some items to my shop based on these. Do you think you'll give them a try or do you have similar projects of your own?