Wear your heart on your sleeve. Or a cuff on your wrist!

cuff^{1 n The part of a sleeve nearest the hand, sometimes turned back and decorative}

^{And decorative it is! With summer upon us and our shirt sleeves getting shorter, why not show off your favorite fabrics in the way of a decorative wrist cuff?!}

Three coordinating cotton prints were used. I gathered, pressed and sewed the pleats in place, just to give a little more visual interest. An elastic hair tie and button, secure the finished piece. One problem. I can't decide which side looks better outward facing?!

Butts & Bags

Two discarded items collide to create this unique pouch, pocket, bag... whatever you want to call it!

I got home from a busy day (which as always, begin at 4:30 a.m.) yesterday and flipped my laptop open for a quick check of my emails. Well, as a newly named 'blog addict', I couldn't just stop with email. I go to my reader and ventured WAY off onto a craft blog which I hadn't seen before. Noodlehead. Such a cute blog, and honestly, I haven't even had time to poke around in there yet. I came across this cute pocket pouch made from the pocket of an old pair of khaki’s. I just zipped down, looked and all the pictures and headed to my sewing room. The kids were fed and watered and content with Dad downstairs. I snuck away to my haven. Oh, except the quick detour I made to find some of his old splattered and tattered khaki’s. THEN to the sewing room!

I grabbed an Amy Butler scrap and quickly stitched it up. I had a thought, however. After succeeding with the melted plastic grocery bags craft, I thought how perfect this would be for a lining. SO... let the melting begin. After getting everything assembled, I topstitched the two layers together and finished it off with a long strip of Velcro. So, now you have a washable surface on the inside and a cute and functional outer layer. The pocket on the outside still functions and is separate from the inside.

This could be a reusable treat bag, makeup bag, pencil case, wallet... so many functions. And very easy to make!

Let's hope hubs noticed the 5x6 square cut from the butt of his pants before he puts them on!

First things First

This weekend also marked my first attempt at a scrappy (Not crappy. The end result is quite cute, I think!) dress. All from scratch, using reclaimed shirts. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I need to get on the business end of my sewing machine and whip up more, as they look so comfortable for summer! I only wish I could pull off this type of outfit! My 2 year old wears it well!

I'm vowing no more tshirt purchases until I put a dent in my current stash.

Here is how the creative process began:

This type of dress has so many functions. It can be worn simply as a summer play dress. Also as a tunic with leggings or jeans or capri's. It would also make a cute swim suit cover up and even jammies. Although my little tomboy kept asking me last night where her pants were? My babe has gotten used to below zero temperatures this winter and expects to be bundled up wherever she goes!

Enjoy a few more shots of this cute dress. I promise... more to come!

Un-zip the possibilities!

Today I was able to pop into a few garage sales. The first set of sales in 2010 for me! I've never been obsessed with them or sat up the night before, with the newspaper, planning my route. But today was a pretty successful adventure! The rain cleared and it turned out to be a great day.

No schedule, no deadline, no kids... just a few bucks and a means to carry my loot! Along my path I came across a former sewer, who apparently cleaned out her notions drawer. BONUS for me! I now am the proud owner of a plethora of multi-colored zippers! I just love the bright colors!

I knew exactly what project I wanted to try. I just read a tutorial at Craftholics Anonymous which was a perfect fit for my new purchase. After completing my zipper flower, I grabbed my pliers, and some jewelry findings. TaDa! A cute new necklace! And to be sure it does not get lonely... stay tuned for the birth of a zipper ring, zipper bracelet, zipper broach and whatever else might come to mind!

Nighty-Night. (The sound of the rain hitting the roof is hypnotizing)

...and I'm off!

I was totally inspired by a tshirt remake tutorial I read about in MADE. I must say this tutorial scared me at first. The end product looks so professional and cute, I really didn't think I could pull it off.

I had the day off work yesterday and was hanging out at home. No kids, no husband, just me and the morning show! I sat down on the floor with my computer and an old grotty onesie I found in my daughters dresser, (WAY too small I must add) my scissors, some scrap material for pattern pieces and a whole pile of doubt! After drawing and cutting my pattern pieces to the best of my ability, I grabbed an old 3 button, collar shirt from Jeff's closet. (I don't think I EVER saw him wear it)

Then the hacking began. I'm always so scared to make that first snip. A few hours later and a few trips back to the tutorial on my laptop, I finally had a finished product. AMAZED! It wasn't too painful. Really pretty easy in fact. I had a few tweaks to do to the pattern and that was it. So, after that success, I jumped in the car and headed to the salvation army to find some tshirts. Score! I got some really cute ones!

Then it was off to get kids from school and daycare and head out to karate class. Where did my day go? They never seem to go this fast at the office!

Post karate, I cranked out another one! Once the kiddos got to bed, another pattern (different size for my daughter) and another shirt were born. 12:04 a.m., 0.6 oz. 16 inches long. (Mama and shirt are doing well)

So, I must say... I seem to be off and running with this project. The possibilities are endless!

(This is the midnight top. The other two have yet to be photographed on the busy body of my 5 year old.)

Pocket full of kryptonite?

Here's a fun spin on an old tshirt. This is a twist on an idea I took from the book:

Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt (as mentioned earlier)

Except my version is something your child can actually wear. The version in the book has you sew the front and the back of the tee together to create a wall hanging pocket or storage organizer. While this still functions as 'storage' and an 'organizer' it's just wearable organization!



I took a scrap of knit fabric I had, which actually was a shirt from my husbands closet. So far he hasn't missed it! I sewed the rectangle to the back of the inside of the 'good' tshirt. I then measured out and sewed 9 individual pockets, forming a grid. After turning the tshirt back to it's right side, I measured and cut slits at the top of each pocket. Carefully cutting only the top layer, the orange underneath begins to peak through, also making this a functional 'hidden pocket' tshirt.














Jayden likes it to carry matchbox cars in it from room-to-room. Also, his ipod, mini transformers, snacks and I'm sure things he's trying to hide from me! The tricky thing for me is to remember to check all 9 pockets before tossing this in the washing maching. Lets hope the ipod does't make it to the spin cycle!!

The original design of the shirt is still there, but the stitched grid and subtle pocket openings create a decorative or handmade quality to the shirt.

This shirt comes with a WARNING! You'll be guessing what's in his pockets for days!!!

Pouf on a Goof??

It took the bribe of a sucker AND Tom & Jerry for her to allow me to put this little pouf shirt on her! It was a pattern I created myself. Next time I'll tweak a few things. However, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. This was my first time using double fold bias tape for straps. It's pretty simple. I love this fabric. It's an Alexander Henry print I've seen many times at the fabric store. It must have spoken extra loudly to me at the fabric store this last time! I will be making more like this. Now getting my princess to wear them..... that's the next thing!

Happy Easter 2010!

I believe the directions were.... "Look at mom and say cheese!" This is what I got. PERFECT!