Creating Christmas - Patchwork Tree Skirt

 

It's Day 2 of  Creating Christmas at The Girl Creative.  If you missed my day one, check it out here.  What have you been making?

A good 20 years ago, I made a tree skirt for my mom for Christmas.  The previous one she had made but it was ruined in a minor basement flood.  I'm pretty sure she's still using the one I made; 5 feet in diameter made from 9 inch blocks and reversible.  Then a few years back, SisterBaby asked me to make her one for Christmas.  When I was visiting, we shopped for a variety of Christmas fabric, enough to make one for each of us... after all, if I'm going to make her one, I might as well make myself one right?

Flash forward to the present, and I'm still getting requests for them!  Bummed that I forgot to take a picture of the one I just shipped off...  I now keep a zip lock bag of pre-cut squares... whenever I have scraps of Christmas fabric, I cut the squares and tuck them into the bag until I'm ready to make another one. 

Below is the one I made for myself, SisterBaby's matches mine. We started with the penguin fabric and went from there.  Our Grandma Marj loved penguins and we liked the blues, this is the fun kid friendly side:

 

I like to make the backside one fabric, a bit more traditional.

 Both sides:

Tree skirts aren't just for Christmas anymore... I've been giving them for wedding gifts the past few years... and according to O-man it makes a great cape... I just can't get a good picture of him wearing it!

If you like what you see,

I’d love for you to follow me!

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, Creative Me Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Jam Hands, Must Try Monday T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth, Real Momma Real Style, Your Whims Wednseday, Whatever Goes T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie, Things I’ve Done, Everybody’s Creative Endeavor F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping, Upcycled Awesome S/S: Get Schooled Saturday, KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers, Six Sisters

What I Made to Wear Wednesday: High Waisted Skirt

Pinterest is an addiction, if you haven't tried it... I highly recommend it!  Most of the time, I like to see what other people have pinned, particularly when it comes to fashion.  My version of fashion is to find what others like or is in style and make my own, usually by upcycling.  Some things are just meant to be, I pinned these skirts and a few days later my friend Sandy gave me a few skirts she wasn't going to wear any more...

Source: modcloth.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Emily on Pinterest

Here's my version and how I made it:

 I started with a long skirt and a pair of scissors.

 My first cut was about an inch and a half longer than I wanted the final length.  My second cut was for double the width +1 inch for the width I wanted the waist band.  The bottom portion is in my scrap bin for now.

For the waist band, I folded it in half, ironed and seamed the whole things with an angle on the end (left an opening for turning).

 When I laid it out, this is what I planned on having the finished skirt look like.  However, I forgot about the fact that the zipper had to stay in the back (based on the placement of the darts, I wasn't interested in totally starting over, if I was, I would have cut differently).

 So, after a bit of trial and error, I settled on this.  This is the back of the skirt with the zipper, I never actually finished the one end.  Sorry I didn't take pictures, but I sewed the waist band on and top stitched.  I then wrapped the "tie" around and wore it pinned in place.  My plan had been to use a funky pin but while getting ready to go out, realized I didn't have one!  Guess that will have to go on my to make list.

Sorry Sandy, you aren't getting your skirt back!

If you like what you see,

I’d love for you to follow me!

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Jam Hands T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth,  T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie, Things I’ve Done, Everybody’s Creative Endeavor F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping, Upcycled Awesome S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers

What I Made to Wear Wednesday: Sweatshirt Refashion

So, this morning after the girls left for school, I was sitting on the couch being a total bum... and eating their Halloween candy for breakfast... when I finally decided I needed to get up and do something productive.  I have seen some cute sweatshirt refashions lately and had already started one that had stalled out.  Still on the couch, I looked for some inspiration on pinterest.  Now I have a ton of inspirational sweatshirt refashions, but one would work with the sweatshirt I'd already started, so I went with that... I figured it was better to finish up an existing project than start a whole new one!

Here is a picture of what inspired me and here is what my version ended up looking like:

I'll give you a brief run down of what I did.  Warning: this took an entire spool of thread!!!!

First, start with an old sweatshirt.  I have no idea where this sweatshirt came from, it's navy (hard to tell in some of the pictures) and really pretty worn nicely broken in.  Cut off the collar and up through the center of the sweatshirt:

I rounded out the bottom edges and along the collar.

If you need to take the arms and sides in, do this now.  The picture below shows one sleeve that I took in over top of the sleeve I didn't take in (don't worry, it's not lopsided, I took the other side in after the picture).  I tried it on inside out and decided how much to take in.

The final step is going to use all that thread up.  Fill your bobbin to the max!  I didn't take pictures of the process because I had to run to the store in the middle of it to get more thread and I forgot!  Using a zig zag stitch  close to the edge and on the smallest stitch length, pull the fabric and go all the way around the entire edge and sleeve to give it a ruffled edge.  Then I did three rows of straight stitches separated by the width of my presser foot, again, all the way around and on the sleeves.

I'd actually planned on doing 5 rows of stitching and putting on buttons... but O-man was over it... and frankly... so was I!  I might still do the buttons later.  Lets put it this way, you don't get to see my face in this picture because I'm not too happy with the child hanging on my leg...

Quite comfy and a lot nicer to wear out of the house than the pajamas I wore until noon!

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Sharing Monday, Jam Hands T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, Upcycled Awesome, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth,  T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers

What I Made to Wear Wednesday - T-Shirt Skirt

I actually made this a few weeks ago and have been wearing it lots but keep thinking, "oh, I'll take a picture next time I wear it," which of course never happened... until today!  I was finally folding the enormous pile of clothes IronFish washed for me over the past several weeks and decided I'd change into it and picture it.

Truth be told, I really wanted to wait to perfect the design, make another one, that kind of thing.  It is so comfortable and I really love wearing it and I'm hoping to make some and add them to my etsy shop, in both kids and mom's sizes.  But here it is in it's original form, while I busily crochet more angry bird hats than I ever thought I would.  Perfecting the pattern will have to wait a bit.

It's kinda crazy colored, but I usually just wear it with whatever t-shirt I feel like it that day.  Since I was just playing with the design at the time, I used t-shirts that were already cut up instead of cutting into new shirts or jersey material.  I'm fairly pleased with it except I cut the back side wrong, it was supposed to wrap all the way around, and I made it as a reverse of the front. They yoga waist makes it super comfy.

What do you think? 

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Sharing Monday, Jam Hands T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, Upcycled Awesome, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth,  T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers

Trying Something New, Learning From Mistakes & Why I'll Stick to What I Know for a While

***Warning, this is a long post, but it would mean a lot to me for you to read all the way to the end!***

I've been ignoring my blog lately, the days have just gotten away from me.  One thing I have learned since I started blogging is craft blogger mommies always put their family first, which is basically what needed to be done lately.

But, I have been trying to get some crafting done!  A while back, I decided to try something new (to me)... Quilting.  I joined in the Retro Inspired Pillow Challenge over at Ricochet and Away and Sew La Vie.  The guidelines were fairly simple, a 20x20 inch pillow quilted with retro inspiration (fabrics, patterns, etc).  Per my nature, I procrastinated in the beginning, finding ideas and concepts and adding them to Pinterest.  Then I attempted a few different things, but they all flopped (sorry, no pics!).

Finally, as time was running out and I was getting ready to head out of town, I decided to go simple.  My true inspiration, I don't have a picture of, was the quilt my mom made out of scraps and worn clothes for her college dorm room in the 70s.  I don't know what ever happened to it, but it was one I always liked.  This kinda reminded me of it:

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

So, I cobbled together pieces of retro-ish fabric, some new fabric, some from funky shirts I'd picked up that coordinated with my living room, and even some from old sheets, but all from my stash (still stashbusting!).  But there was something still not working with it.  I set it aside and decided I just wasn't meant to quilt, and headed out to Salt Lake City for my cousin's wedding.  While there, I got to spend an afternoon wandering around Gardner's Village all by myself!  I may not be a quilter, but that doesn't mean I don't love the beauty of them.  Seriously, here are a few I loved:

   

Not only is the Village Quilt Shop amazing with its beautiful finished quilts in a rainbow of color, but a wonderful fabric shop, Pine Needles, that was fabric heaven!  One of the things I noticed on several of the quilts and patterns was the simplicity of rows of straight quilting.

Back at home, I decided to give it one last attempt. Rows and rows of red stitches later, I'm actually pleased with the results:

It matches my living room and has a funky vibe, so I'm happy.  My machine is jammed and I don't have the patience left to deal with that now, so it is pinned closed.  Want to see how everyone else's turned out?
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I have learned, I was not meant to be a quilter, I just don't have the patience.  It doesn't mean I won't try again sometime in the future, it just means I'm not going to beat myself up trying to quilt.  For now, I'm going to stick to what I know, clothes!  I love to make clothes, especially upcycled clothes.  Watch out for some new things to be added in the next few weeks.

When I started my etsy shop I knew I wanted to donate a portion of my proceeds to an organization, but could never settle on one I truly felt passionate about.  Then last month something big happened in my family. 

This precious sweetie, my wonderful nephew "Tatertot," was diagnosed with Kossman's Syndrome, or severe congenital neutropenia, causing his body not to be able to fight bacteria to save his life (literally).  Treatment has started:

Wait, that's not it!  No, seriously, he will have to have a shot daily for the rest of his life or until a cure is found.  Since only two in a million people have this disease, research and treatment is still in it's infancy.  Sister Baby has started a fundraising effort, The Long Race 4 Tate to benefit the Ella Jewell Foundation.  Not only will I be supporting The Long Race 4 Tate, but a portion of all my etsy sales will be donated to finding a cure.

The Ella Jewell Foundation has a Wine Tasting Event on October 21st, 2011.  I won't be able to attend but this weekend I'll be working on what I know, clothes, and in that, something to donate to the accompanying silent auction.

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Sharing Monday, Jam Hands T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, Upcycled Awesome, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth,  T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers

New Dresses for the Girls... and More!

So, a few weeks ago I made these upcycled dresses for my girls:

Using cute and comfy t-shirts and full circle skirts made from colorful sheets, remnants and scraps I already had on hand.

 They twirl beautifully!

I made a few longer ones they will be able to wear for a while and a few shorter ones (not pictured) they can wear with shorts or pants as tunics, they look just as great!

The girls are helping me mix and match the fabrics to fill their closet (these have quickly become the new favorite around here) AND I've even made some to put in my etsy shop!!!!  I'm so excited to finally have gotten my act together to get some new products in there.  Plus I'm going to be offering a bonus... all dresses or skirts purchased in the month of July will come with a FREE hair accessory (coordinating when possible)!

Here is a sneak peek of some of the dresses that will be listed this evening:

Now back to work on the next stack I have ready to sew!

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, DIY, Sharing Monday T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Gettin’ Crafty With It, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, Upcycled Awesome, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty

WIMTWW: New Favorite Color Combo

A few months ago I started seeing things in yellow and gray and fell in love with the combo.  One night after looking online at a few of my favorite clothing sites I realized I had a dark gray t-shirt in my stash and lots of pretty yellow fabric.  A few hours later I had a new comfy spring/summer dress:

Confession:  I had a great dress in a few hours but it was waaaaaaayyyyy too short and I decided it needed a contrasting band.  Since I didn't have any gray fabric I picked up the black and white with yellow flower print the next day and added it.  I'm so glad I did, it so made the dress.  I'm still trying to use up my stash and only buy what is necessary so I still consider this a success for stashbusting!

Here are a few of the dresses that inspired me, I like them all but mine the best!
   
And there were actually a few others that really inspired me but of course I can't find them when I went to look but I saw a ton more I love that gave me way too many ideas!  Aaaaahhhhhh, what's a girl to do?!?!?

Peace be with you,

Next Generation Rocking Chair

A friend of mine is due with her first baby in June.  Her baby shower was this past weekend and of course I wanted to make her something, not just buy her something off her registry (sorry, I prefer hand made and hand me downs for baby things, just the way I am).

Her mom and I came up with the idea of me re-doing her childhood rocking chair... perfect!  Her dad dropped it off to me and O-man was positive it was for him:

He moved it all over the house, even used it to get up on the counter tops!  I never took a real before picture, I didn't really think about it.  Looks like a Holly Hobby pattern to me.  Since it had been in the attic for almost 25ish years the fabric and foam crumbled.

When I took the original off and started with the new, O-man kept saying, "put the ugly triangles back on!"   Since the new daddy wanted an animal theme nursery and the new mommy wanted geometrics, this monkey pattern was the perfect fit.  Since O-man loves monkeys, he was even more sure it was for him!

I did finally get it out of the house without him in it!

I think it turned out darling and both Mom and Dad loved it!

Peace be with you,