Four things...

1.  I'm headed to Birmingham this weekend to help my sister with a massive yard sale.  I'll be selling some handmade sweetness.  If you live in or around the area, leave a comment and I'll send you the details about the sale.

2.  I've been a slacker on the blog, mainly because I've been preparing for the event mentioned above.  Don't worry- I've got lots of great posts (and tutorials!) in the works.  Just be patient with me.

3.  My cousin, Erica, is giving a way a wet diaper bag (or swimsuit bag, or potty training bag, whatever you want to call it) that I made on her blog.  Click here to see the details if you're a mom of young ones.

4.  I'm gonna take the rest of the week off due to travels to Alabama and family vacation.  I'll see you next Monday!

Pink and Turquoise Ruffle Streamers

My BFF Stephanie is in full party swing for her one year old's birthday next month.  I offered to ruffle some streamers for her, because she just loved the ones I did for my daughter's party in May.

Ruffling two colors together is so very easy- Set your stitch length to the lowest possible setting and your tension to the highest.  The streamers will automatically ruffle as they go through you machine.  No pulling of bobbin threads needed!  :)

Although one of the rolls looks red in the photo, it is really a fuchsia color.  I can't wait to see how bright and beautiful this party will be!

Charger Station - Bread Box Repurposed!

Today I decided to fix a huge problem in our home--the cell phone charging station.  Up until a few hours ago, we charged our phones/iPods/bluetooths in a corner of our kitchen.  It was always a mess of cords and electronics, and usually looked like this:

I finally grew sick of looking at it and did something about it today.  Many months ago, before I worked full time, I made my own bread.  Cooking is something I've had to compromise on since I went back to work and although I miss it, I know I can't do everything, so we eat a lot of things that are less-than-homemade.  I had this bread box from my former bread making days and thought I could repurpose it for this project.

I bought this bread box at Target last year.  I think it was $10, maybe $15.  I'm sure they are also available at some thrift stores or yard sales.

First, I painted it.  I chose a spray paint from my garage called Heirloom White by Rustoleum.  It's the same color that I used a few weeks ago on the crib rail that I also repurposed. 

As you can see, I didn't paint all the way to the back of the box, as I had plans to cover this area.

I learned this tip from a craft blog (can't remember where):  If you cover an area - like the magnetic closure - with tin foil, it will conform perfectly to to area and keep it from being painted.  Excellent tip.

Next, I drilled a hole in the back of the box.  Yes, I actually did this.  (Insert gasp from my father and husband here.)  I know it's not the neatest looking hole or perfectly symmetrical, but nonetheless, I was the only adult home and I did it by myself.

On the inside of the breadbox, I placed a surge protector strip.  I threaded the plug through my newly drilled hole and started plugging my electronic chargers into the power strip.

I chose to plug in four items- iPod charger, my phone charger, my husband's phone charger and my camera battery charger.

I wound the excess cord into a circle and taped them together.

I taped each loop of cord down to the bottom of the bread box.

 This next part was the most difficult (yes, even more so than drilling the hole!).  I cut a piece of posterboard the exact size of the opening.  I made four small slits in the bottom of the posterboard.

 Because I wanted a pop of color, I chose to paint my posterboard this lovely shade of green.  I repainted an end table a few weeks ago, so this beauty was in my garage as well.

 I carefully taped the posterboard to the inside top of the breadbox.  I taped it where it would not be seen, but left the bottom untaped so that I could remove the chargers when we travel or upgrade.

The chargers are all ready to be plugged in when needed.

In the rare event that nothing needs to be charged, the door closes up and it is fully disguised on our countertop.

But most of the time it will look like this in my kitchen.

I love how it brings organization to my kitchen, reuses something that was sitting in a cabinet, and is fully functional every day.

My inspiration for this came from Pinterest. 

This post is linked to the following sites:
Under The Table And Dreaming ~ Sew Many Ways ~ Little Rays of Sunshine ~ Tatertots and Jello ~ Funky Junk Interiors ~ The 36th Avenue ~ Be Different Act Normal ~I Heart Naptime ~ Creative Jewish Mom ~ The DIY Home Sweet Home Project ~ CRAFT ~ Made By You Mondays ~ Sew Chatty ~ Keeping it Simple ~ Dittle Dattle ~ It's so very Cheri ~ Sew Can Do ~It's So Stinkin Cute

See my complete list of Link Parties here.

Pinterest Love

I've fallen in love.

With Pinterest.

A few years ago, I couldn't figure out the best way to organize all my craft and sewing ideas.  I had a ton of bookmarks. hundreds of starred items in my reader, and magazine pages in a binder.... all ideas that I wanted to keep and store.  I even emailed a few of the "big craft bloggers" about how they store their favorite posts on the web.  A few replied, and told me they really didn't have a system.

So, imagine my elation when I learned of Pinterest, an online pinning site that allows you to not only store, but SHARE!, your ideas and essentially an ongoing "to-do" list.  I now use the Pinterest app more than the Facebook app, and I'm constantly checking to see who has pinned new items.  And yes, I do prefer the app to the PC version, but maybe I'm just strange like that.  :)

If you're not familiar with Pinterest, close your eyes and go back to your teenage years.  Remember when you'd save that one photo from an event and pin it on your bulletin board?  Or when you kept the invitation to your BFF's birthday party?  Or the movie ticket stub from you first date with dream boy?  Well, Pinterest is your online bulletin board (or many bulletin boards) that allows you to store all your ideas and hopes and projects and photos and dreams and whatever you want!

That being said, I'd like to start a Pinterest Love roundup of my favorite links and likely my future projects. 

Mustache Pacifiers-- Thinking of making these for a few baby boy gifts this year.

Wine Cork Letters - LOVE this idea!

Jersey Knit Skirt- must make this to survive Florida summers. 

Magnetic Pin Cushion - need to find a random china dish to make one of these!

Ruffle Camera Strap - for my new camera!!

So, those are my top five pins for the week.  I hope you'll follow me on Pinterest and I'd love to get to know you better by following you back.

Have you fallen in love with Pinterest yet?

What are your favorite finds?

A Door on the Wall

I've been busy this week working in my sewing room.  I will share more later in the week, but tonight I wanted to post about the amazing artwork on my wall.

Rewind to last summer- my husband and I were yard sale-ing and found two doors with three large windows.  We paid $10 for each door- a true steal in my opinion!  Many times I thought of selling them on CraigsList because I wasn't sure how to use them and they were taking up space in my garage.  Boy, am I glad I dragged my feet on that one!

When I rearranged and decluttered my sewing room, I had a large wall with nothing to hang on it.  So, I thought I would see if the door would fit on the wall.  It did- with 5 inches to spare!

I cut vintage sheets to one inch larger than the window openings (20 x 21) and ironed the raw edges under.  I used clear packing tape to press them flat into the back side of the windows.

With some very heavy duty screws, my husband hung it on the wall.  The fabric is behind the glass, and the glass now becomes my personal dry erase board!

It's perfect for drawing patterns or ideas that are floating in my head.

Or for writing scripture that I need to memorize.

No telling how old this door is, but the paint is starting to crackle and chip away, and I just love that look.

Stop back in next week to see how I reorganized my entire fabric stash.  One more trip to Ikea and I should be ready to post about it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Anyone post about how they repurposed something or have a great tutorial to share?

This post is linked to the following parties:
Tatertots and Jello
DIY Showoff
I heart Naptime
Creative Jewish mom
Sew Many Ways
Craft O Maniac
Dittle Dattle
Sew Can Do
Crafts Keep Me Sane
Creating Really Awesome Free Things
The Girl Creative
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
New Nostalgia
Coastal Charm
Tip Junkie
A Delightsome Life
Creating a House of Grace
Reasons to Skip the Housework
Sugar Bee Crafts
Giggles, Glitz and Glam
Sew Much Ado
We are THAT Family
Elle Belle Creative
Fireflies and Jellybeans
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple

See my Features and Link Party page for a complete list with links.

Baby Bed Rail Transformed to Vintage Sheet Holder

A few weeks ago, I took a few hours to go thrift store shopping.  There are many thrift stores around my home and I had been meaning to spend time finding goodies, but waited until I had an afternoon without the kids.

At one store, I found a broken baby bed (and likely recalled as well) in the back of the store.  I asked the lady if I could buy just this piece, and she gave it to me for only $5.

I brought it home, gave it a coat of antique white spray paint, and asked my husband to hang it on the wall.  Because I didn't want it flush against the wall, my husband added blocks (about 3 inches thick) to the four corners of the rail.

So, we found some very long screws and anchored this rail to the wall.

I was so excited!  I grabbed my vintage sheets and made this functional wall art....

The space between the rail and the wall allow the sheets and fabric to hang freely. 

So, not only does this keep my sheets from wrinkling, but it helps me better see my collection and get inspiration from these bright colors.

This idea would also work for quilts, bedspreads, or any other type of fabric you wanted to display on a wall.  What types of things would you hang on a rail like this?

This post is linked to:
Coastal Charm
The Trendy Treehouse
Creating a House of Grace
Giggles Glitz and Glam
The Tshirt Diaries
My Girlish Whims
We are THAT Family
Domestically Speaking
Sew Much Ado
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Finding Fabulous
It's FUN to Craft
Miss Mustard Seed
Romantic Home
Shabby Nest
Thirty Sixth Avenue

Girl's Dress Upcycled from a Man's Dress Shirt

Many of you know that my sister and brother-in-law are moving to NYC very soon.  You can learn more about why they are moving by clicking here and watching a brief video.

In an attempt to downsize, I was given many old dress shirts from my brother-in-law, Josh.  Knowing there must be something I could make from all these dress shirts, I gladly accepted them and began brainstorming ideas about how to make this shirt into a dress for my two year old daughter.

I had seen other tutorials about how to upcycle a man's dress shirt, but they all contained sleeves, which I didn't want to bother with and would likely be too hot for our 100+ degrees in Florida.

So, I made my own pattern.  And better yet, I'll share it with you.

Please keep in mind that my daughter is a skinny two year old, about 23 lbs.  Adjust your measurements accordingly.

You will need:
a man's dress shirt
elastic
sewing machine
coordinating thread
contrasting fabric for sash and flower pin, if desired

First, cut off the arms and the collar of the shirt. 

Then, remove the pocket with your seam ripper.

Next, determine how wide you want your dress to be.  Length does not matter right now.  I would advise using a current dress as a sample.  You should add at least one inch one each side for seam allowances, and then additional inches if you want the dress more full.  

Finish the side seams.  Since I do not have a working serger, I chose to do a double hem on the side seams.  This means that I iron the fabric with a small (about ¼ inch) hem, and then fold it over again so that no raw edges are showing.  Do this on all four side seams.

Next is the neck casing.  The width of your elastic will determine the width of your casing.  Make your casing the same way as the side seams, with the double hem method.  Make sure that you only stitch at the bottom of the casing, not on the sides which would close your casing up!  Repeat this for the back side of the dress.

 Now, you should have two pieces (front and back) with three finished edges.

For my daughter, I made the arm holes 5 inches long.  You may or may not need to adjust the length for your child.  Put your two pieces right sides together and pin.  Make a mark or place a special pin at 5 inches (or where your desired armhole should be).  Sew from the marker pin down towards the bottom of the dress.  Repeat for the other side.  

Now, the hem.  Determine the length of your dress and cut it about 1 inch longer than the desired length.  Again, use the double hem method to sew a hem around the bottom of your dress.  If you like really wide hems, you will need to add more than 1 inch to the desired length before cutting your fabric.

Now, take your elastic.  Mine measured 18" but yours may be different.  You can measure your child by loosely stretching the elastic from one shoulder, around the neck, to the other shoulder, around the back and back to the first shoulder.

Put a safety pin through through one end of the elastic and thread it through the casing  you made earlier.  When you finish the first piece, just continue threading through the second piece until you reach your original starting point.

Sew your elastic together, using your backstitch many times to reinforce.  Thread it into the casing where it will be hidden from the outside.

The basic dress is done!  Now for the fun part....

Let's embellish it!

I chose this red and white polka dot in honor of Independence Day and a pop of color.

I made a sash for the dress by cutting a strip about 5" wide and folding it in half, right sides together.  I ran a long stitch down the unfinished side and then turned it right side out.

Finish the ends with the double hem method.

Anchor it to the dress somewhere.  I chose to anchor it on the side seam, but you could stitch it down anywhere, or in more than one place.

I also chose to add a fabric flower to the top left of the dress.

Pin it on and you are done.  Now, go chase your little girl around the house and make her put her dress on.... please tell me I'm not the only one who has to chase a toddler to put clothes on!

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.  Please let me know if you have any questions and I will either answer them in the comments or edit the post if needed.

 

This post is linked to the following parties:

Dittle Dattle 

It's So Very Cheri

Sew Can Do

Sew Chatty

Crafts Keep Me Sane

Craft O Maniac

The Girl Creative

DIY Home Sweet Home Project 

I Heart Naptime

The DIY Showoff

By Stephanie Lynn

Creative Jewish Mom

No Time for Flash Cards

Sew Many Ways

Itsy Bitsy Paper 

Making the World Cuter Monday