Tee Necklaces

My mom recently sent me a site with these recycled tee shirt necklaces and I wanted to try them. So I pulled out hand-me-downs from my sister's kids and cut the tee into 3/4 inch loops.

This green one is my first attempt. I put it on and thought, "No way am I wearing that." But decided I'd wear it to the mall today, not planning to see anyone I knew and see what I thought about it after seeing it all day. I did like it better by the end of the day, but am still not sure about it. So I decided to make a few more and see if maybe it was the color/thickness that was not right.....but since I didn't 'feel it' for these either, I decided to post them here to get feedback. I am hoping someone will look at them and tell me if they're tacky, or trendy.

What do you think?

Dress Redo

I took this dress that looks like it has been around for 10-15 years, and knew it had potential. I hung it in my closet for a year....until I had inspiration today to make it into something much more fun! First up was taking out the seams on the slits in the bottom and sewing it back together, no more slits. Then I cut the embroidery/lace bottom off and put a hem at knee level. I knew even though that lace looked terrible along the bottom, it had potential, so I pinned it across the chest of the dress until I liked the arrangement and sewed along the top of the lace. I think it is quite an improvement.

Here is it on:

Jersey Rosette, Take 2

I did try this again, and like it better, but am still not loving the thing. This time, I kept it loose and scrunched it a bit when I glued it down. I don't think I'm wasting the hairpin though, I don't think I'll wear it. But did want you to see the less-trivet-like creation!

Gathered Hair Flower

I decided to try a different type of hair flower, and I think this turned out much better than the last one (trivet!).

I took this piece of fabric from a load of fabric given me by my family, and it was already folded and sewn together. I decided to just gather it across the bottom, with folded side out and then sewed the ends together. Then for the center, I took a black stretchy fabric a couple inches wide and made a pretty knot. I put the ends through the center, hot glued everything in place and put it on the hairpin. Fastest hairbow ever!

Paper Buttons

For all those who thought I was not making cards anymore, here are the ones I made this morning after getting the weekly email from Splitcoast Stampers with the tutorial on paper buttons.

The buttons are made from four layers of punched paper (pink) with a layer of homemade paper on top. Glue them all on top of each other and then cover the whole thing with Crystal Effects. I like the finished product. I didn't think it was popping enough on it's own, so I added some color behind it on the card and tied a string though the button holes. Here are the two pink ones I did first:

Then I decided while I was going I should make a couple more, so I used another piece of homemade paper and made these. I used a piece of cardboard, coated all over with VersaMark for the brownish strip along the bottom of the card.

Bird in a Cage

I feel like I haven't done much crafting lately, and when I saw this little bird cage craft, I wanted to try it for our house. So, I didn't follow the directions exactly, but here is my version:

I used an oatmeal top for the cage bottom. It was clear, so I put a white circle on one side. For the cage cross-pieces, I used a box top that I had kept around for a while, knowing that silver would come in handy sometime. Also, I didn't have a pretty piece of paper 16.5 inches long to do around the diameter of the bottom, so I cut diagonally through a 12x12 piece and used that center strip. My strips are all about 1 inch across. I think I would make them smaller next time. You can't see my bird as well as I'd hoped.

I thought I'd try making it myself, and then see if my little 5 year old girl can make one too. I definitely think she could do one with help....but it would be better for someone a little older.

Sequin Shamrock

I wanted my daughter to have a fun shirt for St. Patrick's Day and decided on this:

So quick and easy. I put an embroidery hoop on the part of the shirt I wanted to use, so the fabric would stay taut. Then I grabbed a bag of her little craft sequins and pulled out the green ones. I sewed them on by stitching through them twice and putting the thread on either side to keep them down. I was quite pleased with the result.

I created a Valentine's shirt for my daughter with sequins too. Only the heart was smaller and filled in. An easy way to make a simple holiday shirt, and I think you could just remove the sequins later if you want to wear it past the actual holiday.

Kasnzashi Silk

I love these hair flowers and want one for every outfit! They keep the hair out of my face and from behind my ear and they are beautiful! I made this one from the same fabric as the flower on my purse, so I will match all over when I wear it!

Then I got this sample of 100% silk fabric from the fabric store this weekend to try a silk flower. The fabric had stripes of different colors, but I thought cream would go with almost anything, so I started there. Then I decided it needed a bright red, fabric covered button in the middle - so much for matching anything....Oh well.

I think the silk is pretty, and has more of a sheen on it, but am not sure I will do many more from pure silk. It unravels like crazy and isn't the easiest fabric to work with.

Kanzashi for My Purse

On recommendation of my friend to make the button bigger on my new purse, I thought I'd create something. I used a piece of the lining fabric to make a Kanzashi flower to match, added a vintage brown button to the middle, hot glued it all together and put it on an old fashioned pin back. That way I can pin it in place over the button, and if I decide I want it on the strap instead, I can just move it over! I think it makes my purse *POP* and I LOVE it. Thanks for the recommendation, Laura!

Silver Chain

I really like the asymmetrical look of necklaces these days and I was inspired by a piece of chain left over from a belt from the 80's. Remember those belts made of ropes and metal that were adjustable and had a big length of chain in the back that hung down? Well the biggest chain below, the one with all the circles, came from one that we had. (I say we, because I can't remember now if it was mine or my sister's). I added a few other chains and things that I had kept to add to just this kind of thing! Here is the finished product:

I love that I can take old, broken, short chains and just put them all together and have a fun new necklace!

New Purse

I have been wanting a new purse. My old one is getting worn and is not as cool as I thought it once was....Though it was very easy to put together and amazingly functional! I knew I wanted another one that would have a strap that I could put over my chest to my other shoulder because it's so functional and doesn't fall off when I'm holding little hands. I saw a bunch of fabric in my stash this week that my mother in law handed down to me and knew I wanted it, so I went to work. I used a McCalls pattern to cut the shape for the purse front/back and then put the pattern away because I knew I wanted it a little differently. I cut a strip and sewed it down the front and back and put pockets on the liner pieces, and used hardware from my stash that I've been keeping around for just this reason. This is my finished product. I will admit it's a little larger than I thought it would be, but know that I will love that when I can stick a notebook in there and have my hands free! I took another photo closer up so you could see the hardware and the button closure. I figure with the button, I could just reach in for the little stuff and only unbutton for the bigger things. I made the strap adjustable for when I want to wear it on one shoulder, because as practical as it is, it's just not attractive for dressing up to have a purse across your chest!

And here is a shot of the inside. I like lots of pockets for organizing so I put 5. Yep. FIVE. One for the iPod. One for the phone. One for the Kleenex. One for the wallet. One for something extra.....I don't know yet.

Screen Door 2

I knew I wanted to do this, but when I put the screen door on the wall, I felt like I needed to! So, I had the kiddos stand for photos, printed them out with terrible quality in black & white, and cut around them to create a silhouette of them. Then I used it as a template to make a blue silhouette and put them on white paper and in these frames that I spraypainted silver.

I also finished off the "T". I got a glass cut for the frame and bought a mat. The silhouettes look a little funny to me, so I'm planning to change the hanging of them. I've already put them on ribbons. Maybe I'll post another shot once I've finished them off. I was thinking of fabric flowers on the top of the ribbons......

Game Room Wall & Twister Clock

On a trip I took with a friend last weekend, we scoured antique stores for games to use in this room. I came home and used industrial strength velcro to attach those games and some we already had to the wall above our shuffleboard table (so we could still take them down to play). I also hung a few on the other walls in this room, but this gives you a good idea of the 'look' of the space.





Today I got out Twister to show my kiddos how to play and the 3 year old said he wanted to "spin the clock." My wheels immediately started turning and with my hubbies help, I'd created this within a couple hours:





The hands are just black cardstock stuck to fancier clock hands on the movement I already had to give me a feel for how it looks until I get to buy the hands I really want. What do you think? I originally wanted to add the numbers (12,3,6,9) on the black lines, but when I put it on there we weren't sure if it would take away from the game board. Any suggestions before I finish it off with new hands?

Jeans to Skirt

There are a bunch of tutorials out there on how to take an old pair of jeans and make a skirt. I had a pair that was a little too short, but fit pretty well otherwise, so I decided to try it. I put it together in just a couple hours. First, I ripped the seams along the inside. Then I cut off the legs to the length that I wanted. I pinned it all in place at top, then took the legs and placed them in the upside down "V" at the bottom that was missing fabric. I sewed it all together with an orangish thread to match the thread on the original seams and sewed down the original seams to make it seem weathered in the right spots. Then I sewed a double seam on the bottom and unraveled the bottom edge. I think the bottom will look better after it's washed, but I am not patient enough and had to wear the thing today! Here it is:

Screen Door Wall Hanging

On a girl's antique shopping weekend I found an old screen door (without screens) and knew I wanted it for my wall.

I'd hung some plates here before, but they seemed to small for this big, blue wall. The door gives presence and a finished look that I had long been wanting. I am not totally finished with the decorating here, the monogram is not actually matted/finished, and there are a couple other things I want to do for the bottom right section....but I'm too impatient to wait to show you this great find!