Thursday, November 8, 2012

A maternity upcycle

My trusty old maternity dress, sitting in a plastic bag in the front hall, waiting patiently for me to remember to drop it off at the local Goodwill, was the inspiration that caught my eye while contemplating making a new dress for Stella to be worn in our family photos.
 
 
As usual, I had an idea in my head how I wanted her dress to look.
It had to coordinate with the other girls, but yet be different.
 I knew I wanted lots of ruffles { because I heart them}, but didn't want the dress to be all that super fancy.
And the gray knit was just what I was looking for, to downplay the fancy.
 
After cutting off the bottom hem, ruffling it and reusing it for the bottom hem of the new dress, I cut a few more strips for ruffles. 
I took one of Stella's current dresses to get an idea of size {I know, real scientific} and cut the "lining" of the dress out of the maternity special.


I was pretty proud of myself for not wasting much fabric {used everything but the sleeves!}

After a lot of cutting and pinning and sewing and measuring, I attached the "skirt" to one of Stella's  gray shirts.

 
 

And I am very pleased with the way it turned out!

 
Happy Thursday all~

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Pretty Pyrex

My Tim grew up loving butter.
 
Anything could be covered in a very thick layer of the yellow stuff. 
When we dated, I would watch him slather his meals, blown away by the sheer volume.
He's fortunate to have a high metabolism, :)
 
Since we married, I took ownership of making his lunch, and cooking his meals. 
His portion size has changed a bit, and his palate has grown accustomed to a much thinner layer of flavor.
 
However, he still likes his butter.
And so do the 5 other little people in this house.
 
To make it last, and for money saving purposes, I would buy a huge tub of margarine "spread", and not think twice about it.  Deep down I knew what we were eating was basically chemically altered oil, but I justified it in the name of budget...and the fact that if I looked real hard at what goes into our mouths on a daily basis, our margarine was only a small portion of the problem. 
 
I try my best to cook healthy, make sure the kids have a healthy snack, and a vegetable with dinner. I gave up boxed/convenience meals a few years back...but for Pete's sake, we like our store bought cookies and Nutty Bars, and it's really expensive and time consuming to feed a family of 7 on good whole foods all the time.
  I admire my friends who do.
 
All that being said, I am working towards a healthier us.
 
Baby steps.
We are a REAL butter family now, as I have kicked margerine to the curb. Vegetable oil is on deck.
 
And since I so enjoy sharing my good finds, naturally our butter found it's happy place in this vintage blue Pyrex dish I found at an antique mall with my parents :)
 
 
 
Happy Wednesday all~

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Pillowcase lovely.

You know how fired up I get by vintage lovlies.
Textiles, especially.
 
The colors, the designs, the stories behind them.
 
Well, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this fetching little pillowcase from yester year.
 
 
I sucked in my breath and quickly pitched it in my cart when I saw it on the rack for $0.99 at the Goodwill.
 
I LOVE a good find.
And I cannot even imagine parting with such a goodie.
 
Rather than let it sit on my pile and stare at it, I quickly made it into a dress for little Elle.
 
 
The kind I always make :)

 
And it looks pretty darn cute on her.
I love it!
 


Happy Tuesday all~


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Latch Hook Lovely

I stopped at a garage sale a few weeks back.
It was mostly random junk, no treasure to be found.
 
After a quick and polite sweep of the garage, I began to head back to my van, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted what appeared to be pink yarn stuffed into a clear bag... peeking out from under a pile of blankets.
 
I grabbed the bag, and noticed a price tag sticker of $.10 on the front of it.
I quickly opened it up, and discovered a handmade latch hook rug in MINT condition.
I'm pretty sure it was never used....made 30 years ago, and stuffed in a bag.
 
And if you know my decor style...this rug was pretty much made for me :)
 
 
I paid the sweet lady 2 nickels and went on merry way.
 
And now my bathroom is just that much happier.
Happy Thursday all~
 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Finished!

Remember the little goody I bought last week?


 I was pretty happy to check this one off my "to do" list over the holiday weekend.




And I think she likes it :)


Happy Thursday all~

Friday, May 25, 2012

Todays good finds...


I've been on the lookout for a cute, compact, vintage, cheap, paintable bookshelf for Ellery's room.
Score! Here's hoping this wood one will be a nice distressed robyns egg blue by the end of the weekend!
(I'll post pics if I actually get it done:)

I also found a darling perfect condition white side table for cheap.  Not sure where it's going to go, but am certain I can find a good home for it I can't find a place for it...or sell it for more than I paid :)


 

Isn't this frame just awesome!
The picture doesn't do it justice!  I'm hoping this will be the new focal point on my wall of cuteness.

 I also scored a ridiculously awesome coffee carafe for next fall's soccer/possibly football season, and some new clothes for my neice and nephew.
A good day garage saling!
Happy weekend all~

Monday, May 14, 2012

Girly Girl

A couple of months back, I was able to score a kid free day away....shopping with my favorite gal pals.

A rare and delightful treat.

We are all bargain lovers/ treasure hunters/ antiquers, so we hit up a few thrift and consignment shops. Good times.

Amongst my treasure trove of great finds, I stumbled upon these 2 shirts.
A 4t Target special, and an old lady ruffle blouse.


An upcyclers dream...as the pink shirt exactly matches the ruffles on the t shirt.
They were made for each other, I tell you :)


And Stelly Jane is thrilled to have another dress with her beloved ruffles :)


Happy Monday all~