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~

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~

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~

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~

 

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~

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~

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~

Flowers

You know how much I love to play around with my fabric scraps.

It's ridiculous. I could fiddle all day putting different colors together, admiring patterns, scheming up new ideas, and making a scrappy mess.

But, life seems to have picked up it's pace lately, warranting no extra time for such dallying.

 Monday I was delighted to gaze upon my clean house, and a day at home....a rare combo.

So, I got my flower fix.

 

And that should tide me over for awhile :)
Flowers now for sale here.
Happy thursday all~

Done

I finished it...and with a day to spare!

My first "real" dress, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

And after meticulously studying the directions, googling terms, and ripping out seams... I'm fairly confident I can make this dress in half the time next time :)

Here's hoping it fits!

Happy Thursday all~ 

A work in progress

Remember this post?

Well I finally decided on fabric...and it came in the mail last week.
And I adore it.
Good thing since it took me so long to decide :)

Well, I made a promise to a certain little gal that I would make her this dress to wear on the date with her dad this Friday night.

I do well with deadlines....so here's hoping that in 3 days, this heep turns itself into a dress :)

This one is my absolute favorite...

Happy Tuesday all~

off to market, take 4...

It appears people like hoops :)

And I should have taken a picture of my kitchen table when I was finished.  No room to sit for dinner...just scraps as far as the eye could see.  I'm lobbying for my own room :)

Happy Wednesday all~

I'm going to figure this out....

And I'll share the results....good or bad :)

Happy Monday all~

Rebel Reclaimed

My hoops are now for sale in a quaint little urban boutique Rebel Reclaimed!

A real store!  With real walls, windows and a door...and actual hours of operation!

I was pretty excited to make my first sale today.

You can find them on facebook here.  And you should like them, because their merchandise is darling.

Happy Thursday all~

Crochet Headbands

I stumbled upon a fabulous crochet headband deal on here a few weeks back.

Well they came, I prettied up a few...and they are now for sale!

And I finally got around to making the big girl some ruffle pants too :)

Happy Wednesday all~

Hoops

A few new hoops for sale...