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~