Upcycled skirt and tee into children's dress!

Look what I made Caida!

It was a really easy sewing project...although I learned a few things I'll do differently for the other two dresses I want to make her.  And I had to do the sewing by hand...I think if I had a sewing machine, it would have EASILY been an hour project tops...instead of all day.  :)  But oh well.  A lot of love went into that dress!

HERE'S HOW:

Take a child's sized tee, some ribbon, and a skirt or long dress-type shirt or something that you want to add to the bottom.

$2.50 Shirt and matching brown ribbon for 47 cents!  Everything else I had on hand!

My pretty thrifted skirt.  No really, take a look at these details!

I loved the ribbon/lace across the top panel of the skirt...and just the pretty brown flowery print...

And the layered, loose flow of the A-line skirt at the bottom!  LOVE this skirt, but it just didn't fit right. But I didn't have the heart to throw it away.

Let's talk sewing materials for a sec.  You'll of course need the things you always need for sewing: machine or needles/thread, pins, scissors, etc.  Mom gave me a Singer automatic scissors thingy, which I like.  I also bought some Sew No More and Fray No More (also Singer products)...I think I should have splurged and gotten Fabri Tac and Fray Check instead.  But for this project, with such thin ribbon that I didn't know how I was going to sew on (1/4"), this worked well.  (My pirate costume...that's another story!)  I guess if you're just patching up a rip or seam it's not too bad.  Just know that it DOES bleed through the fabric you use and turn everything kinda shiny and weird.  But it's not awful...in small quantities.  You definitely need some way to keep the ribbon on your dress and some other way to keep the ribbon from fraying, whatever you decide.

Okay.  Now that that's out of the way, let's get to business!  (BTW, I'm sure some version of this process would work for grown-up girls, too.  I've seen a lot of tee-shirts-and-extra-long-fabric-skirts on Pinterest.)

1. Cut your tee shirt under the bust line, about 1/2" lower than you want the actual bust to fall to allow for folding and sewing.

2. Cut your skirt as well so that it's about the same width (again, plus about 1/2" seam allowance) at the top as the tee shirt. (Although, in hindsight, I would have made it a LOT bigger and sewed some elastic in it to give it some stretch...this method doesn't really have much "give" in it.)  Since this skirt had a beautiful A-line shape, I tried to keep that shape as symmetrically as I could as I cut with some eyeballing and some LOOSE measuring with my metal ruler.  So I used most of the bottom of the skirt, still.

I pinned where the width of the tee was, and I cut outside of that about 1/2".

Then I just sewed up my new side seam (right sides together, as always) for my skirt (tip: fold the seams over TWICE before you sew so that you don't have fraying edges...especially if you're going to be hand sewing, too!) and sewed the top of the skirt to the bottom of the tee!  In hindsight that was kinda stupid...DON'T DO THAT! I mean, I had cut off the zipper side, and there wasn't any elastic...so how's she supposed to put it on?  Thankfully she's little and stickish (no curves yet) and the shirt was a little bigger than her size and she can shimmy into it fine because it's so wide...and that's where I added some ribbon along that bust line (just measured and glued it down with my sew-no-more) to help it tie behind her back and give it some shape. BUT.  WHEN I make the other two dresses, I'll invest in some wide elastic paneling and sew a wider skirt bottom to it, then sew that elastic section to the bottom of the tee...that way everything will have a little give but it will also still have a great shape at the waistline and no ribbon will be needed.  So I can avoid that fabric glue altogether!

Still, all in all, it's a quick and easy sewing project.  It still worked this time (thankfully!) and was sooooo worth it. Now Caida has a one-of-a-kind dress, hand stitched by her aunt who adores her.  :)

And SHE likes it...that's all that matters, right?  :)

It still needed something, I thought...so I used some of that scrap fabric, a little felt, a button, and a pin backing to make a fabric flower for the dress.

MY FAVORITE PART!

It can go here...

Or here...

Or, my favorite, here!

Can't wait to try more and perfect the process.  Thanks for reading!  Now, go thrift-store-raiding and upcycle some of your own clothing...for your kids or even just yourself.  :)  Cheaper than new clothes, and you'll know it's one-of-a-kind!

Felt Belt!

So, among my Good Will finds this morning was this cute, simple tee shirt dress.

It is actually one of those longer shirts for women, but since I found it in the girls' dresses section, of course that's what I thought it was.  And I thought Caida would love it, since she's on this purple kick thanks to Tangled. :) It is definitely too big for her, though...even with black leggings or skinny jeans underneath it still needed something to give it some SHAPE so that she didn't look like a homeless stick dressed up in her mommy's old clothes.  A cute matching belt would do the trick...but I didn't have one of those on hand.

So I made one up!

And now it's shapely and cute and will grow with her until she wears it out.  :)

I love it.  It'll be perfect for lounging around on lazy Saturdays or dressing up for field trips, with her little black tights.  I don't know why, but I envision a girl curled up with a cup of something hot and sweet and a book on a fluffy couch when I see this.  Maybe it was a commercial?

Sorry I don't have pictures of the step-by-step process...I think it'll be pretty clear/obvious to most people how I made it (braid long strips of felt together and glue on a flower), but I'll write the directions in detail in case it isn't.  :)

1. All I did was find some felt sheets in my stash that were coordinating colors--you'll want up to three colors (though you could easily do just one, or two if you want one to pop).  I cut three long strips from each color about 1" wide down the whole length of the sheet--so each was about 11" long.

In case you're confused already, I had 3 11"x1" strips of purple, 3 11"x1" strips of gray, and 3 11"x1" strips of black.  :)

2. Then I used my handy dandy hot glue gun to glue each separate color into one LONG strip.  So one 33" strip of purple, one 33" strip of gray, and one 33" strip of black, give or take.

3. I glued the three different colors together at one end (right on top of each other in a stack), braided it the length I needed (21" in this case, Caida's waist measurement), and then cut off the excess and glued them together again at the end (again, stacked).

4. Add a cute matching felt flower onto one end, and hot glue either velcro to both ends (so they'll stick together when they wrap around the waist) or snaps, or, like I did because of my plethora of pins, just a pin backing to the flower.  No one will know.  :)

VERY easy, and very cheap.  About a 10 minute craft, but it really adds a cute personal touch to whatever you're wearing.  I will have to remember this for some of MY shirts that need that extra "something special."

Happy crafting!

Show Off Saturday

I love Good Will anyway, but I have decided that Paul and I are going to have a first-Saturday-of-the-month date breakfast and Good Will raid from now on.  50% off!  When I got there at 9am, it wasn't too terribly crowded...and I ran into several people I know.  :)

No, seriously, though.  I scored BIG this morning.  I went for the purpose of finding things as bases for our costumes for Paul's pirate birthday party and Halloween.  I found two adult peasant shirts (one male one female) for our piratey birthday costumes.  I found a yellow lace-up tank for Caida's rock queen bee Halloween costume (it's gonna be SOOOO cute!) AND a black mini skirt to go with it (she'll wear tights!).  I also found a cute purple-and-gray-striped long tee shirt dress for Caida that will be PERFECT if we can find a purple or black fabric belt to go with...or maybe I'll just make one. :)  I also found an ugly red thick pillowcase that I'm going to cut up and use the fabric for...oh yeah, and half a dozen books.  ALL FOR $12.  Score!

In other news, I finished my fake corset (tutorial to come soon!) and I started turning my old skirts/ugly maternity-esque shirts into dresses for Caida.  (Sort of tutorial to come...).  Here are some pics to whet your appetite!  :)

Caida's Dress (that cost me $2.50 for the tee shirt and used ribbon/thread/a skirt that I already had...)

From a Caida-sized tee...

And this BEAUTIFUL but just-too-small-and-just-too-short skirt (from Goodwill, so no huge loss, as it was only $4 to begin with), came...

This cute dress!!!

She looks awesome in it, even before I had the ribbon tie and the flower finished!

I. am. in. love. with this fabric flower!  So sepia.  Reminds me of something antiqued.  :)

Faux (no-sew) Corset Top

And I applied to some of those jobs mentioned earlier.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

That's really all I can show off for this week.  What have YOU done? :)

Family Friday

Just some pictures and trivialities to highlight our week. :)

Paul and I played war (the card game)...we never finished--it was a LONG game--and with wars like this, you can see why!  It made me chuckle a lot.  :)

We made sushi for dinner one night.  Cerene had never had it before and now wishes she had known about its awesomeness, and Caida had LOVED it at break-the-fast and wanted to make some with me.  It was a BLAST!  It's fun to have dinners like that and fondue and make-your-own-pizzas that everyone can get in on...especially for Caida's sake!

As for me, other than doing visiting teaching I got hooked on pinterest this week.  A lot of the time spent has been setting things up, but I have to say, it's turned out to be a HUGE blessing.  I got onto it for craft stuff, but I have found SO MANY TEACHERS with great ideas for math, literacy, and science lessons--not to mention ideas for classroom organization, management, and decor--that I feel like it's just a huge collaboration of teachers.  I have been so inspired.  (The crafts are fun, too...and I'm going to be doing some hand sewing soon, turning old shirts and too-short-for-me-skirts into tee-shirt-dresses for Caida. Thank you, Pinterest. :)  I've also had literally 4 job openings brought to my attention this week, all (sort of) in my field, so guess what I'll be doing later today?  Yup--applications and cover letters! Even if I don't get any of them, I can always be a sub.  In fact, I'd almost prefer that at this moment because of the flexibility and the ideas I'd get, but you can't argue with the regularity of $10+/hour and benefits.  Starting next week I'm a free agent again and I can work!

Speaking of teaching, Paul started teaching his own class this week!  He's officially a trainer, training others instead of just training to be a trainer!  Woohoo!  He really loves it, even if it is hard.  And he has a new appreciation for lesson planning.  I told him at least he doesn't have to worry about classroom management *too* much AND he only has to come up with like 5 or 6 weeks of lesson plans, then he gets to repeat that over and over again.  :)  Anyway, his students really love him lots already.  He's gotten amazing feedback and positive reviews.  So proud of him!  It makes all the long hours away from each other worth it, knowing that he's doing what he does WELL and building references for when he becomes a teacher someday!

Caida has had as rough a week as ever, but she's still learning.  Some days she at least had a positive attitude at school...and others, it's like she didn't even try.  She's a sweetheart still, though!  And adventurous.  And silly.  She popped right up and scared me like a monster this morning when I went to wake her up, which surprised me since she's almost always impossible to get up and moving in the mornings!  But then I learned the secret--it's Friday...she gets to go to Grandma Linda's tonight!  That always puts her in a good mood.  :)  Cerene has been having some pain in her lower back and has been busy, busy, busy, what with being a working mom and all now!  But she's pretty much gotten used to being on the phones at work and is looking forward to improving her stats for next week.  And having a paycheck that she gets to spend how she wants to is always a perk!  Meanwhile, she mostly just spends her afternoons/evenings with Caida and James, especially meeting with teachers and such after school hours and helping Caida with spelling and homework.

Oh yeah, and Obi chewed off Voodoo's collar when we weren't looking...so we bought them BOTH new, matching pink and flowery collars.  I just love how cute they are, and now no one will wonder what gender Voodoo is! :) I wish dogs weren't so difficult to photograph, or I could show you a picture.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell!  Looking forward to Conference and all the autumny goodness coming up!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am mostly just thankful for beauty and whimsy and daydreams.  :)

So much beauty.  Heavenly Father is a true *artist.*

Why I Believe Wednesday: Paul

Forgive me.  I'm going to get personal and mushy. 

I love my husband.  Tons.  And bunches. 

I won't say much more than that.  But I love having someone who believes the same things I do, someone to learn and grow with. 

Mostly I love our conversations. Last night we got to have like a 6-hour conversation, with topics ranging from teaching to gospel truths to tv shows and everything in between.  I love moments like that.  And it was confirmed to me several times throughout the evening that even though we are both so very imperfect and sometimes have no idea what we're doing, in our marriage or in life, I am lucky to have him by my side as my best friend and true companion while we figure it out.  And talking with him reinforced everything I'd been thinking about lately, with regards to the teachings of the gospel and what we want our home and our family to become.  I think we really do complement each other very well--we're not all that alike, but we still get each other (most of the time) and share in one another's interests and joys.  He's a great supporter without pushing too hard.  I try to do likewise.  He reminds me of the Plan and of the end goal.  Having a covenant marriage really does push us both to be better so we can get there.  I love the person Paul is and the person I know he will become.  And I don't deserve.  But God blessed me, anyway.  And I know sometimes I take him for granted.  But God blesses us BOTH, anyway, and sometimes I remember why marriage is so important--the very essence and purpose of the gospel. 

That is why I believe.  :)

10 Things Tuesday: Shells!

I thought I'd continue this "natural materials" theme for a while.  :)  We have a basket of shells in our bathroom--some storebought and some we collected from the beach this summer--but it's getting old (and conflicts with our other decor, anyway) and I need to get rid of it.  What can I do with all these shells?  Well, here are ten ideas to at least get me started!  :)

10. Frame some!  These are fun, quick art/decor projects!

9. Candles!  You can make your own candles by pouring in some melted wax and adding a wick.  So pretty!

 8.  These are incredible--if you are really the artistic type, make some animals, like these awesome elephants found HERE!

7. Embellishments!  You can embellish just about anything--from throw pillows to flower pots to lampshades--with your small leftover shells.

 6. Make jewelry!  Drill small holes in your shells and turn them into pendants, earrings, bracelet charms, and more.

 5.  This fun matching game from Family Fun is just about genius!  You just stick stickers on the bottom--two of each sticker, of course--and turn them over.  Voila!  Instant, fun, cheap game!

4.  Also from FamilyFun, you can turn the insides of those open shells into mini canvases for a fun art project for all ages!

3. Make an ornament!  I'm sure everyone has one of these already.  :)  But they're still fun to do!

2.  Check out this fancy shell bouquet from Martha Stewart!

1. Make a pretty soap dish or toothbrush holder with those bigger shells!

Well, I'd stay and chat, but I'm going to go get crafting on one of these right now!  :)  Hope one of these things inspired you...happy crafting!

I gave in!

I finally gave in and got a pinterest account.  It's right up my alley, the only reason I didn't do it sooner was because I knew how much time I would waste on it!  But I decided it was worth it, especially since my bookmarks don't save half the time on my janky computer, the holidays are coming up, I want to start a monthly craft club, and I'm running out of ideas.  Plus, it's kinda fun to see your own stuff out there, pinned and repinned for all the world to see!  :)

So, yeah.  I'm on pinterest.  Celeste Fernandez/omaroma.  Sometimes I'll shamelessly pin my own creations, not because I want you to repin but because it helps keep me organized and find things when I want to.  Usually I'll just pin things from people far more talented and inspired than I am.  Now if you follow me you can get inspired by all the people that inspire me, too!

Also, I'm serious about the monthly craft club.  It came to me during the General Relief Society meeting (there was a purpose, my mind wasn't just wandering!) and I feel like it was an inspired thought.  I want to teach people how to make cute things that have three major qualities I look for in a craft:
(1) Cheap ('cause I'm poor...I'm talking like $5 per project cheap!),
(2) Quick and easy ('cause I'm impatient and still a beginner by many crafting standards), and
(3) Possessing form AND function ('cause I don't have space for a zillion "pretty" things that have no real purpose).

SO.  If you're anywhere near me and interested in joining this monthly craft club night, I'm still getting ideas and organized and such so it'll be another month or two before it falls into place, but let me know!  And if you're NOT near me, but still interested, I've got a board on pinterest called "Craft Night Ideas" that will inspire you...and, of course, I'll post tutorials here on the good ol' blog of what we actually do once all is said and done so you can follow along at home, if you feel so inclined.

Here's to a new chapter in my personal crafting adventure!  And here's to YOURS!

Mmm...Monday! Zucchini Fruit Snacks!

Yes, you read that right!  I discovered a new foodie fad in the bloggosphere in which people are making their own fruit snacks using zucchini and koolaid mix!  I just HAD to try it for myself, especially since my dehydrator hasn't gotten a lot of use lately.  The verdict: they're a hit!  So sweet, and cheaper per ounce than any storebought fruit snacks, but they still have that "fake fruit" taste kids love.  (I prefer real dried fruit myself, but Caida loved these...once she got over the fact that they aren't as pretty as the storebought kind. :)
Here's how:

INGREDIENTS:
4 c. peeled, seeded, chopped zucchini (you can really make as much as you want...most people online found 2 zucchinis give you about 1/2 gallon of fruit snacks.  They must have their own gardens with ginormous zucchini, because I bought the puny storebought kind and 3 of those barely made a SNACK-SIZED BAGGIE [still yummy]. So experiment.  Just be sure no matter how much you make that your pieces are about an inch long and about 1/2" thick.)
2 koolaid packets
1 1/2 c. sugar (you can play with this, too)
3 c. water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil water, sugar, and koolaid/drink mix over high heat.
2. Add zucchini as soon as the sugar has dissolved and bring to a full boil.  Reduce heat, let simmer (covered) for about 30 minutes.
3. Drain/strain for about 10 minutes, allowing to cool.  (You can preserve the liquid if you want to make more...I was trying different flavors out, so I didn't do this, but you can.)
4. Disperse on racks in dehydrator (or you can put them on a plastic-wrap-lined cookie sheet in the oven on super-low heat [140-170]).  Drying times will vary--mine took about 13 hours.  Dehydrate until they are not shiny/sticky to the touch anymore, but still pliable.  Store in an airtight container.

5. Eat them all up and make some more!

Apparently, you can make these "sour" by cutting the sugar down to 1 c. and changing it from 2 packets to 10...I haven't tried that yet, but maybe I will sometime soon.  :) 

So, in my opinion, while these are delish, with puny and expensive storebought zucchini it's not totally worth it.  Especially if you have a fruit snack with real fruit in it already on your to-buy list every time you go to Aldi.  :)  BUT, if we had a garden and we grew monster zucchini like my mom used to for mere pennies per squash, it would TOTALLY be worth it, both monetarily and healthwise. So maybe we'll make these once in a while, but I'm not switching over my whole life to them just yet.  What do you think? 

Sunday Thoughts: Forget-me-nots

Okay, there's always a great spirit at Relief Society general meetings.  I always enjoy the talks and the music and the bond of a worldwide sisterhood.  But can I just say that last night was the best one yet?  We sang, between that and my stake meeting earlier, ALL FIVE of my five favorite large-group hymns: "How Firm a Foundation," "Redeemer of Israel," "Hope of Israel," "Hark, All Ye Nations," and "Now Let Us Rejoice".  Those aren't my favorite HYMNS ever, but they're my five favorite to sing with a large mass of people, because they are all like warrior songs to me.  :)  And we sang ALL FIVE!

The other talks were amazing, of course, but can I put out there that President Uchtdorf's talk last night was completely written for me?  HOLY COW.  I know I'm not the only one that feels that way, but I am still right.  :)  He spoke of forget-me-nots, and how they reflect the colors of heaven.  And how when he sees the tiny, humble little flower so often overshadowed by all the rest, he is reminded and hopes to remind us of five very important things that we should never, ever forget:

1. Be patient and compassionate with yourselves.
2. Some sacrifices are better than others--some are foolish and some are wise.
3. Don't wait for a "golden ticket" to be happy--be happy NOW.
4. Remember the "why" of the gospel, not just the "what" or "how."
5. You are not forgotten.

Those five things were all my biggest weaknesses.  Every single one, in its own way.  Except number 4 sometimes--I DO remember the "why"s of the gospel in living it mostly, but I did apply that to visiting teaching and scripture study and the like and then it was just as appropriate as the rest of them. I loved this talk right from number one, but by the time he got to number five, I was crying and feeling the Spirit (two separate feelings there) and just received a very powerful witness that President Uchtdorf really is an apostle and prophet of Jesus Christ.  (Good thing I watched it online at home and no one saw me blubbering and shaking my head in astonishment all the way through this talk!)  I knew what he was saying was true, even though I haven't felt that way in a really long time.  It made my heart ache to know of God's love so certainly as he does.  I just loved it, in ways I can't express, apparently, because when I tried to tell Paul, he was just like, "That's cool."

No, it's so much more than cool.

If you missed it, you missed out.  Watch it HERE.

And now forget-me-nots may just be my new favorite flower.  :)