Refashioning in the Hood

I did a quick little project yesterday that's been on my mind for a while, but, of course, hadn't gone any further.  Zoe has this simple little hoodie I picked up at Walmart for $7.50.  Very basic, good for the playground.  I took some gray/zebra burnout knit and made double-layered ruffles next to the zippers.  Here's the before and after:

 I'm super happy with the results.  I kind of want to add a ruffle around the edge of the hood, though. Once you start ruffling things, it's hard to stop!
I also made some more porch decor for the mushy love holiday.  I used some upcycled bottles that I had salted and spray painted to use at Christmas time.  I drew hearts with my glue gun and added fuzzy red yarn.  Super easy, took 5 minutes.

Sweet!  I am totally crushing on red and turquoise right now!  Have you made anything for Valentine's yet?  I'd love to see!  I'm linking my hoodie project to the linky party at The Train to Crazy!

Moms ROCK!!

Moms are a force of nature.  God has given mothers amazing capacities for patience, sleep deprivation, messes, whining, tantrums, and all the other things about children that fray our nerves.  The most staggering gift God blesses mothers with is the fierce, all-encompassing, mama bear LOVE that hits them like a ton of bricks when they hold their child for the first time.

I remember every detail of my three children's births.  I remember how they looked the first time I saw them...the first time I touched them.  The first time they looked into my eyes as if they knew immediately who I was...and I believe they did.  I am proud to be a mom, and though not every aspect is enjoyable, even the trials are worth it.  They are fun, loud, creative, crazy, smart, loving, and they definitely keep me on my toes!


Of course, celebrating anything always makes me want to make stuff, so in honor of Mother's Day, I decided it was time to try out a pattern I bought a few months ago but had been too chicken to try until now.  I bought the Sienna Dress pattern from Lil Blue Boo after following Ashley's amazing blog and seeing the super cool dresses she makes!  I love fun, funky, unique clothing for my kids, though due to the shortage of boy patterns, Miss Z gets most of the coolest stuff.

I started with a white 3T short-sleeved boys' tee from Wal-Mart.  I think it was five bucks.  We are big on guitars in our house, so I knew Z would dig it.  My computer and my printer are not on speaking terms, so I couldn't print out my pattern pieces...I had to just look at the pictures and wing it.  I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt!

I used some navy blue knit from one of my hubby's old work tees for the armholes, and the bottom 8 inches or so from another.  The great thing about using the bottom of the shirt for the skirt part is that the hem is already done!

Rock on!!!  Z loves her new dress and has already worn it twice in a row!  I can't wait to make some more!  What do you think?  :o)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!  YOU ROCK!!!!

Refashion-able

Allrighty then....it's about time for a crafty post on this crafty blog.  I have always been into reusing things.  I save ribbon and fabric scraps, just positive I'll use them in something one day...usually, I do use them....eventually.

There are so many awesome craft blogs out there in bloggyville...I LOVE reading them, being inspired by them, and learning new things from them!  In light of my husband's recent unemployment, I decided to try to refashion some of my kids' clothes in order to lengthen their shelf life.  The clothing, not the kids. :o)

Z  had this perfectly good 24-month black turtleneck onesie in her dresser.   It had become a bit short through the body, and Z (having just turned 3) has decided that "big girls don't wear shirts that snap."  I had seen a tutorial on Ruffles and Stuff and decided to try it out with this onesie.  I cut straight across just above the leg holes, then added two "skirts" made from some pink fabric I had left over from another project.  I love upcycling!  I ended up with this:

Cute, but it just needed a little somethin' somethin'.  So I added a fabric flower to one side at the waist.

Ta-daaaaa!  Z wore it the next day, but has now decided that it needs short sleeves...so I guess I'm not done with it yet.  Not bad for a beginning sew-er, huh?  ;)