refashioned:: t-shirt to little girls top- version two

i promised a few of you a tutorial for the girls ruffle neck refashion- i finally did it! this top is slightly different but was constructed the same way. i hope it is clear enough. feel free to ask if you are unsure of anything. thanks for reading!

the before:

before: old navy t-shirt i bought for $4 several months ago.

pin the shoulders and the sides where you want the seams to be (this works better if your shirt is turned inside out- that way when you are ready to sew the seams you don't have to mess with moving the pins from the outside to the inside).

cut off the sleeves.


sew the shoulder seams and cut off the excess. do the same for the side seams. don't forget to save the scraps from the sides!


check the fit.


cut the banded neckline off. now we are ready for the fun part!


with elastic thread in the bobbin (hand wound- i stretch mine a little as i wind it) and the shirt right side out sew all the way around the neckline about a 1/4" from the edge. (actually, i didn't sew over the elastic casing on the center front but on a plain shirt you would sew all the way around) also i always start out shirring on a piece of scrap fabric because sometimes the elastic makes my machine jam. once i know it is sewing correctly i start on the garment.


shirred neckline.


check fit again (at this point Sutton was saying "why i put this shirt on 'gain mom?"


pin sleeves- the underside seam and where it will attach to the shoulder.


mark on the sleeve where the shoulder seam will be.


sew underarm seam and trim excess from where the shoulder seam will be (don't forget to account for a seam allowance).

make strips from the side scraps. mine are the width of my ruler about 1.5".

four strips ready for shirring.


with the elastic thread sew down the center of your strips feeding them in one after the other without stopping (you can also overlap the ends of the strips if you want). you are now done with the elastic thread- change out the bobbin for regular thread.


one long ruffle.


attach the sleeves.


pin the ruffle around the neckline having the edge of the ruffle extend past the edge of neckline. sew, trying to stay on the existing shirring stitch.


with the remaining ruffle make two more rows. pin.

sew down the center of each ruffle along the existing shirring seam.


done!!

here it is modeled by my happy girl.









part of DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

how to girl-ify a lamp shade

have you heard of freezer paper stencils? they are great fun. i have freezer paper stenciled t-shirts, onesies and bibs. recently i wanted to embellish my daughters lamp shade but i wasn't sure how. then i got the crazy idea to use freezer paper stencils on it. i painstakingly cut out the very detailed zinnia design. i layered three sheets so i only had to cut out the design once thankfully.


i have to be honest, i would probably not do this again. it was almost impossible to get the freezer paper to stick to my linen lamp shade and the end result was not as clean as you usually get with the freezer paper stencils. i also had to be really careful to not melt the plastic liner when ironing the stencil onto the shade.


see how smudged the flowers are? it drives me nuts!


but sutton ooohed and ahhhed over the lamp and it looks good from a distance so we'll keep it!


part of DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

art gallery

tired of having my fridge plastered with the kids artwork i have been on the look out of a creative way to display it. when i saw this on Ohdeedoh i knew had found the solution!


only i didn't use the dignitet rod like the inspiration picture. i used the cheaper
deka rod ($5 including the clips!). deka isn't really made to have the wire come out the side like this but i was determined to make it work. and i did! so this project cost just $15 instead of $90. score!


i plan to rotate through pieces often, which with two kids in school who both love to have art time at home also, will not be a problem! i have bankers boxes for each of the kids where i put their art (and other school work) after it has been displayed. then someday when they are grown i will give them their boxes. my mom did that for me and i get such a kick out of looking at the things i drew 20+ years ago.

must make this

because one can never have too many orange ruffled pillows, right?

tutorial here.

refashioned:: men's long sleeved T to ladies ruffle neck top

you are probably thinking "another refashion?" but i can't help it!! they are so fun to do. every time Sutton wore her refashioned shirt i thought the ruffles were so cute i decided to make a version for me.

i dug through the cast-off pile and found this black t-shirt shirt my husband has never worn. i am not sure why he didn't like it, it is a soft but thick cotton.



i removed the sleeves and took in the sides. i then used one sleeve for the neck ruffles and the other sleeve for the cap sleeves i added.



easy peasy!

I am participating in DIY day at A Soft Place to Land. Go check out all the inspiring projects!

his sunday best

this is what Ezra wore to church today. with pants of course... church is one of those places where pants just aren't optional! it may be the first thing i have made for him. which is sad because he is almost 11 months old. i am glad that i finally made this for him (it's been on the 'must sew' list for a while), he looks so darn cute in it and this tie works much better than the real tie i made him for Easter (to coordinate with his dad's and old brother Liam's tie- in retrospect it was a little much). he used it as a chew toy and it was practically dripping by the end of church. gross!

this was also the first time i have ever attempted to dye anything. it was easier than i thought it would be. although i don't recommend wearing your favorite white shirt while using dye. even if you think it will be fine because you are wearing an apron... it won't end well (duh!).

i made the tie applique with some fabric from my scrap drawer. you only need a few inches, really. i free-handed the tie but Char at Crap I've Made has a great template and a detailed tutorial if you need one.

family tree templates

first i just want to thank all those out there that have featured my blog. i am honored and overwhelmed by the response to my little play kitchen project. and very warm welcome to all my new readers! i am so glad you're here!

here it is- the much requested family tree templates.

materials:
background paper 20"x24" (i had to buy paper larger than this and cut it down to size)
tree paper at least 19"x22"
leaves paper two 8.5"x11" cardstock, one blue one green (or your preferred colors)
frame with a 20"x24" opening
*i had to buy the large paper at art supply stores. stores like michael's just didn't have paper large enough.

i have struggled for hours how to get the template on here. the tree is about 20" wide and we don't have a plotter or printer large enough to print an image that size so we had to print it in six sections. my husband created the template in illustrator where it is very easy to print in sections. i know not everyone has access to that program so i was trying to find a way to cut the image into six different jpeg files and still have it print the right size. after countless hours i still haven't been able to make it work. is there anyone out there that knows how this can be accomplished? help! for now i will post the file as a PDF. if you have illustrator use your print selection tool to print the tree in six different sections. if you don't have illustrator, i suggest you take the file to kinkos (or similar) and get it printed. you might even be able to get it printed directly onto your tree paper, which would make the whole project so much easier- it would just cost more money.

if you have printed the tree in sections, match up the pieces and tape the pages together. cut your tree out. if you are only making one tree then place the taped together on your tree paper and carefully trace. if you are making multiple trees trace your taped together tree onto a piece of poster board. using an x-acto knife carefully cut out the negative of the tree so you have a stencil. like this (obviously, you could easily make a stencil like this with the kinko's print out):



now you can easily and quickly trace lots of trees. once you have your tree traced onto the paper carefully cut it out with an x-acto knife. for the best looking tree cut on or slightly inside the line- you don't want the branches to be too thick. the most important thing in cutting out the tree is smooth, straight lines. if you go off the cutting line a little it's okay, just gradually pull it back to the line (no sharp turns). it doesn't have to be perfect, we're just looking for the basic shape. once your tree is all cut out turn it over (so you can't see the cutting lines) and now you can refine the shape (if needed) with very sharp scissors or an x-acto knife.
tree PDF

you will need to print two sheets of the leaves for each tree- one in each color. one color for the females and the other color for the males. after you have your leaves cut out assemble everything (tree, leaves) on your background paper (but don't glue it down yet). now that you can see which way the leaves are arranged you can write the names (if you write on the leaves before you cut them out your names might end up being upside down). some of the leaves are pretty small, use a pencil first to make sure the name and date fit and are spelled correctly. when you are happy with it go over it with a nice fine tipped marker.
leaves

the diagram is to help you get all the leaves in the right spots. there are three sizes of leaves. if you are making a tree for you and your husband the names of your children will be on the trunk, you and husband will be on the two main branches, your parents and in-laws will be on the large leaves, your grandparents and grandparents-in-law on the medium leaves and your great grandparents, great grandparents-in-law, great-great grandparents and great-great grandparents-in-law on the small leaves.
diagram

now you can glue your tree and leaves to the background. use some nice scrapbooking adhesive. you don't want your finished project to have that rippled look you get with glue sticks!

i hope these directions make sense, please let me know if you have any questions. i will do my best to answer. if you make one of these trees i'd love it to see it- email a picture!