Tour de Fat!

   If you know anything about Tour de Fat, you know how fun it is! This year my boytoy and I sorted through old prom dresses at the thrift store to find one that I could butcher and alter to make a fun and flashy costume with that would match my boytoy's no-shirt blue tux outfit. 

   Unfortunately I totally spaced on taking before pictures of the dress. I know, I know, but you'll just have to use your imagination to picture the original dress, which extended to the floor and had no flashy sequin belt or large ruffle. 

I cut the dress at knee-length, and then used the fabric from the very bottom of the dress to create a large ruffle. Having a serger saved loads of time, as I simply just serged along the edge of the pre-cut ruffle, and ta-da!

Using the overlock machine on the ruffle. I pinned small pleats to create a puffy effect.

I had to sew the sequin belt (which I also found at the thrift store) just below a large opening in the back of the dress where the zipper was. The dress was a tad tight, and depending on the day it was a challenge to zip it all the way to the top. I decided to extend the belt just a tad and add a button with elastic under it, this way the dress would be held together with the button closure at the top of the zipper, yet be covered by this added belt.

Oh, and I also used some of the scrap tulle from the bottom of the dress to cut into strips and tie onto my pigtails, somewhat noticeable in the pics. And we used some of the sequin belt to attach to my boytoy's top hat to match our outfits. What a fun costume, and what a fun day!

Bag Holder

  Just for fun I made my boytoy this plastic bag holder. I love the vintage Snoopy scraps I was able to use on it!

Superhero Capes

  After making superhero capes with an Octonaut theme for my nephew's fourth birthday party I decided to make some more neutral ones with simple stars on the back. Simple cotton fabrics with velcro closures make for an easy dress-up item for preschoolers. I wish that I had a few of these when I was working in a Pre-K classroom, I'm sure they would've been a big hit!

Teal with red star

Blue with orange star 

Light purple with pink star

Blue with red star

Caterpillar Costume

  It has been way too long since I've posted! After taking a break over the summer I've been very busy designing and prepping many new clutches and other items to list on my Etsy page before the holidays are upon us. But before I list those I have two adorable Halloween costumes to share!

  I was asked to create a caterpillar costume based on Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. After looking at many ideas I decided to use felt for mine with a bodysuit for the body and a hat for the caterpillar's head. The original costume was made with a red infant cap that the parents purchased for me, and I added the antenna, eyes and nose. I then purchased extra red felt to create two small felt caps for the two costumes that I've listed for sale on Etsy. 

  I absolutely love this costume! It's sure to be a hit on Halloween. It'd look even cuter as a group costume with a butterfly and some of the caterpillar's favorite foods nearby. 

Get one before they are gone!

Spring is in the Air!

   Sunshine, warm air, birds chirping and flowers sprouting- and it's only February! Yes, I happen to be a Denverite and enjoy every sunshiny day, especially getting new bright spring fabrics, like this linen. And if you're in the Northeast like my family, just hold on, you're almost out of the cold, too!

Lessons in Sewing From the Past

Every. Single. Day.

 

    A friend of mine shared this on FB the other day and I liked it so much I printed it out and hung it up. Sometimes it can be challenging to motivate yourself into doing something, like me for example with trying to get this sewing business up and running while still having another very busy job. However, if we can just vocalize what it is that we want and create an attainable plan it is possible. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO!

Score at the Thrift Store

  You can't turn up something like this, especially if you were born in the 80's like me! Cabbage Patch Kids were a big part of my upbringing and wish I would've kept some of my old ones from the past: marker on the faces, hair snipped and all. Will I ever use the pattern? I'm not sure, but I think it's kind of like keeping those old favorite books on the shelf even though you've read them just enough times. 

Going in for One Item...

One item. Yeah, it's a family joke started thanks to my stepmother's antics, but it fully describes me at Jo-Ann Fabric! I even went in with a list last night to pick up specific fabrics and notions for a new project but thanks to a large sale section on fabrics I ended up spending way more than I should have!  What can I say I LOVE using all sorts of different fabrics and prints, plus I've found that fruit and veggie prints aren't easy to find. Here's a peek of whats to come:

Funky texture and bright colors
should make for some interesting new reusable snack bags.

I love this cotton print! I think it'll make some super cute cloth napkins (two-layer like I prefer with light cottons). 

More two-layer cloth napkins coming up with this bright, fruity cotton. 

It's a Fabric Addiction

T-Shirt Reno's, Just for Fun

Chopping old tee's for fun, here are the results:

Can't throw away a perfectly good StoneCoast tee just because it's too small!

We're all mad here...

Boston Baseball tee a thrift store find.

Not an easy recovery, this shirt didn't hold up very well. Although it is straight from Indiana!

Missing Z Fabrics

     After moving to the Greater Denver area from Maine, there is still one place that I have not been able to replace: Z Fabrics. I felt like a child in a candy store whenever I went there, and the various, beautiful textures, colors and prints just made me drool with delight! Do I really want to find a 'replacement'? Well, no, if you put it like that. But I sure would love to find another fabric store with the same selection of fabrics, notions and books as well as ownership as I saw there!