Fabric Phone Case

Out of necessity comes creativity...that was the case for this project.
I get tired of all of the music on my IPod so I usually just listen to Pandora on my phone. I had an old IPod holder for running, but I needed something for my phone that I could strap on my arm when I go for a run or walk the dog. Since I still had the IPod case with elastic strap, I only needed something to hold the phone.

This was also my first attempt quilting, and tried for a chevron design. It's a little wobbly, but not too bad for a first try.

Here are a few pics of the process...
*(on a side note, I'm really NOT a Lakers fan...but the shirt was cheap, comfy and vintage looking with Magic Johnson's name and number on the back, so I bought it and wear it around the house).

Another Shirt Refashion

I came home from work the other night tired of wearing the same old thing. My friend was recently in a wedding in Hawaii, (so jealous!) and her bridesmaid dress had this awesome pleated collar. I decided to re-create the collar on one of my many plain shirts I wear to work.

I have never been a fan of this shirt. The supposed V-Neck was always stretched and wonky when I put it on. It always managed to show bra straps no matter what tank I put on underneath, and lately when it has been worn, the neckline has been hidden behind cardigans and scarves. It was time for a change.

The update was actually much simpler than I anticipated. After cutting a strip of fabric about 2" by 40" I began to pin and overlap the fabric about every 1 and 1/2 inches. With all of the pins in place I sewed one seam down the middle, making sure to grab the shirt, and a seam on each of the shoulders to tack down the green fabric.
Since the fabric frays really bad I used a lighter to seal in all of the edges.
I also trimmed up some of the pleats that were poking out.
I absolutely love the new neckline and for FREE I have a new awesome shirt to wear to work...and lots of other places.

Rouched Sleeve Tutorial

I bought this shirt last year, and after one wash, it went from long-sleeves to awkward-sleeves. I have tried to wear it a couple more times by either pushing or rolling the sleeves up to more of a 3/4 length, but the material stretches and by the end of the day they are falling down.

I have seen a lot of rouched-sleeve cardigans and thought it would be an excellent fix to my very awkward length sleeves. This fix seriously took less than 20 minutes and was super easy. Tutorial below, for those of you who have had the same problem as me.

Such a horrible look!

First I was going to lay the sleeves out and get an exact measurement of the center, but then thought, what the heck, I'm free handing this. I threw on the shirt and with a piece of white sidewalk chalk drew a line from the shoulder seam down the center of my arm on both sides.

I then started from the opening near the shoulder (I started at the wrist on the first sleeve and it gave me some problems) and put in a few stitches to start.
To gather the fabric I made sure the needle was down and raised the presser foot. Once raised I would take 2 to 3 inches of fabric and push it in towards the needle and put the presser foot back down and sew. As soon I stitched down the scrunched up fabric I would raise the foot and repeat.
Here are a few pics of the finished product, this shirt will be getting a lot more use this summer.

My husband accidentally took this picture before changing the settings on the camera. I liked the washed out look though because it showed the detailing of the sleeve.

***I'll be linking this tutorial up at *These Parties*

Mother's Day Corsage

With Mother's Day quickly approaching, I had to quickly throw something together for mi madre. It had to be a completely free gift because I recieved a text from my mom that clearly said "cards are welcome, gifts are not, please don't spend any money." I wanted to order my mom a corsage because all the southern ladies wear corsages to church, but that would cost money, so I got creative. I grabbed the corsage idea from this blog, modified it a little bit, and found a free printable for the card from this blog. Hopefully this fabric corsage will match whatever my mom decides to wear on Mother's Day, and she can't be upset because I only paid for postage!

Completely Free Spring Wreath

I finally got around to taking our Christmas wreath down, mainly because I was terrified that our HOA would ticket me for having a Christmas decoration up in March! The Christmas wreath was from my floral design class and was made mostly with greens wired to a metal wreath form. I took all of the greens off because I figured I could use the metal form later.

My original plan was to make a grocery bag wreath, but less than half way through I decided it wasn't for me. I finished off the rest of the wreath by weaving scrap material through the wire frame. For a finishing touch I added the bow and a couple of flowers made from paper towel rolls. All in all it was a completely FREE wreath for spring. Doesn't get much better than that!

St. Patrick's Day Accessory (and not a tacky Kiss Me I'm Irish pin)

I love St. Patty's day and always make sure to wear green every year. Mainly because I have some Irish heritage (maiden name O'Neil). I am also known to pinch those who are green-less. This year I decided to make my pop of green an accessory rather than looking like the Leprechaun from the Lucky Charms's box.

By the way, I love the new-to-me technique of ruffling the edges of chiffon or chiffon like fabric by using candle.

Vintage Brooch Headband

For my wedding, (over 2 years ago) I made this hair piece to wear with my veil for my "something old." It is my grandmother's brooch from the 1940's. I had yet to wear it since the wedding because it was stored in a box that just sat on my dresser collecting dust.

Then I spotted some vintage gold and feather bobby pins at a local boutique and took that idea and ran with it. I grabbed a dollar store headband and wrapped it in ribbon. I then used a pack of feathers and added a few directly to the headband. After those were in place I gathered ribbon and fabric to make a spot to pin the brooch. I originally didn't plan on adding feathers on top the ribbon, but I felt like it needed something more. I just love the vintage look of headband, and how the neutral colors lend itself well to almost any outfit. I have already worn it a few times!

Please ignore the ratty hair, must have been a rough day.