Embellisehd with Pleats

The weather in here in Interior Alaska has been unusual.  Thanksgiving should bring with it snow and minus temps. Instead this year we get barely freezing temps and rain....yuck! The roads have been so hazardous that they actually closed all the school even the college! That never ever happens here.  It could have dumped snow, there could be dense ice fog, or -65 degree temps and school stays open.  That should paint a picture of just how awful the roads are. I borrowed this pic from a friend.  This is what the roads looked like on Monday morning.

Fun, right? Any-who...I had intended to make some pretty fabric napkins and napkin rings for Thanksgiving, but give the road conditions I decided that driving into town on my own for fabric was not the best idea. The hubby and I did brave the roads yesterday to run errands, but I completely forgot to grab fabric.  Not that my hubby would have been patient in JoAnne's anyways:~)  

I have a white cardigan from the Gap that I have been meaning to dress up a bit and just haven't gotten around to it.  Since my napkin project wasn't going to happen I decided to finally work on my sweater.

I used an old tank top and cut it into strips for the pleats.  I then folded each pleat and pinned them in place.  I stitched my pleats in place by hand. This way if I ever decide to remove the pleats I can. I'm thinking about stitching on either side of my initial stitch line with colored thread.  We'll see:~)

Party Dress

I bought this pattern at JoAnne's for $1 at the Veteran's day sale.  I really love the dress and thought it would be perfect for my husband's christmas party.  I found really pretty green shantung fabric that I really liked which was also on sale.

(source)

This dress was incredibly simple...no lining, no zipper, simple! It took me a day to make. 

(Sorry for the bad picture)

I can't decided if I love the dress on me....

I did decide I didn't like the sash that the pattern called for so I switched it out for the belt.  I also didn't add the pockets. I didn't see the point.  The hem on me is a tad shorter then I had expected, but I have long legs.  I may end up wearing this with leggings if I decide to wear it at all.

 

Jcrew Inspired Headband Tutorial

While shopping for tights the other day I found this on jcrew.com. 

I loved it, but I don't wear headbands enough to justify spending $30 and it looked easy enough to make.  I found a satin coverd headband at JoAnne's for $2 and a bag of acrylic rhinestones for $3.  I also bought a piece of black felt to use as a backer which was $0.59.  Here is what my final product ended up looking like.

What you will need:

Acrylic Rhinestones

Small Pearls

Felt

Headband

Hot Glue Gun

1. Figure out how long your felt backer needs to be. I put the headband on and marked right above my ear. I measured from that point to the middle of the headband for the length. I then decided how wide I wanted it and cut my felt to fit.

2. Next I arranged my rhinestones and glued them to the felt. Make sure to leave room between your rhinestones for the pearls.

  

3. Cut away the excess felt leaving a small border around the outside edges of the rhinestones.

4. Start adding the pearls.  Add a little hot glue at a time, being careful not to get it all over the place.  Then add pearls as if you were spreading glitter over glue.  Push them done to ensure they stick and remove those that don't. Keep doing this until you have added as many pearls as you want.

5. Glue your creation on to your headband. 

Now you have a pretty hair accerrory for the holidays:~)

 

Frock by Friday: ANDA

I have been wanting to participate in A Frock by Friday over at Grosgrain ever since I discovered her blog, but I have always had too many other projects on my list.  This week I finally got time to sit down and join in:~) It was super simple and I really love the style of the Anda pattern.  The best part about it is that it is so versitile.  I'm already planning some alterations for a future frock....eventually I'll get around to trying them out.

Here is how my Frock turned out.... 

It took me forever to pick out a fabric I liked.  In Alaska we are pretty limited and I just hate ordering fabric without being able to feel it or see the true color.  Surprisilgly once I found this burried on the shelf at JoAnne's I was pretty happy.  I love that it still has that "little black dress" feel but with a little more character:~)

Your Style Rocks Design Contest

The other morning while I was browsing through all of the latest entries over at Craft Gossip I came across Your Style Rocks.  It is a website that encourages home-sewn fashion, which I am all for. They are currently hosting a nifty little contest.  The winner gets their design turned into a pattern. 

It been a long time since I drew a dress design.  I think the
last time was when I drew the design for my 10th grade homecoming
dress.  That was....well...a while ago:~) I thought that this contest was a good excuse to draw again.  Please don't mind my terrible figure.  I was never very good at drawing that part.

Making, cooking, drinking...

Making : a ruffled tube top

Cooking : white chili

Drinking : coffee

Reading: The Wheel of time (Shadow Rising) by Robert Jordan

Wanting: the weather to be beautiful when my family visits

Looking: my finally finished house:~)

Playing: nothing at the moment

Wasting: time meandering through the internet and looking at craft blogs

Sewing: see Making

Wishing: if I tell you then it won't come true:~)

Enjoying: coffee and my morning shows

Waiting: a visit

Liking: that tomorrow is Bunco night at my house!

Wondering: how the heck i'm going to wrap up my bunco prizes

Loving: my wonderful husband

Hoping: that my wish comes true

Marvelling: at how quickly time has flown by

Needing: to get moving for the day

Smelling: nothing...my nose is completely clogged.  darn allergies.

Wearing: pj's

Following: WAY too many craft blogs

Noticing: that it has stopped raining

Knowing: that God has a plan and my best interesting at heart.

Thinking: about my plans for the day

Bookmarking: too many websites that in time I will forget about.

Opening: email

Giggling: a picture of my friend on her travels

Feeling: at peace

I stole this from a wonderful friend who stole it from here.

Making it bigger and adding some detail

My mom sent me a few items of clothing that my sister no longer wanted.  Among those items was a top from Hollister. Sadly it was a little snug, then again I'm no longer a super skinny 20 year old either.  But I just loved the color and the neck line. So I figured I'll just make it fit:~) I went to Joanne's and picked up a fat quarter for $1.99 in a print that complimented the color of the shirt nicely.

Again my trusty scissors assisted me this project.  I cut off the sleeves, up the sides of the shirt, and straight up the middle about half way. I forgot to take a picture of the shirt in the beginning yet again, but here it is after I cut it up.

I cut two 2" strips for the sides and a triangle for the back from the fat quarter.  I hem stitched the bottoms of all of them to match the existing hem of the shirt and then sewed 'em on.  I left the edge of the sleeves raw and used a decorative stitch to give it a some what finished look. It was super simple for the most part.  The only place I had any issues was sewing on the top of the triangle on the back of the shirt.  The jersey knit fabric of the shirt just didn't want to cooperate. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

 

You can see the sides in this picture a bit better.

 

Anthro Refahsion

I love my craft blogs.  Every morning I grab my coffee and sit down my lovely macbook and go through all of the craft blogs I follow.  I've noticed a trend lately among them, Anthropologie and JCrew refashions.  Two of my very favorite stores that I can't afford to buy anything from.  But oh how I love to torture myself by browsing through their beautiful selections of clothing, especially at Anthropologie.  Drool with me...

  These are a few of the tops I found during my latest torture session.  I've been so inspired by all of the other refashions I've seen lately, I decided what the heck...I can do that! So I headed to our local thrift store and Joanne's to pick up what I needed to get started. I found a knit top for $4 and some trimmings for about the same. I forgot to take a picture before I went at the shirt with scissors. But here is what it looked like after the scissors:~)

 

And here is the finished product. I used another tank top of mine to decide where the sleeves and neck openings needed to be.  I used the sleeves to make the drape in the front and the turtle neck to make the rose.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.