refashion: painted shoes

When I did my big closet clean out, I set aside anything I could refashion or repurpose. The pile was actually quite large and I am trying to get through them all in my 30 days. I don't think that is going to happen but I am plugging away at it and will post my refashions here. 

First up! I found these green heels at a thrift store for a couple of bucks and loved the color. I still love the color but I never wore them and every time I put them on, I just didn't feel them. But I like the shape and thought I could give them new life. And hey, if it failed then no love lost. 

I opted to paint them as they are made out of canvas with leather/fake leather insoles. This project was simple and would be great if you have minimal crafting skills. 

You need: 

-canvas shoes

-brushes, one big for coverage and one small for details

-masking tape or painter's tape

-paper towels to scrunch in the toe

-acrylic paint, I chose a wine red and added a hint of bright red to liven it up

1. Start by cleaning shoes if needed and tape off the leather area and the soles. I also stuffed a paper towel in the toe area. Cover your work space with newspapers and gather your painting supplies.

2. Invite a helper to sit and watch. 

3. Start painting. You'll probably want/need to do two coats. Two thinner coats vs one thick coat will produce better results.

4. Examine shoes from all angles to make sure you got all the cracks and crevices.

5. Once you are done with your two coats, allow to dry completely. This is the hardest for me as I am super impatient. Set aside somewhere to dry where you won't be tempted to cheat. 

6. Step out in your new shoes for fall! I am really happy with how they came out and can't wait to wear them when my 30 days are up. Don't forget to update your nail polish to a more seasonal color than hot pink... 

oh baby baby: square maternity top

I actually really like buying maternity clothes. Why not celebrate your changing body with awesome new clothes? Sadly, they don't offer a lot in way of variety. If you like prints, which I do, you are limited to stripes. And of course there are lots of solids. Why is everything so bland? Probably because they assume you will just buy basics to get you through your ten months. And since it is only ten months, I don't want to spend a ton of money but I still want to look cute and have fun things to wear.

Naturally I would turn to sewing my own clothes.

So I remembered this simple square top tutorial from over at Cotton and Curls that I had success with and decided to make some maternity versions. I was also inspired by her use of florals in this maternity top and thought I could definitely whip up something cute and different.

I started by using her tutorial with a few changes. I wanted to combine knit and cotton fabric to make a tee that was both flattering and fun. I stripped down to a tank and measured my body (scary, huh?) Just kidding, I have no concept of largeness anymore so I am actually going to share my measurements with you. Gasp.
I wanted the front to be the knit so it would cling in all the right places and the back to be the cotton. Remember, knit has stretch and cotton doesn't. I didn't want the cotton in the front being too blousy as I like to emphasize my shape instead of hide it. Who am I kidding? There is no hiding anything these days.

For her square tops, she has you measure yourself at your widest part--hips--and then measure your length from your shoulder to however long you want it to be. I took the basic concept but adjusted for a belly. I measured my widest part (belly/hip area) and got 43". Then I measured my back (17") and my front (26") separately at my widest part. I measured from my shoulder to under my belly and got 28". So using this info I cut out my rectangles adding a few inches for seams and to make the back a little fuller but the front a little snugger since I wanted the knit to cling instead of drape. I actually ended up using the following measurements for each shirt: knit front 28" L X 25"W and cotton back 28" L X 27" W. Then proceed to follow her directions except make sure you line up the sides, your front will be smaller than your back.

I love how this turned out. The blue knit front is actually the back of one of Steve's old t-shirts rescued from the goodwill pile. The back is a delicious floral I spied at a thrift store. Its so kitschy. I was going to make it into a dress for baby girl but got selfish. (There is some leftover for her.) I also love how this looks with a belt to snug things up around my waist.

Then I made another one because I just couldn't help myself. A white polka dot knit from the clearance bin at Walmart and a cotton floral I have been hanging onto for years make quite the unexpected combination. And since I had spent all that time sizing the first one just right, I had a pattern for this one and it went way faster.

This one has a much better length sleeve. I think I am going to have to add a cuffed sleeve to the blue one as it is a little short and I don't want to worry about layering in the heat.

I'm ready for summer.
Well almost.
I am afraid it is going to get so hot.
I should make a stack of these.
Pronto.

Since the original post and wearing both of these shirts I have made a few changes. I did add a cuffed sleeve to the blue one. I also realized that I don't love loose pregnancy clothing. There is comfy and then there is frumpy. So I added darts to the front of them which took them in a bit, see how it better hugs my belly? I copied the darts from my favorite H&M Mama tees. I also took the white one in a bit as it was a little bigger to begin with.

Refashion: Nail Polish Jewelry

 Lately I have been trying to do more projects for myself. I have been sewing clothes, refashioning things and applying creativity outside my etsy shop. I always forget how much fun it is to mix it up sometimes. I saw this simple refashion on pinterest and thought it was a fun way to breathe new life into some old jewelry.

Everyone has accessories that they never wear but they don't want to get rid of. There is nothing wrong with them, they just need an update.

Nail polish is the simple answer. Its easy, free and if you hate the results you can undo with polish remover.

Before: All of these earrings needed a little life. I loved the coral ones but they are silver and I thought they could use some gold-already gold in this shot. I love the grey ones but they are hard to see in my hair. And I don't love the yellow from the drop earrings.

A little nail polish and you have fun new, spring jewelry. I ended up changing the yellow to mint and the silvery greys to bright reds, stripes and hot pink. As a side note, I should have painted white polish on before the red to get the vibrant color I wanted but these turned out okay. They kind of remind me of cherry cough drops.
And if you have jewelry that has faded, gold or silver, polish is a great way to fix them.
A clear top coat seals the new look.

Square Top X 3

 So when the seasons change I get ready to overhaul my closet. This fall will have me wearing lots of skinny jeans so I wanted a few looser tops to wear with them. I had seen this tutorial on Cotton and Curls a long time ago but finally got around to making one. And then another... and then another...

 Its called the Square Top and it is literally two squares of fabric nipped in at the chest so you don't look like you're wearing a sack. Easy as pie. I would recommend the tutorial. She does assume you know a little bit about sewing but I found it easy to follow. Its also an easy top to adjust to make them look different. The grey one at the top I added lace to and this lacy knit I made the back hem longer than the front.

 Lacy detail print...

 Lacy detail applique...this actually was saved from one of my favorite white shirts. It was one of my first H&M purchases. Well the shirt was no longer white so I picked off this lace and found a lovely soft grey to put it on. Refashion Success!

 This black one was my first one and I did the measurements wrong so the sleeves were too short. So I added little cuffed sleeves which actually made it look better and gave it a special touch.

So when measuring, measure from the center of your chest to the end of your shoulder and then add 4-5 inches for the sleeve part, double this number for your square. Also measure at the widest part of your hips to make sure your starting measurement is enough. The girl who does the tutorial has no hips so if you do (as I do) make sure to account for those too or your shirt won't fit.

The great thing about these is that not only can you make them in any fabric (knit, rayon, cotton) but they are simple enough to layer necklaces over and will be great for wearing with cardigans and tucking into skirts too. Hooray for versatility.

 Someone else wanted to be involved in the photoshoot. Cheese!

I'm up to no good...

Refashion: Coral End Table

 

Once the new couch arrived, our old side tables could finally be replaced. Our old couch had really high arms which made super tall end tables a necessity so you could easily place your drink on the table without getting up. But our new lower arms really opened up the side table possibilities. 

We scored these beauties for $40 for the pair at an estate sale. I wanted something small but with enough storage to be interesting and kind of thin in legs so my bold color choice wouldn't be too overpowering.

 

I headed to the paint section of Walmart in search of the perfect coral. Well the first try was way too peach and fleshy looking. Our failed attempt was Glidden Tropical Coral. I was swayed by the word Coral in the name. The next time I went in with a fabric swatch and ended up choosing Annual Pink Begonia by Glidden in semi gloss. Here is the picture showing the contrast, its subtle but I can tell the difference and the first color was just wrong enough to bug me. 

 And the finished table. I love the coral against the blue walls and paired with the grey couch, they really pop. We also spray painted that lamp yellow as it was the same shade as the walls and kind of blended in. Stealth lamp no more.

 I haven't styled this one yet.

 And here is Henry who wanted to be involved by turning the light on for me and the camera.

 He loves to turn the lamps on and he is pretty good at it too. Much to my chagrin...

Refashion: Purple Denim Skirt

 I have been really wanting to jump abroad the colored denim trend but colored jeans is a lot of look if you're not a size 2 so the next best thing is a colored denim skirt. This project is really simple and requires very little skills besides patience. The key thing is finding a denim skirt. Since I bought mine for $3 at a thrift store, it needed some work. It needed to be shortened which is really simple. But if you already have a skirt that fits then this requires no sewing at all.

What you need:
-skirt, if it fits great! if not, you'll need sewing supplies
-bleach
-dye

 1. Find your skirt. Mine needed to be shortened.

 2. To shorten, I put the skirt on and then pinned where I wanted my hem to be using a mirror. I removed the skirt and then cut the bottom inches off.

 3. The next step is what takes forever. To achieve a color lighter than your original blue, you'll need to lighten the skirt by bleaching. Bleaching took me about 36 hours. To bleach a garment, fill a sink or bucket with a bleach water mixture with the ratio 10:1. So I used 1 cup of bleach for every 10 cups of water. Eventually I was just eyeballing it and probably added more bleach because impatience was setting in. I think denim holds color stronger than other cottons. Just be patient, keeping stirring and watching. My skirt also faded unevenly so I wanted to make sure it was way lighter than the purple so it wouldn't dye unevenly too.

A note about bleaching, never apply bleach directly to the garment for long periods of time. Bleach really weakens fibers. Diluting is key even though it makes the process lengthy. Also feel free to set your bucket outside to avoid bleach fume headache.

 4. Once bleached down to a lighter color, wash your garment in the washing machine using detergent. Once washed, don't dry but place into your dye bath. Prepare dye bath according to dye package. I used purple RIT dye and I think I had it in the dye bath, stirring occassionally for about 1 hour. Once dyed, wash in the washing machine as per directions. Dry.

5. Next I had to finish the hem which I surged around once and then folded under once. Easy as pie.

I really like how this came out and I am excited to have yet another skirt in my arsenal. And I wouldn't have thought purple would be so versatile but it really is. Hooray for a bright colorful spring!

white t-shirt project: adding gray stripes

As promised people, a refashion. So while doing this I remember what I loved about doing refashions: success in trying something new and jazzing up a typical garment. I also remembered the things I don't love so much: picking out entire seams and all the pictures of each step plus getting a good picture of me.

I haven't been doing refashions lately. The reason: Santa was super generous this Christmas and I have been relatively content with my wardrobe. But the summer is upon us and with seasonal changes come seasonal closet rehauls. The already sometimes blistering heat here in Georgia has me leaning more towards t shirts and simplicity in attire. So white t-shirt project it is. To see my remakes from last year click here.

This year I bought a 3 pack of men's v neck t shirts in large. Last year I bought medium and while they fit better from the outset, they left little in the way of drapeyness which I wanted to have this summer. Yes, I made up that word, drapeyness.

 This is a relatively simple refashion, it just requires cutting, measuring and about an hour.

 You will need:
-One white t shirt
-contrasting knit fabric in a similar weight as your t shirt I used this old grey t shirt
-basic sewing supplies such as scissors, pins, measuring tape, sewing machine and iron

 1. Cut the sleeves off your white t shirt and set aside, you will be putting them back on in a more flattering manner.

 2. Next put the shirt on inside out and stand in front of the mirror. Pin where you want the shirt to fit. It is important to have the shirt fitted before we add the stripes. Note, this process will make your hair frizzy as you can see :). Take off shirt and sew your new seam based on where you pinned. Try the shirt on and see if you like it, adjust as needed.

 As a note, I usually leave an armhole about 7-8 inches.

 3. Ready your gray fabric-I know you might not use gray fabric but to differentiate the added knit will be called gray going forward-if you're using a t shirt then it will be easy because your fabric will already be in a tube. If you are using knit fabric you purchased by the yard, you will need to measure across your white shirt and cut pieces to make a tube that is the same measurement. Making sure both your white shirt and your gray fabric are the same width before attaching is key to avoiding a gathered look, you'll see what I mean in a minute.

 4. Decide where you want your stripes to start and how thick they are going to be. I kind of eyeballed it by pinning to my shirt a marker pin.

 5. Be brave and cut your shirt using a rotary cutter and straight edge. There is no turning back now.

 6. Cut your gray stripes and white stripes to desired width. To sew them working from the top, attach each stripe one by one with right sides together trying to match your side seams as best as possible. Try not to stretch one fabric more than the other or you will get little gathered, bunchy areas.

 7. Keep adding stripes until it is your desired length. I first tried to measure based on a shirt I already liked the length of then I just tried the shirt on after each stripe was added. Also consider using the hem that already exists on your white shirt by having your last stripe be the hem of your original shirt, then you don't have to hem it.

 8. So here you can see a problem. Notice on the right side, the last gray stripe is super bunchy. Well I didn't make sure they were the same width so this is what happened. I had to cut the whole bottom off and start again.

 9. Here I am doing it the right way which would have saved me time from the start. I had to take my last stripe in about 2 inches and then the shirt looked a lot better. Once all your stripes are in place and it is the right length, iron it. Pressing will help smooth out all those little wrinkles and made mine look worlds better.
 10. Now for the sleeves. Men's shirt sleeves are WAY too long but you can simply add a cuter, shorter one to make the shirt more finished. This is take a little measuring but it is simple. On your white shirt, measure the armhole from the shoulder seam to the side seam, it should be between 6-10 inches. Mine was 7" so we'll use that for our sample math. Also measure from your shoulder on your body down to how long you want your sleeve, mine was 5". Using a mirror helps on this.

 11. So to make the pattern for your sleeve, take your original sleeve and fold it in half. Mark from the hemmed side up 5 inches, this will be your length. From the center fold, mark 7.5" along the hemmed line, mark it on both sides. Now open the sleeve and connect the dots in a half circle, I used a bowl to trace for the arc. Cut out pattern and trace on other sleeve.

 

 12. Next trim the white shirt so the shoulder seam will fit your shoulders.

13. Pin the sleeve to the armhole, right sides together making sure the ends meet up next to the side seam. Sew on the sleeves and you're done. Don't be afraid of sleeves. I know they are scary but these are so simple and knit is so forgiving of fit, its the perfect beginner sleeve. 

I'm really pleased with how this turned out and I can't wait to wear this all summer as the perfect canvas for the awesome neon and bold color trend that will be everywhere.