1 Whole Tee + 1 Half = 1 Fabulous DIY Dress!

I saw this adorable little DIY dress by lhdctv yesterday, and I just knew I had to make this. Problem is I can't sew to save my life.  Seriously.  But hey....the instructions looked so easy I decided "what the heck!

And so, armed with two blouses that I decided to sacrifice....ahem, I mean sew.  I began making my dress.

First I cut the bottom of the first blouse in half.  I like the more fitted blouse for the top portion of my dress so I cut the floral blouse in half for the bottom.

Of course I eyeballed this.....I just cut it as straight as I could but no ruler was involved. At all.  (Use a ruler if you are not cray cray brave like me)

Next, I got an orange hue thread (since it matched my dress) and hand sewed the floral piece to the bottom hem of the blouse.  Now, I could have stitched this with a machine like they did here but I am more comfortable hand stitching so I decided to go old school with this.

And there it is....all done! My bloggie pal Laura from my grandma reads my blog  would be so proud.  She posted her very chic DIY dress a week ago and it really inspired me to learn how to sew.  Thanks Laura!
Your grandma reads your blog and I am sure she is proud too.  Shhhhh, my mom reads mine and my sister's but she has no choice......lol, I set our blog posts to go straight to her email)


Cherio!

Upcycling - Turn Your Trash Into Treasure!

Welcome to my latest obsession.....I made these two necklaces from recycled vintage beads, chain and exotic seeds. 

Lately I've become really fascinated with upcycling.   I especially enjoy making new and 

interesting pieces from vintage jewelry "odds and ends" and interesting fabrics from old 

 clothing.  Just thinking of the stuff I can create makes me all happy and bubbly inside.  It is so much fun!!!!...and it is also very relaxing.  Who wouldn't want that? 

But what is UPCYCLING? 

The term "upcycled" refers to vintage items that have been either re-done, re- 

made, re-vamped, or re-purposed.  An "upcycled" piece includes one or more 

vintage elements. Some upcycled items contain 100% vintage materials that have been combined or re-done. Others may have 1 or 2 vintage elements that have been re-vamped with new pieces.  

  

Upcycling is eco-friendly. It allows us to recycle and re-use.....to make something gorgeous 

from odd pieces, broken jewelry, and bit and pieces that are useless or invaluable by 

themselves.  

Two weeks ago I ordered six pounds of assorted broken/mismatched vintage jewelry on Ebay.  (Cost me $16.00)  I had read up on upcycling so I knew that this would be perfect to make lots of beautiful original accessories.  I was not disappointed!  Look at this, I know it looks like a heap of junk but there are so many nice pieces and opportunities for greatness in this pile......I'm serious. 

I made this cute little hair comb from a broken clip-on earring. Not bad for a piece that was headed to the trash can.

 And yet another broken earring became the perfect centerpiece for my new handmade hair 

band. Perfect! 

The hair accessories below were made from pieces of vintage fabric and elements from broken jewelry.  I made flowers from the fabric which with the help of my trusty glue gun, was a snap!  Check out the easy flower tutorial here. 

And finally the Pièce de résistance.... this vase I made from recycled vintage magazine 

paper. It's my favorite piece so far.

As I said in a older post, I switch into hyper craft mode whenever I have something 

traumatic going on in my life. Lol, as you can see, the crafts keep-a-comin!  Good new

though, my dad's condition has stabilized and he is doing much better.  Thanks to all of you 

for your encouragement and prayers.  God bless you! 

Cherio!