Category

Refashion

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Ah, Halloween.
I love seeing all those fun costumes at the stores, but they’re not cheap.
And with six kiddos to outfit, it turns out that I’d rather pass on spending $120-$200 for a night of trick-or-treating and funnel that money towards Christmas instead.
So I say, “Rock-what-ya-got!”
 
If you …
1. Shop Your Closet
2. Shop Your Stuff
3. Shop Around
… you can probably throw together some of the 100+ costumes below using items you have on hand and an item or two from the dollar store.
Ready?
 
Got church clothes?
We can rock church clothes.
 
WHITE DRESS SHIRT, DRESS PANTS, SUIT COAT, etc. 
Here’s what you can make:
 Men In Black
Shop Your Closet: Suit coats, black ties, white dress shirts
Shop Your Stuff: Sunglasses
Shop Around/DIY: Spray paint toy guns from thrift store
Secret Service Agents &
The President of The United States
Shop Your Closet:  Suit coats, white dress shirts, dress pants, ties
Shop Your Stuff: Sunglasses
Shop Around/DIY: Dollar store ear buds, split apart, dollar store gift bag embellished with the presidential logo printed off in color on a printer and attached with tape
Frankenstein
Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, white dress shirt, dress pants, church shoes
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s eyeliner for faux stitches
Shop Around/DIY: Frankenstein mask $1 at Target OneSpot or use green make-up
 
Clark Kent / Superman

Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, pants, white dress shirt, Superman t-shirt, red tie
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store glasses with lenses popped out
Abraham Lincoln
 
Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, pants, white dress shirt, dress shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  mom’s make-up for beard
Shop Around/DIY: Wrap a dollar store top hat with black butcher paper; black bow tie make out of scrap fabric and hot glued together.
Member of the Press
 
Shop Your Closet: Suit coat, pants, white dress shirt, tie
Shop Your Stuff: notepad, pen
Shop Around/DIY: Write “press” on a 3″x5″ card and hot glue to a dollar store fedora
The Mad Hatter
Shop Your Closet: Suit coat, pants, white dress shirt
Shop Your Stuff: tea cup
Shop Around/DIY:  bow tie hot glued together from an old shirt; dollar store top hat embellished by adding height and shape with poster board and covered with tissue paper. Paint green, add scrap t-shirt fabric band and hot glue “10/6” paper to side.
News Reporter

Shop Your Closet: White dress shirt, pants, tie
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s trench coat
Shop Around/DIY: purple dollar store glasses spray painted black; dollar store microphone embellished with a blue cube folded out of blue cardstock.
Private Investigator
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants, tie, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s trench coat
Shop Around/DIY: magnifying glass and fedora from dollar store
Scientist
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: pen, safety glasses
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store bow tie from girls’ hair section; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.

 


MAD Scientist
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: pen, safety glasses; glue cleaning gloves from dollar store
Shop Around/DIY: bow tie made from scrap fabric and hot glued together;  scientific beakers made from a dollar store spray bottle and clear toothbrush holder; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.



Bill Nye, The Science Guy

 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY: bow tie made from scrap fabric and hot glued together;  scientific beakers made from a dollar store spray bottle and clear toothbrush holder; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.



Doctor
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants, tie
Shop Your Stuff: clipboard, pen, sunglass holder used as a pocket protector
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store purple glasses spray painted black; lab coat – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.
Doc McStuffins

 Shop Your Closet: purple striped shirt, pink leggings
Shop Your Stuff: stuffed animals, pig tail holders, headband
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store doctor kit; lab coat – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.
Chef
Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, dress pants
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  chef’s jacket – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands. Collar was turned down and taped to stay down.  The side of the shirt with buttons was pulled far across the chest to create the off-set look of a chef’s jacket and held in place with double-stick tape.  Chef’s hat was made from white cardstock and tissue paper similar to this one HERE.
 
Airline Pilot
 

Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, dress pants, black/navy tie
Shop Your Stuff: toy pilots wings (or print off wings on cardstock)
Shop Around/DIY: pilot epaulets made from black cardstock and wrapped with gold ribbon, tape or paper. Held in place with double stick tape.
 
Waiter
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, tie, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: plate, saucer, white pillow case
Shop Around/DIY: wrap white pillow case around waist for a faux waiter’s apron



Russian Dancer
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, boots
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s make-up for faux beard, old red t-shirt
Shop Around/DIY: fur hat from thrift store, red sash made from cutting a long, 4″ wide piece of t-shirt and tying it around the waist.
Newsies
 
Shop Your Closet: dress shirts (any colors) or long-sleeve shirts, vests, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  roll newspapers
Shop Around/DIY: newsboy hats $1 at thrift store
Pirate
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: old red t-shirt
Shop Around/DIY: pirate hook, sword, patch/earring kit from dollar store or Target OneSpot; sash and dew rag cut from an old t-shirt and tied in place.
 
 
Magician
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  cape, top hat and mustache from dollar store. Wand available at dollar store or DIY by wrapping a straw with black/white paper or vinyl.

 

Vampire
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  medal from toy box, tied with ribbon (or at dollar store)
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store cape, vampire teeth; sash made from an old, red t-shirt.

Need more ideas for boys church clothes?
* Fairy Tale Prince
* Game Show Host
* Accountant/Business man
* SPY
What about girls’ church or dressy clothes?

Got ya covered.
 
FANCY DRESSES
 
Diva
 
Shop Your Closet: any ‘fancy’ girls dress
Shop Your Stuff:  mom’s cell phone and sunglasses, jewelry
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store boa
Pageant Queen
Shop Your Closet: any ‘fancy’ PROM dress
Shop Your Stuff:  costume jewelry
Shop Around/DIY: make a sash from an old sheet or fabric. Add letters with paint, stencils, iron-on vinyl, sharpie or iron on letters from the craft store.
Fairy Princess
 
 
Shop Your Closet: any girls’ dresses, especially “Easter” or pastel colors

Shop Your Stuff: tiaras, wands from the toy box
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store wings



Glenda The Good Witch


Shop Your Closet: pink ‘fancy’ or ‘princess’ dress

Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store wings; crown made from poster board wrapped in fabric with ribbon trim hot glued.



EVERYDAY DRESSY CLOTHES
 
Skirts, dress shirts, cardigans, etc.
 
President of the United States
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, cardigan, black skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store bag embellished with a color print off of the presidential seal. Attach to bag with tape.

 

 

Librarian
 

Shop Your Closet: plain dress, cardigan

Shop Your Stuff:  book(s) of choice
Shop Around/DIY: n/a

 

 
Teacher
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, skirt

Shop Your Stuff:  hair clip, folder, pencil
Shop Around/DIY: n/a

 

 
Witch
 
Shop Your Closet: basic black dress
Shop Your Stuff:  black shoes or boots, crazy socks or tights
Shop Around/DIY: witch hat or fascinator

 

News Anchor / Reporter
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  lanyard/work ID badge
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store or other microphone

 

See how easy this is?
Got school uniform clothes?
We can rock school uniforms.
NAVY SLACKS + PLAIN WHITE SHIRT
Han Solo
 
Shop Your Closet: navy pants, white long-sleeve shirt, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  toy gun painted black
Shop Around/DIY: Add orange lines to pants with vinyl, washi or other reflective tape; vest is an old t-shirt cut down the center with sleeves removed. Raw edges around arm holes and jacket front are “hemmed” with black electrical tape. Faux boots are made by wrapping black fabric (I used vinyl) around pant legs and taping down the back. Fits over black church shoes.
Police Officer
 
Shop Your Closet:  navy pants, white polo
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store police toys; police hat from Target OneSpot
Knight
Shop Your Closet: navy pants, church shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s white long-sleeve shirt; mom’s grey scarf
Shop Around/DIY: helmet, sword, shield, arm plates from dollar store; red sash from an old t-shirt; faux boot covers made by wrapping vinyl fabric around pant legs and taping together.
 
KHAKI PANTS + PLAIN SHIRT
Explorer
 
Shop Your Closet: plain black shirt and khaki pants
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store explorer hat, vest and binoculars
Need more school uniform ideas?
 
* Paramedic (navy pants/shirt)
* Uncle Sam
 
Got jeans and t-shirts?
 
We can rock jeans, too!
 
Super Fan
 
Shop Your Closet:  Team jersey, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  football
Shop Around/DIY: Foam fan hand from Michaels ($3 w/out coupon) or make a hand out of two pieces of colored poster board staples or taped together.
 
Cook
Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, jeans, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s apron, dew rag; bowl and spoon from kitchen
Shop Around/DIY: n/a
Construction Worker
Shop Your Closet:  jeans, white tank top
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s tool belt/hammer
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store construction helmet
Dr. Who
Shop Your Closet: jeans, white dress shirt, black socks and shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  suspenders
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store light up wand (Sonic Screwdriver); bow tie from thrift store or hot glued from scrap fabric.
 
 
Cowboy
 
Shop Your Closet: jeans, long-sleeve shirt, boots
Shop Your Stuff:  toy pistol, rope
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store hat (or use own)
Cowgirl
 
Shop Your Closet: white long-sleeve shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  red bandana
Shop Around/DIY: red cow(girl) hat and vest from dollar store
 
Lumberjack

Shop Your Closet: jeans; long-sleeve shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  knit hat
Shop Around/DIY: “outdoorsmen” beard from the dollar store; glow-in-the-dark hatchet (extra visibility at knight.
 
Sheriff

Shop Your Closet: jeans, long-sleeve shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store sheriff’s badge, vest and toy gun
Mario & Luigi















Shop Your Closet:  red/green t-shirts
Shop Your Stuff:  overalls (or get at thrift store)
Shop Around/DIY: white gloves ($1 at Walmart); two red or green foam visors. Cut Mario and Luigi symbols out on Silhouette/Cricut/by hand out of vinyl and attach to visors.
 


Minion (Despicable Me)

Shop Your Closet:  Yellow Hoodie
Shop Your Stuff:  $1 knit gloves; overalls (possibly); black vinyl
Shop Around/DIY:  Dispicable Me 2 glasses at party stores 8/$1.49.
 
Train Conductor
 
Shop Your Closet:  long-sleeve grey shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  red handkerchief, train hat (or look for at thrift store); overalls
Shop Around/DIY:  n/a
 
Rosie The Riveter
 
 
Shop Your Closet: denim/chambray shirt or jacket
Shop Your Stuff:  red bandanna (or red polka dot handkerchief)
Shop Around/DIY: n/a


Need more ideas for jeans?

* ZOMBIES!
* Bob the Builder
* 50’s ‘James Dean’ (with leather jacket)
* MAGNUM, P.I.

What about black pants and a black shirt?
 
Black is the new black.
 
Mime
Shop Your Closet: black leggings, striped shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: suspenders  and  hat were $2 at thrift shore; face paint; $1 gloves from Walmart
Firefighter
Shop Your Closet:   black shirt; sweats or pants
Shop Your Stuff:  kitchen fire extinguisher; fire hat from free from fire department
Shop Around/DIY:  cute an adult, long-sleeve black shirt straight down the center. “Hem” raw edges with black electrical tape. Stripes are made with yellow and silver Duck brand tape. Faux jacket clasps are made from pop can pull tabs being hot glued in place. To keep jacket closed, you can attach adhesive-backed Velcro or use double stick tape.
Luke Skywalker

Shop Your Closet: black long-sleeve shirt, black church shoes, black sweats
Shop Your Stuff:  single black glove
Shop Around/DIY:  Make the black belt on the shirt using black electrical tape; green faux light saber is from the dollar store; faux boot covers are made by wrapping the pant leg in fabric (I used vinyl) and taping the covers in place down the back of the leg. 


BLACK LEGGINGS + SHIRT

Minnie Mouse

 

Shop Your Closet:  black leggings/skirt; red polka dot shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  red shoes; Minnie Ears
Shop Around/DIY: n/a
Need more ideas for black pants + shirt?
* NINJA
* ARTIST (with smock + artist pallet)
* SKELETON (white vinyl bones stuck to clothing)
* STICK FIGURE (white lines painted on shirt/pants)
* CAT/CHEETAH/TIGER
* SPIDER
* BAT
 
Got old sports equipment?
We can have fun with sports equipment.
 
Football player
 
Basketball Player
 
 
Fisherman

 
 
Soccer Players

Rugby
Alpine Skier

Hockey Player

Karate Kid / Martial Arts

 
Ice Skater
 
 
 
Tennis Player

 
 
 
Need more sports ideas?
* GOLFER
* GYMNAST
* BASEBALL PLAYER
* CHEER LEADING
* WRESTLING
* TRACK & FIELD
* BALLERINA
* DANCER (Jazz, Tap, etc.)
* DANCER
Got any Camo Shirts or Jackets?
Hey, where did you disappear to?
 
Hunter
Shop Your Closet:  hunter camo coat/shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store bow & arrow (or use own); florescent cap from thrift store
 
Inspired by Duck Dynasty
Shop Your Closet:  hunter camo coat/shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  beard from dollar store, $1 Duck Dynasty bandana
 
Military/Soldier
 
 
Shop Your Closet:  camo shirt, hat
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  toy dog tags
What about plain ‘ol shorts?
We got shorts covered.
 
Lifeguard
Shop Your Closet: plain white shirt, shorts, flip flops
Shop Your Stuff:  towel or whistle
Shop Around/DIY:  red vinyl “Lifeguard” cut and added to the shirt (or paint, stencil or use iron-on vinyl)
 Clown
Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s shirt, shorts, socks and shoes
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store clown nose and fedora; suspenders
Surfer
Need more ideas for shorts?
* SWIMMER
* CHARLIE BROWN
Anything else we could use?
Got an old graduation robe?
Harry Potter
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, grey vest
Shop Your Stuff:  scar made with mom’s eye liner pencil
Shop Around/DIY:  scarf is made from scrap t-shirt fabric sewn together; glasses were $1 at Michael’s; wand is a bamboo skewer covered with paint and hot glue;  robe is from graduation (or $5 from thrift stores).
 
Hermione Granger
Shop Your Closet:  brother’s white dress shirt; grey vest, 

Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  add stripes to a red tie with yellow vinyl or tape; robe from graduation or $5 from thrift store; wand is a bamboo skewer covered with hot glue and painted brown.
 
 

Gospel Singer

Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  old graduation robe or …
Shop Around/DIY:  … or $5 from thrift store

Graduate

Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  old graduation robe or …
Shop Around/DIY: … or $5 at a thrift store


What about a leather or canvas jacket?

Katniss Everdeen

Shop Your Closet: leather or canvas jacket
Shop Your Stuff:  Mockingjay necklace or pin
Shop Around/DIY: bow and arrow (or bow and arrow from dollar store); quiver made from cardboard and covered in black duct tape.



Even Cardboard Can Make A Great Costume

Really? Yes, really.

Here’s some cardboard-based costumes we’ve used in years past.

Wall-e

Shop Your Closet:  long-sleeve shirt, black sweats
Shop Your Stuff:  duct tape
Shop Around/DIY:  square box painted yellow and embellished with paint and vinyl; Wall-e’s track is strips of duct tape down the front of the black sweats; hands are grey to-the-elbow dollar store gloves that have fingers taped together with duct tape.

Butterfly

Shop Your Closet: black shirt and skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  black head band
Shop Around/DIY: cut wings out of cardboard and paint as desired. Attach to child with old nylons. Make antennae by wrapping black pipe cleaners around black headband.
 
Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends
Shop Your Closet:  jeans and t-shirts
Shop Your Stuff:  sharpie markers, glue and tape
Shop Around/DIY:  train costumes are made entirely from different colored poster board taped at the shoulders to fit over top of a child.

How about using an old sheet?

* MUMMY
* GHOST
* STIG (from Top Gear)
* PRINCESS LEIA
* GREEK GODDESS
* CLEOPATRA


Happy Halloween from THRIVE!

(Bringing out a final project from the THRIVE archives before Tuesday when you’ll be able to find 100+ costumes you can make for $3 or less. Hope to see you Tuesday!)

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And it begins.


My daughter’s convinced that she needs an extensive Halloween wardrobe.

I’m convinced that it’s not gonna happen.

Luckily for her I have a closet full of  these ripped, stained and worn out gems.

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Toss in some thin elastic and scissors and I came up with this candy corn themed, ruffled skirt refashion in a single nap time.

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Ah, compromise.


And this has got to be one of the easiest sewing projects ever. Start with a white t-shirt that easily fits around your girl’s waist.

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When you flip the cut-off rectangle upside down, you see that you’ve got a handy-dandy skirt base with a pre-sewn waistband all ready to go. And since t-shirt fabric doesn’t have to be hemmed, that raw bottom edge doesn’t need any sewing at all.

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You’ll need to cut and piece together strips of white, orange and yellow t-shirt scraps to make the ruffles for each layer. The width is up to you and how long you want each layer. The length of all your pieced together strips for each color needs to be double the width of your t-shirt base.

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My t-shirt base was 15” wide so I made sure my strips totaled 30” long.  I stitched my scrap strips together to make three long loops of fabric …

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… and then ran a long basting stitch along the top edge of each one. I gently gathered each loop of fabric until they were the same width as my t-shirt base.

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(Make sure that any screen printing, stains, etc. are facing the inside of your ruffled layers!)


Pinning and attaching each ruffle layer to the t-shirt base was a quick and easy.

Candy Corn Skirt Refashion Choose To Thrive 10


And the best part was using that already-sewn bottom shirt edge as a casing for the elastic. Love that.

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The only thing left to do was sew the elastic ends together!

Sweet! Done and done!

In less than an hour I wound up with a cute t-shirt skirt refashion in time for Halloween that’s the cat’s meow.


Um, apparently.

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And while I was cleaning up, I put those left-over scraps to good use.

I cut some rag ribbon for easy piggy tail love, Halloween treats, or whatever.

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So there you go!


I hope you take a look at your fabric stash and have fun whipping up something awesome during nap time!

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Featured on:

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Remember that girls’ tights tutorial from last year?

tights

Well I’ve had several questions from viewers about trying variations of this project and had a chance to film a video how-to with Megan from Brassy Apple over at MyCraftChannel.com.

I hope you’ll stop by and check out the video version as well as the other great episodes on MyCraftChannel.com.

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If you like this project, please take a minute and share it on Facebook, twitter and Pinterest! Thank you!

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Anyone else have one of these in their linen closet?

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A special pillow case made by a grandma/aunt/mother/friend/neighbor that you can’t bear to part with even years after it’s stopped being used?  Or what about regular ‘ol pillow cases with fun designs that are rarely used?

My girl is way too tall for one of those popular pillow case halter dresses for toddlers that are all over Pinterest, so it must be time to put that pink and purple number in the donate bin after all, right?

Wait! Don’t Toss That!


Ten minutes of superdee quick refashioning will yield an easy skirt project, perfect for older girls.

skirt.2-1

I just measured from my daughter’s waist to knee and added 1.5” to make a casing for a simple elastic waist. Then I sewed the casing and added some reclaimed elastic from an old pair of underwear  just like I did here in the Captain Underpants elastic waist twirl skirt.

See?

Feb 2011 BLOG

Start to finish was less than ten minutes since the side and bottom hems were already finished – love that.

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Now my crazy-tall girl has a breezy summer skirt that’s actually long enough to wear, yet lightweight for hot days.

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Perfect for grand adventures or lazy walks.

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So glad I pulled that sweet pillow case out of the donate pile.

Plus, I think her grandma will appreciate seeing her handiwork being loved again.

Win, win.

Old pillow case?

June 2012 FAM-1

It’s What Not To Toss This Weekend!

If you liked this post, I’d love it if you’d please share it on Facebook, twitter or Pinterest. Thank you!

Hi, I’m Erin from Fundamentals and Fripperies and I am so excited to be guest blogging at Thrive today.

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I feel very honored to be asked because Thrive is one of my favorite blogs. I love seeing Nike continually rock what she’s got in such a creative and classy way. I feel a special kinship to her because I, too, get a thrill of satisfaction from making something awesome from nothing, and I, too, have my own dirty half dozen. I know how difficult it is to fit blogging into an already over-full family life, so she amazes me even more!

Gushing introductions aside–I want to tell you a sad story that you may be able to relate to.

Every Christmas, I start out gift wrapping with a happy heart and put all my love into each carefully tied bow and crisply folded corner. HOWever, about halfway through wrapping my family’s gifts, with other holiday demands starting to heat up, my evil inner martyr mother comes out. The wrapping gets uglier along with my mood, and I have a Scarlett O’Hara-like moment where I say, “I will never be stuck spending hours wrapping Christmas presents again.”

My husband’s solution to this problem (in addition to helping me wrap a few as long as I stop verbally abusing him long enough to pass him the scotch tape 🙂 ) is to suggest that we just stick the presents under the tree in the shopping bags and shipping boxes they came in. He reasons that the kids will still have something to undo, and we won’t have to do a thing. Problem solved.

Except, that it would look ugly.

Really, reallyugly.

And I am just shallow/proud/perfectionistic enough that I mind putting super ugly presents under the tree like I’ve given up all pretense of a beautiful
holiday.

Luckily, there is a third option beyond becoming a wrapping paper martyr, and giving up on life. My very talented mother-in-law often gives gifts in personalized fabric gift bags. Also, a dear friend of mine wraps all her family’s gifts in fabric gift bags that an environmentally-conscious neighbor gave her as a gift many years ago.

Hmmm. I think re-useable, pretty, fabric gift bags are a good thing. And now finally, after years of meaning to make them, I have done it.

And, I am willing to give you all the benefit of my experience and wisdom with lots of lazy shortcuts and tips (you’re welcome 🙂 ).

To make your very own bags, you will need:
•a fabric stash to pilfer (oh, come on–you know you have one, too)
•and/or other fabric, such as pillowcases you don’t need, pillow covers, old sweaters, etc.
•ribbons, cords, old (clean!) shoelaces, etc.
•a sewing machine with thread
•scissors
•pins

That’s it. Probably all stuff you have lying around.

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Now, I am not one to re-invent the wheel. There are some great tutorials for making a drawstring bag here and here and probably lots of other places on the web as well. If you don’t already know how to make one, I suggest brushing up on the basics.

Then, using those tutorials (or your own awesome innate drawstring bag wisdom) as a basis, here are the shortcuts I’ve devised for making your bags more quickly and simply:

Lazy Shortcut #1:  Use pinking shears so you don’t have to zig-zag. These aren’t going to be used every day, so you don’t need to finish them perfectly, but you still don’t want your hard work to fray into un-useability.

Lazy Shortcut #2: Instead of making the casing for the bag and then feeding the ribbon or cording through, pin it into the casing when you fold the casing over (see above–my pins are holding both my ribbon and casing in place). Then sew your casing seam, taking care to keep a safe distance from your cording or ribbon. Then all you have to do is take out your pins, and Voila! You are ready to go!

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Lazy Shortcut #3: Unless you really want a drawstring bag that has handles on either side, you can just leave the casing open on only one side of your bag and then tie it in a bow. It saves time and ribbon.

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Lazy Shortcut #4: Another option is to make a buttonhole towards the top of your bag before you fold your casing over. Feed the ends of your ribbon through the buttonhole, then pin the rest into your casing. Sew the casing seam and unpin everything. You can close it by pulling on the ends of the
ribbon and tying it into a bow, or put the ribbon ends through a toggle or large bead–then you can just cinch it up. 

Lazy Shortcut #5: You don’t have to make a casing at all. Just make your bag with an open top (like a pillowcase) and tack some ribbon near the top. Then all you have to do is bring the ends around to the front and tie it in a bow. Just like this one below with the double-ribbon tie. Easy peasy.

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If you don’t have a fabric stash (and if that is true, I pity you 🙂 ), I’ll bet you still have access to other free/cheap sources of fabric.

For example, I made a gift bag out of a thrift-store throw pillow cover I wasn’t using anymore.

I unzipped the zipper on the side and removed the pillow to add a gift …

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… then I just used a zig-zag stitch to tack the ribbon on one side of the pillow cover, put the present in,
zipped up the side zipper and tied the bow.

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So simple!

I made this one out of an old pillowcase. It was cute and soft, but it had shrunk, and just ended up
looking skimpy on the pillow.

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However, with a cute black grosgrain ribbon tacked to the back and tied into a jaunty bow on the front, Santa couldn’t do any better :).

You probably have some unused pillowcases in your linen closet, but if not, most thrift stores in my area sell them for about $1. That’s less than a new throw-away gift bag.

Some other options I didn’t try yet, but that would work really well:

An old/shrunk crewneck sweater. Cut off the arms (which could probably be used to make small, thin gift bags, by the way), turn it inside out. Sew straight across the top from shoulder to shoulder, and up each side from the waistband to the seam you just created (closing up the arm holes). Trim to a 1/
2″ seam allowance on each seam and zig-zag to prevent fraying. Turn right-side out and add a ribbon. That would be so cute, especially if you used a holiday-themed sweater.

Made cut-offs last summer? Use the bottom part of the jeans/pants that you cut off! You end up with kind of a tube when you make cut-offs, so you could just turn this tube upside down, and sew a seam where the knee used to be. Turn right-side out and add a ribbon and you’re in business.

Really, the sky’s the limit in terms of places you can find fabric for this project.

Good luck, and may adorable fabric stash gift bags keep your evil martyr mother at bay this holiday season!

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And hope you’ll stop by Fundamentals and Fripperies and say hi!

erin

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Thank you so much Erin! I’ve made my first bag for my family, too, and am sooooo excited at the thought of NOT being up at 1 am on Christmas morning swearing complaining about wrapping presents.

Erin is another amazing e-friend that I’ve been lucky to find in blogland. We have living in Utah and Washington in common besides chasing around six kids – it makes you close.  🙂

I love reading Erin’s blog because she’s awesome at pretty much everything:

Decorating?

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Check.

Cooking?

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Check.

Remodeling?

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Oh heck yeah CHECK.

Oh, and did I mention that she’s funny and real and inspiring and a total Craigslist-shopping rock star?

No?

Well she is, so there’s four more reasons I hope you’ll stop by Fundamentals and Fripperies and visit Erin.

Happy forget-the-tape-and-paper Holidays!

After weeks of waiting, Fall decided to show up this weekend.

{About time. Sheesh.}

The only problem is that my little girl is awfully short on fall and winter clothes. So instead of heading to the store, I searched through my boys’ outgrown clothes and fabric stash to come up with new duds without spending a dime.

Here’s what I had to work with:

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a boring sweater, a couple ripped pairs of khakis and a stretched out camo henley.

Screams “girly,” huh?

#1 – Sweater to Cardigan

I started by removing the collar (1) and cutting down the center (2) to make a cardigan shell. (I put tape down first and then cut the sweater to prevent major fraying. I pulled the tape off carefully and gave the edges a quick zig zag.)

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I made the easiest seam binding ever (3) by cutting the bottom edge of a t-shirt below the seam – no need to fold or iron. The seam binding was pinned in place (4) and then stitched in place with a straight stitch.

I could have stopped right there, but wanted to add a little more frill. I played around with the look and chose the tight ruffles instead the loose folds.

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And those ruffles were a cinch to make: I cut 1” strips of t-shirt fabric and ran a gathering stitch down the middle. The ruffles were pinned on top of the binding and then stitched in place.

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The result was a cute little cardigan with plenty of ruffles and spunk.

#2 – Cargo Pants to Skirt

Next up with a simple skirt with using as much of the existing hems from two old pairs of my son’s cargo pants as possible.  The legs were cut off leaving the top part of the pants: waistband down to just below the front zipper. To make the skirt piece, I sewed pieces of two pairs of pant legs together with the seems out (1) and used a gathering stitch along the top to create just enough gather for the skirt piece to fit the pants(3).

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The skirt piece was pinned to the pants (3) and stitched in place with a straight stitch for a shabby look (4). After a quick run through the wash, the seems softened up for the casual look I was after. (Of course you could always skip the rough look and keep those seems on the inside, too. )

Twenty minutes later I ended up with an upcycled skirt that just happened to match perfectly with that cardigan.

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Maybe some of her brother’s rough ‘n’ tumble attitude came through in the fabric, eh?

#3 – Boys Henley to Girls Embellished Tee

The last refashion project started with this Old Navy camo henley. It was the right length, but too wide (1). I grabbed a shirt from my daughter and used it for a template, trimming away the extra fabric on the sides (2) and shortening the sleeves.

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  I sewed one long seem from the shirt cuff to the bottom hem with a zig zag stitch (3) and added some rosettes to the collar to soften the look (4).

And total cheater alert here: I hot glued the rosettes and then hand stitched them to the shirt. I know you’re not supposed to do that, but I was in a hurry and it worked fine. This shirt has gone through the washer and dryer over a dozen times and is holding up great.

This has to be one of my favorite girls shirts. Ever.

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So …

take a look at your kids’ closets, out-grown clothes piles and fabric stash and see what you can whip up. 

What you’re ready to toss may just go …

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You might be surprised how many adorable upcycles /refashions you’ll come up with from seemingly nothing.

Linking up to:

Skip To My LouCraft-O-ManiacC.R.A.F.T. *  Stories of AtoZ, Tip JunkieSugar BeeToday’s Creative BlogSassy SitesMy Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * Someday CraftsLil LunaWe Are That FamilyBlue Cricket DesignsThe Thrifty Home, * House of Hepworths, *Tidy MomWhipperberryKojo DesignsChic On A Shoestring, Momma’s Kinda Crafty, *Tatertots & Jello, Be Different Act NormalFunky Junk Interiors * I Heart NaptimeUnder The Table and Dreaming

These are my daughter’s church shoes. She’s going through a glitter phase right now.  A biiiggg, happy glitter phase.

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She’s got a red Wizard of Oz pair that look just as bad. Time to send those shoes over the rainbow straight to the trash, right?

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Wait! Don’t toss those!

With a little spray paint love, those shoes may just have a few heel clicks left in them.

Enter Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint. Or as I like to call it, the Oh-My-Heck-This-Stuff-Is-Expensive-And-Better-Work-Miracles spray paint.

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(And no this isn’t a sponsored post. Bummer.)

I’ve seen the buzz all over blogland about this stuff and wondered if there was anyway it could save my girl’s shoes. 

I had serious reservations about buying a can since you guys know that spending money on crafts this year is a no-no in my house.  But I totally struck out at all FOUR of the thrift stores in my area … and I was staring down at least $12 for another cheapy Walmart pair with the same glitter ratio … so spending $6 after coupon {cough, choke} on a can of magic glitter might be the smart way to go after all.

So I did. And it worked!

A little painters tape around the inside and ribbons …

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… and a few squirts of paint over the whole thing …

… and a little black sharpie action on the vinyl bows …

… and voila!

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Rainbows appear, bird sing, shoes saved. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Even though this paint is a little touchy to use, it still worked great. I loved how the shoes turned out and am so glad I gave it a try.

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I only bought one can to start since it was so pricey, but  I can’t wait to grab a can of the red and get those Dorothy shoes back to their yellow-brick-road best.  And I love that I still have lots of paint left and can touch up her shoes whenever I need to.

And for those of you without glitter shoes, this technique will work for any pair of shoes.

That means you can rock cheap shoe refashions for everyday use, Halloween costumes, or even school dances.

Here’s a few Man-Behind-The-Curtain tips to save you a few headaches:

1. Use a coupon. {Oh good heavens use a coupon.} My can was $6 after the coupon and is only half the size of a regular can of spray paint.

2. Use short bursts. Long sprays will clog your nozzle in two seconds flat.

3. Watch the pressure. This stuff has a nasty habit of getting too much pressure built up and oozing glitter paint out the top. To stop that from happening, pull up lightly on the spray button whenever you hear a hissing noise. This seems to release the pressure kind of like the valve on a pressure cooker. My friend warned me about the oozing problem and recommended the pulling-up-on-the-cap trick. Worked great.

4. Use two light coats for the best coverage. As I’ve gone back through these pics I’ve liked the coverage, but think the toe area could use a touch more paint. I’m going to give them a quick recoat this afternoon.

5. Be sure to use the clear coat sealant. The paint will wear off very quickly without it.

So there you go.

Scuffed up shoes?

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It’s What Not To Toss this weekend!

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Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m back with those new 4th of July t-shirts I mentioned here.

I love me some flag tees a la Old Navy, Aeropostale and Walmart—they’re cute, cheap and an easy way to get into festive mood.  But even at $4 or $5  a pop, I’m still staring down $30-40 to deck all eight of us out in new shirts. And right now I’m hanging onto every penny so that we can spend 15 magical hours in the car to go visit grandparents next month.

No problem.

I happen to have several massive totes full of destroyed-stained-faded-ripped clothing to work with. And with some help of my trusty 1941 Singer Featherweight sewing machine I was able to turn this hot mess …

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… into this.

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Three cute flag tees and vintage one to boot for absolutely NADA out of pocket.

And you could make any patriotic combo using whatever is in your stash bin—combos like:

1) Shirt + scraps + straight stitch sewing

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2) Stained shirt + cheapy $1 Walmart flag that’s been ripped off + craft paint / vinyl stencil

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(The ink stain was so dark that I sponged white craft paint on first to cover it and then stitched the flag over top. This was the only shirt where the hair spray trick didn’t work – boo.)

3) Stained shirt + strategic stenciling + great vintage inspiration

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(The snake was cut on my Silhouette, the font is JSL Ancient.)

Stains were covered using vinyl (or freezer paper) and stenciled with house paint from our kitchen remodel – ha! The inspiration was this awesome flag from the Revolutionary War.

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(Source)

My son changed up the saying on his shirt to make it “cooler.” Whatever.

4) Plain shirt + scraps + snaps

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This shirt came together with scraps sewn on white felt and attached with snaps just like these interchangeable shirts here. Looks great with these clippies, too!

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Ah … festive flag tees for the kids without touching my bank account (plus some stash busting, too!) Now all I need is a watermelon and some fireworks and I’m ready for the weekend.

Happy Almost 4th of July!

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Ya know that 4th of July kick I’ve been on?

Yup … still there.

I’ve been watching for fun holiday clippies for my girls to go with their new flag tees (more on those later). And while there are so many cute flower-corker-ribbon-tulle clippies out there, I was looking for a bit of a change.

Enter the Firework Clippie.

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Cute and shabby and oh-so easy to switch up for any holiday or outfit.

Want to make your own?

You’ll need your nicest, faded-out Sundance shirt, old-for-painting-only white polo and ratty Superman shirt.

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Or whatever.  🙂   Rock What Ya Got, right?

And you can make these in minutes.

Cut red, white and blue shirts in 0.5” x 4” lengths. Stack 12 strips together and tack together in the center with a few stitches.

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Tie a 3” strip around the middle and glue in your clip.

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Easy. Quick. Done.

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Firework clippies perfect for those hometown parades, pancake breakfasts and firework displays.

Happy Crafting!

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I have a love/hate relationship with little girls’ dresses:

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love the adorable high waist and full skirts that twirl perfectly.

hate that those cute skirts get too short and the bodice too tight with a good growth spurt.

Time to toss, donate or hand-down, right?

Wait! Don’t toss that!

Those skirts can last a few more months on your little girl with the help of a seam ripper and some fabric scraps.

To save this too-short, 18-24 month dress and make it work for my 5T little girl,  I removed the skirt and all the fluffy layers of tulle from the bodice using a seam ripper.

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For simple, lightweight fabrics all you need to do is add a simple elastic waistband by rolling the top hem and making a casing.

But since mine had multiple layers that would be too bulky for a rolled casing …

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… I decided to make a casing out of a left-over sheet and attach it to the top of the skirt.

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It was easy after that to open the casing, thread through some reclaimed elastic and stitch the waistband closed.

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Start to finish was less than 30 minutes.

And the end result?

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A cute summer skirt for my 5T girl with enough length on it to last her through next summer.

So go dig those outgrown dresses out of the donate pile and have a second look.

Outgrown Dress?

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It’s What Not To Toss this weekend.

 

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