Wardrobe refashion: Corsage T-shirt tutorial

Next week I'm teaching a class for the ladies at church on Clothing Refashioning. Let me be the first to admit that I don't really have any experience doing wardrobe refashioning, but what I do have is a healthy regard for my ability to learn a new skill (read: copy from other more creative bloggers) and teach it!

My friend Angie knew I was teaching the class and sent me this link showing a cute and easy T-shirt refashion and I've been obsessed with making my own version.
Here's the inspiration item: a shirt from J.Crew, original price $29.50. Not bad for a T-shirt from J.Crew, but I think my $5 version is pretty darn cute too:I used the same Old Navy $4.99 clearance T-shirt as this tutorial. I wanted to be able to wear it immediately, so I bought an XXL to fit my 37-weeks-pregnant frame. For the extra material, I bought an XL shirt in the same color. This one was also on clearance but the shirt had a small hole in the front so the salesperson gave me an additional small discount, making my total for the two around $9 with tax. Go ahead and get the largest size shirt you can for your cutter--it's probably the same price but will give you more fabric for your buck. This way you can make corsages for several t-shirts from one cutter so your final product is even less expensive!

The Little Birdies tutorial and original Enchantresses 3 tutorial both used heart shapes to make the flowers. I wanted things to be even easier so I chose to use the stacked circles method from this Hope Studios tutorial. I used a circle template and a Sharpie because I was having a hard time getting my shapes to look like circles instead of blobs (and I'm OCD like that), but you could just eyeball it if you like. My largest circle is about the diameter of a soda can.
I started out with 12 stacks of circles. To sew them, I used matching embroidery floss and starting at the shoulder seam, I just pinched each circle stack and stitched through the bottom onto the base shirt. It's hard to explain, but it was really very low-tech--if you can sew a button, you can sew these (the Hope Studios tutorial explains it better). I went through each stack about four times for security and knotted each one. It's up to you how close you want to place the flowers but in my opinion closer is better so that you get a nice fluffy fullness to your flowers.As I said, I started with 12 stacks but once those were sewn I thought it needed more, so I cut four additional stacks and sewed those. After that I washed and dried the shirt. The cut edges of the flowers don't really fray but they do become a little more rough and they shrink up and get fluffy. Originally the shapes were much more floppy like the J.Crew shirt, and I think if you wanted them to stay that way you either need to make the circles larger to begin with or try the heart-shape method. I did notice that after everything shrank in the drier, there were a few empty spots, so I quickly cut and sewed on two more circle stacks to fill in the design.
Here's a closer look at the corsage so you can see how fluffy it is. I wore my shirt to church on Sunday and I have to say that I'm pretty darn tickled with myself--for $5 and 30 minutes, I have a cute new shirt! Also, I still have plenty of fabric left from my cutter shirt so I can embellish another shirt or two--maybe Maren needs one too. I'm going to show this project in the class I'm teaching and I hope the ladies like it! I also think this would be a really fun project for teenage girls because it's easy, inexpensive and provides almost instant gratification, plus I'm sure you can take text-messaging breaks in between sewing flowers. ;)

I have two more refashioning projects for $5 Old Navy shirts in the works, so I hope I'll have those to show you soon. I also promised to teach my class freezer-paper stenciling for childrens' shirts, so I'd better get a move on learning how to do that as well. I've got a week to become an expert! :)

We're off to see the Wizard!

In celebration of the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz movie release in 1939, Twyla & Lindsey over at Two Crazy Crafters are having a party!

Jump on over to see the darling decorations they made--I LOVE the pennant banner made of blue gingham, crepe paper pinwheels and glittery green letters! Every detail is just perfect.

I have always loved The Wizard of Oz--I think the sparkly red shoes definitely have a major part in that. :) I've mentioned before on this blog that when I was a senior in high school I made my own version of the Ruby Slippers with a pair of Keds and yards and yards of red sequins. They don't fit anymore (and I can't get into the dress either) but I can't stand to get rid of them! If Keds aren't your style, you can get your own pair of really amazing Ruby Slipper replicas from this artist. Let me tell you, if I had an extra $350 lying around, I think I might just have a pair--wouldn't they look fun under a big glass cloche? And if I was having a baby girl instead of a boy, she'd definitely be sporting a pair of these red sparklers.

If $350 isn't quite in your budget, how about a set of these special edition Wizard of Oz Pez dispensers?
How fun! Those are supposed to be available for purchase in September.

There are some other fun things going on to celebrate the big 70th Anniversary over the next month. A new DVD/Blu-Ray deluxe boxed set will be released, as will a standard DVD edition. And if seeing it on your own small screen isn't enough, on Wednesday September 23 for one night only, THE movie itself will be playing in selected theaters around the country! The movie will be in Hi-Def and will be accompanied by some reels of special extra footage. Click here for more information and to find out if any theaters in your area are participating (for my local friends, it's playing at Southlands at 7:00 pm and tickets are $10.00).

Unfortunately, that is right after my due date so I'm not sure I'll be able to go but I'm going to buy some tickets and somehow, somebody is going to be taking Maren. And I do believe she'll be needing some new shoes for the occasion, don't you think?

Tuesday thrift find: Oyster plates

I've never eaten an oyster and I never intend to do so (although I love most other seafood) but I was tickled to find three of these beautiful old oyster plates at Goodwill recently! The glaze is perfectly crazed and crackly and I love the relief images of mermaids and King Neptune around the edges. I had thought about selling them but as it happens too often, I got attached and now they're going to live here for a while! At least two of them will end up on my wall--wish I could have found a fourth and then they'd all be hung up. That reminds me, I need to measure them and buy some plate hangers so I can get them up on the wall!

As of yesterday I hit the one-month countdown mark until my due date and as of Thursday I'm officially 36 weeks. I can tell I'm really slowing down in terms of energy (it's only noon and I've already had a nap today) and I'm getting really frustrated at the physical limitations my big belly and swollen extremities are causing me. I'm pretty ready to NOT be pregnant anymore but at the same time we still have lots to do to get ready for a new baby around here so baby can't come just yet!

We moved Maren into a new bedroom and I've been working on that since last week, but it's been slow going given my lack of energy and physical awkwardness. Thankfully, my parents came to visit over the weekend and helped us install a closet system in her new room, something that helped us immensely. I've been trying to get her things all organized in her new space so that we can start on the baby's room next. I keep waiting for that burst of nesting energy to kick in but so far I haven't seen it!

My sad little garden

I just dug these potatoes from my garden, and I honestly don't think I could be more thrilled with them if they were diamonds and rubies!
Okay, so maybe gemstones in my backyard would make me a little more excited, but I have to tell you that I'm pretty darn tickled with a few veggies. With the exception of seven additional green beans, enough rhubarb to make one cobbler and one strawberry the size of a marble, this is the only thing edible my garden has produced so far this year. Pitiful, isn't it? I may yet have a few more potatoes and beans, the verdict's still out on the onions and there's probably enough rhubarb for one more dessert but I'm not holding my breath for anything else. Here's a little status report for what I planted initially:

Tomatoes: Started with two plants. One was ripped out of the container by my stupid tomato-loving dog (it had a tiny tomato on it). Managed to find a replacement (no easy task in mid-July). Has a few blossoms but will it ever make fruit before it gets too cold? I highly doubt it--it has a 60 day growing period. The second plant was doing just fine until it inexplicably took a turn for the worse last week and now it appears to be dead, despite my watering & Miracle Gro feedings. No BLT sandwiches for me this year.

Green beans: Started with four plants. One died during the tornado/hailstorm back in early June. The other three lived and produced beans. While harvesting said beans last week, Maren pulled one entire plant out of the ground (it was scrawny). Tried to replant it, but it died. Now down to two plants and while they're making beans, they're little weakling plants.

Potatoes: Started with six hills. All appear to have grown, it's a garden miracle! The photo above shows the first potatoes I've dug, which comprised everything from three of the plants. I had better enjoy them because I doubt there will be many more at that rate.

Rhubarb: Took a beating (literally) during the tornado/hailstorm. Was able to salvage enough to make a rhubarb crisp and cut off all the other damaged bracts. Surprisingly, it came back and it looks like there's enough to make one more rhubarb crisp this weekend.

Strawberries: Started out with six plants. Found one tiny, misshapen berry last week and let Maren eat it--she reports it was good. There were a few other berries at the beginning of the season but the damn birds got to them before Maren could (I quit filling the bird feeder in revenge). Plants are sending out runners like crazy so at least maybe they'll reproduce. If I'd thought they were going to be so robust about reproducing, I would have planted them in a different spot with more space.

Onions: Had the misfortune of being planted less than 24 hours before the tornado/hailstorm. Poor little dears were flattened but about half managed to survive. Still looking very scrawny; I haven't been brave enough to check any for bulbs yet. If they do have bulbs, they'll end up looking more like scallions than the nice round globes I was hoping for.

Pumpkin: Currently doing what pumpkins do best, which is making a bid for total botanic domination of that end of the garden. In its haste to cover the most territory possible it seems to have forgotten the whole idea of making fruit. There are currently two golf-ball sized gourds on the plant and seeing as how it's mid-August, I have a sneaking suspicion we won't be carving those as our Jack-o'lanterns this October.

Basil: Started with something nutso like 20 plants. Figured that since everyone always says that basil grows like crazy that I'd be bushwhacking my way through forests of basil and putting up fresh pesto by the gallon by now. Ha! My plants are indeed growing but struggling mightily. Out of the 15 or so remaining plants I think I'd be lucky to get one, possibly two batches of pesto at this point. Can't figure out what the problem is and why herbs seem to hate me.

Hollyhocks: More came up this year than last year but they appear to be of a pygmy variety. I dreamed of the 6-foot-tall 'hocks I see around all the houses in my grandparents' small town, but instead I got the miniature version. I swear they were taller last summer, are they just shy this year?

Sunflowers: The ones Maren planted accidentally in the front of the garden are taller than me and should bloom anytime. The ones I planted deliberately in a nice little row against the fence are suffering the same pygmy disorder as the hollyhocks. Especially strange since they all came from the same packet of seeds and were planted within days of each other.

Growing heartily: Various weeds, crab grass, aspen suckers, thistles, the ugly hedges in front of the house

Here's the thing: my garden's failure is not for lack of trying on my part. If wishing and hoping would actually make the plants grow, I'd be opening up a booth at the farmer's market by now! Last summer's garden experiment was my first but was largely unsuccessful due to a cold, wet June and subsequent late planting times. I wanted so badly for everything to grow this year; all Spring I planned what I would plant and talked about it to anyone who would listen. But then Nature took over and apparently decided that I was getting a bit too excited and put me in my place. From the tornado and golf ball-sized hail to yet another (atypical) cold wet June, to the tomato-thieving dog and whatever other maladies have made my plants die or otherwise ail, I just can't win!

I've resigned myself to the fact that Nature just does not want me to have a garden this year, and it's out of my control. I honestly don't know why anyone would want to be a farmer in this day and age--their livelihood is dependent on the whims of the weather, which for the past two summers now has been extremely temperamental. I'm just thankful I don't have to rely on the produce from my garden to feed my family for the winter. I'll probably be foolish and try it all again next year, but I'm afraid two summers of failure will probably put a damper on my enthusiasm.

So for all the rest of you who have fresh tomatoes up to your eyeballs and zucchini the size of baseball bats, please eat a BLT for me and don't take them for granted. And you had better believe I'll enjoy every bite of those potatoes with my dinner tonight!

Tuesday thrift score

After complaining all summer about the dearth of good junk at my local thrifts, I've had a pretty good run the past week or so! I have more photos of my finds to share but wanted to show this one, today's only purchase:Oh, how I LOVE this old thermos! The plaid, the cute logo & name, the RED! It's in pretty good condition and I can't wait to display it! Maybe my junking luck is changing...

A lesson in manners

Dear Neighbor:

While I held no illusions that you were the classiest person I had ever met, I thought that giving birth to four children of your own might have at least imbued you with a clue. Seems I was wrong, so allow me to enlighten you: It is generally considered impolite to tell a 34-week pregnant woman, "Wow! You are just getting SO BIG! How much longer do you have, anyway?"

Such a remark, when uttered in the incredulous tone you used, serves only to disgust and enrage said pregnant lady, and it makes you look like a total schmuck. Furthermore, it ensures that your expectant neighbor will hereby drop you from the homemade baked goods distribution list FOREVER. No more cupcakes for you, chickie!

The proper and polite thing to do when you encounter an expectant mother well into her third trimester is to LIE. When you find out how far along she is, you tell her there is just no way she could be that far advanced in her pregnancy--she looks SO much smaller than that! It doesn't matter if she knows you're lying--she'll thank you for it! The last thing she needs at that point is brutal reality, especially when she hasn't seen her own feet in weeks. The truth about her girth is really beside the point and unless she lives in a house with no mirrors, she doesn't need a genius like you to point it out. And if you don't feel comfortable telling what really amounts to a mercy fib, then by all means, just KEEP YOUR PIE HOLE SHUT! Silence is golden, dear neighbor.

If I wasn't better-mannered, I might have, upon hearing your thoughtless remark (and that of the day prior concerning my belly button and the fact that it appears to you that "my turkey timer has popped") , unleashed upon you with a Julia Sugarbaker-esque excoriation that included something to the effect that 'at least my figure is that of a woman and not a pre-pubescent 13-year-old boy', a fact you can make no claims to yourself. But I have to live next to you until you move out in December and my daughter likes to play with your girls, so I held my tongue. I am, however, baking a cake tonight and you can bet your sweet bottom that there won't be any for your family! Thank you for making me not sad about the news that you'll be moving away soon.

Smooches,
Your Neighbor
Blimpy McPorkington