Sorry bout that!

So I had a hiatus, a long hiatus.
I guess I never actually made the the plans to write long term on this blog, looking back though I am glad about what I did write. I know I will not post on here everyday, or heck every week, but I am going to try to post more.

That being said here is a project I recently, as in today, made.

I have been on the look out for a new planner. Problem was I could never find one I loved. So I did what any other crafty person out there would have done, I made my own. But this isn't about my planner, this is about my planner cover! I was using a small black three ring binder I had on hand, but it wasn't cute. So I decided to make a cover for it. Knowing I couldn't just run up to JoAnn's due to my current spending freeze, I had to resort to my craft bag.

I found this cute yellow fabric, but I couldn't use it for two reasons: one- there was not enough (that there should have stopped me, but I thought about ways to get around that like using a different fabric for the interior portion) but reason two was a deal breaker- this was the fabric I used for a campsite flag at a music festival this past summer. Anyone else stupidly sentimental about things like that?

So I dug a bit deeper to find this ironing board cover I purchased at Ikea some time ago. It was too small for my ironing board, but was perfect for this project. You best believe I used every square inch of that fabric! So I whipped it up and it fits like a glove! I am quite pleased with the outcome.

Sweet little bookmark.

Itty bitty pockets, hey you have to make what you have work.

Maybe now this will motivate me to organize my life better and who know it may even remind me to post more on here. :)

Bye!

Ashley

Betty Crockers in training

This past weekend a coworker and I decided to have a baking-thon. We went all out, I even broke out my bread maker! We ended up making 7 different goods; pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, blueberry cheesecake cookies, wheat bread, beer bread, macaroons, derby pies and mystery cookies( a hodge pudge of left over ingredients). Firstly I was amazed at my bread maker, I bought it last summer at a yard sale for $5. I had no clue that it bakes the bread as well as kneads it. This little baking session is just what the doctor ordered; food, friends and fun!

Mornin Tuesday!

Have you ever seen a bunch of flowers and just smiled? While grocery shopping this morning I spotted some tulips. I normally don't buy flowers from the grocery but they were just so pretty and I have a soft spot for tulips. I split them up and kept some aside for mom. I had a few leftover after arranging two vases, thinking I could always use some cheering up in the office I grabbed a small milk glass vase and fit as many as I could in there. It ended up only fitting three. I just love how it brightens up my small space! Well, have a great morning!

The "if only" Project part 2

Being that I still had one day left of my weekend I opted to try my hand at turning a dress into a skirt. I like pattern of the material plus....it has pockets! Any skirt or dress that has pockets wins bonus points in my book. I knew that even if I wanted to wear this as a dress I couldn't. It was a size 8, and I clearly am not. Turning it into a skirt was a bigger feat than I imagined. The seam attaching the top to the skirt of the dress looked to be shortened at one time and seamed five of six times. Thinking that I could save part of the bodice, I cut about five inches above the seam. I it on, any it was a no go. Still to tight, I had to cut out the top of the skirt. I liked how the top was but I felt the length was still to much. I wanted the skirt to flair out but did not want to add any volume underneath. Bubbling the bottom seemed to be a great option.

The "if only" project

If you're anything like me, you have a pile of "if only" clothes. Clothes that you know could be great "if only" the hem line was shorter, the straps were taken up, or the bust was more fitted. This weekend I decided to tackle that pile. First up is a sea foam green dress that looks to be maybe 50's or 60's.I love the color and the ruffles around the neckline, but the long sleeves that weren't quite long enough topped with their own ruffles was a bit much. I was unsure weather I wanted a sleeve-less dress, small capped sleeves or quarter length. being that you can always take away, but not put back I opted for the longest and if that didn't work then I could always go shorter. I tried the dress on and marked with a pin just above the elbow. One thing I did not like about hemming the sleeves is the fact that they are polyester. I have, upon doing this project, discovered I dislike folding polyester. Normally when I sew I don't use pins. I know I'm a risk-taker! But with this fabric, you kinda have to. So I caved and pinned. I guess that is needed, especially since I haven't sewn anything solid in awhile. That said, I should have atleast checked that I had a matching bobbin thread in, but I did not...I had gray. The finished product turned out great. Sleeves that hit just above my elbows. I'd say it is a success, gray thread and all. I love my "new" old dress.

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ps. I couldn't resist adding this picture :) And yes, I left them in!

The Princess Dress

I honestly don't know how all you mothers do it. I took my four year old niece out shopping today and gosh! She was all over the place! Grabbing clothes, running from display to display, sitting on tables that clearly was not meant to be sat on. And within five minutes of being there she decided that she was done with walking, or standing or just being there in general. So what did I do? What any other good aunt would do, resort to bribery. :) My weapon of choice? Chic-fil-A. She loves it there (and so do I). She eats nothing but chicken anyway and the best part, a play place! A confined place that she can run out all of that crazy energy. So I rushed through the store grabbed a total of 6 things to try on and made our way to the dressing room. I do believe that was my favorite part of the day. She sat on the bench and closed her eyes until I had the garment on. Then she would open her little eyes and immediately tell me if it looked good or not. Needless to say the only thing I got was a little cream floral dress she deemed "The Princess Dress", and a small charm necklace.

I just love the watercolor affect that the print has.

Well I'm going to wrap this up since my little red headed monster...I mean niece is running all over the house with temporary tattoos. :)