Happy Halloween!

Hopping Bunny can't stay still in her swanky vest.
Black Cat is sneaky in her shiny cape. "I'm not any black cat, I'm Super Cat"

Bunny, Cat and I wish you a safe and happy Halloween!

Black Cat Shirt

The Man: Uh oh, you know that orange and white shirt I got that was on sale?

Me: Yeah? (Very distracted doing something else)

The Man: Well, I got it just the right size, and it shrunk in the wash. The sleeves are too short. I should have bought a size bigger. Good thing it only worked out to be $4 after all those sales.

Me: (Stops everything) Gimme! I can use to make clothes for the kids.

That's how it is nowadays. I'm always please when I have a refashion candidate!
I was particularly pleased about it having orange on it, because it turns out that my other daughter has to wear orange and black to school as well.
(Costumes are no longer the only thing you have to worry about during Halloween, it seems. Sometimes, you have to have orange and black clothing as well. Just so you know)



The collar is quite small, I did not need to make any adjustments.
Using a shirt that fits well as a template:Black cat stencil (using freezer paper stencil and black glitter fabric paint)

I was quite please with it, but you know what my daughter said when she saw it?
"But I wanted a pirate on it"

Hehe... so much for gratitude :)

Another Yoga Top

The yoga top I made was so successful that I decided to make another one out of a shirt that had been sitting in my dresser for a while now.
My husband go this for me when he went to the Kennedy Space Station. I liked that he got me a shirt, but wearing the shirt made me feel a little bit like a young boy. So, I never wore it much.

Stuff I added to the back:

Hope you all have a great week!

Su

Refashion: T - Shirt into a Yoga Top

I did not think I'd have the time to blog today, because my little girl is so sick and wanted me to sit on the couch with her the whole day. Cuddles vs blogging..... sorry, cuddles won, you know how it is :)

Anyway, she fell asleep in my arms after some time, and she's in bed now, warm and comfortable. Hopefully, her fever will ease a little.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share another refashion with you. I'm on a refashion kick right now.

Unfortunately, I failed to take a good 'before' picture. Boo.
Nevertheless, it's the same blue and orange shirt from the last refashion.


I had already used part of the orange sleeves for the black shirt transformation, but was left with a blue/orange shirt that had potential.

How the shirt was refashioned.
(I took some pictures, but something was wrong with my camera, so they did not turn out - sorry)

1)Using a seam ripper, I detached the orange sleeves from the blue bodice piece, leaving it still connected to the collar.

2)Next, I used a sharp scissors and cut off the sleeves from the collar.

3)Next, I finished the armhole seams to make it look nicer. I think leaving it unfinished works too.

4)Try on the top, and if it gapes at the armhole, pin and sew the sides.
Actually, if the top is too loose, make sure you pin and sew the sides so that the top is quite fitted. You don't want to be conscious of slipping shirts when you are doing forward bends


You're pretty much done.

I had excess orange fabric leftover, so I added some decorations. It's freehand sewing. A little more risky than freehand drawing.
Oh, I pretty much use the same method of rose embellishment that Jessica of Happy Together used in her tutorial. Except, I skipped the pinning part.


It's a pretty fun yoga top to wear.

Here's the before photo:

Sometimes, I get asked how I feel about wearing home made stuff to teach yoga classes where most of my students are Lululemon clad.
I say, "If they are willing to invest that much on good yoga wear, they are committed to their yoga practice. I am always, always, thankful for all my yoga students. "
If I am not able to make my own yoga wear, I'd be wearing Lululemon too, because I hear they make some very good quality stuff.

Oops, I've got to stop right here, my sick girl is stirring.
I hope you like that quick refashion!

Refashion: Another way to Extend Kid's T-Shirt Life

My little girl's school has decided that this Halloween, instead of a costume, the kids will wear Orange and Black. Great! Except, my girl does not own anything orange and black.
I did keep this small black shirt from when she was 2 years old. It says "Mum's Ruin".... hahaha!
In my refashion pile, was this awesome long-sleeved shirt that fit awkwardly around the shoulders. It has orange sleeves! Woohoo!

You've seen it sold at stores, and you've seen it done online. I think there are a few tutorials out there that shows you how to add long sleeves and add length to a t-shirt. However, I just can't seem to find them right now. I'll add onto this post when I do.

Here's how it looks:


Yes, OK, I rolled the hem at the bottom instead of making a real hem. I was a little lazy.... just a little.

Thanks for reading!

Su


P.S. - Did you realize that I had a punny title? Extend sleeves... extend life... ;D

Deviating from my regular posts: A Serious Message to my Friends

Dear Friends,

I'm so glad it is Friday. I hope you have had a good week. It has been an emotional week for me. I don't usually talk about private things on this blog. After all, I did name it such a way that it reflects my personality, and I want my blog to stay light and lively. However, I do feel compelled to share something with you.

My little 6 year old girl, has been having to deal with play yard politics at school, and there were signs of bullying. A 6 year old child is not emotionally equipped to deal with these issues. I sat on my feelings about a few days but have since been scrambling about trying to find some solutions. I have been in contact with other parents (we're a bunch of emotional headcases, lots of tears), and we have some things in the works to try to address the things that have been going on in school.

One of the best book I've read about bullying is Barbara Coloroso's The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander. The thing that resonated most with me in this book is that for every child that has been bullied, there was an adult who knew about it and did not do anything. I guess I'm just pleading for you not to be that adult.

There are so many online resources available, from how to tell what is bullying and what is not, to being able to educate your child on the difference between tattling and telling, to how to detect warning signs of bullying behavior. Just do a quick search, you'll see what I mean!

Anyway, don't worry, I'll still keep my blog light. I just needed to get this out :)

Su

Refashion: Girl's Clothing Mash Up

A top that's too short.
A dress that does not fit anymore, because the top part is too snug.


I attached the top to the bottom. Actually, it fit perfectly, so I had no issues attaching the top to the bottom.
However, my sewing machine kept seizing up! Arrghhh... a ten minute job took me much, much longer. Isn't that always the way, though? :)

I enlarged the armholes and added long sleeves using some scrappy fabric. I had to add long sleeves because I knew that my daughter would want to wear the dress in this cool weather.
It was a good call, the sleeves does seem to tie the dress together.

"New" party dress:

I wish I could do this with my clothes. Somehow, I doubt they would fit me as well. Clothes always looks good on kids, don't they?

Su

Refashion: Love my Scarf

I love Wardrobe Refashion.
Sometimes, a post on there gets me so excited, like this post by Sadie Fox.

I knew which sweater would be the donor, because I've had it around for many years.
This sweater is about 10 years old, and it's been through many washes, and has shrunk. I do have a sentimental attachment to it though, which is why it sat around waiting for me to do something with it.

Following the instructions from the original tutorial, I've made the it scarf that I'm going to wear all winter. It is made up of strips of the sweater, finished around the edges and gathered using a ribbon. I used a pretty, soft pink ribbon, but I think I may replace that with a black or gray satin ribbon instead.

Thanks to my daughter for taking these pictures of me:

But I confess, that semi-glamorous vibe is not my usual winter look.
This is:

Shivering, shoulders hunched all the way up by my ears, still a big smile, very, very cold and decidely uncool.
BRRRRR.............

Bench Makeover

Remember my bench?

Uggh... it just didn't work, right?
Here's another photo. It's not bad, but it could be so much better!

So, I announced that I was going to do something about this eyesore.
Seriously folks, if I tell people that I'm going to do something, it kind of makes me a little panicky, because being the responsible person that I am, I do try to keep true to my word!


Here it is after I've sanded it down and put on two coats of primer:
This is when I start having second thoughts. It looked rough!

Uh oh, Su! What have you done?!?

It was a little better after I applied Cappuccino:
Having never used Mod Podge before, I practiced applying it to fabric on the inside of the bench.
Oh, I used fabric because I liked the fabric I chose, but also because I'm suspicious of paper. I know that it's what mod podge is made for, but I'm the kind of person who can never apply sticky stuff on straight without bubbles. I was afraid of tearing the paper on such a huge project. I'm glad I went with fabric, because I had to reposition the fabric many times!

Anyway, the decoupage went quite well. I still had some bubbles, but I suspect that if I had a proper roller to squeeze out all the air bubbles, this would not have been a problem!

As it was, half the application was done by smearing globs of mod podge off my hands.
I was concentrating so hard on getting the fabric on straight that I failed to notice that I had knocked over the open bottle. My older child came along, and said, "Hey mum, why is there a white plate on the floor?"
Gasp!! That was my mod podge tipped over and spreading a slow circle around the container. So there I was, scooping the podge back into the bottle, and then, with bare hands, I started smearing the stuff on the fabric that was already in place.

Highly inelegant, and I had to practice my yoga breathing, so as to not hyperventilate.... hahahaha!

Sigh...Martha Stewart, I am NOT :)

I also painted the wooden part of the hooks that sits above the bench.

I loved the bench's transformation so much, that I used a tray I found (it had a destroyed picture of Winnie the Pooh on it), and made a matching tray for little shoes:
I had protected it with layers of clear coat paint, so it is reflecting a lot of light in that picture above. However, in real life, it is not cloudy at all.


I'm thinking of moving the frame that is hung on the wall and replacing it with something else.
That though, is another project.


Overall, I'm rather pleased with the transformation!


Head over to Inspired Room's Procrastinator Party to see what others have done!
Thanks for reading,
Su

...click here to read more

Results of a Sewing Marathon

My friend Claudia came over last Saturday for some sewing fun, and let me show you what we made:


This lovely mess, is made after we have cleaned up the first time for dinner. Also, this did not include the piles of stuff that was on the floor :)
We sewed from about 5pm to 11pm. There was a lot of stopping and chatting, distractions from my boisterous kids, and dinner (that my dear husband made) had to be had. However, I must say that it is quite fun to just sit and sew. I'm usually multitasking, and no way can I dedicate that much amount of time to my sewing. So, indeed, it was lovely!

Halfway through the night, I stopped to photograph what I made:
Before the night was through, I actually managed to make 4 more of those little lined pouches.
I've made many of these before, and use them to hold my cellphone, tissues, coins, mp3 player.... it's quite useful!

So, I finally updated my etsy store with some of these after many, many, mumble, mumble, mumble...

And the winner of the Leather Brooch is....

Aunt LoLo!!!

Here's what Aunt LoLo had to say:

Aunt LoLo said...

Oh, gorgeous, mama!! Did you have to use a special needle to get through the layers of leather??

Mmm...those would make ROCKIN' barrettes for little girls, too...just pin them to a felt-covered barrette...ooh, I hope I win!

October 7, 2009 2:28 PM

Congratulations, Aunt LoLo!

Halloween Window Decorations

This morning, my little girl and I decided to make window silhouettes for Halloween.

This means that I spent the bulk of the time plotting and cutting, while my daughter danced around me, singing "Uptown Girl". Yes, apparently that's her favorite song of the moment.
Although, out of the mouth of 3-year-old, it sounds more like, "Uptown Girl, she's be dibing dida, Uptown woool...."

I digressed...

It's quite a thick fabric I pulled out of the remnant bin - marked "Flawed", and was going for 50cents. It wasn't flawed, as far as I was concerned, it was perfect for the job.

I took this picture just before we walked to the bus stop to pick up my older girl.
As we were walking, it started to snow! NOOOO! (My daughter went, "YES!")
This is supposed to be Fall!

Anyway, it only snowed for less than a minute, so everything still looks green. Phew! Close call.

Dressing up Boring Canisters

Did you have a good weekend?

Our family had a Great Weekend. It was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, and we celebrated it by having two days of friends and family coming over to our little home for food and drinks.

I spent a lot of time cleaning, since the spouse was the one doing most of the cooking. Poor abused hands of mine. Hahaha...
However, it was worth it. Great friends, excellent food.... lots of laughter.

I only managed to do some sewing on Saturday, when my friend Claudia, came over for some sewing fun. It was a productive evening, and I will show you what I made, the next time I post.

However, I did sneak this one in.

Here were my boring and very old counter-top canisters:



And according to my 5-year-old, I decided to keep them warm:


They are much prettier on my counter-top.
You may recognize the fabric from this post, about ugly fabric.
So, I think, taken separately, the fabric is not really ugly.
Some day, just some day, I may be able to buy some beautiful Anna Maria Horner, or Heather Bailey. For now, I'll just drool and maybe hope.
Meanwhile, my canister will stay warm.

I'll Stop Procrastinating Later

I've been thinking of fixing up the entrance a little. Thinking and thinking and thinking.
Thinking of painting the little ikea bench, mayyyy... be.
And not doing!

So..... I'm joining The Inspired Room's Procrastinator Party.
Woohoo!
Here's my before picture, just to set my intention.
Party On!

A small Giveaway, and the Bag that Couldn't be Saved.

Unfortunately, this is not what I'm giving away. What I'm giving away is at the end of this post.


Last week, I was scanning throught my local freecycle emails, when I noticed this handbag. It had two broken straps and a little rip on the bottom. However, it was leather and looked to be in good shape otherwise.
The owner had reposted her offer 3 times and was threatening to throw it out. I felt really bad for this handbag. Can you feel bad for an inanimate object? I felt compelled to rescue it somehow.

I tried. I had no problem fixing the straps, but the fixing the rip was beyond me.
I thought about making the bag into a purse, but the construction was such that the many leather pieces were sewn onto foam backing.

Finally, I just decided to harvest the handles and zippers.
The rest of the handbag now has a second life as accessories :)


Very feminine and the leather makes it look very expensive :)

Do you like this brooch I made from upcycled leather and a vintage button?



Well, you have a chance to win it!

• The draw is for the brooch pictured just above.
  
• Just leave me a comment on this post.
  
• Make sure I have some way of reaching you through email.
• Anyone can enter (international very welcome!)
  
• The winner will be picked using the random.org number generator.
• Giveaway will end Wednesday October 14th ,2009 at midnight (e.s.t.).

Thank you for looking, and good luck!

Fall Pillows

If you have a monochromatic room like mine.... mushroom walls, tan sofa, maple floors, it is the simplest thing to change the look of your room by switching out pillowcases.


Do you like the ones I made?
I love it. Too bad it doesn't look as good in the photo as it does in real life

I'm sure you have your own tricks, but do you want to know how I make a square pillowcase in less than 15 minutes? With 3 straight stitches, or 2, if you are very, very lazy. It will kill you, how easy it is.

Click the thumbnail to view the whole picture.

Kid's Craft: "Stained Glass" Fall Leaves

The kids and I have not been sharing any kids crafts with you in the recent months. However, this craft turned out so beautifully that I thought it was worth "putting it out there".

1)This step can be skipped. Instead of painting coffee filters in fall colors, just use crepe paper with fall colors.
However, this step took about 45 minutes of intense concentration on the painting. 45 minutes of sitting still is a miracle. 45 minutes on step one, is cause for me to do the happy shimmy. There was also conversation about fall colors, color mixing, opacity..... etc.
Look at the beautiful coffee filters colored:

2) Scissors - cut up the filters or crepe into tiny pieces.
Again, you can probably tear it by hand, but cutting with scissors develops those fine motor skills. And kids just love scissors:
3) While they are busy cutting, draw your leaves on some wax paper. I did not trust my free-hand maple leaves, so I traced it from something I had printed off the internet beforehand.

4)Glue the pieces onto the wax paper:
5) Cut out the shape of the leaves. I had to help with the cutting at this point. Maybe I should have chose an easier shape:
6)Tape the leaves on a window:
I think it is so pretty....

Long Sleeve Shirt to Little Girl's Dress

Here's a refashion that is born out of guilt and shame.

I realized on Wednesday night that my little girl has Photo Day on Thursday morning, and that I had Nothing to put her in.
By Nothing, I mean, nothing that is not handed down from her big sister, or nothing that is not Summer. She has lots of cute summery dresses that I've made for her, but nothing that she can wear now that the fall chill has hit us. Her little friends are going to look a cute and spiffy, and she's going to show up in her sister's old dress. Poor little girl...

Guilt has a way of eating away at me.

My poor thing.... I should really make her something. I should run out and buy her something. I should... oh, the stores are close, unless I go to.... *gasp*..... Walmart.

So, this is how at 9pm on Wednesday night, I decided that I should at least try to make her something.

First, I went into my refashion pile of clothing. I found a favorite long sleeved t-shirt of mine. It is still in great condition, but it had shrunk a little too much after I put it into the dryer. It clung to me in ways I was not comfortable with. However, I just love the rich purple color.

I took a dress that fit my daughter well, and using my favorite method (guestimation and eye-balling), I cut out the shape of the bodice of her dress.
It was a little short, so I decided to add a band to the dress, using some fabric that I have in hand:

Using the eyeballing method mentioned above, I cut out the sleeves (I measured the length of sleeves from a t-shirt that I knew fit her).

After I sewed it all together, I added some flowers to tie it all together:
It's not clear from the photo, but put an elastic around the neckline, so that it gathers a little, similar to a peasant-style top.

My little girl, happy with her new dress.
It looks a little short, but it's not. She's just lying down on her pillow mountain.

Seeing how excited she for Photo Day in her new duds, make all that work worthwhile.

Guilt, my friends, is a great motivator.