Lace for Baby & Momma

 I am loving the lace and ruffle trend right now.  But, let's face it, I live in T-shirts and Belle lives in legwarmers.  Never fear here is how to lace-up both baby and momma with this T-shirt refashion and a pair of lace baby legs.

For a tutorial on how I created both pieces click the read more button below!

Leather Purse Bracelet

I must have been inspired to keep this old purse that was stained from spilled milk like four years ago. 

First, cut off the straps.

Measure your wrist and cut the straps accordingly.  Remember, the bracelet will need to slide on and off of your wrist.

Glue the ends of both straps together forming two circles.

Start cutting up your purse into salvageable leather pieces.

Make one circle, 8 large petals, 8 medium petals, and 6 small petals with the leather.

Begin gluing the large petals to the circle as pictured above and then layer the additional petals on top.

My purse happened to have brass studs. I cut one out and glued it to the center of my flower. 

Cut a rectangle from the leather. It should be long enough to wrap snugly around your bracelets.

Glue rectangle in place using a generous amount of glue.

Glue leather flower on top!

Shirt Downsize

Harley Belle was born in May and we had a beach weekend 3 weeks later.  Yeah, I looked FAN-freakin-Tastic!   Especially, since I am lucky enough to gain at least 70 lbs., sometimes more, with each bundle of joy. Anyway, I bought a bunch of new clothes for the summer. You know, the post-baby clothes.  Although it makes me very happy to say this, most of those cute clothes don't fit anymore. Then again, I am not ready to just toss them aside.  So, here is my solution.  

First, find a shirt that does fit or even a shirt that is a bit snug.  Turn the shirt that is too large inside out and then pin the shirt that does fit on top of the large shirt, like so...

  Now, bust out the sewing machine and stitch along the small shirt. Careful! Don't sew the small shirt to the big shirt.  That would be a disaster.  Just stay as close as you can to the shirt that fits with the foot of your machine.  TIP:  Sewing knit fabrics is kind of tough. Sometimes the fabric gathers even when you don't want it too.  Make sure to pull the fabric very tightly as you sew.

Next, unpin the small shirt. You should have a stitch along the sides of your large shirt that looks something like this.

Next, turn your large shirt right side out and try it on.  If the fit is good, turn it inside out again and trim the excess fabric.

Realistically, most of us don't get to down-size the size of our clothes very often. At least, I don't any way.  But, let me give you a few other examples of when this technique comes in handy.  The other day I was at Target.  They had some adorable shirts on sale for $2.  Unfortunately, they were all too large.  If I had only thought of this idea sooner I would have stocked up on these great deals!  Also, we each have those T-shirts we get for something we participated in,  like the local Fun Run or Church Basketball.  They are always perfectly rectangular and totally unflattering.  Why not add a little femininity to your tee by using this method.

Here is one of the shirts I down sized.  Probably should have taken a BEFORE picture for the full effect!  Live and learn.

Old Sweater into New Scarf

I thought I better post this before the need for a cozy scarf is obsolete. (Let's hope that day comes quickly. I can't wait until spring.) I made this Scarf sometime in December and of course did not take pictures of the step-by-step process, but never fear some one else did!

Anyway, here is a detailed TUTORIAL on how you can make your own Cowl Neck Scarf.