Clothing

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflecting Pink

pink mirror 2

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

An earlier Mother’s Day.

I was sometimes called a “girly-girl” which I don’t get except I was very slight of frame and quiet.  I didn’t wear ruffles or pink but preferred a book to sports, kittens to dogs and giggling to gossip.

I grew to love pink, ruffles and lace as I got older and I don’t mean as an old lady, but even into my 30’s I grew fond of the romantic look in clothing and decor.

An outdoor picnic. I made my dress and my son’s outfit.

Reflections are all around us daily but I’m reflecting internally about the time in my life when I actually “mothered.”  I am still a mother but am no longer allowed to act like one.  That sucks.

I love Sean’s expression at 3 months.
My son David used to play a little too rough, age 3. At age 10 he broke a foot right before school started.

Reflections of home.

Lace in my coffee.
Lamp on a glass table.

Reflections in nature.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Still Blurry

As stated in my previous post, the last number of years have all been a blur.

I have never been so disorganized and out of touch and this is such a bad time to be this way.  I am now in the process of cleaning everything out and packing as I go along, expecting to be moving before the end of the year.  Certainly before winter sets in again.

I wanted to share some of the projects I have been working on sporadically since sometime last year as well as other odds and ends.  This blog may be a blur as well.


I have been working on multiple projects on canvas with various mediums, sewing with fabrics, actually made some bead jewelry with supplies purchased years ago and tried my hand with polymer clay.

 

Click on thumbnails for full size.

The following are various sewing projects.

1980’s silk pants being upcycled to scarf. Love the images on them!


Very pleased with my second attempt at polymer clay jewelry! This was after I burnt a batch in an old toaster oven with messed up thermostat.


A couple of craft type projects.

Not going to miss the frost on my windows, no matter how beautiful it is.
Not going to miss frost on my windows, no matter how beautiful it is.

I’m going to end this blur of a post with a question.

What color is this dress?

My mother made this back in the 1960's.
My mother made this back in the 1960’s.
First attempt to refinish table
French toast with Pecan cinnamon bread
Early peas
Turkey, brocolli & Lowfat Alfredo sauce
After the Crucifixion in Lenawee County
Fall motif made with glass plate, silk flowers and tissue paper
Honorable Mention in Spring art show 2012
Whole wheat pasta and some kind of homemade sauce
Early spring rose branches
Spring rain
Misty winter morning
First violets
Baptism of my great nephew
Spring walk
One of many Instructables in 2012 posted on Instructables.com
Photo transfer on white Organza
Black-eyed Susans
Fresh produce
Bread n’ wine
Monarch on my Butterfly Bush
Lace backed collage of my German ancestors
Broken toilet handle spring 2012
printing on used dryer sheets
Lovely Daylilies
Finally spring
Neighborhood pool
First peony
Apron and wine sack
Bottle & stamp necklace
Accent transfer and thread painted, unfinished
Patching up jeans
Short cape soon to be on etsy
Various types of fabric jewelry
Asian theme apron
Tea stained apron
First try at matching pot holders
Crazy skull heads from air clay
Second attempt with fall decor
Apple from the cider mill
Carrot and squash soup with turkey on whole wheat & avocado
Crappachino
Cozy teatime
Team Robin for Robin Roberts of Good Morning America
Winter sunshine
Fall picture transfered to muslin, lined with lace pieces and puff painted
Fall 2012
Fall leaves
Christmas valance from scrap fabrics
Found my dollar store elf sneaking wine again
Hollowed out fruit with allspice for natural holiday air freshener
Neighbor gave me the cutest miniature gingerbread house
Everyone has a cousin Eddie

Weekly Photo Challenge: My 2012 in Pictures

Upcycled Jeans and Other Sewing Projects

Decided to use the leftover top of my old jeans that were left over from my garden jean cap that I previously made and posted the instructions on the instructables.com web site.

I was able to make a purse and a pillow.  I posted the instructions on how these were made on the Instructables web site if you wish further information on how to make these items.  Please feel free to play with any of the ideas on this site and be as creative as you wish.

I am also posting the pictures of an apron that I enhanced with leftover fabric that was purchased and a craft store on clearance for $1.75.  I was also able to make a matching wine sack and plan on using it for a gift after adding a bottle of wine from a local winery.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Po’ Girl Project Updates

Just wanted to post some of my recent projects.  I hope to have an etsy shop very soon and have included various states of some of my projects.

The first one is a slide show of a pot holders sewing project that matches an apron previously made.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The last coat of acrylic paint in a cream color has finally covered the cottage cheese label on this plastic container I plan to use as a hanging lamp. (more to come on that project on instructables.com.)

I used to only use transfer paper on my fabric, but this time just printed some of my photos on printer paper and adhered them to fabric and glass with acrylic matte medium so I can use them for natural jewelry pieces and embellishments using beads, eyelets, paint, threads, etc. I just like to play around and see where my imagination takes me sometimes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I purchased some Crayola air dry clay in white to make odds & ends of pendents using molds and stamps to shape and alter for jewelry. I inserted wire to hang or attach. Update to come later after painting or decoupaging tissue to show how something so cheap and easy can look really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just starting another instructable for a nightgown made from a Queen size bedsheet, flat. I tea stained the fabric first to give it a vintage look.

 

Decided to upcycle a thread-worn cream colored turtle neck sweater. Cut down the center to insert a zipper. I am in the process of sewing on strips of faux fur.

 

Peace, Love, Hope Garden Cap Instructables Entry

I submitted an entry for Instructables Fashion contest.  The first prize was a sewing machine that also embroiders.  Didn’t win but at least I tried!

I have put together some photos in a slideshow to kind of walk you through how to make the hat from a pair of old jeans.  I created a pattern from an old cap I still had, took it apart and made the templates from parchment paper and lined it with tea stained muslin.  The jean fabric was rather heavy so the cap is too warm to wear in the sun on a warm day.  I would recommend that you try the same thing with a cotton broadcloth or poplin and leave it unlined.  I went kinda krazy decorating it, but you can just leave it plain or use any fabric of your choice.  Please feel free to check out the patterns as I have written the size of the templates on the pattern so you can copy them to use.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Po’ Girl’s Lazy Upcycled Jacket

Occasionally I shop the clearance sales at Kohl’s to see what I can find.  I have specific pieces in mind,

Clearance price tag

 but am ready for anything, as long as it is a super bargain.  I may not be a girl any more, but I am po’.

 I recently came across a really nice jean jacket with faux fur collar that was almost a steal.  I purchased the jacket, regularly priced at $58.00, for $11.60 then used a 30% off coupon which knocked it down to $8.12.  That is an awesome price!                                                                             

 Check out the price tag.  I always wait until I have a 20 or 30% off coupon before clearance shopping.  They offer a lot of 15% off coupons during the year, but I always wait til I can get big money off. 

Everyone needs at least one jean jacket in their wardrobe.  They go with so many pieces that you can’t go wrong wearing them with just about anything!  I decided that this jacket needed just a little something extra so I hand painted an eagle on the back.  It was not laborious.  I had sketched one many years ago and used it as the pattern.  Did not take long and only used 3 colors.  Black, white and gold fabric paint.  I was going to add feathers to the front, but thought against it for the time being.

Jacket front
Painted Eagle

Now, viola!  I have a one of a kind jacket, that I may decide to wear, sell or give as a gift that was not expensive and did not take long at all to “upcycle!”  I was not able to do this with some other jackets simply because they were center seamed.  The center panel on this style allowed enough unbroken space for the image.