Momma Art

I have been learning so much about sewing and clothing these past few months.I am very excited to continue creating new pieces of clothing and finding small treasures at the thrift stores. This has become my creative outlet, and I hope to learn much more! I love this dress.  I love the print. I saw it at the thrift store a while back, but I didn't pick it up. I went back a month later and it was still there. I took that as a sign, and scooped it up for 3 bucks!  It still screamed muumuu though. Close up at those gorgeous poppies. The only thing I did was pick off those sleeves, hem up the arm holes, and add a belt! Great for these summer days! No Sleeves!  Awesome!

My family and I went on a weekend vacation to Saugatuck, MI. While on our adventures, we came across this salvage/vintage/antique shop like I've never see before. They had tubs, and fixtures, furniture, and linens. They even had an AWESOME TUG BOAT! yes, that's right....a real live tug boat! This place was called : Amsterdam 3483 Blue Star Hwy. Saugatuck, MI 49453 This guy was cool, but his eyebrows scare me a bit. Need some storage? Lawn decor? Happy Halloween from your friendly neighborhood butane can! Anyway, I found this adorable tablecloth. It was beautiful, and I scored it for a great price! $10. Such a beautiful print! but, it had a couple small stains that didn't come out when I washed it. These kinds of things just come with the territory. At least I knew it was loved. I had about a teaspoon of some dye left over from  THIS   project.                     ...

I have been looking at this maxi dress in my closet for about a year now. Not wearing it, just looking at it. So I decided to do something about that. I love this dress, but not crazy about the skinny straps. I used to wear another tank top under it, and safety pin the straps...blah blah blah. But I'm all about quick, comfy, and easy these days.  I had a T-shirt in my drawer that matched perfectly for what I wanted to do. (Can you guess?) Here we go.... T-shirt and dress reporting for refashion! I snipped off the top of the dress, and the bottom of the shirt, right at the waistline of both. I left a little extra for seam allowance, and mishaps. (I usually have at least one) I turned the T-shirt inside out and put the skirt inside. I pinned it, and then sewed it all together. Flip it right side out, and..... Comfy and flowy! Ready for lunch in my new T-Shirt maxi dress. This might be one of my new comfy favorites! Please remember to enter yo...

OK, Here's my latest refashion. This pink floral dress was $1.23, just a bit too big, and pretty much shapeless. It had pockets, and a cool print, so I took it in from the back. I sewed down the back taking it in a couple inches. Sew, sew, sew. Unfortunately, it just wasn't going to work, so I had to ditch the pockets and take it in more on the sides. I snipped out the pockets to possibly use them on something else. Bye pockets! (see ya later!) I then, snipped off the straps, and decided to make it a halter to tie behind my neck. I sewed the straps in a "V" shape to the front and center of the dress. Sew the straps... It was too long, so I took off some length, and hemmed it all up. SNIP! I love this summery print! Here's a close-up of the neck. All done! I was checking to see if the timer was working, and I guess I moved too soon!  Pretty in Pink!

My Family and I are still on this journey to NOT buy any new, off the rack clothing for a whole year. We are 3 months in, and I am saving a noticeable amount of cash, and we are helping the environment too.  This is difficult. I like to shop. I love that new clothes smell when you walk in to a department store, or my favorite...Old Navy, but this is an experiment that I wanted to try. I wanted to test myself. I think it will, and has made me appreciate the clothes I do have, and wear them more. I have definitely been  more creative with outfits. I hope my new found creative outlet has given you some entertainment as well.  I found this dress at a thrift store in Wisconsin. It was around $2.00, and I just loved the pleated skirt, but not for this decade. Is this 80's or what? Cool pleats though. Lots of 'em.  Off they came with my trusted seam ripper. I'm sure this pleated perfection will make an appearance another time. This is what it l...

What better way to start a morning than making cookies. And in a ballet recital dress no less. Olive and I decided to make some cookies. I just googled a super easy sugar cookie recipe, and I was in luck, because I had everything I needed in the house.  We rolled out walnut sized balls and put them on a cookie sheet. (There was so much butter in these bad boys, there was no way they were gonna stick!) Then we had so much fun stomping prints into the cookies! Look at the concentration on Olive's face! Action shot! Then she decided to do some face prints! Rawwr! Yum!  P.S. If you try this at home, you might have to re-print some of the cookies mid way through baking. They puff up a bit, and we lost some of the detail. (I didn't tell her that though)