Dolman T-Shirt Refashion

This one's for you Kimi. It's time for another one of my clothing refashion adventures. Pinterest strikes again! I saw a tutorial for turning an XL men's t-shirt into a dolman shirt that I could wear. I didn't even know what a "dolman" was, so I looked it up on wikipedia (the source of all "reliable" answers of course).

I got an XL plain gray t-shirt from Marshalls for $4.50. I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try. 

As you can see, it was far too large and not fitted at all. This was my project at our June craft night. 

I  followed Trash To Couture's tutorial, as seen here. She has great step-by-step instructions, photos and a video to follow. It didn't take me very long at all. Next time, I would allow a little more fabric for the width of my sleeves - I sewed them a little too tight! And it took me two tries to sew up the body of the shirt because I hate measuring. I tend to wing it. Then I have to re-do it. No patience I tell ya. 

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. Even if I wear it around the house, it's a comfy shirt. Leah was my stylist for this photo. I think she should take all my fashion photos from now on. Notice the beautiful white storage bench I'm leaning against - this was an amazing furniture transformation by Christy. You have to see the before photo. Read about Christy's dresser makeover here. And then leave lots of comments so she'll start blogging again!

I also made the leftover fabric from the t-shirt neck into the lovely visor that Leah is modeling. That girl can make anything look good! I may be on to something.

Bobby Pins with Buttons

This is a little project I tried the other day, after being inspired by a Pick Your Plum offer. Have you heard of Pick Your Plum? You can sign up to have weekday emails sent to you with discounted craft items and other creative goodies. I haven't ordered anything from them yet, but I like some of the things I've seen. 

This was the email photo that sparked the light bulb in my mind to try making some embellished bobby pins myself. A cute inexpensive craft. 

I got some booby pins, large and small, at the Dollar Tree. 

Fished out some small colorful buttons from my button jar. 

I traced the button onto black felt and cut it out. 

I stitched the tiny felt circle onto the closed end of the bobby pin with black thread. I sewed around and around a few times, but it kept sliding...

To help the felt circle stay put, I glued it with a dot of hot glue. That's my yellow hot glue gun from 3D design class in college - with my name on it in black Sharpie. 

I glued the button on top of the felt circle with another dot of hot glue and pressed it down.

I made 5 different colors to send to my niece Sydney for her birthday. She just started kindergarten! I hope she likes wearing them. (I also hope the buttons don't fall off!).

I assembled them on a piece of white card stock wrapped with some string, similar to the Pick Your Plum photo. What a cute little gift!

Magnets and Craft Night

The other night, I attended "Coffee, Crafts and Conversation" at Bethany's house. What a fun time of getting together with friends and making new ones!

It was BYOC (bring your own craft) and it was inspiring to see what each lady was working on. Some even brought their own sewing machines!

And of course there were snacks!

Bethany's home is beautifully decorated and personalized with photographs of her family. She is so talented! She took some great photos that night - I was surprised to be front and center on her blog post! I was blessed to be part of the evening and am looking forward to doing it again! 

My craft was making magnets with scrapbook paper and clear vase gems.

I got the idea from my crafty friend Lindsay, after seeing ones that she made on her refrigerator. 

These are two that she gave to me. Aren't they adorable? 

You will need clear vase gems (not marbles) in either small or large size. I found a whole bag of gems at the Dollar Tree.

Small/large round magnets that will fit on the back of the gems. 

Start by placing the stone over the paper you would like to use, and trace the stone. Regular scrapbook paper works really well (no card stock or other specialty papers).

Cut out all your circles of paper with scissors. I like to set them under their intended gem so they don't get lost.

Spread a light amount of Mod Podge with a paint bush onto the back of the gem, and affix your paper, right side down. Brush around the edges of the paper to make sure it's completely sealed. Let it dry. 

Once the Mod Podge has completely dried, use a small dot of heavy-duty permanent glue to attach the magnet. I used Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, because I happened to have some and it worked well.

Wait for the magnet glue to dry, and you're done! 

I really like how they turned out. However, they are a little tricky to photograph. Thank you Christy for documenting the process while I was working on them! The glass makes them look a little cloudy and blurry. The Mod Podge does dry clear. The gems actually magnify the image, which is why I like using small prints and patterns. 

 

They look nice on my fridge, holding up family photos. I think they would make cute gifts too! They're quick and inexpensive. A great use of paper scraps too. Go make some refrigerator bling!

Ladies Dinner and Craft Night

Recently, I had the privilege of spending a Friday evening with some amazing women in my life. It seemed like the day would never come, because as with most busy working women, it takes some deliberate planning to get us all together! It was definitely worth the planning and anticipation.

5 ladies + good food + crafting = ridiculous fun.

We'll start with the food. Fettuccini with Prosciutto & Peas (Click here for recipe). Delicious and easy to make.

 

Accompanied by warm cheesy rolls and garlic bread. Yum! And BA's amazing Spinach, Feta and Strawberry salad, with strawberry dressing. SO good! This is by far my new favorite salad. Of course, a meal would not be complete without refreshing beverages, and that, there were.

After sharing a delicious meal, along with great (and hilarious) conversation, it was time to get our craft on. The craft of the evening was Rose Barrettes, tutorial found here at The Purl Bee. How cute are these? Perfect for your daughter, niece, little girl you baby-sit, or yourself!

We set to work with piles of felt, scissors, and thread in hand.

I acted as the instructor with step-by-step directions. Look how diligently we are all working! You can hear the creative juices flowing.

 

Let's give it up for MD who learned to sew for the first time! 

These roses were a little tricky, but we all got the hang of it and loved how they turned out!

 

Now for the end results and fashion show...

  

 

 

I love how M is perfectly posed for the camera! We are sure to start a new fashion trend with these beautiful hair accessories!

After all that crafting, it was time for dessert. You didn't think a group of girls would get together and forget dessert, did you? No way Jose! Time for ice cream sundaes with all the trimmings! That's right. We don't mess around when it comes to ice cream. Waffle cones. Fudge. Bananas. M&M's. Whipped cream. And of course cherries. (We're still trying to figure out how the cherries get like that, when they're all bottled up, but that's another story)

 

There's M again, always ready with a smile! Who wouldn't be smiling with this dessert in your future? 

 

The evening was so much more than just fabulous food and craft time. These ladies have incredible hearts. You would love them as much as I do. I am so blessed by each one of them. I hope there will be more times like these in the future. Thank you ladies for being who you are. God's love shines brightly through each of you, and I'm so glad He made us friends!