Styling Refashions

I love to refashion... taking something old and turning it into something fun and new. One of my favorite things to refashion is all the clothes my grown children left at home when they moved out. This project I'm highlighting here is one of those clothing articles.

For the final challenge for Project Run and Play, I created a mint dress refashioned from a light weight woman's shirt.  The fabric from this shirt was paired with lace and ribbon to create a soft flowing dress, which is perfect to wear in hot, humid weather. My oldest granddaughter happens to live in such a climate.  Lucky for me, I just got back from visiting her and while visiting her, she modeled this dress before we headed to church.  It fits her now but in a few months, when the weather is sweltering, it'll still fit her because it was made with "room to grow."  It was only 63 degrees fahrenheit on this particular day, and so she wanted to wear the white leggings I also made for her. (I personally think the dress is cuter without the baggy leggings, but I've learned not to disagree with a two and a half year old.)

I love that I was able to use the bottom ruffles from the original shirt.  I also love the sparkly rhinestone buttons and the lace sewn onto the back ribbon, which created a unique tie for this light airy dress. 

A cute thing happened when I was taking photos. My grandson, who happened to come along for the photo shoot said, "Grandma, I just want a picture with my sister."  Okay, I said,  "What about right here?"  They sat down on some rocks and my granddaughter instantly found a very large, slimy snail.  "Oh, look Grandma, a really big snail."  She picked it up and said, "we must put it in here"... and proceeded to throw it into the garbage can. These kids sure make me laugh! 

Aren't children great?  xoxo Grandma

Linked to:  Creating my way to Success

Vintage & Contemporary Lamb Quilt

I loved visiting my aunt in Utah. She lived on a farm and raised lambs. The inspiration for this quilt came from this 1960's lamb fabric. Isn't it so cute?

This lamb fabric came from my mother's stash. I'm guessing it's from around 1965, because it seemed like it was in her fabric closet forever. I used this vintage fabric as my inspiration for creating this original designed baby quilt. The soft, sherpa lambs remind me of "Mary had a little lamb" nursery rhyme. 

I liked the idea of mixing soft textured fabrics with smooth cotton fabrics.  

For one more dimension, I added buttons for the lambs eyes. Do you like vintage fabric?  xoxo Grandma

Backpack Fit for A Doll

Recently I purchased some new pillowcases that came in this fancy little bag. Of course, I had to come up with a way to use it. We can't let things like this go to waste, you know! 

So, I decided to turn the pouch into a doll accessory. It seemed to be the perfect size for a backpack for an 18" doll like an American Girl doll.  So, that is exactly what I created.  I was able to make two of these little backpacks in under an hour.  

If you want to make a "doll sized" backpack, follow these steps or you can download the instructions here:  If you don't have a bag like the one I started with, you can take a piece of fabric 12" x 9" per bag,  sew the fabric together so that it's 6" x 9". Now proceed to step one below.

Now the fun part, leave your backpack plain or add a heart or another embellishment. Which do you choose?  xoxo Grandma

"XOXO" Valentine's Day Banner

Looking for some easy decorations to put together for Valentine's Day? You don't have to be creative or artistic to create this easy yet elegant banner. If you'd like to make your own banner follow the steps below:

1. Use a font, similar to Swis721 BlkEx BT, and enlarge the letters "xoxo" to 300 points. 
2. Print using the outline version.
3. Cut out the letters and trace onto cardboard.  
4. Spray paint the letters with metallic gold.
5. Ink the letters with a clear ink pad that will allow embossing.  
6. Sprinkle the letters with gold embossing powder and heat seat it.
7. Punch holes at the top of each letter to string onto a 1/4 inch maroon, velvet ribbon (or ribbon of your choosing).
8. Cut 7" of various gold, wired ribbon to tie between each letter.

Hang your banner up and enjoy!

a little love.  xoxo Grandma

Transforming an Old Shirt into a Tunic & Leggings

Week 3 challenge of Project Run and Play is "Repurposing". So repurpose I did, for this toddler outfit, I started with a basic women's long sleeve knit shirt. I used a free tunic pattern, created by Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop called the Brooklyn Frock.

From the sleeves of the women's shirt, I made her snug leggings. I only had to add a waist band and elastic to finish them. Once you look at the photos of the Brooklyn Frock, you'll see that I didn't add the opening or buttons onto the front. Since I used a knit fabric, the fabric was stretchy enough that it easily went over my granddaughter's head...thus making my little shirt way easier. (After I shot theses photos, I even took in the neckline another inch on each side.) 

The best part about making an outfit for a toddler out of an already made shirt is not having to hem the shirt. So if you want to save yourself that step too, make sure you align the bottom of the original shirt's hem with the bottom of your bodice pattern before you cut your shirt out. For the sleeves, I used the basic sleeve pattern, inserted a little heavy lace that I unpicked from another shirt and then added a contrasting fabric ruffle to the bottom which was left over from one of my quilts. 

The pocket is rounded at the bottom and has a giraffe bow that's tied with a brown velvet ribbon which came on a gift.  Thanks Simple Simon and Co. for the bow pocket idea!

No photos of this little girl alone because these photos were taken right after she spent two days with me, while her parents took a much needed trip without their children.  Needless to say, she was tightly hanging onto her mother for dear life upon her return...it was a first for these girls to be apart.  Just so you know, I had a great time babysitting them without their parents around!

xoxo Grandma

Valentine's Day Doll Dress

Valentine's day is just a few weeks away.  I'm sure your favorite doll needs a special dress for the occasion, right?  This party dress I made fits an American Girl doll and was my donation to a special giveaway.  Yes, a giveaway (see below for more information)! 

For this doll's Valentine's day outfit, I used a little white satin, with a glittery red tulle ruffle, a red satin ribbon around her waist and then accented the bodice with ruffly, silver edged lace.  Her outfit comes with a coordinating hair band and a necklace.  I'm thinking she's looking pretty fancy.

Giveaway Information: Back by popular demand is another American Girl Doll & Wardrobe giveaway. The first one I participated in was in November and was so successful that I've decided once again to join with a great bunch of talented women for this Valentine's themed giveaway. Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter entry form on Diana Rambles blog.  

 Look at all the fun outfits you can win for an 18" doll:

To enter, click here: American Girl Doll & Valentine's Wardrobe Giveaway.
Open to U.S. and Canadian Residents only. 

xoxo Grandma

Movie Inspired "Catching Fire" Outfit

This photo happens to be my inspiration for this weeks play-along outfit for Project Run and Play's "Night at the Movies" theme. Featured on the left is Peeta from "The Hunger Games" series, movie number two, "Catching Fire" played by Josh Hutcherson. The scene  (in case you haven't seen it) is from the segment where he and Katness Everdeen are on their victory tour. I really, really enjoyed these books and equally enjoyed the two movies. So here's to sewing a practical little boy look.

I wanted to create an outfit for my grandson that he would actually wear more than a few hours on Sunday to church. To create this look, I refashioned two different shirts. Here's the shirts before I cut them up:

For the skinny jeans, I found this free pattern from Titchy Threads in a size 2T, which was almost the perfect size for my grandson.  For his pants, I refashioned some wide legged jeans. 

The hardest part of creating this outfit was figuring out how to finish the neckline/collar. I decided to add a hood, since it has been cold where he lives. My favorite personal touch was adding my personalized labels - a Christmas gift from my daughters.

I mailed the finished outfit to my daughter and these are the photos she took of him in his new movie inspired clothes:

Did you see this movie?  More importantly, have you read these books?  Honestly, I read more books than I watch movies. I like to document my reading on Goodreads where I always add an extremely honest review...I'm sure authors & publishers just love that about me.   Last year, I read 88 books and attended 3 movies, one of which was Catching Fire. 

xoxo Grandma