Over the Rainbow

All right!  Finally posting something other than a LinkUp.  I have actually made several things over the past few weeks that I just haven’t gotten around to posting.  Sadly none have anything to do with my pink pants.

Anyway, Halloween is tomorrow as we all know, so I thought I should show off what I did for a costume. 

I found this Dorothy costume at a yard sale for $2.  It had several problems.  Too big, too open in back, crooked buttons, frumpy skirt and sleeves, stains, crooked ric-rac, etc., and did I mention that it was too big?  Time to work a little Halloween magic.  So here’s the before…

…And after.  The skirt was an easy fix.  I just had to shorten it by about 4 inches and move the button in the back to cinch the waist.  The top was a different story.  I literarily had to take it apart, chop off a few inches everywhere, and sew it back together.  I also added a zipper to the back so my entire back wasn’t exposed.  Now it fits me almost perfectly.  All done?  Nope.  It takes more than a blue dress to make a Dorothy costume, so time for the accessories.

I found this basket at another yard sale for only 25 cents.  Best deal.  I used some scraps from the costume to make bows.  I just cut strips using my pinking shears and tied them to the sides of the basket.  Easy and cute.  The little doggie was a birthday present from some reaally good friends of mine.  Yep, my birthday was yesterday. 

Moving on,  what’s a Dorothy costume without ruby slippers?  For these I started out trying to make shoe covers.  I’d seen some in stores, but didn’t like the price or the quality.  Anyway, I cut up an old Christmas stocking and used my shoes as a guide to make a pattern.  It was easy enough, but I was having trouble getting a good fit until I realized it would be easier to just sew the fabric right to the shoes.  Luckily I had an old pair of ballet flats that would have otherwise been tossed.  Several minutes of sewing (and one broken needle) later, I had my slippers.  Now I have one complete Dorothy costume that cost less than $5 to make.  Yay!

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Wordless Wednesday: Arachnophobia

Spotted while waking up one morning.

  Relax, it’s the size of a pencil eraser.

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Once Upon a Bag…

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago, I made something and forgot about it.  No not one of my pink pants recons (see A Challenge), really need to get back to that.  My everyday bag has been looking a bit worn lately, so I thought I’d whip up a new one.  I had a shirt my mom dumped on me that I thought would be perfect.

Here’s the before.  The t-shirt had some holes and a few stains in odd places, but it had some sparkly embroidery that was promising.

And now the after.  I cut two large rectangles to sew the body of the bag and cut the embroidery off separately then attached it to the front of the bag.  There just wasn’t enough usable material around the embroidery, so doing it this way made more sense.  I cut strips from the rest of the t-shirt and twisted them into cords for the straps.  I also used some fabric I had lying around for a lining, no photos of that though, not exactly easy to take a picture of that.  Overall I think I did a decent job, except one little problem.  I don’t like it.  The bag just isn’t my style, strange since I made it.  I tried to use it, but it didn’t feel right.  Oh well, at least I can make another one.  I just need to figure out what to do with this one.  Hmm.

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Wordless Wednesday: Hello Kitty on the Go

Sorry it’s been so long since doing one of these posts.  Anyway, this was seen parked at a Goodwill during their 1/2 off sale.

Cute!

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Pants Recon Challenge Round 3

Round 3 of The Great Pants Recon Challenge is finally here.  I’ve been using that word a lot lately, finally.  That’s what happens when you take too long to post things.

Anyway, this time I was strangely inspired by the hems of the pants to whip up something pretty.  Namely…

…flower corsages!

Nothing like something flowery to wear on your wrist.  To make them, I just cut off the hems of the pants and cut each into two strips.  I gathered them on one side and stitched the ends together.  With some fabric circles for the centers and some remnants of lace they made perfect flowers.  For the straps, I just cut pieces from what was left of the pants drawstring and threaded elastic through them before attaching.

Here’s the finished results.  The top three are corsages, the bottom one I made into a matching broach by attaching a pin to the back.

Now up to three finished projects with one pair of pants.

• Flower corsages
• Pin cushion
• Drawstring bag

And here’s what’s left of the pants.

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Time to Catch Up

Except for my blog hop, it has been pretty quiet here.  Okay it’s been totally dead.  I thought I’d take the time to update a little, you know, clear away some cobwebs. 

First off, after months of trying and trying I finally got a job.  Yay!  I start next Monday.  I will be working at a medical manufacturing facility.  It should be super fun, I get to wear goggles and a lab coat.  And hopefully it means I won’t have to stay in motels much longer, another plus.

I can’t remember if I mentioned this here or just on twitter, but I am on Google+ and have been there for quite some time now.  So I have been regularly sharing things, mostly stuff I posted on pinterest, random craft tutorials, and cute animal pics.  I’m a sucker for those.

As quiet as it has been here, it has been even more so I my maze blog up until last week when I finally posted a new maze.  I will try to post a little more regularly from now on.  Keyword, try.

I know I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I am now on tumblr of all places. I find it rather fascinating.  It’s kind of like twitter but without the character limit and more customization.  Plus not only can I post just about anything, I can let people submit things for me to post and even ask me questions.  Feel free to ask me pretty much anything, I have an odd habit of answering almost every question asked of me anyway, even the awkward ones.

And last but not least, I finally got back on track with my crafting.  Yep, another pink pants project is coming up (see A Challenge!!), I’ll probably post it Thursday so look forward to it.

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