Sharpie Surprise!

A couple of weeks ago, Husband told me he had ordered a surprise for me. He knows me well, and is good at surprises so I wondered what was coming. I thought of several different things it might be, was totally surprised when it was this...!
A long time ago, maybe even before we were married, I told him that I wanted a big assorted Sharpie set. I don't know if I ever mentioned it again, but he might have caught on as I oogled every set that we ever passed in any store. Even though it came almost a week ago, I couldn't bring myself to take them out of the packaging. I mean, don't they look absolutely lovely all lined up? Finally this afternoon I took them out. Can't wait to start using them.

Summer Dress

Well, I'm finally ready to share the dress that I made while my mom was here last weekend. I really love the fabric. It has lots of summery colors.

The dress has shoulder pleats, and darts! I really learned a lot from making it. Of course my mom walked me through the whole thing. I was hoping to make it through without having her do any actual sewing on it, but that didn't happen. I had some trouble with attaching the skirt to the top, so she had to help a little with that. But really, I did most everything, and I'm pretty proud.

I'm no model, but I thought I should share a picture or two of me actually wearing it.What do you think? Not too bad for my first dress?

Now that my mom is gone, she wants me to try it again...by myself. I honestly don't know if I can do it. But I won't know until I try. I'll at least get the pieces cut out tomorrow.

Upcycled Organization

Organization.

I'll just say it upfront, organization is hard for me. It's a struggle. Something I have to work at. The actual organizing isn't difficult for me, in fact I kind of enjoy the beginning of it. Finding the right system, and keeping it up is what kicks my tail. The more I craft and sew, the more I have to work at keeping all my supplies in their proper places. But also, the older I get, the more disciplined I've gotten. That isn't to say that there aren't fabric scraps on the loft floor, or paper bits all over my crafting desk...it's just that I try harder to find storage that I like to use so that I'm more likely to clean up after myself. The storage that I'm sharing with you today is just for little stuff...but in our house it's the little stuff that tends to end up everywhere.

An assorted jellybean box gets a mod podge makeover, and turns into a button sorter.
I love buttons. Love to buy them (on sale). Love to find them.I hope to outgrow this box, but it works great for now.When I got home from my trip to TN at the beginning of the summer, Husband surprised me with this beautiful craft supply organizer. I was thrilled! It's great to have a husband who knows me like that!
The three bottom drawers have lids that clamp closed, so that they can be used as carrying cases if needed.And the smaller drawers have great compartments.
A coupon filer becomes a great place to stash all my smaller paper bits.
I have them sorted by colors. Sorting by colors makes me happy.
I don't know what this is technically called, but I use it for my 12x12 papers. It's great to just be able to flip through and find the one I'm looking for.
These three papers are my favorites in my stash right now...I'm saving them for a special project...only I don't know what that project is yet.
And finally, an old spice rack holds paintbrushes, glue, scissors...you get the idea. I keep meaning to paint it a prettier color, but that would mean taking everything out at once.
Sorry I've been MIA. My mom is visiting from TX, and we're busy having a wonderful time. She's helping me through sewing my first dress. It's so cute, I can't wait to share it. But it's not finished yet.

Skirt Reconstruction

One of my besties, Carissa, who blogs at Kali Crafts, and I have started The Great Sewing Challenge. Although she's been sewing a few more months than me, we're both beginners. But we've both been wanting to make skirts. So, we've challenged each other to sew our first skirts, and have them posted on our respective blog by Sunday evening. I really felt like I needed to practice first so...

I bought this cutie little dress for $5 at Goodwill the other day. It actually looked pretty cute on, but the elastic around the top and waist felt uncomfortably tight. Not only that, but I just don't pull off strapless all that well. So I decided to use it for practice.
First I cut off the top. Originally I thought, "Ah, my work is finished." But then the top was all frayed and worn at the waist from getting cut. Then when worn at the waist, it was a funny length on me. I'm pretty short, so certain lengths don't look good.After cutting more material off the top, I followed this tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff (one of my new favorite sites), to gather the top and add the elastic. I think it turned out well enough for my first clothing reconstruction. The gathers aren't perfect, but I'll wear it. It came together with minimal frustration, so I'm looking forward to experimenting with more skirts!

Where the Heart Is...

Yesterday I picked up this little dandy from Goodwill for $.99. It's cute, but SO NOT my style. Needed a total makeover. For $.99, I was up to the challenge.

A lot better, don't you think?

In my original vision for our summer door decor, I pictured more color. But I kind of really love the way this looks. And this can go up whenever I can't think of any other seasonal decor to put up.

Come on in!

Thrifty Decor Chick

Paper Pins for Etsy

This week I realized that I don't have any of these flowers for my etsy shop.

I love blue and yellow together. One of my favorite color combos right now.

The button on this one is vintage.

It's from my grandma's vintage button stash...
of course to her it's just her button stash. These are all up for sale. Go take a look
(remember there's a link to my store in my side bar).