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).

Rainy Day Love

Here's a sneak peek of today's project,

But first...I bought this book about a year ago, when my crafting craze started.It's a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous book.

If you've never looked in it, then I highly recommend hunting it down in Barnes and Noble, or the library. Just looking at the pictures is incredibly inspiring. I couldn't wait to try a new art. The first one I chose was quilling. I made a couple of projects, and then put it away...for months
(you know how that goes.)

Yesterday I decided to give it another try. I cleaned up a thrifted frame that I've had sitting around for a while, and painted it black.And made this lovely little piece.

I call it Rainy Day Love.
It's for sale in my Etsy shop, Springtime Flowers.

Note: I added a link to Springtime Flowers in my sidebar,
so it's always there...
you know, in case you need it.

Red, White, and Blue

Happy Freedom Day!

Last night I whipped up these little decorations.
I made this one into a pin that I'm wearing today.I love the paper. I didn't put a pin on this one because I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it.
But I think it's cute.

Have a beautiful day!

Bed Pillow Saga

So, I made these pillows to go on our bed. Only, I made them in TN...where I was far away from my bed...where I forgot that we took our heavy bedspread off the bed for the summer, and now have a dark blue blanket showing. So they don't really match much, except with our large decorative pillows.

So I made this dark blue pillow...which is really cute, and matches the blanket really well...but the pillows not so much. I didn't realize that the white would clash so badly.

Not wanting to waste or ruin that pillow, I made an envelope case for it out of this material...I'm not sure what it is (if someone wants to tell me, that would be great). I was really proud of myself for getting the dimensions just right for the pillow I'd already made. The only hiccup was that I mean for the small flap to overlap on top...oh well.

I got this material as a remnant that was on a smokin' sale at JoAnn's (for less than $2). I had plenty leftover to make second pillow, and still have some left.

I really love how they turned out. But here's the thing...
they actually go with the green pillows pretty well.

So...I decided to not care that the green pillows don't match the blue blanket, and put all the pillows on the bed. This wasn't an easy decision...my mom raised me to make things match!But I made all these pillows...and I love them...and I want to see them...even if everything won't really match until fall when we put the bedspread back on. Also, I just want to be done with making pillows for a little while.