Dress Re-Fashion

Okay, so I guess I'm on a clothing makeover kick or something :)
I went to Saver's today and found a (not-so) awesome dress. Up side? It cost me $2.16!! I brought it home, and honestly didn't even know where to start...Once I got going though, I couldn't stop, and it really didn't take me long at all to do! So here it is!!!!

Cute little ruffles that I added with the ties that were already hanging there!! I literally just sewed up the middle of them and pulled one thread to scrunch them up. SOOO easy!! I think next time I'll do something like this and make a shirt out of it! Seriously awful pictures also, I need to fund the card reader for my camera...Now I seriously have to go clean the house...it has been neglected for far too long! Have a great day!!

Skinny Jeans

I have seen tutorials on skinn-ifying (i don't know..) jeans, and I've been dying to try it!! I've been on the lookout for some white jeans to try it out on, and I finally found some at Savers for $4.99. Can't beat that!! I used this tutorial, and it was SOOO easy!! I'll definitely be doing this again!! As long as the pants fit you around the waist, you can turn them into super cute skinny jeans! Don't judge me by my messy bedroom...I was in the middle of doing laundry :)
These really aren't the best or most flattering pictures of me, but I can't get the pictures off my camera right now, so these were taken with my phone in the mirror...

SUPER unflattering right???

Just sew up the sides and you get a completely new look!!!

I LOOOOOVE them!! One note though that I should share from my experience...don't sew up the bottoms too tight, because there will be nooo way in heck that you'll get your foot in those pants.. :) Now go make some!! I promise you'll love them, and it is so simple!!

IPhone Case Stand

I was super excited to make this because Alax, Marlee and I are going to Virginia to visit my parents in about a month, and I needed something to hold our phone while we were on the plane, so Marlee would have a show to watch to keep her entertained. I should have listened to the directions closer, because after I finished it, my phone didn't fit :( BUT it did fit the IPod Touch, which I'm pretty sure the directions are made for. I needed to make the corner tabs bigger to fit the phone..But it's a great pattern, and that's why I'm sharing! :) I think I'll attempt to make another one that will work for my phone, here in the next couple of days. If anyone wants to make one, here is the tutorial! There's also a great video tutorial at the bottom of the page.

No more sticky toddler fingers have to hold this anymore!!

Mine's not the prettiest thing ever, but it's super functional, and that's all that matters to me :)

Distressed Sign

I have SOOO many fun little projects that I have done recently, and can't wait to update with all of them! I'll start with this cute sign I made for a picture gallery wall I'm doing in our living room.
I got really lucky with the materials for this one! Alax and I were at Lowe's having some dowels cut for our windows, and the man in front of us was getting some wood cut, and didn't want his scraps, so I saved them from the trash can :) Then I painted it 4 different colors...I started with turquoise, then white, black ,and topped it off with a couple coats of french vanilla.  Then came the VERY time consuming part because I don't have any fancy way of doing lettering. I don't even have ink in my printer right now, so I typed up the letters and traced them onto a piece of paper straight from the computer. lol Then I used this awesome technique to transfer the letters onto the board, and then hand painted the letters!! After it all dried, I took my hand sander to it and distressed the heck out of it.

I love how the turquoise shows through on the sides and corners. 

As soon as I put up the picture gallery, I'll post a picture of it all together! 

Cupcake Stand

My little girl turned TWO yesterday!! Her birthday kinda crept up on me, so I didn't do much for a party...We had a few of Marlee's little girl friends come over for cupcakes and ice cream, and they had fun dressing like princesses, and playing together for a little bit! I decided to make Cupcakes instead of a cake, but didn't have anywhere to put them! I bought a cupcake stand a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure it's in California at my parent's house. So I decided to make one for her party! I bought three coordinating plates at the thrift store, and two candlesticks at the dollar store, and glued them together with E6000. I LOVE the way it turned out, and for only $3!!!

I was thinking of spray painting it all one color, but I really liked the way it turned out, which made this even easier!

Here it is in action at her little party! I didn't take any pictures beforehand, so this was taken after everybody went home, and most of the cupcakes were eaten :)

Tool Box

I am SOOO excited about this project! I have been looking everywhere for a tool box for Alax, and I finally found one today at Savers. Tool boxes are kinda expensive!! I got this one for $2.99! I didn't think it looked that bad until I put it on the counter to checkout. I put it on its side and the whole bottom was rusted! I debated right there if I should still go ahead and get it, and I'm really glad I did!! I went home and researched how to get rust off of metal, and decided to use some steel wool to get the flakey rust off, and then I went to Walmart and got this!!

You just spray right over the rust, how cool is that?? 

Here is the before and after. MUCH better right?

I didn't know how to take the handle and latches off, so I just taped it off before I painted. I also put a piece of tape over the Craftsman symbol on the front.

All painted!! 

I am so happy with the way it turned out! It's still dented and worn, but it's a tool box...it's supposed to be beat up right?? :) 

On a side note, I've really got to stop going to thrift stores as much as I do...I've been watching Hoarders, and the way these people shop, and love free and cheap things makes me worried for my future...lol 

Microwave Stand

I was at Savers the other day and spotted something with great potential :) just a warning, the before pictures are truly disgusting. Alax and I have been looking for a little something that we could put our microwave on so that we had a little more counter space, so although this was a lot of work, I knew it would be perfect for what we wanted!  At the store it didn't seem to need too much work, but once I got it home I realized how bad it really was..It kind of grosses me out to think that someone actually had this in their house like this..It smelled like smoke, and I honestly don't think it was ever cleaned. After hours of scrubbing, and bleaching the CRAP out of it, Alax and I ripped the back off and the bottom of the drawer, got the measurements and went to Home Depot and had them cut new CLEAN pieces. Then we spray painted the back white and nailed it on! So here are the before and after pics!

Before:

 SO SICK!!!

After:

 The total cost of the project was under $10!! Not too bad if you don't mind a LOT of cleaning :)
Happy Monday!!

Baby Leg Warmers

It's been a while since I have done anything crafty..So this was a fun and super quick little project to get me going again! I had pinned this idea a while ago and was excited to do it!! I was walking through Honks a couple days ago and saw some long socks and knew they would be perfect for this project!!! A $1.00 project!! Nothing better than that ;)

Supplies:

Long socks

Scissors

Sewing Machine (You could do this without one, but I am AWFUL at hand sewing...)

Step 1: Get yourself some cheap long socks :)

 Step 2: Cut the foot part off.

Step 3: Stretch the sock as you sew a tight zig zag stitch along the bottom. (Only stretch the fabric if you want a cute ruffle on the bottom..) That's it!!

Cute ruffles like these!!!

 Seriously, those chubby thighs...I could just pinch them all day long ;)

I think they're so cute and fun!! And for $1?? Why not make 3 or 4...or 10 :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

original tutorial

Refurbished Shirt

So I have had this shirt for....forever..Seriously, I'm talking at least 5 years. For a whitish shirt that is a looong time for me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I get the worst armpit stains on my white shirts..too much information? Probably, but I'm betting I'm not the only one who this happens to. So let's just say that this shirt had seen better days. It's still a cute shirt though, and I LOVE stripes. So I've been keeping it in my closet, but knowing deep down that it had to go :( Then I came up with the brilliant idea of cutting it down and making it "Marlee" size!! Like most of my projects, I didn't really have a plan and decided to wing it..I'm sure I wouldn't have so many problems, and would have better results if I actually made a pattern and followed it. Oh well, it's how I roll. Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, although I wish the sleeves were a little shorter (Let's pretend I meant to make them that long :/).

BEFORE:

See those pits?? Gross right?

I don't have much of a tutorial..I grabbed a loose/almost peasant style shirt that fits Marlee, and used it as a template. I put it on my shirt and traced the outline (not the sleeve part, just the front and back piece..) and cut to her size. It looked like this after I cut it:

Then I sewed the sides up, from the bottom of the shirt to the bottom of the armpit. And then from the neck to the top if the arm. The sleeves were pretty tricky..I kinda just eyed it, and sewed them to the body...This is seriously no help..lol. Well, since I'm sure none of that made sense, I will now show you pictures of my cute girl wearing her new shirt :)

Happy Wednesday!!!

M's Room

Like I said I would, I've started collecting things for Marlee's room!! I made a framed chalkboard and found the cutest frame thingy (real technical right??) at Michael's for only a dollar after I used this awesome coupon!! Today is the last day to use the coupon so hurry over to Michael's! I took my husband and got $10 worth of free stuff!! Here are the things I've been doing!!

My mom bought this awesome frame from my Aunt who owns a great second hand store in

Murray. It was $3.00! It had fabric in the frame and cork board behind it, so i just flipped it around and painted the cardboard that was on the back with the chalkboard paint!! It's heavy duty cardboard, or else I probably wouldn't have used it, because of how easy it would be to put an indent in it...

before

after

(sorry for the really horrid pictures...Once Marlee's room is all put together, I'll take better ones)

I used Krylon spray chalkboard paint. It was awesome!!! Best part?? It took all of 3 minutes to paint it..

This is the frame I got at Michael's. I love the shape of it!! I just used some cheap acrylic craft paint to paint it white

The frame is poster size..you probably can't tell from the picture. It's 11x14. At first I was thinking about putting a picture of Marlee in it and hanging it in her room, but then I remembered something I had pinned on Pinterest that would work perfectly in her room!!!

you can download this print here!!

Anyway, that's what I've been working on!! Have a great weekend!!

Big Girl Room!!!

I can't believe my little girl is almost 19 months old!!! I still think of her as a baby, even though I know she isn't...I'm getting really excited about her room makeover I want to do, when she gets into a toddler bed. I'm thinking 2 is a good age to transfer her over. I'm going to completely change up her room and go for a grey, yellow and white color scheme. I love it so much!!

I just bought this rug:

I'm going to make a duvet cover for her bed. Look at this fabric!!! Love.

and find a cheap dresser to re-do. (Can you believe we don't have a dresser for her??) I'm hoping to find one that we can use as a changing table for our second. (I'm not pregnant, I'm just thinking ahead ;) I'm thinking something like this!

I think she needs a little bookcase too! I'll probably do it white and line the back with a fun fabric like I did with our other bookcase. I think this time I'll try to find a bookcase that is already white..Painting sucks. Oooh and she needs a lamp too :) I've been wanting to re-do a lamp for a while now. There's nothing some spray paint and some cute fabric can't fix :) I'm sure I'll be at Savers and DI looking for fun treasures over the next couple of months :) I seriously love thrift store shopping. I have a problem... Anyway, I'm just brainstorming, don't mind me...