Upcycle and repurpose projects

From a women's dress

From a women's very comfy shirt and onesie that no longer lit well - made into a matching shirt 

From two of my old shirts one never fit well but was very comfy bamboo, the other had a paint stain, used it for the straps. 

Yes my daughter wears a lot of dresses... It makes for easy trips to the potty and diaper changes. And they are so cute! :)

Repurpose, Upcycle

I have been having many fun adventures lately using old worn out or grown out of clothes to make new cute things for little E. Here is what I did last night...

Before (sorry it's a bit blurry, I didn't realize until after cutting it up...)

After

I always loved that shirt on my older stepdaughter and she is quite rough on clothes so the top of this soon had holes and was ready to be thifted, I kept it because it was too cute to part with and knew I wanted to do something with it. 

The process:

First I cut the bottom off the repurposing shirt, about as long as I wanted the new dress to be, keeping the bottom hem. I then cut the top apart to get material for the bodice (top part of the dress). I thought the casing of the v neck of the shirt was so cute I cut it off and used it as ties for the dress, which also makes the dress adjustable. 

Using a dress that currently fits as a guide I cut out a rectangle for the bodice, I made it double sided for durability. Stitched the wrong sides together, with the ties on the inside going over them once, reversing back over, then again forward so they won't rip out. The shirt was wider than the bodice so I gathered it at the top (using a loose tension and long stitch then gently pulling to adjust the length) to the same length of the bodice. I thought it was so cute I made the seam on the outside, which made attaching the skirt to the bodice very simple. 

I finished the arm pits simply by turning the fabric over and stitching. Which is technically optional since knits don't ravel, but I thought it would look more finished turned and stitched. 

Put it on little E this morning and Tada! New dress! :)

I love sewing!

I know it would have been more clear if I had taken pictures along the way so if you are confused about a step let me know and I will try to better explain.  Mostly I just winged it and did what I thought would be cute, and used a dress that currently fits as a "pattern" of sorts. 

Happy sewing!

Four Months

Things I am loving...

I love watching Edynn explore the grass (ok, I pretty much adore everything she does...)

I love our spinach patch. Fresh spinach on every thing!

I love the rain.

I love my garden. I can't wait to see everything sprout.

I love working at home.

I love chocolate.

I love crickets! They just started chirping.

I love my bunny!

and my chickens!

I love going for walks, and love getting back into running.

I LOVE the fact I have a plane ticket to Utah bought. We are on our way!

Three Months

Two Months

Two months old!

Road trip to visit family in Michigan. 

Christmas!

Our New High Chair

So I have a nice wooden high chair and a plastic strap on booster seat, but they are technically for work. When I found this gem at our local consignment shop I couldn't stop thinking about it. It grows with your child, and this one even has a tray so you can start them really little in it. It was a little bit out of the range of impulse buying, so I checked on it several times until I felt like I decided rationally to buy it.  I love it! At first I felt it was too big for her, and the tray was too small but I can honestly say I love it. I love you can take the tray off and slide it up to the kitchen table, completely out of the way! and it also fits easily through the doorway so I can take it into the play room when I have daycare kids. She has enjoyed starting the adventure of solid foods.