Repurposing Fun...and What Do You Do With All of Those Scraps?

I've had the old sewing machine whirring lately.  It started with a tunic blouse that I no longer wanted to wear that was too nice to give away.  It had beautiful pintucks, intricate lace at the sleeves and hem...and I could just "see" the possibilities.  So I turned it into a girl's dress...and the sleeves became what else - TODDLER PANTS!

I sent pictures to our nephew's wife, Leslie, in Tennessee...would she like to have these items for her girls - Kelsey and Ellie Grace - or should I list them for sale on Etsy?  She responded right away that she wanted them.  A few days later, a big box of gently-worn clothing arrived from her to share with our niece Zola.  I'm talking a BIG box of wonderful things that came on the heels of another box that had been shared a few weeks earlier.  

Around the same time, Leslie "liked" a Halloween outfit on Facebook that was being given away by a children's clothing company.  I looked at the outfit and thought, "I could make that!"  The next time I shopped at Wal-Mart, there was a table of fabric on clearance, including a bright orange print and a multi-colored stripe that I thought would coordinate.  The applique patterns were downloaded online, and an outfit was in the making.  Kelsey, almost five, will get long flounced pants and a top with witch's shoes appliqued on it...Ellie Grace, who is four months, will get coordinating pants with a cut little hat appliqued on the bum!  And I still have more fabric...and more little ones to dress!

 

I had this piece of yellow fabric that I had ordered last summer, and it seemed to say, "Make pants for Kelsey!"  So I did...along with a little coordinating pair for her little sister. 

I cannot begin to describe how many scraps I have.  Some are large...some, pretty tiny...but I hate to throw any of them away.  You never know when you might need a tiny snippet of pink fabric to become the ear of an elephant applique!  So I went through my scrap baskets the other day and cut coordinating pieces into long strips, which I then sewed together.  I serged the edges, then ruffled one edge to create a super-long strip of ruffled fabric. Then I took an old t-shirt and made a little knit skirt for Kelsey.  I made lines 2" apart and stitched the ruffling to these lines, creating layers of ruffles.  Then I added a little waistband out of more of the knit t-shirt...and voila!  I think this is a darling skirt that will go with all kinds of tops...don't you?!  Kelsey was just too tired to model this one! ;-)

Leslie is definitely a Tennessee fan all the way...with a slight tinge of Vanderbilt loyalty.  But John, our nephew, is a full-tilt Razorback fan.  So I had a little piece of Razorback print, and I couldn't resist making a new dress for Kelsey - and some pants for Ellie Grace.

I didn't forget about Zola!  I dashed into the local thrift shop on Friday, and there was a darling printed long-sleeved tee that just begged to become leggings and a matching top. I noticed after I got the pants finished that there was a tiny hole in the backside, so I just used a bright flower from the scraps to make an applique patch!  Even cuter than it would have been without, if I do say so myself!   I even had enough scraps to make a little cap, also!  Zola was thrilled.  I'm hoping for a picture of her in the new outfit soon!

Skirts and Tees...and an Overactive Imagination!

A few weeks ago, I was shopping in our local thrift store and spotted a large, gathered skirt.  It was black striped with an accent border of solid black.  There appeared to be several yards of fabric in this skirt.  I think I paid $2 for it.  I could see flounced pants for the little girls, for sure...and maybe something else.  I washed the skirt and carefully took it all apart...and I really did have a LOT of material!

Original thrift-store skirt.

The end result was a pair of pants for Zola - and another for Kelsey...a little ruffled "tie-on" skirt for our new niece Ellie Grace...and lots of appliques.  I always have good thrift-store knit t-shirts on hand.  A yellow one became a pillow-case dress/top for Zola...a lime green one will go to Kelsey.  Leftovers from the yellow tee became a bumblebee applique on a onesie for Ellie Grace!  I did have to purchase a spool of grossgrain ribbon for the ties on Kelsey's dress and Ellie Grace's skirt.  So counting materials like the onesie, iron-on adhesive and tear-away paper for the appliques, thread, etc., I am probably into these sets for less than $10.  I consider that a pretty good deal...don't you?!

Pants and "pillow-case" dress for Zola.

Onesie and "skirt" for Ellie Grace.
Pants and "pillow-case" dress/top for Kelsey.

I still have a few scraps that could become a headband...or more appliques at some point.  I don't ever let a decent piece of fabric go to waste, so these will go in my "scrap bin" for a later date.  Meanwhile, I think the girls will be adorable - and ready for summer - in their "flower power" ensembles!

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On a slightly different note...last week, a girl posted an ad on Facebook for some Fisher Price "Little People" sets she wanted to sell.  I've bought things from her before, so I know she sells nice things - and she is very reasonable.  I went to her house, and she had a full-sized bed COVERED in "little people" - all for $35.  I bought every last piece - 3 garbage bags full!
I washed, bleached and sorted all of the "little people" and their houses yesterday, and I cannot believe what all I have.  I kept a "Zoo" set for the kids to play with here.  I have an airplane and school bus with people set aside as a birthday surprise for Nathan.  Then there is a playhouse for Zola that is fantastic...Amazon lists it new for $159!  And I have all sorts of accessories for it, like a picnic set, a "patio table with umbrella", baby carriage and playpen and more.  The house makes all sorts of noises - the washer "runs"...the phone rings...the typewriter "types", the toilet seat lifts (but there is no flushing noise that I can determine! *ha!*).

THEN...there is an "amusement park"...all of the accessories for that, 2 dump trucks, 2 "girlie" cars, some little cars, 3 tricycles, a full set of "Easter" little people in bunny suits, an outdoor "playhouse" with 3 attachable swing sets, and I don't know how many "little people" to go with this.  And I paid $35 for EVERYTHING!  I'm guessing I have at least $400 or more of "Little People" if I bought everything new!

So I have Christmas pretty much "set" for the kids.  By the time I wrap up these things and separate out the various pieces, they will have lots to open and a "Little People" festival!   I can already hear Timothy doing the voices for these little guys! 

The same day that I saw these sets for sale on Facebook, another mom I know posted a different playhouse for sale for $35...it retails for $300+ with all the pieces.  Someone beat me to this one.  Then the girl I bought from advertised a farm set - 50 pieces for $20.  Someone offered her $15, and she took it.  I was so disappointed.  I told her, "I would have gladly paid you $20."  That's when she offered me the things I ended up buying.  I really would have liked to have that farm set, because it was so cute...but I cannot complain, and there is PLENTY here!  

I cannot believe people pay this much for kids' toys!  But I am more than glad to purchase them after the fact and refresh them for my kiddos! They may not have brand new stuff, but they don't know and don't care.  You would never know most of these little pieces are not brand new.  It pays to shop around...hit the thrift stores...and stretch a dollar...and I am living proof!

Everybody Love a Good Dinosaur!

So there I was in Wal-Mart - buying burlap to make outdoor pillows for my cousin Natalie - when I spied it...the brightly colored "dinosaur" fabric.  I've watched too many episodes of "American Pickers" I guess.  One of the show's hosts...Mike...has mantra that "if you see something you've never seen before, now is the time to buy it".  In other words, "Strike while the iron is hot!"  So...I added a couple of yard of the yellow fabric to my order to make shorts for Timothy, Nathan and Owen.  It turns out... I had enough to make a dress for Zola, too - with the help of a thrift-store t-shirt!  I had already used the sleeves - probably to make leggings for Zola.  But I was able to get a new pair of pants and a dress bodice out of the t-shirt body, so I was pretty excited!

Burlap porch pillows for my cousin.

Three pair of boys' dinosaur shorts will equal three gigantic smiles!

Girls like dinosaurs, too!  Zola's outfit has
matching green pants (not pictured).

Meanwhile, I'd stopped by the local thrift shop to look for toys and other treasures...and I gathered a few colorful t-shirts and dresses that I couldn't pass up.  One t-top became a shorts and top playset for Zola...while a dress morphed into a maxi-skirt for the kids' mom, Jasmine.

Thrift store knit shirt "before"...

...toddler shorts and shirt "after"!

Thrift store maxi dress that morphed into a maxi skirt. 
Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the "after" creation!

What's next?  I am somewhat in a "yellow" phase - cute little black and white bumblebees on a yellow background will become a cute summer outfit for Zola.  Stay tuned!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... EASTER!!!

I am so close to having the children's Easter outfits finished, and I have to say..."I'm pretty excited!"  It all started with this adorable yellow print fabric I spotted on Etsy and HAD to have for something for Zola.  I used a free online pattern for The Party Dress (modified for my "little princess").  For the contrasting trim, I purchased a man's chambray shirt from the thrift store ($1), and carefully cut the fabric along seam lines so that I had big pieces to create the sash and trim. 

Chambray "flowers" accent the hem of the dress, and I had enough leftover material to create bow-ties for the boys (photo coming soon!).  The sleeves and pockets became a pair of "cargo pants" for Nathan, and I salvaged all of the pretty buttons for a future project.  I dug into my stash of buttons and found four pale yellow ones for the back of the dress.  Yippee!!! (See...it pays to save those buttons!)

Since the forecast is for cooler weather to return, I decided that Zola might need a jacket to go with her dress.  I thumbed through my stash of thrift-store t-shirts and found the perfect shade of yellow, then found my pattern for a girls' raglan sleeved jacket and modified it, adding trim around the neck and front openings that I top-stitched with a flower motif...and lace edging on the sleeves and hem.  My mother-in-law gave me a huge bag of lace trim...including many yards of pastel yellow, blue and pink lace.  This was the perfect accent for this little jacket.  A matching "flower" trim at the neckline to cover the snap fastening provided the finishing touch! 

 

I cannot wait to see how pretty Zola looks - or how adorable Timothy and Nathan will be in their coordinating (store-bought on clearance) button-down shirts with matching bow-ties!  Maybe they will stand still long enough for me to get a photograph to post!

I think our kiddos will look pretty darn cute on Easter Sunday...and I didn't break the bank for these outfits.  Since I splurged and bought the two shirts and a yard of fabric for the dress, total cost was somewhere around $30.  For a one-of-a-kind "look" for three children...I'd say that's pretty hoppin' good!

TA-DA!!!  Don't they look adorable?!

Somebunny's Gonna Look Darling!

A few weeks ago while shopping in west Little Rock, we passed this outfit in the window of a shop that sold children's clothes.  Well, you know where my mind went!  I snapped a photo and went in search of pink fabric.

Since chevron is so "hot" right now, I opted to use this instead of the "windowpane" fabric used in the outfit modeled in the window.  I also found a bunny outline I liked a little better - and a couple of long-sleeved t's on clearance. 

Here is the "before" - and the "afters" for my niece Zola and my cousin Harper, who are about 4 months apart in age.  I think they will be darling little "bunnies"...don't you?!

Nothing Short of Scraptastic!

I recently spent almost three days in my laundry room, sorting, cutting, pressing, folding and organizing my fabric scraps!  I tried to be ruthless...but you never know when you might need a less-than-one-inch square of black fabric for an "eye" in a character applique...or that tiny piece of paisley for a flower petal! 

Anyway, I got everything packed in containers in a manner that I can hopefully understand and utilize...and I even created a basket of "big" pieces with specific projects in mind.  Now I have a LOT of projects!  And yes, I previously had a LOT of projects, but now I really REALLY do!*lol* 

One of the pieces in my "project" basket was the body of a ladies knit shirt in hues of emerald green, aqua, and white in a "peace sign" motif."  I had made the sleeves of this shirt into leggings for my niece Zola about a month ago.  Now it was time to use the rest to make a dress or top.  I had aqua knit scraps and a new pattern for a toddler t-shirt that I had downloaded for free on the Internet.  So I made a "yoke" out of the aqua, gathered the green print to it, and voila... I had a dress to go with the leggings!

Before...the large piece of fabric and a few scraps.

After...a dress with contrast yoke and bow trim...fit for a princess!

Next on my list of projects was a really cute red patterned ladies knit top I purchased at the thrift store for $1.  I thought the pattern would make interesting leggings.  But I couldn't stop there!  I used virtually every piece of that shirt to create leggings, a jumper with floral rosette accents, and even a hair "scrunchie" from the neckband!  I went through my button jar and found three darling heart-shaped buttons to accent the little rosettes.  And here are the "before" and "after" pictures... including one of Zola's mother sent me of her modeling the new outfit!

Before - the basic long-sleeved tee.

After... leggings, a top and a scrunchie!

This was pretty much all that was left!

She loves it!!! Isn't she darling?!

I couldn't leave out the boys this week!  So I took a flannel shirt that belonged to my husband (one that had shrunk in the wash so that the sleeves were too short) and created pajama pants for the boys.  I wish I had remembered to take a "before" picture of the shirt, but I think you'll get the idea.  It was your basic button-down.  And BTW...I saved the buttons for another project (well, except for the two I used to mark the fronts of the pj pants!).  I turned the sleeves into pants for Nathan, and the body of the shirt into pants for Timothy...complete with front pocket (the chest pocket)!  I left the cuffs on the baby's pants.  They can be turned up now...and turned down later for extra length!  We really don't waste anything around here if we can help it!  I added a few flannel scraps to my stash...you just never know what they might be handy for later!

 

Each of these projects took me a few hours to complete... time well spent to clothe the kiddos and recycle old items.  I think a velour shirt is next...we're still having cold, icy weather, so the warmer fabrics seem appropriate.  But I have my "spring stash" ready...and maybe by then my "project" basket will be a little less full!

Catching Up...

I know it's been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sewing!  Many of my projects during the holidays involved hand-made gifts for the kiddos...dolls, doll clothes, toy organizers, and tons of  rice bags (which our kids call "owie bags").  I have created a "look book" file of ideas that far exceed my time constraints (the girls will be in college before I make them all!), and I've organized my fabrics and scrap stash so that I know what I have available.  I also can't seem to resist purchasing more fabric from time to time... yes, I truly am a "fabric junkie"!

I also have acquired a serger, which is making life so much simpler, and neater...and I honestly don't know why I resisted for so long.

Just for grins, I'm throwing in a picture of a birthday card I made recently for one of my cousins.  I bought a Cuttlebug last fall for card making (and have even used it to create some iron-ons, like the Halloween spiders for the boys' t-shirts).  I LOVE hand-made cards...making them and sending them, so I have to hand over a few hours here and there from sewing to card-making projects.  It's all about balance...and some days I do better than others!  Thanks for stopping by to look at the things I've created... and stay tuned!

What do you do for "clown shoes" for a 4-year-old?
You use Duck Tape and an old pair of sneakers.  I added
egg cartons and some thin foam padding to shape these
oversized feet (and elevate the padding above the soles so
that my little clown could still walk!) and this was the result!

Pants and suspenders made from a thrift-store pair of
pajamas, a bow-tie made from two sheets of colorful
felt, an old pair of ladies gloves stuffed with fiberfill,
and a rainbow wig purchased for $1 at the thrift store
(plus the afore-mentioned shoes and a foam nose from
a clown make-up kit purchased at Wal-Mart), and we
havea great little clown!  The princess dress was a garage
sale find, paired with some sparkly "Mary Janes" and a cute
little princess who completed the look quite nicely!

Wasn't he a cute clown?!

Meet Ellie the Elephant!  I purchased the pattern for this darling stuffed doll  and her clothing and accessories on Etsy from a shop called Ruby Jean's Closet. I have the pattern for a zippered carrying case, but I have yet to get one of those made.  However, I did use thrift-store wool skirts and my own fabric scraps to create two of these elephants for my niece Zola and my cousin Harper.  My mother-in-law had given me the strawberry-print knit, so I made dresses for the dolls and matching skirts for the girls.  The sparkly snow-flake tutus were made from fabric scraps in my bin.  The girls loved their new dolls.  Someday, I will make more clothes for them - and maybe even the zippered cases!  Whew!

 

 

For Christmas, my cousin Olivia got cheerleading outfits for her two American Girl dolls.  I used black knit pull-on skirts that I purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart last fall, and accented them with red pleats and bloomers made from an old pair of knit pants my mom gave me.  For this project, I had a sewing pattern that I picked up at a local church bazaar...for ten cents!  I have fabric scraps and dreams of creating more of the styles included in this pattern package.  Someday, Olivia... someday!

 

My cousin Owen likes to be organized.  He also likes to take a few things along to church service on Sunday to keep him occupied during the sermon (he's only four!).  So I used an old "ultra-suede" jacket to make him a bag with a drawstring top and even a carrying loop.  Then I used free patterns I found via Pinterest (and fabric from my scrap bin) to create a "car roll" and a "crayon roll".  The cars for the roll came from the Dollar Tree (3 cars/$1), but Owen can substitute his favorites from his own collection as desired.  The bag was big enough to include a puzzle, a coloring book... and even a lightweight jacket and snacks if his mom desires!

 

I LOVE "minky" fabric.  It's not the easiest to work with, but the results are fantastic...so soft and snuggly.  I made all of the kids flannel pajamas for Christmas, so I used the scraps and rectangles or squares of white "minky" to back "owie bags" for the kids...incredibly cozy and cuddly!  This chocolate brown "minky" fabric simply begged to become a coat for Zola.  With her dark hair and coloring, I knew, she would be nothing short of a diva in it!  She loves it so much that she almost cries when we try to get her to take it off!  And like all "divas-in-the-making," she even wore her "minky" coat to play at the park!

 

 

And here is the card.  I used a piece of grey card stock for the base of the card, then added some really interesting geometric scrapbook paper pieces in a dark chocolate/cream color palette.  Accented with a strip of red scrapbook paper, I printed a greeting on tan card stock, used a die-cut to create the neat scalloped outline, and voila!...a beautiful card suitable for anyone.  This one went to my cousin Darrell...the geometric pattern and color scheme seemed masculine to me, and I hope he will agree!