Skort Upcycle 2 - Refashioned Into Apron

As you know I still had loads of this Skort left from my Piggy post. Looking at the back portion of the skirt it occurred to me that it would make a cute and functional apron what with the existing pockets and all. I didn't take photos during but loads of after pictures. I used the hem around the short portion to make the tie.

Pretty easy all in all!

The Old Skort...again! :)

New Apron!

Apron Tie

The waistband contrast fabric is a nice added touch.

Pocket Detail.

The pockets are actually zippered, I guess in case you think you might lose something while cooking.

Do people actually put spatulas in their aprons? It looks like it might be a messy idea...

Flat, folded.

I am really happy with the way that this turned out! Now I should make a mini matching apron for the little piggy. I am only kidding, that would be overkill for sure. Although there are STILL the shorts from this skort to use up. It never ends.

Cute Little Piggy Upcycle Made From an Old Skort

Today as I was browsing the wide world of blogs I saw a cute stuffed monkey that someone had made. Well of course I got the urge to make a stuffed animal myself. In my room full of fabric/clothing/etc. I found this old Skort which my mum had given me along with other old clothing. I had found this really fun (and FREE) pattern online by Runo. I knew right away that I was going to make a floral pig. Well I must say that while I am pleased with my little piggy, it is not nearly as good as those displayed in the tutorial. I'm sure practice makes perfect. That snout was sure tricky!!

The Skort. I only used the front skirt panel for this pig so I have lots of fabric left over.

Side view of my precious little pig. His back leg is not really squared off, I think it is just how he is sitting on the couch.

Oink! The snout was tricky, but this pig is also a lot smaller than the site actually tells you to make it. Ideally you should use A4 paper when printing the pattern but my printer does only standard sheets and I haven't got access to a photocopier at the moment. Super cute nonetheless!

Plain Jane Kitchen Chairs Made New

We have had these kitchen chairs for almost three years now, stock from Ikea, and I was starting to get a bit tired of them to be honest. They were a bit scuffed and the screws in the legs made them look cheap. I started by covering the screws and any of the cracks with wood filler and sanding it down. Two of the chairs needed additional wood filler so I left them on the deck and began painting on the remaining two. I must say that I made a bit of a mistake with the white paint I bought for this project. If I could do it all again I would pay more money for a better paint. I purchased BEHR for my other project and would recommend it to anyone. It required only one coat whereas this white paint has had about three coats already! Well I guess you learn something new everyday.

Old chair with wood filler.

Two bright white chairs.

All that is left is to sew some new cushion covers for these chairs. Oh and do something about the pitiful table they are now sitting around. The table had a bit of an accident when we were moving here... now there is a big chunk missing...

Fall 2009 Outfits - Lots of leggings!

A couple of the outfits I have been wearing since being home. It is getting chilly out there! I was hoping there would be a few more days of summer left before winter. Alas it seems it is not so.

Friday:

My own skirt (see Refashions), BCBG Max Azria tank top, Ginger G black shirt, Tights I have had FOREVER, Spring boots, Silver Drop necklace H&M, Clover necklace heirloom from my Great Grandma.

Saturday:

NAOT boots, See You Monday leggings, H&M dress, XXI draped vest.

Sunday:

ECCO Boots, H&M Leggings, Clockhouse black dress (underneath), Thrift store purple dress, Handmade caribou antler necklace (fr. Whitehorse), Ginger G. black sweater.

Wednesday:

NAOT boots, random garage sale scarf, H&M dress, H&M leggings, blue knee high socks from Christmas. Also there was snow on the ground this morning. Horrible.

Small Bookshelf Before/After

In an attempt to make the living room more cohesive I am painting all of the beech coloured bookshelves a dark molasses brown. I honestly never liked the lighter colour of the wood but for some reason Aren does. Go figure. The first of the three to be painted is the smallest shelf. I am very pleased with the BEHR paint that I used. It covered so well without streaking. Well worth the money.

The beech shelf full of books.

Empty and ready for painting.

Painted shelf. What a diffference already!

Tada! One shelf down, two to go.

Plain Old Rocking Chair Before/After

I know it's not much different, but I really didn't like the beechy colour of the caning in this chair. I painted it white white white and it looks great!

Before

After

Tired Gold/Beige Lamp = Peppy Silver/White Lamp

As I mentioned in my previous post, Aren and I were looking for a floor lamp to redo last week. Well we wanted to paint it silver and were painting the other lamp in our bedroom silver as well. I don't have a before picture but it was a gold lamp (very standard) beforehand. I will be sure to post a photo of the old shade as well so you can get an idea what it was like.

Painting on the balcony.

The beige shade before.

White shade.

The finished lamp!

It is going to look so great once the whole bedroom is finished!! I can hardly wait to see everything all put together. It's just too bad we can't paint the walls.

Old Sewing Desk Chair - Refurbished with paint and fabric

Hello All! I have been away for 3 weeks at work, but I am back now. I am so excited to get working on all of my projects again. Of course I had some major ideas for new ones and am super stoked about that too. Aren and I were out shopping at the Thrift stores the other day looking for a floor lamp to redo when I saw these AMAZING sewing desks. Basically thy are desks wih sewing machines in them. Awesome. We bought two (I love you Aren) and I got to work right away. 

Sewing Desks.

Hideous Chair.

Painting on the Balcony.

TADA!!

I am really happy with the way that it turned out. The sewing desk to go with this one will be painted white as well, hopefully I will have that done soon and posted.

Yoga Mat Bag

I will be returning to camp next week and needed something to carry my yoga mat in when I go to the gym. I whipped up this colourful bag this morning. The strap is thicker so it won't cut into my shoulder and I reinforced where it is sewn on so that the fabric won't tear. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out!

Anthropologie Inspired Dress

There are quite a few dresses like this actually, not just at Anthropologie. I had seen them around and thought it would be fun to make one for myself. I took my inspiration from these two dresses:

I plan on making a belt like that on the blue dress to go with mine. As of yet I am just using a belt that I had kicking around the house.

I started with this tank top and this slightly crazy fabric from my collection. The top was $1 and the fabric I believe I got at the Reuse Centre (so basically free).

I drafted a circle skirt pattern to use for the bottom of the dress and cut it out (the cans are to weigh down the paper).

Mid-sew. I added a zipper in the middle back of the skirt. I haven't shown everything but there is a tutorial for something similar on

 My Mama Made It

My finished dress! As you can see I am wearing a leather belt with the dress right now. As soon as I find a solid black fabric that I like/that matches I am going to be making the belt to accompany this dress.

Crazy Black Leather Skirt = Leather Tote Bag

So a while back I was reading Vogue and I saw this article (Vogue May 2007 pg. 121) about sustainable style. It featured a number of fashionable reusable grocery bags which I thought was really awesome. Of course the one I really liked was black leather by Marni and cost $843! The article was filed on the back shelf until I was browsing the thrift store and found an old black leather skirt. I am sure you know where I am going with this one......

Cutting up the old leather skirt. I turned it upside down and sewed the waist as the bottom of the bag so that it tapers upwards. When the bag is empty the corners drape in giving a nice shape.

Naturally there was a zipper in the back of the skirt, the problem with it was that with the skirt now upside down the zipper pulled in the wrong direction. I ripped it out an replaced it. Now it connects to the inside and the inside pocket (made from the pleat that was in the back of the skirt). I lined the bag with the skirts original lining.

These images aren't very clear - I apologize. Something must have been up with the camera that day, unfortunately I didn't notice until today.

This weekend I was out at the Shop Smart (thrift store) and found ANOTHER black leather skirt for $1, so look forward to another leather grocery bag in the future.

Away on the Weekend

I was away at the weekend, so I didn't really post anything. These are from Friday mostly, a bit from yesterday.... just some things I have been working on.

This is a tote bag that I made out of a really crazy 80's cotton sweatshirt deal. With my new serger it was so quick and easy!

I decided to try my hand at these quilted notecards which I saw on MADE. I will have to try again I think since it is not my favourite.... I guess it is a start though!

I bought these coasters at a garage sale a while back for 10 cents (6 of them). Well they are silver plated but pretty well tarnished. I finally had a chance on Friday to get around to polishing them up. Baking Soda, Salt and Tin Foil will do wonders! I know the photo doesn't show quite how tarnished they were but oh well.

 My lovely new plants! Last week I had asked one of the ladies here in my building if I could have a cutting from her Ivy plant. Well not only did I receive a cutting from the Ivy but I also got Spider Plant cuttings, a Tea Rose and an African Violet.