Jeans to Capris/Shorts

I really need some summer clothes! Mostly bottoms, I have plenty of tops. My husband and I just talked about how we need to save money. We might be buying a house! Woo-hoo! We are moving in a few months. So I decided to refashion some old jeans (I never wear!) into something for the summer. I had these two pairs of jeans that were a few years outdated. You know the popular boot cut from Old Navy.  I'm loving my skinny jeans from forever 21, and for $10.50 a pair you can't beat that. So bye bye outdated jeans, hello capris!

The first thing I did was try on the jeans, and mark them with a fabric marker where I wanted to cut them. I left a few inches for the fold.

I cut one pant leg, folded it over the other, and then cut that one. If you have a serger, serge the bottom of the pants so they won't fray in the wash.

I folded the bottoms up twice and ironed them flat.

Then I tacked them. I set my sewing machine to a zig zag stitch, and changed my stitch length to zero. This makes the needle go back and forth without moving down the material. So you are just restitching the same area over and over again. I decided to use gray thread.

If you look closely you can see the tiny tack marks on each side  of the side seam. I made two on the outside leg and two on the inside. I figure if the fold in the front or back messes up in the wash I will just iron them flat again. Or add another tack in the front and back if that bothers me.

So now I have a pair of shorts, and capris for free! Woo-hoo! You can also do the same thing for your kids pants. It would be cute to embellish little girl shorts with ric rack, lace, or ribbon. 

Happy Sewing!

Angry Birds

 

My husband's school had a cartoon costume themed event. I didn't really want to participate because I didn't want to spend money on costumes. He really wanted to dress up though. After asking his Sunday school class for some idea's we settled on the angry birds. The funny thing was about three different groups of people had the same idea. We were the only t-shirt ones though. I went to Joann's during coupon commotion week and bought four shirts and a few dollars worth of felt. I think for all four shirts and felt it cost around $20. Four costumes for $20 is pretty good I think. I decided on just hot gluing the felt to the shirts. I would have sewn it on, but I'm not planning on wearing it ever again. (well. ..maybe for Halloween)

 

 I found a few pictures of angry bird shirts online and decided on my pattern. I just placed the felt on the shirt and drew the different facial features with a marker. It was really easy. Then I cut them all out. I placed everything and then hot glued it on. I put a piece of cardboard under the first layer of the shirt, just in case the glue would go through the shirt. (they were pretty thick, I don't think it would have gone through)

 I was the pig.

 My husband was da bomb! Per his request.

 The red one was my little crazy three year old, perfect for her personality.

 The expression on the white ones face was perfect for my almost 5 year old. A little confused by the craziness around her. 

Our shirts turned out great and it was a lot of fun!

Linking Up With:

Hunger Games

 

sold here

found here

found here

Are you ready? I am! My ticket is purchased and I can't wait!!!!

Spring Clean

 It's basically summer here in Georgia. We sort of skipped that whole spring thing. It's been in the 80's since last week, yikes! Anyway we still have to do our spring cleaning.

I thought I would share some of the products I use for cleaning. I started researching how to make my own cleaning products about a year ago. I mainly wanted to spend less money. Also I was sick of being gagged by all the strong smells of the cleaners I was using. 

I was cleaning the bathtub one day with some kind of chemicals, and I started thinking, "Do I really want my little kids sitting on these chemicals when they take a bath?" The answer was no! Of course not!

I found a few things that are a little more natural, and they work for me. 

The first thing I started making was home made laundry detergent. It actually works! 

All of the supplies for it are now found at Wal-Mart. I used to have to go to two grocery stores to find everything. It's so much more convenient now.

Here's what you need:

Borax- around $3 a box

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda!)- also around $2-$3 a box

Fels-Naptha Soap- 98cents a bar

Grater- only for soap, don't use it on your food!

 

First you have to cut the soap into slices, and grate or chop it. I use this tiny food processor, if you have one to designate solely to making detergent it's so worth it!!! It will take you forever to grate it with a cheese grater. I use a plastic container to hold my detergent. I printed off the instructions on how to make it and taped it to the top. 

You will need to mix together one bar grated fels-naptha soap, 1 cup super washing sodas, and 1 cup borax. You will use 2 tablespoons per load of laundry. I found that the scoop from my oxyclean is the perfect size for 2 tbs. I just keep one of those scoops in the container with the soap. I also use a scoop of generic oxyclean in every wash. (it's cheaper, and works great.) It ends up costing around $3 for 40 loads of laundry. 

The only thing that's different about this detergent is that it does not form soap bubbles, and it does not leave a scent on your clothes. Which is fine with me, as long as they are clean I don't care if they smell like flowers or not. Also, some people add oils into their detergent for smell. My friend did that and she ended up with oil stains on her clothes, so I wouldn't try it.

 The next thing I use is vinegar and water. I bought a spray bottle at Wal-Mart for less than $1, a huge jug of vinegar ( I think it was less than $3), and a funnel to make this. I just add equal amounts of vinegar and water into the bottle, and that's it! I use this as a glass and surface cleaner. It works great on glass, but it is streaky until it's totally dried. I use it for bathroom surfaces, toilet, and the glass doors on my shower.

 For my bathtub I use 1/2 cup of dawn detergent (I use the generic one and it works fine) and fill the rest of the bottle with vinegar. I spray this in the tub and use a wet washcloth to wipe it down, then I rinse it. For a great soap scum remover (especially on the inside of your glass shower doors) just heat the vinegar in the microwave for 2-3 minutes before adding it to the solution. Spray and let it sit for two hours. Then Rub it with a wet wash cloth and rinse. It really works great! I was super surprised! I learned that trick off of Pinterest. I wish I remembered to pin the link, I'm not sure where I read it. If you have seen it let me know and I'll put a link in here for it.

 One thing I lived without for a few months, but decided I had to have was disinfectant wipes. I use these on the toilets and sinks. If I run out I will use the vinegar and water solution. I always use paper towels though, I don't want to put my wash clothes on the toilet. (eww!) I'm fine with using wash clothes for everything else though. I try to buy these only when I have coupons.

 For the inside of the shower I use baking soda. I spray the shower down with water, then sprinkle the baking soda all over, scrub it and then rinse.

One of my friends told me to try oven cleaner for soap scum. I still have not tried it, but she said it works wonders. 

Another great tip a friend taught me was to pour vinegar in a bowl and microwave it for 3 minutes. Then all you have to do is wipe down your microwave with a wet wash cloth. All the junk comes off so easy! I wish I would have known about that a few years ago. 

Hopefully you will have fun getting your spring clean on!! 

Happy Cleaning!!!

 

Spring Skirt

I wanted to share this simple skirt with you, I think it's perfect for spring! I purchased the pattern here.

It's a really easy pattern, perfect for beginners! It's only $5, and goes from size 2-22. 

 You use the shirring technique to make the waist band. It's much easier than it looks. It's really comfy, and could even be used as a maternity skirt if you are pregnant. Check out Ashley's blog too, she has great ideas. Make it and Love it

Happy Spring! 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

To get these printable click here.

 

 Be Safe and Have Fun!

 

 

Velcro Spa Headband

Two years ago my husband gave me a facial gift certificate for our anniversary. It was fabulous! Before I started my facial I was given a terry cloth headband to put on. My hair was protected from all the facial masks and scrubs. I started to think about how great that headband was the other day, so I decided to make my own. It's also great to use when washing my face at night, using a facial mask, and on the days I don't wash my hair it keeps it dry in the shower while I'm washing my face. You can also use it when your applying your make up. I think it would also be a great party favor if you are having a spa party. So here is a simple tutorial to help you make your own! 

All you need is terry cloth (mine is from Joann's), Velcro, and thread. 

For the length I measured my head and added two inches. I choose to cut it seven inches for the width. 

After I cut the piece of material out I folded it in half length wise and stitched down the side.

Then I turned it inside out. I decided to have the seam be on the middle inside of the headband. You can add a top stitch down each side if you like. (I didn't think it was necessary)

Then you can fold the edges in and sew across. 

I chose to serge each end of mine, but if you do not have a serger you can just sew the edges shut. 

Then I laid my velcro across the end to see how long it needed to be. Then I cut, pinned, and sewed it. 

I decided to add an extra piece of Velcro to tighten the headband if it started to stretch out. 

That's it! 

This would also be a great gift if you pair it with a facial mask. 

Now go pamper yourself!!





C.R.A.F.T.