Too Big Dress

 Hello Readers. Sometimes clothes are fabulous and just need a little change to make them work. This linen dress was so nice.

 Before and after. 

  I love linen because it is a natural fiber and breathes so well. This dress was a bit shapeless on me. It was a size or two too big. I wanted it to work for me without messing up the pockets. I love pockets. Those need to stay put. 

 I decided to sew elastic around the waistline to create a waist in the dress. it would give the dress a little more flattering shape and still be comfortable. And my pockets would be safe.  

The elastic made a gentle gathered waistband. It doesn't disturb the wild pattern of the fabric, which I loved, It just gives me a waist. That shape looks best on me. The best detail for me is that the pockets are not removed or changed with this elastic fix. I didn't want to lose my pockets.

 

 This dress is so fun and I love the warm colors. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.  

 

Make Your Yard Bird Friendly

 Hello Readers. Spring has arrived and it makes me want to get outside and enjoy fresh air and all that Mother Nature has to offer. I have a little backyard that is my little piece of the earth to enjoy. I try to make it comfortable for humans and small animals. I enjoy hearing and watching the birds (And squirrels.) in the trees. I wanted to help them feel at home to enhance my backyard and make it feel more like a little patch of the great outdoors.  

Enjoy nature and welcome the birds in your yard.  

To welcome the birds I thought the most important thing to have is snacks. Bird snacks. Humans of all kinds love snacks and animals do too. Some birdseed would go a long way to bring the birds into the yard so I can watch them and hear them sing. But I did not have any bird feeders.

  

I gathered some dishware. You can go thrifting or search in your kitchen cabinets. There are usually a few items that are not used often or at all. Teapots, teacups, pie dishes, gravy boats can all be used in your yard as bird feeders and watering containers. Let me show you what I did in my yard. 

I poured some birdseed into my teapot but it isn't going to sit on a tray or a table. It was going to be up on it's side and hang it up in a tree. 

By standing the tea pot on it's side like this it makes an opening that the birds can fly into and the rim gives the birds a place to land and take some seeds.

I blocked the spout of the tea pot with some self-adhesive foam pads. I use these under vases and pottery but they work here too. I just wanted to keep the seed from spilling out of the spout when it is hung up.

These pads. (Similar here.) were easy to stick in the spout but you could also use tape or a cork. Anything to block the spout of the teapot. 

 

The seeds are all together just inviting a bird to come have lunch. The handle of the teapot makes it easy to hang on a branch of the tree. I used a shower curtain ring to connect the handle of the teapot to the tree branch. 

You can also use an S-hook like I did with this gravy boat. It is a bit smaller than the teapot but holds seed and has enough space for a bid to sit and eat.  

I also added a tea cup. It fit right on the short branch by itself. A bird can have a delicious snack here.  

 If you do not have a place to hang a feeding dish, you can use a pie pan. Set it out to invite some bird friends to come eat...

 Or drink. Water is great to put out even if you do not have any seed to share. In the heat of summer birds can be desperate for some fresh drinking water.  

If you do not have a pie dish to use, these aluminum pans are very inexpensive. I added a large stone to help weigh this pan down. I didn't want it to blow around in the breeze. 

The lantern/candle holder can be useful too. I filled mine with small fabric scraps. The birds and squirrels can grab these tiny pieces to help build a nest. The open sides of this lantern make it easy to grab pieces easily.   

I added all of these to a tree in my yard and hope to make some bird friends soon. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself, or your backyard friends. 

 

Maxi-Dress to Maxi-Skirt

 Hello Readers. I love maxi length dresses and skirts. But I am short (5") so maxi length is always too long on me. I have to make my own maxi length. This yellow floral dress was perfect for that. 

 Before and after. 

 

I loved the fun bright yellow, but the top was painfully, obscenely tight and the skirt of the dress was so long it dragged on the floor.  

I cut the top of the dress off. I couldn't fix it, so it had to go. I thought the middle of the dress would make a great waist band because...  

The back of the dress had a lot of elastic shirring. That would keep the waistband fitted around my waist. 

 

I turned the edge under and used a zigzag stitch down to make it look nice and neat.

 

 When I cut away all the extra fabric from the middle and sewed the edge, it looked like this on the front.  

 

And this in the back. You can see the elastic shirring and the zigzag stitch I used to keep the cut edge tucked in.
 

I needed to shorten this new skirt. I cut about 6 inches off the skirt. 

 

I gave the skirt a new hem around the bottom of the skirt so that it was nice and neat. 

 

I wanted to wear the skirt with t-shirt in a casual way. 

 

 I found a great yellow t-shirt to wear with the skirt. This skirt was so comfortable and I love the bright color. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 

 

 

The Shrunken Lining

 Hello Readers. I found this beautiful linen dress at a thrift store when I went to the beach last year. I love blue and white, so I thought this dress was great. And linen is breathable and perfect for summer. I brought it home and I washed it. Guess what, it shrunk. It also had a synthetic lining that did not shrink.

  Before and after. 

I loved this material but I was stuck on all the problems this dress seemed to have. The dress had shrunk but the yucky synthetic lining didn't. The lining was bigger and hung lower than the dress. I also could not button the top of the dress anymore because it was too small. That was going to be a problem.  

I consulted with a sewing expert for advice. (My Daughter.) She had good advice.

 

I cut that lining out of the dress. I hate synthetic fabrics because they are hot and I wanted the linen to be light and breathable. The lining had to go.

 

I ironed the edges into the dress. Removing the lining left a raw cut edge. 

 

I sewed the edges into the dress so that the outside looked nice and neat. 
 

I decided the whole dress was too long for me so I gave it a big cut in length. 

 

I gave the shorter dress a new hem and it was nicely finished.

 

 I liked it worn open over this blue dress.  

 

 I also thought it would be great as a duster over jeans and a shirt. There are so many possibilities. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

Make an Easy Map Table

 Hello Readers. I am always looking for ways to sneak educational things into my kids lives. This idea for a map table came about because I wanted to hang a big map of the world but I did not have anywhere large enough to hang it. I attached the map to the table so we can see it everyday at meal times and we will learn some geography. 

Attach a map to a table top.  

I got this map from Amazon. You can choose any map you like. You might want a map of the country instead of the world. The important thing about this map is that it is laminated. A paper map is going to get dirty and you can't wipe the paper clean like you can this laminated surface. This map is very close in size to my table. Your table will vary in size. That is OK. You want a map that is very close to the edge of your table on all sides, or the map can be larger and you can cut off the excess. 

 

I unrolled the map and put some items on top to hold it down while I checked the size. My map was wide enough to just reach the edges of my table. That was perfect. It was too tall for my table so I would need to cut it to fit. 

Next, I got some very sturdy shipping tape. I wanted it to be clear so the map would show through it. I did not use cellophane tape because it would be too narrow. I also don't think it would be strong enough to handle daily washing and cleaning up after meals. Shipping tape is wider and more sturdy.

 

I tried to get close to the tape with my camera as I attached it to the table so you could see. I taped one side of the map to the table to start with. This side was the right size and I wanted to hold the map in place on the table for my next steps. I used a long piece of tape and placed the tape right centered on the edge of the table. That way half the tape is on the map and half is folded down and stuck on the side of the table. This will protect the edge of the map from spills and clean-ups. (*Note- This tape could damage a painted or finished wood table. My table is metal on the sides so it will be fine.Test the finish of your table in a spot that won't be noticeable to see if the tape is safe for your table.)

 

My map was not fully taped in place all around the table yet but it was not moving around. That was what I needed so that I could cut the map to fit my table. The corners of the table are rounded so I cut the corners of my map to match using some craft scissors. It was easy to cut through the map.

 

One side of this map did not fit on my table at all. I cut off all the flags at the bottom of my map. I also had to cut off Antarctica. (My deepest apologies to Antarctica and the scientists working there. Please don't take this personally. I have nothing but love for Antarctica.)

 

Here is another look at the taped edge. I used the shopping tape all the way around the table to keep the edge of the map covered. I got a few little air bubbles under my tape but its OK. The tape is secure. And my kids can still see the world map and learn from it. That is what matters.

 

Here is a child recreating what it would look like to eat breakfast at this table. In reality it would be more messy. You can see my son is sitting around Australia. 

 

Here is a view of the map on my table, or, my map table from above. It turned out great. It cleans up really well. I can still put a tablecloth on top of it if I want to be fancy for a holiday or party. We really like it. Thanks for reading along, now go make something for yourself.