The 7 Layer Formal Dress

 Hello Reader. Look at this beautiful dress. I thought it was the prettiest dress I had seen in ages. It was a bit long. It was actually about a foot too long on me. 

I needed to shorten and simplify. 

This dress had an amazing ruffle at the bottom. It was gorgeous and it was going to have to go. I didn't want to cut the ruffle but I had too. 

 

I cut the ruffle off from the bottom of the dress. When I cut off the ruffle I realized that the dress had 7 layers to the skirt. 7 layers! Seven whole layers. No wonder it was so fluffy. 

 

I decided to remove a layer or 2. It was just too hot with all these layers. 

 

It was so much lighter and simpler. The dress was still poofy but it was less overwhelming. Don't worry, I had a plan for all the fabric I cut off the dress.

 

I love this dress. It fit me better and was easier to wear too. This dress was all tulle so I did not need to hem it. I tried to cut it all very even but there was not any sewing needed. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

The Travel Scarf With A Secret Pocket

Hello Readers. My crafty daughter has been busy recently and she made this scarf for her upcoming trip to Italy. She had been warned by many people to watch out for pick-pockets. She found many scarves online that could hide a Passport, but they were over-priced the color selection was limited. 

She got some pretty knit material from the fabric store. She folded it in half and cut out two small square-ish pieces to make a pocket. She made sure it was big enough for her Passport and credit cards.

She arranged the long piece of fabric face down. She put the pocket pieces on it with the right sides facing each other. She lined up the edges of the pieces with a zipper.

She attached the pocket and zipper to one side of the fabric. Then she attached the other side edge to the other side of the zipper.

This picture is the best at showing the placement of all the fabric pieces and the zipper. Here is the zipper attached. It made this into a long tube. She connected the edges of both pocket pieces. She attached the middle and then flipped it right-side out.

She connected the two ends of the fabric to each other to make an infinity scarf. The secret pocket is well hidden. 

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

***BONUS TRACK***

I have been cleaning out my closet (I know, just reading that put you to sleep, right?) and one thing I did was buy cheap pool noodles at the dollar store. I cut them down and put them in my boots to keep their shape until next winter. It's like they are standing at attention.

That's all for now.

Scrabble Tiles to Magnets

 Hello Readers. I have a family and we are always on the go. I thought we could communicate more with some magnetic letters on the refrigerator. We could leave little notes for each other, say hello on busy days and even make a note that we are out of milk or eggs. If you live with someone else, this might be fun and useful for you too. 

These letters are small enough to fit many of them on the fridge but not so small that they are difficult to see. Esspecially in the morning without my glasses on. I can barely see anything then.

 

The first thing you will need is a pile of letter tiles. You might have them somewhere in the house from board games you have in the closet. I like these letter tiles because they are very neutral in color and won't clash with the kitchen decor. There are magnetic letters for toddlers and preschoolers but my kids are older and I didn't want the chaos of glaring bright colors all over my refrigerator.  

 

You can take the tiles from old Scrabble games you don't play anymore. And you can also find lots of board games at thrift stores for very little money. You don't need the complete game, just a collection of letter tiles. 
 

 

There are also other kids games that use similar letter tiles, like Bananagram's. It is a less well known game but you can use whatever letter tiles are easiest for you to get your hands on. Or use a combination of letters you can scrounge up.

 

You will also need some but strong but small magnets. With a little work, these will keep your letters on your refrigerator. 

You will need a glue gun. They can be super hot so be careful. I added a small blob of glue to the back of the tile with the glue gun. Don't skimp on the glue, you want everything really well stuck together. If you do not have a glue gun use a strong glue and let the glue dry fully before trying to use the letter tiles as magnets.

My next step was to add the magnet to the glue and pressed it down firmly. The glue and the magnet need to adhere to the letter tile well. 

 

When you are all done with the glue, you will have a pile of magnetic letter tiles that look like this on the back. The great thing about using a glue gun is that they are already set and can be used right away. No waiting hours for glue to dry. 

 

Just a note- I tried using a roll of magnetic tape with adhesive already on the back. It did not stay on the letter tiles well at all. It was not sticky enough and it did not want to lay flat on the back of the tiles. I do not recommend using this type of magnet for this project. 

 

My letters were getting used immediately. I thought these would be useful for making it known we needed important groceries or household items. My family wrote notes and my youngest was trying spell words he didn't know. (That was an educational bonus for me.)

 

  I hope this helps you and your family and friends and whoever you live with. 

Now go make something fun (And magnetic!) for yourself.  

Statement Sleeves to Beachwear

 Hello Readers. I went to the beach. I was super excited to go but I wanted a top that was sort of a bathing suit top and sort of a regular top. This is what I came up with. 

Before and after.  

Look at these statement sleeves! This top was amazing. I could not use my hands when I wore this and it was a little overwhelming. The top was fabulous but it was not easy to wear. 

 

I decided to cut off the sleeves and save them for later. The center with the shirring was what I wanted. It will make a great top for sitting on the beach. 

  

I used my serger to make the sides of the top even and straight. You could use the zigzag stitch on a sewing machine for this too. 

 

I ended up with this. It is a simple tube top. This would be fine for the beach but I don't love strapless things. I knew I would be more comfortable with straps. Wide straps that could hide bra straps because I am going to want a bra. (I am 53 and I have 3 kids. This is not the season of life to go bra-less.)

 

I went back to collect those sleeves. I could cut up the sleeve fabric and make straps. 

 

I made 4 straps. I wanted to sew them to the top and tie them on my shoulders. 

 

I sewed the straps together. 

  

I pinned them to the top. 

 

Then I sewed the straps to my top. 

 

Mt top was done just in time.

 

I went to the beach. This top was comfortable, and I liked how it fit. There was no plunging v-neck to worry about and no weak pretend bra inside because I could wear a real bra under it. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Chair to Clothes Rack

 Hello Readers. Is clothing storage a problem at your home? I never seem to have enough storage and I know I am not alone in this. I can't be. I have been wanting a small clothing rack of some kind in my bedroom and when I saw this chair, I knew exactly what I was going to do.  

 This old chair got a new life. 

That's me. I went for a walk and found this red chair. My neighbor didn't want it anymore and was going to throw it away, so it came home with me. 

I brought it home and stored it in my garage until I had time to deal with it. It was very dusty so I wanted to clean it. 

When I had time, I gave it a good wash down with liquid dish soap and water so it would be nice and clean.

 

I sprayed all over the chair from every angle I could. The chair was a little banged up. I like that old, beat-up look but the red paint would last longer if I sealed it with a clear coat to seal it. This can of spray "Clear Glaze" was in my basement so I used it. I always try to use what I have on hand. It splattered a little but it will dry clear. Don't worry, this will work out great.  

I used this Clear Glaze spray paint. It was easy to apply and worked like a charm.

 

I let this clear coat dry for 48 hours. It made a clear sheen all over the chair. No blobs are visible from the splattering can of spray I used. It was fully dry and ready to come back in the house. 

  

This empty corner is the perfect home for the red chair. I want to hang it up on the wall and use it as a clothes rack. I was thinking this would be a dressing corner with a mirror to help me get ready in the morning.

 

We started by marking where the chair should be hung. I wanted the hanging clothes to be in my eye line. I am pretty short so my eye line is lower than most peoples eye line. Choose a height that works for you. 

 

The chair might get heavy with clothing hung from it. That means we need to find a wall stud to hang it from. We used a stud-finder tool. And, the wall studs were not where we needed them to be. We marked where they were for later. 

 

We decided to use a small board to add strength. This doesn't blend in with the wall so we took a break to paint this board to blend into the wall. 

 

This craft paint matches my walls almost exactly. It is called "Antique White" but it matches my cheap builders grade off-white paint really well. I painted the board with this paint. It needed to dry overnight. We came back the next day to finish this project. 

 

Now that little board matches the wall much better. It is wide enough to overlap the studs by a couple inches on both sides. It still needed to be level to hang the chair properly. We checked the level and marked where to drill into it and the studs. 

 

We drilled through the board and into the stud. This will be stronger than just hanging the chair from the drywall. 

 

We did the same thing over on the left where that wall stud was. These were the only studs in this little corner so this is where it's going.

 

The top center part of the chair back touched the wall so that is where we drilled through the chair to screw it to the board and to the wall. That little board will distribute the weight to the two wall studs. It can hold so much more weight/clothes now. 

 

My chair was missing it's seat so I added a couple books to make a shelf. 

 

This is a great spot for putting an extra handbag or hat. 

 

The rails at the bottom of the chair is perfect for hanging clothes. I thought I could hang up my outfits for the week. If I set out my clothes for the next day or the next few days, I would be more likely to get ready, dressed, and out the door on time in the morning. It would also be great for jackets, hats, and bags by the door. Either way it can be a help to get you (Or your kids!) ready to go in the morning. 

 

I added a mirror next to the new clothes rack, to help me get dressed in the morning. I think if the outfits and the mirror are close by each other, it would help me get myself together on time in the mornings. I hope you can try this or it inspires another organization idea. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.