Crafty Creations

Some friends of ours just celebrated their little boy's first birthday. I wanted to make something that was unique and that came from us specifically. Since I work with fabric alot, I was struck by all the different textures and colors. I used a poster to form the book and then took pieces from Robert's pocket square collection to make a book all about colors, textures, and prints. It can be a little tricky to sew on paper, but I was happy with how it turned out.  

A friend of mine is having a little baby boy this coming December, so awhile back she asked if we could have a craft day to make a few things for the baby. I'm never one to turn down a craft day so we embarked on a mission to find the supplies we needed. We used barretts and ribbon to make pacifier clips (we still need to buy the snaps for the end), we made a wet wipe holder, and then embellished a onesie with material from a shirt. It's all about being resourceful. She was happy with how they turned out and we had a lot of fun making the different things. 

In Korea, it is a common thing to find perfectly good furniture sitting by the side of the road all because something new just came out in the stores. Almost all the foreigners I know have some piece of "trash" in their homes. Robert and I actually have 3 pieces so far and probably will have many more in the course of our stay here. 

This little beauty was our most recent find. Robert found it and called me so I hurried over and brought it home. All it took was a little scrubbing and new hardware to look like a gorgeous little piece. The hardware pieces are our favorites from Anthropologie that we had on a desk in FL and then cart all around the world putting them on various pieces of furniture :) 

My friend Laura is an avid runner but never knows what to do with her phone while jogging. For her birthday, I made this little gem... an Iphone arm band :) Oh, and I am in love with all the cool stitches and designs my machine can do! I am discovering new things everyday! 

I know that awhile ago I posted about my new pillows. Well, since then I have felt they were a tad mundane and in need of a good Summer face lift. So, I set to work to give each pillow a little pizazz. :) 

I finally did it!!!! I have wanted to do paper towel roll art for ages and I finally did it. Mind you, it takes awhile to save all the rolls so this project has been a long time coming. I absolutely love the finished product and with a little help from the hubster, it is hanging beautifully on the wall. 

 

~Tie-collared Shirt~ 

I got this idea from pinterest and it turned out to be one of my easiest projects to date. I had this Forever 21 shirt that was rather unremarkable and so I was going to use it for fabric. Robert had just gone through his ties and the idea hit me all at once! Simply pin the tie in place around the neck in the design you want and then sew :) I also handstitched the ruffles from behind to keep them from puckering. I had this lovely little pin that was the cherry on top for the project. The unremarkable shirt became one of my very favorites! 

~Chunky Pearl Necklace~ 

~Tote bag (gift for a friend)~ 

  

~T-shirt embellished dress~ 

I am a rather unconventional seamstress. My mother is an incredible seamstress and can sew just about anything and it will be done with perfection. I, on the other hand, experiment alot and don't always get the results I was planning. I also make a lot of changes as I go. So, when a friend asked me to post a tutorial of my T-shirt dresses, I agreed, but please understand that there are probably better ways to doing these. :) 

What you need:

T-shirt, fabric, elastic band, buttons

The shirt was very long so I cut it what I knew I would be joining the two fabrics together. Then I cut the remaining fabric into strips and made flowers by handstitching along one side and drawing the seam tight until it formed a circular flower. I hand stitched the flowers onto the shirt and then added buttons to fill in the wholes in the middle. The bottom half of the dress was a skirt that I had started years ago and not finished, so I simply made sure that the opening was big enough to go over my head before pinning the two fabrics in place. Once those are attached (I used my serger but you can sew the pieces together as well), I measured my elastic. The elastic band is not meant to be pulled taunt- it is more of a simple waistband. Be sure that the dress is able to be pulled on over the head comfortably before proceeding with the waistband. I sewed on the black elastic band and then handstitched the back where the two ends came together. 

There you go! That's how I made this T-shirt dress. I'm sorry if the steps seem a tad haphazard... that's just the way I sew :) I just do things as I think of them. T-shirt dresses are my new favorite thing to sew and they are super comfortable for Summer! :) Enjoy your sewing project

~ Getting back into making cards~ 

My husband has recently discovered his artistic ability and I am quite proud of his artwork! He did this tree and bird on a piece of furniture we saved from the trash. We thought it needed a little added character :)

~Book pages on poster with Shakespeare's Sonnet 116~

~Poster with quote from Pinterest~

~ Sewing room art work~ 

~Throw pillows~ 

Does that fabric look familiar? Perhaps you remember it as our kitchen curtains in our house in Florida? Or maybe it was the bedroom pillows in our house in Seoul? 

That, folks, is the TRUE meaning of recycling... :) 

~plain box covered in craft paper~

~book page backing picture~

~Book page "LOVE" banner"~

~Book page garland~

~Book Page "Faith-Hope-Love" Banner~

~Reversible Coffee Cozy~

~Valentine's Day cards~

~T-shirt headband~

~Summer head band~

~T-shirt Summer dress~