Fun Shoe Redo!

Here is a quick (about 1 hr) project for all of the shoe-fetish ladies out there.  I picked up 2 pair of fabric flats from the ginormous big-box store a few days ago- you may already have some that could use a face lift.  These were under $10/pair, the trims and fabrics I had on hand.  

For supplies gather:

fabric shoes, any color or style

ribbon trim- takes about 12" total per color- per pair

buttons to cover, or fabric flowers, etc.  You pick!!

craft adhesive, like goop or E-6000

toothpicks to spread adhesive

a few clothespins or clips to help hold stuff on

old socks to stuff in toes

X-acto or craft knife- razor blade if you are brave

I sealed them after completion with Scotchgard spray

Cut your ribbon pieces to length, plus a few inches leeway on each side.  If you are using covered buttons, cut fabric and cover buttons according to instructions.  I used pliers to bend the shank down flat on the back of the button.  If you are using regular buttons with a shank, cut it off or bend it down.   Stuff  old socks into the toe of the shoe so you have something to push against, and to help it hold shape.  I spread out my ribbon on a paper plate, and squeezed a small amount of adhesive into a blob on the plate.  Don't squeeze out too much, because it starts to set up quickly, and you will just end up wasting it.  Use your toothpick to get some adhesive, and smear it smoothly onto the back of the ribbon.  Don't smear the whole thing- remember- you cut it long, so you have both ends free to work with it!  If you don't get the adhesive quite far enough, don't worry, you can lift up the loose ends from the shoe and add some to the backside of the ribbon and get it just right.   I eyeballed the ribbon placement- you may want to mark the shoes with disappearing marker.  

Tip:  Hold the ribbon taught w/ both hands, and lay it across the shoe, and smooth from the middle outward.  There is a little bit of play and open time, but not much!

Plain Dress Dress-Up

In my next few blog entries, I will be taking some rather plain,  everyday kind of clothing items, and adding some inexpensive *bling* to bring them into 2010.   I will go through the supplies and steps below.  This upcycle cost nothing, because the dress was here, and not being worn because of it's "too plain" look, and the fabric flowers were made from cotton t-shirts my son had outgrown.  As fast as he has grown the past few years, we seem to have lots of those!


So, grab your scissors.....here we go!

                                  

• First- all you need is a shirt, dress, or top lying around that could use a little help.  Most everyone has more than one thing they bought, but just can't get excited about wearing.  There are some items, like this dress, that when I bought it I thought "great, I can accessorize this", and yet, somehow.......accessories just don't work right.  
• Second- go through your drawers, or your significant others, or even your neighbors drawers and harvest a few lost and forgotten T-shirts.  Pick shirts of similar weight.
• Third- find some items to trace around to make your circles patterns.  I used measuring cups, and made my patterns from stabilizer backing I use for machine embroidery.  My 3 circles sizes ended up approx.  2 1/2"- 2 1/8" and 1 5/8" diameter.  
• Fourth- start cutting lots of circles!  I decided on alternating my background colors, so some flowers would be gray (largest), black (medium) and some black (largest), gray (medium), but my centers were always white.  I needed 9 of each combination, so 18 groups of 3 circles. Now that all of the circles are cut comes the fun part- assembling the flowers!!  Just stack 3 circles on top of each other, pinch from the bottom in the center, and sew a few tack stitches, until you get the amount of ruffling and shape you desire.   I love the bling, so I added pearl beads to the center of each of my flowers, just for fun.  You could add buttons, bells, anything that you like- or leave them blank in the middle.  There is certainly no right or wrong to any of this.  You may want to do more or less flowers per garment, depending on what type of garment you are adding the flowers to.  Again, personal taste is your guide.  Here is a picture of my flower groups in process:      
  
  
  
  

I pinned the flowers on the dress to arrange them (and figure out how many I needed to make), and also so it would be easier to sew them correctly into place.  Then, I just sat down and stitched them by hand to the yoke of the dress. 

Happy Earth Day!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

 There are some things in life that are so simple, and yet give us some of the biggest joys.  My new, outdoor clothesline is one of those things to me.


My husband is many things, handy being one of them.  It was one of the big reasons I fell in love with him- his ingenuity and ability to create.  I asked for an outdoor clothesline- nothing big, but it had to hold comforters, and be removable in bad weather, or if we entertained.  With my limitations, I didn't want to carry wet laundry too far.  I am trying to be more *green* in the things that I do daily, and running a dryer is a big energy eater.  I have the high efficiency front loaders, but even though the washers are Energy Star- the dryers are not.

 So, like the true genius my DH is, he came up with this simple system which works perfectly between the posts on our patio.  It is about $5 worth of plastic coated wire and hardware, but it is truly one of the best gifts I have received.  And so today, on Earth Day's 40th Anniversary I pay tribute to the simple things, like a clothesline, that we can all do to help save a little power, and in it's joyous response the sun and wind will sweetly scent our clothes the way no dryer sheet ever could!  There is something about that fresh smell that takes me back in time the way no other thing can. 

Waiting for Springs Return

This winter in North Texas has gone on record as one of the coldest and wettest since records have been kept.  We are 'officially' out of our longstanding drought in this state, with one or two counties still looking for a little more rain, but most of us have had more than enough of this.  As Texans, we cherish the rains, but anxiously wait the sun's warm return.
 

This may look to you like a crummy dead hanging plant I should have discarded many months ago, but I can assure you this is much more than it appears.  This will be home to a pair of Mourning Doves that return every year to this spot to nest, and raise their young. 

The first year this unlikely spot was chosen, we were startled when we found the nesting birds settled in- after all, this is 20 feet from our back door, and adjacent to our grilling and fire pit area.  We have little dogs that hang out in the sunny warm spots of this patio- there is just a lot going on here!  But, they held steadfast to their choice, and it was wonderful to see the 2 small baby birds grow, and eventually take flight.   There were a few times we disturbed them unintentionally by bumping the pot, but overall, we got on okay.

The second year I really thought I would outsmart them, and I took down the hanging pot, and waited until I thought mating season was over- well into April.  The birds watched closely from their perch on my neighbor's roof until the pot came back- this time with a fresh, green plant.   Once again they chose this spot to call 'home'.  I was not able to water the new plant because of the babies in the nest, so it just withered and died, and I ended up having to replace it.

So, here we are in year 3 of the nesting bird saga, and I have left my old, withered plant out as a welcome sign to my pair of Mourning Doves, anxiously awaiting their return, and the promise of springs return as well.   The promise that the warm glow of the sun will once again shine upon us, and as the Beatles so aptly put it "Here comes the sun, and I say-it's alright!"

Distressed Denim Overalls- An Overall Success!!

Humble Beginnings

We all start out somewhere, and these humble $2 thrift store rejects were nothing special, but they were a perfect start for this distressing experiment.

I like the idea of taking an ugly duckling, and at least turning out an owl or bluejay.  These were not badly worn, and not expensive enough that I was worried about messing the whole thing up.  It was very freeing!  I have been wanting to try my hand at denim distressing for quite some time- this was a perfect starter project for me.

I used several different 'tools' on my project. I liked using a cheese grater the best, I could rub away the most fiber the fastest- however I also rubbed off a little of my knuckles as well! I used some 180 grit sandpaper to age the edges along the pockets and bib, and my handy seam ripper was great for adding tears.



I have been saving and cutting up my families old jeans to make a rag quilt, and I used some of the 'saved' pockets to add dimension to these bibs. The patches on the knee and vestback are from an antique 'cutter' quilt I have been looking to use on something- I love the worn out look of the quilt pieces with the distressed denim! On both the front and back quilt patches I set them from behind, so the ragged edges of the denim would add to the look.

One note on bleaching spots- I found that using a regular cotton ball worked the best. I could control the amount I squeezed out onto the fabric better than using a sponge. Anyway, it is what worked for me.

I made the Ticklish Moose applique patch out of some leftover creme-colored flannel, and added it after I bleached the denim and distressed the pocket.  The neat thing is that I know these will continue to wear and age and just keep getting better with time.