an icy day means it's time to refashion a dress!

before and after
frumpy to fashionable!

It has been a cold, wet and icy day here in Iowa which means that we have spent the day inside finding ways to keep busy. Jordan is taking his Praxis Exams tomorrow and Tuesday so he has been studying up all day for those...I didn't want to add to his distraction (because studying with a golf tournament and basketball game on always helps) and be watching a movie or TV show so I quickly knew how I would stay busy and out of his way. A refashion project!!!! I picked up this dress from Goodwill last week when I was on a hunt for a blazer and button down for my interview. Which, I found a perfectly new blazer for $4 and a purple button up to go under it for $2. Awesome! AND then I spotted this dress just in a blob hanging by its lonesome....and it happened to have a blue tag which meant it was only $0.25. Yes, a quarter!!! I sized it up and figured I really had nothing to lose since it was only a quarter! It was a 16 so I knew I would have to size it down quite a bit, like 12-14 sizes, and that it would be my first time sewing with silk. 

But! Nonetheless, I stuck it out and completed my project! I took it from ankle length to right above the knee. Then with the scrap material from the bottom that I cut off, I made a sash for around the waist and had a perfect oval jewel ring that I used to secure the knot around to keep the sash on! I took in the sides under the sleeves and then put darts down the back in two spots to take it in a little more. And that was it! I love cowl necks so I left the neck line as is but after taking it in, that helped pull it up and together a little bit more. I got some much needed practice sewing with silk, perfecting a hemline and making something out of nothing! All in all, I would say it was quite the successful little project and now I have a new Spring dress to wear... I can't wait until it warms up so I can wear it! 

sash with the jewel ring 

DIY flannel infinity scarf

I've spent the day lounging and fighting off what I hope is not about to be strep throat and/or double ear infections. Sucky. My immune system chooses to fail at the most inopportune times but what can ya do. Between naps, studying, reading and hacking up some nasty stuff from my lungs, I couldn't stand just laying around anymore. Which led me to Pinterest of course and I saw some pictures of flannel infinity scarves made from old flannel pajama pants! Every year on Christmas Eve, Jordan's family has a cool tradition of giving new pj's to sleep in and then everyone spends Christmas morning kicked back in the new pj's while opening presents. So I figured Jordan would have a few pairs of flannel pants that he doesn't wear anymore or that have shrunk so I started rummaging through his closet...and low and behold, I found two pairs he was willing to let me refashion into an infinity scarf! Good thing Christmas is less than two months away so he can get a new pair of flannel pants (and hopefully I don't shrink them...whoops, my bad. I dry things just like my Dad...) Anyway, this project took me only 30 minutes to do and the result is a fun, flannel infinity scarf that will keep me nice and cozy! And even better, I can wear it on game days because it is black and gold! I combined a few different tutorials that I read through and came up with one that worked the best for me so here's the directions!

frumpy flannel pants before...
fun game day infinity scarf after!

start by cutting the inseam of the pants to the top.
do for both legs.
this works great if you have a puppy staring at you who wants
your attention instead of a another craft....

cut off across the top where the inseam ends.

next, open up the two pant legs and lay them on top of each other
wrong-side out (so the outer seams from the original pants should be facing out)

pin the bottom end together and then sew.

after sewing the ends together, that doubles the length of your fabric!
now, fold the fabric long ways (hot dog style) with seams still wrong side out.
basically, you should have a tube formed
then pin the sides and sew up the long side.

once the long side is sewn, turn the tube right-side out.
then take the two ends (cut off one of the hems because this makes the fabric really bulky and hard to sew through)
and feed one side into the other just like a half inch or so.
Then pin and sew the ends.
Since it has the original hem on it still, this makes for a clean seam!

And that's it! A very easy peasy project! And probably free for most people because who doesn't have a pair of flannel pants stored away somewhere that you can't quite part with yet?! Well, now you have reason to and give them a fashion upgrade! I love the new combination of two of my favorite things for the winter: flannel and scarves! 

fall fashion favorites!

Saturday was the first official day of Fall! Ah I can't believe it...this past year has flown by crazy fast! And to start off this Fall season, I wore all of my favorite fall fashions today! I love pairing leggings with a long cozy cardigan or chunky sweater, a scarf of any sort and some boots....seriously, I could LIVE in this kind of outfit all year long! If I could find a place where the weather was like this year round, Jordan and I would most definitely move there instantly! Not too hot and not too cold, warm sunshine and beautiful colors....ahh that would be the life! But then reality hits and I realize we only have a short time to enjoy this weather while we can before winter strikes! Here's how I rocked the first work day of the fall:

refashion attack and I love it!
cardigan: refashioned from a sweater and cost $1.50
scarf: my mom made this from an old dress
long sleeve under cardigan: $5.00 from Old Navy
boot warmers: my mom made these from an old sweater
leggings: $5.00 from Target
boots: $30.00 from Target last year
(I also got them in black and gray....Target can do no wrong)

ah so happy to be home with my pup
after a long 12-hour day!

Hope everyone has their fall favorites out and ready to start wearing because like it or not, the seasons are changing and the cooler weather is here to stay! Happy Monday!

first (of many!) refashion project: frumpy sweater into fun cardigan

What is a "refashion project" you might ask? Well, it is taking something old, used, recycled, worn out, too big or too small for you clothing or whatever it might be....and refashioning it into something fun, fabulous, new and totally usable again! It reminds me of the concept of an old book that my mom used to have that I was obsessed with and it was called "From Trash To Treasure". I loved looking at all of the projects and pictures wondering how they took something as simple as empty pop cans and turned them into a Halloween wreath! And after all of the pinning and Pinteresting I've been doing, I needed to take my turn at refashioning and I think I found a new favorite hobby!

What sparked this project was a trip to the consignment store that Kat and I made over the weekend when they were here. Which by the way, the weekend was an absolute blast. The Hawks won and we had a great time with Scott, Kat, the kids and our friends! Lots of laughs, good chats and talks with one another and an overall, fun time! So like I was saying, Kat and I made a trip to Stuff and we hit the jackpot! We each got a ton of awesome items, some still with tags, and some looked barely used! And as always, we got it all for one hell of a price! Several things we bought were only a quarter...yes, only $0.25!!!! And the rest of it was pretty much all $2.00 and under with a few exceptions! Kat had originally pulled this sweater off the rack but then saw the size and said it'd be way too big or could be paired with leggings, boots and a chunky sweater. But then I had a lightbulb go off in my head.....my first refashion project! I snagged it up and said, "I'm going to attempt to make this into a cardigan..." And that is exactly what I did!

I successfully turned this size XL sweater from H&M, which was originally priced at $38.00 and I got for $1.75, to a size M cute and cozy cardigan! The project only took me about an hour total! And that's because I added 8 buttons and button holes....some of the holes aren't 100% perfect by any means, but since it will be buttoned up anyway, I wasn't too worried! And I had thread that perfectly matched the sweater so it helps to disguise some of the crooked stitches around the button holes! I can't wait to find the next sweater at Stuff or Goodwill that is waiting to be refashioned!

Updated TOMS

I love my TOMS and everything they stand for. It's an amazing company and the guy who created it well, job well done sir. The shoes are super comfy, fashionable and affordable. AND every time you buy a pair, a pair is donated to kids who don't have shoes. Awesome. I'm all for it. However, because I am so obsessed with them, I wear them very frequently....maybe a little too frequently. So much so that I wore a hole right through them on each shoe where my big toe hits! I didn't want to part with them and since I had some extra fabric left over from another dress project, I made two patches that fit the front portion of the shoe! I used some fabric glue to attach it then pressed in along the seams and put a few stitches around the corners to secure it. Now I have my own personalized, refashioned and still comfy TOMS! I love easy DIY projects!