... that I have been very very busy?

I have a new obsession.  It is called Refashioning.  As in, I want to take clothes and make them better.  For example, I saw this picture on Pinterest:

And really, really, really wanted to make one.  Unfortunately, sometimes Pinterest lies.  This pic was not a tutorial, it was a link to a site to buy the sweatshirt.  Nonetheless, I decided to try it on my own:



Take that Pinterest!  I don't need you to tell me how to be awesome!

I basically tore this whole sweatshirt apart and just sewed it back together to fit me.  And added pockets and edging from a bit of old t shirt material.  And three cute buttons to hold the whole thing together.  It was a LOT of work, and I broke a sewing machine needle, but it's comfy, cozy, and I'll be honest, I'm pretty proud.

The second project was a million times easier.  I have a few blogs that I have been reading for inspiration lately: one is Elle Apparel by the amazing Leanne, and the other is Merrick's Art which I found randomly, but who happens to be a friend of Leanne.  Small world!  Anyway, I saw this polka dot tutorial on Merrick's blog and had to try it on a pair of grey jeans that I had decided were just too plain for my liking:

So fun, right?  And so easy!  Just a paint pen.  The worst part was taking all these pictures of myself.

Always a little awkward.  Good thing I had help:

You are the best, Cait :)

I have 5 more projects in the making... prepare to be amazed.

I love being crafty!

... that I am a Christmas Elf?

Hi, my name is Krissy and I am addicted to Pinterest.

Seriously, how did I not know that this existed for so long???  I am also ashamed to admit that the only reason that I started a Pinterest account is because I saw someone post a Pinterest recipe for snickerdoodle brownies on Facebook and I became instantly obsessed with finding it because I'm pretty sure that when I make it someday, I will never be sad again.

I was browsing Pinterest a few months ago when I found this:

http://diyingtobedomestic.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/dinosaur-hoodie/

And I immediately knew that I wanted to make them for Cutter and Fin for Christmas!  SO ADORABLE!!!  It was really quite easy!  The hardest part was actually finding the sweatshirts!  Here's how you do it:

Cut a bunch of diamonds out of felt and sew them down the middle of the back of the sweatshirt:

Hint: I did this both with pull overs and zip up sweatshirts.  It is MUCH easier to sew down the back of a zip up hoodie :/

Then just sew the two halves of the diamonds together...

And voila!  Adorable!!!!

They turned out so cute!!!  And really cheap too!  I was so excited for the kids to see them at Christmas!!!!  Matt and I decided that we should make them for his nephews too, so all in all I am making 6!

I love presents and sewing and Pinterest!!!

... that I love to sew?

I am not a very crafty person.  But when I was little, I loved to sew for some reason.  I have a vivid memory of sleeping over at my friend's house and staying up till all hours of the night sewing doll clothes by hand in the dark by myself because my friend fell asleep.  Eventually my mom taught me to sew on her ancient sewing machine, and I was pretty good!  I sewed my own pencil cases and purses, and even sewed a denim jumper that I wore till I was about 14 (see me on the left):

That is called legit.

Anyway, I have always loved sewing.  So imagine how STOKED I was when my mother in law gave me a sewing machine for Christmas last year!  And let me tell you, this thing is BEAUTIFUL.  I love it so much.  I tinkered around with it for a while after we got married (I had time cause I was looking for a job) and altered the straps on a few dresses and tanks.  Then I also used it to make our Halloween costumes this year.  But my first real project was altering this shirt:

I have had this shirt sitting in my closet for probably over 2 years.  It was too big for me on all accounts (too baggy everywhere and the sleeves were too long), but it was just too adorable to pass up!  I don't know why, but I am totally obsessed with these ruffles.  I knew that I could get this shirt fixed someday, whether I actually did it myself or broke down and went to a tailor, and thanks to Tanya all my dreams have come true!  But boy, was it a lot of work...

I started by attempting to make the sleeves shorter.  And since this shirt has the cutest ruffly cuffs, I thought it would be a good idea to take the sleeve up from the shoulder, so as not to disturb the cuff.  Note to all:  this was a terrible idea.  Shoulders are hard!  After several attempts, and reattempts, and re-reattempts, I finally got the shoulder back in.  And the sleeve STILL wasn't even short enough!  Blerg.  So I ended up taking off both cuffs and shortening them both to where I wanted them.

See how the left cuff has a button underneath it and the right one doesn't?  Oh well, no one will notice right?

After I got the sleeves the right length, I tackled taking everything in.  I started at the ends of both sleeves and just sewed straight down to the bottom of the shirt.  Pretty easy, but for a perfectionist like me, it still took about 3 times each side.  Mostly because I took it in too much, then not enough, then the sides weren't even, blah blah blah.  You'd think that with my type A personality, I would make sure I did it right the first time.  But I guess my disdain for measuring and marking was just too strong.  Thank goodness for my ripper, AKA new best friend.  Oh well, it all turned out in the end!  And it fits perfectly!!!

I currently have a few other sewing projects in the works as well, thanks to an old high school friend's AMAZING blog, Elle Apparel.  She is an extremely talented seamstress and is gonna be my inspiration for a few skirts and dresses... stay posted.  I love sewing!!!