The Cinderella Dress

Because I now have too much time on my hands (errr... not true most of the time actually) and because Andrea kept asking me for a "Cinderella" dress since she outgrew her store-bought Snow White costume. 

For reference, this is how Cinderella's dress looks like:

Image source

 And here is my version of it.

The puffed sleeves did not puff *sigh*.

I made it from an old bridesmaid dress.

That was the dress... just imagine it plain, with a fuschia corset (don't ask), and an A-line skirt. The skirt was more than enough for the dress, but it was the first time I worked with chiffon and wow, that was hard! It kept slipping, and fraying... and I it was beyond my powers to hem. The chiffon on the sides is actually not hemmed and is beginning to fray... I wonder if I can just singe the edges? Will probably try that tonight.

Embellished Flipflops

I got these embellished flipflops a couple of years ago for around $5 and only wore them for a few weeks before I totally forgot about them.

Since I quit my job last January, I've been doing some cleaning and during the process, I found these and started wearing them again. Andrea saw them and kept bugging me to put beads in her flipflops too so last weekend, I obliged.

I used one of her older flipflops.

They still fit but the design was already peeling off so I needed to fix that. Then I remember this old project by Agy of Green Issues about using old fabric to replace the lining on shoes. Hubby scraped off the remaining design on the flipflops using sandpaper. I traced the flipflops on some scrap canvas fabric and attached them to the flipflops using rugby contact cement.

For the beadwork, I used plastic beads and very thin jewelry wire. I also used the jewelry wire to attach the beadwork to the straps of the flipflops.

And here is my finished work.

Matching beaded flipflops.

Tinkerbell Dress

Watch all the flowers,

Dance with the wind,

Listen to snowflakes, 

Whisper your name.

Feel all the wonder, 

Lifting your dreams,

You can fly!

- Fly to Your Heart (Tinkerbell OST) -

So remember that white dress post a few days ago where I said we went to the mall? I didn't mention there that Andrea got sick a few hours after we got home. She was fine until we got home, and I even gave her a bath before putting her to sleep. But when I checked on her before I went to bed, she was burning with fever. And I do mean burning.

So my husband and I had been taking turns staying at home to take care of her and my turn was last Tuesday. Her doctor gave her a ton of medicine which we had to make her take several times during the day. I think some of them makes her sleepy because she spent most of the day sleeping. Which gave me time to work on this:

Andrea and her Tinkerbell Dress

Ok, so Tinkerbell' actually wears a tube dress, but that wouldn't be too comfortable to play in. I used an old, faded pillow case to make the dress. So old in fact that the other piece of pillow case from the original pair was being used as a rag by our nanny. When she saw Andrea wearing it, she gave me a funny look and asked: "Is that our rag???" "Of course not! That's the other one... we have 2 pieces of that pillow case." And then I added some lace from Andrea's old dress that I took apart a year ago. Good thing the colors sort of match... I was too lazy to sew a zigzag edge on the dress.

She wore it immediately after I showed it to her, and we did her hair like Tinkerbell's and took photos. The healthy flush on her cheeks was actually the fever. I know she doesn't look it but she was running a 38.3 fever a few hours before this photo.

And just so you don't think life around our house is perfect:

Yep, this was our first photo shoot attempt. I guess she was sleepy because she crawled in bed after this scene and fell asleep immediately (yep, while wearing the dress... we live in a hot country). When she woke up, it was instant mood transformation. We fixed her hair again and she started giving me those smiles and poses in the previous 2 photos.

Ruffled Bib Toddler Shirt

My mom gave me this top last week. It's pretty but the neckline, which was already wide to begin with, was stretched more in the wash rendering it useless.

I love the ruffle detail on the sleeves so I decided to save them.

I cut off the sleeves. I was so tempted to embellish one of them with pearls to make an easy bib necklace for me but my mom specifically asked that these be made into something for her grand daughters (i.e. my daughter, Andrea, and my niece, Helaena).

I made a smaller shirt (size 4T) from the shirt fabric. I wanted to make this quick so instead of making sleeves, I simply traced the entire 4T shirt we already have, including the sleeves. I then sewed the back and front pieces together and hemmed the bottom of the shirt and the sleeves. I then hand stitched the ruffled sleeves on to the shirt and pulled and folded edges to make it look like a bib.

This one is for my niece. We're giving it to her this weekend. But I got Andrea to model it first. I just can't get her to stay still for any photo lately! Anyway, for Andrea's shirt... I'm planning to sew the ruffled sleeve directly on to one of her plain shirts to save me time. I haven't gotten around to doing it yet though.

I am linking to the following parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar and Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesdat at Someday Crafts | Show and Share at Southern Lovely | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Strut Your Stuff at Keeping it Simple | Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma | It's a Party at The Creative Princess | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | DIY Diva at Mine for the Making | 

Lined Paper Tee from Maybe Matilda

Do you guys know about Maybe Matilda? Rachel of Maybe Matilda has a lot of cool stuff and this is her second project that I'm trying out.

Click here to go to Maybe Matilda for the tutorial.

Rachel used paint but for my project I used this:

... Pentel's Fabric Fun  Pastel Dye Sticks (by the way, this is NOT a sponsored post... I just happened to pick these up from the book store a month ago). These are like your regular oil pastel but after applying to the fabric and ironing, it will not come off when you wash it.

My daughter has this old onesie that she rarely uses because she doesn't like onesies anymore. It's also size 12m... but at 22 months, it still fits Andrea.

First step is to make this onesie into a t-shirt. I simply cut off the bottom and cut the sleeves and sewed a zigzag stitch along the edges. Too lazy to hem :)

And then I used a ruler as a guide as I drew my blue lines.

One thing about these pastel sticks... they can be a little messy to use. I had to draw slowly to make sure I don't smudge. And the lines I made are probably not as straight's as Rachel's when she used paint.

After the blue lines, I drew red lines between the blue lines to make it look like the paper on notebooks being used by kindergarten and first grade students here. And then I drew the vertical line.

Rachel suggested embroidering or stamping your child's name on to the shirt. Great idea right? I decided to embroider since I think Andrea will outgrow this shirt soon and we might end up giving the shirt away. I can simply remove the stitches so that another little girl can use it. 

Cute! Can't wait to have Andrea try it!

I am linking to the following parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | It's a Party at A Creative Princess | Show and Share at Southern Lovely | DIY Diva Thursday at Mine for the Making | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes | Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baad Sunday at Lamb Around | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Ta-Da Tuesday at Mommy by Day Crafter by Night | Handmade Tuesdays at Lady Bug Blessings | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Tuesday To Do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Tuesday Confessional at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Cure for Common Monday at Lines Across My Face |

We've got ears! Say 'Cheers!'

We have outgrown Dora the Explorer in our household. Guess who the new toddler idol is!

Yep, Minnie Mouse! (or mi-mouse in Andrea speak and yeah, she calls Mickey and Minnie by the same now right now.)

I made her the dress inspired by Minnie's dress in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I made it from this hot pink shirt...

...which I bought for P120 (approx $3) because I wanted to make this:

Anthropologie - The Gathering Tank

I had to cut up the whole shirt to make gathers and creases but I got stuck when it came time to attach the sleeves. Three months it lay there, waiting for me to fix the sleeves (which I already put in but manage to get wrong twice) but the thought of ripping it off and trying again was enough to put me off so when Andrea started showing interest in Minnie and I needed something pink to make her a Minnie Mouse dress... it was time to let go of this idea. I do believe the Minnie Mouse dress is so much prettier than 'The Gathering' dontchatink? (please agree with me).

For the bodice pattern, I traced one of Andrea's dresses and just made it a little bigger so she won't grow out of it immediately. I wanted to add sleeves... but I only had enough fabric left after the bodice and the skirt for one sleeve so I decided to go sleeveless (which is a good thing because I fail miserably when I start working with sleeves... any tips???). For the skirt, it's just 2 rectangles of fabric sewn together at the sides and gathered at the top to match the width of the bottom of the bodice. 

For the polka dots on the skirt, I cut circles from white scrap fabric and used fabric glue to stick them to the pink fabric (too lazy to go the extra mile of sewing them on one by one). And then I made a white bow and added white buttons and my baby doll is ready to do the 'Hotdog Dance' with Mickey and Friends in style.

Had to blur out Daddy there in the background, lying on the couch.

This was the only photo I managed to take of her showing the whole dress... and it required some digital editing so you won't see Daddy's legs and feet in the background because Daddy refused to move.

The back of the dress

Here's a view of the back... plain as plain can be. Didn't have enough time to put polka dots at the back of the skirt before Mickey Mouse Clubhouse came on. Maybe next time.

Rolling on the floor with happiness

The only time you can catch her smiling or laughing is when she's moving... a lot. And the photo is blurred because I'm not so good with action shots.

And now, let's all do the Hotdog Dance!!!

Hot dog! (Hot dog)
Hot dog!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
Now we got ears, it's time for cheers

Hot dog, hot dog, the problem's solved
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog

Grab my boots and a sandwich
Let's start a parade
Get the coconut drum kit
For Daisy to play

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
We're taking off, we're dancing now
Hot dog, leapfrog, and holy cow
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
It's a brand new day
Whatcha waiting for?
Get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
We're splitting the scene
We're full of beans

So long for now from Mickey Mouse (That's me!)
And the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Lyrics from LyricsMania

Thanks for stopping by!

I am linking up to the following parties:

Finished on the 15th at FaveCrafts | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T | Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugarbee Crafts | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs | My Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Will See It Wednesday at Fabric Bows and More | Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge | Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | Keep It Simple Sunday at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I heart Nap Time | Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around |

Shirt Refashion - Another Layered Look

It's been a while since I refashioned something. I've been busy (hence, the lack of posts). But my to-do pile is mounting so last week, I decided to squeeze in a little project in between work and you know... life in general.

I've had this top for a while. I love the fabric, but the style is a little old fashion so it's a little short. I love how tops and blouses have gotten longer recently. 

I wanted to add length to this shirt but I don't have fabric to match. I also wanted to remove the collar.

This is what I came up with:

I used an old magenta knit shirt as extra fabric to patch up the neckline after I cut off the collar. And I also added some fabric to the bottom of the shirt to make it longer.

From the photo, the 'Before' actually doesn't look that bad... but I definitely like my 'After' much better.

Sorry I haven't been able to prepare a tutorial for this. I took pictures and maybe I'll post it sometime this week but truth is, I'm rushing to finish this post. The past 2 months has been stressful and I haven't been getting much sleep since... hmmm... 2009??? 

Tote Bag Makeover

Since this bag from Anya Hindmarch was released sometime in 2007, several business and organizations started releasing their own reusable shopping bags made of cloth.

I have a small collection of reusable shopping bags which I get from malls, supermarkets, boutiques. I always keep one in my purse for when I have to go to the grocery after work or buy something at the mall. I like to think that since 2007, I have done my part to reduce the use of plastic. 

Anyway, I also have several of these bags from WWF. My husband works for WWF (which is really cool because they get to a lot of cool stuff and it's for work!) and they sell these and give some away on some of their events (as of this writing, I think I have 4 reusable bags from WWF). Since I don't really use all of them, I decided to find a use for some of my favorites.

This is one of my favorites:

This is made of canvas and the print is just their logo, no other text like the other ones. I find their panda logo cute and I thought I can make this shopping bag into a tote bag in a few simple steps!

Step 1: It was a little deep so I cut off around 2 inches off the bottom and hemmed it close.

Step 2: Add lining with pockets. I just used the shape of the bag as pattern to make my lining.

Step 3: I added a magnetic closure. I just looked for 2 magnets that are the same shape (I found 2 square ones in my husbands junk pile... I don't know where they came from but I thought they looked pretty. I put one inside the top seam on the front of the bag. Then I created this small flap by sewing 3 grosgrain ribbons together and burning the edges. I glued the other magnet to the flap, leaving it exposed since it looks nice. Then I added a little stitching on each side of the magnet.

that small square thing is a magnet

Step 4: I added a zipper... YES, this is the first time I used a zipper in a sewing project and I had to use the seam ripper several times but I did it!!! I added the zipper as an after thought, several hours after I thought I was finished with the bag so I wasn't able to take a picture. Anyway, I will be honest in saying that it doesn't really look pretty since the way I sewed it on the bag was uneven, but I say not bad for a first attempt.

So here's my finished tote:

You can't actually see a lot of difference from the photo since I didn't really change the design. But it's a little smaller and because of the lining, keeps its shape better when hanging from your shoulder.

I have another project involving my other reusable shopping bags but I'll be honest, I haven't started yet. This week is Holy Week in the Philippines, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are non-working holidays (and on Good Friday, local TV stations go off the air, malls, groceries, restaurants, and other establishments are closed) so most people go on vacations... including me :) So I might not be able to post anything else this week but I promise I'll have something good for you guys next week.

Before I sign off for the week... let me leave you with a little preview. Aside from my other reusable bag project, I need to do something about these pendants:

A shell pendant from one of my old necklaces.

Shell pendants I got from a souvenir shop somewhere in Monterey Bay, CA a few years ago when I went there on vacation.

And my husband has been working on his own project:

a dollhouse for Andrea!

He did not document his steps... and he started this very late at night 2 weeks ago so I wasn't able to take pictures of his progress but I will be sharing his finished project. This might be a little different from the doll houses you're used to seeing.

More on these projects, and other projects, next week!

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Free for All at Young and Crafty | Sew Crafty Saturday at Wildflowers and Whimsy | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Just Somethig I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter |

Lights Out!

Last Saturday, the world celebrated Earth Hour.

I even made a lantern see? :) To make your own lantern, click here.

Here in the Philippines, Earth Hour is hosted every year by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). My husband works for WWF so we went to the official Earth Hour event at the SM Mall of Asia. They held a free concert outside the mall for an hour during lights out. Since it was too noisy and crowded outside for Andrea, we stayed inside the mall while daddy attended the official event outside. 

Every year, as part of WWF, my husband gets an Earth Hour shirt, male size large. I wanted Andrea to have her own Earth Hour shirt but I haven't seen anything being sold in her size. So I decided to tailor one of daddy's old shirts to fit her and we have:

Since the shirt is made of thick cotton... and since we live in a humid country... I wanted the shirt to be a little loose so it won't make Andrea uncomfortable. Also, I only had a few hours before we left for the event to make the shirt... I didn't have time to make sleeves. So this shirt was made from 2 pieces: the front and the back, sewn together. I used one of her shirts with the same fit as pattern.

And here's my little earth hour advocate rockin' it at the mall:

While they were celebrating outside, inside the mall, they turned off the lights in the halls so only the stores/stalls were lighted. One weird thing... I thought they were just supposed to turn off the lights. It seemed like they turned of the air conditioning too. It got hot in there!

Did you guys participate in Earth Hour this year? What did you do during lights out?

By the way, this year, Earth Hour's theme is to go beyond the hour. Meaning after Earth Hour, what else can you do to help save the environment. Remember, every little bit helps if everyone commits to doing something. I hope you guys had a great weekend!

Simple Shirt Refashion Project - Reloaded!

I initially posted this project last February. But I added a little something to the shirt which I so looove so I decided to share again :)

On a previous post about the Valentine shirts, I mentioned that I got the idea from Modcloth. I surfed around that site for a while and found quite a few more ideas.

I like this one too:

ModCloth - Lacy-and-JoJo Top

I have a black v-neck shirt from Old Navy:

And then I went to the mall for some lace. The store I checked didn't have lace as wide as the one used on the ModCloth shirt so I had to settle for something narrower. And since my lace was narrower and a little stiff... I was afraid it would stick up if I ruffle too much so I just made tiny pleats as I sewed it on along the neckline of my shirt.

My finished product:

Since I don't wear sleeveless tops much, I kept the sleeves on the shirt. A far cry from what I initially wanted but this turned out nice :) And very easy to do too! Took about 15 minutes of sewing time.

Edited 03/09/2011
I haven't worn this shirt yet since I posted it but today... I decided to wear it and added a few fabric flower brooches along the neckline as well:

I love how it looks! So feminine and soooo... a little out of place here in my office but I think they are used to me by now, haha! Happy Wednesday!

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Sew Cute Tuesdays at Creative Itch  |  We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado  |  Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | Wednesday Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple | Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T | CraftOManiac Monday | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | Sundae Scoop Link Up at I Heart Naptime | Free for All at Young and Crafty |  Sew Crafty Saturday at Wildflowers and Whimsy | It's Party Time at It's So Very Cheri | Made by You Monday at Skip to my Lou | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST A Housewife | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings |

Shirt Refashion - Navy Ruffles

I saw this sweater re-fashion from Tatertots and Jello last week and thought "Hmmm... I have a red shirt and a navy blue scarf... I think I might try this one." Unfortunately, no matter how many different ways I tried to ruffle the scarf diagonally on the shirt, I couldn't get it to look right... I don't know why. So I decided to play it safe with cutting up the scarf  (the sides of the scarf has something that looks like tribal/floral print, and the center has small white polka dots... sorry, I wasn't able to take a "before" photo) to make 2 layers of ruffles around the neckline and all the way down the front.

I finished off with small white plastic buttons along the center between the 2 lines of ruffles (CONFESSION: the buttons were an afterthought... I needed something to hide the uneven space between the 2 ruffle columns *wink*).

Happy Monday to all of you! :)

Participating in the following link parties:

CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | Keep it Simple Sunday at The Tattered Tag | Sunday Scoop at I ♥ Naptime | Free for All at Young and Crafty | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Weekend Wrap Party at Tatertots and Jello | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Made By You Monday at Skip to my Lou | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee - Craft Edition | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design  | Wednesday Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple | Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello | It's Party Time at It's So Very Cheri |

Lounge Wear to 'Layered-Look' Shirt Refashion

My mom bought this... uh... I have no idea what it's called... lounge wear??? (Here in the Philippines... we just call it by the unglamorous term  'Daster' which translates loosely to 'house dress' haha).

It's American size XL... which means it's too big for her and... yey!! too big for me too!!! (I was just happy I don't fit in an XL, haha). Anyway... I really don't wear stuff like these, except for when I was pregnant and had to stay at home most of the time. So I did a little cutting here, and a little sewing there... and came up with this:

Now this is something I can wear.

Here are the details of my 'little cutting here... and little sewing there...":

First I took a white shirt whose fit I liked and laid the dress over it.

I just needed to see how much of the white shirt I needed. I live in a tropical country so layering like this is not practical. Based on this, I saw that I only needed the upper part of the shirt to about an inch below the armpits.

I cut the shirt.

It's actually just a promo shirt from my bro-in-law's cargo company so I don't really use the shirt much.

I pulled the dress over the part of the shirt I needed and secured them with pins.

My pin cushion is making a guest appearance on this post :)

Using a sewing machine, I sewed along the edges of the dress, front and back, to attach the shirt to the dress. My sewing was a little uneven along one side so I decided to hide the stitches using a rolled fabric flower using blue t-shirt scraps :)

This picture was taken with me facing a mirror so the flower appears on the left shoulder (reflection). It's actually sewn on the right shoulder.

This project is linked up to the following link parties:

• Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch
• Link Party at Tea Rose Home 
• Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three