Giraffe Love Top and Leggings

I have been so busy around here I can hardly see straight. I have four new sewing patterns that are under going pattern testing right now getting ready to release next month. It's very fun and exciting; however, it puts sewing for my own kids on the back burner for the time being.....or so it should.

I have had this giraffe fabric for about a month now. I ordered it for Miss Matilda since giraffes are her favorite animal. She was so thrilled when it arrived and has been wanting an outfit made out of it ever since she saw it. So, as I've been busily working on my new patterns, this fabric has been starring at me just begging to be made into something for my little lady.

So a couple days ago, I couldn't take it anymore......I just had to make this outfit for Matilda. Do you ever get an idea in your head that you just have to do right then and there? Well, that's where I was......I knew I would be thinking about Matilda's giraffe outfit forever until it was made. So I took a break from my patterns and whipped up this little outfit for Miss M in an afternoon. And I'm so glad I did.....she loves it!

The top is very simple. It's just a t-shirt cut off with fabric added to the bottom. I picked up a bunch of shirts on clearance last year for $2.00 each that have just been waiting for me to embellish them. I decided to use some knit and woven cotton for this outfit. My girls are all about comfort these days so I can see myself incorporating more knits into my sewing as they get older.

The skirt on the top was made from a woven quilting cotton, 'Giraffe Love' by Michael Miller fabrics. I made a ruffle around the bottom hem out of orange stretch knit (Heaven and Helsinki by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics) and added woven ribbon trim on top (from Renaissance Ribbons).

The great thing about knit is that it doesn't fray, so you can skip finishing the edges if you are going for a more casual look. I used the Go-To Leggings Pattern with my own ruffle legging tutorial found here. And I also added a yoga waistband because I thought that would be more comfortable. Again, the knit fabric I used has a good amount of stretch to it and is 'Heaven and Helsinki' by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics.

I'm really loving this outfit. It's perfect for play, but still cute and unique. And the most important thing is that Matilda loves it!

And I'll leave you with a picture of my little giraffe lover.

Have a great day!

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Repurposed Picture Frame Tray Tutorial

About a week ago, several of my girlfriends and I headed to the flea market for a Mom's day out. When I attend the flea market, I am always on the hunt for sewing related antiques, furniture for the house, or unique antique decorative items. We happened upon this one booth that was filled with more garage sale like stuff rather than antiques, but this gold frame caught my eye. It was only $1.00 and the second I saw it I thought that it would make a cute little tray. So I scooped it up and told my friends what I had planned for this little beauty.

I think I saw a tray with this frame because the frame itself is a little angled, but you can give this project a try with any style or size frame you would like. This picture frame tray will take you minutes to complete and there is no-sewing involved (I know, kind of rare around here lately). Let's get started......

Repurposed Picture Frame Tray

by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama

Supplies:

1 picture frame

1 scrap piece of fabric

Instructions:

Grab a picture frame. Use one you already have on hand or hunt for some inexpensive frames at your local flea market, garage sales or thrift shops. Like I said above, I liked that this frame was angled, so it seem to make a nice tray, but choose any frame you would like.

Flip the frame over and remove any hardware on the back. This frame was really easy to take apart, I simply popped the stand and hardware off with my hands. If you have a more stubborn frame, you may need to pull out your pliers.

Above is what the back of the frame looked like after the hardware was removed. If the holes bother you or you plan to give this as a gift, cover the holes with a piece of decorative paper or fabric. You could even write a nice note to the gift recipient. Adhere the paper to the back of the frame with heavy duty glue or mod podge.
 

I simply flipped the back of the frame over and used the other side because the holes didn't show nearly as much. This little tray is for me, so the bottom didn't need to be perfect.

Measure the inside of the frame to figure out how large to cut your fabric. My frame had a paper insert inside the frame, so this was the perfect template for cutting the fabric. You could also use decorative paper instead of fabric, if you prefer. Cut the fabric or paper to size.

Insert the fabric into the frame and slide the back of the frame back into place.

And then step back and admire your sweet little tray.

I'm planning on using this as a jewelry tray, but the options are endless!

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Upcycled Boys Dungaree Tutorial

It's been awhile since I shared a boy project, right? Well, this is a project that I shared a little while back over on Cheri's blog, I am Momma Hear Me Roar. My husband had a pile of clothes sitting in our bedroom that had just shrunk or gotten kind of wonky after being washed tons of times. Being the good husband that he is, he knew to save those clothes for me and I could probably use them to make something for our little man, Caspian Finn.

Caspian is on the move these days. After having two girls, I had no idea how active boys could be. When I put pants on Caspian, I often find that they have slipped off his waist are are left behind in the dust. So overalls and one-piece outfits are great for him. I love vintage style fashion, so these are my modern take on traditional boys dungarees.

I used two pairs of my husbands pants as well as a small piece of one of his old flannel shirts. I lined the front of the bib with the flannel as I thought that would feel good as a lining.

Today I thought I would show you how I used an existing pattern to come up with these dungarees. I actually used my own printed sewing pattern called the Run Around Romper:

I knew I wanted a similar fit to the romper, but I wanted more of an overall feel. Using an existing pattern is a great place to start, especially if you know that the fit works really well on your child.

I folded down the top of the Run Around Romper pattern to use for the bottom half of the dungarees. The romper is typically lined, but for this version, I did the pants un-lined with a traditional hem. So I just cut 2 of the front and 2 of the back.

I cut two of the pants pieces out of each leg. If you were making these for a larger child then you might have to check to see if the pant legs of the adult pants are wide enough to accomodate your pattern pieces.

I noticed that the back of the pants already had an encased waistband which is perfect for the elastic back for the dungarees.

I simply cut the waistband off of the adult pants and cut it the same width as the back of the two romper pieces. The ends were left open for threading the elastic. I cut a 8" piece of elastic, threaded it through the back waistband and sewed some reinforcement stitches on both ends to hold it in place.

For the top of the dungarees, I used one pant leg and cut the piece on the fold. I used the top of the romper pattern.

I wanted to change the shape of the front of the romper pattern piece, so I just changed the curve on the top a bit. I also cut this piece out of the flannel shirt for the lining.

For the knee patches, I just cut two ovals out of some of the corduroy pants.

The straps were cut 11" long x 4" wide. I didn't have any pieces of the pants that were long enough, so I had to include a side seam, but I kind of like the look. To sew the straps, just place them right sides together and sew down one short side and one long side, leaving the other short end open. Clip the corners, turn right side out and press.

So here are all the pieces prior to constructing the dungarees. I also used the tab pattern piece from the Run Around Romper pattern. It's really fun to change up an existing pattern that you all ready own. And you want to know what's even better? These dungarees were essentially free since I used clothing that we already own!

I used two wooden buttons that I already had and the two smaller buttons on the tabs were cut off from my husbands' pants.

Caspian has been wearing these a ton and I really wish I had a picture of him modeling them. They are way cuter on than on the hanger, but the way that guy moves these days, I can hardly keep up!

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Guest Blogging: Refashionista at I am Momma Hear Me Roar

I am guest blogging today over at I am Momma Hear Me Roar for Cheri's 'Refashionista' series. 

Come on over for a mini-tutorial on how I turned two pairs of my husbands pants into some Dungarees for our little man, Caspian Finn.

Click HERE to view the tutorial.

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Easy $1.00 Mirror Makeover

There are so many decorating projects I would love to tackle around our house, but there just isn't a lot of time (or extra money) to get those done.  So many of the projects will have to wait, but I figure I can do a little something here and there to make myself feel a little better in our home.

We have had this mirror since before we even moved into this house.  I absolutely love the shape of it, but it really doesn't pop on our beige family room wall.  When my mom was visiting I was telling her how I wanted to do 'this and that' to our family room like bringing in some blue into our palette of beige, sage and cranberry.  I recently changed out the curtains, which have some blue in them and my mom suggested that I paint the mirror to bring out the blue from the curtains.

I head to our local Joann's a picked up a small tube of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in a Satin finish.  I thought about spray painting the mirror, but I really couldn't find anything that was just the right color.  When I saw Martha Stewart had a color called 'Blueberry', I knew that would be just right.  This paint is usually $1.99 at my Joann's, but I had a coupon, so it was only .99 cents!

Instagram Photo ~ thecottagemama

I taped off the interior of the mirror with painters tape.  Got out our art brushes and began painting.  I'm kind of glad I decided to paint the mirror rather than spraying it.  I had forgotten how soothing painting can be and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  It took me about 1 hour to paint the mirror and I let it dry overnight.  I thought the craft paint covered surprisingly well.  I wasn't quite sure how it would do since I didn't prime the mirror at all.  The next day, after the paint was dry, I removed the painter's tape and hung the mirror on the wall.

The mirror seems to have a new life again.  A once nice, somewhat drab mirror, now pops off the wall in this deep blueberry tone.  The great thing about working with timeless shapes is that you can always incorporate them into your decor.  In our next house, the blue might not work, but then I can just paint it again!  And for .99 cents, that is no problem!

This mirror makes me (and my wallet) really happy because my favorite kind of makeovers are the ones where you take something you already own and make it new again.  

Hmmmm......what can I paint next?  

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