projects & refashions | spring 2012

About once a month, Thursday becomes my project day. I never plan it that way... but maybe it's a combination of the house being empty & quiet {kids are at classes} and the fact that I usually have most of  my work/must-do's done by Thursday so the day is somewhat free.
Here's a round-up of recent projects-- lots of clothing refashions because I hit up GW on their '50% off entire store' day a few weeks ago:) I always come home with at least 2-3 things I love that need some TLC. Enjoy!

 this skirt was many sizes too big for me in the waist and hit at an awkward length. Since it already had pleats & a zipper, all I had to do was add two extra pleats in the back to make it my size. Much better!

We're goin' vintage 80's here! Never thought I'd be pulling off stuff my parents wore when they were my age but I love this skirt! The print is fun and it's super comfy. Oh, and it has pockets! Score! This one was  big in the waist as well but had elastic instead of pleats so I had to cut a whole section out and then sew it back together. I ended up taking a bit off the bottom too so it would have a more modern/vintage look-- instead of straight out of the 80's! 

 This is one project I've been wanting to incorporate into our room decor for well over a year now... but for many reasons it didn't happen. Mainly that I had yet to actually go get a skid! Then one day, Mama randomly came home with one! After pulling off a few of the front boards, flushing the nail heads & sanding the whole things, it was ready to be a shelf:) I love it! It helps to draw the eye up to the walls in our room, making things seem slightly more spacious.
All of the photos hung on twine was another project I did a few months ago to display current photos/quotes/misc. It looked better the first time I put pictures up since they were more spread out. But I recently went and printed hundreds of personal pics from the last year and there were just so many that I wanted to see each day up there & couldn't leave off! SO, it's crowded... but it's happy:)

My friend Emm gave me these two pillows several years ago when our room was all red & black decor. They no longer go with our room but I didn't want to get rid of them cause throw pillows can cost more than I want to spend & I appreciate her thoughtfulness! Mama saved the day by giving me a pack of cloth napkins for my birthday, saying, "I know it's a random gift but I knew you'd like the print and can find some use for them!" And she was right on both accounts:) Using cloth napkins to recover pillows is about the easiest thing ever! Just lay the napkins together, wrong sides facing. Sew up 3 sides. Insert pillow and sew up 4th side. Viola! New pillows!

This shirt is a size small but was still huge & baggy. I cut the elastic off the bottom and then ended up taking the shirt in roughly 4 inches on both sides! There was SO much fabric! Taking it in so much meant I had to reconstruct the sleeves. I decided to go with a rough/cut edge on the sleeves & bottom of the shirt instead of hemming them. Not my favorite refashion but I'll still wear the end result more than I would have the original shirt.

 Have I ever mentioned how much I hate hanging things on the wall?! Like *really* detest it. It's one of the huge reasons I'm a photographer and not an interior designer even though I love decorating. I'm just not able to eyeball things and slap them up there with a nail & hammer. I have to measure & remeasure... and when I'm doing a collage like this, it takes me even longer! First I laid everything out on the floor & Mama helped me to figure out the layout I wanted. Then I took pieces of newspaper I had cut out which were the shapes of the items I was hanging & hung those on the wall in the layout I'd settled on. Then once that was finally done, I got the hammer & nails out and started hanging things. It sounds so simple, but it took me forever! A WHOLE evening!
Thank goodness we like how it turned out... cause I'm not redoing it any time soon!

As you can see, I bought this shirt even though it came with a hole in the sleeve. But I've been in need of summer shirts that I can wear without layering and this shirt is made of thin/non-see through material... perfect for hot weather! I chopped the sleeves off, hemmed them & now it's totally summer worthy! 

What projects have you been working on? I'd love to see pictures!!