Hearth & Health
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Upcycling: Jumper to Little Girls Winter Dress
Winter dresses have been impossible to find for my little one. As Bella is only in size 1, I wasn’t expecting any trouble in finding winter dresses, but alas I have. Searching online for inspiration I discovered the idea of upcylcing a jumper into a little girl’s dress. Between both tutorials I was confident to ‘give it a go’. Result was two lovely girl’s winter dresses. Off to the op-shop Saturday morning. By Saturday evening I’d whipped up a couple of dresses for Bella to wear to Mass Sunday morning. The cream dress is needing further embellishments. But for now, with a bright sash of pink around her waist, tights…
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8 Tips When Op- Shopping For Clothes
We purchased our first home via auction, a rather nerve wracking yet exhilarating experience. Flushed with success we began attending farm auctions and furnished our home with our finds, on a shoestring budget we were selective in our bidding. Eventually we were to also discover the world of garage sales, a story for another day. Months after purchasing our home we were expecting our first babe, this was when I discovered the attraction of the op-shop hunt. It wasn’t long before I realised that one could dress yourself and your loved ones well by selectively searching for quality amongst the dross. Years on I’ve continued to maintain my passion for…
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Upcycling: Excess Skirts Become Flattering
I’ve long been a keen bargain hunter, haunting op-shops (thrift) well before it became trendy to do so. I began my passion because of: financial needs, the fact I rarely find anything I like in the ‘regular’ shops and shopping centres put me on sensorial overload. Whilst I’ve long had a discerning eye for a bargain and am selective in what I bring home, it wasn’t until I discovered the world of ‘upcycling’ that I discovered ‘a whole new world’. No longer do I discard fabrics, prints or outfits I like with a sad sigh because they are: too big, shapeless, fussy, too whatever’s. Instead I now stop and assess;…
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Fabric Boxes: Our Storage Solution
Successfully completing an organisation project always makes me happy. Last week I decided our dress up storage wasn’t working and I wanted a solution that involved minimising visual ‘clutter’. Therefore it was time to make more fabric boxes, purchasing a few doona cases at garage sales I was began cutting. Dividing the task over several days, I cut out sufficient material for 16 boxes, yep 16! This actually translates to 32 fabric ‘crosses’, as sewing includes a liner as well as the outer box. Then there were also the 32 handles to cut and sew. Handles are fiddly, always a relief to finish them. Sewing madly on and off…
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“Come As Your Favourite Animated Character”
Mega Birthday week this week. Jack Jack and Jelly Bean turned 8 & 10 respectively and Michelangelo 15. We celebrated the younger two’s birthday with a themed party, “Come as your favourite animated character”. Jack Jack was Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon). His whole outfit was courtesy of op-shop hunting one afternoon, we really hit the ‘motherlode’; green leggings, green velvet top, a brown woolen scarf and a dressing gown, with which a bit of judicious ripping and hemming became a vest. Fortunately his sister had a pair of boots that fit too. Jelly Bean of course was Princess Anna from Frozen, our girls’ favourite movie. Wearing an…
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Dress Up Storage Solution
Often when one project is completed another is created, thus it was when PC and the girls built our incredible linen press. Project created was, The Dress Ups, they now needed to be moved from the linen press alcove, and it was time to find a better storage solution. For months they have been stored in one very long box, the length and depth of our new linen press, this however meant a messy search for most items. Consequently the Dress Up storage wasn’t inviting to play. As I now had empty shelving of two sections, I considered making some more boxes and storing like the toys, but would the dress…
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A Dream Of A Linen Press
Twelve months is long enough for any girl to have her linen shelves highly visible in her dining hall don’t you think? Embarrassingly it’s not even as if I kept it neat all the time, the messy truth is, it often looked like this! Before visitors were due that is, the visitors at least got to look at tidy shelves. When I uttered the words on Saturday to my darling Prince Charming, “I’ve reached my limit, I want the linen cupboard out of the dining hall” He immediately responded with, “Let’s plan how to design the linen press and I’ll build it tomorrow.” That’s all it took! He stopped tiling…
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Making a Knight’s Costume
A fortnight ago we celebrated Jem’s 5th birthday, this year I purchased and created a few dress ups as gifts. I found a knight’s costume rather doable to make. Whilst op-shopping I was lucky to find a very large women’s silver top. This material was cut down to make the armour, both top and underhelmet. Learning how to make my own pattern gave me confidence to undertake this project. Best of all I can re-use this template now for other small boys if needed. The hood and top are two separate pieces. Sewing right sides together it didn’t take long to stitch seams. Armour completed. The surcoat was simply a…
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Fabric Bin Love
Fabric bins are my latest love. It began with three and then I couldn’t resist making more and yet more. These bins reside in our learning room and house all craft supplies. They look far more attractive than the previous jumble. Keeping with my frugal theme, this was my first purchase, a double doona cover (comforter) for the princely sum of $5. The liners were made from unwanted valances. This bin is my absolute favourite by far! It sits in the games room and houses the playstation controls. Far more sightly than the previous set up. I just love these stripes, off set with the blue liner. Both fabrics were…
