Second Chances by Susan: April 2012

Apr 25, 2012

Corralling those chapter books!

So, this project doesn't feature any earth shattering new techniques, in fact, its really pretty simple. But, none the less, I'm happy with the results. Our youngest really enjoys reading at bedtime. We've have been devouring many books lately. Sometimes I read to him, sometimes its his dad, other times its an older sibling. He can read on his own, of course, but really enjoys laying in bed and listening. Wait, let me rephrase that...he really enjoys playing with all his little Fimo clay creations while someone else does the work of reading! Well, all those chapter books need to be corralled and I have been on the hunt for something to do just that. I finally found the solution.

I picked this up for $5.99 at Goodwill. I would have preferred a half off sale, but since I have been hunting for awhile, I was ready to fork out the big bucks! I brought it home and was tempted to paint it a bright color, fill it with pots of herbs and label them accordingly, but I stuck to my original plan. (It would have made a cute herb garden, though!)

The bedroom furniture is painted black, so the black spray paint came out. I just painted, distressed a little, and labeled. That was it. I guess I could have made specific labels for each genre of book...mystery, adventure, etc. I added a clip-on lamp for illumination because my eyes just aren't what they used to be!

The books are organized...now if we could just get the rest of the room in order!

And, here's a picture of just a few (believe me, there are MANY more!) of his Fimo creations. He LOVES making things with clay and baking them in the toaster oven! In case you can't tell, he kind of likes Link from the video game, Legend of Zelda.

(He made all of the above except for the orange one with the blue shield...an older brother made that one.)

I like to link to these great parties!

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Just A Little Creativity

Apr 20, 2012

Second Chance Shirt Dresses in Altered Couture

I'm thrilled to announce that three of my dress refashions are being featured in the upcoming Summer issue of Altered Couture! The magazine is filled with wonderful and creative clothing transformations. It hits the newsstand on May 1.

"Anchors Aweigh" is made from two men's shirts and has a nautical feel.

"Sweet Dreams" is named such because it was made from two pillowcases (plus a blouse.)

"Going Green" is not only named for its color, but the fact that refashioning secondhand clothing is a very green thing to do!

If you want to learn more details about each dress, just click on its photo!

Apr 15, 2012

T-Shirt to Skirt Refashion

I found a t-shirt the other day with a great black and white print. I liked the fact that it was made from a cotton/lycra blend so it had lots of comfy stretch to it. The white banded neckline seemed like it would be a perfect detail for a new skirt. So I went to work and in a few easy steps this is what I came up with...

The white banded neckline makes a perfect slit for the back of the skirt!

This is where it began...

One cut across the top and one cut on each side was all it took. I might add, though, that in order to get the width for the bottom of the skirt (unless I really wanted it to be a pencil skirt), I had to cut into the sleeves a bit. This created a slightly flared detail on each side of the skirt, but with the print you can't even tell its there.

I used the original hem to encase the elastic. I simply cut my waist elastic in half, then threaded it through the front and back skirt pieces separately.