Do You Remember Tent dresses?

This is my cute little granddaughter on Easter Sunday wearing her favorite dress.  I'm sure it's her favorite because first, it's polka dots, and second, it's comfortable.  

As I watched her running around in her dress, I was reminded of when I was a little girl wearing the same kind of dress....a tent dress!  I remember back in the 60's that my mom even made us matching dresses.

Tent dresses...talk about simple!  I figured I could add to my granddaughter's wardrobe and make her a few tent dresses refashioned from things I had in my stash.  I started by making a simple pattern from her polka dot dress.  I don't have before pictures, but the first dress was made from a women's simple strapless dress that I picked up year's ago solely for the fabric.

got beads?

I just returned from a wonderful week at Girl's Camp!  This was my 22nd year at camp.  In the past I have served 6 years as a unit leader (in charge of about 8 girls), 6 years as the co-stake girl's leader (in charge of about 25 girls who basically run the camp), 4 years as a trek mom, 5 years as a crafty lady, and this year as the bead specialist...or in reality, the crazy bead lady!  

Each year the girls work hard to pass off their certification.  We like to award them a colored bead for each item.  When they complete all of their certification, they get a larger colored bead.  If they go the extra mile and complete even the optional items, they get a "flower" bead (a colored bead with small flowers painted on it.)  Some of the certification requires them to learn new ways to cook outdoors, lash useful items together, tie knots, orienteering, first aid, hikes, learning about useful and also poisonous plants, finding their way by the sun and the stars, helping others, and daily scripture reading and journal writing, to name a few.  The girls work hard and really earn their beads!

Along with the certification beads, we also give out an early bird bead when they arrive at camp on time, a camp attendance bead, and various other beads for special activities.  The adults that serve at camp also love to get beads.  They usually get a bead that goes along with what their assignment is at camp.  I tried to photograph most of the beads that I made this year, although I didn't photograph the small colored beads.  But, just know that I spray painted over 1200 wooden beads in preparation for camp, and painted flowers on about 150 of them!  I love this new position, even though it was a lot of beads to make!

Warning...this is a long, photo heavy post!

Before I left for camp, I just had to make a few t-shirts.  Originally, I was going to use iron-on vinyl, but didn't get it ordered in time, so I settled for freezer paper stencils and fabric paint.  I chose to put the designs on the back of my t-shirts so that they wouldn't get covered by my own beads.

Hello Kitty Denim Jacket

My little granddaughter loves anything to do with kittens.  So its only natural that she would also love anything to do with Hello Kitty.  Christmas came early this year due to a Thanksgiving visit from the grandkids instead of a Christmas visit (due to baby sister who is due around Christmastime.)  We'll miss them at Christmas, but we had lots of fun with them this past week!

I try to make as many gifts as possible each year.  I looked at Hello Kitty denim jackets in the stores and figured with a price tag of $25-$35, this would be a good handmade gift...or at least a refashioned gift!

I started with a thrifted denim jacket and Hello Kitty tank top.  Both were in excellent condition and only set me back a total of $5.

A Pajama Party and Bokeh!

How much does it cost to make four pairs of pajamas and two nightgowns?

$30?  $40?  $50?

Well, let me tell you...

big chunk of flannel from the thrift store...3.99

flannel sheet from the thrift store....2.99

bias trim from the thrift store...50 cents

elastic....1.49

four clearance-priced t-shirts....4.00

TOTAL= $12.97

(That's about $2.16 per child!)

Not too bad!  I used an old pair of pajama pants to make the pattern for the boys.  The girls' nightgowns were made using this pattern from Sew, Mama, Sew!  I did add a ruffle to the sleeves and bottom of the nightgown for added detail.  The nightgowns seemed a little wide in the chest, so in the future I might cut them down a little.  All in all, it was a pretty easy pattern.

Christmas Break was like one long pajama party!

And what's a pajama party without making a few goofy faces?

I also thought I would try my hand at Bokeh before the Christmas lights came down....and not just regular bokeh, but shaped bokeh.  I learned the technique by following this tutorial at The Hobby Room.  It's a pretty fun technique with amazing results.

"Regular"

"Stars"

"Snowflakes"

I'm excited about this technique and can't wait to experiment more with it!

Cute Dresses From T-Shirts!

Is your little one in need of some cute summer dresses?  Here are a couple of cute ones refashioned from women's t-shirts!  The sleeveless blue dress was really simple to make on account of the pre-existing shoulder buttons.  The pink one took a little more time, but was still very doable.  Both would be super comfortable and perfect for summertime!

These are the two t-shirts that I used (plus a cream-colored t-shirt that isn't shown.)  Click here to view the tutorials on how I put these together.

Toddler Dress From Blouse

Yesterday, I had the idea to make a little shirt dress for my granddaughter from a women's blouse that I picked up the other day for 75¢.  It's made from a cotton/lycra blend so it should be comfy and stretchy.  I trimmed it with vintage bias tape trim that I bought for 49¢ at Goodwill.  And, when I say vintage, I mean vintage...it originally sold for 8¢!  It was a little tricky on some parts, but all in all I really like the way it turned out.  

So, here's the blouse....

This was the package of bias tape...

And here's the final project...

You can view the tutorial here.

Little Girl's Button Up Skirt

While looking for cute dress ideas for my granddaughters, I came across some cute, elastic waist, button- up skirts.  Cute idea, but with a price tag of $56 each, I thought, "no way!"  (Not that I don't think my granddaughters are worth it, but let's be real!)  I figured a secondhand shirt would be perfect to use for making these.  I actually got lucky and found a button-up dress for 99¢ that was long enough to make two skirts...one size 8 and one size 2!

To view a tutorial on how it was done, click here.


UPDATE:
Before I sent these skirts off to my granddaughters, I decided to make two more.  The first one had simple pockets without flaps, making it super easy.  It took less than 45 minutes from start to finish...and that's including gathering supplies and taking a phone call in the middle of the project!  I was also able to take advantage of the pre-extisting shirt hem and side slits!  The second one was made using a striped shirt as the main skirt, and using a second, smaller striped shirt for the band and pockets.