Upcycling Obsession: sleeveless shirt to toddler dress

1/2 hr. upcycle tutorial

So I found this sleeveless top on clearance awhile back. It was sitting in my closet for awhile - - never worn, and then I had an oh so fabulous idea. Why not make this sleeveless top into a dress for my little girl?

So I turned this

into this!

And it was the easiest upcycle to date! All I did was:

try it on her inside out,

pinned under her armpits and pinned the sides,

sewed them up,

and shortened the bottom a little.

-The material on the shoulders (for a woman) became the sleeves (for the child's dress).

-I used a woman's small and it became a dress for a 18-24 month old.

-You'll need to adjust the neckline and make a few stitches there.


(If you want a more detailed tutorial with pictures, let me know. And sorry. I'm not a professional seamstress and probably didn't explain as well as I should have. Let me know if you have questions!)

Card Obsession: Giveaway!!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to send a birthday card to all of our family members (parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews) throughout the year. Buying birthday cards at the store can be a little expensive. So I decided to make my own using a picture I'd taken. Then with the photo editing software (http://www.picnik.com/ - - free by the way) I use, placed a little message. At http://www.vistaprint.com/ they have a deal for postcards - - 100 postcards (you make yourself) for cheap! So I'd decided to use this photo below for the postcards.

I just received them in the mail today and was so excited to see the finished product.

And now, since I have a ton of birthday postcards, I've decided to do a giveaway. Woohoo!

The winner will receive 15 of these birthday postcards (including the envelopes).

So . . . onto the rules:

This giveaway starts on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10 p.m. (PST)

and will end on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10 a.m. (PST)

The winner will be announced on Friday, February 5, 2010 on this blog.

One winner will be chosen randomly.

Open to everyone! One entry per person.

On February 5, after the winner is announced, the winner will need to leave me their e-mail address in the comment section so I can contact that person. If not, a new winner will be chosen randomly.

All you have to do is:

1. leave a comment of the last time you sent out a birthday card (I will be the first to admit that it's been a very long time for me).

And if you like this blog, go ahead and follow us!

Good luck!

(And for my family members who had b-days in January . . . they will be arriving shortly.)

Card Obsession: Valentine's Day Cards

Growing up I remember how I loved to make Valentine's Day cards for my siblings. I remember one particular day, where my mother brought out loads of cardstock, doily hearts, stickers, markers, and glue. We had a blast. We made one valentine after another. Then we'd sneak out the back door and doorbell ditch our own home, leaving our homemade, glue-stained, un-fancy Valentine's Day Cards for eachother. It's a memory that I'll always have etched in my mind.

So this year, for Valentine's Day, instead of dishing out the dinero for unpersonalized Valentines Day cards . . . make them yourselves! Not only will you save money, but it will mean a lot more to the person you're giving it to.

Here are a few ideas that I found on Martha's lovely site. Click on the link above the picture and the instructions on how to make them will be shown. Just lovely!

Doily Envelopes

Pop-Up Valentine

Paper Heart Wrappings

Rosy Stationery

Easy Doily Valentines

Valentine's Day Sign Card

Heart Envelope Card

Quilled Open Heart Valentine

Secret Message Cards

Playing Card Valentines
I'm tempted to make that pop-up Valentine for my hubby. Can't wait to show you what my little girl and I are making for her grandparents. They're bound to be adorable! I hope.

Spray Paint Obsession: chalkboard canvas

I love Pottery Barn. But there's just one little 'ole problem. I can't afford to shop there. So . . the reason I continue to get their catalogs (free, by the way) are for ideas. Ideas for home decor, ideas for birthday parties, etc.

One day I was looking through the catalog and saw this cute buffet topped with yummy breakfast items. Love it. But there was something I loved even more. I loved the quote above the buffet that was written on chalkboard. Ding! Ding! Ding!

So this is what inspired me to create the chalkboard canvas. Something to hang in my home that was inexpensive, easy, quick, and fun to make.

So here's my chalkboard canvas tutorial:

First go out and buy some chalkboard spray paint. This is the only kind I've ever used (so I'm not sure if it's the best or not . . . but it works). I think I bought it at Joanns Fabrics (about $5-$6).


Then buy canvas. You get to determine the size. I bought 11x14. (get the cheapest as possible - - they can be a little expensive, so use a coupon)

In a well ventilated area spray paint your canvas well (in a sweeping motion). Make sure you got it everywhere, but you don't want there to be so much that it's dripping or running. Let dry for a few hours and then spray paint again. (needs to have at least two coats to create a chalkboard finish).

After 24 hours of drying you can finally write on it. But first rub the full area with the side of chalk and then erase surface (to break it in).

I stapled (on the back) the tops to the bottoms so it'd be easier to hang.


I've decided to write quotes pertaining to each month or maybe when guests come to town to personalize it a little bit. Oh. And I totally wish I had amazing handwriting like this cute girl here. That's not one of my talents though. Don't worry, I'm gonna get rid of the cheesy hearts in the corner. It looks like a 12 yr. old did that (no offense to any 12 yr. olds out there. :)

Saving Money Obsession: sale at Downeast

My favorite store in the world is Downeast Basics. The prices aren't ridiculous, the clothes are modest, and they're always in style and look amazing. And right now on their website they have an additional 50% off of their winter clearance. What a deal! You just have to enter the promo code FIFTYN2 . Pssst. They even have a few things for men too. Check it out here.

"Always looking for" obsession: wingback chairs found!

Okay. So I'm back from my little blogging break. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had a nice, little break. We went up to Vegas and also to SLC to be with family. But we're back and I'm ready to post.

I do have a few posts that I hope you'll like (I'll post in the near future). And I can't wait to tell you that I did find my wingback chairs! I've been looking for months and didn't want to spend too much on them. I found them for $20 each. The only problem is that they're up in Utah. So hopefully I'll be able to start working on the slipcovers at the beginning of the summer when the chairs are down with me. So stay tuned.

Sewing Obsession: newborn Christmas outfit

Last week, we had a beautiful niece born. We're going to see them over the holidays, so I thought I'd make a little Christmas outfit for cute, little Anna. I just made them from the scraps I had from little girl A's Christmas dress and from scraps from our Christmas p.j.s.

This just shows that you don't have to spend a ton of money on meaningful gifts.