Backwards OOTD

Check out my new LBD!
Also check out my thrifty, fashion savvy brilliance (smell myself).
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a thrifted 4$ sweater worn backwards and a thrifted black, white and grey stars and stripes scarf for 2.50$ to cover up my bra strap. A little bit of awesome.

Pinterest Challenge # 4 Baby Play Mat

4 down, 2 to go and feeling fine!

You know what the thing about babies is? They get bigger, and smarter and cuter and...harder to entertain. I mean it's all good since that means they're developing those big human brains and all which are, you know, kinda important, kinda.

Seriously though Wildeman has been so active and so interested in the world and I needed to find some way to let him explore his sensory organs and discover the world around him. Obviously there a ton of things that fit that description on the market but most of them feel to me like I'm plopping my kid down into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Plus my apartment is tiny (which we love, and don't intend to change) so everything we owns needs to fold up and live in a drawer. And since I'm prone to migraines toys that make sounds are a strictly control commodity.

So, in the interest of meeting all these requirements I hit up Google for some inspiration. When Google failed me I fell back on Old Faithful: Pinterest.

My Pinspiration:

 

My version:

 

 

 

 

Total cost: About 7$

Wildeman Wednesday #3

This post is brought to you by 

the number 3!

 

Okay, I know it says Wednesday up there ^ and it is decidedly not Wednesday. I transfer my pictures from my tablet to my computer via Asus web storage and the site was down yesterday so I couldn't get anything posted.

 

On that same note, these pictures are awful. I really need to get one of the two cameras sitting on my desk fixed. Anyone know what causes a "lens error"? Both seem to have fallen victim to this strange camera illness within weeks of each other. Perhaps it's contagious?

 

Speaking of which Wildeman has been super sick (so have dad and mom but we're much better at breathing through our mouths than he is) which has been unpleasant. And the little munchkin's teeth decided that now would be a great time to work their way into the world. Awesome.

 

So, here is an uncomfortable but still trying to be cooperative little man in

 

Baby It's Cold Outside

BTW this isn't an attempt to be artsy (although my kid's pretty cute in black and white). The tablet was messing with the colour and Wildeman ended up looking purple in almost every shot. The warm uh...coveralls? Sleeper? Anyway, it's grey. You can see the colour in the tutorial. Just keep on scrolling.

Pinterest Challenge #3 Cross Back Tank

Yay! I'm still on track with the Pinterest Challenge!

Confusion can be cured by clicking that link up there ^

Boring tank tops can be cured by doing this:

My Pinspiration:

I bought this tank at my favourite thrift store with the original intention of doing nothing to it. I get so excited about details and prints that I own very few basics. It turns out I can`t really handle basic.

Rock n' Roll Fever - Spring Fever Remix

Good morning Starshine, the Earth says hello.

Quoting bad movies...it's a bit of a hobby.

So Project Run and Play is having a quiet period of inbetweeness as they're gearing up for the all stars season which means yay for us because it's pattern remix time! I was completely stumped looking at this pattern as my baby is not so much a girl and I was having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to make this pattern look in anyway masculine and still make use of the great details:

 

 

That being said I had already fallen in love with that bib detail and there was no way I was letting it slip past me. And so I thought and thought and thought and I'm not sure what inspired me. I am really into fashion as art and costume design and in my own wardrobe I like to take risks and include a lot of pieces that most people wouldn't consider wearable like lime green and silver zebra-striped pants or hats made entirely of sequins.

 

Up until now I've been pretty safe with Wildeman's wardrobe. I have to stop that business or I'm at risk of stagnating. Once I had the conventions of baby clothing and boy clothing out of my head the creative block fell away and I had it! And that is why I love prompts especially ones that seem tailor made to trip me up.

 

Introducing Wildeman in

 

Rock n' Roll Fever

 

 

I down-sized the bodice considerably to fit my 4 month-old, added sleeves, and elongated it to become a romper. I interpreted the bib back as epaulettes, which are by far my favourite aspect of the outfit, Then I added an accent zipper in purple.

 



 

Sew-viving and My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 1

Hello Crafty Crafterson's

and also people who like to read about sewing/crafting and not do it. No judgment, just didn't want to leave you out of the greeting.

Today I bring you

Wildeman Holday Challenge 2013 #2

St. Patrick's Day

and also

My Sew-vivor Audition!

 

No bird killing on my blog but if I were the bird killing type I'd be knocking them out all over the place with one well-thrown stone.

 

Let me just remind everyone of the very first rule for the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013:

1. Make a complete, themed, ***non-traditional outfit*** for my baby boy for every major, and some minor, holidays...
 

Ok seriously, what the crap Mikelina? A non-traditional St. patty's day outfit? If it's green it's traditional and if it's not green it's not St. Patty's Day! I had a hell of a time with this one until I remembered that it isn't only Scots who have a history of kilt-wearing. Bingo. Plus baby kilts are just so damn cute. It was impossible to resist.

 

Introducing Wildeman in:

My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 1

The Kilt and Vest

 

Bow Tie Button Down from Extra Petite

Happy Sunday to Everyone!

Today I am sharing one of the first refashions that I made for someone else. I won't post a tutorial for this one as I made it following this tutorial at Extra Petite.

I started out with shirt that I found at my favourie thrift store. It wasn`t my style at all but I thought the fabric would be a perfect match for my sister`s trendy sophistication.

A close up of the great texture.

My sister is a no pictures on the internet kind of gal so here is the shirt on me, I had to take it in afterwards as my sister is quite a bit smaller than me. She loved it (yay!) and looks fantastic in it.

It is an incredibly satisfying feeling to know that someone is wearing something that I sewed for them.

Be sure to check out the tutorial from Extra Petite above!

Blue Plaid Flannel to Sexy Pleated Micro Mini Skirt

Hello everyone !

Ever notice the ridiculous lack of lingerie refashion tutorials? No? Well, I have and I think it's a travesty that requires a quick remedy. Hopefully this will be the first of many lingerie refashions, because lingerie makes you feel beautiful and sexy and the world needs more women who feel beautiful and sexy.

I started out with this:



It's kinda big...

 

Baby Refashion Challenge!

Hello Foxy Crafters,

I have decided to start a challenge for the year of 2013. Now this kind of thing always makes me nervous as my health is very unpredictable. Right now I feel great but at anytime feeling great could end and I could be stuck in bed for days, weeks, even years. The fear that that might happen was almost enough of a reason to not make this commitment but you know what? I'm so sick and tired of living with my head down in case my symptoms flare and I have to drop everything. What would be the point of periods of near remission I didn't take advantage of them? So, without further ado I bring you...

The Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013

Rules:

1. Make a complete, themed, non-traditional outfit for my baby boy for every major, and some minor, holidays (see the list below).

2. Every item in the outfit must be refashioned.

3. Each outfit may cost no more than 25$

4. I will post the outfit and it's tutorial at least 10 days prior to the holiday, that way you guys can have a go at it if you want.

5. Include total cost and full tutorial in each post.

The holidays:

February 14th - Valentines Day
March 17th - St. Patty's Day
March 20th - Spring Equinox
March 31st - Easter Sunday
June 21st - Summer Solstice
July 1st - Canada Day
July 4th - Independence Day
September 22nd - Fall Equinox
October 31st - Halloween
November 11th - Rememberence Day
December 21st - Winter Solstice
December 25th - Christmas
December 31st - New Years

Any other holiday suggestions?

Wish me luck and check back for each themed tutorial. Hopefully these will inspire both your creativity and mine and give me the oppurtunity to learn new sewing skills. Each challenge post will be tagged "Wildeman Holiday Challenge".

And here we go...

Mixologist - Boys' Week

Let's get down to business -

I just discovered Project Run and Play this week and I can't believe the level of awesome I have been missing out on. I immediately jumped on the chance to feed to birds with one seed (I'm not into killing birds, regardless of how many stones are employed in the process). Hubby, Wildeman and I were recently invited to Uncle Jukeboxs 20`s themed birthday party and everyone must be in costume. Everyone. So, without further ado I bring you Wildeman as...

The Mixologist

Peace! - and other clever blog post titles...

Hello everyone!

How about another maternity refashion? I'm not pregnant anymore but I still have a few refashions that have gone woefully unshared for far too long. This refashion ended up being my favourite top while I was pregnant and every time I wore it I got a complement, so awesome near the end when I was all waddly and bloated!

To start out you'll want to find yourself an L - XL T, mine had a cool graphic (because, you know, it's me) but a patterned something would work well for this too. This is a great way to fill up your maternity wardrobe without spending 30$ for a t-shirt.

Would have been awesome for twins!

Women's Button Down to Baby's Button Down

Hello everyone,

It's time for some baby refashions! I have made a ton of clothes for Wildeman and I intend to share them all for you. There really aren't enough cool, commercially available baby clothes in the world. My kid is already cute, covering him in bunnies and teddy bears seems like overkill. It's a damn good thing I can sew or he would be naked all the time!

On with the tutorial:

Reshaping Men's T to Women's

Hello Crafty Folks,

I have a really simple t-shirt reshaping for you today. This is a good tutorial for beginning refashioners who are feeling nervous about taking scissors to their clothes. I started out with a large men's t-shirt with a great graphic design (I have a thing for graphic Ts...and skulls...and colours...I LOVE THIS SHIRT).

 

Simple Refashion: XL Men's T-shirt to Cinched Tunic

Man it feels good to be doing this again!

I loved this idea I found on Pinterest a while ago but hadn't come across the right shirt until my last thrift store visit. The Value Village near my house is a goldmine of large men's graphic T's, and I fortuitously have an obsession with graphic T's. When I found this one I knew I had to have it and immediately knew what to do with it.

I love a cheeky graphic.

Men's XL Flannel to Women's Fitted Shirt

Hello Crafty Foxes and Foxy Crafters,

I'm finally posting my first tutorial since my little Wildeman was born! This refashion posed a special challenge for me as I am refashioning for my post-pregnancy body, and it's very unlike the body I am used to sewing for. Not only is it bigger in size (40 of 65 lbs to go!), my breasts have gone rogue. I was a generous A before I got knocked up, then I swelled all the way up to an E and am still getting the hang of these Ds I've been left with. TMI? Well, I think it's a valuable piece of information for other refashioners who have experienced weight/body changes for any number of reasons. So this was very much trial and error as fitting a shirt to my bust line before meant very little.

Anyway,

On with the tutorial>>> 

Men's XL Flannel to Women's Fitted Shirt

DIY Jewelry Display

Hello to you other crafty foxes,

Not long ago I posted this article on my antique-cheese grater turned earring display. It was all well and good EXCEPT that my other lovely jewelry went undisplayed, unorganized, neglected and generally sad. I love my jewelry far too much to leave it in such a state! Luckily, though my husband's craftiness hides somewhere beneath his concious mind his eye in a thrift store is epic and he found a beauitful old wooden shoe shiner box, which, turned sideways and screwed to my wall, proved absolutely perfect.

Earrings on their own

(all sad)

 

 



 

Jewelry all together

(yay!)

 

Cloth Necklace

Hello crafty people
{crafty like a fox}

No refashioning today. Just an oldschool DIY. I made this cloth necklace with some fabric I bought at a thrift store (took me forever to figure out what to do with it but I loved it so much!) but this DIY in particular is usually done with an old t-shirt. Probably works best with jersey, I did it with a shiny, non-stretchy fabric. No freakin' idea what it might be made of (I'm not quite that good).

This is a simple project. I just whipped it up in about 45 minutes. You just cut the fabric into strips to make your braid (I doubled them for a bulkier braid), sew off the ends and attatch a whole bunch of strips for the rest of the necklace. Super easy and super cute! Perfect for summer. Enjoy! (+ my amateur artsy photos :P )

See you soon!

Lace Shorts!

New tutorial for today!

I know that lace shorts have been a thing for a while now but I didn't know about them until I saw a woman wearing them at the doctors office and I was in love! But is there any chance that a maternity option is available for these beauties? Not a shot in hell. But that's okay because I have a sewing machine and a giant box of lace my aunt wanted to get rid of. Score!

You can use this tutorial to make non-maternity shorts really easily as when I make maternity bottoms I just keep the waist below the belly so that I can still wear my creations after the baby is born.

The Shorts

Rocket Skirt/Top

Happy almost the end of June!

How is everyone liking my new blog?

I have another maternity tutorial for you today! At the thrift store a while back I found a wicked extra-large, extra-tall men's t-shirt that was covered in rocket ships. My non-pregnant self could have worn the thing as a dress it was so huge but prego me fills out the front a little to much. So, I made a new thing! It's a shirt/skirt for pregnant a ladies!

The finished product:

The tutorial:

Originally I wanted to make a dress using the rocket fabric a the skirt and and old black t-shirt as the top. These were my starting materials, I think the shirt was around 7$:

Sewing Stuff and Beautiful Suitcases!

Hello Crafters

How's everyone doing this morning? I'm feeling pretty happy with myself as I made that top below in one day and got a dress about half-made. Not too shabby.

Now, one might say that organization is not exactly my forte. And if someone said that they would be being exceptionally generous. For example, this is how I stored my fabric and supplies until about two days ago:

I'm not even kind of kidding.

 Let me break it down for you so you can see what I'm working with:

Not so good, especially with a baby on the way. I can count about 150 death traps in that little stash. I was looking (in a very disciplined manner, and it did not take 12 hours) on pinterest for some ideas on repurpose-friendly and fashionable ways to store all of this crap. I found this from Ink Spot Workshop: