Some Tee's for Christmas

 I get inspiration from many sources.  This Christmas time my kiddo's are getting Tees that were inspired by American Eagle.  They were super easy to make, and totally customized for each kid.

Here's the inspiration.  Source.

 I don't have them modeled because the shirts are going to be gifts so the hanger on the door will have to do for today.

I cut out the first initial for each kid, along with the year they were born out of freezer paper.

Then I ironed on the freezer paper on the shirt where I wanted the letters.

Next I used black craft paint and brushed the edges to get the outlines of the letters.

After they dried completely, I cut out 3 layers of other colored T-shirt material of the letter.

Pin it in place and sew around the edge.

Simple.  

Done.

 For my youngest, the shirt isn't big enough for the whole year, so I just put the last two numbers of the year.  All other steps were the same.

My oldest gets a much bigger letter, 

...well because he's much bigger than the rest.  

Already taller by a few inches than his mama.  Sigh...

Lastly, I had some left over T-shirt material and came up with this upcycle for my girl.  

Again no modeling pics.  It's a gift.  Here's the how to.

This is what I started with.  Two long sleeves, a cropped pink tee that I had cut up for another project, and a larger size gray tee.

First I cut the neckline out of the pink Tee.

Next I cut off the bottom part of the larger Gray Tee.  This will be the bottom half of the shirt.

Here's what it will look like when it's done.

I don't know how to photo this part effectively, but just pull and stretch the edges of the gray piece.  This essentially finishes the raw cut edges and gived it a nice rolled 'hem'.  Absolutely no real sewing involved.

The long sleeves were sewn onto the inside of the pink top.  It was a little tricky to lay it out right and it's ok that the thread doesn't match.  We are going to cover that up.

Next pin the bottom gray piece to the top pink one, Wrong sides together.  Weird I know, but I love the raw ruffle-y edge it gives.  I didn't gather anything, just some random pin tucks as I sewed it in place.

 Here's two pics of the two pieces sewed together.  I really like the pleated edge.

Now for the neckband.  I had two long strips of pink material.  Again pull it to stretch the fabric and 'finish' the edge.  Lay one on top of the other and push the fabric up under the foot as you go to gather it.  Keep it completely random.  It's cuter that way.

I followed the same method of scrunch sewing strips around the top of the sleeve where the two pieces meet.

Here's a close-up of the finished neckline and sleeve.

 I thought the neckline would be too huge on my girl so I added a  super thin piece of elastic to the inside of the neckline.  It gathered it up nicely.

The shirt needed a little something more, so I cut four circles of the gray of varying sizes.

 Stretch the edges of the discs and layer them on top of one another, smallest to largest.

 I took a scrap of the pink strips and sewed it in a circle on top of the layered discs to create the flower.

 And done.  I can't wait to give it to her.  

Sweet and Cute!

Only a few more days.  I better get crackin'!

Another 15 minute T-shirt upcycle

 I wanted something cute and different to wear to Thanksgiving this year and only had a few minutes to pull this one together.

Thank goodness it's super-duper easy and quick.

All you need is a t-shirt that is a few sizes bigger than what you wear.

I wear a medium and the shirt I'm using is an XL.

Here is the Before and After.

Before:  Huge and ... well boring, frumpy, etc.

After:  Cute, fitted, and flattering.  Score!

Here's the how to:

Lay out the shirt.

Measure your waist at the largest spot and divide the number in half.

Measure this number across the bottom of the shirt.  

Now you know how close you can make the bottom opening.

Pin like shown.  Tapering from the neck to the sleeve. Then tapering from the sleeve to the bottom of the shirt.

Here's two more closer pics of the pins to make the shape.

Cut the neck line out.

Stitch along the pin line.

Turn right side out and topstitich each seam at the shoulder and sides.

Here you can see the top stitching.  I also added two pin tucks at the shoulder to give the neckline more drape.

 Here's another close up of the neckline so you can see what I did.  I also folded over the full neckline and top stitched it down to finish the edge.

And Done! 

Here's my attempt to take my picture in the mirror.  

Didn't quite work right.  

I do love my Kate Spade iphone cover though.

 Another quick upcycle.

Go try it.  It's super easy!

I'd love to hear how it goes.  Feel free to leave links to your projects.

 Thanks for looking today!

Pallet love - a Manger for Christmas

 I've been thinking about making another manger scene for my yard.  This year all I got done was the star and this little sweet manger.  Both were done with pallet wood.  I have a ton of it and there are many more projects yet to come with it.

One thing I learned about pallets is that no two are exactly alike. They are different sizes and shapes, and made of different types of wood, some better than others.  Since I got all mine for free, I can't be too choosy, but I love the texture and character of the wood.  Another thing I learned is that some are easy to take apart with a crow bar and a hammer, others will not come apart.  The pallet I'm using this time was one of those.



So I pulled out the saw and cut the slats off the frame as shown below.
Easy.
I did use a 2x4 to brace the slats up as I cut them.

Please ignore the awful Arizona Winter Grass. 

Here's the pieces I used.  Three Slats and a larger one cut in a half circle like shown.

Spray paint the half circle white to be Baby Jesus' head.

I used a small piece of wood to join the main slat with the half circle like shown.

Drill two holes on either side of the top slat.  This will be where the wire goes for the arch.

I used a wire hanger for the arch.  Cut off the hook and push the wire into the pre-drilled holes.

I used some icicle lights and twisty-tied the lights to the wire in sections.  The rest of the string of lights will puddle on the ground in front of the manger.

Plug it in and you're done.

 A simple, sweet Pallet Manger. 

 Love it!

Pallet Star

I've been thinking about making my own star for a while and since I'm a pallet hoarder, more on that later, I put this star together quickly and it's a great addition to my christmas lights.  I saw the original post on pinterest here.  My star only cost me $1.00 for the paint.  The pallets I got for free off Craig's list, and the lights and nails I already had.  

Cheap, easy, and rustic. 

 Love it!

 You need 5 boards roughly the same size.  Lay out your star and nail the corners together.  I added more nails in the center where each of the intersections happen to make sure it's sturdy.

Paint the whole thing white with spray paint, and wrap it with lights.
Done.

The kids loved helping on this project and insisted being in the pictures.  That's my #2 boy's foot in the above pic. Boys #3, and #4 are in the bottom pic.

 Happy Christmas!  

I will be adding a manger out of pallet wood tomorrow.  Be sure to come back for more!