Skirts from Tank Tops

I don't remember how I've gotten the idea - it was definitely someone else's idea, I'm just not this creative. Anyway, they turn out super cute and are crazy-easy to make! We went garage sale-ing Saturday and got some really cute adult tank tops for me to turn into skirts for our Princess.




I lay the tank out on the board and I use a straight edge and rolling cutter for a straight cut right under the under-arm seams.


Turn it inside out, fold an small edge down. I iron it so it's easier for me. Then sew the edge down leaving enough room to feed your elastic through. Make sure you don't sew it all the way around - you'll need a hole to put the safety pin and elastic in.




Then I take the elastic - I accidentally made this one too big w/o thinking... I would put the elastic around the Princess' waist and cut it 2+ inches too short, that way you have appropriate gather. Poke a safety pin through an end and feed it through.

Once you're at the end of the of the elastic, make a quick vertical stitch and back stitch so the elastic doesn't move. Finish feeding it through, do another vertical stitch and back stitch and sew up the rest of the fold.



Ta-Da! The Princess and her Butterfly skirt. :-)


My Princess is a 5/6 and Med-Lg women's tanks work best for her. She likes them as long as she can get them, so she wears them on the lowest part of her hips, as well.

Happy Sewing!
~*April*~

Up-Cycling - T-shirt-to-Dress

Here's a link/blog on taking an old t-shirt or jersey material and making a little girl's dress. Super-Cute!

T-Shirt~to~Dress

Hoola Hoop

Here's a link to make your own Hoola Hoop - or is it Hula Hoop?? Either way, this looks like an excellent and somewhat inexpensive project for both boys and girls this summer!

Enjoy!

Hoopmaking Basics

Cheap Find - Child's Baby-Wearing Wrap

This turned out great and all I did was unwrap it! lol We were scouting for fabric that would work as a blanket for our Princess Bean's baby doll crib and found a remnant of fabric at Walmart that we thought would work. We got it home and unwrapped it and found that it worked perfectly for a baby-wearing wrap, instead. :) She loved it so much she took a nap in it! lol

Up-Cycling

I've seen these, but never looked for a pattern. This one seems pretty easy:

Girl's Pillow Case Dress

Recycled Craft Ideas

Just found this on Facebook, thought I'd post it. :) For those of you who take advantage of it, Enjoy it! It sounds pretty cool. :)

Goin' Green - Expandable List

I'm new to this blog stuff, bare with me. I'm just putting together what comes to mind. I'll progress as I go.

This is my Expandable List of Green things to Do, ways to save money, and different ways to think about reusing what you have. Small things that we do at home to save money and do our part for the Earth. I'll add more as I think of it.

1) Fabric Softener/Drier Sheets --- re-use them! They're good 2-3 more times! Save a drier sheet box so you have a box for used ones and a box of new ones. You will definitely be able to feel when the drier sheets are used up. Think of the money you'll save when you get 2-3x per sheet!

2) Paper --- Shred it. Then, recycle it, compost it, or use it for your rodent's litter box or cage. We compost some and use some for our guinea pig's waste tray. It saves on buying cedar chips or wood shavings.

3) Canvas bags --- Use one in your vehicle for garbage. Use them throughout the house in places that don't have contaminated garbage (living room, bedroom, office, laundry room, kid's rooms...) Also, invest in about 10-20 for groceries -- depending on your family size. Plastic bags don't decompose.

4) Plastic coffee containers (folgers) & frozen juice lids (metal) --- wash all items. Cut a slit in the coffee lid - long and wide enough for the lids to slide through. Put numbers on the lids in large print with a sharpie. Help your child(ren) learn to recognize numbers and count as they slide the numbers into the coffee lid.

5) Egg cartons --- These make egg-celent (hahaha) paint containers for little artists. Fantastic for finger painting!

6) Old ice trays --- same concept as egg cartons. Break them in half from the middle - not longways - put paint in each cup. These can also be put in a plastic ziplock bag if paint is left in the cups.



I'll be back with more =)