What to do with (free) Jeggins!

I love the look when my daughters where a long tunic / dress top with Jeggins!  So cute! But, they're 3 & 4...so, it IS cute.  But, I'm sorry, a 30+ woman just can't usually pull this off.  Sure, I've seen it done...but, it's just not me.  I tried real hard to make Jeggings work, but my husband just said "What's with the moo moo and sweat pants, did 1994 throw up?" Not to mention, that I'm just not the moo moo type.

BUT I got a pair of jeggings free from Target, they were on clearance for $4.98 and I had a $5.00 off any denim coupon...so....Oh, I just can't pass up a deal. 

After wearing my circus-tent-with-poles look for about an hour, I realized I needed to figure out a way to turn these into something more wearable.  Ta Da!

Here's what I did to get one scarf/vest and one skirt from 1 free pair of pants!

First, lay out your pants facing you and really smooth them out.  Then cut straight across, just above the crotch.  My first cut wasn't very straight, but there's a chance to fix it later...

Next, take away the longer ends, and seperate the inside seams.  I cut very close to the seam so that I was keeping as much fabric as possible.  Then cut the cute decorative end off the bottoms of each leg.  You should now have two Long and tapered rectangles. 



Then, with right sides together, line up seams and sew the smaller (bottom) ends together.  Now you have a funny looking wide at the ends smallerish in the middle scarf.

Wrap this around you and make sure the ends are even.  Then (and this sounds more difficult than it is) pull the sides behind you so that they touch in back, put a hair clip, or clothes pin, or something to mark where the ends come together.

Pretty much, you are going to end up sewing a straight line through the curve that was left from the crotch area...

Re-Purposed Funky Cowel Neck top

So, typically, my mom can be counted on for choosing nice clothes gifts for me.  Occassionally the size is off, but hey, she lives across the country and doesn't see me all the time! 
Well, about a year ago she'd gotten me clothing for my birthday which I loved everything....except this one funky cowl-neck top.  I just can't wear turtlenecks, and for me, cowl necks fall into that category.  It just makes me feel completely claustrophic. 
But, I love love loved the color fo this shirt and the fabric, which was like a really soft, luxurious knit. 

Oh for goodness sake!  The tags are even still on it! The top was also just super tight, and I just can't bring myself to show off all my curves (especially the unnatural ones!)

So, using the tutorial found here as my guide, I turned it into this:

Perhaps a little bit tighter than I would have wanted, but It'll work.  

Car Carrier Canopy to Dress!

A dear friend of mine just had twins (yippy!) She had given me the car carrier canopy which she had used for her daughter.  The canopy was primarily green.  One side was damansk-ish and the other was argyle with pink accents.  It was pretty much girly....but she asked me to just mend it a little and she intended to re-use it for one of the boys. 
Oh Please!  Like I'd ever let that happen! 
I made her two new coordinating canopies for the boys in a supercute vinatage cowboy fabric.  And was left with the 32 x 30 sqare from her old canopy. 
Now, whenever I give a gift to someone that has a second (or third or fourth...) baby, I always want to put in something for the older child too.  So Re-Used the canopy to make a supercute dress! 

And, since I whipped this up at the last minute (the boys were born at 35 weeks instead of the scheduled 37), I didn't have any lining fabric...so I used one of hubby's old white button downs that had a frayed collar and worn sleeves. 

Another option for a stained shirt

My girls just can't stay away from magic markers...of course the only magic is how set-in the stain can be!

Here's two cute cupcake tee shirts I made with just a little bit of leftover fabric scraps...

Pretty Pretty (expensive) Princess

My daughter will ONLY wear skirts.  No jeans, and to get her to wear pants is a struggle.  Plus she always wants to wear a different tutu to ballet class.  Great!  Tutus are surprisingly expensive.  And working with tulle is just not as easy as it looks. 
I used an only lace valence and you never guess what the waistband is...

Yup, that's the waistband cut out from her older brothers underpants!!! I just cut strips then tied them on!

Why by Shopping bags with THEIR logo...

Why is it that a store, say Kroger or Target for example, wants to CHARGE you for their own free advertising!  I hate to buy a $2.00 reusable shopping tote that basically is covered in Target's own logo, so I'm Paying to walk around advertising for them!
Besides, I have an endless supply of my own grocery bags, with writing I prefer....Tee-shirts!

These are so easy to make! And the only sewing is along the bottom!  Heck, you could do that by hand if you didn't have a machine.

Jeans to Skirt

These skirts are all the rage! Why buy when you can Up-Cycle?