I Was Lovin' the Sun (And my shirt!)

The other day was just gorgeous.  The sun was bright and warm, and as I sat on the couch trying to fix my laptop, I suddenly realized something.

"What am I doing? I'm wasting the precious sunlight!" With what felt like little time to spare until the sun slipped to the other side of the earth, I dashed to throw my skirt in the dryer (I didn't feel that lint would be an admirable addition to a photo shoot), and spruced myself up.

My darling sister, is currently laid up with the traumatic conditions that inevitably follow the removal of one's wisdom teeth, so I decided I would have to go at it alone.




My first attempts were less than successful, although I did get the cool shot above. I couldn't help but save it. The stripes rock.




I was super excited about this shirt I had just gotten the day before at Goodwill. I've been wanting a striped shirt for a while now, so I was glad to have this one turn up! Plus, it was a half-off item. Double-score. Pair it with jeans, or a cute skirt, or anything really!




Add some sweet, black flats, and I had it made.  Oh, one more thing that I nearly forgot to tell you. See those three photos above, and the awesome photo-editing job? Well, technically I didn't do it. Pioneer Woman did.  No, don't faint from envy or anything, I've never met the woman, but I did download her Photoshop Elements actions, and let me tell you a not-so-secret...they absolutely rock. No kidding.  If you have Elements, then what are you doing here? Go download those actions right now!

Simple T-Shirt Refashion

Wow, this is basically my first tutorial, and I'm really excited about it! I was looking around online for a simple way to transform a boxy t-shirt into something a little less...wide, and wasn't finding a whole lot for what I wanted.

Please understand that I am just a DIY wanna-be.  If there are ways I can improve this incredibly simple tutorial, I would love to hear them!

So, here it is!


My attempt turned out a little smaller than I expected, so make sure you give yourself a little extra room!








1. Figure out where you want the narrowest point of your shirt to be and place a pin there. Cut in a large, shallow curve, leaving 5/8" seam allowance.





2. Lay one sleeve flat and trim it slightly it in a curve to create a cap sleeve. Sort of.




3. If you want, re-sew the shoulder seam. I did mine with a 5/8" seam allowance, and it did what I wanted it to.




4. Trim the seam, and use a zig-zag stitch to lock the edges.





5. Turn the edge of the sleeve under, and pin a lace or trim of your choice to the turned edge. Sew.
6. Sew shirt sides. Trim. Zig-zag stitch to lock edges.





7. Enjoy!

My New Coat!

We went shopping today.  We enjoy the walking part of it, plus I had a few dollars left on one of my gift cards from Christmas.  J.C. Penny's seemed like a nice place to shop, so we all hopped out of the van and eagerly walked through the doors.

What was one of the first things that attacked our eyes?  A rack of fabulous coats that were only $19.95! Now, in case you don't think that's an awesome deal, let me show you what kind of coats I'm talking about.

This kind.

I know it's a horrible picture, but when you're using a cellphone, what can one say?

And this one.

So yes, I bought one.  Do you want to know why?  I have several reasons.

• Originally, this coat cost $250.  No, I'm not even kidding.
• The price had been knocked down to $20.
• Remember that gift card I mentioned?  That knocked $13 of the price.

So, grand total for a $250, blue, wool coat?  $7.

I think I'm going to faint.






I have wanted a wool coat for ages now.  They have been popular for a few years, but each year I haven't been able to afford it, and practically speaking, this isn't the sort of coat you want to go sledding in.  I always opted for something more...well, like I said, practical.





But when I'm only put out by $7, how can one refuse?  I didn't.  Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!