About Kat

I started this blog to share with you all the results of years of turning trash into treasures. Hopefully I'll spark some new creative thoughts and if that happens I hope that you'll share your discoveries and together we’ll build a blog that will singlehandedly reduce global warming and save the world! Okay, maybe that’s a grand goal but we should be able to at least downsize our own trash output.

Striped Maxi Skirt

This refashioned skirt has become a wardrobe fave of mine. It’s just like pulling on a pair of jeans. With pattern mixing no longer on the nerd alert list the blue and white stripe pairs with almost everything.

Unfortunately this is one of those projects that I was so excited about doing that I started without snapping a before pic. I know, I know, one of these days I’ll get it together but I’ll offer up a similar pic to give you an idea.

Not me. Not my dress.

Cute dress but the bodice was much too small for me. I cut the bodice away from the skirt and was going to make a casing and insert elastic but I didn’t have any elastic on hand. Enter plain navy t-shirt.

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I cut the bottom off, 12 inches from the hem. I slipped it like a tube over the top of the skirt and safety pinned it to the skirt. Flipped the top of the tube over to create a yoga-style waistband. Tried it on to see if I would need to adjust the length of the skirt and it was a couple inches too long. Since the skirt had an existing slit I decided to cut a couple of inches from the top of the skirt and then stitched the waistband to the skirt using a zig-zag stitch so that it could stretch without breaking the thread.

And here’s the end result:

I wanted something cute and comfortable to wear to an afternoon at the Orange County Art Museum with a walk on Balboa Island and dinner at Mozambique. That’s asking a lot of one outfit but I think this skirt works just as well with a sweater and boots as it will later in the year with a summer top. Don’t ask what was going on off camera to warrant the expression on my face! I like this pic though because it shows the slit so I’m publishing it anyway.

I didn’t have time today to do this but I think I may use the  cups from the bodice as pockets on this skirt.

Happy crafting!

Jeans Jewelry

I have a pair of jeans with a huge rip in the knee. I like the rip, although I think it’s a bit too large. In an effort to get out the door quickly I used some large safety pins inserted from the inside of the leg so that just the silver bands showed, looking somewhat like giant staples.

I'm feeling a little 80's grunge in these jeans today.

Later in the day my bracelet broke and I ended up with a handful of silver beads. H-mmm! I have an idea!

My jeans have their own jewelry!

Now I’d say that’s making lemonade out of lemons – one big rip + one broken bracelet = Irish Attic designer jeans.

Egg Carton Organizers

Because I love to organize (Hello, my name is Kat and I’m an organizing maniac) I love egg cartons. They’re just the perfect little thing to organize all kinds of life’s little accoutrements and they come with a lid – just too perfect. Unfortunately they’re not the prettiest things around so I like to decorate my egg carton organizers. I’m without my camera for the moment so I’ll post some decorated egg cartons I found posted by some very craft (and organized) bloggers.

painted with foam letters

a more grownup version of the painted carton

decoupaged with gift wrap

Organizing Ideas

desk drawer or desktop organizer

 

 

The above pic could just as easily be storing small craft supplies or the supplies for a project you’re working on. This makes it easy to move a craft project to different areas of the home. You can start working on your project while watching your kids in the wading pool, then move it to the family room after dinner without having to spend time gathering up all your small items. The bonus is that the top of the carton, when opened, serves as a work tray.

I’ve also used egg cartons to store and organize:

  • jewelry – I like to keep small gold earrings in one section, small silver earrings in another section, pearl earrings in another section, dressy rings in one section, everyday rings in another section, etc. This makes it so much easier to find the jewelry I want when I want it. To get even more mileage out of your carton line the top with Styrofoam and poke lapel pins or earrings through the foam.
  • hair accessories
  • small toys
  • a back seat entertainment center – store small toys and leave the closed carton in the car
  • If you have a dozen or more of something and it’s small enough to fit in an egg carton then go for it!

 

egg carton ribbon organizer

ribbons

 

Christmas ornaments 

almost impossible to spill paint palette

nuts & bolts & screws & ...

 

Blush Pink Slip

I’m not sure if I’ll move ahead with this refashion but I wanted to show you all one of the items on my drawing board. Maybe it will inspire you. This is simply a slip turned upside down so that the elastic waist is at the bottom and the bottom is at the top. I’m trying it as a one shoulder because I like how it drapes across the torso of my dress form this way. I’ve pinned a couple of pieces of lace to make wide straps.

modest top - "blush" is just the color of this one

Sometimes I go in spurts. Today is an “idea” day – maybe tomorrow will be a sewing day.

 

Happy refashioning!