Turning a women's shirt into a girl's dress

The six year old I nanny fell in love with this shirt at Micheal's. Neon colors and stripes are all the rage in first grade fashion this season! Unfortunately it only came in women's sizes. However we bought a small and negotiated she could wear it as a dress, but even as a dress she was swimming in it! So it came to me altering it...




Turning the shirt inside out, first, I lined up the stripes and pinned them so I could shorten the "sleeves". The lines of the stripes provided the perfect lines for sewing the shirt.
 

I borrowed one of my sister's shirts (without her permission of course) to use as a template for how much I should bring in the sides (she's tiny). I couldn't find my fabric pen (my life is a hot mess right now) I pinned where I was going to sew to bring in the sides.
 

Turing the shirt right side out, I didn't like how the extra fabric hung on the back of the collar. I trimmed the shirt the whole way, right above where I sewed. I secured the edges with Fray Check before folding them over and pinning them down. I then sewed across the back for a second time. In hindsight, it would have been easier to just sew across the first time.
 

The back of the neck line doesn't exactly match the rest of the edging on the shirt, but it will do!


SO MUCH BETTER!!!

Project Price: $8.00 Project Time: 30 minutes

Helpful Clothespins: DIY

My life is kinda a hot mess right now. By hot mess, I feel that I am just extremely disorganized. I needed something to help me distinguish stuff on my bulletin board. I remember seeing similar decorated clothespins at a friend's house and thought "why would you spend money on those when they seem so easy to do yourself"!


What you need:
- clothespins
-card stock/ scrap-booking paper
- stickers (optional)
-mod podge (is there anything it can't do?)
-paint brush
-paper cutter/ scissors
-measuring tape



First, I measured the length and width of my clothespins so the correct dimensions were cut. Clothespins measure to 4/5 inch (1 cm) by 3 1/4 inch. Using my paper cutter I cut my card stock. I chose solid card stock since my board is already patterned.


Using a paint brush, spread an even layer of mod podge over the clothes pin and line up the paper strips, just so. Press the paper down firmly to avoid air bubbles. Seal the paper strips with another layer of mod podge. Let dry for five minutes. I added stickers to my clothespins to personalize them more. After adhering the stickers, I added another layer of mod podge Let fully dry before turning over to the other side.
                  

Ta-DA! Happy organizing!


Project cost: $2.00 Project time: 30 minutes

Vegetarian Chili and Corn Bread

It's summer here in Denver which means evening rain showers. As the day cools down, I often like something to warm me up! Tonight I made chili and corn bread for the family. It is no easy feat to cook for my family of five, with a vegetarian and a picky-eater. But four out of the five of us will eat it, so I figured why not give it a go!

I made up this recipe as I went but so far it smells and tastes good. I also do not measure spices, I just add by eye and what I think will taste good.

1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1/2 can of Wolfgang Puck's Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce (he already roasted the red peppers for me!)
2 zucchini, peeled, cut lengthwise and diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup of frozen corn (add at the last ten minutes of cooking)
Chili powder
Paprika
Oregano
Garlic powder (would have used fresh garlic but we were out!)
Onion powder
Tabasco

I honestly threw everything into a pot and let simmered for about 90 minutes. If needed to make this in a hurry, crank up the heat, since its vegetarian you don't need to worry about undercooked food! A dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, and fresh cilantro from the garden will garnish this dish nicely.


For the corn bread I just followed the recipe on the back of the canister because, I'm not fancy, nor did I have any fresh jalapenos to dice and add to the batter.

Etsy

I finally created an etsy account. I figured it was time to stop creating soley for myself and to expand my creativity horizons and create for others as well. I plan on adding a lot more to my shop, but to begin with here is a sneak-peak of Willow by K. Riles:

https://www.etsy.com/people/rileyk1632?ref=si_pr