One post, two re-dos, red shoes, blue shoes

I've been busy with shoe refashions lately, and I'm really happy with the results! The first pair has no "before" picture because, when I bought them from the thrift store, I thought they were perfect. But after wearing them around, I had the shock of finding my feet covered in icky white paint. I cut up some fabric and glued it in as a new lining, and, as an afterthought, left a tiny bit of it sticking up for a little pop of color.



The second pair used to be some very nice walking shoes that I wore once for months on end. Sadly, they looked worn out and completely faded.

I painted the blue parts, and ended up using glitter hot glue over the beige. I'm not sure if it will hold up, but it looks very sparkly and very glossy. Then I put in some blue elastic laces for a final touch.

Now I can slip these on anytime, though I hope the weather stays cool enough to wear them!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Julia

A Little Something Patriotic

Well, I had jury duty ALL of last week, so all I have to share is an old shirt I had made for the 4th of July. I took another of my husband's old shirts, cut it into a somewhat fitted tank, and did a sort of sideways hi-low cut.

Forgive the bad pic quality...

For the dye, I used masking tape and spray bottles for a soft, vintage-y look-- the colors are faded and a little blurry, which was, for once, the look I was going for! I absolutely love this shirt; any day that's not the 4th of July it's just a cool statement piece.
Have a good week, everyone!
Julia

The Transformer Purse and Tote

I have a confession: I love ModCloth. I obsess over their items, and then I refuse to buy anything because they're all pretty expensive. Recently, I found the Design museum bag. It's a shoulder bag! It's a tote! I had some great fabric scraps lying around, so I ended up with this:

Puppy photobomb

It's a simple design I hadn't seen before: Just a tote bag with handles at the top, and a long purse strap attached halfway down the side seams so that it folds over when you wear it over your shoulder. I added a zippered pocket for my wallet and cell phone, so it's now the perfect grocery shopping bag. I can fit other totes inside when it's all folded up...






 



And then it folds out to fit loads of groceries! After a trial run, I had to stiffen the handles with zip ties so that they didn't get all floppy and stretched with the extra weight.

So many groceries! And it's pretty inside, too. The best part is that this was all just things I had around, including an old too-small belt and a zipper and leather from an old purse.

Hope everyone is having a happy weekend!

Julia

American Idol Style

Last season on American Idol, the most striking fashion statement for me was not from J.Lo or Stephen Tyler. It was this guy:
Some cowboy guy in Hollywood week. He was a pretty big jerk and went home.

But can you see his shirt? It's plaid that's been tie-dyed!! I've been swooning for months.


Finally, I had some leftover dye and a nice-fitting plaid shirt, so I took the plunge!

Mine came out a lot more pale and less allover blotchy than his (the bad photo quality doesn't help-- it's actually darker in real life), but I love how it took a nice preppy shirt and made it a little surprising. Hurrah for tie dye!

Julia

Cute Shorts from Unwearable Men's Shorts

Oh no, I've gotten that sinking feeling where I've spent so much time enjoying everyone's posts here that I haven't actually posted my own projects lately!

I am thrilled over my latest. I don't have a 'before,' but imagine something like this: men's athletic shorts. They were baggy, they had a thick elastic waistband, and they were OLD.

So I cut off the waist, took in the sides a smidge, and used a tutorial I found for making scalloped hems. It didn't work as great on the knit, but the fabric was a great way to try out the technique before I tackle a more serious project. Also, instead of measuring a curve, I just traced around a soup can: the lazy woman's scallops.

The result?

These shorts have all the comfort of sweatpants but all the style of the scalloped pair that showed up on Modcloth the day I finished! I will try to post more of what I'm up to...waiting for a pair of shoes to be completed for those to be shared!

Julia

The Coolest Undershirt Ever

So my husband recently gave me a huge pile of old, stained undershirts-- sorry there's no before, but you can imagine. I left this one to soak overnight in a bucket of leftover dye and was pleasantly surprised that it covered the old pit stains*. Then I took in the sides, cut out the neck, and used some stripey inspiration from this tutorial but using plain old fabric paint.

*It left the shoulder seam threads white, which was a cool effect I couldn't get a good picture of.

This is definitely going to be a summer staple for me!
Julia

My first post, my first ombre

Hi, all!
I'm really excited to join this community. I've been refashioning for ages, so you'll have to forgive me when I haven't always taken a "before" pic-- I'll get into the habit, I promise!

This was a thrift dress that's all light and comfy, but the original color was this beige oatmeal that was way too close to my pale skin tone. So I followed the Rit tutorial to try ombre. It was ridiculously easy, and I love the results. My husband even actually commented on the effect, so you know it's good!

Cheers, Julia