DIY ruffle shirt tutorial

Remember the cute shirt I made my daughter a while ago? Here is the step by step tutorial!

The supplies you need for this project are: a sewing machine, scissors, and two matching t-shirts.

First, cut neck and sleeves as in the above photo

Sew a loose, straight stitch on the top half of sleeves (the part that will be seen when the wearer's arms are down), about 1/2 inch from the recently-cut edge of both sleeves.

pull thread from both ends to gather sleeve

Sew gathers in place (by sewing over the entire length of the previous stitch with a nice, tight straight stitch...be sure to back-stitch the ends so it doesn't unravel).

Cut a long strip from the middle of the second t-shirt


Sew a loose, straight stitch down middle of the strip


Pull thread to gather and ruffle


Pin the ruffle to the front of the shirt in a random pattern. Sew along the middle of ruffle to attach it to the shirt.

Create small pleats along one side of the neck line and pin, then sew pleats in place.

Voila! Here is the finished ruffle shirt!

chocolate chip cookies

One of my many weaknesses.

stuff

Sharing a still life photo I took this week.

a knitted jumper dress

Just sharing the dress I knitted for my daughter a few months ago.

DIY recycled rosette cardigan

Happy Wednesday everyone, I thought I'd share a little something of what I have been up to lately. Today I added a little flair to this boring old cardigan I never wore. I saw this and this on anthropology so I decided to cut up an old t-shirt my husband was throwing away and made these adorable little roses to attach to my cardigan.

here is a step by step tutorial

step 1: Cut a strip off an old t-shirt

step 2: Twist it


Step 3: Roll in a spiral shape and stitch in place.

(Finished rosette)

step 4: Stitch rosette(s) to cardigan

feathers

I love feathers and have been collecting them lately. It helps that we have eight hens living in our yard. I Love how these pictures turned out, I took them using one of the camera filters I made the other day. Pretty fun.

my boys

Today all I did was play with my boys. I cuddled kissed and hugged each one. Including my hubby! Don't worry I didn't forget my little girl too. What a great day!

talk

card generator here
fun give away here
new fave blog here
I love this

Quiche

This is a documentation of the first quiche I've ever made.


First I had a passion for photography, then came a passion for photographing food, and then a passion for cooking! Ha! Funny story right?! I have always hated cooking! I usually wait till my husband cooks out of necessity because, well, we have to eat. OK, so, I'm not really that bad, but I have done that kind of thing a few times. Now, all I can think about is the pretty things I can cook so I can take photos of them! Ha ha!

Another reason I baked Quiche today is because I just bought this pretty rectangular baking dish for $1 at the thrift store! I am always at the local thrift stores, looking for my next favorite thing. I never know what it is till I see it, though. (Maybe I should start a thrift store addicts anonymous group! Ha, ha! I bet a lot of my friends and sisters would have to come, too! My mom for sure would have to come; she's the one who taught me that if it's not a really great deal I can live without it.) I have to say that I am not one of those people who stands in line waiting for the doors to open first thing in the morning, though. I'm not that bad. :)

my obsession with vintage cameras

For our anniversary my husband and I went to all the local antique stores to browse. I soon became aware that all I really looked at were the typewriters and cameras. I'm now obsessed!
We looked up instructions on how to make a basic pin-hole camera...it was intriguing, but looked horribly time-consuming when it came to trimming the film and trying to find someone to process individual little squares.

...so, instead, I've been trying to re-create with my modern digital camera (a Nikon D-80, in case anyone cares), the type of look that an old camera would have.

First, I shot some photos through the bottom of a glass jar, then through another square glass candle holder, then through a plastic box...each had a unique and interesting effect (a few examples here). They were all very difficult to attach to the camera (obviously), and the camera had a hard time focusing through the thick "filters". So I tried out some thinner things such as plastic wrap and cellophane.

Finally, I found a piece of plastic from a container of crafting supplies (something like the look and feel of acetate)...I cut a round piece out of the bottom and smudged some ink and paint around the perimeter. The final effect was a natural vignette and a hazy blur. It kind of reminds me of the old lenses people use that have dust and scratches (and mold).

I'm still on a quest to create some more unusual filter effects with my camera...like I said, "I'm obsessed!"

ruffle shirt

I made this ruffle shirt in half an hour the other day. I'll have to post a tutorial soon to show just how I did it.